FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-For the "Blonde Blur" it went by way too fast

(David Watson hosts today's CARDINAL COUPLE. He takes a look at one of the most popular Lady Cards to wear the Red and Black...or grey and white...Shelby Harper.)

For Jeff Walz, it was a decision based on attrition. With barely enough guards available to hold practice, the third-year Louisville head women's basketball coach turned to the bench and saw injuries and a diminutive freshman guard that had walked on the team near the start of the fall to help out with practices and to fill a chair on the Cardinal bench. Attention Cardinal fans --this lineup change -- Shelby Harper is now your starting point guard.

The freshman from Allen County-Scottsville, near Bowling Green, KY. had delivered a solid high school career and a couple of the current Lady Cards were familiar with her mad dash, up and down the court style of point-guardmanship. They got quite used to it the majority of the 2009-10 season, for the former walk-on began starting in January and was in the starting lineup for 17 games. She ended up second on the team in assists and second in three-point shooting percentage.

The 2009-10 team took their lumps and ended up with a 14-18 record. It was a season of being out-numbered at times but the squad will probably be one of my favorites for a long time because they battled against adversity, low numbers and injuries and never gave up.

One wondered how Harper would fit into the 2010-11 Cardinal women's basketball plans. Stellar guard Shoni Schimmel had arrived on campus and Becky Burke and Tia Gibbs were available to give the Cards good strength in the backcourt. Harper returned to the bench but appeared in 27 games for UofL as a valuable substitute. She continued to draw oohs and aahs and applause from the Cardinal fan base for her helter-skelter, continual hustle appearances and Louisville came back from the depths of despair to record a 22-13 season and advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

More guards unloaded their baggage in the UofL dorms in 2011-12. Jude Schimmel and Bria Smith proved their mettle and Harper continued her role as an off-the-bench spark for the Cardinals. This Cardinal squad was beset by the injury bug again but managed to go 23-10. Harper saw action in 30 games and fans delighted in seeing her and Jude as a backup guard tandem on the court together. Both barely tall enough to get on the adult rides at the State Fair but delivering large performances whenever they entered games.

We see Shelby Harper as a senior this season and the spark plug, motivator role continues. A rare start on senior night, a season of providing brief stretches of inspired, hard-working minutes for a Cardinal squad that will play its (hopefully) final TWO games in front of the faithful at the KFC YUM! Center on Sunday and Tuesday.

Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday she was bringing Cardinal fans to their feet with her five-threes made against Cincinnati. 

Her take? Her advice to those that will remain after she graduates?

"Enjoy every minute of it. Try as hard as you can. It goes by way too fast."

It's gone by way too fast for us also, Shelby. Hard to believe we won't see that face -- showing that look of determination when on defense -- next season on Denny Crum Court.

Coach Walz summed it up pretty well when she said:

"I told her parents that if my daughters grew up to be like Shelby, I'd be quite OK with that."

Shelby will never get any taller. She will, however, have a large spot in the hearts and admiration of UofL Women's Basketball fans forever and that spot will grow as years go by.

Blonde Blur? Love her.

David Watson


(Editor's Note: Some of the photos used in this article are from Charlie Springer. www.uoflcardgame.com  The best ones, of course.)


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Still plenty of time to get those tickets for UofL WBB in the KFC YUM! Center for Sunday and (we just know it...) Tuesday action in the NCAA Tournament.

Ticketmaster, KFC YUM! Center Box Office, from that shady guy standing on the street corner...whaever it takes. Man up, buy a ticket and support the Lady Cards. You don't want a Blue Raider in the lower bowl of the YUM! do you? Yikes!

Also, don't forget to try your luck in the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Women's Tournament Pick 'Em Contest.

25 entries in as of 7 a.m. today. Take a chance, fill out your dance card for a chance at a $25 Chili's Gift Card. The prestige of being the best. Totally awesome, dudes. Your not a scaredy cat, are you?

Leave your picks in the comments section of today's article or you can e-mail them to:

cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

Don't delay. The tournament is just a day away. Make your day. Have a say. C'mon and play. OK?



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Friday Cardinal Couple -- The return of Watson and Louisville softball

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-He's back...David Watson on Cardinal WBB

-Softball prepares for Louisville Softball Classic

( CARDINAL COUPLE Columnist emeritus David Watson returns today with his views on the Louisville WBB season...so far. One thing about David we've always loved...there is no grey area in his columns...you either agree whole-heartedly or I get e-mails complaining about him. You're on the tee, Dave-O...fire away!)


I am pleased to be front and center once again here at CC in today's edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. I haven't missed submitting bi-weekly articles here; life has been fast and furious for me for the last few months and I did go through successful hip-replacement surgery, so there has been a brief convalescent period as well. Nevertheless, typing on these pages again bring back some very fond memories and some bitter-sweet ones as well.

If you are relatively new to Paulie's whirling dervish here, my name is David Watson and I used to be a semi-regular columnist on these pages. Back in the early days. When Sonja still wrote here and before the days of Cardinal Couple Radio (A show I really like). There was no columnists "Q" or Jeff. I like their work, by the way, and Jenny and Sandy's as well. I may not contribute but sporadically anymore, but I do read almost every day. I'm happy to see the site have the successes it has. I'd like to think I'm responsible for it in a very small portion. Paulie tells me differently. But, he also told me the world was flat and that he can communicate with squirrels.

When he asked me to contribute this week, he gave me a few topic ideas. There was only one way I was going, though, and that was to write about the University of Louisville women's basketball team. What's left of it.

I looked forward to the start of this season with great anticipation. Jeff Walz had a stable of runners that looked like they could seriously be the fly in the ointment for UConn and Notre Dame's domination of BIG EAST supremacy. I was ready to see the all-court hustle of Tia Gibbs. Knew that Asia Taylor would continue her board mastery and when she faltered that Shawnta Dyer would be there to help Monique Reid score inside and rebound.

As we know, none of this either happened or lasted very long. There were plenty of things to still excite me, though. Shoni's aerial attacks on rims across the nation. The strong-willed, determined approach of Sara Hammond in the paint. I expected Nita Slaughter would finally become a consistent and steady contributor to Walz's wards and that Sherrone Vails would regain the touch that made her a freshman on the rise. Bria Smith's driving ability excited me and I knew she could become a point guard in time. I looked forward to the contributions of the freshmen Walton and Deines and hoped that Jude Schimmel and Shelby Harper could become valuable contributors off the bench.

And, for the most part -- I got what I wanted in this area of Cardinal women's basketball.

I also wanted the Cards to finally prove to me that they were a steady, unshakable team when it came to road games against good opponents. This is where they let me down.

I attended the debacle at South Bend. Barely able to hobble into the Joyce Center and having to stand for long stretches because of hip pain, the bombardment the Irish laid down hurt almost as much as my throbbing hip. One Irish fan even commented to me that I must really be a dedicated fan, standing in support of my battered Cardinals for the long stretches. I didn't correct him.

The loss at UConn was definitely expected but disappointing to me after the Cards had won a tough one at Providence. Falling at DePaul was a big surprise. Equally perplexing was the unexpected (by me) victory at Tampa over USF and then losing to them in the Roman Coliseum/KFC YUM! Center. I was also surprised by Louisville's final regular season folding of the tent at Syracuse. All in all, though -- a 11-5 record in the BIG EAST isn't anything to gnash my teeth about in angst. I thought 13-3 was achievable, but I do tend to wish for the moon and settle for moonshadows.

One thing I've noticed, however, is the lack of a definite team leader. The great teams have one. Diggins at Notre Dame. Griner at Baylor. Mathies at Kentucky (your hate mail can be sent to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com). Dolson at UConn. Alexander at Syracuse.

Angel.

Who will step up for Louisville NEXT year and be the girl? I'm relenting that it's too late this year for a candidate to emerge to assume the position. Louisville will skate through their two home NCAA games, probably end up in Baylor's bracket and eventually be sent home by 'Grinder' Griner and Sims. Or Stanford. Or UConn or Notre Dame.

You see it in the great teams. Siva on the men's team. Taurasi on the championship UConn squads. Parker at Tennessee. Adams at A&M a few years ago. Mercedes Russell will be a leader. Why she ended up in the backwoods of Tennessee playing for the third best team in the SEC is beyond me. Maybe she didn't get the memo that Pat retired and her son abdicated the throne and went to Milwaukee.

Who will lead? It's got to be a player who sees significant court time and can motivate others. A player who understands the game, isn't prone to emotional outbursts and can converse with the volatile Walz on the sidelines without breaking into tears or sulking when he does his sideline lecturing. Who is that player who can lead by example, hard work, dedication and rallying her teammates into spending the extra hours in the gym?

Who do I recommend? She may have zeroes on her back, but she's a 10 when it comes to hard work and leading by example. Take over, Sara and take this team to the final four in 2013-14.

So, dear readers, I wish you the best and we'll see you down the road again here. Make someone smile today. It'll do you both good.

Paulie, you owe me a "cold one" and if you find any good 8-tracks at yard sales, give me a call and I'll see if I have it or not.

--David Watson

( Editor's note. David Watson has over 5500 8-track cassettes and hopes someday to set a Guinness World Record for owning the most. I've seen the collection. He likes nothing better than to sit in his garage and pop one in his 8-track player for you that you've probably never heard of the artist before. )

WANT ANOTHER TAKE ON CARDINAL WBB? GO TO THE LINK BELOW:

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/6086

Thanks to Sandy Walker for the find and share!



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Louisville softball begins the four-day Louisville Softball Classic today and the Cards will get in four games over the duration. They play two today (North Carolina at 3 p.m. and Eastern Michigan at 5 p.m.) at Ulmer. They also engage Wisconsin on Sunday and Iowa on Monday. They get Saturday off...given the power of the Cardinal bats lately, one can only hope they're flying to the Cubs spring training camp and offering some pointers to my beleaguered Cubbies.

#11 Louisville is 21-3 on the season and is 9-0 at Ulmer this season. The Cards are batting .345 as a team. Katie Keller is fourth in the nation at .500 and has defeated two top 25 teams this season...LSU and Michigan. The Classic schedule below:

FRIDAY

10 a.m.   Wisconsin vs North Carolina
12:30 p.m   Wisconsin vs Eastern Michigan
3 p.m. LOUISVILLE vs North Carolina
5 p.m. LOUISVILLE vs Eastern Michigan

SATURDAY

10 a.m.   Ball State vs Wisconsin
12:30 p.m.  Eastern Michigan vs Wisconsin
3 p.m.  North Carolina vs Ball State
5:30 p.m.   North Carolina vs Eastern Michigan

SUNDAY

10 a.m.  LOUISVILLE vs Wisconsin
12:30 p.m.  Iowa vs North Carolina
3 p.m. Iowa vs Ball State

MONDAY

11 a.m.  Ball State vs Iowa
1:30 p.m. LOUISVILLE vs Iowa


Plenty of chances to get out and see your hard-hitting, nationally ranked Softball Cards in action. We'll recap the Cards' results here at the Couple and discuss the Friday play on our radio show Saturday on Crescent Hill Radio.

www.crescenthillradio.com

Word gets to me that co-host Jenny O'Bryan will be unavailable to us for the Saturday show...so it looks Jeff and I will be donning the headphones and carrying on...unless Boy George takes me up on my invitation to join us in the studio. Or Sandy Walker replies to my invite.

We have a great show planned, though...with an exclusive interview with WBB head Coach Jeff Walz and recaps of the BIG EAST Tournament and Louisville's impending foray into the NCAA Tournament. Plenty of exciting softball and lacrosse action to discuss as well and Jeff will be ready to deliver his version of Danny Boy with Merl, Daryl and Bill the Goat in celebration of St. Patrick's Day...just in case it all falls apart and we're desperate for filler time.  

Paulie

Monday Cardinal Couple -- Watson's farewell

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-USA Womens Olympic Basketball cruises by 52.


-The final Watson column (for awhile)


-Chicken Sandwiches: To eat or not to eat. 


Angel with 10 points and three steals as USA rolls past Angola 90-38. After a slow first quarter and only a 22-12 lead, Angel and company kicked it in gear and took  a 41-18 lead at the half. 69-29 after three and a balanced scoring attack for Geno's ballers.


Three-point shooting still needs work, but an easy-as-expected romp to go to 2-0 in pool play.


Undefeated Turkey next on Wednesday. 


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(David Watson is a special columnist for CARDINAL COUPLE. He'll be taking leave of us for awhile...as he explains in today's column.)


All good things come to an end. 

I've had a great time writing for CARDINAL COUPLE over the last couple of years, but other things are calling...so, this will be the last chance you have to shake your head and wonder what this boy is thinking for awhile. 


My oldest daughter Abby is enrolling in college this fall. Actually, she's already on campus and taking summer classes -- so she's already technically a freshman. 


One down, two to go. 

She fortunate enough to be attending on a couple of partial scholarships -- one for academics and one for field hockey. From what side of the family she got these special talents from to earn these honors is still up to debate -- but we're all proud of her. 


Since it isn't UofL where she's matriculating, I have decided to follow the university where she's attending.

Might even start a website/blog about the trials and tribulations of her athletic and academic pursuits through the eyes of her father. Her mother and I plan on being active parents in any way we can toward the college and have already met several of the field hockey mom and dads. 


If I do start a site, I'll insist Paul put me on the "Sites We Recommend" on the left side of the site. After all, the tremendous growth CARDINAL COUPLE has experienced was certainly spurred by my ground-breaking and thought-provoking articles, right? 


I'll leave with a couple of parting comments. 

First, I'll still be following the pursuits of the University of Louisville sports teams. Louisville looks to be very strong in quite a few different sports this upcoming season and I expect nothing less than conference titles from them in football, both basketball teams, volleyball and softball. 


Tom Jurich has done a great job with facility building, coaching hires and creating excitement for the fans  University of Louisville athletics. The University of Louisville seems committed to raising the academic bar as well. I truly hope that the recruits continue to be top-flight for the sports teams at UofL.


I can't help but wish my daughter had been talented enough to receive a scholarship offer from Louisville...but that's the way it goes and she's happy where she is. 

Finally, I want to thank Paul and Sonja for letting me be a part of the CARDINAL COUPLE world. I know there have been times when readers have disagreed with me and taken a different viewpoint. The way I see it is that if everyone share the same viewpoint, it would be a pretty boring world. Several people can look at the same event and have a different viewpoint on it. I've tried to express my views with you, the CARDINAL COUPLE readers, and I appreciate the chance to do so. 

Not to worry, you've still got quite a few excellent writers here at CARDINAL COUPLE to keep you informed on the joy and excitement that is UofL women's sports. I've enjoyed reading articles by Jenny, Sandy, Mark and the co-owners of the site -- Paul and Sonja. I never got to meet the first three mentioned above, but feel like I know them from their writings. 


Paul has encouraged me to pop in from time-to-time with a column and I've promised him I'll try, so maybe this isn't a final farewell, but a "till we meet again" goodbye. 


Anyway -- it's been fun and I'll be reading, so keep the bar high in your coverage, comments and details of one of the best sports programs in college athletics.


-- David.


(We wish David all the best and thank him for his coverage these past couple of years! We know he and Cheryl will be great college parents.)


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The Chick-Fil-A drama is heating up on the UofL campus and we've received several e-mails about it so we'll take a little time today to discuss it. 

We'll go on record by saying that we like the tasty Chick-Fil-A sandwich and UofL was supplying these to the media earlier this year during the softball tournament. I suppose they were donated by the restuarant or maybe purchased...we're not sure, but they seemed to disappear pretty quickly.


I remember eating mine next to Courier-Journal sports writer C.L. Brown a few innings before Louisville won the game against Valparaiso in dramatic fashion when Alicja Wolny cleared the right-field fence with a base clearer. If I knew she was going to provide such a dramatic ending to the game, I might have asked for two sandwiches and saved one for her.
I don't know if this would have been considered an NCAA violation or whether she likes chicken sandwiches or not. I might have even eaten both sandwiches. I'll ask her at the start of softball season.

The recent statements by the owner of Chick-Fil-A have drawn considerable scrutiny because of the content. Seems he's in favor of traditional marriage and some other situations that have angered the gay and lesbian community. Thus, a boycott has been called and UofL's president James Ramsey and other UofL administration personnel have stated that they'll no longer eat at the campus location. 


I'm trying to cut down on fast food, too. It's worked, I'm now at 192 lbs. and two summers ago I tipped the scales at 240. 

I don't attribute all the weight loss to cutting back on fast food. But, I've stopped drinking soft drinks also. Switched to a low carb, light beer. Started walking more. Ride my bicycle 3-4 times a week. I can tell you my knees feel a whole lot better without the extra 48 pounds.


I still crave fast food, I just don't indulge in it as much. I'm guessing Teena Murray, Director of Sports Performance at UofL would be proud. I've never talked at length with her, but we did an article on her awhile back and I know she tries to get the players to eat healthy. 


I do like the Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich, though, so the moral dilemma begins. Do I join the UofL boycott of the restaurant or give in to my taste buds and still occasionally treat myself to one of their sandwiches? 

I may still get a sandwich occasionally but I will try not to be happy about it. Until that first bite. Then again, I've heard Zaxby's and Wendy's have a pretty good chicken sandwich also. I may have to investigate.


Maybe one of our sponsors, Panera Bread, will invite me over to sample their chicken offerings. I'm about out of cinnamon raisin bread, so that would work...


We live in a country that gives us religious and social freedoms. We live in a country that protects us from oppression. We live in a country that allows entrepreneurial opportunities. We also live in a country where the media can make a big deal over chicken franchises. 


Somewhere, Col. Sanders is rolling over in his grave, clutching his secret spices recipe tightly. 


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USA Womens Olympic basketball tonight against Angola. Go, Angel go! 5:15 EDT time. MSNBC with the live action. Rachel Maddow and Larry the Cable guy with the play-by-play. (Just kidding.) 


We're pretty sure Angel will see some significant minutes. Unless she and LeBron James have decided to enlist in the French Foreign Legion. 




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... 

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Where are they now? Watson looks at the UofL Womens' Basketball runner up team from 2009.


( David takes on the task of tracking down the players on the 2009 National Runner-Up UofL women's basketball team. As far as we know, no laws were broken or animals injured in his attempts..)

I was rummaging the other day. You do that from time to time when you reach my age. This search was for a box of drill bits that I remember purchasing a few years ago at a yard sale and had "stored" somewhere. The search led from my garage to my basement. While looking, I came across a DVD marked UL v.Okla Final Four 2009.


Yes, I recorded that game. Any accounts of it  or rebroadcast are expressly forbidden by -- whatever. Come get me, officer. Put the cuffs on me. Louisville won the game. 


You probably knew that.


What it did was get me thinking about the players on that Louisville team. Later that night I started thinking about where they were these days. 


I thought it might make a good column for my Monday writings. I called Paul and asked if he had pictures somewhere of those players and he said he'd be glad to add them to my article.


So, where are they now? Some of these are chip shots, gimmies -- easy to track. Some weren't so easy. Some I had to ask Paul about. 


-- Angel McCoughtry

OK, this is an easy one for 99% of you. She's currently in Washington, practicing and preparing to play in the Summer Olympics for the United States women's basketball team. She's in the WNBA, playing for Atlanta. She's pretty good, huh?


To the 1%...Welcome out of your coma. Barack Obama's our president and they took House off the air. West Virginia's in the BIG 12 and Pittsburgh headed to the ACC. Traitors.  


-- Candyce Bingham

Candyce is now the head women's basketball coach at (Louisville) Fern Creek High School. She started there last year after spending a few years playing international basketball and working assorted jobs at UofL. It's rumored she still works out with some of the former and current UofL players. 


I wonder if she's still got that power move to the hoop that always seemed to produce a basket or a trip to the line? And if she's teaching it to any of her players. 


-- Deseree Byrd


Dez's whereabouts were a mystery to me, so I asked Paul about her. He told me that he had asked Coach Walz about her a few weeks back and that Dez was doing well and working. Coach talks to her from time to time. 

She was one that I figured might have had a good shot at overseas or professional ball if she hadn't got injured.


Paul told me a story about her. The women's basketball team had made an impromptu visit to the Parrish House during a Saturday afternoon of football tailgaiting. There were troops there from Fort Knox visiting as well. Dez challenged one of them to a push-up contest and won. The winner got a cold bottle of water from Paul. 


Monty Hall he isn't.


-- Keisha Hines

You'll probably remember that Keisha came on strong at center for the team near the end of the year, inspired by her sick grandmother. I never heard how the grandma turned out but I hope she, and Keisha are OK. Keisha returned the next year and played in the post for two more seasons at UofL. She's graduated and working. 


I asked Paul if he knew anymore about her. He said he thought either he or Sonja were friends with her on Facebook. Maybe she'll read this and catch us up with her. 


-- Gwen Rucker

When Keisha wasn't in the paint, Gwen usually was. She was a freshman on that team and played one more season while also playing volleyball for UofL. She's a red-shirt senior on the UofL Volleyball team now and was competing for a spot on the A2 National Red team earlier this month.


Who could ever forget "the staredown" with Kia Vaughn? 


Here's hoping she's 100% healed from the injury that had her sidelined for part of the 2011 season and she can help lead the Volleyball Cards to BIG EAST supremacy again.


-- Brandie Radde

Brandie played part of that season before taking some time off to concentrate on academics. Not that she was doing poorly, she was focused on getting into medical school. She did return for the last part of the following season when the depth roster on the team dropped to dangerous levels. 


She now part of the labratory personnel in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Louisville. 

I'm guessing the academic thing turned out pretty well for her. She looks pretty happy (she's the one on the right) in the picture Paul found of her. 


-- Laura Terry

The last I heard about Laura was that she was a Spring 2012 graduate from UofL and had been a student assistant on the basketball team the last couple of years. She's probably taking a little time to enjoy her graduation. CARDINAL COUPLE reader Mike D. says she going to join up with Michelle Clark-Heard's staff at WKU.


I'm glad she's staying in basketball. I don't know if she reads CARDINAL COUPLE or not, but it'd be great to get an update from her from time-to-time.


She was a tough-as-nails post player that had some bad breaks with her knees. She also had a pretty good three, if I remember right. 


-- Monique Reid

Sonja did a pretty good write-up on her in the Sunday edition of Cardinal Couple. In case you missed it, she'll be a red-shirt senior on the 2012-13 team and will hopefully be fully recovered from the knee injury that kept her out of most of the 2011-12 season.


Who else thinks that if Mo and Tia would have been available last year that the Cards would have reached another Final Four? 


-- Janae Howard

She played for NAIA St. Catherine last season after leaving Louisville after her freshman year and transferring to Western Kentucky. A good spot-up three point shooter, I'll always wonder how her career would have turned out if she had stayed at Louisville. She's got one season remaining for St. Catherine College. I hope she scores a lot. 


-- Tiera Stephen

Another reserve that transferred after her freshman year, Stephen went to Wisconsin and joined the basketball team there. A reserve guard for the Badgers, she'll be a senior for them this fall. 


With the rash of guard injuries that UofL had in the 2009-10 season, I wonder if she would have seen considerable time for Louisville? 


-- Mary Jackson

Left Louisville after her freshman year and went back to Memphis, where she played her high school ball. She was a member of the Tigers basketball team before leaving to play for NAIA Lee University last year. 


I couldn't determine whether she still has another year of eligibility left or not. 


Lee University is in Cleveland, TN.


-- Becky Burke

I saved my favorite player for last. Becky completed her senior season in the spring and also graduated. She's on her way to play over in Poland in the Euro-Leagues this summer.


She also played for the US Women's All-Stars during their recent tour of China. Is she the best "three" shooter in Cardinal history? I know Paul will argue for Kristin Mattox. He's been in love with her since the early nineties. Give me "Big Shot" Becky on the square-up and release anyday. 


I hope this helps get you caught up on the girls that were part of that special season in Louisville women's basketball history. Thanks to Paul for adding the pictures. 

I'm going to have to take some time in the near future and watch that DVD again. I remember it was an exciting game. I think Candyce hit a free throw to put UofL up 61-59 with a few seconds left and Oklahoma missed a three at the buzzer that could have won it for them. Take that, Courtney Paris. 


( Editor's note : We have attached the promo clip for this game. )


Courtney guarantees title shot for OU 


Guaranteeing a victory is risky business. I know. It was me who bravely predicted that I'd beat my son in bean bag toss at a 4th of July picnic. I have grass-cutting duties for the rest of July because of that inept wager. I'm glad it's been dry lately. 


Maybe I'll do a report like this in 3-4 years on where the ladies are now that were part of the 2012-13 Louisville Cardinals NCAA Women's Basketball Championship team are. If you dream it, you can achieve it. Who else besides me would love to go to New Orleans next spring and watch Louisville's ladies in another Final Four? 


I still haven't found the drill bits yet. 


( Thanks for all the hard work on today's column, David. And the phone calls. I wasn't really trying to take a Sunday afternoon nap all that seriously. The phone kept waking me up.) 
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Saturday Cardinal Couple - A discussion

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SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-We gather around the discussion table


-Who's on the web?


( Welcome to the Saturday Cardinal Couple. We asked our writers and special guest Mort Thomas to participate in a open discussion on a couple of UofL topics of recent interest. Feel free to join the fun in the comments section or by e-mailing us at: cardinalcouple@insightbb.com.)


Paul: Thanks to everyone who has joined me today for this discussion. I sent you the two topics of discussion a couple of days ago. Hopefully, you've got opinions by now...so let's get started. Our first topic was about billboards being in the news lately. UofL and UK billboards. What's your take on these? 


Mark: I'll start by saying I don't think a UofL fan seeing a UK billboard in Louisville or a UK fan seeing a Louisville billboard near Lexington will convert them to the other side. I'm not sure they even attract new fans. Both schools are spending money for this type of advertising, though, so they must feel they're getting some sort of return on investment.


 Mort: The bulletin boards are legal and both sides are playing by the same rules and NCAA Guidelines, right? Schools have to promote their programs. 

Jenny: The short answer is, as long as these aren't NCAA violations, I think it's brilliant marketing. Especially the Oregon one that UofL put up. If they do a second one, what I'd love to hear is that it's going up in New York, where Bria's from and we're looking at Chong who is going to high school in New York.. It would maximize the "coast to coast" concept and there may be more New York players besides her interested in Louisville. It's also in BIG EAST country. 

David: I agree with Jenny. It's great marketing. I'm not offended by a Kentucky billboard in Louisville. I love the "Miles Ahead" UofL billboard on I-64 West after you leave Lexington. 


Sonja: I don't like UK billboards in UofL territory. I don't like billboards as a whole, though. There's too many crazy drivers out there already. Why create another distraction for them? 

Sandy: Billboards are just the new thing that will become no big deal if left alone. For awhile, player's homes interstate exits might look like a tourist attraction exit but as long as the boards are generic, why not?


Paul: Good points from all of you. I guess it's safe to say that billboards aren't going to convert fans, might influence potential players and definitely can be creative. I'll chime in by saying I'm a fan of different and multiple advertising venues. Location and the message content are keys. UofL has done well in both areas. 


Our second topic concerns the University of Louisville women's basketball team. Which player is a "can't do without, have to have her in there" for the upcoming season? 

David: I'll offer Monique Reid as a player that needs to get 20-25 minutes a game, if she's back to 2010-11 form. She's a proven scorer. Points are good. You score more than the opponent, you win. Mo knows points. 


Jenny: This is a hard question, because UofL has so many outstanding players. I could make a case for any number of them. I'll make a case for Shawnta Dyer, though. The second half of last year Dyer came into her own and became an anchor in the paint. Absolutely, by far, UofL needs a dominant, strong paint presence. While they have a true center in Sherrone Vails, she wasn't dominating. Dyer is your player, even though she is not a true center. If she's up to last year's form, Dyer is dominating and UofL can't do without her. 

Mark: Shoni. Leadership skills. The way she can take over a game. The team seems to play better when she is in playing under control. Sometimes she may try to do too much but more times than not she helps the team win games. She is the nucleus of the team. 


Mort: Teams win games, not individuals. 

Sonja: I'll agree with Mort. Even though it was Angel McCoughtry who carried the team on her back to the NCAA Championship game, she had four other players out there with her. If forced to choose a player that Louisville has to have night in and night out, I'll go with Shoni. She creates, great skills sets and can do so many things. I'm a big Asia Taylor fan, most of you know that...and if she rehabs well from her hip surgery and can give UofL 15-20 strong minutes on the boards and scoring...I'll choose her, too. I know, that's two players...but that's my answer. 


Sandy: I'm with Jenny. I go with Dyer also. The center spot has been Louisville's weakest spot for awhile. Strong forwards have been assigned the task. Offenses have been designed with no true center in mind in order to dodge the weakness. Dyer came on strong at the end of the season from this spot after the Warren experiment failed and it made a huge difference. 


Paul: Looking back, Hines and Rucker were functional centers, not spectualar. Tise Wright could score, wasn't much of a rebounder, a liability in the transition game. You have to go back to Jazz Covington to find a center that drew a lot of national attention and she was probably better designed to be a power forward at 6'1".


Sonja: I'm going to add Tia Gibbs to my list also. Before her injury, she was the best defender on the team, could score from anywhere on the court and hustled. If she's able to come back and to those things again, she's a "gotta have" for 30 minutes.  


Paul: I'll finish by saying that the "game changers" we've seen in women's college basketball over the past couple of years have been in the paint. Brit Griner = National Championship. Danielle Adams = National Championship. Tina Charles = National Championship. In Louisville's case, it looks like the paint could be "by committee"..with several players sharing time in there. If Walz can develop an effective rotation of his paint players...Dyer, Vails, Walton, Taylor, Hammond and Reid, then this is the "can't do without, have to have" scenario. My phiosophy is this: You have to have the ball to score. If you can rebound effectively on the ends of the court, you control the ball.


On a good night, a team will make four out of every ten shots it takes. If you can control where the ball ends up the other six times, it gives you a decided advantage. Maybe it's because I played center and forward...but I believe rebounding leads to the essential things that lead to wins...like ball control, second-chance opportunities and domination of the paint. Your transition game begins with getting the rebound and getting down the court in most cases. If you miss the shot, having someone that can get the rebound for you and either take another shot or get it to a shooter is a definite plus in your favor. If you have two strong players at the "4" and "5"...you can go with a good shooting guard at the "3". 


Great discussion today, gang!   


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With all the transfers, changes and moving of a couple of Louisville sports websites lately and the Courier-Journal, I decided to go back to the classic comedy routine "Who's on First?" by Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and see if I could get a rational explanation. Here's a guess on how the boys would discuss the chaos. Below is a link to the original routine:


Who's On First


Lou: Hey, Abbott! I hear you're starting a website!
Bud: That information isn't supposed to be out yet..but I am considering it. 
Lou: What's the website going to be about?
Bud: Sports! You know how big a sports fan I am!
Lou: Do you have a name for the website yet? 
Bud: Certainly! What kind of website would it be if it didn't have a name?
Lou: What's the name, Abbott?
Bud: You Asked
Lou: Yes, I did. I'll ask again. What's the name of the website?
Bud: You Asked
Lou: I most certainly did! All I want to know is the name of the website. 
Bud: I told you. You Asked.
Lou: What did you tell me? I asked the name of the website.
Bud: Yes, you asked and I gave you the website's name. You Asked. What's so difficult about that? 
Lou: Yes. I asked you the name of the website, right? 
Bud: No. You Asked. I asked is incorrect.
Lou: You didn't ask. I asked. I asked the name of the website. 
Bud: You Asked.
Lou: So I asked you the name of the website. You say you asked. But you didn't ask. I asked you the name of the website but you keep saying You Asked. 
Bud: Exactly. 
Lou: (throwing his hat to the ground) I want to know the name of the website. I asked you, you say You Asked. I asked. If I wanted to go to the website, what would I type in my browser? 
Bud: You Asked.
Lou: I know I asked! OK? You say you asked but I asked the name of the website and you say...
Bud and Lou (in unison): You Asked. 
Lou: Arrrghhh! OK, let me ask this. Will you be the only writer on the website? 
Bud: No. I've asked May Bee about writing.
Lou: Who did you ask maybe about writing? Why would you ask maybe about writing when it's your website? Why have a website site if you're not going to write? 
Bud: May Bee might write. I'm not sure yet.
Lou: Maybe will write, you don't know?  If you don't write, will there be another writer is what I'm asking!
Bud: I just told you. May Bee!
Lou: I go to the website. I asked the name of the website. I asked who else would write. Maybe will be another writer. 
Bud: No. You Asked . The name of the site is...and May Bee maybe writing. 
Lou:  ( throws hit hat again). My mother calls me from Philly. I tell her you're starting a website. She asks the name of it. What do I tell her?
Bud: You Asked.
Lou: NO! She asked!
Bud: I know. She asked and You Asked will be what she's looking for!
Lou: That's right! Now we're getting somewhere! 
Bud: I certainly hope so! You're wearing me out with all these questions. 
Lou: I talk to my mother. She asked what she's looking for. I asked you what she's looking for. You Asked is what you said. I tell my mother I asked and you asked is what you told me she should be looking for if she asks...
Bud: Exactly! 
Lou: I need an aspirin...
Bud: Well, that doesn't surprise me...with all these silly questions you asked about You Asked.
Lou: My mother goes to her computer. She looks for your site. I asked what she should type in the browser and you say You Asked. I'm confused.
Bud: Why are you confused? You asked about You Asked. I told you to tell your mother You Asked. 
Lou: I asked, she asked, you asked...who's got the answers? Who? Do you know who? 
Bud: May Bee. Ask May Bee if you don't believe me. 
Lou: I ask, maybe, about the site. I ask you who I ask and you say maybe. I asked about the site and you say You Asked. My dear sainted mother, just recently on the internet, wants to read your site and she asks, I ask, you say You Asked and maybe might be a writer...
Bud: Exactly! 
Lou: I hate the Internet...
Bud: That's my next project.



( The domain name youasked.com is available if anyone is interested in it. Have a great weekend!)