Watch the Irish play for the title on the big screen.
If you want to go big while watching Notre Dame play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff title game, there’s one way you can. In November, ESPN and TNT announced a theatrical distribution agreement with Theater Sports Network. This would allow all playoff games to be theatrically shown.
As part of the agreement, AMC Theatres has announced that the title game will be shown in 11 locations, all of them throughout the Midwest. Given the locations of the game’s participants, it’s not surprising to see the games being shown where they are.
In South Bend, the game is being shown at the location on West Chippewa Avenue off South Michigan Street. Elsewhere, it will be shown at two locations in Indianapolis, one in Fort Wayne and four in the Chicago area. If you happen to be in Buckeyes territory, one location in Columbus is showing the game as well as two in the Cincinnati area.
You probably never expected to have this particular opportunity, but it’s there if you want it and live in one of the aforementioned areas.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
A major Michigan State transfer portal target has reportedly canceled his visit with Ohio State
Michigan State football got some potentially massive news on the transfer portal front Saturday morning when 247Sports’ Chris Hummer reported that FCS All-American left tackle and MSU target Conner Moore has canceled his visit with Ohio State.
Moore, who was at Montana State last year and is the top ranked offensive lineman still available based on the 247Sports rankings, has only visited Cincinnati and Michigan State.
Montana State All-American OT Conner Moore is no longer expected to visit Ohio State, sources tell @247Sports.
Moore is the top available o-lineman in the @247SportsPortal rankings.
You can keep track of all the incoming and outgoing transfers around Michigan State through the transfer portal using our tracker here.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
Notre Dame is in the national title game with all of Luke Fickell’s former assistants
Quantifying the impact coordinators and other assistant coaches have on a college football team’s success is often challenging.
For example, when Georgia won national titles with Kirby Smart at the helm and Dan Lanning as defensive coordinator, it was hard to explicitly state how much of the defense’s success was due to Smart (Nick Saban’s former defensive coordinator at Alabama) and how much due to Lanning. That principle can be applied to Smart’s time under Saban.
We often learn the quality of those assistants and the importance of their work after the fact. Smart left Alabama and has won two national titles at Georgia. Lanning left Georgia and has Oregon operating as one of the best programs in the country. It’s safe to say both played integral roles in their former programs’ respective success.
This is a long way of getting into Wisconsin’s connection to Notre Dame‘s College Football Playoff semifinal win over Penn State on Thursday night.
The Fighting Irish made a last-second field goal to defeat the Nittany Lions 27-24. It is their 13th consecutive win dating to an inexplicable Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois (and former Wisconsin assistant Thomas Hammock). The win sends them to the playoff title game to face the winner of Ohio State-Texas.
Wisconsin has significant connections to this Notre Dame team.
The Fighting Irish are led by Marcus Freeman, Luke Fickell’s defensive coordinator at Cincinnati from 2017-20. The offense is run by Mike Denbrock, Fickell’s offensive coordinator at Cincinnati from 2017-21. The quarterbacks are coached by Gino Guidugli, a top assistant under Fickell from 2017-22 (running backs coach in 2017, quarterbacks coach from 2018-21, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2022). The wide receivers are coached by Mike Brown, Fickell’s wide receivers coach from 2019-22 at Cincinnati, plus in 2023 at Wisconsin.
Other pre-Fickell connections exist, including longtime Wisconsin assistant Joe Rudolph coaching Notre Dame’s offensive line (with several top recruits from Wisconsin). Nearly all of Fickell’s top assistants from his time at Cincinnati are on the Notre Dame staff.
Cincinnati Bearcats defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman encourage the team during a college football game against the Connecticut Huskies, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer-Imagn Content Services
Freeman left Cincinnati for the Notre Dame defensive coordinator job under former coach Brian Kelly in 2021. He was promoted to the top job in 2022 when Kelly surprisingly left for the LSU vacancy. That rapid rise to the coach of one of the sport’s powers has been backed up by on-field results. Notre Dame is 33-9 record under Freeman, punctuated by a 14-1 record in 2024 and national title game appearance.
Aug 9, 2021; West Harrison, Indiana; Cincinnati Bearcats offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock directs a drill during practice at the Higher Ground training facility. Sam Greene/The Cincinnati Enquirer via USA TODAY NETWORK
Denbrock left the Bearcats for the LSU offensive coordinator position after the 2021 season. He coached quarterback Jayden Daniels to a Heisman Trophy and No. 2 draft pick before returning to lead Notre Dame’s offense in 2024, where he coached from 2010-16.
Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli watches players warm up during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE-USA TODAY NETWORK
Guidugli stuck with Fickell, signing on as an assistant on his first Wisconsin staff in 2023. He had risen on the Cincinnati staff from running backs coach in 2017 to offensive coordinator in 2022.
Fickell offered him the tight ends job on his Wisconsin staff, that after hiring Phil Longo to lead the offense. Guidugli’s time with the Badgers did not last long, as he quickly accepted the Notre Dame quarterbacks coach job.
Notre Dame graduate senior Jayden Harrison, right, works with wide receivers coach Mike Brown in a drill during Notre Dame football practice Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Brown left Wisconsin for the Notre Dame after the 2023 season.
Summary:
This extended context is no slight on Fickell or Wisconsin’s hiring decision back in 2022. Freeman and Denbrock were already elsewhere at that point and in far more desirable jobs than potential coordinator positions with the Badgers. Rather, this all is an acceptance of the reality that all of Fickell’s former assistants coach together, and just led the Fighting Irish to the title game.
The tenures of great college football coaches are often defined by their hiring decisions and support staff. Fickell’s time at Wisconsin, which includes a 12-13 record through two full seasons, has already taken a hit with the hiring and firing of Longo. His recent hire of offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, plus the promotion of wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton to quarterbacks coach, will be viewed as a critical moment in his Wisconsin tenure.
Fickell’s staff is unlikely to look as star-studded as his 2020 staff at Cincinnati was — Freeman as DC, Denbrock as OC and Guidugli as QBs coach. But that shouldn’t preclude him from winning at a high level.
Either Fickell’s newly revamped staff entering 2025 helps return Wisconsin to stability, or those changes don’t fix the team’s current trajectory — as was the case with Paul Chryst’s staff overhaul entering the 2022 season.
For now, I guess a Notre Dame national title can be partially attributed to Fickell and the 2020 Bearcats.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.
According to reports, Michigan State will be hosting the top-rated offensive lineman in the transfer portal for a visit soon
According to a report from Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Michigan State football is expected to get a visit from former Montana State All-American left tackle Conner Moore.
According to Hummer, Moore is currently on a visit to Cincinnati, but will add Michigan State and Ohio State to his list of visits.
Moore is the top-rated offensive lineman in the transfer portal according to 247Sports’ rankings.
You can keep track of all the incoming and outgoing transfers around Michigan State through the transfer portal using our tracker here.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
“Just to be on tour, week to week like this, this has been my dream since I was a little kid.”
When Gianna Clemente was first introduced to golf as a toddler, the stakes were not quite as high as the LPGA.
Range sessions with her father, Patrick, included friendly wagers over a bag of M&Ms or a Snickers.
“She grew up on the golf course. It’s in the family to be at the club all the time,” said Patrick, who played college golf at Youngstown State. “We tried to keep it fun.”
Patrick had no idea his daughter would show the strive and passion to become a rising star in the sport. He’s been able to see every step of the journey pulling double duty as dad and caddie.
“Golf started as something that I just wanted to be around my dad,” Clemente said. “Deep down, he loves caddying. He wants to be out here just as much as I do.”
‘There was this drive and fire’
Gianna Clemente sizes up a putt on the18th green during the 2024 Kroger Queen City Championship at TPC River Bend in Maineville, Ohio. (Liz Dufour/The Enquirer)
Clemente, 16, is the top-ranked amateur in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. She won the American Junior Golf Association’s Mizuho Americas Open in May and helped lead Team USA to the U.S. Ping Junior Solheim Cup title Sept. 10. She received a sponsor invite to the Kroger Queen City Championship this week at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, her sixth career LPGA Tour event.
In 2022, Clemente played in the inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship at Kenwood Country Club at 14 years old, becoming just the second player ever (Hee-Won Han) to Monday qualify for three consecutive LPGA events.
This time around, there’s no early-week pressure as she’s secured a spot in the field amongst the game’s best.
“Just to be on tour, week to week like this, this has been my dream since I was a little kid,” Clemente said in her pre-tournament press conference Tuesday.
It’s a dream that began with countless hours with dad between Squaw Creek and Avalon Lakes Golf Course in Trumbull County. Other sports like gymnastics and softball didn’t stick the way golf did. By the age of 10, she had won two major junior championships. At 11, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and wasn’t fazed by the slew of cameras and media attention that came along with it.
“There was just this drive and fire. It was almost like she liked that attention. I thought that was a little unique,” Patrick said. “Everybody is nervous, but I thought the way she handled being put on that stage at a really young stage was different.”
‘I try not to be dad at all’
Gianna Clemente of the United States reacts with her caddie Patrick Clemente after saving par on the No. 9 green during round two of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Thursday, April 4, 2024. David Paul Morris/Augusta National
The journey has been a process for Patrick, too. Trying to juggle the roles of dad and caddie was a hard hurdle to clear early on. He started as Clemente’s swing coach, but knew she had to pave her own way eventually.
“As a family and a support system, we’re smart enough to know that she needs to make her own path,” he said.
The secret? Patrick doesn’t let the dad role come out at all inside the ropes. In addition to a full-time swing coach, Clemente is coached by Jorge Parade from Liberty National. Patrick has backed out of anything swing-related and is focused on a game management role from the bag.
“Somehow, we’ve found a way to compartmentalize a little bit,” Patrick said. “On the course, if dad comes out, it doesn’t work. It’s knowing when to let her be or walk 50 yards ahead to let her work with a coach while I stay out of the way. That’s a healthy thing. Somehow, we still get along.”
‘This is his dream, too’
Gianna Clemente smiles while walking to the hole eight tee box during the second round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
When she first qualified for the Canadian Women’s Open in 2022, Clemente stepped on the putting green for the first time and was somewhat star-struck.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” she laughed.
Clemente has pictures with the likes of Morgan Pressel, Paula Reto and Lexi Thompson from her days with dad at the Dana Open in Toledo. When she found herself playing against her idols, nerves were initially at an all-time high.
“It takes time for those (nerves) to wear off,” Clemente said.
It’s all part of the gig now for both Clemente and Patrick. She dreamed of teeing it up with the best women’s golfers on the planet. He never thought he’d caddie at places like Augusta National.
“It’s amazing for me but I know it’s even cooler for him,” Clemente said. “This is his dream, too.”
The Bengals and Chiefs again get Tony Romo in the booth.
When the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Kansas City Chiefs for their Week 2 matchup of the 2024 regular season, fans will hear a familiar voice on the call for the 4:25 p.m. kickoff on CBS.
Yet again, the Bengals game against the Chiefs will feature Jim Nantz and Tony Romo in the booth along with Tracy Wolfson, and Bengals fans are growing even more tired of hearing Romo call their games, especially big ones against Kansas City.
The last time the two teams matched up late last season, the same broadcast crew called it. Romo and Nantz have also been in the booth for both of the AFC Championship games the two teams played against each other, as well as a game on Jan. 2, 2022, when Ja’Marr Chase had 11 catches for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bengals are coming off of an ugly Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, and with Ja’Marr Chase still without a new contract and Tee Higgins out with an injury last week, fans of the team likely have more important things they are worried about than who will be the voice they hear during that game, but it still wasn’t welcome information when Jay Morrison revealed it on Twitter.
It will be Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson on the CBS call for #Bengals v Chiefs
One analyst sees a new approach from the Bengals when it comes to protecting Joe Burrow.
After the Cincinnati Bengals‘ final roster cuts were made as the season approached, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report wrote about what he thought was the biggest takeaway for each team based on their rosters going into the year.
The big thing he took away from the Bengals cuts is something that Cincinnati football fans have likely been waiting to see since the first pick of the 2020 NFL draft was announced.
Here’s some of what Knox wrote:
The Cincinnati Bengals are finally serious about protecting Joe Burrow.
This is the biggest takeaway to be made from their wave of cuts, which included 2021 second-round pick Jackson Carman. Teams don’t like to give up on high draft picks after only a few seasons, but the Bengals did exactly that after the 24-year-old repeatedly struggled to get on the field.
The former Clemson tackle made six starts as a rookie and started two playoff games in 2022, but he only appeared in five regular-season games over the last two seasons.
Cincinnati has taken a lot of swings at the offensive line over the past few offseasons, most recently signing Trent Brown and using a first-round pick on Amarius Mims. It’s also become increasingly clear that the Bengals aren’t going to hang onto linemen who can’t contribute, regardless of the investment.
Knox went on to talk about how the Bengals also released La’el Collins just over a year into his three-year contract with the team since he was still recovering from his knee injury, and how they let Jonah Williams walk in free agency after replacing him at left tackle with Orlando Brown Jr. during the 2023 offseason.
It’s an important shift in the philosophy of the Cincinnati front office that has been very deliberate over the past couple of years. Protecting its franchise quarterback has become priority No. 1, especially after he has dealt with season-ending injuries in half of the seasons he has played in the NFL.
Those injuries have been direct results of taking too many sacks due to the amount of pressure he faces in the backfield, and now it’s obvious that they are trying to fix that.
As dominant as Notre Dame’s defense is expected to be in 2024, the offense has almost equally high expectations. Much of that has to do with the return of [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] as offensive coordinator after seven years of holding the same position at Cincinnati and then LSU. But the pressure he faces might have just gotten greater.
Big Game Boomer, social media’s college football list aficionado, has released his list of the sport’s 50 best offensive coordinators for the upcoming season. Denbrock was extremely high on the list. In fact, he was ranked second:
So now, there’s really no excuse for the Irish not to have the best offense they’ve had under [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]. If this group doesn’t make significant strides this season, a lot of questions will surface about how the Irish go after offensive talent both on the recruiting and coaching side. We’ll see how well everybody responds to these expectations.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
The courses could fetch a combined $6.5 million to $27.3 million, a report says.
Golfers in Cincinnati, Ohio, have long prized city courses for their high quality and low prices.
Those will be among the topics in play should the city decide to sell its courses or manage them in a new way – possibilities raised by the just-out Cincinnati Futures Commission report.
The courses could fetch a combined $6.5 million to $27.3 million, the report says, depending on whether they were bought by private golf course operators or sold off for development.
Here’s a look at the city’s six courses, operated by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, as they stand today.
Six courses with rates starting under $20
The six courses – two on the west side, two on the east, one in the central part of the city and one north – all operate seven days a week, weather permitting.
Rates start below $20 for a nine-hole round, with higher costs Friday through Sunday and for before-noon tee times. Kids younger than 17 are free with a playing adult.
The courses take reservations online, up to 10 days in advance; by phone at (513) 651-4653, seven or fewer days in advance. Groups are limited to foursomes.
The venues sell snacks and beverages in their clubhouses, and ban players from bringing their own beer or alcohol on courses.
CRC courses offer between nine and 27 holes
Avon Fields Golf Course, 4081 Reading Road, is located in the neighborhoods of North Avondale and Paddock Hills. It offers 18 holes, a clubhouse and driving range.
California Golf Course, 5924 Kellogg Ave., is located in Cincinnati’s California neighborhood. It has 18 holes and clubhouse.
Glenview Golf Course, 10965 Springfield Pike, is in Springfield Township. Its east, south and west courses each have nine holes, with a clubhouse to serve all three.
Neumann Golf Course, 7215 Bridgetown Road, is located in Miami Township. Its white, blue and red courses each offer nine holes. The course includes a club house and driving range.
Reeves Golf Course, 4757 Playfield Lane, is located on the city’s Lunken Airport property in the East End. It offers 18 holes, a driving range and clubhouse.
Woodland Golf Course, 5820 Muddy Creek Road, is a nine-hole course in Green Township with a clubhouse.
Hamilton County, private operators run dozens more
Great Parks of Hamilton County also owns and operates six public courses, with similar rates and rules. They include Little Miami Golf Course in Anderson Township, Meadow Links in Forest Park’s Winton Woods, Miami Whitewater in Harrison, Sharon Woods in Sharonville, The Mill Course in Springfield Township and The Vineyard Golf Course in Anderson Township.
Greater Cincinnati is also home to dozens of public courses run by other municipalities, along with private clubs.
An epic Brian Kelly story brought to you by football’s most popular brothers
Who would have ever guessed that two of the most-known players in the NFL today are a pair of brothers that played at the University of Cincinnati?
That’s the case with Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce. Jason, the center for the Philadelphia Eagles, is believed to be contemplating retirement. Travis is a tight end on the Kansas City Chiefs who is still near the top of his game at age 34. And, yeah, he’s the one dating Taylor Swift, too.
That’s not the reason for this post, however. Instead, the duo shared a story in recent months about Brian Kelly. Both played for Kelly at Cincinnati before Kelly left for Notre Dame. It involves Kelly, an underperforming Bearcats team at halftime, and a handful of recruits that witnessed Mount St. Kelly erupt.
Check it out below: A warning however, much of the language is not safe for work.
I would absolutely love for someone to do the legwork and figure who that No. 53 was so we can reach out and get his perspective of watching Kelly explode.
