His athletic leaping ability is becoming YOUTUBE LEGEND -- we're talking about University of Notre Dame linebacker, Steve Filer. You'll recall he jumped out of a pool on to the pool deck (see below). The latest escapade of the 6'-3" 235 lb. OLB -- has him jumping over the "roped off" Notre Dame Monogram logo in their practice facility lockerroom. Take a look for yourself:
Well, so much for my prediction of Joe Theismann! For what it's worth -- the hiring executive at NBC Sports really must have a desire for selecting graduates from schools who despise Notre Dame! Haden is a USC grad -- and get this, Mayock is a Boston College grad. Mayock is one of the NFL Draft gurus employed by the NFL Network. I'm assuming he'll keep that gig as well. I guess Mayock's replacement will come from the University of Michigan. Oh well...
University of Notre Dame's Dean of the College of Science, Greg Crawford and his wife Renate (pictured) have rolled into Texas -- and they're still smiling! Here's a quick update as to what they've experienced in the Lone Star State so far:
You've undoubtedly seen photos or videos of large fish literally "jumping into boats" in some rivers in the United States. These fish are called Asian Carp and they seek to potentially destroy the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. The invasive Asian Carp species is worrying officials as it is currently flying and leaping its way up the Mississippi River towards the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Michigan. This fish invasion, if it occurs, would devastate the ecosystem of the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world, and would destroy the $7 billion sport fishing industry. The Asian Carp is so feared because an invasion of them in other bodies of water have caused the native fish to die as the Asian Carp eats up to 40% of their body weight in a day, and they number in the hundreds of thousands. The fish can grow to about four feet long and weigh up to 100 pounds, and has been moving up the Mississippi River, destroying it for decades. An electrical barrier was set up to stop the Asian Carp entering the Great Lakes ecosystem, but they appear to have breached that fence and are now only kept out due to a lock for ships outside of Lake Michigan. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association recently awarded the University of Notre Dame $2.5 million to go toward finding a new way to keep the Asian Carp out without closing waterways connecting Chicago's canals to Lake Michigan. "This program is positioned to detect what species will next affect the Great Lakes," said Christopher Jerde, a research assistant professor at Notre Dame. "We will study food chains and webs, locations and economic issues." Jerde said despite the fact that Asian carp, which includes the bighead and silver varieties, have been found below the electric barriers designed to keep the fish inside the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and out of Lake Michigan, it's still not too late to prevent them from taking over the Great Lakes. Good Luck!!! Here's a link to a story about a massive Asian Carp just caught in the Chicago River:
Chris Badger (Provo, UT), a member of Coach Kelly's first recruiting class at Notre Dame, has decided to leave school to serve his Mormon mission beginning September 1st. Chris will be serving his two-year mission in Ecuador and will be returning to Notre Dame to enroll in classes in September 2012 - with four years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Badger was admitted to Notre Dame in January -- allowing him to participate in Spring Practice with his Irish teammates. We wish Chris safe travels and a great life experience. Your Notre Dame Family looks forward to your return!
Lou Holtz was quick to sell high school athletes on the idea that choosing Notre Dame was a "forty year decision" -- not a four year decision. Twenty-five years later, Brian Kelly is making the same pitch. Here's why. FACT: The average career for a NFL player is 3 1/2 seasons. By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of all NFL Football players have either gone bankrupt or are under financial distress because of joblessness or divorce. That means the majority of these "kids" are 28 years old and broke. FACT: The average career of a NBA player is five seasons. Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke. I found this Sports Illustrated story on this very subject -- and ironically they interviewed former Notre Dame All American Rocket Ismail for the article. Rocket, while not broke, lost several million dollars due to self admitted "ignorance." In the story the writer infers that Ismail is more fortunate than most since "he has his Notre Dame degree..." I believe you'll find this story quite interesting.
No, he didn't win the Indiana Lottery -- but, this Notre Dame professor potentially could save the lives of millions with this money. Marvin Miller, the George and Winifred Clark professor of Chemistry at the University of Notre Dame, has received a $1.9 million research grant from the National Institute of Health to advance tuberculosis research. 14.4 million people are infected by TB every year and 4,500 die each day from this disease. Here's a release from Notre Dame on Miller's planned research - along with a second link to Dr. Miller's biography: