What's With The Cards?

Is this Ron Cooper Redux?

The Louisville Cardinals were supposed to compete for a national championship this year. After four horrific games (marked by porous defense, numerous repetitive brain-dead penalties and now two losses) one must wonder if the team's proving poorly coached.

Something's up. That's for sure.

Instead of trying to make the national championship game, it's a fair question now whether the Cards can make any bowl game (or even a winning season).

Think that's overreacting? Consider this. Louisville just lost to a team (Syracuse) that hadn't won all season and that won only a single conference game in the last year!

With the Cardinals' schedule still including games against Cincinnati, West Virginia, South Florida and Rutgers, all of a sudden six wins don't look like a lock.

Polymyositis Update

Four months from diagnosis, and I'm off the Prednisone. Apparently I've responded really well to the Prednisone/Methotrexate combination rheumatologists commonly prescribe. Certainly, I feel much better. That said, mowing the lawn proves strenuous. But I'm able to mow the lawn, so no complaining.

The plan now is to continue taking 15mg of Methotrexate once a week.

Hopefully the CPK (creatine phosphokinase) level will remain low now that I'm off the steroid (Prednisone). Time will tell!

Louisville Cardinals Football 2007 Predictions

I know, the season's already started, which makes predictions much easier. But I haven't had a chance until now to publish the following forecast.

That said, my prediction for the Murray State game is what I truly expected (obviously the game's already been played).

• Aug 30, Murray State, Win (by 55).
• Sep 6, Middle Tennessee, Win (by 35).
• Sep 15, at Kentucky, Loss (by 8).
• Sep 22, Syracuse, Win (by 45).
• Sep 29, at North Carolina State, Win (by 20).
• Oct 5, Utah, Win (by 4).
• Oct 13, at Cincinnati, Win (by 2).
• Oct 27, Pittsburgh, Win (by 22).
• Nov 8, at West Virginia, Loss (by 16).
• Nov 17, at South Florida, Win (by 4).
• Nov 29, Rutgers, Win (by 34).

The Kentucky game stands as the easiest debacle to spot. Kentucky's playing with renewed enthusiasm, and I predicted years ago (in an editorial published in The Courier-Journal on Thanksgiving Day in 2004, I think it was) that Wildcat fans would come to view great things in Commonwealth Stadium due to the professional leadership and insight wielded by AD Mitch Barnhart. Unless the Cardinals truly rise to a new level of spirit, belief and play, this game will stand as a spoiler for the ages (as the Cards look to be ranked in the top five or six teams in the nation when the game rolls around).

West Virginia, playing at home, will be tough to beat. They've got an outstanding quarterback and running back, both of whom are likely to see playing time in the NFL. The Cards, again, will have to play truly inspired to escape with a victory. Seeing as the Louisville program is still subject to bush league meltdowns (witness the 2006 Rutgers loss that should have been a blowout victory), I don't possess the necessary confidence to predict a win on the road against a likely top five team (of which the Mountaineers are certainly a worthy candidate).

As for the Rutgers game in 2007, there's one thing to say; paybacks are hell. Rutgers may well enter this last game of the year undefeated (or with one loss to West Virginia, which the Scarlet Knights play at home in Jersey), but the Cards will take care of that. It won't even be close.

Cincinnati Bengals 2007 Predictions

Following a tough off-season in which our leading (in the pre-season at least) receiver was suspended for the first eight regular season games, outstanding players (such as Kevin Kaesviharn) were lost to free agency, and no one was drafted who seemingly possesses the ability to make significant immediate impact, my hopes for the 2007 season are tempered. This is especially true considering we also lost an outstanding defensive presence in Kevin Kaesviharn, who led the team in interceptions.

Here's how I believe this disappointing 8-8 season will play out:

• Sep 10, Baltimore Ravens, Loss (by 7).
• Sep 16, at Cleveland Browns, Win (by 12).
• Sep 23, at Seattle Seahawks, Loss (by 14).
• Oct 1, New England Patriots, Loss (by 17).
• Oct 14, Kansas City Chiefs, Win (by 3).
• Oct 21, New York Jets, Win (by 7).
• Oct 28, Pittsburgh Steelers, Loss (by 12).
• Nov 4, at Buffalo Bills, Win (by 12).
• Nov 11, at Baltimore Ravens, Loss (by 4).
• Nov 18, Arizona Cardinals, Win (by 10).
• Nov 25, Tennessee Titans, Loss (by 7).
• Dec 2, at Pittsburgh Steelers, Loss (by 17).
• Dec 9, St. Louis Rams, Loss (by 13).
• Dec 15, at San Francisco 49ers, Win (by 2).
• Dec 23, Cleveland Browns, Win (by 14).
• Dec 30, at Miami Dolphins, Win (by 3).

Hopefully I'm wrong, and the Bengals will make the playoffs, but I don't see it happening. Not until the Bengals draft (or trade for) a pair of quality defensive players (who can stay out of trouble) will this team have a legitimate opportunity to play beyond December.

Little has been done to replace Pollock (lost to injury) and Kaesviharn. Until those impactful defensive players are replaced, all the load falls to Palmer and the Johnsons; that's a heavy load for any trio to bear in the NFL. Only time will tell if the burden is, indeed, too great.