A Star Is Born Today -- Pat Connaughton!

He wears #24 for Mike Brey's Fighting Irish and his best sport might just be baseball (drafted out of high school by the San Diego Padres) -- but today, Pat Connaughton was one of the top college basketball players in the country!

• 23 points
• 5 for 8 from behind the three-point line
• 11 rebounds
• 3 assists
• 1 steal
• 2 blocks
• And, he OWNED every loose ball he was around!

Not bad for a 6' - 5" freshman out of St. John's Prep in Arlington, MA.

Congratulations Pat -- you're excelling on one of the biggest stages in sport!

IRISH WIN -- What A Home Court Advantage!

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish -- are not afraid...

They have beaten FIVE RANKED TEAMS this season -- the MOST BY ONE TEAM IN AMERICA!  And, they've done this with their leading scorer, sitting in street clothes, on the bench.

Today, the 14th ranked Marquette Golden Eagles came to Purcell Pavillion on a seven game winning streak.  Two hours later, they walked out on the short end of a 76 - 59 score.  HUGE WIN for the IRISH!

LINK:  ESPN GAME STORY

LINK:  COACH BREY PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Off Topic -- But You Have to See This!

The folks promoting CHRONICLE (the movie) -- sent three "flying people" into the air over New York City yesterday.  You have to see this!

How might we execute something like this at Notre Dame?  Please send me your thoughts at;  jim.small@ndgoirish.com

LINK:  FLYING PEOPLE OVER NEW YORK!

National Signing Day -- Behind the Camera!

Notre Dame football fans will enjoy this story created by the gang at Fighting Irish Digital Media -- as they turned the cameras "in the other direction..."

LINK:  NATIONAL SIGNING DAY AT ND!

#1 Offense vs. #1 Defense: Today at 1 PM ET!

Something has to give...

At 1 PM ET today at the University of Notre Dame's Purcell Pavillion -- the #1 offense in the Big East Conference (Marquette) takes on the #1 defense in the Big East (Notre Dame).  If you can't sit in the stands like me today (YEAH!) -- you can watch it LIVE on CBS.

The #14 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles have won seven in a row -- but that ends today!

The folks at UND.COM caught up with Coach Mike Brey this week to talk about today's big game.

LINK:  MARQUETTE PREVIEW

ND's New Shamrock Series Jersey & Helmet...

The word around campus is Notre Dame will "shock the world" with their helmet and jersey combo for next year's SHAMROCK SERIES game (in Chicago) against the Miami Hurricanes.  Those in the know have said;

"You won't believe what Adidas has come up with for Notre Dame football..."

I don't expect to see any photos leaked to the media -- anytime soon.  Stay tuned!

It Didn't Take Long...

Michigan State University's Mark Dantonio fired the first shot across the bow of the new guy in Columbus...

Urban Meyer (former ND football assistant), who's made a good living out of turning recruits committed to other schools -- to his -- wasted little time in doing the same to his fellow coaches in the Big Ten & Notre Dame.  Here's a link to how Mr. Dantonio feels about this.

LINK:  UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR

Domer Tom Clements Named Packers OC!

The Green Bay Packers announced today that former Notre Dame All-American QB, Tom Clements -- has been named their offensive coordinator.  Clements has been the Packers QB coach the past six seasons and is given a great deal of credit for the development of Aaron Rodgers into one of the best QB's on the planet.  Congratulations Tom!

LINK:  CLEMENTS NAMED OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

Photo of the Day: Michael Floyd & Gatorade

 

Former University of Notre Dame football star Michael Floyd, was in Indianapolis yesterday (that's him on the treadmill) to meet with the folks at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute to get a better understanding of how his body works in order to prepare for the upcoming NFL Combine, NFL Draft and his rookie season.  Looks like fun!

Recruiting Rankings: Where They Rank ND

Took a lap around the numerous recruiting sites this morning to see how the "experts" rank the University of Notre Dame's annual high school football talent grab.  You'll see the Irish are ranked as high as 10th and as low as 22nd in the country.

LINK:  ESPN (INSIDERS SUBSCRIBERS ONLY)

LINK:  MAX PREPS

LINK:  RIVALS

LINK:  SCOUT

Chuck Martin -- He Gets It...

On a day when we secured the signatures of sixteen of the top high school football players in the country -- many IRISH fans turned their attention to the one that got away...

That's life.  If it was easy, there wouldn't be a need for a place like the University of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's offensive coordinator, Chuck Martin -- gets it. 

I encourage all of you to watch Jack Nolan's interview of Coach Martin.  You'll feel much better for it.

LINK:  COACH MARTIN INTERVIEW

Coach Kelly Introduces ND's Recruiting Class

Sixteen high school football stars -- and one transfer from USC -- will make up the new faces on the 125th football team in the history of the University of Notre Dame.  Coach Kelly met with the media this afternoon to talk about his new players on National Signing Day for college football.

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

Notre Dame's National Signing Day Coverage

Folks, you need to tune-in on the web to UND.COM's -- LIVE COVERAGE ALL MORNING -- of National Signing Day for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program.  The live coverage begins at 7 AM ET -- TODAY!  You can expect to hear from Coach Kelly and his coaching staff throughout the morning commenting on all of the future Irish football stars.

Rough Schedule this AM:

• Coach Kelly is expected to appear three times today on the show.  First time -- around 8:30 AM
• Coach Kelly's Press Conference is scheduled for 1 PM ET -- Today 

You will find all of this coverage only on UND.COM

LINK:  WATCH IT LIVE -- RIGHT NOW!

"STRONG OF HEART" -- Teddy's Story

I wrote about this story many months ago on this very blog...

Today, the gang at UND.COM and Fighting Irish Digital Media shared Teddy Roger's story -- a story for all of the Notre Dame Family to see...

Nowhere else but Notre Dame.

LINK:  A NOTRE DAME STORY

Muffet's Irish Beat #14 Rutgers by 30!

The #2 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame keep on rollin'...

Tonight, they were in New Jersey taking on the #14 ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knight and they beat them by 30 points!  The largest margin of victory ever for the IRISH against a Rutgers' women's basketball team. 

NINETEEN WINS IN A ROW!  It's a special season...

LINK:  ESPN BOX SCORE

National Signing Day Commitment Schedule

Here's the projected National Signing Day Schedule for players we expect to sign with the IRISH and players we still have an outside chance with.  ESPNU will be running a National Signing Day Special tomorrow (beginning at 9 AM ET) as will the gang at UND.COM.  The Notre Dame Signing Day coverage will begin at 7:00 AM ET at UND.COM -- click here!  Here's the schedule:

7:00 AM:
Will Mahone
CJ Prosise
Mark Harrell
Romeo Okwara
John Turner

8:00 AM:
Scott Daly

9:00 AM:
Elijah Shumate
Ken Ekanem

10:00 AM:
Deontay Greenberry
Ronnie Stanley
Nicky Baratti

11:00 AM:
KeiVarae Russell

12:00 PM:
Nelson Agholor  -- USC, FLORIDA STATE or NOTRE DAME

12:45 PM:
Brian Poole -- FLORIDA or NOTRE DAME

2:30 PM:
Ronald Darby -- FLORIDA STATE or NOTRE DAME

The Game of Recruiting -- Anything Goes...

The NCAA's decision this week to allow UCONN's Ryan Boatright to play basketball after he and his mother admitted to taking $8,000 in cash, airplane tickets and a car -- just goes to show you why some coaches don't concern themselves with these things called NCAA RECRUITING RULES.

Another case in point -- here's the drama being played out in Louisiana over the recruitment of Landon Collins, one of the top safeties in the country.  Here's a link to the latest development:

LINK:  DID SABAN OFFER TO HIRE A RECRUIT'S GIRLFRIEND?

Impressive Stat of the Day!

Last night, the folks at ESPN ran this stat along the bottom of the TV screen.  Notre Dame is now 5 - 2 in their last seven games against ranked opponents on the ROAD.  That's Notre Dame Men's Basketball they're talking about!  IMPRESSIVE!

Irish Beat #19 UCONN 50 - 48 on the Road!

What was expected to be a down year for the Fighting Irish -- now looks more like a Notre Dame team that could be headed to the NCAA TOURNAMENT!

For the fourth time in a few weeks, NOTRE DAME has beaten a ranked opponent -- the second time on the road!  The Irish have beaten #12 Pittsburgh, #10 Louisville, #1 Syracuse and now #19 UCONN.

The Irish have now won four of the last five against UCONN.

IMPRESSIVE WIN!

LINK:  BOX SCORE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME LOCKER ROOM

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN (IT'S ALL ABOUT UCONN) HIGHLIGHTS

$8,000 in Cash, Airplane Tickets and a Car...

That's the benefits that UCONN freshman basketball player Ryan Boatright and his mother "admitted to" receiving for committing to play basketball for Jim Calhoun's program.

And, he's playing today against the IRISH -- serving only a nine game suspension for the $8,000 in cash, free airplane tickets and car... 

You can't make this stuff up.

So, what's the lesson learned here:  You might as well take the money, tickets and cars -- because if you get caught, you'll only miss a few games... 

UNBELIEVABLE.

LINK:  UCONN PLAYER REINSTATED -- NCAA REPORT