Thursday, June 24, 2010

Does Harangody Get Drafted Tonight?











Notre Dame's Luke Harangody learns tonight if he'll be drafted by an NBA Team or, if he'll have to go the "free agency" route to make an NBA roster. The 2010 NBA Draft begins tonight at 7 PM EST at Madison Square Garden -- it will be televised on ESPN. Harangody is a "tweener" at 6'-6" tall (not the 6'-8" a Notre Dame basketball roster would like you to believe). He's not big enough to be your prototypical NBA power forward -- nor, is he athletic enough to be your prototypical NBA small forward. Yet, he knows how to play the game -- and NBA Draft Experts have him going as high as 25th (which would be the tail end of the first round) or not being drafted at all. Going to be a nerve wracking day for the Harangody's!

USGA Public Links at Notre Dame!

Many of the the top female amateur golfers in the world are at the University of Notre Dame's Warren Golf Course this week for the 2010 USGA Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. It's the first time Notre Dame has hosted a national United States Golf Association event an indicative of the quality of this golf facility. Monday and Tuesday was the 36-hole qualifier for the field of 156 players. Only the top 64 players qualified for Match Play -- which began yesterday. It took a score of +10 or better to qualify for individual match play. Aria Jutanugarn, a 14 year-old from Thailand (pictured) was the low qualifier with a 36-hole score of -7 under par -- can you believe it!!!. University of Notre Dame Women's Golf Team members; Becca Huffer (Denver, CO) and Nicole Zang (Canada) qualified for match play - both won their first round matches, but were beaten this morning as the field was narrowed down to 16. The Championship Match will be held this Saturday. Admission is free - so, if you're in the area, it's a great opportunity to see many of the top female amateur golfers in the world. Here's a link to the live scoring from the Championship:

USGA WOMEN'S AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP -- LIVE SCORING

Old 2 Gold Yard Sale -- Saturday at ND Stadium!

The University of Notre Dame's Annual "Yard Sale" will be held this Saturday at historic Notre Dame Stadium. The "early bird" sale goes from 7AM to 9AM -- to get tickets for early entry, the line opens up at 5 AM and the tickets are $5. Tickets are not required for children 12 and under. If you don't want to get up that early, general admission (which is free) begins at 9 AM. The Old-2-Gold Sale ends at 11 AM. There are 33 semi-truck trailers full of merchandise to be sold -- click on the link below to see list of items -- so get there early!

LIST OF ITEMS ON SALE

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Football Tickets on Sale Today!

If you've ever wanted to make the "pilgrimage" to Notre Dame to see a football game -- today might be your lucky day! You need to pick up the phone RIGHT NOW and call this number: 574.631.7356 -- when they answer, hit the number 6 on your phone IMMEDIATELY so you won't have to spend a minute listening to Notre Dame Ticket Office info you won't care about. GO IRISH!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Coach Kelly Cares -- Football 101, THURSDAY!

Are you tired of your husband or boyfriend claiming to be the "know it all as it relates to Notre Dame Football?" Well, here's your chance to change that! This Thursday -- June 24th from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM -- the Notre Dame Football discussion will be for WOMEN ONLY! It's called Football 101 and it's an event being hosted by Coach Brian Kelly and his wife Paqui at Notre Dame Stadium benefiting Breast Cancer research. If you'd like to go, here are the rules -- you must be female, you must be at least 21 years old and you must register online. Here's a link to the registration site:

FOOTBALL 101 -- REGISTRATION

Dayne Crist Interview -- The Sporting News

Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist, recently sat down with a reporter from The Sporting News to talk about Fighting Irish Football. Here's a link to the story:

DAYNE CRIST - NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACK

Coach Longo -- No Day at the Beach!

Notre Dame's Director of Football Strength & Conditioning, Paul Longo -- has already constructed his trademark "Longo Beach" on one of the practice fields at Notre Dame. It's an 80 yard long, ten feet wide stretch of beach sand that his players have the joy of running in. It's the precursor to a 30 yard sand hill, that will also be constructed on the ND campus for his boys to have more fun on! Every Notre Dame scholarship football player is now on campus (they all arrived on Sunday) and they're in the trusted care of Coach Longo for the next six weeks. Longo is given a great deal of credit for Coach Kelly's teams having a 42 - 1 record when leading a game going into the 4th quarter. Here's a revealing interview given to ESPN - that speaks to Coach Longo and his ways -- ENJOY!

COACH LONGO - ESPN INTERVIEW

Monday, June 21, 2010

PHOTO OF THE WEEK -- GOLDEN TATE

Former ND All-American Golden "PINK" Tate, was back in South Bend this weekend for Charlie Weis's Hannah & Friends Charity Golf Tournament. Thought you'd enjoy this photo!

Evan Sharpley - Pro Baseball Player!









Former Notre Dame Quarterback and Irish Baseball Player, Evan Sharpley, was taken in the 50th Round by the Seattle Mariners in last year's MLB Draft. And Evan immediately made Seattle’s decision look golden. Playing for Seattle’s rookie Arizona League affiliate in Peoria last summer, Sharpley was the team’s top offensive performer. In 37 games he led the team in average (.333) and homers (seven) as Peoria won the league title. This season Evan's been assigned to the Mariner's Class A affiliate in Everett, WA -- the Everett AquaSox in the Northwest League. The AquaSox are playing their home opener tonight, having played their first three games on the road (Evan had one double on the opening roadtrip). If you want to buy Evan's fist Topp's baseball card -- here's a link to it -- as well as a link to the Everett AquaSox's website. Good Luck Evan!

BUY EVAN'S BASEBALL CARD ON E-BAY!

EVERETT AQUASOX -- OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Former ND Linebacker -- Mike Goolsby

Here's a link to Weekday SportsBeat's interview of former Notre Dame Football Player and Team Captain; Mike Goolsby. Goolsby, a 2004 grad, is President of All Day Inc., a youth training program focused on helping Chicagoland youths (grades 6-12) realize their athletic goals. Whether that may be simply cracking the starting lineup or pursuing a collegiate scholarship. Click on this:

WEEKDAY SPORTSBEAT

Saturday, June 19, 2010

ND Football Tickets on Sale -- Wednesday!

Ever wanted to see the Irish play in person at historic Notre Dame Stadium? Here's your chance! Tickets go on at 8:30 a.m. EDT, on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. The sale will consist of single, noncontiguous seats that remain after the annual alumni lottery, as well as contiguous seats resulting from early visiting team returns and University allotment releases. At least some availability is anticipated for all 2010 home games but will vary by game and date. Ticket purchase limits and service charges will apply. The complete Notre Dame schedule for 2010 is available at UND.com. Alumni and friends who applied for tickets through the annual football ticket lottery will have their requests accommodated prior to tickets being made available for public sale. The lottery is in the process of being finalized and results will be available July 7th. Tickets for 2010 home games in Notre Dame Stadium are $70 each and may be purchased in person beginning at 8:30 a.m. June 23 at the Murnane Ticket Office located between Gates 8 and 10 of Purcell Pavilion on the south side of the Joyce Center – by calling 574-631-7356 weekdays from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. – or by visiting UND.com/tickets. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Parseghian's & Notre Dame -- It's Family









Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC), is a rare and deadly neurodegenerative disease that primarily strikes children before or during adolescence. Unfortunately, this disease struck the Parseghian Family, prematurely ending the lives of three of Mike and Cindy Parseghian's (both are 1977 ND grads) four children; Michael, Marcia and Christa (pictured above). Since then, the Parseghian Family has dedicated their lives to finding the cause and cure for PNC through the efforts of The Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation. It was announced yesterday that the Foundation has given a generous gift to the University of Notre Dame to establish the Michael, Marcia and Christa Parseghian Endowment for Excellence to support NPC research and discovery and to build on the Foundation’s commitment to collaborate with young researchers at other institutions. Funds also will be dedicated in support of an annual NPC scientific conference that will be held at Notre Dame beginning in 2011, bringing together researchers from around the world to share discoveries and progress. Here's a story that NBC broadcast in 2008 on Coach Parseghian and his family's battle with PNC -- along with a link to the Foundation's website:

ARA'S MOST IMPORTANT GAME

A GOAL FOR LIFE -- PARSEGHIAN FOUNDATION WEBSITE

Thursday, June 17, 2010

A Notre Dame Story -- I Never Knew...

Ever wonder who's the "Morris guy" whose name is on the Morris Inn at Notre Dame (photo of lobby) or, the Morris Performing Arts Center, Morris Park Country Club, etc., in South Bend? Well here is his unique "Notre Dame" story. As the story goes, E. M. Morris orphaned at 12 years old, rode his horse with all of his belongings in his saddle bag to Notre Dame. He met with Father John William Cavanaugh, the President of Notre Dame from 1905 to 1919. Given his financial situation, he asked Father Cavanaugh if he could attend the college for free. He promised to pay the University back ten-fold if they allowed him to enroll. Father Cavanaugh believed in his spirit and allowed him to do so -- and what a great decision that was! E. M. Morris and the Morris Family did pay the University back ten-fold over the years. Morris founded The Associates Investment Company in 1918, originally to help needy people, and it later became the single largest financing company in the world. The Associates was sold to Ford Motor Company, in 1998, for $3.5 Billion and sold again in 2000, to Citigroup for $31 Billion. He also founded the First Bank & Trust in South Bend which today operates as 1st Source Bank. In 1932 Morris Farms was founded in Niles, MI. E. M. Morris began purchasing parcels of land with the main principal of reforestation. He planted over 120,000 trees of many varieties. Today, Morris Farms consists of approximately 960 acres. The Morris Farms is in the news today because the Morris Family heirs just announced they're going to sell the property. Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story:

MORRIS FARMS ESTATE TO BE AUCTIONED

Irish Athletes Honored by Big East Conference!

The Big East Conference honored three Notre Dame athletes with 2009-2010 Big East Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award. Irish basketball player Tim Abromaitis, rower Sarah Keithley and tennis player Tyler Davis were among the 24 student athletes in the Big East to receive this honor. Abromaitis (Unionville, CT) posted a 3.73 GPA in the classroom and was one of the big surprises in the Big East this year, averaging 18.2 pts. per game earning Academic All-American honors. Keithley (Austin, TX) coxed a Big East Champion boat in three of her four seasons for the Irish while posting a 3.74 GPA in the classroom. And, Tyler Davis (Nashville, TN) earned All Big East Academic Honors for the third straight year while compiling a 4-1 mark in singles for the Irish. Congratulations to all three!

ND Professor Receives Sheedy Award

Jim Collins, Notre Dame professor in the Department of Film, Television and Theatre was named the 2010 Sheedy Excellence in Teaching Award winner in recognition of his work as a scholar and teacher. The Sheedy award, named after Rev. Charles E. Sheedy, CSC who was Dean of the College of Arts & Letters from 1951 to 1969, acknowledges a faculty member who has sustained excellence in research and instruction over a wide range of courses. This individual must also motivate and enrich students using innovative and creative teaching methods and influence teaching and learning within the department, College and University. Collins is author of “Architecture of Excess: Cultural Life in the Information Age” (1995) and “Uncommon Cultures: Popular Culture and Postmodernism” (1989), editor of “Hi-Pop: Making Culture into Popular Entertainment” (2002), and co-editor of “Film Theory Goes to the Movies” (1993). His most recent book, “Bring on the Books for Everybody: How Literary Culture Became Popular Culture,” was released last month. Congratulations Professor Collins!

2010 SHEEDY EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD WINNER

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

New Hotel Opens up across from Notre Dame

The Fairfield Inn & Suites at Notre Dame opens up Tuesday, June 22nd. Located across the street from the University of Notre Dame, in the Eddy Street Commons development, fans of The Fighting Irish will find pretty good room rates for the football season. The hotel is sold out for the Michigan game, but rooms are still available for the other Notre Dame Football Weekends. Here's a link to their website:

FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES AT NOTRE DAME

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A Domer @ NASCAR!
















Jimmy Small, Class of 2008 -- left the Notre Dame campus, two years ago, for the high banks of NASCAR. Small was recruited by NASCAR to join their Series Operations Team -- a pretty cool job for a kid right out of college. That's Jimmy pictured above with Adam Sandler and Kevin James -- these two were at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Michigan International Speedway , promoting their soon to be released film; 'Grown Ups.' One of Small's duties on "Race Day" is to direct all of the 'on-camera' appearances of celebrities engaged to perform, sing a National Anthem or give the command "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!" Well, this Sunday, Jimmy was given the honor of "directing" Sandler & James in their 'now YOUTUBE legend' command to start your engines. As you watch the video -- you'll see Small's hand (in the lower right hand corner) directing these two characters. I'll leave the rest for your enjoyment.

LINK TO ADAM SANDLER & KEVIN JAMES -- NASCAR!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Incoming ND Athlete -- Named to Team USA

You can bet Muffet McGraw's smiling this morning. One of her prized incoming recruits, was just named by USA Basketball to the 12 member U18 National Team. Kayla McBride, out of Erie, PA is the fifth ND Women's Basketball Player to earn this honor in the last seven years. Kayla was selected to this team after six days of tryouts at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. She'll remain out there for the next two weeks, with her new teammates, as they prepare for the qualifying round of the FIBA U19 World Championships. The Americans must finish among the top four teams in the eight team qualifying round to earn the trip to Chile for the World Championship. The Team USA honor caps off a great high school career for McBride which earned her McDonald's All American, USA Today All American, Parade All American, ESPN RISE All American and Pennsylvania's Gatorade Player of the Year honors. She led her team to "back to back" Pennsylvania State Championships earning Kayla recognition as one of the top-25 players in America. I'm sure Muffet can't wait to have the 5'-11" McGraw join Skylar Diggs, in the Irish backcourt, for the next three seasons -- it's going to be fun!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Girl from Vietnam -- Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar!

The University of Notre Dame's inaugural class of Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars -- includes a young lady from Vietnam. Hien Luu, a senior at Conard High School in West Hartford, CT is one of 25 incoming Notre Dame students who have received this "first of it's kind" scholarship. The Hesburgh-Yusko scholarship includes an all-expenses paid summer experience each year, the first is next month when the twenty-five incoming freshmen, will go on a mountaineering experience in the Northern Cascades in Washington. Luu and her family left Vietnam for America in 1998. Here's a link to a wonderful story, in the Hartford Courant, about Hien Luu and her family:

VIETNAMESE GIRL RECEIVES HESBURGH-YUSKO SCHOLARSHIP

Saturday, June 12, 2010

ND Grad's TV Show -- Debuts on Fox Today!

"Judge" Anthony Napolitano, Notre Dame Law Grad, debuts his new show "Freedom Watch" this morning at 10 AM EST -- on the Fox Business Channel. His first guests; Sarah Palin and Ron Paul. Here's a link to Judge Napolitano's website:

FREEDOM WATCH -- FOX BUSINESS CHANNEL