Upcoming ACC Network Takeover Day -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

As we continue to progress with summer, the ACC Network has once again decided to host its 'ACC Network Takeover' where each member of the ACC will get a day to show games and events from their respective athletic programs. Louisville gets Monday, July 10. The ACC Network has released its schedule for that day.

ACC Network Schedule:

12:00 am: Baseball vs NC State (04/02/2023, 6-1 win)

3:00 am: Field Hockey vs Michigan (09/11/2022, 2-1 win)

4:30 am: '3-Day Weekend: Louisville edition'

5:00 am: Men's Soccer vs Pitt: (09/23/2022, 2-1 win)

7:00 am: Volleyball vs Kentucky (09/14/2022, 3-2 win)

9:00 am: Women's Basketball vs North Carolina (02/05/2023, 62-55 win)

11:00 am: Football vs Wake Forest (10/29/2022, 48-21 win)

2:00 pm: Women's Soccer vs Boston Collège (10/09/2022, 1-0 win)

4:00 pm: Men's Basketball vs Clemson (02/18/2023, 83-73 win)

6:00 pm: Volleyball vs Oregon (12/10/2022, 3-2 win)

8:00 pm: Volleyball vs Pitt (12/15/2022, 3-2 win)

10:00 pm: Lacrosse vs Pitt (03/05/2023, 12-9 win)

Unsurpingly, the most recent school year was heavily dominated by the women's athletic programs and those women's teams will have seven games featured in the 24-hour slate.

Paulie and I were present when field hockey hosted then- #4 Michigan at Trager Stadium. While the Wolverines scored first in the third quarter, the Cards answered less than a minute later before scoring again with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

The match volleyball had against Kentucky was in Lexington. Paulie, Jeff, and I were all present for it with Jeff in the crowd, Paulie on media row making friends, and myself on the court taking pictures. In a normal UofL vs UK thriller, the two teams battled it close with the Cards prevailing in the final set.

When women's basketball faced North Carolina, it was already apparent that Louisville was having a little bit of a 'down year' and even trailed this game at the half. The Cards led by one with 6:10 remaining before having the advantage down the stretch.

Women's soccer had lost four straight, all in ACC play, before Boston College visited Lynn Stadium last fall. A corner kick midway through the first half bounced around before the Cards capitalized for the match's lone goal.

Volleyball against Oregon in the Elite Eight is one that had UofL as nervous as can be. The Cards had their backs against the wall in the fourth set as Oregon held match point. Louisville went on beyond the standard 25 points in that set to win before winning the fifth set fairly easily.

The Final Four match against Pitt will go down in history as one of Louisville volleyball's greatest matches of all time. The two ACC rivals battled it out after splitting the regular season and Louisville dominated the fifth set of the final meeting 15-2.

The lacrosse match against Pitt was a rare home event that we didn't have anyone physically present. This fell on the same day as the ACC Women's Basketball Championship, which Louisville was playing in. This was the first of Louisville's two ACC wins. The Cards scored the match's final three goals to pull away for the win.

Sadly, I'll miss the entire day's showing, but I was fortunate enough to witness most of these in person and see more online.

Honeymoon Time

After almost a full month of being married, Katy and I finally get ready for our honeymoon! We will fly out of Louisville tomorrow and will be taking a nine-day cruise through the Caribbean that departs Saturday. As we will be having limited access to wifi, I will be away from the site for a week and a half.

The awesome Cardinal Couple crew has been kind enough to cover for me while I am out and all of them are excellent writers so make sure to tune in daily to see what they will bring to us.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Basketball TV Schedule Announced -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Women's Basketball TV Schedule Announced

Louisville women's basketball announced its tv schedule. Of the 30 regular season games, 18 are slated to be on national television. Five of those games are slated for ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.

The Cards open up the season at home against Cincinnati, which will be viewable on ACC Network. When UofL takes on Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to close out November, ACC Network will be the host station again.

The Battle for the Bluegrass at Rupp Arena this year will command the ESPN spotlight. Remember the last sport that Louisville and Kentucky faced each other in? A certain UofL squad went to Memorial Coliseum and won in five sets on ESPN.

FS1 will be the host station when Louisville and DePaul square off right before Christmas.

Louisville opens conference play against Pitt, which you can catch on ACC Network. Most of the ACC schedule will be mixed between one of the ESPN channels, ACC Network, and the regional sports network. For UofL games, that often falls onto Bally Sports, a network that has caused plenty of controversy recently because of its limited access for a good chunk of the fan base.

NC State will be on ABC. North Carolina will be on ESPN2. The two-game split against Notre Dame will be on ESPN. I guess the Cards vs Irish rivalry continues to draw outside interest.

Although the non-tv schedule streaming options appear to be on ACC Network Extra, road games are beyond Louisville's control.

Louisville in the Bahamas has no tv or streaming listed at this time. The games at Middle Tennessee and Bellarmine (in Freedom Hall)) also don't have tv or streaming listed.

All tv game schedules are subject to change, but assuming Louisville continues to remain a top team, there should be no concern.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville to Host ACC Network Takeover July 10 -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville to Host ACC Network Takeover July 10

Louisville Athletics will claim the spotlight for 24 hours when Louisville takes over the ACC Network on Sunday July 10.

The ACC Network takeover has been a common thing in recent years, especially during the summer. Each ACC school receives a day where their games featuring several different teams will be showcased. The Cards drew a lucky straw with a weekend slot.

This year, the ACC chose to go in alphabetical order. Boston College was first to go on Tuesday with Clemson taking over yesterday. Duke gets the spotlight today.

Louisville announced the games slated for Sunday's feature:

12:00 am: Men's Soccer vs Wake Forest (presumably 3-0 win in 2021 season)

2:00 am: Men's Basketball vs NC State (presumably 73-68 win in 2021-2022 season)

4:00 am: Football spring game

6:00 am: Baseball vs NC State (presumably 11-4 or 11-7 win in 2022 season)

9:00 am: Men's Basketball vs Georgia Tech (presumably 67-64 or 84-74 win in 2021-2022 season)

11:00 am: Men's Soccer vs North Carolina (presumably 2-0 win in 2020 season)

1:00 pm: Football vs UCF (the "Pick-6" win in 2021 season)

4:00 pm: Women's Basketball vs UConn (presumably 69-64 win in 2021-2022 season)

6:00 pm: Volleyball vs Pitt (presumably 3-2 or 3-1 win in 2021 season)

8:00 pm: Women's Basketball vs Michigan (presumably 70-48 or 62-50 win in 2021-2022 season)

10:00 pm: Volleyball vs Kentucky (the 3-2 win in 2021 season)

For the most part, I like the lineup. I don't think a football spring game is big enough to take a slot in the lineup and I think there should be a better balance in the women's and men's sports, but having been at almost all of these events and having watched the rest on tv/online I can say with confidence that all games will be exciting.

The dates from each game aren't listed so I did some research and guessed at which games/results will be the ones shown. For those that have multiple possibilities I'm going to list which ones I think will be the games aired, but don't hold me to it.

The Volleyball vs Pitt match will most likely be the 3-2 thriller at the L&N FCU Arena this past season. It came down to a fifth set, where the Cards outscored the Panthers 9-5 down the stretch following the final media timeout. The win helped UofL to improve to 20-0 on the year and was a key moment in realizing just how good Dani Busboom Kelly's squad was.

The Women's Basketball vs Michigan game will most likely be the 62-50 win in the Elite Eight that sent Louisville to its fourth ever Final Four. The Cards relied on a 17-7 fourth quarter to pull away. The Wolverines brought the score within two before Jeff Walz's squad slammed the door by scoring the final 10 points in the game.

After having another great season that was highlighted by a perfect mark in ACC play, it's a shame that Louisville field hockey did not make the cut for Sunday's lineup. Softball had some exciting games this past season that could've made the slate as well. Women's soccer had multiple extra time victories last season in conference play that had the potential to make the cut too.

The lineup is subject to change and it's not uncommon to see bits and pieces skipped to help keep the tv schedule on time.

We will reflect back at some of the exciting women's victories on our regularly scheduled Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast this Saturday.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Sunday Cardinal Couple - Gameday is Here Again

 Gameday for WBB

The Cards face a pretty quick turnaround from Friday's game against DePaul.  This is a quick shift from a top 20 opponent to a mid-major that has never beaten the Cards.  The series with UT Martin stands at 9-0, with the last win coming just last year, in Tennessee.

The Cards are going to be an odds-on favorite in this one, but this is the type of game that gives some people pause.  Coming off of a hyped, and unquestionably fun, game on Friday, with such a short turn-around limiting the amount of time the team can spend on preparing for a specific opponent, is a common recipe for, well, at least having more challenges with a team than one would otherwise expect.

Add into the recipe, that this is the season opener for the Skyhawks, so the Cards have no current game film to look at, and it makes the short preparation time that much more difficult.  The Skyhawks, on the other hand, have three games worth of game film to look at from UofL.  Oh, and let's not forget, Seygan Robins, who, I think you could say, is pretty familiar with Jeff Walz's coaching and playing style having transfers to UT Martin from UofL after last season.  And the last ingredient to the recipe, this was a pretty recently scheduled game, as part of the shifting sands of college basketball scheduling thanks to Covid.

The only preparation benefit that the Cards have is that the Skyhawks had no seniors on their squad last year, so the squad is largely unchanged.  So let's look at some stats leaders from last year, to give us a bit of an idea of what to expect today.

The points leader is Chelsey Perry, a 6'2" forward from Middleton, TN.  She more than doubled the point production of anyone else on the team, helped by .385 shooting from beyond the arc.  The next producer is Maddie Waldrop, also a 6'2" senior forward.  Waldrop, from Murray, also scores well from range, at a .317 clip.  The most efficient shooter from range is Perry, with Dasia Young placing 2nd in that category, shooting .350, but she only took a little over one long range attempt per game last year.

The leaders on the boards are also Perry and Waldrop.  The 3rd place listing for that stat is "TEAM", which is...unhelpful.  When it comes to ball security, here we see Perry again at the top of the list for steals, but also watch out for the 5'7" Almost-Attack-Yorkie Kyannah Grant out of Choctaw Mississippi.  No word on if she knew Billie Joe MacAllister from the famous song.

(OK, map geek digression:  Choctaw is actually not particularly close to Choctaw Ridge in MS, about 70 miles, though it's roughly as close as the Tallahatchee River is, about 75 miles, so I guess they could still be related as part of the fictional events in the song Ode to Billie Joe.  Amusingly, to get from Choctaw, to Choctaw Ridge, you would drive from near Philadelphia through Louisville, though I believe they pronounce the "s" in their city name.  Yes, these are all places in Mississippi.)

As we discussed on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast yesterday, our consensus is that UT Martin will try to slow the pace of this game down.  DePaul plays a high pace, track race style of play, and it played right into the hands of this Cardinals team, resulting in a record high scoring outing.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to see an attempt at playing some zone defense with the hope that a good 2-3 zone would force the Cards to try to make some 3pt attempts.  We know there are some good shooters on this UofL squad, but the game statistics thus far suggest it might be a strategy that could help.  I say "might" because the 3pt percentage shooting for the Cards in the EKU and DePaul games weren't bad.  It's only when you include the SEMO game, and it's .118 that the number drops to a concerning result.

Overall, I would look for a solid UofL win, here.  Beware of the post-big-game letdown, but UT Martin comes in as a mid-major without a huge expectation of pulling off a win, here.  This is a game for them to get experience and learn, and in the schedule chaos generator that is Covid, let's just enjoy getting the opportunity for these teams to be healthy and take the floor.

Tune into the ACC Network at noon eastern for this one, or as always, you can hear the great coverage from Nick Curran on 790am in Louisville (just don't pronounce that "s").

A Fantastic Addition

Cardinal Couple is growing!  Daryl Foust is joining the regular rotation of writers here at Cardinal Couple.  You may remember Daryl from her frequent appearances on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour while we were still being hosted by WCHQ, and she has agreed to join the writer's ranks here at CC.  I believe the plan is that she will be writing the Friday articles, so look forward to that.

We're also working on getting everything set up for her to join us for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, so look forward to hopefully hearing her there as well.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

 

Speaking of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, we did have what we have called a full house, on the radio show with Case, Jared, Paulie, and myself all present for this.  With the addition of Daryl, I guess we can say we're adding on an extension?

A full hour+ of women's basketball discussion for this episode.  We went in depth about the DePaul game, as you might expect, but also recapped the EKU game that happened this week, with a bit of a look ahead to today's UT Martin game.  The discussion was fun, I hope you have fun listening as well.

JMcA

Jared Anderson's "A history of" -- Swimming and Diving -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

A History of Louisville Women’s Sports Chapter 5: Swimming and Diving

As we transition from the fall sports to winter sports I decided to focus on a program that does not receive the publicity and recognition equivalent to their accomplishments.  In terms of national championships combined between individual and team events the Louisville swimming and diving program is unlike any other.  Their streak of national championships traces back to when I first started as a student.  However, today we are focusing solely on the women’s side, so we will negate all men’s accomplishments for the time being.

Ralph Wright is a name recognized as the aquatic center where the Cardinals compete at today, but the name means much more than that.  Ralph Wright became the first swimming and diving (S&D) coach at UofL for the 1948-49 school year.  Wright had a prestigious record long before his time at UofL including a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps.  He continued to coach in town at the Y.M.C.A, Lakeside Swim Club and Plantation Swim Club up until his death at the age of 45.  There are now multiple buildings named in his memory.  Wright is now a member of the Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame.

There was a gap in stats, numbers and records following Wright’s departure up until the 1990’s when UofL

started keeping records.  That’s when Rick Hill came in.  He was the second most recent swimming and diving coach, where he held the position from the 1990’s to the 2002-03 season.  Hill spent his time as coach as a member of Conference USA and now has an award named in his honor.

Arthur Albiero first took over in 2003.  He came from Alabama, where he played an integral part in their rebuilding period.  Albiero worked with architects on the design of the Ralph Wright Natatorium just in time for UofL to join the Big East Conference.  Since then, Albiero has helped the Cards onto numerous individual conference championships in the Big East, AAC and ACC.  He has guided Cardinals onto higher levels with NCAA Championships, World Championships, and Olympic medals.  The women won their first ever conference championship in 2009-2010, under his guidance.  Two women’s swimmers have one individual NCAA titles- Kelsi Worrell Dahlia and Mallory Comerford.  Albiero has also coached the Brazilian Olympics team.

Worrell won titles in 2015 and 2016.  Comerford went three years with the crown in 2017, 2018 and 2019.  Both swimmers were also a part of the 2016 Rio Olympics USA gold medal team.  On the men’s side, Joao De Lucca and Carlos Almeida have both taken the title during their careers.

The Ralph Wright Natatorium has been home to the Cards since September 2005 after a two-year construction project.  It is most well-known for Louisville swimming and diving but serves a greater purpose.  Local swim and dive events happen year-round at the venue.  The University takes advantage by offering aquatics classes for students and swim lessons and classes for the public.  It has eight full lanes for competition while the diving area goes as deep as 18 ft. 

Prior to the Natatorium was Crawford Gymnasium.  It was host to the swimming and diving teams for most of the program’s life, starting with its construction in 1963.  Crawford Gym was also home to several UofL P.E. classes up through its demolish in late 2016.  It has been replaced by a state-of-the-art classroom building.

Now a national powerhouse, UofL Swimming and Diving consistently finishes ranked in the Top 10 and

finished in the Top 5 last year.  Admission is free to all UofL Swimming and Diving events at the Natatorium, but they usually charge for parking in the area.  You can catch a few of us Cardinal Couple folks at events throughout the year.

From the basement of a gym to a state-of-the art facility...Louisville Swimming and Diving has continued to grow and attract the best swimmers in the world. We don't see that changing.

She's back...

Milwaukee's loss is Louisville's (and the ACC) gain. 

Former Miss Kentucky,  Cardinal Volleyball setter and Assumption High School Alumnae Katie George has left her role as the sideline and digital reporter for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks after 10 months to take a position with the ACC Network. 

George will be an anchor and reporter with the ACC Network. One can logically assume that she'd be a part of the network's Volleyball coverage -- but she's the type of person you can throw into any situation and she'll shine. 

For more on Katie and her decision to return to Louisville and the conference where she spent her final two years of her student-athlete career, check out the link below: 

https://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/katie-george-leaves-bucks.html

Country music legend Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a classic hit back in 1968 titled "What made Milwaukee famous".

LINK to song:  George Jones' Classic Hit

In this case, though...Milwaukee isn't sending us a fool or loser back home. We are re-gaining an up-and-coming shining star who continues to move up in her career. 

Can the return of the double fist pump be far away? 

                                                                    #############

I’m back to banking this weekend and Daryl is tossing pitchers for saying “that’s horrible”.  Paulie, Worldwide and Case will be on air for another World-Famous Cardinal Couple Quiz so tune in to see if you can win! Don't miss The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Saturday morning on WCHQ 100.9 FM, Facebook Live, the WCHQ app or listen live at the station's website:  

WCHQFM.COM

Emanating from the magnificent, marvelous and massive media mansion on Mellwood ...the best of UofL Womens' Sports...

Go Cards!

Jared Anderson

I’m back to banking this weekend and Daryl is tossing pitchers for saying “that’s horrible”.  Paulie, Worldwide and Case will be on air for another World-Famous Cardinal Couple Quiz so tune in to see if you can win!

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared

ACC Network -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

PROMISING OPPORTUNITIES FOR VIEWING (FOR SOME)

As most of you know, the ACC Network is coming. On August 22, this network will begin broadcasting ACC Sports. The current providers in Louisville are DirectTV, Hulu, Vue, Fios, Optimum, Google Fiber and "other providers"...according to the ACC Network information website. The ESPN app is another option. 



One notable name is missing. Spectrum.  

For those of you (myself included) who haven't "cut the cable" and still use this provider, the question, I suppose, is "Will Spectrum carry the ACC Network?" I decided to do a little research and "see what I could see".

After scouring the Internet and not finding out any relevant information on whether the ACC Network would be on Spectrum or not, I went to "Plan B" and decided to call Spectrum and ask a few questions. 

As usual, when you call most businesses anymore, you have to go through a series of "prompts" to reach a real person. I call this the "Automated Alice" procedure. I was eventually able to convince "Alice" I wanted to speak to a live customer service representative. And, after a five minute "hold time" I had a human being on the line. I realize that call centers are, for the most part -- understaffed... and delays are inevitable if you want a real person. 

The customer service representative I spoke with was polite but could not provide an answer on whether Spectrum would be negotiating with the ACC Network or ESPN to carry it. So, I politely asked to speak to someone who might provide more information. This is what the industry calls a "supervisor transfer call" and the hold time here was 12 minutes.

 I get it. There are less supervisors than call center customer service representatives.

I posed the question several ways. Each time the response was the same. She had no information on whether "corporate" Spectrum was negotiating with the ACC Network for coverage.  So, I decided to "retreat" and try another angle. I did make a request that Spectrum include the ACC Network on their roster and she promised she would deliver the message.  

I thought a call to UofL and to the department that is working with the ACC Network might provide some answers. Unfortunately, I got the voice mail of the person listed as "executive director of TV productions". Once again, I understand that....I'm sure that there are a lot of details and things to be worked out in preparation for the Cards part of the ACC Network and this person can't be sitting by the phone waiting to field questions from people like me. I did leave a detailed voice message, however, including my name, affiliation, phone number, e-mail address and reason for the call. I haven't had a reply yet....if I get one, I'll add it to the comments section.  

So, batting 0-3 and nervously looking toward the dugout to see if Coach Aprile was going to send in a pinch-hitter for me...I debated my next options. 

Perhaps Vince Tyra would know? Or Kenny Klein, the senior associate AD/SID? Maybe one of the assistant SID's would have an answer? Coach Walz knows a lot of stuff...maybe he had the answer I was looking for. I've got this "know-it-all", opinionated neighbor, who I'm sure would weigh-in with his "two cents worth"...even though he subscribes to ATT U Verse...and is a UK/SEC fan. (For the record, ATT has not signed a carriage contract with ESPN either to carry the ACC Network). Maybe my priest or that helpful guy at the Auto Zone had the answer? 

I came to the conclusion, though, that the UofL folks were probably way too busy to field a call from an independent website owner.  I did not make these calls. And, my neighbor is on vacation, so that venue wasn't possible either. 

I wondered if "Ask Jeeves" was still an active website?  I checked and got directed to ask.com but found no answer there either. 

Then it dawned on me. Why not call ESPN? So I did.  

My call was answered by ESPN's version of "Automated Alice" but the prompt sequence went pretty quickly. The customer service representative I spoke with was did not know anything about any negotiations with Spectrum for carrier coverage but suggested I might ask "the Customer Care team". But, as it turns out, this "team" wasn't in the office. Maybe they were out travelling for an away game or practicing for their next opponent. 

I did try again to speak with "the team" a few minutes later but a different Automated Alice informed me that no support agents were available to take my call and was asked to please call back later. A few subsequent attempts came up with the same results...but eventually, I did get through to a member of the Customer Care team.

I did find out that negotiations are ongoing between Spectrum and ESPN about a carrier pairing....so that is a bit of positive news. 

I also went to the site support.espn.com. There is a lot of information there, including a much broader list of providers that will carry the ACC Network, and the site is worth checking out.

So, I must sadly report that my quest for knowledge came up with limited success. I was 0-6 and I'm sure Coach Walz has someone getting off the bench to replace me. Maybe it'll be Jess, Kasa or Lindsey...I can't seem to get any offense generated and I'll have a seat next to Sam Purcell and discuss my lack of positive performance. Sometimes, the shots just don't fall. 

I wonder if the gang at NCIS knows? Ol' Gibbs and McGee, they're pretty sharp, you know...

It is a fact the the SEC has (2) channels on Spectrum. One of them doesn't do a lot of programs, just plays the same song over and over again. Can the ACC get equal coverage? 
Shoot, just give us one channel...but, if we get two, I bet the ACC could come up with a better song to play over and over. 

The promise of the ACC Network offers a great deal of programming, live events and such to keep any of the fans of the 15 schools in the ACC happy. Dedicated soccer, field hockey, volleyball, basketball....you name it...nights. Live events, replays and more.  As of now, some media subscribers will have unlimited access to these. 

The rest of us will wait, hope for positive developments and see what happens. I sincerely hope the negotiations go well. 

 Maybe you're reading today's column in a different city than Louisville. If so, I hope you have access to the ACC Network. Feel free to let us know your status, thoughts and what you know about the ACC Network in the comments section below. 

If you would like to request that Spectrum, or ATTUVerse carry the ACC Network in your area, you can make a request for this coverage with your provider. Just be prepared to prompt Automated Alice first. (Maybe we could get her on a broadcast of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour as an automated guest? I wonder how she'd do on our weekly quiz?) 

Fans interested in learning more about the ACCN can go to www.getaccn.com


Have a terrific Thursday!

Paulie
xxxxx

ACC Spring Meetings -- What's Going On?...Another leaves Rocky Top -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

The coaches and muckity-mucks of the ACC have descended upon beautiful Amelia Island in Florida...located on the northeast coast of Florida and one of the Sea Islands...and the Ritz-Carelton for the annual spring meetings. As expcted, football and basketball is drawing most of the print and publicity. 

Roy Williams doesn't much care for this yearly con-fab and said he's leaving after day one. Football wants to tinker with the red-shirt rule. They'll also discuss the football collaborative reply rule they experimented with last year. 

The two big items to be discussed would appear to be HB2 and the future of THe ACC Network. 

HB2 is a law passed in North Carolina which, in short, mandates that transgenders must use the bathroom associated with the gender listed on their birth certificate. This bill has made the NCAA, ACC and NBA come out with the stance that their intentions were to avoid having athletic events in the state because of the discriminatory language in the bill. 

We saw the ACC women's basketball tournament moved to Conway, SC. The ACC Baseball Tournament will take place next week in Louisville, KY. The ACC is located in Greensboro. The ACC Softball and Lacrosse Tournaments remained in North Carolina. 

OK, enough potty talk...

The ACC Network is sure to be a hot topic items as well...especially in the wake of ESPN terminating around 100 people earlier this month. The key here, of course, is scheduling. The 2019 launch is still a "go", though...regardless of what bathroom the cameraman or color analyst chooses to use. 

You want to be able to present the games on your network that people want to watch. Not only in conference scheduling but also in the non-conference matchups. In all sports. 

We're not wearing blinkers or blinders here. We realize that football and men's basketball are the cash cows in any conference. Especially in the ACC. But, what about softball, lacrosse...field hockey and volleyball? Will the ACC Network do a better job than what we are seeing so far on the ACC Network Extra?

Let's go back a week. What was I able to watch on the ACC Network Extra that I was interested in? I was "blocked out" from the ACC Softball Tournament...but found it on Fox Sports South. The first round of the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament, which featured six ACC teams wasn't available on the ACC Network Extra and was a pay for view event for Louisville fans...unless you accessed it through your cell phone or tablet instead of your laptop or computer. 

I got to see the ACC women's rowing championships. Those are fun for me...but the commentators were "sweet, sunny Jesse, hog-calling awful". ACC Track and Field was available for watching as well. I missed most of that, but did catch Emmonnie Henderson's winning shot put throw. 

Louisville is sinking ACC mandated money into to improvements, upgrades and new broadcast and communications facilities on campus. Maybe they could also put bathrooms (transgender, single access unisex and/or traditional) in Ulmer Stadium and at the Louisville Lacrosse Field. Field Hockey's Trager Stadium has them...and a nearby McDonald's if you're on the other side of the stadium from the seating. Lynn Stadium and Jim Patterson have restrooms also. 

(Sorry, I keep drifting back to the bathroom in this article. At my age, it becomes important. One of the first things I do when I go to an opponent's arena, stadium of facility is make sure I know "if the loo is close to you")

And, is this ACC Network going to be something else I have to purchase and inflate my already eye-popping monthly cable, phone and internet provider's bill? I've watched the SEC Network and BIG Ten Networks. I'm impressed with a lot lot of programming on each venue. Can the ACC match or better this? Will ESPN have another round of pink slip delivery before 2019? Will they offer the current very good local ACC Network Extra announcers (like Don Russell, Daryl Foust, Christian Payne, Patty Norton, Sean Moth...etc..) a chance to call games on the ACC Network (sans Extra)?

So, at least they have convened at a pretty nice resort. $600 a night. We run Cardinal Couple on a tightly controlled budget of $1500 a year. Guess I'd be checking out after the second day. Walz and Pitino should have great weather to get in a little golf. Maybe they'll find a outdoor hoops court where Rick can show off his new no-look pass skills and play Jeff in a rousing game of "21". Jeff could show off his half-court shot. How about a pickup game of Walz, Pitino and Justine Sowry against Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, Mike Brey and Muffet McGraw? 

Women's sports will be largely ignored this week. Season tickets will probably go up slightly to cover the cost of bringing "all the boys to the convention" and wining and dining them for about a week. I doubt there will be a investigation/probe into how all 13 SEC softball teams made the NCA Tournament and Louisville didn't. And, most importantly...

Just how are the bathrooms at the Ritz-Carlton designated? Did everyone bring your birth certificates? 



******************************************************


TE'A COOPER LEAVES ROCKY TOP

The sophomore guard is leaving the Vols after sitting out a season. 

Cooper's decision is unusual, considering she missed last season after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament. She suffered the injury during the summer following her freshman season. 

The 5-foot-8 point guard averaged 8.6 points, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals while playing in 36 games during the 2015-16 season. She started 15 games.

Cooper's decision comes less than a month after fellow guard Alexa Middleton announced she was transferring to go "somewhere to reach the goals I have set."

Tennessee, which had just nine available players last season, now is down to 11 players for next season. The latest attrition, along with Jordan Reynolds' graduation, has left the Lady Vols low on point guard experience for next season.

"Not another one, Holly?" 

Incoming freshmen Evina Westbrook and Anastasia Hayes both are point guards. One or both could end up starting, depending on how UT deploys its returnees.


Any Louisville interest here? 

September 2013: Cooper reopened her recruitment after giving a verbal to North Carolina as an eighth-grader. She is still considering UNC but also has 10 other schools on her list. In no order they are: Tennessee, Duke, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida State, South Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Rutgers and Pittsburgh.

paulie
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