Yet another great hire.. let the agenda continue

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According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Dallas Mavericks have agree to a 4-year rookie deal with former Louisville standout Ray Spalding.

A four-year deal for one of the last players taken in the draft? Not bad, Ray.

Spalding was solid for the Mavericks during summer league play, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 63.6 percent from the field. Those numbers are more impressive when you take into consideration that he was averaging under 18 minutes per game.

@Dave Lackford What happened? Staff not take the OL from WV?

Bobby Petrino on 790 KRD at 2 pm

Listen LIVE: http://www.790krd.com/listen

We are doing a conference-by-conference look at the quarterback positions in each conference. I wanted to share the ACC edition for those interested, as Louisville is included in the story.

The start of fall camps is right around the corner and at several major programs the focus will be on the quarterback position as former elite recruits battle it out for the starting job. Last week, we took a look at some of the most high-profile battles and had National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell weigh in on how he sees them shaking out. This week, we take a conference-by-conference look at the remaining quarterback competitions. Today we focus on the ACC.

You can read the story here.

How many of you (us) feel that there is more information that both UofL and corporate Papa Johns have in their possession about snotter? You can count me as one of those that believes that there is far more information in their (both entities) possession that led to the very quick decision to separate themselves from snotter and the pizza company. The “N” word incident is totally repugnant on it’s own but would it be enough for this huge of a response? In consideration of this potential information I think the advice to snotter should be “be very careful about your path of legal moves” as whatever is left of your reputation will be at stake. Just my thoughts here.

GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!

for winning Best Breakthrough Athlete at the ESPYS.

Donovan Mitchell’s whirlwind summer continued Wednesday night.

The Utah Jazz shooting guard was awarded an ESPY as the best breakthrough athlete after a rookie season that saw him lead the Jazz to the second round of the playoffs.

Mitchell finished second in Rookie Of the Year voting in his initial season out of Louisville. In addition to leading the Jazz in scoring, Mitchell turned in notable postseason performances, such as scoring 38 points in a deciding Game 6 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

Yahoo Sports:

"Clemson will extend Brent Venables' contract, paying him $11.6 million over the course of five years — the largest contract in history for a non-head coach.

He will make $2 million annually in salary and $200,000 in retention bonuses through the first two years of the contract. He will be paid $400,000 in retention bonuses over its remainder.

According to Yahoo Sports, the contract will be approved by the university's board of trustees on Thursday. If approved, Venables' $2.3 million annual salary will rank second among assistnats, behind only LSU defensive coordinator Dava Aranda, who averages $2.5 million annually. Venables' overall total of $11.6 million still eclipses Aranda's $10 million total."

Donovan Mitchell won the Breakthrough Athlete of the year Espy. Congratulations Spida you make us fans very proud.

Louisville Women’s Basketball Season Tickets on Sale

The Cardinals will play 16 home games, highlighted by contests against Connecticut and Kentucky.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Season tickets for the University of Louisville’s 2018-19 16-game home women's basketball schedule in the KFC Yum! Center are now available for purchase.

Under 12th year head coach Jeff Walz, the Cardinals will face an impressive list of home games highlighted by teams such as Connecticut, Kentucky, Nebraska, Syracuse, Miami and North Carolina State. The Cardinals enter their ninth season in the spectacular KFC Yum! Center with four returning starters, including reigning ACC Player of the Year and All-American Asia Durr.

Reserved season tickets are available for just $128 for adults, $96 for seniors and $64 for those 18 and younger. Fans can also purchase a CardsPass for $64. CardsPass is our full season mobile ticketing program that guarantees the best available seats on a game-by-game basis. Seat locations will vary each game.

Buy your tickets today and you will automatically be enrolled into our Walz Wednesday drawings, where fans can win exclusive Louisville women’s basketball prizes. Every Wednesday through September, each season ticket holder that has purchased or renewed Louisville women’s basketball season tickets will be entered to win a Jeff Walz signed item. The final Walz Wednesday will feature a grand prize, with every season ticket holder eligible to win!

Interest free payment plans for season tickets are available.

Women’s basketball season tickets may be purchased by visiting the UofL Ticket Office, located near Gate 2 of Cardinal Stadium at 2800 South Floyd Street, on weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.; calling 502-852-5151; or purchasing online at the direct links below.

Props to Mike Rutherford for putting these together...

I told myself I was not going to watch much if any of these pre-season college football shows this summer. Oh how I wish I could have maintained that goal. Today, on college football live, talking heads chatting about the upcoming ACC media days and Louisville was not mentioned one time. Nothing. But after a commercial break they come back with UofL's media guide cover with triple crown winner Justify, and deride it. They call it cheesy and silly and don't appear to recognize the obvious correlation.

Kentucky Derby
Churchill Downs
Justify, triple crown winner.

where? Louisville, ky (Derby)
How? Speed

UofL football team. Located in Louisville, ky.
How the team tries to win? Speed. Remember #8?

I know there aren't many expectations this season and that's understandable. However, the talent and speed is still a positive and other than Clemson, is on the level with every other ACC team. The Cards chances depend on the little things, especially on defense and with coaching. There is talented speed that needs to be coached into something special.

That remains to be seen. However, trying to energize the upcoming season with a flashy media guide that uses a hometown icon to market the teams best asset is pretty cool in my book. The dolts on ESPN however didn't agree. I have to give a little credit to Pollack as he said big deal and why the aggression? The lady was clueless and what appears today like the requisite female on a sports panel. There are some very good female reporters and show host but this lady isn't one of them.

Justify will always be synonymous with Louisville. A name (Louisville) unfortunately, doesn't sound good coming off a whole lot of people's tongues these days.

Brutal.

Pineapple face steps down from Board of Trustees.

http://m.wave3.com/wave/db/336805/content/ZmOeOrUC

The new President is earning her pay. She made a quick, informed decision on the stadium name and business school center. I also think she smartly showed empathy for the thousands of other people that work at Papa Johns the company and that his values don’t represent the corporate values. Well done.

If you don't drink that's fine I respect that.

But if you do, what's your go-to?

Schnatter is hiring Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer to fight Papa John’s. Now says he shouldn’t have resigned.

Remember Manny Allen? Well, after he was unable to make it to campus this year there is some positive news regarding his future. I caught up with the 6'2" 180lbs prospect to get the latest on his future plans as things have been very quiet on where he may end up.

"I'm 100% Louisville" Allen said. "I'm going to go to prep school for a semester and enroll in Louisville in December."

Allen has great size at the position and is extremely athletic. While he has battled a couple injuries, adding the 3-star prospect will definitely be another big addition to the receiving corps.


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before FB season starts this year?

I am looking at going to TVYouTube.....anyone else use them? Thoughts...pro and con would be appreciated. Currently have DirecTV and 2 year contract expired and now they are doubling my cost.

They seem to offer a lot of streaming platforms...using a Roku fire stick and TVYouTube looks to offer all the necessary channels especially all the local network channels, etc. for only $40.00.

I started a thread on the Off Topic board is you all would like to discuss this issue. Please advise fellow Card fans. This is new territory for me.

Andrea has the Cards at #7 in the ACC.

Everyone seems to be taking a wait and see attitude.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24086662/acc-preseason-power-rankings

Goes to the same high school as current Louisville freshman Telly Plummer.

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Even during the rough early days, when it seemed as if Wake Forest had trouble simply falling forward, when the Demon Deacons could barely run the ball and were winning three games in each of their first two seasons under Dave Clawson, the head coach never batted an eye. He would regularly say that he and his staff knew exactly what they had signed up for, and they had seen this before.

Clawson had gone 0-11 in his first year as a head coach, at Fordham, and exited with a 19-6 mark across his fourth and fifth seasons in the Bronx. He went 3-8 in Year 1 at Richmond, then left behind an 11-3 FCS playoff team, the core of which went on to win a national championship the following season.

He won the Mid-American Conference in Year 5 at Bowling Green, and the recipe for success has followed in Winston-Salem, N.C.: Wake won bowl games in 2016 and ’17 after consecutive 3-9 seasons.

The foundation has been poured, the system firmly in place. In his fifth year at Wake, Clawson fields a team filled entirely of players he has recruited. And to be clear, Wake got the absolute most out of the incumbents: Players like Cam Serigne and Duke Ejiofor were among the best players in the ACC by the time they reached their fifth seasons in 2017, and Wendell Dunn and Mike Weaver became program stalwarts, too.

So what is next for Wake Forest football? The Deacs have the coach, the facilities and the enhanced expectations after an 8-5 campaign. They have plenty of returning talent, too, especially in the positions that matter most, meaning a repeat of last season’s standout campaign should be within reach.

Biggest on-field question
Losing a four-year starting quarterback in John Wolford is naturally a cause for concern, but this is not Kendall Hinton’s first rodeo. He regularly pushed Wolford for his job, started two games as a freshman and appeared to be on his way to building off that in 2016 before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 3. If he can replicate the chemistry that Wolford had with this crop of pass catchers, Wake’s offense should be in good hands.

“He’s just a great athlete, and he’s just got to get all those reps that John got,” Clawson told The Athletic. “John got all those reps over four years and threw 1,000 passes to Cam and Cortez (Lewis) and Scotty (Washington), and Kendall just has to get reps. I think Kendall can be really, really good.”

Moreover, he will have the protection of an offensive line that returns everyone, Nos. 1-10, to say nothing of a stable of proven running backs.

“It’s not just the fact that we have everybody back, it’s the type of kids they are,” Clawson said of the line. “They’re consistent, they’re workers, they have a good work ethic, they understand the offense.

“They’re really reliable, dependable kids. There’s not a lot of drama within that group, so these guys just show up every day and work and put their time in and play at a high level.”

The biggest on-field question likely comes from a macro perspective: Can the defense take the next step? Key faces in key places are gone, but the depth is much better, particularly at safety. More important, this unit was aggressive in Year 1 under new coordinator Jay Sawvel, finishing seventh nationally in tackles for loss with 106. If it could play with that kind of edge even after losing coordinator Mike Elko and two other assistants on that side of the ball, could another year in this system mitigate the personnel losses up front?

“We’re more on the same page now and the kids are more comfortable with the package now than they were at any point last year,” Clawson said.

Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr. will be called on to take what he learned while backing up Ejiofor last season. If an All-ACC-caliber campaign is in his sights, that could mean big things for the defense. Depth needs to be developed behind Basham and Chris Calhoun at end, but the first four years of this regime should alleviate potential concerns when it comes to player development.

Depth chart analysis
Quarterbacks: Kendall Hinton emerged out of spring as the top quarterback, and it would be a surprise if Jamie Newman is able to unseat him, despite what Clawson said was an impressive spring. Hinton has seen plenty of action, as he spared injured Wolford in the past and added another dimension to what at the time was a stagnant run game.

Seeing Wolford’s growth during his four-year career has to give Hinton and the staff confidence that he can break out this fall and be one of the reasons Wake continues to rise rather than one of the offense’s concerns in a new full-time job. What’s more: Because of his early-season knee injury in 2016, Hinton gained another year of eligibility, allowing Wake to possibly go two years in a row with the same quarterback.

Running backs: This should be the strongest position group on the team, as 904-yard rusher Matt Colburn is back, along with impressive Cade Carney, who rushed for 232 yards in limited action last season. The running back room is crowded enough that last year’s second-leading rusher among the group, Arkeem Byrd, moved to cornerback.

What Wake loses in the legs of Wolford it should make up for in the legs of Hinton, and though Greg Dortch made his mark mostly as a receiver and a return man, he proved to be a threat out of the backfield at times as well. Christian Beal showed promise this spring after redshirting last season, and Wake is excited about the prospect of three-star running back Courtney McKinney adding even more competition to the room upon his arrival this summer.

The biggest question for each team going into ACC Kickoff

• By GENE SAPAKOFF
  
• 7 hrs ago

New Florida State head coach Willie Taggart must love all the Clemson hype, motivation he can mine from here to an Oct. 27 showdown in Tallahassee.

Hopefully, Clemson and Florida State players and coaches are willing to trade some barbs at ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday and Thursday in Charlotte, though probably not.

But does Clemson’s three straight ACC championships mean the Dabo Swinney talent machine is capable of matching Florida State’s record of nine straight titles won or shared from 1992-2000?


Or are the Tigers vulnerable against a bunch of angry Seminoles with perhaps the ACC’s most capable quarterback (Deondre Francois), best running back (Cam Akers), nice talent on both lines, fresh coaching staff energy and a home-field edge for the Clemson game?

There are many questions for ACC teams heading into the Football Kickoff event.

In predicted order of finish:

ATLANTIC DIVISION
Clemson

If Dabo Swinney rides the hot hand at quarterback, how much will the No. 2 guy play? Enough, probably, to keep the Kelly Bryant-Trevor Lawrence competition going until one guy is Heisman Trophy-quality good and the other looks just good to lose a College Football Playoff game.

Will the real Deondre Francois please stand up and lead? He threw for 3,350 yards as a redshirt freshman. But Francois missed almost all of the 2017 season after suffering a knee injury in an opening loss to Alabama and was offered the chance to enter a pre-trial intervention program last spring after a strange Tallahassee police marijuana stakeout investigation in which Francois was not arrested.

Boston College

Can the Eagles handle their trendy status as designated ACC breakout team? A 5-1 record down the regular-season stretch was nice last year (mostly the 35-3 rout of FSU). The path to improvement on a 7-6 record starts with A.J. Dillon running behind perhaps the ACC’s best offensive line.

N.C. State

Can Ryan Finley carry the Wolfpack? N.C. State coming off a 9-4 season isn’t real strong anywhere else except at the most important position, where Finley is the ACC’s returning passing efficiency leader, and at wide receiver (Kelvin Harmon, Jakobi Myers).

Louisville

Has Bobby Petrino lost it? Once mentioned among the top college coaches, Petrino has gone from 12-1 in 2013 to four straight seasons of eight or nine wins. And no more Lamar Jackson.

Wake Forest

Is the Deacons’ offensive line the most underrated unit in the ACC? Wake Forest, aiming for its third straight bowl win under Dave Clawson, benefits from shrewd redshirting and now has a top-notch blocking group with four seniors (including left guard Phil Haynes) and a junior as starters.

Syracuse

Can quarterback Eric Dungey stay healthy? He’s a three-year starter. He led the Orange to a stunning 27-24 upset of Clemson last season. But he hasn’t been able to play a full season yet and is coming off foot surgery.

COASTAL DIVISION
Miami

Are the Hurricanes here to stay? As in, forget about winning the Coastal Division for a while, or at least until Mark Richt and Co. keep stockpiling top recruiting classes.

Virginia Tech


Will the Hokies be able to run the ball well enough to keep pressure off quarterback Josh Jackson? He started as a redshirt freshman last season but Jackson still has a lot to learn and must do so behind a suspect line.

Duke

Is the David Cutcliffe Overachievement Project good enough to challenge for a division title this year? Case for: skilled quarterback Daniel Jones, three receivers with 41 or more catches in 2017, Joseph Giles-Harris leading a standout linebacker group. Case against: Depth issues, road games at Clemson and Miami in November.

North Carolina

How many games does Larry Fedora have to win to get off the hot seat? A 3-9 season with one ACC win (Pittsburgh) didn’t go over well last year but injuries piled up and the Tar Heels actually improved late. Remember the near-miss against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game just three seasons ago?

Georgia Tech

How much does Nate Woody’s new “attacking 3-4” defense help the Yellow Jackets? Woody, a former Wofford player and assistant coach, comes from Appalachian State to replace Ted Roof, who moved on to N.C. State as co-defensive coordinator.

Pittsburgh

Is sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett the next Nathan Peterman, or better? Head coach Pat Narduzzi gave Pickett the keys to the offense in spring practice. Peterman, now in the NFL, was the sizzling Pitt quarterback who beat eventual national champ Clemson in 2016.

Virginia

If Arizona State transfer Bryce Perkins a significant quarterback upgrade, how much will he help? Maybe a lot; Virginia at 6-7 last year was 11th in ACC games in points per game and passing yards. Perkins is the nephew of former Dallas Cowboys running back Don Perkins.

https://thetandd.com/sports/clemson...cle_b9a27683-051d-543d-a7db-711874fb13e3.html

Now available online at this link:.

http://www.guide.provations.com/louisville/2018_football?pg=1#pg1

I'll be going through and updating the hot boards in the next day or two but I just wanted to give you all a little heads up on one change as well as provide an opportunity for suggestions.

Ever since I started managing the hot boards this way I have been updating them more often but have not included the traditional "hot, warmer, warm, etc." that I had previously used. In an effort to try and differentiate recruits for you all a little more I will be bringing back a very similar system. While there may be a few tweaks down the road it will initially be setup like this:

Fire
Hot
Warmer
Warm
Cool

Obviously these levels will be assigned from a variety of factors including perceived interest and are not an exact science. If you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know!