Your weekly dose of Notre Dame news, opinion, and other stuff.
Top News
Former Notre Dame All-American basketball star and Irish athletic director Dick Rosenthal passed away on June 11th.
The Big 12 is considering a private equity investment of up to $1 billion and 20% stake in the league.
The bowl season will begin on the same day as the Army-Navy game. On Saturday, December 14th the Cricket Celebration Bowl (definitely a real thing) will begin at Noon ET followed by Army-Navy at 3 PM ET and then the Camellia Bowl caps off the night at 9 PM ET.
The NCAA has approved on-field sponsor logos.
Former Ole Miss and Southern Miss defensive back MJ Daniels was shot and killed in Hattiesburg this past Tuesday.
LSU running back John Emery is remaining in Baton Rouge after entering his name in the portal this spring.
Uniform of the Week
I think we may have discovered Nike’s new thing for college football. A week after detailing changes to Baylor’s new uniforms, we have pretty much the same change coming further up north at Minnesota. Row the boat, guys. The pattern on the helmet stripe remains–I think it’s supposed to be in the pattern of an oar? Like wood or something? I’m not 100% sure on that and did not fact check this. Whatever, the helmets look the same as before.
Minnesota actually had pretty basic uniforms in recent years, the one thing they were known for was really wide and loud white trim on their home maroon jersey. Now, that’s gone. In its place and on the other uniforms are the traditional football stripes coming across the shoulders and down the pants. It looks nice, but just like I said with Baylor this isn’t something that looks inherently Minnesota to me. This is a very European soccer move from Nike, where they tend to create the same design templates for dozens of teams across the sport.
Recruiting
Penn State picked up a huge commitment from Mater Dei corner Daryus Dixson (0.9525).
Defensive lineman Jaylen Williams (0.9138) committed to Michigan.
Interior lineman Michael Carroll (0.9295) gave a verbal to Alabama.
Another interior lineman came off the board as Ziyare Addison (0.9239) committed to Oregon.
Georgia Tech grabbed cornerback Dalen Penson (0.9367).
Safety prospect Tariq Hayer (0.9337) committed to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights also added wide receiver Michael Thomas (0.9268).
Linebacker Mason Posa (0.9188) committed to Wisconsin.
Safety Todd Robinson (0.8953) is headed to Georgia. The Dawgs also picked up defensive lineman Christian Garett (0.9422).
YouTube Channel
There are 2 things I thought about all the time as a kid in the car. One, that there should be some form of notification system on the outside mirrors alerting the driver about someone in their blind spot. At least 10 years ago or longer this feature became commonplace in new vehicles. The other thing I’ve wondered about for 35+ years is why we don’t have more sophisticated measures for doing construction repairs on roads and highways. Instead, America seems to do the opposite and likes to slow down traffic, cut off lane usage, even when live construction isn’t going on.
Creating a temporary bridge over the construction project was 100% something my kid brain thought should be happening. Well, at least in Switzerland these people have figured out how to implement a system like this. I’d be curious to see the safety aspect to the mobile bridge and how it affects the safety of workers and the flow of traffic. Us crazy Americans would probably create some horrific accidents on these bridges sadly.
Tunes
Last week, we were talking about the Apple Music top 100 albums of all-time and ya’ll didn’t mention that Sean Paul was shockingly snubbed from the list. I kid, but in the category of You Want One of the Songs from This Album to Come on at the Club rankings it’s tough to beat Paul’s offering from November 2002 Dutty Rock. It’s a certified classic. Back when album sales meant something this bad boy sold over 6 million copies.
I’ve never looked at the names Jodi and Rebecca the same since this song came out. I had a friend in high school who was born and raised in Bermuda and claimed to understand every bit of Sean Paul’s Jamaican Patois which I protested there was simply no way anyone could do that. Check out the lyrics to this song on Genius or wherever, it’s a wild ride of how to spell things differently than English.
Trivia
Sneaky tough one this week. Can you name the 5 power programs that Notre Dame currently has at least a 2-game losing streak against?
The Other Football
Manchester United have announced that Erik Ten Hag will stay as club manager.
The 2024 edition of the European soccer championship kicks off this Friday from Germany. The last tournament was won by Italy over England in penalties back in 2020. Here’s a full schedule:
Not to be outdone, the Copa America 2024 starts next Thursday before our next Rambler will be published. The United States are hosting the tournament with Argentina being the defending champions. Here’s a full schedule:
In a Copa prep friendly, the United States drew Brazil 1-1 in Orlando.
Thiago Motta has been hired as the new manager at Juventus after leading Bologna.
TV & Movies
Coming home from a ladies night, Mrs. 18S notified she wished to watch Bridgerton on Netflix. I’ve only known anything about the show through a couple of people I follow on Instagram who have posted things relating to the series, its story, and actors over the last few years. I knew nothing of the plot. While I work on things like these articles I paid attention to the first few episodes. My initial thought so far…is this show well written??
It comes from a series of books and it’s now a Shondaland production for Netflix. Usually that’s a winning combination. Obviously, the show is doing really well in its 3rd season. It seems like a pretty basic soap opera to me but wrapped in some really awesome set design and costume work. I marvel at how sunny they make London seem. That alone is worth an award!
A Look Back
Fantasy camps are hilarious to watch. Recently, Notre Dame held their camp inside Rock’s House and I have some thoughts. One, we don’t appreciate how well college athletes fill out a football uniform until you see normal dudes slapping on pads and tights. Two, when normal people are throwing and running it really puts into focus how large the football field is for mere mortals. A throw across the field is nearly impossible to complete.
I am dying with the guy interviewed at the 1 minute mark about how real the game was out there. In the trenches it was a real game! Look at Cam Williams’ face as he’s conducting this interview! Then, there’s always the one camper who is just a little too athletic and good to be out there clowning bums.
18S Paddock Club
Well, well, well we got one hell of a banger in F1 this past weekend in Montreal. The practice sessions were slowed by consistent rain and when we got to qualifying several drivers didn’t look comfortable with their set up and lap times.
*For only the 2nd time in F1 history, two drivers set identical times for pole position. Both George Russell (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished Q3 with times of 1:12.000 but since Russell set his lap first he grabbed pole position.
*The track was damp at the start of the grand prix with everyone starting on intermediate tires, except the Haas cars who chose wets. Those full wets allowed Kevin Magnussen to shoot up from 14th to 4th place very quickly before the track dried out and forced a pit stop.
*Russell pulled away in 1st and held the lead for a while with Verstappen and Lando Norris in chase. On lap 20, Norris passed Verstappen and then took the lead from Russell a lap later. Just afterward, Verstappen passed Russell for P2.
*A Safety Car from, you guessed it, Logan Sargeant gave us the key pit stop strategy of the race. Norris missed the pit wall as the yellow flags initially flew while Verstappen and Russell dipped in immediately for fresh inters. By the time Norris got to pit, he fell down to P3.
*On lap 45, Verstappen and Russell pit again but Norris waited. After taking the lead again, Norris was once more passed by Verstappen and Russell after he switched tires. A late Safety Car from a Sainz-Albon collision didn’t mix things up too much as Verstappen would hold to win trailed by Norris and then Russell.
*Tough weekend for Ferrari as they looked slow, missed Q3, and both cars didn’t finish. Leclerc retired with an engine problem.
*Is Mercedes back? Probably not, the low temperatures and mixed conditions did seem to flatter the Silver Arrows in Montreal.
*Rumors swirl that Sergio Perez’ new deal has a team option for 2026. He crashed and broke his rear wing forcing his second straight retirement. Over the last 3 races, Perez has totaled just 4 points.
F1 is off this weekend and will pick things up in Barcelona for round 10.
Trivia Answer:
Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, and Ohio State.
Yeah, Colorado and Nebraska definitely made it difficult…so long since we played either
Missed on Colorado too.
As someone who’s had to chaperone dances recently, “Get Busy” still is a banger.
Yes, the helmet stripe is an oar, after P.J. Fleck’s mantra of “Row the Boat”
It’s impressive that a coach who has been there 7 years, finished ranked once, while having 2.5 losing seasons, has gotten the school to put a logo associated with him, rather than the school, on the helmets. Even BK couldn’t get a dunks logo, or his purple face, on one of our shamrock helmets, and I imagined he tried pretty hard. Yet Fleck gets his silly motto on the standard helmet.
It is the land of 10,000 lakes, arguably an oar is an often used tool in Minnesota.
Dick Rosenthal and his wife Marilyn were one of my parents closest friends. they and four or five other couples used to go on ski vacations to different destinations every winter. He was not only an accomplished person but a great human being. RIP
If you’re interested in the changes Bridgerton made adapting the novels, Dominic Noble’s recent video on the subject is very good! His Lost In Adaptation series is always interesting, in my opinion.
https://youtu.be/Shu1Xhz9TJY?si=V4VTfULhLdvYvwdP
For the trivia: I know Ohio St, Bama, and Georgia but can’t think of the other 2. Gonna guess some Big XII schools we rarely play. Ok State and Colorado?
4 out of 5 ain’t bad! Also, Nebraska used to be Big XII so gonna count it.
I got 4 of 5 trivia – had A&M instead of Colorado
In 2015 and 2016 the band would have its regular practices on the field at ND stadium. For the first few we could bring in footballs to practice our diving corner of the end zone catches. It does hit different, and as goofy as those guys look I bet they are having a blast.
Rules must have changed recently. Got to spend an hour on the field last year and we were allowed to hold and run with a football, but no throwing allowed. Or punting/kicking either, I asked about that specifically.
This led to us running lots of handoff running plays or still poses of circus catches in the end zone of course
And in one poorly made decision, a simulated 100 yard kickoff return. That is so many yards you guys.
I love the outside the box idea of building a temporary bridge for roadwork. Sometimes I think that our culture gets too locked into traditional ways and does not give enough consideration to new ideas. I suppose that the failure of New Coke turned us all off to trying new things
The ASTRA bridge takes a weekend to build, is 800’ long, and requires an additional lane for construction equipment that won’t fit under the deck. Once built, it will raise and move to the next section to be completed.
A typical American paver will lay down 45’+ per minute.
The entire paving system we use in the States would need to be re-engineered to accommodate this.
Great idea just looking at the picture. Implementing it in a meaningful way is going to be the problem.