Softball falls in ACC tournament 10-8 to VaTech -- Remembering Denny Crum -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Hello again readers and welcome to another weekend. Now that Derby has come and gone, I think its safe to say the summertime blues are in swing.  It would be nice if staff got the same summer break as students but alas, we do not.  I plan on improving my golf game and working on our house a lot while the days are longer!  You know if there's a great show out there, I'm gonna find my way to it. LOL 

Softball

Photos: Jared Anderson 

The Softball Cards fell in the first round of the ACC tournament on Thursday afternoon, 10-8 to the Virginia Tech Hokies. 

Louisville came out aggressive to start this game, Korbe Otis reaching on a walk and stealing second base before getting out at third on a double play after Taylor Roby’s at bat. ACC Freshman of the Year Sarah Gordon singled to LF allowing Easton Lotus to score putting the Cards up 1-0. 

The Hokies decided they would wait until the 3rd inning to unleash the offense and they managed to put up 4 runs then and 2 in the 4th all thanks to homeruns and a couple fielding errors by the Cardinals.

Zabala (14-9) took the loss. She started in the circle for Louisville giving up 5 hits, 6 runs (4 homeruns) and struck out 6 in 3 innings of work. Roby picked up where Zabala left off walking the first batter she faced before the defense took care of the next 3 batters to stop the bleeding.

The Cards looked to chip away at the VT lead as Daisy Hess took a walk to start the bottom of the 4th before Hannah File connected to send one over the wall and cut the Hokie lead 6-3. Louisville had two runners in scoring position with 2 outs before Lotus struck out swinging halting the Cardinal rally.

VT was not going to stop pouring salt on the wounds, they knew they had potential future opponents watching and they wanted to spark some fear for those watching. The Hokies plated another run in the top of the 5th after another fielding error by UofL to make it 7-3. The Cards responded with a 3 up, 3 down in the bottom half of the inning including two of the outs coming in foul territory.

Things were looking grim for the Cards by the 6th inning where VT continued to put the bat on the ball, connecting for a double, a successful bunt and then another double this time to right center to score two more runs and push the lead to 9-3. Much to the sighs and groans of the Cardinal Couple group chat, this one seemed out of reach. 

But then! There was life! With 2 outs in the bottom half of the 6th, the Cardinals mustered some offense when Makayla Hurst homered over the left field wall also scoring Vanessa Miller after she singled in her at bat. Otis walked, Lotus and Roby singled, scoring Otis. Gordon singled to score Lotus, Hess singled to score Mia Forsythe who pinch ran for Roby to make it 9-8 VT lead and the Cardinals were threatening to tie it up. A passed ball gave the Cards the opportunity to do so when Gordon stole home.

The umpires at Cardinal Couple (Jared and Daryl) can confirm she was safe at home but the ump behind the plate called her out even though VT didn’t apply a tag on her until halfway up the leg while also blocking the plate for Sarah’s arrival. Holly Aprile asked for a review and it was upheld. It was incorrect, but they stuck to it. Inning over.

VaTech would tack on another insurance run in the top of the 7th but with the tying run at the plate, the Cardinals would come up empty in the last half of the frame.    

Louisville will await their fate in the post season when the matchups are revealed.  Are the Cards in? Give us your thoughts in the comments section.

This year's NCAA softball bracket field of 64 will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 14 on ESPN2.

Remembering Denny Crum

(either on our way out of or heading into do a show at 790am)

I wanted to make sure I mentioned my own condolences to the Crum family for the loss they suffered this week as the rest of the country also mourns the loss of this legendary figure in our city's history.  Denny Crum holds a special place in almost every Louisville fan's heart and core memories.   My memories are a little different because I remember the Denny post coaching career... I know he played a huge part in my dad's fandom and I grew up appreciating Denny's impact.  

Then I got my internship in college when I started at UofL and had the opportunity to regularly cross paths with Coach Crum at the 790am radio station.  He would bring in his baked goods to share with everyone.  I got to try some banana bread and I have never been able to find any that compares to it.. (don't tell my grandma i said that).  He even came in early one day prior to his show with Joe B. Hall back then and indulged me in watching the 1980 championship DVD that I just so happen to have with me that day.   

Coach Crum only ever displayed kindness, gratitude, patience and embraced everything it is to be a Louisvillian in the 50+ years he lived here.   

We appreciate you Coach, and I will miss seeing you in the crowd at the games.  I think the University should think about reserving an honorary seat for Coach at the Yum! Center, overlooking Denny Crum court. 

Rest in peace 

The University is honoring Coach's life on Monday at the Yum! Center if you would like to celebrate.  Tickets are free but you do have to get tickets.  

Shoutout to the graduating class this weekend!

Enjoy the festivities, the day flies by!  Here is my cap from 2015! 

Also shoutout to my mother and all the good mommas out there on their weekend.  I feel like I will never be able to show mine as much as she truly deserves.  Make sure you enjoy them while you can <3  Hugs to everyone who is missing theirs.  

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST

(Jerry and Madeline will NOT be on the Saturday podcast, but Paulie 

digs this picture of them with him, so...there's that.)

We'll take to the podcast Saturday at 11 a.m. to discuss the week that was in Louisville women's sports. We'll talk "Denny" a bit, as well, and (hold your breath) we just might actually have all five of us on the podcast. There are only about a billion ways to listen to us, so...if you miss the weekly event, we are going to have to have a long discussion with you, possibly bring in some outside parties to sit in our meeting, and Paulie will probably bring donuts or tacos, depending on what time we meet. Legal counsel welcome! There is a link below. 

LINK

 

As Always, 

Go Cards! 

~Daryl 

Denny turned me into a UofL fan -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER LIKE DENNY

Looking back at my long-time love for the Louisville Cardinals, it was Denny Crum who first drew my focused attention to that sports program for the school that lies between I-65 and 4th street. It was 1971, and it's hard for me to believe that none of my other writers here at Cardinal Couple weere even born yet. 

I was a tall, skinny kid who spent a lot of hours shooting at a basket in my parents' backyard, at the local grade school gym and in the parking lot of the high school down the street. I never attended camps sponsored by colleges and was really uncommitted to a particular college's basketball program. It was me and the other kids on the street. I had enjoyed the UCLA run in college basketball when I was younger and my first coach tried to treat us as adults on the junior varsity squad. He spoke of John Wooden a lot, so when I heard that Louisville was getting a UCLA assistant to take over there program, I was intrigued. I knew of several Cardinals basketball players by name...Wes Unseld, Butch Beard and...from the 1970 team...Ron "The plumber" Thomas, Henry Bacon and Jim Price. 

I knew of them, but just didn't find Missouri Valley Conference basketball (where Louisville played at the time) as exciting as the SEC, and neither conference was as exciting to me as watching Kareem or Jerry West in the NBA. It was three channels on the television back then...WAVE (Channel 3), WHAS (Channel 11) and that upstart on UHF....WLKY (Channel 32).

Denny changed my interests in basketball into a local rooting interest and venue to focus on. . He was bold, brash and challenged the state wide fandom of Adolph Rupp and the Kentucky Wildcats. It made me unpopular at high school, at times, how could I not love the Cats and throw my support toward those upstart Cardinals? Denny getting to the Final Four his first year just verified my belief that something good was happening in Louisville, on campus, in the city and I followed UofL more intensely than ever.. I would go to UofL basketball games if I wasn't playing on the same night and loved the majestic and rowdy Freedom Hall. Me and a buddy would stand near the entrance and merely hold up a finger, muttering "need one for the game, I need one for the game." We simply didn't have the money to buy. And, we almost always got in, the both of us. We even figured out how to get in free if we couldn't get tickets, by entering the restaurant that was attached to Freedom Hall back then, and sneaking into the Hall that way.

I wanted to go to UofL. Before I actually got to UofL as a student in 1975, I already had a "fake UofL ID" and would attend games that way. Back then, students got in free, we went one of the back doors to Freedom Hall, went up the ramp and had great seats near half court. I'll never reveal the source where I got me "fake ID" but it was a good likeness of the real thing. 

Once I got on campus as a freshman, I also started making every womens BB game I could, as well. They didn't always play in Freedom Hall, but a few of us "in the frat" would pile into a car and drive to the local high school they were playing at. We loved Valerie Owens. That's why it's so great to still see her at courtside for the women's games. It was the same with Field Hockey, we had a frat brother who dated a field hockey player and he's round us up to go watch her matches. 

Crawford Gym was the basketball facility back then for practices and it was also a big intramurals facility, too. The whole campus had access to the building with the white top. Where else could you play basketball, take a swim and shoot hoops all in the same building? You could at Crawford. 

(My green ghost by the Ohio)

You would see Denny on campus, mostly at Crawford, from time to time back then but I never really got to meet him until 1984. There was a car wash on Preston Highway near the entrance to the KFEC, and I used to take my 1969 Chevelle Malibu, which was a classic by then, there for a wash. You got out of the car, waited in the lobby and walked out anther door to get back in your vehicle when the vehicle has finished going through the wash. I drove in one afternoon, got out, and went into the lobby. I hadn't noticed the red Cadillac behind me and was quite surprised when the driver turned out to be Denny, and he wanted to chat with me about my car. Imagine that, the world-famous basketball coach chatting about my muscle car with me. 

We chatted amicably for a couple of minutes, what exactly we talked about, I don't remember but I'm pretty sure he learned I was a huge UofL fan and recent graduate and I told him my car had a 135 mph speedometer and I tried to "peg" it one night on I-71. (I was always telling people that back then). 

(I took Sonja to a UofL BB game on our first date)

Days fly by. Some memories just disappear but some remain with you, no matter how old you get. 

I remember a football road-trip to Cincinnati where I was "the quarterback" for both pre-teen groups of kids pre-game in the UC parking lot. A little dark-haired boy came up and asked if he could play, too...so we put him on the team that was a "man short". He was Denny Crum's son and I remember he had good hands and didn't drop anything I threw him.. Denny stood there, smiling and watching. When the game broke up, I walked over to Coach Crum and told him he had a future wide-receiver there, or something to that means. I didn't bring up we had met before. Denny Crum probably met a million people in his life. 

Yes. Days fly by. 

Rest well, Coach. You are the reason I became a UofL fan, and that's never waivered. 

Thank you. 

paulie 

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 In the category of "What Will They Think Of Next?", the Cardinal Couple crew has asked and received a confirmation that noted local sports writer, huge Cardinal fan, radio star and all-around great person DARYL FOUST will be joining us weekly here on these humble pages.  Today's article is actually being posted by Paulie, since our website and Blogger can't seen to reach an accord on granting Daryl author privileges. I was holding out hope that our I.T. "expert" Worldwide Jeff could solve the riddle, but, it was still INTERNET 1 - JEFF 0 as I went to post this. 

I also ran into trouble posting a certain segment of Daryl's article today and had to leave it out. My apologies. That's was happens when you let the "old guy" do stuff on-line, I suppose. 

We are excited about our addition of Daryl and hope you will be, too! The floor is yours, Daryl! 

paulie. 

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Hello again Cardinal Couple faithful!  And happy Friday to ya.

You might’ve heard me on the show once or twice before but this is my first time in print for CC! I’ve bounced around many roles with our favorite university since graduating in 2015 but as of March 12 earlier this year, I had all sport related positions eliminated due to the national pandemic.  I had just finished up my last home games as the light switch operator for Men’s and Women’s games at Yum! At the beginning of March. I also worked as a board operator for CBB games over at 93.9 but when I went in for my shift that night, the tournaments had all been immediately suspended. Therefore, my assistance wasn’t needed to run the board for commercial breaks.  No games being played, no work to be done, and eventually I found myself very unemployed.  Even my full time position had been eliminated.  I just recently, however, returned to my day job but as part time when Paulie reached out to me with an opportunity to write for Cardinal Couple to contribute.  So here I am!!  I’m very happy to have the opportunity to talk about the Cardinals and some games!!

We know things can change at any moment so I am treating every game like it could be the last and I said it before the season got started that I believe this team will also be in that mindset.  2020 has brought a lot of things into a new light for a lot of people.  Including me.

So I hope you are staying safe and warm out there #CardNation, it’s a pleasure to be back.

Today the university announced that it would be honoring the legendary men’s basketball head coach, Denny Crum, by naming the future Athletics dorm to be located across from the practice facility on Floyd Street after him. If you haven’t seen the video announcement AD Vince Tyra shared via Twitter, here it is.

https://twitter.com/vincetyra/status/1337104903123120134?s=20

She’s a beaut! Congratulations, Coach Crum.  

For now, the WBB squad looks to move to 6-0 when they welcome a Tobacco Road foe, North Carolina, to town on Sunday afternoon.  Louisville beat UNC 74-67 in Chapel Hill a year ago. Dana, Liz and "E" and Mykasa Robinson are the only players who saw minutes in that matchup and are back for this Sunday’s game.  We will talk more about that on Saturday’s show.

Yesterday the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame recognized Cardinal forever, Jill Morton (1997-2000), when it announced its 18-player Silver Anniversary women's basketball team, recognizing players from the 1996 season.. she became Louisville’s first women's basketball All-American her senior season and was Louisville's first WNBA draft pick, going to the Charlotte Sting with the 34th pick of the 2000 WNBA Draft.

Have a great weekend, Louisvillians.  I look forward to checking back into the airwaves with you on Saturday.. however, I will miss the donuts. 

 

Go Cards!

o   DARYL 

#24 WSOC Cards travel to Purdue -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

5-0 Cardinal Women's Soccer Faces Purdue Tonight

The newest member of top 25-ranked teams on the UofL campus - women's soccer -- puts their undefeated record on the line tonight against a formidable Big 10 opponent in Purdue University tonight. The West Lafayette, Indiana university is not far from the Wabash River and boasts notable alumni of "first man on the moon" Neil Armstrong, late astronaut Gus Grissom and NFL star Drew Brees. 

One of Louisville's favorite "hometown heroes" -- Jeff Brohm -- is the head coach of the Boilermaker football team. 

The 5-0 record that Karen Ferguson Dayes and the kickin' Cards have compiled is their best start since 2012. Against Purdue, Louisville faces a squad with a 3-1-1 record that has only fallen to #15 South Carolina, on the road, in their last match. 

Purdue is led in scoring by Kylie Hase, a sophomore midfielder/forward out of Orland Park, Illinois. Orland Park is a Chicago suburb. Hase has three goals on the season. Another threat when the Boilermakers have the ball is Sarah Clark, another sophomore, who is listed as a defender and hails from Brighton, Michigan...which is a Detroit suburb. 

The Cards lead the all-time series against Purdue 2-1-1 but fell to the Boilermakers last year on Sept. 8th. in Lynn Stadium. 

Purdue goalkeeper Katie Luce has been stingy between the pipes, allowing just four goals in five contests. The Boilermakers have scored eight goals so far this season...a season high of three at home against Eastern Michigan to start the season. 

On the Cards side, scoring hasn't been much of a problem so far. Louisville has 15 goals on the season...Kentucky holding them to just one in the Louisville win last Friday. Brooklynn Rivers, a junior, leads Louisville in scoring with four goals. The Fort Thomas, KY native has actually scored the Cards last four goals....three against Michigan and the lone goal against Kentucky. Freshman Maisie Whitsett has three goals so far this season and fellow freshman Delaney Snyder has also found net success twice...along with Louisville Manual graduate Emina Ekic. 

It's a 7 p.m. start tonight and that's Eastern Time...so clear your schedule and, hey, what the heck...it's rumored you can "do" West Lafayette in three hours outta Louisville (two hours maximum if Daryl Foust is driving)...so, all Cardinal fans are encouraged to make the journey 

Tonight's contest is on the BTN2Go Network, which means you have to cough up the credit card to view it. It's rumored, though, if you order BTN2Go...you get free fries and a $1 milk-shake if you choose the drive-thru option. 

LINK: https://www.btn2go.com/game/louisville-at-purdue-on-09062018

Other options involve a radio link (are you listening UofL...Purdue broadcasts women's soccer on the radio) which is: 

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/purdue/   or you can check out live stats at:

https://purduesports.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary

Go. Cards. Beat. Purdue. 


THE GO. CARDS. BEAT. PURDUE. CHANT EXPLAINED

It was December 10th., 1985 and the Louisville men's basketball team was playing Iona in Freedom Hall. Three days earlier, Louisville had knocked off Purdue University at the same venue and the Cards were having an easy time with the Gaels. 

A popular cheer, which is still around in several of the UofL sporting events involves the cheerleaders rushing to half-court or mid-field armed with four poster-boards. They raise the first one to the crowd behind the benches and it says "GO". The crowd is encouraged to respond by shouting "Go!"  Next, the end zone to the right of the benches -- the non-student end zone. They see the poster board reading "CARDS" and hopefully respond by shouting "Cards!" 

This continues to the fans sitting across from the benches..."BEAT" is the option and the litany continues to the student-section end zone...where the opponent's name is on the poster-board. 

On Dec 10th., though, the cheerleaders forgot to replace the "Purdue" placard from three nights earlier with a "Iona" placard. So, during a time-out, the cheerleaders started the cheer but the students were seeing PURDUE instead of IONA on the placard. They responded to what they saw. "PURDUE" was shouted. 

This had to confuse the rest of the 16,000 plus in Freedom Hall. It probably confused the Gaels, who were in their time-out huddle. I was at the game, way up in section 334, and nudged by a buddy, who was laughing. His response was classic: 

"I don't think reading is a part of the requirement to be a cheerleader."

Or, words to that effect. After all, it was almost 35 years ago. (No offense intended to the current group of cheerleaders, who have won 18 National Cheer-leading Association Championships and are led by James Speed, Misty Hodges and Todd Sharp). 

"They think we're Purdue!" 

The GO. CARDS. BEAT. PURDUE. chant continued several days later when Western Kentucky came to town. And it prospered when the Hoosiers visited several days later. It carried on for the rest of the home schedule. Even though the cheerleaders had Memphis, Syracuse or whoever that night's opponent was...the students responded with a loud and hearty "PURDUE!"   Imagine the radio guys from...let's say Cincinnati or Virginia Tech hearing that and wondering "What the -----,  they don't know who they're playing?" Or, "They must really have something against Purdue..."  

Louisville defeated Duke (not Purdue) for the 1986 NCAA Championship...Denny Crum's second title at Louisville. I did not get to Reunion Arena in Dallas for that Final Four, so I don't know if the chant made its way to Texas or not but it was part of the wild celebration on the UofL campus that night after the game...I vaguely remember we started it on campus that night outside the fraternity complex. Allegedly. 

Pressure from the administration (gee, UofL has never seen that, right?) on the student-groups led to them eventually dropping the "Purdue" insistence. The cheer still surfaces from time-to-time, though...including when Cards WBB hosted Purdue early in the 2015-16 season. 

We probably won't hear the cheer tonight at the away soccer game, nor at Volleyball's visit to West Lafayette for the Purdue Invitational this weekend...but, now you know the story behind the legend. 

Go. Cards. Beat. Purdue.

paulie
xxxxx

Friday Cardinal Couple - Teams in Action...Coach Crum

Volleyball Preview

Just about all of the fall sports teams are in action this evening, with most on the road as Paulie covered yesterday.  Volleyball has a particularly busy weekend ahead, however, with three matches in two days.  A quick rundown on the opponents.

Western Kentucky University

When the ranking for the week in volleyball came out, WKU, who was in the "Receiving Votes" grouping in the preseason, had climbed into the top 25 ranking at 24.  This means that the first three matches of UofL's volleyball schedule this year will all be against top 25 teams.  Nothing like starting off with a bang.

In the opening weekend, The Hilltoppers traveled to the Miami (OH) Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational...Longest. Tournament. Name. Evar...where they dominated the weekend.  Honestly, none of the other teams at the tournament were national powerhouses, with host Miami (OH), and other guests Northern Arizona, and Southern Illinois...though Southern Illinois does do well in the cool mascot championship, as the Salukis.  Only Miami (OH) was able to take a single set off of The HillToppers during the weekend.

WKU also had a mid-week game, on Tuesday for their home opener, this week, sweeping the Tennessee State Tigers...who do well in the nicest fans championship after a visit to Cardinal Arena in 2014.

The takeaway here is that WKU looks to have a good team, but they haven't really been tested, yet.

Kent State

Durango...the UNO mascot. A bull on ice...fascinating.

Saturday afternoon brings the Kent State Golden Flashes into the Arena.  They come into the
weekend with a 1-2 record.  The opening weekend in Iowa, they took two losses, first to the hosting Iowa State Cyclones, and then to the New Mexico Lobos...so many great mascots in this article, I love it...before finally winning one against the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks...ok, they can't all be great mascots.  All three of these matches were sweeps.

Take away here is that Kent State is an average team, they beat a let's-be-honest-they're-not-very-good Omaha team, but lost to a couple of decent, though not national powerhouse, teams in Iowa State and New Mexico.

Let's hope this match gives the Cards a chance to catch their breathe after such an intense start to the season, but they need to be sure not to overlook this team.

Illinois

Illinois is not ranked, and not even receiving votes.  A little surprising, perhaps Illinois is in for a bit of an off season, at least for their standards.

Chief Illiniwek...the Illinois mascot. Great leg extension! 

Typically in top 25 rankings, or at least in the discussions for them, Illinois is a team to always watch out for.  They are coming into this weekend undefeated at 3-0 after a weekend in Bozeman Montana, but they, like WKU, haven't really been tested, yet.  Only host Montana State was able to take a set off of the Illini, while Gonzaga, and Air Force could not. I don't care what their mascot is (The Falcons), as a tech geek and a plane and flying buff, Air Force is always cool in my mind, in any context.

This weekend will be the first real chance for Illinois to see how they match up with those that aren't almost completely ignored in the national volleyball conversation.  They'll be trying to tune their play for the rip-roaring Big 10 conference season coming up later in the season.  You can never overlook Illinois, but The Cards will be looking for some revenge after Illinois ended their season, in Cardinal Arena, in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Matches in The Cardinal Classic get started today at 4pm with Kent State and Illinois, the Cards should play around 6:30pm depending on the length of the first match.  Saturday, Illinois and WKU start us off at 10:30am, with UofL starting around 12:30.  The evening session on Saturday will start at 5:30 between Kent State and WKU, with the UofL match starting around 7:30.

Don't forget the new security theatre limitations on carrying bags into Cardinal Arena, because UofL cares about you feeling safe, even if their processes don't actually make you any safer.

-- JMcA


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EDITOR NOTE:

 Our thoughts and concerns go out for Denny Crum and his family. Coach, who recently turned 80, suffered a mild stroke while on a fishing trip in Alaska. Fortunately, he received very prompt medical care and treatment and there is a chance he could be released this weekend. Fortunately, he was on the fishing trip with a doctor. 

The guy who gave us several near heart-attacks and strokes during his coaching career was reported to be alert, in good spirits, having conversations with his wife Susan who is at bedside with him and hoping the Cards will win their football game tomorrow night against Purdue. 

From all of us at Cardinal Couple....hang in there Coach and we wish you a full, complete and speedy recovery. They referred to you as "former" coach in a few media releases....but you'll always be "The Coach" of the University of Louisville basketball program to me and one of the reasons that I love being a Cardinal fan. I'll carry a rolled up racing form to honor you the rest of today....just like you had the rolled up program on the sidelines with you for so many years.

Two National Championships and still one of the coolest guys around. You got this.


Do you know the warning signs of a stroke? Or what to do if you or someone you are with has one? I urge you to refresh your knowledge on this issue. Minutes save lives and serious damage. Being able to check the signs is vital. 

Paulie

Greenwell, USA U16 women continue to roll...Coaches gather to "Raise the Bar".

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THURSDAY...as presented by CARDINAL COUPLE

-Greenwell with 22 against Argentina

-Area coaches help raise money

-Danielle Kom...simply the bomb!

The USA 16U team continues to have their way with Central and South American competition...rolling to two big wins in the last couple of days and going in as the #1 seed with a 3-0 record in the semifinals of the FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Tuesday it was Becca Greenwell's turn to pilot the boat and her 22 points and 11 rebounds led the way for USA's 82-46 win over Argentina. Greenwell set USA U16 records for three point field goals attempted (4-10) and total field goals attempted (8-21).

Greenwell has led Team USA in
scoring the last two games.

The USA squad took the game over in the second quarter and then got the job done from the foul line late (17-32) to secure the win. Team USA tied the existing mark for steals in a game with 22 against the Argentina squad.

If Tuesday's game was a blowout, then Wednesday's contest against Venezuela was a powder keg of dynamite going off...Team USA winning 114-32. Greenwell led the squad in scoring again on Wednesday...with 18 points. Five USA players hit double figures in the rout...USA led 59-13 at the half. Mercedes Russell had eight points and eight boards in 13 minutes of action. Only Erica McCall (DNP-knee) failed to score for Jill Rankin's USA squad.

As #1 seed out of Group B, the USA squad advances to the medal semifinals and will play the #2 seed from Group A (still undetermined) on Friday, June 17th.

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L to R in the photo...Denny Crum, Tom Crean, Joker Phillips,
Jeff Walz, Scott Davenport, Wiley Brown and Chad Gilbert.

So...what do you get when you put Denny Crum, Tom Crean, Scotty Davenport, Jeff Walz, Joker Phillips, Wiley Brown and Chad Gilbert in the same room? Besides more sports knowledge that most encyclopedias...a group of coaches dedicated to raising money for kids education and initiative. The Clark County Raising the Bar for Kids Fundraiser brought in over $28,000 in ticket sales alone to help fund the ACT testing initiative. This allows students from the sixth grade and on to take the college entrance exam and improve their scores before they become seniors.

The coaches recalled favorite sports memories over the years and took questions from the crowd in attendance. WE wonder if anyone asked Coach Walz about a starting lineup for the 2011-12 Lady Cards and how he handled the response if they did...

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Danielle is still an avid golfer and
is long off the tee...

CARDINAL COUPLE ran into to Wazoo Sports personality Danielle Kom recently and caught up with her on her future plans. Kom will be headed to Mississippi in July to head up the marketing and communications for an auto dealership in Tupelo. We checked to make sure she wasn't going down there to keep vigil over Elvis's boyhood home...but she's exciting about the career move. Danielle looks to gain additional experience in the corporate world but hasn't ruled out any return to television in the future.

Kom was part of the UofL women's golf team and a member of FCA at UofL. She was also a fixture on the sidelines for UofL women's basketball games the last couple of years and assisted Drew Deener and the guys at Wazoo with live telecasts of sporting events.

She also co-hosts Sunday Sports Buzz with Greg Brohm at 11 p.m. on Channel 21 in the Louisville area. The show is a favorite of CARDINAL COUPLE'S (yes, Paul does stay up past 9 p.m.sometimes) and Kom's presence on the broadcast will be missed.

Good luck down south, Danielle....keep 'em straight and long and avoid the water. We're going to miss you.
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