PHOTO OF THE DAY: Football Team Charter

Jake Golic, a tight end on the Notre Dame Football team -- just "tweeted" this photo of the team's charter plane to Boston.  Obviously, the team is just now boarding this Delta plane in South Bend.  Got to love the Notre Dame flags flying from the flag poles!

Did ND Fans Catch a Break?

Just saw a promotion on ESPN this morning (during the Ryder Cup delay) that said the Stanford vs. Oregon game and the Notre Dame vs. Boston College game would be on ABC and ESPN2.  When you see this -- it typically means if you're not getting the game on ABC you'll find it on ESPN2.  Now, when I go to the ESPN site and look at their TV schedule for tomorrow's games I only see the Stanford vs. Oregon game being on both networks.  Let's hope ESPN doesn't "stick it" to ND fans and force them to buy a GamePlan package to see the Irish play tomorrow night.  Here's a link to the ESPN TV schedule I'm talking about:

LINK:  ESPN TV SCHEDULE

Notre Dame Athletics Annual Report

The University of Notre Dame's Athletic Department released it's annual report for the 2009-2010 school year yesterday.  Here's a link to where you can view the report online:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS ANNUAL REPORT

Coach Kelly's Press Conference Last Night

Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly met with the media after yesterday's practice -- for the last time prior to the Boston College game tomorrow night.  Here's a link to www.und.com's coverage:


LINK:  BRIAN KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Options to Watch the Irish on Saturday

If you've checked out the TV coverage map for the Notre Dame vs. Boston College game on ABC tomorrow night (CLICK HERE) you would have noted that 53% of the households in America won't see the game.  If you live in one of those areas -- blue on this map -- you still have options!  ESPN3 is ESPN's online network which would allow you to watch the game on your computer -- IF, your internet provider is a subscriber to this service.  Here's a list of the ESPN3 Participating Providers.  If you'd rather watch the game on TV, your option would be to subscribe to ESPN GamePlan.  If you don't have a GamePlan subscription you'll need to buy at least a $24 "weekly" subscription.  Here's a link to more information on ESPN GamePlan -- specifically, a list of phone numbers to the various cable services to place your order:

LINK:  ESPN GAMEPLAN

Sorin Society: All Access

The NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG received permission this morning from the Sorin Society and Allen Pinkett (photo of Pinkett at the 1983 Liberty Bowl) to show this video of Allen's talk at the Sorin Society Reception after Saturday's loss to Stanford.  One of the many benefits of being a Sorin Society member is the opportunity to bring a guest to the post game reception (food and drinks) at the McKenna Hall conference center on the Notre Dame campus.  During the event, former Notre Dame All-American and radio analyst for Notre Dame football -- Allen Pinkett talks about the game and takes questions from the crowd.  Here's a link to a video of Pinkett talking Notre Dame football, at the event, and a link to the Sorin Society website:

LINK:  SORIN SOCIETY POST GAME RECEPTION -- ALL ACCESS

LINK:  SORIN SOCIETY WEBSITE

Bid on a Notre Dame Soccer Jersey Today!

The #5 ranked University of Notre Dame Women's Soccer Team will be wearing special Kicks Against Breast Cancer commemorative Adidas jerseys (pictured) in their games next weekend against Seton Hall and Rutgers.  The jerseys will be signed by the IRISH players and auctioned off to raise money for this national soccer initiative to raise money for breast cancer research.  Here's a link to the Auction Site:

LINK:  BUY A NOTRE DAME SOCCER JERSEY FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH!

Muffet Gets Commit From 6' 3" Post Player

Markisha Wright, a 6'-3" post player out of Des Moines East High School (Des Moines, IA) committed to the Irish this morning!  Markisha led East to the Iowa 4-A State Runner-up title last year as a junior.  She's ranked the 20th best at her position by ESPN.  Here's a story about Markisha's performance at the AAU National Championships this summer:

LINK:  ESPN STORY ON MARKISHA

THANK YOU! -- 30,000 Unique Visitors!

The Notre Dame Go Irish Blog went over the 30,000 unique visitors mark this morning!  Launched the last week of January -- this blog has attracted Notre Dame fans from all 50 States and 79 countries around the world!  It's been great fun sharing Notre Dame!  Thanks for making the Notre Dame Go Irish Blog one of your "NOTRE DAME VISITS" each week on the web.

Students Only Pep Rally Tonight at 8 PM EST

The Stepan Center will be rockin' tonight!  The Notre Dame student body will be hosting their own "student only" Pep Rally tonight for the Fighting Irish football team at the Stepan Center.  The doors will open at 6:30 PM and the rally is expected to start at 8 PM.  Go Irish!

Brian Kelly Radio Show -- 7 PM EST TONIGHT!

It's Thursday and that means the Brian Kelly Radio Show will be coming live to you from Legends of Notre Dame.  The show will air from 7 PM EST to 8 PM EST -- and here's where you can watch it or listen to it online:


LINK:  WATCH COACH KELLY'S SHOW ONLINE

LINK:  LISTEN TO COACH KELLY'S SHOW ONLINE

Coach Kelly Going Home...

He was the starting middle linebacker for the Assumption College Greyhounds (photo of Assumption's campus) -- twenty-seven years later -- he's grown up to be the Head Football Coach at the University of Notre Dame.  That's our Coach Kelly, and when he takes his team to Boston College tomorrow for Saturday's game -- he'll be heading home.  Here's a story from today's Worcester Telegram -- about Brian Kelly's return to where he grew up along with a link to the Assumption College website:

LINK:  HE'S AN ASSUMPTION GREYHOUND

LINK:  ASSUMPTION COLLEGE WEBSITE

WSJ Ranks Notre Dame's EMBA Program #6

The Wall Street Journal just released their 2010 rankings of the top Executive MBA programs in the country and the University of Notre Dame's was ranked 6th!  What I found most interesting is the "investment" to get an EMBA these days.  Believe it or not, Notre Dame's total program cost (per student) of $88,000 -- was the second lowest of the schools ranked in the top 10 in the Wall Street Journal's rankings.  Only the #10 ranked University of North Carolina's EMBA program was lower at $87,000. The Wall Street Journal didn't even rank Notre Dame's EMBA program among the top-25 in the country in their 2008 rankings -- another "feather in the cap" of the Mendoza College of Business!  The photo is of Notre Dame EMBA students on a trip to Beijing.  Here's the link to the rankings:

LINK:  THE TOP EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAMS IN AMERICA

Scout Ranks ND Recruiting Class #2

ESPN's Scout recruiting service just released it's updated recruiting rankings and they've moved Notre Dame up to #2 in the country.  In the past week, the Irish have picked up one of the top DE's in the country (Stephon Tuitt - #74 in picture) and one of the top WR's in the country (Davaris Daniels).  Here's a link to Scout's rankings:

LINK:  IRISH HAVE THE #2 RANKED RECRUITING CLASS

Weather Forecast for Boston College Game

Here's the weather forecast for the Boston area -- looks like the rain will be gone before game time Saturday night.  Here's a link to live National Weather Service Radar for the Boston area:


LINK:  LIVE BOSTON WEATHER RADAR

ABC-TV Coverage Map: ND vs. BC

ESPN on ABC just released it's coverage map for Notre Dame's game against Boston College this Saturday night on ABC.  Game starts at 8 PM EST.  As you can see, only about half of the country (households) will see the Irish play on ABC.  Just click on the map to enlarge.

Notre Dame's "SUPERMAN" Silk Worms

The University of Notre Dame and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories (Lansing, MI) made a major announcement in the past hour.  Tiny, genetically altered silkworms in a laboratory at the University of Notre Dame are spinning a novel thread of artificially created spider silk.  The resulting thread is twice as strong as natural silkworm silk and 10 times as strong as steel.  The thread has a host of possible commercial applications in surgery, healing bandages, ligament repair, bulletproof vests, athletic clothing, improved automobile airbags, etc.  "We've succeeded in genetically engineering silkworms so they produce spider webs," boasted Malcolm J. Fraser Jr., a University of Notre Dame Biological Sciences Professor -- who led the research on this project along with researchers from Kraig Biocraft Laboratories and the University of Wyoming.  Here's a link to Notre Dame's news release along with a video of Professor Fraser talking about their discovery.  I must admit I never thought I would be writing about "silk worms" on my blog -- but it's pretty exciting news coming out of Notre Dame today!  Maybe we'll see a GOLD HELMET, manufactured from this material, on our football team some day!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S "SUPERMAN" SILK WORMS

Former Irish Kicker -- Back in NFL @ 46!

John Carney, who played for Notre Dame from 1984 to 1986 -- was signed by the Super Bowl Champion, New Orleans Saints yesterday to shore up their field goal kicking.  Carney, the third leading scorer in NFL history with 2,044 points, is 46 years young!  He's a two-time Pro Bowl kicker who was named by Sports Illustrated to Notre Dame's All-Time team.  Last season, Carney went over the 300 game mark in his career, becoming only the sixth player in NFL history to do so.  Here's a link to a story on Carney's signing.  Good Luck John!

LINK:  CARNEY BACK WITH SAINTS

Irish Golfer Smashes Scoring Record!

University of Notre Dame freshman, Nicole Zhang (Calgary, Canada) let the college golf world know that she'll be a force to be reckoned with as she wins the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State University with a tournament record score!  Zhang, playing in her first college tournament, shot 69-67-71 on the par-72 course -- to finish NINE UNDER PAR.  Her 207 was the only score under par -- winning the tournament by nine strokes -- and leading the Irish to their first team win at this tournament in 16 tries.  Zhang's three day total broke the previous tournament record by seven shots!

Muffet Gets Top 100 Commit Last Night!

Madison Cable, a senior guard at Mt. Lebanon High School (Pittsburgh area) informed Notre Dame Women's Basketball Coach Muffet McGraw that she was committing to the Irish!  The 5'-11" Cable is ranked the #57 overall prospect in the country and will bring some length to the Notre Dame backcourt.  She led her high school team to their second straight State Championship last season scoring 30 in the final game.  Madison was on campus this past weekend for her official visit.  Here is a link to a story on Cable's commitment -- and a link to a story about her performance in last year's State Championship game:


LINK:  TOP 100 RECRUIT COMMITS TO IRISH

LINK:  CABLE SCORES 30 IN STATE FINAL