WNBA Wednesday Standings -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LYNX LEAD THE LEAGUE

Dana Evans on the dribble

With most teams around the 30 games mark right now, in a season that runs around 44 games, the Minnesota Lynx lead the league with a 25-6 record.

 No Louisville WBB former stars are o the Lynx roster, but the ACC is represented by Natasha Howard (FSU) and Liatu King and Kayla McBride (Notre Dame).in Minnesota. 

3.5 games behind the Lynx are the Las Vegas Aces at 21-9. Dana Evans is a reserve guard on the Lynx, and averages 3.0 p.p.g and almost two assists in back up duty. The ACC also has Chelsea Gray (Duke) on the roster and Jewel Loyd ,Brianna Turner and Jackie Young, all from Notre Dame on the squad and A'ja Wilson (UNC). 

The Golden State Valkyries are in third place...four games back of Minnesota. Thy play in San Francisco. No Walz players there, but the ACC is represented by Miela Sowah (Duke), Ashton Prechtel and Nadia Fingall...both from Stanford, 

The Dallas Wings are tied for fourth place at 19-11. .Playing from the ACC for Dallas is Aziaha James (NC State), Haley Jones and Alanna Smith (Stanford) and Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard (Notre Dame). Tied with them are tthe Indiana Fever. Myisha Hines-Allen is in Indy for the ACC along with Lexie Hull (Stanford) and Makayla Timpson (Florida State) and Ugonne Onyiah (California).

The rest of the league? 

6. Atlanta Dream  .7. New York Liberty. 8) Washington Mystics. 9) LA Sparks. 10) Phoenix Mercury. 11) Chicago Sky. 12) Portland Fire, 13) Toronto Tempo 14) Connecticut Sun and 15) Seattle Storm. 

Good luck to our Cards in the WNBA !!                          

paulie                                                                                            

How big a girl are ya? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ZHANG ZIYU IS OVER 7'2" 

It was Roy D.Mercer who recorded the hilarious "How Big A Boy Are Ya" clip, back in 1999, (you can hear it HERE) and the clip came to mind when this very tall woman came into the clinic I go to for my dialysis treatments. I was talking to one of the technicians after this tall woman left ,and we were discussing tallest people we had ever seen in person. She claimed she had seen a 6'9" woman at a trade show a few months back, I told her mine was a girl named Allyssa DeHaan, who played for Michigan State and was 6'9" when I saw her play around 2009 or 10. 

Was she the tallest girl to ever play basketball? The answer is "No". Zhang Ziyu of the Shandong Six Stars in the WCBA. The WCBA is the Women's Chinese Basketball Association and Ziyu is 7'2' (some say 7'3" ) and is 19 yrs. old. 

Your first question may very well be...why isn't she in the WNBA? That league has a rule that international players must be at least 20 on the day of their signing. If you are a player in the United States, the age requirement is 22. Why? My best guess is that the WNBA doesn't want to start usurping talent from the colleges too early, since it is their major recruiting source. Out of the roughly 160 players in the WNBA, around 120 attended a U.S. college or university. We also started talking about the tallest woman basketball player that has played at UofL. That would be either Liz Dixon, Eseosa Imafidon or Syndi Schetnan, who were all 6'5". An interesting fact is that Liz didn't start her college time at UofL...she first went to Georgia Tech. Sydni and Eseosa didn't finish their careers as Cardinals...Sydni ended up at South Dakota St. and switched primarily to Volleyball there. Eseosa is now a senior at Providence. 

Ayse Melek Demira. 

Who is the tallest Cardinals player this upcoming season? That's a tie between Grace Mbugna and Ayse Melek Demira at 6'4"

The tallest WNBA player award goes to Margo Dydek..who has seen time at the Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks and the Utah Starzz. She is 7'2". 

The tallest woman I ever dated was a 6'4" girl from Anderson County, KY who was the little sister of one of my fraternity brothers. She confided to me it was nice to finally go out with someone she didn't have to start down upon...(I'm 6'3") and dance with someone who's head wasn't buried in her breasts during slow dances. I wonder whatever happened to her? 

Know a tall girl? Make sure and remember her on June 20 or 21, that is National Tall Girls Day and comes about on the Summer Solstice. 

I wonder if it's too early for a "tall boy"? 

 paulie

Louisville Volleyball predicted to finish third in ACC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 STANFORD, PITT AND LOUISVILLE TOP THREE IN ACC PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL COACHES POLL

The votes are in and the coaches have spoken. The Stanford Cardinal were selected first in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, followed by Pitt and Louisville

The Cardinal received 280 votes and 10 first place votes. The Panthers got 277 votes and three first place votes. The Cardinals got 257 votes and one first place vote. Rounding out the top five were SMU with 245 votes and North Carolina with 220 votes. 

The next five? Georgia Tech totalled 198 votes, Miami came in with 193 votes, Florida State received 180 votes, NC State came in ninth with 148 votes and Wake Forest rounded out the top ten with 131 votes. 

The other eight schools? Virginia (114), Notre Dame (104), California (93), Clemson (89), Boston College (87), Duke (70), Syracuse (37) and Virginia Tech (21).

Stanford was eliminated in the NCAA DI Austin Semifinals last year by Wisconsin in four sets . Pitt made it to the National Semifinals before Texas A&M knocked them out of the tournament. Louisville got knocked out by Marquette in the second round of the tournament. 

Four UofL student-athletes made the All-ACC Preseason Volleyball team: Nayelis Cabello, Kalyssa Blackshear, Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen.

paulie

United States defeats Canada in World Lacrose Championships -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 TEETER'S LAXERS TAKE SILVER IN WORLD LACROSSE

The United States LAX squad jumped early on the Scott Teeter coached Canadians and won the 2026 Nissan Foods World Lacrosse Championships, held in Tokyo, Japan at the Prince Chichubu Memorial Stadium....by a score of 16-4 . 

Israel claimed bronze, or third place with a win over the Haudenosaunee 7-4. The win was Israel's first ever bronze medal in the event. 

Canada reached the finals by knocking off the Haudenosaunee 18-5 and USA got to the finals by turning back Israel 19-7. The USA was coached by Acadia Walker-Weinstein, who is also the head coach at Boston College, won their 10th consecutive title.

I suppose you could say it was an All-ACC coaches final, too...with Teeter and Walker-Weinstein.

Boston College, as you might have expected, had a large presence of players on the USA roster with eight current or former collegiate Eagles players on the 22 player roster. North Carolina, a traditional ACC power house, had six current or former players.  No UofL laxer student athletes made the USA roster. Nicole Perroni, who played for UofL, was on the Canadians roster. Kokoro Nakazawa played for Japan. 

Congratulations to the USA for another gold and also to Teeter and associate coach Allison daley for their silver medal. 

paulie

What Does 5 for 5 mean for Cards WBB? -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCAA CAN'T MAKE UP THEIR MIND ON ELGIBILITY

Maybe you are asking what is "Five for five?" 

My brain went back to my childhood, when the DJ on the radio station would smoothly purr out..."Hey, we got another five hits in a row coming up for you here on W$#%...it's five for five , Louisville ." Or when we all started replacing handshakes with the words "Gimme five". high five and slapping hands. Which led to, "on the back side" and other such nonsense. like "high five or low five". 

If six were nine Watch the clip

It's also not like a sale on canned chili...you won't find five student-athletes available for five bucks available at your local Stop N Putt. 

What it is...is the current NCAA eligibility mode...which gives college athletes five years to play five seasons. It also give student-athlete a fifth year to transfer to another school if they choose. It used to be four years and you are done, but there were so many ways around that, like injuries and hardship and "Gee, I lost my homework on the way to Economics" excuse, "better grant me an extra year." The 5 for 5 replaced the 5 for 4. If six were nine...and it's 25 or 6 to 4.  

25 or 6 to 4  Watch the clip

For Cards WBB? It's means Carys Baker and Elif Istanbulluoglu could possibly return next year after this year. Both are probable high minute candidates for the squad this season...so that may not be a bad thing. After all...talent is going to play, while backups watch away. 

It took me five years to matriculate UofL , but I was working full time and could not take a full load some semesters. So, since college student-athletes could be considered "working" with all the time they put into practice, playing games, travel and such...the rule for five rule works. 

After the NCAA implemented the five for five rule, restricting athletes who had already exhausted eligibility from receiving another year of college sports...legal battles followed. A judge in the DIstrict Court of Colorado intervened and granted athletes a fifth year. 

As usual, when the NCAA is involved in something, it takes five people to light one match. One to hold the match, one to guide the hand to the striking surface, one to confirm the match is lit or unlit, one to review the previous action and one to yell when the match burns the fingers. 

Have a great Saturday. You have my permission to take five minutes to do something you might normally do in four. And listen to some Hendrix or Chicago.

paulie

Walz's "Six pack" could make Cards a contender for Final Four -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 ROSTER OF 14 CONTAINS SIX NEW PLAYERS TO GO WITH EIGHT RETURNEES. 

(Incoming freshman Ayse Melek Demirer)

Although we haven't received any word on UofL practices (and probably won't..due to our black-listed status down there with Louisville Basketball media) we can only imagine the battles are fun to watch and a bit intense and spirited. 

There is a new "six pack" on campus,and...although it isn't one that you can drink on a hot summer afternoon...it is "loaded" and one that looks very interesting to observe, Along with the eight returnees, this is a deep and talented unit. 

New on campus...making up this six pack... are three transfers and three incoming freshmen. 

-- Carys Baker comes in from Virginia Tech. She averaged 14.3 ppg and 6.9 rpg for the Hokies and is 6'2" 

-- Zamareya (Zam) Jones leaves the NC State Wolfpack and averaged 14.3 ppg last season and 3.3 rpg and 3.8 assists.She's 5'7" 

--Deniya Prawl comes in from the Lady Vols and averaged 4.0 ppg and 2.8 rpg. The sophomore guard is a Canadian and is 6'2" 

The freshmen are:

-- Ariyana "Peanut" Cradle.  She ranked 38th in the Sportscenter Next 100 and is from Westerville,OH. She's a 5'10" guard. 

-- Myah Epps  She ranked 68th in Sportscenter Next 100 and and is out of Ft. Wayne Indiana. She's also a 5'10" guard. 

-- Ayse Melek Demirer . The 6'5" forward/center comes in from Turkiye. 

These six will forge together with the returnees Tajianna Roberts, Imari Berry, Elif Istanbulluoglu, Mackenly Randolph, Rebecka Graves, Grace Mbugna, Yevheniia Putra and Reagan Bender, 

On paper, the roster looks strong, talented and deep. We'll see how paper strength translates into on court skills. 

paulie

World Lacrosse Championships down to a Final Four -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 USA, CANADA, HAUDENSAUNEE AND ISRAEL ADVANCE TO THE SEMIFINALS. 

Four teams remain in the World Lacrosse Championships being held in Japan. Only one of the matches was a blowout...with the United States destroying Puerto Rico 23-4. 

In other action...

-- Canada defeated host Japan in overtime 5-4 

-- Haudenosaunee downed England 10-9 in overtime. 

-- Israel squeaked by Australia 12-11. 

In the USA game, the red, white and blue jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after a quarter and led 12-2 at the halftime break. 

Canada and Scott Teeter advance to play in the semifinals, despite Cardinal great Negai Nakasawa scoring a hat trick for Japan. 

It may be considered a bit up an upset but Israel snuck past Australia and Haudenosaunee used last minute heroics to send England to the sidelines. 

paulie

16 team playoff set for World Lacrosse Tournament -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 USA, CANADA AND A COUPLE SURPRISES ADVANCE TO 16 TEAM WORLD LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIPS PLAYOFF BRACKET

Scott Teeter's Canadian squad and the USA have made the World Lacrosse Championships Playoff Brackets, and the 16 finalistS are a few all expected would get there and a surprise or two. 

The first observation here is...who is Haudenosaunee? It is a traditional homeland that encompasses New York State, parts of Pennsylvania and portions of Quebec and Ontario. They are also known as the Iroquois (and should NOT be confused with the high school in Jefferson County off Taylor Blvd.) 

Puerto Rico getting in as a #11 seed in the world rankings is a team I'll follow closely because of another UofL connection. Monica Negron is now Moncal Negron Acevedo.

Sixteen squads are in the playoffs  They began July 24th, and in action up to today...in Pool A, the USA is 3-0, Haudenosaunee is 2-1, Ireland is 1-2 and Chinese Taipei is 0-3. In Pool B, Canada is 3-0, Australia is 2-1, Wales is 1-2 and Germany is 0-3. In Pool C, England is 3-0, Puerto Rico is 2-1, Argentina is 1-2 and Scotland is 0-3. In Pool D, Israel is 3-0, Japan is 2-1, Philippines is 1-2 and Czechia is 0-3. 

The events are streaming globally on World Lacrosse TV.

Best of luck to the USA and to Puerto Rico, where Cardinal great Monica Negron Acevedo is the coach. 

paulie .

Louisville Rowing -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS WOMEN'S ROWING ONE OF 13 PROGRAMS IN ACC.

JULIA SHOEMAKER OF LOUISVILLE ROWING

iF I asked you to guess how many colleges or universities in Kentucky offered rowing as a varsity sport, what would your guess be? Three? Two? One? the answer is...just UofL. 

The program started in 1999 and the Cards now compete in the ACC. Even with a huge river and boat house there, Louisville does not have any meets on the Ohio. They go to the Melton Lake Rowing Venue for meets....located in Oak Ridge, TN. 

Derek Copeland is the head coach of the program and had been since 2012. The 2025-26 ACC Championships were on May 15th in Raleigh, NC. The Cards finished 10th in the ACC Championship and did not qualify for the Nationals or Regionals. 

We haven't seen a 2026-27 schedule yet...but the Championships are scheduled for May 16-17 on Lake Wheeler in Raleigh, NC. Ironically, NC State is located in Raleigh but does not offer women's rowing as a ACC sport, just a club team. 

ACC schools that row are Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, Miami. North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia 

The 2025 ACC Championships went to Stanford with Virginia finishing second and Cal third. 

Louisviile,KY has one representative on the UofL squad...Julia Shoemaker. out of Eastern High School in Middletown.  

I hope they continue the tradition of the Red/White inter-squad competition to start out the season at UofL. It's a fun event , held right outside the boathouse on River Road. 

paulie

 

Skylar Jones one of seven transfers on Baylor roster -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 EX UOFL GUARD GOES TO PLAY FOR NIKKI COLLEN

We all remember when Jeff Walz made the announcement that the Cards and Skylar Jones had mutually parted ways right before the 2026 NCAA WBB Tournament. I got tired of answering questions about why she was dropped from the Cards roster. I hadn't a clue. 

Speculation later surfaced that loyalty issues, playing time and selfishness were the cause for the mutual parting of ways. Walz's announcement back then was short and rather matter-of-fact. Jones never released a statement...at least not one I could find.  

Well, the 6'0" guard is now at her third college, She is a part of the huge influx to the Baylor Bears program. 

Seven transfers in... that are still on the roster. Besides Jones, they also have acquired Tatiah Scott (Auburn), Ella Brow (SMU), Lorena Awou (NC State), Reese Ross (Utah), Tianna Thompson (Ole Miss), and Trinity Turner (Georgia). 

The Bears have no incoming freshman on the roster. 

If Jones had been able to keep her cool, play as a teammate and a few other things, maybe she'd still be here. she has the talent, just not the college attitude yet. 

Nikki Collen's approach is one that you rarely see in women's college basketball. There is only one player who has been on the roster for five years...Kyla Abraham...who only averaged around five points last season and was more known for her shot blocking skills. 

First Kim Mulkey, now Nikki Collen....Baylor has had some interesting coaching this decade. I wonder if they are all wearing "Hello, my name is..."tags in the Baylor practices. 

paulie