SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards split double header with Syracuse in softball

-CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO Today!

I guess it's only fitting that we'd see a "good Carl" on Good Friday at Ulmer Stadium...Connell dominated the Syracuse softball team in the first game 8-1 The junior had 11 strikeouts in the win and allowed just two hits. Louisville lambasted the Orange with two homers and eight hits.

The second game didn't turn out so well for the Cards...losing 4-2 to the 'Cuse.

LOUISVILLE 8 - SYRACUSE 1

Katie Keller went 3 for 4 in the UofL win and homer as the Cards struggled early against Syracuse hurler Lindsay Taylor. It was 1-0 Syracuse going into the bottom of the fifth before the Cards bats finally started popping.

Kayla Soles reached on a two-base error and scored on Taner Fowler's two-run blast to put the Cards ahead. They weren't finished with the inning...Jasmine Smithson-Willett and Katie Keller singled, advanced on a Jordan Trimble bunt and scored on a singles from Alicja Wolny and Hannah Kiyohara. A double from Whitney Arion plated Wolny and Louisville led 5-1 after five. 

Three more Cardinals got greeted at home plate in the sixth. Fowler singled, Smithson-Willett drew a walk and Keller blasted her team-leading eighth homer of the year.

Louisville wins 8-1. Connell goes to 17-2 on the season.

SYRACUSE 4 - LOUISVILLE 2

The Orange drew first blood in the second game. Four first inning hits had the visitors up 2-0 early. Syracuse added two more in the fourth, which sent Rachel LeCoq to the bench, when Danielle Chitkowski reached and Mary Dombrowski sent a blast over the right-center fence to make it 4-0.

The Cards tried to rally in the sixth. Katelyn Mann bunt singled and Maggie Ruckenbrod received a base on balls. Alicja Wolny followed with a double that scored both but the Cards could offer no further offense after that.

LeCoq takes the loss with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing all four runs and seven hits to go to 10-4. Connell pitched well in relief...striking out seven of the eight batters she reached in 2.2 innings.

The teams play again today with a noon start.

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CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO is back on the air this morning at 11 a.m. with our weekly show. We'll look at UofL womens' hoops, softball and we invite you to stay tuned immediately after the show for two hours of live coverage of the Crescent Hill Easter Parade on Frankfort Avenue.

www.crescenthillradio.com

Jeff will be driving the CARDINAL COUPLE chimps up and down the parade route in his jeep as they toss bananas and soft boiled eggs at the crowd...so come hungry. Jenny and I will be in the back of Sonja's battered 1991 Toyota Pickup, dressed as 18th century fedual lords...singing our favorite Beatles and Metallica songs to stunned parade-watchers.

-Paulie

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Friday Cardinal Couple --Slaughter, Schimmel, Softball, Golf and more today!

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Shoni, Nita gain BIG EAST awards

-Softball hosts Red and Black Classic

-Wiley BIG EAST golfer of the week

-BIG EAST WBB Tournament starts today!

-Walz ready for BIG EAST Tournament


Boy, oh boy have we got a lotta stuff for you today in the Friday edition of Cardinal Couple! Grab a seat, hold on and fasten your seat belts....off we go!

Shoni 1st team BIG EAST, Nita second team

Louisville WBB's Shoni Schimmel and Nita Slaughter have been honored for their excellent play this season...Shoni named to the First Team All-BIG EAST squad and Nita Slaughter to the Second Team. Shoni was first team also last year and Nita is on the second squad for the first time.

Shoni leads the Cards in scoring (13.7 ppg) and in assists (3.7). She's also second in free throw percentage (80%). The shifty Schimmel was BIG EAST Player of the Week for her performance against South Florida earlier this season, scoring a career-high 38 points. She was on the pre-season All-BIG EAST first team and also is on the Wade Watch mid-season list.

Nita is third in scoring for the Lady Cards (10.2 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.1 rpg). She's also the leading three-point percentage shooter for Louisville (36.2%). Nita was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 28th. and has scored in double figures 16 out of her 18 games.

The BIG EAST Tournament begins today at 4 p.m. and Louisville has their first game at noon Sunday.

(Thanks to Louisville women's basketball assistant S.I.D. Kim Pemberton for the information)

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Softball swings into action today with the Red and Black Classic at Ulmer Stadium. Sandy Pearsall's squad gets four games in three days...Michigan today at 4 p.m., Miami of Ohio Saturday at 2:30 p.m.,Austin Peay Saturday at 5 p.m. and Illinois State Sunday at 3 p.m.

The #13 Cards are offering a few promos, too...to game attendees. Free softball shirts for the first 150 fans Friday, Trading Card #1 giveaway for the first 150 fans Saturday and team autographs after Sunday's contest.

Full schedule of the Red and Black Classic below:

FRIDAY MARCH 8

11 a.m.      Miami (OH) vs Austin Peay
1:30 p.m.   Miami (OH) vs Michigan
4 p.m.        LOUISVILLE vs Michigan

SATURDAY MARCH 9

9:30 a.m.   Illinois State vs Michigan
12 p.m.      Illinois State vs, Austin Peay
2:30 p.m.   LOUISVILLE vs. Miami (OH)
5 p.m.        LOUISVILLE vs. Austin Peay

SUNDAY  MARCH 10

10 a.m.      Miami (OH) vs Austin Peay
12:30 p.m. Miami (OH) vs Illinois State
3 p.m.        LOUISVILLE vs. Illinois State.


Nice of the Classic planners to schedule the Sunday game after the UofL WBB game. Plenty of time to hop in the ol' jalopy and catch softball after the Cards win in the quarterfinals in the BIG EAST Tournament.

Louisville (16-3) also plays WKU on Tuesday, March 12th. at Ulmer.

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CandIce Wiley, a senior starter for UofL women's golf has been named BIG EAST Golfer of the Week! She finished tied for 12th in the Sir Pizza Terrapin Challenge last week. It was her first Top 20 finish of the season.

UofL ended up sixth in the tournament, Wiley leading the way for the Cards with a 223 score. A season low 71 for her in Round 1 with back-to-back 76's in rounds 2 and 3.

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Finally, the BIG EAST Tournament gets underway today at 4 p.m. First game is #13 seed Cincinnati against #12 seed Seton Hall. Pitt and Marquette follow at 6 p.m. and Providence and Georgetown play in the nightcap at 8 p.m.

All are available at no cost on BIGEAST.tv online.

Coach Walz spoke to members of the media Thursday at Cardinal Arena and has a healthy respect for any of the three opponents the Cards might face on Sunday. Walz is happy that the Cards are hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and urges you to buy your NCAA Tickets to see Louisville play in the KFC YUM! Center.

He also says that Louisville will have to play perfect to defeat Notre Dame if the two match up in the semi-finals. Monique Reid will be available for action and the Cards are leaving out early this morning to fly to Hartford, stopping off in Baltimore to pick up a few fans...(his sly way of telling us that they're on Southwest and not a charter flight.)

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You have until noon to get your picks in for the CARDINAL COUPLE Pick 'Em Contest. As promised, another staff member's picks. Our basketball guru Jenny O'Bryan sees it this way:

Friday:
Seton Hall, Marquette and Georgetown win
Saturday:
St John's, USF, DePaul and Villanova advance
Sunday:
Louisville, Notre Dame, UCONN and Syracuse triumph
Monday:
Notre Dame and UCONN continue
Tuesday:
UCONN takes the Tournament Title.

You can enter at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com or by leaving your picks in the comments section. Make sure and leave your name and a way to reach you if you win. I got one anonymous pick already....fortunately, it has Syracuse winning it all and that, folks...just isn't going to happen.

$25 Chili's Gift Card to the winner!

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Lacrosse only action on Wednesday

WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

It’s a quiet day in the ‘Ville.  After a disappointing loss at Syracuse Monday night, the basketball Cards returns home for some rest, classes and practice before heading to Hartford for the Big East Tournament. 

In the meantime, the fields were quiet on Tuesday, too.  Next up for Louisville Women’s Athletics is lacrosse.  Lacrosse hopes to return to their winning ways as they take to the field on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. at U of L Lacrosse Stadium. 

The Cardinals had a brief encounter with national rankings last week checking in at #20.  After the first loss on the season against Denver, the Cards fell out of the rankings this week, but are still receiving votes.  Denver, the lone loss for the Cards, also unranked, received votes in this week’s poll.

The Cardinals return home to face Vanderbilt.  Vanderbilt is 1-5 on the season with two top 10 losses to Duke and last years Champions, Northwestern.  Vanderbilt leads the series against the Cards, 2-1, with their most recent win over the Cards coming last season in a close match where the Cardinals fell 15-12.

 Looking to redeem that loss, no doubt, the Cardinals will need to put their 6^th ranked defense to work.  The Commodores are ranked 10^th in overall goals and have two senior standouts in attacker Carly Linthicum and goalkeeper Chelsea Pasfield.
 

The two are ranked 2^nd and 1^st, respectively, in their specialty on the field.  Cardinals will have their work cut out for them. 

If you are like me and are working during the match today, you can watch for free online at CardsTV at www.gocards.com.  The game will also be broadcast statewide on WHAS Channel 11.2, Insight 432, or Comcast 207.

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Don't forget to try your luck in the Cardinal Couple BIG EAST WBB Pick 'Em Tournament contest we are having. Entries by Friday noon. $25 Chili's gift card to the winner. You can leave them in a comments section or e-mail them directly to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com Be sure to add your name and a way to contact you if you win.


Former CARDINAL COUPLE columnist David Watson is in. His winners are below

DAY 1.  Seton Hall, Marquette, Providence,
DAY 2.  Seton Hall, USF, Marquette, Villanova
DAY 3.  Seton Hall, Notre Dame. UConn, Villanova
DAY 4.  Notre Dame, Villanova
DAY 5.  Notre Dame.



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Sunday Cardinal Couple - Softball takes two. Lacrosse takes a loss

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Softball downs Longwood, Ga Tech in Citrus.

-Lacrosse falls in Mile High City

-UofL women's swimmer "three peat"

-With a little help, WBB earns double bye


#15 Cardinal softball won both outings Saturday in the Citrus Classic in chilly Orlando...breaking Longwood 9-1 and stinging the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 6-3 on ESPN 3.

LOUISVILLE 9 - LONGWOOD 1

Six innings was all it took to win the first game on Saturday, Louisville getting a strong pitching performance from Rachel Le Coq and the Cards bats producing 11 hits.

Longwood took the early lead 1-0 after one inning but Louisville responded with two runs in the second frame. Maggie Ruckenbrod singled and scored on Hannah Kiyohara's three-bagger. Kiyohara got greeted at home when Chrisanna Roberts singled. Roberts has been playing center field a lot lately...not sure what's going on with Jordan Trimble, but we do have a call in to Louisville Softball Sports Information.

The Cards made in 6-0 in the fifth. Kayla Soles' double brought home Katie Keller and Jennifer Esteban and Ruckenbrod doubled later in the inning to score Soles and Alicja Wolny.

The Cards added the final three runs in the sixth. Esteban drilled a double that got Kiyohara and Keller back to the dugout and Esteban made it 9-1 when she scored on a Longwood error.

LeCoq gave up just one run on five hits, Caralisa Connell pitched the final 1.2 innings for the Cards allowing just one hit and fanning three.

LOUISVILLE 6 - GEORGIA TECH 3

UofL got a huge performance from Alicja Wolny in the battle against the Yellow Jackets with two home runs and Whitney Arion added a third round-tripper. Carl Connell went the distance in the circle for Sandy Pearsall and the Cards improved to 15-3 on the season with the win over the future ACC opponent.

Louisville used four hits in the first inning to sprint out to a 3-0 advantage. Keller scored after doubling and Esteban reached the plate on a Ruckenbrod single. Soles put the Cards up by three...scoring on an Arion single.

The Cards went up 4-1 when Arion took one out over the right-center field barrier. Wolny increased the Cardinal advantage to 5-1 with her first homer in the top of the fifth to right field and she made it 6-2 in the top of the seventh with her second "touch 'em all"...a massive blast over the center field fence.

Connell (9-2) gave up three runs, on seven hits and stuck out nine G.T. batters.

Louisville ends their stay in Mouseville with a matinee versus LSU today.

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Four goals each from Nikki Boltja and Katie Oliverio went enough Saturday in the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver, Colorado...Louisville Lacrosse losing for the first time this season....as the Denver Pioneers take a 19-13 win.

Defense not as efficient as in the first three games of the year for Coach Young...and the Cards had 13 first half turnovers...trailing 8-5 at the intermission. Denver scored the first three goals of the match and got a score with just 26 seconds remaining to go up by three.

After three straight Pioneer scores to start the final half , the Cards rallied to cut the lead to 11-8, Nikki Boltja leading the charge with two goals. Denver responded with their own run, though, and pushed their advantage to 15-8. Louisville did outscore the Pioneers 5-4 the rest of the way...but it wasn't enough to produce a win.

Lacrosse returns home for a Wednesday, March 6th draw against Vanderbilt. Game time is 1 p.m.

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Congratulations to the Louisville women's swimming and diving squad, who captured their third straight BIG EAST Conference title in Indianapolis yesterday...defeating Notre Dame and the eight other BIG EAST schools involved in the swimming championships.

Coming up big for Louisville was Kelsi Worrell, who won the 100-free...barely defeating teammate Breann McDowell. The Cards also won the 400-free relay with Worrell, McDowell, Krissie Brandenburg and Grite Apanaviciute combining to set a new BIG EAST record in the process.

Hannan Gadd came in second in women's platform diving for Louisville.

Great job, splashers! Best of luck in the NCAA...

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Louisville WBB got some huge help Saturday from Villanova and Seton Hall...the VU Wildcats knocking off Syracuse in three overtimes 77-75 and SHU downing St. John's 61-50.

What it means is that the Cards are assured of a double bye in the BIG EAST Conference, regardless of the outcome Monday night in Syracuse between the Orange and the Ville.

A win against the Quentin Hillsman coached Syracuse team would keep Louisville in third place in the final conference regular season standings. A loss would drop them into a tie with Syracuse for third but they would still own the tie-breaker of St. John, if the Red Storm wins Monday.

A little pressure off now, the Cards can go up to the Dome and take care of business against the tough 'Cuse team. We'll preview it tomorrow here at the 'Couple!

WE discussed how impressed we were with the Seton Hall bunch after their appearance here Wednesday during our CARDINAL COUPLE Radio Show on Saturday. They were probably listening and went out and proved us right yesterday. Pirates rock, anyway and I'm having Jenny and Jeff wear eye-patches and say 'ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!" a lot on this upcoming Saturday's broadcast.
 
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Finally, thanks to Jenny O'Bryan and Jeff McAdams for co-hosting the inaugrual broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Hour on Crescent Hill Radio Saturday with me.

WE had a fun time, didn't mess up too much on 'live radio' and discussed a lot of Louisville women's athletic topics.

Miss it, did you? Not to worry, the broadcast is hanging out up there somewhere on a sound cloud and you can find it at:

http://www.crescenthillradio.com


Just go to the site and click on the ARCHIVES link. We're there waiting for you.

Paulie

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Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Cardinal Resolutions

( Staff Columnist Jenny O'Bryan returns today with a list of resolutions for 2013. We're going to add a couple here for her...Stay healthy in 2013 and keep our readers informed with the best of Cardinal women's sports! )

Well, it is that time of year again.  Time for most of us to make New Year resolutions, that often fall by the wayside weeks, if not months, in to the New Year.   Over the years, I have become a bit more realistic in my goals for the upcoming year, and with that, have had better, longer lasting success at meeting those goals. 

Last year’s resolution was to do at least one home project a month for at least 6 months.  Any of you that are homeowners know, there is often a never-ending list of things to be done.  Between work, kids activities if you are blessed with them, keeping up with the day to day rigors of dogs, laundry, cleaning, dinner, grocery shopping and yard upkeep, there is not a lot of time left to tackle the bigger projects.  I am happy to say last year I accomplished some great projects that were long overdue.  With one big project a month, it is hardly enough to cut in to the laundry list of things to be done, but this approach made it more manageable for me. 

This past year, thanks to my resolution, I researched, planned, and planted a new tree to replace one that did not make it through the ice storm several years ago.   In keeping with that, the first project included cutting down the aforementioned, medium sized tree that still stood in the front yard, so that a new one could go in.  Against all odds, no one, or the neighbor’s belongings, were injured or damaged in meeting this goal.  An arborist I am not, but it got done.  After a season with a new deck on the back of the house, a huge project was cleaning, water sealing and decorating the new deck.  Many a Cardinal Couple articles were written from that very spot, having accomplished that goal this past year.   Those are a few of the projects knocked off the list last year.  For everyone accomplished, 2-3 more were added.   That same resolution sits atop my New Years list again this year. 

All this leads me to a new resolution to add to my list this year.  Upon reflection, I have come up with a few Cardinal Resolutions.   As many of you regular readers know, basketball seems to be my sport of passion.  Hence, the majority of my Cardinal Resolutions revolve around basketball. 

Follow my team:  I am an avid fan of Cardinal Women’s Basketball.  I never miss a home game.  Last year I traveled to several reasonable away games.  This season, I intend to expand upon that!  A minimum of one away game that requires travel will be attended.  Right now, it is looking like the Notre Dame game, February 11.   Many of the top teams in the country travel well.  While Louisville’s home game attendance ranks second in the country, I am pretty sure not a lot of us travel.  I want to change that.  I am starting that for myself, this season. 

Support my team:  It is easy to be a fan when things are going well.  With injuries to this program the last two seasons, high hopes upon the opening of the season always need to be tempered with reasonable expectations.  Regardless of what is going on with the personnel, I need to support my team, through the wins and especially through the losses.  I am not a coach, and have never been a coach, I remind myself to support my team, and the coaches, they are the experts here, not me as a courtside watcher. 

Watch more high school ball:  The state of Kentucky is loaded with young, upcoming talent.  Not only do I want to get out and see some of that young talent, I want to take in a big AAU Tournament this upcoming summer travel season.  As a fan of the recruiting world, the best way to know the talent is to see it, and I plan to get out and watch some high school ball. 

Learn about lacrosse:  I have never seen a lacrosse game.  I cannot write one intelligent sentence about lacrosse.  I intend to change that.  I am not sure how intelligent my reporting about Lacrosse will be, but I vow to read and learn about lacrosse, and challenge myself to convey that to Cardinal Couple readers.   

Do you have any Cardinal Resolutions you want share?  Email us or comment below.  If you want to join me at Notre Dame, let me know!  I am sure our team would love the support! 

( Editor's Note...Louisville plays at South Bend on Monday, Feb.11th at 9:00 p.m.)

Happy New Year, readers!  May 2013 bring you much peace, health and happiness, and may our Cardinal student athletes continue to excel both in the classroom and on their respective courts!

Merry Christmas Cardinal Couple readers!

XMAS EDITION : CARDINAL COUPLE



MERRY CHRISTMAS READERS!

On the bus for another away game!

It's been an incredible year here at Cardinal Couple and we want to thank all of you for your readership. e-mails, comments and support. It's hard to believe that CARDINAL COUPLE is almost four years old. A site we didn't think would last very long has turned into a site that now gets over 2700 hits a day. A site that now has weekly writers and carried by several news conglomerates and has posted close to 1200 articles. Yes, we are amazed, humbled and very thankful. Never saw it coming.

2012 has been an amazing year for UofL women's sports. Beginning in January, we watched at the UofL women's basketball team held their own against tough BIG EAST competition, made it into the NCAA Tournament and nearly advanced to the Sweet Sixteen...losing a tough battle to Maryland on their home court in College Park, MD.

Arthur Albiero's swimming and diving team took another BIG EAST title and spring brought us the promise of softball, track and field and lacrosse. Who can forget the 55-win season by Sandy Pearsall's club and hosting the NCAA Regionals? Track and field notched another BIG EAST title.

Voleyball's future looks bright!

After the students returned to fall classes, the field hockey and soccer teams had BIG EAST success and volleyball came out and blistered the BIG EAST with the regular season and tournament titles. The NCAA Championships took place at the KFC YUM! Center and Louisville narrowly missed being a Final Four participant.

Cardinal women's athletes battled hard all year in 13 sports and we salute each and every participant for their service to UofL.

Basketball is 1/3 of the way through as we write this and the Cards are rolling on all eight cylinders with a #14 ranking and sparkling 11-2 record.

Columnists Jenny O'Bryan and Jeff McAdams

We're thankful for all the great opportunities we've had to provide Cardinal coverage. We're also grateful for having the best writing staff around over the last three years in Jenny, Sandy, Jeff, Quentin, Mark, David and Donny.

May you have the best of the holiday season and thank you for making this site a joy and pleasure to present and produce each day! We look forward to 2013 and hope you make that journey with us...

Paul & Sonja
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Battle in the Bluegrass

Sunday Cardinal Couple

-Are you ready? It's Cards vs. Cats Sunday at 6 p.m.

( We happily give the pre-game preview from our most excellent columnist Jenny O'Bryan. We are so pleased and impressed with her synopsis that we are foregoing inserting any pictures. The straight and un-diluted Jenny...coming right at you....Enjoy it. We'll have the game recap later today.)  

The Louisville Cardinals defend an 8-0 start today at The KFC YUM Center at 6:00 p.m. with a nationally televised game (ESPNU) pitting two top 10 ten teams against each other, and a inter-state rivalry like no other.  The Battle of the Bluegrass!  Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats, #6 vs. #8, and both led by young coaches who are changing the landscape of women’s basketball in the state of Kentucky. 

Kentucky leads the overall series 30-17,and they won last years match up 74-54.  The home team has won each of the last 4 match ups (convincingly) and Louisville looks to keep the home team winning ways alive for another year. 

The Wildcats enter the matchup 5-1 with their only loss coming to Baylor.  They are led by Louisville native, senior All-American candidate A’dia Mathies who is averaging 14.5 ppg, who also leads the team in assists, steals and 3 point shots made.   Junior forward Samarie Walker leads on the boards averaging 8 boards per game and junior forward  DeNesha Stallworth leads the team with 11 blocks this season.  

The Wildcats are loaded with talent, across the board.  Look for them to pressure the ball early, and hard.  Coach Matthew Mitchell indicated in their loss to Louisville two years ago, at The YUM Center, the crowd really rattled his team.  Look for them to try to minimize that effect this year, by striking early and often.  Coach Mitchell likes a heavy guard line up and builds his system around pressuring the ball and creating turnovers.   He keeps fresh legs on the court substituting at times.Like last year... an entire line up at a time. 

A likely starting line up for the Wildcats will include the aforementioned Mathies at guard, sophomore guard Bria Goss, junior guard Maegan Conwright, and junior forward/centers Walker and Stallworth, mentioned above.  Walker ( UCONN) nor Stallworth (California) saw minutes against Louisville last year due to transfer rules.
 

Stallworth will be a force in the paint... leading the team with blocks this year, but adds an extra challenge for defenders because she can knock down the 3.  This season will be Walker’s first full season playing for the Wildcats, allowed to play late December and all of conference and post season play last season.   

As mentioned before, Coach Mitchell keeps fresh legs in the game.  Expect a lot of bench play in this game.  The lone freshman in the class, Janee Thompson is seeing lots of minutes as is Jennifer O’Neill, Azia Bishop and Kastine Evans.   Like Coach Walz, the Kentucky bench is seeing a lot of time on the court and the bench riders likely could be a starter on any given day. 

I expect this to be a very physical game, the potential for a lot of fouls, and a fun exciting game to watch.  Kentucky has ventured away from their friendly confines only once thus far, travelling to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor.   Road tested this season they are not, and I believe this will be a huge advantage for the Cardinals today.  

Keys to a Cardinal victory:
 

Contain A’dia Mathies- While there are many weapons on this team, and any of them can hurt you on a given day, make no doubt, this is Mathies’s team.  The Cardinals must contain her. 

Valued possessions- I am sure this has been a talking point all week with Coach Walz and this team.  The Cardinals must take care of the ball.  Kentucky will cause turnovers.  Expect it, but limit it.  Additionally, the Cardinals cannot take mental breaks and contribute to this number by contributing with unforced turnovers.   Take care of the ball!

Free throws- With a physical team, the potential exists to shoot from the line.  Cardinals must do better in this stat.  3 missed free throws could be the difference in this game, let alone 10.   The Cardinals must make fouling a liability and must control this stat. 

40 minutes of basketball- At times this season the Cards have looked brilliant, playing great basketball on both ends of the court.  3 minutes later they have gone foggy and get stuck there for minutes or sometimes for an entire half.  Great teams play the entire 40 minutes, whether you are ahead, or behind.  This team must play the entire 40 minutes of good basketball.  I do not even think it has to be great basketball for 40 minutes, but good solid ball.  40 minutes. 

Full squad affair- Like Kentucky, our Cardinals have a deep and talented bench.  Gone are the days of a dominant, one player team.   Louisville has depth, and will need that depth, as a whole, to have a good game.  While is great to be in the position of a different player every game stepping up, to carry the load, this game is different.  All the girls need to have a good game.  A good game, not great, from every player on the team that sees minutes will equal a win.   

In many ways, Louisville and Kentucky match up in a lot of ways.  Both like to pressure the ball and have deep and capable benches.  This has the potential to be an exciting, back and forth match.  If both teams play to their abilities, it should be a close match, to the end.   This is a winnable game for our Cards.  I look for an extension of the undefeated season for our Cards as well as the home team winning streak, but more importantly, bragging rights for the next year on the hardwood.   

If you were on the fence about attending this game today, I cannot impress upon you enough the need to have butts in the seats.  DVR the game to watch at a later date, but show up, stand up, and stand out for this team.  As the 6^th man on the court we are invaluable to our teams success.  I have been excited to be a part of game changing crowds at many events and expect nothing less from the Cardinal Faithful today. 

One added bonus to get there early is the game day arrival of Nell Fortner and her Nell On Wheels event.  Starting at 5:00 p.m. in the lobby of the YUM Center look for former Auburn Coach Fortner for her game day interviews and activities prior to tip. 

This is a big one folks.  No doubt about it.  Likely the biggest game we will see at home this season, less the first rounds of the tournament.  There is a lot to celebrate right now with Cardinal Athletics.  Get out, show your support and let’s help our team defend home court!  I’ll see you there.  

If you cannot go, the game is on ESPNU.

Postscript 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Just spent about 30 minutes on the phone with former CARDINAL COUPLE columnist David Watson talking about today's game. The irrepressable Mr Watson also sent me this e-mail about the game.

" I see five key points today. First is Mo often and early. Second is controlling turnovers. Shoni and the Cards guards will be pressured the entire game. How well they respond to that is the deciding between a win and a loss. Next  is free throw conversion. The winner of the free throw attempts will win this one, in my opinion. Also, Louisville needs a huge game out of Sara Hammond. Scoring and on the boards. Finally, bench play is going to be crucial. This game will be played at a helter-skelter pace. If the Cards can get valuable minutes out of Jude, Shawnta and Nita, then they should be able to take the victory.

My prediction? It's going to be a thug-fest with both teams shooting 20+ free throws. Some late game heroics by Shoni and Mo pull the Cards from behind to win. 71-69. Cards."

(Editor comments: We cannot agree more with Jenny than stressing that CARDINAL fans need to be in the KFC YUM! Center early and make a lot of noise. Go talk to Nell Fortner or something if you aren't ready to sit. In the conversations we've had with the current Lady Cards...one thread rings true. The players respond and get fired up when they know that the arena is rocking early for them. Cardinal fans, you have your mission! Get there early, make it loud and wear your RED. It would please us in great deal to write about a UofL win in the MONDAY edition of Cardinal Couple. Help us make it happen!)


11 a.m. Sunday

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know about the UofL vs. UK WBB series

1) Since 1975, UK has won 30 times. Louisville 17. Great. UK fans will start calling the UofL Womens' team "little sister".
2) In the 21st. century, Louisville has won eight times, Kentucky five.
3) The most lopsided game was one of the first ones. In 1975, UK beat Louisville 75-37.
4) Dana Nichols attempted 17 free throws against UK in 1987...most by any player in the series.
5) Jill Morton made 12 free throws against UK in 2000...most by any player in the series.
6) Troya Landrum grabbed 21 rebounds against UK in 1989...secondmost in Cardinal womens' basketball history.
7) Jackie Spencer blocked six UK shots in 1985. Yuliya Tokova blocked five UK shots in 2006.
8) The Cards grabbed only 25 rebounds last year against UK. It was their season low.
9) The largest crowd to ever see the WBB team play a home game came against UK on Dec. 5th, 2010 when 22,152 saw Louisville win 78-52.
10) Both squads had 26 turnovers last year in Memorial Coliseum.

12:15 p.m. Sunday

Syd the Kid

Shayna Harmon #22

It's raining in Louisville. I hope it stops before game time. Can't have any weather-related factors keeping attendance down. Jenny texted me a few moments back and to tell me about a tweet she saw that 2016 prospect Shayna Harmon will be in town to watch the game, this prospect is going to be a big-time guard before she graduates. We also heard from Sydney Brackemyer's mom and Syd the Kid will also be in attendance. Cards fans, we really want Syd in this house...if you see either at the game today...please welcome them and tell them that we want them. Both are from the Buckeye state Ohio. Do you know how many current players on the UofL squad are from Ohio? Pop quiz time:



A) Sherrone Vails and Megan Deines
B) Cortnee Walton and Shelby Harper
C) Shawnta Dyer and Asia Taylor
D) Lindsey Wilson and Rose Hulman



(The answer is C.)

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Basketball season is here!

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WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Staff columnist Jenny O'Bryan drains one from long range today in her article on Cardinal WBB. Like all of us at CARDINAL COUPLE, her excitement, anticipation and enthusiasm for the 2012-13 Lady Cards season can't be contained by the press, referees or turnovers. She shoots, she scores with the Wednesday edition of "Da Couple"! )

- Hoops is almost here...are u ready?

- Central Cardinal Couple Holiday boutique a blast!

Basketball Fans!

We are less than a week away from the Women’s Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon.  Limited tickets are available for the event.   If you are a procrastinator, pick up your phone and call the ticketing office now @ 502-852-5151 before time runs out. 

In an email from the Louisville Athletic Ticketing Office I learned that season tickets are going in the mail this week!  Look for your tickets to be showing up in your mailbox shortly.  Parking passes, for those who have purchased them, will be arriving separately. 

A few words from the ticket office:

The exhibition game being held on Wednesday, October 31 @ 7:00 p.m. is FREE!   There will not be a ticket in your season package, it is free and a ticket is not needed to attend.  For all the families out there, take your kiddo out trick or treating early, then head down to the YUM! Center for another treat, the start of Louisville Women’s Basketball!! 

The last announcement from the ticketing office is that there is a time change for the EKU game at YUM! on November 28^th.   The actual time of the game is 7:30 p.m.  Your season tickets are going to say a different time on them.  7:30 p.m. is the changed, correct time of the game.

It was reported here in August that 2014 wing/forward Sydney Brackemyre was on an unofficial visit to the Louisville campus August 26.  It was brought to my attention that she was back on campus (presumably for another unofficial visit) this past weekend.  (Official visits can only happen during one's senior year, are paid for by the college being visited and a prospective student athlete (psa) can only take 5 official visits.  Unofficial visits are on the student/families dime and can be made at any time, and as often as wanted). 

This makes a second visit to Louisville for this rising star in the junior class, in less than two months!   We already know that Louisville is among her final 3 schools of choice (included are Dayton and Michigan) but with a second visit in less than two months WE think bodes well for our beloved Cardinals.    

Perhaps Ms. Brackemyre might just be our first commitment from the class of 2014?   It is a bit premature to speculate, but from where I'm sitting, I like our chances with this young lady.  I believe I attached the following link before, but, it bears another airing to our Cardinal faithful. 

Sydney B.

We are on the cusp of the season!  Next week I will bring you a report from the Tip Off Luncheon.  The week after that I will give you my thoughts/predictions for the out of conference (OOC) slate of the schedule.   

In the meantime we will keep you abreast of any recruiting news as it becomes available. 

A historic weekend for women’s basketball is fast upon us as the #1 recruit in the nation, Mercedes Russell, and #40 recruit Emmonnie Henderson will be on campus for their official visit October 26-28.   The early signing period begins November 14.  Keep it here, Card fans, to learn who will be suiting up as a Cardinal next season!  


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Carol Kidd and Chuck Horell were in attendance

A wonderful time had by all attending the Central Cardinal Club Holiday Boutique and Style Show held yesterday at the PNC Club in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Tons of silent auction items, many booths, delicious food and a great afternoon and evening of speakers and enertainment.

Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich spoke to the dinner crowd and was excellent as always. Swimming and Diving Coach Arthur Albiero also took the stage to speak to the attendees and Mickey Clark provided the musical entertainment.

Charlie Springer and his lovely wife Barbara

The style and fashion show was great as well, with several coaches, coaches wives and the incomprable Valerie Owens Combs, displaying some great outfits to the delight of the crowd.

Mickey Clark entertained attendees!

Thanks to all who stopped by the CARDINAL COUPLE table and purchased bracelets for the St. Martha Girls Volleyball team! We raised $110.00 for their worthy cause. Also, thanks for registering for the commemorative 1980 UofL Men's Basketball National Championship plaque and talking sports with us! We hope you enjoyed talking Cardinal Sports with Jeff McAdams, Donny Yaste, Sonja and Paulie and encourage you to make CARDINAL COUPLE a part of your daily Internet routine.

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The winning ticket number: 702211
Winner was: Al Parrish
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Thanks to Bill and Barbara Hancock, Chuck Horell, Debbie Zipperle and all the Central Cardinal Club members who made our participation an absolute joy and delight!
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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!)