The Atkinson Family -- A "Must See" Interview!

Former Oakland Raider great George Atkinson II and his two sons George III and Josh were recently interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle / SportsNet.  You'll enjoy the interview about the TWINS picking Notre Dame:

LINK:  SPEED IS ON THE WAY!

Notre Dame Goes "Centerplate" for Food

The University of Notre Dame announced a few months ago that they were considering outsourcing their food service needs for Notre Dame Stadium and the other sports venues on campus.  Well, they weren't kidding.  Yesterday the university announced that they had hired CENTERPLATE, the largest food supplier to the NFL, to handle the hospitality needs of Irish fans.  Centerplate has been awarded the hospitality contracts to 12 Super Bowls, 20 World Series, 100 major bowl games, etc., -- so they just might be able to handle Notre Dame!  Here's a link to the announcement and a link to the Centerplate website:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME GOES CENTERPLATE

LINK:  CENTERPLATE OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Former Bills Jim Kelly's Nephew an Irish QB?

Former Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly has a talented nephew named Chad Kelly who also wears #12 and plays QB.  Chad is gaining some interest from a number of the top schools in the country -- and the Irish jumped into the picture recently.  Here's a link to a Buffalo News story about his recruitment along with a second link to a highlight video of him.  The kid's a talent:

LINK:  JIM KELLY'S NEPHEW -- IRISH RECRUITING

LINK:  CHAD KELLY'S HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

Dave Duerson Found to Have Brain Trauma

Boston University researchers just announced that former Notre Dame football star, Dave Duerson had developed the same trauma-induced disease found in more than 20 deceased players.  Irish fans will recall that Duerson shot himself in the chest on February 17th -- in order to preserve his brain for research.  Here's a link to the New York Times article:

LINK:  DAVE DUERSON -- BRAIN TRAUMA

OT -- Photo of the Day!

If you know a Buckeye fan -- you might want to send them a link to this photo of a billboard on I-94 in Michigan close to the Ohio border.

Washington Post Video Interview of Darby

Ronald Darby, who committed to Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish of Notre Dame was featured today in a video interview at the Washington Post's website.  His track coach was interviewed -- and he mentioned that Darby's indoor 200 meter time is the 2nd fastest in the world right now.  Here's a link to the feature on Ronald Darby:

LINK:  RONALD DARBY INTERVIEW

Is Jimmy Clausen Up to the Challenge?

It sure didn't take long for the "young QB's" in Carolina to be sitting on a bench next to each other!  Jimmy Clausen and Cam Newton participated in a kick-ball game for charity yesterday -- the Charlotte Observer was there and they asked a number of questions of Jimmy.  Thought you'd enjoy the interview:

LINK:  JIMMY CLAUSEN -- WILL HE BE THE MAN IN CAROLINA?

How Long Will the Wait be for Ian Williams?

Ran across this writer's look at the "Ten Best Players Undrafted" and he picked Notre Dame's Ian Williams as the #1 player that was not drafted yesterday.  See the link below.

Typically a player like Williams, who didn't get drafted, would have signed a free-agent deal last night with a NFL team.  With the NFL Lock Out still in play -- teams cant' talk to Ian right now.  The good news is Williams and his agent, have plenty of time to research every team and see where he would fit in best. 

The same goes for Chris Stewart, Armando Allen, Darrin Walls and the other Irish seniors who would like to play in the NFL.  It's time to do your homework and prepare to put yourself in the best position to make a team.

LINK:  THE TEN BEST -- UNDRAFTED

Kyle Rudolph Interview with VIKINGS.COM

The #43 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Kyle Rudolph, was in Minneapolis yesterday to meet with the media.  Here is a link to one of his interviews:

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH -- MEETS WITH THE MINNEAPOLIS MEDIA

ND 2010 Opponents - 2011 NFL Draft Results

Here's a look at how many players were drafted from everyone of the teams that Notre Dame played this season.  The first group of teams make up the eight teams we beat (26 players drafted), while the second group of teams make up the teams we lost to (9 players drafted):

TEAMS WE BEAT IN 2010 -- PLAYERS DRAFTED INTO NFL:

• Purdue:  1
• Boston College:  1
• Pittsburgh:  5
• Western Michigan:  0
• Utah:  2
• Army:  0
• USC:  9
• Miami:  8

TEAMS WE LOST TO IN 2010 -- PLAYERS DRAFTED INTO NFL:

• Michigan:  2
• Michigan State:  2
• Stanford:  4
• Navy:  0
• Tulsa: 1

Notre Dame Players Drafted (NFL) Since 2000

As you can see below, this is the third time in the last twelve drafts that there was only one Notre Dame player drafted into the NFL.  The lack of players being drafted this year -- also cost the Irish the top spot in the All-Time NFL Draft list of most players drafted from one college.  A school in Los Angeles can now claim that honor.  Notre Dame now has had 466 players drafted into the NFL, USC with their 9 player drafted this year is now at 472.  Here's the Draft by year for Notre Dame -- since 2000:

2000 NFL DRAFT:
Round 7 (214): Jarious Jackson - Denver Broncos

2001 NFL DRAFT:
Round 3 (68): Mike Gandy - Chicago Bears
Round 3 (86): Brock Williams - New England Patriots
Round 4 (119): Jabari Holloway - New England Patriots
Round 6 (178): Tony Driver - Buffalo Bills
Round 6 (195): Dan O'Leary - Buffalo Bills
Round 7 (213): Anthony Denman - Jacksonville Jaguars

2002 NFL DRAFT:
Round 2 (52): Anthony Weaver - Baltimore Ravens
Round 4 (133): Rocky Boiman - Tennessee Titans
Round 5 (138): John Owens - Detroit Lions
Round 6 (198): Tyreo Harrison - Philadelphia Eagles
Round 6 (206): Javin Hunter - Baltimore Ravels
Round 7 (253): David Givens - New England Patriots

2003 NFL DRAFT:
Round 1 (21): Jeff Faine - Cleveland Browns
Round 5 (153): Jordan Black - Kansas City Chiefs
Round 5 (168): Sean Mahan - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 5 (170): Shane Walton - St. Louis Rams
Round 6 (182): Gerome Sapp - Baltimore Ravens
Round 6 (197): Arnaz Battle - San Francisco 49ers
Round 6 (212): Brennan Curtin - Green Bay Packers

2004 NFL DRAFT:
Round 2 (43): Julius Jones - Dallas Cowboys
Round 2 (60): Courtney Watson - New Orleans Saints
Round 4 (122): Glenn Earl - Houston Texans
Round 6 (170): Vontez Duff - Houston Texans
Round 6 (180): Jim Molinaro - Washington Redskins

2005 NFL DRAFT:
Round 3 (74): Justin Tuck - New York Giants
Round 5 (144): Jerome Collins - St. Louis Rams

2006 NFL DRAFT:
Round 2 (53): Anthony Falsano - Dallas Cowboys
Round 3 (90): Maurice Stovall - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 6 (205): Dan Stevenson - New England Patriots

2007 NFL DRAFT:
Round 1 (22): Brady Quinn: Cleveland Browns
Round 2 (57): Victor Abiamiri - Philadephia Eagles
Round 3 (70): Ryan Harris - Denver Broncos
Round 5 (166): Derek Landri - Jacksonville Jaguars
Round 6 (202): Mike Richardson - New England Patriots
Round 7 (230): Dan Santucci - Cincinnati Bengals
Round 7 (253): Chinedum Ndukwe - Cincinnati Bengals

2008 NFL DRAFT:
Round 2 (38): John Carlson - Seattle Seahawks
Round 2 (47): Trevor Laws - Philadelphia Eagles
Round 3 (86): Tom Zbikowski - Baltimore Ravens
Round 6 (186): John Sullivan - Minnesota Vikings

2009 NFL DRAFT:
Round 4 (114): David Bruton - Denver Broncos

2010 NFL DRAFT:
Round 2 (48): Jimmy Clausen - Carolina Panthers
Round 2 (60): Golden Tate - Seattle Seahawks
Round 6 (179): Sam Young - Dallas Cowboys
Round 6 (183): Eric Olsen - Denver Broncos

2011 NFL DRAFT:
Round 2 (43): Kyle Rudolph - Minnesota Vikings


Here's a link listing all of the players drafted from Notre Dame, by year -- just scroll down:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ALL-TIME NFL DRAFT BY YEAR

A Propsed Design Enhancement to ND Stadium!

It is my understanding the gentleman who did this work is a Notre Dame grad in the Chicago area who's obviously an architect (I don't know his name).  A few months ago I showcased an earlier design of his -- that I really liked.   He took some of the comment he received, an incorporated them into a new design.  I like this work too!  Here's a number of architectural renderings of his latest design.  Enjoy!

Vikings GM Talks About Drafting Kyle Rudolph

The Minnesota Vikings' General Manager Rick Spielman sat down with the Vikings.com's Mike Wobschall to talk about Kyle Rudolph.  Here's the link:

LINK:  VIKINGS' GM TALKS PICK OF RUDOLPH

Who Wears the Carolina Panthers' Uniform #2?

This will be the first clue of where Jimmy Clausen stands with the front office of the Carolina Panthers.  Clausen, who wore uniform #7 with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, wore uniform #2 with the Panthers last year.  Friday night, the Panthers drafted Cam Newton #1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft and he wore uniform #2  at Auburn. 

Who wears #2 for the Carolina Panthers?  Here's a link to the brewing controversy in Charlotte:

LINK:  WHO WEARS #2?

The Reaction to Vikings Drafting Kyle Rudolph

Took a lap around the world wide web this morning to see what some of the media experts had to say about the Minnesota Vikings taking Kyle Rudolph with the #43 pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Here are the links:

LINK:  PRO FOOTBALL TALK

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

Vikings Head Coach Talks About Kyle Rudolph

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier discussed the selection of Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph with the #43 pick in last night's NFL Draft.  Notre Dame fans will enjoy this.  Here's the video interview:

LINK:  LESLIE FRAZIER TALKING ABOUT PICK OF RUDOLPH

Minneapolis Star Tribune -- Talkin' Kyle Rudolph

Notre Dame star tight end, Kyle Rudolph was selected at pick #43 of the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.  Here's a link to a Minneapolis Star Tribune "video" story of Rudolph's selection:

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH GOES TO VIKINGS

"Must See TV" For Notre Dame Fans Today

The 2011 NFL Draft will enter its final day today -- the coverage on ESPN begins at Noon EST.  Notre Dame fans will want to see where Ian Williams, Chris Stewart, Armando Allen and their teammates end up!

If you're watching the NFL Network's coverage of the NFL Draft between 2 PM EST and 4 PM EST today -- you should catch Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly on the air as a guest commentator.

Later today at 7 PM EST -- the #1 ranked Notre Dame Men's Lacrosse team travels to Syracuse to take on the #4 ranked Orangemen.  The game will be televised live on ESPNU.  This will be the "game of the year" in college lacrosse.

Brian Kelly Meets With ND Club of Dallas

You're going to love watching these YOUTUBE videos of Coach Kelly speaking last night in Dallas, TX with the Notre Dame Club of Dallas.  He gets it!  The video is in three sections -- PLEASE NOTE:  I apologize that the initial link I posted didn't work, that's what happens when you do something "in between meetings" and get a little sloppy!  Sorry!

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- PART ONE

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- PART TWO 

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- PART THREE

Kyle Rudolph: Should He Have Stayed at ND?

I feel sorry for Kyle Rudolph and his family tonight.  The young man did the GOLD HELMET proud, just wish he was wearing it one more season!

What four months ago seemed like a "lock" to be a NFL first round draft pick -- Kyle was not among the 32 first round picks.  So, he will wait another 19 hours to learn what helmet he'll wear this fall.

What a shame -- Rudolph deserved much better that this.

Kyle should have stayed one more year at ND and proved he could play 13 games injury free.  I wonder how the "experts" who told him he was ready -- feel tonight.  Were there any players taken in the 1st round of the NFL Draft that were injured in each of the last two seasons -- injuries that required surgery -- that missed as many games as Kyle?

I truly believe you don't leave early, to get second round money, if you're a Notre Dame football player.