OT: Will Hamilton is a NCAA Champion!

A childhood friend, USS teammate and long-time training partner of our kids' (Kara & Brady) -- WILL "CHILL" HAMILTON won the NCAA Championship last night in the 200 Fly!  Hamilton, a freshman -- also clinched the team NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP for the California Bears with his win!

It's pretty cool seeing a kid you've known, since the age of eight, accomplish something like this!

Hamilton's time of 1:40.94 is the SIXTH FASTEST ALL-TIME in the 200 Fly -- think about that.  This time is not far behind Michael Phelps' American record time of 1:39.65

Will will now be a legitimate contender for one of the two spots on the U.S. Olympic Team -- in this event -- at the upcoming Olympic Trials.   

I also want to give a "SHOUT OUT" to John McGuire -- who was Will's only coach for the past ten years and our kids' coach as well at GREAT LAKES AQUATICS.  There's probably a tear or two in his eyes this morning -- seeing one of his kids win an NCAA Championship with such class.

LINK:  INTERVIEW AFTER 200 FLY WIN!

LINK:  COACH INTERVIEW -- FAST FORWARD TO 6:10 MARK OF VIDEO

LINK:  A TRIBUTE FROM A TEAMMATE

Who Will Be the QB for the Fighting Irish?

 

After practice #3 yesterday -- the four student-athletes competing for, I would argue, the most high profile position in college athletics:  THE NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACK -- met with the media for the first time.

Tommy Rees, Andrew Hendrix, Everett Golson and Gunner Kiel will be THE NEWS coming out of South Bend, IN these next 160 days until the Irish play in Dublin, Ireland.  Here's what the media is saying these past 24 hours:

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

LINK:  WNDU-TV

Skylar Diggins -- Her ESPNW Blog...

She truly is the most famous athlete right now at the University of Notre Dame -- Skylar Diggins...

For the second year running -- Skylar agreed to produce a video blog on her tournament experience.  Enjoy!

LINK:  MARCH 24 BLOG

LINK:  MARCH 19 INTERVIEW

LINK:  MARCH 19 BLOG

LINK:  MARCH 16 BLOG

Sixteen Turns to Eight Today -- GO IRISH!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will tip it off against St. Bonaventure this afternoon at 2:32 PM ET on ESPN2.  The gang at Fighting Irish Digital Media produced a preview of today's game between the IRISH and the BONNIES.  (photo above of Skylar Diggins and Markisha Wright at practice yesterday)

LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

LINK:  PLAYERS' PERSPECTIVE OF BONNIES

ND Football: The Pads Came On Today!

In front of a number of the top junior high school football players in the country -- the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame broke out the "equipment" today and did some bangin'...

The good folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media were the only cameras allowed at practice -- so enjoy the show!

LINK:  PRACTICE #3 -- ND SPRING FOOTBALL

LINK:  COACH KELLY AFTER PRACTICE

Know Thy Opponent: St. Bonaventure Bonnies

Muffet McGraw's Fighting Irish will play St. Bonaventure tomorrow morning at 2:30 PM ET in a Sweet Sixteen match-up in Raleigh, NC.  The Irish will be playing a program (BONAS) that has never been in this position before -- will they be able to handle it?

Yesterday, Coach McGraw met with the media to talk about this game -- see that link below.  Also, I've tracked down some of the local media coverage coming out of western New York for this match-up.

LINK:  MUFFET'S PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  BONA PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  NEW YORK TIMES

LINK:  BUFFALO YNN -- NEWS STORY

LINK:  BONAS vs. NOTRE DAME MATCHUP

LINK:  BUFFALO NEWS

LINK:  BONNIES RETURN TO CAMPUS

LINK:  RISE OF ST. BONAVENTURE BASKETBALL

The Face of Notre Dame Football!

Four years ago this young man from Hawaii shocked the recruiting world when he committed to the University of Notre Dame.  Manti Te'o is the definition of a Notre Dame Man.  Impressive human being.  Here's a link to an interview that took place today at ND:

LINK:  MANTI TE'O

Irish Swimmer Dyer -- 4th in 200 FR @ NCAA

University of Notre Dame swimmer Frank Dyer -- finished fourth this evening in the Men's 200 Freestyle at the NCAA Division I Swimming Championships in Seattle, WA.  Congratulations!

LINK:  RESULTS -- 200 FREE

LINK:  VIDEO INTERVIEW

Spring Practice #2 & Junior Recruiting Weekend

The folks at UND.COM had their cameras at practice today catching the Fighting Irish at work -- specifically the linebackers.  In addition -- the University of Notre Dame is hosting many of the top junior high school football players in the country on campus today and tomorrow.  It's a big recruiting weekend for the IRISH.

LINK:  SPRING FOOTBALL PRACTICE #2

LINK:  STORY ON IRISH VERBAL COMMITMENT

Media Reacts to the Start of ND Spring Football

Took a lap around the worldwide web this morning to see what the media had to say about the start of Spring Football at the University of Notre Dame.  Just click on the links below.  (photo above of Gunner Kiel.)

LINK:  ESPN: SPRING FOOTBALL -- EARLY STORY LINES 

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  WNDU-TV

LINK:  ESPN BLOG

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- ERIC HANSEN

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- ERIC HANSEN #2

LINK:  FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE

LINK:  FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE #2

ND vs. St. Bonaventure -- ESPN's Take

 

The folks in Bristol, CT are never short of opinions...

Today, their experts opined about Sunday's game between the IRISH and the BONNIES in Raleigh, NC.  For St. Bonaventure - it's a first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament and two wins later -- they get to take on "Goliath" in a game few feel they can win.  DANGER!

Here's what ESPN has to say about this Sweet Sixteen match-up:

LINK:  ST. BONAS vs. NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football is BACK!!!

The Notre Dame football team was back on the field today in GOLD HELMETS -- with the first practice of Spring Football at ND!  Practice started at 7 AM and ran until 10 AM.  Here's Coach Kelly's post practice media session along with a look "INSIDE" practice #1:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESSER

LINK:  PRACTICE #1 -- VIDEO REPORT

Photo of the Day: The Last Time at Purcell

This is the last time Notre Dame fans will see the backs of these three jerseys at Purcell Pavillion -- as seniors; Devereaux Peters, Natalie Novosel and Brittany Mallory -- along with Fraderica Miller (not pictured) played their last game on the Purcell Pavillion floor.  Photo by Travis Mather

ESPN's Sports Science: Skylar Diggins

 

Special thanks to Travis Mather for alerting me to this Sports Science feature that ESPN ran on the University of Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins -- pretty cool stuff here!

LINK:  SKYLAR DIGGINS -- ESPN SPORTS SCIENCE

Big Win For Muffet's Irish: 73 - 62 Over Cal!

A 31 - 31 dead lock at halftime -- turned around quickly in the second half when the Irish went on a 23 - 6 run to take control of the game.

I just want to know what committee determined CAL was an eight seed?

I truly feel this will be the most difficult test the IRISH will face until they reach Denver and the FINAL FOUR -- Cal is that good.

Up next, St. Bonaventure -- who beat Marist 66 - 63 tonight.   The trip to the Sweet Sixteen will also be known as the SMALL FAMILY CHAMPIONSHIP as our daughter Kara's school (the Bonnies) takes on our oldest son Jimmy's school and Dad's employer (the Irish).

Kara has already started the "text war" with this message:  "God likes St. Bonaventure more than Notre Dame..."

It's going to be fun!

LINK:  NCAA HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  BOX SCORE

A University of Notre Dame THREE-PEAT!!!

The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business was just named the #1 undergraduate business program in the country for the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR -- by Bloomberg Businessweek!

Here's the TOP FIVE:

1. THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
2. University of Virginia
3. Cornell University
4. Wharton
5. Emory

CONGRATULATIONS!

LINK:  THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!

Connaughton -- Impressive Debut for Irish!

Notre Dame student-athlete, Pat Connaughton -- put on his baseball uniform this afternoon and he proceeded to STRIKE OUT FIVE of the seven hitters he faced in his 1 2/3 inning stint for the Irish today against Eastern Michigan University.

On a strict pitch count -- Connaughton faced four hitters in the first inning -- striking out three and walking one.  In the second, he struck out the lead-off hitter then gave up a single to the second EMU hitter before striking out the next -- then he was pulled from the game.

FIVE STRIKE OUTS -- IMPRESSIVE COLLEGE DEBUT -- for the freshman starter on the Irish men's basketball team!

I took some video -- until I was almost hit by a foul ball -- you'll see this in the video.

LINK:  VIDEO OF CONNAUGHTON'S FIRST COLLEGIATE PITCH

Former Irish QB to "Lend" Jersey to Manning

Frank Tripucka -- Irish fans will remember the last name from his son Kelly's basketball days at Notre Dame and the NBA. 

Well, Frank was quite an athlete himself.  He was the starting QB for the IRISH in 1948, leading the team to a 9-0-1 record and a #2 national ranking -- and he earned All-American honors in the process.

What's cool about Frank's story is he went on to play 15 seasons of professional football.  One of the teams he played for -- the Denver Broncos -- retired his #18 jersey.

Well, as some of you may know, Peyton Manning wears #18 -- and Frank made the gracious offer yesterday to "lend" Peyton his uniform number and wear it with the Broncos.  No word yet on what will transpire here.  Fun story...

LINK:  DENVER POST STORY

Coach Kelly's Spring Football Press Conference

Notre Dame head football coach, Brian Kelly -- met with the media today to talk about Spring Practice -- which begins tomorrow at 7 AM!  Here's a link:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Notre Dame Releases 125th Anniversary Logo!

This upcoming football season will be the 125th in the storied history of Notre Dame Football.  To commemorate this milestone -- the University of Notre Dame has created this official mark (above) which will appear either on the GOLD HELMET or jersey, or both this fall.

I also suspect we'll see it on a few items in the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore as well... 

I personally love the clean / classy look of this logo -- nice work!

An official website is under construction and will be launched around BLUE GOLD WEEKEND.

LINK:  FUTURE SITE