A Historic "First" for Notre Dame Stadium

For the first time in the 123-year history or Notre Dame Football -- the Fighting Irish took the field for pre-game via the Notre Dame student section. Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly's Irish entered historic Notre Dame Stadium via Section 31 at approximately 2:40 PM EST. Here's a photo of Irish QB, Dayne Crist entering the Stadium and a link to a video of what it looked like from Section 14 as Notre Dame Football started a new tradition. Here's the link:

LINK: A NEW TRADITION FOR ND FOOTBALL

Video of Coach Kelly's "First" Walk to Stadium

Shot this video yesterday afternoon of Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly and his Fighting Irish football team on their walk from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to Notre Dame Stadium. One of the great traditions in college football. You have to wonder what Coach Kelly is thinking while experiencing this for the very first time as the Head Coach of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Here's a link to the video:

LINK: THE VERY FIRST TIME

The Four Horsemen -- Ride Again @ ND!

Ran into these four "well dressed" Fighting Irish fans yesterday -- outside Notre Dame Stadium. Unfortunately, I didn't take their picture "Outlined against a blue-gray October sky..." I wonder where they left their horses during the game?

It's NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL -- Today!

Folks, I'm about five minutes away from leaving Motown on my way to Notre Dame and our seats in Section 14. For those of you sitting at home today - here's a few things you might want to do:


1. At 9 AM EST -- click on this link and listen to WSBT 960 AM's Notre Dame Football Show

2. At 11 AM EST -- click on this link and watch Notre Dame Stadium fill up and watch the Irish come out of the Student Section on to the field for pre-game warmups

3. At 2:30 PM EST -- click on this link and watch NBC's online pre-game show

4. And, at 3:41 PM EST -- watch the Brian Kelly Era begin on NBC or online

Go IRISH!!!

15,000 in South Quad for Pep Rally!

Have been following the "tweets" from those in attendance. One "tweeter" had the crowd at 15,000 for the Pep Rally. This photo was "tweeted" forty-five minutes before the Pep Rally started. Coach Kelly announced a brand new tradition for Notre Dame Football -- tomorrow, before warm-ups, the Fighting Irish will enter Notre Dame Stadium from the Students Section onto the field. Keep an eye out for www.und.com -- I would suspect in the next 30 minutes they will post the video from the Pep Rally. Go Irish!

The Most Expensive Ticket in College Football!

I promise you, you will never guess which college football game this season is the "most expensive" in college football! Tickets to this game are going for $583 per seat. It's the Notre Dame vs. Army game at Yankee Stadium in November! CNBC did a story on the ten most expensive tickets to get -- and here's their ranking -- followed by a link to the story:


THE TEN MOST EXPENSIVE TICKETS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL
#10: Miami (FL) @ Ohio State: $374 per ticket
#9: Penn State @ Ohio State: $375 per ticket
#8: Alabama @ LSU: $401 per ticket
#7: Florida @ Alabama: $440 per ticket
#6: Florida @ Georgia: $460 per ticket
#5: Auburn @ Alabama: $471 per ticket
#4: Oklahoma @ Texas: $482 per ticket
#3: Michigan @ Ohio State: $519 per ticket
#2: Penn State @ Alabama: $524 per ticket
#1: Notre Dame vs. Army @ Yankeee Stadium: $583 per ticket

TEN MOST EXPENSIVE

One That Got Away...

He's a freshman football player at UCLA, who most thought -- including his Mom -- that he would be wearing the gold helmet of Notre Dame tomorrow against Purdue. You see, Anthony Barr is the son of a former ND football player (Tony Brooks) and St. Mary's grad (Lori Barr) -- yet, he chose to stay close to home and play for the Bruins. The Los Angeles Times ran a story yesterday on Barr's decision to pick UCLA over Notre Dame. Here's the link:

WEARING THE WRONG GOLD HELMET!

Football Weekend @ Notre Dame: To Do List!

There's plenty to do Football Weekend at Notre Dame -- the fun begins today and runs through Sunday. Today's South Bend Tribune provides a "calendar" for ND Football fans -- see link below. And, don't forget to visit Notre Dame's GAME DAY SITE -- that link is below as well:

FOOTBALL WEEKEND CALENDAR

NOTRE DAME'S GAME DAY SITE

Take a Live Look at Notre Dame!

The University of Notre Dame's official website: www.nd.edu -- has a number of LIVE webcams on campus that allows you to take a look "24/7" at Notre Dame. Webcams are pointed at the Main Building (Golden Dome) and Basilica, South Quad, Clarke Memorial Fountain and a couple of the computer labs on campus. Maybe we can convince someone at ND to point the South Quad webcam at today's Pep Rally! Here's a link:

LIVE WEBCAMS AT NOTRE DAME

Ara's Thoughts On Brian Kelly

Former Notre Dame coaching great, Ara Parseghian, was a guest this week on WSBT 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat. Here's a link to the Parseghian interview:

ARA ON THE IRISH

Replay of The Brian Kelly Radio Show

In case you missed it last night, here's a link to a replay of Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly's first radio show from Legends. As you plan your future "Thursday evenings" during the Notre Dame football season, please note that The Brian Kelly Radio Show will air every Thursday night at 7 PM EST. If you'd like to attend in person, you'll want to get to Legends by 5:30 PM to get a seat. Here' the link:

THE BRIAN KELLY RADIO SHOW

It's Here: Football Weekend @ Notre Dame!

The 2010 Season kicks off tomorrow and I can't wait!!! For those of you fortunate enough to be on the Notre Dame campus today, here's a few of the activities you might want to take in: Walk Down The Tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium (10 AM to 3 PM) -- Trumpets in the Dome before The Band of the Fighting Irish's March Out (4 PM) in the Main Building -- Dillon Hall Pep Rally (6 PM) join the thousands (photo) in South Quad and Drummer's Circle -- Midnight, in front of the Main Building (Golden Dome). To get a look at all of the activities planned for Football Weekend at Notre Dame click on the link below to the ND Game Day site - it's good!:

NOTRE DAME GAME DAY WEBSITE

Former Irish Star -- Pitching for Twins

Former Notre Dame All-American pitcher, Jeff Manship, threw four strong innings last night for the Minnesota Twins in their extra-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers (YEAH!). Manship entered the game in the 3rd after Twins starter Scott Baker complained of elbow pain. Jeff came in and gave up one run and struck out three in his four inning stint for Minnesota. On the year, Manship has a 2.38 ERA -- striking out 14 in his 22 innings pitched. Here's a link to his statistics:

JEFF MANSHIP -- MINNESOTA TWINS

ND Prof on Mideast Peace Talks in D.C.

University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of History and Peace Studies, Asher Kaufman says "very few believe" the talks in Washington D.C. yesterday between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas will lead to peace. Yet, Kaufman does see some positives that could come from these talks -- and he should know. A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2005, Kaufman previously taught at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and served as a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, leading its Middle East Unit. Here's a link to some comments Kaufman made yesterday:

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Only @ Notre Dame -- Seven of Them!

If you want to see seven Heisman Trophies -- the only place in the world where you'll see that many -- you'll now have to take a walk to the lobby of the Guglielmino Athletics Complex this weekend on the University of Notre Dame campus. Coach Kelly had the "Heismans" moved from the Monogram Room in Joyce to the "Gug." Football fans -- the GUG's main lobby will be open Friday and Saturday to see the Heismans. Chicago Tribune Notre Dame beatwriter, Brian Hamilton was kind enough to take this picture in the past hour and post it on Twitter. Thanks Brian!

Think Notre Dame Has Lost Its Luster?

Think again. This story in today's Salt Lake City Tribune speaks "honestly" to what it means for a college football program to schedule the University of Notre Dame. Here's the link:

BYU LANDS ND

Notre Dame Brings Credibility to BYU

Yesterday's announcement in Provo, UT that Brigham Young University was going "independent" in football -- did not go without significant influence from Notre Dame. Here's a link to a story in today's Salt Lake City Tribune in which the columnist now calls BYU "The Notre Dame of ESPN" and gives the announcement of BYU's six-game series with Notre Dame and the ESPN TV deal as all the credibility they need. Here's a link to a few of the stories on BYU following in Notre Dame's foot steps:

THE NOTRE DAME OF ESPN

IS BYU BECOMING A "LATTER DAY NOTRE DAME"

Notre Dame Talk -- Where to Find it Today!

We're approaching 48 hours to kick-off and if you're like me -- it's dominating your thoughts. So, to get you ready for Saturday's game against Purdue -- here are some "outlets" for Notre Dame fans to get their IRISH ON, all day long -- today! Just click on the links and you'll be led to the conversation! Don't forget -- The Brian Kelly Radio Show is tonight at 7PM EST -- and it's being broadcast LIVE from Legends on the Notre Dame campus.





From 8 AM EST to 12 PM EST:

NDNATION.COM

IRISH SPORTS DAILY

IRISH ILLUSTRATED

Notre Dame vs. Purdue Preview

Notre Dame Videos

5 PM EST to 7 PM EST: WSBT 960 AM Weekday SportsBeat

6 PM EST to 8 PM EST: ESPN 1240 AM Notre Dame Radio Show

7 PM EST to 8 PM EST: The Brian Kelly Radio Show

Wear Your Notre Dame Colors -- Tomorrow!

Friday, September 3rd has been declared as "College Colors Day" across America - and for the first time, the University of Notre Dame is participating. If you've visited the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore in the past couple of weeks you've seen a large "cut out" of Brian Kelly urging Notre Dame fans to show your school spirit tomorrow. So, Irish fans -- wear your Notre Dame "stuff" all day tomorrow - and wear it with pride!!! And, to prepare yourself for the conversations you're sure to have with fans from schools in the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 10, etc., -- I've provided you with a link to "FIVE TALKING POINTS" for every NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL FAN.

TALKING POINTS FOR NOTRE DAME FANS

HAMMES NOTRE DAME BOOKSTORE -- WEBSITE

COLLEGE COLORS DAY -- WEBSITE

NBC: ND Football Going Global!

NBC announced today a number of "enhancements" to its coverage of Notre Dame Football - now in its 20th season. Those who choose to watch the game on the web -- will have exclusive access to an extra TV camera only available to web viewers. NBC also announced a distribution deal with EuroSport to broadcast the Notre Dame games in Europe and Asia. Here's a link to all that NBC has planned:

TWENTY YEARS WITH NOTRE DAME