SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore said the Irish are on a “revenge tour” after being excluded from the College Football Playoff last fall, and players aren’t shying away from talking about the importance of their Nov. 7 home game against Miami as part of it.

Moore said last year’s 27-24 season-opening loss to Miami used to keep him awake at night, but so did the Week 3 loss to Texas A&M — an 0-2 start that ultimately kept the Irish out of the CFP.

“We’re on a revenge tour now,” Moore said. “We got to get back. We got to make it right from last year.”

Quarterback CJ Carr, who is entering his second season as the full-time starter, conceded it’s “impossible” not to think about facing the Canes at home this year.

“Watching that tape, it was probably the worst first half of football our offense played all year, and to be in that game in the end and the second half we put together was special,” he said. “It’s hard to watch. … There was some resilience shown in that game that’s going to help us this year. We’re excited for them to come into town and see what this team’s got.”

When told of his players’ candor during an interview in his office on Tuesday morning, coach Marcus Freeman smirked.

“We spend too much time daydreaming about Miami, we’re going to lose to Wisconsin,” he said of Notre Dame’s Sept. 6 season opener. “You’ve got to focus on the task right at hand. That’s no different than saying, can we go back to the national championship? If we want to focus on the national championship, we’re going to lose the opportunity we have right here. It’s my job to make sure I’m directing the focus where it needs to be. That’s an everyday message, an everyday reminder to struggle. Struggle has to be hard mentally and physically and to sacrifice and put Notre Dame in front of yourself.”

Moore said the defensive backs shouldered a lot of the blame for the loss to Canes, as Miami quarterback Carson Beck completing all but 10 passes (20 of 30) for 205 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“That’s what used to keep me up at night,” Moore said, “just thinking about maybe one or two plays in that game that I could’ve made that would’ve changed the course of the season. That and the Texas A&M game, just as a DB room, we put that all on us.”

Following the loss to Miami, Moore said Freeman was blunt in his assessment of the secondary.

“He told us we was weak, we was soft,” Moore said, “all that type of stuff. It’s serious to him, too. That’s something he’s not used to seeing from us.”

This year, Notre Dame’s secondary should be one of its biggest assets on a defense that returns nine of its top 10 tacklers, including safety Adon Shuler (53) and Moore (31).

Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen, who was wearing pads on Tuesday morning’s practice for the first time this spring since his offseason hip surgery, said Freeman showed the team video of their reaction on Selection Day. The loss to Miami, though, wasn’t the only mistake over the past few years.

“… There’s always one little thing we didn’t do, maybe at the beginning of the season or the middle of the season,” he said. “There’s always something where we could have been better. Going through four years of it now … we understand everything from now until the time we either get voted in or don’t get voted in, everything’s important.”

In each of the past four seasons under Freeman, the Irish haven’t been able to finish September undefeated, losing at least one or two games each year. He said the team has to start faster, and that’s “not just a last year deal.”

“We’re going to play good teams early because of conferences, we have to get the teams that are willing to plays that in conferences early,” he said, “but it’s no excuse to not be as close to your best as possible. We’ve got to do a better job of making sure our teams is prepared in playing and executing in a better sense than what we’ve been in the past.”

Carr said the team continues to use last year as motivation but also has to move forward.

“You can sulk and you can blame and you can point the finger or you can say, ‘alright, we got punched in the face, we’ve got to get back up,'” Carr said. “We’ve got to go back to work. We’ve got a new team coming in. We’re going to be really good. We have draft picks all over the field. We have a chance to be really special.”

Ohhhhhh BABY, buckle up, because the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season gave us more thrills than a roller coaster at peak speed. We’re talking Diaper Dandies, Prime-Time Performers, record-breakers and coaching legends showing they still have the magic touch.

Here are Dickie V’s Dazzling Dozen moments from a season that had it all.

1. The Prime-Time Player: Cameron Boozer

National Player of the Year. Consensus All-American. Tied the program record for most double-doubles by a Duke freshman (22). Became the first freshman or sophomore to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a season since Larry Bird in 1976-77. Cameron Boozer was awesome, baby. A legit super stud who brought the goods every night — no off nights, no soft nights, just dominance.

2. The Night of the Triple Forty Phenoms

Three freshmen — three — drop 40-plus points on the same night?!

Diaper Dandies Keaton Wagler (46), AJ Dybantsa (43) and Kingston Flemings (42) were Diaper Dazzlers, putting on scoring displays that would make Pistol Pete Maravich smile from the heavens. Each one set freshman records for their schools. Awesome with a capital “A”!

3. The Year of the Diaper Dandies

Never — NEVER! — have we seen a freshman class like this one. Ten first-year phenoms projected in the top 10 of the NBA draft?! Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., Flemings, Mikel Brown Jr., Nate Ament and Brayden Burries — a parade of Diaper Dandy delights. It was like watching an NBA lottery preview every night.

4. A Winner from Day One: Jon Scheyer’s Historic Start

Scheyer Dazzler! The Duke head man is rewriting the definition of early-career success: 124 wins in four seasons, including 25 against ranked teams. That’s winning with style, baby. The Brotherhood is alive and well in Durham.

5. Darius Acuff Jr. Goes for 49 in a 50-Minute Marathon

Double overtime at Alabama, the crowd going wild, and the kid delivers the most points (49) by a freshman against an AP ranked team. That’s not just a performance, that’s a “call the fire department” moment.

6. The Assist King: Braden Smith

Move over, Bobby Hurley! Smith is now the assists leader in Division I with 1,103 dimes. A beautiful passer, a floor general, a facilitator with flair — Smith was the ultimate team-first player.

7. Dylan Darling‘s Darling Game Winner

A buzzer-beating layup to send St. John’s to the Sweet 16 — and his first points of the game? Talk about drama, baby! Darling became the first player in NCAA tournament history to score his first points on a game-winning buzzer-beater. That’s March Magic.

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St. John’s stuns Kansas at the buzzer to reach Sweet 16

Dylan Darling’s first basket of the game is a layup as time expires to win it for St. John’s in dramatic fashion.

8. Tom Izzo: Time Marches On, and So Does the Legend

He’s a PTP: Prime-Time Patriarch. Izzo reached the NCAA tournament for the 28th straight year, hit 700 wins at one school and passed Bobby Knight for the most Big Ten victories. That’s not longevity, that’s legendary.

9. Tarris Reed Jr. Makes March Madness History

Thirty-one points. Twenty-seven rebounds. Outrebounding Furman by himself. First 30-25 tournament game in 58 years. One of just three men ever to do it. Tarris Reed Jr.? More like Tarris Beast Jr. Put that in the record books with gold ink.

10. Kelvin Sampson Joins the 800 Win Club

This guy needs to be in the Hall of Fame. The Cougars keep clawing, keep winning, keep thriving — Sampson started the season with win No. 800 and added 29 more. Five straight 30-win seasons, tying Gonzaga’s record. He’s a maestro, a motivator, a master of March.

11. The Season of the 2K Kings

Seven players cracked the 2,000-point milestone, and that’s a testament to hard work, consistency and being a scoreboard-filling superstar. Tucker DeVries, Graham Ike, Nijel Pack, P.J. Haggerty, Jaron Pierre Jr., Bruce Thornton, Boopie Miller — each one a model of excellence.

12. Rick Barnes Keeps Rolling with Tennessee

Another bona fide Hall of Famer. What more does a guy have to do? Well, how about three straight Elite Eights? How about 861 wins? How about seven 25-win seasons in nine years? Rick Barnes doesn’t just coach, he delivers.

Bonus: Half a Hundred from Dennis Parker Jr.

Are you kidding me?! Fifty-three points. My guy Dennis Parker Jr. lit it up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve, going 19-for-24 from the field with 10 triples. A Radford and Big South record as well as the most points in a game this season. That’s what I call pure scorching supersensational supremacy.

Dickie V’s Final Take

From sizzling scorers to record-breaking rookies, from coaching titans to unbelievable tourney moments, the 2025-26 season had everything: drama, passion, performance and pride. College hoops was alive and electric, and the stars shined brighter than ever.

Bring on more hoops, baby! I love it!

Minnesota’s high school softball season will be under a national spotlight for the second year in a row, and a hotter one than in 2025.

As the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a Title IX lawsuit against the state’s education agencies for letting biological male trans athletes play in girls’ sports, Champlin Park High School is set to be a political target.

The high school rosters a trans pitcher on its softball team, who emerged as a dominant force en route to a state championship last year.

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Now, that pitcher is playing for Champlin Park again this year while President Donald Trump’s administration tries to crack down.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District, which oversees Champlin Park, is standing by the athlete amid the renewed national scrutiny.

“The Champlin Park Softball team will compete in compliance with Minnesota State High School League rules and applicable Minnesota law this upcoming season. All participating student-athletes will meet the criteria for eligibility which aim to elevate standards of sportsmanship and encourage the growth of responsible citizenship for all involved. Because the school district is named in an active lawsuit involving last season, the District is limited in what additional information can be shared on this matter,” the district said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

A girls’ softball player, who is anonymously part of a lawsuit with Alliance Defending Freedom that challenges the state laws on trans athletes, shared her thoughts on the distracting political dynamic of this season with Fox News Digital.

“I just want a fair and competitive season. My hope for this season is that the focus stays on the game, while also making sure girls’ sports remain a place where female athletes have equal opportunities to compete and succeed,” she said.

Meanwhile, another anonymous plaintiff in that lawsuit shared gratitude for the DOJ’s intervention.

“Thank you, President Trump! I’m so grateful for the support towards girls in sports in Minnesota,” she said.

The lawsuit was originally struck down by a federal judge, but ADF has filed an appeal in appellate court and is awaiting a decision there.

CHAMPLIN PARK WINS MINNESOTA SOFTBALL STATE TITLE BEHIND TRANS PITCHER’S COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT

Former Minnesota high school and current NCAA softball player Kendall Kotzmacher lost a 3-2 heartbreaker to Champlin Park last season, in what was her final high school game.

But Kozmacher’s younger sister, who lost with her in that game, is still set to play this season, and could be on a collision course with the trans pitcher again.

“My little sister, she played with me last year. She’s still playing, so it’s really hard,” Kotzmacher said. “I’m lucky enough that it’s not allowed at the NCAA level. But there’s all of these girls that I do not want them to ever have to go through the situations that I did, and I do not want my sister to have to deal with what I had to do and what she had to deal with last year again.”

Minnesota has faced its own internal conflict over the issue dating back to early 2025, when Democratic lawmakers in the state legislature struck down a bill that would have prevented biological males from competing in girls’ sports.

State Republicans renewed that effort in recent weeks amid the DOJ crackdown, but were once again unsuccessful due to Democrat control, as they failed to push a bill forward on the House Floor Tuesday.

“Protecting girls is not hate,” said state representative Krista Knudsen. “When biological males enter girls’ sports, girls lose. They lose medals, they lose roster spots, they lose college scholarships and they lose their safety.”

Democrat state representative Kelly Moller dismissed concerns over the issue.

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“My colleagues across the aisle say that you are bringing this to protect women and girls and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The real threat to women and girls is sexual assault and gender-based violence,” Moller said.

Meanwhile, 326 school board members in 125 school districts in the state signed a letter pleading with the state’s leadership to comply with Trump’s mandate to protect girls’ sports.

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