USC's Marqise Lee -- "I'll be 100% by Saturday"

USC's All-American wide receiver, who missed the past couple of weeks with a knee injury suffered against Arizona State, says he'll be 100% by Saturday night.  Bring it on!

LINK:  LEE TO PLAY SATURDAY

PRIMER: USC vs. Notre Dame

The folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media put this piece together on the "greatest intersectional rivalry" in college football.

I have never understood the use of "intersectional" when describing this game...

LIVE:  GET FIRED UP!

USC Week: Coach Kelly Press Conference

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly met with the media today to talk about Saturday's prime-time game against USC.  Here's a link to the replay:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

The Streak Must Come to an End Saturday!

This is a shocking fact...

Bob Davie is the last Notre Dame coach to beat USC in Notre Dame Stadium -- back in 2001 -- when the IRISH beat the Trojans 27 - 16.  Tyrone Willingham lost his only home game to USC and Charlie Weis was 0 for 3 against the Trojans inside Notre Dame Stadium.

Coach Kelly is 2 - 1 versus USC, but the loss came at home.  That's five losses in a row...

It's time we change things inside the "house that Rock built!"

LINK:  VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF 2001 VICTORY

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. USC RIVALRY

Father Scully to Receive the Simon Award!

Notre Dame's ACE program -- the Alliance for Catholic Education -- is now celebrating its 20th anniversary.

It's leader, the Rev. Tim Scully, C.S.C. -- will be honored next month in New York City with the Simon Award -- an annual $100,000 lifetime achievement prize, the largest such award for an American nonprofit leader!

Congratulations Fr. Scully!

Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  110 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

It's Monday -- There Must Be a Trick Shot...

Here is the BEAT USC WEEK edition of Trick Shot Monday...

LINK:  TRICK SHOT MONDAY

Bowl Options for Notre Dame Football...

The South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen looked ahead at what Notre Dame's bowl options might be if we don't finish in the top-14 and earn a BCS bowl bid.  You won't be happy...

LINK:  BOWL OPTIONS

Domer Dad Walks Super-Fan Down the Aisle

Jon Bon Jovi -- the rock-n-roll Dad of Notre Dame student-athlete Jesse Bongiovi granted the wish of a fan this week when he showed up at her Las Vegas wedding.  Here's the story:

LINK:  WEDDING CRASHER

NCAA Eligibility Standards -- Game Changer?

The folks at NCAA headquarters have decided to "up the ante" on academics for high school student-athletes who want to receive a college scholarship...

The new rules -- which will go into effect for those who are currently in their freshman year of high school -- will require a higher GPA and more core classes, prior to their senior year, to be eligible.  Click on the link below for all of the changes.

According to the NCAA's research -- 43% of the college basketball players and 35% of the college football players who are "seniors" this year would not have been eligible to receive a scholarship if the new rules were in effect.

LINK:  ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS

10th Anniversary of Bartman's Wrigley Foul Ball

10 years ago Monday evening (October 14, 2003) -- Notre Dame alum Steve Bartman '99, was sitting in the stands at Wrigley Field watching his beloved Chicago Cubs.  Unfortunately for Steve -- a foul ball forever changed his life...

LINK:  BARTMAN -- 10 YEARS LATER

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

Know Thy Opponent: USC's Haden on Orgeron

The interim head football coach of the USC Trojans -- Ed Orgeron will be auditioning again for the full-time gig this Saturday night in prime time at Notre Dame Stadium.

Orgeron's record is now 11 - 25 as a head coach.

We should expect a Trojan team to show up fired up to play -- as I suspect Orgeron will need to beat the IRISH to have any chance at getting this job full-time.  Here's what former NBC analyst for Notre Dame football -- turned athletic director -- Pat Haden says about his coaching situation.

LINK:  HADEN ON ORGERON

A "Perfect Start" to a Hockey Season for ND!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame kicked off the 2013 - 2014 college hockey season with two wins over Western Michigan: 4 - 0 on Friday night and then 3 - 0 on Saturday night!

Two SHUTOUT WINS to start the season!

LINK:  HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY'S GAME

LINK:  WEEKEND STORY

Domer Talks "D.C. Dysfunction" on CNBC

Former Notre Dame Lacrosse "three-time" All-American Jim Keenan '98 and BlackRock's Managing Director -- was a guest this morning on CNBC talking about the government shutdown's impact on the stock market.

LINK:  JIM KEENAN

Lookout Hockey East! -- Here Come The Irish!

Notre Dame's move to the Hockey East Conference this year will put the Fighting Irish on some college campuses in towns we haven't seen before:  North Andover (MA), Durham (NH), Burlington (VT), etc.

And, it will place us back with a school in Chestnut Hill who knows how to play the game.  Should be fun!

LINK:  HOCKEY EAST

The New "Big House" for College Football

Bristol Motor Speedway will be "building" a football field over top of their infield garage area -- to host a college football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech in 2016. 

Bristol can seat 160,000 fans -- the artist illustration above shows how they plan on pulling this off...

Pretty cool.

"Romeo and His Roommates" -- MUST SEE !!!

The folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media just produced this story on ND football player Romeo Okwara and his life off the field with his buddies at Dillon Hall...

You're going to love this story:

LINK:  ROMEO'S ROOMMATES

Doug Brown -- Long Time Notre Dame Usher...

Notre Dame fans will recognize the face -- and probably not the name...

For thirty-five years you could find Elkhart native Doug Brown at every home football and basketball game at Notre Dame -- wearing that familiar blue blazer.

Doug Brown left for heaven Tuesday -- losing his battle with cancer.  A friend of his at the Elkhart Truth wrote a wonderful tribute to this "big man with a big heart" -- you'll want to read this.

LINK:  DOUG BROWN

Interim USC Football Coach Going Back in Time

Ed Orgeron, the interim head coach for the University of Southern California football team is showing videos of the good old days of Trojan football -- in an attempt to turn things around in Los Angeles.

The Trojans are 10 - 8 in their last 18 football games -- they play Arizona tonight in the LA Coliseum on Fox Sports 1 at 10:30 PM ET.

LINK:  GOING OLD SCHOOL

Media Day for Notre Dame Men's Basketball

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish met with the media today -- as they tip-off their first season of competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Here's a report from today's event:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PLAYERS

Paying Off a Bet to Notre Dame NFL Teammates

Baltimore Raven star Terrell Suggs is seen here wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt as "payback" for Notre Dame's 37 - 34 win over his Arizona State Sun Devils.  That's former Irish stars and Raven teammates Kapron Lewis-Moore on the left and Jonas Gray on the right.