cn|2 - cn|2 Sports

The Life and Times of Russ and Rick

Chip Cosby — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:47:10 GMT

University of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino and UofL sophomore Russ Smith have quite an interesting relationship. Smith can drive Pitino crazy with his quick trigger on offense, as you’ll see in the video below, but he also realizes he needs Smith’s scoring if his team is to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
CN|2 Sports takes an inside look at the Cards’ version of the Odd Couple. Thanks to videographer Kyle Lizenby for putting the piece together.

Bantering with the Bearcats' Play-By-Play Announcer

Will Mapes — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:35:43 GMT

Louisville returns to action Thursday night when they travel to Cincinnati to battle the Bearcats. Dan Hoard is the play-by-play announcer for the team, and joined Chip Cosby and cn|2 sports for a preview of the big game.

UofL Women Come Up Short Against Notre Dame

Will Mapes — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:55:44 GMT

Louisville battled Notre Dame for much of the way but couldn’t overcome poor shooting, as the Irish pulled away for a 68-52 win before a crowd of over 13-thousand at the KFC Yum Center.
UofL trailed just 28-25 at halftime, but never was able to get over the hump.
The Cards outrebounded the Irish 35-21, but shot just 32-percent from the floor while Notre Dame hit 49-percent.
The Cards are now 19 and 8 and 8 and 6 in the Big East.
Coach Jeff Walz said he likes how his team left it all out on the floor against the Irish. Now he’s hoping for better execution down the stretch.

UK & UofL Women's Basketball

Will Mapes — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:39:33 GMT

Bellarmine's Players React to Beating Kentucky Wesleyan

Will Mapes — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:34:51 GMT

Bellarmine finished their regular season with a 78-61 win over 12th ranked Kentucky Wesleyan. And with the win, the Knights clinched the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title. Bellarmine improves to 23 and 2. They have just one regular season game remaining – a Thursday night game at Northern Kentucky.

Scott Davenport on Beating Kentucky Wesleyan

Will Mapes — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:30:40 GMT

Cats & Cards Pick Up Weekend Wins

Will Mapes — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:20:09 GMT

Louisville had to work harder than expected at DePaul Saturday, pulling out a 90-82 overtime win. But the Cats had it relatively easy, winning their 50th straight home game by beating Ole Miss 77-62 on Saturday.

Dowe's Nasty Slam Sparks Bellarmine

Chip Cosby — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:04:25 GMT

Bellarmine clinched the regular season GLVC title with a 78-61 win over Kentucky Wesleyan in front of a packed house at Knights Hall Saturday.
The Knights recognized three seniors playing their final home game:-Braydon Hobbs, Luke Sprague and Aaron Robinson.
Junior Chris Dowe’s thunderous dunk in the second half sparked the run that helped the Knights pull away.
Sprague led the way for BU with 18 points, and Dowe posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremy Kendle also had a big night with 16 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and just one turnover, and Hobbs added a career-high six steals.
Bellarmine (23-2, 15-2) closes the regular season Thursday at Northern Kentucky.

Dowe dunk:

Game highlights:

Ray Harper Named Western Kentucky Coach

Chip Cosby — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:13:47 GMT

Written By The Associated Press
Western Kentucky has decided to remove the interim tag from basketball coach Ray Harper. WKU athletics director Ross Bjork announced on Sunday that Harper would get the job full-time.

“We have total confidence in his ability to return our program to prominence,” Bjork said in a statement. “We put him in a very challenging situation by naming him our interim coach on January 6, but he has performed admirably in these unique circumstances while bringing much-needed energy and excitement to our program.”

Harper has a 4-7 record since taking over for McDonald and the Hilltoppers (9-18, 5-9 Sun Belt Conference) are on their way to their first losing season in 12 years. But attendance numbers have risen over the last four home games, a key benchmark Bjork looked at when he decided to let McDonald go.

“He has a comprehensive plan for improvement for every aspect of our basketball program, and he is the right man to lead our historic program into the future. We are confident he will have us back on the path for success in short order,” said Bjork, who did not hire a search firm to help him.

The 50-year-old Harper was honored as Division II Coach of the Year at Kentucky Wesleyan four times in nine seasons and won two national championships as well as four runner-up finishes, though his team’s 2003 second-place finish was later vacated by the NCAA because of rules violations.

Harper also earned NAIA Coach of the Year honors at Oklahoma City in 2007-08, the second of two straight national championships on that level. Harper joined Western Kentucky the following year as an assistant.

“We are not winning as consistently as I expect us to, but this basketball team has made a lot of progress and grown up a lot which is rewarding,” Harper said. “This is a destination job for me, and there is no place in the country I would rather be.”

Western Kentucky has reached the round of 16 seven times and played in the 1971 Final Four, though that appearance was vacated by the NCAA over rules violations. The last 11 coaches at the school have made at least one NCAA tournament appearance.

That list included McDonald, who took over following a run to the round of 16 in the 2008 NCAA tournament. Western Kentucky returned to the tournament in 2009, but missed the postseason each of the last two years as attendance dropped with the program in a steady decline that finally prompted a change.

“I am delighted that Ray Harper has accepted our head coaching position,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said. “This is the job he wants, and we want him in this job.”

Cards Escape DePaul in OT

Chip Cosby — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:02:25 GMT

The University of Louisville rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to post a 90-82 overtime win over DePaul on Saturday.
Kyle Kuric scored 25 points, Chris Smith added 20 and Russ Smith 16 to lead the Cardinals (21-6, 9-5 Big East).
The Blue Demons reeled off 16 straight points to take a 16-4 lead and was ahead 42-32 at intermission. UofL slowly crawled back into it, and outscored DePaul 13-5 in the extra period.
UofL returns to action Thursday night at Cincinnati. Please tune into CN|2 Sports Monday night for a recap of the DePaul game, and we’ll preview the Cincy game all week at 6:30 and 10:30 and On Demand Ch. 103.

Former UK Star Elected into Pro Football Hall of Fame

Will Mapes — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:05:21 GMT

Demontti Dawson has accomplished something only one another UK graduate has been able to do – be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dawson is a former UK offensive lineman who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 13 years. He spoke with Chip via Skype from san Diego.

Lachlan McLean Explains The 'Pen Twirl'

Chip Cosby — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:46:34 GMT

SportsTalk 84 host Lachlan McLean explains the madness behind his infamous ‘pen twirl.’ Lachlan is a regular guest on CN|2 Sports, which airs weeknights at 6:30 and 10:30 and is available anytime On Demand Ch. 103.

UK Baseball Swings Back in Action

Will Mapes — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:10:31 GMT

UK baseball head coach Gary Henderson offered a preview of the 2012 season heading into their season opener with Wofford. Kentucky is coming off a 25 and 30 season, and coach Henderson is especially excited about the return of senior catcher Michael Williams, who opted not to go to the Big Leagues.

Cards and Cats Return to Action This Weekend

Will Mapes — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:01:57 GMT

The Louisville Cardinals will look to rebound from a tough loss to Number 2 Syracuse tomorrow at DePaul. And UK returns to action after a week off to host Ole Miss.
The Rebels are 15 and 9 overall and 5 and 5 in the SEC.

Jeff Walz Talks UofL Women's Basketball with cn|2 Sports

Will Mapes — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:01:22 GMT

Jeff Walz is considered to be one of the best young coaches in the country…. In his first four seasons, Walz guided the UofL women’s basketball team to their first Final Four appearance as well as three Sweet 16’s …. Now in his 5th year as head coach, the Cards are ranked 19th, with a record of 19 and 7, and 8 and 5 in the Big East.

Baseball is Back at UofL

Will Mapes — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:08:22 GMT

The UofL baseball team is counting on a big bounce back this year to wipe away the memories of last year’s disappointing season. Headcoach Dan McDonnell joined his 15th ranked Cards for the annual media day at Jim Patterson Stadium and says the disappointment of not making last year’s tournament still lingers today.

Rookie of the Year Chane Behanan?

Will Mapes — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:46:04 GMT

UofL freshman Chane Behanan may be making a case for Big East Rookie of the Year honors. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder has six double-doubles on the season and has played some of his best ball in UofL’s biggest games. In games against the Big East’s top four teams, Syracuse, Marquette, Georgetown and Notre Dame, Behanan averaged nearly 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Is Anthony Davis the Player of the Year?

Will Mapes — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:43:34 GMT

With a little more than two weeks to go in the regular season, it’s basically down to a two-horse race between UK’s Anthony Davis and Kansas’ Thomas Robinson for Player of the Year honors. Robinson had been the front-runner until Davis caught fire in February. The two basically battled to a draw in UK’s 75-65 win over the Jayhawks on November 15, with Robinson going for 11 points and 12 boards while Davis posted 14 points, six rebounds and seven blocks.

Greg Brohm Talks Bracketology on cn|2 Sports

Will Mapes — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:08:11 GMT

Former UofL football player and Sports Buzz radio and TV host Greg Brohm joins CN|2 Sports’ Greg Brohm to discuss the latest edition of ESPN.com’s Bracketology. UofL, UK, IU and Murray State are broken down during the discussion.

CN|2 Discusses Cards' Problems vs. Orange

Chip Cosby — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:03:53 GMT

CN|2 Sports takes and up close at look at Louisville’s problems executing its offense during Monday’s 52-51 loss to Syracuse. The Cards return to action Saturday at DePaul.