Notre Dame's New Admissions Director

Now, that's not what they call this position anymore. The official title is Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Admissions -- and the person 'soon to be sitting' in that office at Notre Dame is Donald Bishop. Bishop was announced yesterday as the replacement for the retired Dan Saracino -- effective December 1st. He's a former ND grad, Class of 1977, who previously worked for eight years in Notre Dame's Admissions department before stints at Cornell, Creighton, Ohio Weleyan and Embry Riddle. So, if you want to get your son or daughter into Notre Dame -- it will be his team making those decisions starting this December!

A Notre Dame Internet Browser -- For Free!

CBS Sports and Brand Thunder, Inc. have teamed up to create college themed browsers for sixty schools. And, wouldn't you know it -- Notre Dame is on that list. Whether you have a PC and use Internet Explorer or a MAC and use Firefox -- they have a free download for you! All you have to do is click on the link below and follow the instructions to theme your internet experience with Notre Dame -- Go Irish!

LINK: FREE NOTRE DAME BROWSER

Access Hollywood Visits Regis & Notre Dame

Access Hollywood's Maria Menuounos (pictured) spent some time with Regis Philbin '53, in his New York office, talking what else -- Notre Dame football! And, Menuonos did her best to experience the sites and sounds of Game Day at Notre Dame for Access Hollywood -- as she visited campus for Saturday's game against Michigan. Here's a link to the story:

LINK: ACCESS HOLLYWOOD COMES TO ND

Clausen's First Endorsement Deal

Former Notre Dame QB and maybe Sunday's starter for the Carolina Panthers, Jimmy Clausen, has signed on as a paid endorser of FLO TV. FLO TV allows you to watch live television on your cell phone, computer, in your car, etc. Here's an article in which the ESPN reporter weaved in "Notre Dame" into Clausen's use of the FLO TV product he's representing. Here's the link:


LINK: CLAUSEN ON NOTRE DAME

MSU vs. ND -- Rain Storm 2006!

On the Monday after Notre Dame's thrilling, come from way behind, win over the Spartans -- in a rain storm -- a Detroit sports talk radio host "WENT OFF ON HIS SPARTANS." His name is Mike Valenti and his rant over the Spartans collapse against the Irish -- has become radio legend. His diatribe runs for fifteen minutes or so -- thus, you'll see links to Part 1 and Part 2 below. As you'll hear, Valenti, a Michigan State grad, is passionate about his Spartans and wasn't too happy with the outcome of this game. YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS!

LINK: MSU FAN'S RANT - PART 1

LINK: MSU FAN'S RANT - PART 2

Johnny Lattner on Reggie Bush...

Former Heisman Trophy Winner and Notre Dame "All-Everything" Johnny Lattner, was asked by the Chicago Tribune -- the day before Reggie Bush's announcement -- "should Reggie Bush keep his Heisman?" You might be surprised with his answer:

LINK: LATTNER ON BUSH

Official Ground Breaking: "Hockey Cathedral"

This past Saturday, the University of Notre Dame's President; Rev. John Jenkins, presided over a ceremony to bless and dedicate the Compton Family Center -- the future home of the Irish Hockey program. "The Compton" is named after Kevin and Gayla Compton, who also happen to be the owners of the NHL's San Jose Sharks. Kevin and Gayla made a generous lead gift to Notre Dame to fund what is being called by some as college hockey's "Cathedral." The $53 million structure, which opens in October 2011 -- will immediately become the finest college hockey facility in the world. Here's a few links to a number of architectural renderings of this world-class facility:

LINK: PHOTOS OF STADIUM'S EXTERIOR

LINK: TEAM LOCKER ROOM

LINK: STADIUM'S MAIN CONCOURSE

LINK: STADIUM'S CLUB LEVEL

LINK: STADIUM SITE LINES

Notre Dame is Different...

Folks, Gregg Easterbrook's blog post at ESPN today -- is something you need to keep in your back pocket (if/when) the subject of "student-athlete" ever comes up with your friends in the; Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Pac 10, Big 12, WAC, etc. You'll find near the end of Easterbrook's lengthy blog post -- a story about Notre Dame football player Chris Stewart. Stewart is a Law Student at the University of Notre Dame -- who just happens to be a starting offensive lineman. You see, at Notre Dame you're expected to graduate in four years and if you want a fifth year on the gridiron, you've graduated and have enrolled in grad school. Here's the link:

LINK: A NOTRE DAME STUDENT-ATHLETE

Coach Kelly's Media Session Today

Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly, met with the media today at noon -- in his weekly Tuesday press briefing. Here's a link to www.und.com's coverage:

LINK: COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

NBC was the WINNER Saturday!

NBC Sports is experiencing the excitement that Brian Kelly has brought to the Fighting Irish football program -- first hand. For the second week in a row -- TV ratings are up big time. The Michigan vs. Notre Dame game was the most watched Notre Dame football game in the past five-years and the most watched featuring these two teams in sixteen-years. It was the twelfth largest audience ever for a NBC telecast of a Notre Dame football game in their twenty-year history with the Irish -- and largest audience ever for two un-ranked opponents. 7 million viewers tuned in to the game -- and the two-game viewership average is the best in four years for Notre Dame football. Here are the five largest TV audiences ever for a NBC broadcast of Notre Dame vs. Michigan football game:

1: #6 Michigan 26, #3 Notre Dame 24 September 10, 1994 10.1 million
2: #3 Notre Dame 17, #6 Michigan 17 September 12, 1992 7.3 million
3: Michigan 28, Notre Dame 24 September 11, 2010 7.0 million
4: #22 Notre Dame 36, #5 Michigan 20 September 5, 1998 6.6 million
5: #20 Notre Dame 25, #7 Michigan 23 September 14, 2002 6.5 million

Pogo Back Flip Record Set on Regis & Kelly!

Former Notre Dame alum, Regis Philbin '53, hosted a Guiness Book of World Records attempt on his Regis & Kelly Show yesterday. It's "Record Breaker Week" as they've partnered with Guiness Book of World Records to break a record -- LIVE -- every day this week. On Monday's show a young man from Akron (Fred Grzybowski) set the world record for most consecutive back flips on a pogo stick! He did nine back flips -- breaking the old record of eight. I didn't know there was such a record -- but I do now! You've got to see this video:

LINK: WORLD RECORD!

Samardzjia: First Career Win as a Starter!

Jeff Samardzjia earned his first Major League victory as a starter -- pitching 5 2/3 innings of shut out baseball in the Cubs 5-1 victory over the Cardinals last night. The former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver struck out four -- and helped his own cause with an RBI single in the 2nd. The "Shark" was just brought up from the Iowa Cubs -- where he was 11-3 this season. Here's a link to the MLB site and some video of Jeff's big night:

LINK: SAMARDZJIA'S BIG NIGHT

Notre Dame Featured in Coke Zero Promotion

I've been approached on a number of occasions, since this blogged launched this past January, to sell advertising. Each time I've declined. That continues today -- the only reason I'm mentioning this promotion is because it involves our favorite school this week - the University of Notre Dame. Coke Zero is running a contest online (see link below) called the PLAYBOOK CHALLENGE and is giving away some great prizes. It's free -- and it's fun -- a good combination these days! Like any contest, you can't win if you don't play -- here's the link:

LINK: COKE ZERO'S PLAYBOOK CHALLENGE

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Is Manti Being Held?

This is a close-up of a photo (below) of Michigan's winning TD in the last minute of Saturday's game with the Irish. Is Teo being held by the collar, is it "hands to the face" or, is this just a great block? You be the Big Ten referee! Photo courtesy of Mike Doyle.

Samardzjia: Gets Cubs Start Tonight!

Former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver, Jeff Samardzjia, gets the start tonight for the Chicago Cubs in their game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Samardzjia was called up from the Iowa Cubs after going 11-3 for the Cubbies top minor league team this season. You can catch the action on WGN-TV or you can click on the link below and listen to the radio broadcast -- Samardzjia's first pitch is at 8:15 PM EST:

LINK: LISTEN TO THE SHARK'S START TONIGHT

Coach Kelly's Half Time Talk to Team

Jack Nolan sat down with Coach Kelly yesterday to talk about the Michigan game. I found Brian Kelly's quick and direct answer to what he said at halftime to his Irish quite enlightening. Here's the link:

LINK: COACH KELLY CONVERSATION

ND Receives $34.7 Million in Stimulus Money

The South Bend Tribune reported that the University of Notre Dame has received $34.7 million to date in federal stimulus money since May 2009 to fund 32 projects. Now to keep this in perspective; Purdue University has received $130.3 million and Indiana University $62.7 million. Here's the story:

LINK: ND STIMULUS MONEY

A Detroit Blogger's Reaction to Notre Dame

Found this blog post from the Detroit Free Press's Mark Snyder concerning Notre Dame Football's traditional "WALK" from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to the stadium. Click on link below:

LINK: NOTRE DAME TRADITIONS

Charlie's Chiefs on Monday Night Football

Former Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Charlie Weis '78 -- takes his offensive play calling to the NFL's biggest stage tonight as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Diego Chargers in the Monday Night Football game on ESPN. You can bet, the camera will be on Coach Weis often as he makes his return to the pro game. The Chiefs vs. Chargers game is the second game tonight on ESPN's Monday Night Football doubleheader with a 10:15 PM EST kick-off. The first game (Ravens vs. Jets) kicks off at 7:00 PM EST. Here's a link to a Q&A with Coach Weis last month:

LINK: Q&A WITH CHARLIE WEIS

New York Town Hires Notre Dame

The village of Skaneateles, NY (located in the Finger Lakes region) recently contracted with six University of Notre Dame graduate students and their professor to assist them in developing their master plan. The town's Comprehensive Plan Review Committee hired the Urban Design Studio students for $10,000 to assist them in planning their future. The Notre Dame students will be meeting with Skaneateles residents this week (September 14th - 16th) and will be presenting their completed work in December. Here's a link to the story:

LINK: NOTRE DAME COMES TO TOWN