Pope Installs Notre Dame Alum a Cardinal

Pope Francis installed nineteen Cardinals today, including University of Notre Dame alum Archbishop Kelvin Edward Felix, in a consistory ceremony at St. Peter's Basilica.  Cardinal Felix earned a masters degree in 1969 from Notre Dame.

LINK:  POPE FRANCIS APPOINTS 19

LINK:  CARDINAL FELIX

White Sox Player & Notre Dame's Grotto...

Matt Davidson who should be the Chicago White Sox's third baseman this April -- played the 2010 season for the South Bend Silverhawks.  He recently admitted when he struggled that season he made the trek to the Notre Dame campus to seek solace at the Grotto.

Here's the story:

LINK:  THE GROTTO

Seattle Seahawks GM: "Golden Tate #1 Priority"

Former Notre Dame All-American and now Super Bowl Champion Golden Tate is a free agent -- but, word on the street is he's wiling to accept less from the Seahawks to stay in Seattle...

Here's the story:

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE

Bench Press Results: ND Players NFL Combine

We will keep track of all of the Bench Press totals for the nine former Notre Dame student-athletes at the NFL Scouting Combine.  Here are the number of times they bench pressed 225 lbs:

• Stephon Tuitt:  31 reps -- 6th best among DL
• Chris Watt:  29 reps -- 11th best among OL
• Zack Martin:  29 reps -- 11th best among OL
• Troy Niklas:  27 reps -- 4th best among OL
• Prince Shembo:  26 reps -- 6th best among LB's
• George Atkinson III:  19 reps
• Louis Nix:  did not lift
• Bennett Jackson:  13 reps
• T.J. Jones: did not lift

Chris Watt's NFL Scouting Combine Presser

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Chris Watt '13 met with the media yesterday at the NFL Scouting Combine.  You'll hear him talk about a possible position switch in the NFL.

LINK:  CHRIS WATT

Troy Niklas Begins His NFL Scouting Combine

First up today for former Notre Dame student-athlete Troy Niklas at the NFL Scouting Combine was the Bench Press and he finished fourth among the Tight Ends with 27 reps of 225 lbs.  Here were some of his other measurables:

• Height:  6'-6"
• Arm Length:  34 1/8"
• Weight:  270 lbs.

LINK:  TROY NIKLAS

Zack Martin "Will Impress With Intangibles"

The NFL Scouting Combine will be dominating the ND GO IRISH BLOG for the next five days as nine former Notre Dame student-athletes will be looking to impress the NFL scouts in Indianapolis. 

Here's a story that features Notre Dame offensive tackle Zack Martin as one of "five" who will "impress with intangibles:"

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN

NFL Network Feature on "Irish Chocolate"

He's one of a kind...

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Louis Nix III had the NFL NETWORK cameras following him as he prepares for this weekend's NFL SCOUTING COMBINE.

You're going to want to watch this!

LINK:  IRISH CHOCOLATE

Update: Under Armour's Stock Performance...

When Notre Dame's announced that they had agreed to a ten-year agreement with Under Armour -- that included a stock option -- Under Armour's stock was at $81.95 a share.  30 days later the stock has increased to $107.06 a share at today's close.  A 31% increase in the value of this company!

Bottom Line:  Under Armour's market cap has gone up more than $2.3 Billion since the Notre Dame deal was announced thirty days ago!

Here was Under Armour's CEO Kevin Plank talking about their deal with Notre Dame on CNBC -- click on the link below:

LINK:  KEVIN PLANK ON CNBC

LINK:  UNDER ARMOUR MARKET-CAP

Florida Gators' Starting Safety Transfers to ND!

Head football coach Brian Kelly made it official this afternoon -- Cody Riggs will be transferring to the University of Notre Dame upon his graduation from the University of Florida.  Griggs, who has started 26 games during his time in Gainesville -- has a fifth year of eligibility that will be spent wearing a GOLD HELMET this Fall as a Notre Dame grad student!

Here are some of the stories about Rigg's transfer:

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  YAHOO! SPORTS STORY

LINK:  GATOR SPORTS

ND Men's Tennis Beats #12 Florida 4 - 0 !!!

Ryan Sachire's 16th ranked Fighting Irish are making quite an impression on the top ranked tennis programs in the country.  In the past few weeks Notre Dame has four wins over teams ranked in the Top-20! 

In less than 24 hours (this weekend) they beat the #9 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs and the 12th ranked Florida Gators at the ITA National Indoor Championships.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME BEATS FLORIDA

LINK:  MEN'S COLLEGE TENNIS RANKINGS

Skylar Diggins' SI Swimsuit Issue Photo Shoot!

Former Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins can now add another line to her resume -- Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model.  Diggins (in the photo above) is included in the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Here's a link to Skylar's SI photo shoot:

LINK:  SKYLAR'S PHOTO SHOOT

Former ND Staffer Resigns From Diaco's Staff

Ernest Jones, a former member of Brian Kelly's staff at Notre Dame has resigned from his coaching position at UCONN.  Here's the story:

LINK:  JONES RESIGNATION

#5 Notre Dame Routs Jacksonville 19 - 7 !!!

Notre Dame's Men's Lacrosse team hammered the Dolphins of Jacksonville University 19 - 7 tonight on the NBC Sports Network.  The fifth ranked Fighting Irish were in complete control.  Impressive win!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

First Ever ACC Road Win for ND Men's Hoops!

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish won their first ever Atlantic Coast Conference game this evening at Boston College as Notre Dame won 73 - 69 to go 15 - 12 on the season. 

Congrats!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  BOSTON HERALD

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S FIRST!

Notre Dame Lacrosse on NBCSN at 7 PM ET

Kevin Corrigan's #5 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame kick off their 2014 season on the NBC Sports Network this evening at 7 PM ET.  They are playing Jacksonville University. 

Click on the link below for media notes:

LINK:  LACROSSE BEGINS SEASON TONIGHT

Mike Brey's Irish on ESPNU at 6 PM ET Today!

The Fighting Irish are on the east coast playing the Boston College Eagles tonight at 6 PM ET on ESPNU.  Notre Dame is 13 - 12 with an OT win already over BC who is 6 - 18 on the season.

Mike Brey is looking for his first win on the road versus an ACC foe.  Here's a link to the media notes for tonight's game:

LINK:  MEDIA NOTES

Sachire's IRISH Beat #9 Mississippi State

The #16 Notre Dame's Men's Tennis team now has three wins over ranked opponents!  Tonight, the Fighting Irish beat the #9 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs 4 - 1 at the ITA National Indoor Championships!!!

This comes on the heels of their match last night against #1 Virginia -- where the Irish became the first team to score points on the Cavaliers this season -- losing 4 - 2.

The IRISH are now 8 - 2 on the season!

Opening Day: Fighting Irish Beat #24 FAU

Mik Aoki's Notre Dame baseball team played their first game of the season today in sunny Florida and the IRISH beat #24 ranked Florida Atlantic University 9 - 2!

Big win for Notre Dame!

LINK:  GAME STORY

Chris Watt and Zack Martin Posing at IMG !!!

The former "left side" of the Notre Dame offensive line has been training in Bradenton, FL the past six weeks at the IMG ACADEMY -- getting ready for next Saturday's NFL SCOUTING COMBINE in Indianapolis.

That's Zack and Chris in the photo above -- 2nd and 3rd from the left on the back row...