Wednesday evening Cardinal news and notes

—The Louisville women’s basketball team will play Arizona in “The Invitational” at the Sanford Pentagon on Nov. 12.

—After testing positive for Covid, Lamar Jackson was forced to miss the start of Ravens camp.

—Cole Bentley has been named to the Rimington Trophy watch list.

—Louisville football betting lines for the 2021 season from Sports Betting Dime:

—USA Today’s final NBA mock draft has David Johnson going 49th overall to Brooklyn.

—Heat Check CBB has Johnson as the last pick of the draft.

—Cameron Teague Robinson has Hassan Hall at No. 8 on the CJ’s countdown of the 30 most important Louisville football players of 2021.

—Mekhi Becton is not here for your nonsense.

—The Lexington Herald Leader’s John Clay believes that Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC is a positive for Kentucky football.

—ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks the stability of all 130 FBS programs and has Louisville all the way down at No. 115.

115. Louisville: 17.4 (8.5 coach stability, 4.3 roster stability, 4.6 performance stability).

Scott Satterfield’s Cardinals are bounce-back candidates this season after losing four one-score games during a 4-7 campaign last fall. But they’re currently 111th in returning production, they’ve lost 16 guys to the portal, and offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford left for the Atlanta Falcons. Combine that with the fact that they’ve ranked both ninth and 98th in SP+ within the past five years, and you’ve got a team that could defy any good or bad expectations this fall.

—U of L swimming had two Cardinals swimming at the Olympics on Wednesday and both advanced from the prelims.

—The ACCDN looks at (video) the conference’s best offensive football players.

—Jordan Nwora went off in his Olympic opener, but Nigeria dropped a hard-fought 99-92 contest against Germany. Nwora was 7-of-12 from three, pulled down seven rebounds and handed out three assists.

—The U of L women’s golf program has added Rob Bennett to its staff.

—Louisville is featured heavily in this Pro Football Focus piece on the evolution of the pistol offense in college football.

—This looks cool, but I still wish they’d raise the spires.

—Hayes Gardner of the CJ dives into just how much money local athletes might be standing to make off NIL.

—Fantasy Pros thinks Javian Hawkins could be a fantasy dynasty sleeper for 2021.

Javian Hawkins (RB – ATL)

The draft did not shine favorably on Hawkins. In the draft leadup, his explosive ability caught attention, but ultimately a 5’8″ 183 lbs frame found him undrafted. However, for an undrafted free agent, he could not have landed in a better situation.Atlanta possesses arguably the most wide-open depth chart in the league. Mike Davis

was the notable free-agent addition, coming off a career-best 642 yards in Carolina. However, at age 28 and with a career-long run of 37 yards, no one is going to confuse Davis with a speedster.

Hawkins offers enticing athleticism and deceptive speed. Tape study shows a player who moved better than his 4.45 40, and that is where the deception in Hawkins profile begins. Watching him brings visions of a back like Nyheim Hines, who we have seen ride passing game work to fantasy relevance. Therein lies the rub; Hawkins has topped one reception just three times during his entire college career. He is a work in progress, but he already paid the price for this shortcoming in draft capital, presenting a valuable opportunity should the role develop.

—Neeli Bendapudi is joining the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council.

—The legal troubles of American Pharoah owner Ahmed Zayat continue to grow.

—Remove the disastrous 0-8 campaign from 2018 and U of L has at least pulled its weight in the ACC.

—Cole Bentley might be “on the elderly side,” but his return to the Cardinal offensive line is enormous for the 2021 season.

—Former Cardinal pitcher Glenn Albanese has officially signed with the Angels.

—You should be able to see some meteors in the Louisville sky this evening.

—Denny Crum is spending part of his summer on Serengeti in Africa.

—From Forbes: Jaire Alexander is the NFL’s next great cornerback.

—Arizona Desert Swarm reacts to getting the Cards on their women’s basketball schedule.

—And finally, check out the latest episode of the From the Pink Seats podcast featuring our own Keith Wynne.