Tag: notre dame sports

Four-Star ’22 Tight End Commits to Notre Dame

The good news for Notre Dame is that the Fighting Irish didn’t have to wait long for their second commitment in the ’22 class as tight end Jack Nickel made his commitment on Monday afternoon.

It took a while for Notre Dame to land their first commitment in the 2022 recruiting class as four-star offensive tackle Joey Tanona broke the seal on that over the weekend.

The good news for Notre Dame is that the Fighting Irish didn’t have to wait long for their second commitment in the ’22 class as tight end Jack Nickel made his commitment on Monday afternoon.

Nickel is listed at 6-4, 230 pounds and from Alpharetta, Georgia (Milton).  He chose Notre Dame despite having offers from 26 other schools including Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State and LSU.

Nickel is the first tight end to commit to Notre Dame’s 2022 class but joins an incredibly talented group that features four-star Cane Berrong from the ’21 class, five-star Michael Mayer from the ’20 class and four-star Kevin Bauman, also of the ’20 class.

The Fighting Irish certainly haven’t hit on everything out of the gate in regards to the ’22 class but it’s nice to see the commitments finally start to roll in after what had felt like a pretty significant wait.

Top Remaining Notre Dame Target to Announce Decision Wednesday

Will Notre Dame land their fourth defensive back commitment in the 2021 recruiting class on Wednesday?

Could Notre Dame be about to add a third corner back to their 2021 recruiting class?

That’s their hope as their top remaining defensive back target, Chance Tucker of Encino, California (Crespi) is set to announce his college decision on Wednesday.

Tucker shared he’d made his decision and that he’s ready to announce on Tuesday.

Tucker is graded as a three-star talent by 247Sports that Notre Dame officially offered on June 2.  Most recently, Northwestern offered a scholarship to Tucker just one week ago.

Notre Dame is certainly one of the favorites here but so is Washington, a team that has had outstanding success of late in securing strong defensive talent.

Tucker will be making the announcement at 10 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET.

Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class currently sits with a pair of corner commits in Philip Riley and Ryan Barnes, as well as safety Justin Walters.

Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire for all of the reaction after Tucker announces his decision and whatever you do, for the love of God don’t complain to him on Twitter if he doesn’t pick your favorite college football program.

Top NFL Reporter Says “Strong Conviction” to having College Football in 2020

The top NFL reporter around has college football news on Thursday afternoon and he says its a matter of when for 2020, not if.

Nobody breaks more NFL news than Adam Schefter.  Whether it’s a trade, a firing or a free agent signing, its practically an upset when NFL news isn’t broken by Schefter.

Schefter also has sources outside of the NFL as he’ll dip his toes in other waters from time to time and Thursday afternoon was one of those times as the veteran reporter shared what he’s hearing about college football having a season.

We’ve heard various different dates. Some believe that things will go off without a hitch and college football will open up the last weekend of August as scheduled.  Others think it may be until October or even later.  Whatever the case it certainly seems that college football will be played in some capacity.

I don’t know about you but personally I can’t wait to be sitting in Notre Dame Stadium on a Saturday afternoon in January.  I might have to buy a new pair of wool socks, though.

Or eight.

Watch: Notre Dame’s Top Ten Plays of the Year

The second edition of the #NDTop10 was released by Notre Dame Athletics on Thursday night and highlights some of the most memorable plays from the 2019-2020 academic year.  Football, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball and others are all represented on it.

The second edition of the #NDTop10 was released by Notre Dame Athletics on Thursday night and highlights some of the most memorable plays from the 2019-2020 academic year.  Football, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball and others are all represented on it.

Before I share my one critique of the list I’ll let you watch and enjoy the ten plays they chose.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urX05qOrRJQ&w=560&h=315]

Alright since you’ve seen it here are my couple of thoughts.

The game-winner against North Carolina by Laszewski was robbed.  It could have gone in the top three and I wouldn’t have batted an eye.  Kept the very small post season dreams alive while beating a blue-blood, even if North Carolina was bad.

Corner kick going in without being touched is absurd on the slow-motion replay.  Could argue that one go way up.

Stealing home is the second most exciting play you can have in a baseball game (trying to score from first on a ball in the gap for me) but in highlight form it really does leave a lot to be desired when you watch it back.  Not that it takes anything away from the play itself.

Did the volleyball highlight that saw the ball kicked up to be saved happen against Missouri by chance?

Ian Book’s touchdown run against Virginia Tech was awesome and capped a comeback win.  It also wouldn’t have happened had Chase Claypool not been there to convert a huge fourth down moments earlier.

The game-winning goal against Wake Forest is great and it’s the difference in upsetting the second-ranked team in the nation and it’s a pretty one at that.  Very worthy of the top spot.

Irish in MLB: Trey Mancini Undergoes Successful Surgery

A surprise last week in MLB’s spring training came from Baltimore Orioles camp where veteran Trey Mancini left camp, taking an unexpected leave.  Today we found out why exactly the former Notre Dame baseball player had to step away from the game.

A surprise last week in MLB’s spring training came from Baltimore Orioles camp where veteran Trey Mancini left camp, taking an unexpected leave.  Today we found out why exactly the former Notre Dame baseball player had to step away from the game.

After discovering a malignant tumor during a colonoscopy last week, Mancini had successful surgery to remove the tumor today.

In a statement released by the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, Mancini was thankful for the support from the team, fans, and supporters.

“The outpouring of love and support I have received has made an extremely tough week so much better,” Mancini said. “I have the best family, friends, fans and teammates imaginable. I am also eternally thankful for the Orioles front office, our athletic trainers and the entire medical staff for everything they have done to help me during this time. Finally, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and kind words, which have furthered my excitement to get back to playing the game I love.”

There is no timetable set for Mancini to return to the club and with MLB suspending spring training operations as of Thursday afternoon, it’s hard to have any idea when play may resume.  The good news is Mancini was aware something was amiss and all was handled well by all parties.

Mancini played at Notre Dame from 2011-2013, hitting .297 and 28 home runs in that time.  The Orioles selected him in the eighth round of the 2013 MLB Draft.  Mancini led the Orioles in doubles, home runs, RBI, OBP, slugging percentage and total bases.

Notre Dame Football: National and Super Bowl Champs

As we sit just days away from the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers strapping up to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, we’ll be having some sporatic fun here at Fighting Irish Wire in terms of former Notre Dame players and coaches who have had an impact on “The Big Game”.

Notre Dame has had a rich history not only in the NFL but in the NFL’s biggest game, the Super Bowl.

As we sit just days away from the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers strapping up to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, we’ll be having some sporatic fun here at Fighting Irish Wire in terms of former Notre Dame players and coaches who have had an impact on “The Big Game”.

Let’s start this by having a list in regards to Notre Dame trivia:

Are you aware that 10 players have won a national championship at Notre Dame and gone on to win a Super Bowl?

How many can you name?

It’s not an official Sporcle quiz, but perhaps it should be.

We’ll go in chronological order.  Feel free to pass along and share with your biggest Notre Dame/NFL Fan friends:

The first happened in Super Bowl IV, a Kansas City Chief

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11

Legendary Act Overcomes Rough Start at Notre Dame vs. Syracuse

Having covered both the NBA and college basketball during my career I can say firsthand Red Panda’s act is something to behold and was often times more entertaining than some of the NBA contests I covered.

Do you ever remember getting excited to see one of your favorite athletes in person but that athlete having an incredibly forgetable performance?

What happened last night at Purcell Pavilion wasn’t far off for a legendary act that has run halftime shows across the NBA and college basketball for years.

If you’re not already familiar with “Red Panda” then take a couple of minutes and enjoy the act.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdVaLT8Unnw?start=42&w=560&h=315]

Who possibly wouldn’t enjoy an act that features a young lady on a unicycle kicking bowls on top of her head?

Magic.

Having covered both the NBA and college basketball during my career I can say firsthand Red Panda’s act is something to behold and was often times more entertaining than some of the NBA contests I covered.

It wasn’t the first time it’s happened to her but Wednesday night our hero (Red Panda) didn’t have the best go at halftime of Notre Dame vs. Syracuse at Purcell Pavilion.

And not long after this tweet, video of the incredibly rare footage emerged – the good news is that Red Panda was able to gather herself after the rough start and finish strong.

Now if that’s not the sign of a real champion I really don’t know what is.