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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- No. 19 Louisville is facing a different kind of opponent in its opener against upstart Charlotte after recently kicking off the season with the likes of Miami and Auburn.The Cardinals are 40-point favorites in Thursday nights matchup against the 49ers, who begin their second season of FBS play trying to end a 10-game losing streak. Thats asking a lot of Charlotte, which will face its first ranked foe. Add in that Louisville returns several players from a squad that won eight of its final 10 games, including the Music City Bowl.Louisville began the season 0-3, its worst opening since 1984 and players are determined to start better this season. With consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference games against Syracuse and No. 4 Florida State the next two weeks, the Cardinals hope all phases -- offense, defense and special teams -- click in a game theyre expected to dominate.Its no different, senior defensive tackle DeAngelo Brown said this week. Weve just got to focus on ourselves, what were doing as a team and do the things weve been coached to do.Louisville enters with more offensive stability thanks to the maturation of dual-threat sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson. Four of five linemen are back along with a seasoned receiver corps that has added former Cardinals quarterback Reggie Bonnafon to the starting lineup.Brown (40 tackles) is among several leaders on a Cardinals defense that also features leading tackler Keith Kelsey (107) and Devonte Fields (11 sacks). Not to mention, a veteran secondary.Charlotte also has experience that it hopes will translate into a more competitive season. The roster features 15 returning starters and more than two dozen seniors who helped the 49ers win their FBS debut against Georgia State before growing pains kicked in.Charlotte coach Brad Lambert hopes his team savors and builds on playing a Top 25 opponent- even if they are huge underdogs.Its a good challenge for us but I like where our guys are, Lambert said. What do we have to lose? Its going to be fun. We have an old team and an experienced team. ... Well go out, have some fun and enjoy the moment.---Here are other things to watch when Charlotte visits No. 19 Louisville:JACKSONS ACTIONS: Louisville sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson came a long way after having his first career pass intercepted on a failed trick play. Despite combining for 2,800 yards offensively with 23 touchdowns last season he vows to trust his protection more, recognize coverages better and become a better pocket passer. Coach Bobby Petrino is curious to see if those improvements counter Charlottes multiple defensive fronts. They will probably try to come after us, try to give him some different looks and bring pressure, Petrino said, so it will be good to see what happens.49ERS OFFENSE: Senior RB Kalif Phillips has rushed for school records of 3,113 career yards and 37 touchdowns -- including 961 last season. Charlotte will unveil a new QB in Kevin Olsen, a Miami signee who won the job last spring. He played last season at Riverside (California) City College.CARDS KICKING GAME: Sophomore Evan OHara takes over as Louisvilles place kicker while redshirt freshman Mason King handles punting duties. OHara has the tough job of succeeding reliable John Wallace, but Petrino said he has shown good height, distance and consistency in fall camp. King meanwhile has shown a quick release and good hang time while being pushed by fellow freshman Austin Johnson.OPENING BIDS: Last seasons loss to Auburn in Atlanta was Petrinos first opening-game defeat in 11 lifetime contests. He has won five of six openers in two stints with Louisville.---Follow Gary B. Graves on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GaryBGraves and APs College Football page at collegefootball.ap.org. Darnell Savage Jr. Youth Jersey . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Rashan Gary Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. http://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Ray-Nitschke-Jersey/ . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Brett Favre Womens Jersey . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. NBA players are pushing for more money in the next collective bargaining agreement -- for the players who came before them.Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, vice president of the National Basketball Players Associations executive committee, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the union has prioritized getting aid for retired players.The NBA and its players have agreed that the next CBA will include new league-funded programs to help retired players with education and medical expenses, four people with knowledge of the situation told the AP. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing.In exchange for those programs, and pending full approval from both sides, the split of basketball-related income would remain the same 50-50 deal as it is in the current agreement.Deciding how to divvy up the revenue pie was the biggest obstacle that led to the ugly lockout five years ago. But with that issue essentially taken care of this time around, negotiations have been much smoother as both sides look to reach an agreement on a new deal before the Dec. 15 deadline to opt out.For James, NBPA president Chris Paul and the rest of the union, taking care of those who are no longer playing is a worthy compromise for trying to recoup any of the financial ground lost during the 2011 labor dispute.We got a group of guys that are in there that know the negotiations, so any way to give back and try to help our former teammates and help former players and things of that nature, James said. Because weve all built this league together. No matter how big of a guy you were or if you were the 15th guy on the bench, we all built this league into what it is today. But its not just my idea. Im not taking any credit for that. But its all part of the process.Mike Glenn, a 10-year NBA veteran and a member of the National Basketball Retired Players Associations board of directors, said the CBA has dominated conversations among retirees for more than a year.Were very thankful to Chris Paul, LeBron and others who have provided the leadership to include us in the negotiations and have the foresight to see that theyll be us in a couple of years, said Glenn, currently an Atlanta Hawks analyst for Fox Sports Southeast. There are so many guys with medical issues who have had hip and knee replacements. With the cost of health care going up, it would be the biggest thing thats happened for retirees in 10 years.The CBA process will resume next week, when the league and the union meet ahead of the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, which begins Oct. 20. NBA commissioner Adam Silver and union head Michele Roberts met in Spain earlier this month, when the league had a preseason game there. Silver and Roberts -- along with other members of the negotiating committee -- are preparing to return to the bargaining table with both sides in deal-making mode.New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony?expressed optimism that a deal will get done before Dec. 15.Were working. Were working towards figuring out a solution and kind of how we want to work together, he said Thursday. Believe it or not, we dont want to strike and they dont want to strike. So the best thing to do is really figure it out sooner rather than later. We want to try to get something done. I think the NBA and the owners are very receptive to that, and we are, too. I think this time before we were so far away from eaach other.dddddddddddd You can feel the difference, you can see the difference, you can see the reaction, you can see the contact were having, the information thats being sent on both sides. I think were closer to getting something done. Hopefully itll get done soon.During the bitter negotiations of 2011 that resulted in the loss of 16 games for each team, the players ultimately accepted a decrease from 57 percent of basketball-related income to a band between 49 and 51 percent depending on a variety of economic factors for each particular season. After the league secured a new $24 billion television contract, franchise values skyrocketed. There was talk of the players opting out of the 10-year deal and seeking givebacks from the owners.But the talks between the owners and players this time around have been much more cordial.The influx of money has been key for the players, Anthony said.Were not going in there saying we want more money. We dont want to mess that up, Anthony said. We see how the league is growing, we see the growth of the league. We want to be a part of that. Theres certain things within the CBA that we would like to see as players of the union. So hopefully we can make something happen.There also is a trust level that was absent from previous talks, a factor that was only strengthened when the owners agreed to the new programs that will help players after their careers come to an end.James stressed that the medical and education programs benefiting retirees were not his idea alone, but a collective decision from the union to seek help for the players who helped make the league what it is today. Now, with so much revenue flooding the system to the benefit of both sides, the dialogue appears to be centered on the greater good over dollars and cents.I just want to see the league continue to grow; thats all that matters to me, James said. The players are a huge, huge piece, but we also know the owners have great minds as well. Our commissioner is great, but our league, our logo, the Jerry West logo is probably the most well sought-out, admired logo in the world, and weve got to figure out a way to keep it going, keep raising the bar. Thats my only concern.The new agreement is expected to include several other new elements as well, said the people with knowledge of the discussions.They said owners are pushing to give their teams more options to keep homegrown players in their organizations, a topic that came to the forefront after Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder to form a new super team with the?Golden State Warriors. One of the proposals, the people said, includes the possibility of adding a second five-year maximum contract. Currently, teams can offer only one five-year max contract, which can make it more difficult for teams to keep multiple stars happy.The people told the AP new elements also include an increase in the rookie salary scale to fall more in line with the surging salary cap, which was first reported by Yahoo Sports. The people also say two-way contracts that would pay players less when they are in the D-League and more when they are with their NBA teams -- a structure that has worked well in hockey for some time -- will be a part of the deal.ESPNs Ian Begley and The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '