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Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Odds and Ends from the Oddness that is The Bird Lady -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE



( JULIE SULLIVAN brings us the Tuesday edition of CARDINAL COUPLE. She touches on a variety of subjects. She's always a good read and listen..when she appears on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR.) 


WINNING THE WEEKEND



Black Friday proved to be Red and Black Friday beginning with the Cards women's basketball team racing to victory over Murray State 115-51 and a 6-0 start to the season. 115 points is a single-game record for both men and women's basketball at Louisville. 

Way to go WBB! 

While the basketballs dribbled by the Ohio River, Volleyball was busy in Syracuse squeezing the Orange in VolleyCards win the ACC title and automatic qualifier (having the tie-breaker over Pitt) and go to the NCAA Tournament. Dani's gals will face Northern Iowa in Minneapolis at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in their opener.

The team raced back to Louisville to be introduced at Friday evening's men's game and even with the stands depleted at the half-time break, they garnered the loudest and most engaged cheers of the night. The men's team extinguished the Red Flash from St. Francis 84-72. MBB is undefeated in the David Padgett era but faces a tough test tonight in West Lafayette against the Purdue Boilermakers. 

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is designated as Shop Local Saturday. Lamar and the football squad decided to visit Kroger (Field) in Lexington and walked out with a door-busting win over UK 44-17. Reggie Bonnafon kept it local....flashing the "502" after his second score and Jackson did his best impersonation of a shopper battling for a store item when he squared off with a Wildcat after getting knocked out of bounds at the 2 on a carry and being shoved afterward. Attention K-Mart shoppers, these Cards are 8-4 and waiting to go Bowling! 

Men's Soccer, unwilling to end their season and NCAA Tournament run gritted their teeth against Colgate and then flashed those pearly whites in a 2-0 victory over Colgate. Smiles, everyone, smiles! (Sorry Mr. Roarke of Fantasy Island...)  

A TYRA of HOPE



It has been said by some, Worldwide Jeff McAdams for one, that no one with "interim" in their title should get the permanent job at UofL. With the possible exception of David Padgett, I tend to agree with that statement. I am starting to warm up to the Vince Tyra era. Many don't want him solely because he is a UK grad, but he has been a UofL fan since birth, he wanted to play baseball in college at Louisville...but they didn't offer. UK did. I have never doubted is Cardinal loyalty. My original thoughts were to let the interim's do the dirty work and then bring in new faces to build the future. 

Tyra has impressed me as Interim Athletic Director. He has been visible but not obtrusive. He seems to have the right attitude and is saying the right things. Voicing support of coaches and making smart hires. Asking coaches what they need and how can he help them get that rather than trying to tell them how to do their jobs. He is a presence at UofL WBB contest (even sitting next to Paulie --poor Vince -- at a game). He also shows up at non-revenue sports -- not sequestered in a luxury box . I got a chance to talk to him before a football game and found him engaging and sincere. 

Here's to hoping he continues to prove he's the next permanent AD we need. 


FEELING THE BURNS

Beth Burns was added to the UofL WBB staff just before the season began. She has a long and distinguished coaching history, including successful head coaching stints at San Diego State, Ohio State and back to SDSU. With a full coaching staff, the Cards designate her as a Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach/Special Adviser to the Head Coach. That's a mouthful! I was paranoid that someone might be leaving or that her addition might ruffle a few feathers among the current staff. So far, those fears seem unfounded. Myisha Hines-Allen has commented that Burns is great and she's disappointed that as a senior she'll have just one year with her. 


As a fill-in and guest on Coach Walz's radio show, Burns displayed great rapport with Associate Coach Stephanie Norman and also with Walz. She's known Norman for years and Beth has been quick to buy-in to the program, the university, the city and the fans. Her love of this team and those that surround it is obvious in every conversation I've listened to. Is she the piece of the puzzle that has been missing? Is she the icing on an already delicious cake? I don't fully know, but her being here seems to be adding to the "plus" column on reasons to believe in this squad. I have been using the hashtag #ThisTeamIsSpecial since I visited a practice in October and her knowledge and positivism just adds to my feeling. 

Welcome to "Possibility City" Coach Burns. I'm glad you are here. 


LAST BUT NOT (JUST) LACROSSE



Scott Teeter was recently named as the new head coach for Louisville Lacrosse. He comes with 16 years of head coaching experience and building a quality program at Canisius. A change needed for LouisvilleLAX. I support this team and new Coach Scott. 

Still I have to wonder if any female coaches were considered. It is great that Louisville has been at the forefront of Title IX compliance, but to truly accent equality, women need to be in leadership roles. Since women's are rarely considered for men's sports head coaching roles, why are men often favored over equally qualified women for coaching positions? 

Yes, the Cards have women's head coaches in Karen Ferguson Dayes, Justine Sowry, Dani Busboom Kelly, Sandy Pearsall and Courtney Trimble, I realize that.

At the risk of angering Paulie, I would be hypocritical if I didn't call out CARDINAL COUPLE for having four males as part of their "A-Team" on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. I like and respect Paul, Jeff, Case and Jared. This is not a "knock" on them. They are each talented and dedicated and I enjoy reading their articles. I just happen to think there are some great female voices out there that should be heard. Be it Paige Sherrard, Daryl Foust, former athletes or other qualified women, female voices need to be heard! 

Julie Sullivan


DONATION TIME! 

November is donation month at Cardinal Couple. Please consider donating to this independent, non-profit site that covers the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports and Cardinal Athletics. Cardinal Couple is unique and daily. Your consideration is great appreciated. Use the PayPal link at the top of the site or send your checks or money orders to Cardinal Couple at: 


CARDINAL COUPLE
c/o Paul Sykes
PO BOX 91521
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Thank you. 


(The opinions expressed in today's article are from Julie Sullivan and do not necessarily express the viewpoints of CARDINAL COUPLE nor the staff and organization.)





    


29 comments:

  1. Why so hard on CC, Julie? I'm remaining anonymous but I have been interviewed by Paulie, love the radio show and what they do for Cardinal Athletics. I wore the colors, wanted the attention for my program and teammates and CARDINAL COUPLE was there when NO ONE and I mean no one was there to cover us and interview us.

    If it's recognition and coverage, I don't care if it's three elves and a mule providing it, if it is good. This is good.

    I think you should submit an public apology.

    Between the Pipes

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  2. We are pleased to have Julie write for us and appear on radio. I encourage our writers to speak from the heart and be creative. Julie herself will tell you that she has no filter. She called me this morning and wondered if I should omit or delete the section. I decided not to. Freedom of speech is a constitutional right. We welcome all comments and ideas here unless they are of a sexually suggestive, obscene, profane nature or if the are "bots" trying to advertise.

    Let's look at the main emphasis of the section instead of the sidebar she added. Females voices need to be heard. It's why we bring her on. It's why we have female guests. It's why we cover the joy and excitement of women's sports at UofL.

    Our "A" team has been assembled by me because of personal preference, admiration, respect and their vast knowledge. WE have had female writers here in the past, now, and will continue to do so.

    All things are cyclical. And, YOU are Cardinal Couple. Male or female, rich or poor, local or not and regardless of race, creed, color, religious beliefs or political persuasion...as long as we talk about what we love. UofL sports.

    Paulie

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    Replies
    1. Good points Paulie. As a writer here, I always have appreciated your willingness to explore the debatable and encourage me and others to be creative. As I read today's column, I, too, at first wondered why she was calling you out. Then, I re-read it. Women's voices must be heard. In all things. At all times. As a proud father and husband, I relish the moments when my wife (long-suffering wife who has been with me in six different locations and homes since our marriage) and daughters shine.

      You continue to shine, CARDINAL COUPLE. I relish my chance to contribute here. Going back to when the site got started and Paulie often wondered if he could just shut it down and do something else.

      He didn't. Thank the man.

      Dave-O
      David Watson

      Delete
  3. This still sounds pretty mean-spirited to me:

    At the risk of angering Paulie, I would be hypocritical if I didn't call out CARDINAL COUPLE for having four males as part of their "A-Team" on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. I like and respect Paul, Jeff, Case and Jared. This is not a "knock" on them. They are each talented and dedicated and I enjoy reading their articles. I just happen to think there are some great female voices out there that should be heard. Be it Paige Sherrard, Daryl Foust, former athletes or other qualified women, female voices need to be heard!

    Ms. Sullivan, do not bite the hand that offers you a venue. First rule of journalism. Go start your own site.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hokay, slight bit of controversy, here. I'll chime in with my thoughts, for whatever they're worth.

    I don't think Julie's comments were in any way mean spirited, certainly not in intent, I don't believe.

    I, too, have had (unvoiced) thoughts about the...at the very least...irony of having a sports site and radio show with an emphasis on women's sports that carries the voiced (literally in the case of the radio show) primarily of men.

    I think critiques of something can come from different places...it may be a critique calling out the thing as being bad and trying to figure out how to fix it, but I think it's equally valid to offer a critique of a thing to say, "This thing is good, but if we do this, it could be even better." I believe Julie's critique is offered in the latter sense, and I happen to agree with her, for what it's worth.

    Just about any time, of late, that we have a vacancy for the radio show, I'll be one of the first to encourage bringing on Julie, Daryl, or Paige, in the hopes of having their voices become more regularly featured.

    I do think CC does great things, and I believe that it's important that we allow, and even encourage, critiques of where we may not be doing something well, or how we could do it better. I feel like we have done a very good job of directing some attention onto sports that don't typically get so much at UofL (or at just about any school, for that matter), and I'm proud of that. Would our effort be even better if we centered women's voices more in our work? Yeah, it probably would, and I, for one, am not the slightest bit insulted to have someone point out how CC could be even better, even, and maybe especially, if it means my own voice takes a step back so that others can be heard more.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. (Editor Note) As you are doing this weekend in Volleyball pursuit, Worldwide. Looking for to chatting with you via phone, though from the land of the Vikings and Hubert H. Humphrey...

      Paulie

      Delete
  5. This is why I read every day. Knowledge. Intrigue. Personal glimpses and quality.

    I love you guys (and girls)


    -- The Real Joe Hill --

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  6. Good article. Lay off Julie. She's a damn fine writer.

    Curtis Franklin

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    1. The Bird Lady11/28/2017 12:26 PM

      To give credit where credit is due, Paulie is a great editor and makes me better. In every change he makes I am like "Wow" and try and incorporate it in each new article

      Delete
  7. I like Burns but wonder about her checkered past and what the ulterior motive is here? Is one of the assistants or associates taking a head coaching job next year. Has Walz got the "wandering eye" and leaving next year?

    She's good for the program all right. Just some thoughts.

    Julie, you got stones. No doubt. You got a good site owner in Paulie there. A lot of sites would have deleted part of today's article or flat refused to run it.


    Nick O

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  8. The Bird Lady11/28/2017 12:13 PM

    So I can call out UofL for hiring male coaches for women's sports but ignore that about this site because "Don't bite the hand that feeds you"? Would you really respect anyone that sells their soul just to stay in good graces? Paulie and I discussed it and left it in because it is a point that deserves reflection. Paulie gave me the ability to post my articles directly to this site. Still I sent him this article because I don't have any interest in hurting Paulie or Cardinal Couple or doing anything underhanded. And if I was truly putting anyone on blast, I, having no filter, would have come out like Tony Montana, guns blazing.

    It is disappointing that it is more important to some to point out I am an ungrateful louse rather than engage in a serious discussion about the inequity of women's voices in women's athletics.

    I am unafraid to put my name to my thoughts, ideas and words. Those criticizing don't feel confident to do the same? That speaks volumns.

    To Paulie and Jeff, thank you for your words of support of such a discussion. I think you know that I brought this up with no malice in my heart toward anyone connected with Cardinal Couple nor any of the male coaches at UofL, but for thoughtful discourse.

    Julie Sullivan

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bring in women that will appear but as a host of a show at WCHQ, I know that studio where you do your show (i presume you are in there) just has four microphones.

    Four is a good number. More than that and you start tripping over each other, in a verbal sense.

    As Paulie mentioned, things go cyclical. I remember your early days on the station when it was Paulie, Jeff and ?Jenny?. Always good entertainment and knowledge though.

    An Old Guy

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  10. I thought Julie's content was good as far as sports detail. Her editorializing was unexpected but frankly not surprising given the context.

    By way of disclaimer I didn't originally come to CC because of my interest in women's sports...I ended up here after seeing "Off the Rez" and have stayed around because I've been impressed by the CC staff and their unselfish and largely unrewarded efforts to promote women's sports at UofL. It seems a bit masochistic at times but as a successful model for promoting women's sports at the collegiate level there isn't another independent blog out there that comes even close to what CC has been doing for many years. That is a fact.

    Growth always brings challenges. Some can be anticipated, others not so much. I have been considering communicating with Paulie off-line for some time about the challenges of funding CC and the head scratching reality that it seems like CC is primarily supported by humans of the male gender, both in covering sports and contributing dollars. I find it more than ironic that when CC is finally able to get a female contributor (who evidently has problems with hitting deadlines) she decides to throw a rock at CC. Doesn’t seem very cool to me.

    That said it isn’t inconsistent with what takes place in other media channels. My observation is that there has been a lot of incremental management coordination necessary with the recent CC growth and it’s been pulled off because Paulie can depend upon those who have committed to be consistent and dependable team members. It happens that most all of these folks are dudes. I’m 100% certain that if someone as talented, committed and disciplined had made themselves available to CC they would have been more than thrilled to bring them on board at any point in the past several years. That clearly hasn’t happened.

    Frankly the entire female / feminist sports and academia establishment should be beating a path to CC’s door to try to figure out how CC serves UofL women’s sports so well and unselfishly. They should then share that knowledge with other universities if they are really interested in increasing support for women’s collegiate sports.

    My question relative to funding CC is where are organizations like the Women’s Sports Foundation, NOW and any number of other large NGO’s and government agencies with almost bottomless pits of funding that could easily solve CC’s budget challenges by writing one relatively small check from their substantial resources? Instead we get silence. That’s not a dude problem…it’s an institutional women’s problem that someone would be smart to take ownership of and pass on the CC model, which is the best kept secret in women’s collegiate sports.

    And when a qualified, smart, disciplined & team oriented women wants to come on board and contribute at the same level as the others then I’m sure she won’t get chased away.

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    1. Thank you Burn. Over the years, we've been very grateful for what YOU bring to Cardinal Couple. We go with the Cards we are dealt. I personally admire and like all three guys a lot. They are also the youth movement. One day when I'm breathing dry air, I'd like to think Cardinal Couple would still be relevant with one or all of them handling the site.

      Not that I'm planning on going anywhere, anytime soon. Having a father and five uncles that all smoked, drank and lived past 90, I will probably be around awhile.

      Things are cyclical. I can't stress that enough. Each week the fun and slightly nervous feeling of who will write what, when and who will be behind microphones. Watching past and current writers and show guests go on to great things.

      Julie is one of us. She's proved that.

      Here's the funny thing. A couple of times a year, I ask for reader-submitted articles. No one ever sends one.

      There were three people who encouraged me to go out and "do" Cardinal Couple. Tom Jurich, Julie Herrmann and Charlie Springer. The first two are no longer associated with Cardinal women's sports or UofL. The third, Charlie, I'm fortunate to still see and chat with him at Louisville sporting events. He's there if I ever need wise council for a different viewpoint.

      Thank you for the kind words and ideas, Burn. You know how much I value our friendship and conversations. Thanks for staying on the merry-go-round with us. Whaddya say, let's go for the roller coaster !!!

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. Not that I'm promoting smoking or drinking...just as an aside...and if any women's organization wants to donate to us, we'd thank them. Three days left in the November Donation month and we're a few reindeer short, in Holiday parlance.

      Paulie

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    3. You folks are warriors. I'm still optimistic that over the long haul the way you are approaching supporting women's sports makes tons of sense. I'm hopeful that others will start "getting it"...until then it's probably the old "no good deed goes unpunished" thingy.

      Jealous of your genes. We should all be so lucky.

      Finally..its approaching the end of the year Folks. Donate and you've got that tax deductibility thing going on. Your accountant will thank you.

      Delete
    4. Sent my money in early on and I urge others to send. This site is a favorite and I can dig a little into the Christmas account to donate to this great bunch of writers and website!

      Paulie and Julie, thank you for being two of the many facets of what is Cardinal Couple. I am Cardinal Couple, too and I stand with you all.

      The Deb Factor

      Delete
  11. Louisville Volleyball is good but Kentucky is better. We proved that. You should ne glad you are not starting in Lexington but you won't get by Minnesota. We will knock off ETSU and probably WKU because I think they beat Notre Dame on our way to the 3rd round.

    Just the first beat of the fall and winter, as both your basketball teams will lose to us also.

    Football was rough but I'll trade the next three wins coming uo for that loss. Lamar and his offense are impressive. Enjoy him while you can, little Birdies!

    Matthew Mitchell For Governor.

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    1. Hey Guv,

      ULWVB is amazing having reached the milestone of winning the ACC. I think we'll surprise some clubs in the tournament. One bet I'll take is that neither of us wins the title. Keep looking in your rear view though...ULWVB is coming for your kittens.

      I had a chance to see the "We can't win the game so we'll try to win the fight we started but we can't win that either" act by your footballers on ESPN. Not cool, classy or respectable by any stretch. Not particularly unexpected either.

      I'm not a gambler by nature but this ULWBB club is taking UK down this year...don't kid yourself. Lemee know the wager. If it's legal I'll probably take it.

      Delete
    2. Oh, Burnie. The dreams of the little brothers in the state. Jeff Walz has proven he can't beat Matthew Mitchell and that won't change. Each year it's the same thing. Cats defeat Cards in women's basketball. And the men's team will absolutely destroy pitiful Padgett's poor play-makers. You have to put the ball in the basket to outscore the foe and Louisville's men showed last night that they have problems doing that. Ray Spalding couldn't catch a cold, much less a pass from a guard.

      I don't wager, Burnie baby, but you can send me a nice country ham when the UK women knock off the lil' Birdies.

      Matthew Mitchell For Governor

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    3. Guv,

      Since we're still in fund raising mode and you seem to be your normal overconfident self here's the deal...When our WBB Cards school your kittens on December 17 you toss a hundred dollar donation to CC.

      In the unlikely event (short of a homer job) that the kittens some how fail to lose I'll get you a $100 gift certificate to the fancy ham vendor of your choice. Of course you would still have the option of me throwing the hundred to CC but that would be your call.

      We gotta deal?

      Delete
    4. A half of a spiral sliced Country Ham (a good one) is $79.99. I'm in. If UofSmell defeat the Cats, I'll send Paulie $80 bucks. Vice versa.

      Matthew Mitchell For Governor

      Delete
    5. On the volleyball front. Yes, Kentucky volleyball is very good this year. I'm not quite sure they're 4 seed good, but certainly they're in that realm. While I would've loved for our 1st and 2nd round matches to be closer (leaving tonight to head to MPLS), I'm not upset about not being in Kentucky's sub-regional and regional. Not just because of Kentucky, but because that whole region is a minefield of quite good teams.

      I'll hold onto some dreams of it being a UofL vs UK championship match in Kansas City...I won't be holding my breath, though. I'm with Burn, I don't think the Cats get past Nebraska in the Elite Eight, but there would be nothing to be ashamed of in that run.

      Delete
  12. You are pretty presumptuous to think you can dictate policy on a well-established website. Maybe you should take your erroneous assumptions to a different platform. I've heard quite a few female voices on the radio show. I wouldn't call out someone who has proven himself.

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    1. As much as I tease Paulie and the posters here, he has built a nice site and Radio show. Why demean that? I may be a Louisville un-friendly, but I recognize quality.

      Paulie, c'mon over to the Blue side. We won't bash you for gender crap.

      Matthew Mitchell For Governor

      Delete
    2. Thanks Gov, my laugh for today. Cards over the Cats for two in a row, dispelling the Mitchell is better than Walz "myth".

      Delete
  13. LOL. Can't wait to get that check, Mattie!

    Paulie

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  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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