Larry Brown Sports

One of the motivational tactics Rick Pitino decided to use with his 2013 national champion Louisville squad was the promise of a tattoo. Pitino promised his players that he would get a tattoo commemorating their tournament run if they ended up cutting down the nets, and the 60-year-old kept his word.

As you can see from the photo above that Louisville senior associate athletic director of media relations Kenny Klein posted on Friday morning, Pitino got a Louisville logo, the words “NCAA Champions” and his team’s 2012-2013 season record on his back left shoulder. Here’s another angle that gives you a better idea of how big the tattoo is:

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The topic of sports apparel companies making a profit by using Divison-1 athletes to sell products has been heavily debated over the years. Under no circumstances are college athletes allowed to be paid or receive “improper benefits,” yet their jersey numbers are plastered all over merchandise that is constantly flying off the shelves. It appears Louisville sophomore Kevin Ware is no exception.

Ware’s incredibly gruesome leg injury has been the talk of the nation since the Cardinals defeated Duke in the Elite 8 on Sunday evening. The team has decided to honor him with these warmup jerseys at the Final Four, and it looks like Adidas has decided to pay tribute to Ware by profiting from his injury with the T-shirt you see above. You can pre-order your very own “Ri5e to the Occasion” shirt today, which is currently selling for $24.99 on the Louisville athletic website.

When contacted by Larry Brown Sports, an employee from Louisville’s online apparel shop said that there has been no indication that proceeds from the shirt are going to support medical bills or any type of charity. The employee did mention that the shirts were not created “internally” and had come directly from Adidas.

Paying these young men and women would be insane, but profiting off someone’s horribly broken leg is great business.

UPDATE: A Louisville spokesperson told WDRB the school “proactively decided to waive any traditional licensing royalties revenue connected to the No. 5 graphic to be worn by the team on the court. . . . The shirt was created as a respectful tribute to honor Kevin within NCAA trademark apparel parameters, and allow fans to rally around the team. Because of that, adidas is contributing a portion of every sell to the university’s scholarship fund.”

The Louisville Cardinals have every intention of keeping sophomore guard Kevin Ware as close to the team as possible when the Final Four tips off in Atlanta this weekend. Ideally, that will mean Ware will be feeling well enough in the wake of his horrific injury to join the team on the bench with his crutches.

Ware underwent successful surgery on Sunday and has already begun moving around on crutches with his leg in a cast. He said there is a “50-50 chance” he’ll be able to join his teammates to cheer them on against Wichita State. If he does, he’ll be able to witness their new warmup jerseys first-hand:

Louisville’s new warm ups!! #WinForWare twitter.com/WatkinsAdam/st…

— Adam #WinForWare (@WatkinsAdam) April 3, 2013

If he is unable to make the trip, at least we know Ware will have his new dog to keep him company. We also know he’ll be at the forefront of Rick Pitino and company’s thoughts — whether he’s physically present or not. The team’s new warmup jerseys are one small reminder of that.

UPDATE: Rick Pitino announced that Ware will be joining the team when they leave for Atlanta tonight.

H/T Deadspin

After defeating Duke in the NCAA Midwest Regional final on Sunday night, the Louisville Cardinals had only one person on their minds. Sophomore guard Kevin Ware suffered one of the most gruesome leg injuries you will ever see in the first half of his team’s convincing 85-63 victory. However, he still managed to get his hands on the trophy shortly after it was presented to his teammates.

As you can see from the photo above that Peyton Siva shared on Instagram, the Cardinals brought the trophy signifying their Final Four berth to Ware’s hospital room. There was no question his broken leg helped inspire Louisville in the second half, as Ware reportedly kept telling his teammates to “win the game” while trainers were tending to his injury.

From a basketball standpoint, Louisville is deep enough to overcome Ware’s injury. The question was how they would react emotionally, and I think Rick Pitino’s team answered that in the second half against Duke. After the game, one of Ware’s teammates wore his jersey as a tribute to him. Expect the Cardinals to continue to draw motivation from Ware in the Final Four.

H/T Game On!

Chane Behanan had injured teammate Kevin Ware close in mind after Louisville defeated Duke 85-63 to reach the Final Four of the NCAA tournament Sunday.

Late in the Cardinals’ win over the Blue Devils, he put on Ware’s No. 5 jersey to honor his teammate who suffered a nasty broken leg in the first half of the game. After the game, Behanan walked around on the court after the game wearing the jersey. He later took it off so that the entire team could hold it up for a team picture on the court:

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If you can think of a better way to celebrate a big victory than chilling with Bill Clinton, I would love to hear it. The guy’s a legend, and the legend made a surprise appearance in the Louisville locker room after the Cardinals beat Villanova in the Big East quarterfinals on Thursday night.

For those of you who can’t make it out, Clinton is the dude with the white hair in the photo above being given the bunny ear treatment. For a better look at the 42nd president of the United States, here are a couple pictures of Louisville forward Chane Behanan photobombing the crap out of him.

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Rooting for injuries is never a classy thing to do, but it’s safe to say there are very few Louisville fans who are weeping over the fact that Kentucky has lost freshman Nerlens Noel for the remainder of the season.

Noel, who was averaging over 10 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game, suffered a season-ending knee injury during a loss to Florida on Feb. 12. The Wildcats are now in danger of missing the NCAA tournament, which a cartoon in the Courier Journal reminded everyone of on Wednesday. Via The Cardinal Connect:

Erin Calipari, the 26-year-old daughter of Kentucky coach John Calipari, was apparently offended by the drawing. She decided to come up with a cartoon of her own after seeing it, which she posted on Twitter:

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