To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. Notre Dame’s men’s lacrosse team did just that.
Notre Dame has become the fourth team to sit atop the Inside Lacrosse men’s poll in the season’s first five weeks, following the Fighting Irish’s Saturday win over the then-No. 1 Maryland Terrapins.
The Irish are 3-0, having previously defeated the Michigan Wolverines and Georgetown Hoyas, and will face the 5th ranked Denver Pioneers (4-1) on Sunday in Colorado. The schedule doesn’t get any easier from there, either.
ND is #1 today by Inside Lacrosse--& the schedule still includes vs. #4 UNC, #5 Denver, #6 SYR, #11 UVA, #13 Army, #16 OSU, #18 Duke
— John Heisler (@NDHeisler) March 6, 2017
The 8-foot tall No. 1 sign above Grace Hall on Notre Dame’s campus is already lit to reflect the men’s team accomplishment.
As Tradition Dictates.
The #1 Sign atop Grace Hall is Lit for @NDlacrosse #NDLXP pic.twitter.com/12PId5SbJs
— Gerry Byrne (@byrneirish) March 7, 2017
The women’s lacrosse team (7-1) had an impressive come-from-behind victory Saturday against the then-20th ranked Louisville Cardinals, but dropped one spot to No. 9 in the Inside Lacrosse poll released Monday. The probable reason? Their victory last week against Duke doesn’t look as good now that the Blue Devils have lost twice in a row. The Irish’s sole loss came to a Northwestern Wildcats team which is now 2-4 (and ranked No. 17!).
The ladies play at 7 tonight against the Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1) and Saturday at No. 10 Princeton (4-0).
The men’s basketball team has slipped to No. 22 in the Associated Press poll after Saturday’s road loss in Louisville. They’re No. 16 in the USA Today coaches poll. Both were three spot downgrades. The women’s team remains third ranked.
The men next play at 9 p.m. Thursday in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The women are awaiting the unveiling of the brackets. They’re expected to be a No. 1 seed, headlining the Lexington, Ky. region.
SPRING FOOTBALL SCHEDULE REVEALED
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish spring football season will begin at noon today with a Brian Kelly news conference. Practices will be held for 2 hours and 15 minutes on both Wednesday and Friday. Media will get a one half hour look-in on Wednesday. Then after that, there won’t be practices until March 22.
The spring game will be held at 12:30 p.m. April 22 in Notre Dame Stadium.
PRO DAY PARTICIPANTS
Notre Dame’s Pro Day will be held March 23 and include nine players who used some or all of their eligibility at the university: long snapper Scott Daly, running back Tarean Folston, tight end Chase Hounshell (who spent 2016 with the Ohio State Buckeyes), defensive lineman Jarron Jones, quarterback DeShone Kizer, cornerback Cole Luke, linebacker James Onwualu, defensive lineman Isaac Rochell and safety Avery Sebastian.
OFFERS!
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish extended scholarship offers to three linebackers Monday, including two from the class of 2019.
Shammond Cooper is a 6-foot-2, 190 pound outside linebacker from Trinity Catholic (St. Louis, Mo.). The 2019 athlete also holds offers from the Bowling Green Falcons, Iowa State Cyclones, Memphis Tigers, Northern Illinois Huskies, Ole Miss Rebels, Syracuse Orange and Missouri Tigers.
Blessed to receive my 9th offer from the University of Notre Dame ☘️ #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/cnSauIIXvH
— Shammond Cooper (@Shammond07) March 6, 2017
Channing Tindall is a 6-foot-2, 206 pound inside linebacker from Spring Valley (Columbia, S.C.). He’s rated three stars in the 247 Sports composite. Tindall also holds offers from the South Carolina Gamecocks, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Clemson Tigers and Ohio State, among others.
Pumped to receive an offer to play this game I LOVE at the University of Notre Dame!!! #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/LCahvJwKf4
— Channing Tindall (@Kingschan_) March 6, 2017
Shane Lee is a 6-foot-2, 235 pound linebacker from St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), the same high school as recent Notre Dame commit Kofi Wardlow. 247 Sports rates Lee as a four-star and the top overall inside linebacker in the class of 2019. Lee also holds offers from Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan and Syracuse, among others.
COREY HOLMES UPDATE
As elected president of the Unofficial Corey Holmes Fan Club, here’s a semi-update on the senior wide receiver, who is transferring with two years of eligibility left.
New colors coming soon. Stay tuned...
A post shared by Corey Holmes (@coreyholmes15) on
Feb 28, 2017 at 10:30am PST
AND FINALLY...
If you haven’t already started the “Missing Richard Simmons” podcast, what exactly are you waiting for? Dan Taberski, a former “Daily Show” producer, is trying to determine why exactly the fitness guru hasn’t been seen in public for more than three years. He’s painting a picture of Simmons as an individual with a tremendous heart who genuinely cared about his friends’ well-being. But now, no one hears from him. Is he being controlled by his longtime housekeeper? Is he still nursing a bad knee injury? Or did he just tire of putting on a happy face for his public?
We’re already three episodes deep, people. Here’s a Rolling Stone primer to get you caught up. Download it for iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify and iHeartRadio here or wherever you get your podcasts. (If you have an iPhone or iPad, I heartily endorse Overcast, which is free.)