Down By Twenty -- IRISH DON'T BLINK!

The #23 Fighting Irish were down by twenty points in their game tonight on the road at Villanova...


No problem -- the IRISH win it in OVERTIME 74 - 70!

That's EIGHT-IN-A-ROW for the 2nd place team in the Big East -- the team we all thought COULDN'T...

Seven three-pointers for freshman sensation Pat Connaughton -- the MOST IMPROVED UNKNOWN player in the country.  That's him in the photo...

Congratulations Coach Brey and your FIGHTING IRISH -- the Notre Dame Nation is thrilled for you!


LINK:  ESPN BOX SCORE

#9 Irish LAX beats #2 Duke Today!

Not a bad way to start the Lacrosse season -- OUTDOORS @ NOTRE DAME -- as the Irish knocked off the Duke Blue Devils 7 - 3. 

Here's a link to UND.COM's coverage:

LINK:  IRISH BEAT DUKE

Irish Basketball on ESPNU Tonight -- 9 PM ET

The #23 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame travel to Philadelphia tonight to take on Villanova.  Irish fans can watch the game live on ESPNU or on the web at ESPN3 -- tip-off scheduled for 9 AM ET. 

GO IRISH!

LINK:  MIKE BREY -- VILLANOVA PREVIEW

LINK:  WATCH THE IRISH LIVE ON THE WEB

Who Needs the Hook'em Horns Sign...

When you can have:  ND IN YOUR HANDS!

Saw this first in a photo of Irish football recruits at the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Phoenix last month.

Showing us how to make a ND in your hands is Nicky Baratti (out of Texas) -- who signed with the Irish on National Signing Day.  Thanks Nicky!

Try it yourself -- it's not as easy as it looks...

Domer Dens -- You Have Got to See This!

I thought I had a pretty cool Notre Dame "Man Cave" -- until I saw this new feature on UND.COM

WOW -- is all I can say about Dick Wilson's basement!

LINK: DOMER DENS -- WAIT 'TIL YOU SEE THIS

Kiper: Harrison Smith to Packers in 1st Round!

NFL Draft guru -- Mel Kiper, Jr. (who's a Notre Dame fan) -- has Irish football star Harrison Smith going to the Green Bay Packers in the FIRST ROUND of his latest mock draft.

Who would have thought this was even possible,  just two years ago, when Coach Weis and crew had him playing linebacker.

Harrison and his family must be so excited right now!  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH A NFL FIRST ROUNDER

The Hourly Investment to Attend Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame recently announced a 3.8% tuition rate increase for the upcoming academic year -- taking tuition to $42,971.  Add in room & board plus books and the projected investment to attend Notre Dame next year is:  $55,855.

Now, if you factor into the equation that students are on campus for 107 days per semester -- 214 for the full academic year -- the per hour investment to attend the University of Notre Dame is:

$10.87 

This compares to schools like the University of Michigan - which run around $6 an hour...

Seven In a Row! Irish Beat Rutgers 71 - 53

The Fighting Irish men's basketball team is proving to the basketball world that you don't need "McDonald's All-Americans" on your roster to play winning basketball!

During the game ESPNU put up a few statistics I was unaware of:

• Notre Dame has the fewest turnovers per game in the Big East
• Notre Dame has the "fifth" fewest turnovers per game in the nation
• And, Notre Dame has MADE more free throws this season then their opponents have taken

These are impressive stats!  Here's a couple of links to UND.COM's post game coverage along with ESPN's:

LINK:  MIKE BREY PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME - RUTGERS HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN GAME RAP

LINK:  BOX SCORE

Weigel: "Obama Is Misreading Catholics"

Conservative columnist George Weigel, who is often critical of Notre Dame -- has retracted some previous comments he made about Father Jenkins regarding the HHS controversy.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  DIVIDE AND CONQUER?

Irish Hoops on ESPNU Tonight @ 7 PM ET

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish will host Big East foe Rutgers tonight at Purcell Pavillion.  Notre Dame, on a six-game winning streak, will be looking to turn the tables on the Scarlet Knights who were the last team to beat the Irish back on January 16th.  Game tips off on ESPNU at 7 PM ET.

GO IRISH!

LINK:  COACH BREY'S (WEEKLY) BIG EAST TELECONFERENCE

LINK:  OBSERVER STORY

Why We Love Notre Dame, Courtesy of ESPN

ESPN.COM's Notre Dame "blogger" is Matt Fortuna -- and to honor Valentine's Day, Matt published a number of emails yesterday from ND fans as to why they love the University of Notre Dame.  I want to thank my teammate here at Notre Dame, Chas Grundy '02, for alerting me to this story:

LINK:  WHY WE LOVE NOTRE DAME

Skylar Diggins & The New York Times...

You've got to wonder when was the last time the New York Times Magazine profiled a Notre Dame athlete who didn't wear a gold helmet...

I'm guessing NEVER -- until now.

Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins -- the most famous student-athlete under the Golden Dome right now -- was featured in a profile in the New York Times Magazine -- that Irish fans will enjoy.

Here's the link:

LINK:  SKYLAR DIGGINS -- BIG TIME

Domer J.J. Philbin's "New Girl" on FOX

 

"Domer" J.J. Philbin, daughter of Regis Philbin, is one of the creator's of the Fox sitcom "New Girl."

I'm becoming a fan of the show...  VERY FUNNY!

LINK:  OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Does CBS' Bruce Feldman Know Something?

CBS Sports' senior college football columnist Bruce Feldman came out today with his "Top 10 Most Intriguing Redshirt Freshman" -- or, as Notre Dame would say "sophomore's with four years of eligibility remaining."

And, at the very top of that list is EVERETT GOLSON, QB -- University of Notre Dame.

Bruce is obviously hearing what many close to the Notre Dame football program have been saying for the past few months -- Everett Golson is the REAL DEAL.

It's going to be an interesting SPRING here at Notre Dame.

LINK:  TOP 10 MOST INTRIGUING REDSHIRT FRESHMEN

The Man & Mind Behind Notre Dame Magazine

His name is Kerry Temple '74, and he's the award winning editor (since 1995) of the top college magazine on the planet -- Notre Dame Magazine.

I had the great pleasure this afternoon to sit down with Kerry for a couple of hours to talk about Notre Dame.

Ironically, we learned we have something in common beyond our love for Notre Dame and telling stories.  We were both born in the same hospital in Shreveport, LA!

Notre Dame Magazine -- is a true literary treasure.  

Kerry did give me a little scoop today that the Spring issue will feature a FASHION SECTION for the first time ever.  It sounds like Kerry and TEAM (Carol Schaal '91, John Munczunski, John Nagy '00, Kerry Prugh and Julie Ettl) had some great fun creating this issue -- as did some Notre Dame students who were commissioned as models for photo shoots.

Notre Dame Magazine has a circulation of 150,000 -- if you're not one of them, you need to be!  Here's a link to the magazine's website along with a link to how you can subscribe.   This is a "must have" for fans of the University of Notre Dame:

LINK:  SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO NOTRE DAME MAGAZINE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME MAGAZINE WEBSITE

Blue Gold Game Only 67 Days Away!

One of the more anticipated Blue Gold Games in recent history is only 67 days a way!

Notre Dame fans will be looking forward to seeing the QB competition, DB competition and who's going to step forward and take over Michael Floyd's spot on the roster.  Should be fun!

To get you excited -- here's the Notre Dame Football highlight video from this past season

LINK:  2011 SEASON HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

NDGIB: The 62nd Largest City in America!

At 9:16 PM ET this evening -- a Notre Dame fan from Chicago, IL became UNIQUE "RESIDENT" #300,000 here at the ND GO IRISH BLOG!

To put this in perspective -- there are only 61 cities in the USA who have a population of more than 300,000.

Here's a list of the next five largest "population centers" in America:

1. Santa Ana, CA -- 324,538
2. St. Louis, MO -- 319,924
3. Pittsburgh, PA -- 305,704
4. Corpus Christi, TX -- 305,215
5. Riverside, CA -- 303,871
6. ND GO IRISH BLOG -- 300,000
7. Cincinnati, OH -- 296,943

Thank you for making the ND GO IRISH BLOG your NOTRE DAME HOMETOWN on the web!

Notre Dame's Fr. Bill Dailey on MSNBC...

The University of Notre Dame's Rev. Bill Dailey, C.S.C., was a guest on MSNBC's Up With Chris Hayes show Sunday morning.

Fr. Bill was asked to weigh in on the "subject of the day" in Washington D.C. -- the Obama administrations proposed "compromise" to force Catholic institutions to offer contraceptive services to employees.

You're going to enjoy Fr. Bill's debate with the folks at MSNBC.

In addition, twenty-five members of the University of Notre Dame faculty -- led by the university’s top ethics expert, and including some of the school’s most eminent scholars -- have signed a statement declaring that President Barack Obama’s latest version of his administration’s mandate that all health insurance plans in the United States must cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that cause abortions, is “a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand."

Here's the links:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ON MSNBC

LINK:  NOTRE DAME STANDS UP TO OBAMA

Mike Brey's Irish Finally Crack the Top 25!

The folks at CBSSPORTS.com came out with their updated Top-25 ranking this morning and the Irish have gone from being unranked to #18 in the country.  The CBS SPORTS poll is the first published each week. Here's a link to their ranking:

LINK:  IRISH RANKED IN TOP 25

Inside Notre Dame Basketball

The gang at Fighting Irish Digital Media are doing a bang-up job this season covering Notre Dame Athletics.  Here's their show Inside Notre Dame Basketball (Jack Nolan & Coach Brey).  Enjoy!

LINK:  INSIDE ND BASKETBALL #9