Women's basketball team looks to extend woe to the city of Pittsburgh -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

"Same day Arrival" Cards to face Panthers at 2 p.m.

Traditionally...a Jeff Walz team will arrive the day before in the venue they are supposed to play in and spend the night in a hotel before the game the next day. The plans have been shifted around a bit for the Pitt v. Louisville women's basketball game today. Louisville will fly up today and get off the plane ready to play a few hours later in their first ACC road trip. 

A source close to the program told us last night that the Cards had originally intended to arrive in Pitt on Saturday but weather issues and then the pilots running out of flight time necessitated the cancellation of the Saturday charter.

Will it be an adversity? Will it affect how the Cards play against the Panthers?


We think not. I don't know for sure about the girls on the team...but I'm guessing they're like me and enjoy sleeping in their own beds instead of a hotel bed. Secondly, this is a tough bunch of Cardinals. You could air-drop them in from a Cessna...dressed in their uniforms...onto the banks of the Allegheny River commando-style under cover of darkness and Emmonnie and Sara would lead the charge up Pitt Hill to the Petersen Event Center...picking up any stragglers still at Heinz Field in shock after the Ravens eliminated the Steelers from the NFL Playoffs last night.

Add Michonne, Daryl and Rick and they could probably capture the whole city...


Pitt is having their best season in quite some time. They stand at 10-3 and beat Delaware State 93-58 on Dec. 30th.
The Panthers went 50% from the field and hit 21-23 from the line. 

That doesn't impress you? Consider that they knocked off powerhouse Ohio St. earlier in the season.

Brianna Kiesel is the leader of this bunch of Pennsylvania felines and she does it well...with 17.8 ppg. If she's not open, look out for Stasha Carey...who averages close to a double-double with 10.4 ppg and 9.2 rebounds a night. The Panthers also average eight made threes per game.


( A special "thank you" to all you e-mailers who wanted me to know just how special Kiesel is. She seems to be the Shelby Harper of Pitt Hoops in terms of fan adoration.)

This one will be on ESPN3 and CARDSTV at 2 p.m. EST. Jeff Hathhorn and Jen Tuscano (Pittsburgh's version of Gary Fogle and Sara White we guess) will boldly handle the mispronunciation of the player's names and botched stats and play sequences.

(And another special thanks to our e-mailers who also wonder where Louisville or ESPN dug these two up from and can they be returned for a refund?).




I didn't hear their call of the Georgia Tech game...so I can't comment on how well the duo did...but can tell you that Fogel is now a communications teacher at Bellarmine University and was a sports reporter for WAVE TV and WHAS TV Sports for years...going back to 1987. White was a former UofL WBB head coach (in the dark days before Collen) was married to former Cardinal coach Martin Clapp and has bounced around to several schools before returning to Southern Indiana to train real estate agents. 

Don't shoot me...I'm only the messenger...We see journalists and commentators of all types and temperaments in our coverage of UofL women's sports.


The comments I've heard on White is that she seems a little haughty and aloof so far...maybe it's because we don't really know her too well and she's new to the job. Fogle is probably best known for being popular morning show host Rachel Platt's husband. They'll do, we surmise...Paulie prefers Matt and A.J. when it comes to following games he can't be in attendance for. He also liked Tonya Harding instead of Nancy Kerrigan. Go figure...we're sure both Fogle and White are very capable handling television duties for ESPN3, Raycom Sports, UofL or whoever is signing the paycheck and sticking them in half-court seats.

Today will serve to be a good road test for the 13-1 Cards, who look to extend the series advantage to 9-2 against Pitt.

We'll be back later today for the recap. 

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The latest edition of CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO is up and

archived on the heavenly Soundcloud at Crescent Hill Radio.  You should listen:

Link below:

THE FIRST CARDINAL COUPLE BROADCAST of 2015 !!!!


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Don't forget to e-mail us your pick in our January CARDINAL COUPLE CONTEST. This month the contest is...

How many points will Mariya Moore score in January? Your prize is a CARDINAL COUPLE T-SHIRT!!! (and the respect and admiration of the staff chimps here at CC). Regular reader The Real Joe Hill is going with 110. 

E-mail to: 

cardinalcouple@twc.com  CLICK THE ADDRESS FOR DIRECT ACCESS! 





paulie

Thursday Cardinal Couple -- Angel in Final...10 Things About Walz

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- Atlanta in WNBA Divisioal Final

- Our Top 10 on Walz


Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Atlanta Dream and Angel McCoughtry have advanced to the WNBA Eastern Regional finals by eliminating Washington in three games. Their next opponent in the Indiana Fever and they face off tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Here's what is weird. Angel is on the 2nd team WNBA. Really? No first team?

Here's the selections:

Up Next

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Mike D'Antoni: Jeanie Buss' comments don't affe...

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Mike D'Antoni: Jeanie Buss' comments don't affect me

Bill Reiter sits down with Mike D'Antoni to discuss recent comments by Jeanie Buss and the controversy it created in the Lakers' camp.

Date 14 hrs ago,Duration 3:08,Views 13960

Video by: Fox Sports

Diana Taurasi had made the WNBA All-Star team for a record-breaking 8th time.

Taurasi was also on the team in 2004 and from 2006-2011. She averaged 20.3 points and 6.2 assists to get Phoenix back to the Western Conference finals, where it will face Minnesota and fellow first-team members Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen.

Chicago center Sylvia Fowles is the league's leading vote-getter, while WNBA MVP Candace Parker rounds out the squad announced Wednesday. The Los Angeles Sparks forward is the only member of the group who was on the first team last season.

Chicago's Elena Delle Donne, the rookie of the year, made the second team. She was joined by Indiana's Tamika Catchings, Connecticut's Tina Charles, Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry and Minnesota's Seimone Augustus.

Voting was done by a national panel of media and broadcasters.

So...Angel can't knock Taurasi, Moore, Whalen, Fowles or Parker out of the first team? She was leading scorer in the freakin' WNBA!!! She's held that title for three straight years. She was also second in steals.

I call shenanigans.

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WE get questions and e-mails everyday about Louisville WBB and Coach Walz. It's a busy time of the year for the coaching staff right now....checking out both 2014 and 2015 prospects. We can't catch up with Coach for CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR interviews....and we're OK with that.

We'd rather he be out there talking to players instead of us.

Paulie came up with 10 things on Coach and UofL WBB to tide you over for a few days:

10) Coach is a new Dad. We'd prefer he spends time with his wife Lauren and daughter Lola instead of talking to us. We know he'd prefer that, too...

9) When Walz retires in the late 2020's, he wouldn't mind getting back into lawn maintenance...something he did with his Dad when he was in high school. (For the record, he can cut my lawn anytime if he misses it.) 

8) Walz has the distinction of having a former assistant (Bethann Ord) as the head coach of one of the worst programs in WBB. Weber St. was 0-for-season last year. Turn it around, Bethann!
 
7) WBB will ring in the 'New Year' in Philadelphia, playing
Temple. Home of the Liberty Bell. Sweet! I propose Walz takes the team out for delicious Philly Cheesesteaks at Pat's King of Steaks at 9th and Wharton...if you are going to Philly for the Temple football game next week...stop by and have one. You won't regret it.

6) Coach wasn't the best basketball player in his family. That honor goes to his little sister Jamie, who was a star at Ft. Thomas Highlands and WKU. She is the leading scorer in the history of Kentucky high school hoops. In some areas of northern Kentucky...Jeff is still referred to as "Jamie's brother" instead of Coach Walz. Oh, and she's a coach, too.

5) The Cards start the season on 11/05 with an exhibition game against Pikeville in the KFC YUM! Center. The game tips at noon. It's also on a Tuesday. Election day. Those of you who like a beer while watching the Lady Cards are out of luck.

4) Louisville ends the regular season against UConn in the KFC YUM! Center. A 7 p.m. contest on March 3rd. Fill the arena that night...Cardinal fans! This could be our big shot to get a win over Geno.

3) Coach Walz names "Shawshank Redemption" as one of his favorite all-time movies. ( I wonder if he has posters of Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch on his walls like inmate/escapee Tim Robbins did?)

2) Coach Walz is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan when it comes to the NFL. He has never had a Pittsburgh, PA recruit to play at UofL. (Probably because Bradshaw, Swann, Rothliesberger, Harris and Greene had already used up their eligibility...)

1) The Cards will have an early season road trip to Bowling Green, KY to face WKU and his former assistant Michelle Clark-Heard on 11/27. Candyce Bingham and Laura Terry are also on staff at WKU. We need to pack E.A Diddle arena that night with Cardinal fans. (And, BIG RED is a cool mascot...almost as good as Louie the Cardinal Bird.) It's a 7 p.m. game on a Wednesday night...but the next day is Thanksgiving and you're probably off work. Make the 90 minute drive. You'll be home in time for the 11:00 news...

-Paulie

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Commentary on win over Villanova

MONDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE

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-How important is beating an zero win BIG EAST team?

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-Women's tennis falls to DePaul.

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-No super 'bore' this year.

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The University of Louisville accomplished a goal yesterday that was essential and expected. They knocked off cellar dweller Villanova on the road. The win was expected, why it was essential is because it kept Louisville on pace for at least nine wins in the BIG EAST. Nine wins seems to be the magic number in the mind's of most to gain the NCAA Tournament.

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Asia Taylor (pictured) drew the start, despite the game being played in Becky Burke's home state. And, the sophomore from Columbus, Ohio gave a good account of herself in the minutes she played. You want Asia to do well every time she steps on the court...she's probably the most athletic and physical player in this current flock of Lady Birds and is the only true power forward on the team that isn't injured. Walz has gone with Monique Reid in the spot for most of the season and although she's a great scorer in close and battles on both boards...Taylor in the spot gives Louisville a little more height and rebounding ability. It also frees up Reid to go to a wing...where she can create a little more and also draw a little smaller defensive assignment. No offense to Becky...but if they can get performances the remainder of the games like they got out of Asia Sunday...we wouldn't mind seeing her stay out there for 20+ minutes a game.

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Taylor was key in the 12-0 Louisville run in the first half that broke yesterday's game open. Up by one with 7:32 to go in the first half after a 'Nova 3...Schimmel responded with a three in front of the Wildcats bench. The Cards held on the defensive end and Taylor got her first bucket of the game on a nice driving move to the hoop. Louisville got the ball back and Becky Burke drained a wide open three to give the Cards a nine point advantage. Louisville grabbed a missed Wildcat shot after that and Keisha Hines went strong to the hoops, missing the shot but drawing the foul. She sank both and on the ensuing possession, Taylor stole a pass and drove the length of the court to put in a challenged layup. All of a sudden, Louisville is up by 13 in just a two minute span. It's the only time this year that the Cards have put together a run of 10+ points on the road.

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Sherrone Vails has a nice outside shot...just ask her...but it's seldom seen. A bit of surprise yesterday when she calmly released a jumper from the top of the key and it rang up as a three pointer for her. It gave the Cards their largest lead of the game at 57-34 halfway thru the final half.

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We hoped that we'd get to see the Cardinal bench get a little playing time at the end of the game yesterday and it looked possible when Monique Reid hit a jumper to put the Cards up by 20 with under six minutes to go. The Wildcats ran off six points in a row after that, though, and Walz kept the main players out there for the remainder of the game. Louisville managed only four points in the final 7:25 of the game...Taylor ending the game's scoring with a jumper with a minute and a half to go.

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Got a chance to watch the game on NOVA VISION and we were impressed with the picture quality and camera angles. Listened to the broadcast as well on CARDS RADIO...but the Internet feed encountered some sync problems and Kelch and Sanderford sounded clairvoyant...calling plays and scores seven seconds before the screen showed them. They did get it straightened out for the second half. You really don't realize what an accurate job Kelch does with his play by play call until you listen to it while watching the game. The 'Iron Man' award has to go to Paul Sanderford..who was on the air for the WKU game Saturday and then flew to Philly and did the Louisville game Sunday. We love Sanderford's in-game analysis...and sometimes wonder if Walz is wearing an earpiece and listening to the commentary while coaching. Paul suggests something and the Cards end up doing it quite often in a game.

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Louisville gets a week off now before hosting WVU on Sunday in the KFC YUM. A week off from actual game competition...we're sure the Cards will be hard at work in Cardinal Arena and the practice court inside the downtown arena preparing for the Mountaineers. WVU is 6-4 in the BIG EAST and 20-4 overall. The Mountaineers have slipped a bit from their early season excellence..but they're still an opponent that must be respected and prepared for.

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Louisville women's tennis lost a narrow match to DePaul in Chicago Sunday...falling to the Blue Demons 4-3. Louisville got one win in doubles play...Amelia Harris and Stefanie Villajean winning.

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In singles, Gabi Duncan, Becca Shine and Sonia Bokhari picked up wins. We've never quite understood the scoring in tennis...the Cards actually played three doubles and six singles matches but only seven counted. Kind of like playing nine innings in softball but only counting seven... in our opinion... although there have probably been times when Sandy Pearsall would have accepted the option...

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Pretty exciting end to the pro football season with Green Bay holding off the Steelers late to bring the title back to 'title' town. We're happy for Packer and ex-Cardinal Jason Spitz who picked up his first Super Bowl ring as part of the Green Bay offensive line. Tough luck for Pittsburgh's William Gay, the only other Cardinal participating. And, fortunate luck for Sonja, who correctly picked the halftime point total of 31 and won a nice jackpot at the Super Bowl party we attended. Paul was way off with 16. Neither did well with the final score totals...Sonja guessing 63 points and Paul 30.

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Does anyone else out there think Steeler head coach Mike Tomlin looks like Omar Epps...of television's HOUSE and movie fame? And...isn't it time for Terry Bradshaw to retire from broadcasting? Please?

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