ESPN Experts Give ND NO CHANCE Tomorrow!

If Notre Dame wasn't already in Denver -- the NCAA might have just given the National Championship last night to Baylor...

So says seven of the "experts" at ESPN who selected Baylor today to defeat the IRISH tomorrow night.

Ironically, this is the FOURTH time many of these experts have picked against Notre Dame this tournament.  First they thought California would beat the Irish, then it was Maryland, then it was UCONN and surprise, surprise now it is Baylor's turn to beat Muffet's girls.

Note to experts - BAYLOR has yet to meet the WILL of the IRISH.  They "will" tomorrow night.  It's going to be fun!

LINK:  ESPN EXPERTS PICK THE NATIONAL CHAMP

LINK:  ESPN PREVIEWS THE MATCHUP

Nineteen Days to the Blue Gold Game!

Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish held their first "April Practice" of the 2012 Spring Football season this morning (April 2) at the LaBar Practice Complex.  And, our friends at Fighting Irish Digital Media were in attendance -- here's their report:

LINK:  FOOTBALL PRACTICE REPORT

The Rebound & Put-Back That Saved a Season!

 

This photo sequence will undoubtedly be framed in the Novosel household for the rest of time...

In the top photo -- Notre Dame senior Natalie "Nasty" Novosel -- is in position to grab an offensive rebound.  In the middle photo, Natalie is grabbing the rebound.  And, in the bottom photo, Natalie has already let loose of the shot off the backboard -- awaiting it to fall in.

Natalie made the put-back with 4.6 seconds left on the clock to put the game into OT!

The rebound and put-back that saved Notre Dame's season!

The Mornin' After Irish Win Over UCONN

Notre Dame fans all over the world had to wake up this morning with a smile on their face -- the guy in this photo, probably did not...

THE IRISH ADVANCE IN THE FINAL FOUR TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!

Muffet's Fightin' Irish decided it was so much fun beating Auriemma's gang last night -- that they thought "why not five more minutes of this!"

Here's the UND.COM coverage of the celebration "after the game" and a look around the worldwide web this morning, with what the media has to say about ND's big win:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME POST GAME CELEBRATION

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN #1

LINK:  ESPN #2

LINK:  ESPN #3

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT #1

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT #2

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT BLOG

LINK:  DENVER POST

LINK:  THE DAILY CAMPUS -- UCONN STUDENT NEWSPAPER

LINK:  THE OBSERVER -- NOTRE DAME STUDENT NEWSPAPER

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #1

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #2

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #3

LINK:  WNDU-TV

PHOTO OF THE DAY: IRISH ADVANCE!

This picture of Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins and Devereaux Peters -- says it all.

Brittany Mallory -- She's ALL IRISH!!!

She takes the toughest defensive assignment every night and she doesn't earn the national acclaim of her teammates -- yet, over a four minute span tonight -- Brittany Mallory was the greatest female basketball player on the planet!

I am so happy for Brittany and her family!

Notre Dame in National Championship Game!

It took 45 minutes -- but the IRISH are in the National Championship game for the second straight year!!!!

Notre Dame beat UCONN 83 - 75 behind Brittany Mallory and Skylar Diggin's heroics in OT!

It's the first time a Geno Auriemma UCONN team has ever lost three games to one team in the same season.  And, for the second straight year -- Muffet's Irish take out UCONN in the National Semi-Final.

That is FOUR WINS OVER UCONN IN THE LAST FIVE GAMES -- but who's counting!

(Photo above is of Natalie Novosel's rebound before her HUGE put-back bucket with 4 seconds left to take the game into overtime)

GREAT JOB IRISH!!!

LINK:  ESPN POST GAME COVERAGE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE  

LINK:  NCAA POST GAME COVERAGE

Jimmy Clausen Returns Home for NFL Pro Day

Nine former Notre Dame football players will perform this Tuesday on campus -- in front of scouts from every team in the NFL -- at the NOTRE DAME NFL PRO DAY.

Word on the street is Jimmy Clausen has returned to campus to throw passes to his former teammates in front of the scouts.  Clausen just might be doing this for his own good as well -- hoping to get out of Carolina...

Here's the story:

LINK:  NFL PRO DAY @ NOTRE DAME

Third Photo "Tweeted" from Final Four!

 

The Irish will be in their home WHITE jerseys tonight signifying that the NCAA Tournament Committee had ranked Notre Dame as the #2 overall team.  Photo "tweeted" by @ndwbb

Video of Irish Departing Hotel for Game!

Here's some video just "tweeted" of the IRISH leaving their hotel for their FINAL FOUR game against that school from Storrs, CT. 

AWESOME!

LINK:  IRISH LEAVE FOR ARENA

Second Photo From the Final Four...

Fighting Irish Digital Media's Tim O'Connor (@oaknd1) just "tweeted" this photo from courtside at the NCAA Women's Final Four.

New Website for the University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame launched a new website this afternoon.  You'll want to check it out!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S NEW WEBSITE

First Photo From Final Four: Crowd @ Hotel!

As you can see in this photograph "tweeted" by Pete Byrne WSBT-TV -- Fighting Irish fans turned out in full force at the Team Hotel this afternoon to cheer on the IRISH before their ride to the arena!

2012 NFL Mock Draft: Michael Floyd Will Go...

 

The NFL Draft is just twenty-five (25) days away and as you would imagine -- there are many thoughts on how early Notre Dame All-American wide receiver Michael Floyd, will be drafted. 

He's picked as high as #7 to Jacksonville and as low as #22 to Cleveland -- here's a link to a number of mock drafts from some NFL experts:

LINK:  2012 NFL MOCK DRAFTS -- FIRST ROUND

Skylar Diggins -- ESPNW Blog from Final Four!

Skylar Diggins and her Fighting Irish teammates were looking fashionable at the Final Four's Mile-High Magic event Friday night.  And, this was the subject of Skylar's most recent blog post from Denver.

You'll also enjoy the story on the legend of Skylar's headband.

Enjoy!

LINK:  SKYLAR DIGGINS

LINK:  THE LEGEND OF THE HEADBAND

The Fighting Irish Play UCONN at 6:30 PM ET

For the eighth time in the last fourteen months -- our Notre Dame Fightin' Irish will be taking on UCONN @ the Women's NCAA Final Four for the right to play Tuesday night in the National Championship game!  The game tips-off at 6:30 PM ET on ESPN. 

I took a lap around the worldwide web to see what the "experts" have to say about today's big game -- click on the links below:

LINK:  UND.COM PREVIEW OF GAME

LINK:  CONNECTICUT POST

LINK:  ESPN GAME BREAKDOWN

LINK:  IRISH HAVE CHIP ON SHOULDER -- ESPN

LINK:  NBC CONNECTICUT

LINK:  HARTFORD COURANT

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #2

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

ND's Morris Inn Renovation -- Impressive!

 

Here's the Notre Dame Avenue perspective of what the University of Notre Dame's Morris Inn will look like come September of 2013.  The renovation will begin this November.  Here's some of the highlights:

• An increase from 92 guest rooms to 138 guest rooms
• Average room size grows from 240 square feet to 360 square feet
• A 300 seat ballroom on the north end of the Inn

Irish Recruit MVP of All-American Game Today!

Jewell Loyd, the highest rated incoming recruit to Muffet McGraw's Fighting Irish basketball program was also in Denver today -- playing in the WBCA High School All-American game -- and she didn't disappoint!

Loyd was named the MVP -- leading her team to a 74 - 62 victory, scoring 18 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists!

A good omen for the IRISH!

Congratulations Jewell!

LINK:  LOYD NAMED MVP OF ALL-AMERICAN GAME

LINK:  DENVER POST STORY

LINK:  JEWELL LOYD -- ABC NEWS STORY

Photo of the Day: Final Four Court in Denver

My brother Jay, who resides in the Denver area -- made the trek downtown this afternoon to catch the FINAL FOUR festivities in the Mile High City. 

He took this photo of the court -- which features the snow covered Rockies in the foreground...

Eighty-One Years Ago Today: Rockne's Death

March 31, 1931 -- in a Kansas cornfield, a plane went down killing legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others.  Rockne, only 43 years old at the time, had just visited his two sons in Kansas and was on his way to the west coast to participate in the production of the movie "The Spirit of Notre Dame."

What's not often discussed is Coach Rockne left the ND Football team in the middle of a nineteen game winning streak -- having gone undefeated his last two seasons as head coach (1929 and 1930) winning "back to back" National Championships.

The season after Coach Rockne's death (1931), the Irish extended the unbeaten streak to 27 straight games before losing the last two games to USC (who was visiting ND for the first time ever) and Army at Yankee Stadium.

LINK:  KNUTE ROCKNE ALL-AMERICAN -- MOVIE TRALER