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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- About the only think Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly can say for certain about the quarterback position on the eve of practice starting is he doesnt expect DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire to play at the same time.He wasnt willing to rule out much more than that Friday as he fielded repeated questions about different scenarios on the eve of practice beginning Saturday in Culver, 30 miles south of campus.I have not taken anything off the table, honestly, Kelly said. If you go down the roster ... and look at the playmakers on offense, two of them are on the quarterback side. So I have to look at all of those, and factor every one of those in.Its not the answer Kizer or Zaire want to hear, but both realize it is the reality they are facing. Each is focused only on being the starter.This is what I came here to do, to compete and try to be the Notre Dame quarterback, Kizer said. Im pretty happy with where I stand. Now its time to go out there and prove it.Kizer, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander, led the Irish to nine victories, completing 211 of 335 passes for 2,884 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.Zaire, a 6-foot, 225-pound left-hander, won the starting job last year and completed 19 of 22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a season-opening 38-3 win over Texas, with his 86.4 percent completion rate ranking second in school history for a single game. But he broke his right ankle a week later against Virginia and watched as Kizer led the Irish to a 10-3 finish and a No. 11 ranking.Zaire said hes not focusing on being the best quarterback at Notre Dame; hes working to be the best quarterback in college football.Thats what Im focused on and I know thats going to translate into wins for the team, he said.Kelly, entering his seventh season as coach of the Irish, said he doesnt have a timetable for picking a starter before the Sept. 4 opener at Texas. He said depth at quarterback is what leads him to believe the Irish can vie for a playoff spot this season despite losing experience at receiver and along the offensive line.I think in college football any time you have a quarterback -- quarterbacks, were full with quarterbacks -- that gives you a fighting chance right out of the gate, he said.Kelly isnt worried that letting the competition continue could hurt the offense, saying the pair arent that different and he knows what he wants the offense to look like.They have some strengths and weaknesses within the offense that well tweak just a little bit, but theres no overhaul of the offense if one is in vs. the other. Theres just some play selections that would be different, he said. So we can still lay down our entire installation seamlessly.Game notes Kelly said he expects sophomore quarterback Brandon Wimbush to sit out this season and compete for a starting spot next season. ... Kelly also announced that defensive lineman Grant Blankenship, who was suspended from the team in April for violating unspecified team rules is no longer with the team and seeking a transfer. Custom Edmonton Oilers Jerseys . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Edmonton Oilers Store . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. https://www.cheapoilers.com/ . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Oilers Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Oilers Jerseys 2021 . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. As Fernando Alonso crossed the finish line at the Hungarian Grand Prix, he completed a near-perfect weekend given the limitations of his machinery. With the knowledge that his McLaren-Honda was no match for the Mercedes, Red Bulls and Ferraris in front, Alonso could derive a certain satisfaction from finishing seventh in all three practice sessions, qualifying and the race. There was the matter of a small spin in qualifying -- without which he may have qualified sixth -- but why let that upset the perfect symmetry of the weekend?Im happy to be best of the rest, because Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are way ahead of the rest of us, he said after the race. This is the battle we can have, and we did our best.For the vast majority of his career being best of the rest would not have made Alonso happy. But perhaps happiness -- just like a good result in Formula One -- is all relative. Earlier in the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Alonso sat down with ESPN to discuss the decisions he made in his career, and ultimately whether they made him happy. Nearly ten years have passed since Alonso was last crowned world champion, but even now there are few who would bet against him adding a third title given a car capable of the challenge.The very nature of Formula One means winning championships is as much about being in the right car at the right time as it is about having raw driving talent. The theory goes that the best drivers end up in the best cars, but the last three seasons of Alonsos career suggest otherwise. So how did such a highly-rated driver end up in such a slow car?The very short answer lies in Hondas struggles with turbo-compounding, but the long answer cannot ignore the decisions Alonso made after his two world championship victories in 2005 and 2006. Despite driving for McLaren, Renault (for a second time), Ferrari and McLaren (for a second time), his time at some of the biggest teams in the sport did not yield that elusive third title. So did Alonso make the wrong choices?I try always to find new motivation, to find happiness in the moves that I make between teams -- and obviously a more competitive car than what I had in that moment, Alonso explained to ESPN. After two championships in Renault, I felt that I needed something new. I had that at McLaren [in 2007] and probably it didnt work the first time because the atmosphere was not right and I did not feel totally happy and integrated in the team.After that I moved back to Renault and McLaren went and won the following year with [Lewis] Hamilton, but never won again. So its not like I left a team that dominated Formula One, because they never won again.I joined Ferrari because it was some kind of a dream to drive for Ferrari. I had a fantastic time there, I had a more competitive car than what I had in Renault in the previous years, so I fought for the championship in the last races.I then left Ferrari because I felt that my time there was over. I didnt find any more motivation and I felt that they will not win soon -- and they are not winning. I found new motivation at McLaren, I am happy and I am enjoying this project. Hopefully with a better car very soon -- or from next year -- than my previous car.Alonso lists his past teams like a lothario lists ex-girlfriends -- no regrets, no what-ifs and minimal sentimentality. Each switch had its reasons, and in his eyes the passage of time has not exposed those reasons as mistakes -- even if the benefit of hindsight has revealed glaring missed opportunities.No regretsOne such opportunity came in late 2007 when Red Bull was amassing a team to take on the F1 establishment. Alonso, who was making his unceremonious exit from McLaren at the time, was on the top of Red Bulls driver wish-list but passed up the offer. Instead, he returned to Renault -- a team in decline that would ultimately leave the sport two years later -- while Red Bull went on to dominate the sport between 2010 and 2013.Obviously if you had a crystal ball you would change some things, Alonso says (take note of the use of you and not I). You would maybe take different decisions, maybe you go to Red Bull in 2008, probably you would do these things. But I would not change anything because if I changed something I will not be the person that I am today, and I am happy with what I am today.There it is again: the word happy. The delivery is not always convincing but Alonso never uses it without purpose. Its worth exploring in greater depth as it is also relevant to Alonsos current situation at McLaren. So, how is it possible for a world-class driver to be happy at a team that is not capable of fighting for titles?[Its about having] people that trust your job and believe that you can deliver and that you are an important part of the team, he explains. It mmakes me happy to have the atmosphere in the team when you see everyone working in the same direction and everyone focused on the victory.dddddddddddd Im always delivering 100 percent of myself and Im dedicated to my sport every single day of the year, and I want to see something similar from the others in my team.Here at McLaren, for example, we are not performing well, we are not competitive, but everyone in the team is so focused and they want so much this recovery and this win that it makes you come into the next race with motivation, really looking forward to that race.You know that you will be P12 or P11, but you know you are looking forward to that race. Why? In some years of my career maybe you feel that everyone wants his own interest in a way, and that will never succeed in the long term. That frustrates me a lot because I dont understand and I want everyone working flat out for the success.What if...?But while Alonso appears content with the decisions he has made in his career, it seems harder for him to forget the defining moments that were out of his control. While driving for Ferrari, he had two shots at the title in 2010 and 2012 and on both occasions just missed out to Sebastian Vettel in the more competitive Red Bull. When he reflects on those seasons it is not the decisions he made but the factors that were out of his control that stick in his mind.When you are fighting for the world championship, normally small things can dictate the final result. One is the luck, small good luck can change completely the championship, or bad luck can destroy your hopes.I remember 2012, Spa, when [Romain] Grosjean ran over my car [taking Alonso out of the race at the first corner], probably because of that -- a crash that I was not even involved in because it was Lewis Hamilton and Grosjean fighting each other -- that cost me the championship. I lost the championship by three points that year and in that Spa race, even if I finished seventh, I would have won the championship.And the other case was Michael Schumacher and [Vitantonio] Liuzzi, Abu Dhabi 2010, the accident that caused the safety car and then, by our own mistake, we pitted at the wrong time and ended up losing the championship. Small things can change a lot the final result.For Alonso it is those small bits of bad luck, and not the big decisions he made, that he wishes he could change.If I was driving for Red Bull [from 2008] probably I would have more championships, but because they were dominating between 2010 and 2014 probably I would never have driven for Ferrari. I am very happy and very proud to drive for Ferrari, all my time there.As I said, its more maybe luck that would be nice to change, because with those two scenarios for example, with two safety cars or two accidents, I could be a four-time world champion now with Sebastian two. Its completely the opposite, so its two little scenarios. Maybe those you would like to change but not the decisions in general.The elusive third titleBut putting all the twists and turns of previous seasons aside, can a driver of Alonsos undoubted talent really be happy with two world titles at the age of 35?Well, in my opinion, the most important thing is that if you ask anyone in the sport their opinion of myself, more or less everyone will respect the job Ive done. Everyone will think that probably I deserve more wins or championships or something.So there is always these kinds of feelings, which is probably better than any other trophy that I have in home or any other championship that maybe other people have. Maybe that weight of those championships that some people won, it will remain that they won it because they have a fantastic car and that weight will be too heavy for them to lift forever. I prefer the position that I am in.Of course, no-one other than Alonso can know if he is truly happy. His career to date may not have seen his talent rewarded with as many championships as it deserves, but he is not the first driver in F1 history to fall short of his title-winning potential. After all, such things in Formula One -- like happiness -- are relative.I probably have more trophies than I wished for, or deserved, or I was dreaming of because my mother works her whole life in a shopping mall and my father in an explosives factory, and here I am talking to you and I am in the cover of one magazine and I am a two-time world champion. So probably I have much more than what I dreamed of.Im happy with what I am and also the decisions that I made in my career. I did it truly because I felt at that time that it was the right decision, so if I change some of those, I will not be myself. ' ' '