will decide whether the Tigers are still a cha

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville coach Rick Pitinos concerns about the early season schedule causing his 12th-ranked Cardinals problems might be merited at some point.Right now, the Cardinals are handling non-conference opponents with surprising ease.Jaylen Johnson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Deng Adel added 11 points and Louisville jumped on Long Beach State quickly for an 88-56 blowout Thursday.The Cardinals (3-0) outscored the 49ers 23-2 over a 5:28 span in the first half for a 30-8 lead en route to their third straight 30-point win to open the season. Louisvilles height advantage made the difference on both ends as it controlled scoring in the paint 42-20 and rebounding 51-37.Louisvilles fast, effective start toward that end impressed Pitino enough to compare his teams effort to the 2013 NCAA championship squad, which is saying something this early in the season.That was really, really special to see, said Pitino, whose team made 11 of their first 14 shots before finishing at 45 percent (34 of 76) from the field. That was a clinic at the offensive end and a clinic at the defensive end.Johnson helped get the Cardinals going with 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half en route to his second double-double in three games.I just make sure Im more efficient, said Johnson, who made 7 of 11 from the field in 18 minutes.The 49ers (1-3) made just 18 of 61 from the field (30 percent) and couldnt slow the Cardinals in any phase while losing to their second ranked Atlantic Coast Conference foe in three days. Fifth-ranked North Carolina used a quick start to beat Long Beach State 93-67 on Tuesday night.It was similar because we just werent able to withstand that first blow to stay in the game, 49ers coach Dan Monson said. Once we got comfortable, its too late. Games over. You come on these road trips to try to put your kids in adversity to get them better and I dont feel like we handled it any better than we did Tuesday.Mangok Mathiang added 11 points and Ray Spalding had 10 for Louisville. The Cardinals blocked nine shots in winning the first of four games in the Battle 4 Atlantis that continues next week in the Bahamas.Evan Payne had 15 points and Gabe Levin added 12 for Long Beach State, which fell to 0-3 against the Cardinals.THE BIG PICTURELong Beach State: Just when the 49ers seemed capable of playing Louisville close at 7-6, they missed their next 10 shots and 14 of 16 overall in a drought that dug an insurmountable hole. That comes two nights after they trailed North Carolina 14-0. ... Long Beach State committed 19 turnovers leading to 25 Louisville points.Louisville: Good thing the Cardinals dominated the paint, because their perimeter shooting is still a work in progress. Adel and Donovan Mitchell (eight points) combined to make their first three attempts from behind the arc, but the team didnt make another until David Levitch and Ryan McMahon made both their attempts in the second half. Louisville still finished 7 of 20 from long range after entering the game 13 of 43 through two games. ... McMahon and Quentin Snider each had five assists for the Cardinals, who finished with at least 20 in consecutive games for the first time since 2010-11.POLL IMPLICATIONSBarring any movement by teams ahead of Louisville before Monday, next weeks Battle 4 Atlantis matchups could determine the Cardinals ranking for the following week.TIME MANAGEMENTTipoff was 4 p.m. to allow Louisville fans time to watch this game and the third-ranked football teams nationally televised contest at Houston with an 8 p.m. kickoff. Attendance was 14,337, down from the usual sellouts at the KFC Yum! Center.UP NEXTLong Beach State: The 49ers tough early season schedule continues with a visit to No. 16 UCLA on Sunday.Louisville: Continues play in the Battle 4 Atlantis against Old Dominion on Wednesday in the Bahamas.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Custom Ozzie Smith Jersey . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. Custom Padres T-shirts . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. http://www.custompadresjersey.com/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Cheap Custom Padres Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Custom Padres Jersey China . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Will Broncos persist with touch footy approach?The Broncos are back in form after they totally threw the shackles off last week in terms of the style of football theyre playing. But Im interested to see if they persist with that touch-football style theyre using.What they did last week in beating the Storm was avoid the wrestle and Im led to believe theyve been training this touch football style for about a month now. What it does is encourage players to stay in an active support role because they know theyve got to be prepared to take a pass at any time. The Broncos style is really difficult to defend against because it allows both Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford to hit multiple ball-runners.There were a couple of instances against the Storm when Broncos players controlled the ball in one hand, with superb skill, and showed a real willingness to keep the ball alive. Sam Thaiday threw an unbelievable pass at one stage that led to a try, and thats just great to see because I think coaches in the NRL can get overly conservative and too obsessed with completion rates.Thaidays pass showed the reward teams can get when they have a little more creative licence. But its all about recognising the right time to attempt those passes, too.So Im really looking forward to seeing if they continue this approach against the Roosters on Thursday night or whether they go back to more of a Wayne Bennett style, and play a more conservative, boring brand of football.Storms big chance to wow MelbourneObviously there are a couple of huge games to round out the season, and Im particularly excited to watch the Storm and Sharks face off for the minor premiership. The fact that the minor premiership will be decided in the final round is a great sign for our game.The Sharks finally returned to some form against the Roosters last weekend while the Storm, who had been the benchmark for the last 12 weeks or so, got blown off the park by the Broncos.ddddddddddddAnd the big kicker here is that there is no AFL this weekend, which should hopefully result in a near full-house for the Storm. Its a great opportunity for the Storm to showcase rugby league, and a big crowd would certainly help get them over the line against the Sharks.Paul Gallen was huge for the Sharks on his return last week and Cronulla will need another big game from him this week, too. Whatever the result, were going to get a really good idea if one or both of these sides can go on and lift the trophy in a few weeks time.All roads lead to Leichhardt OvalThe other game Im really looking forward to watching is the Tigers vs. Raiders. Obviously the game between the Cowboys and Titans will decide whether the Tigers are still a chance come Sunday. But if youre to go by the form guide, it looks like the Tigers will have everything to play for when they run out onto Leichhardt Oval.There will be a big crowd at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday afternoon, too. The Tigers have had a tough couple of years for a variety of reasons, and its been pretty amazing how theyve managed to turn what has been a pretty horrendous year into something special.As for Jason Taylor being justified in his decision not to play Robbie Farah, I think it has proven to be the right call even if they dont make the finals. The way the Tigers have played over the last four weeks; weve seen the development of Mitchell Moses and we know these young halves are the future. The extra responsibility seems to agree with Moses in particular, and he already seems to be a more confident player.Robbie was going to be on $900,000 next year and while that is a great deal for him, the club had to make a business decision and if the coach and player didnt get on then the coach had to take action. ' ' '