GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Notre Dame tight end James Flanigan knew exactly how he wanted to celebrate scoring his first career touchdown in the stadium where his father and grandfather played.

Flanigan’s father and grandfather, both named Jim Flanigan, each played for the Green Bay Packers. After scoring on a 3-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter of No. 4 Notre Dame’s 41-13 victory over Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, Flanigan pumped his fist in the air just as his dad used to do during his own playing days.

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“I saw some clip of my dad, there’s like this highlight reel out there I’ve watched before,” Flanigan said. “I used to make fun of him for doing it, but now it’s kind of become my thing, I guess. It’s just super fun.”

Flanigan’s father also played at Notre Dame before launching a 10-year NFL career as a defensive tackle with the Chicago Bears (1994-2000), Packers (2001), San Francisco 49ers (2002) and Philadelphia Eagles (2003). He won the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2000.

Flanigan’s grandfather, who died last year at the age of 80, played linebacker for the Packers from 1967-70 and New Orleans Saints in 1971. His 1967 Packers team won Super Bowl II.

That made it particularly special for the sophomore tight end to return to his hometown and play Notre Dame’s season opener at a place where his family had so much history.

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He worked hard to keep his emotions in check.

“My plan for it worked,” Flanigan said. “It was in pregame warmups, go out on the field and soak it all in. If I see family, say ‘Hi,’ and wave. And then, once we run out of the tunnel after warmups, it’s all business from there.”

Flanigan played four games for Notre Dame last year and didn’t have any catches, but he figures to have a bigger role this year. He scored the Irish’s first touchdown of the season by catching a CJ Carr pass around the line of scrimmage and getting into the left corner of the end zone.

Then he paid tribute to his dad.

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“The boys were pumped about that,” Carr said. “Really cool to see him come home and end up having a touchdown.”

He became just the latest Flanigan to make a name for himself at one of football’s grandest cathedrals.

“There’s three generations of Flanigans who have been on that field and made some plays,” Flanigan said. “That’s really special.”

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Ask around. Various people will have various opinions for about the Vikings’ breakout candidate. Allow me to insert a new name into the mix.

Last year, LG1 Donovan Jackson had a solid season. He did so even as a rookie newcomer who had spent his past college season playing left tackle instead of his more natural home of left guard. So, too, did he offer sturdy football despite working through his own injury. Might he have a large jump in his near future? I’ll argue that he does.

The Vikings’ Breakout Candidate: LG1 Donovan Jackson

Before moving on too quickly, consider the coalition of factors that worked against Jackson.

The kid was playing in his debut NFL season after a long college run that led to winning the CFB National Championship. In a truncated offseason, he got chosen at No. 24 overall to become a Minnesota Viking. He then worked through injury and saw many of his teammates work through injury, as well. The player to his left (Christian Darrisaw) and player to his right (Ryan Kelly) both missed a lot of time.

Worse yet, the quarterback play has shaky at best. Blocking for a passer who is struggling is much more difficult than somebody who is thriving. Moreover, the lack of a run game can also make life difficult for a blocker. The large lads like to fire out of their stance every so often rather than needing to constantly be on their heels in pass pro.

And one more thing: OL coach Chris Kuper got shown the door following the season. Doing so evidently came due to being displeased with how the offensive lineman were playing.

Despite all of these factors, Donovan Jackson played reasonably well He wasn’t Steve Hutchinson out there but he was an NFL starter.

— READ MORE: Roster Grind Continues for Vikings —
— READ MORE: 3 Quick Vikings News Updates —

In the PFF rankings, Jackson found himself listed at 45th among the 81 under consideration. Where he showed the most promise was in pass protection, an area of the game where he pulled down a 65.7 grade that led to being listed at 26th overall.

His report card shows 2 sacks allowed, 5 QB hits allowed, and 26 pressures. There were then 4 penalties.

Generally speaking, football rewards players who combine talent with a work ethic. Likewise, the game tends to smile on those who are rugged, durable, and willing to battle. Donovan Jackson qualifies.

Not often does a guard get scooped up in the 1st. In opting for the Ohio State alumnus, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah put the ball straight down the fairway. Jackson is already a good player who appears ready to see growth arrive due to better health, confidence in the scheme, and coaching.

The left guard is listed as being 6’4″ and weighing 323 pounds. Seeing him form a gruesome twosome along the left side with Darrisaw wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Those two are capable of putting a dent into the line of scrimmage on a regular basis.

Jackson is 23.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Chelsea Gray, of the United States, grabs the ball from Italy’s Matilde Villa during the Women’s Basketball World Cup match between the United States and Italy in Berlin, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

BERLIN — The United States faced its stiffest challenge in nearly two decades in the women’s Fiba World Cup and escaped with a win over Italy thanks to a few timely baskets late and a key defensive play by Chelsea Gray.

Jackie Young scored 10 points to lead the struggling offense in the 55-52 win on Sunday. It was the fewest points the Americans had scored in a World Cup win since they beat Australia 42-38 in 1967.

“You have to be able to win different ways in this tournament because every team stylistically plays a little bit different,” U.S. coach Kara Lawson said. “You do have to be able to win when you don’t have your fastball. We didn’t have a fastball tonight, but we figured it out late and we’ll grow from it.”

READ: Mali shocks Spain in Fiba Women’s World Cup

Needed it, got it.@paigebueckers1 x #FIBAWWC 🏆 pic.twitter.com/EOQJf0gQWX

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 6, 2026

The U.S. (2-0) has won 32 straight World Cup games dating to a loss to Russia in the 2006 semifinals. Only one team had come within single digits of the Americans during this run before Sunday, when Australia lost by eight points in 2010.

“Obviously, Italy really kind of mucked up the game for us a little bit,” Breanna Stewart said. “It made it difficult for us to score. They are a tough team. Tons of respect to what they’ve done. And, just proud of the resiliency of this group.”

The world has been closing the gap on the U.S. The Americans pulled off their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2024, edging France by one point in the title game.

“We’ve seen that through the tournament that every game feels like a dogfight,” Lawson said. “It’s really hard. On any given night, if you’re not prepared to play, you’ll lose. That’s awesome for our sport.”

The U.S. trailed 50-48 with 4:29 left before going on a 7-0 run. Stewart, who missed her first eight shots, scored her first basket of the game to put the Americans up 51-50. Young then hit a layup after Gray drew that offensive foul with 3:03 left.

“I thought that late charge Chelsea took was a big momentum changing play,” Lawson said. “It was an incredible winning play by Gray there.”

READ: Record-setting Japan, US start Fiba Women’s World Cup with wins

Gray’s jumper with 1:07 left made it a five-point game. Matilde Villa scored to get Italy back within three with less than a minute to go. The U.S. had a couple of chances to make it a two-possession lead but couldn’t convert.

Italy (1-1) had one last chance to tie it, but Cecilia Zandalasini’s 3-pointer was off at the buzzer.

Italy’s 2-3 zone defense caused the U.S. fits. The Americans couldn’t get into any rhythm and shot 29% from the field, including 1 for 12 from 3-point range. They missed a ton of layups too.

“I think we missed some shots. We missed some layups, some shots that we have made in the past,” Gray said.

The Americans were up early, leading 23-8 in what looked to be another blowout victory. Italy then switched to a zone defense and went on a 16-7 spurt to close the half down 30-24.

The Italians kept it going in the third quarter with an 11-2 run to go up 35-32. The Americans led 42-39 heading into the fourth.

Italy, which lost to the Americans by 34 in a tournament qualifier in March, wouldn’t go away and was up 50-48 in the fourth quarter before the Americans’ final push.

Zandalasini scored 14 points to lead Italy, which is making its first World Cup appearance since 1994. She apologized after the game for emotion she showed at the buzzer toward an official at the lack of a foul call.

“I would like to apologize for how I reacted in the end,” Zandalasini said. “It was a lot of emotions today, but I should have kept them inside of me a little better.”

In other games on Sunday, China edged the Czech Republic in overtime, Australia topped Turkey and Belgium beat Puerto Rico.

Filip Hrgovic has positioned himself for an immediate title defence after causing a major upset against Moses Itauma last Saturday.

The pair squared off for the vacant IBF strap at London’s O2 Arena, with many favouring Itauma to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson.

And, indeed, the 21-year-old appeared likely to do so, having scored a second-round knockdown and dominated the vast majority of their exchanges.

In a truly dramatic turn of events, however, Itauma emptied his tank in round eight before succumbing to a stoppage defeat during the following three minutes.

The heavyweight prodigy therefore suffered the first loss of his career, both amateur and professional, while Hrgovic became his country’s first-ever world heavyweight champion.

Instead of pursuing unification matches, though, the Croatian must first face mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez, who took step-aside money while Hrgovic and Itauma collided for the IBF title.

Speaking with BoxingScene, Sanchez’ advisor, Guadalupe Valencia, has confirmed that the Cuban will not be incentivised to wait in the wings for any longer.

“Frank called me during the [Itauma-Hrgovic] fight to say, ‘Lupe, I’ll fight both of these guys’. He saw that fight and knew neither of those guys can compete with him. And after the fight, he called to say, ‘You’ve gotta make that fight. I’ll fight tomorrow’.

“Now Frank is the mandatory for Hrgovic. We plan on enforcing it. We’ve already had discussions about it. It’s happening. There’s not going to be step-asides for no amount of money.”

With Sanchez coming off a second-round finish over Richard Torrez Jr in May, the 34-year-old represents a dangerous and well-schooled opponent for Hrgovic, who just defeated another southpaw in the form of Itauma.

Tyson Fury has suggested his all-British blockbuster bout with Anthony Joshua is off and has challenged Oleksandr Usyk to a third fight.

Fury and Joshua have been locked in negotiations over a mega-money bout but the ‘Gypsy King’ has grown impatient at a lack of confirmation, calling his rival a “coward” earlier in the week.

Fury has now said Joshua has “s**t his pants” and turned his attention to Usyk, who he lost twice to on points in 2024.

“AJ has s**t his pants again, yet again,” he told his followers in a post on social media. “After 11 years he has finally s**t his pants yet again.

“This will only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Oleksandr you’re his (Joshua’s) trainer and his sensei and you know he is a weak minded piece of s**t and that he would never fight the Gypsy King, which you have had the guts to do twice.

“You got the decisions last time, fair play to you. Good luck to you, let’s do it again. Let’s run it back in November. The ball is now in your court… do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling quits? Let me know because I am now looking for a new opponent.”

Joshua’s promotor, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, has previously said an agreement hinged on his client’s net purse.

New York’s Madison Square Garden was widely expected to be announced as the venue despite Joshua’s camp preferring Wembley Stadium as Sela, the Saudi state-owned promotional company financing the fight, wanted a bigger American audience on Netflix.