Mail bag time -- On Shoni, On Myisha, on Asia and Walz -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WE LOOK AT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AND OFFER SOPHOMORIC ANSWERS

We get your e-mails and comments. Oh, yes, we do.

Our specially trained staff of chimpanzees carefully sort through your correspondence, decide what Paulie needs to see and every once in a great moon, the ol' defensive end emerges from his lair and goes public with them. The others end up in Bill The Goat's stomach. 

We do change the names (if we use them) to protect the innocent, galatically stupid and our own rear ends. People do prefer to talk basketball in the majority of them, which is no surprise to us at all. It is our readers' most popular sport here at the C.C. and we're pretty big fans ourselves. Some folks like to rant, others observe...none of them offer to trim and edge Paulie's taxus bushes, though...or cut the lawn. If you've ever considered e-mailing Cardinal Couple, we highly advise against it and can't guaranteed you'll get a response that makes any sense whatsoever...but the letters you need to type in are: 

cardinalcouple@twc.com


OK! To the lumberyard! 

Jeanie writes: How come there aren't more UofL Women's Basketball players in the WNBA? The men have had success with "Scary" Terry Rozier and Donovan Mitchell lately.

PAULIE: That's a real good question and I'm not sure I know the answer. Maybe it's part talent level, part club decisions and part never getting a shot. With Shoni's recent cut from the Liberty, three Cards are still dribblin'. Angel will definitely be on the roster in Atlanta and, in my humble opinion, both Asia and Myisha are on the bubble in Washington. The Mystics have, like the other WNBA teams, 12 spots on the roster. Emma Meesserman won't play this year but is on a guaranteed contract (which means she will get paid no matter what and is "on" the roster) and with players Elena Della Donne, Tayler Hill, Kristi Tolliver, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, Krystal Thomas and Monique Curry pretty much assured of a spot, the competition gets tougher. Especially when Hines-Allen and Taylor are basically competing for the same spot. I'll venture a guess and say one of the two make the Mystics and one doesn't. My guess is Taylor and I absolutely hate that. They should keep both. 

I do think the Cards WBB program has a few future WNBA stars in the offing, though. Asia Durr, Sam Fuehring, Arica Carter and Jazzie Jones all have the skills, plus transfer Yacine Diop. 

Kenneth asks: How much longer until we hear about a Walz contract extension? 

PAULIE:  The latest speculation is that UofL might be waiting until the next quarterly

board meeting to approve a contract that Vince Tyra and Jeff Walz have already worked out. It's pretty simple. Walz wants to retire here. Vince wants him to retire here. He has a contract already in place. The issue is an extension and Louisville will do what is needed to make it a lucrative one for Coach. I know, it feels like we're kids waiting for Christmas at times...but it'll happen. In the meantime, Coach is busy. Get out of the way and let the man do his thing. The days of the "Jurich rubber stamp approval" are no longer in play. Trust the new process and it'll work. 

Megan inquires: What was the thinking behind recruiting Diop to the roster? 

PAULIE: I love it when they lob them in and I can go fence with them! Experience and performance. Look at her Pitt numbers. Look at what she did to Louisville, who had one of, if not the best defenses in the ACC. Put her in a situation where she's surrounded by better (and more) talent and it'll be beneficial to her and the team. You're going to love her and she'll have a great season here. She might not get all of Myisha's departed minutes...not with the talent on the Cards roster that's already here and is coming in, but she'll win you over with her incredible intensity, ability and proficiency. And, it'll give Cards radio play-by-play guy Nick Curran the chance to say: 

"Diop hops to the top. She stops. She pops. It drops and they can't stop her." 

Corky wants to know: Can you provide a brief background on you and your writers? I love the site! 

PAULIE: Yes, for a small fee.  We are a non-profit, ya know. 

Actually, we've got a great staff on tap currently, the best I can ever remember here. Worldwide Jeff has been with CC the longest, next to me. He secretly wants to be the first man sent to Mars. We've petitioned NASA to make it a one-way ticket. When he's not busy fixing server, Internet and PC issues, he likes watching building demolitions, driving his electric ride, watching Volleyball and practicing his curling skills for the WCHQ International team.

Case, I've known since he was knee-high to a tadpole. When he's not out injuring his Achilles...he's engineering the choo-choo train and going through the incredible experience of planning a marriage with Lindsey, following the Seattle Seahawks and designing a better mousetrap. He's the brains of this bunch and we're lucky to have him.
Every Larry and Curly need a Moe. He's ours. Keeper of the knuckleheads. 

Mr. Anderson Jared never sleeps. If he's not turning nickles into quarters...he's photographing a variety of things, attending athletic events, practicing his Seminole war chant with Katie or drumming with the Louligans. He's skilled at the art of playing the Euphonium. We share him with another site as well, which leads me to believe there are actually two Jared Anderson's...I just haven't figured out how to tell the difference between then yet. 

As for me, I like to chase kids out of my front yard, figure out possible Pick 4 combinations, walk on the (or in the) water and devise methods to drive UofL coaches and staffers bonkers. My Sonja has a vast surveillance network in place to track me...seems I sometimes forget where I'm at, what I'm doing, who I am and laughingly ignore some slight civil ordinances and statures. But, I'm easily entertained and persuaded. 13 going on 60. Usually the last to know. 

All in all, a great group that gets along well and does it all for love of sport. Can't ask for much more than that. 


Skip closes today's mailbag with...I thought it was a bit of a disappointing Spring performance for the UofL women's squads. Your take? 

PAULIE: Au contraire, mon frere! 

I would say quite the opposite. Let's take a look. Lacrosse has a new and excellent coach in place who is and will build a squad that will be ACC excellent in a few years. Scott Teeter came in here, gathered what was left of a program in shambles, brought in some immediate help and put in place a plan that the women believe in and that will work. This collection of abandoned pups, ill-fitting Tinkertoys and broken Legos was transformed into a unit that played their hearts out despite lack of numbers and mass exodus. He's my UofL Coach of the Year. Look at Casey Madura, Emily Howell, Julia Wood, Lexie Ball, Madison Hoover, Jill Balog, "da Blalock sistahs" and many more on the roster. All class acts and a preview of what's to come and what can be overcome.   

Softball continues to build for the ACC. Players just don't fall out of the sky and land in the diamond. It takes development and time. Sandy Pearsall and the staff will get there with these ballers. Women's golf is going to the NCAA Championships. Louisville Rowing had a strong ACC performance. Track and Field and Swimming have great success stories from this season as well. Tennis competes well in conference and out. If I've left anyone out...I apologize, but this collection of student-athletes works hard all year, not just in the spring. We take off our Cardinal Couple hats to them. We thank them. 

The spring was a good one for UofL women's programs. No, we may not have any team NCAA Championship Banners to hang at the venues or in the buildings, but I'd venture to say, overall, that the UofL women's spring sports squads easily finished overall in the top half of the ACC for Spring Sports and high up the national ranks. 

OK! Thanks for reading!  Mr. Jared climbs into the driver's seat tomorrow. WE appreciate ALL the e-mail and comments we get here at Cardinal Couple...even the less than complimentary ones. Any measuring device, via e-mail, in the comments section...however you choose to do it, helps us get better and tells us what you want to see. Don't be shy. Talk to us! 


paulie
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