Notre Dame Alum & "Remember The Titans"

Virginia's Governor, Bob McDonnell (Notre Dame Class of 1976) -- was in the news this week with talk that he might be the VP pick for Mitt Romney in his run for the Presidency.  While that alone is a story worthy of the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- what caught my attention about Governor McDonnell was this little ditty:

McDonnell, a Catholic, played football in high school and even boasts of scoring his school's lone touchdown against the legendary 1971 T.C. Williams Titans featured in the film "Remember the Titans."

Here's the story:

LINK:  McDONNELL A VP CANDIDATE

Domer Makes Starting Debut for Yankees!

Former Notre Dame pitcher, David Phelps '08, made his major league "starting" debut last night for the New York Yankees in a game against the Kansas City Royals.  Phelps, who grew up nearby in the St. Louis, MO suburbs -- pitched four innings giving up 2 runs on six hits -- while striking out five.

His start was overshadowed by the news that Mariano Rivera -- probably the greatest relief pitcher of all time -- tore an ACL while jogging in the outfield before the game's start.  This might be a career ending injury -- see below.  Sad.

LINK:  PHELPS DEBUT

LINK:  BOX SCORE

LINK:  PHELPS THRILLED TO BE MAKING FIRST START

LINK:  LATEST ON RIVERA INJURY

Just Passed the 350,000 Unique Visitor Mark!

At approximately 11:31 PM ET last night -- a Notre Dame fan from Wayne, Pennsylvania became unique visitor number 350,000 at the ND GO IRISH BLOG!

As I like to do when the blog reaches a milestone visitor number -- I'll compare the size of this community to others around the country.  So, with an online community of 350,079 -- the ND GO IRISH BLOG would be the 52nd largest city in AMERICA!

Arlington, Texas is the 51st largest city in the U.S. with a population of 365,438 and Wichita is the 50th largest at 382,368 citizens.

Thanks for making the ND GO IRISH BLOG part of your Notre Dame life!

Will the Irish Have a New Starting QB in Ireland?

The start of the 2012 Notre Dame football season is just 122 DAYS away and the race for the starting QB position may have gotten clearer or muddier (depending on your perspective) -- around 12:30 AM this morning...

Do Tommy's troubles open the door for Hendrix or Golson to assume leadership of this team?

It's going to be an interesting summer.

Notre Dame's O.S.C.A.R.S. Night!

More than 750 Notre Dame student-athletes were honored Wednesday night at the Athletic Department's 11th annual O.S.C.A.R.S. Outstanding Students Celebrating Achievements & Recognitions Showcase.  You'll enjoy the link below to the TV commercial spoofs created by the Irish athletes:

LINK:  TV COMMERCIAL SPOOFS

LINK:  O.S.C.A.R.S. AWARDS LIST

Nick Buoniconti -- Hometown Hall of Famer!

Former Notre Dame All-American, two-time Super Bowl Champion and NFL Hall of Famer, Nick Buoniconti -- was honored yesterday at his high school (Cathedral High School) in Springfield, MA -- as a Hometown Hall of Famer by Allstate Insurance Company.  The photo above is of Nick and his Hall of Fame plaque.

Samardzija Gives Cubs Fans a Win Tonight!

Former Notre Dame All-America wide receiver -- Jeff Samardzija is finally showing why he made a great decision to pursue professional baseball over the NFL...

The "Shark" went 7 2/3 innings, striking out seven while giving up one run on three hits -- in the Cub's 3 - 1 win over the Reds. It's his third "quality start" in the first five weeks of the young season.  He's 3 -1 on the season with an ERA of 3.71 going into tonight's start...

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

LINK:  CHICAGO CUBS WEBSITE

LINK:  SEASON STATS FOR SAMARDZIJA

Domer Eric Olsen's Junior Seau Story

Word broke this afternoon that NFL all-time great Junior Seau committed suicide today at his California home.  Within minutes the stories of this man's life began to fill the social media channels.  One, which was shared by former Notre Dame offensive lineman Eric Olsen -- is linked below.  A pretty school story:

LINK:  ERIC OLSEN'S JUNIOR SEAU STORY

Muffet's Biggest Recruit Yet -- Just Might Be!

The story broke last night that former Irish hoops great, Beth Cunningham -- is returning "home" to the University of Notre Dame. 


Cunningham, the most successful HEAD COACH in the history of women's basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) leaves with a record of 167 - 115 -- to join Muffet's staff.  Quite a catch for the IRISH!

You'll enjoy learning why Beth is coming home -- click on the link below:

LINK:  BETH CUNNINGHAM "BACK" TO THE IRISH! 

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ANNOUNCEMENT

Sports Illustrated Weighs In on ND Football

There's been plenty said in the past few weeks, in the media, about the discussions going on right now about a potential four team playoff and what it might mean for Notre Dame.  Well, Andy Staples from Sports Illustrated weighed in on all of the scenarios that could play out for the IRISH.  Click on the link below:

LINK:  INDEPENDENT NOTRE DAME

ONLY NOTRE DAME: One in a Billion!

Colin Littlefield, Law School student at the University of Notre Dame -- discovered a rare type of star this past summer.

Now, this story is a little over my head (pun intended) from this point forward -- so I'm going to quickly get you to the article linked below:

LINK:  THIS IS QUITE A FIND!

If HE Doesn't Get a Sixth Year -- Who Does?

The NCAA turned down Notre Dame's request for a sixth year of eligibility for Tim Abromaitis -- who only played two games of his senior season (his fifth year) after a season ending knee injury.

Abromaitis, who's the three-time defending Big East Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year (the first "three-peat" winner ever) is the epitome of what it means to be a student-athlete. 

I was honestly shocked to learn that Abromaitis was denied his request to get a sixth year of eligibility -- after learning the NCAA gave Minnesota's Trevor Mbakwe a sixth-year on March 26th after his knee injury.  In fact, Mbakwe played in SEVEN games this past season before his injury -- FIVE more games that Abromaitis.

FACT:  Mr. Mbakwe played his freshman season at Marquette -- he then transferred to a junior college in Miami to play his sophomore season -- then he transfers to Minnesota and sits out that season with a "knee sprain."  Mbakwe then plays the next season for Minnesota and this past season (his fifth year of eligibility) he plays the first seven games before the knee injury.  Key fact -- Mbakwe doesn't have a degree after five years in college (Major:  Recreation, Parks & Leisure Studies).

NOW'S THE TIME WHERE I MUST CLEARLY STATE -- THESE VIEWS ARE MY OWN AND NOT THE UNIVERSITY THAT EMPLOYS ME.

Yet, the "student-athlete" who already has an undergraduate degree and a graduate degree -- who plays FIVE LESS GAMES in his fifth year  -- is not granted a sixth year by an institution that supposedly places value in the term STUDENT-ATHLETE.

It's not right.

LINK:  ABRO DENIED BY NCAA

LINK:  TIM ABROMAITIS -- SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

LINK:  MINNESOTA PLAYER GETS SIXTH YEAR

Is He the Best ND Athlete Since Rocket?

The young man's name is Chris Brown and he's "only a 3-star" wide receiver out of South Carolina -- who I believe is going to prove the recruiting experts don't know what they're talkin' about...

Today, Chris Brown cleared 7' feet in the high jump, last week he ran a 10.51 100 meters and that's not what the track & field world knows him for...

He's generally regarded as the top high school triple jumper in the country and one of the top fifteen long jumpers in the country.

Yet, I believe he's going to be known NATIONALLY for his exploits on the football field this fall -- as the 6' 2" athlete will be lining up at wide receiver for Brian Kelly's offense.  I know for a fact, that the Notre Dame coaching staff was THRILLED when he committed to ND (they know the recruiting experts missed this young man) and they're counting on him to come in and contribute right away!

Keep an eye out for Mr. Chris Brown -- he believes he'll jump higher and farther and run faster -- at the South Carolina High School Championships next month.  He's a big-time talent!


LINK:  NEW BALANCE NATIONALS -- 2011 TRIPLE JUMP

LINK:  HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS

Domer Chris Stewart's Telling Interview

Ran across this interview that former Notre Dame offensive guard Chris Stewart gave to a site called Pro Interviews.  Pretty good stuff here -- I haven't seen before...

LINK:  CHRIS STEWART INTERVIEW

Holy Cross Team Wins Bookstore Basketball!

In what could only happen in a movie like Hoosiers -- a team of five, one a Notre Dame employee and the other four, students at Holy Cross College -- won the 2012 Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore Basketball Championship last night!

THE WORLD'S LARGEST FIVE-ON-FIVE OUTDOOR BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT!

In 51 degree weather and STEADY RAIN -- the Holy Cross team called "Hoops We Did It Again" won on a three-pointer over a team named SWAG that included 6'-8" former Notre Dame power forward Mike Broghamer.  See the full story in the Observer article below:

LINK:  HAMMES NOTRE DAME BOOKSTORE BASKETBALL

LINK:  OBSERVER ARTICLE

Notre Dame's Relay For Life on Campus!

The online show "Our Team, Our Story" sent their cameras to Friday night's Relay For Life event on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.  $85,000 was raised for cancer research from this effort.  You'll enjoy this story:

LINK:  RELAY FOR LIFE

OT: America Takes Back This Space!

The morning of September 11, 2001 -- I was making my weekly commute from the Motor City to New York City.  My flight landed a little after 8:00 AM ET at LaGuardia airport...  What happened the next few hours will never be forgotten.

This morning, I ran across this story coming out of NYC today -- and I smiled -- because America had finally taken back this space.  Enjoy!

LINK:  NEW YORK'S TALLEST BUILDING -- TODAY

Domers Weis '78 & Crist '12 Lead Jayhawks

The Jayhawks played their first Spring game yesterday with Coach Weis and Dayne Crist leading the charge.  Here's some game highlights along with the media coverage.  The game was played in front of a crowd estimated at 15,000 -- "They're not in South Bend anymore..."

I want these two and the rest of the Fightin' Irish gang in Lawrence to do great!!!

LINK:  KANSAS JAYHAWKS SPRING GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL

LINK:  UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN

Jonas Gray to Dolphins, Dever to Cowboys...

The NFL "free agent frenzy" began even before the final pick in the 7th round -- when the owner of the Miami Dolphins got on the phone with Notre Dame's Jonas Gray to negotiate what appears to be a guaranteed one-year deal with the Irish star, who is recovering from knee surgery.

Congratulations Jonas!

Also -- Taylor Dever's agent negotiated a free-agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys for the former Irish offensive tackle and Ethan Johnson signed a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.  Gary Gray is rumored to have accepted a mini-camp / workout with the Detroit Lions.  Trevor Robinson signs a free agent deal with the Cincinatti Bengals.  Still waiting to learn if David Ruffer will sign with a team.

I Found a New Toy, You'll Want One Too!

Folks, I've been playing the last 72 hours with the Verizon 4G Droid Bionic Motorola mobile phone and their NFL Mobile ap -- watching the 2012 NFL Draft. Addictive!

This morning, I got up and I'm watching the NFL Network's Live on this phone -- and it's streaming, perfectly -- without any hesitation.

It's cable TV on the go -- my wife's not going to like that!!!

Now, if I can get a Notre Dame NBC ap for this thing -- I'll be all set!

LINK:  NFL MOBILE AP