Clint Hurtt...what we like at UofL...Gehret 5th in high jump...Ky Girls Softball first round

FRIDAY at C.C.

-Clint Hurtt....a reason to believe.

-Gehret gets 5th in NCAA finals

-Kentucky Girls High School softball tournament first round results.

-Hoopin' it up tonight at Bellarmine!

-Another O.T. loss for the Atlanta Dream


Editor's note: Our special correspondent David Watson will be offering the commentary on Saturday and Sunday here at CARDINAL COUPLE. Be sure to "click him".

WE don't stray too often from our commitment to be "the fan voice for UofL women's sports"... but after hearing Clint Hurtt speak to a capacity crowd at the June Sportsmen's Supper Club meeting...we are fired up about UofL 2011 football.

Clint Hurtt is what is what is right about UofL athletics and the passion involved toward the sports provided at Louisville. To hear him speak about college athletes in general is awe-inspiring. To hear his story on the path that led him to UofL as the football teams defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator is magical.

Clint Hurtt "gets it" and isn't shy about telling you about it.

We've heard the raves and rants about how well he sells himself, the University of Louisville and life itself to potential college athletes. Until Thursday night, though, we never had the chance to hear him pour his heart out about his passions and beliefs.

I wish I was 18 years old again and a D1 prospect worthy of his attention. This man is for real. I'd follow him to Alaska.

Fortunately. he is here in Louisville. And, serve notice that however long Louisville will be graced with his skills, talent and abilities is a bonus...each hour, minute and second. We hope it is a very long time.

Charlie Strong, it is said...is a good judge of charatcer and dedication. He brought Clint Hurtt to Louisville. We believe, Charlie...oh, yes...we believe. You brought UofL the best apple in a full tree with Mr. Hurtt...

Thank you. Both of you. Like our intrepid Women's Football Camper Margaret Richards wrote a few days ago here at CARDINAL COUPLE..."I can't wait for football season to get here."

We understand. We're ready, too. If you have ANY chance to ever hear Clint Hurtt speak...don't pass it up.
You'll walk out of the venue eight feet high and feeling good about the world. And, that ain't bad...friends.

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Rachel Gehret took fifth in the
NCAA Championship. Not bad...

UofL high jumper Rachel Gehret wasn't quite eight feet high yesterday like we were after hearing the electrifying Clint Hurtt...but her six foot jump over the bar was good enough for fifth place in the high jump finals at the NCAA Championships at Drake University. Her leap was the second best in UofL track and field history.

Rough weather delayed some of the activities Friday but a full schedule of events are planned for Saturday. Good luck to the remaining Cardinals and their upcoming events.


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Kayla Fairley is
Ballard's outstanding
pitcher.

Some excellent pitching efforts in yesterday's first round of softball....

Louisville Ballard bashed Letcher County Central 15-0 in the first round of the Kentucky High School State Softball tournament in Owensboro yesterday. Kayla Fairley tossed a one-hitter for the Bruins. The game was stopped after three innings because of the "mercy rule". Ballard advances in the winners bracket and faces Ryle today.

Louisville PRP blanked Montgomery County 9-0...getting six runs in the bottom of the sixth...to advance to the winner's bracket also. They allowed just four hits in their win yesterday and will play Allen County-Scottsville this morning at 10 a.m.

Other results:

-Allen County-Scottsville got a perfect, no-hit game out of junior Kelsi Pardue to defeat East Jessamine 10-0. She struck out eleven East Jessamine batters.

-Hopkins County Central blanked Walton-Verona 5-0 behind the four-hit pitching of Ali Austin.

-Central Hardin slugged their way to the winner's bracket with a 10-2 win over North Laurel. Central jumped out to an early 7-0 advantage and held North Laurel to just three hits.

-Calloway County sent Ashland Blazer to the consolation bracket with a 3-0 win. Lindsay Rucker tossed a one-hitter for Calloway.

-Lexington Lafayette survived a slugfest with Owensboro Catholic 11-8. The teams combined for 27 hits.

-Ryle "run ruled" Magoffin County 12-1 in five innings yesterday...holding Magoffin County to just three hits.

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Kentucky vs. Indiana All-Star games tonight at Knights Gym over at Bellarmine. Tickets are $20. The girls start it up at 5:30 p.m. and the guys take the court at about 7:30 p.m. They go to Indy tomorrow and play at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Kentucky Girls team has UofL signee Sara Hammond on the roster and three girls from the Louisville area...Mecheal Guess (Manual), Juliann Miller (Mercy) and Maddie Peabody (Sacred Heart). They'll need to find a way to stop Indiana's Bria Goss (signed with Kentucky) and 6'2" Liza Clemons (Purdue).

The Kentucky boys and girls team also did a tour of Churchill Downs yesterday. They are dressed in blue in the center of the photo. They move quick...they were gone by the time I got down to the paddock area and I couldn't get a closer photo of them. Let's hope they move as quickly tonight and tomorrow against the Hoosiers.

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Former Atlanta Dream guard Kelly Miller came back to haunt the Dream last night, nailing a three pointer with seconds remaining to tie the score 85-85 and force overtime. Second overtime game of the year for Atlanta, second loss in overtime for Atlanta. Final...Washington Mystics 98 - Atlanta Dream 90. The Dream are 0-2 so far this year. We're beginning to see a trend here...

Kelly and Coco Miller are twin sisters that play baketball
in the WNBA. Last year they both played for the Atlanta
Dream. Kelly was traded to Washington this year. The Dream
are probablty wishing they hadn't done that...now.

Angel McCoughtry, still hobbled by a knee injury, saw just three minutes of court time. 1 out of 4 from the field and two points. The Dream got 20 and 14 boards from Erika DeSouza...who missed the final couple of minutes of the extra session with a nose injury. Miller nailed the first basket for Washington in the overtime session and the Dream never got the lead.

Kelly, of course, was on the Dream last season with her twin sister Coco. Both the girls were starters and stars at the University of Georgia before going to the WNBA. The Dream received point guard Lindsey Harding in exchange for Miller and draft signee Ta'Shia Phillips (Xavier).

We'll see how that works out as the season progresses....
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Softball falls at Notre Dame...Kentucky Girls All-State team named

SUNDAY at CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Softball Cards lose in South Bend 8-5

-Kentucky Girls High School All-State

teams named

-Women's Track & Field at the Sea-Ray 





The University of Louisville softball team suffered a gut wrenching loss to Notre Dame yesterday when Lauren Stuhr slammed a two-out, three run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Irish to the 8-5 win. The game marked the return of Louisville pitcher Tori Collins to the mound after being sidelined for several weeks with a foot injury...but it certainly wasn't the way she wanted to return...her two innings of otherwise solid relief marred by the walk-off homer.

Louisville found themselves down  2-0 after four innings to the Irish before they collected the bats and pushed three runs to the plate...a two run homer by Colby Wherry being the highlight of the inning. Notre Dame countered with two in the bottom of the fourth, though, and regained the lead at 4-3.

The Cards fought back and went up 5-4 in the top of the sixth when Kristin Austin blasted a two run homer. The Irish (30-7, 6-0) tied it up at 5-5 in their half of the sixth...setting up the game winning blast by Stuhr in the seventh. The Cards' Collins got the first two Irish batter in the bottom of the seventh out.. before allowing two walks and then Stuhr's game ender.




Caralisa Connell got the start for Louisville (31-12, 9-3)and gave up five runs on eight hits in her five innings. Louisville allowed a season high nine walks in the contest. The teams try to get in two today...with first pitch at noon.

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Sara Hammond gathers another
honor. The Louisville signee will
lead the Kentucky All-Stars against
Indiana.

Sara Hammond leads the lists of players named to the first and second Kentucky Girls All-State teams. She was also named Miss Basketball earlier this spring. She's headed to the "Ville" for college. Hammond averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds in leading Rockcastle County to the state championship title for 2011. Other 1st team selections:

-Rebecca Greenwell, Owensboro Catholic, 6'1" sophomore. High scoring guard averaged 32.9 a game. No declaration on her early college favorites..but both Louisville and Kentucky are greatly interested.

-Sydney Moss, Boone County, 5'11' junior. The talented guard/forward is looking at Florida, Louisville, Kentucky, West Virginia and North Carolina. She's the daughter of NFL great Randy Moss.

-Averee Fields, Calloway County, 6'0" senior. Fields averaged 23.8 ppg and 12.9 rebounds. She's headed to West Virginia to play her college ball.

-Chasity Gooch, Franklin-Simpson, 6'0" senior. Gooch punished opponents from her forward spot all season and averaged 24.5 ppg and 16.4 boards. Western Kentucky University will get her services.

-Lauren Tibbs, Scott County, 6'4" senior. She's a rebounding and inside post player that will head to Marquette for college hoops. 23.8 points a  game.

-Mecheal Guess, Louisville Manual, 5'10" senior. Guess was the engine that drove the Manual Bulldogs. She's headed to Pittsburgh to play volleyball.

-Makayla Epps, Marion County, 5'11" sophomore. The hardworking Epps can punish opponents inside or from the perimeter. Half the schools in DI basketball are interested, including Louisville and Kentucky.

-Kristin Stainback, Scott County, 5'9" senior.  The shifty guard put in almost 20 points a game and will take her offensive prowess to Austin Peay.

-Kendall Noble, Perry County, 5'11" junior. Noble is a game changer with 19.6 ppg . Louisville, Kentucky and most of the in-state school s are showing interest...she hasn't named any favorites yet.

SECOND TEAM

Carla Booth (Sheldon Clark) 5'7"senior
Danay Fothergill (Pulaski Southwestern) 5'7" senior
Natalie Greenwell (Elizabethtown) 5'9" senior
Adrienne Tarrance (Bowling Green) 5'6" senior
Hillary Moore (Leslie County) 5'7" senior
Whitney Belle Jackson (Clay County) 6'1" senior
Kristen Perry (West Carter) 6'0" senior
April Wilson (Louisville Manual) 5'8" junior
Juliann Miller (Louisville Mercy) 5'7" senior
Angie Lawrence (Rockcastle County) 5'5" senior

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The University of Louisville women's field contingent did quite well at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, TN. Finishes of note:

Long Jump
1. Rachel Gehret

Shot Put
2. Khadija Abdullah
3. D'Ana McCarty
4. Amashi Kendall
5. Chinwe Okoro

Discus
3. D'Ana McCarty

Javelin
3. Jenna Wargo

The Cards will host the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational on Friday, April 22nd in Cardinal Park.
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Rockcastle County down Manual in O.T. for title

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-Rockcastle Co. takes 2011 Kentucky Girls Basketball State Championship.

-Softball splits Saturday.

-McCarty, Abdullah in NCAA Championships.

Lacrosse vs. Jacksonville

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Sideline reporters contest.

Tough loss for Pitino's Cards.

Congratulations to Rockcastle County, winners of the 2011 Kentucky Girls Basketball High School title. They came from behind to down Louisville Manual 62-60. (Photo by Joe Imel, AP).

Senior point guard Angie Lawrence hit an off-balance runner down the lane with under two seconds left in overtime for the two point win. Rockcastle County had trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter. Lawrence finished with 18 points and All-American senior post Sara Hammond had 26 points and 11 boards against the Crimsons. Leasia Wright had 19 for Manual. It is the first state championship in history for Rockcastle County.

"She had that look in her eye, like she was ready to take over and win this thing...so we just got out of her way and let her go to work." Sara Hammond commenting on Lawrence's winning score.

They got there with a semifinal win over Calloway County 57-38 Saturday morning. Hammond had 15 points and 13 grabs for the Rockets and Lawrence 12 points. Manual made the finals by edging out Marion County 56-54 in the semis. Kyvin Goodin-Rogers totaled 20 and Makayla Epps 18 for Marion County in the close loss.

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Louisville split in two games yesterday at Ulmer Stadium in the Louisville Softball Classic. Michigan won the opener 4-1 and the Cards edged WKU 3-2 i the nightcap.

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Michigan used a three run top of the seventh inning to grab a 4-0 lead. The Cards were in a position to tie in the bottom half of the inning. After Chelsea Jordan scored to make it 4-1, the bases were loaded for Alicja Wolny but she grounded out to end the game. Tori Collins (7-4) took the loss for Louisville. Michigan goes to 24-0 with the win.

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The Cards grabbed an early lead against WKU in the second game and the teams battled back and forth before freshman Taner Fowler smashed a two RBI double in the sixth inning to put Louisville on top to stay 3-2. Carlisa Connell started on the strip and went 4 innings before Collins came in for the relief and the win. Freshmen Fowler and Katie Keller had two hits each for Louisville in the win.

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Louisville plays two more today...Michigan at 1 p.m. and WKU at 3 p.m. Looks like a beautiful day for it, get out and get some!

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D'Ana McCarty finished ninth in the finals of the women's shot put at Texas A&M in the NCAA Indoor National Championships. Khaldija Abdullah also competed but did qualify for the medal round.

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Louisville Lacrosse defeated Jacksonville 17-7 on the road yesterday. Bergan Foley with five goals, Emily Dashiell added four for the Cards. Louisville held a narrow 4-3 halftime lead before the second half surge that improves the Cards to 4-0 on the season. Freshman Ashley Herbst had 10 saves at goalie for UofL. The game was held at a Georgia high school football field and it was the first ever Division 1 field hockey game played in the state. Louisville extended their streak of scoring at least 10 goals a game to 14 games.

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Alex Flanangan survived a late voting charge for Bonnie Bernstein and advances to the round of eight in the CARDINAL COUPLE Sideline Reporters Contest. Today's match-up pits Pam Oliver against Stacey Dales.

The heavenly looking Oliver (pictured left) does foosball for Fox Sports and was the one who originally broke the story that Donovan McNabb was leaving the Philadelphia Eagles. Stacy Dales (formerly Stacy Dales Schumann) was an excellent college hoopster and does both basketball and football for ESPN. She's seen here keeping Maryland's Ralph Fridgen from the team buffet at a college football game. Feel free to vote in the comments section here (which few of you ever do) or e-mail us at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com (which many of you do) with your choice. Paul is Oliver smitten, Sonja likes Dales and David Watson voted for Ralph...

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Tough loss for Pitino's Cards last night to Connecticut in the BIG EAST finals 69-66. Can't understand why people are bashing Mike Marra over this and making him the goat. Louisville had a chance to take it to overtime and Preston Knowles had a good look at the three ball, it just didn't drop. Can't blame Marra for the intercepted in-bounds pass earlier (it was tipped) or missing the second of three free throws with a chance to tie and 4 seconds on the clock. Louisville will receive a great seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Cards won a lot of hearts and minds out there in college hoops land with their frenetic style of play and the guts and determination of this squad...that battled back from double digit deficits to lead late two nights in a row.

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You win as a team and lose as a tea. Wouldn't surprise US in the least if Marra comes back and has a fabulous NCAA Tournament. Kemba Walker is a warrior, no disgrace in losing to him and the Huskies.

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Girls Sweet Sixteen, Softball plays 2 today

saturday AT cardinal couple....

-Hammond, Rockcastle Co. advance to semis.

-Louisville softball today

-McCarty gets third in weight toss.

-The Sweet Sixteen of Sideline reporter marches on.

-Watson reviews Cards vs. Notre Dame

-Springer invades the BIG APPLE.

Wow...a busy day here at CARDINAL COUPLE...let's get right to it!

-Sara Hammond (pic above) had 15 points and 13 boards as Rockcastle County claimed a berth in the Kentucky Girls' High School Basketbal Tournament. Rockin' Rockcastle sent Clay County home with a 47-30 decision. Angie Lawrence added 13 for Rockcastle (34-1)...who gets Calloway County in the semifinals this morning.

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-Calloway County (32-1) overcame a Sheldon Clark 28-26 halftime lead to earn an entry to the Final four...winning 62-51. Averee Fields stays on fire with 22 points for the Mountaineer signee.

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-Louisville Manual (32-4) started the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run to pull away from Bowling Green and make the semifinals. They beat B.G. 48-36. Another balanced team effort for the Crimsons. They get Marion County in the semis for their efforts.

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-Marion County (27-6) kept Louisville Butler from hanging around for Saturday hoops with a 41-26 drubbing of the Bearettes. University of Louisville targets Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (12 points and nine boards) and Makayla Epps (10 points) led the way for the Lebanon, KY hoopsters.

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Manual, Marion County, Rockcastle County and Calloway County. This is going to be an exciting day of hoops. Almost 8000 watched the quarterfinals yesterday in Western Kentucky University's E.A. Diddle Arena. Probably could have doubled that if they'd moved it to the KFC YUM Center. Are ya listening KHSAA?

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Cardinal Softball in action at the Ulmer today...Louisville Softball Classic. Three games scheduled....starting with (12-6) Louisville vs. (22-0) Michigan. The Cards play again at 4 p.m. against the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University. Keep bringing those big bats...Bemis, Wolny and Esteban. All three are hovering around the .400 mark at the plate. Admission is free..get out and enjoy the sunshine and take in the action on the UofL campus. We'll have reports for you, as always, here at CARDINAL COUPLE.

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D'Ana McCarty grabbed third in the weight toss at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at Texas A&M's Gillam Indoor Stadium. McCarty's toss of 22.28m was just behind the winning throw of 22.69m of Indiana State's Felicia Johnson and Southern Illinois' Jeneva McCall's toss of 22.46.

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Khadija Abdullah and McCarty compete in the finals of the shot put today for the Cards. The University of Louisville...we have girls who can throw things a long way...

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Allison Williams obliterated Jeanine Edwards in the Sideline reporters round of sixteen yesterday...sponsored by the fine folks at CARDINAL COUPLE. Edwards garnered only two votes in the whitewash. Probably Billy Gillespie and Ron Franklin. Today's match-up pits Alex Flanagan (left) versus Bonnie Bernstein (right). Flanagan was a part of the four letter network until she sashayed over to the NFL Network. Bernstein still prowls the sidelines for CBS. We think this one is too close to call...Paul and Sonja going with Flanny and David Watson choosing "double B's". You can vote in the comments section here or at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com. Remember, 'neither of the two' is NOT a valid vote...

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DAVID WATSON with a few selected comments on Louisville's win over Notre Dame last night in the men's semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament:

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I don't know how they do it, these current birds in Pitino's nest. Seemingly out-played, out-shot, out-rebounded and out-coached. Pitino pulls another rabbit out of the hat and conjures up a win over these #4 in the nation Irish. Siva on the bench, everyone but assistant coach Steve Masiello with 3 or 4 fouls. And, all three bozo announcers ready to suit up and play for Notre Dame. Can we just give Preston Knowles the 'inspirational player of the year' title now?

(Cardinals mug it up with former President Bill Clinton after defeating the Irish)

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I love this team. Not because they're winning right now or because they're unselfish. They remind me of the little boy in the back yard, trying vainly to make the first basket of his life. Shot after shot falls short, doesn't quite get there and then one finally drops. The smile on his face, the un-describable joy pumping through the youngster. You never forget that first basket you make. I'll never forget this 2010-11 UofL basketball team. Bring on the Huskies!!

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(David Watson is out in the backyard right now...trying to drain threes like Kyle Kuric. So far, he's 0 for morning...)

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.Steve Springer and the family got to see a classic last night in Madison Square Garden . The Biggest Fan of the BIG EAST and his wife & kids are guests of Volvo for the tournament. They left Louiville yesterday and everything is "on the house" for the Springer's. New York during BIG EAST basketball tournament time is a exciting place to be and you can follow the Springer's trip over at http://www.uoflcardgame.com/. Attempts to get Paul in the luggage or introduce him as a long lost Uncle failed. Have a big time in the BIG APPLE, Steve and hit the Carnegie Deli and try a 'Woody Allen'. You won't be able to finish half of it..but you'll love every minute of trying.

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1st round Girls Sweet Sixteen, Softball today

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CARDINAL COUPLE : The Thursday Report


-Ist round Kentucky Girls Sweet Sixteen


-Softball at the Ulmer today


-Lovejoy selected BIG EAST Player of Week


-The Sideline Reporter Sweet Sixteen Continues.


-Pitino's Cards go tonight...referees blow it last night.
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-Where did WE fail?


Makayla Epps (pictured above) joined teammates Bre Edler and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers with 14 points each in a 55-41 win over Montgomery County in the Kentucky Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament in Bowling Green, KY. yesterday. The Knights jumped out early on Montgomery Co. and led 32-20 at the half. They withstood an early second half run that cut it to 32-26 and led 47-31 after three quarters.
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Louisville Butler snuck by Perry County Central 42-40. The Bearettes trailed PCC late 40-39 after having a 10 point lead in the third quarter. PCC had a chance to beat or tie Butler with 7 seconds remaining but missed two shots in the paint.
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Louisville Manual blew Crittenden County out of the gym 78-40. This one was never close...the Crimsons led 22-8 after one and 57-25 after three quarters. Manual forced Crittenden into 12 first half turnovers...and played their bench most of the second half in the lopsided win.
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Bowling Green had an easy time with Walton-Verona...breezing to a 58-32 victory in the first game of the day. This one was still close at halftime...BG up 25-21...but Walton-Verona could only manage two 3rd quarter points and trailed 41-23 after three quarters.
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Four first round games scheduled today, including Rockcastle County and UofL signee Sara Hammond.
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UofL Softball plays Morehead State today at 4 p.m. over at Ulmer Stadium. The Cards will have the elements to contend with...mid 40's and a chance of rain...after two days of steady rain already. Would be a good day for the retractable dome that Sandy Pearsall teases about wanting for Softball. Dome closed today, of course.
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Liz Lovejoy has been selected BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week in lacrosse. She drove home five goals against Oregon and one against Old Dominion last week.
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Lovejoy, Emily Dashiell and Bergan Foley are three prolific scorers for Louisville Lacrosse and the Cards are undefeated this year in three games. The Cards travel to Georgia to play against Jacksonville next.
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Heather Cox survived a late charge from Shelly Smith and advances to the next round in CARDINAL COUPLE'S Sweet Sixteen Sideline Announcers Tournament. The willowly Cox will face odds on favorite Erin Andrews next.


The GOOSE. We think that he played football just as well as he handles sideline duties. We're pretty sure that he handles media buffets better than most. He goes up against the wily and sassy Kolber, who also trolls the football sidelines and may be best known for denying the advances of a drunk Joe Namath during a broadcast a couple of years ago. Kolber's reports always seem to have a cocky, self assured nature to them. Siragusa rambles on about anything that happens to cross his mind. It'll be interesting to see how this guy versus gal contest goes. One thing is for certain...you'd want Siragusa walking down a dangerous. dark alley with you and Kolber sidled up next to you while doing shots at your local tavern. You can vote in the comments section of today's edition or send your vote to cardinalcouple@insightbb.com

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Pitino's Cardinals get things underway tonight in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST men's tournament. The foe is Marquette, who beat WVU last night 67-61. The Golden Eagles trailed the Mountaineers by ten in the second half before staging the rally. WE think both Marquette and Bob Huggins' WVU squad are in the BIG DANCE. WE also think that the Cards will have their hands full with Marquette. Louisville was one and done in Madison Square Garden last year, losing to upstart Cincinnati and the Cards never seem to play all that great in New York, NY. Here's hoping they can plant Marquette in the Garden tonight. Game time is 9 p.m.
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How about that major screw up by the officials last night in the St. John's vs Rutgers game? The Johnnies clinging to a 2 point lead...get the ball back with a couple of seconds to go...and then Brownlee travels and steps out of bounds with time left on the clock. Then Brownlee the hurls the ball into the stands with time left on the clock. Three refs miss all three violations and allow the game clock to run out with no call. Really? If I were a Rutgers fan, and I kinda am...at least of the Lady Scarlet Knights, I'd be incensed. The sequence wasn't reviewable, either, according to NCAA Rules, because no violation was called to review. Deplorable.

(Update @ 11:49 A.M. The three referees involved in the snafu have voluntarily pulled out of any futher BIG EAST Tournament games. LOL. Means they'll send them to another conference...probably.)
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My personal "no call" best memory. Was playing in a JV game years ago when our guy is trying to inbounds a pass under our basket and gets frustrated and hurls the ball overhanded directly into the "midsection" of the guy defending him. Technical foul, right? Nope...our guy steps in bounds, picks the ball up, steps over the defender...who is now laying on the court...groaning and holding his "midsection"...and calmly takes and sinks a jumper. The other eight of us on the court are just standing there in bewilderment or double over in laughter. He then turns to run down court and steps directly on the guy's "midsection" again. No call, but they did have to stop the game, get the guy off the court and clean up a rather nasty puddle of vomit the dude produced. I still cringe when I think of that image...guy with his hands up trying to guard against an inbounds pass and gets a basketball hurled full force right directly in the "ol jewels". Ugh...
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An apology to our FaceBook friends...they are not currently accepting our link hookup articles and commentary lately under CARDINAL COUPLE or Paul's accounts. We're going to try under Sonja's. Not sure what we did wrong. Probably because we ignore all Farmville or Friend requests from bots and people we haven't heard of.


Update...LOL...and it worked. We'll post CARDINAL COUPLE articles under Sonja's facebook account until they block that one. Then...we'll create accounts for Bill the Goat, Co-Co and the staff Chimps if we have to.
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Cardinal Couple 1 - Facebook 0. Sonja gets the shutout win. Leggggoooooo!!!
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Ky. Girls' All-State team a mix of young and old

Ebony Rowe received the most votes for the Kentucky Girls' All-State basketball team. She averaged 21.0 points a game for Lexington Paul Dunbar and 16.2 rebounds her senior year.

The 2010 version of Kentucky's Girls' All-State basketball team has 4 seniors, 2 juniors, 1 sophomore and 3 freshmen. Top vote getter a bit of a surprise with Ebony Rowe, a 6'0" forward out of Lexington's Paul Dunbar high schol narrowly selected over Sarah Barnette (Lexington Christian), Antonita Slaughter (Christian Academy) and Samantha Drake (Nelson County). The top four vote getters were all seniors.

Filling out the squad are: Rebecca Greenwell (Owensboro Catholic, junior) Makayla Epps (Marion County, freshman), Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (Marion County, freshman), Sara Hammond (Rockcastle County, junior), Sydney Moss (Boone County, sophomore) and Chastity Gooch (Franklin-Simpson, junior).

One thing the girls have in common is interest from several universities in the state. UofL has signed Slaughter and has made contact with Epps, Goodin-Rogers, Greenwell, Hammond, Gooch and Moss. UK has inked Barnette and is pursuing Drake, Epps, Goodin-Rogers, Greenwell, Hammond and Gooch. WKU has interest in Epps, Goodin-Rogers, Hammond, Gooch and Moss.

Rowe has signed to play at Middle Tennessee State. Drake originally committed to Kentucky but reopened her commitment and included Georgia and Michigan State.

Although Louisville Mercy won the state tournament this year...they only have one player listed on the top three teams...5'11" senior Therese Montano, who hasn't picked a college yet.

Other Louisville area players selected were senior Molly Ernst (Assumption) and sophomore April Wilson (Manual) for the second team.

Written by Sonja
4/11/10

Cards vs. Cats in softball today

In-state rivals UK and Louisville face off in women's softball today at 5 p.m. in Lexington. Both teams have gotten off to good starts this season and Louisville won the last meeting between the two squads...2-0 last April.

The Cards (14-5) have been led this season by hard-hitting senior catcher Melissa Roth. Her .537 batting average leads the team and she is also now the career leader in doubles for Louisville.

Senior hurler Kristen Wadwell leads a trio of Louisville pitchers that have combined for 138 strikeouts so far this season. That's a lot of slow walks back to the dugout for the opposition...

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UConn showed why they are the best in women's college basketball last night with a convincing 28 point win over West Virginia in the finals of the Big East tournament. Leading by only 6 points with 15 minutes remaining in the second half, the Huskies turned up the defensive pressure and held the Mountaineers to just 4 points the remainder of the game.

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Trivia question for the day. How many post season tournaments are there for women's basketball teams? Most people will guess two....the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT. You would be wrong, at least this year. A third post season tournament...the WBI (Women's Basketball Invitational) will select 16 teams to compete that aren't playing in the other two events. I don't know anything about the selection qualifications or decision making involved about how teams are invited to participate in this event but it would be great if Louisville were to be considered for it?

My philosophy is this. The Cards drew very well for home games this year. Over 6500 a contest. A tournament might consider that when choosing schools to play. Of course, if you have to have an above .500 record to compete...count the Cards out. We all would love to see the Louisville women play another couple of games this year...that's for sure.

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We discussed the disadvantages of high school teams that make the Sweet Sixteen having to play two games on the final day to win the event. I got a nice e-mail yesterday after we ran the article from a former women's high school coach who asked to remain anonyomous but mentioned:

"it is a incredible strain on the players, especially if they played in the second day of first round action. Going Thursday, Friday and then twice on Saturday after battling thru district and regional action to get there is ridiculous and if you don't have a deep roster then you virtually have no chance of surviving that many games. The KHSAA will never change it. The fear being that a Sunday game would draw poorly because the fans would not stay around since Sunday is usually a travel day back to their hometowns with people wanting to get back home to attend church and get ready for the next week."

Pure poppycock. If my favorite high school team made it to the finals, I guarantee I would stick around for the Sunday game and be on the phone getting people to make the drive to Bowling Green to watch. Marion County would be a ghost town if they were in a Sunday final. So would a lot of the towns out in the state...where high school basketball is still a big social event and the town rallies behind the boys and girls teams. I'm sure my priest wouldn't mind if I missed services to cheer on deserving young ladies engaged in competition.

Wake up, KHSAA and think about the health and legs of the players...A five day tournament make sense and would be attended well.

Written by Sonja
3/10/10

Exciting basketball

Here at Cardinal Couple, we put the emphasis on women's sports...especially those at the University of Louisville. We'll spin away from the Belknap Campus today, though to take a look at possibly the most exciting team in Kentucky high school girls basketball.

Meet Marion County. Nestled on the outskirts of Lebanon, KY...the school boasts a girls basketball team that is 27-1 and ranked #1 in Kentucky. How are they running thru the rest of high school girls basketball in the state? Surely they are strong with senior leadership and years of basketball experience?

Guess again. The stars for the Lady Knights are two freshmen and a sophomore. Kyvin Goodin-Rogers, one of the freshmen, scored 25 points in her last game...a win over Louisville Mercy Accademy. She is the daughter of former UofL guard Tick Rogers. Another freshman that hits for double figures consistantly is Makayla Epps. Her dad Anthony was a guard for University of Kentucky and is a Lady Knights assistant coach. Rounding out the youth brigade is sophomore Bre Elder....who tossed in 18 points against Mercy.

Before you marvel at the success of these youngsters, keep in mind that they've played together in AAU ball for several years. All three were on the varsity as 7th graders and have worked closely with Marion County head coach Trent Milby. Marion County's only loss of the year came against an out of state opponent...Cincinnati powerhouse Walnut Hills. In state, they play in the highly competitive 5th region. Against the best in Louisville's 7th region, they are a perfect 4-0...downing Manual, Mercy, Christian Academy and Sacred Heart.

Way too early to tell where the talented trio in Lebanon are going to play their college hoops...but one would figure that the girls have had plenty of contact from UofL, UK and Tennessee. And, with two of the three having dads that played college in-state, it would figure that there's a little parental pull for those respective universities.

For now, though...it's the excitement of high school hoops for the terrific threesome. And, a possible dynasty over the next 4 years headquartered in the sleepy little town of Lebanon.

Written by Paul
2/18/10