Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540307
52 OCT. 18, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE A budding MLB managerial rivalry added another shot of intensity this postseason when a couple of longtime friends, coaching cohorts and for- mer notable Fighting Irish baseballers matched up in the National League Di- visional Series playoff round on oppo- site benches for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs. In a tale of two cities and coaches sit- uated only about 90 miles apart, sec- ond-year Brewers manager Pat Murphy previously coached second-year Cubs manager Craig Counsell at Notre Dame from 1989-92 — when the former was the Irish manager and the latter was a budding star Irish infielder. The two men stayed in touch, but took separate career paths for about 25 years until they finally reconnected on the diamond again in 2016 when Counsell — then the second-year Brewers man- ager — hired Murphy as a bench coach, where the two successfully worked to- gether for eight seasons. Everything changed for both men in 2023 when Counsell, 55, unexpectedly left the Brewers to take the Cubs' mana- gerial job. Shortly after Counsell left the Brew City for the Windy City, Murphy, 66, was promoted to Milwaukee manager, and immediately won the 2024 NL Cen- tral title with a 93-69 record to earn NL Manager of the Year honors in his first season on the job. And now, after working to- gether on the Brewers' bench from 2016-23, these two friends turned coaching rivals still share the deepest respect and appre- ciation for one another, even as division rivals. " [ T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p ] h a s changed in that we're com- petitors instead of teammates," Counsell said. "I think during competitive times, it's different. But it stays the same when we're off game times. We're friends." And for Murphy? "Craig and I will be close for- ever. I respect him. I love him. I love his family," he said. "I know people would love to have us get in a fight and have a back and forth between the Cubs and us, and maybe that will happen. But we'll still always be friends." The best-of-five series was tied 2-2, with a decisive Game 5 set to take place Oct. 11, and needed one more win to close out the Cubs and advance to the NL Championship Series. ON THE MOVE Set to begin his 11th NBA season Oct. 22, former Irish shooting guard Pat Connaughton will do so with a new team after being traded to the Charlotte Hornets this offseason following seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. A popular teammate, a fan favorite and a terrific reserve player in Milwaukee, Connaughton headed to Charlotte, N.C., in exchange for two second-round draft picks after averaging 6.8 points, 4.0 re- bounds, 1.6 assists and 21.6 minutes in 440 games (66 starts) with the Bucks. Connaughton was also a valuable piece to Milwaukee's 2021 NBA cham- pionship team. "[Connaughton] has given so much to our organization and the Milwau- kee community, and we are grateful for his lasting contributions on and off the court," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said upon announcing the trade. "Thank you, Pat." ✦ FIGHTING IRISH HEADLINERS Blake Grupe (Played at Notre Dame in 2022), PK, New Orleans Saints, NFL The former 2023 undrafted free agent scored a season-high 14 points in a 26-14 win over the New York Giants Oct. 5. The Sedalia, Mo., native made four field goals with a long of 53 yards and 2 point-after tries to help the Saints to their first win of season. In what has been an up-and-down season so far for the third-year pro, Grupe was 10 of 15 (66.7 percent) on field goals and 8 of 8 on extra points for the 1-4 Saints through five games. Kyren Williams (2019-21), RB, Los Angeles Rams, NFL Again showcasing his dual-threat abilities, the 2022 fifth-round draft pick recorded 14 carries for 65 yards and added a career-high 8 receptions on 10 targets for 66 yards with 2 touchdown catches in a 26-23 overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers Oct. 2. Through five games this season, the St. Louis native had 368 rushing yards with 1 touchdown and 16 receptions with 3 touchdowns for the Rams. Over three-plus sea- sons in Los Angeles, Williams — one of the top scorers in the league — entered play the weekend of Oct. 12 with 27 rushing touchdowns and 8 touchdown receptions. Jackie Young, (2016-19), SG, Las Vegas Aces, WNBA The first-overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft scored 32 points and added 8 rebounds and 2 assists in a 91-78 win over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals Oct. 5. Already a four-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time league champion with the Aces, the Princeton, Ind., native finished second on her team during the regular season with 16.5 points per game. In 10 playoff games this postseason through Oct. 5, Young had averaged 20.6 points on 52.1-percent shooting, while adding 4.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Friendly Foes Bringing A Notre Dame Flavor To An MLB Rivalry I R I S H I N T H E P R O S Pat Murphy (right) previously coached Craig Counsell (left) at Notre Dame from 1989-92, and the duo worked together with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2016-23 until Counsell opted to become manager of the rival Chicago Cubs. PHOTOS COURTESY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL