"Floored" ida. Cards upset #3 Gators in Sugar Bowl 33-23

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Louisville's fast start leaves Gators toothless

It is the biggest victory in Louisville football history.



The champ.

Just as Muhammad Ali shocked the world with a knockout over Sonny Liston in 1965 to claim the heavyweight boxing title, another Louisville legend -- the Charlie Strong coached Louisville football team -- shocked the world (as least the college football world) with a 10-point win over #3 Florida in Wednesday night's Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Make that Lou Orleans.

Ali was on hand to see the win. So was a 5 year old cancer patient from Louisville who wanted to see this game with only months possibly left in his young precious life. The champ is smiling. The young man has his belief renewed that miracles can happen.
 

Scoring on the first play from scrimmage in each half, the Cards dominated the air game behind the heroics of Teddy Bridgewater. The Cards shut down the Florida offense for the majority of the contest and pulls off the biggest BCS bowl upset quite possibly in history. They moved the unmovable object. They danced past the gator pit unscathed.  

A 14-point underdog, the #21 ranked Cards proved the Vegas odds-makers wrong...holding off a desperate Florida rally in the fourth quarter. Gator bait? Not tonight.

Sugar Bowl champs. Right here in Derby City.

Charlie wears a Sugar Bowl confetti wig.

A win that proves the ACC chose the right school. Another notch in the totem pole for the best college town in America. A righteous justification for the coach who had been a bridesmaid so very often in the quest for a head coaching job. A testimony that there is no better athletic director in college sports than Tom Jurich. 

Louisville Cardinals. L1C4. Big East 1 - SEC 0.

We'll return to our usual coverage of UofL women's sports Friday. Today's column is for Teddy Bridgewater and his mom, a breast cancer survivor. For Eli Rogers and his mom, an 11-year AIDS survivor. For the 20,000 fans who made the trek to New Orleans and for those who watched on TV or listened on radio. For an athletic director who gave a man a chance. For a coach who urged fans to "get on the train." A coach who believes that when you give your word, you keep it. A guy who turned down the money and the SEC. A guy who kept pointing to the Louisville fan section and telling the world that "this one is for those people up there" -- dressed in red and black.

Strong? Yeah, you betcha.

Arlo Guthrie wrote a song years ago about a train that rode the rails to New Orleans. "Riding on the City of New Orleans" came true tonight. And, to paraphrase Aerosmith...the train kept a rollin' all night long. Ozzy Osbourne sang about riding on the rails of a crazy train. The Cards have done all that and more with this win. The Cardinal Cannonball.

Down goes Frazier? How about down goes Florida? Gators, you just been "Carded"?

Teddy hits the deck on first UofL offensive play
but Florida ends up on mat in the end.

A win that few...except Cardinal fans...expected. A win that had ESPN announcers stunned, stammering and shuffling for material. A win for a young team that the pundits claimed achieved false success against a weak schedule. A team that would not be able to withstand Florida's vaunted defensive pressure according to the experts. Big East beating the SEC? Impossible...

How does 33 points taste, Florida?

Have some.

A win for the ages. And a victory for underdogs everywhere. A Sugar Bowl shocker.

The team will arrive at 3:30 today back at PJCS. IF you aren't working, go to greet them. A larger celebration is needed. Maybe over the weekend in the house where it started. The pizza oven.

Sugar?

How sweet it is.
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Kentucky High School Hoops: Kentucky's 2012 Class (Girls) Where Are They Going...

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Donny has been busy.


-Reader submitted article: Casey Smith


-We read (and sometimes post) your mail


We lead Friday CARDINAL COUPLE off with a great story from Donny Yaste on his blog Kentucky High School Hoops. 

The Donald

We've had the pleasure of knowing young Mr. Yaste for several years now and we're quite impressed with his knowledge on all things Cardinal sports related. He's taken a step further and now has a site devoted to Kentucky high school basketball. 

Donny after announcing he, Shannon Ruffra, Josh Tinch
and the guy on the right were going to see if they could
replace Steve Kragthorpe's defensive line in 2009. 

We still have Donny listed on the CARDINAL COUPLE staff as an administrator. He's had to administer us back into our website a couple of times when we got locked out during the infamous hacker attack of January 2012. He's also written some great pieces for us, CARD GAME, CARDINAL DOMINANCE and THE LOUISVILLE CARDINAL student newspaper. 


Donny is on track to get an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Louisville. That means he'll have expert knowledge on how to insert plugs into electrical outlets, change light bulbs and how to turn breaker switches on and off. 

Many people get Donny and Monkees bass guitarist Peter
Tork confused. Donny actually plays the bass better than
Peter but declined an offer to star in a planned
remake of The Monkees sitcom. 

We invite you to check out the link below where Donny lists where the Kentucky high school girl basketball players are headed to college.


And, check his site out regularly for great information on both boys and girls high school hoops in Kentucky. We appreciate and heartily approve of him giving coverage to both sexes. We wish more sites would. 


Kentucky High School Hoops 


We're sure you'll make his site a daily routine to stop at on your internet travels. He's on Twitter, too. Link below. 

Kentucky High School Hoops: Kentucky's 2012 Class (Girls) Where Are They Going...: I've put together a list where many of the top 2012 players from Kentucky will be playing next year. There are some that I couldn't find a d...

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Since it is "reader submitted articles" Friday here at CARDINAL COUPLE...we wanted to share this article sent to us and written by 11 yr. old Casey Smith. Casey likes UofL women's basketball, volleyball and softball. She hopes to play for UofL someday and hopes to try out for her middle school team this fall.
She has never been to a UofL sporting event (distance issues) but hopes to see the Cardinal women in action this fall.


My Favorite UofL women's athletes
by Casey Smith

My name is Casey Smith and I am a fan of Louisville women's sports. I started watching Louisville women's sports back when Angel McCoughtry played for the basketball team and I have been a fan ever since. I have never been to a UofL women's game before but I have seen the basketball, volleyball and softball teams play on television. I love them all! I would also like to see the women's soccer, field hockey and other teams play someday and hope that they will be on television. I live too far away from Louisville to come to a game but my Dad told me that we might be able to come to Louisville one weekend this fall and go watch a basketball or volleyball game. I hope so! 


I like all of the players that play on the Louisville women's sports teams but I do have some favorites. 
Shoni and Monique are my favorite basketball players. Shoni can do anything on the basketball court! I bet she's going to be in the WNBA someday. Monique Reid can score anytime she wants to when she gets the ball under the basket. I missed not seeing her play last year and I hope she has recovered from her injury and does well again this year. 

In volleyball, I like Lola because she can spike the ball very well and she is always excited and fired up on the volleyball court. I also like Emily because she is another player that gets points and plays well. 


I have learned a lot about Louisville women's sports from the internet and all my friends know I am a big UofL fan. 
I would like to play for UofL someday in basketball or volleyball. I like reading Cardinal Couple and other Louisville sports sites and I hope you will use my article on one of your Fridays. Go CARDS! 


Casey Smith


( Our pleasure to run your article Casey and
keep cheering for those CARDS. If you get to Louisville for a game, be sure to let us know and we'll try to get you seats next to some great UofL fans we know!) 


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Finally, this rather interesting e-mail ( author's name and location withheld by request). 


Many people in the Louisville area that are University of Louisville fans are upset that West Virginia was chosen for the BIG 12 instead of Louisville. I am a WVU lifelong fan that AGREES with you. I wish you would have gotten the slot and we were staying in the BIG EAST or going to the ACC. It was easy for me and my family to travel to away games against schools like Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Louisville and Cincinnati. Now, travel to away games is going to be much harder and more expensive. We have no tradition or rivalry built up with schools in the BIG 12 and I have no interest in travelling to places like Lawrence, Waco, Stillwater or Lubbock. If we were in the ACC, road games to Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Duke, NC, NC State and such would be a lot shorter and more fun. 

A lot of people criticize our fan base as being rude, unfriendly and "hillbillies". As a WVU fan since the early seventies, I can tell you that we do have our share of "rowdies" but I have found that most of the schools I have traveled to for away games have their share of them, too. I'll miss trips to Louisville. 


Your football fans are knowledgeable, passionate about their team and we found some great people to tailgate with over the years. What Louisville has done with women's basketball over the years is amazing, too. We've been to Freedom Hall and the KFC YUM! Center to watch women's basketball and consider your fan base among the best in the nation. The legendary coaches you've had. Crum, Pitino, Schnellenberger, Corso. All great men who are respected and admired world-wide. Louisville is known for great basketball. West Virginia? Jury's still out on that one.


You have your share of "rowdies" too. Maybe we can both agree that we're not as bad as the Memphis or East Carolina fans?


I like your CARDINAL COUPLE site. You cover women's sports very well and you aren't afraid to poke fun at yourself or tease about other programs. I wish we had something like it covering West Virginia women's sports. You wouldn't consider moving to Morgantown, would you?


So,  farewell to the BIG EAST. I'll still read your site. I hope you beat Pittsburgh one last time before they take off to the ACC. It should be us going there, instead, if you look at it geographically and logically. Who knows anymore about all this conference re-alignment. Maybe you'll come and join us in the BIG 12 down the road. Those Louisville road trips are road trips I'd love to take again. 


( Not much chance in us moving to Morgantown but thanks for the nice words and Good Luck in the BIG 12. Maybe we'll get there someday...)
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THIS AND THAT -- The Walz CN2 interview

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SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-10 minute Walz interview with CN2's Chip Cosby

-Saturday in the BIG EAST WBB

-Softball goes to 9-0

Ran across this recent interview Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz did with CN2's Chip Cosby.

Revealling, informative and a good watch:

DAVID WATSON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded%20ed&v=ZVbGGwzOMYw

FROM THE BIG EAST SATURDAY:

UConn falls to St. John's 57-56. Sandy to follow with a look at this one. In other Saturday games:

# 15 Georgetown with a 66-39 win over Providence. Tia Magee had 17 for Georgetown.

#21 Rutgers defeats Villanova 61-52. April Sykes led Rutgers with 20 points.

#24 DePaul knocks off West Virginia 77-63. Brittany Hrynko scoring 21 and Anna Martin 19 for the Blue Demons.

USF downs Pitt 62-50. Andrell Smith getting 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls and Jasmine Wynn leading with 14.

Syracuse handling Marquette 79-63

Cincy bests Seton Hall 54-48

All hail the softball Cards! A sweep Saturday. 9-0 on the season.

(I have to apologize. I may have inadvertantly erased the earlier CARDINAL COUPLE entries that Sandy and I did earlier today. See what happens when Paul and Sonja are gone? )

' CRUNCH TIME! We are at that point in the season where every game counts more than ever. Saturday evening I had written “Huge games this week will determine the seeding for the upcoming Big East Tournament.” I knew not to what extent I meant what I was saying. One of those huge games turned out to be St. Johns 57 at Connecticut 56. For the first time in years someone besides Connecticut has a true opportunity to win the Big East regular season. It’s too early to work out the number of possibilities but with a current 1st place (by one game) Notre Dame still to play the current 2nd place Connecticut at UConn, a new regular season champion is a greater possibility than in more years than I remember so absolutely, every game counts. To get the job done Notre Dame will have to do a much better job running a true offense instead of the two player street ball offense which was displayed in the West Virginia loss. The February 27 game will be the last played regular season game for both teams. ESPN2 is the lucky station to be airing the game. After Monday’s home Notre Dame game Louisville has back to back contests beginning Saturday 25th with DePaul for their last home game of the year which is quickly followed by their last regular season game only 2 days later on Monday the 27th at Seton Hall 0-13 / 7-20 in South Orange, NJ. The Cards can defeat DePaul but their fast paced game will require a lot of energy from a team who will have a short turn around time. Combined with travel, the Seton Hall game could be a particularly dangerous game with a team that has nothing to loose with pride at stake at a time when the final season rankings and tournament placements are at risk. BIG EAST Overall Notre Dame 12 - 1 25 - 2 Connecticut 11 - 2 24 - 3 St. John's 9 - 3 18 - 8 Georgetown 10 - 4 21 – 6 West Virginia 10 - 3 20 - 6 DePaul 8 - 5 20 - 7 Louisville 8 - 5 19 - 7 Rutgers 7 - 6 18 - 8 USF 7 - 7 15 - 13 Syracuse 5 - 8 16 - 11 Cincinnati 5 - 8 14 - 12 Villanova 5 - 9 15 - 12 Providence 5 - 9 13 - 14 Marquette 4 - 9 13 - 13 Pittsburgh 0 - 13 8 - 18 Seton Hall 0 - 13 7 - 20 As of Friday night Louisville currently is sharing the 6th & 7th places in the conference with DePaul (DePaul has one additional out of conference win) but less than 1 win separates their current position from USF’s current 9th place standing. Louisville has the opportunity to help itself by defeating DePaul at home on the 25th, which is actually a home weekend game. This is where the Louisville fan base needs to do their part by showing up and cheering to such an extent that we become a 6th player for the team. Mark your calendars. The remaining Women’s Big East Basketball Schedule can be found at the Big East Website: http://www.bigeast.org/Schedules/ScheduleData.aspx?sportid=7&season=2011 The first round of the Big East Tournament begins 3 days later on Friday March 2 at Hartford, Conn. Teams who finish 9th or lower in the regular conference game standings will begin play on that date. 5th through 8th place finishers are rewarded with a first round bye and will begin play on Saturday March 3 while those who finish the regular season in 1st through 4th place are rewarded with byes in the first 2 rounds and will not begin play until Sunday March 4. There are no days off as the Semi-final is set for Monday with the Championship game on Tuesday. For those of you who follow bracket placements, later this week I will post the Big East Championship Tie Breaker Rules. THIS AND THAT Cardinals in the news In case anyone missed the Jude and Shoni article by Graham Hays – you can find it in the February 17 ESPN.com archives at womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7584730/jude-schimmel-perfectly-comfortable-role-little-sis-louisville-cardinals Positive national exposure is always a good thing. BASKETBALL RECRUITING NEWS The unfortunate word is that Mercedes Russell and more than likely also Stephanie Mavunga will not be able to attend Monday’s Notre Dame game as planned due to Mercedes commitment to her high school team to play in a rescheduled bad weather game. Bummer as the YUM center experience can’t be reproduced by television or video recordings. Perhaps they can make it to the DePaul game. We are getting into the time of year where I am constantly chasing online and written TV guides for postings of women’s basketball. I’ve found a few postings and sites which are reprinted below. NCAAW Basketball Today on ESPN3 Tennessee vs. Ole Miss, 2 p.m. C. Michigan vs. Ball St., 2 p.m. SIU vs. Missouri State, 3 p.m. Duke vs. Maryland, 3 p.m. S. Carolina vs. Alabama, 3 p.m. FSU vs. Miami, 3:30 p.m. Georgia vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m. Purdue vs. Michigan St., 5:00 p.m. U Of L Softball The Big East Pre-Season Poll found the U of L Softball Team picked to finish 4th in the conference behind DePaul, Syracuse and Notre Dame. This weekend the 5-0 U of L team has traveled to Greenville, N.C. to play in the East Carolina Pirate Clash being held a the ECU Softball Stadium. They come into the tournament ranked 21/23 in the nation. Friday found U of L defeating Virginia 4-2 and then defeating East Carolina 5-0. Saturday’s schedule began at 9 a.m. with a defeat of Hofstra by a score of 7-6 and was followed by an 11:00 UNC-Greensboro clash where Louisville continued their winning streak with a 5-4 win. Today the 7-0 Cardinals will play Fordham at 9 a.m. BIG EAST WOMEN BASKETBALL standings in the RPI NCAAW RPI Rankings as of Jan. 30, 2012 are posted at http://www.bigeast.org/portals/5/fls/19400/pdfs/womens_basketball/2011-12/polls.pdf School RPI Rank Connecticut 3 Notre Dame 5 Rutgers 10 Villanova 15 Louisville 16 DePaul 21 Georgetown 24 St. John’s 41 West Virginia 72 Providence 74 Marquette 81 USF 83 Cincinnati 96 Syracuse 124 Pittsburgh 151 Seton Hall 152 Locating games which can be viewed can be difficult. In case you are looking, check out the remaining ESPN associated televised NCAAW Regular Season Womens’s basketball games. Let us know in the comments area of other sites which are posting additional game viewing web addresses or televised stations and I will add them to the site. http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7117985/espn-televise-100-women-basketball-games shows the remaining regular season ESPN associated NCAAW basketball games. They are reported as follows: Sun., Feb. 19 NC State at North Carolina ESPNU 1:30 p.m. Duke at Maryland ESPN2 / ESPN3 3:00 p.m. Georgia at Florida ESPNU 3:30 p.m. Purdue at Michigan State ESPN2 / ESPN3 5:00 p.m. Mon., Feb. 20 Notre Dame at Louisville ESPN / ESPN3 2 p.m. Ohio State at Penn State ESPN2 / ESPN3 7 p.m. Elon at College of Charleston ESPN3* 7 p.m. Vanderbilt at Kentucky ESPN2 / ESPN3 9 p.m. Thur., Feb. 23 Iona at Marist ESPN3* 6 p.m. Hofstra at James Madison ESPN3* 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 24 Miami at Duke ESPN3* 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Robert Morris at Quinnipiac ESPN3* 1:30 p.m. Sun., Feb. 26 Fairfield at Rider ESPN3* 1 p.m. Kentucky at Mississippi State ESPNU 1:30 p.m. Duke at North Carolina ESPN2 / ESPN3 3 p.m. Florida at Tennessee ESPNU 3:30 p.m. LSU at Georgia ESPN2 / ESPN3 5 p.m. Mon., Feb. 27 Baylor at Texas A&MBig Mon. ESPN2 / ESPN3 7 p.m. Appalachian State at Chattanooga ESPN3* 7 p.m. Notre Dame at Connecticut ESPN2 / ESPN3 9 p.m. Sandy Walker

Your comments on the Walz reprimand...the credibility of Facebook and Twitter

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THURSDAY FROM CARDINAL COUPLE:

-The sequence of events leading to the Walz reprimand.

-Reader comments on the Walz reprimand.

-The questionable nature of electronic following.

WE have received several e-mails concerning the NCAA announcement Wednesday of a public reprimand of University of Louisville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz for
actions during the NCAA Tournament game against Gonzaga. Just to set a backdrop for the
issue...here is the sequence of events that are involved.

MARCH 26th., 2011
-4:38 left in the first half. Asia Taylor makes a layup to make the score 27-21 Gonzaga.
-4:29 left in the first half. Asia Taylor is called for a foul. Her first, team third.
-4:29 left in the first half. A technical foul is assessed on the Louisville bench.
-4:29 left in the first half. Gonzaga's Courtney Vandersloot makes a free throw. Gonzaga retains possession of the ball. 28-21 Gonzaga leads.
-4:08 left in the first half. Gonzaga scores on the possession from a jumper by Janelle Bekking. Gonzaga leads 30-21.

JULY 13th., 2011

-The NCAA announces a public reprimand on University of Louisville head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz and Baylor University head women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey for events that occured during the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

-The technical was assessed after Walz was reported to have used profane and abusive language toward game officials, individuals seated at the scorer's table and on the team bench, as well as kicking the scorer's table. These events occurred after Taylor's foul.

-UofL athletic director Tom Jurich says that the athletic department accepts the NCAA's assessment and that it has addressed the matter internally. He declined to reveal any specifics. He also commented that:

"Anything we do discipline-wise, we keep it internally. Jeff is very aware of the situation. Everyone was very upset with the officiating. There were probably better ways for him to express himself, and he understands it." 

-Walz says the stress of the NCAA Tournament was ratcheted up because of Monique Reid's
injury. The team's leading scorer played only five minutes because of a groin injury she suffered in warm ups.

"I've had conversations with the administration. I'm quite aware of things that I'm planning on working on for next season. Unfortunately, it was a very stressful game having lost Monique. I'm really excited about this season. We're planning on moving forward." Walz commented about the incident.

NCAA Bylaw 31.1.10.3 states that:

"Penalty for misconduct." One of these penalties is a public or private reprimand of the individual." (Even if it takes four months...)

Sorry, but we call "shenanigans" on this move....it could have and should have been a private reprimand...an option available in the by-law.

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So, what are you saying about this incident four months after the fact?

Kerry W. (Louisville) writes:

"This is total and utter bullshit!  Hasn't the NCAA got anything better to do than to slam dunk one of the best coaches in women's college basketball?  What's next, they
reprimand players for chest-bumping after baskets? They're already calling technicals on Kyle Kuric for spectacular dunks. Grow up, NCAA! "

(Anonymous) comments:

"I am a referee. I will take a certain amount of criticism from a coach but if profanities or obscenities are directed at me personally, I call a technical. I'll listen to observations and comments on how I handled a particular play or action on the court and I tolerate a lot of things. Cursing, though, is one aspect I have no tolerance for."

Connie G. (Radcliff) says:

"What Walz did is minor compared to what guys like Bobby Knight or Bobby Huggins have done. They called the technical and they should have just left it at that. To drag it through the mud now is ridiculous. Maybe the NCAA should review that game film and reprimand the officials, They were awful!"

Charlie D. (Spokane, WA) relates:

"I was at that game. I am a big Gonzaga fan and attend all the men's and women's Zags basketball games. Walz was out of control. The punishment fits the crime. You got a good coach in Jeff Walz but he needs to take some anger management classes. There were bad calls in that game against both teams but you didn't see (Gonzaga head coach) Kelly Graves fly off the handle."

So, with this...we here at CARDINAL COUPLE are going to close the book on "Walz-gate". We much prefer to look toward the future and the potential that exists in this upcoming flock of Cardinals. The season should be an exciting one, the fan base is chomping at the bit to get things going and as coach says..."Let's move forward." 

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We get e-mails each day about things surrounding the women's sports programs at UofL.  The overwhelming majority of them concern the women's basketball team. An area that seems to be a favorite with a lot of our readers is relaying comments made by athletes on popular venues like Twitter and Facebook.  More than once, we've followed up on the "he said that she said" scenario with our campus contacts and trusted sources but have found no credible proof that these comments hold any water. Occasionally, they do...but if we were to go with every item that we receive without fully investigating the claim...we'd be putting a bunch of horse manure out there. (Some say we do that, anyway...)

We don't follow anyone on Twitter. Maybe we're behind the times...but as a sports information director once told us..."if it's important, we'll send out a press release."

Facebook is a social network we are a part of. We like to relay, at times, what is being covered at CARDINAL COUPLE to our Facebook firends. We also like to follow our friends and their comments on Facebook. We don't have a large "friends" list on Facebook...don't see the need for it...but we'll usually "friend up" with someone if they send a request and we have a general idea of who they are. We don't go "soliciting" random friends, but we've been known to send friend requests to people we know.

Sometimes, it gets into the issue of plausible deniability or accuracy. As a free access site, we don't restrict who can read CARDINAL COUPLE...and we don't berate aggregates out there who re-post our articles. We do try to exercise caution, though...on dubious social network comments, claims and and controversies. It's called responsibility.

Sometimes, we goof up and ask the wrong question at the wrong time. We've been reprimanded for going to sources or other sources of information by those sources in attempts to verify or get guidance on how to handle an possible issue or situation. Nobody's perfect. Some lines shouldn't be crossed. We've learned some tough lessons concerning this. We've...unfortunately...burned or damaged some bridges because of this. We can only try to do better and gain knowledge from errors. Even Derek Jeter strikes out occasionally...

Where does all this fall, then...in terms of administrative policies and monitoring or guidelines on what an athlete might comment or say on one these networking venues?  Should a university suggest or impose restrictions on what a student/athlete can or cannot say on one of these social networking sites?  Are there guidelines in place at some institutions about the "do's and don'ts" of social networking? Do you believe every "tweet" or Facebook post you read?

Information has come a long way from the days where certain newspaper reporters would tape quarters to pieces of paper and slide them under players' dorm room doors with their phone numbers attached. The question is...where are we headed? Freedom of speech is one thing. The best interests of an organization or program is another. Where do you paint the caution line?

For a lot of fans, it's all about the information. As soon as possible and as much as possible. It's the information age and there are plenty of ways to get it. What should and should not be released, though...and when?

That's a question for greater minds than ours. (And there are plenty of those out there...)
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No surprise here, XL Center to get BIG EAST WBB Tourney for multi-year deal.

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE:

-XL Center gets the BIG EAST Women's Tournament

-UofL under water.

-UofL adds another Cardinal Caravan

The BIG EAST will announce Tuesday around 1 p.m. or so that the XL Center in Hartford, CT. will host the 2012 BIG EAST Women's basketball tournament in 2012 and beyond. A multi-year deal has been reached.


BIG EAST returns to the XL Center
for 2012 and beyond.



And this surprises you?

It's been there since 2004, after all. The parties involved were anxious to make a multi-year deal with someone, somewhere after the current contract expired. A venue that came up beside the XL Center were Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino, also in Connecticut. That one was shot down by a few university presidents...allegedly because of "philosophical reasons". Never mind that Mohegan Sun offered to supply their arena (where the WNBA's Connecticut Sun play) at no charge and also has thousands of free parking spots...unlike the gougers around the XL Center.

You can also rest assured that the XL didn't offer their facility "on the house" to BIG EAST officials. We must not allow BIG EAST Tournament attendees and fans the option of rolling a few dice or playing blackjack after watching 12 hours of basketball, after all.

Another idea, obviously popular amongst Louisville fans, was to hold the tournament at the KFC YUM! Center in downtown Louisville. That one had about as much chance making it past the folks in Providence, Villanova and Seton Hall as a Ford Escort has winning a NASCAR event. And, the fans just might find their way to Turfway Park or Churchill Downs simulcasting facility after the games...or the Horseshoe Casino in New Albany. But, to borrow a line from Judge Smells in the movie CADDYSHACK..."there is no gambling at Bushwood, sir". Or the BIG EAST Tournament either, apparantly. I wonder if Kentucky State Senator and gubernatorial candidate David Williams is behind this, somehow?

Someday they may move the tournament to another location.

(When pigs fly, monkeys jump out of my ears and John and George join Ringo and Paul on stage for a Beatles reunion.)

The Geno Invitational breathes again. UConn has a top women's basketball program year in and year out. Do they really need the BIG EAST Tournament in their back yard every year? I hear that there are pretty nice facilities and St. Louis, Detroit and Boston where people can play basketball. Isn't it time to try a neutral court?

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CARDINAL COUPLE reader Danny Smythe likes to ride his bicycle from Schnitzelburg to the UofL Belknap Campus each evening after work. He was greeted with a major surprise Monday evening when a huge water-main break flooded a large portion of the campus. As he describes it:

A major water-main break had this UofL parking lot
on Floyd submerged.

"Floyd and Warnock...down by the McDonalds restaurant...is a lake. I thought the Ralph Wright Natorium had sprung a leak at first. That area near the softball stadium on Floyd...same deal."

The pipe burst around 6:30 p.m. Monday evening, according to Metropolitan Sewer District workers, and has affected a wide swath of businesses in the area...even stretching to the downtown area of Louisville, where 100's of businesses had little or no water pressure.

A boil-water alert is in effect for Louisville Water Company customers in the areas west of Bardstown and Baxter roads, west to Ninth Street, north to the Ohio River and south to the Watterson Expressway.

Greg Heitzman, president of Louisville Water Company, said the break happened at a "T" section of two 48 inch pipes near Eastern Parkway. Officials were able to find the break minutes after it occurred and began shutting off the valves feeding the break. The last of three large valves was closed shortly after 9 p.m., but officials said it would take six to twelve more hours to turn off smaller valves feeding the break.

"It's a heck of a thing, reminds me of when the river flooded back in the spring of 1997 and River Road and Adams Street were underwater." Smythe recalled. "Took forever to clean that mess up and it'll be the same with this."
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The University of Louisville will have one additional CARDINAL CARAVAN...to be held at Captain's Quarters...off River Rd....on Thursday, Aug 18th.

No word on start time yet or which coaches or players will attend the event.

The venue has been a popular spot for the CARDINAL CARAVANS each year and a good turnout shows up each year.

So if you weren't a Cardinal fan...We look back at...David Watson sounds off...

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WEDNESDAY with CARDINAL COUPLE: 

-And if you weren't a UofL fan....

-WE look back at...

-David Watson sends summer greetings!

We were engaged in conversation at the 4th of July (actually the 3rd of July) cookout we attended. The crowd was mixed....almost 50/50 UofL vs. UK...but long time friends here and no hostilities involved....other than the usual friendly banter about the schools, the teams and the players. Call it what you will...but Paul and Larry were unstoppable as a team on bean bag toss (cornhole) when they were throwing on the UofL boards with UofL beanbags. The UK boards were set up later when the crowd grew and the "champs"  couldn't win a game. I suspect Calipari or Joker Phillips were hiding in the hedges laughing and practicing voodoo on the guys...but I have no proof.

The subject of team support rolled around and Tim brought up the question.

"If you weren't a UofL fan or a UK fan...who would you support?"

Ernie (who is a UK fan but proudly supports UofL football) tackled the question first.

Ernie prefers UK but is an avid UofL football fan.

"I'd go with the Cardinals. I cheer for UofL unless they're playing UK. My wife and one of my sons are UofL fans. But, when we were kids...my Dad was a UK fan and I guess that's why I like them better. He converted to UofL later on...I'm sure football tailgating out at the old Cardinal Stadium had a lot to do with that...but I still prefer UK."

Can you picture Paul in a blue shirt and hat with Cat logo?

Kenny (another BIG BLUE backer) chimed in next:

"Probably go with Tennessee. I just like the SEC. Kentucky and Tennessee have had some great rivalries over the years in basketball."

Paul followed:

This guy converted Paul to the Cardinals

"You all know me...I'm Cardinal red...but it wasn't always that way. I grew up listening to UK basketball on the radio with my Dad. I remember Cawood (Ledford) calling games when Pat Riley, Cotton Nash and the Rupp's Runts were playing. Cawood's pre and post game interviews with (Adolph) Rupp. It wasn't until junior high school that I started following UofL...my buddy Stu was a big UofL fan and this guy named Denny Crum showed up to coach the Cards. He was brash, had charisma and the Cards were an exciting team. If there were no UofL...I'd probably still be a UK fan...but I do like Notre Dame and Virginia Tech." 

How about you? If there were no Cardinals...what team would you back? We've set up a poll on the infamous "left side of the board" with nine other options and a "other" option. Let us know...

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Tuesday, January 4th. was a raw and blustery evening. #18 St. John's was in town to face the Lady Cards at the KFC YUM! Center. The first five minutes of the contest saw the leads exchange...a Becky Burke three-pointer put Louisville up 8-7...but St. John's came back and led 13-12 at the 12:48 mark. Keyed by a Tia Gibbs 3...the Cards regained the lead at 15-13 and would stretch it out to 19-13 on a Monique Reid jumper with 10:30 left in the first half. St. John's found a run of their own, though and cut it to 19-17. It was the closest they would get the rest of the game, though...as Louisville controlled the remainder of the half and took a 36-27 lead into the locker room. Burke had 13 first half points, with three for five shooting beyond the arc, and Tia Gibbs and Monique Reid combined for 15 points. Shoni Schimmel was having an off night early...1-8 from the floor.

Shoni's late free throws helped seal the win over
the Red Storm.

The Red Storm came out as a tropical depression in the second half and hit just two of their first nine shots. Louisville bumped the advantage to 45-33 and the crowd in the downtown arena was on their feet and loud. St. John's made a brief rally and cut the margin to 50-41 before Schimmel wowed the crowd with a deep three to stifle the comeback. Tia Gibbs was on fire in the second half along with Monique Reid and the Louisville lead grew to 69-58 with just a little over three minutes remaining. The Red Storm weren't conceding, though and Nadirah McKenith scored to cut the Cardinal lead to 71-65...capping a 7-2 Red Storm run...with 1:50 left on the clock. They would keep it close...A Eugenia McPherson three made it 75-70 with 53 seconds remaining. The Cards knew they would need to convert on the free throw line the remainder of the game and did just that...Schimmel hitting four attempts from the charity stripe and UofL making seven free throws down the stretch to pull away with a 84-73 win

Five UofL players accounted for 80 of the Cardinals' points...Monique Reid led the way with 24, followed by 21 for Becky Burke, 18 for Tia Gibbs, 11 out of Shoni Schimmel and 6 for Keisha Hines. The Cards were now 2-0 in the BIG EAST and had conquered their third top 25 opponent of the season...

In the post game press conference, Jeff Walz talked about "toughness" and the Cards had shown plenty of it on a night where the "Storm" failed to materialize in the "Ville." 

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DAVID WATSON is a special contributor to CARDINAL COUPLE. He catches us up on his summer...

Nat King Cole sang a song years ago called "The Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer" and the title fits for me as we roll out of the 4th of July weekend and head into the "dog days" of 2011. Ever wonder how that term."dog days" got started? It refers to the the "dog star" or Sirius-which rises and sets with the sun during July and August. The ancient Romans thought that it added extra heat to the earth. They also thought that feeding Christians to the lions was a lot of fun. Go figure.

David believes in improving
fairway lies. On those rare
occasions he actually hits a ball
there...

My pre "dog days" have been spent chasing a little while ball and coaching little league baseball. I'm not very good at either this year and double bogeys and double digit defeats are causing me troubled dreams and constant mutterings to myself. I'm identifying with the University of Tennessee fans these days.

I like this time of year. Even though UofL sports are inactive, I like the prolonged daylight, warm weather and soft summer nights on my back porch deck-listening to the Cincinnati Reds or Chicago Cubs on the radio and nursing a few beers or Makers on the rocks. Hearing my oldest daughter talk about her day working at the "big box store". I even like cutting grass and watering my flowers. I'm not a big fan of thunderstorms, though.

I hope your summer is going well. Before we know it, Jeff Walz will be in Canada, Rick Pitino will be in the tropics and Charlie Strong will be prowling the sidelines. All three are probably better golfers than me. I have no doubt they're better coaches. I'm going to devote the next couple of weeks attempting to talk Brett Farve out of making another comeback. Good luck there, right?

(The "Mercy Rule"in sports was created with David's coaching abilities in mind.
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Lady Cards 2011 Class ranked 7th,... Is anyone worth $5 million a year?

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Spring Class bumps Lady Cards WBB to #7 ranking

-What would you do with $5 million a year?

The revised ESPN 2011 women's basketball class rankings are out and Louisville's incoming class has jumped from #31 to #7...largely based on Jeff Walz's spring signings. Although Monny Niamke, the French 5'4" point guard who will spend her first season at Lindsey Wilson, was included in the rankings...additions of Bria Smith and Jude Schimmel to go with Sara Hammond caused the Cards to climb the ladder. The top 10:

1) Tennessee
2) Connecticut
3) Rutgers
4) Duke
5) California
6) Stanford
7) LOUISVILLE
8) USC
9) Texas A&M
10) Texas

Kentucky finished at #12...largely because of Indy's Bria Goss committing to the Cats. What does it all mean? For Louisville, it's their second straight class ranked in the top ten in the nation. Unfortunately, two of their BIG EAST foes are ranked above them. Can't help but notice the West coast presence here...with (3) Pac 10 teams listed.

Over-hype? Maybe...when is the last time that a Pac 10 school won the NCAA Championship? 1992 (Stanford). Who is the only PAC 10 school to make the Final Four in the 21st century? Stanford.

Who will win the Pac 10 title in 2011-12. Oregon State...
Just kidding, it's Stanford's world and the rest of the Pac 10 is just living in it.

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You get tired earning $12,000
a day...

John Calipari is going to receive about $5 million a year over the next eight years to be the head coach for the University of Kentucky basketball team. Incredible. $3.4 million of that per year is for broadcasting and endorsements...which has nothing to do with fast breaks, NCAA appearances or recruiting. We, here at CARDINAL COUPLE, would like to apply for the right to get paid for telling you to eat at PANERA, drive a Ford and utter statements like "I thought the kids played good defense tonight." And, we'll work much cheaper than that. $50 a pop and we'll tell you we like Hanes underwear, shopping at Kroger and getting gas at Speedway. 

What would you do for $12000 a day? WE asked CARDINAL COUPLE special correspondent David Watson how he'd spend that 24 hours at roughly $500 per hour:

7 a.m. Wake up and turn on Sportscenter.
7:30 a.m. Wolf down a bowl of oatmeal and a piece of whole wheat toast. Maybe an egg...
8 a.m. Hit the shower, shave and brush the teeth.
9 a.m. Out the door! Maybe stop by Starbucks on the way to the office.
9:30 a.m. Review my e-mails. Check my horoscope and play Farmville.
10:30 a.m. Summon my assistants and see what's going on.
11:15 a.m. Call my investment broker.
11:30 a.m. Lunch time!
1 p.m. Head over to the gym and watch the guys take a few jumpers. Shout at a couple.
2 p.m. Head to the broadcast studios to talk about appliances and my recruiting class
3 p.m. Sauna and massage time!
4 p.m. Review my e-mails
5 p.m. Close up the office and head over to the driving range . My short game is terrible!
6 p.m. Stop by Malone's for a steak and glass of merlot. Overtip the blonde hanging over me.
8 p.m. Finally home! Put on the t-shirt and Dockers and chat with the kids and wife.
9 p.m. A chance to count my loose change on the dresser drawer. $1.78. YES!
9:15 p.m. Pop on Facebook and see what people are saying about me. Adding a few things...
10 p.m. Catch the News at Ten and do the Sudoku puzzle in the Lexington Herald Leader
10:50 p.m. Call Mom and see how she's doing. Call Pitino and hang up after chuckling.
11 p.m Sportscenter again...no mention of me? Harumph, harumph...
11:30 p.m. Kiss the wifey goodnight and turn out the light.

It's good to be King of the Bluegrass. Beats ribs and Beale Street blues.
.
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Lady Cards rule UK in Governor's Cup...We look back at...Churchill Downs to race tonight.

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FRIDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Cardinal women sweep Wildcats in Governor's Cup

-We look back at.....UofL 85- Xavier 75

-Churchill Downs to race this evening

The University of Louisvile and the University of Kentucky's women's sports programs went head to head in nine different sports over the 2010-11 athletic season. The clear winner? Louisville who won seven of the events straight up, split one and lost one. The recaps:

Basketball

Louisville got 26 points from freshman Shoni Schimmel and 21 from guard Becky Burke in a 78-52 romp over the Cats in the KFC YUM! Center. Victoria Dunlap may have been the best player on the court going into the contest...but the game belonged to the Louisville defense. LOUISVILLE

Cross Country

The women's squads matched up in the NCAA Southeast Regional and it was close...the Cards finishing in 13th. place and UK running to a 14th. place finish.  LOUISVILLE

Soccer
The Cards blanked UK 2-0 in Cardinal Park on Sept. 9th....getting goals from Angelika Uremovich and Catlin Rehder. Goalie Taylor Vancil had seven saves in the whitewash. LOUISVILLE

Track and Field

The teams met four times during the season...at the Kentucky Invitational, the Rod McCravy Invitational in Lexington and in the NCAA Indoor Championships. Team totals were not kept for the first two events, so we'll go the the NCAA event...where Louisville finished 30th.with six points and UK failed to score. LOUISVILLE. The teams met again later in the season during the outdoor season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and Louisville finished 44th. , UK 60th, LOUISVILLE

Swimming/Diving

The squads met in Lexington in a dual meet and the Cardinal women swimmers splashed their way to a convincing 186-114 victory. Therese Bergstrom won the 100m and 200m breaststroke and Raine Thompson the 100m and 200m butterfly. LOUISVILLE

Softball

The Cards blanked the Cats 6-0 at Ulmer Stadium in the first of two meet ups this past season. UK took the second in Lexington, though... a slug fest that ended 14-8 in favor of the Cats. TIE

Volleyball
This one went down to the wire in Lexington...UK defeating the Cards in five sets 14-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-27, 15-10. UofL was on the verge of elimination in the fourth game but forced the fifth match before a rowdy UK crowd of almost 3,000 in quaint Memorial Coliseum. KENTUCKY

Golf
The two teams were up against each other in the NCAA East Regional and Louisville finished 12th...28 strokes better than UK, who ended up 20th. LOUISVILLE.

As you can see by the recaps above, there is no doubt about which school had the superior women's athletic program in 2010-11. Congratulations to ALL the hard working Cardinal athletes and go for back-to- back wins in the upcoming season, girls.

(Thanks to LSR for the data)

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The mood in the Cintas Center before the UofL vs. Xavier game was a study in two different mindsets. I watched the teams warm up and the Cardinal players were loose, relaxed...joking around and smiling. On the other end of the court, the Lady Musketeers were all business, grimly going through their drills and dead serious. They knew they had a lot to either gain or lose in the upcoming game and... as the favorites...the pressure was on.

The Xavier personnel that were manning the media break rooms and security were a friendly bunch of folks two nights earlier when Louisville defeated Vanderbilt and Xavier rolled by South Dakota State. There was a little more intensity for this one...they were anxious about the upcoming show.

Did someone say "Show"? Yes, there was quite a show that night and it came from the dead-eye shooting of Shoni Schimmel, who chalked up 33 points on the, at times, bewildered Xavier defense. This was not the same Louisville tea that had lost to Xavier by a dozen in November.

The Cards contained twin towers Amber Harris and TaShia Phillips early and zipped out to and early 18-11 lead...Schimmel hitting her first four shots of the game.Xavier wasn't about to see their 25 home game win streak go down without a fight, though...and responded with a 13-0 run to take a 30-23 lead. The twin towers found their touch late in the half and Xavier took at 40-37 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes of action.

The teams battled on and were tied in the second half 42-42 when Xavier three point specialist Katie Rutan got hot and nailed three long range bombers...part of an Xavier run that had them up 67-58. Louisville fans were getting very nervous.

Time for "the Show" again. Louisville went on a 13-4 run and tied the contest at 71-71 on a Schimmel three. Undaunted, she came down court again and nailed a spectacular three in front of me on press row to give Louisville a 74-71 lead. The Cintas Center was filled with screaming Cardinal fans and Xavier never challenged the rest of the way....Louisville getting some clutch play and free throw shooting from freshman guard Charmaine Tay to seal the victory. Final: Louisville 85 - Xavier 75.

Schimmel was modest after the contest about her performance.

"I don't think it was about me. I think it was about our team. All the way, we were like 'OK, we've got this.'"

And the Cards did have it, stunning the #2 seed in the regional and earning the Sweet Sixteen berth. Head Xavier coach Kevin McGuff summed it up this way:

"Shoni Schimmel was amazing tonight. Probably the most impressive thing was the poise she had down the stretch for a freshman. Not just because she made shots, but she kept her team together to execute."

Or as Tia Gibbs said:

'That's why we call her "Show". When it's a big stage and a big crowd, she's going to put on a show just like she did tonight."

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Despite storms and tornadoes that damaged five barns on the backside of Churchill Downs Wednesday night, Friday night racing will go on as scheduled. First race is scheduled for 6 p.m. and gates open at 4 p.m. Still shaking my head over the fact that no horses or humans were injured in the blast from Mother Nature. Still a lot of clean up to do back in the barn area.

Our favorite trainer at the track, Paul McGee commented on the wild Wednesday night.

"It's unreal. I got real lucky. It (the tornado) bounced right over the top of my barn."

A large section of the roof from Jinx Fires barn landed in front of McGee's barn. About 100 horses were displaced from the tornado and about 70 remained on the facilities...the other being shipped to stable at Keeneland.

Scary storms, tornado rock Papa John's Cardinal Stadium

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE-SPECIAL EDITION

-Tornado touches down near Churchill Downs, PJCS





   Scary moments for CARDINAL COUPLE Co-Owner Paul Wednesday night while down at Churchill Downs and the Parrish House area. A violent storm ripped through the area, knocking the roof off a barn on the backside of the track at Churchill, damaging four other barns and demolishing Levee Lift Equipment Supply building at the corner of Floyd and Central Street.

Paul took this photo from Floyd Street, facing south toward Central Avenue...outside the Parrish House. At least a dozen power and utility poles were knocked down. Papa John's Cardinal Stadium was not damaged nor was the Parrish House. Businesses south of Central on Floyd Street took the brunt of the damage.




Damaged barn at Churchill.  Thanks to Gretchen for the photo.

  Paul spoke to LG&E employees at the scene who estimated it would take more than a couple of days to reset and restore the telephone and utility poles knocked down and damaged. Paul spoke to me via phone and sent the pictures ...



Rain at Churchill Downs

 "Pretty scary stuff...I saw this thing touch down..it looked like one of the barns exploded back on the back side and then it looked like it was headed toward Papa John's and the Parrish House. Stuff, debris flying everywhere...I backtracked over to the Parrish House by car and things are OK there but I'm driving on Bradley Street right now and there are trees down, power is out and debris everywhere here. Sirens going off everywhere. "
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