Muammar Al Khadafi

One of the things that will get me thinking about the time and friends I left behind in Da Ville is when the annual sporting hatefests in football and basketball occurs between the University of Louisville Cardinals and the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

It's exacerbated by the fact that these schools are situated in the two largest cites in the state in Louisville and Lexington and both campuses are only a 70 mile drive along I-64 from each other.  

I still chuckle about the times during me living in Louisville Metro fans on either side of the Red or Blue divide would ask me during the week of the Battle for the Governor's Cup (football) or the Battle of the Bluegrass (basketball) whether I was a Cards or Cats fan.

They would not be satisfied with my 'I root for both teams' answer or 'I'm a University of Houston fan' in an attempt to stay neutral . They would continue to attempt to convert me into becoming a fire and brimstone spouting t-shirt wearing member of Cats or Cards Nation with a missionary zeal while lambasting every aspect of the other school..

When they say 'A House Divided', they mean it.   It's so serious that friends, coworkers, families, couples and spouses that went to either Louisville or Kentucky are trading barbs at each other whether it's in person or online.   The effort to recruit us noncommitted folks to the gospel of Cat or Cards worship intensified along with the hype for for the game.whether it was in Louisville or Lexington.   

During that week on the football and basketball schedules of both schools you have wall to wall saturation coverage in the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Lexington Herald-Leader and TV stations in both cities of the respective schools down to the microlevel, especially for the basketball game which is nationally televised .

You cannot escape it, so you sit back and enjoy the fun because bragging rights were on the line in addition to which school would get the lions share of the best instate athletes .  But yeah, it does make me miss you wonderful peeps I left behind in the Bluegrass State even more

As for which team am I rooting for?   The one with the African American head coach on the sidelines..    . 

My fave college football squad will be taking their 2-0 record and a plane ride up to Ruston, LA to play the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 6 PM CDT today in a game that will be on ESPN3.  

They still haven't cracked the AP, USA Today or ESPN college football rankings yet but they are probably one or two wins away from doing so.

They are steadily moving up the 'Others Receiving Votes' ranks in the polls, trailing only Michigan and Tennessee.

UH had a successful business trip to Denton last week, spoiling the opening game in the new North Texas stadium by beating their hosts 48-23 despite a slow start on the offensive end.  It took a 21 point third quarter blitz to blow the game open and put them on cruise control for that game..

They hope to avoid another slow start this week against a determined Bulldogs team wishing to atone for a narrow home defeat to C-USA conference mate Southern Mississippi and defend their Joe Aillet Stadium.house against the on the rise Cougar program.

Coach Sumlin and Cougar Nation also wants them to be firing on all offensive and defensive cylinders as well from the opening kickoff.   The Cougars have a home game at 'the Rob' against Georgia State next week before they head to El Paso on September 29 to open C-USA conference play against the Miners.


Eat 'em up!

I enjoyed watching my favorite college football team successfully open its season yesterday at the Rob with a thrilling 38-34 shootout victory over the visiting UCLA Bruins.   It featured over 1023 yards of combined offense and was a major test for my Coogs.



UH raced out to a 31-14 halftime lead by scoring on five of their six first half drives.  Case Keenum was 30-40 for 310 yards and a TD, but he wasn't the only one doing the damage.  The running game chipped in 159 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries, with one spectacular 34 yard run by Michael Hayes in which he broke five tackles enroute to the endzone  and a 24-14 UH second quarter lead 



The defense is still a concern, giving up 554 yards and 20 second half points to the Bruins, but the Cougar D did step up when we needed them to.   They knocked UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince out of the game in the second quarter, blocked an extra point, forced a fumble and made some key stops when they were needed.



The win kept Coach Kevin Sumlin a perfect 4-0 in Cougar season openers and bumped their home record at Robertson Stadium since the 2006 season to 27-5.



The Cougars hit the road for the next two weekends playing North Texas on September 10 and Louisiana Tech on September 17 before returning to the Rob to play Georgia State on September 24.  

The Aggies open what will be their final Big 12 season tomorrow with a game against former SWC rival SMU at Kyle Field.



I said 'final Big 12 season' because they announced earlier this week that they were leaving the increasingly shaky Big 12 conference for what they hope will be membership in the SEC as the league's 13th team.



A letter was sent Monday night by the school to University of Missouri chancellor and Big 12 board chairman Brady Deaton informing the league that they wish to leave.



"I certainly appreciate the discussion among the Big 12
presidents/chancellors and the expression of their desire for Texas
A&M to remain in the conference,"  A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said in a statement. "We all agree that Texas A&M is an
extremely valuable institution; thus, it is incumbent upon me, as the
president of the university, to ensure that we are in a position to
enhance our national visibility and future financial opportunity."



Texas A&M is the third school in less than 15 months to leave the Big 12.   Nebraska and Colorado bounced last year for the Big 10 and Pac-12 respectively and with the longterm prospects for the Big 12 looking shakier by the day Oklahoma is now evaluating its options as well.



A&M is still interested in continuing the traditional Thanksgiving Day rivalry game with the Longhorns but that seems unlikely right now.  The burnt orange flavored Hateraid started flowing almost immediately with the Aggies announcement that they are looking to chart a new SEC destiny separate from the one Big Brother had in mind.



Still, it's going to be interesting to see if the Aggies do officially become the SEC's 13th school as is widely expected is going to happen.