HAPPY EASTER!

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Happy Easter Cardinal Couple readers


-Softball completes the sweep of Rutgers 3-2


-Lacrosse falls to Georgetown


-Golf moves up a spot


-Beautiful afternoon in Lexington? They can exist

We wish our readers a HAPPY EASTER and hope you have a great Sunday. Whether it's a family get-together and meal, religious services or raiding the kids' Easter basket...we hope it's a great day for you. Christianity teaches that followers should rejoice in the news that Christ rose from the dead and has ascended to be with His Father in heaven. Whatever your religious affiliation is, we hope it's a beautiful Sunday for you.


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A sunny, if bit chilly, day greeted the softball Cards in their final game of the series against Rutgers yesterday morning. The early start of 11 a.m. may have had a few of the fans yawning and reaching for the coffee, and it had the batters of both team a bit tardy in their performances as well. UofL's Tori Collins and Rutgers' Alyssa Landrith were pitching dual no hitters after two innings in this one. 


Rutgers' Lindsey Curran singled with two out in the top of the third to deep short for the first hit of the game but it was Louisville who placed the first runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. 


Hannah Kiyohara began the inning with a base on balls and Maggie Ruckenbrod's bunt advanced her to second. Whitney Arion followed with a screaming shot down the left field line for a double...scoring Kiyohara.

Jennifer Esteban reached next on a fielding error by Rutgers second baseman Jennifer Hambedian. Arion was picked off trying to steal but a Jordy Trimble single to left scored Esteban to make 2-0 Cards. Katie Keller's blast to deep left brought Trimble home to complete the Cardinal scoring for the bottom of the third. 3-0 Cards. 


With Collins on the stripe, Cardinal fans felt confident as Rutgers came to bat in the top of the fourth. The Scarlet Knights, though, were not ready to concede the ballgame. After a single and walk allowed, Alexis Durando touched Collins for a two-RBI double to right center. Collins recovered to get the final two outs on a couple of pop-ups but it was 3-2 midway through the 4th inning. 


And it stayed that way. Louisville went down in order in the bottom of the fourth and Chelsea Leonard took over at pitcher to begin the fifth. She allowed two singles in three innings of work to pick up her seventh save of the season. Louisville threatened in the bottom of the fifth with two on and two outs but couldn't produce a score. 


Collins gets the win to go to 15-1 on the year. Louisville had six hits against Rutgers' Landrith, who went the distance for the Scarlet Knight. A crowd of around 600 watched the game and Louisville improves to 33-2 on the season. 


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Nearly 400 watched the Louisville Lacrosse team battle Georgetown Saturday afternoon in the lacrosse stadium. The Cards fell short against the #13 Hoyas 19-11. 


Georgetown opened strong with the first four scores of the contest and held a 10-5 at the break. 

"Lacrosse is a game of runs. If you can be with that wave, you can always come back. Even when we were down by eight, I wasn't rattled I knew we could come back. We had opportunities but we didn't finish on our shooting" -- Louisville lacrosse head coach Kellie Young.


The Hoyas put this one away early in the second half with four straight goals but the Cards out-played Georgetown 6-5 the rest of the way. Nikki Boltja led Louisville with four goals. The Cards (3-8, 1-3) travel to Rutgers on Friday for their next match. 


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Day two in the Bryan National Collegiate saw the Louisville women's golf team move up one spot and freshman Katie Petrino lead the Cards with a 75 to put Louisville in 16th place in the tournament with a 633. Tennessee leads with a 581.

Petrino is tied for 49th with a two day score of 154. Other Cardinal results:


Emily Haas --  76 Saturday. 155 total
Candice Wiley -- 81 Saturday. 159 total
Sara Karlsson -- 84 Saturday. 164 total
Maria Castellanos -- 84 Saturday. 169 total


Louisville's top player from last season, Anna-Karin Llungstrom is recovering from thumb surgery but could return in time for the BIG EAST Championships. The Cards finish up the 3-day event today.


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Unplanned circumstances prevented CARDINAL COUPLE from making the trek to Lexington and historic Keeneland yesterday but we get this report from our buddy and CARDINAL COUPLE reader Bob who did make the trip. 


(Paul did discuss some picks and favorites with him throughout the day via phone and the boys did quite well on their selections) 


It was a great day for racing at a packed Keeneland Race Course Saturday. I would even say it was a beautiful afternoon in Lexington. Being a Cardinal fan, that is a tough statement. 

My day started rather rough with wagering selections. I was 0 for 3 after three races. I got my comeback started with Royal Start in the fourth race. A nice ride by Paul's favorite jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. and a nice payout at 7-1. Paul and I talked about Billy Mott's entry in the fifth race. Al Khali went off at 3-1 and hit the wire first. Alan Garcia rode the winner and he is one to watch at Keeneland. More on that later.


I now had two nice wins in a row now and treated myself and my friend I was there with to the concession stand. There are places at Keeneland you can get served pretty quickly. Even with yesterday's wall-to-wall crowd. We looked at the next race and I suggested we try a Pick 3 since there were several horses I thought had a chance in the next three races. We were in agreement and we came up with a 50 cent wheel that cost us a mere $9 each. I called Paul while I was standing in line to bet it and he asked me to duplicate the bet for him. 


I barely got the wager placed before the race. The windows were crawling slow. There ought to be a special area set aside for first-time bettors. They can really slow the wagering process down. The automatic wagering machines are usually a good option for me but they had deep lines in  front them too and there aren't nearly enough of them at Keeneland.

We ran into friends and races 6,7 and 8 seemed to zip by. I didn't get to the windows to do anything else. I was yelling pretty loudly when James Graham got 15-1 long-shot Karlovy Vary to the lead in the eighth race and held off favorite Stephanie's Kitten to win the Ashland Stakes.



We had just won the Pick 3 and celebrated when we saw our payout was a little over $200. I called Paul with the good news and it had turned out to be a great day in Big Blue Country. After cashing our tickets, we were ready to leave but we ran into a former classmate of my friend. They began chatting it up and I studied the final two races of the day. I decided to wager a Daily Double based on jockey/trainer combinations and, once again, barely got my selections in before the race started. And, a special thanks to the lady two people in front of me who spent a good two minutes telling the cashier what she wanted and then realized she didn't have enough money and proceeded to start over. 


Alan Garcia, who I mentioned earlier, came through in a big way for us in the final two races by winning on Ken McPeek's Scotus in the ninth and Todd Pletcher's Counterparty in the final. The $2 Daily Double paid $57 and I had it in several combinations. 


We left in a great mood and even the horribly slow traffic exit strategy they have up there couldn't bring our spirits down. Good days in Lexington? Despite all the 'blue' up there, they can happen and do exist. 


(Yay! Bob! Thanks for the report and it was a pleasure handicapping with you via cell phone!) 


The Derby picture got even more muddled after three key prep races on Saturday. I'll Have Another upset favorite Creative Cause in the Santa Anita Derby. Done Talking nipped favorite Morgan's Guerrilla in the Illinois Derby and potential Derby favorite Gemologist had to use a late, charging rally to catch and pass Alpha in Aqueduct's Wood Memorial. With just four weeks until Derby, there really is no clear choice for the winner's circle. Don't ya love it? 


CARDINAL COUPLE will offer some picks and selections as Derby gets closer. You've been properly warned. Here's our first ranking and we've also listed our favorite handicapper John Asher's selections, too. 


PAUL                       SONJA                JOHN


1. Hansen                 1. Gemologist   1. Union Rags
2. I'll Have Another   2. Union Rags   2. Hansen
3. Alpha                   3. Liaison          3.Creative Cause
4. Morgan's Guerrilla 4. Alpha           4. Gemologist
5. Bodemeister         5. El Padrino     5. Bodemeister
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..
...  

Jesus Easter Video

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

A happy Easter to all our readers, friends and contributors! Remember that HE is risen and HE will be with us always. 

PAUL & SONJA

When things do wrong, as they sometimes will.
When the road you are travelling seems all up hill
When the funds are low and the debt is high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest if you must, but don't you quit
Life can be strange with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When you might have won had you stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you  are
It may well be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit.
It's when things seem the worst that...
YOU MUST NOT QUIT.  

Happy Easter to you!

Happy Easter to all of our readers. We all enjoy the fun of the little ones searching for eggs during the Easter Egg Hunts and the delight and joy in their faces when they find their Easter baskets on Sunday morning but please keep the true meaning and reason in mind why we have an Easter Sunday. He has risen and lives within all of us.

My favorite Easter story goes back quite a few years ago when I was a college student. Members of our fraternity volunteered each year to assist at a large Easter egg hunt at one of the local parks. Our primary duties were to help the youngsters find the hidden eggs, especially if they hadn't found any... and make sure no one got hurt during the mad scramble at the start. As I remember it, the Saturday I will tell you about was a bit chilly and we were dressed in coats and jackets. I noticed two small boys, walking a bit slower than most of the kids in the mad pursuit and I went over to them to help them in their search. As we hunted, we talked. One of the boys asked me if there really was an Easter Bunny and I told him that there was. He then asked why the Easter Bunny had skipped their house the previous year and why his mom said that he would be skipping their house tomorrow. The young boys were brothers and they both looked at me...waiting for my answer.

I told them that they could count on the Easter Bunny making a stop at their house on Sunday. That seemed to cheer them and they eventually found several eggs. I walked them back to where their mother was waiting. She was underdressed for the chilly weather and looked a lot older than you would expect for having two young sons that were preschool age. As we went back to their car, I asked for her address. She looked at me suspiciously and I assured her that all I wanted to do was make sure that these boys got an Easter basket. Tears welled up in her eyes and she explained that she could barely make ends meet each month and they were the victims of a deserted father and she was unable to find full time, steady employment.

"What I could really use, mister..." she mournfully answered, "is $50 to make sure they've got food next week." She did give me the address, though, and thanked me for caring.

I went to work when we arrived back at the frat house. Several hours later, a couple of us were headed to the drugstore down the street from us, armed with cash.

That next morning, I awoke early and drove to their house. I tapped on the door and she answered. I handed her two Easter baskets and an envelope.

"This is a gift from my fraternity brothers and me." I told her. "I hope it helps and that your boys enjoy the baskets. I'd also like you to call the phone number in the envelope. The man (an alumni fraternity brother of ours) you'll be talking to might be able to help you in finding a job that pays a little more."

She invited me in for coffee, explaining that the boys were still asleep, but I told her that I was running late for Easter church services and would have to decline. She insisted, though and I sat in the small, dilapidated house with her for a few moments sipping coffee and talking about how the boys were so excited that I had told them that the Easter Bunny would be coming. I left before they awoke and before she opened the envelope.

Several weeks later, I received a letter from her. She thanked the fraternity for the Easter baskets, the $150 in cash and the job lead. She had been hired, enjoyed her job and the extra money it brought in. She had also met a "nice, caring man" who worked at the factory and she had begun to date him.

I never heard anymore about her or the boys until many years later. A young man came up to me at an alumni/student fraternity gathering. He introduced himself and then related that he was the younger of the two boys I had met that Saturday years ago. He had enrolled in college and was pledging the fraternity that had helped him, his brother and mother that day. He caught me up on the years that had passed since then. His mother eventually married the "nice, caring man" she had been dating but she died several years ago of cancer. The step father raised the two boys, never remarrying and eventually became a vice president at the company. The older brother received an academic scholarship to attend Alabama and was majoring in biology, hoping to become a doctor.

He also told me that he had wanted to attend college and eventually join the fraternity that his mother had spoke so proudly of for years. We still talk occasionally. He now lives in Denver...married and with two young children of his own...working as an accountant. His older brother is a physician in Atlanta. He told me that he also helps organize the annual Easter egg hunt for the children of the church he attends.

Paying it forward.

Happy Easter, everyone.

Written by Paul
4/4/10