Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 2.5.

—Malik Cunningham has “concussion-like symptoms,” and his status for Saturday’s game against Virginia is up in the air.

—Matt McGavic of Louisville Report serves up some closing thoughts on Louisville’s loss to Boston College.

—State of Louisville has a great deep dive on whether or not a coaching change is financially viable for Louisville football.

—The advanced stats from Saturday’s game show just how lucky Louisville was to even have a shot at winning. They pretty much got their ass kicked.

—Great story here about a PRP soccer senior who was the victim of a random shooting around Christmas, and eight months later has returned to the pitch.

—BC Interruption looks at the crucial plays from Saturday’s upset of Louisville.

—David Cobb of CBS says Louisville was one of the biggest losers of the college basketball offseason.

Loser: Louisville off to slow start under Payne

The buzz over Kenny Payne’s hiring as coach sure died down quickly. The Cardinals did little this offseason to inspire confidence that the on-court product will significantly improve following last season’s 13-19 (6-14 ACC) debacle. More specifically, the roster’s glaring lack of quality guards could be an issue after Louisville failed to land back court help through the transfer portal. A couple of four-star commitments from the Class of 2023 are an encouraging sign, but five-star guard DJ Wagner is the big prize that Payne needs to energize the program.

—The U of L swim and dive seasons started on Friday with a pair of sweeps of Xavier.

—The 15th-ranked Louisville men’s soccer team scored a 1-0 win over NC State on Friday.

—The Athletic’s college hoops staff ranks the head coaches in the sport by tier.

—The second-ranked Louisville volleyball team rolled to a 4-set win over No. 11 Georgia Tech on ESPN Sunday afternoon.

—Will Stein makes The Athletic’s list of 37 FBS assistants who are on their way up in the coaching world.

—The ACC Digital Network gives us three things to know (video) about the ACC football season thus far.

—A Monday report on systemic abuse in the NWSL revealed some horrifying activity from within Racing Louisville FC. You can read the report here.

—Kind of hilarious.

—Here’s a quick look at how former Louisville players in the NFL fared this past weekend.

—Brett McMurphy has dropped Louisville from his bowl projections.

—The U of L women’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 14 Pitt on Saturday.

—Good stuff.

—Did Saturday mark the beginning of the end of the Scott Satterfield era? It certainly felt like it.

—Cardinal Authority says three stats from Saturday tell the story of Louisville’s loss to Boston College.

—Jeff Greer’s latest hoops newsletter has some interesting nuggets from the recently released College Basketball Almanac.

* I finally got the chance to read a bit of The Almanac, the ambitious preseason preview magazine put together by my pals at The Field of 68, of which my podcast is a small part. I highly recommend the purchase — this thing is 814 pages jam-packed with info, including projected rotations and some really interesting little tidbits about every team.

In Louisville’s team section, Kenny Payne acknowledges “the lack of having a large number of guards and playmakers” and says Jae’Lyn Withers and Kamari Lands will be used to help initiate offense.

“I’m not saying those guys have to be a point guard,” Payne said. “But they just have to make plays and handle the ball at times.”

This was the vision Chris Mack had for Withers, but last season was a significant disappointment for the now-redshirt junior. This campaign is a big chance to bounce back.

* Payne also talks about defensive scheme versatility and possessing a roster that can do a lot of mixing and matching, which is something we discussed in this newsletter last week. Think zones, fullcourt pressure, halfcourt pressure, trapping, etc.

“I can do a lot of different things with this group,” he said.

* One last note on The Almanac’s Louisville section: Lands at shooting guard and a Withers-Brandon Huntley-Hatfield-Sydney Curry frontcourt? That’s the starting lineup around El Ellis that The Almanac posted. That, my friends, is very interesting. And tall.

—Current Card Norika Konno and former Card Emily Engstler will both be playing in the upcoming FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup.

—Top Golf Louisville is expected to open some time in the next seven weeks.

—Five-star class of 2024 wing Karter Knox is the latest blue chip recruit to confirm that he’ll be attending Louisville Live later this month.

—RIP to an Olympic legend.

—Kenny Payne has offered five-star center Flory Bidunga from the class of 2024.

—D1Baseball.com is counting down the top 100 programs in college baseball and has Louisville at No. 6.

—Manual vs. St. X tops the list of the best high school football games in the area for this week.

—Get to know Cardinal freshman Devin Ree:

—Both El Ellis and Fabio Basili appear to be impressing Kenny Payne during the early days of practice.

—Ellis, specifically, has “embraced Louisville basketball,” according to Payne.

—Eric Crawford shares his thoughts on the dedication of Denny Crum Hall.

—Jawon Pass is now a member of the XFL.

—Arthur Albiero has turned Cardinal swim and dive into a monster.

—Congrats to Lamar Jackson on being named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month.

—Virginia’s 247 site identifies five Cavaliers to watch during this Saturday’s game against Louisville.

—The Louisville Cystic Fibrosis Climb returns to Cardinal Stadium this weekend.

—LJ Nesbitt shares his thoughts on Louisville’s loss to BC.

—The CJ’s J.L. Kirven writes about Dani Busboom-Kelly juggling the challenges of being a new mother and the coach of the No. 2 volleyball team in the country.

“I brought him to camp this summer and as soon as we walked into the gym, he started smiling,” Busboom Kelly said. “I was wondering if he had heard the balls bouncing and whistles for nine months when he was in the womb. It felt like he was pretty comfortable in the gym.”

Boone had the best seat in the house for U of L’s historic 2021 season. The Cardinals (32-1) went undefeated in the regular season, were ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history and advanced to the Final Four, where they lost to eventual national champion Wisconsin. Busboom Kelly was named ACC coach of the year, the ACVA’s national coach of the year and the Cardinals established themselves as a national power all while she was pregnant.

Expectations this season have been even higher. Busboom Kelly’s used to that, though. Ever since leading the Cardinals to an ACC title in her first season, she’s felt Louisville could one day be a program worthy of the national stage.

Falling short last season has only strengthened that belief.

“We learned last year what it takes to get there and how hard it is, but also how rewarding it can be,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s rewarding when you see all your hard work come together and come to fruition. We also use the disappointment of the last match as fuel for this year. We know that we’re a program that has a chance to win a national championship.”

—Scott Satterfield moves up to a 4 in CBS’ hot seat rankings.

—The old Courier Journal building is being sold for $11.3 million.

—This is about as defeated as we’ve seen Satterfield look.

—The Fayetteville Observer has Louisville at No. 12 in its latest ACC power rankings.

—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show continues the fun form 3-6 this afternoon on 1450 The Big X. You can stream the show here.