Your weekly dose of Notre Dame news, opinion, and other stuff.

3 News Stories

#1 Sorsby Drama Continues

Of course, this week we have to lead off with the latest news surrounding Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby. A judge’s decision on Monday ruled Sorsby eligible for the 2026 season, causing chaos and outrage throughout the country. Now, teams want to stop scheduling Texas Tech, maybe back out of games, and perhaps lead a boycott of all the Red Raiders’ sports teams.

Who knows how this will shake out, but one question remains for me. Is Sorsby really worth this headache for Texas Tech? If he does end up playing he’s going to be reviled as an individual college football player in a way that we haven’t seen in years. Every mistake will be magnified. The boos and taunting are going to be deafening. I really question whether Texas Tech thinks Sorsby can overcome the magnifying glass that he’s going to be living under and continue to be a high level quarterback.

Tech could kick Sorsby off the team, imagine that. 

Then again, Tech’s schedule is pretty accommodating and he really wouldn’t even have to play that well for them to make the playoffs. Perhaps that’s all the program is thinking about now–keep the ball rolling forward. However, I think if he plays the odds that something else happens, maybe an off-field arrest or additional drama, will increase. That’s my feeling at least.

#2 Older Guys 

A while back I wrote an article HERE talking about how the proposed age eligibility rules being pondered by the powers that be could have a big change in the world of hockey. Well, it looks like there’s been enough pushback that the proposed rules will be changed, at least a little bit.

From ESPN:

The cabinet removed language about starting an athlete’s eligibility clock after their high school graduation. The proposal now says the clock will start upon initial full-time enrollment in college or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

The adjustment would apply to all sports and comes after recommendations from stakeholders in men’s ice hockey, men’s basketball and the service academies. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced this week they had raised concerns with the NCAA because players are often older when they enroll after first spending time at the junior level or at a prep school.

It’s not a huge change but probably enough to satisfy both sides of the aisle here. The NCAA is going to stop the insanely old guys playing college sports while also allowing the culture of some of these sports to continue developing players in other leagues before arriving on campus.

The plan for 5 years of eligibility over 5 years looks to remain on track, too.

#3 Swamp Upgrade

I remember the good old days when there was consternation surrounding Notre Dame spending $400 million, and later revised up to $500 million, on the Crossroads project that was completed back in 2017. Ten years on, the Florida Gators will begin a renovation of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium that will take 3 years and cost $1.45 billion. That just about doubles the previous record for the most expensive stadium renovation in college football history.

From the announcement I noticed they are making the luxury boxes open air instead of behind glass. Will the blue hairs in the Swamp be okay with that?

Uniform of the Week

Of course the Notre Dame fan says this, but I think most of us can agree that college football teams these days have too many different helmets. This week I was looking at the Nevada Wolf Pack who have a pretty unique traditional wolf logo and also some nifty looking script “Pack” logos, too. I noticed they have worn these “N” helmets a few times in recent years and thought this looked so boring. I am strictly anti-generic letter helmet logos for all but a select few college football programs.

A helmet logo not needed.

The uniform above is from a few years ago and Nevada thankfully have moved on from their dated shoulder stripes to a more traditional uniform. However, I see their “N” logo and all I can think about if Navy. To my surprise, Nevada wore this helmet logo from 1966 through 1984 (with a few exceptions where they didn’t randomly instead opting for a blank blue helmet) and then also for one season out of the blue in 2000, as well. So there is some history behind it, at least.

Media

Is there a term for someone who enjoys watching others prepare food and discover new recipes but has not desire to actually follow through and cook themselves? Lazy, maybe! That’s me, so many food shows are interesting to me, especially when tied to culture, and yet I always search for the quickest route to prepare food and get a meal completed. I’m a foodie with my eyes but not my stomach. Maybe what pulls me toward Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy is he gets to watch others prepare food for him and travel all over a beautiful country. Sounds awesome!

“In Tucci in Italy (Season 2, Episode 1), Stanley Tucci visits the Campania region and highlights a fascinating cucina povera (peasant cooking) dish: spaghetti with sea rocks. The dish uses ocean rocks covered in green algae to naturally impart a rich, briny seafood flavor to the pasta water without needing actual shellfish.”

The first episode of season 2 really stuck with me. This chef was making spaghetti and then took these HUGE rocks and put them in an enormous pan to add flavor to the pasta. It seems gross, but must taste pretty good. They topped it off by sitting down outside, with this gigantic pan, and then ate the pasta without a plate or anything.

Tunes

My top 3 favorite drummers have remained John Bonham, Carter Beauford, and Stewart Copeland. I don’t listen to DMB that much these days and Led Zeppelin are such a massive artist that even though Bonham tops many lists of the best drummer of all time, I see so much beyond that. On the contrary, for The Police, that group is so developed around Copeland’s drumming that they are a rare band (similar to Rush for me) that are a percussion-first and drum-driven group.

I also think what’s appealing about Copeland is he plays the drums the way I’ve always wanted to play them. Intricate, delicate, a weird groove, super loud at times, light, and always fun. “Driven to Tears” has always been a good example of Copeland carrying the band musically. Sting plays a very basic bass line, Andy Summers isn’t doing a whole lot (and plays a pretty egregiously bad guitar solo!), but it’s Copeland driving and making this song noteworthy.

One More Thing

The first time I saw a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine was inside a Five Guys maybe 15-ish years ago. I am not kidding it’s one of the most proud moments of being an American in my adult life. Damn near saluted the machine before devouring a bacon cheeseburger and seven pounds of fries. I am a staunch advocate that pouring your own drink from the beverage fountain, and crucially getting that refill on your way out, is a cherished part of the American way of life.

Proud to be an American.

I was at Wegman’s recently, one of the top places that has a Freestyle machine, and they had removed it completely. Devastation. In its place sat a small jug of water. America weeps. I know the Freestyle machines were broken a lot and probably expensive to operate and maintain. But we’re going backwards as a society. McDonald’s is pulling their self-serve soda fountains from their stores and it’s sad. Anytime I see a place that still has self-serve it brings a smile to my face. It’s the little things in life.