Notre Dame Hoops on ESPN Today at 2 PM ET

The #21 ranked Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame will be in downtown Milwaukee this afternoon to take on #22 ranked Marquette -- in a huge BIG EAST game for both teams.

When I think of ND vs. Marquette -- I think of Al McGuire and Digger Phelps...

Marquette has been 'unbeatable' at home -- winning 24 straight.

The game will be televised on ESPN -- with tip-off slated for 2 PM ET.

LINK:  GAME PREVIEW

A Story -- The Irish Bagpiper

ND GO IRISH BLOG regular -- and my cousin, Mike Doyle (Holland, MI) -- shared this story with me.  I liked it so much that I had to share it with all of you.

THE IRISH BAGPIPER

Stiofain Gael MacGeough popped in and shared a great story with us...

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen nothin’ like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”

Apparently, I’m still lost…

Got to Love These Gold Hockey Helmets!

This photo was taken by the University of Notre Dame's Matt Cashore from last night's hockey game against Bowling Green.  The Fightin' Irish are in third place -- with an outside chance to still finish first in the last season of CCHA hockey.

The regular season ends tonight -- to win the CCHA regular season title; ND needs to beat Bowling Green, Ohio State needs to beat Miami and Michigan State needs to beat Western Michigan University.  GO IRISH!

National Rankings for Notre Dame Teams !!!

I'm not sure if Notre Dame has ever kept track of things like this -- but, you have to ask -- has there ever been an academic year when more Irish teams have been ranked in the top-25 than this one?

15 of Notre Dame's 24 NCAA Division I athletic teams are ranked in the top-25 this academic year -- four others have been or will be (as you'll see below) -- incredible!

Look at this:

• Women's basketball:  #2 ranking in the country
• Men's Lacrosse:  #2 ranking in the country
• Women's Fencing:  #2 ranking in the country
• Men's Fencing:  #2 ranking in the country
• Football:  #4 ranking in the country
• Women's Lacrosse:  #7 ranking in the country
• Men's Soccer:  #8 ranking in the country
• Hockey:  #11 ranking in the country
• Women's Soccer:  #13 ranking in the country
• Women's Swimming & Diving:  #18 ranking in the country
• Women's Cross Country:  #18 ranking in the country
• Women's Tennis:  #18 ranking in the country
• Men's Basketball:  #21 ranking in the country
• Baseball:  #22 ranking in the country
• Women's Golf:  #25 ranking in the country

In addition:

• Notre Dame's women's rowing team is coming off a season where they were ranked #15 in the country -- the rankings for this season will be released soon
• Notre Dame's women's volleyball team was ranked, for a time, in the top-25 this academic year
• Notre Dame's men's tennis team has been ranked in the top-25 this academic year (season on-going)
• Notre Dame's men's swimming team has been ranked in the top-25 this academic year (season on-going)

Sports Illustrated's Latest NFL Mock Draft

SI's Don Banks released his latest look at the 2013 NFL Draft.  Unfortunately, there's only one Notre Dame player being drafted in the First Round of his mock draft.


LINK:  MOCK DRAFT

Will We Soon See Brady Quinn in Jets Uniform?

The talk the last 24 hours is free agent QB Brady Quinn -- could be heading to the New York Jets.  The Jets hired David Lee as their QB coach and he's apparently a big fan of Quinn.  If Brady were to join the Jets -- this would be his fourth NFL team in seven NFL seasons.

LINK:  CBS STORY

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  NEWSDAY STORY

LINK:  JETS 101

LINK:  USA TODAY

Watch Bengal Bouts LIVE Tonight at 7 PM ET

Notre Dame's 82nd Annual Bengal Bouts' championship fights will be broadcast live via ESPN3 tonight at 7 PM ET.  To watch it on your computer -- just click on the link below.

Here's a photo of the ring inside an empty Purcell Pavilion -- hours before tonight's fight. 

LINK:  BENGAL BOUTS -- WATCH LIVE HERE AT 7 PM ET

LINK:  BOUTS -- PREVIEW

LINK:  BENGAL BOUTS HISTORY

The Nation's #1 Business School Has a DEAN!

The University of Notre Dame announced this morning that Roger Huang -- the interim dean of the Mendoza College of Business -- has had the interim label removed -- and is now the Martin J. Gillen Dean of the college.

The Mendoza College of Business has been ranked the #1 undergraduate business school in the country for three straight years by Bloomberg Businessweek.

Here's a link to the official release:

LINK:  HUANG NAMED DEAN

Graphic of the Day! Jerian's 28 Seconds!!!

This is an awesome look at the 28 seconds Notre Dame basketball fans will never forget -- as Jerian Grant took the game over against Louisville!

ND Women's Hoops New Adidas Tourney Gear

The #2 ranked Notre Dame women's basketball team unveiled their new Adidas "gear" for the upcoming Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament. 

I noticed there won't be any "shamrock conspiracy theorists" with this jersey! 

Adidas Unveils New Hoops Jerseys & Shoes

 

Can't say I've ever seen Notre Dame men's basketball in this color green or any of our athletic teams...

ESPN's ND Blogger Spring Practice Preview

Matt Fortuna, ESPN's Notre Dame blogger -- posted a video today of what he'll be looking for this spring when the Fightin' Irish football team hits the practice field.

LINK:  SPRING PREVIEW

Gus Welsh's Notre Dame Story -- Must Read!

Folks, I ran across this story this morning at the DAILY DOMER -- Notre Dame's daily storytelling platform.  And, I will admit -- I wiped away a tear or two.


LINK:  GUS WELSH -- A NOTRE DAME STORY

Skylar Diggins Scores 24 on ND's Senior Night

She will walk away from Notre Dame, in a few weeks, as one of the greatest ever to wear an IRISH jersey -- in any sport.

Skylar Diggins played her "second to last" game in front of the home crowd at Purcell Pavilion tonight - and she put on a first half show, scoring 20 points keeping the #2 ranked Fightin' Irish in the game with #22 Syracuse.  Here are the highlights of Notre Dame's 79 - 68 win!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Mike Broghammer Wins Semi-Finals Bout!

Former Notre Dame scholarship basketball player Mike Broghammer -- won his semi-final fight, this evening, in the heavyweight division of the BENGAL BOUTS.  Broghammer -- who joined the Notre Dame Boxing Club when a chronic injury would not allow him to continue playing basketball for the IRISH -- won a 2nd round TKO over Sean "Too Tall" Lischke - a grad student here at ND -- to advance to Friday night's finals at Purcell Pavilion.

Notre Dame head basketball coach Mike Brey was in attendance along with a number of his former teammates -- you'll see how excited Coach Brey gets when Broghammer knocked down Lischke for the first time in the 2nd round.

Here's the first knockdown -- Broghammer in blue trunks:

Here's the second knockdown:

Fr. Pete McCormick -- Notre Dame Priest

He's a Holy Cross Priest, Rector of Keough Hall and Chaplain for Notre Dame men's basketball team.  You'll enjoy his story.

Ironically, Fr. Pete was in my office this afternoon for a meeting...

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S FR. PETE

Notre Dame Gets Some "Pub" in Adidas Spot

Adidas just released a new TV spot featuring the Washington Redskin's RGIII -- and, they threw some love to Notre Dame as well...

LINK:  ADIDAS NEW TV SPOT

Sport's Illustrated's Peter King on Manti Te'o

You'll want to read this column written by SI's Peter King.  King writes about a conversation he had with an NFL exec about Manti and some other things...  You'll enjoy this.

LINK:  PETER KING ON MANTI TE'O

Big Day for Manti Te'o at NFL Scouting Combine

Notre Dame All-American Manti Te'o will be on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf today running and jumping around in front of scouts from every NFL team.  Manti won't be participating in the bench press today due to a "shoulder stinger" -- according to NFL sources.  Notre Dame's Pro Day on campus is set for March 26th.  Manti will lift then...

Kapron Lewis-Moore is also participating this morning...

If you'd like to track how Manti's doing -- just click on the link below to his results - or, click on the link to the LIVE feed from the NFL Network TV coverage...

LINK:  MANTI TE'O RESULTS

LINK:  LIVE COVERAGE OF NFL SCOUTING COMBINE

Notre Dame Players' NFL Combine Results

Here's a quick look at all of the former Notre Dame football stars performing this weekend at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.  Just click on their name below to see how they're doing:

LINK:  CIERRE WOOD

LINK:  THEO RIDDICK

LINK:  BRAXTON CAVE

LINK:  TYLER EIFERT

LINK:  MANTI TE'O

LINK:  KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE

LINK:  ZEKE MOTTA

LINK:  JAMORIS SLAUGHTER