Two "Domers" -- The Million Dollar Road Trip

Two Notre Dame brothers/alums; Patrick and Walter Hessert -- are now on DAY 163 of The Million Dollar Road Trip, celebrating and inspiring the American entrepreneurial spirit.  To date, they've raised over $114,000 in their travels across America!!!  The ND GO IRISH BLOG last checked in on these two when they were in NYC for Notre Dame's game at Yankee Stadium -- as you'll see, they just left Las Vegas and their next stop is Flagstaff, AZ.  Safe travels!!!  Here's a link to their blog:

LINK:  THE MILLION DOLLAR ROAD TRIP -- BLOG

Notre Dame to Honor Austin Carr!

It's about time...  If you're going to have a 'Ring of Honor' in Notre Dame's Purcell Pavillion -- to recognize Irish basketball stars -- the VERY FIRST player honored should have been Austin Carr.  Well,  on February 26th -- Austin Carr will finally get that recognition, as he'll join Luke Harangody and Ruth Riley in Notre Dame's Ring of Honor.

Austin Carr is the greatest basketball player in the history of the University of Notre Dame -- PERIOD!  Take a look at what he accomplished wearing the uniform of the Fighting Irish:

• 2,560 career points -- in just 3 seasons -- at the time, the fifth-all time in college history and Notre Dame's all-time scoring leader
• a 34.5 career scoring average at Notre Dame
• during his last two seasons at Notre Dame, Carr scored more than 1,000 points in both seasons -- joining Pete Maravich as the second player in college basketball history to accomplish this
• holds the single game scoring record for most points in an NCAA Tournament game;  61 points, and most field goals scored in a game; 25 -- folks this was before the 3-point line!
• holds the career scoring average record -- for the NCAA Tournament -- averaging 41.3 points a game in the seven games he played -- a record most experts believe will never be broken!
• named National Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in his senior season
• ESPN named him one of the Top 25 College Basketball Players of All Time!
• Inducted into the second class of the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007

Austin was the #1 overall selection in the 1971 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He played ten years in the NBA -- and even though he had severe foot and knee injuries that required surgeries, he averaged 15.4 points per game.  The Cleveland Cavaliers retired Carr's #34 jersey -- one of six they've retired in their history.  Affectionately known in Cleveland as "Mr. Cavalier" - Austin is currently the color analyst for the Cleveland Cavaliers television broadcast, serving alongside my good friend Fred McLeod.  Congratulations Austin!!!  A ND GO IRISH BLOG 'thank you' to Dr. Jim Clancy for alerting us to this story.  Here's a link to a video of Carr "starring" in a music video for the Cavaliers, when LeBron was still in town...

LINK:  AUSTIN CARR IN MUSIC VIDEO

Jill & Thomas -- You Did the Irish Proud!!!

More than 12 million people tuned into the final race last night of Season 17 of CBS's The Amazing Race -- and, many, many Notre Dame fans were part of that crowd as we cheered on OUR TEAM -- Jill Haney and her boyfriend, "Domer" Thomas Wolfard '02.  Unfortunately, they didn't reach the final finish line, first last night -- missing out on the $1 million prize that went to the winner of this globetrotting adventure race.  Here's a link to an interview with the two after The Amazing Race and a link to a replay of the final episode.  THOMAS and JILL -- you did Notre Dame proud!!!

LINK:  AN INTERVIEW WITH JILL AND THOMAS

LINK:  REPLAY OF THE FINAL RACE FOR $1 MILLION!

The Best of Nick Garner -- ND Player Interviews

Sports Talk 4 Kids' Nick Garner is back again this morning on the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- and today he's interviewing some current Notre Dame players and a couple of players you'll remember from the past.  You'll enjoy Derrick Mayes' response to Nick's question about what it was like to play in the Super Bowl:



LINK:  ROBERT BLANTON INTERVIEW

LINK:  TOMMY REES INTERVIEW

LINK:  MICHAEL FLOYD INTERVIEW

LINK:  SEAN CWYNAR INTERVIEW

LINK:  DERRICK MAYES INTERVIEW

LINK:  JOEY GETHERALL INTERVIEW

Justin Tuck & NY Giants -- Off to Detroit!!!

In what has easily become the video of the day -- and probably the year -- the Minnesota Metrodome roof collapsed at 6 AM this morning from the weight of 20 inches of snow.  See the link below.  Former Notre Dame defensive lineman, Justin Tuck, and his New York Giants teammates -- who have been stuck in Kansas City because of the snow storm -- are now off to Detroit's Ford Field to play their game against the Minnesota Vikings tomorrow night at 7:20 PM ET.  Here's the FOX-TV video of the roof collapse:

LINK:  METRODOME ROOM COLLAPSES

"Sports Talk 4 Kids" @ Notre Dame!

Well, I found this young man on the web this morning and I think I've found my new hero!!!  Nick Garner, is a sports reporter who hails from Southern California -- and as you'll see in the links below -- the kid's "got game!"  Hope he ends up as a student at the University of Notre Dame someday.  Here's a link to few stories that Nick produced -- on our favorite subject.  You'll enjoy the questions he asked Coach Kelly -- GREAT STUFF!  Tomorrow, we'll post a number of Nick's interviews of current and former Notre Dame players.  Enjoy!!

LINK:  NICK GARNER INTERVIEWS COACH BRIAN KELLY!

LINK:  NICK GARNER INTERVIEWS ND CHEERLEADER!

LINK:  NICK GARNER INTERVIEWS THE ND LEPRECHAUN! 

LINK:  NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL TRADITIONS!

ND Student's Family's -- Christmas Display!

This home might just be the "most decorated" Christmas house in America!  Matt Prygoski, a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame -- returned home to Okemos, MI to help the family continue their nine-year tradition.  As you'll learn in the story, Matt put his "engineering" skills to good use!  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  THE PRYGOSKI'S -- A CHRISTMAS HOME

A Sports Editor Returns "Home" to ND...

Found this story this morning in the Pueblo Chieftan News -- a newspaper in southern Colorado -- about its Sports Editor's (Judy Hildner) return home to Notre Dame for the first time since the 50's.  Thought you would enjoy!

LINK:  GOING HOME TO NOTRE DAME

ND Alumni Club of Buffalo -- In The News!

It didn''t surprise me to learn of a story like this in today's Buffalo News -- as the "Senior" Notre Dame Alumni, in the Buffalo area, turn out every week between Thanksgiving and Christmas to help their community!  You'll enjoy the story:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ALUMNI -- PACKAGING TOYS!

Where Are They Now? -- Kyle McAlarney

The former 2008 first-team Big East basketball stand-out, for Mike Brey's Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, is now playing professional basketball in Greece!  This past October, McAlarney signed a contract to play with the Ikaros Esperos in the Greek A-1 League.  

Prior to signing with Ikaros, McAlarney briefly played for a professional team in the Israeli Superior League before heading back to America to play in the NBA Development League for the Springfield "Armor" and then the  Fort Wayne "Mad Ants" (photo).  Kyle averaged 11 points per game in his 43 games in the NBADL.

The Ikaros Esperos play out of Kalithea -- which is a suburb of Athens, Greece.  Kyle scored 19 points in his debut with Ikaros -- and is currently averaging 13.9 points per game, seven games into the season (stats linked below).

This past year, Kyle was the subject of a controversial "Outside The Lines" segment on ESPN -- where they profiled the lack of "white" players in the NBA, see the link below.  And to give you a little flavor of what professional basketball is like in Greece -- take a look at the link below to the riots in their Championship game this past season.  Good Luck Kyle!

LINK:  ESPN "OUTSIDE THE LINES" -- KYLE McALARNEY

LINK:  McALARNEY SIGNS WITH IKAROS

LINK:  McALARNEY STATS WITH IKAROS

LINK:  RIOT AT GREEK PRO BASKETBALL GAME

Hyundai Sun Bowl -- Post Practice Interviews

Notre Dame's football team practiced today "inside" -- getting ready for their upcoming bowl game against Miami.  Here's a link to Notre Dame's Hyundai Sun Bowl Central -- where you'll find videos of interviews with a few players and an interview with Coach Brian Kelly:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME  -- HYUNDAI SUN BOWL

Irish Hoops on ESPN2 Tonight vs. Gonzaga!

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs tonight in a home game that will be televised on ESPN2 at 8:30 PM EST.  It's the first time these two schools have met in basketball -- and the Irish are 7 point favorites -- as they attempt to "bounce back" from Wednesday's loss to Kentucky.  Should be a very good game!  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story about tonight's game:

LINK:  IRISH HOST GONZAGA TONIGHT!

A Little Off Topic: Army - Navy Game Today!

I know this is a Notre Dame blog -- but, we did play both of these teams this year!  The "Army - Navy Game" has always been my favorite "non- Notre Dame" football game of the year.  I'll be glued to the TV set this afternoon at 2 PM EST (CBS) as they kick off the 111th game in the history of "America's Game" from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Navy leads the series over Army; with 54 wins, 49 losses and 7 ties.

One of the greatest spectacles in sport is the MARCH ON -- as the Army Corps of Cadets and the Navy Midshipmen take the field in Philadelphia (this takes place two hours before kick-off) -- I've posted some videos below of this.  And, here's a link to the official website for the game - when you get there, click on the RIVALRY tab.  You'll enjoy the stories.

LINK:  ARMY-NAVY GAME:  OFFICIAL WEBSITE

LINK:  "AMERICA'S GAME" -- SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM 2009

LINK:  MARCH ON -- TO THE STADIUM

LINK:  MARCH ON -- ARMY'S CORPS OF CADETS

LINK:  MARCH ON -- NAVY'S MIDSHIPMEN

A Notre Dame Christmas for Cancer Patients

Athletes from nineteen of the the University of Notre Dame's varsity athletic teams were represented at a Christmas Party in Notre Dame's Heritage Hall for 100 pediatric cancer patients and their familes from South Bend's Memorial Hospital.  Here's a link to the WNDU-TV news story along with a second link to an eleven minute video that UND.COM produced about the event.  I wasn't able to provide a direct link to the UND.COM video -- so you'll need to click on it when you get to the page!

LINK:  WNDU-TV STORY 

LINK:  UND.COM COVERAGE

Henderson -- Finalist for Player of the Year!

Notre Dame junior soccer star, Melissa Henderson -- was named as one of the three finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Award yesterday by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.  This award is given annually to the top player in women's soccer -- and the winner will be announced on January 7th at a news conference in downtown St. Louis at the Missouri Athletic Club followed by an awards dinner that evening at the M.A.C.  Henderson was named a first team All-American, Most Valuable Offensive Player in the NCAA Tournament, Big East Offensive Player of the Year and 1st Team all-Big East -- as she led the Irish to their third National Championship.  One "fun fact" about Henderson's career at Notre Dame -- the Irish are undefeated in the 45 games that Melissa has an assist -- including the National Championship game where her assist led to the winning goal!  Henderson is the third Notre Dame women's soccer player to be a finalist for the Hermann Award; Katie Thorlakson in 2005 and two-time Hermann Trophy Award winner -- Kerri Hanks who won the award in 2006 and 2008.  The other two finalists this year are;  Alex Morgan (California) and Christen Press (Stanford).  This next week -- Henderson and her Irish teammate Lauren Fowlkes are off to train with the United States's U23 Team from December 12th to the 19th at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.  Congratulations Melissa!!!  A ND GO IRISH BLOG "thank you" goes out to Dr. Jim Clancy for alerting us to this story.  Here's a link to the story at UND.COM.

LINK:  HENDERSON A FINALIST FOR NATIONAL POY

PHOTO OF THE DAY: New York's Times Square

The Notre Dame Women's Soccer Team just "tweeted" this photo taken in New York's Times Square -- that celebrates their recent National Championship!  Pretty awesome!

A JBL Sound System Installed @ Notre Dame?

The final touches of the recently completed renovation of the Purcell Pavillion at the University of Notre Dame included a state-of-the-art SOUND SYSTEM!  Here's a link to what was installed inside the arena:

LINK:  SOUND? -- NOT A PROBLEM AT NOTRE DAME

#1 Catholic University in the World!

Knowing the great pride that the University of Notre Dame takes in its "rankings" amongst its peer institutions -- I'm not quite sure how some will react to The World University Rankings that were just released by a group out of the United Kingdom.

Notre Dame was ranked as the #1 Catholic university in the world -- was that ever in question?!

However, the overall ranking of #63 in the world may not sit to well on the Golden Dome's 4th Floor -- and I see that as a great thing!!! 

168 years ago, in a letter that Fr. Sorin sent (December 5, 1842) to the Very Reverend Basil Moreau, CSC -- Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross -- Sorin, made the following claim about the founding of Notre Dame du Lac:  

"Before long, it will develop on a large scale.... 

It will be one of the most powerful means for good in this country."

Well, Fr. Sorin -- your vision for Notre Dame has come true.  I'm sure if you could have a "do-over" 168 years later -- you would have substituted the word "world" for country.  No worries -- your associates have done just that for you!

Kind of puts this all into perspective -- doesn't it...

Here's the criteria and weighting the Times Higher Education used in their rankings of the Top 200 Universities in the World:

• Teaching — the learning environment (worth 30 per cent of the overall ranking score)
• Research — volume, income and reputation (worth 30 per cent)
• Citations — research influence (worth 32.5 per cent)
• Industry income — innovation (worth 2.5 per cent)
• International mix — staff and students (worth 5 per cent).

LINK:  THE TOP 200 UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD

NFL Draft Evaluations -- Floyd & Rudolph

Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly announced earlier this week that his two "prized" juniors; Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph have petitioned the NFL for a "draft evaluation."  What this means is a panel of "pro football scouting experts" (NFL Draft Advisory Board) will determine the draft status of both players -- telling Floyd and Rudolph where they believe they'll go in the 2011 NFL Draft.   

You can bet that both players and their families are also talking with Charlie Weis about their draft status. 

The "wrinkle" this year is the negotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL and NFLPA.  College underclassmen (Juniors and redshirt Sophomores) must declare for the NFL Draft by the second week of January and it's expected that the CBA will not be settled at that point.

It appears very likely that there will be a "lockout" this year -- delaying the start of the NFL season and impacting the "incomes" of the NFL players -- as the CBA is negotiated.  College players, thinking about coming out early, will have to determine if they want to risk the chance that there could be a prolonged delay to the start of the NFL season or even no season at all.  (the latter is highly unlikely)

You'll recall that twelve months ago -- the impending NFL/NFLPA CBA negotiation was one of the motivating factors for a number of underclassmen to declare early last year.  One of the issues on the negotiation table, is the pay scale for rookies.  It was widely assumed that the 2010 NFL Draft would be the "last time" NFL teams would pay out large sums of money to rookies in their first NFL contract.  Thus, players like Clausen and Tate had even more reason to believe leaving early last year was the right thing to do.  The college underclassmen this year have much different circumstances to assess. 

The good news is we will know one way or another by January 15th -- as to whether we'll have #3 and #9 back in gold helmets next season.  The bad news is the ND GO IRISH BLOG predicts -- they both will enter the 2011 NFL Draft.  

Here's some links to what's being said about Floyd and Rudolph's NFL Draft status along with a look back at Jimmy Clausen's evaluation process last year:
 
LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH -- DRAFT STORY 

LINK:  MICHAEL FLOYD -- DRAFT STORY

LINK:  SCOUT INC'S TOP 32 FOR 2011 NFL DRAFT

LINK:  JIMMY CLAUSEN'S DRAFT EVALUATION

Sun Bowl Coaches Press Conference -- REPLAY

The Hyundai Sun Bowl Coaches Press Conference -- took place this afternoon -- in El Paso, TX with Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly and Miami's Interim Head Coach, Jeff Stoutland.  Here's a link to a replay of the press conference:

LINK:  PRESS CONFERENCE REPLAY