Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—The U of L women’s basketball team kicked off its run at the Global Jam with a 78-55 win over Puerto Rico Wednesday morning/afternoon. You can watch a full replay of the game here.

—Jack Payton was selected by the San Francisco Giants on the final day of the MLB draft.

—Jeff Brohm will conduct a press conference on Thursday (July 13) at 9:30 a.m. to provide the media a brief update of the team as it heads into fall camp in a few weeks.

—The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is now the Aflac Kickoff Game, and Louisville will be playing in the first one on Sept. 1 against Georgia Tech.

—This is very cool to see.

—At just 15 years old, Louisville native Tyran Stokes has staked his claim as one of the best high school basketball players in the country. What’s next for him?

—Bob Huggins has one less lawyer representing him now.

—ESPN has a fascinating (and lengthy) story on the leak of the Jon Gruden emails from a few years ago, and how it may have ultimately led to Dan Snyder’s resignation.

—Earl Clark says winning the TBT would be great, but wouldn’t erase the pain he still feels from Louisville’s 2009 Elite 8 loss to Michigan State.

Clark, 35, said that he could not resist another chance to play in Freedom Hall, an opportunity to team with younger former Cards like Russ Smith, Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan and the pursuit of the $1 million winner-take-all prize.

“Who wouldn’t want to go back and play in a place like Louisville?” Clark said.

“To be with the fans and just reconnect with the guys in Louisville. Just go out there and bring my family and let them experience the love and the things that we do in The Ville.”

I asked Clark if the TBT push was an opportunity to purge the memories of 2009.

“Absolutely not,” Clark said. “We officially dropped the ball. We had everything in our hands at that time and we just came up short. We were a great team that came up short and we’ve got to live with that.

“This is a whole new experience, a whole new energy. It’s a different team, even though we’re still representing the name on the front of the jersey.”

—ESPN’s Myron Medcalf looks at the 25 biggest “what ifs” from the last 25 years of men’s college basketball.

—C.L. Brown thinks the GLOBL JAM basketball tournament going on in Toronto right now could give a pretty good preview into what this season will look like for UK basketball, which could be playing without its two big men.

—Dennis simply does not miss in a picture.

—Seven of the biggest collectives in college sports are partnering to form a collaborative partnership called The Collective Association. The Athletic looks at what it means and what they’re trying to do.

—Tom Lane writes about Monique Reid joining the coaching staff at Bellarmine.

—It’s Lou City vs. Pittsburgh tonight at Lynn Family Stadium. Here’s a preview.

—Louisville Report wraps up the 2023 MLB draft from a U of L perspective.

—Top U of L baseball recruit Zion Rose is officially headed to Louisville after not hearing his name called in the MLB draft.

This will be the first year since Dan McDonnell’s arrival in 2007 that he hasn’t lost a single player from a recruiting class to the professional ranks.

—The Trinity golf team is spending this week sprucing up the facilities at Cherokee Golf Course a year after it nearly closed.

—Racing Louisville has unveiled a new billboard celebrating its six players who are participating in the World Cup.

—A local AAU volleyball team has won its second straight national championship.

—This is awesome.

—A musical about Muhammad Ali’s life is headed to Broadway, but it will premiere in Louisville first.

—Commonwealth Credit Union and U of L have ended their partnership.

—And finally, Keith Wynne will join me in studio for this afternoon’s Mike Rutherford Show on 1450 The Big X. You can stream it here or by calling (518) 931-1125.