"An Absolute Mess" -- Says Coach Diaco

I have to admit, it was difficult watching Notre Dame Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco's session with the media after today's practice.  Diaco faced questions, for the first time this season, from a press corp that was "unimpressed" with his Irish defense.  Navy's offensive rushing output of 367 yards Saturday -- was shocking.  Here's a link to Coach Diaco's media session:

LINK:  COACH DIACO FACES THE MEDIA

The Most Expensive Penalty Flag in History!

The University of Notre Dame's pass interference penalty in the first half of Saturday's game against the Naval Academy -- was the most expensive penalty flag thrown in the history of college football.  IT WAS THE ONLY PENALTY OF THE GAME -- COSTING BOTH SCHOOLS A COMBINED ONE MILLION DOLLARS!  Liberty Mutual announced a promotion in September of this year -- here's a link -- in which they would award $1 million (combined) to both schools who played a "penalty free" NCAA FBS football game.  The defensive pass interference penalty -- an easy call for the officials -- was the only penalty flag that hit the football field in Navy's 35-17 thumping of the Irish.  It was the first time the Naval Academy had not been called for a penalty in eight years.  Saturday's loss to Navy -- which put a huge hit on the Irish's post-season bowl opportunities -- just got a little more expensive...

The Financial Impact of Obama's Visit?

President Obama's appearance at the University of Notre Dame's Commencement in May of 2009 was highly controversial -- that we all know.  What we didn't know was it's impact financially on Notre Dame.  CatholicCulture.org is reporting that financial contributions fell by more than $120 million during the fiscal year of Obama's visit.  It was the "imperfect storm" that year for Notre Dame; the Obama controversy,  the economy and a 3-9 football season.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  OBAMA'S FINANCIAL HIT ON NOTRE DAME

Wolfard '02 and Haney -- Third Place Last Night!

Season 17 of CBS's The Amazing Race has a Domer (Thomas Wolfard '02) and his girlfriend (Jill Haney) holding their own in this globe trotting adventure race.  Last night's race began in Sweden and ended in Norway -- with our favorite team -- finishing in THIRD PLACE!  When they reached the finish line, Thomas was sporting his Notre Dame Fighting Irish t-shirt.  Eleven teams began The Amazing Race, now seven remain.  Rumor has it the race will be moving to Russia next Sunday.  Here's a few links below to this week's episode and an interview of Thomas and Jill.

LINK:  SEASON 17 EPISODE 5

LINK:  INTERVIEW OF THOMAS AND JILL

LINK:  THOMAS & JILL'S FACEBOOK PAGE

A Sunday Conversation -- Coach Kelly

Life goes on -- and the Irish need to get over yesterday's beating by the Naval Academy and start preparing for Tulsa this Saturday.  This afternoon, Coach Kelly met with UND.COM's Jack Nolan for their weekly Sunday chat.  Here's a link:

LINK:  A SUNDAY CONVERSATION WITH COACH KELLY

The Morning After -- the Media Piles On

And, we should expect nothing else when the most storied college football team in the country takes a beating like they did yesterday at the hands of a military academy school.  Frankly, we deserve all of it.  (The photo is of Navy's "back up" fullback who rushed for 210 yards yesterday -- a school record for that position).  Here's what our "friends" in the media had to say about Notre Dame's humbling 35-17 loss to Navy yesterday:

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  NEW YORK TIMES

LINK:  BALTIMORE SUN

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

Notre Dame Hockey Beats #1 BC Last Night!

Jeff Jackson's Fighting Irish hockey team beat the top ranked team in college hockey last night, Boston College,  2-1.  SOME GREAT NEWS ON A SATURDAY IN WHICH OUR FOOTBALL TEAM GOT HAMMERED BY NAVY. Sophomore goalie Mike Johnson had 28 saves and senior forward Calle Ridderwald scored two second period goals as the Irish move on to 4-1-0 on the season.  The victory snapped a 14 game winning streak for Boston College -- a carry-over from last season when they won the National Championship.  It's the fourth time that Notre Dame has beat a #1 ranked Boston College hockey team in the last seven seasons.  (The photo is of former ND hockey coach Lefty Smith handing out the trophy that annually goes to the winner of the ND/BC hockey game to Irish team captain Joe Lavin).  The #17 ranked "young" Irish (12 of the 27 players are freshmen) are sure to move up in the polls this week prior to their "home and home" series with Western Michigan University this weekend.  Go Irish!

Our Worst Loss of All Time?

Folks, I've promised to be POSITIVE on this blog about Notre Dame.  And, I will do my absolute best to continue that trend.  I just got done watching a game that reminded me of the Miami whipping on Gerry Faust's Irish back in the mid-80's -- a game I thought was the worst in Notre Dame football history.  Gang, this may have topped it.  A 217 lb. Navy "back-up" fullback rushed for more than 200 yards today -- the first time in Navy history.  He did this up the middle of a defense that featured supposedly, our best defensive lineman (Ian Williams) and our best linebacker (Manti Teo).  How does that happen -- ALL GAME LONG?  Does Georgia Southern have better athletes than we do on defense?  They held Navy to 109 yards rushing and 13 points.  THINK ABOUT THAT!  We're fortunate that Navy called off "the goats" in the 3rd quarter.  They kicked our fannies.   Never thought I'd write that about Notre Dame football.  Here's a link to Coach Kelly's post game press conference -- not a fun duty today.  It's on right now.

LINK: COACH KELLY POST GAME MEDIA SESSION

What The "Money's" Saying About -- ND vs. Navy

            

Every week, the ND GO IRISH BLOG looks to the "experts" in Las Vegas who set the "betting line" on college football games.  The last two weeks -- Vegas has been right on the money, with their point spreads on Irish games.  The Pitt game, ND was a 6 point favorite -- the Irish win 23-17.  The Western Michigan game, ND was a 24 point favorite -- the Irish win 44-20.  COINCIDENCE?  Here's what they're saying about today's game with Navy:

LINK:  SPORTS ODDS.COM

LINK:  ODDS MAKER.COM

LINK: ACCU SCORE.COM

The Irish vs. #1 Ranked Opponents

This evening, the #1 ranked team in college hockey -- Boston College -- will be taking on Jeff Jackson's #17 ranked Fighting Irish at the Joyce Center.  It will be a great early test for this young Notre Dame team.  You may recall that Notre Dame and BC met in the NCAA National Championship game in 2008.  We won't mention who won that game...  In college football, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Oklahoma have beaten more #1 ranked teams than anyone else in history -- with both schools beating teams ranked #1 at the time -- eight times!  Here's a list of all time wins by schools against #1 ranked opponents in college football:
-Notre Dame, 8
-Oklahoma, 8
-Miami (Fla.) 7
-Purdue, 7
-USC, 7
-Texas, 5
-Alabama, 4
-Arkansas, 4
-Michigan, 4
-Ohio State, 4
-Penn State, 4
-Auburn, 3
-Florida, 3
-Illinois, 3
-Minnesota, 3
-UCLA, 3
-Wisconsin, 3
-Arizona, 2
-Georgia Tech, 2
-Kentucky, 2
-LSU, 2
-Maryland, 2
-Michigan State, 2
-Oregon State, 2
-Tennessee, 2
-Arizona State, 1
-Army, 1
-Boston College, 1
-BYU, 1
-Florida State, 1
-Georgia, 1
-Kansas, 1
-Kansas State, 1
-Mississippi State, 1
-Nebraska, 1
-Northwestern, 1
-Rice, 1
-South Carolina, 1
-Stanford, 1
-Syracuse, 1
-Texas A&M, 1
-TCU, 1
-Texas Tech, 1
-Washington, 1
-Washington State, 1

Help This Domer Win Hispanic Award!

David Olivencia is a graduate of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business MBA program -- and he's a finalist for the Outstanding Hispanic Award at the upcoming Hispanic Forum 2010 this December in Washington D.C.  David is a member of the Notre Dame Club of Detroit -- and the Club sent out an email out last night asking the Notre Dame family to go to the site linked below and vote for David.  I thought it would be an effort the ND GO IRISH BLOG gang should get behind.  So, here's the link to vote for David.  Go David! and Go Irish!

LINK:  VOTE FOR DAVID OLIVENCIA

The Daniels Family -- Welcome to Notre Dame!

One of Brian Kelly's most recent recruits is Davaris Daniels -- a big time wide receiver out of the Chicago area.  Davaris, just happens to be the son of Phillip Daniels, a defensive end with the Washington Redskins -- who's in his 15th year in the NFL.  FYI -- that's Davaris on the right...   Rumor has it, that Brian Kelly will be instituting a "bring your Dad to school" program the Saturday of the USC game next October -- it's expected that Davaris's dad will offer to give a demonstration on "the art of  the QB sack"-- in Coach Kelly's Notre Dame classroom (Notre Dame Stadium).  Sounds like a wonderful idea to me!  Here's a link to an ESPN.COM story this week on these two:

LINK:  THE DANIELS FAMILY

Weather Forecast for Notre Dame vs. Navy

Here's what the weather forecast looks like for "Football Weekend" for the Irish and their fans these next few days in East Rutherford, NJ -- courtesy of My9 TV.  Looks like great weather!  Here's a link to local weather radar for northern New Jersey:

LINK:  WEATHER RADAR FOR NEW JERSEY

It's a Big Deal -- When the Irish Come to Town

Thought you'd enjoy this screen shot of the "home page" of the New Meadowlands Stadium website.  It shows a photo of Armando Allen above the stadium -- the Irish are coming to town!  Here's a link to their official website:

LINK:  THE NEW MEADOWLANDS STADIUM

CBS Affiliates -- Where to Watch the Irish!

CBS doesn't publish a TV coverage map for college football -- so, you're going to have to check out your local TV guide to see if your CBS affiliate is going to carry the Notre Dame vs. Navy game this Saturday.  Kick-off is scheduled for NOON, 12:00 PM EST.  Here's a link below to a list of the CBS affiliates across the country by state.  And, if you learn that you won't be getting the game -- you can watch the game on the web -- click on the link below to watch the game online at cbssports.com:

LINK:  LIST OF CBS AFFILIATES BY STATE

LINK:  WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME ONLINE

It's Thursday -- Brian Kelly's Radio Show Tonight

Every Thursday during the football season -- Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly -- hosts his radio show live from Legends of Notre Dame.  If you can't be there in person at 7 PM EST -- you have the option of watching it or listening to it, live on the web.  Here are the links:

LINK:  WATCH THE SHOW

LINK:  LISTEN TO THE SHOW

Hottest Ticket in College Football This Week...

You guessed it -- Notre Dame vs. Navy at the new Meadowlands Stadium.  That's according to STUBHUB.COM -- here's a link to the story.  Ironically, the most expensive ticket in college football this season (see link below) also involves the Irish an another military academy.  I guess that's the price you pay for no longer being RELEVANT...

LINK:  HOTTEST TICKET IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

LINK:  MOST EXPENSIVE TICKET IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Three ND Players Receive Mid-Season Honors

Phil Steele, who publishes Phil Steele's College Football Preview -- just released his "Mid-Season All American Team" and three Notre Dame Football players received All American honors;  Manti Teo, Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph.  Teo was named 2nd team All-American linebacker, Floyd and Rudolph were named 4th team All-Americans at their respective positions.  Manti Teo was also named to Sports Illustrated's Mid-Season All-American team -- as a 2nd team linebacker.  Here are the links to the teams:

LINK:  PHIL STEELE'S MID-SEASON ALL AMERICANS

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MID-SEASON ALL AMERICANS

Notre Dame Releases Football Schedules

The University of Notre Dame released its 2011 and 2012 football schedules yesterday -- and they contain some new opponents, some past opponents and those you've come to expect.  Notre Dame alum, Skip Holtz (son of Lou) will bring his University of South Florida Bulls into Notre Dame Stadium to kick-off the 2011 season.  It will mark the first time the Irish have played this school in football.  That same trend carries on later in the year when Notre Dame will travel to Winston-Salem, NC to take on another "first time opponent" in the Deamon Deacons of Wake Forest -- in its 31,500 seat stadium.  This just might be the smallest football stadium (pictured) the Irish have played in, since the days of Rockne.  Other highlights of the 2011 season include the first night game in the history of Michigan Stadium -- as the Irish will play the Wolverines "under the lights" on September 10th.  And, a neutral site game in Washington D.C. -- as the Irish will take on Maryland at the Redskins' Fed-Ex Field.  The 2012 season kicks of in Ireland -- as the Irish will travel to Dublin to take on Navy.  This season will see the return to the Notre Dame football schedule of some of the bigger names in college football; Oklahoma, Miami and BYU.  The Miami game will be held at Chicago's Soldier Field. Here's the FUN FACT OF THE YEAR:  Ten of the twelve Notre Dame's opponents, on the 2012 schedule, have won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in football.  Here are the ten schools; Navy, Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Miami, Stanford, BYU, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and USC.  The only two schools on the 2012 schedule that haven't; Boston College and Wake Forest.  Is anyone playing a schedule like that in the country?  Here's a link to the 2011 & 2012 schedules:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S 2011 & 2012 SCHEDULE

PHOTO OF THE DAY -- Buffet's Office Sign

Legendary Berkshire Hathaway investor, Warren Buffet -- was interviewed by USA Today about his love for Nebraska football.  Buffet, who's lived in the same home in Omaha, NE -- that he bought for $31,500 in 1958 -- says "his heart is with the Huskers..."  Well, it look's like his "head/brain" is with the IRISH -- see the sign behind him.  Go Irish!