Tag: st louis

Former Notre Dame running back is Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee

Congrats, Kyren!

Former Notre Dame running back [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag] has done well in his three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He made the Pro Bowl last year and is closing in on his second straight 1,000-yard season.

But Williams also has given a lot back to the community since he joined the NFL, and the Rams decided it was time for him to be recognized for that. Specifically, he has been selected as their 2024 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

The Rams chose to reveal this news to Williams in a very personal way. They invited team legend Steven Jackson to do the honors during a team meeting. The screen at the front of the room showed a photo of a younger Williams posing with Jackson while the team was based in St. Louis, where Williams grew up. Jackson felt it appropriate to gift his fellow running back with a pair of cleats.

Here’s how it all went down:

Congratulations to Williams, and here’s hoping he can add to his trophy case.

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Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey enshrined in St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame

Congrats, Niele!

Perhaps the only thing [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is prouder of than being a member of the Notre Dame family is being a St. Louis native. The legendary Irish player-turned-coach made her mark in St. Louis before she accomplished bigger things, and she got to demonstrate how far she’d come when she led the Irish to victory over California at the Enterprise Center in November 2022.

Now, Ivey’s accomplishments will be remembered in her hometown forever. On Thursday, she became one of 11 new members of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. Here’s the announcement of her induction that was made in July:

Ahead of her honor, the Irish expressed congratulations for their coach:

Ivey will be joining such fellow basketball inductees as legendary St. Louis Hawks Bob Pettit and Lenny Wilkens, two of the greatest NBA players ever. That alone makes this a noteworthy honor.

Congratulations to Ivey and all the other honorees for 2024.

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Notre Dame, South Carolina will begin 2023-24 season in Paris

Brush up on your French before November.

When Notre Dame was eliminated in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, it lost the chance to play South Carolina in the Elite Eight. The Irish won’t have to wait long to learn what might have happened. To tip off the 2023-24 season, they will meet the Gamecocks on Nov. 6 in Paris. It will be the first college basketball game played there for either men or women, and it will mark the Irish’s first game outside North America.

As you can imagine, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is absolutely thrilled with this news:

This will be the second straight season in which the Irish are part of a historic first. When they met California in St. Louis last season, it was the first women’s college basketball game to be broadcast on NBC. Now, they’ll showcase their skills aboard at a time when women’s basketball is soaring in popularity. Whatever the outcome of this game is, everyone already is a winner.

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Niele Ivey, Olivia Miles and Kylee Watson discuss Notre Dame win

The Irish speak about their win in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS — Notre Dame’s 90-79 win over California at the Shamrock Classic in St. Louis came tougher than anticipated. Still, a win is a win, and to have it come live from the Enterprise Center on NBC made it all the more special. The opportunity for [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to do it in her hometown was among the topics covered in her postgame news conference with [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag]. Here is some of what they said:

Notre Dame overcomes foul trouble to win Shamrock Classic over Cal

A bit tight, but still a win.

ST. LOUIS — [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]’s St. Louis homecoming could have gone a lot smoother. She didn’t plan on so many key players having to sit at a crucial time so that could be on the court at the end of the Shamrock Classic. Still, she gladly will take a 90-79 win over California.

The Irish (2-0) led by as much as 14 in the third quarter, but three players ([autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag]) had four fouls before the end of that frame. With Ivey forced to go to her bench as the fourth quarter began, the Bears (1-1) whittled the deficit down to three. Fortunately, the Irish were able to calm themselves down, and the reserves were able to tread water before the foul-plagued starters could return. Once that happened, it was relatively smooth sailing.

[autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag] led the Irish with 16 points before fouling out. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] had 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 14, Miles achieved a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists, and 12 points came from Westbeld.

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Notre Dame prepares to face California in Citi Shamrock Classic

The Irish will be part of history in St. Louis.

It could be argued that [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is looking forward to this game more than any other in which she’s been Notre Dame’s head coach. She’ll be coaching the Irish in her hometown of St. Louis for the Citi Shamrock Classic against California, which is coached by fellow St. Louis native Charmin Smith. This also is the city where Ivey won the 2001 national championship with the Irish as a player.

There are many reasons to be excited about this game. The Irish will enter it with confidence after their season-opening win over Northern Illinois. This will be the first time a women’s basketball game is broadcast live on NBC, so you can flip over to this after the football team’s contest with Navy is finished.

Most importantly for us, we will be on location to cover this game. Our thanks to Ashton Pollard of Fighting Irish Media for making this possible. We look forward to being part of what should be a great day.

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Notre Dame to play California in Shamrock Classic in St. Louis

Football not your thing? Get to St. Louis for a women’s hoops game one day instead.

Football no longer is the only sport in which Notre Dame and California will play each other this year. As the guys on the gridiron get set for battle at Notre Dame Stadium, the schools’ respective women’s basketball program are looking forward to their own meeting. The teams will play each other Nov. 12 in the first Shamrock Classic at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center, where Irish coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] won the national title along with her other Irish teammates in 2001:

Ivey is not the only St. Louis native coaching this game. It’s also the city where Bears coach Charmin Smith is from, so you better believe both coaches are looking forward to this a lot.

Also of note is that this will be the first women’s basketball game to be shown on NBC and Peacock. Don’t worry about it interfering with football though. That program is facing Navy in Baltimore that day, so it won’t even be on the same network.

Here’s hoping this event is a big success (and an Irish win).

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Twitter reacts to Kyren Williams being drafted by Rams

What was your reaction to the news?

It took a while, but Notre Dame finally got its second player selected in the 2022 NFL draft. That player is Kyren Williams, and he was taken by the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round. To say the least, the man was happy to receive the phone call of a lifetime. Another happy man was Lance Taylor, his running backs coach with the Irish and now the offensive coordinator at Louisville:

Of course, Taylor wasn’t the only person who took to Twitter after hearing the news. Some of the other reactions gave insight into Williams’ background as a Rams fan growing up in St. Louis. Others talked about how he’ll be able to help the Rams. Whatever the reason they had to tweet about him, it’s clear that this is an interesting and exciting player who will be tearing up SoFi Stadium if given the chance:

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Notre Dame offers receiver recruit Ryan Wingo

The Irish are after a speedy receiver who’s just getting started in high school.

While it would be nice to see Notre Dame improve its receiver situation from last year quickly, improvement often comes to those who wait. Tommy Rees is looking far down the road for his offense, or at least that of the Irish. As strong as the offensive line was during the 2020 season, receiver is among Notre Dame’s biggest areas of need. That’s why Rees has given an offer to Ryan Wingo, a receiver at St. Louis University High School in St. Louis with only his first year of prep football under his belt:

Like many recruits his age, Wingo only has a few offers so far. In addition to Notre Dame, he’s drawn interest from Illinois, Iowa State, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Missouri and UCF. Every program that comes after him will appreciate his speed, especially after he won four gold medals in a recent track meet for 100- and 200-meter events as well as two relay events. He’s only going to get better as he progresses through high school, and that’s a scary thought.

Notre Dame Presents Offer to Tight End Recruit Mac Markway

Like many other schools looking at tight end recruit Mac Markway, Notre Dame isn’t wasting time.

Like many other schools looking at tight end recruit Mac Markway, Notre Dame isn’t wasting time. Irish tight ends coach John McNulty has made Markway an offer even though he just completed his sophomore season at De Smet Jesuit in St. Louis. If Markway selects Notre Dame, he’ll join fellow De Smet product and current Irish receiver Jordan Johnson, who will be a senior by the time he begins his collegiate career:

Notre Dame obviously felt it had to move fast on Markway because he’s already drawn interest from 24 schools and received offers from 20 of them. These include Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Washington, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Miami, Texas A&M and Kansas. There’s no telling how much more he can develop as he continues playing at the prep level. It will be exciting to watch him continue to climb the ranks.