Skylar Named WNBA's Most Improved Player

Her sophomore season as a professional has been one for the record books.

Former Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins was just named the WNBA's Most Improved Player.  Skylar received 29 of the 38 votes from a panel of national and local sportswriters and broadcasters.

Skylar averaged 20.1 points for game this season -- after averaging 8.5 points per game last year.  In the process she set the Shock's single season scoring record.  She also led the team in assists, steals and minutes played.

Diggins led the entire WNBA in minutes played per game, she was 2nd overall in points per game and finished 4th in assists.  Way to go Skylar!!!

LINK:  ANNOUNCEMENT

Rice Owls Head Coach Talks Notre Dame Game

The Rice Owls head football coach Dave Bailiff met with the media to talk about his team and Saturday's game against our Fighting Irish:

LINK:  PRESS CONFERENCE

Local News Stories on Notre Dame FB Players

Took a lap around the worldwide web and found a couple of stories in local newspapers about two members of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame's defensive line.  Just click on their names below to read their story:

LINK:  JARRON JONES

LINK:  ANDREW TRUMBETTI

Rice Week: Coach Kelly's Press Conference

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly met with the media today to discuss Saturday's game against the Rice Owls -- the first game of the 2014 season.

Here's a link to the press conference -- click on the link below to watch:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Reflection: "A College Bound Son..."

ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Rick Becker penned a piece the other day about dropping off his son Friday at the University of Notre Dame.  Rick's son Ben is a member of the Class of 2018.

Rick, who has a gift for the written word, passed along a blog post (last night) he had written a few weeks ago as he contemplated sending his oldest off to college.  Enjoy!

LINK:  QUESTIONS FOR THE COLLEGE BOUND

Maybe USC's Josh Shaw Didn't Rescue Boy

University of Southern California defensive back Josh Shaw claimed to have jumped out of a two-story window Saturday night -- onto concrete -- and then crawled into a swimming pool to save his 7 year-old nephew from drowning.

Shaw, a fifth-year senior for the Trojans, suffered injuries to both ankles and is lost indefinitely to the team.

Well, the story breaking in the past hour is -- this may not be true -- see story linked below.

LINK:  RESCUE ???

LINK:  LAPD UPDATE

ND Players & Students to Stand for Alma Mater

The Observer is reporting leaders of the Notre Dame football team met with Student Government last night to inform them that the "team and student body" would stand together after EVERY home game going forward -- not just after wins.

Here's the story:

LINK:  STANDING FOR THE ALMA MATER 

LINK:  ALMA MATER

Domer Jonas Gray Earning Praise With Patriots

Former Notre Dame running back Jonas Gray is making the long comeback from an ACL injury suffered during his senior campaign in South Bend.   This past weekend he earned some reps with Tom Brady in their exhibition game against the Carolina Panthers...

LINK:  JONAS GRAY

Uni-Watch's Look at the New Helmets & Jerseys

The 2014 college football season begins this season for most of the FBS teams -- and the folks over at UNI-WATCH published this look at a number of the new helmet and uniform combos...

LINK:  THE NEW LOOK FOR 2014

Doug Flutie Interviews Everett Golson for NBC

The former Heisman Trophy QB from Boston College interviews the Fighting Irish's starting QB -- click on the link below:

LINK:  EVERETT GOLSON

Rice Week: Trick Shot Monday at Notre Dame

Yes, it's back -- the Notre Dame football program's TRICK SHOT MONDAY. 

Click on the link below:

LINK:  TRICK SHOT MONDAY

Night Sky Before Classes Start at Notre Dame!

My wife Susan and I headed over to the University of Notre Dame tonight during the "golden hour" -- the last hour of sunlight -- on the most beautiful campus in America.

We took these photos with our iPhones -- hope you like! 

The second photo down is of St. Mary's lake on the north end of campus -- behind the Main Building.

ND: Toughest Football Schedule in America!

College football "guru" Phil Steele just released his list of the top 10 toughest football schedules in the country...

NOTRE DAME WILL TAKE ON THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE COUNTRY!

BRING IT ON!


LINK:  TOP TEN TOUGHEST SCHEDULES

MUST SEE TONIGHT! Strong & True 6:30 PM

Notre Dame fans will want to tune-in to the NBC Sports Network tonight to watch STRONG & TRUE -- Prelude 2014.  A look at our Fighting Irish as they prepare for the upcoming season.

The show airs TONIGHT at 6:30 PM ET -- NBC Sports Network.

Here's a "sneak-preview" of tonight's show:

LINK:  STRONG & TRUE

Notre Dame Student-Athlete: Higher Standards

The Wall Street Journal published a piece over the weekend that offered this question -- "Is Notre Dame Football to demanding?"  It is linked below...

The story goes on to compare the academic demands placed on student-athletes at a school in the SEC vs. the demands of a Notre Dame student-athlete.

LINK:  WSJ STORY

Classes Start This Tuesday at Notre Dame

If you visited downtown South Bend today -- you would have seen this message on their marquis...

Here's a quick look at the quality of Notre Dame's Class of 2018:

LINK:  CLASS OF 2018

Jimmy Clausen Earns Bears' Back-up QB Job!

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Jimmy Clausen will start the NFL season as the "back-up" to Jay Cutler in Chicago -- congratulations Jimmy!

LINK:  CLAUSEN #2

49ers Having Trouble Growing Grass in Cali

The brand new Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA -- the home of the San Francisco 49ers -- has a grass problem.

I guess $1.3 billion (the cost of the brand new stadium) can't buy a great grass surface.  The original sod was planted in April -- and it didn't make it through one game...  The replacement sod isn't doing much better today in the game against the Chargers.

The gang at Field Turf might be getting a phone call from northern California.

LINK:  TURF TROUBLES

Tate & Floyd -- NFL Fantasy Football Top Picks

If you play Fantasy Football -- you've got to look at a couple of former Notre Dame All-Americans for your team...

Golden Tate with the Detroit Lions and Michael Floyd with the Arizona Cardinals -- both are projected to be big time Fantasy Football draft picks.  Here's what the Fantasy "experts" think:

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE

LINK:  MICHAEL FLOYD

Update: NFL Final Roster Cuts for Domers

Took a lap around the worldwide web to see how a few of the Fighting Irish players who were on the proverbial "bubble" of making their NFL team's 53-man active roster -- were doing -- here's what I found out:

That's Jonas Gray in the photo above.

LINK:  JONAS GRAY -- PATRIOTS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  T.J. JONES -- LIONS -- RESERVE "PUP" LIST FOR THE SEASON

LINK:  JIMMY CLAUSEN -- BEARS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  DARIUS FLEMING -- PATRIOTS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  PRINCE SHEMBO -- FALCONS -- LOOKS POSITIVE 

LINK:  RJ BLANTON -- VIKINGS -- LOOKS POSITIVE 

LINK:  SERGIO BROWN -- COLTS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  LOUIS NIX -- TEXANS -- LOOKS POSITIVE  

LINK:  CHRIS WATT -- CHARGERS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  ROBERT HUGHES -- CARDINALS -- LOOKS POSITIVE 

LINK:  THEO RIDDICK -- LIONS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  ERIC OLSEN -- TITANS -- LOOKS POSITIVE 

LINK:  DARRIN WALLS -- JETS -- LOOKS POSITIVE 

LINK:  RYAN HARRIS -- CHIEFS -- LOOKS POSITIVE 

LINK:  TREVOR ROBINSON -- BENGALS -- LOOKS POSITIVE

LINK:  BRADY QUINN -- DOLPHINS -- NOT SO POSITIVE 

LINK:  GEORGE ATKINSON III -- RAIDERS -- NOT SO POSITIVE

LINK:  DAN FOX -- GIANTS -- NOT LOOKING GOOD

LINK:  CIERRE WOOD -- RAVENS -- NOT LOOKING GOOD 

LINK:  SAM YOUNG -- JAGUARS -- NOT LOOKING GOOD

LINK:  BENNETT JACKSON -- GIANTS -- NOT LOOKING GOOD

LINK:  KONA SCHWENKE -- CHIEFS -- NOT LOOKING GOOD

LINK:  ZEKE MOTTA -- FALCONS -- ON "PUP" LIST