Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—ESPN has pulled out of media rights negotiations with the Big Ten, ending a 40-year relationship between the network and conference. This also means that the only way the ACC-Big 10 Challenge continues after this season is if ESPN airs the games played at ACC schools and another network (presumably Fox) airs the Big Ten home games.

—Mekhi Becton’s bad luck continues as the big man suffered a fractured kneecap on Monday that will likely force him to miss the entire 2022 season.

—Renato Brown is No. 24 on the ACC Digital Network’s countdown of the 25 best returning players in the conference.

—Competition among Louisville’s linebacking corps is heating up as the second week of fall camp rolls on.

—Marvin Dallas and Greg Gasparato spoke with the media following Monday’s practice.

—Pretty cool seeing Damion Lee, Steph Curry and the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at the U of L Golf Club yesterday.

—Louisville, along with Michigan and Florida State, has made the final list of three for class of 2023 DB Shawn Russ Jr.

—Lexington Frederick Douglass DT Jamarrion Harkless has decommitted from Illionois. Louisville was heavily involved with Harkless before his commitment.

—Louisville volleyball has some new threads for the upcoming season.

—Sports Illustrated has unveiled its annual “SI99” rankings, which rank the 99 best high school football seniors in the country. Louisville RB commit Rueben Owens makes this year’s list at No. 33.

—WLKY sports director Fred Cowgill is suing Trinity High School after he was injured on the sidelines while covering a Shamrocks game last August. Cowgill claims Trinity should have done more to protect him from the “skills, speed, power and athleticism of its players.”

—People don’t forget.

—Yesterday’s coaches poll indicates that Louisville has a tougher 2022 football schedule than Kentucky, writes Rick Bozich.

—New Louisville RB Tiyon Evans says having a son changed his perspective and his motivation when it comes to football.

—For those unfamiliar, this is THE big early season event in college baseball, and the crowds should be ridiculous.

—Congrats to Jarrod West on being named the Defensive Player of the Year in the New Zealand Basketball League.

—CardinalSports.com takes a closer look at the U of L offensive line.

—RIP to a Highlands legend.

—MoMo Sanogo has welcomed his leadership role on the Cardinal defense.

—The CJ’s Alexis Cubit takes a stab at predicting the U of L depth chart going into week one.

—Cardinal Authority ends its countdown of the 50 most important players for the upcoming U of L football season with the obvious choice at No. 1.

—Athlon’s anonymous coaches quotes series is back for another summer. Here’s what fellow ACC coaches had to say about Louisville:

“It’s win-now time. Other than Georgia Tech, this is the job that people think is going to come open in the league. You watch the coaching and player turnover stack up, and it seems like they’ve drifted from what made [Scott Satterfield] successful at Appalachian State.”

“Offensively, he’s still going to be calling plays, so I’m skeptical how different things are going to look with Lance [Taylor] as OC. They don’t seem settled on what they want to do with Malik [Cunningham]. It’s hard to figure out their identity, but it’s also hard to see what they want it to be.”

“Defensively, they’re very average at best. They don’t pressure much; they don’t have anyone up front who bothers you.”

“Probably the thing that jumps out most is how much they’ve worked the portal in both directions and how different that is from what Scott came from at App. Even as a G5, they had a system of developing guys, building a very specific culture, and the last few years it seems like they’re always scrambling to rebuild that roster and define themselves.”

“I think the school and the head coach figured out they’re not a great fit for each other a while ago, and there hasn’t been a way to create a break yet. He’s tried to get out and it didn’t work, and there have been issues at the school that have probably bought him some time up until now. Unless they surprise a lot of people, this feels like the end.”

It’s worth mentioning that these quotes were apparently compiled in February and March.

—After having to cancel its summer concerts in Louisville, My Morning Jacket will play at the KFC Yum Center on Halloween weekend.

—MVP of life.

—Vote for Ethan for the 2022 Shelter Dog Hero Award.

—A reminder that there are still tickets available to tomorrow night’s celebrity kickball tournament at Jim Patterson Stadium.

—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show is rolling from 3-6 this afternoon on 1450 The Big X. Wrestling legend Al Snow will join us in studio at 4 p.m. You can stream the show here.