Clausen Gets First NFL Start -- This Sunday!

The Jimmy Clausen era in Carolina begins this Sunday when the Panthers host the Cincinnati Bengals. The former Notre Dame star will be replacing Matt Moore who's had a rough start in their first two games. Panther Head Coach John Fox was pleased with Clausen's relief effort in their loss yesterday to Tampa Bay and made the announcement at his meeting today with the media. Here's a link to John Fox's press conference:

LINK: CLAUSEN TO START!

Clausen & Tate Singing the Victory March!

Found this video last night of former Domers; Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate singing the Notre Dame Victory March as part of the 2010 Upper Deck NFL Rookie Trading Card shoot. The two were invited to the competition along with guys like Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, C.J. Spiller, Jahvid Best, etc. The winner received a pair of LeBron James autographed shoes. Guess who won!

LINK: THE VICTORY MARCH

A Sunday Conversation: Coach Brian Kelly

Coach Kelly sat down this afternoon with Jack Nolan and the gang over at www.und.com -- the day after Notre Dame's OT loss to Michigan State. Here's a link to the interview:

LINK: A SUNDAY CONVERSATION

The Big East Responds: Is Anyone Surprised?

If this doesn't move Notre Dame to hire its own INDEPENDENT OFFICIATING crew -- I don't know what will.

In the wake of the NFL's description of Calvin Johnson's "non-catch" last week against the Bears and the new officiating term " THE PROCESS." We now have the Big East's "SPIN" of the PROCESS an official goes through to determine whether a play clock has expired. YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!

So, what they're saying is this; the college play clock isn't 25 seconds. It's 25 seconds plus the time it takes for the Back Judge to take his eyes off the expired play clock (which was at the top of Spartan Stadium), look down to see if the ball is snapped, then some time to think if what he saw - he saw, reach for a flag, throw his flag and blow a whistle... And, if the team had not snapped the ball after all this had transpired, the 25 second PLUS play clock would have been ruled officially expired.

So, in other words -- what we saw, didn't really happen. Michigan State snapped the ball before the play clock REALLY was intended to be expired. Boy, I sure feel better about those Big East guys now. Here' the link to the Big East Conference's official statement:

LINK: BIG EAST STATEMENT

Reality: This Will Always Be OUR Team!

Folks, we've had a very tough run of games for our boys in the GOLD helmets. I'm sure many will say "seasons." Heck, in our last seven games -- we've lost six -- and the average loss is by 4 points. FOUR POINTS! Our last eight losses have all been by less than a TD.

Yet, we wake up this morning -- emotionally drained -- but, still PASSIONATE IRISH FANS!

Trust me, we're going to be rewarded -- for doing things right. USC can break the rules, the Gators can break the laws -- and win -- but, that's not winning in my book.

I've never been more confident -- than I am this morning -- that Coach Kelly will teach this team how to win again. BELIEVE! We've got a tough game coming up this week against Stanford -- great medicine for what transpired last night.

Being a Notre Dame fan is a gift -- given to many of us by our; Grandparents, Parents, etc. Our foes will laugh at that statement -- only because they just don't know what it means to be a NOTRE DAME FAN. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, could you ever root for another team? Not a chance! This is who we are...

It's time for the "millions" in the Notre Dame Family to gather "round' the table" and get behind our Irish. We Win and we lose -- AS ONE!

Brian Kelly Post Game Remarks

Here's a link to Coach Kelly's time with the media following the Irish's overtime loss to the Spartans. The photo was taken after the game during the playing of the Alma Mater. Here's the link:

LINK: COACH KELLY POST GAME

THE FAKE -- That WASN'T!

As you can see in this photo -- the play clock was at ZERO (look at the red box at the bottom of the photo) before the ball was snapped in OT. Look at Darius Flemming's (#45) reaction in this photo as he realizes the clock runs out. And, look at the play clock in the upper right hand and left hand sections of the Stadium's scoreboard -- they both read: 00. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Breaking News: The BIG EAST STICKS IT TO THE IRISH!

Are we obligated to give them any of our Bowl money?

Do you think Notre Dame will receive a call from Big East Commissioner John Marinatto saying "SORRY JACK, WE BLEW IT?"

Here's a link to the video so you can watch it in real time -- again, look at the "RED PLAY CLOCK" in the bottom of the TV screen.

LINK: PLAY SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ALLOWED!

Live Game Day Blog -- 7 PM EST Tonight!

The boys at www.und.com will be "blogging" live from the Spartan Stadium press box beginning at 7 PM EST. Former Domers; Reggie Brooks and Mirko Jurkovic will be joined by Jack Nolan. They will be taking questions from Irish fans. Here's the link to participate in the blog:

LINK: GAME DAY BLOG -- MICHIGAN STATE GAME

First Photo: Spartan Stadium

Via the magic of Twitter a Notre Dame fan by the Twitter handle of @eTruth_Irish just posted this photo of the Michigan State student section filing into Spartan Stadium nearly two hours before kick-off.

Bring Back the Shamrocks!

I completely forgot about the Shamrock that Notre Dame Football had on its pants (I LIKE!) during the Ty Willingham era. I do remember the Shamrock on the jersey. You just got to know that there's too much time before this football game if I'm thinking about football pants design! We still have more than five hours to kick-off!!!

The Color of Gold: ND Football Helmets

There's been plenty of discussion the past couple of years about the "color" of the Notre Dame football helmets. So, I thought I'd grab four photos of ND QB's over the past 35 years to see if you can see a discernable difference in the gold color of the Irish football helmets. What do you think? I didn't want to mention the jersey color or pants -- that's another conversation!

ND vs. MSU: Brown's Heisman Day!

In the 1987 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State game, Notre Dame's All-American receiver Tim Brown tied an NCAA record with "back to back" punt returns for touchdowns in the #9 ranked Irish's 31-8 win over the #17th ranked Spartans. It was a day many felt he won the Heisman Trophy. Here's a link to the punt returns:

LINK: AN ALL TIME GREAT

Irish Get Basketball & Baseball Recruit Today!

Word on the street is Patrick Connaughton, a 6'-5" shooting guard out of St. Johns Prep (Danvers, MA) committed to the Irish basketball program this morning! Scout has him ranked as a 4* recruit and number 75 overall in the country -- so, he's a good get for Notre Dame. Schools that also offered Connaughton include; UCLA, Florida, Wake Forest, Boston College, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Marquette and Florida State. As you'll see in the ESPN blog report, Connaughton will also play baseball for Notre Dame -- where new Irish baseball coach, Mike Aoki will look forward to his highly recruited, mid-90's fastball:

LINK: CONNAUGHTON COMMITS TO IRISH

LINK: ESPN: CONNAUGHTON COMMITS

PHOTO OF THE DAY: The Golden Dive!

It's one of the greatest photos ever taken inside Notre Dame Stadium. You just have to wonder what that MSU band member (face circled) was thinking as he's about to witness Notre Dame's Golden Tate's Superman dive -- up close and personal! You can click on the photo to enlarge.

'Never Again' -- One Last Look...

This past Saturday, Notre Dame freshman WR T.J. Jones became a YOUTUBE Legend. Thankfully, that's the only result he and the Irish football program had to deal with after he forgot to cross the goal line with the football. As of this morning, almost 800,000 people have already tuned in to this video. If Michigan had not scored at the end of the game -- this would have been talked about for years. Here's the link:

LINK: YOU CARRY THE BALL INTO THE END ZONE

Do They Like Each Other?

There's been some talk this week about the Head Coaches of both teams -- and their time at Cincinnati. You see, Michigan State's Head Coach Mark Dantonio was the Bearcats Head Coach prior to Brian Kelly rolling into town when Dantonio took the reigns of the Spartans football program. As we know, Kelly took the Cincinnati program to new heights -- is Dantonio resentful? YOU BE THE JUDGE. Here's the Lansing State Journal MSU beat writer's "Green & White" opinion on the matter as well as the South Bend Tribune's Al Lesar's and the Detroit Free Press's Shannon Shelton:

LINK: LANSING STATE JOURNAL

LINK: SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK: DETROIT FREE PRESS

The Megaphone Trophy? -- A Big Deal @ MSU

I must admit, I never knew -- or if I did -- I just plain forgot that there was a "rivalry trophy" that Notre Dame and Michigan State play for in football each year. It's called the Megaphone Trophy. (Seen here in the photo) I learned about it when I heard the MSU head coach and players talk about the importance of winning this trophy. I can honestly tell you I've never heard a Notre Dame player or coach talk about this trophy. And, I couldn't find a photo of a Notre Dame player carrying this trophy -- and I know I've never seen this trophy displayed at Notre Dame. So, the question of the day is this. Is the Megaphone Trophy a big deal -- if only one team is talking about it?

East Lansing Writers Take on ND

Here's a few links to some video, blogs and articles from some of the local "sports experts" in the East Lansing area -- specifically the local Michigan State beat writers -- with their take on the Notre Dame game. You'll also find a video to MSU's Coach Dantonio talking about the history of this rivalry:

LINK: LET'S TALK ND -- MSU BEAT WRITER'S BLOG

LINK: IF MSU HAD HIRED KELLY?

LINK: DANTONIO PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

The Weather Now in East Lansing

If you're planning on tailgating today before the Notre Dame vs. Michigan State game -- bring your rain gear! Though it looks like rain will move out of the area -- for awhile. Does this now qualify me as a METEOROLOGIST? That sure wasn't that hard -- was it! The image above was a look at a live radar (8:45 AM EST) of the weather in the Lansing area. Here's the live link to the weather radar at TV-6 in Lansing - if you'd like to check the weather throughout the day:


LINK: STORM DOPPLER RADAR -- EAST LANSING

Irish's Arrival at Michigan State

Here's some video of the Irish getting off their buses at Spartans Stadium at 5:30 PM last night for their "walk-thru." The WNDU-TV crew caught up with Coach Kelly as well. The photo is of Dayne Crist, Irish QB, getting off their slick looking bus. Here's the link:

LINK: IRISH IN EAST LANSING