Your weekly dose of Notre Dame news, opinion, and other stuff.
Top News
Notre Dame’s season opener against Navy in Ireland is sold out and won’t be an early morning game on the East Coast, or an even earlier game on the West Coast. Instead, it’ll be played in primetime in Dublin and air on NBC at 2:30 PM ET.
Also, Notre Dame has released its home kickoff schedule with the Central Michigan game moving to Peacock only:
The formula is TBD right now but the ACC announced this week that beginning in the 2024-25 academic year there will be a new revenue sharing program that factors in on-field success.
USC athletic director Mike Bohn abruptly resigned amid allegations of a toxic workplace environment. A report also came out that Bohn left Cincinnati for USC while under investigation, as well.
Washington State is freezing all athletic department hiring while they grapple with Pac-12 overpayment issues dealing with Comcast and the relocation of the league headquarters. The Pac-12, everybody!
The Pac-12 has still not finalized a new TV deal as reports swirl ESPN is no longer involved. The Pac-12, everybody!
According to the USA Today, the Power 5 conferences combined for $3.3 billion in revenue during the 2022 fiscal year.
Florida and Georgia have extended their rivalry game in Jacksonville through the 2025 season.
Penn State and Michigan State will be playing on Black Friday this season at Ford Field on NBC.
Houston has approved a new $140 million football operations center on their campus.
Legendary Syracuse and NFL running back Jim Brown passed away on May 18th.
EA Sports has confirmed that the college football video game coming out next summer will have a heavy focus on dynasty mode as the flagship game mode. Let us rejoice.
Uniform of the Week
If you’ve been paying attention to Ole Miss uniforms in recent years their use of powder blue has been very present, especially on the football field. In addition to helmets, they’ve also introduced new powder blue jerseys. Most of the country would admit that it’s a very sharp look. That gives Ole Miss 4 jersey colors in their rotation: Navy blue, red, white, and powder blue.
They have worn the powder blue helmets with all 4 jersey combinations, as well. While I like the powder blue I realized the red jerseys with gray pants topped off with the navy blue helmet is my favorite Ole Miss look. More than any other, this screams Ole Miss to me. The powder blue helmets with this combination looks really weird and they should stop doing it.
Recruiting
Former Notre Dame commit Owen Wafle (0.8925) left Notre Dame’s class on Wednesday. The Irish responded by gaining the commitment of edge rusher Loghan Thomas (0.9307) that afternoon.
Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley (0.9385) is staying in-state after committing to the Wildcats.
Defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman (0.9501) committed to Alabama.
Ole Miss picked up a verbal from defensive lineman Kamron Beavers (0.9369).
Oregon added several blue-chips recently in quarterback Michael Van Buren (0.9412), defensive lineman Xadavien Sims (0.9232), and wide receiver Dillon Gresham (0.8919).
Georgia couldn’t resist the Western New York Catholic schools as St. Francis offensive tackle Marcus Harrison (0.8793) committed to the Dawgs this past Tuesday. The Dawgs also added top tight end Jaden Reddell (0.9667) recently.
YouTube Channel
On May 12th Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for the Nintendo Switch. Now, I grew with the Nintendo and it was a huge part of my early childhood but I never got into Zelda. I played the original game from 1987 for a few hours and never returned to the world of Zelda. Quite literally, I couldn’t tell you one thing about the game or world other than there’s an elf and princess involved in some way. I only bring this up because this new game is bringing in so much money it’s mind boggling.
In its first 3 days, Tears of the Kingdom sold 10 million copies. TEN MILLION! It’s currently retailing for $69.99 a pop and has drawn universal praise from critics. Nintendo should be looking at $800 million in sales, if not more in the coming weeks and months. Speaking of which, Grand Theft Auto 6 is reportedly coming in late 2024 or early 2025 only 11 or 12 years after the previous GTA 5 has made more than $6 billion worldwide. It’s quite possible GTA 6 becomes the greatest selling video game of all-time. I also saw that a game like GTA costs about $1 billion to develop if you can believe it, I’m sure GTA 6 will be much more costly than that, too.
Tunes
Andy Rourke, the bass player for The Smiths, passed away on May 19th following a battle with cancer. I don’t always feature bands that I particularly care for in the Weekly Rambler and The Smiths would fit that bill. They are part of a 1980’s dead zone in my musical taste that I’ve never cared to revisit and try to make an acquired taste. There are a few big reasons for that.
One, the group only released 4 albums in just over 4 years. It’s not like they were present in the musical world for a long time. Two, their sounds is almost too…dainty for my liking. It’s not necessarily too soft or too 1980’s emo for me, there’s just an unpleasantness about their drum and guitar sounds that doesn’t work for me. Lastly, Morrisey’s voice isn’t my favorite and when he was younger he looked like Keith Olbermann fronting an 80’s rock band. They always struck me as a “you had to be there” at a certain age in this specific period of the 1980’s to appreciate The Smiths.
Trivia
Who is the all-time passing yardage leader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
The Other Football
Well, Arsenal officially bottled it. You hate to see it. After spending nearly the entire Premier League season atop the table, Manchester City came roaring back and clinched the championship following Arsenal’s 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest.
City were bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group for the 2008-09 season and after that initial rocky season have never finished lower than 5th and now have 7 out of the last 12 EPL titles (with a trio of 2nd place finishes, too). With 1 game left in the season, their lead is 8 points atop the table.
The title in the Bundesliga is coming down to the final weekend as Dortmund have a 2-point lead over Bayern Munich. On Saturday, Dortmund face 9th place Mainz while Bayern face 10th place Cologne. The 10-year championship streak for Bayern is in serious jeopardy.
Streaming
Mistakes were made. In recent days, Hulu released a re-make of White Men Can’t Jump and it’s getting completely panned by critics and the public. In my opinion, we can probably pull back on the whole idea that Jack Harlowe is destined to be this huge multi-media celebrity. This re-make is getting negative reviews from every direction: Poor acting, shallow story, terrible basketball scenes, and it lacks the grit and chemistry from the 1992 original film.
It doesn’t look like she does a ton of acting as much these days (Hollywood is notoriously terrible at finding roles for aging women) but Rosie Perez was so damn good in the original White Men Can’t Jump and was a brilliant part in making the story work. The chemistry between Perez and Woody Harrelson was absurdly good. They should’ve done a sequel involving those two actors.
A Look Back
Whenever I see Irish fans getting uppity about how past Notre Dame schedules were way harder I think about some of the Ara Parseghian soft schedules. Whenever I see people not believing that #WinningIsHard I think back to the 1990 Notre Dame squad. This team went 9-3! With perhaps the greatest backfield in school history! Rodney Culver, Ricky Watters, Tony Brooks, a freshman Jerome Bettis, a sophomore Dorsey Levens before he transferred, and oh yeah a guy named Rocket Ismail.
The 1990 game at Pittsburgh wasn’t super memorable (Notre Dame controlled it throughout even if the 31-22 final score was a bit misleading) but my goodness check out these 3 plays from Rocket. First, at 23:12 they run a tunnel screen on 3rd and long that he takes for about 50 yards. At 26:05 Rocket takes a punt return 25 yards while eluding several defenders. And finally, at 34:48 he puts the game away at 24-7 halfway through the 4th quarter getting a carry out of the backfield and zooming 76 yards for the touchdown. Rocket will always be the best.
Fun fact: Alex Van Pelt set the then Pitt record for most completions in a game (37) and tied the then school record for attempts in a game with 51 in this contest against Notre Dame.
18S Paddock Club
After the cancelled race at Imola last weekend F1 makes the 500 km trek back west to the French Riveria and the principality of Monaco for the sport’s most prestigious weekend on the calendar. The race was first run in 1929 and has been on the F1 calendar every year since 1955.
The grand prix had been on shaky ground (F1 notoriously clashes with Monaco’s own race sponsors, among other disagreements) in recent years but a new contract signed last September running through the 2025 season brings some security. Plus, this weekend will be the first Monaco GP where Formula 1 television crews control the broadcast and direction instead of Monaco’s hired group.
Round 6 of 22
Monaco Grand Prix
Date: May 28th
Race: 9:00 AM ET
TV: ESPN/F1TV
Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Circuit: Circuit de Monaco
Laps: 78
Tire Compounds: C3, C4, C5
Track Evolution: 5 out of 5
Asphalt Abrasion: 1 out of 5
If there’s going to be a race where Red Bull aren’t going to run away with it, perhaps this will be the place. Last year, Charles Leclerc was nearly three-tenths quicker while gaining pole position (prior to red flag shenanigans courtesy of Sergio Perez) and if Fernando Alonso is going to pick up a win in his Aston Martin the high downforce circuit in Monaco may be the place.
Although they may not play much of a role toward the front of the grid, McLaren are bringing a “triple crown” livery (a combinations of cars that won 1984 Monaco, 1974 Indy 500, and 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours) that they’ll run this weekend and also next weekend in Barcelona:
Rain could play a part this weekend. The bad weather should hold off through qualifying but thunderstorms and rain are possible during the race on Sunday. So far, F1 has not used the new Pirelli intermediate rain tires that were reformulated during the off-season.
Trivia Answer:
Jameis Winston, 19,737 yards (4,917 more yards than 2nd place Vinny Testaverde)
While I have not listened to his rap much and thus presumably have not experienced him at his best form of media, I still feel compelled to say: every time I have seen him I can’t help but think Jack Harlow has absolutely zero charisma, so I really don’t get it. His New Balance ad where he is scoring on Kawhi Leonard is unintentionally hilarious, like those are two guys who are equally good at basketball.
Wait was that the guy they had on Gameday when we played Ohio State last year?
Yeah he was awful there. I think that was my first sustained exposure to him and I was like “this guy is popular???”
He then did SNL and was awful at that too.
I swear this person doesn’t really exist. He’s part of the hive of AI created zoomers who only exist in the realm of Taco Bell tie ins and online gaming.
I accept this theory without question.
Leave Taco Bell out of this
That SNL was rerun on Saturday. I thought he was perfectly fine.
The Smiths are the greatest musical group to have come out of the ’80s, in large part because their sound was so different. I played the entirety of “The Queen is Dead” when she died (for my kids), and it’s still as fresh a sound as when it was released. Because they never got any airplay on the radio, they never got overplayed…they are timeless classics. There is nothing dainty about “Bigmouth Strikes Again.” And if the Smiths never existed, the ’90’s music wouldn’t have sounded anything like it did because so many of those groups were so influenced by them.
Greater than Prince!??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AitXDDv155A
This song, I’d say it’s the tinny Rickenbacker guitar and Morrissey’s vocal cadence and silly dancing describe what I’m talking about.
As someone who’s always not “gotten” the Smiths and the folks (in my life, so take that with a grain of salt) that fawn over them, help me out. What songs should I listen to and what should I listen for?
https://youtu.be/UpjaTtNVwEs
It’s funny seeing all the consternation the NBC deal is causing our B1G friends. Michigan and Ohio State throwing a fit about playing night games, Michigan State’s senior day being moved to a Friday in Detroit, the B1G having to repay FOX for selling NBC games they weren’t allowed to sell.
Wait until they find out what the broadcasts are like!
I have been taking great enjoyment in this as well. And part of me secretly hopes USC and UCLA are like ‘WTH? We are taking our sports and going back to the PAC!’ Of course that is pretty far fetched, ultimately they probably still end up with a lot more money in the BIG. The other thing this last round of conference realignment has brought into sharp focus is the ineptitude of some of the outgoing commissioners from the BIG and the PAC. They are paid a boat load of money for them to leave their conferences with a bunch of things up in the air.
I’m wondering if, in the near future, these networks will try to get out of these huge league deals. ESPN isn’t offering the PAC 12 a deal, but also lost the Big 10 and apparently didn’t even try to get NFL Sunday ticket or the Premier League. Is the network out of money? With streaming apparently imploding and entertainment generally a mess, are the sports divisions of the broadcasters going to get smaller operating budgets from the parent companies?
Just wait until we get their B team for our home games. It’s going to be brutal.
Turns out Kevin Warren flubbing COVID right after taking the job wasn’t a one-off. Good luck, Bears!
Regarding Zelda – My son is still saving up $$ to get Tears of the Kingdom, so in the meantime, he’s been watching videos about it and in my passing glances, it looks really similar to Breath of the Wild. Not sure if that’s excellent or lazy from Nintendo’s standpoint, as BOTW is widely considered to be the best video game of all-time (I enjoyed playing BOTW, even if i don’t give a crap about the story aspect of most video games). From the little I’ve heard, it sounds like Kingdom is also really good.
Gotta think that with the success of the Super Mario Bros movie, Nintendo/Illumination is champing at the bit to get a Zelda/Link movie out there next.
Had the same reaction to how the game looks, but 2.1 loves the new Zelda so far based on items. Count our household as a drop in the $800 million bucket.
It is similar at a passing glance but the reviews so far say the physics are far superior to BOTW. They basically got a free extra year to refine it so the end product is really dialed in (similar to what happened with Top Gun 2).
This sounds right. My daughter has been playing the game, and says it makes breath of the wild seem like the beta version
I don’t know if the Wafle decommit was fully mutual or not, but you have to admit the optics on this was much better by Freeman and Co, than some of the stuff that happened last year. I can imagine Freeman asking Wafle to wait for the decommit until the same day Thomas was going to commit to keep things looking rosy around ND recruiting.
When the recruiting game for ND is hampered by some of the requirements of the school and the way NIL is approached, there is pressure on the coaches to make every step in recruiting look like a positive for the program. Good job to ND for controlling the narrative a bit on this and making it look like an upgrade vs ND can’t out-recruit Michigan for a low 4 star. .
Does the narrative really matter that much? The narrative while starting the 2023 class was that Freeman was putting together an elite, Top 4 class, and then we finished 13th. I know it’s fun for fans and message boards to be able to chat about, but does it actually lead to any meaningful results on the field?
Sure it does, how the spin is put to the recruit effects their perception of the program and whether it is a viable option in their mind. Take Jaden Reddell. What did Georgia tell him? Something along the lines of: you can commit to us, a NC program that is putting tight ends in the NFL, Darnell Washington this year, Brock Bowers next year, or you can play at Notre Dame. They have a history of putting TE’s in the NFL, but where are the rings, they haven’t won a NC in the last 35 years.
It may not matter to you or to me, but recruits are buying and selling narratives. Reddell can be a national champion or he can dream about helping a team reclaim a national champion.
Narratives in recruiting are relevant, but does Notre Dame really have to soften the blow of losing the national No. 404 player from their class? Wafle shouldn’t be that important to alter or affect the way anyone sees ND recruiting. Verbal commits come and go these days, now more than ever. Don’t see this one being a big deal or requiring a positive spin to keep the program-wide momentum up.
Pac 12? Almost all of the Pac 12 starting QBs this year could be transfers. Holy Portal, Batman!
Six are returning starters – Pennix (Washington via Indiana), Caleb Willaims (USC via Oklahoma), De Laura (Arizona via Wash St), Nix (Oregon via Auburn), Ward (Wash St via Incarnate Word), and Rising (Utah via Texas).
Four of the six national leaders in total offense were Pac 12 all with returning starting QBs except UCLA. Only one Pac QB starter on five of the top eleven scoring offenses nationally loses a starter.
Two more – Sanders at Colorado (Jax St) and Uiagalelei (Clemson) will be starters. At Cal, two transfers (Jackson (TCU) and Finley (NC St)) will vye with a RS Freshman for starter. At UCLA Garbers (Washington in ’22), and Schlee (starter at Kent St) compete with Dante Moore. At Stanford, Lamson (Syracuse) or RS SO Patu who waited behind McKee will fight for starter.
Riddle me this. Who could start for Arizona St? Pyne v Bourquet (returning) or FR Rashada.
Colorado got a second RB transfer (McCaskill), a former AAC Rookie of the Year, to add to Smoke (5.4 yd per carry at Kentucky) and Hankinson. Maybe Sanders runs off Hankinson, too? If not, Dylan Edwards is now fourth on their depth chart. If he had come (or transfers) to ND where would he be on ours?
Mr Freeze for the Buffs – for competition for their Joker position – recently added a W.Va player (Alston).
Jameis Winston was not my first guess. I was thinking maybe Jeff George?
Interesting though. so would you say, gun to your head, that the schedules from 86 to 96 were actually easier than the past few years? Because I’m currently looking at the schedule and opponents and having a hard time believing that
The Holtz schedules were some of the hardest in school history. The Ara schedules were some of the easiest.
Ocarina of Time was my Zelda game, and I had such a blast playing it as a kid. It’s fun to see the series in a good place. I’ll probably pick TotK up later on once I have free time again
Zelda: BOTW and The Smiths are the same to me in that I tried but could never find the appeal. And I realize I’m in the smallest of minorities on both of these. I love music and video games, but I got bored with both of these. I’m extremely hesitant to shell out $70 for TotK even though everybody’s tooting its horn and it’s only a matter of time before my kids start asking for it.
If BOTW didn’t do it for you, it’s probably best to pass on TOTK. For me though, they both scratch all my itches. It’s BOTW 2.0. Same product, just more refined. Until otherwise notified, just assume I’m trying to find opportunities to play it.
Irish just landed a transfer RB from penn state. That feels a little out of left field, but after the departure of logan Diggs, I’ll take it. Welcome to the Irish future my lad!
Yeah, didn’t hear his name but it makes sense. They’ve got the numbers and if Estime were to…(not gonna finish that thought) but the rest of the depth chart behind him is: only average-looking unproven guy that gets hurt a lot, guy coming off an Achilles injury who probably won’t be 100% this season and a true freshman who arrives in summer. Not the best depth past the big dog so this at least gives a veteran option to join them. Would have been better to have Diggs in that spot, but so it goes.
NDNation is having a very entertaining meltdown about it. Boy do they hate transfers.
Yes clearly the choice was either Buchner or a backup from Penn State. DomeAnon is on the case.
“The Smiths sound too dainty” buddy wait til you hear about Morrissey
What he do?
I believe he falls firmly into the “respect the art, not the artist” category in 2023
Well he was famously a closeted gay (or maybe bisexual) man who kept giving interviews claiming he was asexual.
I think it’s more his open racism and anti-immigrant portions that are the issue
At a certain point it’s perversely impressive how post-Smith’s Morrissey has chosen opinions to make the most people possible mad at him.
Two items:
1, Thanks for Pitt 1990. I was off on a mission for the CJCS and missed that game. Yeah, Rocket was sweet!
2, You lead off with ND-Navy schedule — prime time in Dublin! Well, this is my favorite site, and thanks once again for all you and the Staff do (love these Ramblers) BUT: there’s no way I can see to initiate any kind of discussion.
So I have four tickets for the game, but my son just bowed out. I would be happy to offer a couple to 18 Stripers. I know, you would have to travel to Ireland — and yes, it’s easier for me from Paris.
But if anyone’s interested, maybe there’s a way to let me know?
These next couple of weeks should bring more commitments and flesh out this class.
Notre Dame 2024 Visits
Three prospects are Safeties with two “Athletes” expected to be Safeties. Cole Sullivan, LB and current Michigan commit, is visiting. He is from Central Catholic, Pittsburgh, LB will be a position to watch.