Derby Day in the Ville -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy Derby Day!

Despite the strange decision to move Oaks under the lights, Derby season has still been a good one this year. After last year's canceled Thunder Over Louisville, things seemed off all through the buildup. This year isn't without its own oddities on the first Saturday in May. The cold front that barreled into town sets Louisville up to see just its third recorded Derby Day under 60 degrees. This year's Derby also looks to see a high temperature lower than the recorded high on Christmas 2025. Strange indeed.

Nevertheless, it should still be a nice day, as long as you dress a bit warmer than usual. The clouds will be off and on, much like yesterday, and it looks like the wind is calming with rain likely to stay away until after the final post of the evening. There's a long time to make a selection before bets are closed, but I like Danon Bourbon so far. Paulie has posted in multiple outlet he is backing So Happy. 

On the Louisville sports front, the Cards softball squad took care of business against NC State in game one of their series, winning 5-1. Alyssa Zabala earned the win in her third complete game of the season and Louisville scored primarily on small ball. The Cards' only extra base hit came off the bat of Bri Despines when she hit a home run in the fourth inning. 

The Cards and Wolfpack are back in action today at 6PM. Virginia Tech won their first game against Syracuse yesterday, so Louisville needs to keep winning to hold onto their bye. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WGolf heads to Lexington regional -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Good morning readers, 

Happy Cinco de Mayo to those who celebrate.

Photo: Courier Journal

Post-Derby blues are in full force as the work force heads back to its regularly scheduled programming.  All those tasks you pushed off because 'its Derby week' have now crept back upon us..  

It was a wet day out at the track for the first Saturday in May.  My last time at the track was 2016 and the last time in the infield was likely 2008 or 2009.  My group was in the infield for the day and my calves are feeling it as a result of trekking in the mud and up and down Central Avenue all day.

Now that its summertime, its definitely time for me to get back to my golf game.  Speaking of golf...  the Women's golf program were selected to participate in the post season tournament so let's cover the Cards on the golf course.  

WGolf

Photo: UK Golf Club

For the 15th time in program history, the Cardinals were picked for postseason play and announced as one of 12 teams to compete in the Lexington, KY regional.

The 3 day, 54-hole tournament will be played May 5-7 and the top 5 teams of each region will advance to the National Championship. The top individual not on an advancing team will also punch their ticket to the National Championship, which will be held May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

Louisville is one of three ACC teams in the Lexington Regional, joined by #1 seed Florida State and #9 seed Miami. There are 4 teams ranked in the Top 25 competing in the regional including #3 Florida State, #9 USC, #15 TCU and #22 Vanderbilt. There are 8 teams ranked inside the Top 50 including #28 Kansas State, #34 Georgia Southern, #40 Pepperdine and the 46th-ranked Cardinals.

The Cards are coming off an 8th place finish at the ACC Championships last week in Greensboro. Carmen Griffiths and Veronika Exposito led the way with a tied for 25th overall finish at 5-over-par. It was Griffiths highest finish at the ACC Championship in her career and it was Exposito's first appearance at ACC's in her freshman season.  

UofL academics

Photo: UofL Instagram

UofL graduation spring ceremony will be held next Saturday May 10 at the KFC Yum! Center.   

As Always, 
Go Cards 

~Daryl

Softball Splits Double Header -- DERBY DAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Derby Day in the Ville

Happy Derby Day, readers! Today's post will be short as we take our annual hiatus on the first Saturday in May. The city of Louisville has been abuzz this week and yesterday was an exciting day at the track despite the weather. I'm assuming from watching on TV, by the way. I haven't been to the Oaks or Derby in a decade and a half. 

Be sure to check out Paulie's Wednesday Cardinal Couple column for his take on today's main event. As for me, I'll be enjoying my Spires and bourbon balls, hoping to trick myself into thinking I know more than I do. I haven't settled on what I'll do later this evening, but it's hard for me to pick against a favorite breaking from the 8 spot. (That's Journalism, for anyone who hasn't gotten their program yet.)

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Derby! As mentioned last week, we're off from the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast this week.

Softball Wins Series at Pittsburgh

I'm going to let Paulie cover these games in more detail tomorrow and how they impact Louisville's standing for the ACC tournament. Long story short, the Cards are in! Louisville and Pitt shifted the schedule to play two yesterday instead of having a game this afternoon. The Cards were thumped in the early game but bounced back to take an 8-5 victory in the second, winning the series 2-1 and leaving no doubt as to their ACC tournament hopes. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

PAULIE'S DERBY ADVICE

First off the bat, don't try to play every race and expect to emerge as a winner on the day. I had a good day yesterday, starting with $100 and ending with $300+. I only played seven races on the Oaks Day card. Today, with the wet conditions, it's going to be interesting to see how the day plays out. 

I will stay with my Derby Picks...JOURNALISM AND FINAL GAMBIT.  Other than that, it'll be a race to race study and decision. I do like to try and start the day by hitting the early Daily Double, and I will try that again this year, I expect I'll take #5,7,8,11 in the first race and #2,5,6,9 in the second race. That $1 double bet will run me $16. 

 

I was asked why I dont do my comprehensive Oaks and Derby picks here on the site each year anymore. Basically, because my interest level in horse racing isn't what it was. I haven't been to the track in some time. Having dead kidneys affects a lot of former habits. 

Have a great Derby, all! Whether it is watching it on TV, going to a Derby Parry or going out there to Churchill and standing in the rain, I wish you the best of luck and take a plsstic ,ziplock bag to keep your tickets dry.

--paulie--

Softball cancels weekend double-header vs Oakland -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning readers, hope youre staying dry out there.  Our house has had our work cut out for us on with these storms this week.  We've had to practice emergency situations with Lulu by putting her in the cage twice, shes not a fan but she was a good sport about it.   

Softball

Speaking of sports, the Softball Cards had some schedule adjustments this week due to storms in the area.  

The Battle of the Bluegrass got bumped up a couple hours on Wednesday and they had to deal with some windy conditions but were able to get a full game in.  Unfortunately, it did not go the Cards way which sucks because it was going the Cards way until it wasn't on some dumb walks to tie and then UK breaking it wide open late in the game.  

Another schedule change.. 

The Cardinals will not play this upcoming weekend as the home contest against Oakland from Rochester, Michigan has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.

Louisville will return to action when they travel to Bloomington, Indiana to face the Hoosiers next Wednesday, April 9. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

Favorite pics from Jared Anderson on Wednesday vs UK

Side note: 

Today is 4/4 and we are 4 weeks from Oaks and Derby weekend.  I'm really looking 4ward to it this year  :D

As Always, 

Go Cards

~Daryl 

Softball Finishes Season Today - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Softball's Last Game

Well, that's not a great headline to share, it certainly doesn't bring the joy and excitement, but it is pretty much the reality of the situation.

Softball will be finishing out their regular season schedule today at Boston College with a game starting at 11am.  Note that this is an hour earlier than originally planned due to potential weather in the area.  It will be on ACC Network Extra as usual.

Boston College has won the previous two games of the series in walk-off fashion, locking up their place in the ACC Championship.  Along with Syracuse and Notre Dame also locking in one of the last three spots in the 10 team tournament, that leaves Louisville just on the outside looking in, finishing out the season in 11th in the standings.

In yesterday's affair, Louisville led from the starting gate, getting nosed out at the finish with The Eagles tying it up in the bottom of the 7th, and then getting the walk-off game winner in the 8th.  Boston College took the win 4-3.

The Cards are still technically eligible for an NCAA tournament at-large bit with a final record of 27-25 or 26-26, depending on the outcome of today's game, but realistically, they'll be on the outside looking in of that one as well.  That makes today's game the final game of the season, though we can't say that in an officially official way until the Softball tournament selections are revealed, then it will be.

So today's game is largely meaningless for the Cards, though Boston College will be playing to try to get favorable seeding in the ACC tournament.  Then our attentions start to turn to next year.  How warm is this head coaching seat getting?  I, personally, don't think it's at full boil, yet, but I think the warmth can be felt.  Of course, I'm not in the AD office on Floyd Street.

We, of course, will bring you any information that we get about Softball in the coming off season.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The CCRHP didn't happen yesterday as Derby Day is one of the days that we traditionally skip due to everyone going every which way to their various Derby Day festivities.  We'll be back with you next week bringing you what news there is from UofL Athletics, though it does start us into the dreaded "Summer Slump".

- JMcA

Paulie Picks/Handicapping Heroes Derby Results

It wasn't too awful a day for your intrepid handicapper in looking at the Derby Day Stakes races yesterday. I gave you 28 horses to look at over the nine stakes races and had four winners,four places and three shows. 

(No, Jeff was not there leading CARDS cheers..) 

i'm still wondering where Fierceness thought the finish line was in the Derby Race, i heard he's still running and somewhere off Taylor Blvd, right now, calling an Uber. ...but what a finish in the 150th Kentucky Derby. A three-way, throw a blanket over them, noses apart fnish at the wire. MYSTIK DAN survived the photo and is your winner,  but if Sierra Leone and Forever Young hadn't played bumper cars with each other in the final furlong...i think one of those two would have slid by and taken the mile and a quarter .

I placed a lot of different bets on things yesterday and Friday, from the comfort of my home and checked my TwinSpires account balance at the end of the day Saturday and had five less dollars in it than when I started wagering Friday. 

(NBC's Horse Race Handicappers are barely one step above these two) 

All in all, I enjoyed the two days of just being a  television viewer and not going out to the track this year and fighting lines, crowds, puddles, drunks and Derby prices. WAVE did an OK job as far as media coverage went.  I have a great history with WAVE, back when I used to go out to the infield dressed as a jockey and John Belski would always manage to find me and do a mock interview with me on my ficticious and hopeful mounts on Oaks and Derby Days.  Happy post 150th, y'all. 

paulie

Derby Day -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Happy 150th Derby Day!

Cardinal Couple is off today as we all prepare to celebrate Derby in our own various ways. Louisville softball was in action yesterday and dropped a heartbreaker at Boston College when they gave up a 2-run walk-off homer with two outs to lose 3-2. Bailey Richardson accounted for Louisville's runs with a 2-run homer in the first. Jeff will have a bit more on that and cover the second game of the series tomorrow. 

Oaks Day held an exciting batch of races, and I'm looking forward to the same from the card today. I still haven't quite decided who I'm going with in the big one. Do you think Fierceness could finally break the curse of the 17 post? I'm not convinced. Are you, like many interviewed yesterday, caught up with just how big Sierra Leone is? The 2 would still be a tough spot to come from. I might even like Epic Ride, in the field after Encino scratched, to be a dark horse candidate. 

Let us know in the comments who you like this year! Whether you're sipping on a Mint Julep, a Lily, a Spire, or some other concoction, be safe and have fun this Derby Day. PAULIE'S PICKS BELOW

Until next time<Go Cards!

Case

PAULIE'S HANDICAPPNG HEROES KENTUCKY DERBY DAY STAKES RACES PICKS

Quick Oaks recap, I gave you 19 horses to consider (there were a couple of  scratches) yesterday...and had three winners, two places and two shows...today we have nine stakes races,so, I'll have 28 horses to choose from. Goof Luck and stand up and sing when they play "My Old Kentucky Home", OK? 

RACE 4 -- KNICKS GO STAKES

6 -- BEST ACTOR

1 -- STRONG QUALITY 

11  -- OSCAR ECLIPSE

RACE 5 -- TWIN SPIRES TURF SPRINT

4 -- MOTORIOUS

8 --MISCHIEF MAGIC

10 -- BIG INVASION

RACE 6 -- DERBY CITY DISTAFF

5 -- SPRIRT WIND

7 -- ALVA STARR

10 -- VAHVA

RACE 7  --  DISTAFF TURF  MILE

7 -- EVVIE JETS

6 -- DELAHAYE

7 -- CHILI FLAG

RACE 8 -- PAT DAY MILE

7 -- WHO DEY

8 -- TOP CONOR

12 -- NASH

RACE 9 -- AMEI RICAN TURF 

5 -- LEGEND OF TIME

6 -- NEAT

11 -- AGATE ROAD

RACE 10 -- CHURCHILL DOWNS STAKES 

6 -- ZOZOS

2 -- TEJANO  TWIST

11 -- HOIST THE GOLD 

RACE 11 -- TURF CLASSIC

6 -- I'M  VERY BUSY

5 -- PROGRAM TRADING

11 -- NAVAL POWER 

RACE 12  -- KY DERBY 

17 -- FIERCENESS

 2 -- SIERRA LEONE

8 -- JUST A TOUCH

6 -- JUST STEEL

Best of luck today, and as they used to say in the old Friday Foursomes Leagues...good bowling !

paulie

Happy Derby Day!

Louisville softball was off yesterday after rain that moved through much of the region canceled their game in South Bend. They'll play two today to get back on schedule and wrap up the weekend series tomorrow. Today's first game will begin at Noon and the second will commence at 2:30, or approximately half an hour after the conclusion of the first. Both games will be available via streaming.

Today's big event, of course, is the Kentucky Derby. As you likely know, we here at Cardinal Couple are various levels of horse racing junkies, but it gets turned up to 11 for just about everyone in the city on the first Saturday in May. 

As such, we'll take the week off from the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. As everyone prepares for their day, we encourage all to stay safe, drink and gamble responsibly, and most of all, have fun! We'll check in with Paulie tomorrow to see if he had as good of a Derby Day as he did Oaks (10-12 winners) or if he got cleaned out.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cardinals on the road -- KY Derby Weekend; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Happy Derby weekend to all.  I love this time of the year but is also means that we really are wrapping up the seasons and the school year as many are celebrating graduations and Mothers Day, as well.  

Let's just hope for some sunny skies and wins at the track and for the Cards!  For good reason, UofL athletics typically hits the road on Derby weekend.  

SOFTBALL

Louisville at #20 Notre Dame

Melissa Cook Stadium

ACC Network 5 p.m. 

The Cards are scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and 2 p. m. on Sunday. 

Bringing in a 27-21 overall record, 10-11 in the ACC, the Cardinals wrap up the regular season with a weekend series against #20 ranked Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish bring in a 5 game winning streak and a 36-9 overall record but they haven't played since April 26th.  ND stands 4th in the ACC at 13-5 with their conferences loses being to Virginia (2), Georgia Tech and Clemson (2).

Notre Dame’s offense is led by sophomore first baseman Karina Gaskins. Gaskins leads the ACC with a .442 average, hitting 11 doubles, 11 home runs and driving in a conference-best 55 runs. Freshman Jane Kronenberger worked her way into the starting lineup and is hitting at a .400 average, playing in 32 games, making 22 starts. She’s third on the team with 27 RBI, hitting nine doubles and three home runs. The outfield trio of Abby Sweet, Emma Clark and Leea Hanks are all hitting .371 or above, and combined have 11 home runs, nine triples, 31 doubles, 42 stolen bases and have scored 140 runs.

The trio of Alexis Holloway, Payton Tidd and Shannon Becker have thrown all the innings for the Irish this season. Senior pitcher Tidd and Grad. Senior pitcher Holloway earned ACC honors in back to back weeks 4/12 and 4/19. Tidd has worked as the series opener owning a 2.58 ERA and a team-best 14 wins, eight complete games and 119.1 innings of work. Holloway has thrown two no-hitters on the year, while earning a 2.92 ERA and 13 wins. She’s started a team-high 18 games while throwing 103.0 innings. Combined the trio have held opponents to a .228 average against.

Notre Dame leads the series with the Cards 23-17. The last time the two teams met was in 2019. Notre Dame won two out of three games in South Bend, sweeping a doubleheader by scores of 9-1 in each game. Louisville won 5-3 in the series finale.

Entering her 20th season as leader of the Notre Dame softball program, Deanna Gumpf continues to ascend the ladder as one of the nation’s premier head coaches.

ACC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

As it stands on Thursday evening, the Cards should qualify for the 7th seed in the ACC Tournament which is next week, May 11-14 at Vartabedian Field in Pittsburgh, PA.  A sweep over the Irish and the Cards would tie Virginia in the standings while Notre Dame is chasing Florida State and going for the sweep on Senior Weekend. FSU is visiting NC State looking for cushion from the Irish's hunt. 

A couple squads at the top of the conference have already wrapped up their regular season as they look ahead to the tournaments -- Virginia Tech, Clemson and Virginia.   Georgia Tech has finished 11-13 in the ACC and await to see what the Cards can do this weekend or if they will jump UofL in the conference standings. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast -- With the local holiday, the gang is also taking Saturday off from the podcast to spend time celebrating.   I plan on picking my Oaks and Derby winners 30 minutes before 'They're Off!!' each day. If you want some suggestions on who to bet on, go to Paulie Picks. 

As Always - Go Cards 

~Daryl 

Softball Heats Up at UIC -- Kianna Smith Waived by Sparks -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Offense Gets Hot Against UIC

In their final regular season midweek game of the year, Louisville went to Chicago to take on the UIC Flames. Despite their nickname, it was actually UofL who was red hot as the Cards won 12-3.

Louisville wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. Carmyn Greenwood led off with a bunt. She was later called out at second on a fielder's choice that saw Korbe Otis safe at first. Otis reached second on a fielder's choice and raced home on a blooper single by Kendall Smith later in the inning.

The Cards added a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Dylann Cravens found a way to get on base, reached second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a single by Vanessa Miller, and scored on a wild pitch. Miller was able to take second on that same wild pitch and would touch home moments later when Jenna Servi sent a single to center field.

UIC was able to piece together a couple hits in the bottom half of the fourth inning to silence any talks of a shutout, but it seemed to have angered the Louisville offense.

The Cards blew this game open in the fifth inning with a four spot. Timely walks and hits loaded the bases in time for Miller to rope a hit down the right field line. It was officially scored as a three-run triple with Miller scoring on an error on the relay from the outfield to the catcher. It appeared she would've been safe at home either way, so it's an inside-the-park grand slam in my book.

UIC loaded the bases with two outs in the back end of the sixth inning but Louisville was able to limit the damage to just two runs and maintain a comfortable a 7-3 lead.

The Cards continued to pound on runs in the sixth inning. Smith was a few feet shy of a grand slam, but plated Greenwood and Otis.

Roby launched a three-run home run to dead center in the seventh inning. It was her 15th homer of the season, a team-high and a career-high. The three rbis gives her 45 on the season, also a team-high and career-high.

Sam Booe would close out the game in the circle in the final two innings without allowing a run. It was not a save situation.

Taylor Roby got the start in the circle and earned her 15th win of the season, a career-high for the senior. Her 46 career wins is eighth-best in program history. With three strikeouts in the circle, Roby now has 299 career strikeouts, eighth-best in program history.

Roby is also flirting with some season and career stats at the plate. The program record for home runs in a single season is 17. Roby needs to two to tie. The program record for career home runs is 42. She needs two to tie. She is eighth all-time in walks with 81. She was sixth in career program slugging percentage at .586 going into last night's game.

Greenwood is also on base for some high-ranking stats for UofL single season and career records. She has 17 doubles on the year, three shy off the single-season record. Going into last night's game Greenwood had a .415 batting average on the season and .415 average in her career at Louisville. If those hold true, she would finish fourth for batting average in a single season and first in career batting average. She also had an .868 slugging percentage on the year and a .668 slugging percentage in her career. Those would put her second in single season slugging percentage and first in career slugging percentage. She is also high up on the on base percentage record books.

To make sure I'm reading the correct records and to make sure my numbers are adding up on everything, I have a request in with the sports information director for softball, Lori Korte Harmon. The season also isn't over so things are subject to change. If and when some players set some records, we will gladly report on it here.

Next on the schedule for Holly Aprile's squad is a three-game series at #20 Notre Dame to close out the regular season. The Cards have clinched a spot in the 10-team ACC Tournament and currently sit seventh in the conference, but are considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

( A special THANKS! to Ryan Greenwood, father of Louisville Softball student-athletes Carmyn and Cassidy Greenwood, for the Softball photos from the UIC game !) 

Kianna Smith Waived by LA Sparks

In a rather surprising move, the LA Sparks waived Kianna Smith yesterday. The Louisville alum was one of three players that saw their time with LA come to a quick end.

Smith joins Jazmine Jones as former Cards who were waived in the days leading up to the start of the WNBA.

With a limited budget and rather poor salary caps (compared to the NBA), teams are forced to make tough decisions that often leads to strong players and newly drafted players let go prematurely.

The WNBA season begins tomorrow.

Horserace Season in Louisville

Thurby and Cinco de Mayo falling on the same day is dangerous. Or a big money maker if you're Churchill Downs. The racetrack will certainly benefit from the alcohol sales as well as happy betters. Still not as big as the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks, Thurby has gone from a day for locals into another day into the stretched Derby season.

The Kentucky Oaks post time is set for Friday at 5:51. The Kentucky Derby post time is set for Saturday at 6:57.

We don't cover horseracing here at Cardinal Couple, but we do gladly participate in the seasonal celebrations.

 

If you're interested in betting, I highly recommend you check out Paulie's handicapping site this weekend (Paulie PICKS) . If you lose some money you can always send him the bill, but you might get an unkind gesture in return.

LINK TO PAULIE PICKS:  PAULIE PICKS

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Drops Game One -- DERBY DAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Fall 3-1 to Boston College

The Louisville softball team headed to Chestnut Hill for a weekend series with a chance to build on their record as the postseason nears, but they got off to a disappointing start. The Cards gave the Eagles their seventh conference win and just their 12th overall while they fell to 17-24-1 themselves after the 3-1 loss. With just seven games remaining on the schedule, Louisville will need to get more wins under their belts quickly to have a chance at much of a postseason.

The Cards went to bat first and opened the game with a pair of singles. Unfortunately, those singles yielded just one baserunner after Carmyn Greenwood was called out for leaving first early. With a strikeout from Taylor Roby and a groundout from Makayla Hurst, Roby headed to the circle for BC's first inning at the plate. The Eagles managed at double, but it came with two outs, and Roby popped out the next better to end the inning.

In the top of the second, Louisville got to work early with a Cassady Greenwood single. Rebecca Chung followed her with another single, but was thrown out trying to stretch for second. Charley Butler sent a single through the middle to score Greenwood from third and Louisville had the lead. Unfortunately, the Cards could get no more from the momentum as Celene Funke grounded out on a full count and Sydney Bickel struck out. Their lead would be short lived, though, as one-out and two-out doubles from BC in the bottom half tied the game at one.

For the remainder of the game, Louisville would leave five runners on base but score no more runs. Their best opportunity came in the third inning when Hurst and Roby stood on second and third with two outs, but Cassady Greenwood couldn't bring them in. It took BC until the fourth inning to break the tie, but it was another double that gave them the lead, as a one-out hit scored a baserunner from a previous single. In the next inning, the Eagles opened with a solo homer to give them a 3-1 lead, which would turn out to be the final score. The home run ended Roby's day, and Gabby Holloway finished things out by allowing just one hit over the remaining 1.2 innings.

Louisville will try to win the next three games of the series, which starts today. They'll get a double-header underway with the first game at 12PM on the ACC Network Extra. The second game is set to go at 5PM, at which point the Cards will hope to be fighting for a series lead.

Derby Day in the Ville

It's the annual city holiday as the Derby returns to its rightful place on the first Saturday in May. As is tradition, we'll take this week off for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour as Daryl mentioned yesterday. It is expected to be a beautiful day, so be sure to enjoy the fresh outside air. Check out Paulie's Handicapping Site (formerly Handicapping Heroes) to make informed bets whether at the track or via your phone. Enjoy yourselves, don't lose too much money, and revel safely and responsibly. Happy Derby!

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Fans in the Stands -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sports are Returning, but Will Spectators Come With Them?

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to afflict the globe, and the United States in particular, but you didn't need me to tell you that. Little by little, people are starting to try to return to a sense of their normal lives. For millions of people in the US, normal life means watching every kind of sport that they can get their hands on. Personally, I'm a fan of almost every major sport played professionally in the states, and I follow an English Premier League soccer team and the Formula One racing series. I'm a sports junkie. Because the powers that be in the sporting world know that people like me exist (as well as people who are even more rabid about sports than me), they want to get back to the field, court, track, etc. There's also the point to be made that the powers that be want to make money, and not having competitions means no sponsorship money, no TV revenue, and a slip in loyal fandom that can lead to lost future revenue. I digress.

Over the last week or so, we've been writing about a pair of Louisville softball players that are currently taking part in the Florida Gulf Coast League. In addition to this and the associated baseball league, professional softball is one of the few sports in America that has continued, or at least restarted. Also getting back into things are the PGA Tour, NASCAR, and IndyCar, though the latter has only had one race since returning to action. Across the world, professional baseball and soccer leagues have returned to play, but I'm going to stick with the US for the majority of this discussion due to the unique situation the States find themselves in with regards to the pandemic. One thing that most of these events have in common is that they have not allowed fans. However, that has been inconsistent, as some of the sports themselves have allowed fans, while other sports have deferred to local rules for their decision on fans.

That's the unique spot the US is in, by the way: the local responses have varied so greatly that it's hard to formulate consistent policy for sports leagues that compete across the country. Some, such as the NBA, WNBA, MLS, and NWSL, that intend to play all of their games in one location, have a simpler choice that just requires saying they won't be allowing fans.The MLB, which announced that its return will include playing games in home stadiums, did not make such a determination, and it appears that the decision will be left up to the home teams. Similarly, the USL announced its return to action plan and Louisville City FC appears poised to open their new stadium to limited capacity. The team announced plans to enforce masking, block off seats to maintain social distancing, and to perform temperature checks for all entrants. Those are all great steps, and are likely to be effective in an open air stadium, but any congregation of people poses a risk, as there is still ticketing, restrooms, and concessions to deal with, on top of the fact that people in a sports setting are likely to be eating, drinking, and yelling. 

IndyCar has already indicated their plans for fans in the stands at races are based on local rules. Though Texas was reopening at the time (they've since had to step back from that plan), the opener of the IndyCar season was without fans. Similarly, when the Indy GP and Brickyard 400 head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend, they will be without fans. However, the race weekend at Iowa Speedway in the middle of July is set to have fans, albeit in a limited capacity. Roger Penske, the new owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT IndyCar Series, said that he doesn't anticipate having an Indy 500 without fans in the stands. The 500, which is typically on Memorial Day Weekend, has been rescheduled to August 23rd this year. 

Yesterday, it was announced that IMS has not yet made its distancing plan for fans, and that they need more information. This leads me to my current conundrum, Indy 500 fans are supposed to tell IMS if they plan to attend the race by July 6th so that the track can make a determination about next steps. First, over a month and a half is a long time for things to change between when you make your decision about an event and the event, for better or for worse. Second, IMS's plan here is pretty transparent, but I'm not sure it's going to work out the way they hope. IMS stated that they will be limiting capacity to 50% for the race. That's not just seating capacity, though, that's capacity for the entire track, so drivers and teams will count against the number. While making that statement, though IMS did not put forth any plan for how they would determine priority. The track has an extensive seniority based ticketing system, so it's assumed they'll turn to that if they need to. Obviously, IMS's hope is that more than 50% of people just say they don't want to come. If that's the case, IMS can just spread out the remaining ticket holders to maintain distancing in the stands and everyone's happy. If you ignore the ticketing, restroom, and concessions items from earlier, anyway. Personally, I don't think that's likely to happen, so we'll see what they decide to do after that. Asking people if they still want to come and then telling some of them they can't seems like a PR nightmare in waiting.

Another major event in the area that will reportedly have fans is the Kentucky Derby. There's less information out so far about how this one will be handled, but speculation puts it at less than 50% capacity. The Paddock will reportedly be closed completely, and without designated seating areas in the majority of the infield, I'm not sure how you'd enforce social distancing there. Churchill Downs has already announced that they're working on their wifi network to improve connections, hoping that they can encourage more in-app betting while at the track, rather than having people stand in lines at the windows. Of all of the sports, horse racing is one that has a fairly monopolized major revenue stream that doesn't require people to be at the venue. This seems like it would lend itself well to not requiring fans to be in attendance to have a successful event. We still have a couple of months before the race, though, so we'll see what kind of specific plans come out and whether or not the entire concept has to change.

As for sports in the fall, who knows? Louisville has been pretty quiet about its plans for football, but moving the season opener tips their hand a bit. Obviously if increased traffic between Thurby and a home football game is a concern, it is because fans are anticipated at both. As numbers continue to climb across the country, particularly in places that have reopened with fewer restrictions, it will be interesting to see how local leaders in various places rethink their strategies and how sports are impacted. More and more college athletes are being reported as having positive tests, with some teams having as high as 15-20% of the team infected. MLB and NBA have set their sights on end of July starts, but that's a long way off and trends aren't looking great. Numerous MLB teams are reporting multiple infections among players, in addition to infections in the staff. Meanwhile, the NBA is set to go in Orlando with Orange County, Florida having a higher daily new case rate than 38 states last week. 

I'm cautiously optimistic that lessons we've been learning over the last few months can lead to returns to action that are safe and enjoyable for everyone. To this point, NASCAR has traveled quite a bit and and a number of races all while not reporting a single positive case. It seems that there can be a way for things to work, but I think that more consistent policies need to be in place. Allowing fans in some locations seems like a bad way to maintain control, and it's also pretty unfair in team sports. Either way, we'll get a lot of answers about sports over the next month.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

That's right, it's Saturday. Of course, you probably already knew that since you just had to read my long-winded, speculative ramblings. We'll have updates from softball to talk about, as well as some recent accolades for UofL student-athletes, and, of course, a Cardinal Couple Quiz. Jared has dominated the quiz circuit this season, so Jeff and I will hope that we can take a win, with or without him. Join us at 11AM on the Cardinal Couple YouTube page for the live show, or tune in for the replay any time after noon (or 12:30, depending on Paulie's mood). 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Derby Recap Social Distancing Edition

The Day After

The day after the first Saturday in May is usually a day for Louisville and Louisvillians to recover from a day of over-indulgence.  That may be a bit less of a problem this year, though I do know many took the opportunity of some of the best Derby Day weather in about a decade to enjoy the day, including with some "adult beverages."

The day wasn't without some racing, however.  Oaklawn in Arkansas is having real racing, albeit without fans in the stands.  You can see how you might have done if you had followed Paulie's guidance over at Paulie's Picks. He gave out some nice winners, according to his latest report.

"Virtual" Kentucky Derby

There were two other Derby Day homages.  The first, and the one that got the most attention, was a "virtual Kentucky Derby".  Hosted by NBC Sports, much like they would've shown the real Kentucky Derby, this race was a computer graphics version of a Kentucky Derby as it might have been run by a field of historic Derby greats.  Including Seattle Slew, Secretariat, Whirlaway, Affirmed, Citation, and more. A great call by long-standing Kentucky Derby track announcer Larry Colmus, who was seeing it for the first time, along with the nationwide TV audience.

The race was a close one, with Seattle Slew leading much of the race, but with Secretariat edging out Citation and Seattle Slew in the final lengths for the win.  The video can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgP1I6VChg8

Kentucky Turtle Derby

OK, this one is basically an advertisement for Old Forester bourbon, but it's still a fun shell-ebration.

There's a little bit of a history lesson in this one, as this is only the second running of the Kentucky Turtle Derby.  The last running was in 1945.  Why 1945?  That was the only year, since the creation of the Kentucky Derby in 1875 that the race had been postponed from it's originally scheduled date due to a World War II ban on horse racing.  The 1945 edition of the Kentucky Derby was run on June 9th, 1945, a month and a day after V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, the day Germany surrendered to the Allies.

On a side note, early Kentucky Derbies were run in mid-May, before the current "first Saturday in May" timing was established in 1932.

The field for the Kentucky Turtle Derby consisted of eight Turtles:  Seattle Slow, Green Mamba, Sir-Hides-A-Bunch, Galapa-Go, the longshot What the Turtleneck (that went off at 86-1 odds), Rocket to Nowhere, Steve, and American Tortuga.

In a neck-stretching finish, the longshot What the Turtleneck took the victory in a ponderous 1/4 mile per hour pace, with Galapa-Go (8-1) placing, and Rocket to Nowhere (15-1) for the show. Larry Colmus called this one also and we even got Churchill Downs bugler Steve Buttleman for the call to post! 

You can check out the racing at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1cFQpl_qkw

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

And once again, the CCRH quartet was "on the air" with the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  We got started without Paulie, who's system crashed right before air time, but he battled through and came in clutch down the stretch.  Case, Jared, and myself also joined in the fun.

The Louie Awards and WBB transfers were the material for most of the show, and we also played the audio of the virtual mass marching band, that our very own Jared Anderson was a part of, playing "My Old Kentucky Home" for the Derby Day that wasn't.  Apologies for some confusion around the start of the "My Old Kentucky Home" recording as due to the audio settings on my computers Case, Paulie, and Jared could not hear the audio as it was playing.  Including this was a bit of a spur of the moment decision, so I couldn't get the audio setup correctly for them to hear it.

-- 

JMcA

The First Saturday in May -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Would be Derby Day

For the first time since 1945, it is the first Saturday in May without a Kentucky Derby. We've discussed the lack of sporting events at length here on the site recently, but news this week is about some sporting events returning. We already know that the Kentucky Derby has been rescheduled for September. It would be wonderful for there to be fans, but we're still a long way from determining that. The new developments are that Churchill Downs has announced a reopening date. The track will open for racing on May 16th, closed to the public of course. If there is any industry that can handle opening without fans, it would have to be horse racing. The amount of money Churchill Downs can make by being completely open is surely more than they make by being partially opened, but with the increase in online gambling, the amount of money lost by not racing at all is significant. 

All that is to say that opening Churchill Downs does not give us a lot of insight into what the future for sports looks like. Plenty of international leagues have already decided to cancel the remainder of their seasons. Other sporting industries can't benefit directly from gambling so opening without fans is not quite as profitable. 

On the flip side of that, another league announced it's return this week as well. After news that Charlotte, North Carolina had opened up the path for NASCAR's Charlotte race to occur, the series took advantage. Using similar setups in Darlington, NASCAR announced the return to the track on two race weekends. Starting May 17th, there will be 7 races over the next ten days, with four of those being Cup Series races. Both sites, Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, will be closed to fans, but NASCAR will take all of the television and advertising revenue they can get. 

This is the one that is more interesting to the future prospect of college and professional sports. Sure, NASCAR has a greater advertising potential with all of the car and team sponsors, but utilizing just advertising and television revenue is something that professional leagues and high revenue college sports can work with. There is still the issue with sorting out how to play contact sports in the age of a pandemic, if it can be done at all, but this opens the door to seeing just how much people have missed live sporting events. 

Unfortunately, this gives us no information on the low/non-revenue sports on college campuses. The sports that aren't bringing in lucrative TV deals will struggle to balance opening with no concessions and no ticket sales while traveling halfway across the country. That's not even to mention the issues we may have with travel in the fall. 

Long story short, we know a little bit more today than we did last week about how things may look going forward, but we're far from having a clear picture. We'll stick with our mantra of taking one day at a time.

Speaking of the Derby, by the way, there is a Derby tradition that couldn't be set aside quite so easily. The band playing "My Old Kentucky Home" is something we always look forward to, and anyone who has been to a Derby Party with Paulie has heard him belt it loudly and proudly. Someone came up with a creative way to scratch that itch this year, with a virtual band playing the tune. Our own Jared Anderson was a part of it, so tune into the video here to see the magic.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It'll be a full virtual house again today, as the normal Derby rigors that used to keep us out of the studio are obviously not an issue this year. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube at 11AM as we bring you the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics as best we can. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-