Wednesday Cardinal Couple - Softball at Baseball game

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Louisville Softball team throws out first pitch at UofL baseball game Tuesday night. (Photo by Charlie Springer-UofL
Card Game)

Wednesday Cardinal Couple

- Softball Team throws out first pitch at UofL baseball game.


-Game times changes for Saturday softball


-Kiyohara a true team player


The University of Louisville softball team took to the diamond a few days earlier than expected, and it wasn't at Ulmer Stadium for the NCAA Softball Regionals. 

Cardinal Couple's Sonja with Charlie Springer.  

Instead, Sandy Pearsall's squad traveled across campus to Jim Patterson Stadium to throw out the first pitch for the Louisville vs. Morehead baseball game. The Cards won the Senior Day contest 8-3 over the Eagles and used eight pitchers in the contest. 


None of the eight were from the softball team, as far as we know...but Collins, Leonard and Connell could have probably shut the Eagles down. 


Charlie Springer has the write up for you over at his fine site...UofL Card Game. Click the link below to read the Observer's observations.


Cards Send Seniors off in style with 8-3 win.


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ESPN has decided to pick up the second day of action at the Softball Regionals at Ulmer on Saturday. Not ESPN 2, U, 3, Classic or Desportes...but the original ESPN. 


They've also changed the start times for the games on Saturday. First pitch is at 3 p.m. now...when the  winners of Friday's games one and two will face off. The revised schedule:


Saturday


3:00 p.m.  GAME 3  Winner #1 vs. Winner #2
5:30 p.m.  GAME 4  Loser #1 vs. Loser #2
8:00 p.m.  GAME 5  Winner #4 vs. Loser #3


No changes to Sunday...and ESPN 2 still has the feed for that one...as far as we know. 

Jennie, Jennie !!

We'll see if Brent Musberger and Dick Vitale show up to do these. 


But, no problems if Jennie Finch does the color analysis again. Not only does she know softball...she's pretty pleasing to the eye as well.


Great opportunity for the softball Cards to get at least one game in on the flagship ESPN Network station. And, we hope one is all they'll have to play Saturday. That means that they've won two games and will be playing in the finals...scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.


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Cardinal softball player Hannah Kiyohara was selected to the BIG EAST First Team in the 2011 season. The freshman right-fielder started 42 of the Cards 49 games and batted .331 for the season. After such an auspicious beginning to her career, the sky looked the limit for the Auburn, Washington native. 


Instead, she became the Cards utility player her sophomore year. Seeing action in 35 of the Cards 53 games and starting 25 of them, Sandy Pearsall has used her at right-field, short shop, second base and also at designated hitter this year. 

We can't confirm it, but it is rumored she also filled in for J-Bone on public address duties and played the organ at games when Al Greener wasn't available.


When the decision was made to rest Kristin Austin and her sore hamstring in a couple of the BIG EAST Tournament games, Kiyohara took over right field and the Cards were in capable hands. 


Hannah Kiyohara defines the term "team player" and with Austin's graduation this year, we're confident that #24 will return to her right-field domain for the 2013 season. 

"Run over to the dorms, Becky, and see if
Hannah wants a little court time..."

Unless Sandy Pearsall loans her to Jeff Walz as a back-up point guard (she played basketball also at her high school, led the team in scoring and was First Team All-South Puget Sound League) or has her directing traffic at the corner of Floyd and Brandeis. 


If you need it done...and in a efficient "mannah"...call Hannah. 


( OK. Corny rhyme. We're outta here. See ya Thursday.) 
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Thursday Cardinal Couple - Cards clean up on post-season awards

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


CARDS DEFEAT UCONN 8-0


- Louisville coaching staff best of BIG EAST


-Cards play UConn today at 12:30 in first round of BIG EAST Softball Tournament


Who knew? "Big Mike" sings at Wrigley


SPECIAL GAME REPORT: LOUISVILLE 8 - UCONN 0


The Cards run rule UConn in five innings to start play in the BIG EAST Tournament. A five run bottom of the fifth gets it done for UofL. They advance to the semifinals and face DePaul -- a 6-0 winner over South Florida today -- at 4 p.m. Friday. 


Caralisa Connell drew the start for Sandy Pearsall and Louisville provided her with three runs in the first three innings. An Alicja Wolny home run gave Connell the 3-0 cushion going into the top of the fourth...but Connecticut loaded the bases with one out and Chelsea Leonard entered the contest to pitch for Louisville. She got the next Husky batter to pop up to her and ended the inning with a strike-out to get the Cards out of the jam. 


Louisville started the bottom of the fourth with a Jordan Trimble double...but the Cards left her stranded with three outs after that. 


Leonard retired the side in order in the top of the fifth to preserve the 3-0 lead. 


Louisville used two errors, a walk and three hits to finish the game in the bottom of the fifth. All with two outs. After Jennifer Esteban and Hannah Kiyohara grounded out, Katie Keller reached on a fielding error by the UConn pitcher. Alicja Wolny drew a walk and Taner Fowler singled (her second RBI for the day) to score Keller and make it 4-0.


UCONN went with a pitching change after the walk to Wolny but it didn't turn out well for them. Jordan Trimble singled to load the bases with Cardinals. A walk to Kayla Soles forced in Wolny to increase the UofL lead to five. 


That set the stage for Maggie Ruckenbrod. A sharp single to right plated Fowler and Trimble and the relay throw to third to try and get Soles out was wide. Soles advanced to home plate to make it 8-0 and end the game. 


Connell gets the win....allowing two hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. She goes to 20-1 on the season. Leonard picks up her 11th save of the year...retiring all five batters she faced.


We guessed wrong about today's starting pitcher for the Cards...but everything turned out fine and Tori Collins will tangle with DePaul's Kristin Verdun (we think...) tomorrow. Sandy rolled another "seven" today. 


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The University of Louisville softball coaching staff has been named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year and a school-record nine players earned all-conference honors at the 2012 BIG EAST Softball Banquet last night. Tori Collins, Kristin Austin and Taner Fowler made the first team. Katie Keller got second team honors and Jennifer Esteban, Alicja Wolny, Jordan Trimble, Caralisa Connell and Whitney Arion landed on the third team. 


2012 Player of the Year went to Kacee Cox (St. John's) and Pitcher of the Year to Laura Winter (Notre Dame) How Tori Collins and Kristin Austin didn't get these two awards is a mystery...but, it is the BIG EAST. Expect the unexpected. 

The Cardinal coaching staff ( Sandy Pearsall, Carol Bruggeman, Courtney Scott, Lacy Wood and Lisa Pinkston) were unanimously selected the 2012 Coaching Staff of the Year. It's the second time Pearsall and crew have received this honor...2006 the other time. 


They don't award Assistant S.I.D. of the year...but if they did, Lori Korte of Louisville would have been the runaway winner. WE'LL just go ahead and present the CARDINAL COUPLE Softball S.I.D. award to her. Great work, Lori ! 


Louisville led the BIG EAST in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored and total bases. They were second in ERA and opponent batting average. 

Wolny and Austin make their third appearances on the all-conference teams. Collins her second. 


Hard to believe that Louisville pitcher Chelsea Leonard was snubbed in the voting for the teams -- along with South Florida pitcher Sara Nevins...but we guess there is only so much room for pitchers. 


Louisville's first round opponent -- Connecticut -- landed two players on the teams. 3B Kim Silva made the first team and DP Amy DeLuca the second squad. 


Breakdown of players selected by team:


Louisville - 9                           De Paul - 2
Notre Dame - 6                         Pittsburgh -2
Syracuse - 4                             St. John's - 2
USF - 3                                     Connecticut - 2
Rutgers - 3


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The Cards begin their quest for the BIG EAST Tournament title today at 12:30 p.m. against the Connecticut Huskies. Hard to say who Pearsall and Scott will choose to put in the circle to start...but we'll venture a guess and say it'll be senior Tori Collins. After all, it's survive and advance and Collins is your ace on the staff.  We're going by the assumption that you use Caralisa Connell for the winner of the South Florida vs. DePaul game. Then, you bring Collins back for the championship. 


You have reliever extraordinaire Chelsea Leonard available should the starters get into a jam. Of course, WE'RE not the BIG EAST Bloggers of the Year here at CARDINAL COUPLE. Sandy could have a different plan...and she's been rolling "sevens and elevens" all season long. 


Whoever UConn sends out to throw (we're guessing it'll be junior righty Kiki Saveriano) will have to deal with these Cardinals: 


- Kristin Austin OF. Austin finished the regular season with a .377 BIG EAST batting average.

- Taner Fowler DH. Fowler had six home runs against BIG EAST opponents.


And the list goes on and on. Wolny, Esteban, Trimble, Ruckenbrod, Keller, Arion, Mann...Cardinal batters make you pay. 


We'll have a update on the game later today. Be sure to check back. It's available for viewing on BIG EAST TV. Just go to bigeast.tv and enjoy. LINK:

BIG EAST SOFTBALL


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Finally, Michael Bush is one of our favorite UofL football players of all time. What a great running back he was, and still is. He recently left Oakland and signed with the Chicago Bears...which makes us love him even more. Below is a clip of him singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch during a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Thanks to Nick Coffey, of CARDINAL CONNECT notoriety, for the find... 


Like we said, a great running back...


Mike croons at Wrigley
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Wednesday Cardinal Couple - BIG EAST Tournament next for Louisville Softball

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WEDNESDAY WITH THE COUPLE


-Louisville softball BIG EAST Tournament preview


-Taner Fowler


-Our choices for next BIG EAST Commish.


-Go Bode Go

The 2012 BIG EAST Softball Tournament begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 10th. Louisville will play in the second game of the day at 12:30 p.m. against the Connecticut Huskies. The Cards are the #1 seed and take a #8 national ranking and 50-3, 20-2 record into action at South Bend, IN and Notre Dame Stadium. 


The Huskies enter the tournament with a 21-26 overall record and went 9-13 in the BIG EAST. Last time out, UConn was swept in a three game series by Syracuse.

Amy Vaughan, senior OF/catcher for UConn.

Offensively, Amy Vaughan leads the charge for UConn. She carries a .306 average and has 13 home runs and 42 RBI's. Jennifer Ward has scored 29 runs and has a team-leading 25 stolen bases. Connecticut pitching is led by Kiki Saveriano, who tossed 135 strike-outs in 157 innings. Her record is 11-15 and her ERA is 3.25.


The teams did not meet during the regular season. Last time they squared off was in 2011 at Ulmer Stadium in Louisville. They split a double-header with Louisville taking the first game 5-1 and UConn returning the favor with a nightcap 5-1 win. Louisville leads the all-time series 9-5. 

The Cards have advanced to the semi-final round of the BIG EAST Tournament each year since joining the conference in 2006. Louisville last won the tourney in 2007. Syracuse was won the last two years and did it at Ulmer Stadium. 


When at bat, the Cards are led by senior Kristin Austin, who finished the regular season with a .401 batting average. She scored 43 runs and had a nation-high eight triples. Junior Alicja Wolny hit .374 with 13 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI's. Sophomore Taner Fowler checks in with a .370 batting average, a team best 11 home runs and 46 RBI's. 

On the mound, Louisville has three threats. Tori Collins is the ace of the staff at 23-1. Her ERA is 1.25 and she's recorded 171 strike outs. Just because Collins isn't on the mound doesn't mean opposing batters get a break. Caralisa Connell and Chelsea Leonard are a combined 27-2 on the season and the trio of Cardinal pitchers have combined for a 1.33 ERA, 357 strikeouts and are holding the competition to a meager .183 batting average. Louisville has tossed 22 shutouts this year. 


The Cards face very stiff competition if they get by UConn. Next would be either South Florida or DePaul on Friday. DePaul dealt Louisville two losses in the three game series in Chicago back in late March-early April. Louisville swept South Florida in mid April at Ulmer but the Bulls have one of the best pitchers in the league in Sara Nevins. 

Three games in three days. Win the tournament and virtually guarantee that you'll host a NCAA Tournament Regional site next week at Ulmer Stadium. Increase on the most wins in a season in Cardinal history. 

Exciting times ahead for Cardinal softball. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be shown free and live on Big East TV. We originally thought the BIG EAST Championship game was to be shown on ESPN 2...but we've also heard ESPN U was having the broadcast recently. 


Good luck and best wishes to the Cards as they travel to South Bend for the tournament. Bring back the trophy, ladies and teach them what L1C4 is all about...


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Louisville sophomore Taner Fowler leads the Cards in home runs this season. The sophomore from Morganfield, KY. goes where ever Sandy Pearsall needs her. When Maggie Ruckenbrod was out with an arm injury at the start of the season, Taner took up residence behind the plate. She can also "cover the corners" by playing first or third base if needed. 


Need a strong bat in the lineup? Taner can DH. Very well, in fact. Her .370 average is third on the team. 


She also wears #11 when on the field. This makes her a favorite of CARDINAL COUPLE Co-Owner Sonja's...since that was Sonja's number in field hockey. 


Like Sonja, sometimes Taner will just burst out in laughter or a giggle spontaneously. No particular reason, some thought or memory flashed by and brought back a good feeling....a warm remembrance...a happy time.


Like Sonja, she lost her father unexpectedly while she was in college.

Taner's story is amazing. We've provided a link below that chronicles her journey. 


http://espn.go.com/espnw/college-sports/7900807/louisville-cardinals-sophomore-taner-fowler-swinging-missing-dad

We wish all the Cardinal softball players great success in the post-season. 


Excuse us if we cheer maybe just a little bit louder for #11...


The Courier-Journal ran this article on #11 
a few days back. It's a good read also.


http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120505/SPORTS02/305050197/Taner-Fowler-louisville-softball


A tip of the hat and hearty handshake for CARDINAL COUPLE writer Jenny for providing the links. We should probably give her a raise. Two rations of banana pudding a day? We'll get back to you.... 



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Joseph A. Bailey will assume the duties of BIG EAST commish until a new one can be hired. We're guessing they couldn't contact Beetle Bailey, ex-jockey Jerry Bailey was busy, defense attorney F.Lee Bailey wanted too much money and Bill Bailey wouldn't come home. 


There is no specific time-frame set for a new hire. It could take some time for the hiring committee of Moe, Larry, Curly, David Spade, Jerry Springer, Andy Dick and Jon Stewart to get together all in the same place and at the same time. Here is our TOP TEN list of candidates to replace Johnny: 

10) Charlie Sheen. Talk about "out of the box" thinking! And, he'd be sure to attend a lot of women's sporting events and gala BIG EAST party affairs. And, he could dress like he did in Platoon. That'll make sure no one else tries to raid the BIG EAST. Drawback is his relative in-experience in sports. Even though he was in a major league baseball movie, his Wall Street past might comeback to haunt the BIG EAST coffers.  

9) Terry Meiners. Local radio and television funny guy would add a sense of triviality and nonsense to a conference that takes itself way too seriously. The weekly tele-conferences would be "must see" TV and when it comes to lampooning note-worthy figures...no one does it better than 'Larry Miners'. They'd probably have to hire a chauffeur for him, though. No problem. Take the funding for a driver out of the St John's football budget.   

8) Paul McCartney. The Beatle would ensure great attendance at any BIG EAST sporting event he might attend. And, he could change up a few tunes to liven things up. Imagine him singing a re-worked version of Hey, Jude to UofL WBB sophomore guard Jude Schimmel. Or, Mean Mr. Mustard to UConn coach Geno Auriemma. Beatle wigs for everyone! 


7) Richie Farmer. Lil' Richie knows hoops! And, he's adept at adapting circumstances to fit the needs of the one, not the many. Perfect for a conference that has been raided more often than a prohibition speakeasy. Hit 'em with the "bro-stash", Wildcat! 


6) Commish Mark. We felt our very own Mark did a fine job running the CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA TOURNAMENT Women's Basketball Pick 'Em Bracket contest. The BIG EAST Commish job might be a step down for him...but sometimes, you take one for the team. We'd chip in Bill the Goat and Co-Co, too...if the BIG EAST hires him. 

5) Joe B.Hall/Denny Crum. We like the easy banter that Joe and Denny have on their radio show. We feel it would translate easily to a BIG EAST job.


JOE: "Doggone it, Denny. We've got to stop teams from leavin' the dad-gum conference!" 
DENNY: "You're right, Joe. Let's take them fishing." 


4) John Calipari. Wouldn't have to worry about playing Indiana in this slot and he could learn all about football from "World Wide Wes"...whose taught him everything else he's ever learned about sports. 


3) Dr. Phil. The BIG EAST has a ton of troubles going on. Dr. Phil solves problems. Enough said.

2) Sgt. Schultz. The affable Hogan's Heroes actor is the best we've seen at non-information.


"I know nothing about conference expansion, Col. Hogan. I know nothing about lucrative television contracts!" Truly, a match made in heaven with a conference that doesn't have a clue.

1) Bobby Petrino. The BIG EAST has football woes. Bobby Petrino knows football. He can also tell BIG EAST athletic directors exactly what they want to hear. The drawback? Ol' Bob changes jobs every few hours or so...it might be a lead-in for him taking the head football coaching job at UK.  


Whoever the BIG EAST decides on, we hope that the winner keeps one important thing in mind...


They gotta live in Providence, RI. Line up, boys! 


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Finally, for today's horse racing fix...a video of Bodemeister's journey to his second place Ky. Derby finish...along with the preparation for the race. Good stuff, link below... Thanks to Jen Jade, from In the Money for passing it on! 


Go Bode Go
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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Cards sweep Georgetown series with Sunday win to go 25-0 at home. 


-Another McCoughtry

(Photo by Sandy Walker) UofL Softball team watches
highlights video on scoreboard.

The University of Louisville softball team said farewell to three seniors Sunday in the final regular season home game of the year and defeated Georgetown 3-0 to go to 47-2 on the season and 17-2 in BIG EAST play.

Collins delivers a two
hitter in five innings.

Senior Tori Collins pitched five innings of two-hit softball and Louisville put up a run in the third, fifth and sixth innings to defeat the Hoyas...who drop to 19-32 and 3-15 in the BIG EAST. 


A pitcher's duel through two and a half innings before Louisville broke the ice when Katie Keller singled with two outs in the bottom of the third and scored on Alicja Wolny's triple to give the Cards a 1-0 advantage.

Coach P 25-0 in Ulmer
in the regular season.

Louisville added their second run when freshman Whitney Arion led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on Jennifer Esteban's infield single.


The Cards increased the lead to 3-0 in the sixth. Maggie Ruckenbrod singled and Kirsten Straley came in to pinch-run and advanced on a ground-out and steal... touching home when Taner Fowler singled.

Louisville turned three
hits into three runs Sunday

Collins gave Louisville five strong innings after a shaky start when Georgetown had runners on second and third in the top of the first and just one out. She got Taylor Koenig on a play at the plate when Macensey Carter tapped a grounder to third baseman Kayla Soles. The throw to home and Ruckenbrod got the second out of the inning and Collins struck out the next Hoya batter to get out of the jam. 


Collins had five strikeouts on the day and sophomore Chelsea Leonard picked up her ninth save of the season with two innings of one-hit relief. 

Ruckenbrod's tag out at home kept
the Collins shut-out intact. 

Besides Collins, utility player Tesha Paysen and outfielder Kristin Austin graduate for the 2012 Cardinals. They discuss their career at UofL with Cardinal roving reporter Jared Stillman at the link below. Austin leads the BIG EAST with a .420 batting average going into today's game.




LINK:
UofL Softball seniors discuss their careers at UofL

Cardinal softball seniors Kristin Austin, Tori Collins
and Tesha Paysen

The #9 Cards travel to Knoxville for a game against #6 Tennessee Wednesday ( Hey, Fox Sports South...how about picking this one up for broadcast?) and finish up the regular season Derby weekend with three games at St. John's on May 5-6. Then, it's BIG EAST Tournament time in South Bend starting Thursday, May 10th...where the Cards hope to be the #1 seed. 


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We wonder if Rick would let
this McCoughtry ride his
McCoughtry?

We all remember the exploits of Angel McCoughtry on the court for the University of Louisville women's basketball. The Atlanta Dream WNBA star prepares for the start of the season in just a few days and will help pursue USA Women's Basketball's goals of bringing home the gold later this summer in the Olympics. 

We doubt the McCoughtry horse
can do much at the charity stripe...
even though the old Herb Crook
tongue move is in place.

There is another McCoughtry out there as well. This one is a 3 year old filly owned by Rick Pitino and trained by James Jerkins, Jr. called A.McCoughtry who ran today at Belmont in her second race ever. Despite starting dead last in the six furlong race, jockey Sam Camacho, Jr. got her motivated in the stretch and she finished a closing 4th in maiden special weight company out of nine runners. Back on March 25th, the filly from Overbrook Farms was a closing third at Aqueduct Race Course in her first race ever.


A.McCoughtry has won $9500 in two races and won't be running in the Kentucky Oaks obviously this Friday at Churchill...but is being kept in maiden special weight company -- which means no one can claim her out of a race and purchase her. (You know John Calipari...he'd probably try to pull off the dastardly deed.) 

Rick could start a stable of horses named
after Cardinal basketball players.  Would Kyle
Kuric or Asia Taylor make the cut? 

Pitino, the primary owner of RAP Stables, has also mentioned he was naming a couple of his young charges Gorgui and Peyton...after a couple of his current Cardinals. 


Hey, maybe the Cardinal coach will make a habit of it. Anyone up to seeing future Pitino fillies named M.Reid, T.Gibbs or S.Schimmel take the oval at Churchill Downs down the road? 
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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...Golf, Tennis, Softball and Mercedes

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Women's golf finishes 16th in North Carolina


-Women's tennis falls to Tulsa


-Softball in the BIG EAST


-Mercedes narrows list


-Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic needs a overhaul


-"Rally around Bobby" planned


The Louisville women's golf team finished their three-day meet in Browns Summit, NC with a 16th place finish in the Bryan National Collegiate tournament. They posted a team score of 941 for the 54 hole event. Tennessee won with a score of 882, defeating Duke in a playoff. 

Emily Haas is from West Jessamine HS

Senior Candice Wiley led the Cards with a 73 in the final round. Her three-day total of 232 matched that of Louisville freshman Emily Haas, who fired a 77 Sunday.  


Red shirt freshman Katie Petrino carded a 81 on the final day and finished three strokes back of Haas and Wiley for the three days with a 235. Freshman Sara Karlsson's 80 on Sunday gave her a 245 total. Maria Castallanos toured the final round with a 78...good for a 247. 


A lot of youth contributing on this year's team. Last year's leader Anna-Karin Llungstrom should be back from thumb surgery to compete in the BIG EAST Championship April 23-25 in Orlando, FL.


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Rough outing for Louisville tennis yesterday in the Bass-Rudd Center, falling to #26 Tulsa 7-0. 


"We ran into a very good team today. Sometimes you just have to give credit to your opponent for playing so well." --UofL head women's tennis coach Mark Beckham. 

Fellerhoff lost 6-3,1-6,6-3 Sunday

Julia Fellerhoff took her singles opponent to three sets before falling. The rest the Cardinal singles participants went down in straight sets. The loss snapped a five-match UofL winning streak. Louisville is 10-8 for the season. The BIG EAST Championships are three weeks away and Beckham indicated that the Cards might be a squad no one wants to face because of their improvement since the season began.


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Louisville softball is among the statistical leaders in quite a few categories in BIG EAST softball this season. Here are some of the categories that Sandy Pearsall's squad (33-2) top the league in and the BIG EAST standings as of 4/7/12. 


TEAM HITTING


Batting average..............1. Louisville (.318)
Slugging percentage........1. Louisville (.484)
Doubles........................1. Louisville (52)
Triples..........................1. Louisville (13)
Hits..............................2. Louisville (291)


TEAM PITCHING


Opp. batting average.......1. Louisville (.171)
Strikeouts......................2. Louisville (249)
ERA..............................2. Louisville (1.26)


INDIVIDUAL HITTING


Batting average...............1. Kristin Austin (.407)
                                        10. Taner Fowler (.359)
Hits...............................1. Kristin Austin (44)
Runs.............................1.Kristin Austin (30)
Triples...........................1.Kristin Austin (7)


INDIVIDUAL PITCHING


ERA...............................2. Chelsea Leonard (1.06)
                                         5. Tori Collins (1.25)
                                         7. Caralisa Connell (1.55)


BIG EAST STANDINGS


USF  8-0, 35-5                      Providence 4-4, 13-21
Notre Dame 3-0, 19-10         Pittsburgh 3-6, 20-17
Syracuse 5-1, 24-9               St. John's 2-5, 14-21
DePaul 5-1, 21-12                 Villanova 0-6, 25-12
Louisville 6-2, 33-2               Seton Hall 0-6, 18-21
Connecticut 6-3, 17-14          Georgetown 0-6, 15-23
Rutgers 5-5, 15-20


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2013 UofL women's basketball target Mercedes Russell has named the ten school that are in the running for her services. An impressive list, for sure. 
The Springfield, OR star is the #1 ranked recruit for the 2013 class and from what we've seen of her on video, it's a just and fair assessment. Click the link below to see who "made her cut". 


Top 10 for Russell


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 The announced crowd for the Derby Festival Classic in the KFC YUM! Center Friday night was slightly over 6500. This is a far cry from the glory days of the event back in Freedom Hall when over 16,000+ attended. 

Quite frankly, the Kentucky Derby Festival committee has dropped the ball on this event. Other high school Classic events have become more popular and the festival's inability to land UK future stars has killed the attendance. 


Also, moving the event to Thurs-Fri hasn't helped. Pulling the Night of the Future Stars from Bellarmine University and sending it to New Albany High School was disappointing as well. We understand the reasoning, since several future IU ballers were taking part in the slam dunk, three point shooting and 2 on 2 competitions...but it isn't the "New Albany/IU Night of Future Stars" and more than a few probably chose not to cross the Sherman Minton bridge and watch. 

Add a girls game to the event. 

Maybe having just one UofL future star hurt attendance. Maybe they need to ADD A WOMEN'S GAME to the activities -- like the top Classics do. Maybe they need new leadership, organizational staffing and a hook-up with a major sponsor. Maybe they're tired of our advice...but the numbers don't lie.


WE didn't attend this year. It's the first time we've missed this annual event in over 20 years. And, honestly...besides not getting together with friends we usually attend with...we didn't miss it.


Also, we used to receive several e-mails each year from the marketing folks who promote the Classic...some well in advance of the two-day event...with news, features and stories. Those disappeared this year, too. 


Get a new strategy, KDF. This used to be one of the top two post-season high school basketball classics. 


It isn't anymore. 


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Finally, supporters of embattled University of Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino have planned a support rally Monday night at 7 p.m. in front of the university administration building. We couldn't pass on this. 


Here's the "Top 10" on the rally. 


10. Supporters leave notes taped to the steps explaining why they didn't show up


9. Everyone shows up on motorcycles with 25 yr. old blondes riding on the back.


8. Bobby shows up nailed to a cross and wearing a crown of hog tusks.


7. The movie Pinocchio is shown immediately after the support rally.


6. Louisville and Atlanta Falcons fans hold a counter-rally at the Fayetteville airport. (In secrecy, of course)


5. John L. Smith is flown in from Weber State just in case things get out of control.


4. A blonde, vestal virgin from the football staff is sacrificed at the rally. 


3. Feeling slighted, the University of Arkansas basketball team schedules a "Support Mike Anderson" rally at the same time over at the basketball arena.


2. Former UofL women's basketball coach Tom Collen shows up on a moped not wearing a helmet. 


1. It's a hoax...designed to draw attention away from Petrino's secret decision to become the new head coach at UK. 
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