FRIDAY AT CARDINAL COUPLE:
-WNBA tips off tonight. Can the Atlanta Dream win it all?
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| Sonja celebrates the opening of the WNBA season. |
-Selections from your e-mails
-Lacrosse in England.
The WNBA kicks off tonight. Before you run around the room shrieking and doing high-fives with the wall hangings, remember that it's a long season and you'll want to save some energy for the playoffs.
Who will be in these playoffs down the road? We're going out on a limb here...and predict the same two teams that played in the finals last season...Seattle and Atlanta.
This off-season the Dream have only improved themselves by getting point guard Lindsey Harding in a trade. Add the return of Angel McCoughtry, Erika deSouza, Sancho Lyttle and Iziane Castro Marquez and you've got a starting lineup that looks pretty invincible. Key here is the status of Angel's knee. She passed on a trip to England to rest it...sprains take a while to heal.
The Dream also have a deep and veteran bench, too. Coco Miller, Alison Bales, Sandora Irvin, Yelena Leuchanka, Shalee Lehning, Brittany Raven and Armintite Price are experienced role players and the Dream don't lose anything at all if any or all seven of these players are called into action.
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| Would Bobby Knight consider coaching a WNBA team in Louisville? |
Seattle is the team to beat. Lauren Jackson, Swin Cash, Sue Bird all return. Even though they swept the Dream 3-0 in the finals...keep in mind that none of the wins were greater than three points.
Could the WNBA prosper in Louisville? WE'RE under the impression that it could. The summer months are pretty much devoid of sports here locally besides the minor league Bats. Would 10,000 or so pack the KFC YUM! or (shudder) Freedom Hall to watch the best in women's hoops? WE can see it. Given the transitional nature of teams in the WNBA...it's high time to move a struggling franchise to Louisville, re-stock it with talented players and give Louisville at least one professional franchise. Make it happen, Louisville Sports Commission.
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Some e-mails we've received:
Cardinal Couple:
How do you see Jeff Walz dealing with all this talent he has now on the Lady Cards roster? Will he start both Schimmels? Your thoughts on this are appreciated.
Cassie (Muldraugh, KY)
Thanks for reading and contacting us, Cassie! No doubt, Walz has a lot of good players at his disposal this 2011-12 season. WE think you'll see a lot of different combinations on the court early before he narrows it down to a regular rotation of 9-10 players. We can see times where he may start both Shoni and Jude...but it's all going to depend on who plays good defense and shows court awareness...two Walz mandatory requirements. We can't wait to see Shawnta Dyer and Cierra Warren on the court...
PAUL,
Thanks for keeping CARDINAL COUPLE lively and informative. What do you think about the proposed changes in women's basketball?
Keith L.
(Louisville)
Hiya, Keith! How's the golf game this summer? I like the moving of the three point line back to men's depth. It won't affect the Schimmels, Becky Burke, Antonita Slaughter, Tay or Gibbs one bit. Hard to say yet about Bria Smith or Esther Monney Niamke. I like the "box" under the basket, also. Gotta give a offensive player some room to negotiate without having to worry about a charging call. It could add 6-8 points a game to Asia Taylor's efforts. The terminology of flagrant fouls and such...whatever...I don't like the ten second clock, though. Gonna slow the game down with fouls, out of bounds plays and timeouts. The committee can lose that idea, in my opinion.
Hi CARDINAL COUPLE!
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| Peasall returns plenty of players for next year. |
Just wanted to give a shout-out to the Louisville softball team and their great season that just ended. Sandy Pearsall has some great young talent coming back for next year. The girls really put it on the line this year. Thanks for your coverage and can you sneak me in the press box next year? Ha-Ha..
Ruth\
(Fairdale, KY)
We really enjoyed the Softball Cards this year and their performance. Make no mistake, they're going to miss Wherry and Bemis on the left side of the infield and their hitting but we're confident Sandy's got a plan in mind for their replacements. Gotta agree with you, the freshmen and sophomores were a very pleasant surprise this season and Pearsall promises more like that are on the way. As far as the press box goes, Ruth...I'm not sure if you could handle the nonsense and zany behavior that goes on up there. It's better than a sitcom. I'm working on getting Bill the Goat up there first, then sneaking in Co-Co to help Al Greener play the organ. If that works, I'll see about smuggling you in. (Provided I get invited back up there next season...)
Cardinal Couple:
Will you consider the idea of adding a message boards like Rivals and Scout have?
Thanks,
Larry
(Shelbyville, KY)
Larry,
NO. They're a hassle, expensive and need constant monitoring. You get idiots on them and flamers. Not gonna happen here. End of discussion and thanks for writing.
You can e-mail Cardinal Couple at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com
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The Louisville lacrosse team has landed in England and already played a match against the English National team. They're keeping a blog of their journey and it can be read over at UofL Sports. www.uoflsports.com
Pretty entertaining stuff. WE recommend you go over and check it out.
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