Check Out These Under Armour Socks & Shoes

The women's basketball team at St. John's is wearing this sock and shoe combination in their game tonight against Georgetown.  Looks like the New York skyline was designed into the socks...

What will Under Armour do for Notre Dame?

High Paid Coaches In Middle of Losing Streaks

If you think of the highest paid coaches in college football -- the names Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, etc., come to mind...  Well, a few of them are riding multiple game LOSING STREAKS going into next season:

THREE-GAME LOSING STREAK:

• Brady Hoke, University of Michigan -- 8th highest paid coach in college football

TWO-GAME LOSING STREAK:

• Nick Saban, University of Alabama -- highest paid coach in college football
• Urban Meyer, Ohio State University -- 6th highest paid coach in college football

Here are the opening games of the 2014 seasons for each of these three schools:

• Michigan: Appalachian State (home game)
• Alabama:  West Virginia  (neutral site game -- Atlanta, GA)
• Ohio State:  Navy  (neutral site game -- Baltimore, MD)

LINK:  COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHES' SALARIES

Domer Lake Dawson Turns Down Dolphins

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Lake Dawson '94, turned down the opportunity today to become the General Manager of the Miami Dolphins.  Dawson will remain with the Tennessee Titans as their VP of Player Personnel.

Irish fans will remember Lake's playing days at Notre Dame before he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Third Round of the 1994 NFL Draft. 

LINK:  DAWSON TURNS DOWN DOLPHINS

ND's Men's Tennis Beats #8 Kentucky 4 - 3

#29 ranked Notre Dame beat #8 ranked Kentucky 4 - 3 yesterday afternoon in Lexington.  A huge road win for Randy Sachire's Fighting Irish!

LINK:  IRISH UPSET WILDCATS!

LINK:  MEN'S COLLEGE TENNIS RANKINGS

Super Bowl Week Starts Today for Domers!

Denver Broncos team captain David Bruton will be the first former Notre Dame football star to arrive in New Jersey today for next Sunday's Super Bowl.  The Broncos arrive at Newark Airport at 3:30 PM ET.

The Seattle Seahawks and former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate don't arrive at Newark Airport until 7:00 PM ET.

I'm sure the folks at the NFL NETWORK will be providing LIVE coverage of each of their arrivals.

LINK:  THE TEAMS ARRIVE

J.J. Jansen Representin' ND in NFL Pro Bowl

He's the best at his specialty in the NFL -- former Notre Dame student-athlete J.J. Jansen was selected to play in today's NFL PRO BOWL.  Jansen, is the long snapper for Team Sanders in the NFL's remake of their annual all-star game.  He'll be wearing #44 in the NEON GREEN.

J.J. just finishing his sixth season with the Carolina Panthers.

The game kicks off at 7:30 PM ET this evening on NBC.

LINK:  J.J. JANSEN

LINK:  J.J. JANSEN INTERVIEW

LINK:  PRO BOWL WEBSITE

Must See TV This Evening: The Outdoor Option

Big-time Notre Dame fan Pat Doyle (my cousin) took the TV show he produces, THE OUTDOOR OPTION, back home to Mecosta, MI this week to check in on the Blue Lake Tavern (our Grandpa Ray's old place) and steelhead fishing on the Pere Marquette.

The fun begins at 7:30 PM ET on the Sportsman Channel.

LINK:  THE OUTDOOR OPTION

Martin Wears Gold Helmet For Last Time Today

Notre Dame fans will want to tune-in to the NFL Network's coverage of the Reese's Senior Bowl today at 4 PM ET.  Former Fighting Irish team captain Zack Martin will be wearing the GOLD HELMET for the last time today when he puts on uniform #72 for the North Team.

If you follow this blog you know Zack has been gaining a lot of attention this week from the NFL scouts.  Some media types are now projecting him as a top-15 pick.  I'm sure the TV commentators will be doing the same this afternoon.  Should be fun!

Here's the latest media coverage on Zack:

LINK:  NFL NETWORK

LINK:  NEW JERSEY STAR LEDGER

LINK:  DOLPHINS INSIDER INTERVIEW OF ZACK

LINK:  ESPN NFL BLOG

Team USA Should Have Called Under Armour

Wow -- Team USA may win GOLD in the "ugly sweater" contest in Sochia...  And, to think it "only" costs $2,218 -- to dress like this!

Zack Martin Getting More Praise at Senior Bowl

Former Notre Dame football captain Zack Martin has the attention of every NFL scouting staff -- after dominating this week at the Reese's Senior Bowl.  It culminated last night with him being selected "Lineman of the Week" at the Senior Bowl banquet.

You're going to want to watch this!

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN

It's Official ND Hires Redskins QB Coach

The word broke twenty-four hour ago -- and Notre Dame just made if official this afternoon.  Matt LaFleur, the QB coach of the Washington Redskins has agreed to accept the same position for the Fighting Irish!

He will be officially introduced at a Press Conference set for Monday, Feburary 3rd at 11 AM.

LaFleur has ties to Coach Kelly -- working on his staff at Central Michigan in 2004 and 2005.  He comes to Notre Dame with six years of NFL coaching experience.  The past four seasons LaFleur was working under the Shanahan's in Washington -- coaching their QB's RG III, Kirk Cousins, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman.

Here's what I could find on the web about Coach LaFleur:

LINK:  WASHINGTON POST STORY

LINK:  REDSKINS PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

LINK:  RADIO INTERVIEW

LINK:  LAFLEUR WITH RG III

Company Founded In Notre Dame Dorm Room

Wins the $250,000 first place prize from the Miller Lite "Tap the Future" new-business pitch contest!

Sean O'Brien '12 (photo on the left) and Evan Wray '12 (on the right) came up with their winning idea in their Notre Dame dorm room in 2012...

The company is called TextPride.

You're going to want to know their story!


LINK:  VIDEO INTRODUCTION OF SEAN AND EVAN

LINK:  BIG WIN! 

LINK:  COMPANY WEBSITE 

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

Domer Justin Tuck Sings National Anthem

The NFL and its partners are pulling out all of the stops this week -- as they prepare for their guests and fans who will be coming to WINTER in NYC for next week's Super Bowl. 

Here's a rendition of the National Anthem sung by few current and former NFL stars that included former Notre Dame All-American Justin Tuck.  Enjoy!

LINK:  TUCK SINGING

Photo of Notre Dame's Tribute Hockey Jersey

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will be wearing these special hockey jerseys this weekend to honor our troops!

"Mike" and "Maddie" -- Muffet's Bench Bunch

Michaela Mabrey (they call her 'Mike') and Madison Cable came off the bench this week in a road game this week against #11 Tennessee.  The duo poured in 27 points to key a BIG comeback win for the Fighting Irish.  Here's the ESPN on camera interview of the two -- enjoy!

LINK:  MIKE AND MADDIE

"The Top Prospect at the Senior Bowl..."

Former Notre Dame football captain Zack Martin is turning heads this week in Mobile, AL at the Reese's Senior Bowl.  Here is an interview he gave today.

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN

Notre Dame Student Ranked #1 in the World!

He's not just ranked #1 in the country -- he's the best at his sport on the entire planet!

Notre Dame grad student and captain of the Fighting Irish Fencing team -- Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, CA) is now ranked #1 in FOIL in the world!

And, get this -- he's the FIRST AMERICAN EVER to be named the world's top foilest -- and we've been competing at it since the late 1800's!


LINK:  WORLD'S BEST!

America's 100 Most Important Sports Venues

There is only one sports venue on a college campus -- ranked in the top 20 -- in America's 100 most important sports venues, a ranking put together by an ESPN writer named Jim Caple.

Care to guess which venue that might be?

LINK:  AMERICA'S 100 MOST IMPORTANT

Notre Dame Student Honored in Parma, OH

Leo Mironovich, a senior student at Notre Dame, was honored with his "own day" in his hometown of Parma, Ohio.

Mironovich, the Head Drum Major for The Band of the Fighting Irish was surprised by his town's Mayor when he proclaimed January 8th as "Leo Mironovich Day" in Parma, OH.  A pretty cool honor!   I want to thank ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Brian Dean for alerting me to this story!

Here's the story:

LINK:  HIS OWN DAY

Media's Take: Notre Dame / Under Armour Deal

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what's being said about Notre Dame's announcement today that it has signed the largest deal ever between a brand and a university.  Here's what the media is reporting:

LINK:  ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  NBC SPORTS

LINK:  CBS SPORTS