Coach Brian Kelly to Visit a Few ND Clubs

The Notre Dame Alumni Association announced that Brian Kelly would be attending a number of ND Alumni Association Events over the next six weeks. If you're a ND Fan in one of these areas, but not a ND Alum - please contact the respective Notre Dame Alumni Clubs about attending -- they're usually quite accommodating. Here's the schedule:
-April 26th: ND Club of Cleveland - Luncheon
-May 11th: ND Club of St. Louis - Dinner
-May 18th: ND Club of Cedar Rapids/Iowa City - Luncheon
-May 18th: ND Club of Denver - Dinner
-May 19th: ND Club of Fresno(Central CA) - Luncheon
-May 23rd: ND Club of Jersey Shore - Dinner
-May 24th: ND Club of Staten Island - Luncheon
-May 24th: ND Club of Mid-Hudson Valley - Dinner

Clausen Attends "Gruden's QB Camp"

Folks, if you have three minutes, this is worth the look. Jimmy Clausen was one of four QB's that ESPN set up with Jon Gruden to spend a day with him and talk about playing the QB position in the NFL. Gruden, now an Analyst on Monday Night Football, led the Tampa Bay Buccanneers to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. A huge fan of Notre Dame, Gruden was generally regarded as one the top developers of QB's in the NFL. Jim, his Dad, was on Dan Devine's coaching staff at ND when Jon was student at South Bend's Clay High School. The other QB's Gruden met with were; Tebow, McCoy and Bradford. Here's a link to the video -- watch it!

CLAUSEN AT GRUDEN'S QB CAMP

ND Valedictorian deftly handles MSNBC "hack"

I'm very proud today of Katie Washington, Notre Dame's Class of 2010 Valedictorian. Katie, who just happens to be the first African American Valedictorian at Notre Dame -- is a 'WORLD CLASS' representative of her family and our Lady's University. Yesterday, MSNBC interviewed Katie in front of the Golden Dome -- and after about 30 seconds of "you must be excited..." -- they go for the "lack of minorities question" at Notre Dame. It was very obvious that MSNBC was looking to create a "news story" out of Katie's moment. As you'll see in the video (link below), Katie didn't take the bait. Shame on MSNBC and that reporter. Unfortunately, our media has turned to the news creation business, not the news reporting business. Katie, that MSNBC reporter could learn a thing or two from you!

MSNBC INTERVIEW OF ND VALEDICTORIAN

Knute Rockne -- Greatest Motivator of All Time

His name is often used to describe the quality of a locker room pre-game speech - a "Knute Rockne Speech." Here's one of Rockne's famous pre-game speeches from the Notre Dame Archives. Click on link to video:

KNUTE ROCKNE AT HIS BEST

Judge Napolitano -- Notre Dame Law Grad

If you watch the Fox News Channel -- you'll often see "Judge" Andrew Napolitano, who just happens to be a graduate of Notre Dame's Law School and a best selling author. He's written five books with the most recent being "Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power and Deception in American History." Besides his TV gig with Fox, you can also hear Judge Napolitano on Fox News Radio with his daily radio show "Brian and the Judge."

JUDGE NAPOLITANO'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The Shirt -- Unveiling on April 23rd!

In 1990 it began as a simple fund raising project for a ND student in need. Since then it's become the #1 selling item in any college bookstore in America. Typical sale totals will run upwards of 135,000 to as many as 150,000 t-shirts sold. It's color is the subject of chat room and message board debate -- and it's only at Notre Dame. The Shirt 2010 Project will be unveiled on Friday, April 23rd in front of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore. Coach Brian Kelly will be the featured speaker along with Mike Golic, Sr. -- from ESPN's "Mike & Mike" show. The fun begins at 4:00 PM with the unveiling set for 5:45 PM. Here's a link to the official website of THE SHIRT along with history and a link to pre-order a shirt or two:

THE SHIRT 2010 PROJECT

HISTORY OF THE SHIRT

PRE ORDERING OF THE SHIRT 2010

CommUniversity Day

Yesterday the University of Notre Dame gave back to the South Bend community in their second annual "CommUniversity Day" -- as more than 700 Notre Dame students volunteered to work on 40 projects throughout the city. There were also activities on the Notre Dame campus for the community. See the South Bend Tribune story:

COMMUNIVERSITY DAY

Katie Washington, Notre Dame's Valedictorian

Katie, a senior from Gary, IN was selected as Notre Dame's Class of 2010 Valedictorian. In 161 years of graduating students, Washington is the first African American to receive this honor at Notre Dame. A 4.0 GPA in Biology, Washington will pursue a M.D./Ph. D degree from John Hopkins University. Congratulations Katie! Here's a link to the story:

CLASS OF 2010 VALEDICTORIAN

Clausen's on ESPN the Magazine Cover

The cover says he throws the "perfect spiral." I'm sure he, his family and his agent hopes he throws well tomorrow morning at his NFL Pro Day. Here's a link to an interview on ESPN.com with Clausen -- and what he does to throw the perfect spiral -- click on the link below.


ESPN INTERVIEW OF CLAUSEN

Watch Jimmy Clausen's Pro Day at ND Tomorrow -- Live on the Web

Former Notre Dame QB, Jimmy Clausen, will have his "Pro Day" workout for NFL teams tomorrow morning at the University of Notre Dame. Representatives of every NFL team are expected to be on campus tomorrow to see Clausen throw for the first time since his off season foot surgery. Jimmy will be throwing to a few of his former teammates; Golden Tate, Robby Parris, James Aldridge and David Grimes. If you'd like to watch it LIVE -- you can at www.und.com. Here's a link to where you can watch his workout -- it begins at 11:30 AM, Friday April 9th. Good Luck Jimmy!

LIVE COVERAGE OF CLAUSEN'S NFL PRO DAY

ND Grad and "Mascot" Artist

His work received some publicity today when ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach wrote about Brian Kelly's purchase of a print entitled "Original Fighting Irish." The artist is none other than ND Alum; Revere La Noue. Revere was a former ND Lacrosse player and a large piece from his "Original Fighting Irish Print Series" is hanging in Arlotta Stadium (the new home of the ND Lacrosse program) at Notre Dame. La Noue's latest work is a series devoted to the unknown history of the college mascot. Here's a link to his website:

THE MASCOT GALLERY

Original Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly -- has this painting hanging in his office. The print is entitled "Original Fighting Irish" and it's the work of former ND Lacrosse player; Revere La Noue -- an award winning artist. ESPN.com reporter, Mark Schlabach penned this article today on the changes Coach Kelly is making to the "habits" of Notre Dame football -- click on the link below. You can also click on the link to a YouTube video that shows the actual steps involved in the painting of the Original Fighting Irish.

CHANGING NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

THE MAKING OF ORIGINAL FIGHTING IRISH

Top Florida OT commits to Notre Dame

Jordan Prestwood, a 6'-6" 270 lb. student athlete out of Plant City, FL held a press conference Monday afternoon, at his high school, to announce his commitment to the University of Notre Dame. Prestwood, chose the Irish over schools such as; Florida, USC, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, etc. He played TE for the majority of his junior season -- leading many schools to recruit him at that position. The Irish have other plans for Jordan -- and he's in agreement that his best position will be at the offensive tackle position in college. Prestwood is the second commitment from the Class of 2011 -- as high school athletes continue to commit earlier and earlier. Here's some info on Jordan:

RECRUITING PROFILE ON JORDAN PRESTWOOD

The Economic Impact of your Birthday

Notre Dame Professors Dan Hungerman and Kasey Buckles have been studying the economic impact of when you were born -- and have determined that if you are born in the winter months you are going to have lower wages and less education than most. Pretty controversial -- watch it for yourself:

WILL YOUR BIRTHDAY IMPACT YOUR EARNING POWER?

What are they doing now? -- Adrian Dantley

Former Notre Dame All-American, Adrian Dantley is currently the interim head coach of the Denver Nuggets -- while head coach George Karl deals with his cancer treatments. Dantley has been an assistant for the Nuggets for the past four seasons. The Nuggets are 9 - 7 since Karl had to leave the bench to deal with his neck and throat cancer.

Irish Recruit Matt James Dies From Fall

Matt James, a senior at St. Xavier High School, died yesterday from a fall from a hotel balcony in Panama City, Fl. James, a high school All American offensive tackle, was one of the top rated recruits in Brian Kelly's first recruiting class at Notre Dame. A memorial prayer service is about to begin at Xavier High School in Cincinnati. Our prayers go out to the James family.

Barlow Finishes Second in Three-Point Contest

Notre Dame senior, Ashley Barlow, competed last night in the State Farm Three-Point contest in Indianapolis -- finishing in second place to University of Detroit's Bridig Mulroy. Mulroy was the NCAA leader this season in three pointers made, with a .515 shooting percentage. Barlow scored 19 points in the first round to Mulroy's 20 -- and in the Finals, Barlow went first and struggled, scoring only 11 points. Mulroy surpassed Barlow with one rack of balls to go.

LINK TO SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

No ND Football Players in Bookstore Basketball

Coach Kelly announced yesterday that his football players would not be playing Bookstore Basketball this year -- meaning the defending champions "Hallelujah Holla Back" (Dayne Crist and Jonas Gray) will not be able to "re-peat." Kelly made it very clear that his players need to concentrate on football this spring. Probably a good idea! Coach Kelly said he would revisit this subject again next year. Games start this Saturday.

Notre Dame's Barlow at Final Four in Indy

Irish Senior, Ashley Barlow will be competing this evening at the 22nd Annual State Farm Slam Dunk and Three Point Championships at the site of this weekend's Final Four -- in her hometown of Indianapolis. Ashley, won't be dunking -- but, she will be competing in the three-point competition against seven of the top shooters in the country. The competition is taking place inside the Indiana Convention Center (adjacent to Lucas Oil Stadium - where the Final Four will be played) at 7 PM EST. ESPN will be televising the event on a "tape-delayed" basis at 9 PM EST tonight. Good Luck Ashley!

79th Anniversary of Knute Rockne's Death

A plane carrying Notre Dame Head Football Coach Knute Rockne - crashed on this date, 79 years ago. Ironically, Rockne was on his way to participate in the filming of a movie called "The Spirit of Notre Dame" -- which just happens to be the name of Notre Dame's current development campaign. The plane crashed in a wheat field near the town of Bazaar, Kansas -- killing all eight people on board.