Athletes Using Deer-Antler Spray -- Really ???

Baltimore Raven's linebacker Ray Lewis and members of the Alabama football program were sold DEER ANTLER SPRAY (a performance enhancing agent) by a company called SWATS -- in a Sports Illustrated story that broke yesterday...

Never thought I'd be reporting about deer-antler spray...

LINK:  DEER-ANTLER SPRAY

LINK:  BAMA PLAYERS USING

Brian Kelly Talk at Super Bowl Media Day

University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was credited today with the switch of a skinny high school sprinter into a Super Bowl starting offensive tackle -- after he had a little cry...

LINK:  ONE OF KELLY'S FORMER PLAYERS

Shamrock Placement on ND Hoops Jersey?

Here's a photo of the current WHITE HOME JERSEY for Notre Dame Women's Basketball (on the top) and here's a look at last year's WHITE HOME JERSEY (on the bottom) -- check out the placement of the shamrock above IRISH.  Could there be a potential SHAMROCK CONSPIRACY brewing in the media?

Just having some fun...

Notre Dame's #2 Lady Irish Beat #9 Tennessee!

Muffet McGraw's Fightin' Irish went into Knoxville tonight and beat the Lady Vols 77 - 67 -- for the first time in nine tries!  And, Skylar Diggins had her biggest scoring game in her college career -- knocking down 33 points!

The win makes Notre Dame the first school in women's college basketball history to beat UCONN and Tennessee in the same season -- for THREE STRAIGHT SEASONS!

LINK:  HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  BOX SCORE

Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins Profiled on ESPN

Skylar Diggins is the unquestioned leader of the #2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  ESPNW's Graham Hays wrote a story about Skylar today -- here's the link:

LINK:  ADDING TO HER LEGACY

Muffet's #2 Fightin' Irish Take on #9 Lady Vols

It's the BIG MONDAY game on ESPN2 TONIGHT at 7 PM ET and it matches up our #2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the #9 ranked Tennessee Volunteers -- in one of the marquee games of the season in women's college basketball.

To make the night more special -- Tennessee will be unveiling a banner for Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt -- who retired last season.  Their building will be rocking!

Muffet has never beaten Tennessee in Knoxville -- going 0 - 8 against the Volunteers in their building.  Let's hope that changes tonight!

Kyle Rudolph Named MVP of NFL PRO BOWL!

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Kyle Rudolph was named MVP of the NFL's PRO BOWL last night in Honolulu!  Rudolph, in his second season with the Minnesota Vikings, caught five passes for 122 yards and a TD -- in what could be the last NFL PRO BOWL ever played...

Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  RUDOLPH NAMED MVP

LINK:  VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Notre Dame Leads Right to Life March on D.C.

More than 700 Notre Dame students, faculty and staff were in Washington D.C. on Friday to lead thousands who were marching on our nation's Capital to support a RIGHT TO LIFE.  Here's some news coverage from WNDU-TV:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME LEADS MARCH ON WASHINGTON D.C.

Value of a Notre Dame Degree -- Ranked #9

Bloomberg Businessweek just released its ranking of the value of a college education -- the "return on investment" -- from more than 800 colleges and universities in America.

And, the University of Notre Dame is ranked #9 !!!

LINK:  MOST VALUABLE COLLEGE DEGREES

Adidas "Adjusts" Notre Dame's Black Jersey

This photo was just "tweeted" by @ndmbb from the locker room down in Tampa, FL -- where the IRISH will play South Florida today.  I like the change to the black jersey!

Skylar Diggins Goes for 2,000 Points Today!

At approximately 2:03 PM ET this afternoon -- Skylar Diggins scored the 2,000th point in her illustrious career at the University of Notre Dame.

Skylar is now the 4th Irish women's basketball star to reach that milestone.  Here's the all-time scoring list at Notre Dame:

• Beth Cunningham:  2,322 points
• Katryna Gaither:  2,126 points
• Ruth Riley:  2,072 points
• Skylar Diggins:  2,020 points

With the potential for as many as 20 more games this season -- Skylar COULD leave as the ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER.  Here's a video of the basket that took her over the 2,000 point mark:

LINK:  SKYLAR'S 2K

Tim Brown & Jerome Bettis -- Finalists Again...

Seventeen former NFL stars are left in the selection process for the NFL HALL OF FAME -- and you'll find THREE NOTRE DAME ALUMS among the finalists -- hoping to join 10 former DOMERS already enshrined:

• Tim Brown -- 9 time Pro-Bowl selection, retired #3 all-time in NFL TD catches
• Jerome Bettis -- 6 time Pro-Bowl selection, retired #6 all-time in NFL rushing yards
• Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. -- won 5 Super Bowl Championships as owner of 49ers

LINK:  NFL VIDEO ON HALL OF FAME FINALISTS

Another #1 Ranking for Notre Dame !!!

A ranking of the most beautiful cathedrals on American college campuses was just released -- and the University of Notre Dame's Basilica of the Sacred Heart received the #1 ranking!  Here's a list of the top 30 ranked "on-campus" cathedrals -- along with a link to a video tour of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

LINK:  TOP 30 COLLEGE CATHEDRALS

LINK:  TOUR THE BASILICA OF THE SACRED HEART

Katie Couric Talks After Manti Te'o Interview

The gang at WSBT-TV here in South Bend just released a discussion that took place between Katie Couric and local TV anchor Jennifer Copeland -- after her taping of the Manti interview.  See link below. 

I, like many of you -- are just minutes removed from watching the interview.  Here was the best "take-a-way" that I hope members of the media will allow to sink-in for minute.  And, it came from Manti's dad Brian -- who said this about his son:  

"He's a 21 year-old kid, trying to be a man..."


LINK:  KATIE COURIC TALKS MANTI TE'O

LINK:  EXCERPTS FROM KATIE COURIC'S INTERVIEW OF MANTI

"The Interview" -- Today on Katie Couric Show

If you're wondering what time the Manti Te'o interview will air on the Katie Couric Show -- in your area -- just click on the link below.  In the South Bend market the show starts at 4 PM ET.

LINK:  MANTI TE'O ON KATIE COURIC

Tim Brown & Jerry Rice -- Accusing Sabotage...

With the Super Bowl eleven days away -- the sports media got their hands on an interesting story yesterday -- not involving Manti Te'o...

Former Notre Dame All-American and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice both accused their former Oakland Raider's offensive coordinator Bill Callahan of "sabotage" -- as it relates to their offensive game plan for SUPER BOWL XXXVIII -- ten years ago.

Here's the story:

LINK:  BROWN AND RICE -- ON CALLAHAN

Katie Couric Show Releases Manti Te'o Excerpt

The Katie Couric Show wasted little time today releasing an excerpt from the interview they taped today with Manti Te'o and his parents for Thursday's show.

It's the first on-camera interview of Manti since the story broke last week.

Here's a link:

LINK:  MANTI TEO WITH KATIE COURIC

A Special Letter From One ND Dad to Another!

This past Saturday evening -- one of the all-time great baseball players and people left for Heaven...

St. Louis Cardinal's great and Hall of Famer -- Stan Musial, passed away at the age of 92.   Now, many baseball fans can recite Musial's life-time statistics -- but, many probably don't know that Stan's son, Dick Musial, is a 1962 graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

I learned yesterday from one of my colleagues at Notre Dame -- Brian Dean '87 -- that Stan Musial was his dad's boyhood idol.  Brian then shared with me a copy of a letter his dad had just forwarded him -- a letter he had written to his hero upon learning of his death...

I was so taken by the letter that I asked Brian for his dad's permission (Tom Dean pictured above), to share this letter "from one Notre Dame dad (Tom Dean) to another (Stan Musial)" on the ND GO IRISH BLOG.  As you'll see below, Tom was kind enough to allow me to publish his letter to Stan...

Enjoy!

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Subject: Say It Ain't So, Stan

C’mon now, it can’t be.  All the news stations and internet blogs are saying you died today. Say it ain’t so, Stan.  Not my boyhood hero.  Not the guy I tried to copy when I played first base for my grade school baseball team.  Every time I took the field I imagined I was wearing number 6 on the back of a scratchy woolen shirt with the StMM on the front. (That stood for St. Mary Magdalen and we didn’t have numbers.)  I was left-handed just like you, Stan, so I thought that would help me snag throws from 3rd or Short.  Of course, a lot of them just scooted on by me and I had to run red-faced to the fence by the railroad tracks to retrieve the ball then turn and try to get it back to the infield before the runner got an “insider.”  You’d never let that happen, Stan.  You could catch anything the Redbird infield threw at you.

But it was watching you at the plate that was my real inspiration.  There you’d stand, all twisted up like a watch spring ready to cut loose...your feet together at the back of the box, knees slightly bent. You held the bat back, a little high and perpendicular to the ground while you hunched forward with your eyes staring intently at the motion of the guy on the mound.  And when the ball left his hand, you’d tense a little and then uncork that stance, stepping into the pitch with your right foot as the bat came around with such speed that only slow-motion movie cameras could see it.  It was the darndest batting stance anyone had ever seen and it has never been duplicated since.  That didn’t stop me or almost any St. Louis kid who idolized you by trying to copy it in sandlot or even organized youth baseball.  Our coaches would go crazy trying to convince us that only you could hit from that position but we’d ignore them and go right on striking out time after time. How many times would I slink back to the bench, dragging the bat on the ground behind me, shaking my head and trying to figure out why it worked for you but not for me?  I remember on a couple of occasions I’d think I had it figured out.  “Oh no.  I forgot the wiggle!”  The wiggle.  That was the crowning move you’d make just before the first pitch. As the pitcher went into his wind-up, you’d wiggle your hips just a little. When asked why you did it, I remember you saying that it helped you concentrate. 

I couldn’t make it out to Sportsman’s Park very often to actually watch you play, Stan.  But when my dad or my uncle came up with tickets, I’d have trouble sleeping the night before anticipating the next day’s streetcar ride to the park, getting off at Grand and Dodier on the North Side where we’d make our way through the crowds heading for one of the entrances or to the ticket windows.  I can still hear the shouts of program vendors: “Programs! Get yur Cardinal programs here! A scorecard in every copy! Only 25 cents! Programs!”  I don’t think we ever bought one because the scorecards that were sold inside the park were only a dime.

If we got there early enough, we’d make it to our seats while you were still taking batting practice and I’d lean forward and watch you in the batting cage, trying to memorize every motion.  (“Yeah, that’s it. I’m not raising my right elbow enough.  I’ll do that at my next game and see what happens.  Hmm.  I’d better practice that home-run trot too.”) 

And those broadcasts with Harry Caray and “the Old Sarge” Gabby Street (a former catcher and Cardinals manager) are among my favorite memories of growing up in St. Louis.  Harry loved you, Stan. He used to drive listeners nuts by coming up with those “scenarios” that involved you and what you would do to change the course of a game.  They went something like this: “Cards are down a run here in the bottom of the 9th with Schoendienst leading off. If Red can get on, that’ll give Walker the chance to bunt him over so that The Man can bust one onto Grand Avenue.”  And you know what, Stan?  Harry was right a lot of the time!

I’m sitting here tonight, 66 years later, gently holding a Spalding “Official National League” baseball inscribed “To Tommy Dean, Best Wishes.” There are fading ink signatures all over it, signatures of men mostly gone ahead of you Stan.  There’s Whitey Kurowski, the third basemen who presented me with my very own Spalding first baseman’s mitt, known as “The Claw.”  It was a special gift at a 1948 night game I went to with my Uncle Vince Kerwin who’d arranged the presentation because he did Whitey’s taxes each year. Other names like Enos Slaughter, Red Schoendienst, Joe Garigiola, Howie Pollet, Marty Marion, and Harry “The Cat” Brecheen are also there.  But the only name that ever meant anything to me is right above “Country” Slaughter’s.  Your signature was as unique as your batting stance and it’s the one I’ve been showing to friends and family since the day I got if from, yes, Uncle Vince. It isn’t dated but I think it's from the ‘47 or ‘48 team.

When my wife, Marge, and I lived in St. Louis in 1963, I was shocked to learn that she didn’t know much about baseball. So on our 2nd wedding anniversary, I took her to your restaurant, Musial and Biggies, on Oakland Avenue.  After dinner, we headed for the ballpark where the Cards were playing the Giants.  Juan Marichal was on the mound for San Francisco and I think you guys beat him that night.  Being there seemed to light a spark in Marge because from then on, she became an avid Cardinal fan with special attention being paid to you for being a legend and to Tim McCarver whom she thought was “cute.”  One day, Marge came home from the beauty parlor and proudly announced that she had sat under a hair dryer right next to your wife, Lillian. We also would see you and her together at Sunday mass at St. Gabriel’s church and would get a kick out of watching visiting congregants who’d suddenly recognize you when you’d return to the pew after Holy Communion.   

Also on the desk in front of me is a St. Louis Cardinals scorecard dated September 29, 1963. Marge found it recently in a stack of old papers so I put it in special envelope along with a color photo of you that was given out that day.  I’m sure you’ve remembered that date right up to today, Stan.  It was your last game and I’d somehow finagled a couple of tickets. It was a Sunday afternoon game and we knew that traffic and parking would be a huge problem so we took the bus.  On the way there, I bored Marge to death talking about those streetcar rides (they tore up the tracks in the 50s) but when we arrived at the park, she got into the swing of things experiencing the still-there program vendors and the smell of hot dogs and beer.

Our seats were left field, upper deck – a long way away but the important thing to us was, we were there. We were going to see baseball history unfold in front of our very eyes that day. The Reds were in town and when the line-ups were announced over the PA, the mention of your name as the starting left fielder triggered a roar that seemed to last a very long time. Your teammates that day included Curt Flood, Julian Javier, Ken Boyer, Bill White, and on the mound, a guy named Bob Gibson. The Reds roster was no walk in the park either.  Pete Rose was at second and hit leadoff. Vada Pinson played Center. In left field was Frank Robinson, while Leo Cardenas was the short stop.

Marge had learned how to keep score – probably from her mother, Marjorie – and according to the notations she made on the card that day, you went two-for-three which, according to Google, was exactly the same result you had on your first day with the Cardinals in 1942. In the seventh inning, manager Johnny Keane pulled you from the game.  I’m sure it was a plan pre-approved by you but to those of us in the stands, it was punch in the gut and we all let Johnny know how we felt about it with several minutes of standing boos and catcalls.  A woman next to me was crying and pounding me on the arm yelling, “Why are they taking him out?  Why? Why?!!”  That arm was sore for days.  But in the end, we all knew it was over.  Marge apparently knew it too because there’s no more scoring on the card from the bottom of the 7th on. I have no idea what the final score was.

At the end of the game, there was a ceremony at home plate with all your teammates, family, friends, Cardinal executives, and Hall of Fame guests surrounding you. None of the Cincinnati players went to their clubhouse but stood and watched respectfully from the visitors’ dugout. Harry Caray came down from the broadcast booth to emcee the event.  The team gave you a ring that Harry described as a black precious stone imbedded with diamonds in the shape of the number 6.  You gave a nice speech, thanking everyone, especially we St. Louis fans.  That brought us to our feet and the cheers could be heard for miles around old Sportsman’s Park.  I don’t think I cried but I’m pretty sure there was a lump in my throat all the way home.

Over the years, I’d see pictures of you at Cooperstown installations, at Cardinal World Series games, and other baseball events. The last time I saw you was about a year ago when you received the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in the White House.  You looked pretty frail, Stan, and it hurt to see that you needed assistance in standing for the presentation.  But you made it to 92 and that’s probably par for the course for tough Pennsylvania Polish guys like you.  So I’m going to say a prayer before bed tonight, asking God to fold you into His loving arms and asking you to look back and pray for people like Marge and me whom you left behind...grieving our loss but smiling at the memories you gave us.

Oh, and when the angels ask you to show them how you did it, don’t forget the wiggle.

Tom Dean

San Diego

Notre Dame Football's -- Work in the Bend...

The University of Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns just produced a video that showcases the work our Fightin' Irish football team did in the South Bend community this past year.  Enjoy!

LINK:  GIVING BACK

Manti's Mormon Bishop -- Goes on the Record

Jim Carrier, a Mormon bishop here in the South Bend area -- and Manti's spiritual adviser -- spoke yesterday with the South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen.  Here's the story:

LINK:  MANTI'S LDS BISHOP