A Notre Dame Grotto Engagement: Last Night

One of my teammates, Brandon Tabor -- "popped the question" to his girlfriend Emily Kendall at the University of Notre Dame's Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes last night at 6:13 PM ET.  To say that Emily did not see this coming -- would be an understatement -- nor, the many surprised visitors at the Grotto, who were witness to this special moment...

Our team had a hand in orchestrating the surprise -- and Notre Dame alum Kaity Fuja '09,  from OMG Photography was kind enough to show up and capture the moment on camera.  You'll see in the photo sequence above; Brandon started out giving Emily a hug -- after they had lit a candle, then he drops to one knee...

Now Brandon admitted this morning that he was so nervous and excited -- he doesn't remember if the words "Will you marry me?" ever came out of his mouth.  I think the pictures confirm the ask...

Oh, by the way -- Emily said "YES!"

Domer Zack Martin '13 -- Guest on Mike & MIKE

Former Notre Dame student-athlete -- and now first round draft pick and starting right guard for the Dallas Cowboys -- Zack Martin '13, was a guest this morning on ESPN's Mike & MIKE.  Here's the interview:

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN

Notre Dame's Observer -- Winston Timeline

Notre Dame's student-run newspaper The Observer -- published this story today...

LINK:  WINSTON TIMELINE

Bobby Bowden Offers His Opinion on Winston

Former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden -- weighed in on the Jameis Winston saga in Tallahassee...

LINK:  BOWDEN

Muse See: Today's Tallahassee Democrat

This is the "hometown" newspaper of the Florida State Seminoles -- you'll want to take a look...

LINK:  HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER

Yahoo! Sports Forde: "A Nuclear Level of Hate"

Sounds like Notre Dame might have a few more "fans around the country" than normal tomorrow night...

LINK:  NUCLEAR LEVEL

ESPN's Mike & MIKE Talk ND vs. FSU Game

ESPN's Greenberg and Golic have been talking the Notre Dame vs. Florida State match-up the past few days.  Here's some of their show's guests this week talking about this game -- as soon as Jimbo Fisher's and Brian Kelly's interview today are posted -- I'll have them here:

LINK:  COACH KELLY

LINK:  COACH FISHER

LINK:  HERBSTREIT

Coach Kelly Talks "War Chant, Blitzing & Grass"

The head football coach of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame met with the media immediately after today's practice.  Here's a link...

LINK:  COACH KELLY

Domer Baldwin: Five Birdies in PGA Debut!

That was the good Mark Baldwin '06, can take away from his first time competing on the biggest stage in professional golf.  The Notre Dame alum played today in the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children at TPC Summerlin.

Baldwin, with five birdies, still ended up two over par for the day.  He'll have to "go low" tomorrow to make the cut -- and I believe he will!  Point of reference -- the first round leader had seven birdies...

Mark is the first Notre Dame grad to tee it up at a PGA Tour event in the last fifty years.  You can watch this week's tournament on NBC's Golf Channel.

LINK:  LEADERBOARD

Watch the Brian Kelly Radio Show LIVE at 7 PM

In less than one hour -- you can listen to Brian Kelly talk about the game against Florida State -- on his weekly radio show.

Show starts at 7 PM ET -- click on the link below and watch it LIVE:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY RADIO SHOW

Non BELIEVERS on this ESPN Panel...

Here's a look at the ESPN College Football Nation's experts picks on the winner of the Notre Dame vs. Florida State game...

LINK:  NON BELIEVERS

Lou Holtz and Danny Kanell Talk ND vs. FSU

There is a lot of information here -- you'll want to read it to the very end.  Some stuff from Lou Holtz I haven't heard before...

LINK:  HOLTZ AND KANNEL

Win Loss Records Since Start of 2012 Season

Here's what the College Football win / loss landscape looks like since the start of the 2012 season.

You're going to be surprised how well the Notre Dame Fighting Irish stack up.

Here are the teams with the TEN BEST RECORDS:

1. Florida State:  32 - 2
2. Ohio State:  28 - 3
3. Alabama: 29 - 4
4. Oregon:  28 - 4 
5. Louisville:  28 - 5
6. Notre Dame: 27 - 5
7. Oklahoma:  26 - 6
8. Clemson:  26 - 6
9. Stanford:  27 - 7
10. Texas A&M:  25 - 7
11. Baylor:  25 - 7 
12. South Carolina: 25 - 7

Photos of Skylar Modeling at LA Fashion Week

Former Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins '13, is seen here in photos from last night's Michael Costello's LA Fashion Week show for Art Hearts Fashion.

LINK:  STORY

Newsweek Story on Notre Dame's Joe Schmidt

The Notre Dame linebacker has quite a story...

LINK:  NEWSWEEK

Domer Qualifes for This Week's PGA Tour Stop

Mark Baldwin '06, will become the first Notre Dame alum to play in a PGA Tour event in more than fifty years when he tees it up at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open -- tomorrow at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, NV

The tournament will be televised by the Golf Channel.

Baldwin shot a six-under 64 in the qualifier held this past Monday at Dragon Ridge Country Club -- vaulting him into a four player PLAYOFF for three spots.  Mark birdied the par 5 18th, in the playoff, to earn his first PGA Tour start! 

If you'd like to keep an eye on how Mark's doing -- just click on the Leaderboard link below -- just remember the tournament starts tomorrow!!!

His tee time is 8:30 AM PT

Mark is also in the process of trying to earn a European Tour card -- he most recently advanced to the second stage of their Q-School after finishing 21st in Lisbon, Portugal two weeks ago.  The second stage takes place next month.


LINK:  LEADERBOARD

The Tallahassee Democrat's Take on ND vs. FSU

Here's a look at the local newspaper that covers Florida State Football -- every single day -- the Tallahassee Democrat.

I was curious to see how they're dealing with the controversy surrounding Jameis Winston -- and how they're reporting on the big game...

Take a look.

LINK:  TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT

Under Armour's New Shoes for Brey's IRISH

Here's a look at three of the shoe designs from Under Armour for the Notre Dame Men's Basketball team -- classy!

Notre Dame Men's Basketball Media Day Today

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish met with the media today as they move towards their opening game -- less than three weeks from now.  Here's a link to a few player interviews that took place today:

LINK:  PLAYER INTERVIEWS

ESPN's Matich & McShay Pick ND / FSU Winner

The folks at ESPN began making their picks today on who wins Saturday night's game between Notre Dame and Florida State...

LINK:  WE HAVE A WINNER