Wolfard '02 and Haney -- Survive Another Week!

CBS's The Amazing Race -- Season 17, moved this week from the heat of Africa to the cold and snow of the Arctic Cirle.  This globe trotting adventure race stars a Notre Dame alum, Thomas Wolfard '02, and his girlfriend Jill Haney (pictured) competing against other two person teams to win the The Amazing Race.  So far -- so good, as last night Thomas and Jill finished fifth -- though they did have to use their Express Pass in doing so.  Their fifth place finish ensures that they'll be moving on to the next episode -- as the top eight finishing teams moved on to the next race.  CBS's The Amazing Race airs each Sunday evening -- don't miss it!  Here's a few links to keep up with Thomas and Jill's great adventure:

LINK:  THOMAS & JILL -- WHY THEY GAVE UP THE EXPRESS PASS

LINK:  REPLAY:  THE AMAZING RACE -- SEASON 17 -- EPISODE 4

LINK:  THOMAS & JILL'S FACEBOOK PAGE

The Sunday Conversation -- Coach Kelly

University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly -- sat down with UND.COM's Jack Nolan for their weekly Sunday conversation.  They talked about Saturday's win over Western Michigan University -- the third straight for the Irish.  Here's the link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S SUNDAY CONVERSATION

Enjoy: The Band of the Fighting Irish

Here's a video taken this Football Weekend @ Notre Dame -- of The Band of the Fighting Irish -- and a number of their performances.  You'll see; Trumpets in the Dome, March Out, Concert on the Steps, Pre-Game, etc.  Here's the link:

LINK:  THE BAND OF THE FIGHTING IRISH

The "Money's" Saying This -- ND vs. Western

As I've shared on a number of occasions -- I don't bet.  Yet, I do enjoy reviewing the manner in which the oddsmakers in Vegas analyze and place the "line" on the game.  Last week, Notre Dame was a "six point" favorite over Pitt -- NOTRE DAME wins by six.  How do they do that?  So, here's what a number of the betting sites have to say about Notre Dame vs. Western Michigan University:

LINK:  CAPPERSPICKS BLOG

LINK:  TONY'S PICKS

LINK:  BANG THE BOOK

LINK:  ACCUSCORE

It's Game Day @ Notre Dame!

I'm writing this post this morning from the Best Western in Goshen, IN --  it's Game Day at Notre Dame!  I had the great pleasure yesterday, of spending the entire day on the Notre Dame campus with my good friend Bob Scheuer and his daughter Jackie -- as we walked every inch of "America's Holy Land" -- at least twice! The photo is of Bob & Jackie with Paul Hornung's Heisman -- one of the seven Heisman Trophies on display in the Guglielmino Athletics Complex.  We leave for campus at 7:30 AM to meet the "Marino gang" at South Dining Hall for breakfast -- can't wait!  For those not going to the game today - here's what you can do ALL DAY to get ready for kick-off:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME GAME DAY RADIO SHOW --  starts at 9 AM EST

LINK:  UND.COM LIVE STADIUM CAM -- watch Notre Dame Stadium fill up, starts at 11 AM EST

LINK:  UND.COM PRE GAME BLOG -- starts at 1:30 PM EST

KICK OFF:  2:40 PM EST

LINK:  UND.COM LIVE POST GAME SHOW -- starts immediately after game's end

Leaving for Notre Dame Before Sunrise!

Just wanted to give you a heads up that I'm leaving well before the "cock crows" -- for Notre Dame in the morning.  Going to be hanging out with 14 of my friends -- enjoying a Football Weekend in America's Holy Land.  So, if you're looking for any "NEW NEWS" on the site -- you're going to have to wait until Saturday morning!  Go Irish!  PS -- That's not me in the photo -- PROMISE!

An $800,000 Pay Day for the WMU Broncos!

That's what Western Michigan University is rumored to be receiving for agreeing to play the Irish on Saturday.  Add to that the opportunity to play on national TV for three to four hours -- and a lifetime of stories to tell your family and friends that "I played in Notre Dame Stadium."

Western Michigan's Trip to Notre Dame

Western Michigan Head Football Coach, Bill Cubit (pictured) talked about his plans for the Broncos first ever trip to Notre Dame Stadium and the first time a Western Michigan team has played on the Notre Dame campus, since 1920.  In that game, Knute Rockne's team won 42-0 behind a two touchdown performance by George Gipp.  This week the Broncos practiced to the beat of a familiar song to Irish fans -- to get ready for Saturday.  Here's a couple of stories you'll enjoy:

LINK:  THE BRONCOS TRIP TO NOTRE DAME

LINK:  PRACTICING TO THE ND VICTORY MARCH

Notre Dame Football Update -- Thursday

The UND.COM gang was back at it yesterday -- catching up with Coach Kelly after Wednesday's practice.  Topics of discussion; Kyle Rudolph's surgery, Armando Allen's status for Saturday, the music they're playing at practice, the new Notre Dame Adidas TECHFIT football jerseys, etc.  Click on the link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY AFTER PRACTICE

Notre Dame's Effort To Bring Religions Together

The University of Notre Dame, in partnership with scholars and educators from around the world, is inaugurating a major cross-cultural research project: “Contending Modernities: Catholic, Muslim, Secular.”  The project kicks off with two public launch events in New York City on November 18th and 19th.  Designed to unfold over several years, “Contending Modernities” will generate new knowledge and understanding of the ways in which religious and secular people and institutions interact, for good and ill, says Scott Appleby, professor of history, director of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and director of “Contending Modernities”.  “The problem of religious violence and tensions among religions and between the religious and secular forces are more sharply defined than ever,” Appleby says. “Our vision with this research project is to harness the power of ideas to chart a way forward across religious and secular divides to address the greatest challenges of the 21st century.  Dozens of Catholic, Muslim and secular scholars and public intellectuals will be involved in the project, which in the future will expand to engage all major world religions.  I believe it to be a wonderful thing that the University of Notre Dame is taking on this mission.

Brian Kelly Radio Show - Tonight @ 7 PM EST

The Brian Kelly Radio Show airs every Thursday night from Legends of Notre Dame -- the on campus establishment just south of Notre Dame Stadium.  You can watch the show -- or listen to the show -- live on the web beginning at 7 PM EST.  Here are the links that will allow you to do just that:



LINK:  WATCH THE SHOW LIVE

LINK:  LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE

Football Weekend Weather @ Notre Dame

Here's the latest Football Weekend weather forecast -- from two sources -- for the Notre Dame vs. Western Michigan game.  There's a link to WNDU-TV and their "Storm Team 16 Interactive" radar for the Michiana area and a second link to the gang at the Weather Channel who has teamed up with ESPN to give "Game Day" forecasts for every NCAA FBS game in the country.  Looks like a beautiful weekend!

LINK:  WNDU STORM TEAM 16 INTERACTIVE RADAR

LINK:  WEATHER CHANNEL / ESPN  -- GAME DAY FORECAST

90 Years: The Longest Gap for Notre Dame?

When Western Michigan University runs out of the tunnel into Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday -- it will mark the first time Notre Dame has played Western Michigan in 90 football seasons.   They last played each other on October 9, 1920 -- when a senior halfback named George Gipp scored two TD's leading the Irish to a 42-0 victory (see link below).  Please note:  We're still researching to see if this is the longest period of time between two opponents playing in college football history.  What we do know -- thanks to the Notre Dame's Media Relations team -- is that it's not the longest gap in between playing an opponent in Notre Dame history.  That distinction belongs to Notre Dame Baseball and their opponent Mount St. Mary’s.  Their baseball game in 2008 marked 96 seasons since they had last played each other in 1912.  (May 13, 1912 to March 1, 2008)

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN - 1920

Notre Dame Lacrosse -- Coaching Videos

Coming off its most successful season ever in Men's Lacrosse -- NCAA National Championship Runner-up -- the Notre Dame coaching staff has published six coaching/training videos on various aspects of the game.  The great news -- it's free and available to all lacrosse coaches and players.  Here's a link to the Lax Power website -- where the videos reside.  When you get to the web page -- the Notre Dame videos are on the right hand side:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME LACROSSE TRAINING VIDEOS

Latest NCAA FBS Stats for Notre Dame Football

It's Wednesday -- which means it's time for our weekly look at where Notre Dame Football ranks in certain statistical categories amongst the 120 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision -- AT THE HALF WAY POINT OF THE 2010 SEASON.  In this analysis you'll see how Notre Dame currently stands -- as compared to their final ranking for 2009:

DEFENSIVE TEAM STATISTICS

Quarterback Sacks:  2010 Rank - #19 with 15 QB sacks -- in 2009 we had 19 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #92 -- Florida State leads the country with 26 QB sacks.

Interceptions:  2010 Rank - #14 with 8 interceptions -- in 2009 we had 12 interceptions for the season, ranking us #50 -- Florida leads the country with 13 interceptions.

Passes Deflected:  2010 Rank - #23 with 21 pass deflections -- in 2009 we had 28 pass deflections for the season, ranking us #99 -- Oregon leads the country with 37 pass deflections.

Third Down Conversion Rate:  2010 Rank - #30 allowing only 34% conversion rate on third down -- in 2009 we allowed a 39.5% conversion rate, ranking us #67 -- TCU leads the country allowing only a 22.67%  conversion rate.

Turnovers Gained:  2010 Rank - #47 with 10 turnovers gained -- in 2009 we gained 19 turnovers for the season, ranking us #80 -- Oregon leads the country with 22 turnovers gained this season.

Total Yards:  2010 Rank - #83 giving up 398 yards per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 397 yards per game, ranking us #86 -- TCU leads the country giving up 240 yards per game.

Points Allowed Per Game:  2010 Rank - #60 giving up 23.5 points per game -- in 2009 we gave up 25.3 points per game, ranking us #63 -- Iowa leads the country giving up 10.2 points per game.

OFFENSIVE TEAM STATISTICS

Total First Downs:  2010 Rank - #23 with 129 first downs -- in 2009 we had 293 first downs for the season, ranking us #13 -- Nevada leads the country with 165 first downs.

Third Down Conversions:  2010 Rank - #80 with a 35.4% conversion rate -- in 2009 we had a 39.1% conversion rate for the season, ranking us #48 -- Nevada leads the country converting 62.2% of their third downs.

Passing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #8 with 1,707 passing yards (284 yards per game)  -- in 2009 we passed for 3,882 yards (323 yards per game) for the season, ranking us #7 -- Hawaii leads the country with 2,530 passing yards (421 yards per game).

Rushing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #89 with 642 rushing yards (107 yards per game) -- in 2009 we rushed for 1,539 yards (127 yards per game) for the season, ranking us #88 -- Air Force leads the country with 2,116 rushing yards ( 352 yards per game).

Fewest QB Sacks Given Up:  2010 Rank -- #86 giving up 12 QB sacks -- in 2009 we gave up 25 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #66 -- Utah leads the country having only given up 1 QB sack.

Turnovers Lost:  2010 Rank - #92 with 12 turnovers lost -- in 2009 we had 14 turnovers for the season, ranking us #7 -- Oregon State leads the country with 1 turnover lost for the season.

Total Offense:  2010 Rank -- #56 with 2,349 yards (391 per game)  of offense -- in 2009 we had 5,421 yards (451 yards per game) of offense for the season, ranking us #8 -- Oregon leads the country with 3,402 yards (567 per game) of offense.

Points Per Game:  2010 Rank -- #82 with 24.3 points per game -- in 2009 we averaged 30.1 points per game for the season, ranking us #32 -- Oregon leads the country scoring 54.3 points per game.
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TEAM STATISTICS

Fewest Penalties:  2010 Rank - #20 with 27 penalties -- in 2009 we had 75 penalties for the season, ranking us #50 -- Indiana leads the country in the fewest penalties with 17.

Fewest Penalty Yards:  2010 Rank -- #37 with 260 total yards in penalties -- in 2009 we had 666 yards in penalties, ranking us #60 -- Penn State leads the country in fewest penalty yards with 131.

Net Punting Yards:  2010 Rank -- #82 with an average net of 36.0 yards per punt -- in 2009 we averaged 32.1 yards per punt, ranking us #112 -- Illinois leads the country in net yards per punt with 46.9

Gipp Leads Ramblers to 42-0 Win over Western!

This was the headline -- 90 years ago -- when the University of Notre Dame and Western Michigan University last played each other in football.  Notre Dame was led that day by a senior halfback named George Gipp, who had 14 carries for 123 yards -- scoring 2 TD's.  Gipp also completed a pass for 10 yards in the game.  "The Gipper" -- Notre Dame's first ever All-American football player, died two months later from pneumonia -- his illness led to missing the last game of the 1920 season against Michigan State.  Notre Dame's victory over Western Michigan was one of their nine victories that year -- and their second straight undefeated season and National Championship under third-year Head Coach, Knute Rockne.  Notre Dame played Western Michigan the year before (1919) as well -- beating them 53-0.  Will Western Michigan score their first points ever in football against Notre Dame this Saturday?  And a question for the RESEARCH FREAKS out there -- is this the longest gap of time (90 years) between two opponents playing in college football history?  Here's a link to George Gipp's per game statistics during his football career at Notre Dame:

LINK:  THE GIPP YEARS AT ND

Notre Dame Fans Have A Mobile Ap For That!

CBS Sports released today a mobile ap for Notre Dame fans who have a Blackberry or Droid.  Here's a link to how you can get your FREE ap:

LINK:  A MOBILE AP FOR NOTRE DAME FANS

Watch Coach Kelly's Press Conference Today!

You can watch Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly's Tuesday press conference -- LIVE -- today at Noon EST.  Just click on the link:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Former Irish Hoops Star: 184 Straight!

Matt Carroll, former Notre Dame basketball player -- and now a guard with the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats -- made 184 consecutive free throws at the end of practice the other day.  Here's a story about his exploits in the Charlotte Observer:

LINK:  HE CAN SHOOT

Hesburgh Receives "Heroes of the World" Award

Former University of Notre Dame president, Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C will receive the "Heroes of the World Award" today at a reception at Notre Dame.  Given by St. John's Preparatory School, Hesburgh is the second recipient of this award -- the first going to the 41st President of the United States, George H. Bush.  Father Ted is no stranger to awards -- in fact, he's listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the recipient of the Most Honorary Degrees -- last count, more than 150!  Congratulations Father Ted on your most recent honor!