Rakes Report: A Notre Dame Podcast

Jessica Smetana and Bridget Reynolds join to discuss the new Netflix documentary about Manti Te'o.  (We were going to arbitrarily break this into two parts like the documentary but instead are just releasing the supersized version and including a bunch of punctuation in the title. Pause in the middle for that two-part experience!)

Michael Bryan (18 Stripes) and Greg Flammang (Irish Sports Daily and UHND) join to discuss our collective confidence levels in the different Fighting Irish position groups for the upcoming season. 

Ashton Pollard of Blue and Gold stops by to discuss the opening weekend of Notre Dame's August camp. A lot of excitement and question marks surrounding the offense, and mostly just excitement about the defense.

As we approach a new season with a new Notre Dame head coach amid an uncertain future for college football, it's worth considering some big questions: What does it mean to be a fan? What should we want out of sports? Can being a fan make you a better person? Jessica Smetana joins to wrestle these questions with Notre Dame professors Meghan Sullivan (author of "The Good Life Method") and Christine Becker. (This ended up being just about the length of a twice-a-week class, which is fitting. Trying something different with this one, hope you enjoy.)

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the latest in conference realignment and what it means for the Fighting Irish.

Mike Laskey and Sam Werner join to discuss Blake Wesley becoming the first Notre Dame men's basketball player to be selected in the first round since 2015. Other topics and digressions: Jaden Ivey, Arike, the Sacramento Kings draft history, J.J. Starling, Pat Connaughton, Chris Quinn, Roosevelt Jones, Thomas Walkup.

A travelogue covering the opening days of the 2022 Men's College World Series.

Using the occasion of C.J. Carr's commitment to the Fighting Irish to talk with Ashton Pollard of Blue and Gold about quarterbacks, recruiting, quarterback recruiting and much more.

Our USC Insider Nick Tresnowski joins to talk about the Trojans new coach and new roster, plus some general Pac-12 and Notre Dame chatter.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss how Kyle Hamilton and Kyren Williams fared in the draft before turning to the latest conversations around Name, Image and Likeness.

After spending the Blue-Gold Game reporting on the sideline for NBC Sports, Caroline Pineda joins to talk about what she saw and heard as Marcus Freeman’s first spring as Notre Dame’s head coach came to a close.  subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter

Long one today, probably should have just broken this into two but here we are. First, Jamie Uyeyama of Irish Sports Daily talks spring practice and how Notre Dame is working to replace some of its biggest contributors from last season. Then (55:20) Mike Laskey joins to talk about Blake Wesley's NBA decision.

Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel joins to discuss Marcus Freeman's first three months on the job, Notre Dame recruiting, playoff expansion, NIL, Mel Tucker's extension, Rose Bowl sunsets and much more.

The Athletic's Pete Sampson joins to walk through the new faces on the Fighting Irish coaching staff, plus some discussion of the roster and Winning Is Hard. subscribe to the rakes report newsletter

Sam Werner joins to talk about the Notre Dame men's basketball team as they prepare for their biggest week of the season. After that (30:44), Paul Rigney talks about hanging out on campus with Jerome Bettis as The Bus returns to finish his ND degree. Watch the Today Show story on Bettis here.

Notre Dame professors Christine Becker (Film, Television and Theatre) and Katherine Walden (American Studies) join to discuss the public relations rollout and documentary footage around the Marcus Freeman hire, mythmaking in the age of social media, John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! and more.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss if there are any long-term ramifications from Notre Dame's loss to Oklahoma State before moving onto some big picture issues (narrative shift on playoff losses, Kirk Herbstreit's comments, NIL + transfer portal) as well as how Jess reignited the Muffet/Geno feud over Christmas. (Considering it follows a loss, this one isn't a bummer.) 

The South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen joins to discuss his reporting on Brian Kelly's departure and Marcus Freeman's ascension.  Read Eric's column on Freeman here. Donate to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend here. Buy the Christmas Giving shirts here.

It's way too early to make any final judgments on how Brian Kelly's time in South Bend will be viewed but it's always a good time to talk to Michael Bryan of 18 Stripes about his look back at the last dozen years of Notre Dame football. Donate to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend here. Buy the Christmas Giving shirts here.

After covering the past Notre Dame season for NBC Sports, the AP and NDFIM, senior Caroline Pineda stops by to discuss the Kelly-to-Freeman transition, her thoughts on the new head coach, what it's like to have Muffet McGraw as a professor and much more. Donate to the Center for the Homeless in South Bend here. Buy the Christmas Giving shirts here.