What I’m Listening To - 3/7/08

Miles Davis - “Autumn Leaves”/entire album
I picked this up at a used bookstore for 6 bucks last week. Worth every penny.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - “Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow”
I’ve got to be in a certain laid back melancholy mood to enjoy any song from this album.

The Frames - “Dream Awake”
I love this song. The first time I heard it, it was like I picked it up and couldn’t put it down.

Moby - “Alice”
See my previous post in the category of “music” about this one.

Delirious? - “It’s Ok”
This is one of the best bands ever. They’re often overlooked in mainstream circles because they’re Christian, but their music is too good to be overlooked.

Louisville vs. Georgetown 3/8/08

This is the biggest game of the regular season for the Cardinals.  The Hoyas have not lost a home game all season, so for us to pull a victory in Saturday’s game will be an amazing feat that should solidify us at the top of the Big East.  Well, at least until the Big East tourney next week….

As much of an optimist as I am, I’m also a realist.  I’d estimate Louisville’s chance of winning at 40%, which gives losing an unfortunate edge.  If we lose, it won’t be by much.  I hope that no matter what the outcome, that Saturday’s game is useful refining and training for the Cards as they step into the postseason. 

Election 2008 - and then there were 3

Last night, Mike Huckabee officially dropped out of the race.  This inevitable move is still sad to me, because out of the 4 realistically remaining candidates (Sorry Nader and Paul), he was the one I liked the most. 

But, I think we all knew it was coming - McCain had such a lock, and all of the press about how McCain had it locked even before the March 4 primaries couldn’t have helped turnout for Huckabee. 

Part of me wishes Huckabee would run independently, but he would most likely not win, and he would basically kill McCain’s chances of winning, the same way that Perot and Nader have wrecked elections in the past.   So, it’s on to McCain, Obama, and Clinton. 

I would say that out of the 3 remaining, I like Obama, then McCain, then in far last, Clinton.  It’s not a gender issue; I have no problem with a woman president.  I still think that Clinton is a partisan politician through and through, and would just bring 4 more years of “my party’s better than your party” to the White House. 

I kind of wonder this same thing about McCain too though.  He’s been around for a while, and knows how to be a politician, and a Republican.  He’s broken party lines a bit over the years, so I don’t think he’s as blindly partisan as Clinton, but I still think he’s all red-state when the chips are down.

And then there’s Obama.  He’s a Democrat, but I believe he wishes to unite ALL Americans more than the other candidates.  I do feel like I need to hear his specific plans for change and improvement though - if I ran for prez, I’d be promising to fix healthcare, the energy crisis, unemployment, education etc….but I wouldn’t have much of a clue how.

And then there’s Iraq.  Clinton and Obama want to aggressively remove our presence out of there ASAP upon being elected.  I like the idea of that; I’m opposed to the war in Iraq, but at the same time, I see what guys like McCain are saying about how we can’t just leave there after mucking it up for 5 or so years. 

Leaving Iraq is kind of like trying to break up with an ugly girl who just told you she’s pregnant.  You’ve got to still be a part of her life for a good few years to take care of her current situation, which you had a lot of responsibility in making happen.   

Tennessee 63, Kentucky 60 (snicker)

Once again, the bad fan I am, I am loving the loss in Knoxville today.  I’ll give it to the Cats, it’s really not anything to be ashamed of when an unranked team loses so closely to the #1 team in the country, on the road….but still…Kentucky lost, and that for me is always a fun time.

I don’t know if it’s natural for me to like it so much when they lose, but I am who I am. 

What I’m Listening to -3/2/08

Kings of Leon - “Knocked Up”- From the “Because of the Times” CD. Buy this CD. It’s incredible. It’s one of the few CDs you can put on “repeat” and not regret doing so.

Ben Folds - “The Luckiest”
This is a very special song. Someone reading this post knows exactly why.

Gram Rabbit - “Boody Bunnies (Superficially)”
I first heard this song on an episode of the show “Life”. Check out the show, and check out the bands that get heard in the show.

Louisville 68, Villanova 54

They didn’t show this game here, so I don’t have too much to say about it.  I wished I had seen it - it was senior day, and the Cards were saying goodbye to pivotal seniors Juan Palacios and David Padgett.  Terrance Farley and Will Scott are leaving as well - decent second or third string center and guard respectively.

Looking ahead to 08-09, the question is, who will step up to these leadership positions?  Padgett and Palacios have never gotten the attention that the media reserves for NBA bound stars, but they are solid leaders that you can always depend on to put out a solid performance. 

In this day of 1 and 2 year college careers, guys like Padgett and Palacios are the guys you can build 4 years of growth and maturity around. 

I think that T-Will and Earl Clark have those possiblities.  T-Will has come out and said that he’ll finish out his 4th year at Louisville, and in my opinion, Clark is too green for the pros, so I hope that means we’ve got our leaders for next season.   T-Will by just his shear athleticism and discipline should be a good example for other guys on the team.

 So, here’s to 9 in a row for the Cards, and a good rest for the fight of the regular season in DC next week against the Hoyas. 

Louisville vs. Villanova 3/2/08

The Cards are back at it again - this time entertaining the Villanova Wildcats at home.  Villanova is doing well this season, but not great.  They’re on the south side of the bubble for the tournament, so a road win at a ranked opponent would definitely help determine if they’re playing in the NCAA or NIT tourneys. 

Louisville’s biggest enemy today will be theirselves.  ’Nova is a decent team, but not the type of team that should be beating the Cardinals in Freedom Hall.  If Louisville walks into this fat and happy, expecting a cakewalk, then they’ll run the risk of being stunned by a hungry Nova with nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

Stay sharp Cards, and let this prepare you for the Hoyas and the conference tourney in MSG! 

“Alice” by Moby

I just downloaded “Alice”, the new single from Moby off of iTunes, and holy crap I like it.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the Mobe-man just fine.  I chill out to his music at work some days.  This single is so like Moby, and so unlike anything I’ve heard of his though.  Definitely download this!

I can’t help giggling when I think about Moby, because I think about the SNL animated short “Blue Christmas” that aired a few years ago.  In this short, Santa is a Democrat still ticked off that Bush won the 04 election, so instead of delivering toys to the red states, Saint Nick has dinner in NYC with some famous liberals, including Moby.  Santa implies that Moby is a Democrat because he wants to marry a man.  When Moby denies it, Santa belts out a hearty “Ho Ho Ho!  Oh Moby, with your techno music!”, and then reminds Moby that he can see him “even when he’s sleeping”.  Comic genius I tell ya.

Louisville 90, Notre Dame 85

In spite of Harangody having a career night…..scoring a career high 40 points….pulling 3 three pointers out of his..um..ear in the last few minutes….the Cards still prevailed.

What a great game by this guy.  Seriously.  My hat’s off to him.  But, he proved that when you basically carry your team, and have little if any backcourt presence, you can still lose important games. 

On a random note, is it just me, or does Harangody look like Scott Farkus, the coonskin hat-clad bully from A Christmas Story?

You be the judge:

I’ll let the evidence speak for itself….now back to the game:

Clark and Padgett turned in stellar performances, with Padgett further cementing his role as the “floor general” for Louisville.  He may not go to the NBA, but if this guy’s not an assistant somewhere in a few years, it’ll be a shame.

Louisville ran the show from the start, but the Irish, not to be outdone, gave us a good old fashioned scare in the remaining minutes.  I’d be lying if I said that our streak of hitting everything we threw up in the first 10 minutes of the game didn’t help either.

 I was really disappointed to see the Cards’ tempo slow down when Pitino rested Padgett and put in Caracter.  Caracter continues to show promise, but disappointsme overall.  He’s high on talent, short on consistency, and void of discipline.  I keep hearing all of these rumors that he’s going to go pro whenever he wants.  Really?  What team would have him?  Maybe Will Ferrell’s 70’s ABA team.  He needs 4 years in the college womb before he can be born into NBA stardom.  If he goes sooner, he’ll at best go late in the draft, or walk on, then play in Europe, and never realize his true potential (ok, I sound like a guidance counselor now).

All in all, this game was just plain exciting.  Louisville put out a sound, well rounded performance.   It gives me great confidence to see them finishing this good.   I really think they’ll be the surprise team in the big dance.

What I’m Listening to - 2/27/08

Delirious? - “Our God Reigns”, “Intimate Stranger”, “It’s OK”
Thelonious Monk - “The Measure of Monk”/Entire Album
Miles Davis - “Kind of Blue”/Entire Album
Saliva - “Click Click Boom”
Motorhead - “Ace of Spades”
Dead Kennedys - “Holiday in Cambodia”
Rage Against the Machine - “Bulls on Parade”
Foo Fighters - “Everlong”
The Toadies - “Tyler”
Third Day - “Agnus Dei/Worthy, You Are Worthy”