SONJA'S DERBY PICKS

Will Churchill Downs fan favorite Calvin Borel go back to back with Derby winners? He's on SUPER SAVER...who has won at Churchill and also won a sloppy track.

Let's face it, if all this wet weather comes in Saturday like the weathermen are predicting, it's going to be an absolute mess on Derby Day at the Downs. So, I'm going with a few "mudders" and scaling down what I'm normally invest in the race.

SUPER SAVER, DEVIL MAY CARE, DISCREETLY MINE, and BACKTALK have all won races on a off track. NOBLE'S PROMISE has the highest rating for wet track probability of winning. I'm going to use all five in an exacta box. After last year's MINE THAT BIRD upset...I don't think people will rush to make any of the twenty runners a overwhelming favorite, but I do expect LOOKIN AT LUCKY to be around 3-1. That'll make a nice win, place and show wager....just in case the mudders fail. I'm also going with NOBLE'S PROMISE across the board also. One more exacta box with LOOKIN AT LUCKY, NOBLE'S PROMISE, SUPER SAVER, DUBLIN and DEVIL MAY CARE and that will take care of the majority of my handicapping wagering. $52 total if you do a $1 exacta box and $2 across on the above selections.

Longshots? Yeah, I will give you a couple that could surprise at a price. JACKSON BEND has spent the last two races chasing ESKENDEREYA across the wire in second place. Since the "E" is scratched...veteran jockey Mike Smith could score with JACKSON BEND. Worth an across the board wager at least. ESKENDEREYA, in my humble opinion, would have beat this Derby field by at least 6 lengths, if he could have gone...

STATELY VICTOR won at huge odds at Keenland in his last outing. He's also run second on a wet track. Alan Garcia returns for the ride and could pay nicely if he shows the stretch kick that he did in the Bluegrass.

So, I'll be prepared to give $64 to the teller for the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. To recap:

$1 exacta box on SUPER SAVER, DEVIL MAY CARE, DISCREETLY MINE, BACKTALK and NOBLE'S PROMISE ($20)
$1 exacta box on LOOKIN AT LUCKY, SUPER SAVER, NOBLE'S PROMISE, DUBLIN and DEVIL MAY CARE ($20)
$2 across the board on LOOKIN AT LUCKY ($6)
$2 across the board on NOBLE'S PROMISE ($6)
$2 across the board on JACKSON BEND ($6)
$2 across the board on STATELY VICTOR ($6)

Good luck, enjoy the fastest 2 minutes in sports...stay dry if you are headed out there and remember...SONJA'S SELECTIONS are for entertainment purposes only. You know the drill...HAPPY DERBY TO ALL!

(I should probably have let Paul do the picks this year...he's been slaying them out there since the track opened last week...but his Derby picks are a more closely guarded secret than the Bush Beans recipie or The Colonel's chicken seasoning)

We'll return to women's sports on Friday...thank you for your kind indulgence...we tend to go a little crazy here in Louisville during Derby week. Lacrosse, softball and much more await our women athletes in the next couple of days and we'll tell you all about it.

Now, where did I set that Mint Julep I had?

Written by Sonja
4/29/10

Five to remember

Jeff Walz applauds Sonja's OAKS selections...OK, not really, but I had to start the column somehow.

(Note: SONJA'S DERBY SELECTIONS will appear Friday instead of today. I'm taking an extra day to pour over the post positions and past performances since there are quite a few possible candidates for the bouquet of roses. I was very big on ESKENDREYA and ENDORSEMENT...but both have dropped out of the race)

Jeff Walz will be holding a team camp for girls' hoops players from June 18-20. Girls in grades 9-12 will have the opportunity to participate in 6 games over the three day event, play in a Final Four tournament and receive instructions from Jeff and coaching staff. Contact Becky Bonner at 502.852.8355. Cost is $160 for overnight and $110 for commuters.

While we are on the subject of Lady Cards basketball, the word is that high school star Shoni Schimmel will be announcing her college pick next Wednesday. Louisville is in the running for the talented Portland (OR) guard, along with UCLA and several others schools. Schimmel could turn out to be one of the best guards to play at UofL should she choose the Cards.

I've listed below five of my favorite guards to ever put on the red and black and work the ball for Louisville Women's basketball. They may not necessarily be the five best guards in the history of the school...but, hey...it's my list and feel free to comment on your favorites. Angel is not on this list...she was a forward sent from heaven.

1)SARA NORD. The Jeffersonville, IN. point guard led Louisville in assists all four years she played for the Lady Cards. She could also lead the fast break and hurt you from outside if you left her unattended. Nord was a pretty decent softball player, too.

2)PATRIKA BARLOW. Another assist machine, the Barren County star swung a pretty mean softball bat in addition to leading the Cards in assists her final two years. "PB" played the game hard and had a smile as big as her game.

3)DEZ BYRD. The best is yet to come for the Cincinnati, OH point guard. Two strong years directing the offense for Jeff Walz were enough to show me that Dez is fearless, talented and knows the game. She's recovered from her knee injury and she'll have two more years to delight Cardinal fans with her fiery, take charge leadership on the court.

4)CONNIE NEAL. The Louisville, KY. shooter had one of the best releases and shots in Lady Cards history. When Connie was "on", she was automatic. A tireless defensive stopper as well, Neal was one of those blue collar, overtime and a half players that didn't have the words "tired","lazy" or "defeat" in her vocabulary.

5)KRISTEN MATTOX COX. The original "mad bomber"...Kristen could and would shoot from anywhere on the court and always believed that it was going thru the net. You didn't want to foul her, she has the highest free throw % in Lady Cards history. She was an early version of Angel McCoughtry...all over the court, involved in every aspect of the game. If the dictionary had a picture of "effort" next to the description...the photo would be hers.

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Hats off to the Uofl baseball team for their dramatic 10-9 over Kentucky last night. What a crazy ninth inning! Louisville leads 6-4 going in to the final inning, the Cats put up 5 runs and Louisville counters with 4 to win. Paul called it "the best college baseball game I have ever seen." Over 4000 in attendance. MAKE SURE and check out the photos and commentary over at Cardinal Dominance and UofL Card Game.
Well done, Zach Wasserman!

Finally, special shoutouts to Shannon...who probably blew out an artery in the final frame (the "Irish mafia" says "top of the morning to ya!") and also to Charlie, who refused to let Paul sit next to him and Barbara. A wise move, Charlie...

Written by Sonja
4/29/10

From the mail bag...

Even Ferris Buehler gets a day off every once in a while, so we're going to catch up on a few e-mails from our readers before we head out to watch Cardinal softball and Thunder Over Louisville. We've almost dried off from the rains that put a damper on the football Spring Game last night...

LISA writes:

I really enjoy the coverage that you provide for UofL Womens' sports. Have you ever thought about adding a message board to your blog?


Well, LISA..we have thought about it and may eventually get to it. We'd also like to hear from a few more readers about adding one. Shoot us your opinion in the comments section below or e-mail us at:
cardinalcouple@insightbb.com or officebulldog925@aol.com

Our buddy JOE writes:

Hope things are going good with you all in Louisville as Derby events start to fire up. I am in Naples with my girlfriend and won't be up there this year...have a mint julep for me and when will Sonja being giving her Derby picks?

(Joe is our friend who owned an English Pub in Gatlinburg that he sold in January. He is now living in Florida with his girlfriend and next door to his elderly mother. Joe is one of the biggest Cardinal fans we know.)

HI JOE!
Sonja will have a clearer idea of how she thinks the Derby could go probably after the post postion draw the Wednesday before Derby. She did a brief review of several horses in a column a few days back. She has since added ENDORSEMENT to that list (because John Asher likes that one) and JACKSON BEND. We'll see if both get in the field of twenty. As for me..in case you asked, I am all over NOBLE'S PROMISE still...but his trainer Kenny McPeek is 50/50 on whether he'll go or not as of yesterday...according to one of the owners...my buddy, Dr. Tom.

DONNA writes:
I hope you'll be giving women's voleyball and field hockey the same amount of coverage as you do the other women's sports when they start playing this fall.

DONNA...We plan to and I'll be shooting UofL coach Pam Bustin an e-mail in a few weeks to get her prognosis on the upcoming season. As far as Leonard Yelin's volleyball team...we plan on attending as many games as we can this year.

KEITH writes:

Do you think that the women's NCAA Tournament is going to consider expanding to more teams like the men?

KEITH: I haven't heard but I would be severely disappointed if they did. They had three women's post season tournaments this year and even though UofL played in WBI...I think that three is too many. Let's face it...attendance was very low for Louisville's game vs. Bradley, the Lady Cards didn't seem too fired up about it and no one could tell you who won the thing unless you read it on here...(Appl. State, in case you missed the article.) 64 teams is plenty and 32 for the NIT is fine.

OK, that's all for today. Have a great day, enjoy the fireworks and games today and
good luck to longshot PRINCE WILL I AM in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland today. Trained by Michelle Nihel and ridden by Calvin Borel...this one just might upset at a huge price.


Written by Paul
4/17/10