Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

• So the amended arena deal got done. No drama or anything though. Nope. Everything’s going to be just fine now.

(Narrator voice) “But everything was not going to be just fine.”

• New Anfernee Simons highlights from the Under Armour All-America Camp are here. The more I see him, the more I love that kid’s game.
• Joe Lunardi got bored and decided to talk about expanding the NCAA Tournament.

I can’t do this in July, Joe, I just can’t. I surpass my Joey Brackets saturation point in, like, early February so I’m going to need more than a little space in the summer, man.

• I bought this, it arrived today, and I plan on wearing it for the rest of the summer.

If I bust my knee mowing the yard today, you’ll know why. Or you won’t because you never saw the episode of Saved by the Bell where Zack plays basketball. Either way let’s move on to the next bullet point.

“They’re gonna hack Zack” is such an iconic line.

Ok now we can move on.

• Four-star DB C.J. Smith has Louisville in his final five.

• The ACC Digital Network counts down the league’s top five quarterbacks (video). You get 14 guesses for No. 1.
• It’s opening day at Saratoga and if you’re looking to make some money on the ponies, the artist formerly known as the Baby Faced Assassin wants to help you out. Check out David Levitch’s freshly-launched horse-capping website here.
• After a pretty long week, I needed this.

Will never forget that glorious pass against Kentucky in 2011 that served as the start of something so beautiful.

• I ranked the 10 best early season tournaments for the upcoming college basketball season, and No. 1 isn’t the Maui Invitational or the Battle 4 Atlantis.
• New helmet leak???

I remain firmly anti-Old English L, but that’s still pretty hot.

• Former Louisville lacrosse standout Faye Brust has joined the coaching staff at U of L.
• So the Courier-Journal had this tweet up for 30 minutes Thursday night before deleting and apologizing to those who complained.

I like that it’s Euros in the bra and not American dollars. Makes the whole mistake feel more cultured.

• The Brohm Squad rolled through Louisville on Thursday.

• Soooo Hugh Freeze is no longer Ole Miss’ football coach.
• Shoutout to Chris Mack for his triumph.

Still waiting on that prize.

• Jim Boeheim’s son is proving himself to be a high-level recruit. Does anyone but Syracuse have a shot to land him?
• This led to a ton of death and funeral home puns, which was the most fun I’ve had online all week.

Any time, anywhere, Mid America College.

• The new season of Last Chance U is available on Netflix today. Apparently there’s a scene with Hugh Freeze that is now pretty hilarious in hindsight.
• Bleacher Report has a feature up on Russ Smith, who does not duck the question of whether or not he believes he should be in the NBA right now.

Smith, though, has never been one for cliched "humble athlete talk," and so he adds: "I don't believe there are 400 guys in that league better than me. You want to name like 150? Fine. Maybe I'm not a rotation guy. I'll practice, show up to every game in a suit and cheer on my teammates.

"But I for damn sure belong on an NBA roster.”

Smith, who led Louisville to a national championship in 2013 and was a first-team All-American the following year, was originally drafted 47th overall in 2014 by the Philadelphia 76ers.

He spent that season and the next being shuttled back and forth between the NBA (where he appeared in 27 games for the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies) and its Development League. Never given much of a shot in the NBA, he looked to the then-named D-League as a place to best show he belonged.

Smith averaged 28 points and eight assists over the course of 22 games in the 2015-16 season. He scored a still-record 65 points in a game for the Delaware 87ers that March. Yet the NBA never came calling.

"I felt like I outperformed everybody, but the phone wasn't ringing the way it was supposed to be," Smith says. "I figured they forgot about me."

• Brendan McKay belted his first professional home run last night. You can watch it here.
• Tickets for the upcoming U of L women’s soccer season are on sale.
• L.D. Scott talks about making the transition from Louisville football player to Louisville football assistant.

• A 9-year-old in New Mexico recently tripped, fell, and discovered a million-year-old fossil. In a related story, I have a huge scar on my right shin that’s never going away from when I fell into a hole whole walking the dog before the Houston game last November. I’ll be reminded of Ed Oliver forever.
• This is good news.

• Other ACC players and coaches say Louisville and Lamar Jackson are a “tough out.” That quality should serve them well come March Madness time.
• Saturday Blitz previews the 2017 Louisville football team.
• Flawless execution

• We shouldn’t be ranking 9-year-old basketball players.
• Louisville appears to be in a strong place with Jamal Mashburn Jr.
• And finally, don’t go outside. Just don’t do it. It’s not worth it. Don’t go outside.