NABC/Division II Rankings 

(Jan. 31, 2012)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville head football coach Charlie Strong announced Wednesday that 24 student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to play football for the Cardinals beginning in the fall of 2012.

Additionally, Louisville already secured commitments from six mid-year enrollees, including two transfers from Florida in Gerald Christian and Robert Clark, who must sit out due to NCAA transfer regulations.

The 2012 recruiting class features 10 players from Florida, four from Georgia, two from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, and one from Alabama, North Carolina, Iowa and South Carolina.

Linebackers James Brown and Keith Burgess, safety Gerod Holliman and tight end Ryan Hubbell enrolled in January and all four student-athletes will participate in spring practice for the Cardinals in March.

So we were talking about 90′s hoop commercials last night on Twitter. There are some recent commercials that are dope but they can’t compared to these. Here are some of the videos mentioned.

• Selection Sunday
March 11, 2012

• First Round
March 13-14, 2012
UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)

• Second-Third Rounds
March 15, 17, 2012
Rose Garden (Portland, Oreg.)
The Pit (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Consol Energy Center (Pittsburgh)
KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)

March 16, 18, 2012
Nationwide Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
Qwest Center Omaha (Omaha, Neb.)
Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tenn.)
Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro, N.C.)

• East Regional
March 22, 24, 2012
TD Garden (Boston)

• Southwest Regional
March 22, 24, 2012
US Airway Center (Phoenix)

• Midwest Regional
March 23, 25, 2012
Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis)

• Southeast Regional
March 23, 25, 2012
Georgia Dome (Atlanta)

• National Semifinals
March 31, 2012
Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans)

• Championship Game
April 2, 2012
Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans)

The blocked shot is a lost art at a lot of schools. It is a play that often leads to transition baskets. Making the key block on defense can make or break a team.

My friends, I love seeing the big men on campus who come through with the big play. I was thinking about my crème de la crème, the All-Swat team this season. These players share the motto, thou shalt not enter the lane, baby!

When coming up with my All-Swat squad, I have to start in Lexington, Kentucky. Diaper dandy Anthony Davis is something special and he already set the school’s single-season record in the category. He can influence the game so dramatically because he forces opponents to change shots because of his presence. He has come up with crucial blocks at the end of games. John Calipari is thrilled to have him and he makes such a huge difference in the lane.

I love what John Henson of North Carolina has done with his shot-blocking ability. Sure it helps to have size and length but it also is impressive to have good timing. Henson is a force on that talented Tar Heel front line.

C.J. Aiken of St. Joseph’s may not get as much publicity as some of the other members of my All-Swat team. He is one of the best defenders in the tough Atlantic 10. He’s 6-9 but listed under 200 pounds so he can use some more meat on his bones. As for his shot-blocking ability, go ask Drexel’s Bruiser Flint since Aiken had nine against the Dragons earlier this season.

Jeff Withey of Kansas is one of the most improved players in America and it helps to be around seven-feet tall. He has been a factor blocking shots for Bill Self’s Jayhawks. It probably helps to have Thomas Robinson as a partner in the lane.

Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng has not been playing basketball that long, yet he is a big positive for Rick Pitino’s Cardinals. He will get better and better with even more experience, which should scare Louisville’s opponents.

There you have it, members of my All-Swat team.

New Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen laughs during a news conference after being introduced by the team. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Reggie McKenzie started researching Dennis Allen as a potential coaching candidate this past season when he first heard the Oakland Raiders might hire him as a general manager.

He talked to some of Allen’s former players and coaching colleagues and only got rave reviews. When McKenzie sat down with Allen two weeks ago in Denver for his first interview, he knew he had found his man,

“The bottom line, he was what the doctor ordered,” McKenzie said Monday at a news conference to introduce Allen. “He understood the big picture as far as putting a plan together, how to do this, this and this. We went over everything. How you treat people, how you treat players, getting a staff together. It was all right in line (with) the way I was thinking.”

With speculation pointing to McKenzie hiring one of his former colleagues in Green Bay to be his first head coach, he instead turned to the 39-year-old Allen, who had just one year of experience as a defensive coordinator in Denver and had never been a head coach at any level.

He starts his first head coaching job in Oakland with the task of turning around a franchise that has gone nine straight seasons without a winning record or a playoff berth while going through a revolving door of head coaches. Allen is the seventh head coach for the Raiders since 2003, but he is the first to be hired since longtime owner Al Davis died in October.

Allen said he will not call defensive plays as head coach, preferring to be a “game manager” who is deeply involved in all facets of the team on game days. That will put a greater importance on the staff he puts together.

The Raiders have only one assistant currently under contract, offensive coordinator Al Saunders, and there is no assurance that he will return. FoxSports.com reported that the Raiders have offered Saunders’ position to Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp.

The Raiders were denied permission by Denver to interview Broncos linebackers coach Richard Smith for Oakland’s defensive coordinator job, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

McKenzie said Allen could keep a few of the other assistants but most of the staff will be new.

Davis’ son, Mark, took over as managing general partner and hired McKenzie earlier this month to remake the football side of the organization. McKenzie immediately fired Hue Jackson, who went 8-8 in his only season as head coach, and then began the search that ended with Allen’s hiring.

Allen got more stability than his predecessors with a four-year contract as opposed to the two guaranteed years they were given under Al Davis and will have more say in putting together his staff and roster than head coaches previously had in Oakland.

“At the end of the day, what I was really concerned with was, who are the people that are leading the organization now? The people who are leading the organization now are Mark Davis and Reggie McKenzie, and when I looked across the table at Reggie McKenzie, I knew that was a man that I believed in and that I trusted in,” Allen said. “That was the only thing that was a concern to me, and that was what really drew me to this job.”

Allen has plenty of work to do to turn the Raiders around after a nearly decade-long stretch of losing and poor play. Oakland has been plagued by sloppy play and porous run defense during that stretch and both issues were major problems last season.

Oakland also set an NFL record last season with 163 penalties for 1,358 yards so it came as little surprise that Allen used a version of the word discipline more than a half-dozen times in his news conference.

“The only way that you create habits is through consistency, doing the same things over and over and over,” Allen said. “Well, if you’re committing penalties, that becomes a habit. We’ve got to change those habits, all right? We’ve got to develop the proper habits so that we’re not creating those penalties on a daily basis.”

The Raiders are also coming off one of their worst defensive seasons ever. Oakland had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history.

The struggles came despite a unit that had high-priced and high-profile players throughout, from linemen Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly to linebackers Rolando McClain andKamerion Wimbley and defensive backs Stanford Routt and Michael Huff.

“I don’t think radical changes are what need to be made,” Allen said. “Obviously, just with all aspects of the game, you’re always going to try to upgrade your team in whatever way that you can but I do still feel like there’s a talented defense. I feel like we got enough players, both on offense and defense, that we can win a championship with.”

Allen and McKenzie will make those tweaks together as McKenzie envisions a general manager-coach relationship similar to the successful ones he witnessed as an executive in Green Bay.

“This is a team effort,” McKenzie said. “When we go about getting players, work on getting a staff in here, how we’re going to do things on the football side, we’re going to do these things together. It’s not, ‘I got this, you have this.’ We’re not doing it like that. The right hand will know what the left hand is doing. We’re in this thing together.”

Allen wants a defense that attacks the quarterback and is stout against the run. Allen also said he wants to run an up-tempo, aggressive offense and believes he has many of the playmakers needed to make it work. Carson Palmer will be back for his first full season with the Raiders and has already talked to Allen and McKenzie about the new direction for the franchise.

“Carson Palmer is extremely excited about what we have going here,” Allen said. “He’s looking forward to the future and he’s excited about the opportunities here.”

Information from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report.

1. Syracuse: Good bounce back by the Orange, who rallied from their first loss of the season to beat Cincinnati on the road and West Virginia, with some controversy, at home. Syracuse still does not have Fab Melo, and with each game it’s more evident how critical the big man is.

2. Marquette: It is time to give the Golden Eagles their due. Marquette lacks the pizzazz of some other names in the league, but this team is rock solid. Darius Johnson-Odom won’t let the Golden Eagles stray too far off script.

3. Notre Dame: There’s the luck of the Irish and there’s good basketball. This isn’t luck. Mike Brey has done it again, reconfiguring his team after a serious injury. Notre Dame, an average team even before Tim Abromaitis was lost for the season, is now 6-3 after beating Syracuse and Connecticut.

4. West Virginia: Yes, the Mountaineers lost two this week but we’re calling it two with an asterisk. If you’re looking for a team to count on in this weird conference, one coached by Bob Huggins is always a good bet.

5. Georgetown: The Hoyas’ lack of defensive intensity and their rebounding issues cost them against Pittsburgh. Georgetown will have to fix both in a hurry, with suddenly desperate UConn coming to D.C. on Wednesday.

6. South Florida: Feel free to criticize the Bulls for not beating the toughest the Big East has to offer, but remember South Florida can only play the schedule it was handed. For a team that has been struggling to win since joining the conference, this 6-3 start is a huge step.

7. Louisville: The Cards quietly have turned things around by taking advantage of the middle and bottom of the Big East pack. Soon it gets interesting. Starting Feb. 6, Louisville gets Connecticut, West Virginia and Syracuse.

8. Connecticut: The NCAA has cleared guard Ryan Boatright but that hasn’t fixed what ails UConn. The Huskies dropped their third in a row, a 50-48 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday. A season once full of promise needs to be repaired in a hurry.

9. Cincinnati: The Bearcats have lost three in a row. Cincinnati needs to find a way to score when it doesn’t hit 3-pointers. The Bearcats were 7-of-20 from 3-point range in a 61-54 loss to Rutgers on Saturday.

10. Rutgers: If any team sums up the inconsistency that is the Big East it is the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers lost to DePaul 69-64 and then beat Cincinnati 61-54. Mike Rice’s team is clearly talented enough to beat anyone and young enough to lose to anyone.

11. Seton Hall: Just when you thought it was time to believe in the Pirates, they drop four straight. Kevin Willard is looking for offense. Seton Hall scored 18 in the first half against Notre Dame and 21 in the opening 20 against Louisville.

12. St. John’s: The baby-faced Red Storm have put together back-to-back good games, even if they don’t have the results to show for it. St. John’s beat West Virginia 78-62 and then fell to Duke 83-76.

13. Villanova: The Wildcats look better. They’re getting scoring from guys not namedMaalik Wayns and playing tougher on defense. That’s the good news. The bad news is, while they look better, they aren’t winning games.

14. DePaul: The Blue Demons ended a five-game skid with a road win against Rutgers but need to make hay to crawl out of the league basement once again.

15. Pittsburgh: A strong salutation to the Panthers, who emerge from the basement with wins against Providence and Georgetown. Is Pitt on the mend? Tune in Monday night for the backyard brawl against WVU to find out.

16. Providence: The young Friars have lost seven of their past eight and three in a row. To get out of the cellar, Providence needs to up the ante on defense.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

EASTERN CONFERENCE WESTERN CONFERENCE  vs.  (1) CHICAGO (1H/2A) vs. (8) Milwaukee (Chicago leads 1-0)  vs.  (2) MIAMI (1H/2A) vs. (7) Boston (Miami leads 1-0)  vs.  (3) ATLANTA (1H/2A) vs. (6) Orlando (Series tied 0-0)  vs.  (4) PHILADELPHIA (1H/2A) vs. (5) Indiana (Philadelphia leads 1-0)  vs.  (1) OKLAHOMA CITY (1H/2A) vs. (8) Los Angeles (Series tied 0-0)  vs.  (2) DENVER (1H/1A) vs. (7) Portland (Portland leads 1-0)  vs.  (3) LOS ANGELES (1H/1A) vs. (6) Houston (Los Angeles leads 1-0)  vs.  (4) DALLAS (1H/1A) vs. (5) Utah (Dallas leads 2-0)

 Above records are for the season series between the two teams

Jan. 23, 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Several special events are on tap at the final four home University of Louisville men’s basketball games during the month of February.

Two former UofL All-Americans will have their names added to the list of honored jersey names displayed in the KFC Yum! Center: Lancaster Gordon and DeJuan Wheat.

Gordon (1980-84) will be honored at halftime of the Feb. 6 game against Connecticut. He is among the top U of L career scorers (1,614, 14th at U of L) and his 192 career steals rank seventh all-time. A native of Jackson, Miss, the 6-3 guard helped U of L to a combined 102-34 record and two NCAA Final Four appearances. He was selected as the 1983 NCAA Mideast Region Most Outstanding Player, scoring 24 points in the regional championship game against Kentucky.

Wheat (1993-97) will be honored at halftime of the Feb. 26 game against Pittsburgh. Wheat was the first player in NCAA Division I history with career totals of at least 2,000 points, 450 assists, 300 three-point goals and 200 steals. The Louisville native completed his career with 2,183 points (second all-time at U of L), 498 assists (4th), 323 three pointers (2nd) and 204 steals (6th). One of 12 finalists for the 1997 Naismith Player of the Year Award, he helped the Cardinals post a combined 95-41 record, four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in his last two years.

There will be two “color” events in February, with a “White Out” scheduled for the Feb. 13 game against Syracuse and the annual “Wear Red for the Seniors” game set for Feb. 29 when the Cardinals face USF in the final home game of the season. Cardinal fans are encouraged to wear white and red on those respective days.

(via UofL Sports)