Heee's Back!!! Golson at ND Spring Practice

For Notre Dame football fans -- today is a special day!

Spring Practice kicked off at 7:30 AM this morning -- INSIDE -- here in "balmy" Notre Dame, IN.  Today was the coldest March 3rd in the history of keeping track of these kinds of things...

All eyes were on some new faces -- Everett Golson, Coach VanGorder and Coach Fleur -- check on the media coverage below:

LINK:  PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  PLAYER INTERVIEWS

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

ESPN's College Football Caravan at ND Today!

It seems appropriate that ESPN kicks-off its tour of college football teams in the country -- today on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.  Tom Rinaldi and Todd Blackledge were seen here today interviewing Brian Kelly, Everett Golson and taking in the first Spring practice for the Fighting Irish.

Here's a link to Rinaldi's and Blackledge's interview of Everett Golson:

LINK:  EVERETT GOLSON -- TOM RINALDI INTERVIEW

LINK:  EVERETT GOLSON -- TODD BLACKLEDGE INTERVIEW

Notre Dame Men's Basketball on ESPN Tonight!

The Fighting Irish are down in Chapel Hill, NC to play the Tarheels on national TV tonight at 7 PM ET on ESPN.  Word is the weather is quite bad in the area so it will be interesting to see how many  of the 21,750 "Carolina blue" seats have people in them in the "Dean Dome" tonight.

Here's a preview of tonight's match-up -- click on the link below:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME vs. NORTH CAROLINA

Notre Dame Released Its Strategic Plan Today

The University of Notre Dame released its ten year strategic plan "A Legacy Expanded" this morning.  It's the result of a two-year conversation that took place among every college, school and division at Notre Dame -- about the future of this great university.
 
You're going to want to watch the video of Fr. Jenkins, C.S.C. meeting with campus representatives -- which is the first link and then visit the Strategic Plan website, the second link.


LINK:  FATHER JENKINS

LINK:  STRATEGIC PLAN WEBSITE

ESPN Has Muffet's IRISH Favored to Win SEC!

Now, I'm sure if Notre Dame did play in the SEC we would be favored to win their women's basketball tournament -- see last line of copy on today's ESPN Women's Basketball home page! 

Hey ESPN -- we're in the ACC now!

Perfection -- Notre Dame Beats #13 by 24 Today!

This season will go down in history -- the first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame go 29 - 0 !!!

That's 52 consecutive regular season wins for Muffet's gang!

This was also the 9th win this season against a ranked opponent as North Carolina State came into the game ranked #13.  Notre Dame disposed of them early in the second half, taking an eight point halftime lead and stretching it to 30, before emptying the bench and winning 84 - 60.

Notre Dame outscored their opponents  by 527 points on the season -- an average margin of victory of 18.17 points per game.  DOMINATION!

It's now time for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament -- see link to preview below!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN'S GAME RECAP

LINK:  ACC TOURNAMENT PREVIEW BY ESPN

Daniel Yi Wins His Fourth Heavyweight Crown !

The Bengal Bouts Heavyweight Champion is none other than Daniel Yi -- a four-time champion!  The 12th "four-time" champ in the 84 year history of the Bengal Bouts at Notre Dame!

That's Daniel Yi landing a right hook in the photo above in his 2012 Bengal Bouts championship!

The Observer (Notre Dame's student paper) published a nice story about Yi...  And, I captured some video from the fight on my iPhone -- click on the links below:

LINK:  DANIEL YI

LINK:  HEAVYWEIGHT INTRODUCTIONS & FIRST ROUND

LINK:  HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION -- ROUND TWO

LINK:  FOUR-TIME CHAMP!

ND's Bengal Bouts Today at 2 PM ET on ESPN3

The "FIGHTING IRISH" will live up to their name this afternoon in Purcell Pavilion as the Finals of the BENGAL BOUTS will begin at 2 PM ET.  If you can't make it to the University of Notre Dame campus to watch them live -- you can catch them on ESPN3.

Here's the list of the FINAL BOUTS in today's BENGAL BOUTS:

LINK:  FINAL BOUTS

Just click on the link below to watch the BENGAL BOUTS LIVE ON THE WEB:

LINK:  WATCH THE BENGAL BOUTS LIVE!

Nike Using Skylar Diggins All Over the World!

This photo was taken of poster featuring former Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins in a Nike store in Tokyo, Japan.  It looks like she made a great business decision signing with Jay Z and Roc Nation.

The Ultimate "Statement" for a Notre Dame Fan!

So, you want to make a statement that you're a Notre Dame fan...

Notre Dame Recruit -- Texas State Finals MVP!

Brianna Turner (with ball in photo above) finished her high school basketball career last night -- with a "double-double" (17 points and 17 rebounds), a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, a FINALS MVP (that's Brianna holding her award in the photo above), and a win over MaxPreps #1 ranked team in women's high school basketball -- who was on a 105 game winning streak...

Turner, considered by many the #1 incoming women's college basketball recruit, will be wearing a Notre Dame jersey this fall!

Here's the media reaction this morning to Manvel's 58 to 53 win over Duncanville in the Texas 5A State Championship Final:

LINK:  HOUSTON CHRONICLE

LINK:  DALLAS MORNING NEWS

LINK:  THE CHRON

Brianna Turner Leads Manvel To First State Title

Notre Dame's top women's basketball recruit Brianna Turner (Manvel High School) just led her team tonight to their first ever STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!  Beating two time defending Texas 5A State Champion and MAXPREPS #1 ranked team in the country -- Duncanville 58 - 53!!!

In the process they broke Duncanville High School's 105 game winning streak!!!

Brianna -- who many think is the #1 incoming recruit in the country -- led her team with a "double-double" scoring 17 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.  She was also named PLAYER OF THE GAME for the State Championship Final!

CONGRATULATIONS BRIANNA!

Key game stat: four of the five Duncanville starters fouled out in this game -- I'm sure the locals will not be happy about this!

LINK:  BOX SCORE

Eleven Notre Dame Teams Ranked in Top 25 !!!

Took a look at the national rankings of all of the Notre Dame sports teams that are currently in season -- pretty impressive!

ELEVEN NOTRE DAME TEAMS ARE RANKED IN THE TOP-25!!!

• Women's Basketball:  #2 in the country
• Men's Fencing:  #3 in the country
• Women's Fencing:  #4 in the country
• Men's Tennis:  #10 in the country
• Men's Indoor Track & Field:  #10 in the country
• Men's Lacrosse:  #11 in the country
• Women's Lacrosse:  #12 in the country
• Men's Hockey:  #14 in the country
• Women's Softball:  #24 in the country
• Women's Swimming:  #24 in the country
• Women's Tennis:  #25 in the country
• Men's Swimming:  #26 in the country

FALL SPORTS -- FINAL RANKINGS

• Men's Soccer:  NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! 
• Women's Rowing:  #13 in the country
• Women's Soccer:  #14 in the country
• Men's Cross Country:  #19 in the country
• Men's Football:  #20 in the country
• Women's Cross Country:  #23 in the country

Notre Dame's Men's Lacrosse Beats #2 UNC!

Kevin Corrigan's Fighting Irish traveled to Chapel Hill today to take on the #2 ranked North Carolina Tarheels -- and #11 Notre Dame beat them 11 - 10  !!!  The Irish were down 7 - 3 at halftime but rallied for the big win in their first ever ACC game!

Here are the highlights along with a link to photos of the game:

LINK:  ND BEATS UNC!

LINK:  PHOTO GALLERY -- ND vs. UNC

ND Hockey Beats #1 Boston College in OT!!!

Jeff Jackson's 14th ranked Fighting Irish traveled to Boston to take on the #1 team in college hockey tonight -- and they beat the Eagles of Boston College in OT 2 -1 !!!

It was a huge win for Notre Dame as they make a late run at a NCAA Tournament selection. 

The win also broke BC's nineteen game unbeaten streak!  Here's a replay of the winning goal and the game highlights:

LINK:  ND OT GAME WINNER

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Incoming ND Hoops Recruit -- McDonald's AA!

It's Notre Dame Women's Basketball day at the ND GO IRISH BLOG...

The second highest rated recruit in Muffet's 2014 recruiting class is Kathryn Westbeld from Fairmont, OH.  Westbeld was recently selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game along with fellow Irish commit Brianna Turner.

Here's a local Ohio TV station's news story on Kathryn's selection:

LINK:  A MCDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN!

Video of ND Women's Hoop Recruit's Back Flip!

Notre Dame women's basketball will welcome point guard Mychal Johnson to the Fighting Irish this August.  Johnson, in a recent ESPN interview, was filmed doing a standing BACK FLIP!  She's going to be a great addition to our women's basketball program!

LINK:  BACK FLIP

ND Football and Golf Team Visit YMCA

The folks at WNDU-TV caught up with Jaylon Smith and Greg Bryant as they joined some fellow student-athletes from the Notre Dame football and men's golf teams at the South Bend YMCA yesterday...

Here's a link to their interviews:

LINK:  SMITH AND BRYANT

Muffet's #1 Recruit Takes on Winning Streak!

Brianna Turner -- arguably the #1 women's high school basketball recruit in America -- has one more high school game tonight before she heads to the University of Notre Dame...

And, what a game it is.

Turner and her Manvel HS teammates are taking on Duncanville HS -- one of the top ranked high school girls team in the country on a 105 game winning streak -- at 8:30 PM in the Texas Class 5A State Championship game.

Duncanville has won back-to-back state championships.

The two teams played earlier this season and Manvel lost to Duncanville 56 - 50 after leading 32 - 18 at halftime.  Should be a great game on the campus of the University of Texas!

Here's the media coverage:

LINK:  A FIRST FOR MANVEL

LINK:  DUNCANVILLE GOES FOR THREE-PEAT

LINK:  PREVIOUS MEETING

LINK:  HOUSTON TV STATION

Winter Workouts -- Notre Dame Football Style!

The Fighting Irish have been training this off-season (outdoors and indoors) as they get ready for the 2014 season opener against Rice -- 182 days from today!

Watch it right here!

LINK:  WINTER CONDITIONING