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Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

This is how Caroline Weis feels about being less than a day away from her first taste of Cardinal football.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium VJ King will be taking the big stage again tonight in the Jordan Brand Classic Game. You can catch the action at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

I_medium I'm hosting the pregame show for the spring tomorrow from 11-1 on 93.9 The Ville. Bobby Petrino will join me at 11. Will I already be drunk? Almost certainly not, but stop by caboose five just ti make sure.

I_medium Three-star guard Christian Vital from the class of 2016 plans to visit Louisville at some point later this month.

I_medium The Grantham brothers have bonded during their time together on the U of L staff.

I_medium Nice to see Kentucky football ranked in something.

I_medium The list of recruits who will be attending tomorrow's spring game is lengthy and impressive, just like ....

....

........

Once Upon a Time in America. Great film.

I_medium Josh Pastner is so awesome and hard-working that apparently he won't hire an assistant who plays golf -- which is, like, pretty much everyone who is a potential college basketball assistant.

New Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner is not much for idle time. As a walk-on at Arizona, he graduated in 2 ½ years without AP credit or summer school, he said. He took 33 credit hours in his fifth semester to complete his degree before going on to earn his master's by the end of his first semester of his senior year, he said.

"So I've always been a driven guy," he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Pastner doesn't golf, finding the four or five hours spent on a course to be an unproductive use of time. He wants his assistants to believe the same.

"My first question to anyone I (might) hire is, ‘Do you golf?'" Pastner said this week. "If they say, ‘Yes,' you can't work for me, because that means five hours on a Sunday or on a Saturday. Can't. Don't want it. That's for my assistant coaches. Any of my assistant coaches, if they're golfers, not working for me."

Own a regular coffee maker instead of Keurig? No thanks.

Paid for anything with cash instead of a card in the last five years? Tech will pass.

Watch Game of Thrones without fast-forwarding through the opening credits? You won't be riding the Josh Pastner fun train to Atlanta.

I_medium Always.

I_medium The 5th-ranked Louisville lacrosse team will play its final home game of the season on Saturday when it takes on Virginia at noon.

I_medium Thon Maker has been cleared to go straight from high school to the NBA Draft, a move which could create something of a slippery slope gong forward.

I_medium This promotional commercial for Sizzler from 1991 is incredible.



Consider that your Friday Irrelevance for this week.

Does anyone here even remember Friday Irrelevance? It was a thing. A beautiful thing. 

I_medium Five lessons we learned from the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

I_medium Jordan Spieth's caddy has a pretty awesome message in response to the outpouring of support that both he and Spieth have received in the wake of the Masters breakdown.

I_medium Yet another big man, Vanderbilt's Damion Jones, is staying in the NBA Draft.

I_medium Katie Petrino, Bobby's youngest daughter, hit a hole in one on a par 4 today at the Petrino Family Foundation Golf Scramble.

A hole in one on a par 4. That could really draw a crowd.

I_medium Cool story from Philadelphia where Villanova players made the day of a 4-year-old Wildcat fan with cancer.

I_medium WDRB has the transcript of Bobby Petrino's comments on spring practice.

I_medium Bilal Powell remains the man, now and forever.

I_medium A top 25 baseball series between No. 6 Louisville and No. 18 Clemson starts tonight at 6 p.m.

I_medium ESPN says that offensive line play will be a primary focus for U of L in its spring game.

I_medium Bleacher Report has Lamar Jackson as one of its 10 sleeper candidates to win the Heisman Trophy in 2016.

Current odds: 100-1

Continuing the theme of undervalued dual-threat quarterbacks who could explode in 2016, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson just barely cracked the latest list of Heisman odds. But if what he was able to show in the final games of 2015 is any indication, Jackson could be a breakout star this fall.

Jackson's 2015 campaign was up and down as he looked to take control of Louisville's offense as a true freshman quarterback. His passing numbers ranged from 307 yards and three touchdowns against Florida State to 103 yards and a 37 percent completion rate against NC State. However, in his final four appearances of 2015, he threw six touchdowns to just one interception.

His biggest weapon was his rushing ability, as he rushed for 100 yards in five different games. He averaged over 10 yards a carry and scored a pair of touchdowns in both victories over rival Kentucky and Texas A&M, breaking the 200-yard mark in the latter contest.

This spring -- his first with the Cardinals -- Jackson has made a focused effort on improving his pass accuracy, and reports out of Louisville indicate he has made tremendous strides in that area.

With a full offseason of preparation behind him, Jackson could explode onto the national scene, especially considering Louisville returns all but one offensive starter with him in 2016. And in a division that features national title contenders Clemson and Florida State, he'll have plenty of chances to grab attention.

I_medium U of L women's basketball player Sydney Brackemyre has announced that she plans to transfer.

I_medium Ladies love Zack Burdi.

That's what happens when you strike out the side to close the door on a win over Kentucky.

I_medium Louisville women's golf begins ACC championship play today.

I_medium And finally, R&R is wrapping up the week today with Todd Grantham joining the show at 4:30 and LD Scott on at 5:15. It will be lengthy and impressive.

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