MAYBE MYISHA? ACC DOUBLE BYE GONE?
We'll skate all over the rink today and catch up on a few things. With no particular agenda or theme...let's just call today's column "catch-up". Or ketchup. You name it, I'll write it.
From hoops to tennis, softball to radio...we ramble all over the Cardinal Athletic landscape today (with no Field Pass and one step ahead of Ray Bronger...)
DINNER WITH COACH
HINES-ALLEN BETTER? (FROM THE WALZ RADIO SHOW)
We have a reader (and probably more than one) who religiously attends the Coach Walz Radio Show each week. The show took place last night at the Bardstown Road Chili's. I try to listen on radio (93.9 FM) when I can but had a prior commitment last night and missed it. I've never attended one...but here's the "live, on the spot" report I got from our pal in attendance:
-- Myisha Hines-Allen did practice Tuesday (and practiced well, according to Coach Walz) and should be in Blacksburg for the game against Virginia Tech. No word on B.J. except that it takes a lot of pain involved if she has to sit and that was the case in South Bend on Monday.
-- Walzisms.
"You can be consistently inconsistent."
(On players in his dog-house) "I don't have a dog-house. I don't have a dog."
(On whether his daughter Lola would be a forward or guard for him) "I won't be coaching by then. I'll just sit way up in the arena and be a fan. A proud parent."
(On social media) '"These kids get way too caught up on social media. They read what people tweet them and you'd be amazed at what some of the fans say. I tell them to ignore social media"
(On fan education) "People get way too caught up on scoring. On stat lines. A player can have 18 points and still play badly but they'll hear 'Oh, you had a great game! 18 points'. There are no defensive stat lines. We look at the whole picture."
-- Finishing well
Coach Walz sincerely believes that the Cards best basketball is ahead of them. He wants the team to start peaking in March. (What that means for the five games left in February...we're not exactly sure.) Coach feels that they'll probably be a five seed in the ACC Tournament....the top four right now being Notre Dame, FSU, Duke and NC State.
Let's take a look at that. I can optimistically see Louisville (7-4) beating their final five in the conference schedule...at VT, hosting BC, UNC and Virginia and ending at Wake Forest...and finishing the regular conference slate at 12-4. The Cards aren't going to catch either Notre Dame or Florida State, let's be realistic here.
Duke holds the tie-breaker over Louisville and is currently 8-3 in conference. They finish with Pitt, Syracuse, at Wake Forest, Miami and at North Carolina. I can see one or two losses at the most potentially...that would leave them at either 12-4 or 11-5. If they win out or go 4-1, the Cards cannot catch them.
NC State (7-3) has six games remaining. They also hold the tie-breaker over Louisville. They go to Georgia Tech, host Virginia Tech, visit Boston College, host Wake Forest and UNC and finish at Virginia. Two losses here put them at 11-5. If they finish 5-1...they secure a double-bye seed. The thing is...it's hard to find two teams in this bunch that can potentially beat them.
I don't see Syracuse getting there. With Duke and Notre Dame left it just seems unlikely.
Difficult for the Cards to get the double bye, but not impossible. All they can do at this point is just win and hope for a few upsets. If you are headed to Conway, SC for the ACC Tournament...you may want to arrive for Thursday games. One game at a time, one win at a time. Remember, it's the ACC. Anything Can Culminate.
(Thanks to our intrepid reporter for the Walz show details)
CORTNEE ON LOUISVILLE FIRST
If you missed redshirt-senior Cortnee Walton's appearance on the critically acclained LOUISVILLE FIRST morning radio show on WKRD 790...you missed a great segement. Cortnee absolutely owned it!
She covered a wide range of subjects with Howie and Matt...including career at Louisville, intern at WAVE TV, women's basketball, other Cardinal sports and her friendship with Asia Taylor.
A great hour listening to Cortnee. Be sure to catch the podcast rebroadcast which is at this link:
CORTNEE WALTON ON LOUISVILLE FIRST
Good job, Mom! She starts around the 40 minute mark.
Paulie was on with the guys Tuesday...here's the link:
Paulie on Louisville First
I join them around the 35 minute mark.
ANYONE FOR TENNIS?
Don't look now...but Louisville women's tennis has started the 2017 season 6-0.
Wins against UT-Martin, Murray State, Detroit, WKU, E. Michigan and Liberty...all at the Cards facility The Bass-Rudd Center. Despite an injury to Elle Stokes that has her sidelined for a couple of weeks, the Cards contingent of Aleksandra Mally, Jessie Paul, Sena Suswan, Olivia Boesing, Tiffany Huber, Abby Pahz, Ariana Rodriguez and Mariana Humberg are getting it done for the Serve and Volley Cards. Just two seniors in those nine...which bodes well for future Cardinal racquet and baseline success.
Head coach Mark Beckham is impressed:
"We're not the same team we were last year. We are improving. The biggest thing is that we look like we're beating them handily but it's because we are playing so well and making opponents look not as good as they truly are. That is a positive thing."
The Cards face Georgia State Friday.
SOFTBALL ON DECK
Cardinal Softball is 48 hours away!
Sandy Pearsall's sluggers start the season in Vegas on Friday at the UNLV Sportco Kickoff Classic. The Cards will play two on opening day....Southern Utah at 6:45 pm and CSU Bakersfield at 9:00 pm. All times are, as Worldwide likes to say, estimates.
A ton of starters back, the two top pitchers and very impressive freshman class on hand for Pearsall. Touch 'em all and field your position! We'll look for possible Internet viewing and update ya.
paulie
xxxxx
HENDERSON THROWS ON THURSDAY, SATURDAY IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
For University of Louisville track and field star Emmonnie Henderson...the future is now and it's straight ahead.
She'll compete in her second straight NCAA Championship in the shot put and discus at the University of Oregon beginning Thursday in the shot put. Scheduled start time for the shot put event is 9:30. ESPN will have coverage of the NCAA Championships...just how much of the shot put they'll show remains to be seen...but track and field is always an exciting TV possibility. She'll also compete in the discus...where she finished third last year...around 6 p.m. on Saturday.
We did put in a request to get an interview with her before she took off for Eugene, OR. That didn't happen, but maybe we'll get a chance to catch up with her after the Championships. As we've learned in this business, you can't always get what you want...
This is an acid test to see how she matches up with other Olympic hopefuls. Her throws in both events this season haven't quite matched up to the qualifying standards to make the USA Olympic squad. She'll need "best of career" throws in each to be a contender in Rio this summer.
Athletes rise to occasions. Competition brings out the best in any competitor. For Emmonnie, it is straight ahead...and, hopefully...very far out there.
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LOUISVILLE FIRST
I'm writing today's column shortly after my weekly appearance on LOUISVILLE 1ST. ...which is Howie Lindsey's radio show on 790 KRD Monday-Friday from 7-10 a.m. It's always a pleasure to be on with Howie...ostensibly to discuss University of Louisville women's sports...but there is always the element of surprise.
Today we discussed Muhammad Ali, trash-talking and didn't get around to discussing "E" and the NCAA Championships or any other UofL activities. Which is perfectly fine. Ali is the story here in Louisville and globally this week. The media coverage surpasses what we see here on Derby weekend. Al-Jazeera and the BBC are camped out at the KFC YUM! Center with 100's of other media outlets. A motorcade. Downtown employers are developing plans to let workers off on staggered schedules on Friday because of the expected crunch of traffic and security measures and street closures.
Howie's show is something you should catch in the mornings. It is a great resource for all Louisville sports and national topics. We are pleased to be a small part of it for a few minutes once a week. It's available on IHeart Radio if you live out of the 790KRD signal range.
paulie
xxxxx
CARDINAL COUPLE SEGMENT RE-JOINS THE HOWIE SHOW ON 790 WKRD
When Howie Lindsey approached CARDINAL COUPLE about doing a women's sports segment once a week on his show at 93.9 The Ville, we were excited to get the chance to promote the joy and excitement of Louisville women's sports. When Lindsey moved to 790 KRD, we hoped that we would be fortunate to continue those weekly segments.
We'll be joining Howie on his new show...Louisville First... this morning around 7:40 a.m. The show runs on WKRD 790 from 7-10 a.m. Monday-Friday. The debut yesterday was a work of art. Katie George (you remember Katie, right? She finished second to Anne Kordes in the Pedal for the Cure contest at the Pittsburgh game) is a great addition to this new, extended version of Howie doing what he does...discussing and moderating the University of Louisville world of sports. Matt Willinger is a knowledgeable sidekick and the KRD 790 format is solid. Embrace this new morning show and spread the word to all Cardinal fans.
The earlier show appearance time (for us) is no problem at all. Paulie is usually prowling the Sykes mansion by 6 a.m....feeding and conversing with the attack Yorkies, growling at the morning news folks, serving banana smoothies to the staff chimps and chugging coffee while scanning the Internet.
We hope it goes well. We're glad to be back in a position where we can talk UofL women's sports at a venue different from our own radio show. Louisville First is a show you need to set your morning alarm to and enjoy.
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SOME EARLY WBB SUPERLATIVES
With the UofL WBB squad going into the "second season"...the NCAA Tournament...let's look back and award a few "Cardies"...our version of the Emmy's or Oscars. There will be no actual award presented, just site recognition for a job well done. The envelopes, please....
Most Outstanding Player
This goes to Myisha Hines-Allen for her wonderful season. I'm not sure that you can put into words what she has meant to the team's success this season. Action speaks louder than words. She's been quite active.
Most Improved Player
I'll go with Arica Carter. A question mark at point-guard last year, she's re-vamped her game and become a valuable, essential contributor to the 2015-16 squad. Her three has improved dramatically and her leadership has surfaced.
Hustle Award
Hats off to Briahanna Jackson for coming into the program and showing the hustle, drive, desire and creating those "did you see that?" plays that won over the hearts and minds of Louisville women's basketball fans. B.J. leaves it all out on the court and her work ethic is simply incredible.
Freshman of the Year
The selection is Asia Durr. Hampered by a groin injury early in her career at Louisville, she has emerged as an off-the-bench spark who hits the key shots and has shown that the high-school accolades were accurate and true. The future looks very bright for #25.
Got a different take? Let us know in the comments section.
paulie
xxxxx
Coach Walz sincerely believes that the Cards best basketball is ahead of them. He wants the team to start peaking in March. (What that means for the five games left in February...we're not exactly sure.) Coach feels that they'll probably be a five seed in the ACC Tournament....the top four right now being Notre Dame, FSU, Duke and NC State. 
