2022 UofL Hall of Fame Class -- Volleyball Back on ESPN -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

2022 Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame Class Announced

(Louisville's first Jazz, and a great one)

Eight Cardinal alums were named to the 2022 Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame, five men and three women. Jazz Covington (women's basketball), Nicole Youman (field hockey), D'Ana McCarty (women's track and field), Chris Dominguez (baseball), Eric Whitlatch (men's swimming), Tony Belt (men's track and field), Andre Black (men's track and field), and Dr Raymond Shea (football staff/administration) are the announced honorees.

Jazz Covington (2003-2007) is one of Louisville women's basketball's top scorers in program history. Her 1,805 points, 14.4 ppg, 942 rebounds, 7.4 rpg, and 33 double-doubles all rank in the top 10 in their respective categories. She won multiple Big East and Conference USA awards.

D'Ana McCarty (2007-2011) is a two-time NCAA Champion for Louisville, where she took home the 2009 and 2010 weight throw titles. McCarty became the first female athlete at Louisville to win a national title. She took multiple Big East titles, both indoor and outdoor, and still holds the Big East indoor weight throw title 12 years later.

Nicole Youman (2007-2010) was one of the first Louisville field hockey players to earn All-American accolades. Her 52 career assists is still a Louisville record. Her 142 career points and 45 career goals rank second and third all-time, respectively. Youman was arguably the best player in the Big East her senior year.

I was in middle and high school for most of these Cardinals' collegiate careers and was even in elementary school for part of Covington's career. Although I never got to see any of them play in person their legacies live on and have helped build three incredible Louisville programs.

Volleyball Back on ESPN

As Abba said, "Take a chance on me." ESPN did that when Louisville volleyball visited Kentucky recently. The ratings came out with an estimated 302,000 watching the match on TV. The ratings were good enough that the Cards have had two more matches this season slated for the main ESPN channel.

For a sport that's had four regular season games aired on ESPN in 25 years, adding two more this season to make that a total of six in 25 years and Louisville being a part of three of those is outstanding! Not only do the players and coaching staff deserve credit, but the Louisville fan base showing their overwhelming support deserves credit.

When #2 Louisville visits Florida State on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 3:00 p.m., you'll be able to catch this on ESPN. The other primetime match for the Cards will be when they host Georgia Tech on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1:00 p.m.

The Cards start the road trip in Coral Gables at Miami tomorrow night, I'll have more on that tomorrow since I'll be filling in for Daryl, who apparently has become a professional music festival attendee. 

Let's hope to keep up that 302,000 viewers to view Noles and Cards or surpass it!

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Greenwell, USA U16 start today...McCarty, UofL throwers...Basketball still busy in June

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MONDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-Owensboro's Becca Greenwell 'south of the border'.

-Cardinal shot putters results in NCAA Championships

-June a busy month for hoops? .

-Atlanta Dream off to a rocky start

(Nice to be back with our Cardinal Couple readers after a couple of days away from the site. Thanks to David Watson for filling in for us during our absence.)

Becca Greenwell is a member of the U16 team.

Rebecca Greenwell is one of 12 players selected for the USA Women's U16 team that is in Merida, Mexico to go through preliminary pool play to qualify for the 2012 FIBA World Championships. The soon-to-be-junior from Owensboro Catholic will take part in five games this week...when the US girls play Brazil today, Argentina on Tuesday and Venezuela Wednesday. The semi-finals are Saturday and finals Sunday.

Greenwell is teammates with 6'5" sensation Mercedes Russell, out of Springfield, Oregon. Russell is a Louisville target down the road. Greenwell is being pursued by virtually all the major DI schools..Louisville, Kentucky, Duke, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Tennessee in the hunt to get her to visit.

The U16 team also lists two players from Indiana...Stephanie Mavunga from Brownsburg, IN. and Taya Reimer out of Fishers, IN.

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D'Ana McCarty finished 11th in the
shot put at the NCAA Championships.

D'Ana McCarty led three UofL participants in the shot put finals of the NCAA Outdoor Championships over the weekend, finishing 11th. in the competition. Teammates Khadija Abdullah (13th.) and Chinwe Okoro (20th.) also took part in the finals.

The big news surrounded Cardinal 3000 meter steeplechase winner Matt Hughes from UofL. He also won the event last year.

Rachel Gehret finished 5th in the high jump for the Lady Cards.

With McCarty and Okoro finishing their careers at UofL with the weekend events, we'd like to congratulate them on their fine achievements and accomplishments during their academic and athletic pursuits while students at Louisville.
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June isn't usually known as a busy month as far as Lady Cards basketball goes...the players are out of school and are working individually on their games...but UofL head women's basketball coach Jeff Walz is spending lots of time in Cardinal Arena with Lady Cards Camps and Clinics. The Girls' Day Camp ran from June 6-9th. and the ELITE camp finished up Sunday after three days. A Team Camp will take place from June 17-19th.

Summer sports camps continue to grow
in popularity.

Summer activities for fall/winter sports goes on in other sports besides basketball as well. We have friends from Louisville who are spending the week in Orlando, FL. for a volleyball camp/tournament with their daughters and families.

This is just one of  many camps that their children will participate in this summer. We talked to a couple of parents about the summer camp situations and got these responses:

CARDINAL COUPLE:  What is the main thing your daughters are hoping to get out of these summer camps?

TOM: My daughter has learned a lot of skills and got to play in some very competitive games with her regular season teammates in the basketball camp she just completed. She and her teammates won their division also, which was very exciting for them and us parents.

CHRIS: These camps allow them to get better at their sports and their positions. They also allow the players the chance to see how they stack up against similar teams across the nation. Your kids also get great instruction from coaches and older players that know the sport and pass on their knowledge to the younger ones.
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Angel appears to be her old self...scoring
19 against San Antonio.

The start of the WNBA season hasn't been the most productive for the Atlanta Dream and Angel McCoughtry. The Dream sit at 0-3 and Angel sat out the first game of the year, played scant minutes in the second because of a sprained knee. Looks like she is on the mend, however...getting 19 points against the San Antonio squad. The Eastern Division champs of 2010...Atlanta is staying competitive but unable so far this year to seal the deal at the end. The first two games saw Atlanta leading near the end of regulation...but being forced to overtime. In the San Antonio game, they ran into a buzz saw in rookie Danielle Adams, who poured in 32 points, including three straight three-pointers in less than a minute, to lead her team to the win. San Antonio is a surprising 3-0 to start the season.

Is it too early to panic? Absolutely. Angel will find her rhythm and touch as the season progresses. Keep in mind also that the Dream is also using a new point guard in Lindsey Harding and it takes time to learn the system and your teammates.

We can't see the combination of Harding and Castro-Marquez at guards...Angel, Sancho Lyttle and Erika deSouza on the front line being stymied many more times this season. The Dream is also deep on the bench and should overcome this sputtering start and vie for another division title.

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Finally, thanks to all of you who e-mailed during our two day absence on the site. David Watson came in fresh off a vacation and stepped up for us when we needed him. One of the things about family, friends and situations is that you try to be there for them when they need you and we answered the call. And, David stepped up for us.

We're not in the "going behind the back" business.

There are those out there who try to read certain things into situations and urge us to pursue them that simply don't belong on our site. We deal with it every day here at Cardinal Couple. Cardinal Couple was started on the premise of being a fan voice for University of Louisville women's sports. We stay primarily with that theme. Sometimes we explore and comment on other things. We get a significant interest from our readers on horse racing and delve into that sport from time to time. Some people don't care for that sport/activity and let us know about it. Some people want dirt, gossip and innuendo. We aren't TMZ or Entertainment Tonight. We don't deal in it.

We also get e-mails. Tons of them. E-mails that sometimes push the button on subjects controversial and unknown previously to us. As owners and fans, we try to determine what is hearsay and factual. Damage control is a priority here...we're not a scandal site or rumor monger sheet. We try to "go directly to the well or the water attendant" for confirmations and advice on how to handle things. Sometimes, we're not sure about direct access..or availibility. We still try.

Sometimes, that doesn't go so well...but sometimes life itself doesn't go so well. We try to keep in focus and remind ourselves that this site is about athletics and entertainment. We're not discussing the economy, environment, or terrorism here. It's sports.

If something is deemed to be questionable to cover and doesn't fall into our mission statement, we don't pursue it. No matter how many times you e-mail us about it. And that, as they say, is the bottom line. If it's something we can do with confidence, clarity, confirmation and approval, we'll share it with you.

The internet is full of sites that push gossip. We are not one of them.
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Cards in NCAA track and field - Rucker, Braunies get honors

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TUESDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

Gwen Rucker came to Louisville to
play hoops and volleyball but
the wide net sport won out.

-Four LADY CARDS get NCAA berths in Track and Field.

-Gwen Rucker, Taylor Braunies named to USA squad

-Atlanta Dream (minus Angel) romp Brits.

-California Girls....

Two UofL Women's Volleyball team members have been named to the 36 athletes that are competing in the USA Volleyball Open National Championships down in Dallas, TX.

Taylor Brauneis took over the
setter spot as a freshman.

Gwen Rucker, a middle hitter from Lexington, KY, and setter Taylor Brauneis are on the USA A2 roster. Rucker will be a senior this upcoming season and originally came to Louisville to participate in both volleyball and basketball. Rucker was a valuable post player for Jeff Walz's Lady Cards basketball team for two seasons...going to an NCAA Final Four with the Cards as a freshman. She decided to concentrate on volleyball her final two years at UofL and was a starter for Leonid Yelin's squad last year. With new coach Anne Kordes on board at UofL this season, Rucker's leadership and experience with the volleyball squad will be counted on for the Volleyball Cards.

Brauneis, from Crystal Lake, IL. came to the Louisville campus last year and quickly established herself as the Cards starting setter. She had 1100 sets for the Cards last season and has also sang the national anthem at Cardinal home matches. (Not while playing during a game...) . Congrats to both of these "wide-netters"!!

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D'Ana McCarty will compete in
two NCAA Championship events.

Four UofL women's track and field squad members have punched their tickets for the NCAA Championships. The title seekers:

-Chinwe Okoro (Discus)

-Rachel Gehret  (High Jump)

-D'Ana McCarty (hammer throw and shot put)
-Khadija Abdullah (shot put)

The girls will move on to Drake Stadium, on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and compete from June 8th. -June 11th.

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No Angel for Atlanta in\
the 31 point Dream win.

The Atlanta Dream had no trouble with the Great Britain National Team overseas...romping to a 82-51 exhibition team...but it's interesting to note that they did it without projected starters Angel McCoughtry and Erika de Souza. McCoughtry is on the shelf for awhile with a sprained knee and de Souza missed the trip to attend to some affairs back home in Brazil. Doesn't seem either was missed too much, though, against the Brits.

CoCo Miller led the way for the Dream with 21 points, who are the first WNBA team to play in England.

The trip was part of spreading the WNBA brand to England and the game is the only tune-up the Dream will get before beginning WNBA play this upcoming weekend.

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If it seems that the Cal Bears women's softball team has been in the commonwealth of Kentucky forever...they have been. With a 9-0 romp of Kentucky in the 3rd game of the Super Regionals in Lexington,

Cal pitcher Jolene Henderson adds
"Cat-Killer" to her resume. She also knocked
Louisville out of the NCAA Tournament

the Bears end a two week stay in Louisville and Lexington. Once again, Jolene Henderson proved her mastery of the pitching circle...limiting the Wildcats to just three hits in the final game. Kentucky forced the deciding game after beating Cal 8-0 in game two of the Super Regional. Cal won the opening contest Saturday 1-0. 

Cal moves on the the WCWS Championships with the win. If Henderson continues pitching like she's been lately...the Bears may not make it back home until fall...

The WCWS Championship Series participants are:

- Arizona State (Pac 10)
- California (Pac 10)
- Alabama (SEC)
- Florida (SEC)
- Oklahoma (Big 12)
- Oklahoma State (Big 12)
- Baylor (Big 12)
- Missouri (Big 12)
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McCarty qualifies for NCAA Championhips

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FRIDAY AT CARDINAL COUPLE:

-D'Ana McCarty qualifies in Hammer throw

D'Ana McCarty has qualified for the NCAA
Championship in the hammer throw.
She'll also try in the shot put and discus.

-Finalists named for USA Women's U 19 team

Track and Field events are under way in Bloomington in the

East Preliminary round and UofL's D'Ana McCarty has qualified for the NCAA Championships already in the hammer throw. Her toss of 58.76m was good enough for ninth place and that'll move her on to DesMoines, IA for the championships.

She was the only Cardinal women to qualify yesterday. Louisville athletes fell short in the 400m hurdles, 100m dash and long jump. Jenna Wargo will try to qualify today in the javelin.

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After three days of trials and 32 of the nation's best 19 yr. olds and under competing against each other, there is now an official roster for the USA Basketball U19 World Championship team. The squad is listed below. All are high school seniors unless a college is listed beside their name:

Jordan Adams
Cierra Burdick

Diamond DeShields

Stefanie Dolson (Connecticut )

Bria Hartley (Connecticut)

Mo Jefferson

Alexis Jones

Betnijah Laney

Ariel Massengale

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

Meighan Simmons (Tennessee)

Imani Stafford

Breanna Stewart

Morgan Tuck

Elizabeth Williams

Geno gives Jen Rizzoti a plaque before his
UConn team beats the living daylights
out of her Hartford team

Failing to make the squad was Louisville signee Bria Smith. Shoni Schimmel was invited to tryout but did not attend because of illness. Head coach Jen Rizotti (Hartford) has stacked the lineup with plenty of east coast talent and UConn and Tennessee players and players to be. Expected nothing less of "little Geno"...who went on to say after the announcement of the squad:

"I think this team is great. I'm really excited. I think the committee did a great job. We have a really nice mix of experienced USA Basketball players, a few college players and then some new guys."



This is Rizzo...from the movie
"Grease" She and Jen Rizotti are
not the same person or related.



OK, then... Not sure how "some new guys" ended up on the women's team...but I guess you just never know these days...

The team will reconvene on June 1st at the ESPN Wild World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL. and practice a few days before playing Brazil in an exhibition game. Then, they'll take on Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Rebecca Lobo and a few other Disney characters in a scrimmage. (Just kidding on the last sentence).

Our summation... as long as this team has Stefanie Dolson and Duke signee Elizabeth Williams available for the front line, they should whip up on the rest of the world. Bria Hartley and Meighan Simmons are capable enough guards to get the ball to them and it really doesn't matter who the other wing is...
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Word is that Esther Monney Niamke will play for the France U 19 squad. The UofL signee was recently named "best young player" in France.

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Congrats to the UofL baseball team, still alive in the BIG EAST Tournament. They beat Cincinnati yesterday (not the Reds) to stay alive in the losers bracket. They get a rematch with Pitt today, who put them there.
..GO CARDS!

Softball loses at Syracuse. McCarty wins shot put...and more!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY SUNDAY TO
CARDINAL COUPLE READERS!

-Softball drops two to the 'Cuse

-McCarty takes shot put in BIG EAST

Championships.

-Golf finishes 12th in Regional

-Samantha Williams to Louisville?

-WE recap Derby (with a slight headache)

The University of Louisville softball team dropped a double-header at Syracuse yesterday that dropped them back into fifth place in the BIG EAST standings. Lack of bats was the culprit in the opener...the Cards going down 3-0 and lack of pitching the nemesis in Game 2 with a 9-5 loss.

Despite Tori Collins eight strike out, three hits allowed performance in the first game, the Cards could manage only five hits against Syracuse ace Jenna Caira. The 'Cuse got all they would need in the bottom of the first when Collins gave up a base loaded walk to make it 1-0. A two run blast in the fourth by Veronica Grant put the 3-0 final score on the board.

Louisville tried to rally in the sixth when Katie Keller and Jennifer Esteban reached on singles with one out...but Caira got the next two to end the inning. Louisville knocked on the door again in the seventh...with bases loaded with one out after Alicja Wolny and Esteban singled and Taner Fowler reached first after getting hit by a pitch...but Caira got the final two outs again without the Cards getting to the plate.

Chelsea Bemis smashed a three run homer but
it wasn't enough to get Louisville the win.

In game two, Louisville jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first, aided by a Chelsea Bemis three run homer...but the Orange responded with two runs in the first and five runs off Tori Collins in the bottom of the second on back to back home runs from the 'Cuse to lead 7-4 after two.  

The Cuse outscored Louisville 2-1 the rest of the way...a solo homer by Katie Kohl in the bottom of the sixth securing the win.

The teams play again Sunday at 11 a.m.

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D'Ana McCarty won the shot put in second day competition in the BIG EAST Championships at Jumbo Elliott Track and Field Complex on the Villanova campus. The Cards fared well in the event...Khadija Abdullah taking second, Chinwe Okoro finishing third and Amashi Kendall seventh. The Louisville women's track team leads the Championships going into the final day by six over USF. 50-44.

Other Lady Cards having success were Rachel Gehert (2nd in the long jump finals) and Gabrielle Jackson (3rd in the 400 meter hurdles). Louisville's women have won the event each year since 2007. Good luck today....Lady Cards!

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Louisville women's golfers ended up in 12th. place in the NCAA East Regional. The top eight teams advanced to the Championships. Sara-Maude Juneau recorded the best finish for the Louisville team...a final day 71 that gave her a 220 over three days. Other Cardinal finishes:

Laura Anderson. 72 in her final 18 holes for a 222
Anna-Karin Ljungstrom. 74 final day and a 229 total.
Maria Castellanos. 79 third round for a 231.
Tara Lyons. 84 last round and a 240.

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Samantha Williams to the Lady Cards?
Rumors are that she is...

Rumor mills are linking Duke women's basketball assistant coach Samantha Williams with the open coaching position for the Lady Cards. Nothing out of the Louisville camp yet about this...Williams is highly regarded as a recruiting coordinator and has served four years for Joanne P. McCallie at Duke. McCallie originally hired Williams at Michigan State and Samantha moved to the ACC school with her when McCallie took the head coaching job in 2007.  

Williams graduated from Louisville Manual High School and was a Parade and Street and Smith All-American before going to Auburn to play for McCallie....then an assistant. When McCallie left to take the head coaching job at Maine...Williams remained at Auburn and had four outstanding years playing for the SEC school.

Louisville has an open assistant coaching position...created when assistant Bethann Ord accepted the head coaching job at Weber State. The Cards have three confirmed freshmen arriving on he UofL campus for the 2011-12 season in Esther Monny Niamke, Jude Schimmel and Sara Hammond and are waiting on a decision from Bria Smith...who reportedly is down to Louisville or Tennessee in her choices. She is expected to announce May 10th., at the New York Daily News Sports Awards banquet at B.B.King's Bar and Restaurant.
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The 137th Kentucky Derby has come and gone and, in a surprise upset, ANIMAL KINGDOM,  passed the field in the Churchill stretch and won by two lengths over Paul's choice NEHRO. Wagering for the day didn't go exactly as planned...Sonja's pick DIALED IN tuned out when the 19 runners turned for home.

Animal Kingdom was the best on Saturday
by winning the KY DERBY.

Paul took a nice profit on across the board wagering on NEHRU but a couple of exactas and trifectas failed to include Johnny Velazquez on the #16 ANIMAL KINGDOM.

 A nice return on investment if you had the 20-1 runner who hadn't raced on a dirt surface in four lifetime starts before trying the Derby. His win in the Spiral Stakes at Turfway on the polytrack was impressive...but most felt that no previous dirt track experience would keep him out of the winner's circle. Most were wrong.

Velazquez was primed and ready to go and we were very pleased to see him win the 9th race on 13-1 shot AIKENITE. It allowed us to "play on the track's money" the rest of the way. Another horse who parlayed a polytrack win in his last race to a win next time out on the dirt. Shoulda seen the signs...

ANIMAL KINGDOM and NEHRO are both headed to the second round of the Triple Crown of Horse Racing in two weeks...the Preakness...held at Maryland's Pimlico Race Track.
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UofL Sports Banquet, D'Ana McCarty and Cardinal Caravan dates

Monique Reid was named junior class
athlete of the year along with Carlos Almedia 

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Welcome to Wet Wednesday @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

-UofL Sports Banquet

-We look at D'Ana McCarty

-CARDINAL CARAVAN dates announced

The soggy Louisville weather couldn't dampen the spirits last night at the All-Sport Banquet held in the South Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center last night. Keynote speakers were seniors Bergan Foley (lacrosse), Simone Attles (field hockey) and Doug Beaumont (football). Nineteen awards were presented to student/athletes by Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich. The recipients:

-SPRING SPORT ATHLETE AWARDS
-D'Ana McCarty (Track and Field)
-Matt Hughes (Track and Cross County)

-CARDSCARE AWARDS (Commitment to community service)
-Michael Eaton (Track and Cross County)

Shoni Schimmel received Freshman of the Year honors

-Sarah Fiske (Rowing)

-The Rowing team

-FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR

-Shoni Schimmel (Basketball)

-Hakeem Smith (Football)

-SOPHOMORE OF THE YEAR
-Hannah Gadd (Diving)
-Peyton Siva (Basketball)

-JUNIOR OF THE YEAR
-Monique Reid (Basketball)
-Carlos Almeida (Swimming)

-THE ED KALLAY SENIOR OF THE YEAR
-Austen Chiles (Tennis)

Amanda Simmons was selected for the
Central Cardinal Club leadership award 

-Therese Bergstrom (Swimming)

-Bergan Foley (Lacrosse)

-THE CENTRAL CARDINAL CLUB LEADERSHIP AWARD

-Amanda Simmons (Volleyball)

-THE CUNNINGHAM FAMILY AWARD (Male athlete leadership)

-Drew Haynes (Baseball)

-Michael Eaton (Track/Cross Country)

-THE ADIDAS HIGH PERFORMANCE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD
-D'Ana McCarty (Track and Field)
-Colin Rolfe (soccer)

-INSPIRATION AWARD
-Bilal Powell (Football)

A sincere CARDINAL COUPLE congratulations to these...and all...the student/athletes at UofL!

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D'Ana McCarty is the best women's
college weight thrower in the nation 

D'Ana McCarty has had an impact on Louisville field events since she arrived on campus back in the fall of 2007. The daughter of Indianapolis Pike High School track and field coach Terry McCarty, she was one of the first Cardinal athletes to advance to the IAAF Junior World Championships. Her freshman year at UofL, D'Ana qualified for the BIG EAST League Championships in the hammer, shot put and weight throws. The Cardinal women's throwers are recognized as one of the best groups in college track and field and D'Ana helped build that reputation her sophomore year with winning the BIG EAST and NCAA Indoor Championships Weight throw titles. She finished second in the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships in the hammer and discus. No one defeated her all season in the weight throw.

D'Ana continued her spectacular performances as a junior, winning the NCAA Championships again in the weight throw and winning 7 of 8 of her regular season competitions in the event. She also competed in the discus, shot put and hammer throws...winning at each event at least once during the season. As a senior this year, she's the odds on favorite to take the NCAA Championships weight throw title again and has won the event several times this year in meet competition. The Big East and NCAA Outdoor Championships await this talented group over the next several weeks. WE feel confident they'll put a few more trophies in the showcase.

When looking at D'Ana McCarty's accomplishments, one's first thought is that such dominance in a event is rare. Especially for four years. Along with teammates Khadija Abdullah and Patrice Gates...D'Ana and the Cards weight, discus, shot put and hammer teams are the best combined unit in the BIG EAST and perhaps the nation. Our hats are off to these high-achieving women "outstanding in their field" .

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CARDINAL CARAVAN dates have been announced. The annual "reach out" to UofL fans from the coaches, staff and players from the University of Louisville has been scheduled for Elizabethtown, KY., Shelbyville, KY., and Jeffersonville, IN.

Wednesday, May 19th. @ Three Putt Willie's at Pine Valley. 850 Pine Valley Drive, Elizabethtown.
Thursday, June 9th, @ Shelby County Fairgrounds Pavilion. 1513 Midland Trail, Shelbyville
Thursday, June 16th, @ Parking lot between Rocky's Sub Pub and Buckhead Mountain Grill, 711 West Riverside Drive, Jeffersonville, IN.

Apperances by the 2011 national champion LadyBirds and Louie the Cardinal Bird will occur at each location and prizes to the first 100 fans at each site will be distributed as well. Having attended the event for quite a few years now, with the exception of last year...when the BIG EAST Softball Tournament was taking place at Ulmer Stadium...I can tell you that's it's a great chance to interact and get photo opportunities with Cardinal coaches, players and meet Cardinal fans.

It was at this event several years ago that Angel McCoughtry assured me that the Lady Cards basketball squad would be a Final Four team and might win the national title. They made it through a couple of rounds in the NCAA Tournament that year and finished as national runner-ups to UConn the year after that. I also talked to a very pleasant and friendly young lady one year who hoped to get the chance to show Lady Card basketball fans her skills on the court. Chauntise Wright got that opportunity and thrilled the Cardinal faithful for several years on Denny Crum court. 

"This annual tour is a terrific opportunity for our coaches and staff to interact with our loyal fan base." Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich comments about the event. Shelbyville resident and long time Cardinal fan Sam Johnson looks forward to the annual caravan stop in his hometown and comments:

"I like the accessability of the players and coaches at this event. We've got a strong UofL fan base here in Shelbyville and one of our highlights each year is the caravan event."

No Louisville date has been listed yet. The event has taken place at Captain's Quarters off River Road in eastern Jefferson County in previous years. How about those loyal fans in Louisville, Tom? A little interaction with them too, perhaps? If not at Captain's Quarters...maybe at the brand new Louisville rowing facility near downtown?

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RAIN, RAIN...GO AWAY!!!

All this wet Louisville weather recently has made it the wettest April on record. The old adage..."April showers bring May flowers" should produce a bumper crop of floral delights this year. Ran across this insprirtional quote..."When it rains on your parade..look up instead of down. Remember that after the rain there's always the promise of a rainbow."

How much has it rained? I saw a duck in a Sporting Goods store being fitted for a raincoat and water resistant boots..

Legendary baseball coach Casey Stengel hits the nail on the head with this one:
"There are three things that can happen in a baseball game. Someone's going to win, someone's going to lose or it gets rained out."

Cardinal Sports Report dignitary Howie Lindsey quips : "They're thinking of renaming Fern Creek to Fern River. "

Local meterologists are getting more airtime lately than Viagra commercials. That might be a good thing.

Finally, this from an unknown source....
"When the rains subsided, we decided to drain part of the swamp. We went about this very methodically and scientifically. We had a plan and had thought it out carefully. Sometimes, though...it's tough to remember what your original intention was when you're up to your ass in alligators."
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How do you do...TCU... & Schimmel named First Team Freshman All-American

- A look at what TCU will bring to BIG EAST women's sports...
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-Shoni Schimmel named to Freshman All-American First Team !!!
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-Khadija Abdullah wins discus toss
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Texas Christian University (TCU) is slated to become the newest member of the BIG EAST. The Horned Frogs, currently members of the Mountain West Conference (MWC) will compete with BIG EAST schools beginning in the 2012-13 season. Although that's over a year away, WE thought WE'D take a look at what women's sports TCU participates in and how they are doing. They currently have 10 women's sports programs.
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Basketball. The Horned Frogs went 22-11 in the 2010-11 season. They accepted a bid to the WNIT and lost to Oral Roberts. They're entering the best conference in women's basketball with their admission to the BIG EAST. WE can't see them making much of an impact against the Connecticut's, Norte Dame's, DePaul's and Louisville's of the conference and they'll most likely be down in the cellar of BIG EAST standings...with teams such as South Florida and Villanova.
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Volleyball. They finished the current season 15-16 and went 5-11 in conference play. No postseason play. MWC isn't considered a conference powerhouse in  Volleyball and TCU's seventh place MWC finish indicates to us that they won't be one of the teams challenging Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Louisville for conference superiority.
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Golf. They are currently ranked 33rd in the country. Their finishes in several tournaments and invitational has been impressive, although they haven't won any of the events. They are led by junior Brooke Beeler and freshman Sanna Nuutinen, from Sweden. There isn't much organization to the BIG EAST when it comes to golf..so it's hard to say how they'll matchup with Louisville, South Florida and Notre Dame in regional and BIG EAST Tournament events...
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Soccer. They finished the past season with a 7-10-2 record and had an eighth place finish in the MWC with a 1-5-1 record. They probably won't fare much better than that in the BIG EAST.
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Swimming/Diving. They were 4-4 in dual meets in the 2010-11 season. TCU recorded a fifth place regular season finish in the MWC and sixth in the MWC Championship Tournament. That won't hold much water against Notre Dame, Louisville and the other BIG EAST teams...
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Tennis. They are 6-6 so far this season. They are competing in the MWC against powerhouse BYU and the Horned Frogs are ranked 75th. in the nation. Not much there in term of competition against the BIG EAST schools.
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Track and Field. They recently competed in the MWC Championships and Jessica Young won the 60 and 200 meter dashes. Kristal Juarez took the 400m title. The BIG EAST isn't a very strong conference i track and field...TCU could be a contender when they make the move eastward.
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Cross Country. They have participated in six events this year, winning the UT-Arlington Invitational and gathering second in the Baylor Bear Run Invitational. Hard to say, really, how they'll fare in the BIG EAST Championships down the road..as the times of the runners are the only comparison...but their good finishes in the above mentioned events indicate that their program isn't too bad...
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TCU also competes in Equestrian and Rifle on the women's side of the sports ledger. Louisville doesn't...although you would think the Cards probably should...given we are in horse country and the thoroughbred capital of the world. Better get to work on that one, Mr. Jurich. Jump that fence...As far as rifle goes...we don't know how many BIG EAST school participate in this sport. We know WVU is pretty good. It figures....
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What stands out here the most to us is that they don't play softball, field hockey or lacrosse...three of the more popular sports in the BIG EAST...after basketball. Softball is surprising, but it may have to do with the size of the school..8799 students. Given the probable, close to 50/50 split of male/female...a student base of 4400 or so females is comparable to some of the smaller schools in the BIG EAST, but nowhere near the large campus populations of schools such as WVU, USF, or UofL. Then again, WVU doesn't play softball either...so who really knows? The state of Texas produces a wealth of good high school talent each year and the University of Texas seems to be consistently ranked it the top 10 each year. Whether the Horned Frogs will add sports when they join the BIG EAST is unclear and unknown at the time of this article.
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They are affiliated, but not governed by the Christian church (Disciples of Christ). That will be an interesting contrast to the BIG EAST's Catholic dominated member makeup. DePaul, Marquette, Villanova, Providence, St John's, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, and Georgetown  ...8 of the 16 current members of the BIG EAST are Catholic affiliated.
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Obviously, the move to the BIG EAST is totally centered around football. The impact of the move on BIG EAST women's sports is negligible at best and with their being the westernmost school in the BIG EAST...a traveling headache for the east coast schools in non revenue sports like tennis, soccer and swimming.
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Louisiville women's basketball freshman guard Shoni Schimmel has been selected to the All-American Freshman First team by Full Court Press. She joins Bria Hartley (Connecticut), Odyssey Sims (Baylor) Meighan Simmons (Tennessee) and Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford).  Schimmel was the Lady Cards second leading scorer on the season with 15.1 ppg. In NCAA Tournament play, she led the Cards with 23.3 ppg in three contests. She was also named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week four times. Schimmel was also selected for the BIG EAST Freshman First team.
Her 33 point performance against Xavier in NCAA Second Round action led the Cards to an upset win  and the NCAA Regionals.
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Schimmel's jersey will hang from the rafters in the KFC YUM Center someday...most likely immediately after she finishes her four years at Louisville. The debate is already beginning on who will be the best Cardinal women's basketball player of all-time...Schimmel or Angel McCoughtry? WE think it's way too early to get into such conjecture and comparision yet....but Schimmel's impact on the Louisville team, Louisville fans and the national media has been huge and rightly justified. WE can't wait for "the Sho" to begin this fall...
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CONGRATS, SHOTIME!!! Just a preview of what's to come from  "The Judge".
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Khadija Abdullah took first in the Florida Relays with a discus toss of 157-10. Then, D'Ana McCarty took fifth in the invitational discus toss with a hurl of 166-5. WE know...D'Ana threw better but finished fifth. The events were different, though and congratulations to both Cardinals...
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Louisville looks to enter Elite Eight tonight

GOOD SATURDAY MORNING (yawn...) FROM YOUR FRIENDS at CARDINAL COUPLE. It goes down tonight...Louisville one of sixteen teams still alive. ESPN will show the four games tonight and you can also follow Louisville's game against Gonzaga on 790 WKRD.









-LADY CARDS face Gonzaga tonight at 9 p.m.


-Louisville softball vs. Villanova this weekend


-McCarty leads throwers in Alabama.


-The Sideline Announcers final four...


-Staff picks for the Sweet Sixteen


-Sara Hammond named Miss Basketball.

The University of Louisville women's basketball team will attempt to reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament tonight in Spokane, Washington when they tip it up against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 9 p.m. Louisville, a i#7 seed and #11 seeded Gonzaga are the two highest seeds left in the Sweet Sixteen participants. Shoni Schimmel, pictured above, is back in the Northwest and has probably had a few moments like above with her sister Jude and family.
She is pictured here with her cousin Sam McCloud above.

Courtney Vandersloot (right) and her Bulldog teammates look to be the "Cinderella" in the Elite Eight. Gonzaga looks to be the first #11 seed to advance to the Great Eight in tournament history.

The sixteen teams still dancing are as follows:

#1 seed in the Philly Regional...Connecticut...will play #5 seed Georgetown Sunday night

#2 seed in Philly is the Duke Blue Devils. They get #3 seed DePaul.

#1 seed in the Dayton Regional is the Tennessee Volunteers. They go against #4 seed Ohio State.
#2 seed in Dayton belongs to Notre Dame. They'll try to advance against #6 seed Oklahoma.

#1 seed in Spokane is the Stanford Cardinal. They'll battle #5 seed North Carolina tonight

#7 seed Louisville in the Spokane regional gets the #11 seed Gonzaga after UNC v. Trees ends.

#1 seed in Dallas is the Baylor Bears. They'll try to dispatch of #5 seed Green Bay on Sunday.

#2 seed Texas A&M is the #2 seed in Dallas. They'll battle #6 seed Georgia Sunday.

When you break it down...the BIG EAST has 5 of the 16 remaining. (Louisville, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame and DePaul). The Big 12 with three teams left. (Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas A&M). The SEC has two still dancing (Tennessee and Georgia). So does the ACC (Duke and North Carolina). Green Bay is in the Horizon League. Ohio State plays in the Big 10. Gonzaga is a WCC member and Stanford is from the PAC 10.

Louisville will play in front of a sold out arena in Spokane against the Zags. WE'LL have full coverage of the results after the game here at CARDINAL COUPLE. Here's how the staff here at CARDINAL COUPLE sees it going down:

-Sonya Says:

The matchup here will be Vandersloot against Schimmel. Both are tireless workers who can create with or without the ball and can shoot the net off the rim when hot. Both have an accompanying cast to go with them as well. I think Louisville's is a little deeper in Monique Reid, who just might be more dangerous than Schimmel and Vandersloot on the court. Tia Gibbs has been playing with a purpose all season and Keisha Hines has picked up her game dramatically since mid-season. Add the hard driving freshman Charmaine Tay and the long range abilities of Becky Burke to the above and you've got a recipe for success. I'm going with Louisville here...let's say 81-72.

-Paul Predicts:


There's an old horse players axiom that states "class tells, competition sells." and you can apply it to tonight's game. Louisville has banged heads with members of the best conference in the nation for half the season. They've got three key players who went to the FINAL FOUR and championship game two years ago. Their road to Spokane went thru a under ranked Vandy team and Xavier at Xavier. Gonzaga played in their gym, dispatching Iowa and UCLA.


Excuse me if I'm not impressed with Gonzaga's path to the Sweet Sixteen or their league and competitiveness, but I am not... and I go with Louisville as the winner. By 17...85-68.



-David Watson writes:


If Louisville can stay out of serious foul trouble, rebound with the ferociousness of the past two games and stay hot from beyond the arc, they'll conquer and advance tonight. It may not be easy, won't be pretty at times, but these Main Street maulers, YUM Center sprinters, LADY CARDS who play hard will win this shootout on the banks of the Spokane River. Make it Louisville 89 - Gonzaga 86.

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Sonja, Paul and David's other seven picks in the Sweet Sixteen are at the end of today's column.


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Louisville softball faces Villanova today in BIG EAST action at Ulmer Stadium with a doubleheader against the Wildcats...beginning at noon. Nova comes to town with a 8-14 record and a win last time out against St. Joseph's 1-0. The Cards come off a 6-0 whitewash of UK. The admission is free, the concession stand is outside the stadium and has coffee and hot chocolate. GO LADY CARDS softball. We'll recap the action in Sunday's CARDINAL COUPLE. We might even drop in to watch bat meet ball...


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D'Ana McCarty took first place honors in the hammer throw in the Alabama Relays Friday evening in Tuscaloosa, AL. Her toss of 57.59m was a full meter better than the competitions. Three other Cardinals competed in the event...Patrice Gates finished fifth, Hannah Baker eighth and Amasji Kendall 11th. The Cards will also take part in the discus throw today down in "Sweet Home Alabama".


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Congratulations to the Final Four sideline announcers contestants! Andrea Kramer won easily against Eamon McAnanly yesterday to join Erin Andrews, Allison Williams and Pam Oliver in the semifinals. The survivors will get a few days off before competition resumes next Friday.


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Congratulations to Rockcastle County senior and UofL future Lady Card Sara Hammond for her selection as Miss Basketball in Kentucky. Hammond led the Rockets to the state title and will be a talented addition to the 2011-12 Lady Cards. The Rockets lost but one game all season and Hammond's ability to play multiple positions will serve the Cards well over the next four years.

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Here are the staff picks for the other seven Sweet Sixteen matchups:

1) UConn v. Georgetown. Paul, Sonja and David all pick UConn. (Duh...)

2) DePaul v. Duke. Sonja goes with the Dookies. Paul and David chose DePaul

3) Tenn. v. Ohio State. Sonja and David are selecting Tennessee. Paul likes Ohio State.

4) Notre Dame v. Oklahoma. All three picks go to Notre Dame.

5) Stanford v. North Carolina. Sonja and Paul have Stanford. David chose North Carolina

6) Baylor v. Green Bay. Baylor gets all three staff members' check marks.

7) Texas A&M v. Georgia. Sonja and Paul side with Texas A&M. David has Georgia on his mind.

PLAY BALL!!
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Rockcastle County down Manual in O.T. for title

SUNDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

-Rockcastle Co. takes 2011 Kentucky Girls Basketball State Championship.

-Softball splits Saturday.

-McCarty, Abdullah in NCAA Championships.

Lacrosse vs. Jacksonville

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Sideline reporters contest.

Tough loss for Pitino's Cards.

Congratulations to Rockcastle County, winners of the 2011 Kentucky Girls Basketball High School title. They came from behind to down Louisville Manual 62-60. (Photo by Joe Imel, AP).

Senior point guard Angie Lawrence hit an off-balance runner down the lane with under two seconds left in overtime for the two point win. Rockcastle County had trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter. Lawrence finished with 18 points and All-American senior post Sara Hammond had 26 points and 11 boards against the Crimsons. Leasia Wright had 19 for Manual. It is the first state championship in history for Rockcastle County.

"She had that look in her eye, like she was ready to take over and win this thing...so we just got out of her way and let her go to work." Sara Hammond commenting on Lawrence's winning score.

They got there with a semifinal win over Calloway County 57-38 Saturday morning. Hammond had 15 points and 13 grabs for the Rockets and Lawrence 12 points. Manual made the finals by edging out Marion County 56-54 in the semis. Kyvin Goodin-Rogers totaled 20 and Makayla Epps 18 for Marion County in the close loss.

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Louisville split in two games yesterday at Ulmer Stadium in the Louisville Softball Classic. Michigan won the opener 4-1 and the Cards edged WKU 3-2 i the nightcap.

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Michigan used a three run top of the seventh inning to grab a 4-0 lead. The Cards were in a position to tie in the bottom half of the inning. After Chelsea Jordan scored to make it 4-1, the bases were loaded for Alicja Wolny but she grounded out to end the game. Tori Collins (7-4) took the loss for Louisville. Michigan goes to 24-0 with the win.

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The Cards grabbed an early lead against WKU in the second game and the teams battled back and forth before freshman Taner Fowler smashed a two RBI double in the sixth inning to put Louisville on top to stay 3-2. Carlisa Connell started on the strip and went 4 innings before Collins came in for the relief and the win. Freshmen Fowler and Katie Keller had two hits each for Louisville in the win.

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Louisville plays two more today...Michigan at 1 p.m. and WKU at 3 p.m. Looks like a beautiful day for it, get out and get some!

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D'Ana McCarty finished ninth in the finals of the women's shot put at Texas A&M in the NCAA Indoor National Championships. Khaldija Abdullah also competed but did qualify for the medal round.

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Louisville Lacrosse defeated Jacksonville 17-7 on the road yesterday. Bergan Foley with five goals, Emily Dashiell added four for the Cards. Louisville held a narrow 4-3 halftime lead before the second half surge that improves the Cards to 4-0 on the season. Freshman Ashley Herbst had 10 saves at goalie for UofL. The game was held at a Georgia high school football field and it was the first ever Division 1 field hockey game played in the state. Louisville extended their streak of scoring at least 10 goals a game to 14 games.

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Alex Flanangan survived a late voting charge for Bonnie Bernstein and advances to the round of eight in the CARDINAL COUPLE Sideline Reporters Contest. Today's match-up pits Pam Oliver against Stacey Dales.

The heavenly looking Oliver (pictured left) does foosball for Fox Sports and was the one who originally broke the story that Donovan McNabb was leaving the Philadelphia Eagles. Stacy Dales (formerly Stacy Dales Schumann) was an excellent college hoopster and does both basketball and football for ESPN. She's seen here keeping Maryland's Ralph Fridgen from the team buffet at a college football game. Feel free to vote in the comments section here (which few of you ever do) or e-mail us at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com (which many of you do) with your choice. Paul is Oliver smitten, Sonja likes Dales and David Watson voted for Ralph...

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Tough loss for Pitino's Cards last night to Connecticut in the BIG EAST finals 69-66. Can't understand why people are bashing Mike Marra over this and making him the goat. Louisville had a chance to take it to overtime and Preston Knowles had a good look at the three ball, it just didn't drop. Can't blame Marra for the intercepted in-bounds pass earlier (it was tipped) or missing the second of three free throws with a chance to tie and 4 seconds on the clock. Louisville will receive a great seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Cards won a lot of hearts and minds out there in college hoops land with their frenetic style of play and the guts and determination of this squad...that battled back from double digit deficits to lead late two nights in a row.

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You win as a team and lose as a tea. Wouldn't surprise US in the least if Marra comes back and has a fabulous NCAA Tournament. Kemba Walker is a warrior, no disgrace in losing to him and the Huskies.

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Girls Sweet Sixteen, Softball plays 2 today

saturday AT cardinal couple....

-Hammond, Rockcastle Co. advance to semis.

-Louisville softball today

-McCarty gets third in weight toss.

-The Sweet Sixteen of Sideline reporter marches on.

-Watson reviews Cards vs. Notre Dame

-Springer invades the BIG APPLE.

Wow...a busy day here at CARDINAL COUPLE...let's get right to it!

-Sara Hammond (pic above) had 15 points and 13 boards as Rockcastle County claimed a berth in the Kentucky Girls' High School Basketbal Tournament. Rockin' Rockcastle sent Clay County home with a 47-30 decision. Angie Lawrence added 13 for Rockcastle (34-1)...who gets Calloway County in the semifinals this morning.

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-Calloway County (32-1) overcame a Sheldon Clark 28-26 halftime lead to earn an entry to the Final four...winning 62-51. Averee Fields stays on fire with 22 points for the Mountaineer signee.

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-Louisville Manual (32-4) started the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run to pull away from Bowling Green and make the semifinals. They beat B.G. 48-36. Another balanced team effort for the Crimsons. They get Marion County in the semis for their efforts.

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-Marion County (27-6) kept Louisville Butler from hanging around for Saturday hoops with a 41-26 drubbing of the Bearettes. University of Louisville targets Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (12 points and nine boards) and Makayla Epps (10 points) led the way for the Lebanon, KY hoopsters.

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Manual, Marion County, Rockcastle County and Calloway County. This is going to be an exciting day of hoops. Almost 8000 watched the quarterfinals yesterday in Western Kentucky University's E.A. Diddle Arena. Probably could have doubled that if they'd moved it to the KFC YUM Center. Are ya listening KHSAA?

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Cardinal Softball in action at the Ulmer today...Louisville Softball Classic. Three games scheduled....starting with (12-6) Louisville vs. (22-0) Michigan. The Cards play again at 4 p.m. against the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky University. Keep bringing those big bats...Bemis, Wolny and Esteban. All three are hovering around the .400 mark at the plate. Admission is free..get out and enjoy the sunshine and take in the action on the UofL campus. We'll have reports for you, as always, here at CARDINAL COUPLE.

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D'Ana McCarty grabbed third in the weight toss at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at Texas A&M's Gillam Indoor Stadium. McCarty's toss of 22.28m was just behind the winning throw of 22.69m of Indiana State's Felicia Johnson and Southern Illinois' Jeneva McCall's toss of 22.46.

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Khadija Abdullah and McCarty compete in the finals of the shot put today for the Cards. The University of Louisville...we have girls who can throw things a long way...

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Allison Williams obliterated Jeanine Edwards in the Sideline reporters round of sixteen yesterday...sponsored by the fine folks at CARDINAL COUPLE. Edwards garnered only two votes in the whitewash. Probably Billy Gillespie and Ron Franklin. Today's match-up pits Alex Flanagan (left) versus Bonnie Bernstein (right). Flanagan was a part of the four letter network until she sashayed over to the NFL Network. Bernstein still prowls the sidelines for CBS. We think this one is too close to call...Paul and Sonja going with Flanny and David Watson choosing "double B's". You can vote in the comments section here or at cardinalcouple@insightbb.com. Remember, 'neither of the two' is NOT a valid vote...

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DAVID WATSON with a few selected comments on Louisville's win over Notre Dame last night in the men's semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament:

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I don't know how they do it, these current birds in Pitino's nest. Seemingly out-played, out-shot, out-rebounded and out-coached. Pitino pulls another rabbit out of the hat and conjures up a win over these #4 in the nation Irish. Siva on the bench, everyone but assistant coach Steve Masiello with 3 or 4 fouls. And, all three bozo announcers ready to suit up and play for Notre Dame. Can we just give Preston Knowles the 'inspirational player of the year' title now?

(Cardinals mug it up with former President Bill Clinton after defeating the Irish)

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I love this team. Not because they're winning right now or because they're unselfish. They remind me of the little boy in the back yard, trying vainly to make the first basket of his life. Shot after shot falls short, doesn't quite get there and then one finally drops. The smile on his face, the un-describable joy pumping through the youngster. You never forget that first basket you make. I'll never forget this 2010-11 UofL basketball team. Bring on the Huskies!!

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(David Watson is out in the backyard right now...trying to drain threes like Kyle Kuric. So far, he's 0 for morning...)

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.Steve Springer and the family got to see a classic last night in Madison Square Garden . The Biggest Fan of the BIG EAST and his wife & kids are guests of Volvo for the tournament. They left Louiville yesterday and everything is "on the house" for the Springer's. New York during BIG EAST basketball tournament time is a exciting place to be and you can follow the Springer's trip over at http://www.uoflcardgame.com/. Attempts to get Paul in the luggage or introduce him as a long lost Uncle failed. Have a big time in the BIG APPLE, Steve and hit the Carnegie Deli and try a 'Woody Allen'. You won't be able to finish half of it..but you'll love every minute of trying.

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