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Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Jay Gravatte lost a bet with a Baylor fan and has to wear those shoes now (just guessing), but he's still letting people know that Louisville has now beaten Pitt nine straight times.

By Mike Rutherford

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I_medium The ninth-ranked U of L women's basketball team has a huge road showdown with No. 7 Florida State tonight. Here's your preview.

I_medium Louisville is No. 12 in Luke Winn's latest power rankings for Sports Illustrated.

12. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS
LAST WEEK: 14
RECORD: 14-€”3

Junior point guard Quentin Snider seems to be coming alive in ACC in play. Aside from a big game against Kentucky on Dec. 21, Snider did not have a nonconference season to remember, shooting 36.0% from inside the arc and 32.8% from three, and posting an O.K. but not spectacular 2.6-to-1 assist/turnover ratio. Through four ACC games, Snider's two-point issues haven't disappeared (he's up to 40%), but he's hitting 56.2% of his threes and passing at a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. This team defends well enough to get by on decent offense, and with Snider's stat lines trending into highly efficient territory, the Cardinals remain worthy of a top-16 ranking.

Next up: 1/14 vs. Duke, 1/19 vs. Clemson

I_medium Myron Medcalf of ESPN catches college football fans up on what they've been missing during the first two months of the college hoops season.

I_medium The Syracuse Post-Standard honors Sean Keeley, the original driving force behind Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, who announced earlier this week that he's stepping away. We'll always have The Octonion.

I_medium Please move your "where we are in society" meters to Seth Greenberg and two ESPN randos acting out Grayson Allen's trips on live TV.

I_medium The Louisville Bats announced today that they are adding an HD scoreboard to Slugger Field. A nice little addition for the 2017 ACC Tournament.

I_medium So you're saying that's bad?

I_medium Texas Tech coach Chris Beard has had five different jobs in five years, and one player has followed him each step of the way.

I_medium The Sporting News honors its Midseason All-Americans in college basketball.

I_medium Former U of L wide receiver Mario Urrutia is opening up a new facility designed to help out Louisville's youth. Here's a portion of the press release:

Super Student Athletes Inc. and their Executive Director Mario Urrutia will officially cut the ribbon to their new LIFE facility.  The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. located at 222 Eiler Avenue.

Community leaders and members that influenced Urrutia will be present to celebrate with the former NFL standout and University of Louisville football star.  Urrutia was drafted in 2008 by the Cincinnati Bengals.  He went on to play for the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He also had a very successful career in arena football. In 2013, he was named AFL Rookie of the Year.  The Fern Creek High School graduate decided to return to Louisville to help those who helped him by giving back to his community.

The Super Student Athletes LIFE Center will provide opportunities for youth to learn a variety of lifetime skills focusing on education, community and healthy living.

Urrutia says "My passion is assisting the total athlete from academics to being the best YOU, both on and off the field.  I'm passionate about giving youth a fighting chance to be successful.  It's really hard for many to concentrate literally on anything because of their particular circumstances.  I have created a safe haven where they can achieve with no distractions because everyone at the LIFE Center all have the same goal and that's to be successful."

I_medium Former Ballard High standout Kelan Martin has gone from a chubby gunner to an unquestioned star at Butler.

I_medium We beat a record that included DePaul last night.

I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm happy. Or sad. I don't know. Even I'm confused by this relationship at this point.

I_medium ESPN gives Deshaun Watson its ACC Player of the Year award, and names Louisville's offensive line as its biggest bust.

I_medium U of L brings you the best sights and sounds from last night's game:

I_medium ESPN hands out best and worst awards for the ACC's bowl season. I think you can guess which end Louisville gets mentioned on.

I_medium This Iowa State kicker wound up becoming an All-Big 12 performer and he wanted to thank his critics for pushing him to make it happen.

I_medium Just a reminder that just because these kids aren't responding to your tweets, doesn't mean they aren't seeing them.

I_medium The launch of the Pacific Pro Football League could result in big changes for college football and the NFL. Or it could change nothing. We'll see.

I_medium Senorise Perry has signed a futures contract with the Miami Dolphins.

I_medium Social media done right.

I_medium Cardiac Hill (Pitt) reacts to last night's game.

I_medium Could Louisville's hiring of Peter Sirmon have been a move to land his four-star son and five-star nephew? Probably not, but hey, let's roll with it.

I_medium Grayson Allen's first two "incidents" both involved Louisville, but Ray Spalding and Jaylen Johnson each say that's in the past.

All that came 12 days after Allen was given a flagrant foul for tripping U of L's Ray Spalding when their teams met in Durham, N.C.

But all that history is "for the birds," Johnson said after Wednesday's win over Pittsburgh, insisting that it won't be a factor in Saturday's 12 p.m. meeting between two of the top teams in the ACC. No. 15 Louisville (14-3, 2-2 ACC) hosts seventh-ranked Duke (14-3, 2-2) at the KFC Yum! Center.

"He's a good player, you know?" Johnson said. "Whatever happens, happens. ... I try to wash them away, all the negative memories. He's a good player. We got into a little altercation last year, but that's for the birds."

...

And Anas Mahmoud, Louisville's junior center, said Allen wasn't all that different from other opponents - and teammates - who have had temper flareups in the past.

"A lot of people we've played with have a lot of temper issues," Mahmoud said. "He might have an issue with his temper. Hopefully he'll get smarter one day."

I_medium Good read here on Louisville pitcher Kade McClure.

I_medium Asia Durr, but not Myisha Hines-Allen, is on the Wooden Award midseason watch list.

I_medium NC State is losing games to Boston College now, and I think Mark Gottfried is losing it.

I_medium The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gives its morning after report on Louisville's 85-80 win.

I_medium Louisville is No. 18 in the daily rankings over at CBS.

I_medium Five teams in college basketball have been more disappointing than all the rest. Here they are.

I_medium And finally, the Duke Chronicle (dicks) begins its coverage for Saturday's game, which is suddenly enormous for the Blue Devils.

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