.
Saturday Cardinal Couple

- Volleyball beats Villanova in a sweep.

- Field Hockey loses a heartbraker.

- Breeders Cup Friday a wagering profit.

Lola and middle blockers shine in Cardinal Arena

The venue may have been smaller but the romp was huge as Louisville Volleyball downs Villanova 25-11, 28-26, 25-13 in on-campus Cardinal Arena Friday night.

Lola Arslanbekova had 11 kills and 11 digs in the win. Anne Kordes was excited about the middle blocking:

"The middle blockers did a phenomenal job and played really tough. That can't happen without the excellent passing of Caitlin Welch, who has just been so solid for us. We really need to iron out our serving game and when we do we will be in a great position. We need to pay attention to our serving, regardless of the score."

The first game provided a bit of over-average serving, as freshman Katie George served for nine straight points...helping Louisville get a 12-1 lead in the first game. Gwen Rucker produced four kills in the 25-11 win.

The Cards led 16-10 in the second game and Kordes emptied the bench to give the second-stringers a bit of court-time experience. Villanova rallied against them and forced Louisville to set point at 27-26 before the Cards capitalized on a 'Nova error to take the game by one.

Service proved to be strong in the final game...with Hannah Kvitle serving seven straight points to give Louisville a 9-2 lead. The Wildcats did rally to get within three at 13-10 but Louisville went on a 12-3 run to take game and match.

Cards get Georgetown next in the KFC YUM! Center on Sunday at 2 p.m. It's on WHAS locally if you can't get there...but we strongly suggest you attend!

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Heartbreaker for Louisville Field Hockey

Cards lose in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament 2-1 to UConn in overtime at Trager last night. A scoreless first half and still knotted at 0-0 late into the second half until UConn gets a score from Vicky Arthur with less tha 10 minutes remaining.

The Cards respond, Amber Thomas corralling a rebound off a penalty corner to tie it with four minutes left.

A goal by UConn's Louisa Boddy gets the Cards a loss in O.T. though.

The Huskies get Syracuse in Trager for the title Sunday. A fair-to-middling season for UofL Field Hockey...they finished third out of six teams in the Big East, they try hard every time out and we hold out hope that they'll get over the hump and become a BIG EAST title contender in the near future.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>


Won't go into much detail about Breeder's Cup Friday and our picks...except for the fact that we didn't pick too many winners. Could have turned out to be a horrible day...but we had great success wagering on the live Churchill card and it covered the tricky Santa Anita upsets. 

I hit one exacta in the six Breeders Cup races...a small one in the Juvenile Fillies race. Sonja hit three exactas, scoring in the Juvenile Fillies, Filly and Mare Turf and Ladies Classic. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I spend considerable time handicapping and she briefly glances at a race...but she usually does better than I do. She wagered $36 total on the six races and got back $76.40. My same $36 wagered returned $13.30. Who's the handicapping machine?

Go figure.

Given that, and the conflict with UofL football tomorrow, we've decided to skip our handicapping of the Saturday Breeders Cup races and concentrate on cheering the Charlie Strong Cards onto a 9-0 record against Temple tomorrow.

The real heartbreaker here is that we successfully came up with a winning middle Pick 4 ticket at Churchill and couldn't get the bet placed in time. The payoff was almost $6,000 on a $2 ticket. ARRRRGHHH! Only myself to blame, I should have gone to it wager it earlier.  

So...we're not going to publish or predict any handicapping and selections for Saturday...it's the right thing to do, a lot less labor intensive and way much more fun. After reviewing our woeful performance with the Friday Breeders Cup races at Santa Anita...a wise decision, without a doubt... 

You're on your own today. If you followed our picks for Friday, you're probably OK with that.

I'll give you three horses I like. Do what you will with them. Joha, in the Juvenile Turf. Shackleford, in the Dirt Mile and Flat Out, in the Classic.

Have fun and wager responsibly. Someone has to...
..
...

Volleyball returning home

.

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Volleyball with homestand

- Field Hockey in BIG EAST TOURNAMENT tonite

- Reynolds to announce Friday

(In response to the e-mails we've had about our wildly popular Breeders Cup picks...we hope to have Friday's selections at the bottom of today's column by 10 a.m. EDT. The chimps are typing as fast as they can.)


( CARDINAL COUPLE Correspondent Jeff McAdams gets us caught up on CARDINAL Volleyball today. Watch the net, practice your set and get ready for the kill! )


Past, Present and Future

Its been a while since Louisville volleyball has played in the friendly confines of either of either of their home floors, but they're about to return for a match this Friday at Cardinal Arena against Villanova, followed by Sunday back downtown against Georgetown.

I figured now was a good time to look back on the past 3 weekends of play, check out current national standings, and look ahead at the rapidly dwindling set of matches still to be played.

St. Johns, Connecticut, Syracuse, Marquette, Cincinnati

The last three weekends have seen the VolleyCards on the road.  My normal dog sitters were on an extended vacation, and I had already been warned that it wasn't wise to let Coco and Timmy dog sit, so I didn't get to make it to any of the matches in the first two weekends.  The last weekend was just a quick jaunt up I-71 which can be done in just a day trip...and my dog sitters were back in any case.

The first trip was a swing through the northeast with visits to St. Johns and Connecticut.  This trip really should've been an easy victory tour, but both St. Johns and UConn gave the Cards some challenges to overcome.  They did prevail, however, and came back with the Ws.

The next weekend brought another of the crazy Big East road trips, with visits to Syracuse and Marquette.  After getting stuck in Detroit overnight on their way back from Pitt when they flew commercial, the Cards decided to charter this one.  This trip included one of the bigger challenges for playing volleyball in the Big East this year, Marquette.

After handling Syracuse without any real discomfort, the Cards really made their presence felt in Milwaukee taking the match 3-1 and playing quite well.  Marquette did stream the match on the Internet, so I did get a bit of a chance to see how this one went.

Finally, the Kordes Krew made their way back into the Ohio Valley with a single match this past weekend at Cincinnati.  Usually Cincinnati is a serious threat in the Big East.  This year...not so much.  They have some good talent on the team, but with a new coach, they just haven't seemed to put it all together.  The Cards got through the sweep pretty quickly and without much drama.  Its good to get the win, but I would've liked to have seen it be a bit more interesting for the ESPNU coverage...though not too interesting, of course.  The outcome was never in much doubt, despite Louisville giving as many points to Cincinnati as they could via service errors.

The Volleyball world, as it currently stands

The top 10 in both the coach's poll and the RPI is graced by the likes of Stanford, Penn State, Nebraska, Texas, and UCLA...no real surprises in any of those.  Some of the others making appearances in one or both are Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, and Hawaii...again, nothing that causes any real jaw drops.

Louisville continues to creep back up the coach's poll, making it up to the number 12 spot in the just released poll.  Some thanks is due to the previous number 11 Florida who dropped their match against previous numer 12 Florida State.  Florida dropped two spots to 13, and FSU joins us in getting bumped up a spot.

In the RPI, we continue to hang on to the number 7 position.  We've been winning consistently, but for the most part, not against any real powerhouse teams, so we haven't been getting much of a bump from the wins.  The win over Marquette probably helped us stay where we are, as well as continued good performance by the likes of Kentucky at 15, Miami(FL) at 16, Purdue at 21, as well as...go Hilltoppers...WKU at 33, and then Illinois at 35.  Marquette checks in at 36.

The RPI, of course, takes into account not only a team's own win-loss record, but the win-loss record of their opponents and even of their opponent's opponents, so our earlier wins over these teams that are all representing well in the RPI, helps out our own ranking.  On the other side of the equation, our only losses are to Penn State, checking in at 2, Texas following closely behind at 4, and lastly Notre Dame, who's coming in at 34, which means that our loses aren't hurting us that much at all.

Let's play "Good news, Bad news, Good news"

For home vs away:

Good news:  The rest of our regular season matches are all at home.

Bad news:  Only one of the matches is at the arena downtown.

Good news:  Cardinal Arena is pretty darn cool, too.

For RPI consideration:

Good news:  There's a pretty good chance we could win out the rest of the regular season.

Bad news:  We won't be playing much of anybody that can help us out much in the RPI.

Good news:  Except Marquette, again.

On TV coverage:

Good news:  We'll be on TV twice.

Bad news:  Versus Georgetown and Cincinnati, neither of which should be terribly competitive.

Good news:  The Cincinnati match is nationally televised (ESPNU) again.

Tournaments

There's a berth already waiting for the Cards in the Big East tournament which will be held at The Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee November 16th through 18th, with Marquette hosting.  Marquette, Notre Dame, and Louisville have already clenched spots in the tournament based on their league records at 10-1.  Louisville currently has the number 1 seed in the tournament based on our overall win-loss percentage due to the Big East tie breaker rules.  Each of those losses in those 10-1 records is against one of the others.  We lost to ND, ND lost to MU, and MU lost to us.  This tie-breaker scenario will change, however, as we play Marquette again, and Marquette also has another match against Notre Dame.  It also would change if any of the three teams lost another conference match.

While its not a tournament, a quirk of volleyball scheduling is that the Cards play another "regular season" match after the Big East tournament, versus whichever team is the champion of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.  A quick look at OVC standings suggests that we could have a rematch with Morehead State as they are 12-0 in conference play.  Of course, anything can happen tournament time.

And then the big one.  The NCAA tournament selection show will be Sunday November 25th at 4pm ET with the tournament beginning Nov. 29th.  In volleyball, only 16 teams in the tournament of 64 are seeded, with the rest being placed geographically.  The first and second round matches are at non-predetermined sites, almost always at the locations of the 16 seeded teams.  This is why we've played so many of our tournament matches at Purdue in past years.  The 16 seeds typically follow the RPI rankings very closely, so if UofL keeps winning, we'll likely be a host for the first and second rounds of the tournament.  I understand that the athletic department is already making (tentative) plans for the event at The KFC Yum! Center based on the likelihood of UofL being seeded and hosting. 

Third and fourth rounds are at predetermined sites.  This year, the Regionals are at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA;  CenturyLink Center in Omaha, NE;  Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, TX;  and...wait for it...Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN.  Geographic principles still apply, so if the Cards advance to Regionals it looks like another road trip to Purdue...I think my Jeep can make the drive on its own, now.

And, of course, we get the honor of hosting the Semifinal matches and the National Championship at the KFC Yum! Center December 13th and 15th...you do have your tickets ordered already, right?

Jeff (white shirt) is also an avid WBB fan!

Incidentally, Kentucky is hosting a Regional in 2013 at Memorial Coliseum, and a 2014 Regional will be back here in the 'ville at The KFC Yum! Center.

This weekend

Villanova and Georgetown come into town to play this weekend.  Villanova is 11-15 (5-6), and Georgetown is 7-17 (1-10).  The GU match is slated to be shown by WHAS.  Realistically, as long as this UofL team doesn't take these matches for granted, neither Villanova nor Georgetown should really pose that much of a threat.  I'll be in my usual seats, come say hi.

( A great article by Jeff today! Go VolleyCards!)


********************************************************

The BIG EAST Field Hockey Championships are at Trager Stadium on campus this weekend also. #25 Louisville faces off against #5 UConn at 7:30 p.m. The action begins at 5 p.m. with Providence and Syracuse taking the field.

GO CARDS!

********************************************************

Jordan Reynolds, another target of Jeff Walz on the 2013 recruiting trail, is scheduled to announce Friday where she'll be attending college.

We want her at Louisville, make no mistake about it. She's a hard-slashing combo guard that played with Alexis Montgomery and Mercedes Russell in Oregon AAU Team Concept ball and made a huge name for herself at Central Catholic...as well as on the West Coast. 

Make it the 'Ville, Jordan! Now that we have Coach Walz firmly entrenched as a coach/referee, you'll get the best calls and plenty of free throw opportunities at Louisville.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

FRIDAY BREEDERS CUP SELECTIONS

( Please remember these are for entertainment purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CARDINAL COUPLE staff. Bill the Goat thought they were tasty, though...and ate them the minute we got them posted on here. GOOD LUCK! )

JUVENILE SPRINT

PAUL                                                      SONJA
Merit Man                                               Merit Man
South Floyd                                             Super Ninety Nine
Super Ninety Nine                                   Sweet Shirley Mae

MARATHON

PAUL                                                       SONJA
Atigun                                                      Eldaafer
Not Abroad                                              Atigun
Jaycito.                                                     Grassy

JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

PAUL                                                        SONJA
Flashy Ways                                             Watsdachances
Spring Venture                                          Spring Venture
Tara from the Cape                                   Sustained

JUVENILE FILLIES

PAUL                                                         SONJA
Executive Privledge                                   Beholder
Kauai Katie                                                Executve Privledge
Beholder                                                     Dreaming of Julia

FILLY & MARE TURF

PAUL                                                          SONJA
The Fugue                                                   Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix                                            Zagura
In Lingerie                                                  The Fugue

LADIES CLASSIC

PAUL                                                           SONJA
Questing                                                       Awesome Feather
Royal Delta                                                  Royal Delta
Grace Hall                                                    My Miss Aurelia

Our buddy J.J. Hysell has done extensive research on today's card and you can see her well-thought out selections over at IN THE MONEY.  Click the box NOV 1 to see them when you get there.  Link below:

IN THE MONEY


GOOD LUCK AND WAGER RESPONSIBLY!

.
..
...

..
...

Volleyball defeats Syracuse...Football Cards upset WVU...Reid named to Lowe's Senior Class watch list...Breeder's Cup Results...

.
SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

- Volleyball downs Orange 3-1

- Football shocks Mountaineers 38-35 in Morgantown

-Mo makes Lowe's list

-Saturday Breeders Cup recap. $$$$$$ !!!!

The Volleyball Cards handled visiting Syracuse Saturday in the KFC YUM! Center with a 12-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-18 win. Louisville was led by Lola Arslanbekova's 16 kills and 14 from Brooke Mattingly.

The Cards started the match slowly and watched as Syracuse jumped out to an early lead. The Orange had the Cards in the hole 18-10 and went on the take seven of the final nine points to down Louisville by 13.

Lola with 16 kills Saturday
night.

Louisville regrouped and came out strong in the second game. Anne Kordes' team held a 17-11 advantage and seemingly looked in control..but a late 'Cuse rally made it 18-17 Cards. Louisville got it back together in time, though..and took seven of the next eleven points to win by four.

Louisville left no doubt who was the better team in the third game...blasting by Syracuse to lead 17-6 and taking the 14 point win with relative ease. Brooke Mattingly had a team high five kills in the third game.

Louisville battled back and forth with Syracuse in the final game...but broke loose from a 15-15 tie to go on a 6-1 run and take a 21-16 lead. The Cards held off the Orange the rest of the way to take the final by seven points.

The Cards hosts league leading Marquette Sunday in the KFC YUM! Center. The Golden Eagles are 10-1 in conference play like Louisville...after losing to Cincinnati on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m.

*****************************************************************

Touchdown Teddy gets better
each week...

Congratulations to the Cardinal football team who beat WVU in Morgantown yesterday 38-35. With the win, Louisville moves to 5-4 on the season. It was the first win for Louisville in Morgantown since 1990.

Teddy Bridgewater led a Cardinal squad that jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first half. The Mountaineers rallied back with two scores to take a 21-14 lead before Teddy took the Cards down the field to tie it at 21-21 just before halftime. 

Louisville blocked a field goal attempt by WVU and returned in for a touchdown to go up by ten at 38-28 in the fourth quarter...but had to weather a late WVU drive that cut it to three and then an onside kick which Dominique Brown recovered to secure the game for the Cards. 
.
Can't be too many happy in Morgantown tonight with the loss to the Cards. Gutty effort by Charlie Strong's guys Saturday. 

Got a e-mail from Dan Turner who was at the game yesterday. His report:

"First of all it's been a great weekend up here. With Soccer's win yesterday and Football's win today, the Cards are flying high. Have run into some really nice people -many who seem determined to erase the image of West Virginia fans being bad. No major incidents at the football game today, a few shouts, slurs and middle finger displays, but that's about it. Some old pony-tailed hippie dude was really giving us the business early on - but you could tell the people he was there with were pretty embarrased about his behavior and he eventually shut up.  About a 100 Louisville fans were here.  The cheerleaders made it and so did Louie the Cardinal Bird. Charlie Strong was very active and emotional on the sidelines today. Chest bumping and high fiving the players. We'll head over to watch the final soccer game today at noon against WVU and then bring it home. We weren't lynched, mugged or beat up. Even had a group invite us over to tailgate with them as we walked in. The sentiment is that WVU is glad to be leaving the BIG EAST and hope that Louisville can join them eventually in the BIG 12. Thanks to Ken, John, Ralphie and Don who shared their hospitality, beer, burgers and insights with us - they said they were going to check out the blog, Paul.  "


******************************************************************

Monique Reid has been named to the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior Class Award list. 30 WBB seniors are selected for the list. Mo joins BIG EAST players Da'Shena Stevens (St. John) Natalie Novosel (Notre Dame) and Keisha Hampton (DePaul) on the list. 

Reid has been a steady performer for the Cards over the past three years and was Louisville's leading scorer last season. Her hamstring injury prior to the start of the Gonzaga game last year probably prevented the Cards from going to the Elite Eight...but Mo has come back healthy and looked good in the exhibition game last week against Lindsey Wilson.

******************************************************************

Wow! What a Saturday Breeders Cup Day for us. WE gave you our selections for the nine Breeders Cup races at Churchill Downs and we decided to change our strategy up a little for wagering. It paid huge dividends. We decided to take our top three selections and bet a $1 exacta and trifecta box on them for each race. Total layout was $12 a race...for a total of $108 wagered.

Here's how we did:

Paul hit the 9th race (Juvenile) exacta with Hansen and Union Rags. Hansen was also his "best bet" of the day. His big score was in the the 11th race (Classic), where he had the exacta of Drosselmeyer and Game on Dude. A great score there. He cashed tickets for $247...for a profit of $139 on the day.

Hansen was Paul's best bet of the day
and returned $16.20 to win. 

Here's what hurts. HE had (and gave you) the "pick 3" for Races 9,10,11 but didn't make a wager on it. It paid $5,136 on a $1 ticket. It would have cost him just $27 to bet it. Woulda, coulda, shoulda...I guess.

Sonja retains the title for another year, though, with one huge score. It was the only exacta and trifecta she hit all day...but it was a nice one in the 6th race (Turf Sprint) where she hooked up Regally Ready, Country Day and Perfect Officer for a score of $89.60 on the exacta and $771.00 on the trifecta.
Her tickets cashed out for $860...a profit of $752 for the afternoon.   

On the day, we selected 27 horses each.

Paul  3 winners, 4 places and 4 shows

Sonja 2 winners, 4 places and 3 shows

We're glad we changed up the wagering strategy....we wish we'd played the last two pick threes of the day, ...because Paul also picked Buckleupbuttercup in the final - non-stakes - race of the day and he won.

The final pick three of Court Vision, Drosselmeyer and Buckleupbuttercup paid $9130 on a $1 wager. Wouldn't have been a bad payoff for a $27 bet...
Not a bad day..

Finally, this e-mail from Dan T. (last name held by request) from Long Island:

-Paul, just want to say Thank You! for your and Sonja's picks. I played them Friday and did OK but Saturday you made me a rich man. I went to Aqueduct Race Course to watch the horses and the simulcast of the Breeders Cup. I printed out your picks again and took them with me. You guys didn't get off to a great start but in the Turf Sprint Race, Sonja's selections made me $188.20 on a $2 exacta and $1592.00 on her $2 trifecta. Then, in the Juvenile, I bet $10 across the board on your Best Bet of the Day Hansen and got back $114.00. I also had your exacta for $2 and it paid $46.20.

Then the bombshell. In the Classic, the $2 exacta paid $444.80 and the $2 pick three an unbelievable $20,544.40. I had to go to a special room at Aqueduct to fill out the tax form and get the payout. I estimate that I spent around $1000 betting your picks and got back a total of $22,800 ! I also had a pretty good day with my selections at Aqueduct and added another $400 profit.

Called the wife and she met me in Manhattan for a great night on the town and dinner. Thanks, again! You guys are the best! If you and Sonja get up this way for any football or hoops - we are St. John's and New York Jets fans - let me know and the night is on me.

Dan T.

(Good work, Dan! We were nervous early, too...but came on strong late.)

Thanks for bearing with us on our Breeders Cup reports.
We won't bother you with horse racing again until Derby Week in May.
nochoiceisachoice

Soccer beats Irish in semis...Field Hockey falls to UConn...Saturday Breeders Cup picks

.
SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Women's Soccer reaches finals with win over Notre Dame

-Field Hockey gives UConn a battle but loses

-Saturday Breeders Cup Picks

The University of Louisville women's soccer team will play for the BIG EAST Tournament title Sunday. A huge win yesterday over rival Notre Dame...the Cards taking down the Irish 2-1.

The Cards opened the scoring when Christine Exeter took a pass from Jordan Pawlik and drove one into the net after just three minutes of play in the first half. Louisville would strike again just eight minutes later...Kaitie McDonald using her head - literally - to knock in a kick from Jennifer Jones.

Kiefer had seven saves
against Notre Dame

That 2-0 lead held for the first half and the Cards defense proved up to the task in the second half...holding the Irish to just one goal and getting the win.

Chloe Kiefer performed well in the net for UofL...getting seven saves. The Irish outshot Louisville 19-11 and held an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks. Louisville led in the category that mattered most, though...with two goals.

The Cards advance to the championship game and will play West Virginia at noon Sunday. The Mountaineers drubbed Georgetown 5-1 in the other semifinal game yesterday. It'll be the first meeting of the year for the two. Louisville lost to WVU in 2010 in Morgantown 2-1. The Cards are 0-4-1 all-time against West Virginia. Louisville is on a eight game win streak currently and will give the Mountaineers all they want Sunday.

*******************************************************************

Field Hockey jumped out to a early 2-0 lead against Connecticut yesterday in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championships but couldn't make it stand...losing 3-2 to the Huskies in Syracuse. The Cards fired early against UConn...Hayley Turner taking a Mallory Mason pass to the net just 2 minutes into the contest. UofL would find pay dirt again just eight minutes later when Erin Schneidtmiller fed Elizabeth Vance by the left post...Vance scoring and giving the Cards a surprising two goal advantage over the #4 Huskies.

Erin Conrad will be
back next year to
tend goal for UofL

UConn regrouped, though, and came back quickly to cut it to 2-1 just two minutes later. That's the way they went into the half...Erin Conrad making several key saves as the clock neared zero.

The Huskies tied it up seven minutes into the second half and the game evolved into a defensive struggle until Cara Silverman smacked home the game winner for Connecticut with just ten minutes left in the action. Louisville was outshot 14-2 in the game...Conrad with nine saves for the Cards. 

Louisville ends the regular season with a 10-9 record and will now wait to see if they receive an at-large bid to participate in the NCAA Tournament.

*****************************************************************

We had an excellent day with the six Breeders Cup races at Churchill Downs...having winners in five of the races. Sonja correctly predicted that PERFECT SHIRL would shock the field and she did...at 27-1 odds. Perhaps the most impressive race of the day was MY MISS AUERLIA just destroying the field when the Juvenile Fillies hit the stretch. Look out for her as a 3 year old...the Oaks or even the Kentucky Derby not out of reach for this Steve Asmussen trained gal. OK, enough bragging...there are nine Breeders Cup races for this Saturday and we're going to try and give you some good winners.

Remember, our selections are for entertainment purposes only. If you followed along with Sonja yesterday...you were massively entertained. We put $2 across the board on all three of our picks per race yesterday. $18 a race wagered and for the six races, we each bet a total of $108 for the day. Here's how we did:

Sonja...four winners and total money returned $134 Profit: $26
Paul.....four winners and total money returned $89   Loss: $19

Paul: "Don't wear the crown too tightly, girl...because I'm gonna snatch it right off your head on Saturday."

Sonja: "It's lonely here at the top...prom wave to poor, pitiful Paul below."

Here's today's offerings:

BREEDERS CUP MARATHON

Paul                                                   Sonja

Baryshnikov                                        Bird Run
Bird Run                                             Giant Oak
Au Miner                                             Cease

JUVENILE TURF

Paul                                                   Sonja

Majestic City                                       Finale
Casper Nets                                        Majestic City
Finale                                                Lucky Chappy

SPRINT

Paul                                                   Sonja

Big Drama                                           Big Drama
Aikenite                                              Giant Ryan
Jackson Bend                                       Force Freeze

TURF SPRINT

Paul                                                   Sonja

Caracortado                                         Regally Ready
Chamberlain Bridge                               Country Day
Hoofit                                                 Perfect Officer

DIRT MILE

Paul                                                    Sonja

Shackelford                                           Trappe Shot (best bet of the day)
Trappe Shot                                          Wilburn
Wilburn                                                Caleb's Posse

TURF

Paul                                                    Sonja

Sarafina                                               Sarafina
Stately Victor                                        Await the Dawn
Await the Dawn                                     Sea Moon

JUVENILE

Paul                                                     Sonja

Hansen (best bet of the day)                   Union Rags
Union Rags                                            Hansen
Dullahan                                               Drill

MILE

Paul                                                     Sonja

Goldikova                                              Gio Ponti
Court Vision                                           Goldikova
Gio Ponti                                               Courageous Cat

CLASSIC

Paul                                                     Sonja

Uncle Mo                                               Ice Box
Drosselmeyer                                         Harve de Grace 
Game on Dude                                       Uncle Mo


(For what it's worth, we both also like Buckleupbuttercup, Freedom Star and May Day Rose in the 12th. and final race of the day...the Chiulkki Stakes.)   

Good luck everybody!!

nochoiceisachoice

                   

Exeter, Ferguson Dayes and Yenney receive soccer honors...Turner gets field hockey award...Cheerleaders now to WVU?

.
FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Soccer picks up four BIG EAST awards

-Field Hockey gathers five awards

-Should they stay or should they go?

Christine Exeter, a sophomore forward for the University of Louisville women's soccer team, has been named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. She was one of four on the UofL women's soccer team to receive awards at the Thursday night awards banquet in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Karen Ferguson-Dayes was selected as the league's Coach of the Year.

Yenney is just a freshman

Also getting recognition...freshman mid-fielder Erin Yenney...named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team and Jennifer Jones, who made the Third Team All BIG EAST.

"I've said this since day one and I'll keep on saying it. she (Exeter) is special. Most, if not all her goals have come in key games and are very significant for us. I'm thrilled for her, but she's so focused and humble that she won't let this honor define her. She will continue to do what she's good at and that's being a great teammate and being a great goal scorer." -Ferguson-Dayes commenting of Exeter's selection.

The Cards face Notre Dame Friday 3 p.m. in Morgantown in the BIG EAST Women's Soccer Tournament semifinals. If victorious, the Cards will play the winner of the Georgetown vs. West Virginia game for the title Sunday.

******************************************************************

Hayley Turner was one of five Cardinals to pick up awards at the BIG EAST Conference Field Hockey Banquet last night in Syracuse, NY. The honors:

Turner leads the
Cards in scoring

-Hayley Turner - senior midfielder - BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM.



Collins is First Team BIG EAST
Way to go Caitlin



-Caitlin Collins - senior midfielder - ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM



-Erin Conrad - junior goalkeeper - ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

-Dominique Pasqualichio -freshman defender -ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

-Alyssa Voelmle - freshman defender- ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

The Cards are in the BIG EAST semifinals and will face top-seeded and #4 Connecticut Friday at 12:30 p.m.

******************************************************************

Something about the BIG EAST just seems to create controversy and wild speculation. We reported, as many other news outlets and internet blogs did, that UofL was leaving their Cheer and Dance squads behind when the football and women's soccer teams travelled to Morgantown this weekend to play.

Looks like the rumor now is that the Cheerleaders might be making the trip. 

Stay tuned, or as we might also suggest, tune in the noon kickoff and see if they are on the sidelines.  

WE love the UofL Cheerleaders. Along with the Dance Squad, they manage to block our view at UofL women's basketball games. Could be worse...

*************************************************************

In case you missed it, the CARDINAL COUPLE Friday Breeders Cup Picks were posted last night. Should be good for a few laughs...

nochoiceisachoice

Breeders Cup Selections for Friday

.
Cardinal Couple Special: Friday Breeders Cup Picks

Aruna will have Julian Leparoux on board for the Filly & Mare Turf Race

We're pleased to bring you our Friday Breeders Cup's picks for the six races this Friday at Churchill Downs. Remember, these are for entertainment purposes only.

$500,000 JUVENILE SPRINT  4:30 post time

Sonja

I'm going with (6) Secret Circle here to win. Bejarno & Baffert are hard to beat. (1) Seeker should be good enough to beat the rest and (4) Trinniberg will take the show.

Paul

Like (6) Secret Circle also on top, followed by (2) Sum of the Parts and (3) Blacky the Bull to surprise for third.

$1 MILLION JUVENILE FILLIES TURF 4:50 post time

Sonja

(14) Somali Lemonade should win here with Alex Solis on board. (10) Elusive Kate will make it interesting and (2) Dayatthespa follows these two home.

Paul

I'll take (10) Elusive Kate for the win. (13) Customer Base with Leparoux will contend it and (5) Stephanie's Kitten has done little wrong in four races.

$1 MILLION FILLY AND MARE SPRINT 5:30 post time

Sonja

(3) Turbulent Descent is heads over the rest of these and wins easily. (6) Switch will handle the rest and (12) Pomeroy's Pistol hangs on for third.

Paul

I'll agree with (3) Turbulent Descent on top. I like (7) Tar Heel Mom to grab second and (1) Irish Gyspy to run third for Baffert.

$2 MILLION JUVENILE FILLIES  6:10 post time

Sonja

(6) Self Preservation scores the upset win. (11) Weemissfrankie narrowly misses to finish second and (9) My Miss Aurelia takes third

Paul

(9) My Miss Auerlia is 3 for impressive 3 and slops by these (2) Candrea will make it interesting and (3) Rocket Twentyone surprises for third

$2 MILLION FILLY AND MARE TURF  6:50 post time

Sonja

(8) Perfect Shirl shocks them all at a huge price (7) Aruna is good for second here and (6) Announce gets the show.

Paul

They won't get to Frankie Dettori and (5) Nahrain today. (7) Aruna will fall just short for second and (2) Stacelita bests the rest for third.

$2 MILLION LADIES CLASSIC  7:30 post time

Sonja

(6) Royal Delta does Billy Mott proud. (8) Plum Pretty just misses and (1) Miss Match comes in third.

Paul

(8) Plum Pretty by as much as she wants to win by. (3) It's Tricky completes the exacta and (6) Royal Delta rounds out the trifecta.

Good luck if you go or are watching on TV (ESPN 2 & ESPN3.com) and we'll have the 10 Saturday Breeders Cup selections for you early Saturday morning.

*****************************************************************

Exeter named rookie of the year and BREEDERS CUP!

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Exeter named BIG EAST Soccer Rookie of the Year

-Sara-Maude Juneau named BIG EAST Golfer of the Month

-Field Hockey ready for UConn in BIG EAST Tournament

-OUR BREEDERS CUP picks

Christine Exeter, pictured here, was selected as the rookie of the year in BIG EAST women's soccer at the awards banquet last night held in Somerset, NJ. She also made the All-Rookie BIG EAST Team and fellow Louisville freshman Angelika Uremovich joined her on that squad. Exeter led the Cards with seven goals this year. Both Exeter and Uremovich are from Ontario and were key components in the Cardinal's season.

Uremovich sat out last year with a knee injury but as a redshirt freshman this year she tallied five goals, second best to Exeter, and three assists.

Photo courtesy of UofL Sports.

*******************************************************************************************

Sara-Maude Juneau was named the BIG EAST Golfer of the Month as the fall season comes to an end. She led the team with a 70.7 average. She participated in two tournaments in October with her Cardinal teammates. She finished with a 215 in the William K. Warren event hosted by Notre Dame and she won the individual tournament title. She had a 208 in the Tar Heel Invitational Oct 8-10th.and finished just three strokes off the lead.

Juneau leads a strong group of Cardinal golfers as they prepare for the spring season and is tied for the most wins in school history with current LPGA player Cindy LaCrosse.

********************************************************************************************

Pam Bustin has the UofL Field Hockey team ready to go as the Cards will take place in the BIG EAST Tournament at Connecticut beginning Saturday. Louisville faces UConn in the first round. The Cards defeated the Huskies earlier this year in regular season play at Trager Stadium. As the 2nd seed, Louisville will have to get by the #3 seed Huskies to play either Syracuse or #4 seed for the championship. The match will be available for free on BIG EAST TV Saturday at 1:30 p.m., in case you get tired of watching Charlie Strong's football team beat up on Syracuse. (We hope.)

********************************************************************************************

Six Breeders Cup races will be run today (Friday) as part of the 10 race card at Churchill Downs. Here's who we like. Information here is for entertainment purposes only. We'll probably get a big laugh over our poorly our picks do....

BREEDERS CUP MARATHON

We're big fans of Michelle Nihel's gray ghost PRINCE WILL I AM. The filly ran strong in the stretch to win the Jamaica Handicap at Belmont and Javier Castellano returns as jockey. AWESOME GEM will be roaring at the end of the 1-3/4 mile event and David Flores knows his mount quite well. GIANT OAK and A.U. Miner come out of the Greenwood Cup where they finished 1-2 and cannot be ignored.

BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

WINTER MEMORIES has done nothing wrong in two lifetime starts and won the Miss Grillo Grade 3 race in a romp at Belmont in her last. Jose Lezcano returns as the rider. WYOMIA has won her last two at Woodbine and Rafael Bejarano takes the reigns on this long shot. Irish invader TOGETHER will love the Churchill Turf and is 6 for 7 in the money for cagey trainer Aiden O'Brien. Impressive Keeneland Jessamine Stakes champ KATHMANBLU destroyed the field at a longer distance and the combination of Julian Leparoux and Kenny McPeek on the turf make this runner a very live longshot. Have to also mention another longshot here...ALLURE D' AMORE for Wesley Ward and John Velazquez that the TVG guys are very high on.

BREEDERS CUP FILLY AND MARE SPRINT

INFORMED DECISION is 2 for 2 at Churchill and will appreciate the 7 furlongs with Julian Leparoux aboard. SARA LOUISE will be there to pick up the pieces if Informed Decision falters, SARA is also 2-2 at the Downs. Jamie Theriot gets the ride on DUBAI MAJESTY, a horse that has three wins in six attempts at Churchill. Beware of MY JEN at a huge price..she has 4 wins and a second in six lifetime starts and beat SARA LOUISE at Belmont. RIGHTLY SO will mostly likely be the favorite, will set the pace and they'll have to catch her with Corny Velasquez on board.

BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE FILLES

AZ WARRIOR rolled to the win in the Grade 1 Frizette and Alan Garcia return to ride for Bob Baffert. She'll handle the 1-1/16th distance easily. TELL A KELLY comes in from California for John Sadler and local legend Calvin Borel sits on top for this come from behind stretch runner. Beware of SOUNDWARE at a huge price. Three wins in a row and Robby Albarado, who has been tearing up Churchill so far in the Fall Meet gets the call. R HEAT LIGHTNING finished second to AZ WARRIOR last time out and will set the early fractions. If she gets too far ahead, they may not catch her.

BREEDERS CUP FILLY AND MARE TURF

Wave goodbye to MIDDAY if she gets the lead. The British visitor has won her last three overseas and is at the top of her game. Japanese entry RED DESIRE looked good in narrowly missing here in her first stateside race in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl and Kent Desormeaux returns as the rider. We love the works that longshot FOREVER TOGETHER has had here at Churchill and wouldn't be too surprised if she upsets at a price. Jonathan Sheppard is great at distance turf races. HARMONIOUS blew them out in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth at Keeneland and Joel rosario return to guide for John Sherrifs, trainer for ZENYATTA.

BREEDERS CUP LADIES CLASSIC

BLIND LUCK and HAVRE de GRACE have been neck and neck the last two races they faced each other...each winning once...and that shouldn't change today. Todd Pletcher enters LIFE AT TEN and MALIBU PRAYER to try and upset here and longshot UNRIVALED BELLE gets tricky Kent Desormeaux.

Good luck and enjoy the day!