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(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Some thoughts from the KFC Yum Center after Louisville’s 88-73 win over Butler:

Don’t be so quick to count Rick Pitino’s team out just yet. Yes, it was just one game. Yes, the Cardinals were certainly jacked-up for the opener of their new arena. But this is a team that will play the way Pitino wants it to play – fast, aggressive, together. The Cards scored 27 baskets, and 18 of those came off assists.

The key to Louisville’s season is likely to be Rakeem Buckles, the 6-foot-8 sophomore out of Miami. This night, Buckles did not disappoint. He scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also registered three steals.

Pitino praised former Shebly Valley star Elisha Justice, saying that the Dorton native wanted the ball down the stretch, even if he only made nine of his 14 free throws. Justice played 21 minutes, the most of any Cardinal off the bench. Part of that may have been because former Clark County star Preston Knowles was limited by a thigh bruise, then cramped up at the end of the game. But it appears that Justice will have an important role to play on this team.

As for Butler, Shelvin Mack finished with a game-high 25 points, and the former Bryan Station star would have easily had more had he not cramped up in the second half. (Cramps bothered him in the Final Four last year.) The junior guard out of Bryan Station had 17 of Butler’s 23 points in the first half. He ended up hitting eight of 17 shots, including four of 11 three-pointers.

Louisville’s 18-point lead (41-23) at halftime was its largest over a ranked team since Jan. 6, 2000. U of L led No. 18 Utah 40-18 on the way to a 75-55 win.

Butler coach Brad Stevens was impressed with Louisville, saying, ““They’re really good. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

John Clay’s Sidelines

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(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Mike Hartline’s senior year is stacking up well, writes Mark Story of the H-L.
• Cartier Rice is ready for a rematch with A.J. Green, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Parity rules in SEC East, writes Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.
• Kentucky wants a fast start against Georgia, reports Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Georgia is looking for its first road win of the season, reports Tim Tucker of the AJC.
• Georgia is glad to still be in the division hunt, writes Scott Adamson of the Anderson Independent Mail.
• Kentucky a true test for Georgia’s new-look secondary, writes Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald.
• A Kentucky-Georgia scouting report, by Matt May of the Cats Pause.

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We certainly do (it’s how most of us got our start at SportsGrid). But that joke is now a reality.

ESPN, always in search of more user-generated content and less journalistic authority, announced yesterday a partnership with YouTube in which viewers can submit their sports highlights with the best of the best earning airtime on the Worldwide Leader.

ESPN’s Senior VP and General Manager of Digital Media John Kosner hailed the move as a way for the network to keep up with the habits of its fans:

What’s really changing is fans’ desire to create their own content. And that can be being on a message board, or sending a photo on Facebook, playing a game or a variety of games, sharing information. That’s becoming a big part of the online usage story and it’s certainly coming to sports.

The move comes on the heels of ESPN’s minor forays into social networking, such as the World Cup Facebook chants (which we just ignored to view the games full screen) and live Facebook chats during the NFL Draft (we got lost during hours 23 and 24 of the Draft anyway).

ESPN already has plenty of experience with user-generated content; after all, they devote an hour of programming every day to the mindless musings and misinformed preferences of high school students goofing off during class, unemployed/unemployable sports fans, and inattentive workers (you know it as “SportsNation”).

That leaves plenty of room for America’s Funniest (Sports) Videos presented by [insert name of annoying product placement with obtrusive video ads you can’t pause here].

So will we be tuning in to the myriad entries from backyard virtuosos, skateboarding house pets, and overactive teens? Of course we will…as long as ESPN has another Michelle Beadle waiting in the stable.

Photo Via. Speaking of product placement, follow me on Twitter @sportsdoctormd

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