ND Still Leads All-Time NFL Players Drafted!

The University of Notre Dame still holds a slight lead over the University of Southern California -- for the total number of players drafted into the NFL.  Here's a link to the Cleveland Plain Dealer story:

LINK:  IRISH -- THE ALL-TIME LEADER!

Will Rudolph Go In the NFL Draft's First Round?

What seemed like a "given" a few months ago when he decided to leave Notre Dame early for the NFL Draft -- that Kyle Rudolph would be a first round draft pick -- is not such a sure thing anymore.  I've seen a number of "mock drafts" that don't have him going until the "Jimmy Clausen zone" of the second round.

The "injury thing" has been raised during this long evaluation period that each NFL hopeful must endure.  Kyle Rudolph has yet to play a full season since his freshman campaign with Notre Dame.  He missed a couple of games his sophomore season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery and he missed most of last season due to a hamstring injury that required surgery.  NFL teams take note of that.

So, the question of the day is this -- if Kyle doesn't go in the first round of Thursday's NFL Draft, did he make a huge mistake by leaving early?  Here are links to stories over the past twenty-four hours about where Kyle might go:

LINK:  ST. LOUIS RAMS?

LINK:  BALTIMORE RAVENS?

LINK:  ATLANTA FALCONS?

Garrick Sherman Transfers to Notre Dame!

Michigan State Spartan, Garrick Sherman announced today that he would be transferring to the University of Notre Dame to play basketball for the Irish!  The 6'-10" forward will have two years of eligibility left after sitting out the 2011-2012 season.  Here's a link to his bio on the MSU site:

LINK:  GARRICK SHERMAN

A Nice Story -- An Annual Pilgrimage to ND!

Gerald LaVaute and his son Matthew made their annual pilgrimage to Notre Dame to watch the Blue Gold Game.  Gerald, a staff writer with Heritage Media in Southeast Michigan (in Wolverine country) wrote about their trip and produced a video as well.  Thought you'd enjoy the story and video of their day at "America's Holy Land:"

LINK:  A PILGRIMAGE TO NOTRE DAME

Game Of The Year -- College Men's Lacrosse!

The #1 ranked and undefeated Fighting Irish of Notre Dame travel to Syracuse, NY this Saturday to take on the #4 ranked and once-beaten Orangemen.  The game will be played in the Carrier Dome -- and Syracuse's athletic department is expecting a huge crowd.  Here's a link to an alert that went out this afternoon to fans planning on attending the game:

LINK:  BETTER COME EARLY TO SATURDAY'S GAME!

Robert Hughes -- A Wonderful Story Today...

University of Notre Dame senior running back -- Robert HUUUUUUGHES was featured today in a Chicago Sun Times story.  Robert is one of nine former Irish football players waiting to learn later this week if they'll be given the chance to play in the NFL.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  ROBERT HUGHES -- CHICAGO SUN TIMES

OT -- Cam Newton Offered $1 million...

To answer "no" to four questions "truthfully" about his recruitment to Auburn and Mississippi State.  I'm guessing this is a "Bama Fan" who made the $1 million offer to Cam if he can pass a lie detector test.  A very clever approach, that the "Newton camp" may have to deal with -- leading up to the NFL Draft on Thursday.  Here's the link:

LINK:  JUST SAY NO -- EARN $ 1 MILLION!

Zibby Wins Again -- Now 4-0 as a Pro Boxer!

Tommy Zbikowski scored a first round knockout last night over Blake Warner at WinStar Casino in Thackerville, OK!  If you're counting, he's now 4-0 as a professional boxer.  Here's a link to the coverage of his fight last night -- as well as a YouTube video of the fight:

LINK:  NFL.COM

LINK:  BALTIMORE SUN

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  YOUTUBE VIDEO OF ZIBBY'S KNOCKOUT!

HAPPY EASTER to the Notre Dame Family!

Thought I'd share a link to one of my favorite Notre Dame websites this morning -- PRAY ND.  If you've never been to this site, find the time sometime today.  Here's the link:

LINK:  HAPPY EASTER TO THE NOTRE DAME FAMILY!

Tulsa's Bowl Rings -- Refer to Victory Over ND

The University of Tulsa handed out their "bling" to this year's football team -- and the big topic of discussion was the ring given to the players and coaches.   As you'll see in the pictures --  the ring commemorated more than the Golden Hurricane's win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl.  I'll leave the photo to do the explaining...

Here's a link to the Tulsa World story:  A WIN THEY'LL NEVER FORGET

The "Mike and MIKE Bowl" -- I Missed This!

The renewal of the Notre Dame vs. Northwestern football series took a unique path in how it was introduced to the sports world.  ESPN Radio's Mike and MIKE Show had the honors of announcing that ND and NW would play each other in 2014 and again in 2018 live -- on their show.  I missed all the fun that took place -- so I thought I'd provide a link to Greeny and Golic's segment with Coach Kelly and Coach Fitzgerald.  Here you go:

LINK:  THE MIKE AND MIKE BOWL

Brian Kelly Ranked 13th Best College Coach

The folks at College Football News recently ranked the top college football coaches in America and our man Brian Kelly made their Top 15.  Here's a link to the story and what they had to say about Notre Dame's head football coach.  Here's hoping his ranking is LUCKY for the IRISH this year!

LINK:  COACH KELLY PICKED #13

What's Jimmy Clausen Thinking?

A year ago, Jimmy Clausen was thought to be a sure-fire first round NFL draft pick.  He left Notre Dame early to cash in on the big bucks that goes with being an early pick in the annual NFL talent auction.  Most draft experts felt Jimmy was a lock to be the first QB taken in the draft -- probably among the top ten picks.  It was the right decision to leave Notre Dame early...

Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell this to the guys running the draft for each of the NFL teams in the first round -- as Jimmy fell to the 48th pick (second round) to the Carolina Panthers.  This cost Clausen more than $40 million in his first NFL contract negotiation.

The best decision Clausen and his handlers made was not to have him sitting in the NFL Draft's "green room" -- like Brady Quinn three-years prior.

Notre Dame fans will recall these same NFL draft experts "spinning" that Clausen ended up in the perfect situation for a rookie QB.  The Carolina Panthers offered Jimmy a good offensive line, strong running game a talented wide receiver and the opportunity to play early.

Once again, all of the experts were wrong -- as Carolina's season went BAD FAST.  Clausen was forced to play early and he didn't play well.  For the season, Clausen threw for 1,558 yards, three TD's and nine interceptions.  He completed 52.5% of his passes for a QB rating of 58.4.  He started 10 games winning just one -- as the Panthers went 2-14 for the season, securing the #1 pick in next Thursday's NFL Draft.

Now, a year later -- all of the people who made the decision to draft  Clausen are gone in Carolina.  And, those same NFL Draft experts believe the Panthers may take Auburn's Cam Newton -- the Heisman Trophy winning QB -- with their first overall pick.  Can't be easy for Clausen.

Here's a link to some of the more recent stories about what Carolina might do with the #1 pick Thursday -- and it's impact on Clausen:

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

LINK:  NBC

Notre Dame's Top Student -- From Michigan!

Edward Larkin was selected as the University of Notre Dame's Class of 2011's Valedictorian.  The East Lansing, MI native carries a 4.0 GPA in Biological Sciences and a supplementary major in Classical Civilization.  Here's a link to a ND Newswire story on Larkin's honor.

LINK:  ND'S CLASS OF 2011 -- VALEDICTORIAN

Ever Wonder How Many Days To ND Football?

The folks at AgencyND -- the talented "in-house" ad agency at the University of Notre Dame, created a "widget" that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to every kick-off for the 2011 football season.  Thought you'd enjoy seeing this.  Click on the link below:

LINK:  COUNTDOWNS TO NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

The One Game He Won't Root For the IRISH!

Every Saturday morning in the fall since 2005 -- Notre Dame football fans can always count on Louis Leo Holtz picking the Irish to beat their opponent on ESPN's College Gameday.  Well, that might change 134 days from today.

On Saturday, September 3, 2011 -- Skip Holtz will bring the Bulls of the University of South Florida back to his alma mater to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.  And earlier that day -- I fully expect Lou Holtz will pick the Bulls to upset his beloved Irish for the first time ever on College Gameday.  Irish fans, brace yourself -- because I also expect Mark May to pick ND to win that day!

Lacrosse History This Week -- ND #1

The University of Notre Dame's men's lacrosse team made history this week -- as they were voted #1 in college lacrosse for the first time in school history!  The undefeated IRISH -- the only undefeated team in college lacrosse -- were ranked #1 in both major lacrosse polls; Nike/Inside Lacrosse Poll and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Coaches Poll.

The "cool" thing about the number #1 ranking of the Irish is this -- this sport has been dominated by schools on the east coast.  In fact, Notre Dame is the "furthest school west" to ever be ranked #1 in lacrosse.  Here are links to the polls along with a link to a South Bend Tribune story:

LINK:  INSIDE LACROSSE POLL

LINK:  UNITED STATES INTERCOLLEGIATE LACROSSE COACHES POLL

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

NFL Draft -- One Week Away For IRISH Nine

Nine members of this year's Fighting Irish football team will know next week if there's going to be an opportunity to play in the NFL.  For players like Kyle Rudolph and Ian Williams -- the question's not "IF" it's where.  For the balance of the Irish -- it's not so clear cut if the NFL is going to come calling.  Here's a link to a story in the Bleacher Report that lists where each of the nine ND student-athletes stand in the NFL Draft process.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PLAYERS -- IS THERE AN NFL IN THEIR FUTURE?

Jewell Loyd's Press Conference Yesterday

The folks at the CSLInsider were present yesterday at Jewell Loyd's press conference where she selected the University of Notre Dame over UCONN and Tennessee.  The 5'-9" guard is one of the top players in the country in the Class of 2012 -- she's a huge "get" for Muffet's Irish!  Here's a link to the story and video of her press conference.

LINK:  JEWELL LOYD GOES IRISH!!!

Coach Kelly With WNDU's Jeff Jeffers

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly, sat down with WNDU-TV's Jeff Jeffer's yesterday to talk about the Blue Gold game.  Here's a link to the interview:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY INTERVIEW