Monday evening Cardinal news and notes

James Burgess has inked a three-year deal with the Dolphins that will pay him $450,000 in 2016 if he makes the team.

Television ratings for the Kentucky Derby were down 14 percent from last year, but the event still received a 9.0 or better for the 10th straight year.

Happy birthday to Anas Mahmoud.

You are the man.

Charleston transfer Canyon Barry, who was once considering Louisville, is headed to Florida for his senior season.

Highlights from the Cards' series-clinching win over North Carolina:

James Lawrence was in the building supporting the good guys.

@CardChronicle had a great time mike pic.twitter.com/2OaaXASNNI

— James Lawrence (@JamesLa39333155) May 8, 2016

Duke athletic director Kevin White says Coach K will guide the Blue Devils for at least five more years.

Fox Sports puts Louisville at No. 7 on its list of American cities that deserve a professional sports team.

So at today's press conference in Frankfort promoting awareness of the Zika Virus (which is real, and scary), they had a guy in the worst mosquito costume I've ever seen giving the presentation.

The mosquito has an Instagram account, apparently pic.twitter.com/2LICQ52vnd

— Adam Beam (@adambeam) May 9, 2016

Because I guess making people aware that we're dealing with something involving mosquitoes is the most important part here. I don't know. Kentucky is so weird. We have no money for anything outside of gigantic arks and mosquito costumes.

Your Game of Thrones season six, episode three scorecard is here.

A couple more free agent signings from over the weekend: Kelby Johnson has inked a deal with the Buccaneers, and kicker Jon Brown has signed with the Bengals.

I'm all for congratulating Paul and everything, but let's be real, I'm embedding this tweet because of the picture.

Congrats to @paulnrogers1 who began broadcasting for @840WHAS & @WHAS11 40 years ago today, #KyDerby Day 1976 pic.twitter.com/v3tJA21XqM

— Terry Meiners (@terrymeiners) May 7, 2016

It won't look like it a did a decade ago, but Andrea Adelson says Louisville will get back to putting up Bobby Petrino 1.0 numbers this season.

If you're making the trip to Nashville to support the Cards in the Battle of the Barrel game, here's where you need to head beforehand:

The @NashvilleCards will meetup @JedsNashville at 4:00 tomorrow. Then have our own #CardMarch to the baseball stadium for @UofLBaseball

— Nashville Cardinals (@NashvilleCards) May 9, 2016

College basketball's best offensive performance in the last 10 years came from ......

1. DePaul 108, Syracuse 69: March 2, 2006
1.64 points per possession

Jim Boeheim called this game "the worst defensive effort in my 30 years of coaching," and for once a coach grousing about a loss wasn't just indulging in postgame hyperbole. This really does have to be the worst the Orange defense has ever been under Boeheim. I looked at a sample size of 7,000 major-conference games (6,996, to be precise), and the Blue Demons' 39-point blowout ranks as the best single performance by any team on offense.

Karron Clarke scored 27 points for DePaul, and Sammy Mejia added 21. The win pushed the Blue Demons to 12-14 on the season, and if you ask how such a nondescript team in the midst of a nondescript season recorded such an unbelievable game on offense the answer's simple. Former coach Jerry Wainwright's team had a perfect game. DePaul hit 16 3s, connected on 66 percent of its 2s, committed just nine turnovers in 66 possessions and rebounded half of its missed shots. Other teams have shot better from the field (see No. 2, below), and plenty of teams have committed fewer turnovers but in the last decade no major-conference offense has put together the entire package quite like the Blue Demons did one March day in 2006.

This didn't happen. There's no way.

No. 9 is a bit more believable.

9. Syracuse 107, DePaul 59: March 5, 2011
1.52 PPP

Well, isn't this ironic? It took five years, but the Orange avenged their humiliating 2006 loss to DePaul. Turnabout is fair play, and, yes, it was senior night.

Love you, Dibs.

An interesting chart that examines which college football teams get the most out of their revenue.

The Big 10 once again dominates the list of the easiest non-conference football schedules for 2016.

Remember that CCBM-looking beer that we discovered a few months ago and I vowed to taste at some point this summer? Well ....

Big thanks to Jon Cecil and Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery (be very careful when Googling) for the hook-up on this lovely bottle of Supreme Commander. I will be enjoying it this weekend.

Is a big year ahead for Cole Hikutini?

ESPN ranks Louisville's group of tight ends and wide receivers as the fourth-best in the ACC.

4. Louisville Cardinals -- The Cardinals return a pair of 600-yard receivers from last year's team in seniors James Quick and Jamari Staples. Ja'Quay Savage is primed for a breakout year after a strong spring. Jaylen Smith had 376 yards last season. And three tight ends who caught three touchdowns apiece last year are all back: Cole Hikutini, Micky Crum and Keith Towbridge.

A Q&A with the man, the myth, the legend Josh Pastner.

Pro Football Focus' first mock NFL Draft for 2017 has Devonte Fields going 17th overall to the New York Jets.

17. New York Jets: Devonte Fields, OLB, Louisville

After transferring from TCU, Fields had a productive season at Louisville, finishing with 13 sacks, seven QB hits and 29 hurries. At 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, he fits the mold of 3-4 rush linebacker and the Jets get an edge rusher mocked to them for about the 10th straight year.

Clemson star DeShaun Watson is the No. 1 overall pick.

U of L softball split a doubleheader with No. 5 Florida State over the weekend.

Baseball America's weekly trip around the college baseball world starts with the steadily improving Kyle Funkhouser.

A split in its first two games at North Carolina left Louisville needing to win Sunday's rubber game to claim its first road series victory of the season. With senior righthander Kyle Funkhouser on the mound, the Cardinals proved to be up to the challenge.

North Carolina scored a run off Funkhouser in each of the first two innings before he settled into the game. He held the Tar Heels to four runs in six innings, allowing the Cardinals offense to go to work. They provided enough run support, and Louisville defeated North Carolina, 10-6.

Coach Dan McDonnell said Sunday's start was an extension of a good stretch for Funkhouser (6-3, 4.54).

"I thought it was another good outing," he said. "I think that's about a month straight where Funk has looked good and is going in the right direction."

With the ninth-ranked Cardinals (38-10) competing for a second straight Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and a national seed in the NCAA Tournament, Sunday's game was important for Louisville. It remains in a virtual tie with Florida State atop the Atlantic Division and has a two-game edge on No. 13 North Carolina State going into their showdown this weekend.

Sunday's victory also give Louisville a road series win after dropping series at Mississippi, Miami, Florida State and Boston College this season. It had been a tough road slate for the Cardinals, but getting out of Chapel Hill with a series win removed one of the blemishes of its resume. And for a team that is 29-1 at home, with the lone loss coming to Virginia righthander Connor Jones, a likely first-round pick, clearing a path to be a national seed and home-field advantage in the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament could be extra important.

Junior outfielder Corey Ray said the Cardinals haven't been concerned about their road record, and were just happy to put together a complete game away from Louisville.

"We finally played well on the road," Ray said. "That's been a big thing. We're always an at bat away, one good pitch away, but now we have that good at bat and our pitchers pounded the zone."

Sunday, Louisville did its damage in the middle innings. The Cardinals chased Tar Heels starter Jason Morgan in the fourth inning, and opened a comfortable lead with nine runs in the fourth through seventh innings. Ray went 3-for-5 with three RBIs to lead the way, but eight different Cardinals collected at least one of their 15 hits. Outfielder Logan Taylor, who entered the game in the fourth inning, added three hits and scored twice.

"It's a deep lineup one through nine," McDonnell said. "But when Corey's going, it just takes the pressure off everybody else."

Since losing the series at Boston College, Louisville has won seven of its last eight games, outscoring its opponents 50-19 in the process. But Ray said the Cardinals have not yet played their best baseball.

"I'm excited because when we do peak, I think we'll do something special," Ray said. "We still have a lot to work on."

The publication also picks the Cards to go to Omaha ... at least for right now.

Eight for Omaha

Florida, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Vanderbilt

I flip-flop on ACC teams this week, replacing Florida State with Louisville. The Cardinals haven't peaked yet and will be a very tough out if they ever hits on all cylinders. As it is, Louisville is a dangerous team. I also strongly considered Texas Tech. But the experience of Louisville's pitching staff pushed it over the top.

Class of 2017 point guard David Sloan, who has a scholarship offer from Louisville, will play his final season of high school ball in Louisville at Ballard. Sloan had previously starred at Taylor County High School.

The Orlando Sentinel's list of 25 ACC football players to watch in 2016 includes Reggie Bonnafon, Lamar Jackson, Keith Kelsey and Trumaine Washington.

Before flying out of Louisville after the Derby, Gary Barnidge took some time to pose for a shot and flash the L.

No ACC team has more experience returning in the secondary this season than Louisville.

The Louisville track and field team finished with 12 wins and 31 top three finishes Saturday afternoon at the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational.

And finally, R&R is back from 3-6 today on 93.9 The Ville recapping Derby weekend, me getting sun poisoning (maybe), and talking about anything and everything going on with U of L athletics.