Notre Dame Trustee Don Keough Heaven Bound

One of the all-time great IRISH AMERICANS -- Don Keough -- died this morning from pneumonia at the age of 88.

The world knows him as the man who ran Coca-Cola for many years.  The Notre Dame family knows him for his wisdom -- as a member of the Board of Trustees, his passion and his generosity:

• Keough Hall -- a men's dorm on campus
• Keough School of Global Affairs -- Notre Dame's first new college in almost 100 years, which will open up in 2017
• Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies
• Endowed Chairs, Summer internships in Ireland
• Etc.,

Keough, who served as the Chair of Notre Dame's Board of Trustees from 1986 - 1991 -- sent five of his kids to Notre Dame.

Saying he will be missed is an understatement.

LINK:  DON KEOUGH -- ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S STATEMENT

Big Win Tonight for Muffet's Fighting Irish!

The #4 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish took on the #8 Louisville Cardinals tonight and beat them 68 - 52 in front of a national television audience.

The win puts the IRISH at 26 - 2 on the season and 13 - 1 in the ACC.  Notre Dame is now 8 - 1 on the season against ranked teams.

Notre Dame was led by Jewell Loyd's 20 points, Taya Reimer's "perfect" night going 8 for 8 from the field for 16 points and Brianna Turner's 7 blocked shots as the Irish put the game away with a 16 - 0 run in the second half.

LINK:  ONE OF TURNER'S BLOCKS

LINK:  GAME RECAP

Incoming ND QB -- Brandon Wimbush Video

Notre Dame fans are going to want to get acquainted with this young man...

LINK:  WIMBUSH

Davaris Daniels Meets With Media for First Time

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Davaris Daniels is in Indianapolis this weekend for the 2015 NFL Combine. 

Daniels ran a disappointing 4.62 forty-yard dash today in front of the NFL scouts.  Here are his other "measurables" from today:

•  40 Yard Dash:  4.62
•  Vertical Jump:  37"
•  Broad Jump:  10'-2"
•  Bench Press Reps of 225 lbs:  13 

LINK:  NFL COMBINE RESULTS

He also held a media session for the first time since he was expelled from Notre Dame.  Here's what he had to say to the media:

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

OT: Syracuse Misspells Last Name of Honoree

Syracuse basketball honored two of their greats today Louis Orr and Roosevelt BOUIE -- retiring their jerseys...

Unfortunately -- Syracuse misspelled Roosevelt Bouie's last name on the framed jersey -- see photo above.

LINK:  STORY

IRISH Shoot 66% From the Field in Win Over BC

WOW -- what an offensive performance.

The #10 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame beat Boston College 87 - 70 this afternoon to go 24 - 4 on the season and 12 - 3 in the ACC.  Here's some of the offensive highlights:

• Field Goals:  66% 
• 3 PT Field Goals:  53.8%
• Free Throws:  83.3%
• Assists:  19
• Turnovers: 9

Here's where Notre Dame's offense ranks in NCAA national statistics:

• Field Goal %:  50.8% / 2nd in the country
• Assist to Turnover Ratio:  1.66 / 4th in the country
• Points Per Shot:  1.42 / 5th in the country
• Points Per Game:  79.5 pts / 12th in the country
• 3 PT Field Goal %:  40.1% / 14th in the country
• 3 PT Field Goals Made:  238 / 14th in the country

LINK:  GAME STATS

Emma Reaney Wins ACC Title Last Night!

Notre Dame All-American Emma Reaney swam the third fastest time in the country last night winning the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 58.72 at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championship!

Tonight she returns to the pool to swim the 200 Breaststroke -- an event in which she set the AMERICAN RECORD last year at the ACC Championship!

LINK:  SWIM RESULTS

First Look Inside Notre Dame's Winter Workout

Here's a "nine-second" video from the winter conditioning going on here at Notre Dame.

As you can see in the photo I took above this AM it is cold -- in fact, it is the COLDEST FEB 20th in HISTORY here in "South Brrrrrend."

LINK:  CONDITIONING

Jerian & Jewell -- Their Game of H-O-R-S-E

Notre Dame basketball fans will enjoy this Fighting Irish Digital Media feature on our two hoops stars...

Something tells me Jerian might not hear the end of this.  WOW!

LINK:  A GAME OF HORSE

Notre Dame Fans -- Meet Avery Sebastian !!!

Notre Dame made it official today -- Avery Sebastian, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley -- has been accepted as a grad student-athlete.

The safety will join the Fighting Irish this summer and will be wearing that GOLD HELMET this fall!

Here's a little info on Avery:

LINK:  INTERVIEW

LINK:  ESPN STORY

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

NFL "Pre-Combine" Draft Grades -- ND Players

Three former Notre Dame student-athletes will "officially" begin their quest to play professional football this weekend in Indianapolis at the 2015 NFL COMBINE.  Here's what the talent evaluators think of each...

LINK:  KYLE BRINDZA

LINK:  DAVARIS DANIELS

LINK:  BEN KOYACK

Our New Defensive Line Coach? -- Mic'd Up

The rumored new Notre Dame defensive line coach Keith Gilmore -- is seen in this video during his time at Illinois coaching the "d-boys."  Enjoy!

LINK:  GOING TO BE FUN

On Track For One of the All-Time Great Records

In 110 years of Notre Dame Men's Basketball -- 23 wins in a season, has only been bettered TEN TIMES in history!

The #10 Fighting Irish, with their win tonight over Wake Forest, are now 23 - 4 on the season -- the ELEVENTH MOST WINS in a season in history. 

Here's the list of the "top-five WIN" seasons in Notre Dame Men's Basketball history:

ALL-TIME TOP FIVE MOST WINS IN A SEASON:

• 1908-09:  33 - 7  -- coached by Raymond Scanlon
• 2010-11:  27 - 7  -- coached by Mike Brey
• 1973-74:  26 - 3  -- coached by Digger Phelps
• 2007-08:  25 - 8  -- coached by Mike Brey
• 2012-13:  25 - 10 -- coached by Mike Brey

News: Gilmore & Denson Join Notre Dame Staff

Keith Gilmore, currently the defensive line coach at the University of North Carolina -- is rumored to be taking the same position here at Notre Dame.  And, Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher Autry Denson is rumored to have accepted the running backs coach position.  STORY

THERE HAS BEEN NO CONFIRMATION OF THEIR HIRING BY NOTRE DAME.

Gilmore -- a new name to IRISH fans in the coaching rumor mill -- has served on Brian Kelly's coaching staff at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati. 

Here's what I could find about Keith Gilmore:

LINK:  COACHING BIO

LINK:  INTERVIEW -- NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

LINK:  INTERVIEW -- CINCINNATI COACHING STAFF

ND Freshman Scores SIX GOALS in First Game!

It didn't take long for Mikey Wynne (Sykesville, MD) to become a name on "scouting reports" all over the college lacrosse world...

Wynne was the "fourth ranked" high school lacrosse player in the country last year.

The freshman -- playing in his first ever college game -- scored SIX GOALS in #2 Notre Dame's 14 - 12 opening game win over Georgetown.

Here's some of the highlights -- and a couple of stories:

LINK:  ND BEATS GEORGETOWN

LINK:  LACROSSE MAGAZINE 

LINK:  STORY

Manti Te'o Talks to Nike Football Campers

 

Former Notre Dame All-American Manti Te'o recently spoke at a Nike Football Camp in his home state.  Here's what he had to say to the next generation of Hawaii football stars...

LINK:  MANTI

Jimmy Clausen's Wedding Photos Today!

Former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen married USC alum Jess Gysn this afternoon. 

Congratulations!

Domer Dunne & Reed -- THIRD PLACE FINISH!

Notre Dame alum and Board of Trustee member Jimmy Dunne III '78, finished in third place this afternoon at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am!

Dunne and U.S. Ryder Cup team member Patrick Reed finished at (-39) for the four-day tournament -- just three shots behind the winning team of Pat Perez and his amateur partner Michael Lund (co-founder of Pandora).

Jimmy had quite a week on the Pacific coastline -- he contributed TWENTY-SEVEN STROKES to their team score -- with handicap -- over the four-day tournament.

Dunne shot a 69 at Pebble Beach (without handicap) on Thursday -- beating his playing partner Patrick Reed (who shot a 70), the #15 ranked player in the world!!!

Congratulations Jimmy -- I don't think an amateur had a better tournament than you this week!

Photo above:  That is Jimmy in a pink shirt / white pants on the 13th tee at Monterey Peninsula Country Club during Friday's round -- as his PGA Tour playing partner Patrick Reed tees off.

LINK:  FINAL LEADERBOARD

Domer Dunne & Reed Tee Off at 12:35 PM ET

If you're hoping to see Notre Dame Board of Trustee member Jimmy Dunne '78, on TV today -- you'll want to be watching the first two hours of the Golf Channel's coverage (1:00 PM ET to 2:30 PM ET) of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.   

CBS picks up their coverage beginning at 3:00 PM ET going to 6:30 PM ET.

Dunne and his PGA Tour playing partner Patrick Reed tee-off at 12:35 PM ET off of the 10th tee at Pebble Beach -- meaning they'll be playing the closing holes on the back nine around 2 PM ET or so...

Jimmy's the only amateur in the foursome of Patrick Reed, Dudley Hart and Greg Chalmers -- should be quite a day for the Domer!

They are in FIFTH PLACE going into today's Final Round -- five strokes behind the leaders.

LINK:  TEE TIMES AND PAIRINGS

LINK:  LEADERBOARD

Jimmy Clausen and DOMER Wedding Photos

Former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen will get married Sunday -- and all week long he's been joined by a bunch of his former Fighting Irish teammates.  You'll see Clausen and his USC Trojan alum wife in the top photo and additional photos with Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph...