It's Less than 8 Hours to Kick-Off: USC vs. ND

I can't wait to see those GOLD HELMETS -- and whatever color jersey we wear today -- come running out of that tunnel tonight on NBC!  Thought I'd take one last lap around the world this afternoon to see what the experts are saying about tonight's game.  GO IRISH!!!

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- STORY #1

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- STORY #2

LINK:  LOS ANGELES TIMES

LINK:  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER -- STORY #1

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN TIMES

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

America's Top HS QB @ Notre Dame Today!

The last name Kiel is part of Notre Dame football lore...  Will it be again?

In a surprising move, Gunner Kiel -- got to love that first name -- will be visiting Notre Dame today for the USC game.  Kiel had committed to Indiana over the summer and most thought he was going to be a Hoosier.  Well, as a "talking head" at ESPN might say "Not So Fast My Friend..."  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story:

LINK:  GUNNER IN TOWN

The "COMPTON" Opens With Irish Victory!

5,022 people had the distinct honor of witnessing the first Notre Dame Hockey game and VICTORY last night!  Anders Lee scored the first goal, the last goal and one in between -- netting the first HAT TRICK in Compton history.  Here's the South Bend Tribune's coverage of ND's 5 - 2 win over Renssalaer:

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

Great Moments in the ND vs. USC Rivalry

Did some digging on YouTube this morning to find some of these gems from the Notre Dame vs. USC rivalry.  Now, they're all NOTRE DAME MOMENTS -- would you expect anything else!!!

LINK:  TONY RICE GOES 65 AGAINST USC

LINK:  STAN SMAGALA'S INTERCEPTION TD

LINK:  REGGIE BROOKS GOES 55 AGAINST USC

LINK:  ND VS. USC 2010

LINK:  1977 GREEN JERSEY GAME

LINK:  ND TWO POINT CONVERSION 1977

LINK:  ND ROUTS #5 USC IN 1995

LINK:  ND COMEBACK IN 1999

I Must Admit I Miss "TOUCHDOWN IRISH"

In my lifetime, the greatest radio voice ever for Notre Dame Football was Tony Roberts.  I can still hear him say "He's got one man to beat, TOUCHDOWN IRISH!"  Did a little digging this morning and found some clips of this man's talent.  I miss you Tony Roberts!

LINK:  TOUCHDOWN IRISH

LINK:  TONY RICE AND TONY ROBERTS

LINK:  ROCKET'S FIRST TD RETURN AGAINST MICHIGAN

LINK:  ROCKET'S SECOND RETURN AGAINST MICHIGAN

LINK:  HARRY O'S FIELD GOAL TO BEAT MICHIGAN

A Must See Video for Notre Dame Football Fans!

My son Jimmy sent this link to me this morning.  Every ND football fan should watch this before tomorrow night's kick-off against USC.  GO IRISH!

LINK:  WE ARE THE WARRIORS

USC vs. NOTRE DAME -- Experts Pick Winner

Took another lap around the world wide web this morning to check in on who the "media experts" are picking to win the USC vs. Notre Dame game tomorrow.  Here's what I've found:

LINK:  ESPN'S -- MATT FORTUNA

LINK:  ESPN'S -- TED MILLER

LINK:  BLEACHER REPORT'S -- ERIC BOWMAN

LINK:  OBSERVER -- STAFF

LINK:  ESPN COLLEGE GAME DAY

LINK:  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Tom Lemming Calls It One of the Best Ever...

The University of Notre Dame will be hosting some of the top high school football talent in the country today, tomorrow and Sunday -- so says recruiting expert Tom Lemming.  In fact, Lemming is calling it one of the greatest collections of school boy talent ever.  Here's a link to Lemming's story at Max Preps:

LINK:  BIG RECRUITING WEEKEND FOR ND

ESPN Blogger Admits He Was Wrong About ND

Ted Miller has been covering college football since 1997 -- so says his bio at ESPN.COM.  The bio also said he started covering Auburn football and then he moved west to cover Washington and the PAC 12.  Are there any college football fans in that time zone?

Well, Mr. Miller came out with his prediction for tomorrow's game between ND and USC and he made the statement that USC's offense was way better than ND's.  Notre Dame fans know that this isn't true -- so they took him to task...

In the end, Mr. Miller admitted he had not properly done his research on the subject -- and that he was wrong.  You've got to at least give him credit for admitting his mistake...

Ted, I hope you learned this lesson:  If you're going to take on the "BIG BOY" in college football -- you better do your homework first...


LINK:  ESPN BLOGGER ADMITS WRONG

Hey Geno, Stick to Women's Basketball!!!

Geno Auriemma decided to turn today's Big East Women's Basketball Media Day as "bash on Notre Dame football" day.  Auriemma used this platform to blame Notre Dame for the woes facing the Big East Conference.  Here's a link to Mrs. Auriemma -- excuse me, Mr.

LINK:  WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH CALLING OUT ND FOOTBALL

USC Week: Notre Dame's Thursday Update

Here's what Coach Kelly had to say after practice -- about Saturday's prime time kick-off on NBC!

LINK:  COACH KELLY AFTER PRACTICE

USC Student Newspaper -- Talks ND Rivalry

Thought Notre Dame fans would enjoy reading this story that ran in yesterday's Daily Trojan -- the student newspaper at USC.  It speaks to the long-standing rivalry between Notre Dame and USC and how it got started.

LINK:  THE WIVES MADE IT HAPPEN

Story of the Year -- New ND Helmet Paint!

This is going to pop on TV Saturday night!  The Fighting Irish are going to debut a NEW GOLD football helmet for the USC game.  The NBC cameras should have fun with this!  The new helmet has the 23.9 karat gold flakes in the paint from the DOME -- but, they won't ever have to be painted again -- so that tradition is gone.  But, I'll take this NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL HELMET any day!   WOW!!!

The folks at UND.COM introduced the helmet tonight -- here's the story!  And, Coach Kelly talked about the helmet with the media after practice today...

LINK:  THE NEW GOLD STANDARD FOR FOOTBALL HELMETS!

LINK:  COACH KELLY TALKS ABOUT THE NEW HELMET COLOR! 

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS FACEBOOK PAGE -- PICTURES OF HELMET

USC Week: Notre Dame Player Interviews

Manti Teo, Harrison Smith, Michael Floyd and Tommy Rees met with the media this afternoon to talk about Saturday night's clash with USC.  Here are the links to the interviews:

LINK:  MANTI TEO & HARRISON SMITH

LINK:  TOMMY REES & MICHAEL FLOYD

First Look @ Weekend Weather -- ND vs. USC

Looks like a good weather forecast for the first night kick-off at Notre Dame Stadium in 21 years!  Here's a link to the weather forecast from the gang at WNDU-TV:

LINK:  WEATHER FORECAST ND vs. USC

ESPN's Matchup Report for ND vs USC

Here is how the "experts" at ESPN "matchup" the position groups, special teams and head coach for Saturday night's game between USC and NOTRE DAME:

Mike Lee In Second Subway TV Commercial

Professional boxer (undefeated boxer I might add!) Mike Lee '09 is now starring in his "second" TV commercial for Subway.  Mike and fellow "domer" Justin Tuck (New York Giants) are paid pitchmen for Subway. Just click on the arrow to get it started!

"The Fighting Back" -- Back @ Notre Dame!

Rocky Bleier '68 returned to his alma mater this week to speak at the Rockne Heritage Fund reception.  Bleier's story of his life after Notre Dame has been well documented in a movie, book and countless magazine and newspaper articles.  Rocky is one of the finest public speakers you will ever run across -- this is a MUST SEE SPEECH!  Special thanks to ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Ken Devine for alerting me to this video.  Here's the link:

LINK:  ROCKY BLEIER -- BACK AT ND

They Used the Leprechaun Logo for 45 Years

However, those days are about over...

Chapman High School in Chapman, KS has been using the ND Leprechaun logo since 1967 -- but the University of Notre Dame has said "cease and desist."  This comes on the heels of the school re-opening after a tornado tore down the school in 2008...  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  CHAPMAN HIGH SCHOOL

USC Week -- Coach Kelly's Tuesday Presser

University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly met with the media today at noon to discuss Saturday's game with USC.  Here's a link to UND.COM's coverage:

LINK:  COACH KELLY MEDIA CONFERENCE