Thursday Cardinal Couple -- WNBA Playoff time !

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE ( EIGHT TEAMS WILL BEGIN BATTLE STARTING TONIGHT TO  ADVANCE IN THE POST-SEASON WNBA PLAYOFFS. GARY WITHERSPOON  LOOKS AT ATLANTA'S QUEST TO RETURN TO THE FINALS.) - Angel, Shoni and Atlanta “Limp” into the Playoffs The Atlanta Dream begin their playoff run on Friday, August 22, 7 PM at home against the Chicago Sky on NBA TV. Even though the Dream finished the season as the regular season champions of the  Eastern Conference and the only team in the Eastern Conference  with a winning record, there does not seem to be any reason for confidence that the Dream will have a long playoff run.  It could be as short as two games, and it could last as long as  11 games. The WNBA starts with two out of three playoff series, and Chicago is anything but a pushover. For the first time during the whole season, Chicago has all of their players ready to go for the playoffs. During the season, they have missed All-Stars Elena Delle Donne and Sylvia Fowles  each for about half of the season, and starters Coutney Vandersloot and Epiphanny Prince have also missed a substantial number of games. In their places, Jessica Breland, Allie Quigley and Jamierra Faulkner have played extremely well in both starting roles and roles off the bench, so the Sky are loaded and ready to go for the playoffs. To add to the concern, even with an injury plagued season, Chicago won two and lost two in their regular season series with the Dream, with each  team winning one and losing one on their home courts. The Dream lost 11 out of their last 15 games, including getting trounced by a young Connecticut team 84-55 in their last game of  the season on Sunday, August 17. The biggest issue seems to be  the play of their two big stars Angel McCoughtry (18.5 ppg) and Erika de Souza (13.5 ppg). Until the latter part of the season, this had been De Souza best season, but her points and rebounds have taken a nose dive in the last 15 games.  Angel has averaged “only” 15.3 ppg over the last 10 games of the season. Angel’s last outstanding game occurred just before the Dream’s western swing when she scored 28 points against NY. She started the western swing with19 against Phoenix, but she got hurt in the second half and did not play well the rest of the trip.  After sitting out two games, Angel has started to play well in limited  time in their last two games. After the All-Star game Shoni had an excellent 17 point OT effort at Minnesota in front of 4-5000 adoring Shoni  fans. Then she went through a series of four games in which she never played more than15 minutes and scored a total of 7 points,  going scoreless in two of those games. Starting with the Dream’s  four game western swing in Phoenix where Shoni had somewhere  between 5-7000 fans, Shoni started a 6 game streak in which she averaged 15.2 points a game, highlighted by a 24 point and 9 assists effort at home against Phoenix when Atlanta beat Phoenix  96-82 sparked by Shoni’s 20 point 2nd quarter outburst. Phoenix  finished the season with a WNBA record 29 wins in 34 games.  Shoni would have entered the playoffs on a roll except for a 9 point  performance at Connecticut in which she went 3-12. As a new fan of the Dream, I have a lot of apprehension about their playoff prospects based on their recent performances, but older fans of the Dream indicate this is par for the course and do not seem concerned. When you realize  that all four Eastern playoff teams enter the playoffs with a loss in  their last game, and Chicago (the Dream’s first opponent) enters the playoffs with two losses, there is plenty of room for optimism  and pessimism. Apparently the veteran pro players can turn it on  whenthey need to do so. It might be relevant to note that the Dream  have lost to and defeated every team in the playoffs in both conferences except for San Antonio with whom they won both games in the season series. gw .

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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- New look Dream down Tulsa

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Angel, Atlanta start WNBA season with win

-Amashi Ali-Kendall qualifies for NCAA meet

-Softball Super Regional unkind to Cats

-Unruly Julie?


Finally...some hoops to hold us over until the UofL WBB squad gets back in action...

The "new look" Atlanta Dream looked very good in an opening season win over Tulsa last night 98-81 in Atlanta. Angel McCoughtry and company spoiled Skylar Diggins debut in the WNBA by using a 21-6 run late in the first quarter to shock the Shock. The Fred Williams era as Atlanta skipper is off to a good start.

This is a different looking team than the 2012 Dream who sputtered in the 2012 playoff against Indiana after making it to the WNBA league finals in 2010 and 2011.

Yes, there are some returnees you'll remember and recognize. Angel McCoughtry, of course...along with veteran front liners Sancho Lyttle and Erika de Souza. Tiffany Hayes, the high scoring UConn guard.

After that, it's a shakeup of new talent. Three rookies on this year's squad...Anne Marie Armstrong (Georgia) Alex Bentley (Penn State) and Courtney Clements ( San Diego State) are guards that will be depended on to feed the scoring machines Hayes, DeSouza, Lyttle and Angel. Jasmine Thomas and Armintie (Price) Henderson will also dish the assists. 

The Dream is heavily guard-oriented under Coach Fred...with only three front-liners...DeSouza, Lyttle and nine year veteran Le'Coe Willingham (Auburn).

Angel likes what she sees.

"It looked like we've been here with everybody for a while. We got some new additions and they fit right in. I was very proud of how the girls played. It was very good chemistry today, and the thing is...we can still get better. I'm looking for a great season."

Angel had 16 points in the win. Tiffany Hayes led all scorers with 21 and Sancho Lyttle added 18.

Despite a rallying 28-19 run by Tulsa in the second quarter to make it close...the Dream scored 12 points off 10 Tulsa turnovers in the third quarter while pushing the lead to double digits...where it remained the rest of the game.

Atlanta will do well, we predict, under Williams...as long as he can keep the talent happy...something the former head coach of Atlanta, Marynell Meadors, failed to accomplish.

So far, Angel is on board.

"It's early in the season. There are going to be some things like that (Tulsa's run) but I was very pleased with what I saw today.

Keep the talent happy, Fred. So far, so good...

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Louisville thrower Amashi Ali-Kendall finished third in the shot put at a premilinary meet in Greensboro, NC for the NCAA Championships that will be held in Eugene, OR next month.

Her toss of 54' 5" was good enough to qualify for the Championships. It'll be the senior's first appearance in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She came in second in the BIG EAST Championships earlier this month and did participate in the NCAA Indoor Championships last year.

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We're still following the Softball Super Regionals...even though Louisville isn't a participant. The state's only school in the Round of 16...Kentucky...took a 5-4 loss to Arizona State last night in Tempe. Four home runs for UK in the loss. They trail 1-0 in the best of three series.

Other winners and losers:

Oklahoma 8 - Texas A&M 0 (Oklahoma advances to WCWS)
Michigan 2 - Louisiana-Lafayette 1 (UM moves on 2-1)
Texas 3 - Fla. State 2 (Texas leads 1-0 in Super Regional)
Nebraska 5 - Oregon 2 (Huskies win at Eugene, lead 1-0)
Washington 1 - Missouri 0 ( UW headed to WCWS)
Tennessee 5 - Alabama 3 (Vols earn a berth in Okla.City)
Florida 4 - UAB 3 (Gators go up 1-0)

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It didn't take long for the muckrakers and sensational slimeballs to go after new Rutgers AD Julie Hermann. They're dragging out Hermann's departure from Tennessee in the swipe below:

HERMANN ABUSIVE?


Digging back 16 years in the past to try and slam one of five women Athletic Directors in Division I NCAA Sports is a cheap and tawdry attempt by Fox Sports and Tim Pernetti loyalists to heap more wood on the raging fire that is Rutgers Athletics.

I stepped on an ant last week. Quite by mistake. It's a wonder I haven't been brought up on animal abuse and cruelity charges by some dirtball columnist out there.

Did I do anything I regret 16 years ago? Probably. Renewing football tickets for Ron Cooper's final year at UofL comes to mind. That was abuse...much more than what Hermann allegedly did.

Sometimes, I'm ashamed to be in this profession of writer and columnist. We have some real jerks and scum-buckets in our midst. Don Henley nailed it right on the head years ago with his song "Dirty Laundry".

DON HENLEY'S "DIRTY LAUNDRY".

What was that old bible quote about 'ye free of sin casting the first stone'?  


-Paulie

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