A University of Notre Dame THREE-PEAT!!!

The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business was just named the #1 undergraduate business program in the country for the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR -- by Bloomberg Businessweek!

Here's the TOP FIVE:

1. THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
2. University of Virginia
3. Cornell University
4. Wharton
5. Emory

CONGRATULATIONS!

LINK:  THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!

Connaughton -- Impressive Debut for Irish!

Notre Dame student-athlete, Pat Connaughton -- put on his baseball uniform this afternoon and he proceeded to STRIKE OUT FIVE of the seven hitters he faced in his 1 2/3 inning stint for the Irish today against Eastern Michigan University.

On a strict pitch count -- Connaughton faced four hitters in the first inning -- striking out three and walking one.  In the second, he struck out the lead-off hitter then gave up a single to the second EMU hitter before striking out the next -- then he was pulled from the game.

FIVE STRIKE OUTS -- IMPRESSIVE COLLEGE DEBUT -- for the freshman starter on the Irish men's basketball team!

I took some video -- until I was almost hit by a foul ball -- you'll see this in the video.

LINK:  VIDEO OF CONNAUGHTON'S FIRST COLLEGIATE PITCH

Former Irish QB to "Lend" Jersey to Manning

Frank Tripucka -- Irish fans will remember the last name from his son Kelly's basketball days at Notre Dame and the NBA. 

Well, Frank was quite an athlete himself.  He was the starting QB for the IRISH in 1948, leading the team to a 9-0-1 record and a #2 national ranking -- and he earned All-American honors in the process.

What's cool about Frank's story is he went on to play 15 seasons of professional football.  One of the teams he played for -- the Denver Broncos -- retired his #18 jersey.

Well, as some of you may know, Peyton Manning wears #18 -- and Frank made the gracious offer yesterday to "lend" Peyton his uniform number and wear it with the Broncos.  No word yet on what will transpire here.  Fun story...

LINK:  DENVER POST STORY

Coach Kelly's Spring Football Press Conference

Notre Dame head football coach, Brian Kelly -- met with the media today to talk about Spring Practice -- which begins tomorrow at 7 AM!  Here's a link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Notre Dame Releases 125th Anniversary Logo!

This upcoming football season will be the 125th in the storied history of Notre Dame Football.  To commemorate this milestone -- the University of Notre Dame has created this official mark (above) which will appear either on the GOLD HELMET or jersey, or both this fall.

I also suspect we'll see it on a few items in the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore as well... 

I personally love the clean / classy look of this logo -- nice work!

An official website is under construction and will be launched around BLUE GOLD WEEKEND.

LINK:  FUTURE SITE

Huge Test Tonight for Muffet's Fighting Irish

In what can only be described as "HOW CAN CALIFORNIA BE ONLY AN EIGHT SEED?" -- Notre Dame plays what I believe is the toughest opponent of any of the #1 seeds in the Second Round tonight of the Women's NCAA Championship.

I had the good fortune of watching California play on Sunday and I will report that the Lady Golden Bears are bigger and dare I say "more athletic" than our IRISH.

I believe it's going to come down to Skylar's WILL TO WIN and the senior leadership of Devereaux, Natalie and Brittany.  It's going to be a battle!

The game tips off at 7:20 PM ET on ESPN2.

LINK:  NCAA PRESS CONFERENCES ON MONDAY

LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

Notre Dame Spring Football Starts Tomorrow!

It all starts at NOON EST tomorrow when Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly will meet with the media to talk about Spring Practice for his Fighting Irish.  You'll be able to catch Coach Kelly's session -- LIVE -- at UND.COM.  I'll have a link for all of you in the morning.

Here's the Spring Practice Schedule for 2012:
March 21 - Practice 8-10 AM
March 23 - Practice 8-10 AM
March 24 - Practice 10:45 AM -1:00 PM
March 26 - Practice 8-10 AM
March 28 - Practice 8-10 AM
March 30 - Practice 8-10 AM
March 31 - Practice 10:45 AM -1:00 PM
April 2 - Practice 8-10 AM
April 4 - Practice 8-10 AM
April 11 - Practice 8-10 AM
April 13 - Practice 9-11 AM
April 14 - Practice 10:45 AM -1:00 PM
April 16 - Practice 8-10 AM
April 18 - Practice 8-10 AM
April 21 - Blue-Gold Game 1:30 PM

OT: Peyton Manning to Sign with Broncos

I wonder what ESPN will spend their time talkin' about now...

Any guesses?

ESPN:  Where will Tim Tebow be traded to?

That's going to be all we hear about these next few days as it was just announced that Peyton Manning's agent is negotiating what is believed to be a five-year $95 million deal with the Denver Broncos.

Looks like Brady Quinn made a good decision to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs.

LINK:  ESPN COVERAGE

Irish Football Players in Their OFF Season...

You're going to enjoy this FIGHTING IRISH DIGITAL MEDIA segment on what a few of our football players are up to in the off-season; Matt Mulvey, Mike Golic, Jr., and Kapron Lewis-Moore intimidating basketball opponents at Purcell Pavillion, Chris Salvi's Bengal Bouts Championship Final fight and the Atkinson brothers and Bennett Jackson running track...

LINK:  IRISH CONNECTION

Charles Sollars' Notre Dame Helmet Designs

 

As an exclusive to the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- Charles Sollars, a Missouri based designer -- has taken the liberty of creating a few helmet designs for the NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH.    

I'll always be partial to the new GOLD HELMET the Irish broke out for the USC game this year -- but, it doesn't hurt to explore new options.

Just click on the photo -- and it will enlarge -- and it will kick you into slideshow mode...

Let me know what you think -- and if you have any new ideas, we'll pass them on to Charles -- use the COMMENTS section below...

Irish Win First Round NCAA Game over Liberty!

Muffet's IRISH made their first FOUR SHOTS in the 2012 NCAA Tournament -- and it was 11 - 0 and GAME OVER, just a couple of minutes in.

The halftime score was 44 - 19 and the FIGHTING IRISH didn't even take a warm-up shot coming out into the second half.  It was just a matter of how bad did Muffet's crew want to play over the last 20 minutes...

The final score ended up: 74 - 41.

Next up for the IRISH -- #8 seed California on Tuesday -- who looked VERY GOOD in their 84 - 74 win over #9 seed Iowa.  This might just be ND's toughest test before FINAL FOUR weekend in Denver.  That's how good this California team is.

LINK:  FINAL BOX SCORE

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE 

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Notre Dame's NCAA Tourney Run Begins Today

Muffet McGraw's #1 seeded Fightin' Irish begin the road to Denver and the 2012 FINAL FOUR -- today at 2:40 PM ET on ESPN2 -- when they take on Jerry Falwell's Liberty University Flames at "HOME" inside Purcell Pavillion.

I'll be sitting in the stands, so expect a "first person" follow-up report this evening.  Here's a link to the NCAA coverage coming out of South Bend:

LINK:  NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. LIBERTY -- PREVIEW

LINK:  TOURNEY CENTRAL

ND Band in Ireland for 2012 St. Patrick's Day!

A few members of the Band of the Fighting Irish were in the perfect place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day yesterday -- DUBLIN, IRELAND!  As you'll see here in a few articles and videos from Ireland -- the Notre Dame marching band did us proud!

Twelve marching bands performed during the parade including -- NINE FROM AMERICA!  (the above photo is all I could find so far)

LINK:  VIDEO OF THE BAND OF THE FIGHTING IRISH

LINK:  VIDEO -- RAKES OF MALLOW

LINK:  IRISH TIMES

LINK:  BELFAST TELEGRAPH

LINK:  HOUSE OF BRIGID BLOG

Father Hesburgh Awarded Irish Citizenship!

In a St. Patrick's Day ceremony yesterday -- here on the campus of the University of Notre Dame -- "Father Ted" was honored with IRISH CITIZENSHIP.  Ireland's highest honor was bestowed on ND's former president by Ireland's Prime Minister Enda Kenny.  Here's a couple links to the story:

LINK:  IRISH AMERICA MAGAZINE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  FATHER HESBURGH VIDEO

Quinn & Zbikowski Switch NFL Teams...

Former Irish football stars; Brady Quinn and Tom Zbikowski signed with new NFL teams in the past 24 hours. 

Yesterday, Zbikowski signed a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts after starting his career in Baltimore. Today, Quinn agreed to a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs (terms not disclosed) after spending seasons in Cleveland and Denver.  Here's hoping the moves turn out great for both!

LINK:  QUINN SIGNS WITH CHIEFS

LINK:  ZIBBY SIGNS WITH COLTS

Sollars' Notre Dame Football Helmet Designs

I love Charles Sollars' helmet designs -- but, Charles -- I think you could do better for our IRISH! 

Give us something as cool and hot as you designed for; Alabama, LSU, Illinois, Mizzou...

Here's a link to fourteen helmet designs he came up with for Notre Dame -- along with a second link to helmet designs for a few other teams:

LINK:  NEW HELMET DESIGN FOR THE IRISH

LINK:  OTHER SOLLARS HELMET DESIGNS

The Mornin' After a Bizarre End to a Season

 

I was up 'til after 2 AM ET -- trying to make sense of what happened to our IRISH...  And, I can't.

Xavier 67 - Notre Dame 63

So, I thought I'd leave it up to Coach Brey, the players and the "experts" in the media.  Here you go:

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  IRISH LOCKER ROOM -- AFTER GAME

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  CINCINNATI.COM STORY

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  ESPN BLOG

Referee's Calls -- Determines Final Outcome

Folks, it's truly a shame that with less than 3 seconds left in the game -- and the IRISH down two at the free throw line...

A referee's whistle -- ends the 2011 - 2012 basketball season for our Fighting Irish.

I don't know if it rivals the call made by the first base umpire taking the PERFECT GAME away from the Detroit Tigers' pitcher two seasons ago -- but, it's usually an "un-written" rule that you let the PLAYERS PLAY at the end of the game -- especially an NCAA Tournament game.

Not tonight.  Big East referee Mike Stuart (who's one of the best in the business) made two "back to back" calls that decided the outcome of the game:

• With Eric Atkins at the free throw line with 2.8 seconds remaining and the IRISH down by 2, Stuart blows the whistle after Atkins made the first free throw -- calling Jerian Grant for a violation -- even though he's almost 20' away from the basket.  Taking the point away from Notre Dame and giving the ball to Xavier...

• Then, on the in-bounds play that followed -- Stuart blows the whistle before the ball is thrown in, calling an INTENTIONAL FOUL on our IRISH -- awarding two free throws and the ball out of bounds to Xavier -- GAME OVER...

Mike Stuart took CONTROL AWAY FROM THE PLAYERS -- of the final 2.8 seconds of the basketball game -- ultimately making the decision that Xavier WOULD WIN and our IRISH WOULD GO HOME...

Ironically, I found this interview of Mike Stuart (January 2011) talking about the end of games (see cover photo of Stuart above) where he makes this quote -- and I swear I'm not making this up -- click on the article below:

“That game was really a great game where both teams competed at their highest level, and they decided the game,” he said. “At the end of the day, that is our goal.” -- Mike Stuart.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP!!!

Sleepless in South Bend...

LINK:  MIKE STUART -- LETTING "PLAYERS DECIDE THE GAME..."

Introducing the SHAMROCKS of NOTRE DAME!

The University of Notre Dame -- for the first time in its 169 year history -- will be growing shamrocks on campus this spring...

The exact locations of where the SHAMROCKS of NOTRE DAME will be planted has not been revealed as of yet -- but, as you might expect -- you can buy these same shamrocks (as of today) in the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore.

The store just has a few shamrocks in stock -- with plans to have many more in store for the BLUE GOLD WEEKEND.   They're also going to be offering this online -- with the ability to ship the SHAMROCKS of NOTRE DAME to your home.  They showed me the box they'll ship them in and you can turn the plant upside down in the box and the dirt doesn't come out -- IMPRESSIVE to say the least.

Each SHAMROCKS of NOTRE DAME plant comes in a ceramic pot complete with a "story card" that speaks to this new "living tradition," about to begin this spring, on the University of Notre Dame campus.

I bought two SHAMROCKS of NOTRE DAME plants to give to my Mom and Mother-in-Law for St. Patrick's Day -- they're both huge ND fans who will now have a "story to tell" about "their shamrocks from Notre Dame..."

What's cool is this -- Notre Dame alums, parents, fans and friends will have the opportunity to always have a "living piece of Notre Dame" growing in their yard, home or office -- and a STORY TO TELL.  It's going to be a great gift item...

I've also learned that all proceeds from the sale of the SHAMROCKS of NOTRE DAME will go to the University's Annual Fund which annually provides financial aid for deserving students, enhances academic and student life, advances the university's Catholic mission and funds other areas of greatest need.

The Real March Madness Begins Tonight!

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish have been getting ready for a couple of days now in Greensboro, NC for tonight's scheduled 9:45 PM ET tip-off with Xavier.  The NCAA now calls this a "second round" game since they 'play-ins' were created last season... 

It's still a FIRST ROUND game to me -- a game the IRISH will win!

Last night, the folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media and UND.COM posted a few stories from the tournament site that IRISH fans will enjoy.  I must admit, I'm now a big fan of Garrick Sherman who's in his transfer season from Michigan State -- after learning what he had to do just to "practice" with his teammates in Greensboro -- it's in one of the stories below...

LINK:  COACH BREY WITH JACK NOLAN 

LINK:  COACH BREY NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  PLAYERS NCAA PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  DAY ONE @ NCAA TOURNAMENT