Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 1.5.

—GoCards.com recaps the U of L women’s team’s trouncing of Duke Wednesday night.

—Among other things, Saturday marks the last ride for Dez Fitzpatrick at Louisville.

—Not only are the Cards getting back on the court, but it sounds like Sam Williamson is a full go.

—Louisville is No. 23 in Gary Parrish’s daily hoops rankings for CBS.

—Les Johns answers some Wake Forest questions for the folks over at Cardinal Authority.

—Blogger So Dear previews the Cardinal defense.

—Best Twitter exchange of the day:

—Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Rick Green is stepping down from his post at The Courier Journal.

—In one of the funniest and most transparent moves I’ve ever seen, the 3-5 LSU Tigers announced on Dec. 9 that they are self-imposing a postseason ban for the 2020 football season. On his weekly radio show, Ed Orgeron said: “We felt this was the year to do it.”

Yeah, no shit.

—Boston College is the first bowl eligible team to announce that it’s opting out of the postseason this year.

Boston College has decided to opt out of a bowl game in 2020, with the team and administrators choosing to return home for the holidays instead. Boston College athletic director Dr. Patrick Kraft informed Yahoo Sports of the decision on Thursday, which marks the first bowl-eligible program to publicly announce they do not want to play in a bowl game.

BC finished 6-5 in head coach Jeff Hafley’s first season and were likely to play in either the Gasparilla Bowl or the Military Bowl, according to bowl projections. But after consulting with the team’s leadership council, BC officials decided to pass in part because of the “emotional, mental and physical grind” of playing the 2020 football season in a pandemic.

“It’s a road game, basically,” Kraft told Yahoo Sports of a bowl game. “The players would have to be away from their families for the holidays and it’s uncertain if families could come to the game. It’s different than the true bowl game experience.

“We wanted to make sure what was the best decision for us and the health and wellbeing of our student-athletes and make a decision that would really reward the athletes.”

—The KHSAA has voted to begin basketball, as well as other winter sports, practice on Monday, and actual game competition on Jan. 4

—I can’t believe Josh Pastner is a real person.

—The Pasnter as Michael Scott comparison only continues to grow stronger with age.

—The Los Angeles Rams have signed former Louisville long snapper Colin Holba to their practice squad.

—Big Red Louie lays out three things to watch for against Wake Forest.

—They’ll learn.

—Former Louisville women’s basketball standout Jill Morton is one of 18 women who have named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2021 Silver Anniversary Team.

—Louisville is “very much in the mix” (subscription) with class of 2022 shooting guard Donald Hand Jr. Hand’s father, Donald Hand Sr., was an All-American at Virginia.

—The Comfy Cow on Bardstown Rd. is closing up, which is a bummer.

—Not great!

—Louisville and Wisconsin are continuing to try and work out a reschedule date for their ACC-Big 10 Challenge matchup in Madison.

—Speaking of the ACC-Big 10 Challenge, the ACC bounced back from a 1-6 start on Tuesday by sweeping Wednesday’s four games.

Clemson 67, Maryland 51
Georgia Tech 75, Nebraska 64
Florida State 69, Indiana 67 (OT)
Pittsburgh 71, Northwestern 70

That brings the Big Ten’s lead down to 6-5, which means a Louisville win over Wisconsin (whenever the game is played) could be the Challenge equalizer.

—Mick Cronin continues to troll his former school.

—Thanks to poise and senior leadership, Louisville dismantled Duke on Wednesday night.

—Here’s what Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson had to say about Louisville during his weekly press conference.

—Cardinal Authority looks at the Louisville football seniors who might utilize the extra year of eligibility the NCAA is granting everyone.

—The 2022 Final Four in New Orleans has an official logo. It’s not Russ Smith wearing beads on Bourbon Street, but it should be.

—Bryan Brown and Rodjay Burns talked with the media after practice on Wednesday. Here’s what they had to say.

—Kenny Johnson and Jordan Fair are both continuing to push back against the NCAA’s accusations.

—And finally, Deadspin covers the story of how Norton Healthcare has been going the extra mile for Louisville athletes in the middle of a pandemic.