OT: GOLDEN SOUL Is My Derby Pick Today!

With a name like this -- Notre Dame fans have to be rooting for GOLDEN SOUL today in the 139th renewal of the Kentucky Derby!  Post time is 6:24 PM ET today on NBC.

Now please know this -- I don't know one thing about horse racing!

LINK:  GOLDEN SOUL'S TRAINER

IRISH Softball on ESPNU -- Twice Today!

The 39 - 11 Fightin' Irish women's softball team, will be taking on #9 ranked Louisville in a doubleheader today at Notre Dame's Melissa Cook Stadium.  Both teams come in with identical 17 - 2 records in the BIG EAST -- the winner takes home the conference regular season title!

ESPNU will be televising the entire DOUBLEHEADER -- beginning at 4:00 PM ET today!

LINK:  GO IRISH!

Notre Dame Names its 2013 Valedictorian

Mallory Meter from Beverly Hills, MI -- my old home state -- was named the Class of 2013's valedictorian this week!  The psychology major earned a "PERFECT" 4.0 during her four years here at Notre Dame...

As you'll see below, Mallory did more than just study.

Congratulations Mallory!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S VALEDICTORIAN

Skylar Diggins Talks About Her Years @ ND

Fans of Skylar Diggins will enjoy this video of her reminiscing about her four years at the University of Notre Dame.  It's a must see!

LINK:  SKYLAR DIGGINS

Where Are They Now -- Joe Brockington

Notre Dame football fans will remember the name Joe Brockington...

Brockington has a new career that brought him home to Notre Dame today.  Click on these news stories -- along with a link to a demo video of Joe at work:

LINK:  TRAINING POLICE DOGS

LINK:  WNDU-TV -- BROCKINGTON

LINK:  ABC-57 -- BROCKINGTON

Coach Kelly Visits Cowboys Stadium Today

University of Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly traveled to Dallas, TX today to meet with alumni and to take a tour of Cowboys Stadium -- where the IRISH will play a 'home' game this October 5th against Arizona State.

LINK:  ESPN STORY

New Football Facemasks for Notre Dame?

These photos were "tweeted" today by a company claiming that Notre Dame will be using these new GOLD facemasks this season...

Notre Dame To Consider Expansion @ Stadium

The University of Notre Dame announced today that it would be exploring the idea of adding buildings around the exterior of Notre Dame Stadium that would accommodate academic/learning space and serve as a hub for student life...

Looks awesome doesn't it!

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

LINK:  OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Notre Dame Man Killed in Afghanistan...

Reid Nishizuka '05, was killed in an air crash this past Saturday near Kandahar Airfield.  The 30 year-old Nishizuka was a graduate of the ROTC program at Notre Dame.

LINK:  DOMER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN

Notre Dame's "Muddy Sunday"

I found this photo taken by Notre Dame photographer Barbara Johnston at the DAILY DOMER -- it is shot taken this Sunday on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.  It was MUDDY SUNDAY -- meaning, we're going to play volleyball in a MUD PIT...  A Notre Dame student tradition.

Notre Dame Ranked #10 in ESPN Football Poll

Well, it's still 123 days until the 2013 college football season kicks off in Notre Dame Stadium for our Fightin' Irish -- yet, ESPN just came out with their first PRE-SEASON POLL after Spring practice...

You'll find two ND opponents ranked ahead of the IRISH and two ranked behind.  Click on the link below:

LINK:  T0P-25 RANKINGS

Notre Dame's Fr. Bill Dailey on "The Moment"

The Rector of Stanford Hall and a visiting associate professor in the Notre Dame Law School -- Fr. Bill Dailey, C.S.C. -- made a cameo appearance on the upcoming NBC Show "The Moment."

The Moment will air May 3rd on the USA Network at 11 PM ET -- with a show shot at Notre Dame -- former NFL QB Kurt Warner (photo on left) hosts the show...

Fans of Rudy will see some symmetry with this clip from THE MOMENT:


LINK:  FR. DAILEY ON THE MOMENT

Taylor Swift Posing With ND's Leprechaun

Notre Dame's latest Leprechaun (Johnny Romano) -- apparently slipped past security "undercover" to get this photo with Taylor Swift.

Taylor's brother Austin is a student at Notre Dame...

LINK:  ND'S LEPRECHAUN

Video of Manti Te'o & Robby Toma Parade!

The folks in Hawaii threw a WELCOME HOME PARADE and party yesterday for a couple of Notre Dame football players who grew up on the North Shore of Oahu -- Manti Te'o and Robby Toma...

Unfortunately, Manti was in San Diego -- meeting with the media -- yet, the hometown crowd still celebrated -- check out the links below:

LINK:  WELCOME HOME PARADE

LINK:  KITV.COM

LINK:  PHOTO GALLERY FROM PARADE

Coach Brian Kelly at the 2013 NFL Draft...

University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly sat down with the NFL DRAFT "XTRA" crew to talk about Tyler Eifert and Manti Te'o -- you'll enjoy this...

IT'S A "MUST SEE" FOR EVERY FIVE STAR'S PARENTS!

LINK:  COACH KELLY

The San Diego Media's Take on Manti Te'o

Apparently the San Diego Chargers aren't accustomed to 14 TV cameras at press conferences... 

Manti Te'o met with the media yesterday in San Diego -- here are a few of the stories:

LINK:  U-T SAN DIEGO NEWS

LINK:  KFMB-TV -- CBS SAN DIEGO

LINK:  NBC-TV -- SAN DIEGO

LINK:  NBC-TV -- SAN DIEGO #2

Notre Dame Players Signing Free Agent Deals

There were five former Notre Dame football players "UN-DRAFTED" who signed free agent contracts with NFL Teams yesterday and today -- here's the list:

• Braxston Cave -- Cleveland Browns
• Mike Golic, Jr. -- Pittsburgh Steelers
• Cierre Wood -- Houston Texans
• Dayne Crist -- Kansas City Chiefs
• John Goodman -- Cincinnati Bengals

In addition, players who have not signed a free agent deal will be invited to Rookie Camp to compete for a roster spot -- here's that list:

• Robby Toma -- Baltimore Ravens
• Jordan Cowart -- Washington Redskins
• Ben Turk -- Houston Texans 
• Chris Salvi -- Chicago Bears

LINK:  LIST OF UN-DRAFTED FREE AGENT SIGNINGS BY NFL TEAM

Six Notre Dame Players Go In 2013 NFL Draft

The Fightin' Irish had SIX players taken in the 2013 NFL Draft;  Tyler Eifert (#21 -- Bengals), Manti Te'o (#38 -- Chargers), Jamoris Slaughter (#175 -- Browns), Theo Riddick (#199 -- Lions), Kapron Lewis-Moore (#200 -- Ravens) and Zeke Motta (#244 -- Falcons).

Cierre Wood -- who still had a year of eligibility left, not drafted.

I suspect we'll soon learn about a few more of the seniors signing "free-agent" contracts in the next 24 hours...

CONGRATULATIONS!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PLAYERS DRAFTED

San Diego Chargers Welcome Manti Te'o

Manti Te'o took a "red-eye" flight into San Diego this morning to meet with the Chargers and the local media.  Here's the first interview with the gang at CHARGERS.COM -- along with a link to a photo gallery of his arrival and his first press conference as a Charger:

Manti will be wearing uniform #51 for the San Diego Chargers...
 

LINK:  MANTI TE'O IN SAN DIEGO

LINK:  PHOTO GALLERY OF MANTI'S ARRIVAL 

LINK:  MANTI'S FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE

San Diego Chargers -- TALK ABOUT MANTI

Minutes after being drafted by the San Diego Chargers -- Manti spoke with the folks at CHARGER.COM on a number of subjects -- and the Charger's GM Tom Telesco and Head Coach Mike McCoy met with the media:

LINK:  CHARGER'S PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW