Friday Cardinal Couple -- Volleyball and Basketball today

.
FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Volleyball set for rematch with Marquette in Cardinal Arena

-Women's basketball opens regular season vs. Texas A&M

Exciting Friday for University of Louisville women's sports enthusiasts...with volleyball against league leading Marquette and women's basketball taking on the Texas A&M Aggies. Here's the breakdown:

First Place On The Line in Friday Afternoon game against the Golden Eagles

Louisville, Marquette and Notre Dame are tied at the top of the conference standings with 12-1 records. The Cards dealt Marquette their only conference loss back on Oct. 21st. in Milwaukee...winning 3-1.

Lola Arslanbekova had 24 kills and Emily Juhl contributed 13 in the 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-19 four-game win over the Golden Eagles. Louisville will need to be wary of Lindsay Gosh and Holly Mertens this afternoon in Cardinal Arena...the two combined for 29 kills against the Cards in the previous matchup.

Game time is 4:30 p.m. Let's hope the VolleyCards can eliminate Marquette in three games...to give fans plenty of time to make the drive from campus to downtown for the basketball game!

#12 Aggies to Test Cards in Friday Night Showdown

In the season opener for both squads, it'll be the third time in history the two storied programs. Texas A&M defeated the Cards last season at College Station an Louisville won in the Illini Classic back in 1992.

A&M bowed out of the NCAA Tournament last year in the Sweet Sixteen...losing to the same Maryland team that sent UofL to the sidelines...81-74.

Probable starters for Gary Blair's squad:

#23 Adrienne Pratcher ( Senior 5'7" G Memphis, TN) She distributed 102 assists for the Aggies last season and averaged 4.5 points and 19 minutes per game.

#33 Courtney Walker ( Freshman 5'8" G Edmond, OK) 2012 McDonald's All-American will test the Cards back court with her excellent shooting and playmaking skills.

#15 Tori Scott ( Sophomore 5'10" G Marrero, LA)
Played in 23 games last year with 0.7 pts. and 4.9 minutes per game. 2011 McDonald's All-American nominee.

#5 Kristi Bellock ( Senior 6'1" F St. Rose, LA)
Started last year against Cards. Played in 28 games with 0.9 points and 6.1 minutes per contest.

#3 Kelsey Bone ( Junior 6'4" C Houston, TX)
Named 2012 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Started career at South Carolina where she was 2009 SEC leading rebounder and 2010 Second Team SEC. 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds last year for A&M.

Head coach Gary Blair begins his 28th. season as a head coach, 11 of them at Texas A&M. Like Louisville, the Aggies will be tested early in the non-conference schedule...with games against Penn State, UConn and Marquette in November and TCU, USC and Kansas State in December. 

Sydney Brackemyer

Now a member of the SEC, Texas A&M also plays Kentucky twice this year. The Aggies can "go big" if needed...with 6'7" Rachel Mitchell and 6'5" Karla Gilbert on the roster. A&M is 8-3 all-time in openers on the road.

Kelsey Mitchell

CARDINAL COUPLE recruiting expert Jenny O'Bryan tells me that 2014 prospects Sydney Brackemyer and Kelsey Mitchell will be attending tonight's game as well...so say "Hi!" to them if you see them and welcome them to the 'Ville!

Should be an action-packed affair in the KFC YUM! Center tonight. Tickets still available for the game and showing a Kroger Plus card will get you in for $2. 

Let's pack the YUM! tonight for this tough contest and give the Cards a full house for their opener. Tip-off is 7 p.m. and it'll be broadcast on 790 WKRD AM radio in Louisville and WHAS TV 11-2 Digital...as well as on Insight-432, Comcast-207 and CARDS TV. For $2 bucks, though...we suggest you see this one live and in person. Gonna be a good one. UofL has designated tonight's game as a "red out"...so put the leisure suit and polyester dress shirt back in the closet (unless they're red...and I want a picture for the site if they are...)

We'll be back later tonight with a recap of both volleyball and basketball...

GO CARDS! 

.
..
...

Cards denied women's soccer NCAA Tournament bid

.
THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Four BIG EAST schools receive bids to NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament

-Louisville WBB vs. Texas A&M Friday night.

Someone needs to hand the NCAA a yellow card. Can we send this one up to the instant reply booth? The University of Louisville was not chosen to participate in the 2012 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships and neither was South Florida....who battled Louisville to a 0-0 tie over two overtimes and a shootout in BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal action. The four teams receiving bids are Marquette, Georgetown, Notre Dame and....Rutgers? 

The first three I've listed above I have no problem with. Marquette won the regular season title, their first BIG EAST Tournament title and finished with a 16-2-2 record and went 9-0-1 in the BIG EAST. They are ranked #13 in the nation. Well done, MU!

Georgetown had a very good season also. 15-3-3 and 8-1-1 in the BIG EAST. Played for the BIG EAST Tournament title for the first time in school history. Ranked #31 by the NCAA. Another school worthy of the bid. 

Notre Dame fared well also on the season. A 13-5-2 record with a 8-1-1 BIG EAST compliation. It's their 20th. straight NCAA Tournament bid. They won the NCAA tournament in 2010. Ranked #21 in the NCAA rankings. Take your seat on the plane, Irish. 

But Rutgers? Someone explain this selection to me like I was a six-year old, please. I just don't get it.

They were 5-5-1 in the BIG EAST. Louisville was 5-3-3 and USF 6-2-2. Overall, the Scarlet Knights were 12-7-1. Louisville was 10-4-3. USF 10-5-4.

Rutgers is #47 in the NCAA rankings. Louisville #45. South Florida #52.

The only possible reason that makes any sense with regards to including Rutgers before Louisville in the tournament selection would be that they defeated the Cards in the regular season.

Obviously, that must mean more than league finishes, overall records, NCAA rankings and common sense. And, if that's the case...why bother with a BIG EAST Tournament?

Louisville got a bad break. To use a more popular term...they got hosed. Something to motivate the Cards for the 2013 season.

OVERALL RECORD       BIG EAST RECORD     RANKING

Louisville 10-4-3                 South Florida 6-2-2             Lou. #45
South Florida 10-5-4           Louisville 5-3-3                  Rutgers #47
Rutgers 12-7-1                    Rutgers 5-5-1             South Florida #52

NCAA SELECTION:  Rutgers

COMMON SENSE SELECTION: Louisville and South Florida

Someone explain it to me.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

The #9 ranked Louisville women's basketball team starts the regular season in large fashion, hosting #12 Texas A&M in the KFC YUM! Center Friday night at 7 p.m. A lot of media types are calling it the best opening regular season game this year.

We can't disagree. A&M comes in with just two starters back from last year, but a highly-ranked and talented freshman class. Louisville loaded with talent...all but Tia Gibbs and Asia Taylor ready to play and looking forward to filling the Arena.

$2 tickets available at the box office with your Kroger Plus card. No home football Saturday, so you have no excuse not to be there.

Who will start for the Cards? We were mildly surprised to see Megan Deines in the starting lineup for Jeff Walz's Cards against Eckerd...but soon found out she was worthy and capable of the nod. Given that A&M center Kelsey Bone (6'4") is likely to cause some worries for the Cards underneath the boards...wouldn't surprise us to see 6'4" Sherrone Vails draw a starting assignment, but the front-line combo of Sara Hammond and Shawnta Dyer didn't look bad against Eckerd. We expect Mo Reid to see 15-20 minutes. Cards will try to counter the Aggies' height with quickness and transition one would assume. We'll throw a lineup out and let us know what you think of it in the comments section or by e-mail.

Shoni Schimmel
Shawnta Dyer
Sara Hammond
Bria Smith
Megan Deines

It's a "Red Out" game, so dress accordingly and show up! The Cardinal fan base can be an intimidating factor to opponents'...so be loud!  Walz wants the place packed, so take advantage of this early-season opportunity to support the Lady Cards!

.
..
...

Lady Cards fall short against Aggies by 18

.
CARDINAL COUPLE "HUMPDAY" REPORT

-27 turnovers plague Cards in College Station.

-Watson weighs in on the loss.

Without Shoni Schimmel, Monique Reid and Tia Gibbs, the Lady Cards battled hard for 30 minutes against #6 Texas A&M but fell short in Tuesday night NCAA Women's basketball...losing 76-58.

Burke gets hammered by
an Aggie defender. No foul.

The Cards started poorly against the Aggies and fell behind 8-0 in the first four minutes of play before Bria Smith connected on two free throws. That started a 7-0 Cardinal run that made it 8-7 at the 14:43 mark, when Cierra Warren followed up a missed shot for a basket. In a first half full of runs, the Aggies then went on a 10-2 streak and led 18-9 with 11:09 remaining in the first half.

Louisville battled back and Warren sank two free throws with 9:01 left to cut the A&M lead to 18-14. The Aggies regrouped and ran off nine straight points on Louisville to hold a 27-14 lead with less than five minutes remaining. Becky Burke scored the Cards next five points to cut it to ten and Louisville outscored the Aggies 9-4 over the final 3:42 of the first half to keep it close at halftime...Louisville down 33-25.

Cardinal freshmen had a OK outing
against A&M

Louisiville was getting production from Warren inside with eight first half points and from Smith at guard with six points but had 13 first half turnovers and was shooting only 7/24 from the field.

Texas A&M got immediate production from center Kelsey Bone to start the second half and Bria Smith took over for the Cards offensively. Louisville stayed close for the first seven minutes of second half action....down by only nine with 13:09 to go at 47-38.

The Aggies took control from that point, though...blasting the Cards for 11 straight points and holding a 58-38 advantage with less than ten minutes remaining. Louisville would cut that to 15 with 8:09 left after a Burke basket, but A&M found their offense again and Cardinal turnovers helped the Aggies push out to a 73-49 advantage with under four minutes remaining. The Cards did outscore Aggie reserves 9-3 to finish ...but it was not enough to get the Cards any closer than 18.

Bria Smith led Louisville with 20 points and seven rebounds, one of three Cardinals that finished in double figures. Becky Burke tallied 13 and Cierra Warren ended with 12. Only six Cardinals scored in the contest...Shawnta Dyer adding five points, same as Jude Schimmel and Antonita Slaughter connected on a three late for her only points.

The Aggies got a strong second half from center Kelsey Bone and she led A&M with 15 points and nine grabs. Sydney Carter finished with 14 and Tyra White added 13. 

Louisville greatly missed the point guard expertise of Shoni Schimmel and steady inside scoring of Monique Reid. Tia Gibbs lockdown defensive would have been great to have against the A&M guards. The Lady Cards were schooled on the offensive boards by the taller Aggies and suffered from beyond the stripe with 4 of 15 three point shooting.

Quick turnaround for Walz's kids...Thursday night in Richmond, KY against EKU. Shoni back at the point, hopefully...Mo back inside. Tia Gibbs goes in for an MRI on her shoulder tomorrow...doubtful for the Colonels game because of pain and limited movement.

Learning experience aside, the Cards got a great effort from Smith and some good point play from Jude Schimmel...but Bone ruled Warren in the second half inside and Sara Hammond had a case of freshman nerves today. It's early in the season and once all the pieces of the puzzle are back on the table, the Cards will improve greatly off today's effort...a heroic, but over matched effort against a deep and talented A&M team.

Things we liked about the game:

-Bria Smith's aggressiveness and ability to create, drive and score.

-Flashes of brilliance from Jude Schimmel at the point.

-Cierra's strong first half inside.

-Becky Burke drilling a few threes.

Things that need improvement:

-Cut down on turnovers. 27 is unacceptable, no matter who you are playing or who is missing out of your lineup.

-Scoring droughts. Two runs by A&M accounted for a 20-0 scoring drought. Louisville lost by 18. You do the math.

-Keeping the opponent off their offensive boards. Way too many easy put backs and second chances for scores by A&M against the Cards yesterday.

Most upsetting point of the evening:

-When ESPN U lost coverage for most of the first half because of "technical difficulties". Sent us scrambling for the radio. Was yelling four-letter words at the four-letter network.

******************************************************************

(With regular writers Jenny O'Bryan and Sandra Walker unavailable to provide post-game analysis...we turn to CARDINAL COUPLE Special Correspondent David Watson for his take on the loss. You have been warned...)

(Notes while trying to figure out where ESPNU is)

I'm not going to blast or belittle the effort that Jeff Walz's Lady Cards put out yesterday against the Texas A&M Aggies. I'm just going to sue ESPN U for not giving me my money's worth.

David Watson had to
listen to part of the
A&M game on AM radio.

Yes, I finally broke down and added the network to my cable lineup. The phone guy was friendly enough. Told me he could add it IMMEDIATELY if I took about 10 or so other channels. Said he'd charge me only $2.50 (pro-rated) for this month and $10 dollars per month hereafter. And, sure enough, it was there at 3:55 p.m. when I sat down with my popcorn, beer and youngest daughter in the family den. 

I got hosed.

Missed most of the first half because of technical difficulties. Had to resort to on-line radio streaming from Cards TV. I do like the way Matt Andrews and Adrienne Johnson call a game, but I'd rather be watching it and making my own determinations.

When they finally got the gremlins out of the stratosphere and the picture returned, here's what I saw.

-Kelsey Bone (Texas A&M) is going to be a force in the BIG 12, SEC, WNBA and where-ever else she decides to play. After sitting most of the first half with foul trouble, she used her 6'4" frame to punish the Cards inside. I'm glad she transferred to A&M instead of somewhere like Providence, Marquette or Seton Hall because I care to see her no more. Dawn Staley (South Carolina head coach) lost a good one in Bone.

-Bria Smith is having a love/hate relationship with college basketball. She carried the Lady Cards in the second half, but too many turnovers and way too few assists. With coaching and the return of Shoni and Mo, she'll get much better. She's already excellent - superior is the next stop on the scale for her.

-I keep waiting for Asia Taylor to have that "breakout game". I thought I might see it yesterday. At least she didn't foul out. I'm still waiting, Asia. Like a kid waiting for Christmas. Hopefully, you'll arrive sooner.

-Sara Hammond is going to have a few of those good game/bad game swings this year. All freshmen do, unless they're named Maya Moore or Skylar Diggins. Look for her to revert back to good game status against Eastern Kentucky Thursday night.

-Sherrone Vails is another one who probably wishes yesterday was just a dream and the actual game is today. Have a nip or two before you check out her stat line from yesterday.

-Jude Schimmel is a enterprising, dauntless young lady. I'm hoping to see a lot of "Schimmel squared" on the court this year. I honestly believe she would try to take the basketball off the dribble through Times Square to the countdown ball on New Year's Eve. She just needs to keep dribbling. Holding the ball 35 feet out isn't helping anybody but the defense.

So, a loss. An expected loss. Gary Blair is a fine coach, has a great team and will do wonderful things in conference play this year. Might just get in range to try for the title again. But, I'd like to see the Lady Cards face the Aggies at full strength and in the KFC YUM! Center.

To use a golf term, I'd like a 'mulligan' for the Lady Cards on yesterday's performance.
With the regular five some out there.

(David Watson is a Special Correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. His views do not necessarily match those of the staff or ownership of CARDINAL COUPLE at times...but he's never a boring read...)
.
louisvilletravelstorichmondkentuckyfortheirnextgameagainsteasternkentuckyuniversitywearebettingthatawholelotofrockcastlecountyfanswillbeinattendance

Cards shorthanded in today's game vs the Aggies

.
TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Shoni Schimmel, Tia Gibbs, Monique Reid out for A&M game

-Central Cardinal Club Holiday Boutique today at PJCS

Gibbs has shoulder
injury

The University of Louisville women's basketball team has caught the men's teams injury bugaboo and will be missing three of the starters that helped the Cards advance to the Sweet Sixteen last year.

Mo has back and
foot trouble

Monique Reid, all-conference last year and the Cards leading scorer has arch and back injuries and will likely sit against Texas A&M. Reid played in the Missouri State game but went 2-10 in 22 minutes and is slowed by her injuries.

Tia Gibbs fell on the shoulder she injured and had surgery on when she was a Vanderbilt Commodore and will most likely be held out of action as a precaution until a more complete diagnosis can be made on the injury.



Shoni will return after A&M
game.



Shoni Schimmel is serving the second game suspension of her two game sit down because of playing in a non-sanctioned 3on-3 tournament this summer.

The Cards will depend heavily on the three newcomers who sparked the rally against the Bears on Sunday...transfer post Cierra Warren, freshman forward Sara Hammond and lightning quick freshman guard Bria Smith.

"Of course, we wanted to go into this game at full strength, but we're not healthy. That's the way it is. In college sports, sometimes you have to face adversity. Some players that maybe weren't expecting to play 20-25 minutes are going to have to step up and do that for us. It's a good opportunity." -Jeff Walz, UofL head women's basketball coach.

In addition to the three, key reserve Charmaine Tay is sidelined academically and will not dress.

Louisville will run into a A&M team that returns three starters from their 2011 National Championship team. Texas A&M beat Oklahoma City 84-63 in an exhibition game and defeated Lamar on Saturday 83-58 to open the season. Transfer Kelsey Bone has added height and rebounding power to the Aggies and guards Sydney Carter and Tyra White compose one of the best back courts in the nation.

The game will be televised on ESPNU at 4 p.m. The Aggies will also unveil their national championship banner in pre-game ceremonies.

We'll have a full report on the action later tonight.

******************************************************************

Sonja stands by one of the
many silent auction items

The Central Cardinal Club is having their 2011 Holiday Bazaar today at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in the PNC Club. Lots of great gifts, silent auction, speakers and food. The event begins at 11 a.m. and runs till 8 p.m. They're showing the Louisville vs. A&M game also, in case you want to stop by and watch it with a bunch of die-hard Cardinal fans.

Debbie Zipperle (left) and Barbara Hancock (right) did
a wonderful job helping organize today's event !

The PNC Club adjoins the East Side loge seats and can be accessed off Floyd Street. Elevators are easily accessable to take you to the third floor, where the PNC Club is located. Once there, you'll find a vast array of items to either bid on or purchase.

Shirley Blanton enjoys the delicious lunch and style show

Just back from there and we had a delicious lunch and watched the style show with emcee Susan Sweeney Crum and several Cardinal coaches wives showing some great outfits and accessories. This event has got over 100 silent auction tables and some excellent things to bid on. Get out there tonight..or after work...the event runs until 8 p.m....and speakers this evening are Scotty Davenport, Valerie Owens Combs and Howie Lindsey.
.

Denny Crum signs a basketball for Jim Watkins

The Central Cardinal Club holds the annual event to raise money for the non-revenue sports at UofL and the Cardinal Athletic Fund. We saw many priceless items at the silent auction table, including basketballs signed by Rick Pitino, Jeff Walz and footballs from Charlie Strong and from the Orange Bowl.

Plenty of holiday fashions and outfits for your Christmas shopping needs as well are available for purchase, too.

Thanks to Bill and Barbara Hancock and Debbie Zipperle for being gracious hosts and showing us around the gala affair.

Remember, they're open until 8 p.m. tonight, so why not run over there and watch the Lady Cards play A&M or after the game to help support Central Cardinal Club's worthy event?
nochoiceisachoice
**********************************************************************************

Softball sweeps Seton Hall, Lacrosse vs. Ohio State today

CARDINAL COUPLE SUNDAY

-Cards improve to 4-1 in BIG EAST with sweep

-Katie Petrino joins softball squad

-Lacrosse against Ohio State today

-The Final Four...some thoughts and picks

-Sidelne Announcers Final Four

Louisville softball relied on the arm of Caralisa Connell yesterday and powerful hitting as the Cards sunk the Pirates 7-2 and 10-2 in BIG EAST softball action at Ulmer Stadium.

It's a Louisville team that is without the services of 2/3rds the pitching staff. Last year's #2 and #3 pitchers Tori Collins and Chelsea Leonard, who figured prominently in Sandy Pearsall's plans for the 2011 season are sidelined...Leonard most likely for the season with a knee injury and Collins with a fractured foot. Collins could possibily return in a couple of weeks. The pitching job has been turned over to true freshman Caralisa Connell and she's responded with six straight wins...since last Saturday...all complete games...and a 12-4 record on the year.

Louisville took the fight early to the Pirates in the first game, a Maggie Ruckenbrod double scored Chelsea Bemis in the 2nd inning to make it 1-0. Louisville added two in the third when Ruckenbrod singled to score Alicja Wolny and Kristin Austin's single brought home Chelsea Bemis. Katie Keller's solo shot in the 4th. increased the Cards lead to 4-0 and they ended the inning ahead 6-0, thanks to a timely triple from Alicja Wolny.

After the Pirates plated two runs in the top of the fifth, the Cards added their final run in the bottom of the inning when Hannah Kiyohara singled home Keller for the 7-2 win. Connell struck out eight in the victory and scattered seven hits.

In game two, the Cards gave up an early run to Seton Hall in the first but tied it in the bottom half on the inning when Keller reached on a fielder's choice and scored on an error. Louisville broke it open in the home half of the second with five runs on five hits and an error. Taner Fowler's double and Keller's single were key in the the outburst.

After Seton Hall got one back in the third, to make it 6-2...Louisville (25-10) went wild in the fifth with four runs for the final 10-2 margin. Singles from Austin, Fowler and Kiyohara produced two runs, Esteban double put runners on second and third and she and Kiyohara scored on a Keller double to end it.

The teams match up for the final game in the series today at 11 a.m.

**********************************************************************************

The Cards added backup pitching relief to the roster when Katie Petrino walked on the team before action on Saturday. If the name sounds familiar, it is. Her father Bobby Petrino was head football coach at Louisville for five years before accepting the job with the Atlanta Falcons NFL franchise. Katie is a redshirt freshman at Louisville who came here to compete on golf team. She was the starting pitcher on two Fayetteville, Arkansas state championship high school softball teams, though...and won several regional and local awards while on the mound...including two First Team All-Arkansas roster selecions. Ms. Petrino can "wail it a ton off the tee" according to Louisville women's golf coach Kelly Meyers Rothberg. Let's hope she carries the right ball to the mound if she toes the strip for the softball Cards...

***********************************************************************************

Lacrosse brings in Ohio State for a 1 p.m. match today at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. The wicket Cards are ranked #20 in the nation and are coming off a 12-6 win over Vanderbilt in their last outing. The 8-1 Cards have scored in double digits in the last 19 games. Liz Lovejoy had four goals in the recent win and Bergan Foley added the final two scores i the win over #13 ranked Vandy.

This is "Friends of Jaclyn" day at the stadium and donations will be accepted for the foundation that strives to improve the quality of life for children who have pediatric brain tumors.

***********************************************************************************

The Final Four is set in Indy and Connecticut, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Stanford fight today for the right to play in Tuesday night's title game at the Conseco Fieldhouse. The Irish and Huskies are no strangers to each other, having met twice before this year. Connecticut defeated the Irish 79-76 in South Bend and 73-64 in the finals of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Huskies haven't loss since a 71-59 defeat to Stanford on Dec.30th. in the Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA.

WE see UConn surviving a close battle against the Irish in the 9:30 p.m. game tonight. The Huskies will have to win the battle of the boards against Bruiser Bruszewski  and Devereaux Peters. They'll also need to shut down guards Skylar Diggins and Brittany Mallory. WE'RE impressed with the improvement of Huskies' freshman center Stefanie Dolson throughout the season, though...and there's the Maya Moore factor, as well. A key could be the play of freshman Bria Hartley at point for UConn. 

The evening of hoops begins at 7:30 with the Texas A&M Aggies squaring off against the Stanford Cardinal. The Aggies surprised most by punching a ticket to 'Naptown' with a win over Baylor...a team that had beaten them three times in the regular season. Danielle Adams is a powerful center and prolific scorer. Stanford cruised through the PAC 10 schedule and then ousted Cinderella story Gonzaga in Spokane without much trouble. Coached by Tara VanDerveer and featuring the powerful Ogwumike sisters in the paint, Stanford can hurt you several ways...younger sis Chiney was named to the First Team Freshman All-American team and big sis Nnemkadi to the State Farm All Coaches First Team. Hmmm...Ogwumike must translate into "basketball" in Nigeria. They also have two younger sisters and older sis Gabe has played professionally in Europe and the WNBA. WE'RE betting those back yard battles in Texas are something to see...

WE'LL be pretty obvious here and selected the Stanford squad to slip into the Finals over A&M. Seniors Kayla Pederson and Jeanette Pohlen give the Trees a couple of more scoring options and Stanford is the only team to hang a "L" on UConn this year...that's enough to convince us that they're the shining star on the west coast. 

Is college basketball ready, though...for the possibility of BOTH title holders being from Storrs, Connecticut? Do the people in Connecticut need their egos inflated anymore? Are Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma actually the same person? How flooded was the Lexington. KY crisis hotline last night after "dem Kats" bowed out to the Huskies? Yeah...looks like a beautiful Sunday on tap today.

***********************************************************************************





Erin Andrews takes on Allison Williams in one of the semifinals today in the Sideline Annoucers Final Four. Is she the UConn of microphone holders?





The FINAL FOUR in our sideline announcers contest takes place today also. We've got Erin Andrews takng on newcomer Allison Williams and Pam Oliver matched up against Andrea Kremer. You can vote in the comments section here, or at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com



Does the veteran Kremer have what it takes to hold off Pam Oliver?

We'll announce the results in the Monday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE...