2015 Notre Dame Football Ranked #12 by ESPN

Here's a look at ESPN's "way too early" ranking of college football teams for the 2015 season.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME #12

OT: 67 Years in Making -- Crazy Horse Memorial

The 641' long and 563' tall monument will dwarf Mount Rushmore when it is done...

The completed monument will look like the white model in the foreground.

It's a labor of love -- the people working on this in the Black Hills of South Dakota -- will be dead before the work is completed.

That's a shame.

LINK:  CRAZY HORSE

Holtz & Kelly -- Jimmy Kimmel's "Mean Tweets"

Notre Dame's Lou Holtz and Brian Kelly were featured in Jimmy Kimmel's "Mean Tweets"  -- during tonight's pre-game show on ESPN from the National Championship.

Here it is:

LINK:  HOLTZ & KELLY

OT: Almost a Disaster Due to the Fog Machine

Can you imagine if Ohio State lost a starter for tonight's game -- running onto the field for the College Football National Championship game....

Hopefully the cheerleader is okay.

Notre Dame Football's "Welcome Home" Tweet

Here's the first four member of Notre Dame's incoming football recruiting class;  Jerry Tillery (Louisisana), Tevon Coney (Florida), Tristen Hoge (Idaho) and Micah Dew-Tredway (Illinois) -- they start classes tomorrow morning...

The artwork above was "tweeted" by Notre Dame Football.

Notre Dame's Links to Tonight's Championship

The teams from Eugune and Columbus will be carrying a little "Luck of the Irish" tonight on their rosters, sidelines and in the AT&T Stadium seats tonight...

Kick off is scheduled for around 8:30 PM ET on ESPN.

GO DUCKS!  Sorry, the only time I root for the school in Ohio is when they play the school in Ann Arbor...

LINK:  TIES TO NOTRE DAME

Domer Sergio Brown Goes "Ric Flair" Again!

The Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos today to advance to next Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

In the post game locker room -- former Notre Dame student-athlete Sergio Brown did his now infamous Ric Flair impersonation...

LINK:  SERGIO

Both Coaches After #3 Virginia's Win Over ND

The Fighting Irish gave it a decent run last night against the undefeated #3 ranked Virginia Cavaliers 62 - 56.  Here's the post game conferences for both Coach Tony Bennett and Coach Mike Brey:

LINK:  MIKE BREY

LINK:  TONY BENNETT

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Sheldon Day Announces He'll Return to ND

There are two Notre Dame football players who have yet to decide if they were going to make themselves eligible for the 2015 NFL DRAFT -- Sheldon Day and Ronnie Stanley.

Now there is one...

Yesterday -- Sheldon Day made it official yesterday that he is returning!  Here's the Indianapolis Star story:

LINK:  DAY RETURNS

Virginia's Head Hoops Coach Talks Notre Dame

Tony Bennett -- the man who has led the Virginia Cavaliers to an undefeated 13 - 0 start and a #3 ranking the country -- talked about tonight's game against our #12 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on his weekly radio show:

Warning -- you have to listen to Van Halen's "Jump" forever (FIFTEEN MINUTES) before the show starts.  I don't know what the Virginia Cavaliers are thinking with forcing you to listen to music.  They must not have anyone listening to the show, post production...

LINK:  VIRGINIA COACH ON NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame vs. Virginia on ESPN2 @ 6 PM ET

Big game TODAY in South Bend!

The #12 ranked Fighting Irish will host undefeated #3 Virginia (one of the 3 teams in the country still unbeaten) at SOLD-OUT Purcell Pavilion and in front of a national TV audience on ESPN2 at 6 PM ET.

Here's what's being said about tonight's game:

LINK:  MIKE BREY TALKS VIRGINIA MATCH-UP

LINK:  BREY WITH MEDIA

LINK:  GAME NOTES

OT: Fish Story -- "The Big One That Got Away!"

Post by Colin Wayne.

OT: Chicago Bulls' Kiss Cam -- MUST SEE!

I don't know if this was a "plant" -- or this was a couple who got exposed at a recent Chicago Bulls game.  Watch the entire thing!

LINK:  WATCH THIS!

Irish Hoops Great Adrian Dantley a HS Referee!

Thought Notre Dame fans would enjoy catching up with -- now 60 year-old -- Adrian Dantley...

LINK:  DETROIT FREE PRESS STORY

Notre Dame's Under Armour Lacrosse Cleats!

Here they are -- the first ever Notre Dame Lacrosse cleats from Under Armour -- pretty slick!

The Fighting Irish are ranked #2 in the country in the pre-season rankings.

Pat Connaughton: ESPN "Dual Sport Decision"

The folks at ESPN have taken notice of our #12 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team.

Here's a story today on student-athlete Pat Connaughton:

LINK:  A DECISION TO MAKE

Thom Gatewood Elected to College FB HOF!!!

Former Notre Dame All-American Thom Gatewood has just learned that he's the 45th player in Fighting Irish history to be elected to the College Football Hall of Fame!

Congratulations Tom!

You can see "Theisman to Gatewood" in the video link below:

LINK:  1971 COTTON BOWL GAME

LINK:  GATEWOOD'S REACTION

Brian Kelly on ESPN's Colin Cowherd Show

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was a guest this morning on ESPN's "The Herd" -- and he talked about a number of things:

• Jameis Winston -- "smarts and NFL ability"
• Use of technology to get plays into a defensive player
• Oregon
• Urban Meyer
• The SEC
• The Notre Dame job
• Private jet...

LINK:  KELLY ON THE HERD

Domer Dad Craig Biggio: Letterman Last Night

Here is Houston Astro all-time great Craig Biggio was in New York City yesterday and made an appearance on the David Letterman Show.

Biggio (father of ND baseball players Conor '15 and Cavan '17) was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Here he is with other "Hall of Famers" reading the TOP TEN LIST...

LINK:  LETTERMAN

Notre Dame Running Back: USA Olympic Tryout

Notre Dame "walk-on" turned scholarship student-athlete this fall for the Notre Dame Football team -- Tyler Plantz -- is headed to Chula Vista, CA this weekend for tryouts for the USA Olympic Rugby team...

Here's the story:

LINK:  PLANTZ GETTING RUGBY SHOT

Domer Todd Lyght Leaves Eagles for Vandy Job

Former Notre Dame All-American defensive back Todd Lyght has just taken a coaching job with the Vanderbilt Commodores.  Lyght leaves Chip Kelly's staff in Philadelphia where he was an Assistant Defensive Backs Coach.

LINK:  STORY

New Spikes for Notre Dame Baseball & Softball

Under Armour just delivered these new spikes for the Notre Dame baseball and softball program today...

Sharp!

Student / Athlete: Reggie Ho Story -- Released!

Here it is -- the 13 minute "30 FOR 30 SHORT" film -- directed by actor Ken Jeong (his directorial debut) on former Notre Dame student-athlete Reggie Ho...

THIS IS MUST SEE!

LINK:  REGGIE HO

Domer Named Chief of Naval Research

Notre Dame alum Rear Admiral Mathias Winter '84,  just took the helm as Chief of Naval Research -- in a recent change of command ceremony at the Pentagon.

Winter will oversee the Navy's $2 billion budget for naval science and technology programs.

LINK:  CHIEF OF NAVAL RESEARCH

LINK:  WINTER'S BIO

Domer Nussbaum Running Midwest League!

Dick Nussbaum '74 & 77', was just named president of the Midwest League -- a minor league professional baseball organization.  A former Fighting Irish baseball player, Nussbaum is also a member of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees.

The newly named South Bend Cubs are one of the 16 teams in the Midwest League.

Congratulations Dick!

LINK:  MIDWEST LEAGUE PRESIDENT

Inside Look at Notre Dame's Win Over Carolina

The first ever victory for Notre Dame men's basketball in Chapel Hill...

LINK:  WATCH THIS

Happy Birthday to Notre Dame's Hall of Famer!

Lou Holtz turns 78 years-young today -- Happy Birthday Coach Holtz!

LINK:  HOLTZ -- "ISMS"

NASCAR Domer Jimmy Small's "Iowa Shovel"

Notre Dame alum Jimmy Small '08, surprised a family in Iowa last night by showing up in the middle of a snow storm offering to shovel their driveway.

What made this a Fox Sports news story is Small, the president of Iowa Speedway -- threw out this offer during yesterday's snow storm (on TWITTER) as part of a ticket promotion...

LINK:  THE IOWA SHOVEL

LINK:  NEWS STORY

Ken Jeong Talks Domer Reggie Ho's "30 for 30"

Former Notre Dame walk-on kicker Reggie Ho is the subject of a "30 for 30 Short" ESPN FILM entitled "Student/Athlete The Story of Reggie Ho" directed by Ken Jeong -- his "directorial debut."

WATCH IT AT THE SECOND LINK BELOW!

LINK:  JEONG WITH OLBERMAN

LINK:   "STUDENT/ATHLETE THE REGGIE HO STORY" 

Domer Dad Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame!

Houston Astro second baseman Craig Biggio (father to two Notre Dame baseball players; Conor '15 and Cavan '17) received the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a major league baseball player today -- he's been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Biggio will become the first baseball player to be enshrined in Cooperstown wearing a Houston Astros hat...

LINK:  BIGGIO A HALL OF FAMER

LINK:  HOUSTON CHRONICLE STORY

TarHeels' Roy Williams Talks Notre Dame Loss

North Carolina's head basketball coach Roy Williams met with the media after their 71 - 70 loss tonight to the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Here's a link to his post game press conference -- along with a second link to Marcus Paige's post game comments:

LINK:  ROY WILLIAMS -- POST GAME 

LINK:  MARCUS PAIGE -- POST GAME

STATEMENT MADE in North Carolina Tonight!

The #12/#13 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame went into Chapel Hill tonight and beat the #18 ranked Tarheels 71 - 70!

Notre Dame now leads the ACC with a 3 - 0 record!

10 three pointers and very good defense -- turned out to be the recipe in a game where North Carolina had 21 offensive rebounds and Notre Dame made only one basket from the field in the last 9:42 of the game!

BIG WIN!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  BOX SCORE

Tarheels' Roy Williams Talks Win Over Clemson

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish play a very talented North Carolina team tonight -- the most talented team we will have played so far this season...

Game tips off at 7 PM ET on ESPN.

Here's North Carolina's head coach Roy Williams talking about their big road win Saturday night against Clemson.

LINK:  ROY WILLIAMS

Don't Forget: #14 Notre Dame on ESPN Tonight

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame play #19 North Carolina tonight -- in Chapel Hill -- on ESPN at 7 PM ET!

Here's the game preview:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ON ESPN

LINK:  IRISH EXTRA

Domer Sergio Brown's Post Game "Ric Flair"

Got to love this...

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Sergio Brown celebrating with his Indianapolis Colts teammates after their NFL Playoff win today over Cincinnati:

LINK:  SERGIO

Is Notre Dame Now a BASKETBALL SCHOOL?

Here's the list of the FOUR colleges in the country who have men & women's basketball teams ranked in the AP Top 15 in the country this afternoon:

• Louisville -- #7 women / #5 men
• Kentucky -- #11 women / #1 men
• Duke -- #10 women / #2 men
• NOTRE DAME -- #4 women / #14 men

Notre Dame Hoops' New Under Armour Shoes

The #13 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are in Chapel Hill, NC today -- SEE LINK BELOW -- awaiting their game tomorrow night against #19 North Carolina.

It's a nationally televised game on ESPN -- tipping off at 7 PM ET.

These are the new shoes the FIGHTING IRISH will be wearing from Under Armour tomorrow night...

LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

Music City Bowl Ends Up #8 in Attendance...

If your friends ever give you a hard time about why "Notre Dame always has a seat at the table when it comes to Bowl, TV and Playoff negotiations" -- just remind them of this...

The 2014 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl ended up 8th among the 35 Bowl games in attendance -- though their bowl payout was 13th among the 35.

Here's the TOP TWENTY (2014 - 2015) BOWL GAME attendance rankings:

1. Rose Bowl:  91,322
2. Sugar Bowl:  74,682
3. Cotton Bowl:  71,464
4. Advocare Texas Bowl:  71,115
5. Fiesta Bowl:  66,896
6. Peach Bowl:  65,706
7. Alamo Bowl:  60,517
8. Music City Bowl:  60,419
9. Orange Bowl:  58,211
10. Gator Bowl:  56,310
11. Holiday Bowl:  55,789
12. Liberty Bowl:  51,282
13. Pinstripe Bowl:  49,012
14. Citrus Bowl:  48,624
15. Hyundai Sun Bowl:  47,809
16.  Belk Bowl:  45,671
17.  Outback Bowl:  44,023
18.  Russell Athletic Bowl:  40,071
19. Independence Bowl:  38,242
20. Armed Forces Bowl:  37,888

Domer Storm Announces Stuart Scott's Death

Notre Dame alumna Hannah Storm '83, was given the task of announcing the death this morning of former ESPN colleague Stuart Scott -- who died this morning at the age of 49.

Here is Hannah's announcement along with links to ESPN's on air tribute and long time friend Rich Eisner talking of Scott's passing:

LINK:  HANNAH STORM

LINK:  ESPN -- STUART SCOTT TRIBUTE

LINK:  RICH EISNER

ACC Officiating of Notre Dame Football Games

Here's a look at how ACC officiating crews called penalties on Notre Dame in football games against non-ACC teams and against ACC teams.  ACC crews worked nine (9) Notre Dame games this season -- the first season the IRISH have worked with the ACC.

Is it just a coincidence that the games Notre Dame plays against ACC opponents -- the flags start flying?  

Isn't it ironic that the two games Notre Dame played against long-standing ACC members; North Carolina and Florida State, the Irish were flagged for the most penalties all season?  10 against North Carolina and 9 against Florida State. 

ACC Officiating Crew: ND vs. NON ACC TEAMS -- 5 games

• PENALTIES ON NOTRE DAME: 12 for 103 yards
• AVERAGE PER GAME:  2.4 for 20.6 yards per game

ACC Officiating Crew: ND vs. ACC TEAMS -- 4 games:

• PENALTIES ON NOTRE DAME:  30 for 259 yards
• AVERAGE PER GAME:  7.5 FOR 64.7 yards per game

By comparison -- here's what it looked like in the three games called by BIG TEN crews and the Music City Bowl game called by a PAC 12 officiating crew:

BIG TEN Officiating Crew -- 3 games:

• PENALTIES ON NOTRE DAME:  14 for 110 yards
• AVERAGE PER GAME:  4.7 for 36.7 yards per game

PAC 12 Officiating Crew -- MUSIC CITY BOWL GAME:

• PENALTIES ON NOTRE DAME: 2 for 15 yards

Jerian Grant's EPIC DUNK on Inbounds Play!!!

You won't believe this!  MUST SEE!

#14 Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech (in double-OT) 83 - 76 to go 14 - 1 and 2 - 0 in the ACC.  Up next, #19 North Carolina Monday night.

Photo above by Notre Dame photographer Matt Cashore. 

LINK:  JACK NOLAN'S CALL 

LINK:  ESPN GAME STORY

LINK:  ACC NETWORK

2015 Preview: Opponents Returning Starters

If you look at Notre Dame's 2015 Football Schedule -- against Power 5 Conference teams -- here's how these opponents rank in regards to returning starters:

1. USC:  16 returning starters
2. Wake Forest:  16 returning starters
3. Pittsburgh:  15 returning starters
4. Stanford:  14 returning starters
5. Georgia Tech:  13 returning starters
6. Virginia: 12 returning starters
7. Texas:  12 returning starters
8. Clemson:  11 returning starters
9. Boston College:  10 returning starters

Phil Steele: "Notre Dame Returns Most Starters"

College football guru Phil Steele published his ranking of the teams with the most returning starters in 2015 and guess who's #1 in the country among the Power Five conference teams?

The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Here's the rankings:

LINK:  RETURNING STARTERS

Notre Dame Alum Opens "Hesburgh Hospital"

In Santo Domingo, Ecuador -- a new hospital carries the name of University of Notre Dame president emeritus, Fr. Ted Hesburgh, C.S.C.

Here's the story that ran on Notre Dame's Alumni site:

This summer, business major-turned physician, Dr. David Gaus, helped to open Hesburgh Hospital on behalf of Andean Health & Development, a nonprofit aimed at providing quality and sustainable healthcare for rural poor in the Ecuador.
 
Through the inspiration of Fr. Hesburgh, Dr. Gaus attended medical school and determined to use his degree for good: by providing residents of rural Ecuador affordable, accessible medical care. In 2000, he founded the Pedro Vicente Maldonado. Since then, the hospital has treated more than 75,000 patients, including 2,500 childbirths, 1,200 surgeries and 7,500 emergencies.
 
Now Dr. Gaus and the AHD have expanded these efforts, opening a new hospital in Santo Domingo, named the Hesburgh Hospital in honor of Fr. Hesburgh’s own presence and impact on the mission in Ecuador. The Hesburgh Hospital features 60 beds, comprehensive health services, residency training programs for family Physicians, and a research and resource center.
 
Unique to both of these hospitals is not only their distinctive approach to affordable healthcare, but also their mission to be financially sustainable within their first 2 years of operation, meaning that the hospital will operate off of revenue gained from patient services rather than outside donors. It is this kind of mission which allows the hospitals to operate as fully developed community partners regardless of outside forces—providing good for their communities.

LINK:  WATCH THE VIDEO

Zack Martin '13, Voted First Team NFL All-Pro!

Folks, the honors are just beginning to pile in for former Notre Dame student-athlete Zack Martin '13.

The Dallas Cowboy offensive guard was just named FIRST TEAM NFL ALL PRO by the media -- the only rookie to earn such honors! 

Here's the story:

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN -- NFL ALL PRO!

TMZ: The "Admiral" Proud of His Two Sons...

David Robinson was caught on camera after Notre Dame's win over LSU, by a reporter from TMZ Sports...

LINK:  ROBINSON

Happy "NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP" Year!

It's going to be a great year for the Fighting Irish and the Notre Dame Nation!  Just you wait and see...

Happy NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Year!

LINK:  THE LAST TIME