PHOTO OF THE DAY -- Golden Tate's Catch

Former Notre Dame All-American, Golden Tate, is doing his thing now for the Seattle Seahawks. Here's a picture, from a recent practice, where Tate makes one of his patented "one handed" grabs. Just watch, he's going to have a big year for the Seahawks.

Notre Dame Ranked 33rd in Forbes List

Forbes Magazine came out this morning with its third annual ranking of the Best Colleges in America. They say it's a ranking "from the student's perspective." Well -- I'm going to challenge their ranking of the University of Notre Dame! I WANT A RECOUNT! Forbes ranks Notre Dame as the 33rd best out of 610 colleges in the U.S. Here's a link to the article and the list of the rankings of all 610 schools:

FORBES: BEST COLLEGES IN AMERICA

Lou Holtz -- "Talkin" Notre Dame Football

Former Notre Dame coaching great, Lou Holtz, granted an interview with the South Bend Tribune this week to talk about a subject he's very fond of: Notre Dame Football. Coach is as bullish as ever about the Irish -- and his ESPN on screen partner; Mark May -- is giving the Domers some love as well. I wonder how long that will last! Anyway, Lou believes Notre Dame will be favored in every game they play this year! It's a wonderful article, touching on a number of subjects -- click on the link below:

LOU'S LOVIN' THE IRISH

Reminder: Clausen Plays Tonight on ESPN

It's his NFL debut! The Carolina Panthers have traveled to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in their first pre-season game. The Panthers' 'beatwriters' are predicting that Clausen will be the "SECOND" QB in the game -- meaning he'll probably hit the field "late in the first quarter" or at the start of the second quarter. The game starts at 8 PM EST on ESPN. Be sure to tune in -- and, don't forget he now wears #2!


GAME PREVIEW: PANTHERS vs. RAVENS

Desert to Dome -- They're in Missouri!

The University of Notre Dame's Dean of the College of Science, Greg Crawford and his wife Renate, are less than 700 miles from Notre Dame! The 2,200 mile bike ride from the "desert" (Tucson, AZ) to the "dome" (Notre Dame, IN) is now in Missouri -- and only 12 days from their scheduled arrival to Notre Dame! Here's a link to their daily blog post:

DESERT TO DOME -- IN MISSOURI!

Clausen Makes NFL Debut Tomorrow!

ESPN is currently running a promotion of its first "Thursday Night NFL Game" and it stars former ND QB, Jimmy Clausen. The "tune in" promo is selling "Jimmy Clausen's first NFL game." I guess ESPN forgot that Notre Dame is still irrelevant and Clausen is the Panthers third string QB. Anyway, you can see Clausen throw his first NFL touchdown pass tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST on ESPN. The Carolina Panthers are traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Here's a link to a story about Clausen's first game and a second story on how he's fitting in with the team:

CLAUSEN'S NFL DEBUT

STORY TODAY IN THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

Nicholas Sparks -- ND Class of 1988

He's the mega-selling author of The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and Message in a Bottle. Earlier this year, his book The Last Song was turned into a movie that starred Myley Cyrus (seen here in the photo with Sparks) for which Sparks agreed to be a screenwriter as well. Seeing his books turned into movies, is nothing new for Sparks. To date, six of his novels (including The Last Song) have been adapted for the big screen; Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle. Yet, it's his track career that gets equal billing when he talks about his life. Sparks received a full scholarship to the University of Notre Dame to run track. In fact, he's still on the Notre Dame Record Board for a relay he was part of at the Drake Relays. And, it was a track injury -- that provided him with the time to write his first novel when he was a sophomore at Notre Dame. Here's a link to an interview Sparks gave at a Notre Dame track meet this past March -- a link to a USA Today interview he gave with the release of the movie; The Last Song and finally a link to his official website:

SPARKS RETURNS TO NOTRE DAME

THE LAST SONG INTERVIEW -- USA TODAY

NICHOLAS SPARKS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Harangody Signs NBA Contract with Celtics!

Former Notre Dame All American, Luke Harangody impressed the Boston Celtics enough to earn an NBA contract today! It's a two-year deal that is GUARANTEED! Luke was named to the 1st Team All NBA Summer League with his 16.8 pts. per game and 50% shooting from the floor. One of the first things Harangody must do is introduce himself to Shaquille O'Neal -- who didn't know who Harangody was when the Celtics announced his signing in the middle of Shaq's introductory press conference. The other thing he'll have to do is teach the Boston sportswriters how to spell his last name -- see the story below:

HARANGODY SIGNS TWO YEAR DEAL WITH CELTICS

Great Gains in Strength & Conditioning

Can you imagine nine months ago weighing 350 lbs. and being able to do 4 pull-ups -- and six months later you weigh 12 LBS MORE. and can now do 23 pull-ups! That's Notre Dame's Chris Stewart's story. Every single player on the Notre Dame Football team that went through winter and summer conditioning with Paul Longo (pictured) -- Notre Dame Football's Strength & Conditioning Coordinator -- lowered their body fat index, yet gained weight. Every single player improved their bench press and their vertical leap. In fact -- eight months ago, only 1 Notre Dame Football player could bench press 400 lbs. or squat 600 lbs. Now 9 can! Here's a link to a video of the workouts that began this past January with Coach Longo and his staff:

GETTING STRONGER AND FASTER

"The Right Man at the Right Time"

Found this article this morning written about Brian Kelly and how Notre Dame got it right -- hiring him as our football coach. Thought you'd enjoy this read:

NOTRE DAME GOT IT RIGHT THIS TIME

Ever Wanted to Live at Notre Dame?

Here's your chance. If you haven't been to campus in the past 12 months or so -- you're in for a big surprise. Eddy Street Commons, a real-estate development located immediately south of campus, is filling up with owners, tenants, businesses and PEOPLE. This photo is of the Champions Way City Homes which face the Notre Dame campus off of Angela Boulevard. 22 of these homes, priced at $400,000 or so -- have already been sold. Here's a story in the South Bend Tribune which updates the progress of this community -- along with a link to the development's website:

EDDY STREET COMMONS UPDATE

EDDY STREET COMMONS WEBSITE

Notre Dame's ACE -- Rolls Into Richmond

The University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) is sending four of its "teachers" into the Richmond (VA) Diocese this month. In its 16th year of serving Catholic education in America, ACE will place 180 young teachers, who are completing their masters of education degrees at Notre Dame, into Catholic dioceses across the nation. These teachers come from some 50 undergraduate schools, including Notre Dame, and commit to two years of service at primarily city and rural Catholic elementary and high schools. In addition, ACE has 48 students enrolled in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, a master’s degree program that prepares aspiring leaders to be principals and superintendents for Catholic schools. The "brain-child" of Co-Founders; Fr. Tim Scully, C.S.C. and Fr. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., ACE is a great example of Notre Dame "giving back" to the Catholic Church in America. Here's a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about ACE coming to town. There's a second link to the ACE website -- if you'd like to learn more about this wonderful program:

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FROM NOTRE DAME

NOTRE DAME'S ACE WEBSITE

Trevor Laws -- Impressive Early

NFL life hasn't been easy for former Notre Dame star, Trevor Laws. Trevor is in his third training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles after being drafted by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Here's a nice story yesterday, about the favorable impression Laws is making early in camp - after "working his butt off" in the off season with the Eagles training staff:

TREVOR LAWS WILL HE BE AN EAGLE?

In Case You Missed It!

Here's a link to all of the press conferences (VIDEO) held yesterday at Notre Dame, "kicking-off" the 2010 Football Season. Enjoy!

2010 FALL CAMP KICK-OFF

Tim Brown Joins ESPN "3D" Network

Former Notre Dame All American and Heisman Trophy winner -- Tim Brown has joined ESPN. Brown will become an analyst for ESPN's "3D" telecasts of 13 football games this season, including the BCS Championship Game. ESPN launched a 3D Network in June -- with coverage of the June 11th World Cup Match between South Africa and Mexico. This network has been in the works for two years now, with the first football game "test" broadcast in 3D being the USC vs. Ohio State game this past season. ESPN has plans to broadcast 85 live sporting events in the next twelve months in 3D. So you'll want to check to see if your TV is 3D ready -- only 4% of the new TV's purchased in America in the past twelve months have this option. If it is, you'll need to buy some 3D glasses (they cost more than $100) and you'll need a 3D ready "top box" -- see link below for how to sign up for this network. If you don't have a 3D TV, ESPN has plans to broadcast some of these games in 3D movie theaters across the country. No word yet, if Notre Dame will be one of the team's on ESPN's schedule this year for 3D -- though I wouldn't be surprised if the USC game ends up in 3D. Brown's first game for ESPN's 3D network will be the September 6th matchup between Boise State and Virginia Tech.

ARE YOU 3D READY?

Wear the Lapel Pin Coach Kelly Wears!

Whenever you see Coach Kelly wearing a sport coat or suit coat -- you'll see him wearing his "official kelly green" Notre Dame lapel pin, made just for him. Now, you can get one too! All you have to do is make a $10, $15, $20 or more donation to the Coach Kelly Challenge. I did just that for several family members -- it's a great Notre Dame gift! Here's a link to how you can get this pin and join Coach Kelly in this challenge:

COACH KELLY CHALLENGE -- OFFICIAL LAPEL PIN

Replay of Coach Kelly on Weekday SportsBeat

In case you missed it, here's the replay of Coach Brian Kelly's interview last night with the boys from the WSBT 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat radio show. One of the callers "Kevin from Holland" asking a question of Coach Kelly, is a regular visitor to the NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG. Just click on the link:

COACH KELLY INTERVIEW

Notre Dame Football Starts Today!

If you're like me -- and I bet you are -- you can't wait for September 4th to get here. But, first things first -- our team needs to practice -- make that, go through MEDIA DAY. Today's annual Notre Dame Football Media Day begins at 11:30 AM EST with LIVE COVERAGE on www.und.com. Be sure to check in on all of the interviews. Here's the link below:

MEDIA DAY LIVE COVERAGE -- 11:30 AM EST -- TODAY!

Coach Kelly's Comments Today...

Coach Kelly just finished with the boys at Weekday SportsBeat - here's a few of his comments: "Every single player is healthy and ready to go tomorrow." "We've gone from 1 player to 9 players who can now benchpress 400 lbs." "We've gone from 1 player who could squat 600 lbs. to 9 players." "We showed a highlight video to our team prior to the Spring Game and I was surprised that a few of our players didn't know who Jerome Bettis was." "We're close to the limit of the number of scholarships we have left..." "We'll be announcing a few more exciting opponents in the next few weeks (when asked about the Texas announcement).

Irish Legends Tee It Up!

Ara Parseghian, Lou Hotlz, Johhny Lattner and Johhny Lujack were in Bridgman, MI for the Irish Legends golf event this week. Thanks to Kevin Sweeney for sending this to me! Here's the link:

IRISH LEGENDS GOLF EVENT