Wednesday morning Cardinal news and notes

—Rick Pitino’s new book, Pitino: My Story, is set to be released on Sept. 4.

Can we not just do it now? We’ve got stuff going on in September. We’ve got nothing going on now. Let’s just do it now.

—Former U of L standout Adam Duvall was traded from the Reds to the Braves Monday night. Dan McDonnell is a fan of the trade (for Atlanta, at least).

—Oh hell yeah. Horse racing-themed college football cover photo beef. Let’s do this.

In the starter’s gate ready to go with no horse to take them anywhere of value sounds about right.

That was a poorly thought out cover concept.

—Louisville will host Lipscomb at the KFC Yum Center on Dec. 12.

—Eat it, Oregon.

That’s for Cort Dennison.

—With the July evaluation period over, Jeff Greer has seven questions about Louisville basketball recruiting moving forward.

—Pat Forde and Pete Thamel lay out the five biggest questions pertaining to the ongoing(?) FBI probe into college basketball.

So, what’s next?

Expect another flurry of activity – witness lists, motions and pre-trial motions in the upcoming weeks. With the first trial coming closer, that also raises the chances of forthcoming plea deals. According to USCourts.gov, more than 90 percent of federal defendants plead guilty rather than go to trial.

On the ground level in college basketball, schools other than Louisville have chosen to close ranks around their head coaches and see what comes next. Numerous coaches and administrators on the July recruiting circuit wondered how new Auburn athletic director Allen Greene could give Bruce Pearl – who was famously fired at Tennessee for lying to NCAA investigators – a contract extension before the trial of former assistant coach Chuck Person ended. “The most disappointing thing to me is the lack of institutional accountability, and to some degree the lack of conference accountability,” one veteran college head coach told Yahoo Sports. “As everyone talks about doing things right, now it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. What are you going to do?”

In reality, little has changed on the summer recruiting circuit and in the coaching environment.

Ten months after the federal basketball investigation went public, the only certain thing is that clarity and resolution are still months away.

—Bill Connelly says that at Kentucky, Mark Stoops has been both a disappointment and a head coach who has met expectations. That’s perfect.

—Jaire Alexander talks (video) about building confidence at Packers camp.

—I enjoyed this guy’s tweet thread about ACC football programs as fast food chains.

—This Florida Gators football incident involved, among other things, a frying pan wielded as a weapon.

—Teddy Bridgewater’s future was in doubt not too long ago. It’s still up in the air at the present time, but now it’s as a potential wildcard QB candidate for a number of teams.

—Dave Lackford recaps Louisville’s Light Up The Ville event from last weekend.

—Kevin Durant thinks the NCAA’s recruiting changes are dumb.

1. Kevin Durant disagrees with NCAA recruiting changes

While Durant received the most attention at USA Basketball minicamp for his response to mercurial social media behavior, he also spoke passionately about his love for youth basketball and the process in getting to college.

I asked Durant his opinion on potential changes to the recruiting model. After all, he was an elite recruit before getting to Texas, sure, but also someone who was famously media-friendly from a young age and a player who’s supported grassroots basketball his entire career.

He doesn’t believe a switch to camps is going to help players.

”I think it’s important for grassroots basketball in general, they need a team setting in order to figure out how to play basketball,” Durant said. “I think taking that away, the coaches don’t really get to see their true value in they aren’t in the team setting. You might get a role player that might be just good at catch-and-shoot, but how would you know that at team camp? How could you know what guys would play what roles? I think, for basketball’s sake, it would be pretty stupid to not let the coaches be in here while these kids play.”

—You could lose an entire afternoon reading this list from The Ringer of The 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century. I haven’t seen No. 1 or No. 2, but a lot of my favorites (Cabo!) made the cut.

—Tickets to the U of L men’s soccer Kickoff Banquet (Aug. 17) are still available.

—The list of the payouts that Ohio State is making to its non-conference opponents over the next five seasons would make me embarrassed to be an Oregon State football fan.

—Did Cal cry? Tell me he cried.

He cried.

—Texas A&M starts preseason camp in two days, and Jimbo Fisher’s contract still isn’t finalized.

—A collection of football’s greatest fat guy touchdowns.

—It appears as though Russ Smith is headed back to China for another season.

—Jo Adell was a student at Ballard High School 14 months ago.

Kid is going to be a star.

—The Forde Yard Dash looks at the toughest and easiest schedules in college football (no mention of Louisville in either light).

—Busting Brackets says Louisville has a top 15 atmosphere in college basketball.

—Tracy Thacker ran into Desmond Howard on the Charles Bridge in Prague.

Des says Bama rolls, but we’ll see him in Orlando.

—In related new, an Orlando resident gives an Alabama radio show host reasons to be excited about coming to the city on Labor Day Weekend.

—Chris Mack and Reece Gaines in one shot?

Hang it in The Speed.

—Speaking of art ....

—ESPN’s first set of BPI rankings for the 2018-19 college hoops season have Louisville all the way down at No. 70.

—Hey, remember the McDonald’s Monopoly game? Well it turns out it became a huge scam where one guy’s friends were the only winners. Nothing you ever thought was good was actually good. Except for Freddie Mercury.

—Former U of L kicker John Wallace has an important message that all of us should keep in mind as we prepare to embark on another Cardinal football season.

—Donovan Mitchell says Grayson Allen was the toughest guy he ever went up against in college.

—The CJ lists some offensive position battles to watch as U of L gets ready to launch August camp.

—The era of Jawon Pass puns is already upon us.

—*State

—So it would appear as though LeBron’s kid is legit.

—BC Interruption welcomes Louisville to its Playa Haters Ball.

—The Louisville Cardinal takes a closer look at the U of L defensive line.

—What a shitty guy.

—Jeff Walz and the USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team open play at the 2018 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City on Wednesday night.

—According to FBschedules.com, Louisville will host James Madison at Cardinal Stadium on Nov. 5, 2022.

—And finally, happy August, kids. There won’t be another month without at least one college football or basketball game until next May.

We’ve made it. Almost. Sort of.