Jeff Samardzija on the Trade Block in Chicago?

I truly can't believe the Chicago Cubs would be willing to trade the former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver -- who's currently 3rd in the National League in strikeouts with 146 in 144.1 innings pitched.

Last night he pitched seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball -- yet, the Cubs get shutout and the bullpen gives up five in their 5-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Reportedly, the buzz at Wrigley is they're worried that Jeff is going to test the free agency waters -- three years from now...  They have him under contract for three more years -- and they're worried about 2017?

Here's the media coverage:

LINK:  PRICE ON SAMARDZIJA SKY HIGH

LINK:  ESPN INTERVIEW

LINK:  SAMARDZIJA THROWS SEVEN SHUTOUT INNINGS

Temple Returned Some Tickets Today to ND

If you're still looking for a ticket for Notre Dame's home opener against Temple -- some tickets became available today.  You're going to want to call the ND Ticket Office first thing Tuesday morning!

Phone number for the Notre Dame Ticket Office:  574.631.7356 

The office opens up at 8:30 AM ET

No Big Bags Inside Notre Dame Stadium in 2013

Word broke today that fans will no longer be allowed to bring BIG BAGS into Notre Dame Stadium -- similar in size to the bags in the photo above.

Here's the official press release from Notre Dame:

LINK: NEW SAFETY POLICY AT NOTRE DAME STADIUM

Tory Jackson Off to Europe After School Closes

Having lived most of my life in Michigan, before taking the job at Notre Dame, I always had great respect for the athletes that Buena Vista High School turned out year after year.

My first encounter with Buena Vista was when I was 12 years-old, playing against them in a baseball tournament in St. Louis, MI.  They had "aluminum bats" -- first time I had ever seen an aluminum bat -- we were playing with wooden ones.  I'll never forget that.

Well, it was announced last week that Buena Vista High School was closing its doors -- and their head basketball coach Tory Jackson '10, former three year starter for Mike Brey's Fightin' Irish was out of a job.

In the past few days -- Tory signed a contract to play professional basketball in Europe.  Here's a link to a story concerning Buena Vista closing and Tory's plans -- and a second link to Tory's impact at Buena Vista.


LINK:  BUENA VISTA CLOSING

LINK:  A STORY ABOUT TORY JACKSON THE COACH

Te'o Helps Chargers Teammate Learn to Swim

D.J. Fluker, the hulking offensive tackle from Alabama and the Chargers' #1 draft pick -- is afraid of the water...

Well, that didn't stop Manti Te'o from teaching his San Diego teammate how to swim.  See the story:

LINK:  A HELPING TEAMMATE

When You Win -- The Recognition Follows

Over the past couple weeks, many of the national college football awards announced their "watch list" -- the top players in the country at their position -- and the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame have been well represented:

BILETNIKOFF AWARD

• T.J. Jones
• Davaris Daniels

WALTER CAMP PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

• Louis Nix, III
• Stephon Tuitt

BRONCO NAGURSKI AWARD

• Louis Nix, III
• Stephon Tuitt

BEDNARIK AWARD -- COLLEGE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Louis Nix, III
• Stephon Tuitt

MAXWELL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Louis Nix, III
• Stephon Tuitt

ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD

• Louis Nix, III
• Stephon Tuitt

OUTLAND TROPHY

•  Louis Nix, III

 

Vikings' Harrison Smith "Wired For Sound!"

I missed this.  A few weeks ago the Minnesota Vikings put a helmet cam on former Notre Dame captain Harrison Smith.  You'll enjoy this!

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH -- WIRED!

A Detroit News Story on the Lions' Theo Riddick

I'll never forget Theo's interview in the locker room after the National Championship game.  Here's an update from the Detroit News on the challenges facing Theo in making the Lions'  53 man roster:

LINK:  THEO RIDDICK

Cierre Wood Turning Heads With Texans!

Found this story this morning on former Irish running back Cierre Wood's status with the Houston Texans.

This writer thinks he makes the 53 man roster:

LINK:  CIERRE WOOD

Tyler Eifert Impressing the Bengals -- See This!

Former Notre Dame All-American tight end Tyler Eifert continues to impress all associated with the Cincinnati Bengals.  Here's a report from yesterday's training camp:

LINK:  EIFERT IMPRESSIVE!

Coach Kelly & Coach Martin at Patriots Practice

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Chuck Martin were seen in a ESPN report yesterday at the New England Patriots training camp.  Here's a "screen grab" of the two.

Manti Caught Off Guard During Presser Today!

You can see that Manti Te'o is making a positive impression on his teammates in San Diego -- just watch this clip from today's press conference:

LINK:  MANTI TE'O -- ONE OF THE GUYS

SAP's Max Peer Visits Notre Dame Thursday

He's in the early stages of a 35,000 bike and canoe trip around the world...

Max Peer, in partnership with SAP University Alliances and Interaction Design Foundation -- arrived at the University of Notre Dame yesterday to meet with students and faculty along with Ann Rosenberg, Head of Global SAP University Alliances to talk about free access to top grade educational material.

As of this morning, Max has traveled 2,635 miles taking 6,112,741 pedal strokes!

You can find all of this on the link to his BIKE TOUR WEBSITE below:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S VIDEO OF MAX'S VISIT

LINK:  ABC-57 NEWS STORY ON MAX PEER

LINK:  BIKE TOUR OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Irish Wide Receiver: Swimmin' With the Sharks!

Notre Dame wide receiver T.J. Jones -- spent some time this summer swimming with sharks at the Florida Aquarium!  See the video feature below:

LINK:  T.J. JONES -- WITH THE SHARKS

Notre Dame to Start Fall Training Camp Away!

The Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame will be moving "off campus" to Marion, IN to Shiloh Park to begin their training for the 2013 college football season.  The "fun" begins August 5th.  Shilo Park is a conference / retreat center located a little over 100 miles from the Notre Dame campus.  

Coach Kelly made the announcement today -- see the story below:

LINK:  COACH KELLY TALKS SHILOH PARK

LINK:  NEW FIELDS AT SHILO PARK 

LINK:  OFFICIAL RELEASE 

LINK:  SHILO PARK WEBSITE

Pope Francis @ World Youth Day in Rio!

These are photos of Pope Francis' visit to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro -- over 1 million Catholic youth have gathered for this year's event.

Notre Dame: "A Great College to Work For!"

The Chronicle of Higher Education just released its annual list of the top colleges to work for -- and for the FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR the University of Notre Dame was named to the "honor roll."

Having the honor of being an employee of this university -- I'm not surprised!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME -- FIVE PEAT!

OT: Jack Nicklaus' Grandson Motorcycle Crash

You will not believe that Nick O'Leary -- a football player at Florida State University and the grandson of hall of famer Jack Nicklaus -- walked away from this motorcycle crash.  Incredible!

LINK:  STORY

Robby Toma Signs with Arizona Cardinals

In the past 24 hours -- Robby Toma '13, signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals and will compete for a spot on their 53 man roster.  Toma, the high school pal of Manti Te'o will be lining up alongside former teammate and Notre Dame All-American Michael Floyd. 

Good luck Robby!

LINK:  TOMA TO CARDINALS

ACC Commissioner Defends Deal with ND

Over the past few months a few coaches have openly questioned the deal the Atlantic Coast Conference struck with Notre Dame.  This past Sunday, ACC Commissioner Jack Swofford spoke about why the deal was important to make for their conference -- here's a link to the story:

LINK:  ACC TALKS NOTRE DAME DEAL