JIM SMALL'S NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG -- www.NDGOIRISH.com -- A NOTRE DAME BLOG

Sunday, April 6, 2014

"Achonwa Who?" -- Notre Dame Rolls 87 - 61

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame played their first game in the FINAL FOUR without their injured senior captain and leading rebounder Natalie Achonwa (I wish we still had her in the line-up!) -- and all they did was OUTREBOUND Maryland by 29 REBOUNDS!

Folks, that's effort and coaching.

Kayla McBride was FANTASTIC scoring 28 points while sitting the last four plus minutes on the bench -- resting for Tuesday night. The "other" All-American Jewell Loyd scored 16 points and was tied for the team lead with 9 rebounds.

Yet, the player of the game for me was MARKISHA WRIGHT -- all "Keesh" did was score 12 points and grab 9 boards in 23 minutes of playing time.

Now, it's on to Tuesday night and the Championship Final -- the third in four years for the Irish. Let's hope THREE IS THE CHARM!

LINK: ESPN COVERAGE

LINK: GAME HIGHLIGHTS

The Latest on Notre Dame From the Final Four!

Here's what I'm finding on Twitter in the last few minutes:

LINK: TEAM LEAVING HOTEL

LINK: BAND / CHEERLEADERS / FANS AT HOTEL

Notre Dame's New Field Will Not Look Like This

The LA KISS kicked off their 2014 Arena Football League home season in front of a crowd of over 12,000 in what can only be characterized as "UNIQUE." A "silver" playing surface combined with a sensory overload fan experience...

You have got to see this!

LINK: ESPN VIDEO STORY

LINK: FOX NEWS STORY

Know Thy Opponent: Michigan's Spring Game

154 days from today -- the Michigan Wolverines will roll into Notre Dame Stadium to take on the Fighting Irish for the last time in the foreseeable future. Yesterday, the Wolverines held their Spring Game in Ann Arbor.

Here's a link to Coach Hoke's post game press conference with some commentary from a Michigan alum, turned sports writer, Drew Sharp:

LINK: MICHIGAN'S SPRING GAME

MUST SEE! Notre Dame vs. FSU Rain Delay

The Notre Dame men's baseball team is in Tallahassee Florida this weekend to take on the #1 Florida State Seminoles. Yesterday's game ended up being rained out -- but the Fighting Irish and Seminoles entertained the crowd while they waited out the rain...

FSU's Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winson (photo above) -- who the IRISH rocked for a couple of runs the night before -- got into the act...

LINK: RAIN DELAY

Adidas Creates New Uniform for Notre Dame...

Here is the new baseball jersey designed by Adidas for Notre Dame.

Under Armour takes over July 1st...

Domer Dad Gets "SILVER SLUGGER" Award!

Torii Hunter Sr., father of Notre Dame wide receiver Torii Hunter, Jr. -- was given his "second" SILVER SLUGGER award (alongside Miguel Cabrera) before the Tiger's game against the Orioles on Friday. The honor is given to the top three hitting outfielders in the American League from the 2013 season.

Hunter hit .304 with 17 homers and 84 RBI in 2013 at the age of 37!

Torii Sr. -- hit-less the first two games of the season -- has gone 5 for 8 since receiving the award with two home runs, a double and six rbi!

LINK: TORII HUNTER SR. -- FRIDAY'S GAME

LINK: TORII HUNTER SR. -- SATURDAY'S GAME

"Coach" Achonwa WIRED at the FINAL FOUR!

After listening to this -- I won't be surprised if Natalie Achonwa is on Muffet's coaching staff before too long...

Enjoy!

LINK: ACHONWA

Kayla McBride & Jewell Loyd -- All Americans!

It's the first time in school history that Notre Dame has two players voted first team All-American!

Kayla McBride and Jewell Loyd were honored yesterday in Nashville for their selection to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American first team. Notre Dame's two selections to the team fell one short of UCONN's three...

Congratulations Kayla and Jewell!

LINK: WNDU-TV STORY

Know Thy Opponent: The Fighting Turtles of MD

The Maryland Terrapins gave Notre Dame all they could handle in a game in College Park in late January. In that game the Fighting Irish blew a 22 point first half lead -- hanging on for a four point victory 87 - 83 -- the closest a team has come to beating Notre Dame this season.

In that game, Natalie Achonwa only played 21 minutes, scoring 7 points and grabbing 3 rebounds.

The Terrapins are bigger and probably more athletic than our IRISH -- it's going to be a tough test for Muffet's squad without Achnowa's 20 points and 10 boards per game in the NCAA Tournament. Yet, I still like our chances!

Here's what I could find about Maryland -- just click on the links below:

LINK: THOMAS LEADS TERPS

LINK: PARTY CRASHERS

LINK: FAMILIAR OPPONENTS

LINK: MAJORING IN CHEMISTRY

ESPN Takes On: Who is Muffet McGraw?

"Back to Back" National Coach of the Year honors for Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw -- the third in her 27-year career leading the Fighting Irish -- and ESPN is asking the question; "Who is Muffet McGraw?"

You'll enjoy this!

LINK: MUFFET MCGRAW

Final Four Sunday is Here for the Fighting Irish!

It's less than ten hours to tip-off of Notre Dame's national semi-final game tonight against Maryland -- the game will be televised on ESPN beginning at 6:30 PM ET.

I took a lap around the worldwide-web to get you ready with all of the important "pre-tip" knowledge you'll need for tonight's game. Just click on the links below:

GO IRISH!

LINK: FINAL FOUR PRESSER

LINK: PLAYER INTERVIEWS

LINK: ESPN'S HAYS

LINK: ESPN'S HAYS #2

LINK: ESPN -- NOTRE DAME ADJUSTMENTS

Domer's First 100 Days on the Job in Iowa...

Notre Dame alum Jimmy Small '08, was the subject of this story about his first 100 days on the job at Iowa Speedway. Just click on the link below:

LINK: FIRST 100 DAYS

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Photo: Manti Te'o Back Home at Notre Dame

The ND GO IRISH BLOG was sent this photo by Notre Dame parent Patrick Paige (Ann Arbor, MI) of former Fighting Irish All-American Manti Te'o with some students in the lobby of the Morris Inn Thursday night.

(Photo l to r: Oliver Silva, Meghan Maraghy, Manti Te'o, Katie Paige, Claire O'Neill and Mari Mendoza)

Everett Golson Interview Yesterday at ND

Notre Dame QB Everett Golson, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and linebacker Joe Schmidt met with the media yesterday afternoon -- just click on the link below to watch:

LINK: EVERETT GOLSON

Muffet's Irish Have a Fun Friday at Final Four

It was a day where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish "dressed-up" and enjoyed the spoils of being one of four teams still playing college basketball this weekend in Nashville...

As always, Fighting Irish Digital Media was in attendance -- just click on the link below to enjoy!

LINK: FINAL FOUR SALUTE

ND Alum: McDonald's All American Coach

Notre Dame alum Frank Allocco, the head basketball coach at prep powerhouse De La Salle High School in Concord, CA -- where he's won two state championships -- coached the West Team to a 105 - 102 win this week at the McDonald's All-American game at Chicago's United Center.

Notre Dame football fans may remember Frank's days as a QB for Ara Parseghian -- and a member of the 1973 national championship team. Allocco also played basketball for Digger Phelps while at ND.

Allocco, the National High School Coach of the Year (2000), California State Coach of the Year (2010 and 2011) and the National Catholic High School Coach of the Year (2012) agreed to publish a daily diary of his experience working with the best high school basketball players in America. You'll find the links to the Diary below.

Allocco is the only high school coach in California state history to win a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP at two different schools!

I want to thank one of my colleagues at Notre Dame, Craig Horvath -- for alerting me to this story!

LINK: DAY 2

LINK: DAY 3

LINK: DAY 4

LINK: DAY 5

Took a lap around the worldwide web this morning to see what's being said about our Fighting Irish as they arrived in Nashville last night for their fourth straight FINAL FOUR. Here's what I could find:

LINK: ESPN PRIMER

LINK: "EXPERT" PICKS

LINK: GAME PREVIEW

LINK: PURSUIT OF PROTECTION

LINK: SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #1

LINK: SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #2