Is Clausen on his way to Cleveland?

In the wake of the Browns trading Brady Quinn to the Broncos yesterday, stories are now surfacing that Cleveland may be interested in taking Jimmy Clausen with their seventh pick in April's NFL Draft. How ironic would that be? Clausen followed Quinn to Notre Dame and now he could be doing the same with the Browns. USA Today (today) ran a story that supported Clausen going #1 overall to the St. Louis Rams. Other sources have the Redskins looking at Clausen with their fourth pick. It now appears certain he'll go in the first ten picks. Clausen, still recovering from toe surgery, has his Pro Day scheduled the week before the Draft. For what it's worth, he was the best "losingest" QB in Notre Dame history. He was much better than his career Win/Loss record at the QB position at Notre Dame. Here's a video tribute to Jimmy:

CLAUSEN'S NOTRE DAME YEARS

Brady Quinn traded to Broncos!

The Cleveland Browns traded former ND QB Brady Quinn to the Denver Broncos today for a player and two draft picks. Quinn was drafted by the Browns in the first round three years ago -- yet didn't fulfill his potential in Cleveland. In Denver, Quinn will be joining a former Charlie Weis protege -- Josh McDaniels. McDaniels was on Charlie's offensive staff when Weis ran the Patriots offense. The links below are the reactions to the trade from the two cities -- enjoy!

CLEVELAND FAN REACTION TO QUINN TRADE

DENVER FAN REACTION TO QUINN TRADE

Irish receive a SIXTH SEED!

Mike Brey and his sixth seeded Fighting Irish are headed to play the #11 seed Old Dominion in the South Region in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in New Orleans on Thursday night. WHEN WE WIN, the Irish will likely take on #3 seed Baylor on Saturday. NCAA Tournament Fact: #6 seeds have won 68.5% of their first round games. Go Irish!

Irish IDOL -- three more contestants...

Every week, NOTRE DAME GO IRISH -- searches the world wide web for the best performers of the Notre Dame Victory March. Here's this week's contestants on Irish IDOL;

YOUNG MAN IN PAJAMAS

GUITAR HERO

MOHAWK SINGER

Are the Irish a 6, 7 or 8 Seed?

After the late season "run" for the Irish -- I'm hoping to see the Irish in the "top 32" seeds in the NCAA Tournament when the NCAA Committee announces the field for the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament tomorrow evening.

Former Heisman Trophy Winner -- Seeking Sponsors for NASCAR Team!

Tim Brown, former ND All American and 1987 Heisman Trophy winner -- is seeking sponsors to start a NASCAR racing team. Brown, who retired from the Oakland Raiders after sixteen years in the NFL -- is working with technical assistance from Roush Racing and NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program. Brown intends to find a black, hispanic or woman driver for his team. Good Luck Tim!

Irish vs. Pittsburgh this evening at Big East!

The seventh seeded Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take on the 2nd seeded Pitt Panthers tonight at 7 PM in the Big East Tournament, after beating Seton Hall last night. Tip off is set for 7PM EST on ESPN. The Irish beat Pitt 68 - 53 three weeks ago in South Bend -- starting the current five game winning streak. Go Irish!

ND Hockey "Cathedral" Construction to Start

The University of Notre Dame has been "under construction" for a long time... One new building, or addition, after another. Add one more to the list. The new hockey arena which will be located south of the Purcell Pavillion and just west of the women's softball stadium is expected to begin construction on March 15th. Here's the only artist rendition I could find of the arena. From what I've been told, it will rival any college hockey arena in America -- it's designer Michael Rossetti is calling it a 'hockey cathedral." Should be something!

Irish play Seton Hall tonight @ 7 PM

Notre Dame opens up play this evening in the Big East Tournament against Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden. The Irish lost to "The Hall" by three (90 - 87), February 11th in a game played before DEFENSE returned to Notre Dame basketball. You can watch the game on ESPN2 at 7 PM EST. Go Irish!

NOTRE DAME'S COVERAGE OF BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

It's March - BOOKSTORE BASKETBALL!

The world's largest "five on five" outdoor basketball tournament is about to "tip off" again. Students, Faculty, Staff, Coaches -- all participate in this uniquely Notre Dame event. Registration for the 2010 Bookstore Basketball Tournament ended March 5th. Since 1972, Bookstore Basketball has taken place outside in the snow, sleet and rain -- on the Notre Dame campus. It started with 53 teams in 1972, the 2009 tournament had 712 teams. Last year's Champions in the Open Tournament; Hallelujah Holla Back will attempt to repeat, without last year's "MVP" (Joe Fauria) who transferred to UCLA and Dayne Crist who's coming off of knee surgery. If you're in town for the Blue & Gold Game you'll see the late rounds of this year's tournament on Friday night and Saturday night -- on the courts next to the Hammes Bookstore. Here's a link to a ESPNU story on last year's tournament and a link to the official tournament site:

ESPNU STORY ON BOOKSTORE BASKETBALL

2010 BOOKSTORE BASKETBALL OFFICIAL SITE

ND Senior - Gates Cambridge Scholar!

Ryan Lash, a senior majoring in medieval studies and anthropology is one of 29 American students to receive a Gates Scholarship (Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft) to attend the University of Cambridge to pursue a masters degree. Here is a link to the news release from the University of Notre Dame:

LASH RECEIVES GATES SCHOLARSHIP

Golden Tate Private Autograph Signing

Are you a fan of Golden Tate? Here's your opportunity to get an autographed item from Golden prior to the NFL Draft. Emerald Sky Sports is hosting a private autograph session with Golden on March 27th. The private signing session will be broadcast live on the web -- so you can actually watch Golden sign the item you requested. For more information click on this link:

GOLDEN TATE PRIVATE AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

Notre Dame Sports on the Web

If you're anything like me, you can't get enough Notre Dame information on the sports teams. Here's the NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG ranking of ND related sports sites and blogs on the web. Click on the titles and it will link you to the respective site.
ND Sports Subscription Sites - Rankings:

#1: Irish Sports Daily
#2: Irish Illustrated
#3: Blue & Gold Illustrated

ND Sports Free Sites - Rankings:
#1: Notre Dame Official Athletic Site
#2: ND Nation
#3: Notre Dame Central
#3: The Unofficial Home of Notre Dame Football

ND Sports Blogs - Rankings:
#1: Blue-Gray Sky
#2: Under the Golden Dome

Mike Anello -- a Notre Dame Man!

BusinessWeek selected Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, last week, as the top Undergraduate Business School in America. When they published the article online they asked top ND Student Athlete -- Mike Anello to pose for this photo. Anello "walked on" the football team as a sophomore, as a senior he earned a full scholarship and was named a Team Captain. He also graduated with a 3.93 GPA in Finance from the Mendoza College of Business earning Academic All-American honors. Here's a link to the article:

NOTRE DAME'S TOP HONORS

A look back at a decade of Notre Dame Football

Found this video that looks back at the last ten years of Notre Dame Football. It shows the highs and the lows -- and I promise you it's going to get you ready for Spring Practice, the Blue & Gold Game and the Home Opener September 4th against Purdue. Enjoy!

ND FOOTBALL 2000 - 2009

Did Carleton Scott's Three Pointer put Irish in NCAA Tournament?

The surging Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- winners of four straight Big East games, earned a seventh seed in the Big East Tournament this week at Madison Square Garden -- after their big overtime win yesterday over Marquette. Carleton Scott's buzzer beating three-pointer put the game into overtime and probably Notre Dame into the NCAA Tournament. The Irish will play the winner of the Seton Hall vs. Providence game -- on Wednesday. Go Irish!

CARLETON'S SCOTT THREE POINTER AGAINST MARQUETTE!

Irish IDOL -- three new contestants

Every week at NOTRE DAME GO IRISH we search the web for the top singers and musicians, in the world, and ask them to perform the greatest college fight song in the land -- the Notre Dame Victory March! Here are three more contestants -- just click on the links below:


JIMMY THE PIANO PLAYER AT DISNEY

TWO YEAR-OLD JACK

TWO YEAR-OLD DANNY

Notre Dame - #1 in the Nation!

BusinessWeek just released their ranking of the top fifty Undergraduate Business School's in the country and Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business was ranked the nation's best! Congratulations to Dr. Carolyn Woo and team for this recognition. Here's a link to the BusinessWeek ranking:

TOP FIFTY UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN AMERICA

ND Basketball -- NCAA Tournament Bound?

With big wins these past ten days against Georgetown, Pittsburgh and Connecticut -- the Irish are back in the conversation concerning the NCAA Tournament. Some expert think they're in right now. Some say, they need to win two in the Big East Tournament -- others say they need to beat Marquette tomorrow on the road. It's obvious that Notre Dame is on the proverbial "bubble." How many more wins do you think the Irish need before the NCAA Selection Committee announces the teams next Sunday? Cast your vote on the Notre Dame Go Irish Blog poll.

Frank Leahy -- one of the greats of all time!

We use his name often when talking about the great coaches at Notre Dame -- yet, do we really know that much about him? He won four National Championships, had six undefeated seasons, an unbeaten streak of 39 games and he coached four Heisman Trophy winners. His overall record was 87 - 11 - 9. Yeah, they use to have "ties" in football! He resigned from Notre Dame with two years left on his contract - later saying he "didn't feel wanted at Notre Dame." Kind of hard to believe! Here's an NFL Films video tribute of Coach Leahy:

FRANK LEAHY TRIBUTE VIDEO