John Clay's Sidelines

A thumbs-up from Edgar Sosa, who suffered a horrific injury today in Dominican Republic National Team’s win.

Here’s the report on the game and injury.

(Hat tip to All Ky Hoops)

Video of Edgar Sosa’s injury in today’s Tournament of Americas game.

Al Horford, Francisco Garcia and Edgar Sosa talk about leading their Dominican Republic National Team to win over Kentucky Pros at Rupp.

In our interviews with the Dominican Republic National Team players today, first Al Horford bragged on Edgar Sosa.

Then Charlie Villanueva bragged on Edgar Sosa.

Then Sosa, the former Louisville point guard, said he was enjoying playing John Calipari’s Dribble Drive Offense. Sosa also said he made a point never to come to Lexington when he played for the Cards and that he was looking forward to Tuesday’s exhibition game at the Yum Center since he spent his entire Louisville career playing at Freedom Hall.

Videos from today’s player interviews with the Dominican Republic National Team that is practicing at the Joe Craft Center. Video interviews with Al Horford, Eloy Vargas, Edgar Sosa, Charlie Villanueva and Fransisco Garcia after the jump.

Al Hoford

Eloy Vargas

Edgar Sosa

Charlie Villanueva

Francisco Garcia

(Photo courtsey of UK Athletics)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

Cheryl Truman of the Herald-Leader writes on how UK fans should treat Pitino: “Do you call him Benedict Rick or Traitor Rick? Have you ever told or laughed at a joke that involves Rick Pitino and Porcini, the unfortunately named restaurant where the University of Louisville coach had his extramarital tryst? If the Jeopardy category were “reviled former University of Kentucky basketball coaches,” would only one name spring to mind?”

Rich Copley of the H-L says let the trash talk begin: “To get in the spirit of this, the most intense of in-state rivalries, we asked UK and U of L fans to submit some trash talk and scoured the Web for some choice insults. The vast majority of this smack is in favor of UK – this is the capital of the Big Blue Nation after all – but we found a few pro-Louisville jabs.”

Jerry Tipton of the H-L reviews the roots of the UK-U of L rivalry: “This solidarity of warmth for the big show in Rupp Arena on Saturday represents an evolution of thinking impossible to envision 27 years ago. Then UK and U of L were basketball’s Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann. From 1922 until 1983, the two schools only 80 miles apart did not play a regular-season game. The mandates of the NCAA Tournament brought UK and U of L together four times in that period.”

Tom Leach talks to U of L radio voice Paul Rogers.

Chip Cosby of the H-L writes that Louisville’s guards aren’t conceding anything to John Wall: “Louisville has a deep and experienced backcourt led by two seniors, Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith, and a junior, Clark County product Preston Knowles. But the Cardinals guards know they’ll have their hands full trying to contain the freshman Wall, who has emerged as a frontrunner for National Player of the Year. One thing the U of L guards don’t plan on doing, however, is taking a backseat.”

Mike Rutherford of Card Chronicle writes that this is college basketball’s best rivalry: “So when every ESPN personality with an ACC degree subtly mentions 37 times a week that Duke/North Carolina is the best rivalry in college basketball, when the Devils and the Heels are right alongside the Yankees and Red Sox and Ali/Frazier in a four-times-a-year SportsNation poll question asking “which is the best rivalry in sports,” when Dick Vitale belittles anyone with a reasonable opinion that differs from his own by boasting time after time that there is “absolutely no doubt” that UNC/Duke is “far and away” the best rivalry in college athletics, what choice do us mere voiceless pawns watching from home have but to lay back and accept this?”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Kentucky-Louisville rivalry links’

This is Louisville guard Edgar Sosa, after U of L’s win over South Florida on Wednesday night, saying that since he hit the three-pointer that beat UK last year, Kentucky fans have left “disrespectful” messages on his Facebook page.

As we stumble into the New Year, good to know some things remain resolutely unchanged. On the final day of 2008, I earned confirmation with my trip to Freedom Hall to scout out the Louisville Cardinals in advance of Sunday’s annual Cats-Cards mash-up, only to witness Rick Pitino’s team take an unexpected pratfall and lose to a UNLV team minus its best player.

I admit that my admiration of Rick has grown with both time and distance, but losses still bring out the more petulant Pitino. Thinking that Terrence Williams was fouled on his final drive (in vain), Rick eschewed the post-game handshake with Vegas coach Lon Kruger to go after the official he believed blindly failed to make the deciding call in his favor. When the striped bandit proceeded off the floor and on to his New Year’s Eve plans without giving Rick the time of day, Pitino just continued on to the tunnel, head down.

Then in the post-game press conference, WLKY sports anchor Fred Cowgill asked the coach if Terrence Williams must shoot well for the Cards to shoot well. It was an obvious question with an obvious answer. Williams was a dreadful two-of-15 from the floor, and the rock-throwing ‘Ville wound up shooting a ghastly 29.6 percent on the way to its third loss of the season.

But, being the ultra-competitor, Pitino wasn’t having any of the media’s half-cocked theroies, even the correct ones. So Rick snapped, “No. That has nothing to do with it.”

In Pitino’s defense, this Louisville team could put Mother Theresa in a bad mood. The Cards are blessed with talent but cursed by a lack of early-season chemistry. You thought Kentucky had a point guard problem, Louisville has point guards but no one who plays the point, at least effectively. The Cardinal offense is disjointed, at best. Edgar Sosa is the key the way Rodrick Rhodes was often a key to Rick’s Kentucky teams. In 13 minutes last night, Sosa contributed four turnovers without finding his way to an assist.

So, in the spirit of the New Year, we’ll cut Rick a break. After all, he did end the press conference by wishing us a Happy New Year. His hope is that the new year will bring him a new and better team.