God, Country, Notre Dame -- Happy Birthday!

Today marks the 237th birthday of the United States of America -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S.A.!

To celebrate -- I'm bringing back one of my all-time favorite songs to the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- the Battle Hymn of the Republic:

LINK:  BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC

Samardzija Third in National League in "K's"

Former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver Jeff Samardzija is 3rd in the National League and 7th in Major League Baseball with 120 strikeouts in 113 innings pitched!  His 113 innings pitched is 7th most in the National League.

Jeff's 3.34 ERA is 23rd best in the National League and 35th best in Major League Baseball.

LINK:  MAJOR LEAGUE STRIKEOUT LEADERS

Domer John Sullivan -- Profiled in Grantland

The former sixth round draft pick out of Notre Dame is now considered "one of the best football players in the world..."

John Sullivan '07, has five years of NFL football under his belt with the Minnesota Vikings -- and he's now getting the recognition he's EARNED.  In this series called All-22 All-Star Team -- the writer selects the top 22 most under appreciated football players in the NFL.

Here is his story on John Sullivan:

LINK:  JOHN SULLIVAN -- MINNESOTA VIKINGS

A "Green Roof" on Notre Dame's Morris Inn

The University of Notre Dame's official photographer, Matt Cashore (@mattcashore) -- just "tweeted" this photo of the "green" roof at the Morris Inn.  The Morris Inn has undergone a serious renovation since last October that is scheduled for completion by August 29th.

I had no idea this was growing on top of the Morris Inn roof!

Father Jenkins Visits Gettysburg Battlefield

150 years ago -- a Holy Cross priest by the name of Corby, stood on a rock overlooking the Gettysburg battlefield giving general absolution and blessing to Union and Confederate troops.

There were 51,112 casualties (dead, wounded and missing soldiers) -- from the three days of fighting.

Fr. William Corby, C.S.C. -- later went on to become the 3rd president of the University of Notre Dame.


LINK:  FR. JENKINS MASS AT GETTYSBURG

LINK:  FR. JENKINS' ADDRESS

An Interview With Notre Dame's Louis Nix III

The folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media sat down with Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix to talk about a variety of subjects -- you're going to love this!

LINK:  IRISH CHOCOLATE

Ryan Harris and Alan Page -- MINN ND Club

Former Notre Dame All-American, NFL Hall of Famer and Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice Alan Page '67, is seen in this photo "tweeted" by former IRISH offensive lineman and NFL veteran Ryan Harris '07.  The two IRISH stars were in attendance tonight at the Notre Dame Club of Minnesota's Page Scholarship event.

Domer Michael Garofola Got Another Rose!

Notre Dame alum Michael Garofola '02 just received ANOTHER ROSE tonight on ABC's The Bachelorette -- surviving to see another episode.  Next week's show takes place in Portugal...

LINK:  THE BACHELORETTE

OT: Freedom Isn't Free -- Coming Home!

Get the Kleenex handy...

LINK:  COMING HOME

Photo of the Day -- Notre Dame Joins ACC!

This photo was shot at NASDAQ's Times Square location this afternoon as the ACC rang the Closing Bell -- note all of the mascots from the Atlantic Coast Conference.  That's Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey standing next to the LEPRECHAUN!

"Largest TV Market in the Country" -- ACC

The Atlantic Coast Conference's news conference today from NASDAQ's Times Square location in New York City just finished.  ACC Commissioner Swofford welcomed the three new member institutions; University of Notre Dame (please note Mike Brey's ND shirt already has ACC on sleeve), University of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University.  Key highlights:

• The newly constituted conference -- has the largest number of TV households of any conference in the country.
• In 2030, it's estimated that 55% of the United States' population will reside in the footprint of the Atlantic Coast Conference
• Translation -- if you want to do a TV negotiation with the ACC -- bring your wallet!

LINK:  JACK SWARBRICK TALKS ND'S MOVE TO ACC AND WHY

A Notre Dame Story: A Catholic Cop's Blog

I was just alerted to a story that appeared on a blog called ROMAN CATHOLIC COP -- about the blogger's time at the University of Notre Dame this past week.  Every year, Notre Dame hosts a conference for high school students called ND VISION CYM...

As you'll see -- this experience is for "grown-ups" to!

Thanks Jamie McAdams (Kansas City, MO) for sharing your story...


LINK:  ND VISION CYM

Life in the ACC Begins Today in New York City!

University of Notre Dame men's head basketball coach Mike Brey -- will be in Times Square this afternoon to ring the CLOSING BELL at NASDAQ -- with the Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and coaches from other ACC schools.

The ACC Digital Network will provide LIVE COVERAGE TODAY -- here's the schedule:

• 2 PM ET:  LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE
• 3:45 PM ET:  CLOSING BELL CEREMONY BEGINS AT NASDAQ

LINK: WATCH IT ALL LIVE -- RIGHT HERE!

LINK:  MIKE BREY TALKS ACC MOVE

Notre Dame History Lesson at Cedar Point!

100 Years ago this very summer -- the forward pass was "perfected" -- on the beach at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH...

The then Notre Dame student-athletes -- Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais -- worked on implementing the forward pass that summer while working as life guards at Cedar Point.

This past Friday -- the GREAT GRANDSONS of Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais -- went back to that very beach to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of their great-grandfathers creation!

That's Michael Rockne on the left and Charles Dorais on the right -- alongside Cedar Point General Manager John Hildebrandt -- who just happens to be a Notre Dame grad.  Pretty cool scene!

P.S:  Did you notice how the jerseys read 1913...


LINK:  STORY ABOUT CEDAR POINT BEACH & FORWARD PASS

Looking For a Home to Rent for ND Football?

If you're looking for a home to rent on Notre Dame football weekends -- three ND alums seem to have cornered the market.  

Since 2006, RENT LIKE A CHAMPION has been offering up more than 150 homes to rent for Irish football fans in the South Bend community -- here's a link to their website:

LINK:  RENT LIKE A CHAMPION

"Future" Domer Petersen Drafted by Buffalo

The 2013 NHL Draft is taking place -- as I write this story -- and incoming Notre Dame student-athlete  Cal Petersen (goalie) was just taken in the fifth round by the Buffalo Sabres!  Here's the bio on Petersen:

• CALVIN PETERSEN -- TAKEN #129 OVERALL BY BUFFALO

Manti Te'o -- No Joke to San Diego Chargers

Former Notre Dame All-American Manti Te'o is adjusting quite well to life in the NFL and his teammates in San Diego have taken notice.  Color me not surprised.

LINK:  TE'O NO JOKE

Abromaitis & Cooley to Join Celtics & Grizzlies

Notre Dame basketball players Tim Abromaitis and Jack Cooley have accepted invitations to join the NBA rosters of the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies respectively -- for their annual Summer League games.

The Pro Summer League takes place in Orlando from July 7th to the 12th -- the Celtics are one of 10 NBA teams in that league. The NBA Summer League takes place in Las Vegas from July 12th to the 22nd -- the Grizzlies are one of 22 NBA teams in that league.


LINK:  ABROMAITIS -- TO PLAY FOR CELTICS

LINK:  COOLEY -- TO PLAY FOR GRIZZLIES

The BIG EAST Run Ends This Sunday for ND

The gang at Fightin' Irish Digital Media put together a retrospective of Notre Dame's time in the Big East Conference.  This relationship ends this Sunday - as Notre Dame becomes members of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday.

Notre Dame leaves with 126 Big East Conference Championships over the 18 year relationship...

LINK:  A LOOK BACK AT THE BIG EAST

Incoming ND Student Named Scholar Athlete

Caitlin Murphy '17 -- was just named one of twenty (20) scholar athletes by the Chicago Tribune this past weekend.  Murphy, who will be enrolling at the University of Notre Dame in August -- earned a 4.49 GPA on a 4.0 scale at Mount Carmel High School -- while excelling on the school's cross country and soccer teams.

Caitlin, who finished 7th in her class of 342, plans to enroll in Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business.

Congratulations Caitlin!

LINK:  MURPHY -- CHICAGO TRIBUNE SCHOLAR ATHLETE!