5 reasons for U of L fans to cheer up
OK, Louisville fans, so that happened this weekend.
Yeah ... It's a bummer. We know.
But hey, it's not all bad. No, seriously, there are good reasons for U of L fans to cheer up.
Here are five of them:
1. The women's team is still playing
March Madness is not over yet for Louisville. Jeff Walz's team hosts traditional powerhouse Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. tonight (TV: ESPN2) for a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16. If you haven't watched these Cards, you should. (UPDATE: Louisville won, advancing to the Sweet 16)
The Cards have a chance to keep playing a while -- or at least until they'd face UConn in the Final Four.
2. The baseball team is No. 1 and hasn't lost yet
Louisville's baseball program, by the way, might never lose again. The Cardinals improved to 19-0 this weekend with a sweep of Boston College. They are now three wins shy of matching the program's all-time record of 22 straight wins (set in the 1950s) and 15 wins away from the all-time NCAA Division I record of 34 set held by Texas (1977) and Florida Atlantic (1999).
As a team, U of L currently has a .325 batting average compared to .177 for its opponents, and national player of the year candidate Brendan McKay is batting .481 and has an ERA of 0.36 in four pitching appearances. That's just silly.
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3. It's football time again
When Louisville starts spring football practice this week, last season's Heisman Trophy winner will be a part of it. That's pretty good, right? Spring Game will be April 15 and anyone who thinks the Cards won't be formidable again next season hasn't paid much attention to Bobby Petrino's coaching career to this point.
4. In case you missed it
Louisville sophomore swimmer Mallory Comerford tied Katie Ledecky (yes, that Katie Ledecky) for first place in the 200 freestyle at the NCAA championships, a result that was a very big deal in swimming circles.
5. And Donovan Mitchell said this after Sunday's game:
"I'm just focusing on coming back to school and getting ready for my teammates for next year."
That's not exactly a binding statement in regards to the NBA (especially given that it was amid the emotional fallout of an NCAA Tournament loss), but it has to be encouraging for Cards fans to hear it anyway.