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Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

The Red Rage Tailgate wishes you a classy and artsy Monday afternoon.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium Louisville baseball has announced its 2015 summer assignments. Included on the list is pitcher Josh Rogers, who was drafted by the Yankees but will (officially) be returning for one more season with the Cards.

Here's the full list of summer assignments:

USA Collegiate National Team
• RHP Zack Burdi
• OF Corey Ray
• LHP/1B Brendan McKay (invited to team trials)

Cape Cod League
• LHP Drew Harrington, Wareham Gatemen
• OF Colin Lyman, Brewster Whitecaps
• LHP Josh Rogers, Bourne Braves
• C Will Smith, Brewster Whitecaps
• OF/INF Nick Solak, Bourne Braves
• 3B/1B Blake Tiberi, Hyannis Harbor Hawks

New England Collegiate League
• C/3B Austin Clemons, Vermont Mountaineers
• SS Devin Hairston, Vermont Mountaineers
• RHP Lincoln Henzman, Keene swamp Bats
• OF/C Riley Jackson, Vermont Mountaineers
• RHP Sean Leland, Vermont Mountaineers
• RHP Kade McClure, Keene Swamp Bats

Northwoods League
• RHP Chandler Dale, Lakeshore Chinooks
• C Colby Fitch, Lakeshore Chinooks
• 1B/3B Danny Rosenbaum, Green Bay Bullfrogs
• RHP Jake Sparger, Rochester Honkers
• OF Ryan Summers, Rochester Honkers
• OF Logan Taylor, Green Bay Bullfrogs

Coastal Plain League
• LHP Butch Baird, Wilson Tobs
• 3B Drew Ellis, High Point-Thomasville HiToms
• 1B/OF Grant Schreiver, High Point-Thomasville HiToms

Perfect Game League
• 1B Michael Bollmer, Albany Dutchmen

I_medium Stay strong, man.

I_medium The Sporting News names Sheldon Rankins as the 19th-best front seven player in college football for 2015.

I_medium The only way to begin a marriage.

I_medium Get to know Aaron Epps a little bit better on this Monday afternoon.

I_medium NBA.com's Boston Celtics site has a lengthy draft profile of Terry Rozier.

I_medium Miss you too, bruh.

I_medium ESPN looks at Louisville's toughest three-game stretch of the upcoming season, which just so happens to be its opening one.

Stretch:

Sept. 5 vs. Auburn

Sept. 12 vs. Houston

Sept. 17 vs. Clemson

Why it's tough: We'll certainly know all we need to know about Louisville by the middle of the first month of the season. The Cardinals get Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff to open the year in what may be its toughest challenge of the season. Auburn is already getting plenty of preseason buzz as a potential playoff candidate, and the Tigers' run-heavy offense will certainly challenge Louisville's defense. In last year's Belk Bowl against Nick Chubb and Georgia, that seemed like a clear problem for the Cardinals, so Todd Grantham will have his hands full in fall camp with Auburn on deck.

Houston isn't going to strike fear into the hearts of many Louisville fans, but the Cougars won't be a pushover either. Perhaps more concerning, however, is the game leaves Louisville with just five days to prep for a crucial Atlantic Division showdown with Clemson on a Thursday night. Given Clemson's firepower on offense, that's not much prep or recovery time for a unit that figures to get challenged often in its first two games.

Odds for success: 30 percent. The upside for Louisville is that its biggest question marks are on offense, and each of its opponents during this stretch have some major holes to fill on D. That two of the three games come at home also helps. But this slate is really a nightmare way to open the season, and in many ways a mirror image of what Clemson went through a year ago with Georgia and Florida State in its first three games. The Tigers emerged 1-2, and despite what turned out to be a 10-3 campaign, they were never really in the hunt for a playoff (or the Atlantic) after that tough start. Louisville can afford to lose the Auburn game and remain in the playoff discussion, but the short rest before Clemson is a huge red flag for a potential season-defining showdown in mid-September. Meanwhile, the ongoing QB battle needs to be settled sooner than later if the Cardinals are going to be fully prepared for this early gauntlet.

I_medium Stefan LeFors and Chris Redman have teamed up to offer a skills camp for youngsters in the area.

I_medium More on the effort to help out former Cardinal tight end Pete Nochta.

I_medium And finally, Ramsey and Rutherford is back on the air this afternoon from 3-6 on 93.9 The Ville. Bobby Petrino will be in studio at 3:30.

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