WBB Tip-off luncheon today...WBB ranked #5 in AP -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

SOLD-OUT LUNCHEON ALWAYS A POPULAR EVENT

Thoughts On The Annual Luncheon

A slimmed-down Jenny will most likely be there. (I need an
updated pic of her and her hard work...) 

If you were thinking about just popping by the downtown Marriott this morning to catch the Louisville WBB Tip-Off Luncheon and don't have a ticket...no soup for you. It is a sold out event. (Actually, I can't ever remember them having soup at one of these...salad, yes and dessert...most definitely!). The food is about what you would expect...I think last year was some kind of cornish hen section with a few veggies and maybe rice? It wasn't memorable. Howie Lindsey (he...of dramatic, encouraging weight-loss) has already promised me his dessert.

Have I ever told you how much I like that guy? 

The media will get a crack at Coach Walz around 11:45 a.m. to ask the world-traveler questions for about 15 minutes before things start at noon. I wonder if anyone will ask him what his favorite Halloween candy is? Or if it's OK to wear cream-colored pants after Labor Day? Can he sing the "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" like Daffy Duck? 

If you're attending and you're not at the media table...maybe you'll get lucky and end up with a player at your table. I hear that's fun. Last year, at the Softball banquet (where they don't have media tables) Sonja and I got two players, plus parents at our table. Nicole Pufahl and Ashley Nikolao. Both were charming and witty. A couple of years ago, we had Katie George at our table with her boyfriend and mom. That's when I did the critically acclaimed post banquet interview with Katie's mom. I guess the cocktails were talking...


Predictions. There will be a convocation...Cortnee Walton has done these the last couple of years...without seeing the program, I'm wagering she'll get a repeat performance. Matt Andrews won't be on the dais...the former WBB play-by-play guy has left town and resides as a Buckeye now...doing something for O.S.U. My guess is that they'll trot out the affable Sean Moth to handle the ceremonies. A long-shot might be Nick Curran...it's rumored he's replacing Matt.

https://soundcloud.com/user-748907999/dr0000_0893mp3


The players will talk. Walz will talk. There will be high-light videos running and I'll probably see a few people that, for the most part, I haven't seen in a while...at least since the end of hoops season.

Another fun aspect is getting audio on the players after the banquet. I like to get the freshmen's reaction to the event and I expect I'll hunt down my "interview assistant" Arica Carter to get her take on what will have been her third banquet. I'll look to corner my buddy "The Coach Sam P." and try to get his comments. He's a BRAVES fan...not sure if he's in the Cubbies camp or not later tonight. We'll press the issue with him. 

And, somehow, we'll try to get all those words and thoughts up here on the site for Thursday. I've been experimenting around with my own SoundCloud account. If that doesn't work...I'll go to the bullpen and bring out my trusted reliever Worldwide and plead for him to post them. He's tech savvy. I am not.

So, it should be a fun late morning, early afternoon. They seem to move the media tables around each year, so if you happen to spot me (or Worldwide...he'll be there with his folks, I think, at table #1) walk on up and say "Howdy!". Most of the main-stream media dutifully ignores the upstart Paulie in chit-chat at events like this...it's understandable...and it's a "good ol' boys and girls club" I care not about being a member of. I think they just don't know what to make of me. 

Got 'em right where I want 'em.


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LOUISVILLE WBB #5 IN ASSOCIATED PRESS

I know a lot of you are disappointed about the first CBF Selection Committee rankings that came out last night. If you didn't hear, the Louisville Football squad was ranked #7. A lot of people figured they'd get #5 or #6. Those fellas sure like the Big 10... 

To cheer you up, consider that we've gotten another women's college basketball poll released and your University of Louisville women's basketball team checks in at #5.

Maybe a bit of a surprise here...in that they've put Notre Dame on top, Baylor and #2, then UConn and South Carolina. Checking in at #6 is Maryland...followed by Ohio State, Texas, UCLA and Miss.St. Five ACC teams cracked the top 25...gee, I wonder who those are, Paulie? 

Noles, Oranges and Canes (oh, my!) join the "Ville" and the Irish in the AP Top 25....just in case you didn't have the answer...

It matters not. It's preseason. The highly suspect and debatable Paulie Poll will be out in a few days. That'll shake a few people up. 


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DONATE TO C.C. 

Today is the second of November and it is the start of Donate To Cardinal Couple month. As you may know, we are a non-profit website. The monies we are fortunate to receive go back into the site and to charitable organizations. 

We've had an OK 2016 so far. For the first time in a long time...I haven't had to go "inside my pocket" to cover things. Keep in mind, none of us at Cardinal Couple receive a salary. We are very grateful to the readers, listeners, sponsors and friends that have helped us get this far. My hope is to raise enough to take care of 2017 even before we get there. 

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paulie
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