Team USA Should Have Called Under Armour

Wow -- Team USA may win GOLD in the "ugly sweater" contest in Sochia...  And, to think it "only" costs $2,218 -- to dress like this!

Zack Martin Getting More Praise at Senior Bowl

Former Notre Dame football captain Zack Martin has the attention of every NFL scouting staff -- after dominating this week at the Reese's Senior Bowl.  It culminated last night with him being selected "Lineman of the Week" at the Senior Bowl banquet.

You're going to want to watch this!

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN

It's Official ND Hires Redskins QB Coach

The word broke twenty-four hour ago -- and Notre Dame just made if official this afternoon.  Matt LaFleur, the QB coach of the Washington Redskins has agreed to accept the same position for the Fighting Irish!

He will be officially introduced at a Press Conference set for Monday, Feburary 3rd at 11 AM.

LaFleur has ties to Coach Kelly -- working on his staff at Central Michigan in 2004 and 2005.  He comes to Notre Dame with six years of NFL coaching experience.  The past four seasons LaFleur was working under the Shanahan's in Washington -- coaching their QB's RG III, Kirk Cousins, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman.

Here's what I could find on the web about Coach LaFleur:

LINK:  WASHINGTON POST STORY

LINK:  REDSKINS PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

LINK:  RADIO INTERVIEW

LINK:  LAFLEUR WITH RG III

Company Founded In Notre Dame Dorm Room

Wins the $250,000 first place prize from the Miller Lite "Tap the Future" new-business pitch contest!

Sean O'Brien '12 (photo on the left) and Evan Wray '12 (on the right) came up with their winning idea in their Notre Dame dorm room in 2012...

The company is called TextPride.

You're going to want to know their story!


LINK:  VIDEO INTRODUCTION OF SEAN AND EVAN

LINK:  BIG WIN! 

LINK:  COMPANY WEBSITE 

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

Domer Justin Tuck Sings National Anthem

The NFL and its partners are pulling out all of the stops this week -- as they prepare for their guests and fans who will be coming to WINTER in NYC for next week's Super Bowl. 

Here's a rendition of the National Anthem sung by few current and former NFL stars that included former Notre Dame All-American Justin Tuck.  Enjoy!

LINK:  TUCK SINGING

Photo of Notre Dame's Tribute Hockey Jersey

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will be wearing these special hockey jerseys this weekend to honor our troops!

"Mike" and "Maddie" -- Muffet's Bench Bunch

Michaela Mabrey (they call her 'Mike') and Madison Cable came off the bench this week in a road game this week against #11 Tennessee.  The duo poured in 27 points to key a BIG comeback win for the Fighting Irish.  Here's the ESPN on camera interview of the two -- enjoy!

LINK:  MIKE AND MADDIE

"The Top Prospect at the Senior Bowl..."

Former Notre Dame football captain Zack Martin is turning heads this week in Mobile, AL at the Reese's Senior Bowl.  Here is an interview he gave today.

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN

Notre Dame Student Ranked #1 in the World!

He's not just ranked #1 in the country -- he's the best at his sport on the entire planet!

Notre Dame grad student and captain of the Fighting Irish Fencing team -- Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, CA) is now ranked #1 in FOIL in the world!

And, get this -- he's the FIRST AMERICAN EVER to be named the world's top foilest -- and we've been competing at it since the late 1800's!


LINK:  WORLD'S BEST!

America's 100 Most Important Sports Venues

There is only one sports venue on a college campus -- ranked in the top 20 -- in America's 100 most important sports venues, a ranking put together by an ESPN writer named Jim Caple.

Care to guess which venue that might be?

LINK:  AMERICA'S 100 MOST IMPORTANT

Notre Dame Student Honored in Parma, OH

Leo Mironovich, a senior student at Notre Dame, was honored with his "own day" in his hometown of Parma, Ohio.

Mironovich, the Head Drum Major for The Band of the Fighting Irish was surprised by his town's Mayor when he proclaimed January 8th as "Leo Mironovich Day" in Parma, OH.  A pretty cool honor!   I want to thank ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Brian Dean for alerting me to this story!

Here's the story:

LINK:  HIS OWN DAY

Media's Take: Notre Dame / Under Armour Deal

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what's being said about Notre Dame's announcement today that it has signed the largest deal ever between a brand and a university.  Here's what the media is reporting:

LINK:  ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  NBC SPORTS

LINK:  CBS SPORTS

Zach Martin "Top 20 Pick" -- Mike Mayock

Notre Dame football team captain Zach Martin is getting rave reviews as he practices for Saturday's Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL. 

Take a look at this!

LINK:  ZACH MARTIN

Under Armour's Work for Other College Teams

Notre Dame's switch to Under Armour became official this morning -- so while we wait to see what they create for the Fighting Irish, here's a few of the products they've created for the 12 colleges they're currently working with.

The Shamrock Series look for Notre Dame should be quite interesting!

Under Armour Stock UP 3.87% as of 2 PM ET

Under Armour's stock was up nearly 4% less than three hours after their announcement today that they had signed a ten-year agreement with the University of Notre Dame.

Folks, a 3.87% lift in their stock price is approximately a $330,000,000 increase in their company's value!

Think their shareholders are smiling right now?

LINK:  UNDER ARMOUR STOCK CHART

Replay: Notre Dame & Under Armour Deal !!!

At this very moment -- the folks in Beaverton, OR and athletic departments all over the country are talking about Notre Dame and Under Armour.

The University of Notre Dame and Under Armour just announced the largest financial deal ever between a brand and a university.  Deal highlights:

• Notre Dame has the option to take an ownership position in Under Armour (shareholder)
• Under Armour will outfit each of Notre Dame's 26 athletic teams
• Under Armour will incorporate Notre Dame into their global marketing efforts

At 11:33 AM ET -- the Under Armour stock price was up more than 2% since the announcement -- the impact of Notre Dame has already been felt!

This is a big deal. 

LINK:  REPLAY OF ANNOUNCEMENT

LINK:  ESPN COVERAGE

Replay of Digger Phelp's Day at Notre Dame

Here's a replay of Notre Dame's induction of Richard "Digger" Phelps into the RING OF HONOR last night.  Enjoy!

LINK:  RING OF HONOR

Watch Muffet's #2 Ranked IRISH on ESPN2!

The undefeated #2 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame play the #11 ranked Tennessee Volunteers tonight on ESPN2 -- the game tips off at 7 PM ET.  Should be a great game!

LINK:  ESPN BRACKETOLOGY

Watch Tuesday's Announcement Live: 11 AM ET

The University of Notre Dame's Athletics Department has called an 11 AM ET press conference for Tuesday, January 21st.  If you'd like to watch the event LIVE -- click on the link below:

LINK:  WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT LIVE

Domer Golden Tate Going to the Super Bowl!

Former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate is seen here in this photo (#81) acknowledging Seattle's "12th Man" after their win over the 49ers earning the honor of National Conference Champions and a ticket to the Super Bowl!  Congratulations Golden!