Print Edition of The Observer for Tuesday, September 6, 2016

panel promotes mental health awareness

Support a Belle, Love a Belle week encourages open conversation about mental illness and treatments

By ALLISON SANCHEZ news writer

a panel of s aint m ary’s students shared their experiences with mental illness monday as part of the c ollege’s support a b elle, l ove a b elle ( sablab ) week.

s ophomore a licia Twisselmann started off the panel talking about about her struggle with anxiety and depression. s he said the combination of her anxiety and depression with attention deficit disorder ( add ) makes it difficult for her to stay motivated.

“i have such high goals and aspirations, and i’m a perfectionist,” she said.“ yet at the same time, i still can’t quite bring myself to do what i know i need to.”

s he said she has been affected by her mental illnesses for

as long as she can remember, and was first put on medication in second grade.

“i’m thankful that at this point it’s just sort of at the background, but it still definitely continues to have an impact,” she said.

Twisselmann said small acts of kindness matter the most to her and will help encourage her to open up to others about how she’s feeling.

s ophomore meredith m ackowicz spoke about her experience living with generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression. s he said while she was able to self-diagnose her mental disorders, she finally opened up to a doctor two summers ago.

“i feel like there’s such a stigma, especially on college campuses, about mental illnesses.

nd officially designates swimming a club sport

By KATIE GALIOTO news e ditor

w hen Kevin b est came to college, one of the first things he did was head to the pool. a fter swimming every day in high school, it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

“There’s way more people who swim at n otre d ame than you would think,” b est, now a junior, said. “There’s way more people who swim at n otre d ame than i would have ever thought.”

This community of swimmers — once an informal group of people bonded by a love for the sport — now has an official name: the n otre d ame s wim c lub.

The club received official recognition from the s tudent a ctivities o ffice ( sao ) beginning this academic year. s wimmers trekked out to the r ockne m emorial pool m onday for the inaugural

practice.

b est, the club’s president, said more than 100 students signed up at the team’s stand at a ctivities n ight.

“ i think one of the really good things about this is all of our freshmen have this built-in community that they can go to — something we’ve always been used to having with our swim teams,” he said.

The club holds practices five days a week; they might add an extra one once football season ends. Junior s tephen s pittler, club treasurer, said there are no requirements for swimmers — the commitment can be as big or as little as one wants it to be.

“ s ome people will come every day and try to relive the glory days of high school,” he said. “a nd some people will show up once a month. it’s all fine.”

m andy m adden, assistant

director of club sports, said swimming is just one of 46 sports offered by the university at a club level. There are some perks that come with the new status, s pittler said.

“ b efore, we were just going and swimming at the r ock or at r olfe’s,” he said. “ b ut now we actually get lanes set aside for us, which is really nice.”

The team also gets to issue official athletic apparel and receives funding to travel to meets. They’ll finally have an official team cap to swap with other teams, s pittler added, a long-lasting tradition at swim meets.

“ e very team will come and swap a cap with each other,” he said. “ it’s one of the little things that’s new and we’ll now be able to do.”

b est said he’s most excited to represent the university in

Students reflect on canonization of Mother Teresa

By GABY JENSEN news writer

i n honor of mother Teresa of Kolkata’s canonization sunday, s aint m ary’s students reflected on the life of the saint, who visited the c ollege in 1974.

a ccording to a 1974 article in the s outh b end Tribune, mother Teresa came to both the notre d ame and s aint m ary’s campuses and gave a speech at o’ l aughlin a uditorium. The s isters of the holy c ross and f r. John J. e gan, then head of notre d ame’s pastoral institute on social ministry, sponsored her visit.

m inistry assistant for l e m ans h all senior helen Kovach said it is exciting to know that a saint from her lifetime visited campus.

“i’ve served m ass in

[ o’ l aughlin], and it’s cool to know she was in there too,” Kovach said. “it’s like walking in the footsteps of a saint.”

Kovach said mother Teresa was an inspiration for service.

“s he’s an awesome new saint,” Kovach said. “a real inspiration for our time on how you can serve others.”

Junior m arta Thuente said she wished she was there when mother Teresa visited because the recently canonized saint influenced Thuente’s career choice.

“[ i’m] kind of sad we missed out on it,” Thuente said. “g rowing up i read a graphic novel about the life of mother Teresa. r eading it inspired me to go into nursing.”

s enior r achel faircloth said it was great that s aint m ary’s has a connection with the

see sainT paGe 3 see sablab paGe 5 see swimming paGe 4

Notre Dame alumni to launch finance app

By RAY REN news writer

c ountless kids grow up dreaming about starting their own companies. for notre dame graduates Joe mueller and federico s egura, that dream has become a reality since they co-founded grain — a mobile app that connects family and friends in the realm of personal finance.

mueller and s egura both studied business at notre dame, gaining experience and insight through classes, research projects and entrepreneurial lectures. They graduated in 2015 and now work out of silicon valley — mueller as the ceo and s egura, the chief financial officer ( cfo ).

“i had to be a self-starter and forge my own trails,” mueller said. “ you don’t know what’s

going to happen even two, three, four months down the road.”

using the computing power of ibm’s watson, grain is able to take keyword inputs from everyday life, like “solar power,” and turn them into related investment ideas, such as “s olar c ity stock,” for a portfolio. b y connecting to a social network, the app’s users can share ideas and compare company performances with people they trust in a welcoming center, mueller said.

“ we saw a disconnection between our studies and personal finance, and we wanted to help friends and family to bridge that gap,” mueller said.

Through the mendozasponsored shark Tank event and notre dame’s annual mc c loskey business plan c ompetition, the co-founders

were able to develop g rain from an idea into a viable platform.

mueller said the company name of grain originated from the story of the ancient i ndian minister s essa, who is sometimes credited as the inventor of chess. The story goes that as

for the third and so on — doubling the number of grains for each successive square. The ruler agreed, not realizing the sum of all the grains would result in an enormous heap.

mueller said they took the same idea to personal finance, where the stock market en-

“I had to be a self-starter and forge my own trails. You don’t know what’s going to happen even two, three, four months down the road.”

Joe Mueller chief executive officer Grain

a reward for inventing chess, an i ndian ruler granted s essa a request, to which s essa responded by asking the ruler to give him a grain of wheat for the first square of the chessboard, two for the second, four

paid a dverT isemen T

ables a small initial investment to grow tremendously over time.

a ccording to mueller, grain joins friends and family together by allowing them to track each other’s investment

decisions. it also has a virtual stock market users can practice with before linking to an actual brokerage account to make real trades — thus allowing people to familiarize themselves and gain confidence in the market by gradually easing into investing. mueller said users are also able to invest at their own pace without feeling pressured or overwhelmed. for aspiring entrepreneurs, mueller has some advice.

“d on’t be afraid to reach out for help and find resources to put you on the right path,” he said. “d on’t be afraid to just go for it.”

nearing the completion of its b eta phase, grain is set to officially release on the i os a pp store on friday.

Contact Ray Ren at tren1@nd.edu

s aint

con T inued from page 1

newly canonized saint.

“she was an amazing woman and it’s awesome that someone who was canonized came to s aint mary’s and has a connection to us,” faircloth said. faircloth said mother Teresa’s messages were not exclusive to c atholics.

“ you don’t have to be c atholic to understand her teachings,” faircloth said.

s enior a drienne bruggeman said mother Teresa’s visit was good for the c ollege because

“You don’t have to be Catholic to understand her teachings.”

Rachel Faircloth senior

she was a living example of the teachings of the c atholic faith.

“it shaped the character of our college,” bruggeman said. s enior margaret davis said the visit was a positive experience for the c ollege because mother Teresa was a role model for faith by her small acts of service.

“i think being in an all women’s c atholic college, that she can come here and share her life experiences to be inspirational and show that ordinary people can do great things in the world,” davis said. “she’s given me hope that i can do small daily things to help others.”

Junior c aroline b eecher said mother Teresa had a large influence on the world.

“she had a big impact on people outside the faith as well as c atholics,” b eecher said.

Contact Gaby Jensen at gjanse01@saintmarys.edu

a new capacity.

“i think it will be really good for us to compete under that name,” he said. “it definitely gives us more credibility.”

The club plans to travel to at least two meets this semester — one at miami university and one at the university of pittsburgh. They hope to attend even more during the spring semester. a nd they’re hoping for a big finish: nationals.

“every college club team from the country goes to a big, threeday meet in georgia,” best said. “That’s where we want to be at the end of the year.”

it’s always fun and exciting to compete, best said. but for him, it’s more about being a part of a team.

“i love going and seeing the same people every day,” he said. “Knowing i’m going to see my friends at this time — friends outside my dorm, outside of my classes — it’s just something i look forward to.”

There’s a lot of benefits to be

gained from swimming, spittler said.

“i love alone time,” he said. “swimming is a very productive type of alone time — because yes, you are out there with people. but when you’re underwater, you can’t talk to people. having that kind of mindless activity just really helps me to relax and calm down after long days.” both spittler and best have met some good friends at the pool, including an assistant rector, an indiana university south bend medical school student and upperclassmen in their own dorm.

“it isn’t intense or crazy,” spittler said. “it’s more for the enjoyment of the sport.”

best said 42 swimmers came to the club’s first practice — a number he hopes to increase. The co-ed team welcomes people of all ages, from notre dame, saint mary’s and holy cross college.

“most of the time, we say to come try it,” he said. “There’s only one way to find out if it’s for you.”

Contact Katie Galioto at kgalioto@nd.edu

a nd while it is a part of me, it’s not the biggest part of me and it’s not the most important part of me,” m ackowicz said. “There’s so many other things that i take pride in like music and theatre and art and there’s so many aspects to a person.”

m ackowicz said once she was able to open up about her mental illness, she found other students on campus who had the same issues and background as her.

“ i think the best way to beat the stigma is to just not worry about it and to realize some people are going to have issues that you won’t understand and that they can’t explain to you,” she said. “ i think we just have to be patient, we have to be open to people and realize that if you just do one small thing you can make a complete difference in someone else’s life.”

s ophomore a shley c oates opened up about her struggle with anxiety and clinical depression. s he said she knew there was a problem when she would wake up anxious and unable to get out of bed.

“a lthough it is 100 percent

mental — as in it’s [your head] that’s making you feel that way — it does affect your body physically,” c oates said. “ f or example, if i become anxious, i can’t eat.”

c oates said while there are difficult patches, she was able to get a better grasp on her mental illnesses with the help of the s aint m ary’s psychiatrist.

“There’s an end,” she said. “There’s a point where it stops where you’re okay again, and you’ll be okay. i just want everyone to know that there is that point — whether you’re dealing with anxiety or dealing with depression or whatever you’re dealing with — there is a point where you will be okay again and that’s where i ’m trying to be.”

Junior Taylor Thomas shared her struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder ( p T sd ) and depression.

Thomas said she is a perfectionist and had difficulty opening up about the side effects of her mental illnesses with others.

“ i did really well in school freshman year and then things started going downhill, especially my sophomore year,” she said. “ i didn’t care about tests, i didn’t care about anything, i didn’t even want to get out of bed most

As part of the College’s annual Support a Belle, Love a Belle week, students share their

mental illnesses. The panel is the first in a series of events to raise awareness about

days. i t was really rough.”

Thomas said s aint m ary’s staff and faculty have been supportive and helpful on her journey towards learning to cope with p T sd and depression.

“ i t has been rough, it has not been easy at all,” Thomas said. “ s o if you’re going into therapy thinking one session is it — no. i t’s going to be a long haul, and i ’m still dealing with it today.”

Junior a lyssa r ichards spoke about her struggles with depression. s he said her depression comes and goes,

but is manageable now.

“ i t got to the point where i felt like a zombie just watching myself go through my day-to-day tasks,” she said. “ i lost interest in things that were really important to me.”

r ichards said she has been able to find peace and solace in nature.

“ i am a very strong-minded person, even though i do have depression, so i was determined to find out the things that make me happy,” she said. “ i ’m doing a lot better, and i ’ve figured out how to deal with it on my own.”

m ackowicz said seeking help is important even if someone is unsure if they have a diagnosable disorder. “ d isorders manifest themselves in many different ways and in many different forms, and i think it’s important to know that because if you think you might have one aspect of a disorder that’s okay,” m ackowicz said. “ i t’s still good to get help, it’s still good to talk to somebody about that one aspect.”

Contact Allison Sanchez at asanch01@saintmarys.edu

Thursday, September 8, 2016 12:00-1:00 p.m. 300 Geddes Hall

Kaepernick’s actions are truly American

Neil Joseph moderately o pinionated

undoubtedly, everyone has heard of colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem of an nfl preseason game in late august. w hen asked why, Kaepernick said he was “not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. … [To him], this [was] bigger than football and it would be selfish on [his] part to look the other way.” unsurprisingly, he received an incredible amount of both criticism and praise from political, social and even sports commentators for his actions and his motives. independent of one’s thoughts concerning the legitimacy of his motives, Kaepernick’s actions are indeed american, and they represent what makes our country so great. certainly, the assertion that Kaepernick’s decision to sit for the national anthem is “american” is a controversial one. and understandably so. The national anthem represents so much more than just our country. it symbolizes, represents and honors those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in defense of our country. part of the reason why it’s sung before major sporting events is not only to honor our country, but also to remember those who cannot enjoy the community and family that is inherent within attending a sporting event. i understand that it seems disrespectful, it seems ignorant, and that it

seems like Kaepernick doesn’t care about anything that the national anthem represents. in reality, however, the reason he did what he did is because he cares so much about what the national anthem represents. objectively, the reason Kaepernick sat down during the national anthem was because he believed that our country wasn’t standing for the ideals it so proudly espouses for every single american. w hether or not you think he’s right is irrelevant — it’s what he believes, and he thought that he had to do something about it. for him, the national anthem does represent the people who have lost their lives and those who are consistently risking their lives to this day. he even said he realizes “that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm’s way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country and my freedom to take a seat. …” but he also realized that in addition to protecting his right to sit during the national anthem, the men and women of the armed forces protect the rights that every single american should enjoy by virtue of being a citizen. a nd he believes that not every american has those rights — and that by itself disrespects the efforts and sacrifices that so many in our country make. by sitting during the national anthem, Kaepernick acted in a way that actually was truly american. obviously, exercising his right to free speech by sitting during the anthem was an american action — in few other countries would that be even culturally acceptable to many people

let alone spark vigorous civil debate. additionally, we have to look at the particular motives that guided his actions. could sitting during the national anthem be disrespectful to soldiers who have fought for our country? absolutely. but that’s not what he was attempting to convey. it’s not a contradiction that he could respect our country’s bravest while also attempting to highlight a particular issue. could he have chosen different methods out of respect for soldiers? maybe. but he thought that doing this was the best way to draw attention to the issue (which, frankly, has been quite true). his motives have been quite clear, and it seems that portraying him as unpatriotic misses the point of his entire action. every action can be construed in many ways, and every person has valid reasons to find things that may be wrong with others actions. but regardless of one’s thoughts about Kaepernick’s motives, his actions really characterize what makes our country great — each individual being able to speak out for what he or she believes in.

Neil Joseph is a senior from Columbus, Ohio majoring in political science and economics. He hopes that you don’t use these articles against him when he’s running for School Board one day. He welcomes all compliments at njoseph2@nd.edu, and sometimes responds to those who criticize him.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

epi pen pricing: financially right, morally wrong

Sarah Cate Baker

s cience is g olden

“we refilled abby’s epipens a couple of months ago and the retail price is $875. This is for a medication that for so many means life and death … thank goodness we have good insurance but there are many who don’t and have to pay on their own. please take a moment and sign.”

That was the facebook status of my aunt in early august. she wanted us to sign a congressional petition for investigation into the price of epipens, which has increased over 500 percent in the last eight years. and while congressional petitions may help push the cost of epipens back down to something more affordable, it likely won’t be enough to fix the larger problems of pricing in the pharmaceutical industry.

epipens are large, pen-shaped needles designed to combat potentially deadly allergic reactions. for people with severe allergies, accidental exposure — anything from someone else’s peanut butter sandwich to an unexpected bee sting — can result in a condition known as anaphylactic shock. This causes the airways to swell dramatically, and a person’s breathing can be stopped within minutes. Thankfully, an epipen delivers a shot of epinephrine that keeps a person alive while they get to the hospital. or at least it can, if that person can afford one. in 2007 a pack of two epipens cost about $100, and was covered by most insurance companies. That same year epipens were acquired by mylan pharmaceuticals, and now the price hovers around $600. one epipen syringe requires about $15 worth of plastic, and the drug itself (about a third of a milliliter of epinephrine) costs around 35 cents. a product that should take less than $35 to make being sold for $600 may be shocking in other industries, but in pharmaceuticals, this price gouging is an all-too-familiar story. Take, for example, hepatitis c. Three years ago a patient’s best option was to take a combination of medications for at least six months, each with their own serious side effects,

and even then only about 50 percent of patients saw any improvement. in 2015, new research resulted in a series of “miracle drugs” that have cure rates of around 95 percent, and require patients to take only one pill a day for 16 weeks. The problem? They cost anywhere between $80,000 and $120,000, far out of range for most people. earlier this year merk pharmaceuticals introduced a similar drug at a shockingly low price of $54,600. not surprisingly, consumers are still not satisfied.

The justification for these exorbitant prices is unclear. “we believe the price of [hepatitis c drugs] reflects the value of these medicines,” a spokesperson for gilead, one of the first pharmaceutical companies to bring these drugs to market, said. “unlike long-term or indefinite treatments for other chronic diseases, [these drugs] offer a cure with as little as eight weeks of treatment.”

To rephrase: if people actually want to be cured of this disease, they have to fork over a few tens of thousands of dollars more. The ethics of that statement are questionable at best, but the economics may actually check out.

if a company like gilead cures a patient, that patient will never buy from them again. if gilead instead markets a drug that keeps a patient alive but dependent on pain-killers, treatments for side-effects and other long-term care, that patient will continue to shell out thousands of dollars a year for the course of their life. curing a patient is a loss of revenue for a pharmaceutical company; to compensate for these losses, they ratchet up the cost of that cure. a financially sound move, perhaps, but one that neglects to recognize that while a ceo is lining their pockets, people are suffering. with epipens the pricing justifications are a bit different, but still boil down to sound economics and not-so-sound morality. one defense is that the new health care system forces patients to pay full price for items that would usually be subsidized by insurance companies. This is true for people who sign onto high deductible plans; since their insurance doesn’t kick in until they’ve spent thousands of dollars, many end up paying full price for things like epipens. unfortunately, these clients are often low-income families,

who sign on to such plans because the premiums are so low. should mylan and other pharmaceutical companies reduce the cost of their products to help families already struggling to put food on the table? morally, most of us would say yes. financially, they have a responsibility to their shareholders to increase their profits annually.

pharmaceuticals can’t always simply cut the cost of a product, and not just because they need to keep themselves in the green; drug pricing is influenced by the cost of research, drug stores and insurance companies. at the middle of this web sits pharmacy benefit managers (pbms) who are responsible for mediating these groups and keeping drug prices low. unfortunately, they often do exactly the opposite by charging their clients exorbitant service fees. despite the $600 price tag mylan only nets $274 per epipen, and this is largely thanks to the pbms. by that argument, mylan may not be able to afford an epipen price cut and still make a profit.

yes, the health care system is changing the rules, and yes, pbms charge too much. do these factors justify a 500 percent price increase in eight years? maybe a little. but in that same time period, mylan ceo heather bresch saw her salary jump from $2.5 to $18.9 million, indicating that her company is far from treading water. Just like the hepatitis c drugs, epipens are being used to line the pockets of corporate execs — and from a business standpoint, that makes sense. but making an epipen unaffordable to millions of americans means risking their very lives. and morally, that is simply wrong.

Sarah Cate Baker is in her third year at ND, double majoring in biology and English. When she’s not in the lab poring over viruses under a microscope, you can usually find her shooting caffeine in the Hesburgh basement, while she desperately tries to write papers and make deadlines. If you would like to question her sanity or her science, feel free to email her at sbaker6@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

By JIMMY KEMPER

s cene writer

in a scene in this summer’s smash netflix hit “stranger Things,” middle school science teacher mr. clark explains a parallel dimension called the upside down to the young protagonists. mr. clark uses a paper plate to draw a wonderful analogy involving an acrobat and a flea standing on a tightrope to explain this alternate landscape: a sort of reverse of our world that we, the acrobats, cannot see, but unusual creatures such as the flea can reach by hanging onto the opposite side of the rope and reality.

young Thug’s latest mixtape “no, my name is Jeffery” is the upside down of this summer’s hip-hop music. Thugga has created this bizarre, uncharted, alternate dreamscape that exists somewhere between hip-hop and pop music. w hile the upside down of “stranger Things” was painted with dark shades of blue and filled with a deafening silence, young Thug paints his world with bright colors and loud, bombastic and almost inhuman noises.

speaking of inhuman noises, upside down’s sole occupant is a faceless humanoid creature that speaks only in screeches. The kids of “stranger Things” call it the demogorgon, in reference to the prince of demons from their favorite game, dungeons and dragons. a quick look at the much-talked-about album art for “Jeffery” places young Thug in a similar light: wearing a genderobscuring dress and a massive hat, Thugga has become a

formless and faceless creature.

w hile many deride the album art as a gimmick and a marketing ploy, it maintains an important place in the mythology of young Thug’s “new” identity, Jeffery. from first glimpse, the artwork establishes themes of transition and identity by creating this image of a mysterious, otherworldly demogorgon that is radically different from the young and upcoming rapper who decorated the covers of “slime season 3” and “barter 6.” at least for the purposes of this mixtape, the artist has fully embraced this new identity, declaring that he no longer wants to be known by his stage name of young Thug but rather by his birth name of Jeffery. it’s unheard of for a hip-hop artist to switch back from his stage name — his public identity and way of communicating with the world.

now that young Thug’s music exists in the upside down, perhaps it’s time his identity does as well. on “Jeffery,” young Thug throws out the sharp lyrics of “barter 6” in favor of expressing himself entirely through the sound of his voice rather than the content. The result is an emotionally driven and fully realized work that places young Thug in the realm of the sublime.

This is most apparent in the album’s closer, “Kanye west.” here we see Thugga at both his most experimental and his most refined. here, young Thug forgoes a traditional chorus in favor of a hook based entirely on scatterbrained chants of “wamp-wamp” and “wet-wet,” creating an otherworldly aesthetic unlike anything else

we’ve heard from hip-hop this summer. To balance out this stunning work, Thugga employs wyclef Jean, whose repeated, pleading cries of “Jeffery” sooth a potentially alienating track. no magnum opus of hip-hop is complete without top-of-the-line production, however. cassius Jay, a protégé of atlanta producer–superstar Zaytoven, builds out the foundation for this gorgeous track to rest on with airy piano melodies, humming 808 beats and buzzing synths.

Together, these disparate elements create the emotional apex to an album that transcends the status quo of rap music. in “Kanye west” and the overarching “Jeffery” mixtape, young Thug has designed a bold, experimental, refined yet upside-down world that deconstructs our notions of what hip-hop can be by blurring the lines of identity and voice.

Contact Jimmy Kemper at jkemper2@nd.edu

“No, My Name is JEFFERY”

300 Entertainment

Favorite Tracks: “Kanye West,” “Harambe,” “WyclefJean” If you like: Future, Travis Scott, Rae Sremmurd

By BRIAN BOYLEN s cene writer

from the very first moment of his latest release “p rima donna,” v ince staples lets listeners know they are not in for a typical lighthearted rap project. The ep opens with “l et it shine,” a song solely consisting of staples singing the gospel children’s song “This l ittle l ight of m ine.” The recording is grainy and lo-fi — staples’ slow, almost bored delivery of the lyrics is interrupted only by the sound of a sole gunshot that ends the opener and kicks off the ep in full. l isteners are thrown immediately into the fast paced “war ready,” produced by e nglish musician James blake. blake is a well-respected producer in the world of electronic music, but this is his first major foray into the world of hip-hop beats. blake has fun with it and brings a fresh style of production to the track. The song kicks off with an aggressive sample from “aTliens” by outKast laid out over a jittery beat before staples finally enters the fight with the immensely catchy hook, “born ready, war ready … war ready, your boys lost already.”

h igh quality, envelope-pushing production, courtesy of blake, dJ dahi and no i d., elevates the album. The third track off the ep, “smile,” has upbeat, almost funky production. dJ dahi’s repeating guitar chords made me feel as if i was listening to rock, not hiphop. The uplifting beat contrasts with staples’ bars, filled with dark lines such as “i feel my life is in danger

every night when i lay / so could you do me a favor, smile for me?” he seems to be trying to save others from the same fate that he has suffered — losing hope. staples appears unable to smile himself. he repeats “sometimes i feel like giving up” 16 times on the spoken word outro to “smile.”

staples enjoyed great commercial and critical success with his 2015 release “summertime ‘06,” but it seems his jaded outlook on life remains unchanged by the fame and money. i f anything, “p rima donna” paints a much clearer picture of the inner workings of staples’ troubled mind. staples didn’t shy away from shining a light on the darker aspects of gang life on “summertime ‘06,” but “p rima donna” gives us an even deeper view into his own psyche. The cover art reflects the personal nature of this project — a picture of a bored staples with an enlarged head, gazing wistfully towards the camera. b y blowing up his head to unreal proportions, staples demonstrates to the listener that this record is really all about him. it is a journey into his mind — and all of the baggage that it contains. despite the macabre nature of the ep, it is still a very enjoyable listen. one of the more fun tracks is “l oco,” one of two tracks featuring a guest. The beat changes often as the bass and other instruments pop in and out of the tune, and there is a certain chemistry between Kilo Kish and staples as they play off each other’s lines. a $ ap rocky also makes a guest appearance, this time on the title track. oddly enough, a $ ap rocky doesn’t

contribute an actual verse to the song, but rather provides some backing vocals that keep the song moving. This slightly disappointed me — i was excited to hear rocky rap over the fantastic production of the ep despite my woe at what could have been, the song is still fantastic and is one of the best tracks off this release.

sophomore albums always present a challenge, and staples certainly had a lot to live up to after the fantastic “summertime ‘06.” staples has created a worthy successor in “p rima donna.” The production is fantastic, his rapping is consistently smooth and his ability to convey a powerful message through his words remains as strong as ever. a ll these factors create a cohesive, exceptional product. it may be short, but “p rima donna” packs a mighty punch.

Contact Brian Boylen at bboylen@nd.edu

“Prima Donna”

Def Jam Recordings

Favorite Tracks: “Loco,” “Prima Donna,” “Smile”

If you like: Joey Bada$$, Earl Sweatshirt

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Rose McGowan, 43; Dweezil Zappa, 47; Michael Keaton, 65; Raquel Welch, 76. happy birthday: ask questions, be a participant and check out your options. address problems at home diplomatically, but make it clear that changes will need to take place. a time frame should be established for your long-term plans. set goals to accommodate your needs. This can be a year of change, but only you can make it happen. your numbers are 6, 10, 19, 27, 33, 38, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): a research trip will be successful. The information you gather along the way will help you solve a financial, medical or contractual issue. don’t let anyone bully you into doing something you don’t agree with.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep an open mind when dealing with the people you have worked with in the past. don’t believe everything you hear. filter information prior to making a decision. be prepared for an unexpected change and keep moving forward.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): a frugal approach will be necessary if you don’t want to break the bank. overspending when you should be saving will be tempting due to the company you are keeping or the luxuries that entice you. Think before you act.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): expand your space at home to fit your needs. a creative outlet will help you avoid an emotional issue you might not be ready to deal with. refuse to let anyone pressure you into something you don’t want to do. get back to basics.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): make changes based on the way you feel emotionally. do what you must in order to feel good about who you are and what you want to do. greater stability can be yours if you take action. romance is featured.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep the peace at home and don’t let emotional uncertainty bring you down. Take care of your responsibilities and stick to the truth when asked your opinion. if you offer too much information, you will be accused of meddling.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): being disciplined will lead to self-improvement. do your best to achieve stellar health through physical fitness, eating properly and updating your look. don’t worry about what others say or do. do what’s best for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): personal changes at home will give you the freedom to engage in new projects and expand your creative endeavors. an emotional situation will spark your imagination and inspire you to do more to help others. push for positive changes.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): someone’s kindness could be tinged with insincerity. look for ulterior motives. it’s important not to end up owing someone for something you didn’t want in the first place. proceed with caution. concentrate on personal improvements.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Take the high road and do what comes naturally, and you will reach your goal. avoid physical injury or illness by not taking risks. be sure to get the rest you need to remain healthy.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): stay focused on what will bring you the highest returns. don’t let your emotions come between you and making a good decision. change can be good, but it has to be what you want, not what someone else pressures you to do.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): you’ll come up with a good way to cut corners or make your money grow. a partnership with someone will encourage you to improve your sense of financial responsibility. do what you can to improve your standard of living.

Birthday Baby: you are practical, open-minded and proactive. you are adaptable and caring.

US Open needs longer tiebreak

o n sunday evening, just before notre dame and Texas played out an instant classic of college football at d arrell K. royal–Texas memorial stadium, l ucas pouille and r afael nadal engaged in an epic encounter on the tennis courts of f lushing meadows.

The game finished 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) to pouille, as the 22-year-old announced himself to the world with his biggest win yet, while nadal finished the year without a grand slam quarter-final appearance for the first time in his career. it may one day stand as a classic “changing of the guard” as one great’s career begins and another may soon come to an end.

The game ended just in time for kickoff in Texas, which was undeniably convenient for me and anyone else watching who knew they’d be switching over soon. i n this case, i was saved by a rule i still can’t bring myself to like — the us o pen’s final-set tiebreak.

much like the majors in golf, every g rand slam in tennis should like to have its “thing.” The f rench o pen and w imbledon are the only clay and grass slams, respectively, and both have their niche.

The a ustralian o pen occurs in the heat d own under in January. The us o pen’s “thing” is to take away one of the most exciting events in any sport: the final set of indeterminable length.

my logic is relatively simple. Tennis games that are undecided at 6-6 in the final set, especially five-set men’s games, are just about always great games. it’s not like football or soccer where a tie score late in the game may mean low scores and boring

play. a nd we should get to see more of great games. Tiebreaks are exciting, but when you’ve got a real battle going on, they’re not as exciting as keeping the final set going. not only that, but after hours of play, it seems harsh to see one player lose just because of one small mistake. needing to win by two whole games in the final set lets you feel like the winner really deserved it.

o f course, there is the argument that playing long final sets is too much for the winner, who is at an obvious disadvantage when they play again in the next round. but in a way, that’s part of what makes the idea work. i n a 128-player single-elimination tournament, a player could easily put in a few great performances for nothing, but greater variance in match lengths means that players who get it done quickly in the early rounds are rewarded and those who scrape through face a greater challenge.

u ltimately, i just want to see a few really long duels. They don’t all need to match John i sner and nicolas mahut’s astonishing 11-hour match in 2010, but a few more 9-7 and 10-8 final sets would be nice to see. w hen there’s an amazing match going on, viewers deserve to see it go on and on and on for however long it takes. s o maybe the us o pen should find a new “thing,” instead of taking away one of the most fun events in any sport. unless, that is, a thrilling notre dame football game is about to start.

Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Jackson strikes out 11 in victory over red sox

Associated Press

san diego — e dwin Jackson processed the message, then put it into effect.

Jackson struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings to outpitch former p adres ace d rew p omeranz, leading s an d iego over the b oston r ed s ox 2-1 monday.

Jackson (4-5) gave up four hits and ended his threestart losing streak.

“ we kind of talked in between starts and we felt he just wasn’t finishing up front with a ton of conviction,” p adres manager a ndy g reen said. “ f rom the first pitch today you can see him finishing aggressively.”

That made sense to Jackson.

“i had to come out today and force the issue against a great-hitting team,” he said. “They can put a lot of points on the board. you just have to have belief in what you do.”

a dam r osales hit a tworun homer off p omeranz.

“it helped seeing him as a

teammate,” r osales said. “ i learned you have to lay off the curve and the cutter.”

s aid p omeranz: “i was having trouble locating my pitches and he took advantage of one.”

p omeranz (2-4 for b oston) was an a ll- s tar for the p adres this season and 8-7 in the nl before being traded to the r ed s ox in mid-July.

“i think d rew gave us what we kind of anticipated, (105) pitches and six quality innings of work,” r ed s ox manager John farrell said.

b randon m aurer worked the ninth for his eighth save in 13 chances. he gave up a one-out single to h anley r amirez, then struck out Jackie b radley Jr. and got pinch hitter d avid o rtiz on a flyball.

r osales hit his career-high ninth homer of the season in the fourth, and the s an d iego pitchers made it stand up.

“o ne pitch, it’s a different game,” r osales said. “b ut i didn’t think it was going out.”

p omeranz gave up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. he struck out five with a walk.

c hris young’s pinch-hit homer off reliever b rad h and to open the eighth cut the p adres’ lead to 2-1.

a aron h ill followed with a pinch-hit double but was stranded at third when h and struck out b rock holt and Xander b ogaerts.

“ we got a couple of opportunities with really good hitters at the plate,” farrell said. “b ut unfortunately we didn’t execute to tie the game up.” h anley r amirez had three hits for b oston.

b oston’s best chance against Jackson came in the seventh. b ut with two on and none out, he got b radley to ground into a double play and fanned yoan moncada on a full-count offspeed pitch.

“( c atcher) d erek ( n orris) and myself were able to get in a great groove,” Jackson said. “Today was one of those games.” mLb | naTionals 6, braves 4

Nationals beat Braves after swift turnaround

Associated Press

washingTon — max

scherzer wasn’t about to leave his start monday afternoon any earlier than necessary.

scherzer pitched seven strong innings to earn his 16th victory of the season, and the well-traveled washington nationals beat the atlanta braves 6-4 in the opener of a three-game series.

“he’s full of determination,” nationals manager dusty baker said. “we were going to take him out after the sixth because they had some dangerous hitters coming up and they were starting to hit the ball pretty well and scherzer said, ‘hey, man, i want to go back out there,’ and he had a great short inning.”

scherzer (16-7) scattered seven hits and yielded two runs to win his fourth consecutive start. he needed only eight pitches to

navigate his final inning.

“i just said two words: ‘i’m good,’” scherzer said. “you just know where you’re at physically. you know how the ball’s coming out of your hand. i just knew even at 98 pitches i was still strong. i knew i had 115 in the tank, so i knew i was good to go out there for the seventh.”

washington maintained an 8 1/2-game lead in the nl east over the new york mets, who won 5-0 at cincinnati.

Trea Turner and chris heisey both homered during a five-run third inning for the nationals, who won for the 12th time in 14 meetings against atlanta this season.

“That one inning got away from us real quick,” braves interim manager brian snitker said. “it kind of happened before you knew it happened a little bit.”

ryan weber (1-1) lost in his first start of the season for atlanta. weber allowed five runs in three innings as the braves had a six-game winning streak snapped.

washington created problems for weber the second time he went through the order. Turner smacked a two-run homer to left with an out in the third to give the nationals the lead. weber put the next two men on and, after a pop out, heisey blasted his ninth home run to left to make it 5-1.

“i left one just middle-in, right in (Turner’s) wheelhouse and after that my ability to limit the damage was not that good,” weber said. “i made another bad pitch to heisey and then it was really out of hand.”

Turner, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, added an rbi single in the fourth.

a ngels hold off comeback despite injuries

Associated Press

oa K land, c alif. — a day earlier, Jered weaver watched the frightening play as teammate m att s hoemaker went down when hit in the head by a screaming line drive.

“ it was kind of a weird game yesterday, it’s almost like you don’t know what to do as far as, ‘ d o we keep playing this game or what?’” weaver said.

h e then got hit himself m onday, initially staying in after taking a third-inning line drive from d anny valencia in the right hip and back side during l os a ngeles’ 10-7 victory against the o akland a thletics.

it was another scare for an a ngels starter after s hoemaker’s ordeal. h e suffered a small skull fracture in s eattle and needed surgery to stop bleeding on his brain.

w hile his behind is bruised and sore, weaver had no concerns about making his next turn.

“ it was like pitching on one leg, really, i couldn’t really drive off my back side, so i figured it was a good idea to bring in somebody who had

fresh legs,” weaver said. “ it’s more like i sat on the toilet for too long.”

weaver joined c huck f inley and n olan r yan as the only pitchers to reach 2,000 innings in an a ngels uniform. The bullpen then took over and handled things for the a ngels again in their third straight win.

Kole c alhoun hit a solo home run in the second inning, a lbert p ujols had a tworun double in the fourth and n ick b uss added two sacrifice flies in the a ngels’ seventh win in their last nine road games.

Khris d avis hit his 35th homer leading off the seventh to pull o akland within 8-7, but his ninth-inning error in left field allowed a ndrelton s immons to score an insurance run.

i n the seventh, r yon h ealy singled to put the tying run aboard when Jose valdez entered as the a ngels’ fourth reliever. h e retired pinch-hitter c had p inder on a fly ball before Jake s molinski’s single and a walk to b ruce m axwell loaded the bases. b ut m arcus s emien flied out.

valdez (1-1) earned his first major league win before former a’s closer a ndrew b ailey finished for the a ngels in a second straight game. i t was just his second save since 2013 with the r ed s ox.

“ we cracked the door for those guys with walks,” a ngels manager m ike s cioscia said.

valencia hit a two-run homer in the first for the a’s, who were nearly no-hit a day earlier by b oston and didn’t have their first baserunner until the sixth inning s aturday against r ed s ox ace r ick p orcello.

Joey wendle had his first career rbi on a single in the fourth, when m axwell added a two-run double one out later.

r aul a lcantara (0-1) plunked three batters in the first inning alone with a walk while quickly falling behind 3-0. h e had a balk in the third that put s immons on third after a double before he scored on b uss’ second sacrifice fly. it marked the first time in 86 years an a thletics pitcher had three hit batsmen and a balk — h oward e hmke on

a pril 27, 1930 — not the kind of stat a lcantara wanted in his forgettable debut.

“ i think it was because i was trying to make perfect pitches,” a lcantara said.

h e was done after three innings, having allowed five runs and five hits with no strikeouts.

s molinski’s over-the-shoulder running catch in center on Kaleb c olwart’s drive to end the first likely saved a lcantara at least two more runs.

doolittle’s return

a’s lhp s ean d oolittle received cheers when he took the mound in the seventh for his first appearance since June 25. The closer missed 59 games with a strained throwing shoulder, but he changed his walk-up music to m etallica’s “ d isposable h eroes.”

Trainer’s room

a ngels: s hoemaker underwent surgery late s unday after being struck in the right side of the head on a line drive by s eattle’s Kyle s eager.

l os a ngeles athletic trainer

a dam n evala is staying with s hoemaker until he is able to travel to s outhern c alifornia later in the week.

a thletics: rhp s onny g ray played catch from 120 feet as he recovers from a strained right forearm, and is scheduled to do so again Tuesday. i t won’t be determined whether he will pitch again in 2016 until he is able to throw off a mound, but the a’s will be cautious with their star pitcher. ... r ehabbing pitchers f elix d oubront (left elbow) and c hris b assitt (right elbow) played catch out to 90 feet m onday as they both recover from Tommy John surgery.

up next a ngels: rhp r icky n olasco (5-12) is coming off his first win for the a ngels after being acquired in an a ug. 1 trade from the Twins. h e is 0-1 in two starts vs. o akland this year.

a thletics: rhp Zach n eal will make a spot start. lhp r oss d etwiler had been scheduled to start Tuesday but pitched three innings in relief m onday.

of the leaderboard.

“l ooking at the board, we had, probably, nine of our 10 guys play really well, so that’s exciting,” Kubinski said. “ we’ve needed depth the last couple of years, really.”

nine of notre dame’s 10 players finished in the top 10 of the tournament, including freshman hunter o strom, who had the top score of the contributing team scores and placed third in the individual competition with a 6-underpar 138. This depth, according to Kubinski is just as important as the first-place team finish, which will hopefully give the i rish confidence as they head into the heart of their season.

“i think it’s not only a great boost of momentum to start out a season as we head to our first travel event next week,” Kusinski said. “but i think the number of players that are playing so well, so competitively, really will have us so much sharper through the fall.”

The notre dame Kickoff c hallenge’s individual trophy was taken home by freshman John felitto, who was playing in his collegiate debut. felitto impressed his coach, teammates and competitors as he walked off the 18th green in the second round of the day having shot a six-under-par 65. s enior captain matt rushton shook his head in disbelief after being informed of felitto’s

second round score, rushton himself finishing the round even-par 71.

felitto went seven under overall, shooting a 135 on the day — a two-stroke lead over his closest competitor, valparaiso junior Zach cutler who was the only non-notre dame athlete to crack the top 10. Kubinski was especially pleased by felitto’s performance s aturday.

“i thought the 70 was a nice competitive round and a good score that i think anyone would be happy with on this golf course, but to shoot 65 this afternoon was pretty special,”

Kubinski said. “i think it had to give him a lot of confidence. s o i’m excited, i’m excited for what John did.”

felitto considers the defining moment of his six-under round to be his putt to cap off the front nine, which gave him momentum coming down the back.

“i made a nice 15-footer on nine for birdie to shoot 30 on the front,” felitto said. “That really got me going and i really knew that it was going to be a special day.”

The i rish will open the travelling portion of their season this week as they head to the university of s an francisco c lub i ntercollegiate, which will be played s ept. 12 and 13 at olympic c lub, a venue that has hosted multiple u s o pens in the past.

Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu

belles compete in opening weekend action

Observer Sports Staff

Volleyball

saint mary’s had a difficult start to the 2016 season at the emory tournament, losing all four games — three of them sweeps — at the tournament in georgia.

in their opener against the college of saint benedict on friday, the belles (0-4, 0-0 miaa) lost a competitive opening set 2523, and couldn’t stay in the game after that — losing in the end by a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-13).

later in the day, birmingham southern defeated the belles, winning 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 2516). senior left hitter meghan gibbons led the way in that game for the belles, with 12 kills, 19 digs and two aces.

on saturday, the belles played their most competitive game of the tournament, grabbing their only set of the competition but losing to st. Thomas 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17).

The competition finished for the belles in a game against the hosts, emory. saint mary’s put up a fight in the second set against the fourth-ranked eagles, but were unable to prevent the sweep.

The belles will travel to manchester on wednesday

looking for their first win. The game starts at 7 p.m.

s occer

saint mary’s started the 2016 season with a 1-1 record in their home tournament, earning a comfortable 4-1 victory over manchester, before suffering a 1-0 defeat to milwaukee school of engineering.

four different players scored for the belles (1-1, 0-0 miaa) against manchester on friday. senior defender emily rompola opened the scoring inside the first 15 minutes with a close-range finish after a corner.

manchester soon equalized, but the belles took the lead again only three minutes after conceding and never looked back. senior forward liza felix scored the goal that put the belles ahead.

less than a minute into the second half, freshman midfielder mary wandor played a cross into the manchester box that managed to beat the goalkeeper and go straight in for a debut goal. freshman forward Jennifer buck finished the scoring just four minutes later with a low finish.

on saturday, the irish were defeated 1-0 by msoe thanks to a strike from the edge of the box by Kassidy girmscheid.

freshman midfielder Kellen

paid a dverT isemen T

hinchley had the best chance of the first half for the belles, but her shot was saved. Then, in the middle of the second half, buck was unable to get a shot away after breaking through with only the goalkeeper to beat. next up for the belles is the conference opener against albion on wednesday at 5 p.m.

Golf

saint mary’s earned a fourthplace finish at the olivet labor day invite at The medalist golf club. a slow start for the belles put them in sixth place after one day with a score of 60-over-par 348, 36 strokes behind leading washington university in st. louis. senior ali mahoney and freshman lauren read were the leaders for the belles on that day — each shooting 86 — while senior courtney carlson scored 87.

The second day, however, saw great success for the belles, who were tied for the second-best score of the day with a 37-over-par 325. again mahoney and read starred — shooting 79 and 80, respectively — while sophomore Taylor Kehoe shot a 9-over-par 81.

This weekend, the belles will compete in the hanover fall classic, hosted by hanover college at sunrise and shadowood golf courses in seymour, indiana.”

football and you’ve got young guys that you’ve got to coach, and we look to get better next week against nevada.”

of a play calling and i’m not in that role, and i have somebody that can do that quite well.”

need for defensive improvement w hile the defense played below the level of performance he wanted, Kelly said he did not agree with the notion that the defense was at fault for the loss to Texas. he did, however, acknowledge a need for improvement across the board on that side of the ball.

“ we evaluate from week to week,” Kelly said. “c learly, we’ve got to coach better. we’ve got to play better and we’ll continue to do that. we’re going to be obviously looking at those things today. but, you know, again, it’s like anything else. it’s college

however, when asked if he would be taking a more hands-on approach with the defense, Kelly added that he is already heavily involved in defensive game-planning and does not plan to take over the play calling from defensive coordinator brian vang order.

“e verything that we do is collaborative. a t the end of the day the defensive structure and what we’re doing is run through me,” Kelly said.

“s o anything that we do from a defensive standpoint has my signature on it. s o, you know, i’m in the meetings. brian and i are in communication, so anything more would be me taking on a role in more

Injuries

Kelly noted senior receiver Torii hunter Jr. and graduate student safety avery s ebastian were still being evaluated after suffering head injuries in sunday’s game, and the extent of time they could potentially miss has not yet been determined.

“[ it’s] Too early to tell,” he said. “b oth [ s ebastian and hunter Jr.] sustained head injuries, so they’ll go through our battery of tests and we’ll see how they are today and proceed from there. really too early to tell.” a dditionally, Kelly said he has sent video of the hit which

knocked hunter Jr. out of the game for review with the hope of receiving an explanation as to why a targeting penalty was not called.

“ yeah, we sent the clip obviously to the supervisor of officials with the acc , and we got confirmation back that that would have most likely have been a targeting call,”

Kelly said. “ we just don’t understand why that was not reviewed by the big 12. i guess they’re going to be reaching out to them to find out why it wasn’t reviewed. b ut, you know, clearly, win or lose, player safety should be at the front of this game and we don’t believe that that was the case in this instance.”

Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu

perfect score of their own in the six kilometer race, while also employing the pack running strategy. Junior billy dolan finished first for the men’s team, posting a time of 19:29.23. The mullica hill, new Jersey, native was followed by sophomore a nthony w illiams, senior Jacob dumford, freshman Kevin salvano, junior John flannery, junior Kirk hansen and senior grant Koch.

“we ran [Kevin salvano] in uniform which is a really unique thing – a freshman having a major role after transitioning from a 5K … to an 8K or 10K – and he looked very controlled in helping leading the men’s team this weekend,” sparks said. “we’ve got a really talented group of men, but they’re more guys that excel in the mile, so getting guys like [billy] dolan, Jacob dumford … to be able to stretch that out over a five mile cross country race is great to see.” w ith four regular season meets on the horizon, sparks commented on how the crusader open was a nice building block for the team moving forward.

“it’s a miniature version of the whole season,” sparks said. “we travel a little bit, but not too much; we run a race, but not nearly what we compete in at the championship time. it just introduces the season in one short day.”

notre dame will host its next meet, the national catholic invitational, on september 16. This signature meet will host over 30 schools from across the country, highlighted by dayton, depaul, and saint l ouis, and will take place at 3:30 p.m. at burke golf course.

Contact Joe Everett at jeveret4@nd.edu

Kelly yet to make decision at quarterback

By BEN PADANILAM

a ssociate sports e ditor

f ollowing s unday’s 5047 double-overtime loss to Texas, n o. 10 n otre d ame faced two important questions heading into a new week that ends with its home opener against n evada.

w hat decision, if any, has head coach b rian Kelly made regarding the quarterback situation?

a nd, of course, how will the i rish (0-1) improve on a defensive effort that saw them allow the l onghorns (1-0) to rack up 517 yards of total offense en route to 50 points?

i rish senior quarterback m alik Zaire drop back to throw in n otre d ame’s 50-47 loss to Texas on s unday.

f or the quarterbacks, junior d e s hone Kizer significantly outproduced senior m alik Zaire in s unday’s loss, as the former accounted for 292 total yards and six total touchdowns, while the latter was held to just 23 total yards and saw the field sparingly in the second half. The two did, however, split time relatively evenly in the first half, which Kelly said was the plan heading into the game regardless

of how it played out.

“ i felt like we wanted to get these guys in early and give them the opportunity in the first few series to get into the ball game,” Kelly said.

“ i t doesn’t — you know, in my estimation it doesn’t do much for them if they’re sitting and watching, so i wanted to get them in early, yes.”

Kelly added that a decision for s aturday’s starter against the wolfpack (1-0) and the game plan in general would be made once the offensive staff was able to sit down and watch the film.

“ i haven’t gotten a chance to — everything that we do, we do it within our group first,” Kelly said about evaluating the quarterbacks. “[ i ] haven’t gotten a chance to speak with the group, and i mean the group being the offensive staff and then the two quarterbacks. o nce i get a chance to spend some more time with them, we’re really in the process of grading film and evaluating all three phases of our game.

“ o nce we do that and get a chance to sit as a staff and talk about it, we’ll have a better sense.”

see Kelly paGe 15

nd teams take first on the road

By JOE EVERETT sports writer

on friday in valparaiso, i ndiana, notre dame put forth an impressive performance to open its 2016 season, defeating host valparaiso in the c rusader open at the sunset h ills park course.

The i rish, who have started the season at valparaiso for the past 14 years, ran to the tune of a perfect score on both sides, with both the men’s and women’s teams finishing in the top five spots. a ssociate head coach matt sparks said it was a good way for his team to build confidence.

“The [ valparaiso] meet in our minds is more of a practice meet — an exhibition,” sparks said. “we see where people have developed over the summer and give some of the younger kids who usually don’t run in the varsity position a chance to contribute to a team win.” Therefore, at a low stakes

i rish enter fall season with win at first tournament

meet, sparks said the women’s team strategy was to run as a pack the entire race. They thus crossed the finish line together as a group, with sophomore a nnie heffernan finishing first for the i rish in 18:47.7, with junior sydney foreman, graduate student danielle a ragon, sophomore rachel da damio and junior Kaitlin frei finishing right behind her to round out the top five.

“Kaitlin frei was someone who hadn’t spent much time running in our top five, but she’s made some significant improvements as a walk-on athlete who’s gonna run in our top nine once we get into the championship time of the year,” sparks said. “sydney foreman is another one that’s really come a long way in her two years here … so we’re excited for those two juniors.”

The men’s team replicated the women’s feat with a

By ELIZABETH GREASON sports writer

The i rish got off to a promising start to their fall season, taking the top prize in both the team and individual portions of the notre dame Kickoff c hallenge, the 36-hole tournament that took place saturday at warren g olf course. notre dame handled its competition, valparaiso and detroit mercy, with a 27-stroke gap between the first-place i rish and second-place c rusaders. notre dame was also the only team to put up a score below par, shooting an 11-under-par 557 for the tournament.

Ten notre dame players saw action in the Kickoff c hallenge — five as individuals and five with their scores contributing to the overall team score. i rish head coach Jim Kubinski said he was most impressed with his team’s ability to fill up the top