Touchdown Jesus?

I'm willing to wager that nine out of every ten Notre Dame fans do not know the actual name of the mural on the Hesburgh Library that faces Notre Dame Stadium (see photo). And, no -- it's not Touchdown Jesus! It's name: The Word of Life. The Word of Life mural is 134 feet high and 68 feet wide and adorns the south side of the Hesburgh Library. The artist who created "Touchdown Jesus" is Millard Sheets and his piece of art required 5,700 pieces of granite, from sixteen foreign countries, to make up all of the colors in the mural. Here's a wonderful video that gives you the history of "Touchdown Jesus." Just click on link:

TOUCHDOWN JESUS

Five "Talking Points" for Notre Dame Fans

With the 2010 college football "campaign" just days a way -- I thought it would be wise to provide my fellow Notre Dame fans with some "talking points" should the topic of college football come up in the coming weeks. It's all about "being prepared" to take on all comers -- and I believe this should do just that:

1. Notre Dame has been named National Champions in football TWENTY-ONE TIMES. Notre Dame (are you listening Alabama!) only takes credit for National Championships awarded by the AP -- which has happened 11 times. The ten other National Championships were awarded by services other than the Associated Press. And, that happened in; 1919, 1920, 1927. 1938, 1953, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1989 and 1993.

2. Notre Dame is the only NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team (out of 120 teams) to open up its season with its first six games against BCS teams. We're one of only three NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams who've never played what's now called a NCAA Football Championship Subdivision team (formerly a Division I-AA school) So, when you here how "tough" a schedule someone else has -- throw this one out there -- and remind the Michigan fans of Appalachian State!

3. Notre Dame has lost the fewest games in the history of college football amongst teams who've played more than 700 games. Tell this to your buddies at Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, Florida, USC, etc.

4. Notre Dame has produced more All-Americans (99), consensus All-Americans (80) and unanimous All-Americans (31) in football than any other college program. Enough said..

5. And, Notre Dame remains the #1 producer of players to play in the National Football League. As of 2010; 468 Notre Dame players have been drafted into the NFL.

WNDU's Coverage of "Desert to Dome"

Here's WNDU-TV's coverage of the Crawford's returning to Notre Dame. Thought you'd enjoy seeing this story and hearing Coach Parseghian speak to the crowd:

DESERT TO DOME -- WELCOME "DOME"

ND's Leprechaun One of the "Coolest Mascots"

Now, I have to admit I'm not a follower of the Huffington Post. Yet, when I see a headline in my daily clips; "12 Coolest Mascots In College Football" -- I had to look and see where our Leprechaun ranked. Well, we weren't the coolest of the bunch -- but, we were in the conversation! Here's a link to the rankings of the Coolest College Mascots:

COOLEST MASCOTS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

PHOTO #2 OF THE DAY: Welcome "Dome!"

Here's a photo of the crowd that gathered today at the steps of Notre Dame's Main Building -- the "Golden Dome" -- to welcome home Greg and Renate Crawford. Here's a link to the story:

CRAWFORD'S RETURN TO NOTRE DAME

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Crawford's are "DOME"

Here's a photo taken in the last couple of hours in front of Notre Dame's Main Building -- with the "stars" of the day; Greg and Renate Crawford. Greg Crawford, Dean of Notre Dame's College of Science and his wife Renate, just completed a 2,300 mile bike ride -- "Desert to Dome" -- from the steps of the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation (Tucson, AZ) to the steps of the Golden Dome. (In the photo LtoR: Father Ted, Ara Parseghian, Renate Crawford, Father Jenkins, Greg Crawford, Cindy Parseghian and Jean Gorman) Congratulations!

DEAN CRAWFORD'S BLOG

Lookin' for Notre Dame Videos?

The NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG has an "official" YOUTUBE Channel. At present, 27 videos are posted on this channel - so, if you need a "Notre Dame Fix" today -- just click on the link below and enjoy! And, if you have a favorite Notre Dame video you believe I should add to the Channel, please let me know via a comment or email. Thanks!


ND GO IRISH BLOG -- YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Desert to Dome: DOME TODAY!

The 2,000+ mile journey from Tucson, AZ to Notre Dame, IN ends today at noon for University of Notre Dame's Dean of the College of Science, Greg Crawford and his wife Renate. They left Tucson July 24th on their bikes -- with the hopes of "bringing home" the relationship with the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation to Notre Dame -- and raising the awareness of the research being conducted to find a cure for Neimann-Pick Type C, a disease that took the lives of three of Coach Parseghian's grandkids. Well, they're just hours away from doing just that! If you're on campus today -- please join the Notre Dame Family in welcoming back the Crawford's! They're scheduled to be pedaling up Notre Dame Avenue at noon today -- and there's a welcoming reception planned at the Main Circle.

DESERT TO DOME: "DOME SWEET DOME"

Notre Dame's "One of a Kind"

No, he doesn't play the harp! University of Notre Dame's starting left guard, Chris Stewart -- all 6'-5" 351 lbs. of him -- is the only NCAA FOOTBALL BOWL SUBDIVISION player enrolled in Law School this fall. Stewart, who graduated this past Spring with honors from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business -- starts classes this morning in Notre Dame's Law School. Here's a story written by Irish Sports Daily's Chris McCollum where Stewart lays out his plan for success in the classroom and on the football field this fall:

HE'S THE ONLY ONE DOING IT IN AMERICA

Notre Dame: Kids Need Sleep!

Did you ever think that lack of sleep might keep your kids or grandkids from attending Notre Dame? It just might. University of Notre Dame Psychologist, Jessica Payne has been studying the lack of sleep's effect on memory and creativity -- and she has found that: “Sleeping allows you to take what you’ve learned, especially new things you’ve learned, and recombine those bits and pieces of information into novel ways that allow you to have creative insights, make inferences, and extrapolate across large amounts of information and extract the gist, “ So, what's enough sleep for your kids? Here you go: Though every child is different, in general, it’s recommended that young children (1 to 3 years) should sleep 12 to 14 hours; children (3 to 5 years) should get 11 to 13 hours; while school-aged children (first through fifth grades) should be sleeping 10 to 11 hours. Jessica also consults with businesses about how lack of sleep can impact making sound business decisions. I wonder if my seven hours last night was enough? Here's a link to video the University of Notre Dame just released on this very subject:

GET YOUR KIDS TO SLEEP!

Desert to Dome: DOME @ NOON TOMORROW!

University of Notre Dame's Dean of the College of Science, Greg Crawford and his wife Renate, will complete their "Desert to Dome" 2,000+ mile bike ride from Tucson, AZ to Notre Dame, TOMORROW at NOON -- Monday, August 23rd! The pair will pedal onto Notre Dame Avenue at NOON tomorrow. If you're in the area -- please join Coach Kelly, and what should be a large crowd, at the Main Circle and WELCOME THEM "DOME!"

DESERT TO DOME -- DOME TOMORROW!

A Football Weekend at Notre Dame: $10 Million!

A Notre Dame Football Weekend -- generates $10 million in "incremental spending" in the South Bend community -- says a Forbes magazine report. Not to put any more pressure on Coach Kelly, but it's fact; the more the Irish win -- the more our fans will spend! Here's a link to a story on the "buzz" around town concerning the start of the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame:

"THE BUZZ IS HUGE"

Irish NFL Roundup

Here's a collection of stories written recently on the performances of a few of the more than 40 former Notre Dame football players currently on NFL rosters. Just click on the player's name and you'll be directed to a news story on how they're doing in their respective team's pre-season training camps -- along with a few photos of Eric Olsen's "Rookie Haircut" with the Denver Broncos:

JIMMY CLAUSEN - CAROLINA PANTHERS

BRADY QUINN - DENVER BRONCOS

GOLDEN TATE - SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

JOHN CARLSON / JULIUS JONES / GOLDEN TATE - SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

JUSTIN TUCK - NEW YORK GIANTS

ANTHONY FASANO - MIAMI DOLPHINS

CHINENDUM NDUKWE - CINCINNATI BENGALS

JOHN SULLIVAN - MINNESOTA VIKINGS

RYAN GRANT -- GREEN BAY PACKERS

ROCKY BOIMAN - TENNESSEE TITANS

ARNAZ BATTLE - PITTSBURCH STEELERS

TOM ZBIKOWSKI - BALTIMORE RAVENS

SAM YOUNG - DALLAS COWBOYS

ERIC OLSEN - DENVER BRONCOS

VICTOR ABIAMIRI -- PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

MAURICE STOVALL - TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Did You Know?

That the University of Notre Dame is home to the largest Catholic university publisher in the world? Notre Dame Press has 1,000 books in print and publishes some 50 to 60 new titles annually. It publishes in areas that complement the University’s graduate programs, centers and institutes, with current projects focusing on theology, medieval studies, philosophy, peace studies, modern poetry, Latin American studies, history, and Irish and Irish American studies. Notre Dame faculty contribute their expertise as reviewers and series editors on numerous books published by the press. Established in 1949, Notre Dame Press is located on the University of Notre Dame campus. Here's a link to the Notre Dame Press website:

NOTRE DAME PRESS

More Irish Player Interviews from ISD!

Mike Frank's Irish Sports Daily has made available a few more player interviews to "non-subscribers" of their site. I have been a subscriber for a couple of years to Mike's site -- and would recommend it to any Notre Dame fan. Here's links to interviews with Louis Nix #67, the 350 lb. freshman out of Miami and Kapron Lewis-Moore #89, a starting defensive end for the Irish. Plus, a link to Mike Frank's Irish Sports Daily site if you'd like to subscribe:

LOUIS NIX

KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE

IRISH SPORTS DAILY

Mike Lee -- Second Pro Fight on 9/11

University of Notre Dame's Class of 2009 -- Mike Lee, was back on campus this week after spending a day in Chicago promoting his upcoming fight on HBO on September 11th. Lee is seen in this photo giving Lou Nanni, Vice President of University Relations at Notre Dame a pair of his "Notre Dame Gold" boxing gloves. Mike was a "three time" Bengal Bouts Champion while a student at Notre Dame. He's currently training in Houston for his second professional fight -- which is the undercard for the World Featherweight Bout between Gamboa and Salido at the Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The article linked below recaps Mike's day in Chicago, meeting with Mayor Daley, photos of his time at Notre Dame, etc.,:

MIKE LEE RETURNS HOME!

A New Service for ND GO IRISH BLOG Fans!

In just the past 24 hours I've received multiple requests from Notre Dame fans to launch a forum where you can let Irish fans know you're seeking tickets to a Notre Dame football game -- and conversely, find Notre Dame fans to sell any extra football tickets to. So, when you get a chance, find the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- TICKET BOARD link on the right side of the home page -- and click on the link. It will direct you to the ND GO IRISH BLOG TICKET BOARD. All I ask is that you use this forum for what it's intended for. Enjoy! Here's another link below to the ND GO IRISH BLOG TICKET BOARD:

ND GO IRISH BLOG -- TICKET BOARD

March Out -- 120th Football Season!

I find it one of the "coolest things to see and hear" at Notre Dame - and that's the first "March Out" of the season from The Band of the Fighting Irish! Yesterday morning -- at 9:30 AM -- more than 500 students marched through campus as part of the annual "tryouts" to make the University of Notre Dame's marching band. The sound that reverberates through campus - gives you goosebumps! Approximately 400 band members, plus the 10 members of the Irish Guard will have the honor of joining America's first college marching band -- The Band of the Fighting Irish -- as they celebrate their 165th year! A big thank you to the guys at GameDay ND -- for videotaping the band's march through campus to their practice field. Here's a link:

FIRST MARCH OUT -- AUGUST 19th 2010

The Painting of the Notre Dame Helmets

It's one of the best traditions in college sports, the painting of the University of Notre Dame football helmets. Every Monday night during the football season, you'll find a group of approximately 80 Notre Dame students inside Notre Dame Stadium, restoring the legendary gold helmets of the Fighting Irish -- it's quite a process! Annually voted the greatest helmet in college football -- just ask Urban Meyer, Florida's Head Coach, who admitted two seasons ago on national television that Notre Dame had the best helmets in college football -- the Notre Dame helmet carries actual 23.9-karat gold flakes from the Golden Dome that sits atop the University's Main Building. Ten times in the last 131 years, Notre Dame has removed and replaced the gold leaf on the Dome -- it's called "regilding." And, when they do -- they capture the gold they remove -- and it's mixed in with the paint used on the helmets. Please note: if you're looking at the pictures of football practice, these last few weeks, and the helmets don't look "Notre Dame Gold" -- they won't. Notre Dame only paints the "game day" helmets of each player. The Irish now have a helmet for practice and a helmet for games. That's why they now paint the helmets on Monday night, instead of the traditional Friday nights from previous seasons (remember the movie Rudy). I have to admit, I liked the painting of the helmets on Friday night, I thought it was a wonderful "primer" for Football Weekend at Notre Dame -- oh well! The link to the video below will tell you this story -- and you'll see the actual gold flakes from the Dome. When you do go to this link, you'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the video. Enjoy!

REGILDING THE GOLD HELMETS OF NOTRE DAME

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Ara & the IRISH

Fomer Notre Dame Head Football Coach Ara Parseghian (now 87 years-young), was at practice today and spoke with the team. Parseghian one of the all-time greats, won two National Championships with the Irish and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Irish Illustrated. To subscribe to Irish Illustrated, click on the link below:

IRISH ILLUSTRATED