Houston Texans Approve Louis Nix's Trip Home

Irish Chocolate left the Houston Texans' Rookie Mini-Camp -- head coach Bill O'Brien approved the trip (see him talk about that below) -- to walk down the "tunnel" one more time into Notre Dame Stadium for today's 169th Commencement.

The photo above shows Louis with a number of his football teammates -- left to right;  Justin Utopo, Bennett Jackson, Louis Nix, Kona Schwenke, Kendall Moore and Lo Wood.

LINK:  CSN HOUSTON STORY

Final Four Bound! Comeback Win for IRISH!!!

I have to admit I did not see this LIVE on ESPN2 yesterday -- I was attending the Commencement Mass on the 169th graduation weekend here at the University of Notre Dame...

Boy, did I miss something special!

The Fighting Irish were down 12 - 7 with nine minutes left in their NCAA Regional Final game with Albany -- yet, they somehow tied the game 13 - 13 at the three minute mark!  And, they withstood the late offensive charge by the "Thompsons" of Albany to push the game into overtime where sophomore Matt Kavanagh (photo above) scored the game winning goal -- see replay below.

The win moves the IRISH to the Lacrosse National Championship Weekend next Saturday against Maryland.  It's the third Final Four appearance for Notre Dame's Men's Lacrosse in the past five seasons!

LINK:  INSIDE LACROSSE

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  GAME WINNING OT GOAL!

Live Broadcast of ND's 169th Commencement

The University of Notre Dame will be celebrating its 169th Commencement this morning beginning at 9 AM ET from Notre Dame Stadium.  And, you can watch it LIVE at the link below.  The ceremony is scheduled to run until 11:30 AM ET.

LINK:  COMMENCEMENT -- HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

LINK:  FR. JENKINS

Prince Shembo: Atlanta Falcons Mini-Camp

The former Notre Dame linebacker and fourth round draft pick of the Falcons is now wearing a new number in Atlanta.

Chris Watt: Photos From Chargers Mini-Camp

The former Notre Dame offensive lineman and third round pick of the Chargers -- is now wearing a new helmet and he's practicing in completely different surroundings in San Diego...

Stephon Tuitt: Photos From Pittsburgh Steelers

The second round pick of the Steelers and former Notre Dame defensive lineman is taking part in his first organized practices as a professional athlete.

Zack Martin: Photos From Cowboys Mini-Camp

The former Notre Dame football captain -- and first round pick of the Dallas Cowboys is getting his first taste of life as a professional football player.

PHOTO: Notre Dame's Campus is Ready!

The University of Notre Dame's 2014 Commencement takes place this weekend on the most beautiful college campus in America -- SHE sure looks ready!

ND Men's Lacrosse: ESPN2 Today at 2:30 PM

Kevin Corrigan's #6 ranked Fighting Irish take on the Great Danes from Albany and the talented Thompson's (brothers Lyle and Miles and their cousin Ty) from the Onondaga Nation Reservation -- today in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinal -- LIVE at 2:30 PM ET on ESPN2.

The Thompson brothers (Lyle and Miles) have had a lacrosse season -- like none other -- in the history of the game.  The two brothers are now 1 and 2 on the all-time single season scoring record books. 


This is going to be a great test for Notre Dame -- should be fun!

LINK:  THOMPSON BROTHERS

LINK:  ABC STORY

LINK:  INSIDE LACROSSE

NFL Rookie Mini-Camp Updates on ND Players

Took a lap around the worldwide web this evening to see what's being reported from NFL Rookie Mini-Camps about former Notre Dame football players -- that is T.J Jones wearing #13 for the Detroit Lions in the photo above...

LINK:  DALLAS COWBOYS -- ZACK MARTIN

LINK:  PITTSBURGH STEELERS -- STEPHON TUITT 

LINK:  ARIZONA CARDINALS -- TROY NIKLAS

LINK:  HOUSTON TEXANS -- LOUIS NIX

LINK:  SAN DIEGO CHARGERS -- CHRIS WATT

LINK:  ATLANTA FALCONS -- PRINCE SHEMBO

LINK:  DETROIT LIONS -- T.J. JONES

LINK:  NEW YORK GIANTS -- BENNETT JACKSON

LINK:  WASHINGTON REDSKINS -- TOMMY REES

LINK:  OAKLAND RAIDERS -- GEORGE ATKINSON III

2014 Commencement at Notre Dame Stadium

The "house that Rock built" is preparing for its last event ever on "real grass" -- as the crews here at Notre Dame set-up the Stadium for Sunday's Commencement.

The installation of field turf -- which will take many weeks -- begins Monday.

There is a web-cam located inside Notre Dame Stadium -- updating photos every 15 minutes of the set-up progress.  Click on the link below to take a look:

LINK:  LIVE WEB CAM

NASCAR CEO: Talks Domer Choice in Iowa

NASCAR CEO Brian France met with the media today -- on the eve of their first weekend of racing at Iowa Speedway -- to talk about the purchase of the race track and his selection of Notre Dame alum Jimmy Small '08 to run this operation.  Here's the story:

LINK:  FRANCE ON SMALL'S HIRING

Zack Martin Will Now Wear Cowboys Jersey #70

The Dallas Cowboys released Frank Kearse -- clearing the way for former Notre Dame student-athlete to wear his familiar jersey #70.  See the story below...

I wonder if they'll be issuing refunds to the Cowboy fans who bought the Zack Martin jersey #71?

LINK:  ZACK MARTIN'S NEW NUMBER

MSU AD Jokes About Playing ND At the Vatican

The Big Ten Athletic Directors have been meeting this week in Rosemont, IL and wouldn't you know it -- Notre Dame was on the mind.

Michigan State's Athletic Director Mark Hollis (photo above) let it be known that he's in conversations with Notre Dame about playing "five times" over a fourteen year period -- then he threw out the idea of playing in Rome...

LINK:  MSU AD TALKS NOTRE DAME

Three ND Students Win Sunset Film Festival!

Three Notre Dame seniors; Katie Mattie '14, Vincent Moore '14 and Will Neal '14 -- (photo above of them walking the "red carpet" in Hollywood) took first place for the Short Documentary category at the Sunset International Film Festival for their film "The Suicide Disease."

This is a pretty big deal. 

The film tells the story of Frances Shavers -- a former chief of staff for Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame -- who suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia, considered "one of the most painful experiences in the human experience."

Frances was brave enough to allow these three Notre Dame students to tell her story in this sixteen-minute film.

This is MUST SEE -- France Shavers is an inspiration...

LINK:  THE SUICIDE DISEASE

Troy Niklas Arrives at Cardinals' Workout

The Arizona Cardinals selected former Notre Dame tight end Troy Niklas on the second round -- teaming him at that position with former Irish standout Jon Carlson.  (photo above has Troy on left and Carlson on the right).

The story linked below is the first interview of Niklas since his selection by the Cardinals:

LINK:  NIKLAS A CARDINAL

Steelers: Stephon Tuitt Gets His Gear!

The Pittsburgh Steelers posted these photos of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt getting his helmet fitted and his shoes for their Rookie Mini-Camp.  Here's the story:

LINK:  TUITT IS EXCITED TO PLAY...

Detroit Tigers' Tori Hunter Sr. -- Hit By Pitch

Detroit Tiger outfielder Torii Hunter Sr. -- who doubles as the father of Notre Dame student-athlete Torii Hunter Jr. -- was drilled by a 94 mph fastball last night that looked quite intentional.  

It escalated from there...

Here's more of the story:

LINK:  BASEBALL TONIGHT'S REPORT

LINK:  HUNTER TALKS WITH THE MEDIA

CBS Sports: Texans Get an "A" for Nix Pick!

The folks at CBS Sports weighed in on the Houston Texans selection of former Notre Dame student-athlete Louis Nix '14 who they selected in the third round of this weekend's 2014 NFL Draft.  See story below:

LINK:  LOUIS NIX

San Diego Chargers: Chris Watt Media Session

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Chris Watt '13 -- was drafted 89th overall by the San Diego Chargers in last weekend's 2014 NFL Draft.  Here's a story about Chris and the versatility he brings to the Chargers' offensive line -- along with a video of his inaugural media session in San Diego:

LINK:  CHRIS WATT