Monday Cardinal Couple - Selectioning

I don't know if "selectioning" was a word, but it is now...

Men's Selectioning

So, the men's bracket was revealed last night.  It may have been the first time in my Cardinal Fandom history when I didn't hear immediate grousing from most of CardNation about how the selection disrespects UofL.  So...that's cool.

Not only did the men get a seeding that was higher than what most of CardNation seemed to be expecting, but they did so without also getting schlepped out to some obscure corner of the country to play first and second round games.

If you have been living under a sports media rock since last night, the Cardinals picked up a 2nd seed in the men's tournament, and will only have to go up the road to Indianapolis to play their 1st and 2nd round games starting Friday.  Their first round opponent is Jacksonville State.  Kentucky will also be making the trip to play in Indianapolis, along with their opponent, first-time-eligible Northern Kentucky.  While this sounds like a recipe for massive ticket shortages with at least two fan bases in Louisville and Kentucky that travel very well, there may a chance, however painful this may be for some of CardNation and Big Blue Nation, to cooperate for tickets.  Louisville has an afternoon matchup, with a 2:45'ish tip against Jacksonville State in the afternoon session, while Kentucky and NKU tangle in the late game of the evening session to tip around 9:40pm.  Find you a buddy that likes to wear blue and split the ticket price and availability between the two of you.  If you can't make the trip, both games will be televised on the main CBS channel.  Do be aware, that at least at the time of this writing, that WLKY, the local Louisville CBS affiliate, and Dish are having a carriage spat, and WLKY is not available on Dish at the moment.  Let's hope that they get this sorted out before Thursday, and definitely before Friday.

As for the region, the 1 seed is Kansas, 3 is Oregon, and 4 is Purdue.  I think Louisville, if they play their game can beat any of those teams, with Kansas being obviously the biggest worry.  Some have expressed concerned about a potential 2nd round matchup against Michigan, a concern that I share.  This is a team that has clearly shown that adversity isn't going to stop them, having advanced through and won the Big 10 tournament after literally experiencing a plane crash when they were departing to go to the tourney.

Overall, I, like it seems most of CardNation, am happy and excited for the tournament draw that the men got.

Women's Selectioning

We find out the women's draw tonight.  The selection show is at 7 o'clock on ESPN.  While CBS found out last year that a 2 hour long bracket reveal was a bad idea, and likely to see the bracket leaked (this year, they only took about 40 minutes), ESPN has never so crassly milked the bracket reveal for the women.

The pulse of CardNation seems to be trending towards a 4 seed for us, which means hosting 1st and 2nd rounds at the KFC Yum! Center.  I won't even try to predict matchups, as I suck at this sort of thing, and I'm sure our fine readers will happily express their opinions in the comment section below.  As always, let's keep it civil and respectful as you all almost always do (insert proud parent expression here).

UofL is hosting a selection show watch party at the Sports and Social Club at 4th Street Live.  Admission is free, a limited menu will be available (probably to help the event venue keep up with the crush of people expected),  UofL is encouraging reservations (presuming any are available at this point) through Toby Hammond (tobi@4thstedc.com).  Don't let a lack of reservations stop you from going, but you may be dealing with a standing room only situation and no real ability to order food, so grabbing a bite of dinner before you go is probably the right play call. Doors open at 6, show starts at 7. Free parking after 6 in the 4th Street Live garage on 5th street. 

In Other News

After cancelling Saturday's games for expected inclement weather that never really materialized, Softball did take the field against Northern Iowa yesterday afternoon at 2.

Maryssa Becker went the distance in the 8-5 win, as did pretty much the rest of the team, with no substitutions shown on the scoresheet at all, though there was one reshuffling of positions for players already in the game.  For the top of the 5th inning, Alison "Mike" Szydlowski moved to 3rd base from her designated hitter position, with the previous 3rd base player, Lillie Goetz, moving over to the DH spot.  This is the first time "Mike" has played 3rd, typically being behind the plate as catcher, but she is just the latest in a rotating cast of characters to take up the 3b spot as Sandy Pearsall searches for an option that she likes.  Personally, I'm a fan of Goetz, though she does come up a little short on the strength to get a strong throw to first from the opposite corner on the run.  Otherwise, she's probably the most aware player to have played in that spot for the Cards this year, playing very smart ball.  Mike, on the other hand, has amply demonstrated her throwing strength by gunning down several attempted steals of 2nd from the plate already in this young season.  She reminds me of Maggie Ruckenbrod, a favorite here at Cardinal Couple and someone that you just really shouldn't have tried to steal 2nd on.  Perhaps the fielding and throwing capability at 3rd is more important, a theory that I would have trouble arguing against, but I do love to see a good throw to 2nd to catch a stealing baserunner.

Otherwise, things got done by committee, Freshman Caitlin Ferguson had a good game with 2 hits and 3 rbis.  Jamie Soles, The New Pride of New Egypt, reached safely all 3 of her times at bat with 2 rbis, and speedster Jordan McNary reached on 3 of her 4 at bats with an rbi.

Softball begins conference play Friday at 4pm with Pitt coming in to Ulmer for the 3 game homestand.


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NCAA WBB TOURNAMENT CARDINAL COUPLE PICK 'EM

As we have done over the past few years, we'll offer a CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB Pick 'Em contest. Once the brackets are released, feel free you leave your picks in any of the next few days comments sections or e-mail them to Sonja at

cardinalcouple@twc.com

See the Right Side of the Site for an example. Basically, it's simple. Give us your first round 32 picks. Then, narrow that to 16. Next, your Great Eight. Follow that with your Final Four. Your title game two and your winner. Hey, you're probably doing one for the Men's Tournament. Why not try the Women's?

63 picks. The most right wins. In case of a tie, the earliest entry wins. We will offer a $25 Gift Card to either Panera or Cracker Barrel to the winner and "the left-over one" to second place.

Have fun, choose wisely and good luck. Entries need to be in before the first game tips off. We'll feature a few here at the site over the next couple of days. 

-- JMcA