SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball Bullpen Dinner features Olympian Danielle Lawrie

-Villanova for real? Wildcats 4-0 in BIG EAST

The Louisville Softball Bullpen Club Dinner is being held
January 26th. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the keynote speaker is Danielle Lawrie. The Cards will celebrate the success of the record-setting season 2012 BIG EAST Championship season and introduce the 2013 team in their sixth pre-season annual fundraiser.

Lawrie was a pitcher and clean-up hitter for University of Washington and was named the Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player...pitching every inning during the Huskies' 2009 national championship run.

Tickets are still available for the event.

Call 502.852.0706 to be a part of a most outstanding evening that kickoffs a potentially incredible season for Sandy Pearsall's squad.

This 2013 team has hitting, fielding, pitching and talent that just may well be the best in Louisville Softball history.
All American Taner Fowler is just one of seven returning starters and twelve letterwinners that promise to rattle the fences at Ulmer Stadium and send opponents home with "L"s.

We'll see you there!

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One of the surprises of the BIG EAST womens' basketball season, at least for us, has been the Villanova Wildcats. With a win Saturday over a very good USF team, VU is now sporting a 15-2 overall record and 4-0 record in BIG EAST play. Sonja and I have different viewpoints on just how powerful these Cats are and we discuss them below..

Sonya:

They have an unblemished BIG EAST record. That's more than UConn, UofL and Rutgers can say -- three of the top four teams in my pre-season rankings. They're getting it done with team play, too. Laura Sweeney, Rachel Roberts, Devon Kane, Lauren Burford and Taylor Holeman are all capable of putting up double figures anytime the Wildcats take the court. Their win over USF legitimizes that they've "arrived" . They're second in scoring defense in BIG EAST games and have a +13.0 scoring advantage over all opponents. Sweeney leads the BIG EAST in steals. Only Minnesota and Delaware have defeated them this season -- two teams that could make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Paul:

15-2 looks great and you have to take your hat off to Harry Perreta for the job he's done with this veteran bunch. They may well go 5-0 in the BIG EAST with Providence up next.

Then, here comes the boom. Syracuse, at Connecticut, at Rutgers and Notre Dame. Hello, 5-4.

There are several tiers of talent this year in the BIG EAST. UConn and Notre Dame are in the penthouse suite. Living in the condos below them are Syracuse, Louisville, St. John's DePaul, USF and Rutgers. I put Villanova in affordable housing with Georgetown. Underneath the 2nd St. Bridge in cardboard boxes are Cincinnati, Providence, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Marquette.

Sweeney, Burford, Roberts and the rest of the Brady Bunch threw a scare into Louisville last year in the KFC YUM!...losing 62-58. The Cards did a little better against them in the first round of the BIG EAST Tourney, getting a 63-48 win. Sweeney had 31 points total in both games. They get Louisville this year in the Pavillion in Philly on Sunday, Feb 24th....a place that holds 6500 but only 500 or so bother to attend. The Cards will get a tough road win there...one of those games where the popular Cardinals will draw 1500-2000 to attend.

Villanova is impressive, so far. Let's see where they are when they face the Cards. My guess is 7-5 in the BIG EAST.
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