The Beginning of a Journey -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A Background

For those of you that might have missed Friday's post or yesterday's radio show, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Case Hoskins, the newest writer here at Cardinal Couple. I received my Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Louisville's JB Speed School in May of 2016, and I will begin my Master's Degree in Engineering Management next week. I work for a consulting engineering firm in Louisville, the city where I was born and raised. Many recent graduates my age or students a bit younger than me will tell you that they can't wait to get out of Louisville, but, while I love to travel, I could not be happier to call this city home.

2015 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta

I have always been an avid sports fan, following the Louisville Cardinals (whoo!), Cincinnati Reds (ugh), and Seattle Seahawks (not a bandwagon fan, I promise) most closely. I enjoy watching most every sport and absorb every bit of knowledge about rules, players and stats that I can. I'm a bit of an oddball, I suppose. I haven't come here to bombard you with stats or hot takes; simply tuning into ESPN can give you plenty of those. Instead, like the rest of the contributors here at Cardinal Couple, I bring the voice of a fan first. I realized too deep into engineering school how much I liked the idea of sports journalism. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that structured journalism would just steal my individuality in writing. I've not taken any journalism courses, nor have I had a writing course since high school (thanks dual credit classes), and you may come to notice these things as I write. I apologize in advance for any egregious errors. I appreciate any and all feedback, and if you ever think I'm wrong, feel free to let me know!

My first foray into writing came after a particularly frustrating game against NC State in 2014. I jumped onto Card Chronicle and penned an article I titled "A View From the Student Section". In it, I wrote about my thoughts during the game regarding the game play and the stadium atmosphere. My goal was to show people what it was like from our side of the horseshoe and to convince people that there were students who cared, not just the ones that got up and left when the tailgate hangover set in. I am not the only student that cares deeply about UofL athletics, and I'm not trying to put myself above other students that don't care quite as much. They paid for their tickets just like me, and they're welcome to do with those tickets what they wish. But I digress. I wrote AVFSS (as I chose to abbreviate it), with a potential series in mind, but I never expected it to take off like it did. After the first installment was posted to the front page of the site, I was encouraged to continue the series. Through two seasons of football and basketball, there were a total of 37 installments of AVFSS. Here is a link to the first if you'd like to take a look, and feel free to peruse the others.

LINK:
 A View From The Student Section

After last season, unsure of my future in school, I decided that A View From the Student Section had served its purpose, and I chose to end the series. My thirst for writing, however, had not been quenched. A couple of weeks ago I reached out to Paul, a long time family friend and reader of AVFSS, and asked if an old offer to come over to the Couple still stood. We worked out some details, and here I am!

The Future and My Role

I look forward to bringing to the site a fresh perspective on fresh topics. Obviously, men's sports are covered in depth all over the place. I don't intend to compete with them, merely to bring my views on those sports. I'll be providing narrative style writings about games, both home and away, as well as a general roundup of most men's sports just so you don't have to go too far to find the news. I'll be occupying the Sunday spot and may dip my toes into some women's sports when I get the chance.

I'm extremely excited to get started. I'm looking forward to successful seasons from our men's sports teams this year, and I can't wait to bring my views and thoughts on those sports to you. Thanks to Paulie for extending this opportunity and thanks, ahead of time, to all of you for being a part of my new journey!

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Kelsi Worrell Earns Gold

I thought I was finished with this article yesterday afternoon, but news out of Rio last night demanded my attention. Despite not being selected as a member of the US team for the 4x100m medley relay final, Kelsi Worrell earned her first Olympic gold medal because of her role in helping the USA win their semi-final heat. Why Olympic rules allow the changing of team members between heats is beyond me, but congratulations to Kelsi, nonetheless! She has worked hard for years, and the smile on her face shows just how much that medal means to her. It has been a joy to follow her career to this point, and I hope to see her standing on the podium in Tokyo.

-CH-
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The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Be sure to catch the latest broadcast of THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR at the link Case Hoskins is introduced, we have audio from Anne Kordes, Justine Sowry, Karen Ferguson-Dayes, UofL women's soccer, volleyball and field hockey players and Molly Sauer and Worldwide discuss grooming! Fall Women's Sports Media Day was an absolute blast and the players, coaches and media all enjoyed it. Thanks to UofL for continuing this event and letting these heroes of the fall get a chance to preview their seasons.


LINK: THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 8/13/16