Irish Alums Score 3 TD's in NFL Playoff Game

Former Notre Dame football stars; Julius Jones and John Carlson scored a combined three touchdowns in the Seahawks stunning 41-36 win over the Saints yesterday afternoon in the NFL Playoffs.  The 7-9 Seahawks -- who most everyone felt didn't belong in the NFL postseason -- knocked off the defending Super Bowl Champions!  Carlson, had two touchdown catches (11 yards and 7 yards) for the Seahawks and Jones had a 5 yard TD run for the Saints.  In addition, former Irish star Golden Tate, had a catch for five yards for the victorious Seahawks.  The "only downside" to the Seahawks victory yesterday -- Pete Caroll...   Here's a link to a video of the Seahawks post game celebration -- watch it, if you must!

LINK:  SEAHAWKS POST GAME CELEBRATION

Irish vs. UCONN -- CBS @ 2 PM EST!

Muffet's #12 ranked Fighting Irish take on the #2 ranked UCONN Huskies -- in front of a SOLD OUT Purcell Pavillion (if Irish fans get through the snow to the game) and a national TV audience on CBS.  The game tips off at 2 PM EST -- GO IRISH!  Here's a link to GAMEDAY CENTRAL at UND.COM:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. UCONN -- GAMEDAY CENTRAL

Harangody's Best Game as a Pro!!!

Former Notre Dame All-American, Luke Harangody -- finally got his chance last night to show what he can do in the NBA.  The Irish start "lit up" the Toronto Raptors, in front of the home crowd, with his first career "DOUBLE-DOUBLE" -- scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Boston Celtics' 122-102 win.  Here's a link to an ESPN blog story on Luke's big night along with a video of his post game interview.  Congrats!

LINK:  HARANGODY -- FIRST CAREER "DOUBLE-DOUBLE"

Notre Dame -- Snow Storm!!!

The University of Notre Dame is getting hammered by a "LAKE EFFECT" snow storm.  This morning, WNDU-TV is reporting that there is two feet of snow on the ground, with more on the way -- over the next 36 hours.  Those of us not in the storm, will get a kick out of the weather radar link below from WSBT-TV.  You'll see first hand how some areas are getting buried in snow and a few blocks away, there might be no snow at all.  Here's a link to the news story, a link to the weather radar -- and a live link to a webcam view of South Quad, Clarke Memorial Fountain and the Dome & Basilica -- on the University of Notre Dame campus:

LINK:  WNDU-TV REPORT ON SNOW STORM

LINK:  WSBT-TV -- LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING

LINK:  WEBCAM VIEW OF SOUTH QUAD

LINK:  WEBCAM VIEW OF CLARKE MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN 

LINK:  WEBCAM VIEW OF DOME AND BASILICA

U.S. Army All-American Bowl -- 1 PM EST

Today's U.S. Army All-American Bowl from San Antonio, TX will feature three ND "verbal" commi and a couple of more who have yet to decide.   The game will be televised by NBC beginning at 1 PM EST.  The photo above is from the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl's -- featuring the 14 Notre Dame "committed" players in the game -- you might recognize a few of their "baby" faces!  Here's the All-Americans Notre Dame fans will want to keep an eye out for today:

All-Americans -- who have "verbally" committed to the Irish:

• George Atkinson III (ATH) -- on the West Team, will be wearing #20
• Matthew Hegarty (OL) -- on the West Team, will be wearing #56
• Stephon Tuitt (DE) -- on the East Team, will be wearing #98

All-Americans -- who are still considering committing to the Irish:

• Aaron Lynch (DE) -- on the East Team will be wearing #19
• Ishaq Williams (OLB) -- on the East Team, will be wearing #1

Notes concerning today's game:

• Atkinson, one of the best athletes on the field, is playing "safety" in today's game -- the same position his father played in the NFL for 10 seasons for the Oakland Raiders.  George III will be playing wide receiver when he arrives in South Bend this fall.
• Matthew Hegarty, banged up a knee in a high school basketball game a few weeks ago -- he'll be wearing a brace and should be good to go.  He just might be the best high school offensive lineman in America.
• Tuitt, earned a starting spot at DE today -- over a player (Ray Drew) that ESPN "experts" regard as the #3 "overall" high school player in America.  So much for recruiting experts at ESPN!  A big, powerful, athletic player -- who just might be Brian Kelly's most important recruit.  A number of schools are still recruiting him hard.
• Aaron Lynch, a Notre Dame "verbal" commit this past August -- only to de-commit in October and give a verbal commit to Florida State.  Just this week, Lynch decided to "de-commit" again and now is going to visit Notre Dame next weekend.  Lynch, another big, powerful, athletic body -- was running with Tuitt, this week, as a starting DE for the East Team.  Lynch and Tuitt could team up in South Bend and become our "Browner and Fry" -- for those of you who are old enough to remember these book end Defensive Ends for Coach Parseghian.  

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY ON AARON LYNCH

• Ishaq Williams, was scheduled to make a commitment to one of his final three schools today;  Notre Dame, Penn State or Syracuse.  However, he decided in the last day or so -- to "possibly" delay this decision.  He's expected to "enroll early" in one of these schools, so he doesn't have much time.  Many feel Notre Dame leads here -- but, both parents are Syracuse grads and a few feel Penn State is the team to beat (???).  He's being recruited to play an OLB for Notre Dame, but is expected to play a DE position in today's game.

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY ON ISHAQ WILLIAMS

Here are links to both team's rosters and ESPN's analysis of some of the better players:

LINK:  ROSTERS -- 2011 U.S. ARMY ALL-AMERICAN BOWL

LINK:  ESPN PREVIEW OF PLAYERS IN TODAY'S GAME

A "Domer" Breaks Michigan's Heart Today!

A Notre Dame alum, Jed York '03 -- broke the heart of every Michigan football fan this afternoon when it was announced that he had agreed to terms with Jim Harbaugh to become the new head coach of his San Francisco 49'ers.  Jed, the 29 year-old CEO and "Owner" of the 49'ers (that's Jed on the left in the photo) -- signed Harbaugh to a five-year $25 million contract.  Harbaugh the "people's choice" among the Michigan Wolverines' fanbase -- is now off the market -- and I guess you can thank the IRISH for that!!!  Isn't it nice having one of our rivals go through what we've had to deal with a few times in the last ten years!  Here's a link to this story -- along with

LINK:  HARBAUGH TO 49'ERS

LINK:  JED YORK -- 'GROWING UP'

Lou Holtz -- Happy Birthday!

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz turns 74 years young today -- Happy Birthday Coach!

And, I'm betting never in his "wildest dreams" did he think he'd be starring in an animated Disney Channel show -- as himself -- in this morning's episode of "Dr. Throw."


The Dr. Throw show targets toddlers and preschool children.  In this morning's episode "Dr. Throw," Special Agent OSO, the brightly colored panda bear, had to teach a little boy named Rudy how to throw a football before the boy's Uncle Lou comes over to play a game of catch.  Rudy completes a pass just as Uncle Lou — the former University of Notre Dame football coach — enters the backyard wearing his signature blue cap and blue sweatshirt.

Do you think -- by the name of the "little boy," the use of Coach Holtz in his ND gear -- and the fact that the star of RUDY (the movie) Sean Astin is the voice of Special Agent OSO -- the writer of this episode is a Notre Dame fan?

A big ND GO IRISH BLOG thank you to regular contributor;  Dr. Jim Clancy for alerting us to this story.  Here'a a link to a WNDU-TV story -- that shows a clip from the show -- Enjoy!

LINK:  COACH HOLTZ STARS IN DISNEY CHANNEL SHOW

U.S. Army All-American Bowl -- This Saturday!

The "future" of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame's football program will be on display this Saturday afternoon on NBC at 1:00 PM EST.  Three high school All-Americans, playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, have already given their "verbal" commitment to Brian Kelly;  Matt Hegarty (OL / New Mexico), Stephon Tuitt (DE / Georgia) and George Atkinson III (WR / California).  A fourth All-American playing in this game -- Ishaq Williams (OLB / New York) will be announcing his college choice during the game.  Ishaq's finalists are:  Penn State, Syracuse and Notre Dame.  It's "must see TV" for Irish fans!  Here's a link to the Army All-American Bowl's website -- you'll want to take a look at this!

LINK:  2011 U.S. ARMY ALL-AMERICAN BOWL

Under Armour All America Game -- 7 PM EST

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have two "verbal" commits playing tonight on ESPN in the Under Armour All-America game.  The two All-Americans are Davaris Daniels (WR) and Ben Kayock (TE) -- a third player in tonight's game; Amir Carlisle -- is currently committed to Stanford -- yet, is considering a switch to Notre Dame.  Should be fun to watch!



LINK:  TUNE IN TONIGHT -- WEDNESDAY @ 7 PM EST!

College Football -- An Investment!

A recent report came out that ranked the "investment" colleges were making into their football programs.  It's an eye-opener!  The statistics come from the Department of Education, which has required universities to submit the amount they spend on sports since 2000 as part of the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.  Here's what they found:


Top 10 "investors" in their college football program:
1. Ohio State: $31,763,036
2. Alabama: $31,118,134
3. Notre Dame: $29,490,788
4. Auburn: $27,911,713
5. LSU: $25,566,520
6. Florida: $24,457,557
7. South Carolina: $22,794,211
8. Wisconsin: $22,041,491
9. Arkansas: $22,005,014
10. TCU: $20,609,361

Top 10 ranking of investment:  per undergraduate student:
1. Notre Dame: $3,531
2. Tulsa: $3,236
3. TCU: $2,822
4. Stanford: $2,625
5. SMU: $2,113
6. Miami (FL): $1,927
7. Boston College: $1,891
8. Northwestern: $1,851
9. Arkansas: $1,625
10. Auburn $1,518

Here's a link to the entire article:

LINK:  COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS INDEED "BIG BUSINESS"

Irish Beat Second Top Ten Team in a Week!

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish knocked off the #8 UCONN Huskies 73-70 last night at the Purcell Pavillion!  This was the second win over a top ten team in the past week for Notre Dame.  The Irish beat #9 Georgetown last Wednesday night.  The #14 Irish are now 13-2 on the season and are sure to continue their gradual move up the national polls.  What was so impressive about last night's win was they did it without Carleton Scott -- who's out for a "few weeks" with a hamstring injury.  Here's a link to highlights of last night's game courtesy of UND.COM and a link to the "game story" from the South Bend Tribune:

LINK:  IRISH BEAT UCONN

LINK:  SBT -- ND BEATS UCONN

Breaking News: Kyle Rudolph Off to NFL!

The ND GO IRISH BLOG speculated a couple of weeks ago that it didn't look good for ND fans' hopes of keeping Kyle Rudolph in a gold helmet next season.  And, MSNBC's Keith Arnold just reported that Kyle has decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  RUDOLPH TO THE NFL

Notre Dame Takes a Look Back at 2010

The University of Notre Dame's Office of Public Affairs & Communication's gang produced a "look back" at some of the key moments over the course of 2010 at the University of Notre Dame.  As fans of ND, we all know there were some great moments this past year -- and some I'm sure we all wish had never happened -- and some we'll never forget.  Here's a quick synopsis of 2010 at the University of Notre Dame -- click on the link:




LINK:  THE YEAR 2010 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Dept. of Defense Awards $9.9 Million to ND

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) -- the U.S. Department of Defense's research and development office -- just awarded the University of Notre Dame's Center for Nano Science and Technology a $9.9 million contract.  Now I must admit -- what this group does at ND, is "way over my head" -- so I'm just going to link you to the South Bend Tribune story!

LINK:  MAJOR RESEARCH CONTRACT FOR NOTRE DAME

Two Irish Commits: In Under Armour Game

This Wednesday night at 7 PM EST -- the Under Armour All-America game will be played at Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL.  The game will be televised live on ESPN and will feature a couple of high school All-Americans who have given Brian Kelly a "verbal" commit:  Davaris Daniels, a wide receiver out of Vernon Hills, IL and Ben Koyack, a tight end out of Oil City, PA.  In addition, an "athlete" named Amir Carlisle who you will see at WR and probably RB in the game -- is currently committed to Stanford but is considering switching to Notre Dame.  Here's a link to the roster of players who will be playing in the game -- and when you get to this page, check out all of the stories being generated from the practices:

LINK:  UNDER ARMOUR ALL-AMERICANS

Charlie & Charlie Jr. -- Off to the Florida Gators

Over the last week there's been plenty of speculation in the media that Charlie Weis '78, would be leaving the Kansas City Chiefs to join Will Muschamp's new staff at the University of Florida.  Well, the move was confirmed yesterday by Charlie himself -- citing the opportunity to work alongside his son Charlie Jr. -- who's also accepted a position on the Gator's staff as a "student assistant coach."  The ND GO IRISH BLOG wishes the Weis family well in this new endeavor!  Here's a link to a USA Today story on Florida's hiring of Charlie Weis and the hiring of former ND offensive line coach Frank Verducci:


LINK:  WEIS TO FLORIDA

LINK:  WEIS JR. TO FLORIDA

The Hyundai Sun Bowl -- Celebration!

The gang at UND.COM just posted some great video from Notre Dame's victory celebration over Miami after their convincing 33-17 victory!  Here's the links to all of the action courtesy of UND.COM!  ENJOY!!!

LINK:  HIGHLIGHTS -- ND OVER MIAMI IN SUN BOWL!

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S GATORADE BATH!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S LOCKER ROOM CELEBRATION! 

LINK:  SUN BOWL POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

12th Ranked Irish Beat #10 Boston U in OT!

Jeff Jackson's Fighting Irish Icers rebounded yesterday afternoon -- after a tough loss the night before to eventual champion Minnesota State -- to beat the 10th ranked Terriers of Boston U in a shootout at the Shillelagh Tournament in Chicago.  The win over Boston -- which everyone expected to be the Shillelagh's Championship game -- gave the #12 Irish a 3rd place finish in the tournament.  The big stat of the game -- the Irish out-shot Boston;  42-19 -- yet the Irish trailed late in the 3rd period before scoring a short handed goal to tie the game and put it into overtime.  The short handed goal was the 9th of the season for Notre Dame -- tops in the nation!  It's always a big win in college hockey when you beat Boston U!  A ND GO IRISH BLOG thank you to regular contributor Dr. Jim Clancy for tracking down this story!

NBA / NOTRE DAME UPDATE: Luke Harangody

Our friends at ESPN did a nice story (surprisingly) on former Notre Dame All-American Luke Harangody.  You'll recall, "Gody" was a second round draft pick of the Boston Celtics this past June.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  HARANGODY -- LIFE IN THE NBA

Irish Women's BB -- WHAT A START!!!!

What's the old adage -- "It's never over til' it's over..."  Well, it was over early in the first half today for the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in their game with Notre Dame.   Muffet McGraw's Irish's started off the game with  a 36-0 run -- THE GAME WAS OVER -- in route to to a 46-6 halftime lead.  The Fighting Irish ended up winning the game 97-21.  The 21 points by an opponent is a new record for Notre Dame women's basketball!  The 17th ranked Irish are now 12-3 on the season -- leading in to Big East play -- which begins this Wednesday at Marquette.  A ND GO IRISH BLOG thanks to regular contributor Dr. Jim Clancy for alerting us to this story!  Here's a link to the UND.COM story:

LINK:  HOT START FOR THE IRISH!