Paulie looks at golf and Olivia Cason goes to US Open -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CASON TEES OFF TODAY IN US OPEN

I've found over the years that golf is one of those sports that there isn't much of a middle-ground in. People either really love it and spend a bunch of their free time in the pursuit of it. Then, there are people who don't know the difference between a graphite driver and a putter and could care less. And, people switch in their interest of "a good walk spoiled" pursuit over the years. 

We have a couple of readers here at Cardinal Couple (that I know of) who pursue golf on a regular basis. David Watson, from what I hear, is the better of the two...although Joe Hill might dispute that. Dave O's son has the bug as well and is spending this summer honing his game and working at a Florida Golf and Country Club. Maybe he's the next Tiger Woods, who knows? I'm probably the only one of us four on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour who played the game regularly at one time. I may have to get up "The Cardinal Couple Invitational" at one of the local miniature golf locale around here and see how the boys do with a putter and water hazards.  

The Top Golf concept sounds interesting, but...there's a big group of folks opposed to where they are planning on trying to build the facility.  I always liked the idea of beer and golf. We'll see how that turns out. 

For years, I was an avid golfer. I had a standing tee time whenever weather permitted at noon on Fridays. I'd try to get in other weekend chances to play as well and loved trips, junkets, scrambles and playing different courses as they fit into my schedule. I wasn't good, but could hit the ball a long way off the tee and then find a way to get myself into all types of mischief. I had a hole-in-one at the age of nine on a local par-3 course. I still have the trophy. Our property ran parallel to the fourth hole on the now extinct Fern Creek Par 3 Golf Course. As kids, in the summer or after school, we'd 
"tee off and play around" to the clubhouse and then pay our fee. A pricey .50 cents back then. It's been a long time, but I can still remember where each tee and green were and could walk you around the former course. There's a elementary school, football, baseball and practice field now in place covering most of the holes. I wonder if any of my lost golf balls are still lurking around?  

I even got into a fight on the course once...as a kid...combining my "bad boy" football image with a short game, short temper and an annoying adversary who purposely stepped on my ball and dared me to do something about it. 

I did. I got tossed off the course. He went home with a souvenir black-eye and sore belly.

I went home with a "reputation" but the golf pro called my parents. That was not good. 

I quit golf shortly after my father died in 2006. He was one of the big reasons I got into golf and, despite the urging of friends and associates...I haven't hit the links since. Those memories are precious....but I just lost interest in driving or walking around for 4-5 hours without him.  

My dad worked at a golf course after he "retired"...he got free golf and was the "Sarge" of the clubhouse. He also used to like watching the US Open on television. He called it (and I'm kind of paraphrasing here) a true test of who's the best, whether they were pro or amateur. He played in the Kentucky Senior Open quite often in his latter years and won his age division a couple of times. He would have been a fan of and would be cheering for OLIVIA CASON...UofL junior from the women's golf team...who will take on "the best of land" in the US Women's Open at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Shoal Creek, AL. starting today.

You just don't show up and tee it up to play in the US Open. You have to qualify. Cason did that back in May at a sectional qualifier in Indiana, PA. with a one-under par 143 to win the qualifier. This was also during the midst of the Cards quest and ultimate success to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, so she's seen a lot of fairways in this month that's about to end. 

Cason had a successful junior season for the "chip and putt" Cards. The Owensboro, KY native was third in stroke average for UofL with a 74.74 and had 10 rounds at or below par....plus (2) top-ten finishes. In the Cards NCAA run, she helped Louisville finish fifteenth in the NCAA Championships while tying for 74th. place. 

The first two days, all golfers in The Open will play eighteen holes a day. Then, the field will be cut to the top 60 golfers, who will compete for two more days, eighteen holes per day. Coverage is available on FS1 on Thursday and Friday...with the final two days being shown on FOX. 

Live results are available at LPGA.com and you can also follow the golf  and Cason's results on the women's golf Twitter site...www.twitter.com/UofLWGolf or on Facebook at

www.facebook.com/UofLWgolf .

 I also expect we'll give it a bit of round-table discussion on our weekly Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Saturday. I wonder if we could train the station dog "Punkin" to sniff out and find lost golf balls?

In closing, I bring you this quote about golf: 

"Golf combines two separate and quite different elements. Taking long walks and hitting things with a stick." 

Best of luck to Olivia in 'Bama! May her drives be straight and long, chips accurate and putting perfect. 


paulie
xxxxx

Molly Sauer Update From China -- Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Expansion -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sauer and U.S. Collegiate National Team Prepare to Close Out Tour

Molly Sauer

Molly Sauer has enjoyed her time traveling with the U.S. Collegiate National Team - China.  Besides a schedule full of Chinese volleyball powerhouses they have had time to experience the culture.  Recently Sauer posted a picture on social media from the Great Wall of China.

In their first three matches they are 2-1.  The other two matches are listed for May 29 (no update) and May 30.  The second and third matches were against Zhejiang, a professional volleyball team in China.

Sauer's Instagram Story

May 24 vs Zhejiang lost 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-21).  The States committed 34 errors total in the match, proving to be the downfall in the loss.

May 25 vs Zhejiang won 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-9).  Sauer and her squad rebounded from the loss one day prior and obliterated the Chinese in the third set after an easy first set and tight second set.

There were no quotes from Sauer, but we know the libero has played a huge factor on the team and is as beneficial with the U.S National Team as she is with Louisville.

The rising senior also celebrated her birthday three days ago while overseas.

Football Stadium Expansion Update Released

Panorama Photo by Morgan Lentes, WLKY

With the return of the football team for practices starting Monday night talk of the expansion update soon followed.  The team hosted media yesterday to explore the new addition and to see how it is coming along.

The $63-million expansion is quickly on its way to being completed.  The new training room is operational and features two plunge pools, hydro-therapy room, 4x rehab space as the old one, and a much larger weight and cardio room.  The seating is not yet completed, but will accompany the two new 40-foot by 80-foot LED video boards in time for the home opener against Indiana State.

Other News and Notes

Cardinal Forever Josh Rogers

UofL baseball alum Josh Rogers was back in town last night with the Scranton Railriders.  Rogers pitched for Louisville in 2013 and 2014 and was a key member on those two teams that made their way to Omaha.  The Triple-A pitcher got the start against the Louisville Bats and went a solid seven innings, giving up five hits and zero runs while striking out three.  His ERA is hovering around a 2.5 while his record is 5-3.  Unfortunately, he did not bring his buddies at Dunder-Mifflin down with him.

Olivia Cason just wrapped up her season with women's golf and is already moving onto another big event.  The rising senior will compete in the U.S. Women's Open in Shoal Creek, Ala., beginning this Thursday.  She is part of the 36-player field and the only Cardinal competing.


Kassidy Manning and Joe Delgado were named to the 2018 Google Cloud All-District Track and Field teams.  To be eligible, athletes must be a starter or key reserve and maintain at least a 3.3 GPA while reaching sophomore standing at their school.

I'd like to wish my mom a happy early birthday, as she adds another year of experience to her life this Thursday.  My dad celebrated his birthday about a week and a half ago and my brother's is next week.  My September birthday makes me the odd one out in my family.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Souder a Sycamore -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CHRIS SOUDER LEAVING MERCER COUNTY TO ACCEPT ASSISTANT JOB AT INDIANA STATE.

Chris Souder probably won't be at a lot of Seygan Robins games for UofL this year. He and Robins were essential in getting Mercer Country girls high school basketball to two straight Kentucky titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18. His team last year had four seniors headed off to play college basketball...Robins maybe the most significant...with her joining Jeff Walz's Cards. 

And it now looks like Chris Souder will be departing with those seniors. After being named the Coach of the Year for two straight years in Kentucky girls basketball venue, he's leaving the high school scene for the collegiate ranks. He'll be an assistant on first year coach Vicki Hall's staff at Indiana State University.  Hall took over the Sycamores WBB program on March 21st...after ISU finished 11-19 and 9-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The ISU squad saw their head coach Joey Wells resign after a 2-11 start in the 2017-18 season and finished the season under interim Josh Keister. 

"I will not be returning to the sidelines (at Mercer County) next season to pursue an opportunity I just can't pass up".  Souder texted. "This is definitely bittersweet for me."

A chance to be a part of something from ground level. A chance to work with an up and coming former assistant coach at Toledo who helped build the resurgence in Rockets basketball. It has to be quite hard for Souder to just walk away from all that he had built at Mercer County over the past 19 years. A 490-214 record. Teams that won 20 or more games in 16 of those 19 seasons. 

Be there no doubt about the next statement. Chris Souder knows high school basketball talent. A very wise move by Hall to bring someone on board who has been evaluating, scouting and developing high school girl cagers for the last 19+ years. That's a huge boon to Indiana State recruiting possibilities. The Sycamores also have five seniors listed on a ten-player roster...so new troops will be needed. With the dynamic Hall in charge, it shouldn't be too hard for ISU coaches to get into living rooms and talk to student-athletes and parents. 

Hall was the 1988 Indiana Miss Basketball at Brebeuf High School in Indianapolis...plus the Gatorade and Naismith national player of the year. A Hoosier legend, so to speak.  Terre Haute and Indiana State is one hour west of Indy....on I-70. 

Souder was a 1984 graduate from Harrodsburg High School, the county seat of Mercer County. Leaving an area where he basically grew up and has many relatives can't be easy. I know that the decision has to be rough. I'll follow the Sycamores next year. After all, Larry Bird went to and prospered at ISU. Basketball has a history in Terre Haute.  The Missouri Valley conference is a strong one in women's basketball with Bradley, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Loyola, Missouri State, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and Valparaiso being members along with Indiana State. 

Cardinal Couple became a fan of Souder and Mercer County back when Robins was a sophomore in high school. His dynamic style on the court, his down-home friendly approach in media interviews and his willingness to talk to Cardinal Couple and have his players do the same won us over. Paulie made travels to Harrordsburg to watch Mercer County play, to interview Robins and Souder and also caught up with them at Girls' LIT events and when they would traverse to Louisville for games against the Jefferson County schools. 

Souder invited me to watch a practice during last year's season. I arrived in Harrodsburg to catch about the last half hour. Entering through a side door to the Mercer County gym, I may have caught the participants a bit off guard. Souder stopped practice, though, came over to me, shook my hand and took a brief minute to introduce me to the team before resuming the practice. 

I stood in the end zone watching the drills and the scrimmage that ended practice. There with me was one of the Lake sisters, (Lexy), who was icing a sore ankle. We chatted about the team casually, what it was like to play for Coach and eventually...I got my interview with Coach Souder and Seygan. A fun and informative interview. You can find it here in our archives, if you want to recall it, on the Thursday Nov. 17th, 2017 edition of Cardinal Couple.  

LINK: https://cardinalcouple.blogspot.com/2017/11/seygan-robins-interviewwbb-faces.html

Souder cared about all of his players. If a player's ride or parents were late to pick them up after practice, he would tease them that it was a long walk home...but would wait with them until they were safely picked up. His niece Emmy was on those championship squads. Stories of Sunday cookouts and get together's lent a "we are all family" approach to what is Mercer County girls basketball. Exactly what you want to see in a program. 

A new opportunity. A chance to see if the principals and theories that Souder used in high school and which got multiple Mercer County girls to the NCAA, Division I and college work once you are coaching college hoops. Souder won't be the most popular man in the county like he was in Mercer, nor will he be the top dog of hoops in Terre Haute. What he will be is an experienced, successful and engaging staff member that will try and help to right the ship in Terre Haute after three years of less-than-stellar-ISU WBB.  

Bittersweet. I hate seeing him go but wish him well. 


I'll miss my chats with Coach in the Mercer County venue. I'll miss the drives to Harrordsburg and stopping on the way for a few pieces of Bojangles chicken and fixins. There are no Bojangles in Illinois. J Ford's Black Angus Steakhouse serves up a quite decent rib eye and you have to try their their lobster corn dogs...yes, you read that right...lobster corn dogs.  Cackleberry's served a pretty good breakfast last time I was up there...I hope they're still around. 

Maybe we'll get a chance to chat with him in his new role as a assistant. We can only hope that Mercer County's loss turns into the Wabash Valley's gain.

New horizons. 

Coach Souder was one that I figured would eventually retire from Mercer County after 30 or so years of coaching. A native son of that area. Sometimes, though, you have to take the chance. Grab that golden ring of opportunity and see what it can get you. Where will it lead you? I have no doubt that Chris could return to just about any high school gig he wanted if it didn't work out at ISU...but let's take the positive and high road approach here. I'm sure there was a lot of thought involved in the move. 

Remember, a kid from Iroquois High School took a chance and left the safety of Rick Pitino's staff years ago and that move turned into a love affair between Scott Davenport and Bellarmine.

A journeyman assistant coach took a gamble and asked for an interview at a major university right after he had been on a staff that had won a national championship. UofL and Tom Jurich took a chance on Jeff Walz and that worked out pretty well, right?  Remember the players coaches took chances on who turned out to be relevant parts of championship teams? It's your turn to see where the road of opportunity takes you. Travel confidently. After all, one never knows until they try. 

Go pursue that dream, Coach Souder. See where it will take you. Go...knowing that there are a whole lot of fans in your corner wishing you the best and want to see you succeed. Players that are grateful for your guidance. Reporters who enjoyed interviewing you. Friends and family who want the best for you. Ride the tiger, climb the Sycamore, join the staff and grow with the trees. The Sycamore variety. 



paulie
xxxxx 

Remembering the Reason - MEMORIAL DAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Today is Memorial Day, as most all of you are probably aware. Memorial Day is a national holiday that takes place on the last Monday of May every year. For many people, Memorial Day marks the start of summer. It means sales, a three day weekend, a major car race. I was recently reminded what Memorial Day is supposed to mean. I'm not trying to knock celebrating a three day weekend for anyone, because holidays will always shift to being observed in whatever way the public observes them. 

The important thing to remember, through all of the celebration, is what Memorial Day actually represents. Memorial Day is not a celebratory holiday, it's an honorary one. We honor those who have lost their lives in the service of this country. For many service men and women and veterans, Memorial Day is a very hard day. It is a day of remembrance, brought home to me every year when a 21-gun salute and Taps are performed during the pre-race ceremonies in Indy. A serviceman I follow on Twitter posted this weekend discouraging people from wishing veterans and servicemen and women "Happy Memorial Day." He went on to say that Memorial Day is not intended to be a happy holiday, but a solemn one. While he may not speak for all in his position, I think that his opinion is more than important enough to heed. 

When you see the bunting and flags coming out around houses today for cookouts and to start summer, remember what those truly represent. If you've lost someone, use today (or any day) to remember their sacrifice, and the sacrifices made by those that you did not know. Celebrate their lives and the freedoms which have been upheld at their cost, but remember that this holiday is not one that celebrates a victory, a birth of a nation, a life, but that it is one to remember those who have given everything for the betterment of others. 

If you see a veteran or service person today, or any day, and you feel the desire to thank them for their service, do so genuinely. Thoughtless platitudes can make us feel better on the inside, but when you remember what they have been through and what they may have lost, the thoughtful eye contact or stronger handshake become worth it. Truly mean what you are saying, or you'd might as well not say it at all.

To all readers of Cardinal Couple, I encourage you to take a moment today with your friends and family or with whomever you may gather, and stop to remember what today truly means. Have a safe Memorial Day.

Until next time, Go Cards.

-CH-

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Ranting, Baseball, Track&Field, and Soccer

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We're going to start off with the CCRH show from yesterday.  First and foremost, if you didn't hear it, you can check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2045317638824842/

Case didn't make it into the studio yesterday...he was apparently too busy turning left...or something like that, but Jared, Paulie, and I were there and we had some good conversation.  We had praises for UofL Baseball (more on that below), Track&Field (again, more below), and even some Lacrosse honors.  Much of the time, however was spent ranting about the NCAA and their hypocritical and uneven standards of behavior for their participating institutions and personnel.

Of course, we were talking about the one game suspension handed down to Coach Jeff Walz for supposedly aggrieving NCAA officials on the sidelines of the National Semifinal game in Columbus for the terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad officiating on display.

We were all in agreement that Coach Walz can occasionally be...aggressive...in his language, and honestly, the punishment probably fits the crime here pretty well.  And when we're playing Upper East Southwest Albuquerque State Community and Technical College of the Ozarks (a name I hope is sufficiently absurdly made up to not bear any resemblance to any real school, and if it somehow does, I assure you I mean no ill will towards it) in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament, I suspect having Walz more-than-sidelined, will not cause CardNation any real heartburn.  Coach Norman, the Coaches Sam, Kate Williams, Lamont "Mr. Russell, sir" Russell, and the rest of the UofL WBB staff will surely have everything well in hand.

No, the vitriol here comes from the hypocrisy and unevenness of NCAA punishments, as well as complete lack of trust and respect that the NCAA has engendered towards itself.

The NCAA apparently thinks it's critical to punish a coach for using some salty language, but all but
completely ignores decades of "paper classes".  They have already demonstrated a willingness to give in on sexual abuse scandals by rescinding the bulk of the punishments doled out to Penn State in the wake of their sexual abuse scandal, and by all accounts are poised to take very little action against Michigan State in their unfolding scandal. The Auburn softball scandal mysteriously "went away" after Clint Myers resigned as head coach. The NCAA has not pursued it, a travesty in itself.

On a less societally impactful facet of the discussion, but more on point for the punishment in question, the NCAA has built a monumental trust deficit, specifically when it comes to WBB officiating.  I've said before, and I'll say it again, WBB officiating (and this is at nearly all levels of WBB, not just NCAA Div 1) is awful.  There is no sugar-coating that, it is terrible.  As a product, it is, or at least should be, embarrassing to those who have a had in creating it.  The NCAA, by completely shielding officials from any formal or public criticism, have utterly and completely destroyed any trust the the public, or school officals and coaches, can have that the obvious and egregious shortcomings are being addressed in any meaningful way.

The NCAA is weaponizing concepts like "amateurism", "respect" and "sportsmanship" to suppress and marginalize anyone that isn't on board with their agenda.  By, from a position of "authority", imposing their own notions and form of "respect" and "sportsmanship" they can, and are, shutting down opposing voices who are able to see the shortcomings of the NCAA process and organization.  It's a playbook seen in authoritarian political regimes and even some that ostensibly aren't necessarily (said with a nervous glance towards Washington D.C.).

The NCAA is a diseased organization.  It's time for its constituent schools, via their Presidents and Athletic Directors, to stand up and refuse to abide by the hypocrisy and authoritarian-style undermining of the very concepts the NCAA claims to uphold.

Baseball Wins Again

OK, on to more positive things.  The idiocy of the ACC pool play format is over, and UofL, with a
minor upset, and a major margin of victory, over Duke advanced to the 4-team single-elimination tournament Semifinals.  There they met with Pitt, a team that the Cardinals had played only two weeks ago in the three game series in conference play on Pitt's home field.

Pitt, valiantly, scored two upset wins in their pool to advance despite being the lowest seed in the competition at #12.  The Panthers would be no match for the Cardinals, though, with Dan McDonnell's squad advancing with the 5-2 win over Pitt.  Devin Mann and Josh Stowers continue to be among the names to mention with heroics at the plate.  Mann took one yard, and hit for a triple in his 2-3 appearance, while Stowers was 2-4 with a double to his credit.

Nick Bennett pitched 6 innings of keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard, but allowed 2 before being replaced by Adam Elliot to finish the 7th.  Austin Conway kept the Panthers off the board in the 8th and 9th to finish out the game.

The Cards will face FSU today at noon on ESPN.  The Seminoles advanced over 2 seed Clemson, to eliminate the last of the chalk from the ACC Baseball Tournament.

UofL will learn its fate for the NCAA tournament at noon tomorrow on ESPNU with the NCAA Baseball Selection Show.  There remains a slim chance that UofL could host a regional, and a win today, in addition to the awesomeness of winning the conference championship, would go a long way in convincing the NCAA that this team is peaking at the right time and should be considered for a host berth.

Track&Field

Four more UofL athletes were able to punch their ticket to Eugene, OR with their results in the
NCAA Track&Field Regional competitions.

Makenli Forrest advanced with a 9th place finish in the hammer toss with a distance of 61.62 meters.

Damar Robinson and Jerin Allen finished 3rd and 8th in the high jump to clear their way to the west coast competition.  They cleared 2.16m and 2.11m respectively.

Bailey Davis finished 5th overall in the 5k run with a strong kick to earn the trip to Oregon.

Congratulations to these Cardinal athletes on their success so far.

Soccer

Lastly, lets jump over to the professional athletics ranks for a moment.

Any time a Louisville team beats a Cincinnati team in Nippert Stadium is going to grab my attention, and last night the Louisville City FC USL soccer club were able to beat Cincinnati FC 2-0 in full time with goals by Cameron Lancaster in the 15th minute, and George Davis IV in the 73rd.

In another interesting note for Louisville City FC, they advanced this week in the Open Cup with a 1-0 win at Lynn Stadium over Saint Louis FC.  Their next opponent in the Open Cup will be the New England Revolution at Lynn Stadium on June 6th, an MLS team.  Of particular note is the re-uniting, in Louisville, on the University of Louisville campus, of Paulo Delpiccolo of Louisville City, and Andrew Farrell of New England.  Both were players at UofL some years back.  They're also notable as the hosts of the "Shakin' It Up with Salt 'n Peppa" video series (findable on Youtube) in which the two of them challenged various UofL student athletes of the era to competitions usually related to the other student athletes sport.  My favorites of the series were the volleyball competition with Katie George and Lola Arslanbeckova, and the soccer goalkeeping competition with Gorgui Djeng.

Louisville City FC currently sits atop the USL rankings (with Cincinnati FC in 2nd) after winning the league last season.

--
JMcA

Walz hit with one-game suspension -- Baseball blasts Duke -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NCAA SERVES JEFF WALZ WITH ONE GAME NCAA TOURNAMENT SUSPENSION FOR REMARKS

The ridiculous and sublime have crawled into bed together. Those friendly folks up in Indy with the NCAA, who love Louisville so dearly and go out of their way to accommodate and placate Cardinal athletics, have assessed a one game suspension to Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz for saying stuff in the heat of a game that damaged the ears of a few sideline chimps and officials. 

This is b.s. 

Let's just get that out of the way, right away. This wasn't grabbing or bumping an official. This wasn't hurling a chair across the court or running out to the foul stripe and doing handstands or cartwheels. It was words. 

Words that came out when the superior NCAA women's referees that grace the court didn't see what 23,000 saw in Nationwide Arena (and millions more witnesses on television). Myisha Hines-Allen was hip-checked fouled by Teaira McCowan while driving for a layup late in the contest. Walz did what any good coach would do. He went to the defense of his player. He said some stuff. It may have been questionable in nature but dead on in terms of correctness. 

Don't give me this "they're never going to make that call in a situation like that" stuff either. The referees' job is to call fouls. It doesn't matter if there is a 40-point blowout going on or a 2-point nail-biter with seconds remaining. You have a whistle for a reason if you're a referee. It's not given to you to summon the hot dog vendor or get the attention of a cute guy in row two. You make the call when the foul happens. 

The refs didn't. Walz reacted. Too strongly, according to the Victorian morals moguls who spend time on poop like this instead of the many more pressing problems confronting college athletics. 

We know Jeff. He's not afraid to tell it like it is. To shoot from the hip. No doilies or extended finger tea cup holding from this guy.  If the language is too rough for you...have you listened to what these kids he's coaching are listening to on their music devices? Walz comes across like a shy-mannered schoolmarm. 

Jeff also did the right thing. He offered an apology yesterday: 

"I used some inappropriate language as I expressed my frustration toward the scorer's table about the officiating. I realize that those comments are not acceptable, did not put the University of Louisville in the best light, and I apologize for my actions. I will be more mindful in expressing my emotions going forward." 

Vince Tyra weighed in on this as well: 

Director of Athletics Vince Tyra

“I had the opportunity to speak with Coach Walz at length and following our conversation have a clear understanding of the issue from both Coach and the NCAA’s perspective. Coach Walz’s intensity on the sideline is one of his most endearing qualities, but following our discussion, we both acknowledged that his behavior during the national semifinal game was not acceptable and is not how we want to represent the University of Louisville. I appreciate Coach’s cooperation resolving this matter and fully anticipate that he will adhere to championship policies, sportsmanship and conduct expectations in the future.”

So far, no admission of guilt from the referees or an apology for suddenly going snowblind. And, let's be perfectly clear that the missing of the foul wasn't the sole factor in leading to Louisville's loss. Jazmine Jones' follow-up shot was down and in the cylinder before the ball inexplicably came back out. McCowan was whistled for only one foul against Louisville and subsequently fouled out against Notre Dame. 

Coach Walz took the high road, he's the better man and class always comes through. Chances are the Cards will get to open again at home in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and Louisville will draw a first round, multi-directional, fake state or hyphenated school in opening action that Steph Norman and the rest of the coaching staff can easily lead the Cards to victory against. 

Some say...NCAA 1 - Louisville 0.

I say Jeff Walz took a few meaningless body punches from the tired old men in Indy and delivered a round-house right that sent them to the canvas. We support Coach and always will. He came out the better man in this. 

NCAA. It stands for: 

No
Constructive
Actions
Available. 

https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/louisville-women-s-basketball-coach-walz-reprimanded



BASEBALL DEMOLISHES DUKE TO ADVANCE TO ACC SEMIS

The final game of pool play for the Cards in the ACC Tournament was actually over in the first inning. Nine batters, four runs and key hits from Josh Stowers and Zach Britton. With solid Adam Wolf on the mound, the Devils would eventually fall 9-2 to the Cards. By then, the RSN/Fox Sports South camera crew had started showing things like a Cardinal bird in a grassy area eating sunflower seeds and the distraught Duke women in the bleachers who probably was wishing she was in Cameron instead of the Durham Bulls baseball park. 

Louisville advances to play Pittsburgh today at 1 p.m. in the semifinals. One has to hope that the Cardinal bats continue to erupt in the fashion they have in the previous two outings. 

We'll discuss it further on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR today at 11 a.m. and get that ol' Diamond Dog Jared Anderson's opinion on all things glove and bat. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR 


Join us today at 11 a.m. for three knuckleheads in the studio (Paulie, Jeff and Jared) as Case takes a hiatus to watch cars turn left in Indianapolis. We'll have a fun and action-packed 60 minutes for you discussing the joy and excitement of UofL athletics and showing our mugs on Facebook Live. 

Check in with us to see if Worldwide has changed jobs again this week, if Jared has discovered any interesting nickles or dimes and if Paulie can successfully find his way to the studio and gain access to the premises. It's live, unrehearsed and usually a big ol' time on the funky ol' Q from the magnificent media mansion on Mellwood. 

Join us, eh?  It don't cost nuthin. 

LINK:  THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR


paulie
xxxxx

Walz to Lead National Team Trials -- Sauer and USCMT Take Match One -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Coach Walz to Lead National Team Trials

Jeff Walz will be spending his weekend in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center.  The 2018 USA Basketball Women's U18 Team coach begins his journey of continuing is dominance outside of UofL.

A total of 35 athletes will participate in the trials to make the approximate- dozen player roster.  The auditonees come from all around the country, with the nearest one to Louisville being from Indianapolis.  None of the applicants have signed a letter of intent to Louisville.

Walz doesn't actually hand select the roster himself, but just holds the honors of preparing the team to compete against international opponents.  He will be assisted by Delaware's Natasha Adair and UCLA's Cori Close.  Jose Fernandez from USF and Joni Taylor from Georgia are listed as the trials coaching staff.

Sauer and USCNT Take Their First Match

Molly Sauer is currently overseas with the US Collegiate National Team (USCNT) competing in a 10-day, five-match tour.  They began the tour with a victory over a professional Chinese team, Shanghai Bright Ubest.

The US took the first set 25-22.  They then fell 25-17 the second and third sets  Sauer's team rebounded in the fourth set 25-20 and claimed the match 15-8 in the fifth set.

As always, Sauer is dressed in the libero uniform, providing her defensive expertise to the group.  She is one of 12 members on the team.

Baseball Faces Duke

After a 10-2 victory over 9-seed Wake Forest the 5-seed Louisville baseball team faces 4-seed Duke this morning at 11:00 a.m., in pool play.  The winner will advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

Louisville is currently projected to be a 2-seed in a region, falling just short of hosting an NCAA Regional this year and way off from hosting an NCAA Super Regional.

The game will be shown on the RSN Network. That can be several places, depending on what viewing device you are accessing it from. On Spectrum, it'll be Fox Sports South. That's Channel 70 for Louisville area viewers.



Mystics vs. Fever


The WASHINGTON MYSTICS improved to 3-0 with a 93-84 win over the Indiana Fever last night in Indianapolis. Myisha Hines-Allen, a reserve forward for Washington was an hour and a half from Louisville, and from accounts, a good-sized group of Cardinal and MHA fans made the trek up I-65 to see her play. Hines-Allen saw 11 minutes of playing time and gathered six points on 2-2 shooting and 2-3 from the foul line...and a couple of rebounds. She also was whistled for four fouls.  


Elena Della Donne led our nation's capital squad with 26 points and four other Mystics hit double figures in the win. After a tied first quarter, the Mystics grabbed a 51-44 halftime lead and held a 75-60 advantage after three before finishing nine points better than the Fever. Washington entertains Minnesota next, on Sunday.


Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

It appears it will be Paulie, Worldwide, and myself in the studio Saturday.  Case is not injured and is not preparing for another exam, he will be in Indy for part of the weekend. Some people turning left in cars or something like that.

Make sure to tune in to 100.9 fm (Louisville area) or on Facebook live at WCHQ fm to hear what us knuckleheads have to say.  As the Louisville sports season has nearly come to a close we will have plenty of time to talk about UofL summer activities and the WNBA among other things.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!


- Jared -

Ten Teams Get Perfect APR Score -- WNBA Update -- Women's Soccer Schedule -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ten UofL Teams Earn Perfect APR Score for 2016-2017 School Year

Yes, you read that right.  This report goes back an entire school year.  The Academic Progress Rate (APR) holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of student-athletes by looking at eligibility and retention of each individual student-athlete.  Teams earn points by student-athletes staying in school and remaining eligible to compete in their respective sports.  Any team that falls below an average of 930 over a four-year span is ineligible to compete in NCAA Championships.


Louisville's 10 perfect score teams include:

-women's basketball
-baseball
-women's cross country
-women's golf
-lacrosse
-women's soccer
-women's tennis
-men's tennis
-women's track
-volleyball

Eight of those 10 teams are women's teams at UofL, and as a site that primarily covers the women's sports at Louisville we are all extremely proud of them.  Academics are an important part of a student-athlete's life and one that we highly emphasize at Cardinal Couple.

An Update on the WNBA



Three Cardinals are making their making in the WNBA currently.  Myisha Hines-Allen (Washington Mystics), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), and Shoni Schimmel (Las Vegas Aces) have all begun their seasons with some having played two games while others have completed three.  Here's an update on how this trio of Cardinals is doing this season.

Myisha Hines-Allen: the 2018 grad has started off well on a 2-0 squad.  She has seen 20 minutes in the two games as a reserve player and has eight points and four rebounds.  Hines-Allen is shooting .500 from the field and has not attempted a free throw while committing one turnover.

Angel McCoughtry: the 2009 grad is back with the Dream after sitting out last year due to an injury.  She has played 24 minutes in one game for the 1-1 squad.  McCoughtry has 13 points, three rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and two steals to go with three turnovers and four fouls as the former Cardinal standout fills the stat sheet.  She is shooting .462 from the field with one three-pointer and no attempted free throws.

Shoni Schimmel: the 2014 grad is back in the league after sitting out last year for personal reasons.  The newly-founded Aces sit at 0-2 and the guard to take on Britney Griner head-to-head has seen 13 minutes in the two games.  Schimmel has not scored on 0-for-5 shooting and has two rebounds and one assist to go along with one turnover.

McCoughtry seems to not have missed a step while Hines-Allen is in the works of making a name for herself.  Schimmel appears to be struggling to get on her own two feet currently so hopefully she'll find her rhythm in the next couple of games or so.

Women's Soccer Season Announced

With the recent release of the men and women's soccer schedules all fall sports have now publicly announced their schedules.  Women's soccer hopes to improve from last season's 9-7-2 record.
Karen Ferguson Dayes may have lost Inger Katrine Bjerke on defense but does return a solid and exciting scoring attack.

The home lineup features non-conference opponents in Morehead State, Wright State, Xavier, Kentucky, and Eastern Kentucky.  The home ACC foes include Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia, Miami, and Virginia Tech.

Road matches include Dayton, Michigan, Purdue, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, and North Carolina State.

The first three matches of the season are at home, beginning August 11.  Senior Day will probably be the Miami game on October 7, despite the final home match being against Virginia Tech on October 25.

Their schedule will follow their usual Thursday and Sunday lineup with the exception of a couple early matches.  On Friday August 31 the women will host Kentucky at 5:30 p.m., with the men facing St. Louis after.  Both matches will feature highly anticipated rivalries.

Other News and Notes

Baseball, the #5-seed, won their first game in ACC pool play by defeating #9-seed Wake Forest 10-2.  Josh Stowers was a single shy of the cycle while driving in six RBIs.  They face 4-seed Duke Friday at 11:00 a.m.  Duke and Wake Forest have yet to face each other, but most likely the winner of the Louisville-Duke game will advance out of pool play into the ACC semifinals on Saturday.

All of the host sites advanced to the Super Regional in the NCAA Softball Tournament.  This is the second straight year where the Top 16 seeds advanced.  In 2016, hosts Kentucky and Tennessee were upset.  In 2015, hosts Notre Dame (lost to Kentucky) and James Madison fell in the Regional.  2014 also saw two host teams fall.  2013 had three host teams lose while 2012 saw four hosts fall.

Happy Red Nose Day! Red Nose Day has been an unofficial holiday since 2015 and is aimed at defeating child poverty in all 50 states and 34 countries around the world.  It is also National Brothers Day, so gentlemen, remind your siblings that today is all about you!

On the USF campus, Louisville track and field hs participants galore for the NCAA East Regional Preliminaries. Going today for UofL on the women's side, Alexis Gibbons leaps in the long jump, Brooke Raglin sprints in the 100 meters and Dorcas Wasike stretches out in the 10,000 meters. Good luck to these Cardinal student-athletes!

Enjoy your Thursday and start preparing those pools to open up this weekend.  Go Cards!

- Jared -

Catching Up with Jeff Walz -- Baseball enters ACC Tournament today -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CATCHING UP WITH JEFF WALZ

Paulie was able to catch up with the extremely busy head coach of the Louisville women's basketball team yesterday, Jeff Walz, and catch up with the affable Cards skipper on what's been going on with him since the 2017-18 season ended. 

As you listen to the interview below, you'll hear that: 



-- Coach has been doing some travelling since Columbus...both coaching related and taking some time off with family. 

-- Coach also discusses three of his players, who are now part of WNBA rosters. 

-- Coach talks about the grade point average of the team, the highest since he's been there, and the work that the players had to do to get it during an extremely busy time for the squad. 

-- Coach is working on an extended contract with Louisville. Hear the updates on that procedure. 

-- Coach's review of the 2017-18 season. 

We appreciate Coach Walz spending considerable time with us, in our "Catching Up" series and giving us an update on how things have been going.  

LINK: JEFF WALZ INTERVIEW



BASEBALL BEGINS "SECOND SEASON" 

With Louisville Baseball about to begin their ACC Tournament appearance and so few sports left with work to do on campus, we thought we'd take a look at what is ahead for them. 

The ACC has this funky pool play system, where they take the top 12 ACC baseball playing teams and put them in four pools. No, not the wading kind or the ones at a country club...but four competitive pools where you have to have the best record in your poll in the games you play against each of the other two teams in your pool.

 Boston College and Virginia Tech, the other two teams that play ACC baseball, were thirteenth and fourteenth in the league standings and left out of the pools. I guess they'll go on a hike or maybe a nice drive in the country. Maybe a picnic. 

And no rambunctious splashing or diving in shallow water!...you folks in the pool...

The Cards have Wake Forest and Duke in their pool, and that has to be some "hot" water with the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons. UofL would need to go 2-0 as the #5 seed to advance to the semifinals, where more action awaits. If they beat the "satanic" members of their pool, they go into a four-team, single elimination tournament. If the Cards were to tie (1-1) in their pool play (and can we get a beach ball or snorkel here?) with Duke, then Duke advances, because they are the #4 seed. 

Confused yet? Welcome to the club. 

Such nonsense, fortunately, hasn't invaded softball yet. 

Good luck to the Cards, who play their first pool game today (we like "Marco Polo") at 11 a.m. The Cards get #9 seed Wake Forest first. They're playing these contests in Durham, NC and that is a huge advantage, one would think, for Duke. I wonder if there is a baseball version of the "Cameron Crazies"? 

Some games have already been played in the pool. You can follow the action and see the results at this link:  ACC Baseball Tournament.  The games are being shown on RSN on your local cable provider. Here in the "Ville" that usually means Fox Sports South. 

Play ball! Hit the pool! (And no running on the wet pavement!) I'm going for a steam, sauna and whirlpool. I hope I beat the two other guys that are in the pool to the "good" jets...




paulie
xxxxx