Thursday Morning Cardinal News And Notes

Five U of L athletic teams -- men's basketball, women's golf, volleyball, rowing and men's indoor track and field -- earned American Athletic Conference Team Academic Excellence Awards, the league announced Wednesday.

In an era where glitzy commitment announcement ceremonies have become almost an every day occurrence, Raymond Spalding strayed from the norm when he pledged his allegiance to Louisville on Sunday.

The big decision was made, but he still had to decide how to tell the rest of the world. And for Spalding, that part was simple. He would do it big. He would make a splash. Well, not really.

He told his mother that she could tell their friends and family members that he was becoming a Cardinal. He didn't want people to think he was bragging.

Then he just called U of L assistant coach Kenny Johnson, and when Johnson didn't answer, Spalding left a message. Yes, Raymond Spalding's big announcement came in a voicemail. A voicemail?

"Well, sir, I didn't need to post it on Instagram or Twitter or anything," Spalding explained.

Love it.

Good read on Brewster Academy star Donovan Mitchell, a player whom U of L is very much in the mix to land.

Louisville figures heavily in this terrific ESPN feature piece on the death of playground basketball in America.

Griffith, Unseld and Gilmore viewed the summer matchups on these outdoor courts as opportunities to compete with the best players in the area and boost their street cred. Not Montrezl Harrell.

The Louisville big man is listed at 6-8, 235 pounds. He could be an NBA lottery pick in 2015. Everyone in the park wants to see him play. He doesn't think that's a good idea.

"I don't have anything to prove out here," Harrell said. "I don't have nobody to go against out here. My competition and my goals are playing against guys that are in college."

Guys such as Harrell used to be regulars. Algonquin. Chickasaw. Wyandotte. These Louisville parks were once flooded with local talent. There's only a sprinkle now. AAU basketball is one of the culprits.

"AAU has changed the game, and it's really changed the game a lot," said Marty Storch, Louisville's deputy parks and rec director. "We've got a lot more indoor basketball than we have outdoor basketball now."

The same famous "Griff dunking on Gilmore" story that's mentioned at the beginning of the Louisville segment will be featured in another post you'll see here later today.

Don't let this be you.

That moment when you land in London and realize you've left your CCBM at home. @CardChronicle let this be a lesson. pic.twitter.com/jRAmtQv8eC

— Kyle Miller (@Kyle_W_Miller) July 23, 2014

The Wall Street Journal has a realignment plan for college football that would place Louisville in "Cluster 4."

This week's edition of Sports Illustrated has a lengthy feature from Pete Thamel on Charlie Strong, which is oddly short on Louisville mentions or quotes from U of L employees.

The gray cargo van sat caked in dirt and salt. It was late December, and Texas AD Steve Patterson and two associates had arrived in Louisville to interview Strong, but their car service went to the wrong airport and the van was the only option. The pilot of their charter flight drove them to Strong's house and dropped them off because the airport needed the van back immediately. "Charlie could tell right away we were classy operators," Patterson says, laughing. "A big-money school shows up in a borrowed cargo van."

In truth Texas needed no introduction, but the dirty van provides a convenient metaphor for the new era of Longhorns football: The team will be more focused on arriving than on how comfortable and stylish the ride is.

Since Strong took over, he has focused most on reestablishing the program's edge, instilling a combination of toughness, confidence and cohesion. The buses that drove players a quarter mile to practice have disappeared, as did the Gatorade Energy Chews during mid-practice breaks and the smoothie and snack bars. "We need to work to earn it back," Strong says. "Sometimes you're given a lot and it's, Do you really deserve what you have?"

Congratulations to Louisville setter Katie George, who was named to the All-Tournament team as a member of the USA National Collegiate Team that won the silver medal at the European Global Challenge Tournament in Pula, Croatia.

We may need to pump the brakes on an annual Louisville/Minnesota hoops series.

A tweet from ESPN's Jeff Goodman on Tuesday night said that Rick Pitino's University of Louisville was planning a future home-and-home basketball series with his son Richard's program at the University of Minnesota.

But Rick Pitino, asked on Wednesday if he and his son were having such discussions, said, "Not really."

The teams do meet in the season opener on Nov. 14 in Puerto Rico as part of the Armed Forces Classic, but U of L spokesman Kenny Klein said no further series had been agreed on.

I'm not sure I could love Pitino answering "not really" to a straightforward yes or no question about his basketball program playing his son's basketball program any more. It's just fantastic.

Grantland has a mini-doc on the invention of the high-five which does not once mention Louisville.

Sounds like Senorise is turning a few heads in Chicago.

LM: Emery: On offense, #Bears No. 2 RB situation is "unsettled;" mentions Senorise Perry by name.

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 23, 2014

NBA to Louisville rumors are back once again.

LCPT championship polls are still open and will be until tomorrow afternoon at 2.

Top U of L targets Alonzo Trier and Antonio Blakeney go basket for basket at the Peach Jam:

Per Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer, UC has at least reached out to Louisville about potentially renewing the Keg of Nails series at some point in the future.

Well done, Patrick Towles.

/dead pic.twitter.com/oJ6tfiWn4R

— Gabe Duverge (@GabeDuverge) July 23, 2014

The Washington Post talks about the new U of L Maker's Mark bottle.

The News-Herald previews Florida State's week eight game against the Cards.

Tyler Bruggman had a 4.2 GPA at one of the toughest academic high schools in the country and has never been in any sort of legal trouble, but, as we all know, "trends are trends because of facts."

@CardChronicle whose girlfriend did he beat or what store did he rob... Trends are trends b/c of facts.

— JC Hatfield (@jcarlhatfield) July 24, 2014

If you want to be sufficiently creeped out, spend 30 seconds looking at that guy's timeline.

Another good read on Shoni Schimmel.

Lindy's serves up an ACC football notebook.

The U of L men's hoops team will face Marshall inside the KFC Yum Center on Friday, Nov. 21 in the Global Sports Showcase.

And finally, here's video of Bobby Petrino's time with the media during Wednesday's Governor's Cup Luncheon. Mark Stoops was so sad he couldn't make it, but sometimes kids and dogs and grandmas and aunts all get sick at the same time and there's just nothing you can do about it.