If It Is Tuesday, It Must Be Sandy's Laundry Day

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Sandy Walker looks at women's sports on the web


- Louisville WBB heads to Mexico for three


-Cards WBB schedule coming together


- They're going to put her in the movies


...and much, much more 


( Staff writer Sandy Walker fires up the Tuesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE in her own unique and comprehensive way. ENJOY! )




Paid Blog – Forum Sites

I would be slipping if I did not comment on my time spent last Thursday at the Cardinal practice arena with not only 49 elite high school basketball players but also Cardinal Couple owners Paul, Sonja and staff writer Jenny O'Bryan.  It was a great afternoon spent with knowledgeable Louisville women’s basketball fans and hopefully with a number of future U of L players.  It really feels like the dynamics of recruiting at U of L is shifting from Jeff’s hot pursuit of a number of players where hopes are that enough of them will agree to come to UL to where Jeff’s reputation is now attracting the top recruits which are beginning to come knocking on our door.

If enough are not yet ready to knock and pass through or don’t fit into the UL game scheme --- Jeff’s reputation and ability to develop those who may not currently be recognized as the very highest ranked players into the peak of their abilities such as occurred with Angel is now very real.   Yes the very same Angel who has just happened to be named as last week’s WNBA player of the week. 

The number of available websites and blogs for women’s sports, including that of U of L, are growing and we are fortunate to have such a good one in the Cardinalcouple.com site which even with the opportunity to become a paid site, remains free with an open forum for fans and even those who are not Cardinal fans to express their opinions (within the realms of Timmy the Intern and Bill the Goat’s decency meters). 

The difference between sites has never so clear as when I was gathering material for this submission and I found some sites threatening to delete reader comments just because they did not fit what the site owner apparently wanted to be said or on the opposite end, others which are quickly joining the ranks of the sites now charging for fans to see their “premium” information. Those paid sites now include that of Inside the Tennessee.com forum, The Summitt whose board now wants money rather just being a great place for fans to follow their teams as is found here at Cardinalcouple.com.

As others are moving to a pay per site status this site is enjoying it’s to date highest summer viewer connects.  Now that Pat has had to take a new status much appears to be changing which unfortunately now includes their major fan site.  This year of changes for many will be very interesting.

( Editor's note: We've said it before and we'll say it again...CARDINAL COUPLE is the fan voice of UofL women's sports and we'll remain free to view, with no premium charges, passwords, registration or hoops to jump through. Click on, jump around, leave and enter whenever you like. Independent, non-profit and proud of it. You, the reader, have mandated this and we listen.)

Also remember that Angel is one of five WNBA players up for an ESPY. Be sure and case your vote at http://espn.go.com/espys/voting?vote=8083189&lang=en.  This site allows for you to vote for 30 different categories with Angel’s vote about midway through the list.

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Winter Tournament for Women’s B-Ball

Unlike David I have managed 2 trips to Mexico without the problems associated with the water so immediately upon learning of the November 20-22 women’s trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to participate in the Puerto Vallarta Hardwood Tournament of Hope I started checking tournament details and to see what arrangements might be possible. Each of the 8 invited teams Gonzaga, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri State, Oregon State, U Central Florida, UC Santa Barbara and Winthrop will play 3 games in the double elimination bracket with placement of all 8 teams. The bracket can be found at http://planbc3.com/Home.html . Louisville first plays the University of Central Florida on Tuesday November 20 with the next winner or losers bracket game played on the 21^st. Finals and loser bracket games are completed on the Thursday the 22^nd.

  

Unfortunately, upon further investigation I learned a few facts which I believe would preclude all but an elite few to attend.   With all the women’s games being played the week before Thanksgiving at the Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center, the tournament organizer is in charge of fan packages for both the women’s tournament and Thanksgiving week’s men’s tournament for yet unannounced teams.  The promoter’s site was given as http://www.cicpuertovallarta.com/  which led me to a group of all Spanish language pages which I am sure provided a great information about the facility.   Since my only Spanish speaking – reading friend is on vacation I was left to search out an English language site which I found at http://visitpuertovallarta.com/meetings/international-convention-center/ and should be opened at your own risk.  Regrettably, upon opening of this page my computer immediately crashed and had to be rebooted.   By now I was running out of time and patience but I did try the sponsors address which was shown at the bottom of the tournament bracket http://planbc3.com/  where I did find a press  release which said the all inclusive “Packages for lodging, ground transportation and game tickets are only available by purchasing a fan package at www.planbc3.com or by phone at 314-757-7554. " 


Game tickets are only available by purchasing a fan package.  The package resorts are only at the Hard Rock Vallarta resort or the Occidental Hotel.  Currently the packages without airfare appear to run $1200-1600 each. 

Bummer and end of my trip dreams along with unfortunately I presume will be the majority of the UL women’s fans.  I would hope that between now and the UL announcement that possibly alternatives to the PlanBC3 packages might be made available with next years plans being a little more fan friendly.

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2012 – 2013 Women’s Basketball Schedule Hints

Thanks to the Baylorfans.com website blogger Slimecap found at entry # 39 at    http://www.baylorfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238505&page=2  

I found the following information for Louisville Women Basketball.

Nov 20 UCentral Florida, Hardwood Tournament of Hope, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Nov 21 Gonzaga or Missouri State, Hardwood Tournament
Nov 22 TBD, Hardwood Tournament *
Nov 28 Eastern Kentucky
...... xx Texas A&M
...... xx Florida State
...... xx Kentucky, Annual Battle of the Bluegrass
...... xx @ Murray State

* Louisville could face one of these teams as determined by Hardwood Tournament of Hope bracket play:
Mississippi State, Oregon State, UC Santa Barbara or Winthrop

No Preseason WNIT for Louisville
Since Georgetown has been selected as the 2012 Big East representative in the Preseason WNIT tournament, Louisville will not paticipate.
8 of the 16 teams participating in the 2012 Preseason WNIT at this link:
htp://www.baylorfans.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=238776

16-Game Big East Women's Basketball Conference Schedule
June 13, 2012 - Big East for 2012-13 season is a 15 member conference.
Regular-season Big East Conference play is a 16-game schedule:
6 games = Louisville plays at home: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall
6 games = Louisville plays away: UConn, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Syracuse, Villanova
4 games = Louisville plays 1 home game and 1 away game: DePaul & USF

Battle of the Bluegrass

The first meeting of the women's basketball teams of Louisville vs. Kentucky was Dec 15, 1975. After 47 games, Kentucky leads the series 30-17. Home court is often cited as a major factor in the series. Louisville has not lost a homecourt game against Kentucky since 1999. Louisville at home is 12-9, whereas Louisville @ Kentucky is 4-18. On neutral courts, Louisville is 1-3. The 2011 Battle of the Bluegrass was not played at Kentucky's Rupp Arena, capacity of 23,500. On Dec 4, 2011, Kentucky defeated Louisville in front of a sold-out crowd of 7951 at Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum. The previous year, Louisville defeated Kentucky in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,152 at Louisville's YUM! Center. Kentucky hosted Louisville at Rupp Arena in 2003, 2005 & 2007. The distance from the Louisville campus to the Kentucky campus is 75 miles.

Louisville Basketball Players in Biographical Movies
Shoni Shimmel, current Louisville player, was the focus and star of the 2011 documentary Off the Rez. "Jonathan Hock's film follows the rise of Native American high school basketball star Shoni Schimmel. Her mother, Cecilee Moses, is also her coach. They moved off the Umatilla Indian Reservation in eastern Oregon and headed to Portland to maximize Schimmel's chances of success at a new school. Off the Rez is a coming-of-age story: a drama about generations, sports, sweat, winning, losing, sacrifice, triumph and love." - www.npr.org, May 14, 2011Here's a trailer with film clips of the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu_iqpJW9CA

Angel McCoughtry is a former Louisville Final Four star, 2009 WNBA first overall pick and current member of the 2012 USA Olympic team. She is currently being filmed for an upcoming documentary Angel's Dream. “The purpose behind doing the documentary is to shed light on the hard work women professional basketball players put in to be successful. Her story will inspire youth, especially young girls to continue to pursue their own dreams.” - Stephen Philms, director of Angel's Dream, July 12, 2011
Read more plus see a behind the scenes video: http://www.slamonline.com/online/med...angels-dreams/

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Angel Documentary

For a sneak peek of the Slam Magazine behind the scenes documentary trailer with Angel McCoughtry check out http://www.slamonline.com/online/media/slam-tv/2011/07/angels-dreams/.  At times the link has problems so I also found a direct link at http://vimeo.com/26247094.  These links show a scene where Angel explains what made her a basketball player.

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Lacrosse Recruiting

           Head coach Kellie Young's incoming class features nine newcomers.

Name	Hometown	High School
Blair Bernhardt	Annapolis, Md.	Broadneck
Cortnee Daley	Horsham, Pa.	Hatboro-Horsham
Courtney Boyd	Bayville, N.Y.	Locust Valley
Erika Eipp	Groton, Mass.	Groton-Dunstable
Kelli Gerding	Jarrettsville, Md.	North Harford
Kaylin Morissette	Bowmanville, Ontario	Bowmanville
Laura Patterson	Severna Park, Md.	Severna Park
Emily Ryan	Niskayuna, N.Y.	Niskayuna
Kayla Sleece	Chesapeake, Va.	Stone Bridge

When contacted, Coach Young stated:


 “I'm eager to get the players to campus and begin working towards a tremendous year for Louisville lacrosse.  We have some of the most talented players ever to wear the red and black coming to the Ville, ready to work side by side with experienced veterans and tremendous leadership! “


(Editor note: Until last season, Louisville Lacrosse had five straight over .500 seasons. We are confident that they'll return to that status this upcoming year.)  

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North Carolina Recruits Reopen Recruitment

espn.go.com/high-school/girls-...4781/briana-day has reported that Bria and Briana Day have both reopened their recruitment Bria and Briana Day, twin sisters from Raleigh, N.C., have rescinded their verbal commitments to North Carolina, Briana said on Sunday. The rising 6-foot-4 seniors posts originally committed to the Tar Heels in April of 2011. Briana, who is ranked 30th in the ESPN HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2013 class, said after discussing it with her sister and mother that, "there are probably better opportunities out there for us."

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Just in case anyone wants to go ahead and plan their NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament trips – check out the announced locations for the 2013 Tournament.

Selection Monday
March 18

• First and Second Rounds
March 23, 25 or March 24, 26
Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
Coors Events Center (Boulder, Colo.)
Comcast Center (College Park, Md.)
Reed Arena (College Station, Texas)
St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio)
Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, N.C.)
Carver Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)
KFC YUM! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
United Spirit Arena (Lubbock, Texas)
Bob Carpenter Center (Newark, Del.)
Carnesecca Arena (Queens, N.Y.)
McCarthey Athletic Center (Spokane, Wash.)
Maples Pavilion (Stanford, Calif.)
Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Conn.)
Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas)

• Norfolk Regional
March 30, April 1 or March 31, April 2
Ted Constant Center (Norfolk, Va.)

• Oklahoma City Regional
March 30, April 1 or March 31, April 2
Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

• Spokane Regional
March 30, April 1 or March 31, April 2
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (Spokane, Wash.)

• Trenton Regional
March 30, April 1 or March 31, April 2
Sun National Bank Arena (Trenton, N.J.)

• National Semifinals
April 7
New Orleans Arena (New Orleans, La.)

• Championship Game
April 9
New Orleans Arena (New Orleans, La.)

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/forum with Selection Monday set for March 18, 2013

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Doris Sams, Pro Baseball Star, Dies at 85

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN of New York Times

Doris Sams, who pitched a perfect game and set a single-season home run record in the women’s professional baseball world of the 1940s and 50s that inspired the movie “A League of Their Own,” died Thursday in Knoxville, Tenn. She was 85.

The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, said her cousin Gordon Sams.

Sams was one of the leading players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, founded in 1943 by Phil Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, to provide evening entertainment in Midwestern towns and keep interest in baseball alive when the majors were losing most of their players to military service in World War II.

The women’s league, which survived into 1954, was largely forgotten until the 1992 Hollywood comedy with Madonna and Geena Davis on the field and Tom Hanks as the profane manager who drove one of his players to tears and then famously exclaimed in bewilderment, “There’s no crying in baseball!” The real women’s pro game featured spirited and highly competitive athletes who were often managed by former major leaguers and played through their many abrasions, or “strawberries,” from sliding in their short-skirted uniforms.

“We had a lot of girls who could play and who really understood the game, and the managers appreciated that,” Sams told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1989.  Playing for Michigan’s Muskegon Lassies and their successor franchise, the Kalamazoo Lassies, from 1946 to 1953, Sams, who was 5 feet 9 inches and wore glasses, pitched underhand, sidearm and overhand, as the rules governing deliveries evolved.  She hit a league-record 12 home runs in 1952, playing in 109 games; she hit better than .300 in each of her last four seasons; threw out many runners playing the outfield when she was not pitching; and she was the league’s player of the year in 1947 and 1949.

She once outdueled Lois Florreich of the Rockford Peaches through 22 innings, winning by 1-0, as she remembered it, in a game that had been tied after the scheduled seven innings as the short game of a doubleheader.

Hanks in "A League of Their Own." 

“After that, I told my manager: ‘I don’t want to pitch any more seven-inning games. They’re too long,’” Sue Macy quoted Sams saying in her league history “A Whole New Ball Game” (1993).  Sams pitched her perfect game in August 1947, retiring all 27 batters for the Fort Wayne Daisies in a 2-0 victory, then threw a no-hitter the next year against the Springfield Sallies.

She credited her fielders with several dazzling plays in that perfect game.  “That last pitch, a girl just about drove down my throat,” she told The New York Times in 1988 when the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., unveiled a permanent exhibition devoted to women’s baseball. “It ricocheted off my knee, almost tore off my kneecap, and the shortstop made a great stop and threw her out.”

Doris Jane Sams was born in Knoxville on Feb. 2, 1927. A grandfather and her father, Robert, played semipro baseball, and she joined with two older brothers in playing baseball as a youngster. By 11, she was playing fast-pitch softball on a team with much older girls. She also won a regional marbles tournament and was a Knoxville city badminton champion before turning to pro baseball after a tryout in 1946.

Many consider Ted Williams the greatest hitter in
the history of Major League Baseball.

She was soon a star and shared the covers of Dell publishing’s 1948 major league yearbook with Ted Williams — he on the front, she on the back. She estimated that she was paid about $4,000 a season. After retiring from baseball, Sams held an office job with the Knoxville Utilities Board. She never married and had no immediate survivors. The Hall of Fame displayed one of Sams’s player-of-the year trophies along with her Louisville Slugger bat when it opened its permanent exhibition on women in baseball.

In her interview with The Post-Dispatch, Sams said that a mannequin of Babe Ruth was on display near the women’s exhibit.

“I look over to the right and see Babe Ruth,” she said. “I look over on the left and see Ted Williams. Then I look in the mirror and say, ‘What are you doing here?’ It’s all so unbelievable. I never ever dreamed our league would get this kind of recognition.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/02/sports/doris-sams-womens-pro-baseball-star-dies-at-85.html?_r=1

Sandy W.


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