Brian Kelly -- Grand Marshal Chicago Parade!

The University of Notre Dame's head football coach Brian Kelly is the Grand Marshal of the 2013 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago this Saturday!  The parade kicks off at NOON CT.   The parade route:  Columbus Drive at Balboa going north to Monroe Street.

Turning the CHICAGO RIVER GREEN begins at 10 AM CT -- photo above.

Rumor has it that Notre Dame's Bagpipe Band will march with Coach Kelly.

If you're in Chicago Saturday -- you'll want to JOIN IN THE FUN and yell GO IRISH! to Coach Kelly!!!  If you can't make it to the parade -- ABC-7 Chicago will be broadcasting LIVE beginning at NOON CT.

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- GRAND MARSHAL

Inside Look at Big East Tournament Champs!

The folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media just released an "inside look" at Notre Dame's Big East Tournament Championship -- you'll enjoy this access!

LINK:  IRISH ICON

Irish Win Last Night -- Marquette Tonight !!!

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish trotted out their new Adidas jersey, shorts, sock and shoe combo last night in "grand fashion" -- beating Rutgers 69 - 61 in the world's most famous arena  -- Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament.

The IRISH now face #3 tournament seed Marquette at 9 PM ET tonight -- a game that will be televised on ESPN.  Here's the media coverage from last night's win:

LINK:  ESPN COVERAGE

LINK:  UND

LINK:  IRISH ICON

LINK:  NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

LINK:  NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

The IRISH Play Rutgers Tonight @ 9 PM ET

You can watch Notre Dame's opening game of the Big East Tournament against Rutgers -- tonight on ESPN2 at 9 PM ET.  It's our last time playing in this event...

The IRISH beat Rutgers back in January 69 - 66 at home -- in their only meeting this season.  It's going to be a tough game!  The photo above is of Rutger's Wally Judge -- who went 9 for 9 from the field last night in their win over DePaul...

LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

The Catholic Church Has a New Pope!

The College of Cardinals have completed their Conclave in less than 30 Hours -- just selecting the next Pope.  His name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina.  He has taken the name Pope Francis -- the first to take this name -- and the 266th Pope in the Church's history.  He is 76 years old.  Here's the live coverage!

LINK:  FOX NEWS COVERAGE

Notre Dame's Relay For Life Auction -- Bid Now!

The University of Notre Dame's UR Relay For Life Auction just went live today at NOON EST.

Over the next 48 hours -- you can bid on many items -- with all of the proceeds going towards fighting Cancer.

There are 80 UNIQUE ITEMS that Notre Dame fans would love -- so get to the site and BID!

The Auction ends Friday at Noon!

LINK:  RELAY FOR LIFE AUCTION

LIVE -- Conclave Chimney Webcam

Thought the ND GO IRISH BLOG followers might appreciate a LIVE link to a webcam pointed at the Chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel -- where the Conclave is taking place in Vatican City.

Here's the projected voting schedule today:

• 12:30 PM ET
• 2:00 PM ET

LINK:  LIVE WEBCAM

Photo of the Day: ND Students in Rome!

You've got to love this sign made by a number of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN) students who are in Rome over Spring Break...

The Mornin' After: Big East Champions!

The #2 ranked Fightin' Irish keep racking up the wins -- we're at 26 IN A ROW and counting -- for a team that wasn't even ranked in the top ten in the preseason rankings.  And last night's win came over arch-rival UCONN -- the third time Notre Dame has beat them this season!

Here's what the media has to say about ND's first Big East Tournament Championship in basketball!

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT #2

LINK:  NEW YORK TIMES

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE 

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  BIG EAST SITE

Notre Dame -- BIG EAST TOURNEY CHAMPS!

Folks, they have won 26 straight -- THREE THIS YEAR OVER UCONN -- as the Lady Irish win 61 - 59 and the first BIG EAST TOURNAMENT Championship!!!

And, they win it on the ROAD -- in front of the UCONN home crowd.

The win is the seventh for Notre Dame in the last eight times these two teams have played -- INCREDIBLE!

LINK:  BOX SCORE

The Move to the ACC Becomes Official July 1st

Jack Swarbrick made the announcement this afternoon that Notre Dame would become an official member of the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1st.  It's going to be fun!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME COACHES' REACTION

The IRISH Take on UCONN Again -- 7 PM ET

How many times can you BEAT one team in the same season?

For the third time this season (second time in eight days) -- of what's expected could be a four-game series once the NCAA Tournament is completed -- the #2 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will take on the #3 ranked Huskies of UCONN in the Big East Tournament Championship game.

The game tips off at 7 PM ET TONIGHT -- with TV coverage provided by ESPN.

Here's a preview of the game:  ND vs. UCONN

OT -- Jeff Gordon "Test Drive" -- MUST SEE!

Folks, if this doesn't get your heart racing -- with a few laughs thrown in -- NOTHING WILL!

You must watch this video!

LINK:  JEFF GORDON'S PEPSI MAX TEST DRIVE

Muffet's Irish "One and Done" With New Gear

Well, the new uniforms that Adidas provided the Notre Dame women's basketball team (photo above) are history...

Adidas provided a number of schools with a new uniform combination to wear for their conference tournaments and the NCAA tournaments -- Notre Dame was one of those schools.

The Irish wore the new gear in their opening round game in the Big East Tournament Monday night -- however, the team voted after the game -- not to wear them again.  Notre Dame donned their regular home uniform combination in the win last night over Louisville.

It will be interesting to see what Mike Brey's team does -- will they wear the new uniform combination tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden?


PS:  I have to admit I like the jersey top on its own and I like the shorts -- on their own.  Together, not so much...

LINK:  ONE AND DONE WITH UNIFORM

ND Men's Basketball -- Day #1 in New York City

The Fightin' Irish are in the Big Apple this week to play in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.  Notre Dame plays the winner of the Rutgers vs. DePaul game on Wednesday night at 9 PM ET. 

The team flew into NYC last night and today they made a visit to the 9/11 Memorial -- here's a couple of links to the Fighting Irish Digital Media's coverage on Day One:

LINK:  9/11 MEMORIAL

LINK:  TEAM WORKOUT

Muffet's #2 IRISH to Play #13 Louisville Tonight

The #2 ranked Notre Dame women's basketball team will be playing the #13 ranked Louisville Cardinals tonight in the Semi-finals of the Big East Tournament in Hartford, CT.  The game will be televised LIVE on ESPNU beginning at 6 PM ET.

GO IRISH!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. LOUISVILLE PREVIEW

Ian Williams Signs Two Year Deal With 49ers

Irish fans will recall that former Notre Dame defensive tackle Ian Williams went un-drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft -- after being projected to go in the first four rounds or so... 

Ian went on to sign a Free Agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers and made their 53 man roster this past season.  Well, it was just reported that Williams just signed a two-year deal with San Francisco for $3.2 million including a $1 million signing bonus and another $1 million guaranteed.

Congratulations Ian!

LINK:  TWO YEAR DEAL

Notre Dame Adidas Tourney Gear In Bookstore

Took these photos last night -- at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore at Eddy Street Commons -- of the "home" jersey the Irish men's team will wear during the Big East Tournament -- and the "away" shorts...

I will admit they look pretty good in person...

ND Freshman QB Training in Arizona This Week

Malik Zaire, one of the top HS QB's in the country, enrolled early this past January as a student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame.  This week he's in Arizona (SPRING BREAK) with Irish teammates; Louis Nix, Kendall Moore and Davonte Neal getting some training in for ND's upcoming Spring Football...

He caught up with a reporter from Rivals yesterday -- you'll be impressed...

LINK:  MALIK ZAIRE

Notre Dame Glee Club's Spring Tour This Week

If you live close to one of the communities listed below this week -- you will have the opportunity to see the Notre Dame Glee Club perform!

They are wonderful! 

The Glee Club is on the road performing in seven states during Notre Dame's Spring Break.  Friday night they performed in Chicago, Saturday in Madison, WI and here's where you can find them today and for the balance of the tour:

• TODAY -- Minneapolis, MN
• Monday -- Fargo, ND
• Tuesday -- Bismarck, ND
• Wednesday -- Great Falls, MT
• Thursday --  Billings, MT
• Friday --  Denver, CO
• Saturday -- Omaha, NE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME GLEE CLUB TOUR DATES

Regis Philbin '53 Has New Gig With Fox Sports

The man is amazing...

He's 81 years YOUNG and he's taking on a new broadcasting job.  Notre Dame alum Regis Philbin will be debuting a new sports talk show on Fox's new sports network called Fox Sports 1 -- August 19, 2013.  Fox Sports 1 will replace the Speed Channel on cable.

Here's a clip of Regis talking about his new gig:

LINK:  REGIS IS BACK!

Coach Kelly Talks With the South Bend Tribune

University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly sat down for an interview with South Bend Tribune beat writer Eric Hansen.  It was the first one-on-one interview Coach Kelly has given since the Alabama game...

LINK:  COACH KELLY TALKS

Notre Dame Student's Book For Sale at Amazon

Katie Mattie '14 -- a student at the University of Notre Dame -- can now add AUTHOR to her resume!  Her book "M.A.J.I.C. and the Oracle at Delphi" is available for sale on Amazon and the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore.


I first wrote about Katie on the ND GO IRISH BLOG back in July 2011 -- after learning about her valedictory speech at Ypsilanti High School -- click here for that story.

You'll love to learn about Katie's work ethic and determination -- over a five year period -- to get her first book published!  You'll see the story on her website linked below.

Katie -- I'm a huge fan! 

(The bottom photo is of Katie and her proud Mom Barb -- at a book signing for bookstores in her hometown)


LINK:  KATIE'S WEBSITE

LINK:  BUY KATIE'S BOOK

The #1 Sign Back Atop Notre Dame's Grace Hall

I was driving through campus Thursday night and I noticed the #1 sign was lit atop Grace Hall -- signifying that, once again, a Notre Dame team was ranked #1 in the nation...

The Women's Fencing team moved to #1 in the country with their win this past weekend at the Midwest Fencing Conference championships.  Congratulations!

LINK:  ND WINS CHAMPIONSHIP

LINK:  NATIONAL RANKINGS

Irish Play Louisville Today at 4 PM ET on CBS

Rumor has it that CBS has alerted their affiliates that their Saturday "prime time" programming could be in jeopardy...

The #24 ranked Fighting Irish travel to Louisville this afternoon to play the #8 ranked Cardinals in a game that just might extend beyond the normal 40 minutes for a college basketball game.

FIVE OF THE LAST SIX GAMES BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS HAVE GONE INTO OVERTIME.  You can't make that up!

Fortunately, the IRISH are 3 - 2 in those games, including the historic FIVE OT win last month.

Tip-off is scheduled for 4 PM ET and the game will be televised nationally by CBS.


LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  COURIER JOURNAL -- LOUISVILLE

Plenty of Speculation on ND's Next Move...

With the news this week that the Catholic 7 had reached agreement with the BIG EAST -- to take their ball elsewhere and the conference's name too...

The focus turned to how quickly would Notre Dame depart to the ACC.  Here's the latest media speculation:

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  NBC SPORTS

LINK:  THE SPORTING NEWS

IRISH Sweep All Three Major Big East Honors!

The Notre Dame's women's basketball team swept the three major awards given out by the Big East Conference today:

• Player of the Year:  Skylar Diggins
• Freshman of the Year:  Jewell Loyd
• Coach of the Year:  Muffet McGraw

Congratulations!!!

LINK:  UND.COM VIDEO 

LINK:  PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME SWEEPS!

Notre Dame #1 College for Graduating Students

Money Magazine just released a ranking of all of the colleges and universities in America -- as to their proficiency in graduating its students in a four year period...

And, the #1 school in the country for graduating its students in four years is -- THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME!

Here's a ranking of the top ten schools:

1. UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
2. Georgetown University
3. University of Pennsylvania
4. Boston College
5. Harvard
6. Duke
7. Northwestern
8. Cornell
9. Washington University
10. Vanderbilt

LINK:  RANKINGS OF ALL SCHOOLS

Cardinal Dolan -- Commencement Speaker !!!

The New York media affectionately calls him the "Holy Bulldozer..."

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was announced today as the principal speaker and recipient of an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame's 168th Commencement Ceremony. 

Here's the link to the official news release -- along with a second link to a CBS 60 Minutes interview of Cardinal Dolan:

LINK:  OFFICIAL RELEASE

LINK:  60 MINUTES INTERVIEW

84th Annual Blue Gold Game Tickets On Sale!

The Fighting Irish football team will take the field again on April 20, 2013 at Notre Dame Stadium in the 84th Annual Blue Gold Game.   And, tickets went on sale today.  Here's the link for more information:

LINK:  BLUE GOLD GAME TICKETS

Belichick Leads Impressive List to Speak at ND!

Looks like Coach Kelly's three days on the golf course in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- in a group with New England Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick -- has paid some dividends...

Notre Dame just announced that the Super Bowl Champion coach will headline a list of impressive coaches who will be presenters at the Notre Dame Football Coaches Clinic -- April 11- 13.  Here's the scheduled speakers beyond Coach Kelly and his staff:

• Bill Belichick -- New England Patriots head coach
• Marv Lewis -- Cincinnati Bengals head coach
• Marc Trestman -- Chicago Bears head coach
• Chris Ault -- former University of Nevada head coach
• Saw Wyche -- former Cincinnati Bengals head coach
• Andy Heck -- Kansas City Chiefs offensive line coach

If you're interested in attending the Notre Dame Football Coaches Clinic -- click on the link below!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL COACHES CLINIC

The Mornin' After Notre Dame's 3 OT Win!

It's the best rivalry in women's college sports -- Notre Dame vs. UCONN...

And, last night's 3 OT game was just another in a long line of great games between these two powers.

Took a lap around the web this morning to see what the media had to say about the IRISH's big win last night to earn a second straight Big East Regular Season Championship -- just click on the links below:

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT #1

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT #2 
 
LINK:  ESPN'S GRAHAM HAYS 

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  THE DAY -- CONNECTICUT

LINK:  NEW HAMPSHIRE REGISTER

LINK:  BIG EAST WEBSITE

Happy 125th Birthday Coach Rockne!

125 years ago today -- a young man named Knute was born in Voss, Norway and a little school in the "middle of nowhere" can never thank him enough...

Happy Birthday Coach Rockne!

The IRISH Have Geno's Number -- 3 OT Win!

It was a classic.  Two of the top three teams in the country -- going 3 OT's before the IRISH pull away and win by a score of 96 - 87.

Notre Dame became the first team in two decades to beat UCONN six times in a seven game period.  IMPRESSIVE!

Skylar Diggins played every one of the 55 minutes in her last game in front of the hometown crowd -- a gutsy, gutsy performance!

Skylar and Kayla McBride each put up big numbers -- Diggins scored 29 and Kayla put in 26 before fouling out in the 2nd overtime.

Here's a video of Skylar talking to the crowd before leaving the Purcell Pavilion floor for the last time in a Notre Dame uniform.

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE 

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN COVERAGE 

LINK:  PHOTO GALLERY

Unique Visitor Count Exceeds 600,000 !!!

At approximately 11:57 AM ET today, a Notre Dame fan from Hastings, Nebraska -- became unique visitor #600,000 at the ND GO IRISH BLOG!

Not bad for "one guy" on a MAC -- since its launch 1,133 days ago...

To put this in perspective -- if the ND GO IRISH BLOG were a city, a population of 600,000 would place it as the 28th largest city in AMERICA!  Here's a snapshot:

• #25:  Washington, D.C. -- 617,996
• #26:  Nashville, TN -- 609,644
• #27:  Louisville, KY -- 602,011
• #28:  ND GO IRISH BLOG -- 600,000
• #29:  Milwaukee, WI -- 597,867
• #30:  Portland, OR -- 593,820

Thanks for making the ND GO IRISH BLOG one of your daily sources for positive news about Notre Dame and its students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends/fans !

Skylar's Last Stand @ Notre Dame -- Tonight!

Notre Dame All-American and "ALL EVERYTHING" Skylar Diggins -- will play in her last game in front of the home crowd and home town tonight.

And, she couldn't have a better opponent -- UCONN.

It's #2 vs. #3 -- on the last night of the BIG EAST season.  Plenty at stake including BIG EAST and NCAA Tournament seeding -- going to be quite an evening at Purcell Pavilion.  You can watch tonight's game on ESPN2 -- tip off slated for 7 PM ET.

Here's what the media has to say about Skylar and tonight's contest:

LINK:  NEW YORK TIMES

LINK:  ESPNW

LINK:  WNDU-TV

LINK:  CONNECTICUT POST 

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

Samardzija Gets Opening Day Start for Cubs!

He sure made a good choice picking baseball...

Former Notre Dame All-American "wide receiver" Jeff Samardzija was just named the Opening Day starter for the Chicago Cubs.  Congratulations Jeff!

LINK:  SAMARDZIJA -- OPENING DAY!

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 

LINK:  VIDEO FROM INTERVIEW LAST WEEK

Irish Beat BG -- End Up Second in CCHA

Well, we needed the following to happen last night in college hockey to win the CCHA regular season title:

• Notre Dame beats Bowling Green -- CHECK!
• Michigan State beats Western Michigan -- CHECK!
• Ohio State beats Miami -- NOPE!

So, the IRISH end up in second place in the final CCHA regular season standing -- earning Notre Dame a first round bye in the CCHA tournament.  The Irish will host a second round game the weekend of March 15 - 17 against the second lowest seeded team to advance.

Here's a link to the final CCHA regular season standings -- along with game highlights:

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  CCHA STANDINGS

Will It Be the ACC, Big East or the Catholic 7?

The news broke this past week that seven Catholic school members of the Big East would break away as early as next season to start their own conference.  This move would more than likely be the end to the Big East -- or, will it?

Rumor has it that the "Catholic 7" already have a TV deal with Fox.

Over the past few days -- word started to leak out that the "Catholic 7" would take the Big East name with them -- and, start their new conference next season.  So, where does that leave Notre Dame with its timetable to move to the Atlantic Coast Conference?

Here's what the media is saying:

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  NEW YORK POST

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

LINK:  USA TODAY

Manti Te'o Honored Last Night in Atlantic City

Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te'o was honored last night at the Maxwell Football Club dinner in Atlantic City.  Here's some of the media coverage:

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  DELAWARE DAILY TIMES

LINK:  WALL STREET JOURNAL

LINK:  NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

LINK:  YAHOO SPORTS

Notre Dame Hoops on ESPN Today at 2 PM ET

The #21 ranked Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame will be in downtown Milwaukee this afternoon to take on #22 ranked Marquette -- in a huge BIG EAST game for both teams.

When I think of ND vs. Marquette -- I think of Al McGuire and Digger Phelps...

Marquette has been 'unbeatable' at home -- winning 24 straight.

The game will be televised on ESPN -- with tip-off slated for 2 PM ET.

LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

A Story -- The Irish Bagpiper

ND GO IRISH BLOG regular -- and my cousin, Mike Doyle (Holland, MI) -- shared this story with me.  I liked it so much that I had to share it with all of you.

THE IRISH BAGPIPER

Stiofain Gael MacGeough popped in and shared a great story with us...

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen nothin’ like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”

Apparently, I’m still lost…

Got to Love These Gold Hockey Helmets!

This photo was taken by the University of Notre Dame's Matt Cashore from last night's hockey game against Bowling Green.  The Fightin' Irish are in third place -- with an outside chance to still finish first in the last season of CCHA hockey.

The regular season ends tonight -- to win the CCHA regular season title; ND needs to beat Bowling Green, Ohio State needs to beat Miami and Michigan State needs to beat Western Michigan University.  GO IRISH!

National Rankings for Notre Dame Teams !!!

I'm not sure if Notre Dame has ever kept track of things like this -- but, you have to ask -- has there ever been an academic year when more Irish teams have been ranked in the top-25 than this one?

15 of Notre Dame's 24 NCAA Division I athletic teams are ranked in the top-25 this academic year -- four others have been or will be (as you'll see below) -- incredible!

Look at this:

• Women's basketball:  #2 ranking in the country
• Men's Lacrosse:  #2 ranking in the country
• Women's Fencing:  #2 ranking in the country
• Men's Fencing:  #2 ranking in the country
• Football:  #4 ranking in the country
• Women's Lacrosse:  #7 ranking in the country
• Men's Soccer:  #8 ranking in the country
• Hockey:  #11 ranking in the country
• Women's Soccer:  #13 ranking in the country
• Women's Swimming & Diving:  #18 ranking in the country
• Women's Cross Country:  #18 ranking in the country
• Women's Tennis:  #18 ranking in the country
• Men's Basketball:  #21 ranking in the country
• Baseball:  #22 ranking in the country
• Women's Golf:  #25 ranking in the country

In addition:

• Notre Dame's women's rowing team is coming off a season where they were ranked #15 in the country -- the rankings for this season will be released soon
• Notre Dame's women's volleyball team was ranked, for a time, in the top-25 this academic year
• Notre Dame's men's tennis team has been ranked in the top-25 this academic year (season on-going)
• Notre Dame's men's swimming team has been ranked in the top-25 this academic year (season on-going)

Sports Illustrated's Latest NFL Mock Draft

SI's Don Banks released his latest look at the 2013 NFL Draft.  Unfortunately, there's only one Notre Dame player being drafted in the First Round of his mock draft.


LINK:  MOCK DRAFT

Will We Soon See Brady Quinn in Jets Uniform?

The talk the last 24 hours is free agent QB Brady Quinn -- could be heading to the New York Jets.  The Jets hired David Lee as their QB coach and he's apparently a big fan of Quinn.  If Brady were to join the Jets -- this would be his fourth NFL team in seven NFL seasons.

LINK:  CBS STORY

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  NEWSDAY STORY

LINK:  JETS 101

LINK:  USA TODAY

Watch Bengal Bouts LIVE Tonight at 7 PM ET

Notre Dame's 82nd Annual Bengal Bouts' championship fights will be broadcast live via ESPN3 tonight at 7 PM ET.  To watch it on your computer -- just click on the link below.

Here's a photo of the ring inside an empty Purcell Pavilion -- hours before tonight's fight. 

LINK:  BENGAL BOUTS -- WATCH LIVE HERE AT 7 PM ET

LINK:  BOUTS -- PREVIEW

LINK:  BENGAL BOUTS HISTORY

The Nation's #1 Business School Has a DEAN!

The University of Notre Dame announced this morning that Roger Huang -- the interim dean of the Mendoza College of Business -- has had the interim label removed -- and is now the Martin J. Gillen Dean of the college.

The Mendoza College of Business has been ranked the #1 undergraduate business school in the country for three straight years by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Here's a link to the official release:

LINK:  HUANG NAMED DEAN