The University of Notre Dame is asking fans in New Orleans ahead of the Sugar Bowl to “join us in prayer” after an apparent terror attack killed at least 10 people and injured more than 30 others early Wednesday morning. 

The statement shared on social media comes as thousands of college football fans have traveled to the city for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between the Fighting Irish and the Georgia Bulldogs.

“We are aware of the incident this morning in New Orleans and are working with law enforcement and others to determine the full scope and impact of the tragedy,” the statement posted on X read. 

“We ask our fans to join us in prayer for those injured and lost in this senseless act of violence.” 

The university urged those in New Orleans to avoid the surrounding area. It also encouraged anyone interested to attend a mass the university is holding at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. 

The FBI is investigating a suspected act of terror after a driver plowed through a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 10 people and injuring at least 35 others. Police said the suspect was killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement. 

Police investigate a crime scene on Bourbon Str. in New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. A driver plowed into crowds of New Year’s revelers and began firing a weapon in the early hours of the morning. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

SUGAR BOWL OFFICIAL SPEAKS OUT AFTER DEADLY BOURBON STREET ATTACK LEAVES AT LEAST 10 DEAD HOURS BEFORE KICKOFF

The tragedy has raised security concerns ahead of the Sugar Bowl, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night at the Caesars Superdome, which sits just a mile away from the crime scene. 

“The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning,” Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available.”

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish run onto the field prior to the Playoff First Round game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium on Dec. 20, 2024 in South Bend, Indiana. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick indicated at a press conference on Wednesday that the game will continue as expected. 

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It’s time to peer into my crystal ball to see what 2025 has in store for the Southland’s high school athletes (and a few former ones), coaches and fans.

Dominic Cadiz of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will hit so many home runs that he’ll get a name, image and likeness deal with Wheaties.

Sophomore Julius Truitt of Birmingham will become the second-most famous person named JuJu in Los Angeles when he hits above .400, steals double-digit bases and breaks a school record for triples in his first season as a varsity starter.

Corona will win the Southern Section Division 1 baseball championship, with Seth Hernandez earning praise as the Shohei Ohtani of high school baseball.

Win Gurney of Mira Costa, an Oregon State commit, will hit a home run so far that the ball will go missing until a Golden Retriever is brought in to find it.

Quarterback Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park will promise his dad all A’s on his report card and to never dump Gatorade on him when it’s cold if he gets a new truck.

A group of El Segundo Little Leaguers from the championship team of 2023 will enroll at Loyola, and white smoke will be seen rising from historic Ruppert Hall.

Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian will score 50 points in a girls’ basketball game, then get a shoe by Adidas in her honor.

The NFL draft on April 24 will feature two former Servite players, Mason Graham and Tetairoa McMillan, selected in the first round, causing their former coach, Troy Thomas, to sing the school fight song.

Quarterback Koa Malau’ulu of St. John Bosco will treat his group of talented receivers with so much love that he’ll buy them whatever they want from In-N-Out as long as the bill doesn’t exceed $150.

The Grindlinger brothers, Trent and Jared, will hit back-to-back home runs for Huntington Beach, causing mom and dad to scream so loudly that the umpire will stop the game for a moment of calm.

Gary Morse, a 6-foot-8 junior pitcher for Orange Lutheran, will be compared to Tyler Glasnow.

Pitcher Addison Moorman of Granada Hills.

(Craig Weston)

Addison Moorman of Granada Hills will strike out 18 in a softball game.

Eighth-grader Ezrah Brown, the brother of Stanford quarterback Elijah Brown, and seventh-grader Ryu Sanchez, the brother of Columbia quarterback Caleb Sanchez, will continue their rise as youth quarterbacks as they move closer to the day of taking over the offenses at Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, respectively.

Former Sierra Canyon defensive back Kamari Ramsey will be an All-American for USC, then become a first-round draft pick in 2026.

Bell celebrates after defeating Birmingham in the City Section Open Division championship at Dodger Stadium.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Bell will become the first school outside the San Fernando Valley since Fremont in 1947 to win consecutive City Section upper division baseball championships.

Defensive lineman Khary Wilder of Gardena Serra will be so successful sacking quarterbacks that he will change his uniform number to 99.

Teagan O’Dell of Santa Margarita will end up with so many swimming medals around her neck that there will be a contest to guess how many.

Bishop Alemany freshman Demare Dezeurn displays his medal after winning the boys’ 100 meters in 10.47 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 20, 2024.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Demare Dezeurn of Bishop Alemany will be the fastest 100-meter runner in the Southern Section at age 16 as he blossoms under coach Terrell Stanley.

Nikolas Khamenia of Harvard-Westlake will set a record for triple-doubles in a season.

Lino Mark of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Nick Koza)

Lino Mark of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame will receive an NIL deal for his hair.

Dylan Moreno of San Pedro will kick so many field goals that coach Corey Walsh will offer to serve as his holder at practice.

Birmingham and El Camino Real will meet again to determine the City Section boys’ soccer title and instead of the match ending in a fight, players will agree to shake hands as long as they get invited to the next World Cup.

Jaden Soong competes during the U.S. Open qualifier at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles on June 5, 2023.

(Brody Hannon)

Freshman golf phenom Jaden Soong of St. Francis will agree to a skins game against Charlie Woods sponsored by the SGA.

Cathedral sophomore quarterback Jaden Jefferson.

(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)

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Quarterback Jaden Jefferson of Cathedral will throw for six touchdowns in a game, then do the Heisman pose.

Huntington Beach baseball coach Benji Medure will promise to try surfing if his team beats Corona.

Mater Dei left-hander Jackson Campbell will be a surprise pitching star because of his ability to throw strikes.

Softball standout Taelyn Holley of Murrieta Mesa, a Tennessee commit, will hit so many home runs that Erewhon will name a smoothie after her.

USC’s surprise freshman standout in baseball will be Augie Lopez from Loyola High.

Receiver will be the strongest position in Southern California football, led by the St. John Bosco group of Madden Williams, Carson Clark, Daniel Odom, Christian Davis and Darren Tubbs.

Corona Centennial football coach Matt Logan.

(Jeremiah Soifer )

Matt Logan of Corona Centennial will win his 300th career football game, then be presented with a new jersey, No. 300.

The famous wrestler Sting, in describing his character change in 1996 from a clear babyface to a darker, enigmatic character, offered the perfect axiom about predicting the future. Noted the Stinger: “The only thing that’s for sure about Sting is nothing’s for sure.”

This would be the same for sports media. There are some trends that look obvious (increased investment in women’s sports media; legacy media consolidation and layoffs; Netflix becoming a bigger sports player; more media leaning into sports betting revenue), but who knows? Still, we bring you some guesses for 2025.

1. Tom Brady will walk away from broadcasting before the start of the 2025 NFL season

I’ve previously said I’d put down big money that Brady will not finish his 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox, given all his various business interests away from broadcasting, including ownership. That remains true. The safer prediction would be that Brady walks away from his Fox deal after three or four years. But I’m going bold and saying Brady gets deeper involved with the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason and decides to go all in with NFL ownership and his production company by the start of the next NFL season.

2. WNBA viewership will go up in 2025

This isn’t a moment for women’s sports; it’s been a movement for some time. Game 5 of the WNBA Finals — a 67-62 overtime thriller won by the New York Liberty — averaged 2.15 million viewers, the most-viewed WNBA Finals game in 25 years. The finals averaged 1.6 million viewers, up 115 percent over last season. It capped a fantastic year of viewership for the league — and this is where we absolutely mention that the catalyst for the viewership explosion was interest in Caitlin Clark. Overall, there were 32 WNBA television windows among its media partners that topped 1 million viewers during the 2024 season, including the WNBA Draft. That crushed the previous record of 15.

Next season will see new partners NBC and Amazon Prime Video as part of a long-term TV rights deal, and you should expect them to invest serious marketing dollars. Under the new agreements, Disney, NBC and Amazon will distribute more than 125 regular-season and playoff games nationally each season, including a minimum of 25 regular-season games on Disney platforms, 50 regular-season games on NBCUniversal platforms and 30 regular-season games on Amazon Prime Video. The league will also get a bump from a new franchise (Golden State Valkyries) and more offseason exposure for star players thanks to the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, Unrivaled, launching in January 2025.

Clark’s star will continue to rise, and if you think bad-faith actors knocking her for culture-war points are going to have an impact on viewership, I’d refer you to those who predicted NFL viewership was forever done. It’s arrow up for the WNBA.

3. ESPN Flagship will be an immediate hit

ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, code-named “Flagship,” will allow consumers to access the entire suite of ESPN networks without a traditional pay-TV subscription. That includes the full programming lineup of ESPN+ and what currently airs on linear ESPN. There will also be integration with ESPN Fantasy and ESPN Bet. Reports indicate a starting price of between $25 and $30 per month, and the price point is what I think will attract consumers initially. I think early subscriber numbers will exceed expectations, especially given recent big increases at YouTube TV.

The research firm MoffettNathanson, which provides trends in media, communications and technology to institutional investors, put out a note this month projecting that “after an initial investment of $75 million in FY (fiscal year) 2025 to get the service up and running (anticipating a launch at the tail end of FY 2025 in time for the start of the NFL season), we project an initial one million paid subscribers in FY 2026, driving subscription revenues of just over $200 million and ad revenues of $20 million.” I predict that number is higher by FY 2026.

4. Kevin Harlan will call NBA games for Amazon Prime Video

Ian Eagle has an agreement in place as one of Amazon’s lead broadcasters, and I predict Harlan joins him. A 1-2 game-calling combination featuring Eagle and Harlan will give the streamer massive instant credibility in the live-game space.

5. ESPN will opt out of its current MLB contract after the 2025 season

This is probably as close to a layup prediction as it gets. MoffettNathanson said opting out could save Disney/ESPN as much as $600 million in expenses, although most expect a restructured contract. Will ESPN get local games for Flagship?

6. UFC will be split between ESPN and Netflix

No inside intel from me — just a guess that UFC ends up echoing WWE and lands with both Disney and Netflix for its product. And thus begins Netflix going in big on sports rights.

7. ESPN finally commits to a dedicated women’s basketball daily studio show during the WNBA season

You have a transcendent audience draw in Clark, a litany of interesting All-Stars from A’ja Wilson to Kelsey Plum and an appetite for storylines both on and off the court. If ESPN wants the credit for building women’s basketball in America, as it always does, this isn’t even up for discussion given the multiple outlets it has. If this isn’t something that exists next year, the network should be crushed for it.

8. The Pac-12 will land at least one name-brand media company for its media rights

In November, the Pac-12 announced that Octagon will serve as the agency of record to guide the conference through the media-rights landscape. That signals to me that someone with some weight is going to bite, and I’ll take a flier that it will be WBD Sports, whose 2024 was defined by losing rights to the NBA on TNT. The 2026-27 season has Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State and Utah State joining Oregon State and Washington State. The league needs one more football-playing school to reach the threshold to remain recognized as a conference within the FBS division.

9. ESPN rents an active player or coach for the NBA Finals

It’s been clear for some time that ESPN management does not want a two-person booth for its NBA Finals coverage. It’s also clear that the network desires a notable name (e.g., Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers) to sell on the marquee.

Who could that be? My colleague Andrew Marchand posited in this piece in June that ESPN should already be courting the likes of LeBron James or Steph Curry in the event they would ever considering broadcasting. That’s an interesting long-term play. What I think is very likely for 2025 is someone such as Chris Paul becoming a guest game analyst for the Finals. Longtime NBA coach Monty Williams would also be an interesting one-off.

(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)