On Cardinals, on fall!! -- David Watson -- Thursday Cardinal Couple

It has been awhile since I've been on these pages. Retirement takes up a lot of time -- especially when you have two in college and one a junior in high school. Travel to watch field hockey and track matches is fun but very time-consuming and can be weary. Not to mention expensive.  

Late spring was one of my favorite times of year in central Indiana. Here in Florida, it's about the same as the rest of the year. The golf courses are still challenging, the sun shines brightly and instead of fields of hay and wheat -- palm and orange trees greet me as I view out the windows. 

Late spring also signals a change in college sports. The finals, championships and seasons are over. The challenges of the next seasons lie in wait. 

In the women's college basketball world, we've seen some interesting transfers. Is it just me, or are there more and more top flight players leaving schools each year to try their fortunes at another school for a couple of years after sitting a season? Louisville looked like they might have been in the running for one. I wonder if the talent Coach Walz has amassed in the last two seasons makes a potential transfer think twice? 

Louisville held their own in the highly competitive ACC Field Hockey conference. Having a daughter that competes in college field hockey, I have seen the way the talent level rises to the best schools. My daughter talks about playing with girls who played with the stars of the ACC. They'd trade places with them in a heartbeat if they could. Justine Sowry has all the marbles in place to recruit and get the best in the nation.

Remember, though, the the competition gets a lot tougher on the recruiting trails when you and the elite are trying to woo the elite. I could say you 'get what you pay for' here but that would be quite incorrect. 

I am sure volleyball, soccer, golf, tennis --- let's just say all the sports at UofL are seeing that playing in the ultra-competitive ACC has its risks but huge potential rewards. 

Rolling with the best. For the Cards, it's a reward well deserved and long overdue. To climb to the top of this conference will be the toughest test Tom Jurich and his assorted coaches have ever faced in their careers. The inaugural season showed each coach what it'll take to be the best in their sport. Season two will see how well they have worked toward getting there. 

I can't wait. 

Fall in Florida is about the same as spring and summer. Fall in the ACC is ever-changing and never predictable. That's worth waiting for

DAVID WATSON