Tuesday morning Cardinal news and notes

• Jerry Smith’s Challenge ALS team has advanced to the semifinals of the $2 million “The Basketball Tournament.” Smith dropped 23 points in the quarterfinals against a team of former Gonzaga players. I caught about 10 minutes of the game and can confirm that he’s still violently waving towels when he’s on the bench.

Challenge ALS takes on Scarlet & Grey (a team of former Ohio State players) on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Here’s the updated tournament bracket.

• U of L swimmers Kelsi Worrell and Mallory Comerford combined to set an American record-setting gold medal swim in the 4x100 free relay at the first day of finals at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest on Sunday. Worrell earned the bronze in the 100 fly on Monday.
• Four-star DT Jacob Lacey has Louisville in his top six.

• The Miller brothers have scheduled a Indiana-Arizona basketball series.
• Drew Ellis went deep on Sunday and damn near killed a guy who should have brought a glove with him to the stadium.

• The Game of Thrones scorecard for Sunday night’s episode is here.
• Urban Meyer doesn’t “think there’s a gap at all” between the Big Ten and the SEC. I’ll just assume that he believes both are a safe distance behind the ACC.
• Stacy Thomas is awesome.

• SB Nation’s Bill Connelly previews Miami, which is picked to win the Coastal Division for the 75th consecutive season.
• Speaking of which ...

Paul Johnson tossin’ some July darts.

• Sports Illustrated lists the ACC as the third best conference in college football heading into the 2017 season.

3. ACC

Teams in 2016 final AP Poll: Five—Clemson (1), Florida State (8), Virginia Tech (16), Miami (20), Louisville (21)

Appearances in College Football Playoff: Three

Appearances in New Year’s Six bowls since 2014 season: Six

TV deal: $3.6 billion over 12 years, began in 2011, extended through 2035-36 school year with announcement of ACC Network in 2016

Clemson and Florida State’s ascension into the ranks of perennial contenders the past few seasons has done a lot for the ACC’s profile, and having last year’s Heisman winner still among its ranks certainly doesn’t hurt. Plus, the conference is about to get another level of exposure when the ACC Network launches in full force in 2019. With Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, Bobby Petrino and Mark Richt, the conference has its fair share of big-name coaches, and Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente is one of the fastest risers in the game; his teams have finished ranked in the top 25 in two of the last three seasons. (Memphis was No. 25 in 2014, Virginia Tech No. 16 in 2016.) The conference also fared well in its bowl schedule, winning nine of the 12 postseason games in which its teams played. There’s still a pretty precipitous drop-off on the way to the bottom of the league, and teams’ strength of schedule in recent seasons has been only so-so.

The Big Ten is No. 1.

• U of L rising senior Nicole Woods helped USA Field Hockey to the FIH World League Semifinal title Sunday in South Africa.
• The ACC video board game is lackin’ just a bit.

• Bobby Petrino says Reggie Bonnafon is “the ultimate team player.”
• ESPNU is airing and counting down the top 10 college football games of 2016 this weekend. Louisville-Clemson is No. 5.

• CBS’ Matt Norlander lists 25 college hoops players with something to prove this season. None of them are Cardinals.
• Last weekend’s Courage Camp was a huge success for the Petrino Family Foundation.
• Put him in a cell.

• Former Cardinal Nick Solak is doing it all in the minor leagues.
• Athlon lists Mike Summers as the No. 2 offseason assistant hire in the ACC. Peter Sirmons is No. 3.
• The groom’s cake trend of 2012 was a good one.

• The Louisville Cardinal previews Louisville’s special teams for 2017.
• Old English L cummerbund? That’s a double slap to your humble narrator’s face.

• Rubbing the Rock, a Clemson site, previews the 2017 Louisville football team.
• A Mississippi State fan was reportedly the first to discover the call former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze made to an escort service.
• This is actually just a creative slam.

• U of L is among the leaders for Florida cornerback Stanley Garner.
• Trinity guard David Johnson says Louisville continues to show the most interest in him.
• Eat it, Big Ten.

• A five-star Texas recruit says Longhorn practices under Charlie Strong were “kind of dead,” which is strange to hear for anyone who watched his Louisville practices.
• And finally, Louisville gets odds from Bovada to make the College Football Playoff.

Will Louisville make the 4-team playoff?

Yes +1000 (10/1)

No -2500 (1/25)

Clemson is 6/1 and Florida State is 7/5. Kentucky did not receive odds. Don’t tell their locker room decorator.