Durr named ACC WBB Player of the Week -- Cards ranked at #4 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DURR NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

After a week where she averaged 28.5 points per game in two contests, Asia Durr has been named the ACC Player of the Week. It's the third such honor for Durr in the 2018-19 season. She also received the award on Nov. 12th. and Dec. 3rd. 

Durr recorded 32 points in the 80-75 win over Kentucky on Sunday. On Tuesday night, against UT-Martin, Durr ended up with 25 points in the 102-62 win. 

Durr shot 49% in the two games...going 13-25 against the Wildcats and 8-18 against the SkyHawks. The Denny Crum Court has been friendly territory for the Douglasville, GA senior in the first five games of the current six-game home stand and she has 228 points for the season (22.8 a night) in ten games. The Cards close the home stand Saturday when (1-5) Northern Kentucky visits for an 11:30 a.m. contest. 

ACC Player of the Week accolades have been bestowed on Durr nine times in her career at Louisville. She owned the first quarter in the Cards most recent game against the Cats. She scored the first seven points for the Cards in the contest and ended the first 10-minute session with 15 points. 





The Cards face two more non-conference foes before entering ACC play. In addition to the NKU game, the Cards will travel to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan for a Thursday 12/20/18 contest against the 7-1 Central Michigan Chippewas. Currently unranked, CMU did advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2018 NCAA WBB Tournament.

Information for that one still not finalized but viewing is listed as of now on ESPN+.




CARDS #4 IN LATEST AP POLL

Louisville women's basketball is now #4 in the NCAA women's college basketball rankings based on the most recent AP poll. The Cards are one of nine undefeated teams in the top 25. 

UConn retains the #1 spot, getting all 31 first place votes. The Huskies are 9-0 on the season. Notre Dame is #2 with a 8-1 record. Baylor takes #3 with a 7-0 mark. The Cards (10-0) are fourth and Mississippi State rounds out the top 5...the Bulldogs are 9-0 this season. 

Despite losing to Louisville, UK moved up one spot to #18. 

The undefeated teams are UConn, Baylor, Louisville, Miss. State, Maryland (9-0), Tennessee (8-0), NC State (10-0) Minnesota (8-0) and California (9-0). 

Besides Notre Dame, Louisville and NC State, other ACC teams in the top 25 are #15 Syracuse and #24 Miami. Both schools are 8-2 on the season. 

The ACC, SEC and PAC 12 dominate the top 25 with five schools each in the top 25. Tennessee, Miss. State, Kentucky, South Carolina and Missouri are the SEC representatives. From the PAC 12...Cal, Arizona State, Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State are top 25. 

The Cards have played two top 25 teams in Arizona State and UK and are 2-0 against them. Still to come, top 25 match-ups feature Notre Dame, UConn, NC State, Syracuse and Miami. 

Last weeks Bracketology predictions had Louisville as a #1 seed in the Greensboro region.

With roughly 1/3 of the season in the books, the Cards have performed well on the road and at the KFC YUM! Center. Let's face it, though, the toughest part of the schedule remains and the odds for the Cards to remain perfect going into the ACC and NCAA Tournaments are a considerable long-shot.  

How do you think the Cards will finish the regular season? Undefeated? One loss? Two or three losses? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section! 

One game at a time, though, is how UofL approaches them, and...so far, perfect! 

Halfway to the 20-0 record that the 2017-18 Cards started the season...sit down, buckle up and get ready for the journey! 



HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!

We are very grateful and always happy to have WBB analyst and Cardinal Sports Zone columnist Paige Sherrard  join us on our weekly broadcasts of The CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. As well as seeing her at UofL WBB games. Her love for all things UofL fits perfectly with our thinking and she's been a Cardinal fan since her early days, when "Mom" would dress her up as a cheerleader and unleash her on unsuspecting but appreciative crowds and gatherings.  

It's Paige's birthday today! Wish her a Happy Birthday via Twitter at @PaigeS_502 !!!





paulie
xxxxx




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Mystics Defeat Dream -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Washington Mystics Defeat Atlanta Dream to Advance to Finals

Myisha Hines-Allen's rookie season is not yet over.  MHA and her teammates on the Washington Mystics are still standing as they head to the WNBA Finals.  The Mystics defeated the Atlanta Dream last night 86-81.

The two teams were even following one period and Atlanta went into the half with a one-point lead.  Washington won the third quarter by four points and the fourth quarter by two points.

Angel McCoughtry, who is out with the ACL injury, did not play, nor would she have played had the Dream advanced to the Finals.  MHA was active, but did not play.  The Mystics only played eight players despite having 12 active players for the game.


Washington will take on the Seattle Storm.  The Storm, who have been carried by UConn alum
Breana Stewart and broken-nose Sue Bird, defeated the Phoenix Mercury 94-84 to advance to the Finals.  Seattle relied on a huge fourth quarter to propel them to the series win.

The finals are set to begin this Thursday with a tip-off time not yet set.  It will be aired on ESPN 2.  Four of the five potential games will be on "the Deuce" with the only exception being ABC hosting the second game of the series.

Best wishes to MHA and the Mystics in the WNBA Finals!


Other News and Notes

Our longtime friend Paige Sherrard recently got engaged to her now-fiance Benjamin Hemp, or as Paulie calls him "Benjamin Weed".  Paige has been a guest on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on numerous occasions and currently writes for SB Nation and Cardinal Sports Zone.

Daryl Foust and myself followed the men's soccer team down I-64 for a match against Kentucky last night.  Sadly, their results were not as good as the women, who won their battle 1-0 in overtime.  The #7/9 Cards were stunned as they fell 3-0.  They play at 2:00 on Sunday at Lynn Stadium vs #2 Duke while the women are set to face Eastern Kentucky later that day at 7:30 p.m. No word on whether Daryl the Disco Duck went to the contest.


What Day Is it?


Happy International Day of Charity!  Doesn't it feel great helping others out?  It's also National Be
Late For Something Day, preferably not work, though.

For you food lovers you can enjoy a cheese pizza today. Can a guy get a little Italian Sausage and mushrooms with that?

Today is also "show around" day over at the renovated football Cardinal Stadium for us media types. Someone please check the scoreboards out and see how close they are to getting the seats finally installed in the north end zone.


Coming Attractions



If you happen to be on the UofL campus this weekend and see a couple of tall girls you don't recognize, it's rumored from a highly credible source close to the UofL WBB program that Maori Davenport and Laeticia Amihere are expected to visit this weekend.

Amihere is a dunking machine. The 6'3" front liner is out of Canada has Louisville and several other schools on her list. Davenport you know from her time playing for Jeff Walz and the U19 USA squad in Mexico City. The Cards are in the mix for her, too. She's 6'4" and neither would have much trouble getting things off the top shelf.

We hope both girls have a pleasant visit, love what they see and keep the Cards "ever on their minds" as they enter their senior seasons in high school.

We came across skills tapes for both Amihere and Davenport and they're pretty awesome. Give them a look:

LINK: Laeticia Amihere

LINK: Maori Davenport



Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

Louisville Women's Basketball Luncheon -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

GALA EVENT BRINGS CARDS TO THE FANS

Monday's Louisville women's basketball luncheon at the Downtown Louisville Marriott brought the players to the fans for a nearly two hour regalia of sights, sounds, speakers and a chance for Cardinal fans to get officially "in the mood" for the 2017-18 season. This yearly event has changed venues several times since I've been attending...several hotels, the KFC YUM! Center floor and other venues. I like the Marriott and hope it remains there. 

Go Cards Go! 

A capacity crowd packed the second floor hotel ballroom to hear Coach Walz and see the team on a rainy, blustery morning/afternoon in Louisville. The climate inside the Marriott was far from that as fans mingled and greeted each other while purchasing Cardinal women's basketball gear and also signing up for a drawing for a signed basketball and player official jersey. Sonya and I arrived early and got the chance to greet a few friends and readers in the lobby before the proceedings began. We talked briefly with women's basketball Nick Evans when we first arrived. Always a busy man...Nick was obviously excited about his first ever UofL WBB luncheon. Also keeping a mindful eye on the event was SID Kenny Klein. 

We also got a chance to hear acting Athletic Director Vince Tyra and head coach Jeff Walz talk with the media and answer questions before the luncheon. Tyra was first...he had attended a 6 a.m. practice Monday and was full of pep and excitement as he discussed the team, the big win over Florida State in football (which he attended in Talhassee) and his first few days on the job at the University. I have interspersed these interviews throughout today's article, along with pictures from the luncheon. You'll need Sound Cloud to hear them hear...or you can wait until Saturday's Cardinal Couple to hear them.

LINK: VINCE TYRA WITH MEDIA

Walz answered several questions about the preseason practices, how the team was performing and various other questions from several television news stations and a vast array of writers, journalists and radio personalities. Our buddies Howie Lindsey, Daryl Foust, Paige Sherrard...who we do radio with...were present, along with about 10-12 other media members. 

LINK: JEFF WALZ WITH MEDIA

The show/production/luncheon got underway with the inimitable Sean Moth at the dais and he began by introducing the players and bringing them to stage...beginning with the freshmen and ending with senior Myisha Hines-Allen. Noticeably absent from the introductions was Dana Evans...but it was explained after all girls reached the stage that she was still in class and would arrive shortly. It was also noticeable that sophomore Kylee Shook was in a walking boot...Walz explained later that it was just a precautionary move for a slight stress fracture. 

Moth is a master at what he does (public address and emcee skills today) and also pointed out acting men's basketball coach David Padgett was here (as he walked in during the introductions). After the team was introduced, Chris Morgan...FCA chaplain for the UofL athletic department delivered the invocation and the attendees began to eat after that. 

Sonya and Daryl Foust

The conversation was light and easy at our media table...which included Lindsey, Foust, Sherrard, Sonya, a couple of TV and newspaper sports personalities and me. Howie shared a few Florida State stories (he was the sideline reporter for the football game Louisville won down there Saturday) and Paige and I caught up on how things were going. The food was surprisingly good this year...a tasty, multi-ingredient salad with warm bread got it started nd the entree was a cornish hen quarter with green beans and mashed potatoes with gravy. Dessert consisted of a piece each of a delicious fudge and raspberry tart. 

As the plates of food were being finished and collected, Moth introduced a couple of videos documenting Asia Durr's journey to make the USA National team and her and Myisha's trip to compete for the USA U23 squad. Good stuff there. Then, the speakers began. First up was Tyra..who warmed up the crowd by revealing his conversation with Walz on how long he should speak. 

"About the length of a 30 section timeout" was Walz's teasing response, which drew a round of laughter from the attendees. 

One interesting point of Tyra's talk was when he mentioned Dr. Greg Postel, acting UofL President was in attendance. The boos were very audible among the attendees.

JC "No periods" Sullivan in the house with her friend
Terry Milner. . L's UP !!!!

Moth then brought Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen to the stage and went through a brief "question and answer" period with them. Asia got the crowd chuckling when she responded to questions. When asked how practice was going she quipped: 

"We run a lot". 

She also drew a few laughs when responding to a query on what she thought about the squad this year. With perfect timing she commented. 

"Hmmm...I guess...you could say we're...talented." 

Myisha was next and Asia stayed on stage with her "as a sign of teammate support". Myisha is "ready to go show it on the court" and also revealed to the crowd that her brother Josh Allen leads the UK football team in quarterback sacks this season but "wears red when he comes to see me play or visit." Given the state of the Cardinals' grid-iron defense, one has to wonder why didn't he end up in a Cardinal football uniform? 

Sonya ends up with all the good lookin' guys...

Walz, naturally, was the keynote and final speaker. He may have surprised a few attendees when he came out and praised Tom Jurich. He revealed: 

"11 years ago, I had breakfast at this very same Marriott and met with Tom about the job. Tom sold me on Louisville, the city and university, not himself or the program." 

Walz also reiterated he's in it for the long haul with Louisville women's basketball, commented that he hoped to retire from here or, jokingly, "get fired from here." 

He spoke of each player as well. Some highlights were that Sam Fuehring has been the most impressive this year in practice, as far as growth and skills from last year go. He teasingly mentioned that Jaz Jones had learned that to throw the ball to her teammates this season and that she wasn't receiving assists when errant passes to the opposition led to baskets. Dana Evans has impressed him with her strength and quickness as a freshment...Coach compared her to Louisville great Patrika Barlow. Coach also talked about Arica Carter...you can hear those comments below. After introducing and thanking his assistant coaches and his staff, Walz mentioned that the first game was November 10th. and encouraged the fans to come out. 

LINK: JEFF WALZ TALKS TO CROWD AT BANQUET

We spent time after the luncheon chatting with quite a few people, including my radio and website colleague Jeff McAdams and his mother Vivian and Nick Curran...radio voice of the women's basketball games.  

LINK: WORLDWIDE, VIVIAN AND SONYA DISCUSS BANQUET

My pal Dick Palmer with Sonya

I also got my traditional post-luncheon chat in with assistant coach Sam Purcell and we reviewed a number of subjects..including the Atlanta Falcons and who would win in a free throw shooting contest between us.

LINK: PAULIE AND SAM PURCELL 

As we left, I got a chance to chat up Myisha, Loretta Kakala and Sydney Zambrotta in the lobby. A fun interview with them ensued. Myisha...the guard. 

LINK: LORETTA, MYISHA AND SYD

Paulie talks with Syd and Myisha
(Thanks Sue for the pic!) 

This annual event is always one I look forward and we had a great time with a great group of Cardinal fans, student-athletes, friends and fellow media members.

It was needed yesterday...especially after the negativity and innuendo surrounding the UofL Athletic program lately. A chance for fans to feel positive and show some enthusiasm and pride. 

We are Cardinals, we are strong and you can't keep us down or break our stride. We will rise. 

It's time...let's get this party started and play ball !!


paulie
xxxxx

  

Someone wake up Snarky Worldwide -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

Worldwide back with you after a week on the road, and most of the weekend trying to catch up on sleep.  If someone ever tells you that you can be social in the evenings on Pacific time, and wake up in the mornings on Eastern time, don't believe them, at least not if they claim to do it for more than a few days.  Compound that with a red-eye flight back east, and I was having a tough time forming coherent sentences Friday.


Now, let's take a bit more of an in-depth look at Volleyball, because there's a good chance you'll be surprised at what we find.

I don't want to jinx anything, and am pretty happy with flying under the radar on this, but the Louisville Volleyball squad finds itself tied for 3rd in the conference this week.  It's a little bit of a shakeup in ACC standings over what is typically expected.  Pitt and NC State are in the top two spots with undefeated conference records, neither of which are particularly known for their volleyball prowess.  Tied with us in third is a resurgent Syracuse.  Of course, The Orange do have a tradition of some quality volleyball, but they haven't been quite on their game in the past couple of years.  Leonid Yelin has his strongly international recruiting plan in gear, and while I haven't seen them play, I suspect blocking is a strong part of their game.  We won't meet Syracuse until the last match of the season, but expect a block party in the house that day.

What was expected to be the class of the conference, Florida State, finds themselves squarely in the middle of the pack with a 3-3 record.  After we swept them in Cardinal Arena, they went up to South Bend and got edged out by an also resurgent Irish squad in 5 sets.  They did get the win over Miami in a mid-week in-state rivalry matchup, but then fell to Pittsburgh in 4 sets Friday.  After the losses to us and Notre Dame, the Seminoles did drop out of the Top 25, but did still receive some votes.  I suspect even those will disappear this week.

Notre Dame is also picking up a few votes in the coaches poll, and will probably get more this week with a win over Virginia on Friday, and what I expect will be a win today over Virginia Tech.  As long as The Cards can get the job done as expected today in their battle over Virginia, I suspect we may join The Irish in the "Getting Votes" category.  Interestingly, despite the lofty coach's poll consideration, ND is only sitting at 2-3 in the conference.  To be fair, they have opened the conference slate with what is turning out to have been a pretty intense schedule, going down to defeat to us, NC State, and Miami before picking up wins against Florida State and UVA.

Now let's turn to the RPI for a second.  The first RPI ratings came out this past week.  Keep in mind that the RPI is a computerized ranking system that doesn't have any biases towards "traditional powerhouses" like we pretty clearly see in the coach's poll.  Louisville holds the highest spot of any ACC team in the RPI, at 22.  Of course, some of this comes thanks to the absolutely brutal non-conference slate that the Cards played.  While we took a number of losses in those matches, they were uniformly against top teams.  Of the 5 losses that UofL has taken in the overall season, only 1 is to a team outside the Top 25 in RPI (UNC), the rest are against teams in 24th, 7th, 5th, and 4th.  The next highest ACC team is Notre Dame, who is not far behind us in 26th.  The Florida twins, FSU and Miami, sit in 33rd and 34th, with NC State close behind at 37th.

So, don't look now, but Louisville is poised to start climbing into the Top 25 rankings in the next week or two.  Again, this is presuming we don't drop a head-scratcher at UVA, and successfully hold court as we should over Clemson and Georgia Tech next week.  The schedule turns into a scorcher again after those, with a visit down to Florida for rematches against FSU and Miami, then a short prep time for a mid-week rematch with Notre Dame in South Bend, and then Pitt comes for a real challenge in Cardinal Arena on Friday.

In short, this team has put themselves pretty much in the driver's seat at this point in conference play.  There are challenges ahead in the quality play of the ACC, but they are starting to show what the possibilities are for the team.

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour had some strong bench performances yesterday with Case and Jared both otherwise occupied.  Julie "JC" "no periods" Sullivan and Paige "I write on just about every sports outlet in the city" Sherrard joined Paulie and I.  There's no drop off in the Cardinal Couple bench, let me tell you.  We got their thoughts on the latest from the Men's Basketball scandal, I updated my thoughts with the provocative thought, "No one who has 'interim' or 'acting' in their title should be hired into the permanent position - anywhere in the University, right now."  We talked Volleyball, we talked Field Hockey for a bit, and we talked about Women's Basketball some.  Let's face it, when you get JC and Paige in the house, you don't skip Louisville WBB. Paulie led a discussion on his WBB practice visit earlier this week. 

You can check out the rebroadcast at the Soundcloud.

Next week's show looks to be a pre-recorded affair due to an early Football kick-off.  It's also looking likely that Paulie will be on the bench for this one, though hopefully getting some good audio for later shows.  So, no calls for next week's show...wait, we never take calls...still, no calls for next week's show either.

-- JMcA

WBB, Volleyball, Soccer and The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

HEY, HERE'S AN IDEA...LET'S TALK WOMEN"S SPORTS! 

With a big weekend for UofL women's sports coming up and the start of women's basketball practice...let's move away today from scandals, hirings, firings and board of trustees chatter and concentrate on what we do here...promote the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports. Novel idea, right? 

With several sports in action, a huge football game tonight and our weekly radio show coming up...we're locked in and ready to get yet another weekend of exciting UofL Athletics going.  Off we go! 

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Things are underway in the south half of the "Little Yum" with the women's basketball team now officially practicing and we are all looking forward to seeing what Coach Jeff Walz, the staff and players have in store for us. A thanks to women's basketball asst. SID Nick Evans for fulfilling my request to watch the team practice. I'll be heading to campus later today to watch the team on the court. 

What will I be watching and looking for? Actually, quite a few things. I want to see the return of my assistant player interviewer and point guard Arica Carter and how she's motoring up and down the hardwood. The summer reports were that she's back to 100% and looking good out there. She'll be a vital part of this years team. I'll also be paying close attention to the freshmen and how they're mixing with the returnees. Walz has stated several times that they'll be depended on for court time this upcoming season and I'll be watching Lindsey Duvall, Dana Evans and Retta Kakala with interest. I also want to see how three players that I've heard good things about over the summer are performing. Sam Fuehring, Bionca Dunham and Sydney Zambrotta look to be integral parts of 2017-18 Walz Ball and could fill big roles for the Cards. Of course, there's Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen. "Durr"able and "Myzilla". They're the court leaders, in my humble opinion. Along with Kylee Shook, they'll be expected to score a lot of points this season. Finally, I'll check out my two "favs" on the squad....attack Yorkie Jessica Laemmle and "Jaz" Jones. Louisville needs a big effort out of both this year if they want to visit Columbus during Final Four time. 

Have I missed anyone?  

I'm treating this as a casual "pop in and look around" trip. I won't be armed with the Tascam DM 50 recording device and won't have a notepad or pen. I'm not even sure how long they'll let me watch. No interviews, we'll have plenty of opportunities for that down the road. Just a fan watching the game he loves better than any other...basketball. 

I'll barge into Jared Anderson's Friday column and give a few observations. Normally, we'd have Worldwide Jeff McAdams with the Friday write but he's busy earning a living and sampling tap water on the West Coast, last I heard. ( Jeff, try it in ice cube form with a splash of Woodford!) 


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Also, the date for the UofL Women's Tip Off Luncheon has been announced. Monday, October 23rd. at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. Doors open at 11:30 and the event begins at noon. This is always a fun event with the girls dressed to the nines, the excellent video presentations, Walz on the podium, giveaways (I've still got two coffee mugs from previous luncheons), Al Greener with the Pep Band and, if you're lucky, a player sitting at your table with you. 

Tickets are $30 each or a table of ten can be had for $300. First come, first served...when they're gone, they're gone. Go to GoCards.com/WBBTipoff to secure yours. 


VOLLEYBALL VISITS VIRGINIA

The Louisville Volleyball squad kicked a little butt and sent the Sunshine State home with a couple of "L's" in their column when they dispatched of Miami and FSU in straight sets over last weekend. They'll see if they can duplicate the success on the road when they pop into Blacksburg on Friday to match up against Va. Tech and on Sunday when they invade Charlottesville to battle Virginia. The Hokies have one ACC win and the Cavs have a zero in the "W" column so far. Louisville is at 3-1 and a weekend sweep would be a boon to a program that is getting better each time they step onto the hardwood at Cardinal Arena.

Both matches will be available on the ACC Network Extra. The Cards vs. Va. Tech starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday and the match against the Hoos is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday. 


SOCCER AGAINST CLEMSON TONIGHT

Coming off a weekend split, Karen Ferguson Dayes' kickers go to the land of boiled peanuts and psychedelic-eyed Tigers when they face Clemson tonight at 7 p.m. 

Clemson (7-3-1, 1-2-1) got a win over Miami 1-0 last out. THe Cards will be looking to tie the series history...Clemson won the inaugural meeting between the two schools 1-0 last year in Lynn. This one is also an ACC Network Extra viewing event, although with Louisville Football kicking off at 8 p.m....it's doubful many will see the end of this kick-fest in the grass. Which leads us to...


THE FIGHTING PETRINOS STORM RALEIGH

It's Prime Time Football this evening for the UofL Gridiron gang. The nationally televised ESPN game against N.C. State should be a fun one to watch. I was there two years ago when the Cards eked out a close win in Raleigh...last year Louisville blew the WolfPack out of Papa John's Stadium...so Mr. and Ms. Wuf will be looking for payback. 

A Blackout. Screaming North Carolina State fans. A questionable UofL offensive line against a rock-solid defensive front four for the Pack. Throw the ball down the field Lamar, please, against a N.C. State secondary that is ranked in the 130's in DI for efficiency.   

All that important, no doubt...but the main reason to watch is to see how many times they'll show the dainty, delightful and darling Ms. Wuf on screen. 


THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR

Paulie and Paige?...Hmmm....probably not.

We have a nice treat for you Saturday on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. As Jared alluded to yesterday, I'm announcing our guests today. Jared won't be with this week, he'll be busy turning $20's into $5 and $10's at his financial institution and Case has his future mother-in-law in town (we offered to microphone her up and grill her with some questions...but the request was denied). 

What we do have, though is favorites Paige Sherrard and Julie JC Sullivan joining us in the basement on the hill in Crescent Hill. It'll be fun to get their perspectives on what's been going down the past couple of weeks and also to glance into the future and see what they're looking forward to this sports season. (Hint...it's orange, bounces and gets thrown at a circular piece of metal). 

The sleep-deprived Worldwide and I will air with these two excellent UofL fans at 11 a.m. on Saturday. You know the coordinates. If not, go to www.crescenthillradio.com and familiarize yourself with them. Download the WCHQ app. And join us Saturday.

I'll also be making a WCHQ 100.9 appearance Friday morning on The Morning Jam Show with Bryce and Kev. They usually bring me in around 8 a.m. I usually bring donuts. I have no idea what we'll talk about...except maybe Bryce's guitar work and Kev's porch-painting skills. 

Also, a big Thanks and Job Well Done to Jared for the team photos in today's column. Seems that tall drink of water is good at something else besides banging on a drum and making failed predictions. 
paulie
xxxxx

Field Hockey Nipped at the Wire...WBB Recognition -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MOYER'S GOAL SINKS CARDS 3-2

It came down to a penalty corner with no time left on the clock and the #4 seed Cards tied at 2-2 with #5 seed UNC. And, with a flick of the wrists...Lauren Moyer sent her third ball of the game into the net and ended the Cards ACC Tournament appearance. 

The Cards started out brilliantly...getting two goals from freshman Minout Mink
in the first half and took that 2-0 lead to the locker room. It may have best the best first half performance of the year...against a powerhouse Tar Heels squad that couldn't penetrate the Louisville defense. Confidence levels were high for Paulie. 

Karen Shelton, the veteran North Carolina coach, made the adjustments. 

Getting much more aggressive on attack and devising a plan to contain Mink, the Tar Heels chipped away at the Cardinal advantage. Fifteen minutes into the final half, Moyer connected. With six minutes to go, UNC found her again on a nice cross, to tie it up. It looked like overtime was a distinct possibility...the Cards were not getting great looks for shots and couldn't take advantage of a player-up, yellow card advantage. 

The Tar Heels were trying to win this match in regulation, though, and were awarded a penalty corner with six second left on the clock. They took there time, ran the clock to 00:00 and set up for the shot. 

And, it was over. Pass, set and shot. 

You really can't call this an upset, since the TarHeels had a higher national ranking (#3) than the Cards (#8). There was an upset in the opening quarterfinal action, though...with #7 seed Boston College knocking out #2 seed Syracuse. 

So...the Cards now wait for Sunday...when the 18 team NCAA field is announced at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com

The Cards are in, of this I have no doubt. My guess is all seven ACC field hockey teams are in, especially with Boston College advancing to the semifinals. Louisville probably won't get to start their action in Trager... but should avoid being in one of the two play-in games to make the four-bracket, sixteen-team first round action. 

15-5 isn't bad, kids. It's already better than the 2015 record of 13-7. Sowry has a ton of talent returning next year...led by Mink and goalkeeper Ayeshia McFerran. And, this season isn't over yet. 

Let's just hope they can avoid a trip to Storrs, Connecticut to start their NCAA quest. 



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HINES-ALLEN NAMED ALL-AMERICAN HONORABLE MENTION

The Associated Press has named their pre-season All American women's basketball players and Louisville's Myisha Hines-Allen has been selected as an honorable mention selection. 

It makes one wonder. The ACC Player of the Year wasn't selected for the first team. A team that consists of Aja Wilson (South Carolina), Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State), Brianna Turner (Notre Dame) Nina Davis (Baylor) and Kelsey Plum (Washington). 

She'll get her chance to test her skills against Wilson and Turner during the season. I'm not sure if she's better than them...I do think she's better than Davis and Plum...but I'm not the AP. 

One thing we know for sure...she and the Cards will be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. against Lindsey Wilson at the KFC YUM! Center. 

With the abundance of talent available on this 2016-17 squad, it is entirely possible Myisha's numbers might drop this yet...but you can rest assured her drive, energy, commitment and work ethic/results won't dimish one bit. 

We'll discuss MHA and much more Saturday morning on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR. We have a dandy show lined up for you...and a full studio...with Paige Sherrard of SB Nation joining me, Case and Worldwide.

This is going to be a fun broadcast. Join us.  


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NOVEMBER IS DONATION MONTH

As we roll into the first weekend of November, I am very excited. Basketball is right around the corner. Field Hockey still alive and kicking. Volleyball still plugging away and the spring sports are getting closer. Football is doing it one game at a time. 

And, we'll be here to cover it all for you. 

We ask for your donations this month. We hope to raise enough in November to not have to bother anyone for donations until next November. 

Someone recently asked me how the donations are used. First off, neither I or our contributors on radio and website receive a salary. We do it for love of game. But, printer ink isn't free. Travelling to road games isn't free. The internet access, domains and security protection we have isn't free. I appear on various radio shows promoting the joy and excitement of UofL sports. They don't pick me up in a limousine. I'll talk to any show, any group, any time and not charge them a penny. 

We maintain a bank balance to offset service charges. We save almost $300 a year by doing that. In our world, that's a ton of money. 

Sonja shows me the books near the end of December and we see if there is enough to "give back" to the non-revenue programs with donations. Fortunately there was last year. We end the year with about the same balance (which isn't much) as we start the year with. 

Help us do this. We, in turn, promise to give you the best possible coverage on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports...and more. 

Pay-Pal, check, money order...we'll gratefully accept whatever you deem appropriate. And, sincerely thank you for it. 

You are Cardinal Couple. We're so glad that you are. 

paulie
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8-0...how far can you go? Saturday Cardinal Couple

CARDS UNBLEMISHED IN FIRST HALF OF ACC SCHEDULE 

See how they run...this 2015-16 version of the Louisville women's basketball team...since the beginning of the new year. The Cards are a tractor...they keep mowing down the opponents. 

8-0 against the Tech's, the States, a couple of Carolina's, an Orange and a Tiger. 

How many saw that coming for the Louisville women's basketball squad? Especially after floundering through November? 

Yes it's true...Louisville women's basketball is out-producing the Pitino product and atop the ACC. Go gnash your teeth on that, underhand free throw fans. What ya got to counter? You're the second-best bakletball team on campus.

Wake Forest visits next. They might want to detour to the Jefferson or Bernheim forests nearby and spare the humiliation of a beating down by the river. No one has gotten within 10 against the Cards in the newly-formatted Stalag 13 (a.k.a. KFC YUM! Center) and the Demon Deaconesses don't look to be the one's to bust that up. If I have to take my pants off one more time at Checkpoint Charlie...aw, never mind...

Notre Dame, however...the next visitor to the lock-down after Wake goes home...does look quite capable of busting up the undefeated streak at the Pizza Palace. If Louisville doesn't go 8-0 in the second half of ACC play, you'll probably be able to wag that finger toward the Irish. One of these days, Walz will field a team that will muffle Muffet. It probably isn't the 2015-16 squad but we can still hope... 

Let's look at it. After Wake quakes on the Denny Crum Court, the Cards travel to face a UNC squad that has been plummeting. After the Notre Dame visit, Louisville WBB gets bottom-feeder Pitt, a non-conference tilt against a very good USF squad and then Virginia, B.C., Miami and Pitt again. 

If Walz can't go better than 5-3 in February, he might want to hand his clipboard to one of the security guards at the YUM! exit and take up lawn care or stand-up comedy. Maybe they lose to Muffett and Jose. Miami is tough on their home court. Anything past that is an expected win. 

You're seeing a team that is finally "getting it" and no longer needs the training wheels or the night-light when you look at these current Cardinals. Undaunted and un-intimidated.

And that equates to some very fun potential hoops over the next two months. Go be a part of it. Represent. 

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HELLO, RADIO! 

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour airs at 11 a.m. today. Looks like me and Worldwide, no Sam and a long-shot chance at getting Paige behind the microphone. Seems the Cardinal guys have a game today and...yeah, we're used to it...people got stuff to do. We're non-profit and we're used to it. It's not like this gig is going to lead us or our paricipants to the big time.

Nevertheless, we have a great show planned with recaps and preview of hoops, lacrosse, swimming/diving and more...plus our incredible audio of the Softball banquet, Syracuse and Clemson games, Sam's chat with Asia Durr and a quiz.

You know what we do and how to get there. Give a listen.

LINK: www.crescenthillradio,com

paulie

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Louisville women's basketball -- Durr named USBWA National Freshman of the Week -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

DURR FIRST CARDINAL TO RECEIVE USBWA FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS

It wasn't too shabby of a week for UofL WBB Freshman Asia Durr last week. She started out being selected as the ACC Freshman of the Week. She averaged 15.5 points, 2.5 steals and 2 rebounds in Louisville wins over Virginia and NC State. She was 6 for 9 from the three point arc. Her 13 second-half points against Louisville helped the Cards erase a 10-point deficit against the Wolfpack.

And, now...she is the USBWA Freshman of the Week.

The expectations were high for the Douglasville, GA. All-American and #1 ranked player in the 2015 class when she got to the corner of Floyd and Brandeis streets. A groin injury suffered last summer slowed her progress and abilities early in the season though and the Cards started 1-4 on the season...mirroring her slow start. 

Good news arrived from the doctors. The groin was healing properly. It was just a case of pain management in Ms. Durr situation. The realization of such was a huge boost to the emotional and psychological state of the talented freshman. The next step was clear. Deal with it and get back to the business of playing basketball. 

The Cards trip to Michigan State on Dec 3rd. gave Cardinal fans an inkling of what was to come when she had 20 points, 3 steals and 3 threes in Louisville's 85-78 upset win 
over Spartie. As she adjusted to playing with the continuing pain of the injury...there were good and bad nights, but
12 points in a win against UT Martin and nine in the upset of Florida State gave an inkling that she might be ready to be that steady, dependable first off-the-bench for the UofL squad. 

Playing anywhere from 25 to 30 minutes in the Cards last five games...Durr has been in double figures in each and sank ten threes. She is a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line and is shooting 79.4% from the charity stripe for the season. 

With a healthy and dependable Durr available for those 25-30 minutes...the Cards add a fourth scoring option to their line up that opponents have to worry about. Blink and she'll drive past you and make a layup. Guard her too loosely and she'll burn you with a three from the corner or at the top of the circle. She leads the Cards in three-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

She's had the most impact on the Cards' successes this season of the five freshman on the roster (which you would expect...based on her high school ranking) and is showing that acceleration and quickness that made her the best in the land her senior season at St. Pius X High School. 

Paige Sherrard, of Swish Appeal and a frequent analyst on the CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR uses the old Minnesota Vikings term "the Fearsome Foursome" when speaking of Mariya Moore, Briahanna Jackson, Cortnee Walton and Myisha Hines-Allen. With Durr revving up on all eight cylinders...she'll need to coin a new moniker for the addition of Durr to the mix. The Fantastic Five? The Fabulous Five? 

We'll leave the titling to her...just realize for now that with the M&M girls, AC, AD, BJ, TC and 'Grandma' Walton in the Cardinals kitchen...the alphabet soup being served up these days on the Belknap Campus is a tasty dish and bottomless bowl...

paulie
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