Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Hines-Allen looking to finish strong

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-2014 prospect Hines-Allen #1 ranked in Jersey


We discussed the UofL WBB 2014 recruiting class on the Saturday CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR, but didn't get too far because Arianna Freeman and Syd Brackemyer are the only two pieces of the puzzle we can fill in yet.

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO 7/27/13

Syd will open the lid and appear on the grid
for Louisville

Just how many girls Jeff Walz will bring in no one exactly knows (the Cards are graduating at least four that we know of) and there are about a dozen or so that we hear linked with interest in Louisville.

One we'd like to see in the red and black is Myisha Hines-Allen. The senior at Montclair High School (Montclair, N.J.) is a 6'2" wing who averaged 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds a game for the Mounties last season.

She's ranked #1 in New Jersey and Hoop Gurlz puts her at #17 in the nation for the class of 2014.

Hines-Allen will be a force

Basically, Hines-Allen can do it all. It's probably trite and overworked to compare prospects to the legendary Angel McCoughtry. The last player I did compare to Angel was Asia Taylor -- who was having a stellar senior season in high school before a leg injury slowed her down for almost two years.

Hines-Allen could be that good.

Her high school coach Bianca Brown is slow-playing her:

"From what I've seen this summer, Myshia has been more aggressive, more comfortable doing the things she will be asked to do."

We have a request also, Coach Brown, on something else you might ask her to do.

Consider Louisville.

The entire college basketball world is after "MHA" and she'll do well wherever she ends up. If Louisville is to keep a seat at the table of the elite women's basketball programs, the Cards need to win battles like this. The score on major coups for Louisville over the last three years is 1-2. Walz got Sara Hammond out of UConn's clutches. The Cards fought to land Sydney Moss. She migrated to Florida, was an All-SEC Freshman selection, but saw the error of her ways and is hiding out at Thomas More for a season.  Louisville saw Mercedes Russell decide on Tennessee...a decision some are still scratching their heads over. How long will she tolerate the Knoxville scene before pulling out and escaping the over-rated SEC WBB and Tennessee?

Dear Ms. Russell:

Louisville 86 - Tennessee 78. How do you like ol' Smokey and the Vols these days? But, it is important that a player feel comfortable and at ease with their college choice. If Mercedes is in that mode at UT, then all we can do is wish her a great four years and the best of luck.

Ask Holly Warlick, Jeff Walz, Geno Auriemma or any NCAA coach...


Do coaches feel pressure?

They just might answer the question with a question while shaking their head at you while giving you a puzzling look.

Do cupcakes have frosting?

(I actually heard someone ask a coach in a press conference once if they felt any pressure. The room became deathly silent. We were waiting for the coach's head to explode or armed security to escort the buffoon out of the room. If the coach had had a pie handy, it would probably have ended up in the scribe's face. The coach gave a terse, one-word reply. "Always").



It should be an interesting fall-signing period.


-Paulie


=====================================================

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- Moss rolling back home

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Sydney Moss "most likely" to end up at Thomas More

-CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO on the air today!


The news might have made the category 'biggest upsets of 2013' if it had been released before the ESPYS. Kentucky's Miss Basketball for the 2011-12 season...Sydney Moss has, it seems, decided on her next juncture after asking for and eventually receiving her release from the University of Florida.

And the winner is....Thomas More?

The old adage is that a rolling stone gathers no moss. We can't speak for Mick Jagger or Keith Richards...but apparently Thomas More gathers well.

In reports ran by The Alligator and Cincinnati.com, Moss has indicated that the small, Division III school in Northern, KY is "most likely" where she enroll and play basketball in the 2013-14 season.

Louisville and West Virginia were, by all accounts the front runners for Moss' services after she decided to leave the Gators after a successful freshman debut where she averaged 11.8 ppg and 6.8 boards. A member of the SEC All-Freshman team. Led Florida to the semifinals of the WNIT. The future for Moss in Gator Country looked bright indeed.
An invite to the USA U19 team.

Kids change their minds.

Finding a program closer to her home in Union (Boone County, KY.) was a priority. Louisville is about an hour and some change from there. West Virginia considerably further but some speculation had developed that Cincinnati...right across the Ohio River...could be a contender.

Thomas More looks to be the lucky ticket holder in the Moss Sweepstakes, though.

The small, liberal arts school doesn't have a bad hoops program. Seven straight NCAA DIII appearances but no Final Four visit.

That appears to be about to change.

At Thomas More, Moss will be able to step on the court immediately and play three years. A transfer to a Div. I school would have necessitated sitting out a season. And, like her father Randy Moss...Sydney wants to play professionally once her college days are through. Moss wanted to be closer in location to her family. Union, KY is about 10 minutes from the Thomas More campus northbound on I-75.

Ironically, Randy Moss also began his college career at Florida but the talented wide receiver ended his career at Marshall University. He was one of the most successful wide receivers in the NFL before he retired.  

The bottom line? Players need to go and participate at schools and in areas where they are happy. College isn't forced servitude..it is a learning and growing experience.

Sydney's decision caught a lot of people by surprise. Thomas More's women's basketball program probably feels like they just won the lottery. So much for the "insider in the know" who guaranteed me a couple of weeks ago that
Moss would be a Lady Card.  

From the spotlight to the limelight. From Gainesville to Crestview Hills. We can only point out that, a few years ago...a highly talented high school girls basketball player by the name of Della Donne decided to move her tack from the front stage at UConn to back home in Delaware.

That turned out pretty well. EDD torched someone for 25 a couple of nights ago in the WNBA.

So, Louisville chances of having two Syd's and two Sam's on the 2014-15 roster and staff appear to be over.

We hope Sydney finds wants she is looking for. And, don't be surprised if Thomas More goes on a three-year national championship run in DIII women's college basketball. Moss is that good. Thomas More is that lucky...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR is at 11 a.m. this morning and we have a huge show in the offing for you. Interviews with Anne Kordes (Volleyball), Jeff Walz (WBB), Karen Ferguson Dayes (Soccer) and Arthur Albiero (Swimming). We'll also wrap up the WUGS, the ESPYS and Jenny will catch us up on the latest women's basketball recruiting scuttlebutt. That, and much more...we may need two hours to try and get all this information in.

CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO is on Crescent Hill Radio.

www.crescenthillradio.com

Jump in the golf cart and ride along with me, Jeff, Jenny, Monkberry Moon Delight, and a few rowdy chimps today, won't you? It's also rumored that Don Paulie is disturbed again (what else is new?) and we feature a new segment... "Cooking in the Cardinal Couple Kitchen" with Chef Sal Monella.

Yikes!

Just a reminder, when at the site...be sure to pick a player (like Windows Media) to listen to the live feed. The music and such you hear when you initally go to the site is just a preview and example segement. I'm still getting blasted by Sonja for not telling her to do so...the poor dear sat by the laptop for an hour last week waiting for the broadcast.

Life can be so very unfair at times...

-Paulie

--

Saturday Cardinal Couple -- B.B. headed to Poland

.
SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-Becky Burke headed to Poland for Eurohoops


-Theophille, Okoro lead Cards in NCAA Track/Field


-Ky. High School Girls thump Ind. 75-47


-Angel movie?


-Belmont Stakes picks


Louisville womens basketball player Becky Burke has signed a contract to play for ROW Rybnik Poland in the highly competitive EuroBasketball leagues. 

Burke joins a team that went 15-11 in competition in the 2011-12 season. A scan of the roster from last year shows several former USA college stars were on the squad last season. Alexis Rack (Miss. St./San Antonio), Mekia Valentine (UCSB/N.Y. Liberty), Sybil Dotsy (Ariz. St.) and Rebecca Harris (Illinois) played for Rybnik last season.

Given the transient nature of players and rosters in Euro basketball, it's hard to say whether they'll be there in the upcoming season to help Becky learn the important phrases in Polish like pizza, cereal, remote control and Justin Bieber...but it's a great opportunity for the Clarks Summit, PA star who was UofL's long range specialist in her four years at the Ville. We'll always remember the "Beckster" for that big smile, too. 


Going from the red and black to the green and orange. Load up on the Cocoa Puffs, B.B. Just in case. We hear the Polish cereal brands aren't that great. 


*******************************************


Results from Friday NCAA Outdoor Championships:

Four UofL womens track and field stars were in action yesterday in Des Moines, Iowa for the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Michelle Theophille tied for 6th in the high jump and Maggie Gilbertson tied for 17th. Theophille cleared six feet (or 1.83m...for
you metric fans) in her best attempt. 


In the shot put, Chinwe Okoro finished seventh with a toss of 56-5.75 and Khadila Abdullah grabbed eleventh place...hurling the ball 54-4.75. 


*******************************************

The Kentucky All-Star girls basketball team took it to Indiana last night in Freedom Hall, pounding the Hoosiers 75-47. Kentucky Miss Basketball Sydney Moss led the way for the winners with 14 points and 11 grabs. She was proud of the feat:


" Been a lot of good Kentucky teams to come through here and to beat them by the second-biggest margin is saying a lot."


Moss is headed to Florida this fall to be a student-athlete and is the daughter of NFL great Randy Moss. 


Took the Kentucky squad a bit to get started, going scoreless in the first five minutes of the contest, played in front of a sparse crowd in Freedom Hall. Marion County's Bre Elder (Dayton) finally connected for KY and it was 39-27 at the half for the home team. Indiana was 0 for game from the three-point arc. 


The two squads will battle again today in Indy.


*******************************************


Film in the works for #35? Charlie Springer spills the beans (hopefully not the popcorn) over at the very fine UofL Card Game. Give "The Observer" a read at the link below. 


Angel documentary


*******************************************
******************


OK, here they are. The CARDINAL COUPLE Belmont Stakes picks. A revised forecast, since the "scratch" of I'll Have Another. 

Not gonna happen...

Disappointment? Sure. Everyone wanted to see the California hero try for the Triple Crown. Tendinitis in the left front leg will make that something that isn't going to happen. We're guessing no amount of Aleve could have taken care of the pain (that's what Paul takes for his tendinitis) and it's a shame that the three-year old can't go...but the care, well-being and safety of the horse is the main thing here and Doug O'Neill made the right call. There are plans to walk him around
in the paddock area today. Previous plans to lead the post parade in the BELMONT STAKES have been scratched.


PAUL

Dullahan, you da man!

One of my favorite bartenders at Churchill gave me a DULLAHAN pin to wear earlier this week for Saturday. Didn't think too much of it at the time, but now I believe it is manifest destiny and the horse is my top pick here. His late-closing style is ideal for the lengthy Belmont stretch. I'll go with ATIGUN for second. Was impressed with his win on the undercard at Churchill on Derby Day and he's another who flies by them from the back. D.Wayne Lukas keeps bringing OPTIMIZER back for punishment in Triple Crown races and maybe he'll appreciate the added distance today...so we'll peg him for third. UNION RAGS should be good enough to pick up the pieces for fourth. 


I'll play exacta and trifecta wheels with these four and make sure they're included in a pick three that I'll start in the ninth race with my best pick of the day...Hierro. 


SONYA

"Hello, Sonja? I think we have
a live one Saturday. How's Co-Co?"

Bob Baffert is up to something. I figured he wouldn't toss BODEMEISTER in the Belmont, too far for the mile specialist, but he has entered PAYNTER. Ol' white-hair was puffing the goods on this one early in the Derby trail and he was impressive in winning a big allowance race at Pimilco on Preakness day. PAYNTER, at a price, is my top pick. I think DULLAHAN will be gobbling up ground at the end, and it wouldn't surprise me if he wins...but I'm picking him second today. ATIGUN comes out of Kenny McPeek's barn and is a closer who will like Belmont's surface. He only knows one speed and it is flying late. He'll get third. UNION RAGS will contest it for awhile before fading to fourth. 
It would not surprise me if "Ragsie" wins, though. 


I'll box these four in an exacta and put win, place and show money on Paynter, Dullahan and Atigun. By the time the Belmont Stakes, the 11th race on the Belmont card today, I'll also probably come up with a few "hunch bets"...paying particular attention to how speed is holding up on the rock-hard, lighting fast track. 


DAVID

I've chased OPTIMIZER in the first two legs of the Triple Crown so far. Not backing off now and that's my top selection. Trainer D.Wayne Lukas got a noggin thump from one of his horses earlier in the week. It would be fitting if they played Dean Martin's "Ain't that a kick in the head" during the post parade. Give me DULLAHAN for second and I don't care who comes in third or fourth.


Paul still hasn't paid me for my I'll Have Another score in the Derby. Something about the increased cost of UofL Football tickets. I'll call him later Saturday morning and tell him to invest my Derby winnings on any horse that nods and winks at the TV cameras during the post parade. These horses -- they're smarter than you think. 


Paulie, cue up a little Dino for me...


(Ask and you shall receive. Click the link below for classic Dean Martin) 


Ain't That A Kick In The Head?


NBC has the coverage again. Post time around 6:30 p.m. Good luck and remember that our selections are for entertainment purposes only. 
.
..
...