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Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Jack Back is ready to be back at The Patt with Quentin Snider this weekend.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium The D1Baseball.com staff's super regional picks are out, and four of the six writers like Louisville to beat Cal State Fullerton and advance to their third straight College World Series.

I_medium Your must-read for this Friday comes from The Triangle, which profiled "The Long Goodbye of Damion Lee."

Lee's is unique brand of senioritis. He's attended Drexel for the prescribed four years, the four he signed up for. But his time on college campuses isn't over. He's got another year in line at Louisville. He's preparing himself to leave University City, his home since he was 18 years old, but not the college world.

"It's really wild to think about it," he says as he approaches the appropriately-labeled Stratton Hall. "I feel like University Crossings has been my address forever. I've lived there since my first day on campus."

A student gives Lee a wave and he waves back, exchanging a "Hey, what's up, man," a frequent occurrence as Lee walks around campus. This past season, he epitomized the big man on campus. He averaged 21.4 points per game during the regular season for Drexel, the fifth-most in the entire country. He sliced up opposing defenses as the singular offensive threat for the team. Most students on campus knew what he was capable of. And even if they didn't, they knew he stood for something. There aren't too many 6-foot, 6-inch students on Drexel's campus.

Since he announced he would be transferring March 30, Lee said he's had plenty of students come up to him around campus and wish him well.

"They'll wish me good luck at Louisville, all that stuff," he says. "Most of the time they're really cool."

Sometimes he'll get approached by a disenchanted fan. Once, while he waited for his sandwich in the campus Subway, a student asked him why he was wearing a Louisville basketball T-shirt. When Lee told him he was transferring, the student was stunned. Lee explained to him why he was leaving — "I just told him it was for personal reasons, for me," he said — and the student said, "Well, I guess somebody else has to step up next year."

"I don't walk around like, ‘Oh, I'm a big deal,'" Lee says of his fleeting status on campus. "It's just the way it is, I guess."

It's what happens when your graduate school decision lands on the front page of ESPN.

The whole thing is really worth your time.

I_medium An estimated $55 million expansion of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium for 2016-18 was among the potential projects listed on the university-wide capital plan approved by the University of Louisville Board of Trustees last night.

I_medium If you're already in the process of painting your house, then why not?

I_medium Brett Favre is a card-carrying member of the Teddy Bridgewater fan club.

Brett Favre spent almost all of his career in the NFL terrorizing the Minnesota Vikings when he was under center for the Packers.

But because he finished his final two seasons at Winter Park, he still has the ability to swing by the facility and check in on things. And when he swung by last week, apparently a certain young quarterback caught the eye of the ol' gunslinger, per the Star Tribune's Sid Hartman.

"I think [Bridgewater] had a really good year, for a rookie, I thought he had a really good year," Favre said about Vikings QBTeddy Bridgewater, according to the Star Tribune. "I thought he played exceptional in college [at Louisville]. I had a chance to meet him here at Winter Park a couple of days ago.

"I was very impressed with him. I'm impressed with his skills and the way he handled himself his first year. So I look forward to bigger and better things from him."

I_medium Corvin Lamb is a No. 4 to watch in the ACC.

I_medium No power five conference team has increased their winning percentage more from 2011 to 2014 than Louisville.

I_medium Exactly 30 years ago today, Ferris Bueller took a day off. I've been staring at Seurat paintings and thinking about my life all day as tribute.

I_medium U of L men's soccer's "Kickin' it With JT and Friends" camp is set to go for July 18.

Kickin' it with JT & Friends is an annual event hosted by the University of Louisville Men's Soccer team that celebrates the gifts of children and adults with special needs. JT, a special young man and an avid soccer camp participant, is the nephew of head coach Ken Lolla and is an inspiration to the program.

I_medium Scout lists Pio Vatuvei as one of the ACC's biggest spring stars.

LOUISVILLE


Several Cardinals had very good springs at Louisville for Bobby Petrino like true freshman Jaire Alexander and sophomore Henry Famurewa. But none could have been better than defensive lineman Pio Vatuvei. He did have nine starts in 2014 and recorded 18 tackles and one sack. He's a 290-pound defensive end that is so strong and powerful at the line of scrimmage. Vatuvei closed up the spring with a strong performance in the Red-White game with five tackles and an interception.

I_medium 'Tis the season for birdies and bird masks.

I_medium Jeff Greer has a really good read on the relationship between Cardinal sophomore Nick Solak and his mom.

I_medium The Internet has made me doubt the validity of stuff like this, but if it's real, this kid is a hero.

I_medium Your official Louisville-Fullerton preview from GoCards.com.

I_medium The next step towards making this a reality starts in less than 24 hours.

I_medium And finally, Ramsey and Rutherford is back this afternoon from 3-6 on 93.9 The Ville. We've got Dan McDonnell, Eric Crawford and Sam Vecenie of CBS to talk Super Regional, Belmont and NBA Finals. As always, you can listen online or via your phone right here.

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