"Breaking In" the New Notre Dame Footballs

The photo above was "tweeted" by Notre Dame Football equipment manager Ryan Grooms.  Ryan and his team have been getting the new Wilson Notre Dame footballs ready for the Fightin' Irish!

If you look closely at the picture you can see the brushes, pads, etc., they use to rough up the new footballs so they're not to slippery for the players.
  
You can follow Ryan on Twitter @NDFBEquipment

Coach Brian Kelly Meets Media Today at Noon!

The 2013 Notre Dame football season officially kicks off today with Coach Brian Kelly's annual kick-off press conference with the local and national media.  The event will be carried LIVE on the internet beginning at NOON ET TODAY!  Just click on the link below to watch the replay:

LINK:  REPLAY OF PRESS CONFERENCE

Brian Kelly Interview This Evening @ WSBT

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was interviewed this evening at WSBT 960 AM here in South Bend.  Here's a link to the entire interview along with a video clip of the Q&A session:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY INTERVIEW

LINK:  COACH KELLY

Notre Dame Ranked #11 in First Coaches' Poll

Well, it's an improvement over last season when you couldn't find Notre Dame on anyone's pre-seaon Top-25 poll.  Here's the USA Today Coaches Poll:

LINK:  COACHES POLL

Irish Sports Daily is Offering 60-Day Free Trial

Folks, I subscribe to Mike Frank's Irish Sports Daily -- have for a few years now.  I just saw today that Mike was offering a 60-day FREE TRIAL -- it's a must do if you love Notre Dame football as much as I do.

Here's a link to the IRISH SPORTS DAILY offer:

LINK:  60-DAY FREE TRIAL

Domer Kory Minor -- Firing You Up This Day!

Notre Dame fans should remember Kory Minor '99 -- he was a four year starter for Lou Holtz at linebacker and I believe he's still the all-time Irish defensive player in "tackles for losses."  Minor captained the Irish football team his senior season.

Kory went on to play four season in the NFL before heading off to start his business career.  He is now the CEO of Kory Minor Industries -- where he is a TAKE ACTION COACH.

Here is a couple videos of Kory FIRING YOU UP! -- take a peek!

LINK:  KORY MINOR -- TAKE ACTION!

LINK:  KORY MINOR -- GET INTO THE GAME!

LINK:  KORY MINOR INDUSTRIES WEBSITE

Only 30 Days to Notre Dame Football 2013!

Can you sense the excitement!

We're only 30 days away from Notre Dame football's home opener with the Temple Owls.

Remember, there's college football and then there is NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL!

Here was head coach Brian Kelly at his finest this past season -- linked below -- if this doesn't get you fired-up you must not have a pulse!

LINK:  COACH KELLY FIRING UP THE IRISH!

Tyler Eifert Putting on a Show For HBO

Former Notre Dame All-American tight end Tyler Eifert is proving the Cincinnati Bengal's got it right when they selected him in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

And, the cameras at HBO's "Hard Knocks" are capturing it all on film...

The first episode airs August 6th at 10 PM ET on HBO.

LINK:  TYLER EIFERT -- THE REAL DEAL

LINK:  HARD KNOCKS "TEASER"

Coach Kelly's Press Conference Friday @ Noon!

Notre Dame's 2013 Football Season "officially" kicks off this Friday at NOON ET -- as head coach Brian Kelly meets with the media to talk about the upcoming training camp and season.  As always, you can watch it LIVE HERE at the link below!

LINK:  LIVE FRIDAY @ NOON ET -- CLICK HERE

OT: Oregon Goes "Over the Top" on Facility

$68 million will get you quite a building...

Take a look at these photos of Oregon's new football facility.  The photo above is of the lobby...


LINK:  OREGON'S FOOTBALL FACILITY

LINK:  SI PHOTOS OF FACILITY

Making of the Notre Dame Helmet -- Must See!

Hydro-Graphics, Inc. -- is the company behind the cool lookin' college football helmets you started seeing the past couple of years. 

Especially Notre Dame's gold helmet!

This ESPN story shows a little about the company -- and you'll hear them talk about the Notre Dame GOLD HELMET.

LINK:  THE GOLD HELMET

NFL Training Camp Updates: ND Players

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see how former Notre Dame football stars are doing in NFL training camps.  Just click on the name of your favorite Irish player:

LINK:  JUSTIN TUCK -- GIANTS

LINK:  IAN WILLIAMS -- 49ERS

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH -- VIKINGS

LINK:  MICHAEL FLOYD -- CARDINALS

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE -- SEAHAWKS

LINK:  KYLE McCARTHY -- CHIEFS

LINK:  TYLER EIFERT -- BENGALS

LINK:  MANTI TE'O -- CHARGERS 

LINK:  ANTHONY FASANO -- CHIEFS

LINK:  DAVID BRUTON -- BRONCOS

LINK:  THEO RIDDICK -- LIONS

LINK:  KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE -- RAVENS

LINK:  JOHN CARLSON -- VIKINGS

LINK:  BRADY QUINN -- SEAHAWKS

LINK:  MIKE GOLIC, JR. -- STEELERS

LINK:  TREVOR ROBINSON -- BENGALS

LINK:  JOHN SULLIVAN -- VIKINGS

LINK:  RYAN HARRIS -- TEXANS

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH -- VIKINGS 

LINK:  TOMMY ZBIKOWSKI -- BEARS

Jonas Gray '12 -- Back on the Field After Injury

Former Notre Dame running back Jonas Gray '12 is seen here in this photo at the Miami Dolphins training camp.  Gray is coming off of a torn ACL which cost him the entire 2012 NFL season.  Jonas signed with the Dolphins as a free agent after the 2012 NFL Draft and is now seeing the practice field for the first time.  Here's hoping he makes their 53 man roster!

Coach Kelly Talks 2013 Training Camp Plans

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly met with WatchND's Jack Nolan this week to talk about the Irish's upcoming training camp.  You'll enjoy this:

LINK:  COACH KELLY TALKS ABOUT HIS TEAM

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