Friday Cardinal Couple -- The AAC and thoughts on Bobby and UofL

FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- AAC WBB

- He's back...

 

 

No real surprises in the AAC WBB stats. Louisville, UConn and Rutgers sit atop the standings. As of 1/2/14...they were the only undefeated schools in conference play. All three won Saturday.

The conference has nine American Players of the Week. Shoni was the most recent one...her first time on the list. Keena Mays (SMU) has been awarded the honor three times. Breanna Stewart, Bria Hartley and Stef Dolson at UConn once each.  Jeanise Randolph (UConn) and Betinjah Laney (Rutgers) have been selected once also.

Mays leads the conference in scoring. Shoni leads in threes. Alisia Jenkins (USF) is the leading rebounder and Dolson has the only triple-double this year.

Games to keep an eye on Saturday and Sunday? We'll tackle Louisville at USF, SMU at Rutgers, Temple at UConn and Houston at Cincinnati.

Got two good interviews planned for Saturday radio. I'll be talking with Sandy Pearsall and Kellie Young. After all, softball and lacrosse aren't far away!

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


So...Bobby?

Yeah...we've been getting e-mail about the return of Bobby Petrino as the UofL football head coach. We are a women's sports site, make NO mistake about it. But, if you want my opinion about it? OK...Here goes.

I started attending UofL Football games in 1971. Me and my dearly departed Dad. We did the unthinkable thing back then of going to a game three hours early and eating chicken and drinking beverages in the Cardinal Stadium parking lot. They call it tailgaiting now. We didn't know the name for it, we just liked it

The security folks at the KFEC didn't understand it. They thought we were nuts. It was a bonding thing between me and my Dad. A couple of guys talking about life. There were others out there too, so I'm not going to pull an Al Gore and say we invented it. It had been going on in the SEC for years.

This was the MVC. The Missouri Valley Conference. We had home games against Tampa, Drake, Wichita State and Southern Illinois. They weren't well attended. You could get free tickets at the Convenient Food Marts. They're not around anymore.

A guy named Lee Corso was the head coach then. He had an impressive linebacker named Tom Jackson. They were both fun to watch. They still are...as talking heads for ESPN football coverage.

I've been a UofL fan ever since. All sports. Countless road trips. Watching women's basketball before men's games in Freedom Hall. Seeing Kristin Mattox sink shots from all over the court and literally being too tired to walk off the court at Cardinal Arena after beating DePaul. Going to Manual High School to see Jackie Spencer and team defeat Florida State.

Bobby Petrino created a lot of happy times for watching games when he was here previously. He's made some bad decisions...no, check that...stupid life choices. He says he's a changed man.

I'm all about second chances. I've benefited from them.

Put your actions where your mouth is...Bobby. Show us. Do well and stay out of trouble. Keep the momentum Charlie Strong started going. Enjoy time with your golfing daughter here at UofL. Don't betray the trust. 

Don't be the butthead you used to be.

If we are your "destination"...then do the things a permanent resident does. Catch a few WBB games. Show up at the new Soccer Stadium. Talk to Jeff Walz, Sandy Pearsall and Karen Fergsuon Dayes.

They get it. I hope you do, too.

paulie
...
..
.

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE -- Soccer, Volleyball win on road

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Soccer escapes at UC in overtime

- Volleyball takes 4 game match in Piscataway

- RADIO TODAY!


SOCCER KICKS IT IN AGAINST BEARCATS

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The University of Louisville women's soccer team won in overtime 5-4. Oh, yeah...and the sun will come up this morning.

The Cards are 12-4-1. Almost half of the total games have gone into the "golden goal" extra session. The Cards are getting more overtime than a snow plow operator in blizzard conditions. And...it's beneficial. They are 4-2-1 when they go past the 90 minute mark.

Last night in Southern Ohio, the scoring started almost right after the National Anthem. UC took and early 1-0 lead after two minutes of play. The Bearcats were playing for a top four seed in the AAC Tournament and a win would keep them in the running for that...coupled with a Rutgers loss. 

Louisville responded two minutes later...Charlyn Corral setting up Devyn Ciotti in the box to even it up. Louisville had a lot on the line as well. A Cardinal win and UCF loss on Sunday puts Louisville alone in first place.

In a see-saw battle, UC regained the lead in the 12th. minute of action. Two minutes later, here came the Cards again. This time it was X getting Shannon Dennehey a cross and seeing it converted into netsville.

UC inisisted on returning the favor in the 27th. minute and took that 3-2 lead to the half. UC had a 12-5 shot advantage on the Cards.

Karen Ferguson-Dayes replaced Paige Brown, arguably the best goalie in the AAC, with Taylor Smith in the final half. The Bearcats welcomed the freshman from PeeWee Valley and Christian Academy to the field by scoring on her six minutes into action to grab a 4-2 advantage.

It would be the last UC goal of the evening.

Seniors X and Char combined with 37 minutes left in regulation to draw the Cards closer at 4-3....Char feeding X for the net-finder. Four minutes later, UofL tied it up...this time X feeding Dennehey. The teams played the final 33 minutes of the half to a draw.



Paulie said put a picture of the bracket
up...so here you go.  -Timmy the Intern.

Louisville captialized in the fourth minute of overtime when UC was flagged for a foul inside the box. Penalty kick time and Erin Yenney provided the golden goal to end it.

The Cards will host a quarterfinal ACC Tournament match on Nov 3rd. The bracket matchups will be released after Sunday action. Right now...it's wide open on who will come to Cardinal Park to face the Kickin' Cards. The top eight regular season finishers advance to tourney play.

AAC STANDINGS AS OF 10/25/13
 

UCF	22	7-0-1	0.938	14-2-2	0.833	W4
Louisville	21	7-1	0.875	11-4-1	0.719	W2
UConn	15	5-3	0.625	11-7	0.611	W1
Rutgers	13	4-3-1	0.563	11-4-2	0.706	L1
Cincinnati	13	4-3-1	0.563	8-9-1	0.472	W1
USF	11	3-3-2	0.500	8-4-5	0.618	T2
SMU	10	3-4-1	0.438	8-7-1	0.531	T1
Memphis	9	3-5	0.375	10-7	0.588	W1
Temple	3	1-7	0.125	6-10-1	0.382	L7
Houston	0	0-8	0.000	1-10-3	0.179	L8

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

.
JUHL RULES IN FOUR GAME WIN AGAINST RUTGERS


Senior Emily Juhl unleashed the powerful left arm against the Scarlet Knights last night...getting 21 kills in a 23-25, 25-10, 25-17, 25-20 win over the hapless Rutgers Volleyball contingent. (Good luck in the BIG 10 with this bunch).

THIS IS DINO

Defensive specialist and usual starter Haley Pouliezos was reportedly injured in warmups and did not play for Louisville. Maybe it shook the Cards up a bit...they lost the first game to the "0 for Conference" Scarlet Knights by two...unforced errors and Rutgers aces on serves putting UofL behind early.

Louisville shook it off and repsonded with a 15-point blistering of the New Jersey school in game two. Katie George served for nine straight points in the romp. Juhl had five of her kills in this one.

Juhl tried her hand at serving after the intermission and ran five straight against RU in game three. She also added five more kills. Titanium power!

THIS IS DOCTOR TED.

Louisville rolled out to a 13-6 lead in game four but Rutgers
wasn't quite ready to close the RAC yet...battling back to get within one at 20-19. The Cards got a couple of timely kills from Stomp Mattingly, though, and went on a game and match ending 5-1 run.

Louisville is now 13-7 on the season...8-0 in The American and travels to UCONN next for a Sunday tilt that will be televised on ESPNU at 1 p.m.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MAMA...THEM PEOPLE IS TALKIN' ON THE RADIO AGAIN!

Based on the overwhelmingly successful article we borrowed and posted on UK Thursday...we'll be bringing Matthew Mitchell, John Calipari, Ashley Judd and Joe B. Hall into the studio this morning for conversations, mud-wrestling and pizza.

Just kidding....

WE do have an excellent show prepared, though, with plenty of volleyball, soccer, field hockey, tennis and a quiz!
Maybe Jenny will even wander in a tell us about what's shakin' in basketball.

It's always interesting and always commercial free. With
Dead Air Al at the control panel...we never really know what to expect. The link below will get you there...


PAULIE THE GRUMPY OLD MAN RUNS THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS OFF HIS LAWN


-PAULIE

....
...
..
.

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE -Louisville releases 2013-14 women's basketball roster -Charlyn Corral named AAC women's soccer Player of the Week The official 2013-14 UofL Women's Basketball roster is now out and, on first glance...one notices that there are 13 players listed. This is down from the 16 that we've discussed most of the summer...but still looks quite impressive and still deep at guards, wings and post players. What happened to the other three? As we covered here at CARDINAL COUPLE a few days ago, DAVIONNA HOLMES had decided to transfer to Missouri to play basketball.  We learned Monday that JANELLE CANNON has also left campus and her next move or campus hasn't been revealed yet. From what we hear, STARR BREEDLOVE is finishing up some summer classes at a junior college and won't arrive at Louisville until later in the year. The Cards will miss Sherrone Vails in the middle (injury) but with a healthy Dyer and Taylor...plus Hammond, Walton, and Henderson available for paint duty...don't cry too long for Louisville. The Cards that are listed give Louisville one of the strongest rosters that this fan has seen in the history of the women's basketball program. Strong words? Maybe...but four out of five starters back and able to play, three former starters back and healthy from previous years,  three valuable contributors off the bench from last year's National Runner-up squad and two promising newcomers make Louisville look like a juggernaut in their only year in the American. Of course, UConn is still there. Sometimes, in regards to Cannon and Holmes...it just doesn't work out. Cannon has bounced around to three different Div. I programs now and we hope she finds her home somewhere. Holmes has landed closer to home...and sometimes that works best for a player. Fear not, fans. Still plenty of players to cheer for! The roster is listed below.	Last Name		Height			eligibility
00	hammond sara	Sara Hammond	74	6-2	F	5	JR	Mt. Vernon, Ky. (Rockcastle County HS)
2	niamke monny	Monny Niamke	65	5-5	G	4	RS SO	Rouen, France (Lindsey Wilson)
3	vails sheronne	Sheronne Vails	76	6-4	C	7	SR	Odenton, Md. (Arundel HS)
4	slaughter antonita	Antonita Slaughter	73	6-1	G	7	SR	Louisville, Ky. (Louisville Christian Academy)
12	dyer shawnta'	Shawnta' Dyer	73	6-1	F	6	RS JR	Marion, Ohio (Marion Harding HS)
13	walton cortnee	Cortnee Walton	75	6-3	F	3	SO	Surprise, Ariz. (St. Mary's HS)
15	deines megan	Megan Deines	73	6-1	G	3	SO	Springfield, Mo. (Glendale HS)
21	smith bria	Bria Smith	70	5-10	G	5	JR	Massapequa, N.Y. (Christ the King HS)
22	schimmel jude	Jude Schimmel	66	5-6	G	5	JR	Mission, Ore. (Franklin HS)
23	schimmel shoni	Shoni Schimmel	69	5-9	G	7	SR	Mission, Ore. (Franklin HS)
25	gibbs tia	Tia Gibbs	69	5-9	G	8	RS SR	Louisville, Ky. (Vanderbilt Univ.)
31	taylor asia	Asia Taylor	73	6-1	F	8	RS SR	Columbus, Ohio (Whetstone HS)
32	henderson emmonnie	Emmonnie Henderson	73	6-1	F	1	FR	Edwardsville, Ill. (Edwardsville HS)

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


DESPITE the loss to Illinois Sunday, the UofL women's soccer team did get good news on Monday about "Char'

(thanks to Kim Pemberton for the release below)


University of Louisville senior midfielder Charlyn Corral has been named the
American Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week.  Corral opened the
2013 season scoring three goals and dishing out one assist.

Against Butler, Corral took a corner kick in the first minute of the second
period and bent it inside the box to teammate Christine Exeter, who headed the
ball into the middle of the net for a 1-0 lead.   In the 84th minute, Hannah
Konermann crossed the ball to a streaking Corral for a security goal as the
Cardinals handed Butler 2-0 shutout.

Against No. 17/25 Illinois, Corral gathered a deflection from a Kari Weinland
shot and sent it back at the keeper who deflected the ball back to Corral, who
then buried it into the back of the net, giving Louisville a 2-1 lead in the
25th minute.  Corral then scored on a penalty kick in the 51st minute for a 3-2
Cardinal lead before Louisville fell 5-4 in overtime to the Illini.

Corral finished the week with seven shots on goal for a 53.8 shot on goal
percentage.

-Paulie

....

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- The American up and running

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- The American open for business.

Louisville's one year stay destination before heading to the ACC has their website up and running now. The American, American Athletic Conference, Louisville and the Nine Dwarfs...whatever you want to call it...has a website that, as of 11 p.m. Monday night, had five articles on it and the logos of the ten teams that will participate in it this season.

Yes, Louisville made the logo inclusion this time on the home page. It would seem rather silly not to put it on there...even if UofL's stay is brief. After all, the defending NCAA men's basketball team and only BCS Bowl game winner in the conference is Louisville. Originally, they had 12 logos there on the site and not Louisville's.

Those crazy Americans.

Link is:

http://theamerican.org

You can read about Memphis getting the men's basketball tournament in 2014, Uncasville, CT and the Mohegan Sun getting the women's basketball tournament and there is one of those flashy one minute or so montages with dynamic music playing in the background. Louisville's inclusion in the montage is minimal...a brief flash of Montrezl dunking and Peyton smiling. Don't blink, you'll miss it.

It's understandable. After all, we're leaving right after the christening party to go to better digs, more money and tougher competition.



They list 15 sports on the site, in alphabetical order, as being ones that will have American competition. They list track twice....indoor and outdoor.

I haven't taken the new site for a spin yet and checked out the bells and whistles. The dramatic music and seeing the Uconn women's basketball team twice in the first ten seconds of the montage was enough for now.

I'll have plenty of chances to go there beginning in August, I suppose. I may even sneak over and check out a fan site for the conference, too. It can be found at:

http://americanathleticconference.net/

They still have the 12 team logo on their site, with no Louisville or Rutgers but ECU and Navy. I saw an Andrea Adelson article posted there also...which means I may not get over there anytime soon.

These Americans can be confusing.

I also saw they had a social media link on the official site. I doubt they list CARDINAL COUPLE on it.

So, a brand new conference is born. Could be a fun year. We'll just see how these Americans do in keeping us informed for a year. The BIG EAST pretended that CARDINAL COUPLE didn't exist. Or the dog ate our e-mail address...something like that.

I'll never forget my hilarious encounter (at least now it is...) a couple of years ago with a BIG EAST official representative at an official BIG EAST event and being informed that my media access was (and I quote) "just barely" approved. I honestly think this individual was either trying to shame me or try and make me cry. I, of course, felt or did neither and countered in typical Groucho Marx fashion by mentioning that it was OK...I had "just barely" found the venue where the event was taking place because of its' diminutive size...and mentioned that Louisville had a much larger venue for events like this.  

Ah, well...water under the bridge for the most part.

I hope these Americans schedule indoor track in the winter and outdoor track in the spring or fall. I can't wait to go to Temple or Tulane.

Or...maybe I can. Chapel Hill or Cameron Indoor, anyone?



-Paulie

Cardinal Couple Thursday

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Jeff McAdams brings us news on the Volleyball schedule
and it looks like Sam Purcell hasn't spent his last 13 days in
Louisville in vain...the "official announcement" is out. He's a
UofL WBB assistant coach.)

Volleyball Schedule

 

Volleyball announced their fall schedule and it starts off with a bang.  Unfortunately, like last year, the later season matches aren't going to give us much challenge.

First, though, we have our first chance to see the team play together on August 24th for the annual Alumnae celebration.  If there are enough alumnae that choose to participate, the match will be vs alumnae, otherwise, it would be a red vs black match.  This is a free, unticketed, event at Cardinal Arena.

The regular season starts the next weekend with two matches at the Penn State Invitational against Syracuse and, obviously, Penn State.  Talk about starting the season off with the best.  Syracuse is a non-conference foe this year, of course.  Its nice to keep the familiarity of them fresh for when we meet back up with them in the ACC in 2014.  Their coach is the former UofL head coach, Leonid Yelin with Assistant Coach, UofL Alumna, Stephanie Cantway nee Marsh.  Leonid has continued his international recruiting ways with several players from Poland, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, and The Russian Federation.  Penn State, with head coach Russ Rose is, as always loaded for bear.  The storyline on this one is a sister vs sister matchup.  Deja McClendon, out of Manual High School here in Louisville, is the sister to incoming UofL freshman Maya McClendon.

The next trip is to North Dakota to match up with North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and
Wisconsin.  No real catchy story lines for these matches.  North Dakota and Northern Iowa are competent teams, but neither should be much of a threat for the UofL team, but we need to be wary of Wisconsin.  While their results from last year aren't all that impressive, having dropped matches to Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Creighton, this is a team that can be a threat.

Still on the road, but closer to home anyway, the next weekend sees the Cardinals down the road in Lexington for The Bluegrass Battle.  This involves matches against, of course, Kentucky, but also Minnesota and Pepperdine.  Kentucky, well...in-state rivalry match.  While I think UofL typically has a better team than Kentucky, Craig Skinner's Wildcats seem to play very well against us, so they're a team that we always have to be ready to play.  Minnesota will be a heck of a match-up.  Last year they split with Nebraska, Texas, Michigan and Michigan State.  They beat Illinois twice, and Purdue three times.  They, did, however, lose to Penn State three times, but there's no shame in that.  Pepperdine has an absolutely amazing men's team typically, but in women's volleyball they seem to be only mediocre with loses to Dayton, UCLA, BYU, and Colorado State among others.

Louisville finally gets their home opener on September 20th for the annual Active Ankle Challenge at Cardinal Arena.  The Cardinals play host to future ACC conference foe Virginia Tech, as well as Rice and Bowling Green.  Virginia Tech is the only real challenge this weekend, but not much of one.

Then the American Conference slate of matches.  We play all of these home and away, but there really won't be much challenge from most of them.  Memphis, Temple, Southern Methodist, Houston, USF, UCF (Central Florida), Cincinnati, Rutgers, and UConn.  Of those, Cincinnati is frequently a good team, though they really had a rough year last year with new coach Molly Alvey, hopefully they can get things put back together this year.  USF can put together a good team at times as well.  Beyond those two, we really shouldn't have all that much of a threat from our conference slate games.

There are two other non-conference matches mixed in with the conference match-ups, with Wichita State and Middle Tennessee State.  We've played both of these teams several times and they both are good.  Neither is a national powerhouse, but they're good, which will be nice to have some solid teams to play in the midst of a thoroughly mediocre conference schedule.

There is no conference tournament in the American Conference, so the winner of the regular season gets the automatic qualifying bid for the NCAA tournament.

Sam Purcell officially announced as Assistant Coach for Basketball

Nearly two weeks after we broke the news here at Cardinal Couple, Sam Purcell was officially
announced as the new assistant coach for Jeff Walz.  Joining us from Georgia Tech, Sam Purcell replaces Cameron Newbauer who took the head coaching position at Belmont University in Nashville.

Prior to his stint with the Yellow Jackets, Sam was an assistant at Tulsa.  He started his basketball staff duties at Auburn, which is also his Alma Mater.

-Jeff McAdams

--

Tuesday Cardinal Couple -- Ellison commits to...

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Aja Ellison headed to Maryland

-The American: A year of hoops old and new

Aja Ellison, daughter of former University of Louisville men's basketball great Pervis Ellison, has chosen her college and it is the University of Maryland.

The 6'2" center and 2014 prospect played her junior season at Life Center Academy (Burlington, NJ). She helped lead Life Center to the National Association of Christian Athletes Division I national title.

Her mother, Timi Crawford, is a former Maryland track and field athlete.

This one isn't a huge loss for UofL...yes, it would have been nice to have "Never Nervous" Pervis' daughter wearing the red and black but the Cards are pursuing quite a few top flight high school stars for 2014 and already have Sydney Brackemyer and Arianna Freeman on board for a recruiting class that can probably accommodate one or two more players as of now.

Honesty, we're also not sure just how actively Aja was considering the Cards or vice versa. She was listed as undeclared and had no favorites listed according to a couple of recruiting services. Louisville extended an offer when she was a freshman. Notre Dame looked at her also.

With interest from some of the nation's 2014 best and possible transfer possibilities looming, the Cards won't have to worry about having a short, or untalented class to join the returnees.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

As we have discussed before, some of the University of Louisville women's athletic squads will participate in the American Athletic Conference (AAC or 'The American') for a season before joining the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference). 

Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look at what the UofL women's teams will be faced with in this transition conference. Today, we'll look at hoops.

First...the top two teams in the nation are in the AAC. Louisville and Connecticut. That, alone...gives the conference a huge measure of respect and viability for at least one season.

There is no official AAC WBB schedule out yet...but taking a look at some of the schools Louisville will likely face in hoops doesn't cause a great deal of consternation. 

USF (22-11)...who delivered a rare loss to Louisville in the KFC YUM! Center last season...is there. They don't have the Smith sisters, though or Inga Orekhova.

Cincinnati finished 12-18 in 2012-13 and remains a squad that has improved under Coach Elliott...but isn't at Louisville's talent level yet.

Rutgers, 16-14 last year, is infused with new talent...freshman and transfer wise...and always plays Louisville tough.

New opponents for the Cards, based on what the conference looks like while glancing at the volleyball contingent, are listed below:

-SMU. They went 21-10 an made it to the WNIT...where they lost in the first round.

No Muffet in 2013-14. Whatever will we do?

-Memphis. Finishing 17-15...they also qualified for the WNIT and fell to Arkansas in Round 1.

-UCF. 16-18. No post-season.

-Temple. 14-18. No post-season.

-Houston. 13-17. No post-season.

Our best guess? Louisville is the 2nd best team in AAC WBB for 2013-14. Yes, we had to stay up late and do massive research on that prognostication. Rutgers should improve after a disappointing 2012-13 and gets our nod for third best. We'll go with SMU, based on last year's results, to round out the top four. Jose Fernandez does have some talent returning at USF and could challenge for a fourth place finish.

After that...it's anyone's guess. It will be interesting to see how the former BIG EAST schools do (wins vs. losses) against the non-BIG EAST members of The American.

A stop-over to a final destination. A final goodbye to Cincy, Rutgers, UConn and USF. And, no XL Center for a conference tournament venue.

See, there are some good things about The American...after all. And, it'll only be a year before Coach Walz is reunited with Muffet, "Q" and "Bubbles" Anderson (who WE desperately want to see play...)

Courage...

-Paulie

BOZICH: Jurich Sees A Different Game Than Louisville's Competiti - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Same state, different venue

-Jurich Vision: 20/20

The "American", or AAC, even American Athletic Conference has decided on a 2014 women's basketball site.

Three guesses on the state. Or, as THE WHO said in their classic song "Won't Get Fooled Again"...'Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.'

The Mohegan Sun Arena, part of Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, will host the event March 7-10. The deal is for one year with a conference option for the 2015 Tournament. It holds 9,518 fans, down from the 16,000 that the Hartford XL could pack in.

I guess losing Notre Dame, DePaul and Syracuse...along with the others remaining in the BIG EAST will do that to you. I wonder how well SMU and UCF travel for women's basketball? It probably won't matter...9,000 of the fans will be wearing Husky gear.

The Cards will play one season in "The Amercan" and in the AAC Women's Basketball Tournament before splitting to the ACC. One year of Mogehan, gambling and Memphis, Temple and Central Florida hoops powerhouses. Pinch me.  

One coach we know won't complain. Geno's Fast Break Restaurant is located in the Mohegan Sun facility. Mr. Auriemma approves. I guess Coach Walz will be pulling double duty up there that weekend...coaching the Lady Cards and waiting on tables.

Coach Walz did comment on the location:

"I'm very excited about playing the conference tournament at the Mohegan Sun. It will provide an exciting environment for both the student-athlete and the fans."

Yes, indeed. And, if you're...let's say, visiting from Texas and down 40 to UConn in the quarterfinals...you can always go roll them laughing bones or try a few one-armed bandits. Or get a plate of pasta.

The format...with just 10 teams this year...for tournament play, will be just four days next March and will begin with a first round double-header on March 7th. with the #10 seed playing the #7 seed and the #8 seed against the #9 seed. Winners advance for quarter-final games against the top six seeds on March 8th. The semifinals will take place March 9th. and final game the 10th.

Louisville, UConn, USF, UCF, Cincinnati, SMU, Houston, Memphis, Rutgers and Temple for a year. Who ya got for a semi-final foursome? I'll go with Louisville, Rutgers, UConn and USF. I'm bold and daring like that...

And could I get a little garlic bread over here at the roulette table?


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


Click the link below for a great read from Rick Bozich on Tom Jurich and his visionary decisions:


BOZICH: Jurich Sees A Different Game Than Louisville's Competiti - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

I.T.W.T....in Tom we trust.

-Paulie

--

AMERICAN or BIG EAST? How about both...

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-AMERICAN Athletic Conference or BIG EAST? UofL women's sports teams will participate in both next year

-Cardinal Caravan kicks off tomorrow

We now know a bit more (not a lot, mind you) about the AMERICAN conference that Louisville will participate in for a year before going to the ACC. And, it does (if a conference can actually have a persona or identity) want to be called "The American"...not the AAC.

They've even come up with a logo. It's functional, we suppose and gets the basic idea across. They have a web site, too.

http://www.theamerican.org

Not a whole not over at the site yet, but they do have the logos of 12 teams that will take part in AMERICAN sports. (Sorry, but every time I type AMERICAN in bold letters like we do with the BIG EAST or ACC...I want to salute the flag or hum the National Anthem).

Louisville's logo isn't one of the 12 school logos that grace the member page. It's probably just as well, since it's a one-year membership for Cardinal sports. I describe it as a stop at the three-star hotel for a night before arriving at the luxury resort.

So, who are these AMERICAN members and how often will we interact with them?

CONNECTICUT - We're familiar with the Huskies. Home of Geno and fake fair catches in football games. They usually beat us in field hockey and lacrosse, too.
SMU - That stands for Southern Methodist University. I don't know if there is a northern, eastern or western Methodist university. I won't spend any time researching it, either.
UCF - University of Central Florida, to you...sir. We just got two women's golf coaches from them. In Orlando. So is Disney World. Their mascot is not "the Mouse".
TEMPLE - A Philadelphia university, Bill Cosby went there. Louisville knows Philly, because of Villanova. They'll need to reprogram the GPS, though. Owls vs. Cards. I like it.
MEMPHIS - They left C-USA for this? I guess the lure of playing Cincinnati again was just too strong. Louisville WBB beat Memphis so badly the last time out, Sonja got in...
CINCINNATI - They're probably bitter they aren't joining us in the ACC. We'll miss Mick Cronin, Jamelle Elliott and Nippert Stadium. OK, not all that much. Bear it, Bearcats.
USF - a.k.a. South Florida. I think the happiest I've ever seen a coach is when Jose Fernandez saw his WBB hoops team beat Louisville in the YUM! last year. I'll miss Tampa.
EAST CAROLINA - Another C-USA departure. I do know there is a north, south and western Carolina. Whether they are Methodist or not, I'm not so sure. Gordon Gee might...
TULANE - It holds a special memory for me because it was Howard Schnellenberger's first really big win at UofL. They don't play field hockey or lacrosse in Nawlins but do play Sand Volleyball!
HOUSTON - The Cougars did go 40-19 in softball & normally field good hoops teams, too. Another departed from C-USA. They also made the NCAA Softball Regionals. 1-2 like us. 
TULSA - The Hurricanes hosted the C-USA Softball regionals. Another one of those schools that won't pose a threat in lacrosse or field hockey because they don't play.
NAVY - I actually had a reader e-mail me asking if Navy had any women's sports programs. Why, yes...they do. They join in 2015 after Louisville goes to the ACC.

A waiting list for the AMERICAN? Really?

So, we know Louisville will play soccer in the AMERICAN, but field hockey in the BIG EAST. Lacrosse in the BIG EAST but basketball in the AMERICAN. Softball in the AMERICAN 
and Volleyball I have no idea because they haven't released a schedule yet.

Dizzy yet? I thought so...

If I were the University of Louisville athletic purchasing department director, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on AMERICAN stationary or logo patches for uniforms.

So, we will be AMERICANS for a year. Then, maybe to the south of France or Bora-Bora. How about the brilliance of Sean Moth who queried..." If a Louisville player gets 'all-conference' recognition next season, does it mean they are 'all-American' ?" Or All-AMERICAN. Jeez.... 

"Ask not what your conference can do for you. Ask what conference records you can set in one season." 

I'm pretty sure John F. Kennedy didn't say that...but Caitlin Welch, Shoni Schimmel and Caralisa Connell may find out...

Will freshman signees with one of the 12 schools be known as "Young AMERICANS"? and will David Bowie be okay with that terminology?

DAVID BOWIE'S YOUNG AMERICANS

And, at long last...Al Greener can point proudly to his "pep" trombonists and drummers and say (for at least one year):

"We're an American band!"

(apologies to Grand Funk Railroad...)

GRAND FUNK'S WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND

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

CARDINAL CARAVAN rolls into Bardstown and Louisville tomorrow. The whole schedule is at www.gocards.com

If you're headed to the Louisville one, it officially starts at 6:30 p.m. You'll probably want to get there earlier than that, though...it gets mucho crowded. Jurich, Pitino, and a plethora of other coaches and players.

It's fun and the view of the Ohio River from Captain's Quarters is pretty sweet. Unless you're seeing a doozy of a thunderstorm rolling in, like we did at the end of the festivities last year. See you out there!

-Paulie

--