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
xxxxx

Softball Falls to FSU -- Track & Field Posts Two ACC Champions -- Casey Madura Interview -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Falters in Loss to FSU

Louisville softball collapsed and a 3-0 lead turned into a 7-4 loss as the Cards bowed out of the second round of the ACC Tournament to Florida State.  The loss is their third in four games.

Sidney Melton led off the game with a solo shot over the left field wall for the early lead.  They added two runs in the second when a fielder's choice drove a run home and Melton walked with the bases loaded to add an easy RBI.  The only other run came in the sixth when Alison Szydlowski reached base on a fielder's choice and drove in a run, almost exactly like the second inning play.

The Seminoles scored all of their runs in the middle three innings, relying on four Louisville errors and a pair of home runs to ignite the offense.  Megan Hensley and Danielle Watson split time in the circle with three innings apiece.  The duo only surrendered six hits, but walked four and the defense had four infield errors.  Hensley (17-8) took the loss.

Coach Pearsall heavily emphasized the impact the errors had on a game where Louisville had an early shot at winning, "If we dont make those mistakes, we have a chance at winning that game, but the errors set us back and we just couldn't overcome that."

With a record of 33-20 and an RPI hovering around 44 the Cards are a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.  Unfortunately, the ACC is weak at softball and FSU is the only school inside the Top 40 in RPI.  The Cards will need some help in receiving a bid to the "Big Dance" and hope the top seeds win their respective conference tournaments.

Track and Field Takes Home Two ACC Championships on Day One

Dorcas Wasike ran away with the gold in the women's 10,000 m, running a personal best and setting a new meet record.  Damar Robinson leapt his way to the podium with a personal best on the men's high jump.

The Championships are still young and there's plenty more Cardinals hoping to make their mark in history and bring home the gold.

Casey Madura Sits Down with Cardinal Couple

Casey Madura (left) and Emily Howell

The lacrosse alum will graduate from UofL this Saturday, but she found some time to sit down for an interview.  We were fortunate that she still has field access and made our way to the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium to enjoy a beautiful day that was tortured by the pollen invasion.

Madura has battled injuries and a cancer scare in her career at Louisville and spent almost all of her time on the bench as a supporter, teammate, and helping coach.  The senior captain talked about what brought her to Louisville, her experiences and memories here, and future plans that involve a trip to the Big Apple.

We talked about what her walk-up song would be, a secondary sport she might play, and deciding the style of wave she will perform as she walks across stage at commencement.

You can view the entirety of the lengthy interview

here.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Don't forget to tune in to your favorite knuckleheads this Saturday at 11 am on WCHQ 100.9 fm.  I will be "enjoying" my new role of putting in credit card and personal loan applications while also doing my normal breaking change.  With Case past his exam and having recovered for a few weeks there is a slight chance he may find his way back down to Melwood Ave.  We'll have to wait on the Vegas odds to come out before making our bets on that.  Either way, make sure to continue keeping him in your thoughts as he works his way back to 100%.




What Day is it?

Well, besides Friday it's also a day to celebrate a couple favorites, so kick back and Eat Whatever You Want while you watch The Twilight Zone, a personal favorite of mine in terms of throwback TV shows.

Make sure to take you medicine as allergy season is in full force in the second-worst allergen city in the United States only behind McAllen, TX, per Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Softball Notes and Marshall Preview -- Upcoming Interviews -- Derby Week -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

As the semester winds down so does the number of spring events in the realm of athletics.  No. 29 Louisville topped No. 15 Vanderbilt in baseball last night but the only other teams still playing are softball, women's golf, and track and field.

UofL concluded final exams yesterday, coincidentally the same day the city celebrated its 240 birthday.

Hensley Hauls in Awards

Megan Hensley's hot weekend helped her rake in awards.  She was named ACC Pitcher of the Week, Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week, and USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week.

Megan Hensley at FSU

Over the weekend plus the Monday night game at Florida State the junior batted .500 after going 6-for-12 including a double, three home runs, and nine RBIs.

She now leads the team in batting average (.370), hits (50), doubles (12), home runs (8), and RBI (44).  In the circle, Hensley posts a 3.14 ERA and a 15-7 record.  She has struck out 127 batters while walking 77 and allowing 161 hits.



Softball Hosts Marshall

Although Senior Day happened over the weekend the true final home game for Louisville softball is today at 3:00 p.m.  Louisville comes into the game with a 31-17 record.  This will be their final out-of-conference game.

The Thundering Herd are 23-27-1 and are on a losing streak.  They are lead by Aly Harrell, who bats .360 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs.  Elicia D'Orazio is a threat on the bases and her 43 stolen bases rank fifth in the nation.

Louisville leads the all-time series 4-2, but the two teams have not played each other in a decade.  The Cards swept Marshall 6-2 and 7-0 in a doubleheader on March 12, 2008.

Louisville cannot afford to drop a game this late in the season.  They are on the line in terms of making the NCAA Tournament.  Winning their last four regular season games and making a run in the ACC Tournament should earn them a spot.  Having the 39th best RPI in the country is a plus for a Louisville softball team, that has had struggles in the back half of the season.


Cardinal Couple Plans Interviews with Current and Former Cards

Coach Pearsall and Nicole Pufahl

We at Cardinal Couple hope to help give our readers and followers an insight into UofL athletics with interviews with the student-athletes themselves.  These interviews will consist of learning more about the players' personal lives as well as what it is like to be a student-athlete and the happenings of their respective sports.

Casey Madura (left) and Jillian Balog (right)

Video interviews lined up include Casey Madura (lacrosse senior) and Minout "Mini" Mink (field hockey sophomore).  There are also plans of bringing others onto the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour in the near future including Stephanie "Steph" McNamara (lacrosse alumna) and Nicole Pufahl (softball senior).

Stay tuned to see when these interviews take place!

What Holidays are Today?

The Belle of Louisville

If you like food you can celebrate truffles or tuna or take a baby to lunch, all holidays.  You can also whip out your ukulele and play it while you enjoy a fire.

However, May 2 may be most famously known as the day when Osama Bin Laden was taken out by US Special Force back in 2011.

The Great Steamboat Race, Beerfest, and Urban League Derby Gala are all happening in the Ville today to continue the Derby week celebration.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared