Month: April 2020

Notre Dame: April’s Top Ten Stories on FIW

April has come and gone. Which Notre Dame stories were the biggest the last month? Count down the top ten right here.

And just like that April has come and come.  Amazing how fast (or slow) a month goes by when you’re stuck inside the confides of your home unless you’ve got an essential job you have to punch into still.

What all happened during the month of April at Fighting Irish Wire?  Well it was an interesting month that saw the retirement of a legendary coach at Notre Dame, six players get drafted in the NFL Draft and a 2021 football recruit give a verbal to Notre Dame.

If you missed anything this month or are just curious to look back, here are your ten most popular stories from Fighting Irish Wire during the month of April.

10.  Niele Ivey wasn’t even on the job a week when she saw two prime-time recruits commit to the Notre Dame Women’s basketball program.

9.  Deion Colzie, prized wide reciever in the 2021 recruiting class de-commited from Notre Dame in March.  Could he still re-commit though?

8.  Brian Kelly gave an early-April update on the latest on Notre Dame/Navy in Ireland, something we’re still left wondering about as we say goodbye to the month.

7.  Christian McCaffrey never played for Notre Dame but the Fighting Irish coaching staff continues to promote the highest paid running back in the NFL as one of their own.

6.  We found out more information on Will Shipley’s recruitment in the early parts of the month.  We’re still without any absolutes but Notre Dame clearly has a spot at the table with Clemson and North Carolina.

5.  We don’t have an answer yet on if Notre Dame and Navy will play in Ireland but a recent mandate by Ireland’s government has me scratching my head trying to figure out how this game gets played overseas.

4.  Notre Dame quarterback commit Tyler Buchner, the prized jewel so far of the 2021 cycle, received a fifth star by 247Sports. 

3.  Brian Kelly had strong words he offered up for Kirk Herbstreit’s prediction that college football wouldn’t be played in 2020. That was this month?  Seriously it feels like eight weeks ago at least.

2.  The latest news of Notre Dame being a finalist to land former Stanford running back Trevor Speights got a lot of attention the last few days.  Stay tuned as we could get an announcement there before much longer.

April’s Most Viewed Story:  Notre Dame made a scholarship offer to one of the nation’s top defensive recruits in the 2022 class, Denver Harris as they’re trying to hit one out of the park with the prized defensive back.

Thank you everyone for making April great and can’t wait for an even better May.  Hopefully we’ll all be able to get back to a little more normalcy this month compared to in the last but I hope you’re saying safe, sane and healthy.

 

Kenneth Murray, Neville Gallimore amongst favorite NFL Draft selections by NFL personnel

Plenty of grades and opinions on the 2020 NFL Draft are already out there. NFL personnel talk about the draft and include two OU players.

There are always grades, winners and losers of the NFL Draft even though no one knows those answers quite yet.

Then there is actual, real analysis of who has been selected and where.

The 2020 NFL Draft concluded on April 25. Plenty of opinions have been shared about who got drafted where, who fits better where, who was taken too high and who was taken too low.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reached out to over a handful of anonymous NFL personnel to get their perspective on the 2020 NFL Draft. In there, Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray and Neville Gallimore were among some of the most liked picks of the draft.

“Kenneth Murray,” said an anonymous NFC scout. “That salty defense gets a stud in the middle that will be there a long time. Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Derwin James and now Murray? Sign me up.”

“Kenneth Murray was a great pick/fit for the Chargers,” said an anonymous NFC executive. “Although they needed OL, they went with best player on board and got a leader and someone who should be an impact player.”

“I thought Dallas’s Neville Gallimore in the third was a really good pick—we tried to get him,” said another anonymous NFC executive. “This guy, he’s raw, but to get an in-line rusher in the third round, that’s a really good get, especially when there were no edge guys available. It’s all upside with him. That was a guy that stuck out, that he was still available.”

The Los Angeles Chargers traded up to the 23rd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft in order to take Murray. He was a three-year starter—the first freshman to start at linebacker for the Sooners since 1975—from Oklahoma that started in every single game of his career. Murray was a two-year captain and became the cover boy for new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s ‘Speed D’.

The Dallas Cowboys were able to get a hold of Gallimore in the third round. His athleticism never matched his production at Oklahoma, but Grinch seemed to tap into something that the previous staff couldn’t with Gallimore in 2019 as his disruption and central focus for an offense was evident.

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Steph Curry chimes in on LeBron James showing off new ‘Space Jam 2’ logo

It looks like Stephen Curry approves of the new “Space Jam 2” logo.

Without basketball on the calendar, news about “Space Jam 2” might be the next best thing.

On Thursday, LeBron James shared a video post on Instagram showing off a new logo for the second part of the classic Looney Tunes film. James sported a dad hat with the new logo planted in the middle of the lid. Adding to the new emblem, the full title of the film, “A New Legacy” was stitched across the bottom.

Take a look at the updated Space Jam logo courtesy of James on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

2021. 🐰🥕 🎥 🍿👑

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on

Although Stephen Curry is slated to appear in the film, the Golden State Warriors guard chimed in on James’ Instagram post. Curry congratulated the Lakers’ forward commenting “that’s dope” with emojis.

Curry’s teammate Klay Thompson is expected to represent the Golden State Warriors alongside other NBA and WNBA stars in the highly anticipated upcoming basketball sequel.

“Space Jam 2: A New Legacy” is currently scheduled to debut on July 16, 2021.

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Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby worried about disruption of fall, winter sport seasons

The Big 12’s commissioner went on radio for his second public media appearance since the coronavirus pandemic struck college sports in March

The Big 12’s commissioner went on radio for his second public media appearance since the coronavirus pandemic struck college sports in March.

Bob Bowlsby has been innovative in the way he’s talking about the impending future of college football and the other sports. He has been the first to mention a split fall and spring season and the first to publicly display his concern about the repercussions of a second wave of COVID-19 in the falls.

He reiterated some of that during his radio segment on Thursday on College Sports on SiriusXM.

“We will be very, very lucky to start on Labor Day weekend and get through the football season without disruptions,” Bowlsby told hosts Gabe Ikard, Chris Plank and Holly Rowe. “We will be very lucky to get through the postseason and the basketball season without disruptions. We’re going to have a new normal and we’re going to have to have an idea of how we’re going to deal with these things.”

Bowlsby’s line of thinking with a split season make a lot more sense.

When the normal flu and virus season begins, college football will be playing its final games and college basketball will be just getting done with non-conference play. If an interruption occurs, just how much loss could be at hand for everyone involved?

“But we may find ourselves falling back (on the split season idea),” Bowlsby said. “I think with the warmer weather I think we’ll get back to campus and we’ll get to practicing and we’ll start the season. We may not start exactly on time but I think we’ll start the season.

“I worry more about the end of the season and the postseason than I do the beginning parts of the season but I think we’ll figure it out in the near term. If the virus comes roaring back in the traditional flu and virus season in December through March, I wonder if we’re going to get basketball seasons in. I wonder if we’re going to get the CFP playoff in. I wonder if we’re going to get the NCAA Tournament in.”

Oklahoma is still scheduled to begin its football season at home on Sept. 5 against Missouri State.

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How 40 of the most-notable rookie QBs performed in the first year

How 40 of the most-notable rookie QBs performed in the first year

CBS Writer has Oklahoma going 11-1, losing to Texas in 2020

CBS writer Ben Kercheval recently broke down the Big 12’s schedule.

Can anyone dethrone Oklahoma?

The coronavirus currently has sports on hold, but if the 2020 football season will be played, Oklahoma will be looking to win their sixth straight Big 12 championship. 

CBS writer Ben Kercheval recently broke down the Big 12’s schedule, and yet again has Oklahoma on top with an 11-1 record, their sole loss being against Texas.

Kercheval cited the losses of WR Jadon Haselwood to injury and Trey Sermon transferring, but is giving the Sooners the benefit of the doubt when it comes ro restocking offensively. 

“It’s been five seasons since OU has lost more than one conference game.” He said. “Among playoff contenders, only Clemson and Ohio State can say that. Are the Sooners due for an extra loss? Perhaps, but they should be favored in every game this year.”

He projected Texas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State to go 9-3.

Oklahoma is currently set to reopen in-person classes in the upcoming fall semester.

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Washington declines former Alabama LB Reuben Foster’s fifth-year option

Foster has yet to play a game in a Washington uniform, and he likely won’t. After suffering a torn ACL and LCL in his first practice wit…

It was reported earlier today by Les Carpenter, Washington Redskins beat writer for the Washington Post, that the team has declined to pick up Reuben Foster’s fifth-year option.

The former Alabama linebacker was a first-round pick in 2017 and started his career with the San Francisco 49ers. However, some off-the-field issues paired with injuries led to Foster being cut in July 2018. He was claimed by Washington in November that same year.

He had only played 16 total games in his career, all with San Francisco. He totaled 101 tackles, seven quarterback hits and two pass deflections.

Foster has yet to play a game in a Washington uniform, and he likely never will. After suffering a torn ACL and LCL in his first practice with the team, Foster missed all of the 2019 season.

Declining his option means that Washington won’t have to pay Foster the $1,697,088 he was due for 2020.

Foster will now be a free agent and enter the already crazy 2020 market.

The talent Foster brings would benefit any team in need of a large presence on defense. Foster needs a team that will be able to work with him through injuries and aid in his growth as a football player.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on Foster’s journey through free agency!

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