Deja Lou

Haven't I been here before? Yes, just a few days ago. And ten times in the last three years. Not quite the time entrenched as I was in 2008-2009, when I spent 30 days in a 7-month period in Oklahoma.

Louisville is a great city but we're stuck at an airport hotel, which is convenient to the football stadium but not to downtown and 4th Street Live.

Thursday night's dinner was at the Cardinal Hall of Fame Cafe' which is a solid sports bar, and serves Bourbon Barrel Ale in frosty 22-ounce glasses.

As noted in the past, this is a great sports town, home to Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger, and the Muhammad Ali museum.

It is also the home of some great college sports, headlined by the Preseason #2 Louisville Cardinals hoop team, who plays in the downtown Yum! Center, which is already a Top 5 NBA arena.

And the #16 football squad will be playing rival Cincinnati in a packed stadium tonight for the Keg Of Nails. And each team looks to get one step closer to the Big East's automatic BCS bid.

The weather may be a factor with persistent rain, which may douse some of the fire that's been building over the outstanding quarterback matchup: Munchie Legaux vs Teddy Bridgewater.

The Keg's been in Bearcat hands for four straight years, and tonight the Cardinals look to reclaim it.

Teddy Is Ready

I just picked this photo off the internet, I didn't take it. But it embodies Teddy Bridgewater, the 19-year old true sophomore Louisville QB perfectly. Note the steely eyes, the textbook grip, the perfectly centered hand warmer and towel.

It's not surprising at all, when he takes everything about the quarterback position so seriously. His coaches praise his "next level" grasp of the position, mastering the art of play-faking and dummy signaling. He changes the offensive tempo, makes his own checks at the line, and makes his own calls in the no-huddle.

Bridgewater has even programmed the team's offense into his X-Box, so he has thousands of simulated reps under his belt to go with the thousands of actual ones.

On Saturday, Louisville needed all of Bridgewater's poise and efficiency to edge the resilient South Florida Bulls 27-25, including leading the game-winning TD drive with 1:35 remaining.

Bridgewater's statline was just as splendid as his attention to detail: 21-25, 256 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. And add in 10 runs for 74 yards for good measure.

The only thing more sublime than Teddy Bridgewater's performance was the postgame team dinner in Louisville. Jack Fry's was a Top 10 all-time meal.

Louisville (7-0) is back on the menu next week, when Cincinnati rides south with the Keg Of Nails. Stay tuned.

Backtime Road Trip Day 2: Sea of Tranquility

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the math.

Here's the equation:

(1 tired Dad - 2 Kids dropped at in-laws + 1 hotel room + 2 shades drawn + 1 Do Not Disturb sign + 1 Melatonin) = 11 hours of sleep.

So I woke up refreshed in Huntsville, and prepared for my second annual solo summer sojourn to Louisville. So I hit the road by way of US Space and Rocket Center. I figured traveling through space is what my kids will do instead of us old-timers who wait in airports and occasionally get to hit the open road. So how about space camp?

Now that's the ultimate open road. From there, my GPS took me on backroads back to the interstate. Apparently I crossed into Tennessee and didn't even know it. Maybe they were embarrassed that a couple more Volunteer football players just got arrested. And I thought the new boss was nothing like the old boss.

But it was in Kentucky, just 90 minutes from my destination, where the smooth sailing ended. Was it an accident or a crime scene? Maybe US Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens had another Justified shooting.

This was the picture for over 3 hours in the mid-to-late afternoon on I-65 in Kentucky. Apparently while the road was still slippery, a compact car was wedged under a semi about a mile ahead. Timing is everything in life. If I left 10 minutes earlier I never would have been caught up in this. But if I left 5 minutes earlier, I might have been killed.

I was just two miles from the exit and woefully short on gas. The shoulder was unavailable because at least a dozen cops and emergency vehicles were occupying it. The exit 3 miles behind us was where the traffic south of us was being detoured so I couldn't afford to be idling with a near-empty tank.

Thankfully, the kids weren't with me. I used up all the juice on the cell phone, portable DVD player, and the laptop and didn't want to start the battery since I had no idea how long I'd be sitting there.

Mercifully, just as the mosquitos descended, the traffic started moving. I made it to the exit before running out of gas, and pulled into your friendly neighborhood British Petroleum station. When I coasted in, Jackson Browne's "Running On Empty" was playing on the loudspeaker. Maybe things do happen for a reason.

Just like wheeling in to Louisville just after dark, and fireworks lighting up the skyline for my arrival.

Maybe space is overrated. All the action's down here.