What A Year For Cards Baseball

The University of Louisville Cardinals baseball team had a great year. First they went 47-24, accounting for more wins in a season than ever before. Then the team qualified for the College World Series (another first). The team, which wasn't even ranked at the beginning of the year, finished sixth in the nation.

And now word comes that the team's first-year rookie coach, Dan McDonnell, has won Manager of the Year honors. He certainly earned it.

Tom Jurich, of course, deserves some credit here, too. There's a reason he won the Athletic Director of the Year award. I cannot name a single collegiate administrator that's done as good a job as this fellow in recruiting winning coaches who operate with dignity and professionalism (OK, maybe Mr. Petrino was sometimes a little animated - but he proved to be a winning coach nonetheless).