On Sports, Volleyball and the Cardinal Couple Radio Podcast -- Cardinal Couple Sunday

Day 3 without sports.  It's a strange time here in the US, and really, across the world.  We're looking at adjusting to a spring almost completely devoid of any organized sports, and regardless of what culture and country you're in, sports are likely a nearly everyday presence in your life.

We are, as a culture and society, being urged to practice "social distancing" to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and the COVID-19 disease that it causes.  This translates to no large gatherings and avoiding public communal gatherings, and what is more communal that going to a sporting event and cheering on your team with thousands of others?

So, for the next few weeks, and perhaps months, all NCAA sports have been cancelled or postponed.  Many of us are saddened by the elimination of the communal bonding activity in our lives.  It's challenging, to be sure, but it's good to keep in the back of your mind that it could be so much worse.  By all accounts COVID-19 is a serious illness that can, potentially, knock even healthy young people back on their heels.  To be sure, some people catch the virus and are essentially asymptomatic, there's just so much that we don't know.

So we sit back, maybe we re-watch some past games, or binge some Netflix shows.  Last night, I rewatched the UofL vs Oregon women's basketball game in the virgin islands early in the season.  Spoiler alert: UofL wins!  Yay!

Even in that activity, though, the current situation we find ourselves in hit home.  Late in the game, Brenda VanLengen commented made a comment along the lines of, "Both of these teams are very likely Final Four teams".  A Final Four that now won't happen.  Oof.

The sports world is rife with predictions for the future.  Some of the better commentators and analysts are adept at diving into the data and statistics to glean insights for what will happen in the future.  And there is data, statistics, and patterns that can be drawn on to understand what is likely to happen in the future of COVID-19, but they are statistics and data that are foreign to sports commentators.

There are epidemiologists and other disease specialists that can give us good advice and predictions about what is to come in this scenario, and to their credit, they are, as a whole, much better at being data driven than sports commentators.  Listen to them, give what they say credence, don't give anything I've said above in this column about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 any special credence just because it's written here in Cardinal Couple.  I'm no epidemiologist.

Overall, be careful, be kind to one another, follow the advice of medical experts, and stay safe.  There will be sporting events to talk about in the future, and we'll be here to tell you about the Cardinal women.

Volleyball Tidbits

The Volleyball program has gotten and hung the banner in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena in honor of the team's historic Elite 8 appearance in the fall.

The theme for the 2018 season was all about the color black, thinking of the black banners that they used to signify the Sweet 16 appearances that the program had achieved in the past.  I presumed that they would stick with the black banner theme for the Elite 8 appearance, saving the other school color that hadn't yet been used, white, for a hoped for future Final Four appearance or better.

I was wrong.  The new banner is white, and with a nod to the red sequined jacket that Coach Dani Busboom Kelly wore during two of the matches in the tournament run (against Samford and Texas, if I remember correctly) the "2019" on the banner is done in red sequins.

I know I'll be ready to get back into the arena in the fall to check that out, as well as see this team that is set to have an amazing year.

Coach Busboom Kelly also tweeted a message indicating a new verbal commitment to join the team in 2021.  Of course, until they are have signed a National Letter of Intent, the program cannot share specifics about who it is.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

More changes have been afoot for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  The Louisville Free Public Library had closed their meeting spaces and other utility rooms, such as the recording studio, so in a last minute rush, Case and I worked out how to pull off the show using Skype.  We were working feverishly right up until we went live to try to get Paulie online as well and were making progress.  He was online with the call we were in, but had no audio.  We will, of course, continue to work with Paulie to get his audio working so he can join us in the future, and as always, we will have Jared with us as his work duties allow, and of course Daryl always has an open invitation to join us as well.

My audio levels start out very low, my apologies for that, I get that adjusted about a minute in.  Other than that, enjoy an...unusual...Cardinal Couple Radio Hour.  We did recap some events that did occur early in the week, and honored the life of Sherril Brakmeier, a giant in the history of UofL women's sports, but otherwise we did discuss the COVID-19 situation and how it will affect sports, along with some digressions along the way.

-- 

JMcA