Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Coach Kelly on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network

Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly was a guest yesterday on the Paul Finebaum Radio Show. Finebaum's show airs in the heart of SEC Country -- so Coach Kelly was behind enemy lines with this one. Here's a link to the interview.

COACH KELLY ON FINEBAUM RADIO NETWORK

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

"Authentic" Football Jersey in Bookstore

Here's a photo of the "Authentic Game Jersey" being sold in the Notre Dame Hammes Bookstore -- "designed to match" the uniform worn by the Irish on Game Day. So, it's truly not the same jersey the Irish will wear on Saturday's in Notre Dame Stadium. As you can see the home jersey has a new neck line, the ND Monogram logo on the sleeves and the Adidas logo front and center. I believe the Official Jersey will have a much larger ND Monogram on the sleeves and the player's names on the back -- and maybe even the ND Monogram at the top of the neckline on the back of the jersey. You'll recall the photos from Blue & Gold Weekend of a jersey that Coach Kelly signed for a fund raiser, I believe that's the official jersey the team will wear -- see link below.

BUY THE JERSEY ONLINE HERE

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL TEAM JERSEY

Monday, June 28, 2010

Golden Tate's Misstep Leads to Ad Campaign

Former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate made the national news a couple of weeks ago with his early morning visit to a Top Pot doughnut shop before it was officially opened for the day, to treat himself to a maple bar. Tate's apology to the store owner -- turned into a clever ad campaign for the Seattle based and Seattle Seahawk's official marketing partner. This photo of an actual store sign suggesting "...please wait until we are open" -- is a nod to Golden Tate's actions. Here's hoping they sell many, many maple bars and ol' Golden learns a valuable lesson. He's very lucky the store owner is a Seahawks fan.

TOP POT'S -- OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Orlando Woolridge -- Louisiana Hall of Fame!

Former Notre Dame basketball great, Orlando Woolridge, was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. Woolridge, who grew up in the small town of Mansfield, LA -- about 40 miles south of Shreveport -- was a member of the most talented team in the history of Notre Dame basketball; the 1977 - 1978 Final Four Irish. Owning one of the most unique names in the history of Notre Dame Athletics -- Orlando earned second team All American honors his senior year. Woolridge's exploits at Notre Dame were awarded with being drafted 6th overall, in the 1981 NBA Draft, by the Chicago Bulls. During his thirteen-year career in the NBA, Orlando played for the Bulls, Nets, Lakers, Nuggets, Pistons, Bucks and Sixers. Woolridge led the NBA in scoring during the 1990 - 1991 season -- averaging 25.1 points per game -- before an eye injury sidelined him for almost half of the season. Unfortunately, Orlando's two talented sons didn't follow Dad to Notre Dame. Renaldo, is a 6'-8" forward for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and 6'-2" Royce will play his collegiate basketball at the University of Kansas this upcoming season. Congratulations Orlando!

LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE -- ORLANDO WOOLRIDGE

Former ND Great Receives Nagurski Award!

Mike McCoy, former Notre Dame All-American defensive tackle will receive the Bronco Nagurski "Legends" Award from the Charlotte Touchdown Club -- December 6, 2010 at their annual dinner. The Bronco Nagurski "Legends" Award recognizes the "best of the best" defensive football players in the last 40 years. McCoy was a consensus All-American at Notre Dame and was the second overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft of the Green Bay Packers. McCoy's efforts on and off the field have earned him the following acclaim; Packers Rookie of the Year, All Pro Player, Dodge NFL Man of the Year, and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. McCoy was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Council on Sports for a Drug Free America and by former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh to the Pennsylvania Council for Physical Fitness. McCoy served as the chaplain of the Atlanta Braves and currently serves on several community outreach boards. Congratulations to a true son of Notre Dame!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

In Line at 3 AM @ Notre Dame Stadium!

The University of Notre Dame's annual OLD2GOLD sale was this past Saturday, and "shoppers" were lined up outside Notre Dame Stadium beginning at 3 AM (photo) for the 5 AM "early bird" shopping opportunity. Organizers report that more than 400 bicycles were sold in the first 45 minutes. OLD2GOLD is a sale of all of the "left over" items that Notre Dame students donate from their dorm rooms and apartments from the previous school year. More than 40 local charities benefit from this event. Here's the WNDU-TV report from the Stadium:

OLD2GOLD -- WNDU-TV REPORT

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Two Irish Players Drafted in First Round!









Notre Dame Hockey Players; Riley Sheahan and Jarred Tinordi go "back to back" last night in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to two of the NHL's "Original Six." Sheahan (St. Catharine's, Ont) was taken 21st by the Detroit Red Wings and Tinordi (Millersville, MD) went 22nd to the Montreal Canadiens. This was the first time in the 43-year history of the Notre Dame hockey program that two players went in the first round. Shehan and Tinordi join Ian Cole (2007 to St. Louis) and Kyle Palmieri (2009 to Anaheim) as ND hockey players selected in the first round. Tinordi, who's father Mark Tinordi had a 12-year NHL career, was one of the record 11 American born players taken in the first round last night -- the most ever in the history of the NHL Entry Draft. Congratulations!

Friday, June 25, 2010

PHOTO OF THE DAY -- IAN O'CONNOR

A private workout was held yesterday at Notre Dame Stadium for the defensive end position in Brian Kelly's new 3 - 4 Defense. Ian O'Connor (photo) is seen here rushing the QB in a drill being run by the Irish Defensive Staff. Photo courtesy of Kaity Fuja, OMG Photography. Kaity (ND Class of 2009) was inside Notre Dame Stadium yesterday to shoot photos of Coach Kelly for his new website. Now, we can't show you the photos of Coach Kelly (just yet), but here's a link to the photos OMG did take of the private workout - and a link to Kaity's website:

OMG PHOTOGRAPHY AT NOTRE DAME WORKOUT

OMG PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITE

Brian & Paqui Kelly -- Interviewed Last Night

Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly and his wife Paqui served as co-hosts for Football 101 at Notre Dame Stadium last night for more than 300 female fans (photo) of the Irish. This was a Kelly Cares Foundation event for breast cancer awareness and education. The 300 ND football fans were also given instruction on the fundamentals of Notre Dame Football. Sounds like they had great fun! Both Brian and Paqui also found time to talk with WSBT 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat show. You'll find links below to both interviews as well as the WNDU-TV new story on the event:

FOOTBALL 101 -- WNDU-TV COVERAGE OF EVENT

BRIAN KELLY INTERVIEW

PAQUI KELLY INTERVIEW

Harangody Drafted by Celtics!

Congratulations to Notre Dame senior, Luke Harangody, who was drafted last night by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft -- 52nd pick overall! 'Gody' is the first Irish player drafted by the Celtics in the past 29 years -- Tracy Jackson was the last Notre Dame player to go to Boston, in the 1981 NBA Draft, when he was also drafted in the second round. Luke is the first Notre Dame basketball player to be named All Big East three consecutive seasons and was the leading scorer and rebounder in the Big East Conference in consecutive years. A graduate of Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana -- Harangody leaves Notre Dame as one of it's all time greats. Couldn't be happier for Luke and his family!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Brian Kelly on Weekday SportsBeat Tonight!

Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly will be a guest tonight on WSBT 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat Show. They're broadcasting live from outside Notre Dame Stadium. Coach Kelly is expected on the show at 6:30 PM EST. Here's a link to their website.

WSBT 960 AM WEEKDAY SPORTSBEAT

Does Harangody Get Drafted Tonight?











Notre Dame's Luke Harangody learns tonight if he'll be drafted by an NBA Team or, if he'll have to go the "free agency" route to make an NBA roster. The 2010 NBA Draft begins tonight at 7 PM EST at Madison Square Garden -- it will be televised on ESPN. Harangody is a "tweener" at 6'-6" tall (not the 6'-8" a Notre Dame basketball roster would like you to believe). He's not big enough to be your prototypical NBA power forward -- nor, is he athletic enough to be your prototypical NBA small forward. Yet, he knows how to play the game -- and NBA Draft Experts have him going as high as 25th (which would be the tail end of the first round) or not being drafted at all. Going to be a nerve wracking day for the Harangody's!

USGA Public Links at Notre Dame!

Many of the the top female amateur golfers in the world are at the University of Notre Dame's Warren Golf Course this week for the 2010 USGA Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. It's the first time Notre Dame has hosted a national United States Golf Association event an indicative of the quality of this golf facility. Monday and Tuesday was the 36-hole qualifier for the field of 156 players. Only the top 64 players qualified for Match Play -- which began yesterday. It took a score of +10 or better to qualify for individual match play. Aria Jutanugarn, a 14 year-old from Thailand (pictured) was the low qualifier with a 36-hole score of -7 under par -- can you believe it!!!. University of Notre Dame Women's Golf Team members; Becca Huffer (Denver, CO) and Nicole Zang (Canada) qualified for match play - both won their first round matches, but were beaten this morning as the field was narrowed down to 16. The Championship Match will be held this Saturday. Admission is free - so, if you're in the area, it's a great opportunity to see many of the top female amateur golfers in the world. Here's a link to the live scoring from the Championship:

USGA WOMEN'S AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP -- LIVE SCORING

Old 2 Gold Yard Sale -- Saturday at ND Stadium!

The University of Notre Dame's Annual "Yard Sale" will be held this Saturday at historic Notre Dame Stadium. The "early bird" sale goes from 7AM to 9AM -- to get tickets for early entry, the line opens up at 5 AM and the tickets are $5. Tickets are not required for children 12 and under. If you don't want to get up that early, general admission (which is free) begins at 9 AM. The Old-2-Gold Sale ends at 11 AM. There are 33 semi-truck trailers full of merchandise to be sold -- click on the link below to see list of items -- so get there early!

LIST OF ITEMS ON SALE

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Football Tickets on Sale Today!

If you've ever wanted to make the "pilgrimage" to Notre Dame to see a football game -- today might be your lucky day! You need to pick up the phone RIGHT NOW and call this number: 574.631.7356 -- when they answer, hit the number 6 on your phone IMMEDIATELY so you won't have to spend a minute listening to Notre Dame Ticket Office info you won't care about. GO IRISH!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Coach Kelly Cares -- Football 101, THURSDAY!

Are you tired of your husband or boyfriend claiming to be the "know it all as it relates to Notre Dame Football?" Well, here's your chance to change that! This Thursday -- June 24th from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM -- the Notre Dame Football discussion will be for WOMEN ONLY! It's called Football 101 and it's an event being hosted by Coach Brian Kelly and his wife Paqui at Notre Dame Stadium benefiting Breast Cancer research. If you'd like to go, here are the rules -- you must be female, you must be at least 21 years old and you must register online. Here's a link to the registration site:

FOOTBALL 101 -- REGISTRATION

Dayne Crist Interview -- The Sporting News

Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist, recently sat down with a reporter from The Sporting News to talk about Fighting Irish Football. Here's a link to the story:

DAYNE CRIST - NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACK

Coach Longo -- No Day at the Beach!

Notre Dame's Director of Football Strength & Conditioning, Paul Longo -- has already constructed his trademark "Longo Beach" on one of the practice fields at Notre Dame. It's an 80 yard long, ten feet wide stretch of beach sand that his players have the joy of running in. It's the precursor to a 30 yard sand hill, that will also be constructed on the ND campus for his boys to have more fun on! Every Notre Dame scholarship football player is now on campus (they all arrived on Sunday) and they're in the trusted care of Coach Longo for the next six weeks. Longo is given a great deal of credit for Coach Kelly's teams having a 42 - 1 record when leading a game going into the 4th quarter. Here's a revealing interview given to ESPN - that speaks to Coach Longo and his ways -- ENJOY!

COACH LONGO - ESPN INTERVIEW

Monday, June 21, 2010

PHOTO OF THE WEEK -- GOLDEN TATE

Former ND All-American Golden "PINK" Tate, was back in South Bend this weekend for Charlie Weis's Hannah & Friends Charity Golf Tournament. Thought you'd enjoy this photo!

Evan Sharpley - Pro Baseball Player!









Former Notre Dame Quarterback and Irish Baseball Player, Evan Sharpley, was taken in the 50th Round by the Seattle Mariners in last year's MLB Draft. And Evan immediately made Seattle’s decision look golden. Playing for Seattle’s rookie Arizona League affiliate in Peoria last summer, Sharpley was the team’s top offensive performer. In 37 games he led the team in average (.333) and homers (seven) as Peoria won the league title. This season Evan's been assigned to the Mariner's Class A affiliate in Everett, WA -- the Everett AquaSox in the Northwest League. The AquaSox are playing their home opener tonight, having played their first three games on the road (Evan had one double on the opening roadtrip). If you want to buy Evan's fist Topp's baseball card -- here's a link to it -- as well as a link to the Everett AquaSox's website. Good Luck Evan!

BUY EVAN'S BASEBALL CARD ON E-BAY!

EVERETT AQUASOX -- OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Former ND Linebacker -- Mike Goolsby

Here's a link to Weekday SportsBeat's interview of former Notre Dame Football Player and Team Captain; Mike Goolsby. Goolsby, a 2004 grad, is President of All Day Inc., a youth training program focused on helping Chicagoland youths (grades 6-12) realize their athletic goals. Whether that may be simply cracking the starting lineup or pursuing a collegiate scholarship. Click on this:

WEEKDAY SPORTSBEAT

Saturday, June 19, 2010

ND Football Tickets on Sale -- Wednesday!

Ever wanted to see the Irish play in person at historic Notre Dame Stadium? Here's your chance! Tickets go on at 8:30 a.m. EDT, on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. The sale will consist of single, noncontiguous seats that remain after the annual alumni lottery, as well as contiguous seats resulting from early visiting team returns and University allotment releases. At least some availability is anticipated for all 2010 home games but will vary by game and date. Ticket purchase limits and service charges will apply. The complete Notre Dame schedule for 2010 is available at UND.com. Alumni and friends who applied for tickets through the annual football ticket lottery will have their requests accommodated prior to tickets being made available for public sale. The lottery is in the process of being finalized and results will be available July 7th. Tickets for 2010 home games in Notre Dame Stadium are $70 each and may be purchased in person beginning at 8:30 a.m. June 23 at the Murnane Ticket Office located between Gates 8 and 10 of Purcell Pavilion on the south side of the Joyce Center – by calling 574-631-7356 weekdays from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. – or by visiting UND.com/tickets. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Parseghian's & Notre Dame -- It's Family









Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC), is a rare and deadly neurodegenerative disease that primarily strikes children before or during adolescence. Unfortunately, this disease struck the Parseghian Family, prematurely ending the lives of three of Mike and Cindy Parseghian's (both are 1977 ND grads) four children; Michael, Marcia and Christa (pictured above). Since then, the Parseghian Family has dedicated their lives to finding the cause and cure for PNC through the efforts of The Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation. It was announced yesterday that the Foundation has given a generous gift to the University of Notre Dame to establish the Michael, Marcia and Christa Parseghian Endowment for Excellence to support NPC research and discovery and to build on the Foundation’s commitment to collaborate with young researchers at other institutions. Funds also will be dedicated in support of an annual NPC scientific conference that will be held at Notre Dame beginning in 2011, bringing together researchers from around the world to share discoveries and progress. Here's a story that NBC broadcast in 2008 on Coach Parseghian and his family's battle with PNC -- along with a link to the Foundation's website:

ARA'S MOST IMPORTANT GAME

A GOAL FOR LIFE -- PARSEGHIAN FOUNDATION WEBSITE

Thursday, June 17, 2010

A Notre Dame Story -- I Never Knew...

Ever wonder who's the "Morris guy" whose name is on the Morris Inn at Notre Dame (photo of lobby) or, the Morris Performing Arts Center, Morris Park Country Club, etc., in South Bend? Well here is his unique "Notre Dame" story. As the story goes, E. M. Morris orphaned at 12 years old, rode his horse with all of his belongings in his saddle bag to Notre Dame. He met with Father John William Cavanaugh, the President of Notre Dame from 1905 to 1919. Given his financial situation, he asked Father Cavanaugh if he could attend the college for free. He promised to pay the University back ten-fold if they allowed him to enroll. Father Cavanaugh believed in his spirit and allowed him to do so -- and what a great decision that was! E. M. Morris and the Morris Family did pay the University back ten-fold over the years. Morris founded The Associates Investment Company in 1918, originally to help needy people, and it later became the single largest financing company in the world. The Associates was sold to Ford Motor Company, in 1998, for $3.5 Billion and sold again in 2000, to Citigroup for $31 Billion. He also founded the First Bank & Trust in South Bend which today operates as 1st Source Bank. In 1932 Morris Farms was founded in Niles, MI. E. M. Morris began purchasing parcels of land with the main principal of reforestation. He planted over 120,000 trees of many varieties. Today, Morris Farms consists of approximately 960 acres. The Morris Farms is in the news today because the Morris Family heirs just announced they're going to sell the property. Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story:

MORRIS FARMS ESTATE TO BE AUCTIONED

Irish Athletes Honored by Big East Conference!

The Big East Conference honored three Notre Dame athletes with 2009-2010 Big East Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award. Irish basketball player Tim Abromaitis, rower Sarah Keithley and tennis player Tyler Davis were among the 24 student athletes in the Big East to receive this honor. Abromaitis (Unionville, CT) posted a 3.73 GPA in the classroom and was one of the big surprises in the Big East this year, averaging 18.2 pts. per game earning Academic All-American honors. Keithley (Austin, TX) coxed a Big East Champion boat in three of her four seasons for the Irish while posting a 3.74 GPA in the classroom. And, Tyler Davis (Nashville, TN) earned All Big East Academic Honors for the third straight year while compiling a 4-1 mark in singles for the Irish. Congratulations to all three!

ND Professor Receives Sheedy Award

Jim Collins, Notre Dame professor in the Department of Film, Television and Theatre was named the 2010 Sheedy Excellence in Teaching Award winner in recognition of his work as a scholar and teacher. The Sheedy award, named after Rev. Charles E. Sheedy, CSC who was Dean of the College of Arts & Letters from 1951 to 1969, acknowledges a faculty member who has sustained excellence in research and instruction over a wide range of courses. This individual must also motivate and enrich students using innovative and creative teaching methods and influence teaching and learning within the department, College and University. Collins is author of “Architecture of Excess: Cultural Life in the Information Age” (1995) and “Uncommon Cultures: Popular Culture and Postmodernism” (1989), editor of “Hi-Pop: Making Culture into Popular Entertainment” (2002), and co-editor of “Film Theory Goes to the Movies” (1993). His most recent book, “Bring on the Books for Everybody: How Literary Culture Became Popular Culture,” was released last month. Congratulations Professor Collins!

2010 SHEEDY EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD WINNER

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

New Hotel Opens up across from Notre Dame

The Fairfield Inn & Suites at Notre Dame opens up Tuesday, June 22nd. Located across the street from the University of Notre Dame, in the Eddy Street Commons development, fans of The Fighting Irish will find pretty good room rates for the football season. The hotel is sold out for the Michigan game, but rooms are still available for the other Notre Dame Football Weekends. Here's a link to their website:

FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES AT NOTRE DAME

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A Domer @ NASCAR!
















Jimmy Small, Class of 2008 -- left the Notre Dame campus, two years ago, for the high banks of NASCAR. Small was recruited by NASCAR to join their Series Operations Team -- a pretty cool job for a kid right out of college. That's Jimmy pictured above with Adam Sandler and Kevin James -- these two were at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Michigan International Speedway , promoting their soon to be released film; 'Grown Ups.' One of Small's duties on "Race Day" is to direct all of the 'on-camera' appearances of celebrities engaged to perform, sing a National Anthem or give the command "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!" Well, this Sunday, Jimmy was given the honor of "directing" Sandler & James in their 'now YOUTUBE legend' command to start your engines. As you watch the video -- you'll see Small's hand (in the lower right hand corner) directing these two characters. I'll leave the rest for your enjoyment.

LINK TO ADAM SANDLER & KEVIN JAMES -- NASCAR!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Incoming ND Athlete -- Named to Team USA

You can bet Muffet McGraw's smiling this morning. One of her prized incoming recruits, was just named by USA Basketball to the 12 member U18 National Team. Kayla McBride, out of Erie, PA is the fifth ND Women's Basketball Player to earn this honor in the last seven years. Kayla was selected to this team after six days of tryouts at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. She'll remain out there for the next two weeks, with her new teammates, as they prepare for the qualifying round of the FIBA U19 World Championships. The Americans must finish among the top four teams in the eight team qualifying round to earn the trip to Chile for the World Championship. The Team USA honor caps off a great high school career for McBride which earned her McDonald's All American, USA Today All American, Parade All American, ESPN RISE All American and Pennsylvania's Gatorade Player of the Year honors. She led her team to "back to back" Pennsylvania State Championships earning Kayla recognition as one of the top-25 players in America. I'm sure Muffet can't wait to have the 5'-11" McGraw join Skylar Diggs, in the Irish backcourt, for the next three seasons -- it's going to be fun!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Girl from Vietnam -- Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar!

The University of Notre Dame's inaugural class of Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars -- includes a young lady from Vietnam. Hien Luu, a senior at Conard High School in West Hartford, CT is one of 25 incoming Notre Dame students who have received this "first of it's kind" scholarship. The Hesburgh-Yusko scholarship includes an all-expenses paid summer experience each year, the first is next month when the twenty-five incoming freshmen, will go on a mountaineering experience in the Northern Cascades in Washington. Luu and her family left Vietnam for America in 1998. Here's a link to a wonderful story, in the Hartford Courant, about Hien Luu and her family:

VIETNAMESE GIRL RECEIVES HESBURGH-YUSKO SCHOLARSHIP

Saturday, June 12, 2010

ND Grad's TV Show -- Debuts on Fox Today!

"Judge" Anthony Napolitano, Notre Dame Law Grad, debuts his new show "Freedom Watch" this morning at 10 AM EST -- on the Fox Business Channel. His first guests; Sarah Palin and Ron Paul. Here's a link to Judge Napolitano's website:

FREEDOM WATCH -- FOX BUSINESS CHANNEL

Friday, June 11, 2010

Irish Athletics -- Tops Again in Classroom!

The NCAA just released its sixth annual Academic Progress Rate (APR) statistics -- and, once again, all 26 of Notre Dame's varsity athletic teams exceeded the NCAA standards. (2010 NCAA APR REPORT - LINKED BELOW) In fact, eight Irish teams earned perfect scores! Five Men's teams; cross country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field and golf -- and three Women's teams; rowing, soccer and tennis. The only school with more perfect scores than Notre Dame - Duke, they had ten. The NCAA's APR uses a series of formulas related to student-athlete retention and eligibility to measure the academic performances of all participants who receive grants-in-aid on every team at every NCAA Division I college and university. Congratulations Notre Dame Athletics! Notre Dame Football received a 978 NCAA APR score -- as compared to the NCAA APR scores for the Football Teams on Notre Dame's schedule this fall -- ranked below - from highest to lowest:
-Stanford: 976
-Navy: 973
-Boston College: 967
-USC: 965
-Army: 964
-Western Michigan: 956
-Pittsburgh: 950
-Utah: 949
-Michigan State: 941
-Tulsa: 939
-Michigan: 936
-Purdue: 930

2010 NCAA APR DATABASE

Thursday, June 10, 2010

How will Notre Dame acknowledge USC games?

In the wake of today's announcement that USC must, in essence, forfeit every game that Reggie Bush played in during his three-year career with the Trojans - I wonder how Notre Dame will acknowledge these games in their record books? Do they add "three wins" to their overall total? Does Ty Willingham's and Charlie Weis's career coaching records change? It's going to be interesting to see how all of USC's opponents during the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons treat today's NCAA ruling.

San Francisco Giants Draft Golden Tate!

In the 50th round of the just completed Major League Baseball Draft - the San Francisco Giants selected former ND All-American and current Seattle Seahawk; Golden Tate. Tate was an "outfielder" in his spare time with the Irish baseball team. Will Golden leave football?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

ND Victory March -- Key Evidence in Court Case

A recording of the Notre Dame Victory March has just become the key piece of evidence in a story that garnered national headlines in March. Jack McKenna, a 21-year old University of Maryland student was part of a "post game" celebration after Maryland's upset victory over top-ranked Duke in college basketball. Well, McKenna was roughed up by Police and the incident was caught on video. Come to find out, McKenna was "singing the Notre Dame Victory March" and apparently, the police took the words "Shake down the thunder..." as a threat -- which led to their actions caught on camera. Attorneys for McKenna apparently have a cell phone recording of McKenna signing the ND Fight Song and are using it as evidence. Here's a link to the original video and the news story of how the Victory March is being used in McKenna's court case. You can't make this up -- Promise!

LINK TO NOTRE DAME VICTORY MARCH AS EVIDENCE

The Ultimate Irish Tailgater!

If you're looking for a place to "tailgate" before an Irish Football Game this Fall - here's an option for you - The Notre Dame Football Hospitality Village. Tickets are available right now for you to entertain your family, friends or clients -- before kick-off of every home football game. Just click on this link for more information:

THE ULTIMATE IRISH TAILGATER

A Notre Dame Author You Should Follow

His name is Bryan Gruley and he's a 1979 graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Gruley is currently the Chicago Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal - but that's just his "day job!" Gruley continues to receive critical acclaim for his first novel; Starvation Lake: A Mystery -- which garnered him an Edgar Award nomination for "Best First Novel" by the Mystery Writers of America. And, just this past week, the Anthony Awards recognized Starvation Lake with two more nominations; Best First Novel and Best Paperback Original -- the award winners will be announced in October. Gruley's sequel, The Hanging Tree will hit the bookstores this August -- keep an eye out for it! Here's a link to Bryan's Blog where you can buy his books:

BRYAN GRULEY -- A NOTRE DAME AUTHOR

Monday, June 7, 2010

Follow a Fantasy FB Camper at Notre Dame!




NBC Sports Writer, Keith Arnold, is attending the Notre Dame Football Fantasy Camp this week and he's "blogging" about his experiences on NBC's Inside the Irish Blog. Today was "registration day" and Keith tells his story. Should be fun to follow him this week -- see the link:

ND FOOTBALL FANTASY CAMP BLOG

ND FB Recruit - Wins NJ State 110M Hurdles!

Notre Dame football recruit, Bennett Jackson, a wide receiver from Raritan High School, won the 2010 New Jersey Meet of Champions State Championship in the 110 Meter Hurdles! Here's a link to his race, he's in Lane Five, as well as a link to a highlight video from his senior season:

ND FOOTBALL RECRUIT -- JERSEY STATE CHAMPION 110 METER HURDLES

ND FOOTBALL RECRUIT -- FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

ND Lacrosse Goalie -- Taken 7th in MLL's Draft!

Notre Dame All-American Lacrosse Goalie, Scott Rodgers -- was drafted 7th overall yesterday by the Major League Lacrosse's Toronto Nationals in their 10th Annual Collegiate Draft held at Yale University. The Nationals "traded up" to the top of the Second Round to get Rodgers -- who was recently named Most Outstanding Player in the 2010 NCAA Men's Lacrosse National Championships. Teammate Grant Krebs, was drafted 45th overall to the Boston Cannons. The ND Men's Lacrosse team is currently in Japan on a week long exhibition tour -- playing some of the "national" teams in Japan. Congratulations Scott and Grant!

MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE DRAFT -- RODGERS GOES SEVENTH TO TORONTO

The Coach Kelly Challenge!

Notre Dame Head Football Coach -- Brian Kelly & Family, recently donated $250,000 to the University of Notre Dame -- and with the donation, challenged the Notre Dame Family to follow their lead. And, if you do -- you'll get to wear the same "Kelly Green ND Lapel Pin" that Coach Kelly wears (photo above left). I went online today and made a donation -- please consider doing the same! To learn more about the Coach Kelly Challenge - click on the link below:

COACH KELLY CHALLENGE

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Think You Can Do This? -- Think Again!

Notre Dame Linebacker Steve Filer - just might be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Here's a YOUTUBE video that is garnering "legendary" status for Filer. I don't think you'll want to try this at home -- see link:

FILER'S POOL TRICK

Saturday, June 5, 2010

R.I.P -- Coach John Wooden

Former UCLA Head Basketball Coach John Wooden passed away yesterday at the age of 99. Wooden often called "The Wizard of Westwood" -- set many, many coaching marks that will probably never be broken. Winning 10 National Championships in a 12 year span at UCLA is just one of them. He hails from the town of Hall, IN where he was born in 1910. At the age of 14 his family moved to Martinsville, IN where he led his high school to three consecutive Indiana State Championships as a player -- earning All State honors all three years. Wooden then went on to play at Purdue where he helped the Boilermakers win a National Championship in 1932 and All American honors three times. He's the first ever to be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and as a coach. Coach Wooden even coached for ten years at South Bend Central High School. However, Notre Dame fans know him best from the games his Bruins played against Digger Phelps and the Irish. One of the most famous -- from a ND Fan's perspective -- is the game January 19, 1974 when the #2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish stopped the #1 ranked Bruins record 88 game win streak by scoring the last eleven points of the game in the 71-70 Irish victory. The photo above is of Dwight Clay's game winning basket -- that's Adrian Dantley in the foreground. What's often forgot about UCLA's record streak is Notre Dame had the last victory against UCLA in 1971 -- before they went on their 88 game run. And, the Irish didn't make the Sports Illustrated cover commemorating this win -- the following Monday -- which bugs Digger to this day. Click on the link below to see the last five minutes of this game. Coach Wooden, you were a true gentleman!

NOTRE DAME ENDS UCLA'S RECORD WINNING STREAK