Women's Gold finishes fourth in Wild Eggs...We look at C.B....Assumption one of nation's best...Who will replace the Orange and Panthers?

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WEDNESDAY WITH THE COUPLE:

-Women's Golf finishes fourth in Wild Eggs Cardinal Cup

-Hurricane Candyce rips through Puerto Rico

-Assumption Volleyball one of nation's best?

-Who replaces Pitt and 'Cuse?

Anna continues her
hot streak on the links

The University of Louisville women's golf team ended the two day Wild Eggs Cardinal Cup tournament with a fourth place finish at the Cardinal Club gold course in Simpsonville, KY. Led by Anna-Karin Ljungstrom, the Cards fired a 301 in the second day of competition to finish with a total score of 608. North Carolina won the event with a two-day total of 596. 

Ljungstrom finished tied for second with a closing round 74...one stroke off the leader - East Carolina's Julia Strandenberg. Her total for two days was 146. Other Cardinal finishes:

-Emily Haas - tied for 12th. with a 151
-Tara Lyons-  tied for 30th. with a 154
                             -Maria Castellanos - tied for 49th. with a 158
                             -Katie Petrino - tied for 69th. with a 164

Also shooting in the event as individuals and not associated with the team score were Cardinals Candice Wiley (161), Sara Karlsson (162) and Maike Klein (164).

Louisville returns to action on Oct. 7th.-9th. at the Tar Heel Invitational.

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Former UofL great Candyce Bingham is ripping through the Puerto Rican basketball leagues like a Category 5 hurricane. She recently received the Latinbasketball.com Week 4 Player of the Week award. She scored 26 points and 14 rebounds for her San German team...which is second in the standings.



C.B tearing up Rican hoops



Bingham has had an impressive stay in Puerto Rico...she's third in the league in points per game (21.0) and first in rebounds (12.9) per game. She also is the 6th. leading assist producer (4.7 per game). Can't say we're overwhelmed by the San German basketball logo (pictured right) but we do stand in awe of Candyce's stats so far. San German is 6-3 on the season. WE'RE glad to see #13 playing a little closer to the USA...she's been Euroball the last couple of seasons and done well...but statistics are kind of hit-and-miss on those leagues. Rumors floating around a couple of weeks ago that Bingham was in town and getting ready to take over the head coaching job for Fern Creek girls' basketball are obviously just that...looks like to us that C.B. is doing fine in the Commonwealth (of Puerto Rico)

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Louisville Assumption Volleyball is ranked one of the top ten high school girls' team's in the nation and they did nothing to damage the position against Holy Cross last night. The Rockets took a straight set win over Holy Cross.....25-13, 25-11 and 25-21.

Coach Kordes turns out winners.

Assumption also won the highly competitive Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas, NV over the weekend. The Rockets are 23-1 on the season and coached by Ron Kordes. In case the name sounds familiar, Kordes is considered a legend in local high school and club volleyball and his daughter Anne coaches the University of Louisville squad....

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Goodbye Pitt and Syracuse, hello Army and Navy? How will the service academies fit into the new BIG EAST lineup...if, in fact..the BIG EAST survives the recent topsy-turvy shake up occuring on the college sports landscape?

Dress Louie in fatigues
and give him a rifle?

A lot to be said about the storied history of both potential BIG EAST members...but are they the right choice for a staggering conference? Other options do exist for John Marinatto, the university presidents and athletic directors. Do East Carolina and Memphis deserve a look? If the BIG 12 disbands...which schools from there could be candidates for the league?

A lot of questions remain and the final shakeup is far from being settled...... In Jurich We Trust.

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My wallet is fat and I like that, folks.

Truth be told, WE'RE tired of all the drama and innuendo that is going on about league affiliations and defections. Especially because it is all football driven and oriented. Don't get us wrong, WE enjoy the thrill and excitement of college football quite a bit. Season ticket holders for a very long time and make several road trips a year. WE were there when Schnelly won in Arizona and Bobby took the Orange Bowl. But, WE'RE not fans of how the $$$$ are driving the college landscape these days. ESPN is the main culprit here. The trickle down flow to women's sports is a nearly dried-up stream. IF it wasn't for women's college basketball, it would be a dust bowl. It's time for the university presidents and athletic directors to gain back control of the sports they participate in and tell "big money" to listen to them for awhile. Of course, that won't happen. Notre Dame telling NBC that they don't want the nation-wide coverage? It'll never happen. It's a pig-trough and even Louisville has got slop and mud caked on the Cardinal Bird. Bring us the head of Brent Musberger...

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School days...schools play

FRIDAY'S EDITION OF CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Key high school match ups this weekend

-UofL women's soccer tonight

-Three Sissies goes today at Ellis Park

The chant on the Assumption High School campus must sound something like "We're number two...no check that...we're number three." as the Rockets have been ranked the #2 volleyball team in the nation..but #3 in Kentucky. Talk about a tough local crowd...Assumption sits behind St. Louis St. Joseph in Volleyball Prep's top 100 rankings and the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association has the Bardstown Road school behind Mercy and Sacred Heart here in the commonwealth. For what its worth, Volleyball Prep has Sacred Heart at #40 nationally and Mercy checks in at #74 in the nation.

Assumption returns four all state performers from last year's team and five Rocket volleyball players are already committed to colleges...including Jeni Houser (Notre Dame) and Jackie Napper (Kentucky)

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The APPLE TOURNAMENT field hockey final will match up Sacred Heart vs. Kentucky Country Day. Sacred Heart breezed thru their semifinal game against Male 9-0 and KCD topped Ballard 4-2. In consolation game action, Mercy downed Eastern 3-1 and Assumption rolled past Presentation 5-0.

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Lest we get too caught up in local area high school sports, let's not forget that the UofL women's soccer team will be in action Friday night against Eastern Kentucky University. The Cards are looking to rebound from last year's disappointing season and head coach Karen Ferguson Dayes has recruited well and has some very good and experienced players returning. they teams will kick it around at Cardinal Park at 7 p.m.

Field hockey has an exhibition game tomorrow against Kent State at 1 p.m. at Trager Field. Admission to both events is free.

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Finally, a bit of horse racing...THREE SISSIES goes in the second race at Ellis Park today. She'll face 11 competitors in a $10,500 maiden claiming race for 3 year old and up fillies and mares over 6 1/2 furlongs. She's been working lights out for trainer Jeffery Sheets and will have the services of rider Sal Gonzales. She's morning line listed at 8-1 odds...but if she breaks out of the gate like she's been working...she could surprise at a price. Let's just hope no one claims her..a risk you take when you run 'em at the claiming level. We think she's got a great shot at breaking her maiden today and winning. And, she's no sissy...either.

Santa Anita Race Track is replacing their synthetic surface and going back to dirt for the winter-spring meet that starts in December. Trainer complaints about the Pro-Ride surface and the hard time it has draining water sparked the move.

The safety concerns are a matter of huge debate among California trainers and owners. Jockeys have their opinions also about the surface. We asked local Churchill Downs rider Vic Arterdia..who has worked horses at Santa Anita and Del Mar to compare surfaces and he gave us a beauty...

"The artificial stuff is like driving on gravel. That stuff can sting when it comes flying back at you. It's like someone throwing pebbles at you when your going 30 miles an hour...and sometimes it will clog up a horse's nostrils and he has trouble breathing by the end of a race. With dirt, it doesn't sting as much but you get sloppy conditions sometimes that make you change goggles many times during the race. I like the dirt surface. That's why I'm here in Kentucky."