Tuesday Cardinal Couple...Hoops, Re-Alignment and Softball

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TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


- Cards looking good for women's hoops 


- BIG 12? It's a soap opera! 


- Softball looks to expand on best season ever.


( We turn the Tuesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE over to our special correspondent David Watson today.) 

It's official. The official announcement by the NCAA that Tia Gibbs and Monique Reid are cleared for playing status this year is something most Cardinal WBB fans figured would happen. It's still good to know, though. You never really know just what those folks up in Indy are going to come up with. 


So, the speculation starts (five months in advance) on who will start for Jeff Walz's 2012-13 team, how the playing rotation will work out and how far this team can get. 


And, basically, that is all it is. 


Speculation.


Only Jeff Walz and his staff can make that call. And, they'll make the decision after watching practice after practice and seeing what works. It's fun to guess, though. I looked at the anticipated roster for the season that thought that a starting lineup of Shoni, Mo, Tia, Asia and Bria looked pretty good. 


People will disagree with this, I am sure. Louisville has quite a few options available and depth certainly won't be a problem. 


Five months. Let the speculation fly. 


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More speculation about the BIG 12 takes front stage again. Now the rumors are that Florida State might be looking to leave the A.C.C. and go westward. I'm even hearing Clemson wouldn't mind tagging along. 


Will this re-alignment soap opera ever end? 


It's particularly bothersome when you stop and think about the reason for it. 


Football.


And, football = dollars for college athletic programs, if you (or your conference) are good at it. The lure of multi-year television contracts. Packed stadiums on Saturdays. 


Women's sports are the fall-gals here. 


Sending a soccer team or field hockey squad 2000 miles away for a game just doesn't make sense. Not exactly a bus trip away. I don't mean to make any sympathy overtures for West Virginia, but they're joining a conference that is strong in women's softball. They don't play softball at West Virginia. Will they now try to field a team? Or will they just save money on not having to go to Stillwater and Lawrence from Morgantown to play a few seven inning games? 


You know how it goes. A school leaves a conference. Another school leaves another conference to replace them. Apply as needed and call me if the pain worsens. 


The Big East isn't much about the east anymore. The Atlantic Coast Conference has those noted east coast seaports Syracuse and Pittsburgh now. I guess it's time for Purdue and Miami to join the Pacific 12. 


Wake me when it's over.


Makes you think that if the old Metro Conference could have stayed together, it wouldn't have been a bad football conference. Georgia Tech, Florida State, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Southern Miss, South Florida. 


Even Memphis and Tulane (every conference needs a couple of teams to beat up on, right?)


Of course, St. Louis and Virginia Commonwealth wouldn't have prospered too well in this alignment. Unless the league officials would have allowed the St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins from the NFL to "fill in" for them. Based on the seasons those two have had lately, neither would have contended for the Metro Conference football title. 


That conference would have had some pretty decent women's basketball and softball, too, if it had managed to develop into a all-sports conference. 


The good thing, I suppose, is that if you don't like the current lineup in the conference your team is affiliated in--stay tuned. It most likely will change.


After all, football is the economic engine, right? And engines run better when they're overhauled. 


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Cardinal softball. Just an amazing season. Did you watch the final of the BIG EAST Softball Tournament? Were you worried when Louisville fell behind 3-0 to Notre Dame? 


I wasn't.


Time after time this season, Softball has exceed expectations and pulled out games when it looked like they wouldn't. 


(OK, maybe I was a little worried.) 


And, guess who's coming back to Ulmer? That's right, the Kentucky Wildcats. They'll have their hands full with Michigan to open up and there's a chance that they and Louisville might not meet in the Regional. 


But, wouldn't it be great if they did? 


Looks like the early forecast is calling for great weather this weekend for the games. 


(UofL will be running a free shuttle for fans from Papa John's Cardinal Stadium to Ulmer Friday and Saturday. Shuttle starts at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday.) 


Go, Cards Go! Or as Sonja has been saying:


Go Tori
Go Taner
Go Maggie
Get another banner.


(Thanks for filling in today, David! Got a take? E-mail us at: cardinalcouple@insightbb.com or leave a comment below.) 


You can also e-mail David directly at mrwatsonipresume@insightbb.com




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