Brian Kelly on Mike & MIKE Thursday Morning!

Irish fans, rumor has it that Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly will be a guest Thursday (tomorrow) morning at 7:15 AM ET on ESPN2's Mike & MIKE!  If you can't catch the show on TV, you can always listen to the interview on the ESPN radio!

Here's a link to the interview:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY WITH GOLIC

Dayne Crist, Manti Teo & Harrison Smith

Three of Notre Dame football's "leaders" met with the media today to take their questions about the game this Saturday against the University of South Florida.  ND fans will be proud of these three!  Here's the links:

LINK:  DAYNE CRIST INTERVIEW

LINK:  MANTI TEO & HARRISON SMITH INTERVIEWS

Brian Kelly's Media Session Today!

Coach Kelly took questions from the assembled media after practice today -- as the Irish get ready for their opening game this Saturday!  Here's a link to Coach Kelly's media session:

LINK:  COACH KELLY

Irish Projected to Play in FIESTA -- SI.COM

Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel has the Fighting Irish slotted to play Wisconsin in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2nd.  That wouldn't be a bad thing!  Here's a link to his bowl predictions:

LINK:  IRISH TO FIESTA BOWL

A Notre Dame Book for Civil War History Buffs!

Jim Schmidt is a Civil War expert -- who has a real job as a chemist in a biotech company in Houston, TX.  For the past fifteen years or so Jim has been consumed with the Civil War -- writing article after article, and a couple of books on this subject before his publishing of "Notre Dame and the Civil War."

Here's what Jim learned, from his research for this book, about Notre Dame and the Civil War:   

"While many institutions of higher education made great sacrifices during the Civil War, few can boast of the dedication and effort made by the University of Notre Dame. For four years, Notre Dame gave freely of its faculty and students as soldiers, sent its Holy Cross priests to the camps and battlefields as chaplains and dispatched its sisters to the hospitals as nurses. 

Though far from the battlefields, the war was ever-present on campus, as Notre Dame witnessed fisticuffs among the student body, provided a home to the children of a famous general, responded to political harassment and tried to keep at least some of its community from the fray. 

At war's end, a proud Notre Dame welcomed back several bona fide war heroes and became home to a unique veterans' organization."

This looks like a book Notre Dame fans will love!  Here's a link to where you can buy "Notre Dame and the Civil War" online:

LINK:  BUY THE BOOK!

Mike Lee Training Video -- Must See!

University of Notre Dame boxing champion Mike Lee '09 is featured in this interview that shows him training for a fight -- you're going to love this! 

Word broke this week that fellow ND alum, Regis Philbin is going to be the "MC" of Mike's next professional fight -- which just happens to be on the University of Notre Dame campus, September 16th.  Mike is fighting on the Michigan State football weekend, the first professional fight ever at ND! 

Here's a link to the video and a link to where you can buy tickets for Mike's fight!

LINK:  MIKE LEE VIDEO

LINK:  BUY TICKETS HERE TO MIKE'S FIGHT AT ND ON SEPTEMBER 16TH!

Coach Kelly's USF Press Conference

Coach Kelly met with the media today to talk about Saturday's game against the University of South Florida.  Thanks to the gang at UND.COM for keeping us fans on top of what's going on with the IRISH!

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S PRESSER

Photo of the Day! -- It's a Mystery...???

Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly just "re-tweeted" this photo with the caption "SPECIAL DELIVERY ON ITS WAY."

Are we talkin' new FOOTBALL JERSEYS for the Irish home opener?  What's your idea on what is so special?

LINK:  MYSTERY SOLVED!

The Size of the Athletes Committing to ND!

This evening Jarron Jones, a 6'-7" - 308 lb. defensive end out of the Rochester, NY area committed to play football next fall for the University of Notre Dame.  Jones had originally committed to play for Penn State before changing this mind.  Jones joins a list of long, athletic and huge athletes that Brian Kelly & Company has recruited to ND over the past 12 months.  Just think how these kids are going to look in a couple of years walking off the bus at USC!  Here's the list:

• Aaron Lynch -- 6'-6" 270 lbs.
• Tony Springman -- 6'-7" 290 lbs.
• Ishaq Williams -- 6'5" 255 lbs.
• Stephon Tuitt -- 6'-6" 290 lbs.
• Ben Councell -- 6'-5" 230 lbs.
• Brad Carrico -- 6'-5" 290 lbs. 
• Connor Hanratty -- 6'-5" 315 lbs.
• Ben Koyack -- 6'-5" 253 lbs.
• Troy Niklas -- 6'-7" 250 lbs.
• Chase Hounshell -- 6'-5" 275 lbs.
• Jordan Prestwood -- 6'-5" 287 lbs.
• Jarron Jones -- 6'-7" 308 lbs.
• Taylor Decker -- 6'-8" 313 lbs.
• Mark Harrell -- 6'-5" 270 lbs.

LINK:  JARRON JONES COMMITMENT STORY

LINK:  JARRON JONES HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

UND.COM'S ND GameDay Primer!

Get ready for Skip Holtz's University of South Florida Bulls by watching UND.COM's 2011 Football Primer!  Just don't do it late at night, or you might not be able to go to sleep!  GO IRISH -- BEAT DA BULLS!

LINK:  2011 ND FOOTBALL PRIMER

Coach Kelly's Tuesday Presser -- Live at NOON!

Notre Dame fans -- if you live on the East Coast -- here's your lunchtime entertainment on Tuesday!  Coach Kelly will be meeting with the media on Tuesday (tomorrow) live at NOON ET.  Here's the link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE -- HERE LIVE!

ND Dad -- Dick Vitale Meets Pope Benedict XVI

Just saw Dick Vitale "tweet" about meeting Pope Benedict XVI -- here's a link to the story:

LINK:  VITALE SPEECHLESS

Sports Illustrated Recognizes Aaron Lynch

The folks at SI.COM picked their "Freshman 15" -- fifteen freshmen who will make an impact this fall.  Well, to no surprise to Irish fans -- our #19 Aaron Lynch is on that list.  Here's the story:

LINK:  THE FRESHMAN 15

Lou Goes Back to East Liverpool High School!

Former Notre Dame football coaching legend and College Hall of Fame member Lou Holtz -- spent a day earlier this month at his old high school in East Liverpool, OH talking to their football team.  Holtz graduated from East Liverpool 57 years ago...  Here's a couple of links to the news coverage -- note what he's wearing!

LINK:  LOU HOLTZ GOES HOME

LINK:  LOU'S BACK IN LIVERPOOL

Know Thy Opponent -- USF Bulls

A new series at ND GO IRISH BLOG will be launched today called "KNOW THY OPPONENT" -- it's a primer for Irish Fans that will take a look at what our opponent's local media is saying about their team and their upcoming game with the University of Notre Dame.

Up first:  Skip Holtz's University of South Florida Bulls:

LINK:  HERBSTREIT PICKS USF TO WIN BIG EAST 

LINK:  WIN AT ND WOULD BE HISTORIC

LINK:  HOLTZ NOT THINKING ABOUT COACHING AT ND

LINK:  TIME IS NOW FOR BULLS

LINK:  BULLS EXPECT SPECIAL SEASON

LINK:  DON'T SHAKE ND PLAYERS 

LINK:  SCRIMMAGE UPDATE

LINK:  PHOTOS OF USF PRACTICE FACILITY

Third Week of NFL Pre-Season -- ND Update

After checking in on how our former Notre Dame football stars are doing with their NFL teams this morning -- I'm reminded how important their DEGREE from the University of Notre Dame is!

If I was running the football recruiting operation for Brian Kelly I would be publishing a weekly NFL injury report that would be circulated among the parents of every top high school football player in America.  I would be constantly making the point that the NFL stands for "Not For Long" -- and that "Notre Dame is For Life."

Off my soapbox!

Just click on the player's name below to see the latest news on them:

LINK:  JIMMY CLAUSEN -- CAROLINA PANTHERS

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE -- SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

LINK:  BRADY QUINN -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  ANTHONY FASANO -- MIAMI DOLPHINS

LINK:  BRIAN SMITH -- CLEVELAND BROWNS

LINK:  CHRIS STEWART -- FREE AGENT

LINK:  TOMMY ZBIKOWSKI -- BALTIMORE RAVENS

LINK:  RYAN GRANT -- GREEN BAY PACKERS

LINK:  JUSTIN TUCK -- NEW YORK GIANTS

LINK:  SAM YOUNG -- DALLAS COWBOYS

LINK:  KYLE MCCARTHY -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH -- MINNESOTA VIKINGS

LINK:  JOHN CARLSON -- SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

LINK:  DEREK LANDRI -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  CHINEDUM NDUKWE -- FREE AGENT

LINK:  IAN WILLIAMS -- SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

LINK:  TERRAIL LAMBERT -- NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

LINK:  RYAN HARRIS -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  DAVID BRUTON -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  JOHN SULLIVAN -- MINNESOTA VIKINGS

LINK:  VICTOR ABIAMIRI -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  TREVOR LAWS -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  MAURICE STOVALL -- DETROIT LIONS

LINK:  ARNAZ BATTLE -- PITTSBURGH STEELERS

LINK:  SERGIO BROWN -- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

LINK:  ERIC OLSEN -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  ROBERT HUGHES -- CHICAGO BEARS 

LINK:  DARRIN WALLS -- ATLANTA FALCONS

LINK:  ARMANDO ALLEN -- TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 

ESPN & Michigan Announce GameDay Location

University of Michigan AD David Brandon announced today that ESPN will set up their GameDay set on Michigan's central campus -- the morning of September 10.  It's good to know because ND fans have been losing sleep over where Desmond Howard would be working from that day...

LINK:  ESPN'S COLLEGE GAMEDAY - ND VS. UM GAME

Two ND FB Verbals on ESPNU Today @ 4 PM

ESPNU will be televising the Indianapolis Cathedral vs. Warren Central football game today at 4 PM ET.  The game features two star players who have made a "verbal" commitment to play for the Fighting Irish next season; John Turner who wears #4 for Cathedral and Sheldon Day who wears #91 for Warren Central.  Here's a link to a couple of stories about these two standouts:

LINK:  JOHN TURNER -- INDIANAPOLIS CATHEDRAL

LINK:  SHELDON DAY -- WARREN CENTRAL

First Look @ Weather for ND's Home Opener

The folks at Weather.com are predicting "scattered thunderstorms" for Notre Dame's home opener next Saturday against the University of South Florida.  They're forecasting the chance of precipitation at 60% for this day.  Here's the link to the extended forecast:

LINK:  ND GAME DAY WEATHER FORECAST

Photo of the Day! -- Compton Family Ice Arena

Here's a recent photo of the construction of the "Hockey Cathedral" -- also known as the Compton Family Ice Arena on the University of Notre Dame campus.  The "Compton" will open in mid-October.

Notre Dame's Campaign For Aerial Lift Safety

The University of Notre Dame just launched a campaign on aerial lift safety -- as part of its follow-up response to the Declan Sullivan tragedy.  Barry Sullivan (Declan's Dad) leads off the website's video.  Here's a link to the site as well as a story in the Chicago Tribune:

LINK:  UP RIGHT!

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

"Our Team Our Story" -- A New Show @ ND

This is a YouTube Video of Mike Golic Jr. and Brandon Newman in their new show "OUR TEAM, OUR STORY."  Now I'm not going to give it a "two thumbs up" -- but, it has potential!  Here's a link to their first two episodes:

LINK:  MEDIA DAY

LINK:  FIRST DAY OF CLASSES

Update on One Time ND Hoops Recruit Hatch

Notre Dame fans may recall the news of June 24th when former Notre Dame basketball recruit Austin Hatch (Fort Wayne, IN) was involved in a plane crash in northern Michigan that took the life of his father and step-mother.  Hatch, the only survivor of the crash, has been in Traverse City's Munson Hospital ever since.  Hatch had committed to play basketball for Michigan -- a week earlier -- picking the Wolverines over the Fighting Irish. 

To read the most recent update on Austin's condition -- click on the link below:

LINK:  AUSTIN HATCH RECOVERY UPDATE

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  THE ORIGINAL CRASH STORY

Lou Holtz & Phil Steele Talk ND Football

Former Notre Dame Hall of Fame football coach Lou Holtz and football prognosticator Phil Steele were both guests this week on the Dan Dakich Show in Indianapolis.  Here's a link to both of their appearances on the show:

LINK:  HOLTZ & STEELE

Tickets to ND's Game Against USF Go On Sale...

The University of Notre Dame announced today that the University of South Florida has returned some tickets that will go on sale at the ND Ticket Office on Monday.  The Ticket Office typically opens at 8:30 AM ET -- here's the number to call if you're still looking for tickets: 574.631.7356

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S OFFICIAL WEB RELEASE ON TICKET SALE

The Lou & Skip Holtz Show at USF Dinner!

This is pretty good stuff here...

The University of South Florida hosted a kick-off dinner this week for their football program.  After the dinner was over, Lou and Skip took questions from the audience.  Here's a link to the video:

LINK:  THE LOU & SKIP HOLTZ SHOW

Coach Kelly & Coach Quinn -- Best Buddies

Found this story via GOOGLE ALERTS this evenng -- and boy, am I glad I did!

The Buffalo News published a wonderful story today about the relationship between Jeff Quinn (the head coach of the University at Buffalo football Bulls) and Notre Dame's Brian Kelly.  It's a must read for Irish fans!  Here's the link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY & COACH QUINN

Brian Kelly Interview with Atlanta Radio Station

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was a guest yesterday on Tony Barnhart's radio show in Atlanta.  Here's a link to the discussion:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY WTH TONY BARNHART

At First Glance -- I'm Not Crazy About This

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football program has decided to change the Game Day routine leading up to their entrance to Notre Dame Stadium.  For as long as I can remember, a couple of hours before kick-off, the team would begin their "walk" to Notre Dame Stadium from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.  A great Notre Dame tradition...

Well, so much for that.

Beginning Saturday, September 3rd -- the Fighting Irish will begin a new pre-game tradition that will look something like this:

• Approximately three hours before kick-off the team will arrive on campus by bus behind the Main Building (Golden Dome) -- and the team will make the short walk to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart
• Once Mass is over -- the team will walk back to their buses and board them for a "lap" around the campus through the tailgating lots south of the Stadium and back to the Gug
• They'll then have a quick team meeting inside the Gug 
• Then they'll begin their new walk to the Stadium - which will take them on a path behind the Jordan School of Science to the Library -- where they'll make a left hand turn and walk to the Stadium in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus.  The team is expected to be at the Library around 1:15 PM for a 3:30 PM kick-off.

I've got to believe a NBC exec said -- "it would make for great TV with a shot from the top of Notre Dame Stadium towards Touchdown Jesus with players walking through a mass of humanity -- on a colorful fall day..."

We'll see...

ESPN's Colin Cowherd Has Spoken...

ESPN "talking head" Colin Cowherd spent a few minutes this morning talking about our Fighting Irish.  He's making the claim that we have one of the 'easiest' schedules in college football this season -- as he compares college football schedules to 'pimples..."

He's not a fan of Notre Dame -- but, here's his read on ND today...

LINK:  COLIN COWHERD ON THE IRISH

Yeah, Notre Dame is Irrelevant -- Look At This!

This photo was taken today in NYC's Times Square -- see the news that makes the Dow Jone's board...  Think any other school in America's naming of their QB would get this play in NYC?  Not a chance!

Dayne Crist to Lead the Irish! -- No Surprise!

Over the last 36 hours we asked the visitors to the ND GO IRISH BLOG to pick which QB would be selected as the starter for the game against University of South Florida.  And, 88% of the voters selected Dayne Crist as the QB that Coach Kelly would pick as his starter -- and, you were correct!

Here's a link to Coach Kelly's press conference today along with Dayne Crist's as well -- enjoy!

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESSER

LINK:  DAYNE CRIST PRESSER

Brady Quinn with Schlereth on Denver Radio

Former Notre Dame All-American Brady Quinn was just on the radio in Denver with Mark Schlereth at 104.3 The Fan.  ND GO IRISH BLOG regular contributor Jay Small, our Mountain West correspondent, alerted us to Brady's appearance on this show.  ND fans will enjoy this interview:

LINK:  BRADY QUINN ON THE RADIO

A "Pump Up" Video -- 2011 Notre Dame Football

Now, I must admit I'm not a big fan of the music -- I'm getting old!  But, Irish fans will enjoy this video...

LINK:  ND FOOTBALL -- GET FIRED UP!

Haugh & Hamilton Should Job Shadow Hansen

Eric Hansen is the Notre Dame beat writer at the South Bend Tribune -- from my perspective, it's equivalent to being the 'financial editor' at the Wall Street Journal.  David Haugh & Brian Hamilton -- who are both trying to make a name for themselves at the Chicago Tribune (by ripping Notre Dame) should "job shadow" Mr. Hansen the next time the two are on the University of Notre Dame campus.  They just might learn a thing or two about ND.  You'll enjoy these two well researched and well written stories by Mr. Hansen:

LINK:  ND RESIDENCE LIFE

LINK:  ND ADMISSIONS

Notre Dame's "Fearsome Freshmen" -- WNDU

The sports team at WNDU-TV aired a story last night about the freshmen football players at ND -- namely, Tuitt, Lynch and Williams.  When you add Niklas and Springman into the group -- you have five young men on the defensive side of the ball who stand 6"5" or taller and they each weigh between 250 lbs. and 290 lbs.  Big young men!  Here's a link to the feature:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S FEARSOME FRESHMEN

Photo of the Day -- Irish Stars Get Gold!

Here's a picture of Notre Dame's GOLD MEDAL winners this weekend (from LtoR) - Devereaux Peters, Natalie Novosel and Skylar Diggins.  The three Fighting Irish were members of TEAM USA's gold winning team at the World University Games in China.  Congratulations!

NFL Exhibition Week #2 -- ND Player Update

Took another spin around the web this morning to check in again on a few of our favorite ND football players from the past to see how life is treating them in the NFL after week two of the exhibition season.  You'll note some good performances this week from a few former Irish stars and unfortunately, some serious injuries.

Just click on the player's name below to see the latest news on them:

LINK:  JIMMY CLAUSEN -- CAROLINA PANTHERS

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE -- SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

LINK:  BRADY QUINN -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  BRIAN SMITH -- CLEVELAND BROWNS

LINK:  KERRY NEAL -- INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

LINK:  CHRIS STEWART -- NEW YORK JETS

LINK:  TOMMY ZBIKOWSKI -- BALTIMORE RAVENS

LINK:  RYAN GRANT -- GREEN BAY PACKERS

LINK:  JUSTIN TUCK -- NEW YORK GIANTS

LINK:  SAM YOUNG -- DALLAS COWBOYS

LINK:  KYLE MCCARTHY -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH -- MINNESOTA VIKINGS

LINK:  JOHN CARLSON -- SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

LINK:  DEREK LANDRI -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  CHINEDUM NDUKWE -- FREE AGENT

LINK:  IAN WILLIAMS -- SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

LINK:  TERRAIL LAMBERT -- NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

LINK:  RYAN HARRIS -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  DAVID BRUTON -- DENVER BRONCOS

LINK:  JOHN SULLIVAN -- MINNESOTA VIKINGS

LINK:  VICTOR ABIAMIRI -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  TREVOR LAWS -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

LINK:  MAURICE STOVALL -- DETROIT LIONS

LINK:  ARNAZ BATTLE -- PITTSBURGH STEELERS

LINK:  SERGIO BROWN -- NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

LINK:  ROBERT HUGHES -- CHICAGO BEARS 

LINK:  DARRIN WALLS -- ATLANTA FALCONS

LINK:  ARMANDO ALLEN -- TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 

Think This Story Won't Be Told A Few Times?

With Lou Holtz holding down a spot on ESPN's College Gameday set -- and his son Skip leading his team into Notre Dame Stadium -- the story of their family ties to ND will be told many, many times these next two weeks.  Here's a story from today's St. Petersburg Times:

LINK:  THE HOLTZ FAMILY & NOTRE DAME

Brady Quinn Moves Ahead of Tebow -- YEAH!

ESPN's Adam Schefter just "tweeted" that former Notre Dame All-American Brady Quinn will be the Broncos back-up QB behind Kyle Orton tonight.  Here's an article posted earlier today from the Denver Post that gave some hints to this news!

LINK:  QUINN vs. TEBOW

The Most Expensive Tickets in College Football

CNBC came out again with their feature on the most expensive tickets for the upcoming college football season.  Two of ND's games are among the ten most expensive -- won't be hard to guess which two!  Check the link below:


LINK:  COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S MOST EXPENSIVE TICKETS

Skip Holtz's Team Has New Uniforms

This photo was just "tweeted" by the University of South Florida's athletic department.  It's not quite Oregon - but it's a start...  I wonder what helmet, jersey and pant combination we'll see in Notre Dame Stadium on September 3rd?  I'm betting we'll see what #36 is wearing...

Want to go to Notre Dame? -- Better Study!

When you factor in the ACT test score of every member of Notre Dame's Class of 2015 -- all 2025 of them -- you end up with a 33, which is three short of a perfect 36.  More than half of the Class of 2015 graduated as Valedictorian or Salutatorian from their high school -- think about that!  Here's a story in the Observer that speaks to the talents of this year's freshman class at the University of Notre Dame.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S CLASS OF 2015

"Once and Future Kings" -- ESPN on ND IRISH

ESPN's Brian Bennett filed a story from ND the other day -- that was quite positive -- as they profiled the top independent football teams in the country.  When you click on the link below -- please note the other stories about the Irish -- in the right hand column:

LINK:  ONCE AND FUTURE KINGS

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Ranked #16 in AP Poll

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football team was ranked #16 today in the first AP poll for the 2011 season.  Looking at the AP-Top 25 -- the Irish will play one team ranked higher than them going into the season and that's #7 Stanford.  Beyond the away game with Stanford, the Irish have Michigan State (ranked #17) and USC (ranked #25) in the top 25 -- both games at home.  Here's the link to the AP POLL -- along with a link to how each of the AP voters ranked Notre Dame:

LINK:  AP POLL RANKS ND #16

LINK:  HOW THE AP VOTERS -- RANKED ND

Brady Quinn Photos -- Denver Post

My brother Jay lives in the Denver area -- this morning he sent me a note and a link to a photo gallery in the Denver Post of Brady Quinn's career (Denver / Cleveland / Notre Dame).  

Jay tells me that former Denver Bronco and local sports talk radio host Alfred Williams thinks that Quinn is finally becoming a NFL quarterback and that the Bronco’s have a tough decision to make.  Let's hope for Brady's sake this is true!!! 

I don't think Brady is going to like the photos (more than one) of his "eyes closed" throwing the football -- maybe that's been the problem!!!

LINK:  BRADY QUINN PHOTOS

#1 Ranked Irish Win Season Opener!

The defending National Champions opened up their 2011 - 2012 season with a 2-0 win over Wisconsin yesterday!  Here's a link to the UND.COM story:

LINK:  TOP RANKED IRISH -- WIN SEASON OPENER

Jimmy Clausen vs. Cam Newton -- Update

The Carolina Panthers played the Miami Dolphins last night in an NFL exhibition football game -- and the Panthers #1 pick Cam Newton got the starting nod.  Now, if you watched the ESPN highlight package on Sports Center you would have thought Newton had one of the best games ever in a first start (albeit an exhibition game) for a rookie starter.

Well, here are the facts about Mr. Newton's start:

• 7 for 14 passing for 66 yards
• 1 completion to a wide receiver a 2 yard gain
• Longest completion -- 21 yards
• Ran 4 times for 18 yards
• Led the Panther first-team offense to 90 total yards, in his first half of play
• In Newton's two exhibition games to date -- he's yet to convert a third-down

Unfortunately, Mr. Clausen didn't do any better:

• 9 for 15 passes for 69 yards
• Longest completion -- 21 yards
• Carolina's 10 points, came when Clausen was in the game

LINK:  CHARLOTTE OBSERVER 

LINK:  ESPN NFL NATION BLOG

LINK:  USA TODAY

LINK:  MIAMI HERALD

LINK:  SUN SENTINEL

Still No Word on ND's QB Starter for Game #1

It's becoming quite obvious that Coach Kelly is in no hurry to name his starting QB for his 2011 Fighting Irish.  A few days ago I would have bet the farm that Dayne Crist would get the starting nod -- now, I'm not so sure.  Here's a link to UND.COM's feature today on the QB position:


LINK:  WHO WILL START AT QB?