Tuesday evening Cardinal news and notes

—We made it to August, boys and girls. Now we won’t have to experience a full month without at least come college football and/or basketball until May, 2018. That is fun.

—SB Nation’s first bowl projections for 2017 have Louisville playing Texas in the Camping World Bowl.

—We now know exactly why Chris Johnson was kicked off the Louisville football team, and, uhh .... his dismissal was certainly warranted.

Chris Williams, the former Louisville Cardinals defensive lineman, was charged with a felony for stealing money from his teammate's bank accounts.

Williams is charged with three counts of theft by deception, according to an arrest citation from Univerity of Louisville Police.

Williams did not return a request for comment.

The three victims were teammates Robbie Bell, Tobias Little and Caleb Tillman. Williams is accused of tricking them into giving him their bank account information and taking $2,300 from them, according to the arrest citation. The incident occurred on April 27. Williams was arrested June 23.

—You can catch Jerry Smith in the semifinals of “The Basketball Tournament” tonight at 7 on ESPN. His Team Challenge ALS squad will take on Scarlet & Gray, a team of former Ohio State players.

—The NCAA refused to believe a player's family could afford a car, so he had to pull out the receipts in order to restore his eligibility. This place is so screwed up.

—In related news, an NC State basketball player might have to sit out this entire season because he went to class.

—Pretty sweet commemorative 1986 national championship coke bottle sent in by Michael Gatton of Danville:

—ESPN serves up a quick guide to the 2017 college football season.

—Akoy Agau will wrap up his college career at SMU, a place former Mustang star and recent NBA Draft pick Semi Ojeleye convinced him to go.

—How bad are things for Georgetown basketball right now? The Hoyas were replaced by DePaul in the Phil Knight Invitational, which is set to be the premier early season tournament in college basketball this season.

—When you get replaced by DePaul in a tournament, you have to make a public statement.

Best day in a long time for John Thompson III.

—Bowling Green standout Justice Dingle, a 2018 linebacker, committed to Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

—I thought this was an interesting read from National Geographic on just how good a small amount of time spent in nature can be for your mental health.

A 15-minute walk in the woods causes measurable changes in physiology. Japanese researchers led by Yoshifumi Miyazaki at Chiba University sent 84 subjects to stroll in seven different forests, while the same number of volunteers walked around city centers. The forest walkers hit a relaxation jackpot: Overall they showed a 16 percent decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 2 percent drop in blood pressure, and a 4 percent drop in heart rate. Miyazaki believes our bodies relax in pleasant, natural surroundings because they evolved there. Our senses are adapted to interpret in- formation about plants and streams, he says, not traffic and high-rises.

All this evidence for the benefits of nature is pouring in at a time when disconnection from it is pervasive, says Lisa Nisbet, a psychology professor at Canada’s Trent University. We love our state and national parks, but per capita visits have been declining since the dawn of email. So have visits to the backyard. One recent Nature Conservancy poll found that only about 10 percent of American teens spend time outside every day. According to research by the Harvard School of Public Health, American adults spend less time outdoors than they do inside vehicles—less than 5 percent of their day.

“People underestimate the happiness effect” of being outdoors, Nisbet says. “We don’t think of it as a way to increase happiness. We think other things will, like shopping or TV. We evolved in nature. It’s strange we’d be so disconnected.”

Ok but sometimes it’s really hot.

—Only 13 non-power-conference players cracked the top five in Heisman voting since 1992. That’s the trend Houston’s Ed Oliver (shudder) is going up against.

—It’s pretty clear that something is going on with Devonte Fields. First was surprisingly not drafted, then he was surprisingly not invited to any NFL training camps, now he has been signed to a CFL practice squad and released less than 24 hours later.

—The Sporting News has an exclusive with Lamar Jackson, who talks about his disdain for people who say he might play wide receiver in the NFL, and also that not having a lot of Heisman hype (even as the reigning winner) is a good thing.

Jackson might leave after his junior year, or he could stay and develop for the next level. Yet the focus doesn't seem to be on him heading into 2017. There's not much Heisman hype for the returning Heisman winner. It seems almost out of place.

"One of the reasons for the absence of hype in him is because he hasn't got in a bunch of trouble," Goodbread said. "Johnny Manziel did. From that standpoint, a quiet offseason is a good thing. Once they start playing football in September, it will get crazy enough."

There's that word again. Jackson allowed himself to ponder what it would be like to be called up to the podium again at the Heisman Trophy ceremony. He smiles again and recalls the path that put him in that position last year.

What if Jackson joined Griffin in that super-exclusive club of two-time Heisman winners someday?

"That would be crazy," Jackson said. "I'd have a lot more to say if anything. But that would be crazy, because he's the only person to have ever done it. I won it my sophomore year, and to come back and junior year — I don't want to say hopefully — but I hope if my name is called I'd be prepared."

—All Things ACC says Louisville’s secondary is locked in for 2017.

—Jay Bilas says LaVar Ball is actually bad, which is the same side I lean towards.

—Pat Forde serves up 40 schedule observations for the 2017 college football season.

—See? Millionaire athletes are just like us.

—JUCO RB Greg Bell, who recently visited U of L, announced on Twitter Tuesday that he’ll be making his college decision on Aug. 22. Bell, who is the top-ranked junior college RB in the country, was offered by the Cards on Tuesday.

—Former Cardinal Nick Solak has been promoted to Double-A Trenton in the Yankees organization.

—ESPN has Lamar Jackson at No. 6 in its countdown of the 50 best players in college football. Derwin James of Florida State is No. 1.

—Always great to see a former Card on a billboard.

—And on the 8th day of Vikings training camp, Teddy threw.

—Marvin Bagley reclassifying would have a huge effect on the 2017-18 college basketball season. Luke Winn examines the situation.

—Gerald Christian has signed with the Arizona Cardinals.

—Brandon Radcliff worked out for the Pittsburgh Steelers today.

—The U of L football video team recaps the first day of practice.

—Every year, this is the first and worst list of the top players in college basketball.

—Former U of L and Butler High standout Kyle McGrath had to wait a long time to make his MLB debut, but that wait was worth it.

—This story on soccer and the pursuit of meaning inside the world’s third-largest refugee camp is tremendous.

—Teddy Bridgewater is a very good dog.

—Brendan McKay struck out four over two hitless innings in his professional pitching debut.

—How has the ACC caught the SEC? Among other things, it has hired great, veteran coaches.

—Tickets to the Petrino Family Foundation pregame party in Indianapolis on Sept. 2 are now on sale.

—Kid is unreal.

—The 2017 hype continues to mount for DeVante Parker, who is in “phenomenal shape.”

—Jeff Greer talks four big U of L basketball recruiting questions with Scout’s Evan Daniels.

—It’s indescribably beautiful.

—Trevon Young says not to worry about him because “I’m Wolverine.” That’s comforting.

—And finally, the C-J has a quick update on Deng Adel, who should be back to full strength by the end of this month.