Friday Cardinal Couple

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FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Paulie's hour on campus (or how I stopped worrying
about the sauce.)

-Prancercise?

( NOTE: We are a "Jule Free" zone for the second day in a row. I've come to agree
with our writer and radio host Jeff McAdams that I've heard about all I care to about
this Rutgers stuff. Wake me when it's over.)




It was a chance to go to the UofL campus and do a interview with Coach Jeff Walz for our radio show on Saturday. Yes, we have a CARDINAL COUPLE radio show now and it's quite fun, non-fattening and a weekly look at UofL women's athletics and my general nonsense and fictitious characters. Since Jeff Walz is a pretty big part of Louisville women's athletics and a lot of fun to talk to on any occasion...I was looking forward to the interview.

I like to park in the garage next to the Student Activities Center. It's a dollar minimum but jumps to three bucks if you stay past an hour. I wish they had free media parking...and they may have and are just keeping it a secret from me...but I can usually find a spot on the 1st level on non-event days in this garage and was able to do so
Thursday.

After I parked and was walking across the circle toward the SAC, who should I run into but Shoni Schimmel and Jen Esteban. You've probably heard of both, but just in case you haven't...Shoni plays basketball for the Cards WBB team and Jen is an outfielder for the softball team. It's good to see that the players on other teams are friends with each other. Shoni recognized me, gave me that excellent Schimmel smile and we exchanged greeting. They seemed to be in a hurry, so I didn't keep them. And, if I had, it may have been misconstrued as a possible attempt to interview a player without prior consent from the sports information department or coaching staff. Jen didn't say anything during
our encounter. We never have been formally introduced, so she may not have had any idea who I was.

You know how the NCAA loves their rules and regulations.

So, in the SAC I went and up the escalator to the 2nd floor, where Walz's office is. When I entered the offices, I didn't see Margaret Womack, the secretary out front. I usually tell her who I am there to see and she checks to see if they are there and if they are ready to see me. She always asks me who I am. Sometimes, I answer correctly.

I did see the paper boy, though...sitting at the other desk in the reception lobby. I'm not real sure what he does at UofL and whether his name is Jason or Jeremy...but he's probably best recognized as the guy who walks around during time outs at women's basketball games and hands selected members of the media updated stat sheets. So, Sonja coined the name "Paper boy" for him. He smiles a lot, and that's always a good thing...so I asked him if Coach Walz was in. He seemed to think so. I made a decision and decided to walk...unannounced...back down the hallways to Walz's office. It didn't seem to bother the paper boy, so off I went.

Fortunately, I didn't have to go far. Coach Walz was chatting with women's soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. He saw me, finished up quickly with her and shook my hand and bounded off to his office. He's a fast walker, that Walz is, and I am not...so he was encouraging me to keep up with
him as we navigated the hallways to his office. I did mention to Coach Karen I'd like to put her on the radio, she said "Great!" and I told her I'd give her more details after my Walz interview.

I realized later, when I got home, that I've never done an interview with Karen. She may have had no idea who I was. I did send her and her assistant sports information director an e-mail, though...confirming we talked. I've found it is always a good idea to let the assistant sports information directors know..."if, when, why and what for" if you have contact with or want to have contact with a coach or player. That keeps them from getting mad at you...as several have with me over the years. I pretty much like all of the assistant S.I.D.'s at UofL. I'm not sure that some of them feel the same way about me, but I don't let it worry me much. They got their job, I got mine. Some coaches say it is OK for me to talk to them without contacting the asst. S.I.D. first...but I still let the asst. S.I.D.'s know. They're in information, after all, so I give them information. Sometimes, they even respond.

Coach Walz and I had a delightful ten minute chat.  I recorded about half of it and will play on the radio show Saturday. I also got to see the Geno Spaghetti Sauce he had told me about and I got a couple of pictures of the bottle.

It's a great story about how Walz got the Geno Spaghetti Sauce...one of Geno's assistant coaches (that little minx Chris Dailey) and Walz were in the same city watching recruits and she gave him a bottle of it.  I'm not sure if Walz has the distribution rights to peddle it in Louisville, but it would probably fly off the shelves here, right? I wonder if Coach needs a salesman to promote it? I will be available at the end of June...Maybe Chris Dailey would send me a bottle, too...so I could sample it and do a review of it.
 
Maybe I could personally visit with Chris and...OK, Paulie...stay on point.

While Coach Walz and I talked, I also got to see operations director Mary Beth Whitaker and assistant coach Stephanie Norman. It is always nice to see them and they are always very nice to me, so that's a good thing. Coach even posed with the bottle...waiter-style...as part of his preparations to go to work for Geno someday as the head waiter in his restaurant. I still haven't had a chance to talk to Coach about my idea for him to market a "Walz"dorf salad. It would go great with spaghetti.

Our time went by pretty quickly and Coach Walz had to get to the airport to pick up either a prospective recruit or prospect. I didn't ask for more details.

You know how the NCAA loves their rules and regulations.

On the way out, though...I did see Coach Sam. Samantha Williams. I'm not real sure if she knows who I am or not, either...but she was polite and we do have someone here on the CARDINAL COUPLE staff who knows her better than I do. I can't tell you who it is. Somedays, I can't remember.

I also got to see Coach Karen again and gave her more details about the radio show. Even suggested a few things it could be named. (We call Walz's show 'Words With the Walz'). I sent the appropriate e-mails. We'll see. Her assistant S.I.D. is one I've had an encounter with before and I barely know.

So, I left the SAC and went back to my car. It was turning into a beautiful day and I felt good about my time on campus.

And, I only had to pay a dollar to park. Great success!

So, it was an eventful hour on the Belknap Campus. Be sure to listen to Cardinal Couple Radio Saturday at 11 a.m. on Crescent Hill Radio for my interview with Coach Walz.

CRESCENT HILL RADIO

If you miss the live broadcast, they store them in the archives in the SoundCloud for a couple of months.

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As part of my intensive training to beat Hannah Kiyohara in the 60 yd. dash, I've added 'Prancercise' to my workout routine. Sorry, UDub...you're going down in defeat and your little dog Toto, too!

PRANCERCISE


Paulie

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