Irish Hoops Recruit Picked As A Big Surprise!

Pat Connaughton committed to play for Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish this past recruiting season -- and he's been picked by ESPN experts as one of the BIGGEST SURPRISES out of the Class of 2011.  (Pat is also an ALL-STAR baseball pitcher).   Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  ONE OF THE BIGGEST SURPRISES

Jeff Samardzija Goes to 3 - 0 With the Cubs!

Former Notre Dame football and baseball star Jeff Samardzija pitched two scoreless innings tonight in the Cubs win over the Marlins.  Samardzija struck out three and gave up one hit -- getting his third win on the season -- in relief of Cub's starter Ryan Dempster.

Jeff has now appeared in seventeen games for the Cubs this season -- giving up zero runs in 13 of those appearances!  His ERA is now at 2.96 for the season.  Here's a link to Jeff's updated season stats:

LINK:  JEFF SAMARDZIJA STATS

The 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses

Notre Dame fans won't be pleased where the campus of the University of Notre Dame ended up on this list.  You be the judge:

LINK:  50 MOST BEAUTIFUL CAMPUSES

Ryan Grant Fulfills His Promise to WI School

Former Notre Dame running back and current Green Bay Packer, Ryan Grant, fulfilled a promise he made to Burlington Catholic Central High School that he would pay for their high school prom.  Here's a link to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story and the deal he cut with the school:

LINK:  RYAN GRANT'S A MAN OF HIS WORD

Notre Dame Says "NO" to Made In China

The only school in America that has told their Licensees -- NO PRODUCTS CARRYING OUR MARKS MADE IN CHINA -- is the University of Notre Dame.  ND fans will find this story quite interesting:

LINK:  THIS DECISION WAS MADE TEN YEARS AGO

Lou Nanni -- A Notre Dame Man!

I found this article this evening in the South Bend Tribune.  It speaks a little about a man I've gotten to know over the past twelve months.  His name is Lou Nanni '84 and he's the Vice President for University Relations at the University of Notre Dame.  He has one of the greatest jobs on this planet -- and Notre Dame couldn't have found a more deserving MAN for this role.

Lou's convictions (as you'll see in this South Bend Tribune story) makes Notre Dame -- NOTRE DAME, to many.  Enjoy!

LINK:  WALKING THE WALK

Majority Leader Boehner -- Tells a Faust Story

John Boehner, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives was given an honorary degree this weekend at Catholic University.  During his speech to the graduates he spoke of a call he received from former Notre Dame football coach Gerry Faust.  Thought IRISH fans would get a kick out of this:

LINK:  BOEHNER AND COACH FAUST

Darby's National Championship Win -- Video

Here's a video of Ronald Darby's winning the 200 meters at the New Balance Indoor Nationals -- the win makes him National Champion in this event!  Darby, who has already verbally committed to play for the Fighting Irish after his upcoming senior season, has one of the fastest times in the world in this event.  Here's the link to the video:

LINK:  DARBY'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RUN

ILLUSTRATION OF THE DAY

Thought you would enjoy this!

A Sixteen Mile Bike Ride to Work @ ND

His name is Rich Forrester and he lives in Buchannan, MI -- sixteen miles from his workplace at the University of Notre Dame.  A route he'll bike from time to time.  The South Bend Tribune caught up with Rich and his bike, here's the story:

LINK:  RICH FORRESTER AND HIS BIKE

Tyler Eiffert Goes Home -- A Nice Story

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette caught up with Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eiffert while he's home between semesters.  You'll enjoy this story:

LINK:  EIFFERT GOES HOME

ND Offers a HS Sophomore Star in Georgia!

Brian Kelly & Company have definitely changed Notre Dame's approach to recruiting.  Charlie Weis typically offered 35 to 40 kids and never until after their junior season.  Well, there's a new sheriff in town and he's offering every talented football player in the country whether they're in ninth, tenth or eleventh grade.

Trey Johnson, a sophomore linebacker out of Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrencevill, GA -- is the latest underclassmen to be offered by the IRISH.  Here's a link to his highlight video from this past season:

LINK:  TREY JOHNSON -- IRISH OFFER!

Notre Dame Lacrosse on ESPNU Today!

The fourth seeded Fighting Irish of Notre Dame Men's Lacrosse team kicks off action in the NCAA Division 1 Men's Lacrosse Championships against unseeded Penn at 2:30 PM EST on ESPNU.  The First Round game is a "home" game for the Irish at Arlotta Stadium.  Here's a link to the media notes on today's game:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. PENN -- NCAA TOURNAMENT

NATIONAL CHAMPS IN THE CLASSROOM!

The University of Notre Dame dominated the 2010 NCAA Graduation Success Rate -- National Rankings -- AGAIN!

MEN'S TEAMS -- NINE ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
-- Baseball at 100 tied for first with Boston College, Stanford, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Virginia and Wake Forest.
-- Men's basketball at 100 tied for first with BYU, Illinois, Marshall, Utah State, Wake Forest and Western Kentucky.
-- Men's cross country/track and field at 100 tied for first - with Central Florida, Miami (Fla.), Rice, Stanford, Tulane and Virginia Tech.
-- Men's fencing at 100 tied for first with Boston College, North Carolina, Rutgers and Stanford.
-- Men's golf at 100 tied for first with 39 other schools.
-- Men's lacrosse at 100 tied for first with Duke.
-- Men's soccer at 100 tied for first with Northwestern.
-- Men's swimming at 100 tied for first with nine other schools.
-- Football at 96 finished first - ahead of Duke and Northwestern at 95.
-- Hockey at 95 ranked second - behind the U.S. Air Force Academy at 96.


WOMEN'S TEAMS -- ELEVEN ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
-- Women's basketball at 100 tied for first with 29 other schools.
-- Women's cross country/track and field at 100 tied for first - with10 other schools.
-- Women's crew/rowing at 100 tied for first with Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, USC and Stanford.
-- Women's fencing at 100 tied for first with Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, Northwestern, Rutgers, Stanford and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
-- Women's golf at 100 tied for first with 62 other schools.
-- Women's lacrosse at 100 tied for first with Boston College, Connecticut, Duke, Northwestern, Ohio State, the U.S. Naval Academy, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
-- Women's soccer at 100 tied for first with 25 other schools.
-- Softball at 100 tied for first with 17 other schools.
-- Women's swimming at 100 tied for first with 28 other schools.
-- Women's tennis at 100 finished tied for first with 67 other schools.
-- Women's volleyball at 100 ranked tied for first with 42 other schools.

 
Here's a link to the story:  NATIONAL CHAMPS IN THE CLASSROOM!

CA Candidate Plays the "Rudy" Card In TV Spot

You can't make this stuff up!  A Californian by the name of Dan Adler hired Sean Astin (Rudy) to help him in his run for the U.S. Congress.  You've got to wonder why this former Creative Artists and Disney executive is using "Notre Dame" to sell Los Angeles area voters in the 36th District. 

Is he brilliant?

Thought Irish fans would get a kick out of this:

LINK:  PLAYING THE RUDY CARD

Irish Recruit -- 200 Meter National Champion!

The Fighting Irish received a commitment last month from Ronald Darby -- who just happens to be the NATIONAL CHAMPION in the Indoor 200 Meters.  Darby is also one of the top defensive backs in the Class of 2012 and will bring a "little speed" to the Bend.  Here's a link to his interview after winning the national title:

LINK:  RONALD DARBY -- NATIONAL CHAMPION

Notre Dame Offers a Freshman Football Star!

To show you how the game of recruiting has changed in college football -- word leaked yesterday that the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish had made a verbal offer to a high school freshman football star in Florida!  His name is Sony Michel -- and as an eighth grader he was clocked in the 100 meters at 10.9.  He's scheduled to graduate from American Heritage High School in Plantation, FL in June of 2014.  

Besides Notre Dame -- Florida State and Miami, FL have already made offers.  Here's a link to highlights of his eighth grade football season and his recent freshman football season.

LINK:  SONY MICHEL AS AN EIGHTH GRADER

LINK:  SONY MICHEL AS A NINTH GRADER

Davis & May to Join the Irish Golf Legends!

ESPN College Football Gameday hosts Reece Davis (Alabama) and Mark May (Pittsburgh) have agreed to host the Irish Golf Legends golf tournament on Monday, June 27th.  The fifth annual event honors the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, Lou Holtz Charitable Foundation and the Kelly Cares Foundation.  Here's some more information:

LINK:  IRISH GOLF LEGENDS 

LINK:  OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Mendoza College of Business Ten Top Tens!

BusinessWeek ranked how well the undergraduate business schools in the country teach 14 specialty areas: quantitative methods, operations management, ethics, sustainability, calculus, microeconomics, macroeconomics, accounting, financial management, marketing management, business law, and corporate strategy, as well as entrepreneurship and international business, which were added this year.

The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business (which is the #1 ranked undergraduate business school in America two years running) ranked in the top 10 in ten of the fourteen specialty areas!  Only ND and Emory University can claim this many top ten rankings.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME LEADS THE WAY!

Irish Softball Big East Regular Season Champs!

It took a grand slam from senior catcher Alexia Clay (pictured)  in the final at bat against UCONN, as the Irish scored five times in the top of the seventh to overcome an 11-9 deficit to win the Big East regular season title!  ESPN's Graham Hays wrote a story today about the Big East Championships this weekend in Louisville -- here's a link.  Go IRISH!

LINK:  IRISH WIN REGULAR SEASON TITLE!