Fridays with Daryl: WBB Postpones Again -- Some Thank You's -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

CARDS WBB VS. MIAMI POSTPONED

Hello again, Cardinal faithful!

It's good to be back but I hate to be the bearer of bad news here.. There has been another postponement in the Women's basketball schedule.  News out of the Louisville program is that Sunday's scheduled matchup with the Miami Hurricanes has been postponed as of Thursday evening.  I think that was pretty much expected.  It feels like I haven't watched the Cards play a basketball game in a month! 

The next scheduled matchup for WBB would be a second meeting with Duke on New Years Eve, however, the Blue Devils program announced Wednesday evening that it would be pausing all team activities due to positive tests. Which makes the matchup a big IF right now with 2 weeks from Wednesday's announcement landing on 12/30.  I really wouldn't be surprised if we've watched the Cards play their last game of 2020 already.  So for now, we continue to wait. 

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There were four WBB  in the ACC last night. 

-- A good night in the Carolinas, it would seem, with home-standing NC St. taking down Wake Forest 79-65. The Wolfpack are now 7-0 and the Demon Deacs check in at 4-2. in "the battle of I-40". 

-- In Chapel Hill, UNC surprisingly silenced Syracuse 92-68. Banghart's bangers up their record to 6-2, while Q's squad takes their first loss and is 4-1. 

--  The Fighting Irish battled their way to a 84-78 win over Virginia Tech in South Bend. It was a match up of Dara Mabrey's previous squad (VT) against her new one (ND). UND evens it out on the season with a 3-3 record and Kenny Brooks' squad takes their first defeat and is now 6-1.

-- Clemson appears to be "for real" as of now --  with a 72-69 win over FSU in Littlejohn Coliseum. Those glassy-eyed Tigers are 7-1, while FSU takes their first conference loss and go to 3-1. 

Just three undefeated schools left in ACC conference games:  Louisville, NC State and Georgia Tech. In all games, it narrows the undefeated down to two, the Cards (5-0) and the Pack (7-0). 

IN OTHER NEWS

The University of Louisville, Adidas and Cardinals Forever Donovan Mitchell and Angel McCoughtry have all partnered to create the gift that every Louisville fan wants to find under the Christmas tree this year.  And this truly is the gift that keeps on giving... UofL News reported how the four partnered to create this shoe that will fund scholarships for future students in the Louisville area to be able to pursue a higher education at our favorite school. 

Check them out! & read more about the initiative here:

 https://www.uoflnews.com/post/uofltoday/former-card-donovan-mitchell-gives-back-to-alma-mater-with-exclusive-adidas-shoe-for-change/

Members of both of the men’s and women’s basketball teams will wear the limited-edition shoe in upcoming games.  It's power moves like this that make us realize how much bigger than basketball the games really are.  It makes me even more proud to be an alum and a civilian of one of the most passionate cities in America.  It really says a lot that after signing a $195 million deal with the Utah Jazz, a kid from New York makes giving the Louisville area youth a priority.  

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One week until Christmas, Louisvillians! 

I know how tough this year has been for us as a program and as a city but I want to wish everyone a warm and blessed holiday season.  THANK YOU to our essential workers and front line workers who literally kept us running.  THANK YOU to the voices who spoke out about injustice and THANK YOU to those who continue to put others health and safety first.  Mask up, my friends and we will get through this.  

Happy Friday...You will be hearing from us on the show Saturday morning as scheduled. 

Daryl Foust

The Joys of Fandom -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

What is Your Favorite Thing About Being a Fan?

EDITOR'S NOTE:  As of 9:23 AM...the Internet (Spectrum) was out on Mellwood Ave. This means WCHQ 100.9 FM, our radio station for The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour is off the air.

I'll be monitoring this link www.wchqfm.com hoping it is restored. 

UPDATE: The Internet was restored about an hour before we went on the air. 

Paulie

This week I spent 3 days in Nowhere, West Virginia doing field work for a hospital renovation. Preparing for the trip made me think about Louisville/West Virginia rivalries of the past, and I considered bringing up this topic last week before more obvious news got in the way. Going on the trip, though, only made me more sure that I wanted to write about it. The concept that originally came to my mind was to ask everyone what their favorite part of a rivalry was. It could have been a specific game between Louisville and any of their rivals in any sport, or it could have been the way people discuss certain moments. I realized after returning from West Virginia that the rivalry question didn't actually get to the heart of what I wanted to talk about. You're welcome to talk about your favorite rivalry moments in the comments, still, because I'd love to hear them. However, the real question comes at the top of this article:

What is your favorite thing about being a fan?

I'm not asking this question rhetorically. I'd really like to see your answers. My favorite thing is that being deep into a fandom makes every person at least a little bit irrational about that fandom. It can happen to anyone in a variety of ways about any team or person or thing that they follow closely. It is human nature that when someone disagrees with you regarding something about which you are passionate, you will take it as a personal affront. The fandom also digs deep into your thought processes, guiding decisions in ways that are subtle and you may not even notice. I know this seems like a strange thing to be my "favorite," but it's what I've been thinking about nonstop recently, driven by the continued issues with UofL.

While packing for West Virginia, I decided to throw a Louisville polo into my bag. It was a spare shirt and I didn't know if I would wear it because of the conversations it might start or the looks it might draw. Fans of West Virginia don't really like fans of Louisville. At least that's what my irrational side was telling me. If I wore that polo, all of the nice people I had met at the hospital and beyond would turn on me while I was working just because of a shirt. On our last day there, I considered throwing on the polo but went with a different shirt instead, still hung up on the idea. When a coworker of mine came down in a UK button down, I went so far as to call him bold for wearing that shirt in WV. His response was that he wasn't worried about it, and I second guessed myself for being so worried about a dang shirt. I still didn't change.

When we got to the hospital that day and sat in the conference room that was our base of operations, a conversation almost immediately sprung up about the UK shirt. One of our hospital contacts asked my coworker about how much he must dislike WVU for the games they've played in the tournament and regular season recently. The content of the conversation isn't important, but my irrationality felt validated. If he was getting flak about a UK shirt when the two teams only ever clash in basketball, how would things have gone in a UofL shirt with all of the history between the Cards and Mountaineers? I don't really intend to find out on any future trips.

The polo story is just one of many things I can think of that drives fans to irrationality on a daily basis. Think of any conversation you've had about a team or player of which you are a fan. Someone argues that Lamar Jackson didn't deserve the Heisman, that Donovan Mitchell wasn't deserving of the Rookie of the Year award, that Asia Durr isn't among the best players in women's college basketball. Consider your response to those statements. Being a fan makes it personal. The cardinal colored glasses (or any other team color) fall down in front of your eyes and your emotional investment takes over for any facts. If the other person is a fan of a rival team, it is even worse. You both argue with personal bias and the irrationality of fandom.

As a normally logical person (I am an engineer after all) it seems strange to enjoy the chaos that is emotional fandom, but I can't help it. Maybe that's why it's my favorite part of fandom, because it is so different from my normal patterns. Whatever it is, it's what makes me excited about being a fan of the teams I enjoy, and it's what drives me to support them through thick and thin. So what about you? What is your favorite thing about being a fan?

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Jared and I are both out this morning, leaving Paulie and Jeff to fend for themselves in the new studio arrangement. They may have found a guest or two, but if not, it is sure to be a wonderful show. The summer is winding down and we are only a couple of weeks from real sports competitions getting back underway. Tune into the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on WCHQ at 11AM to hear the OG Cardinal Couplers discuss what they had for lunch this week and to participate in a quiz that may or may not be nonsense. I'm sure they'll find a way to fit in the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports, too.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Jared Anderson on U23 squad, Donovan and shoes -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

PLAYING THE GAME, WEARING THE GEAR
 AND BEATING THE WEATHER

The talent of Jeff Walz's squad continues to improve year after year. A pair of women's basketball players have found themselves invited to the 2017 USA Basketball Women's U-23 National Team in Colorado at the end of the month. Asia Durr set a UofL single season record with 119 3-pointers. She posted a team-best 692 points on the year and averaged 19.2 points per game. Asia, who is on the 1000 point club, will return as a junior and we hope she'll remain an offensive powerhouse. Myisha Hines-Allen has played many positions with the Cards. She has battled numerous injuries in her first three years. Myisha posted 17 double-doubles this past season, tying Angel McCoughtry's two-time record. She is also in the top 50 in the country for double-doubles, rebounds, and rebounds per game. 12 of the 40 players invited to the tryouts will make the team. The final squad will face Canada, Australia, and Japan in a round-robin tournament in Tokyo in mid-August. All players must be 23 or younger and coming out of their freshman, sophomore, or junior year in college. Another Cardinal to look for on the team will be head coach Jeff Walz. He will be the captain of this year's team. He was an assistant on the teams from 2014 and 2015 when both squads went undefeated and took home the gold. The men counterparts had some recent news of their own. Donovan Mitchell and adidas have announced a shoe deal. The rookie Utah Jazz player has already shined in the summer league. Imagine the back order of shoes from the Louisville fanbase. My closing remarks for today will be a reminder to keep those air conditioners running and to stay hydrated. The weather continues to get hotter!

A Look at New Pros -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Former Cardinals Doing Well Early

Today's article (which is coincidentally kind of about success) will be pretty short and unfortunately shies away from women's sports. I wanted to peek at how some of our former fan favorites have fared (say that five times fast) in the early stages of their professional careers. This will be brief and there is plenty more out on the internet about more in depth statistics and about the guys I don't mention. With all of our talk about success recently, though, I felt like this would be a good time to talk about former Cardinals we loved getting off to good starts on the road that they hope can lead to success in their respective sport.

We also will point out that, although this is primarily a women's sports site...many women's sports fans at UofL follow the baseball and men's basketball squads. We see many of you at baseball and men's basketball. 

Drew Ellis was drafted 44th overall to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. His pro career started off better than he imagined as he was fully expecting to be sitting around for another 19 picks, where the Boston Red Sox had promised they'd select him. Ellis has since packed his bags and headed to Hillsboro, Oregon to play with the Short A league team there. In eight games, Ellis is hitting .324 with two different 3-hit games. Last night, he hit his first career professional home run. He'll need to knock down the strikeouts (10 in 34 at bats) to be sure, but he seems to be seeing the ball decently well and getting hits when he makes contact. As long as his glove continues to be sure--he's got 0 errors in 17 chances at third base in 53.2 innings--and he continues to improve his hitting, Ellis is probably not long for such a low league.

Ellis's teammate and National Player of the Year, Brendan McKay, has yet to suit up in a professional uniform but he has reportedly seen a victory of his own already. Much ado was made about McKay, the two way star, and how a professional team would be forced to make a decision on how to best utilize his talents. We knew that McKay did not want to be boxed in, and it seems as though the Rays will give him a chance to show all of his talents. Brendan will head to Short A Hudson Valley, where there is a schedule in place for him to be a starter and play first base/designated hitter on some (not all) days that he is not the starting pitcher. There is no word on whether he'll be allowed to hit for himself when he is the pitcher, but this is a major accomplishment nonetheless. Brendan McKay was more than a generational talent at the University of Louisville, and I hope that he gets every opportunity to shine in every way he can at the professional level.

Donovan Mitchell may not have come to the University of Louisville had he pursued baseball, but he did get the chance to throw out a first pitch for the Salt Lake City Bees after being drafted by the Utah Jazz. Mitchell has played in three summer league games so far, scoring 15.3 points per game on 43.9% shooting. He's 5/13 from three, has 10 steals, 10 assists, and only 4 turnovers. He scored 23 in his first game, and he may be best known so far for a fantastic behind-the-back-out-of-bounds-saving assist and for putting Jayson Tatum on his behind with a spin move. Mitchell has clearly impressed the Jazz leadership, as he earned himself a day off last night, presumably so other young Jazz players could get a chance to step out of his shadow and show their stuff. Mitchell has looked nothing but prepared for his transition to the NBA and I'm hopeful that his success continues when the real season rolls around.

He's hardly a new pro, but honorable mention goes to a player that is getting new life in Chinese
basketball. Russ Smith recently signed with a Chinese team and immediately proved that his poor showing in Turkey had more to do with misuse by the team and not a lack of talent. The fact that Russ Smith, who holds the single game scoring record in the D-League, has not been given another opportunity to go wild for an NBA team absolutely baffles me. I seem to see another Russ get to do whatever he wants on the court and receive MVP votes for it. Am I calling Russ Smith as good as Russell Westbrook? No, but it would be hard for you to convince me that Smith could not be a significant bench scorer and defender for an NBA team. By the way, the reason I mentioned Russ is because he's averaging an insane 58.5 points per game through six games on about 50% shooting. He made major headlines when he scored 81 points in his fifth game. It's easy to argue that he's doing this against significantly inferior defensive competition, but it's very challenging to argue against 60 ppg. 

There are many other men and women, a lot that have been mentioned on this site, performing well at the professional level of sports and business and fantastically representing their alma mater. For those who have completed their days at the University of Louisville, I wish them nothing but happiness however they can find it and success in the pursuit of their goals.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Drafts and Accountability - Friday Cardinal Couple

Mitchell to Denver, No Wait, Utah

In the NBA Draft last night, Donovan Mitchell was officially picked up in the 13th pick by the Denver Nuggets, but with a trade arrangement in place to send him off to Utah, who was trading up with Denver in order to get Mitchell.

I don't follow the NBA much at all, and certainly not their draft process and prospects, but congratulations to Donovan in heading out to Salt Lake City.  Perhaps he can get some pointers on living life in a city that is less than 3% African American from Darrell Griffith.  The great #35 on the men's team played 11 years for the Jazz.  The demographics of the city have become more diverse over the past 20 years particularly, with a huge influx of Hispanic and Latino population, though the portion of African Americans still hovers around 2 1/2%.

Baseball to Louisville, No Thanks to the Men in Black

Dan McDonnell is a better man than I.  Let's get that out of the way first.  In UofL Baseball's loss to TCU in the elimination side of the bracket of the College World Series, McDonnell demurred on the officiating of the game.  The Cards lost the game 4-3 and will be heading home from Omaha.

Let's face it, the officiating was a stinker.

I will be the first to excuse officiating for missing calls in live action.  Plays happen fast, angles and perspectives play a role in perception of what happened, and humans aren't perfect.  I have absolutely no tolerance for not getting it right when there are good camera angles of the play in review, however.  There are times where the available camera angles also don't adequately capture the action to be able to affirmatively overturn a ruling on the field.  In at least one game-changing case last night, however, that wasn't the case.  In the throw at the plate, the replay clearly showed Colby Fitch putting the tag on the runner's knee before the runner's hand touched the plate, and the officials upheld the out called on the field.  Inexcusable.

Maybe I'm just a bit of an anti-authoritarian in general, but I'm a firm believer that there needs to be some degree of visible accountability for officiating in sports...particularly at the college level.  The officials are the only people on the field of play during play action that get paid.  Visible accountability should be part of that deal.  We expect these rhetorically-amateur athletes to answer questions about their play, win or lose, but the professionals get to walk off the field with no after action report, and no real accountability for their mistakes.  Pitiful.

OK, that rant out of the way...

Huge congratulations to the Baseball team for the amazing season they had.  They outperformed every expectation that anyone had for what was expected to be a rebuilding year for the program.  Dan McDonnell is a class act of a coach, and his team exudes greatness, both as players, and as people.

With so many graduating or going to the pros...one would expect a bit of a rebuilding job for 2018 for Dan and his staff. Funny...the same was said about the team last year after Burdi, Funkhouser, Kidston, Ray and Rosenbaum went to  the pros.

Great season, and I can't wait to see this team play again next year, and some of the players in the pro ranks.

-- JMcA

Louisville women's soccer continues to bring in top talent -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

EKIK, KERWIN WILL CONTRIBUE IMMEDIATELY FOR KAREN FERGUSON DAYES

As Louisville head women's soccer coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes continues to build a roster that can compete with and beat ACC foes...we've seen some very talented players don the Cardinal jerseys and take the turf out at Lynn Stadium over the last several years. Gabrielle Vincent excited Cardinal fans with her ball movement and hawking abilities in 2015. Brooklyn Rivers, Alison Whitfield and Sarah Feola delighted Louligans with their impressive freshmen play back in 2016. On a team that will have six seniors for the 2017 season....new talent is of the utmost importance and UofL continues to attract and draw good talent to the Belknap Campus with freshmen and a transfer. Nine new Cardinals join the roster for 2017. It's the largest incoming class I can remember in recent years for Ferguson-Dayes. 

Add two new assistant coaches in Andy Stoots and Hunter Norton and we'll be using the program guide early in the season from the press box to identify and track a sizable amount of the 'Kickin' Cards this fall...

Let's meet the new players!

TAYLOR KERWIN. Midfielder.  Her high school senior season just ended in Whitefish Bay, WI and she was named Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year. She led her team to the State Championship title and had three goals in the championship game...won 5-1 by Whitefish Bay. 

EMINA EKIC. Midfielder. A Louisville, KY native, she started both games for the USA U19 squad in their recent matches in Europe against the Czech Republic. Out of Manual High School...she was the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. 

MOLLIE ROUSE. Midfielder-Center. Mollie comes from the Stratford Upon Avon School in England where she also had extensive playing experience on the English U17 and U19 squads. Known for being a creative scorer...she also has a flair for passing and earned four caps playing in international competition. 

T.J. ANDERSON. Midfielder. T.J. comes out of the Wesleyan School in Atlanta, GA. She was Georgia's 2016 AA Player of the Year. She was a scoring machine in the Peach State...with 17 goals in 11 games in 2015 and possesses a very deep and long throw from the sidelines. 

LANA BATSON.  Goalkeeper. Played at Patrick Henry H.S. in San Diego, CA. A great shot stopper with excellent footwork, she's also 5'9"...which would make her the tallest goalie on the Cards roster. She'll compete for playing time right off the bat. 

MORGAN DEWEY. Defender. From Blessed Trinity H.S. in John's Creek, GA...Morgan led the defensive charge to runner up finishes in Georgia State soccer in 2014, 15 and 16. A wide defender who can also attack out of the back.

MORGAN EVERETT. Forward. East Forsyth H.S. Kernersville, NC. The Cards beat out ACC competition to get the 5'10" scorer and that's what she does...score. Very fast and can play wide or central forward equally well. 

NADAGE L'ESPERANCE. Midfielder. Lakeshore H.S. Quebec, Canada. Played for the Canadian Team in the U17 World Cup. Can also go to back line if needed and has extensive experience in international competition. Won three straight high school titles. 

KENNEDY CARBIN. Forward. Transfer from Mississippi State. Comes back to Louisville after two years as a Bulldog. Was 2013 Kentucky Female Player of the Year. Led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2015 and was second in 2016. Also has World Cup experience with Bahamas. 

A talented group indeed that joins a roster which returns Inger Katrine Bjerke, Ariana Ferraro, Niamh Nelson, Alison Price and Kaela Dickerman in addition to the players mentioned earlier in today's column. This roster should be the one that will crack the .500 mark the Cards have put up over the past two seasons and could get them into the NCAA Tournament....as well as produce a successful ACC campaign. 

It all gets started in less than eight weeks...when the Cards travel  to Ohio State for their first competition. Based on the 6-1 spring exhibition season...look for great things to take place by the train tracks on Floyd Street this fall! 


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IT'S NOW OR NEVER...

The classic Elvis song would apply to the University of Louisville baseball team this evening...as they face the TCU Horned Frogs in a CWS elimination game tonight in Omaha. Win and you get a rematch with Florida. Lose...and the season is over. 

Tough place for the freshman lefty Nick Bennett to get the start...but he was a Freshman All-American and third team ALL-ACC performer. Bennett is 5-0 on the season and sports a sizzling 2.70 ERA. 

Eighteen days since Nick last climbed the hill....getting in five innings in a no-decision during the Cards win over Xavier in the NCAA Regionals. 

For Louisville, a definite call for hitting is out there. 

We'll see...a 8 p.m. Louisville start time on ESPN2...competing with the NBA draft tonight. 

Let's hope good things happen for the Hit and Pitch Cards and Donovan Mitchell tonight! 



paulie
xxxxx