Tag: Chicago

Big Ten opponents Notre Dame should play annually if it ever joins

Just picture at least some of these games happening annually.

The Big Ten has unveiled its “Flex Protect Plus” scheduling model, which will take effect when USC and UCLA join the conference in 2024. Eleven particular matchups will be protected and thus played every year, and every school will play every school at least twice over a four-year period. There will be both annual and rotating matchups over each team’s nine-game league schedule.

Which brings us to Notre Dame. We all know about the Irish being denied entry into the Big Ten in the 20th century’s early years, but times areMidw changing. With college football’s landscape radically changing soon, questions about the feasibility of the Irish’s longtime independence are being raised. Plus, with their next athletic director currently heading NBC Sports Group and the Big Ten about to start a long-term TV deal with NBC, the Irish almost seem destined for full-time Big Ten membership.

Now, before you Irish traditionalists hang me from the top of the Golden Dome, really think about this. Many of the Irish’s most frequent opponents in their history are based in the Midwest. This would revive annual or semi-annual rivalries that largely have been discarded to fulfill obligations to the East Coast-centeric ACC. Nothing against that conference, but Wake Forest, North Carolina and Georgia Tech just seem to be awkwardly forced upon the fan base by the arrangement and don’t exactly rile anyone up.

In the event of a Big Ten membership, certain parameters will have to be set for the Irish. They definitely would need to keep Navy as one of its nonconference opponents because any season not completely compromised by COVID that doesn’t have the Midshipmen just seems wrong. Other than that, there are some opponents that need to be scheduled every year or at least merit consideration for that. Here are the ones most worth considering:

Notre Dame football in Taylor Swift song form

From “Bad Blood” to “Love Story” and “Mean”…

If you have followed us here at Fighting Irish Wire for much time at all you’ve likely become aware that each writer currently employed with the site not only has roots in Chicagoland but currently lives in the area.  With that in mind, the biggest event this weekend in Chicago is Taylor Swift’s run of three concerts at Soldier Field starting Friday night.

I don’t categorize myself as a “Swiftie” and I didn’t attend “Taylor University” (nor did I take any classes at the School of Hard Knocks for that matter) but I appreciate a sweet-jam to motion along to in the car and she certainly is a master at that.

With all of that in mind I started thinking about a Taylor Swift connection to Notre Dame football.  Sure, she checked out the Irish opener in 2010 when her brother was a Notre Dame student, but what Swift song would be most fitting for some names from Notre Dame football’s past and present?

I gave it my best whirl…

Micah Shrewsberry learns one ‘can’t just walk into’ Notre Dame Stadium

The new Irish coach still is feeling his way around campus.

New Notre Dame coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] spent Thursday at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He made the interview rounds on ESPN, which was covering the event. By far the highlight for him during the broadcast was revealing that he learned a hard truth about Notre Dame Stadium when he first arrived on campus. Specifically, he learned just how exclusive the stadium is:

It’s nice that Shrewsberry was able to be let into the stadium, but it most likely would not have happened if he weren’t a university employee. I made several trips to Purcell Pavilion for basketball coverage this past season and never once gave into the temptation to try and get inside the next-door stadium. For one, I could see that the gates were locked every time, and I surely would have come away disappointed had I decided to go for it. So I guess the only way or anyone else in the general public can see the stadium again is to buy a ticket.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

It’s Time for the National Restaurant Association Show

Chef Rick Bayless conducts a demonstration at a previous NRA show. For years The Food Channel has covered the National Restaurant Association Show. It’s one of the leading shows that helps introduce new products, connect industry personnel, and …

Chef Rick Bayless conducts a demonstration at a previous NRA show.

For years The Food Channel has covered the National Restaurant Association Show. It’s one of the leading shows that helps introduce new products, connect industry personnel, and identify the future of food and everything to do with food—the equipment, the suppliers, the services and more. If you work in the industry or just want to attend and sample some of the delicacies showcased, here’s the information.

First, the National Restaurant Association Show will be held May 20-23 in Chicago. They are promising a record-breaking 42 Food and Beverage (FABI) Awardees, including eight FABI Favorites.

While you can sample from the booths in the Exhibit Hall, there are also formal Sessions and Tastings. Plus, they are offering a new Connections space (located in The Culinary Experience) throughout the Show to learn more about the awardees.

The show slowed a bit during the pandemic, but it’s exciting to see it back to full life! Check it out and let us know what you see.

If you haven’t already, register today to celebrate and report on these 42 extraordinary food and beverage products that are breaking new ground in flavor profiles, creativity, packaging, and profit potential!

7 things to see during a day trip to Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo

Enjoy a free day of fun.

Experience a wild world for free at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. This incredible destination is one of few free zoos in the United States. It’s also one of the country’s oldest zoos, with tons of exhibits for the whole family to enjoy. Visitors can spend all day exploring gorilla, polar bear, and lion habitats. Plan your perfect trip with this guide to the zoo’s seven best sightseeing opportunities.

If your schedule is flexible, you can also stop in for one of the zoo’s animal events. Wildlife enthusiasts can meet at the Kovler Seal Pool for a seal training and feeding event. The “Ape Cognition and Care” activity is also open to guests from Monday to Friday. Find even more zoo events and attractions here.

PFF names Bills’ ‘biggest loss’ in free agency

PFF names #Bills’ ‘biggest loss’ in free agency:

While the offseason is in full swing, it’s seen no shortage of activity off the field.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) has published a 2023 NFL Free Agency: Every NFL team’s biggest loss list, identifying which free agency loss had the most impact on their respective former employer.

Considering the Bills cap situation and how the market took shape for their free agents, there were bound to be some who wouldn’t return to their positions with Buffalo ahead of next season.

Whether it was players the team had drafted and developed, like RB Devin Singletary, S Jaquon Johnson, LB Tremaine Edmunds, and TE Tommy Sweeney, fixtures like WR Isaiah McKenzie or S Jordan Poyer, or placeholders like WR Jamison Crowder, not everyone would be brought back, whether for cap reasons or a desire to improve at the position.

Out of those names alone, Poyer was the only one among them who saw a reunion with the team. While there had been speculation that he could depart in free agency, the deep defensive back position group in the upcoming NFL Draft kept the market for safeties modest and Buffalo gave him the chance to compete for a championship.

But what of the rest of the players on that shortlist?

Singletary signed with the Texans, Johnson with the Raiders, Edmunds with the Bears, McKenzie with the Colts, and Sweeney and Crowder joined the Giants.

So which one was the biggest loss?

According to PFF, there’s no doubt it’s Edmunds, even making him the featured image of the article.

BUFFALO BILLS: LB TREMAINE EDMUNDS

The Bills simply could not afford to even come close to matching the four-year, $72 million contract Edmunds signed with the Chicago Bears — a deal that includes effectively $50 million fully guaranteed at signing — especially after linebacker Matt Milano earned a slight pay raise due to his stellar play the past few seasons following an extension of his own.

That said, it’s never easy to lose a player you traded up in the first round to draft and who finally blossomed in his fifth-year option season. Edmunds will start his sixth NFL season at just 25 years old and is coming off a season in which he earned a career-high 88.1 coverage grade. The NFL game is starting to slow down for him, with better play recognition enabling him to think less and use his athletic tools to their full ability.

Edmunds certainly leaves a void on defense, while he didn’t appear to bring fire, or a strong voice as a leader, he was the quarterback of the defense as far as receiving and relaying plays to that group.

In his fifth season as a pro he finally started to play to the ability the Bills selected him for then they moved up in the draft to take him at 16th overall in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was used in head coach Sean McDermott’s defense all over the field.

This after a slow progression during his first four seasons that included collective poor run coverage by Edmunds and the Bills defense. Whether Edmunds’s progression will continue in Chicago, or not, there’s no question the Bills emphasis on player development helped him reach the level of potential and achieve what he did last season.

Can they do it again?

Based on the lack of pursuit of a replacement on the free agency market, aside from reported interest in Bucs LB Lavonte Davis, if offseasons under GM Brandon Beane’s leadership have taught us anything it’s that he may be gearing up to select Edmund’s replacement in the 2023 Draft.

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Notre Dame’s botched OC search brings alleged Reinsdorf quote to mind

Notre Dame is reminding Chicago sports fans of a familiar face.

Right now, Notre Dame fans understandably are miffed at how their program’s offensive coordinator search went down.

By refusing to deal with the $2.8 million buyout in Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig’s contract, Notre Dame showed its hand in what it would and wouldn’t do to fill the position vacated by Tommy Rees.

The Irish ended up promoting from within and gave [autotag]Gerad Parker[/autotag] the job. By then, it was too late to change many Irish fans’ belief that the university’s higher-ups are not serious about bringing another national championship to South Bend.

This drama brings to mind a quote allegedly once uttered by Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. While appearing on Dan Le Batard’s podcast in 2019, former Miami Marlins president David Samson said the following:

“I was 32 years old, just in baseball for my first of 18 years. He said, ‘You know what, here’s my best advice to you: Finish in second place every single year. Because your fans will say, “Wow, we’ve got a shot, we’re in it.” But there’s always the carrot left. There’s always one more step to take.’ “

Reinsdorf denied ever giving this advice, but if he did, it wouldn’t surprise many Bulls and White Sox fans. Especially in recent years, Reinsdorf has been accused of not being serious about winning and instead being focused on saving money. One column by Chicago sports media personality Laurence Holmes published just this week questions Reinsdorf’s motives.

Recent inaction by both the Bulls and White Sox have disillusioned fans beyond belief. A struggling Bulls team was one of only two not to make a move at the NBA’s trade deadline, opting in favor of the continuity preached by the front office. Also, the Bulls have paid the luxury tax only once in franchise history, and they weren’t going to do it again by addressing glaring roster needs last offseason.

While the Sox did give out the richest contract in franchise history in the offseason (a laughable $75 million for Andrew Benintendi), they failed to address holes in right field and at second base. Their other free-agent signee, starting pitcher Mike Clevinger, is under investigation for domestic violence, and they didn’t sign anyone off the scrap heap as insurance in case Clevinger is suspended.

All ranting about Chicago sports aside, is it possible, dare we say likely, that [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] and his bosses at Notre Dame are subscribing to a similar philosophy? Are they content to be just good enough and thus string fans along? When you show you’re not willing to spend the money necessary to get to the next level, it’s hard to change the narrative to anything else. Notre Dame’s reputation is set and not in a good way.

To not lure the best available coaching talent when you easily can will not help Notre Dame’s alleged quest to become a national title contender. Eventually, recruits, coaches and fans will see right through what’s really going on, and they’ll realize they’re better off taking their business elsewhere.

Notre Dame might like to bill itself as a school with a premier football program, but it’s not acting like one right now. The sooner it realizes this, the sooner people will stop using the program as leverage or a stepping stone or to a bigger program with more recent success.

Irish fans don’t want to see that carrot dangled in front of them. They want it fed to them, and they want it to taste good. Is there any chance Notre Dame’s administration will allow that to happen anytime soon? Chances are it will not, just like Reinsdorf will not with the fans of his teams.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Oklahoma’s Porter Moser has no interest in Notre Dame coaching job

Scratch one name off the list.

Those of you who were getting excited about the prospect of Oklahoma coach Porter Moser taking the Notre Dame job will have to stop. Sooners beat reporter Eli Lederman of the Tulsa World has tweeted that Moser is not interested in succeeding [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] as the next Irish coach:

While this undoubtedly is disappointing to those who hoped Moser could revitalize the Irish like he revitalized Loyola-Chicago, it might be for the best. Moser took the Sooners job after securing his legacy in the Windy City’s Rogers Park neighborhood, but his success didn’t go with him, at least not yet. Less than two years into his tenure, he has a 31-29 record. Now might not be the time for him to switch jobs again.

Not to worry though. There are plenty of candidates out there. We just need to have faith that [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] will make the right selection, difficult as that may be at times.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Porter Moser reportedly high on list to replace Brey at Notre Dame

Would you like this hire?

With a month to go in the season, the task of filling the retiring [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s job as Notre Dame coach isn’t urgent yet. However, one name already appears to be emerging as a front-runner. According to the Twitter handle Coaching Changes, Oklahoma coach Porter Moser is interested in the job, and Notre Dame reportedly is interested in return:

Moser, in his second season with the Sooners, is no stranger to coaching at a Division I Catholic university. He spent 10 seasons at Loyola-Chicago, leading the program to a surprising Final Four run in 2018 and helping make Sister Jean a household name. His background alone has to have made him a candidate for at least some Irish fans. He is for us.

Before you get too excited though, Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune rightfully points out that Moser pulling up stakes would be costly for the Sooners. Still, Moser failing to replicate the success he had in Chicago thus far could give them cause to bite the bullet:

So basically, we have a long way to go before the Irish name Brey’s successor. Until then, we will continue to speculate. Don’t you just love coaching rumors a week into February?

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

College Football Recruiting: Notre Dame blitzing Chicago and Indiana this weekend

Notre Dame is looking to try and keep their local talent home this weekend…

If you spent any time on Twitter on Friday morning and you happen to follow almost any of Notre Dame’s assistant coaches, you were made clearly aware of what their weekend plans entailed.  They’ll be traveling but not all that far as it appears their weekend targets will be of the local variety.

Running backs coach Deland McCullough, safeties coach Chris O’Leary, tight ends coach Gerad Parker, and special teams coordinator Brian Mason were just a few of Marcus Freeman’s assistants to tweet out their plans to go on a recruiting blitz of both Chicago and Indiana (see below).

Earlier this week, five-star defensive tackle [autotag]Justin Scott [/autotag]of Chicago named Notre Dame among his top-eight programs so we assume he’ll get a visit from the staff.

Check back here to see what develops from this in terms of visits, scholarship offers, and heck, it’s unlikely but maybe even a commitment if we’re lucky.