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Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

The CCBM summer tour rolls on with Colonel Sanders(?) in Wurtzburg, Germany.

I_medium If you've been listening to the show then you likely already know this, but I'm headed across the pond for the first time in my life tomorrow to vacation in Italy with the wife. We won't be back for good until the 14th, but you'll be left in the able and familiar hands of some of the same names you've grown to know and love in recent years. I'll also probably be checking in from time to time when I have the chance.

If you have any tips or advice for this excursion, please feel free to share because I am admittedly intimated by the prospect of the trip now that it's finally here.

I_medium The fine folks over at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician serve up their preview of the 2015 Louisville football team.

Syracuse Game Date: Saturday, November 7

Location: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, K.Y.

Odds of Orange Victory: 25 percent

Very Early Outlook:

Maybe 25-percent is a bit optimistic? But that still means there's a 75-percent chance the Orange lose this matchup. For those looking for more proof of an SU loss beyond the above though, it's Syracuse's second straight tough road game (they're in Tallahassee to face Florida State the week before) and they get a Cardinals team on an extra day's rest. Louisville's most difficult games will all be several weeks behind them (Auburn, Clemson and Florida State are all done with by October 17), and whoever the QB is by that point will have plenty of experience to help them out. Never say never. It just seems that the odds are against Syracuse to pull this one off against a rising Cards squad.

I_medium The Courier-Journal has a good piece focusing on former NFL scout Dave Boller, who is now serving as Louisville football's director of on-campus recruiting.

I_medium NBA free agents received an insane $1.4 billion in salary yesterday on the first day of free agency.

Here's Mike Prada with the rundown:

I_medium Cornelius Sturghill is the lone Cardinal to land on Athlon's preseason college football All-Freshman team.

I_medium Brian Brohm's Winnipeg BlueBombers team will be taking on Hamilton in the second week of the CFL's regular season tonight at 8:30 on ESPN2.

I_medium Jeff Greer's offseason look at the Louisville basketball team continues with Quentin Snider.

I_medium Rick Pitino is making vacation dreams come true down in Puerto Rico.

I_medium Antonio Blakeney continues to showcase some questionable judgment by publicly declaring that LSU is going to win the 2016 national championship.

I_medium Class of 2016 shooting guard Bruce Brown is the latest player to receive a significant amount of attention from the Cardinal coaching staff.

I_medium We've got Bill Nye, guys.

I_medium Raising Zona, an Arizona Cardinals site, profiles Gerald Christian.

I_medium Speaking of Christian, he will be honored as Mr. Irrelevant (the last pick in the NFL Draft) in a ceremony next week.

Although Gerald Christian's title is Mr. Irrelevant as the 254th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, his accomplishments and story are far from irrelevant.

This year Christian will be honored in Newport Beach beginning Tuesday by the Foundation for the Undefeated as the 40th annual Mr. Irrelevant.

The 6-foot-3 tight end out of the University of Louisville was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals as the last pick in the draft. After four years of hard work playing college football, Christian has been given an amazing opportunity to play in the NFL as an Arizona Cardinals rookie.

Every year The Foundation for the Undefeated puts on the weeklong celebration that honors the last pick of the draft for his hard work and effort.

Throughout its 38-year history, Irrelevant Week has donated more than $1 million to charities, including the American Cancer Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Goodwill Industries, YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, NFL Alumni and the American Red Cross, according to event organizers. This year, the recipient of the donations will be the Special Olympics of Southern California. This year's Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held July 25 in Los Angeles.

Orange County residents looking to participate in the fun-filled activities of Irrelevant week can attend the All-Star Banquet on July 10. Tickets can be purchased at theundefeated.org.

I_medium The U of L women's golf schedule for the 2015-16 season has been released.

I_medium The Fed stay The Fed.

I_medium All the good jokes have already been made a dozen times over, but this BBNmeetup.com is just about the most hilarious thing the Internet has produced since the old Perry Bible Fellowship.

I_medium They may play the same position, but don't expect Jaylen Johnson to be Montrezl Harrell.

"I feel like I came a long way last year," Johnson said. "I think I went from a player who came in late to one that coach knew he could put into the game and trust to get the job done. I came a long way.

"A lot of that was because of Trez and how he made me work."

Johnson said he's like Harrell in that he "wants to dunk everything," but he also wanted to make sure folks know that he's not going to be the same type of player that Harrell was at U of L.

"I feel like I'm ready to get in there," Johnson said. "I'm different than Trez. I have a motor and I want to dunk everything, but I can do other things as well on the perimeter. I just want to use what I learned last year and come out better."

I_medium Louisville has made the top five for three-star defensive end John Tate from Pine Bluff, Ark.

I_medium Indeed it is.

I_medium Brendan McKay has officially been named to the Team USA roster for its upcoming five game series against Cuba.

I_medium Nick Burdi's first year of professional baseball hasn't been quite as stellar as he'd likely hoped.

I_medium Eat it, Brutus.

I_medium This video featuring Will Gardner gives you an even better look at the new "Uncaged" uniforms, and makes you feel more than slightly uncomfortable in the process.

I_medium The St. Louis Rams are hoping that Jamon Brown provides "iron" at the right guard position.

I_medium Ernest Hemingway died a still mysterious death on this day in 1961. It's also the birthday of two of my favorite people on the planet: my father and my grandmother. Seamless transition.

Happy birthday, dad and Mimi!

I_medium U of L volleyball star and Miss Kentucky Katie George continues to prepare for Miss USA.

I_medium Markelle Fultz remains one of the biggest targets on the U of L staff's 2016 big board.

I_medium Terry Rozier talks after being officially introduced as a Boston Celtic on Tuesday.

I_medium And finally, the last episode of Ramsey & Rutherford featuring yours truly for a week and-a-half is on 93.9 The Ville today from 3-6. News, opinions and memories pertaining to University of Louisville athletics will be the main focus of the program.