I guess it makes perfect sense for ESPN to turn to a movie character associated with the university which graduates the most student-athletes in the world...
Here's what I learned, over the weekend, about the installation of the new Field Turf playing field at Notre Dame Stadium:
The field -- will be practically FLAT. There is only a "half of a percent" drop in elevation from midfield to sideline.
They are currently placing a "rubber" layer over top of the stone -- photo above -- similar to what the Seattle Seahawks did when they installed Field Turf at Century Link Field.
This is the last step before the new playing surface is installed.
An auction selling windows from Notre Dame's Main Building (AKA "the Golden Dome") will take place this Wednesday. The proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanities Women Build project.
In just less than eight hour from now (who's counting) I will have the great honor of walking our daughter Kara down the aisle at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart here at the University of Notre Dame.
I'll have three challenges to overcome:
Not crying
Not tripping
Letting her go...
I hope you'll join me in saying a prayer today for the future Conor & Kara Walsh. We are thrilled to "officially" welcome Conor into our family -- he's a special young man from a fantastic family. And today -- he's the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
That's a picture of the two of them yesterday inside Notre Dame Stadium...
There was a post at the blog UNI-WATCH the other day from an individual who said he was at an Under Armour "photo shoot" for Notre Dame that had this year's Shamrock Series helmet and full uniform being worn by a model.
Now the poster said -- "we were not allowed to take pictures..." -- but, he went on to describe what the 2014 Notre Dame Shamrock Series helmet and uniform would look like.
So, a Notre Dame fan took the description and created the images above -- can't beat the Notre Dame fan base can you! Please know I don't have a clue as to what this year's Shamrock Series helmet and uniform looks like -- but, like many of you -- I can't wait to see it!
As you will see -- the sub-surface for the Field Turf installation at Notre Dame Stadium looks to be complete -- now it's time to start laying down the field...
If you're still looking to go to a Notre Dame Football game this season -- tomorrow's your chance!
Beginning at 6 PM ET -- Thursday, July 10th -- single game tickets go on sale at UND.COM only! Beginning at 8:30 AM ET -- Friday, July 11th -- you can buy them by calling the Notre Dame Ticket Office (574-631-7356) -- or, by visiting the Ticket Office in person.
Here are the games that still have tickets available for sale:
Former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen is one of three QB's on the Chicago Bears' roster -- looking to earn the "back-up" role to Jay Cutler this fall. Here's the latest from Chicago on the QB battle:
Incoming Notre Dame student-athlete Brianna Turner (she's already enrolled in the Summer Semester at ND) is a finalist for the Gatorade Athlete of the Year which will be announced July 15th in Los Angeles at the ESPYS.
Brianna is the #1 ranked incoming women's college basketball player, the MVP of the most recent McDonald's All American Game and the reigning Gatorade Women's High School Basketball Player of the Year.
It was just announced that Jeff Samardzija was selected to play for the National League in the upcoming All-Star game. However, his trade from the Chicago Cubs to the Oakland A's will keep him out of the game...
Got to love this sign hanging from the upper deck at Oakland's Coliseum today for Jeff Samardzija's first start for the A's... The big trade looks pretty good right now! Jeff pitched 7 innings giving up 1 run, 4 hits while striking out 5 in the A's 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays -- winning his American League debut.
His hair and mustache would have fit in nicely with the Oakland A's of yesteryear -- Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Coco Crisp, etc.
Former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver Jeff Samardzija has found a new home with the Oakland Athletics -- after the big July 4th trade which sent him to the west coast from the Chicago Cubs.
Here's a photo of Jeff in the Oakland A's dugout last night -- along with photos of former A's; Crisp, Eckersley and Fingers.
Samardzija gets the start today for the A's in their game against the Toronto Blue Jays -- first pitch at 4:05 PM ET -- I'll have the results when the game is over.
I've been shopping at the Notre Dame Hammes Bookstore for as long as I can remember -- yet, I saw something I've never seen before in a display on this campus...
GOLD MANNEQUINS
Leave it to Under Armour to think of this -- brilliant!
Former Notre Dame linebacker Carlos Calabrese is back home in New Jersey -- working out and awaiting a phone call from a NFL team. Calabrese had a rookie tryout with the Cleveland Browns but they chose not to offer him a contract.
Former Notre Dame All-American Matt Besler '09 is now the target of soccer clubs all over the world. The defenseman played brilliantly for the US National Team at the 2014 World Cup and teams have taken notice.
Former Notre Dame All-American wide receiver Jeff Samardzija has apparently been traded this evening from the Chicago Cubs to the first place Oakland Athletics.
As you can see in this photo -- the field turf is being laid directly over top of the stone surface -- here at Baylor's brand new football stadium.
A photo of the progress inside Notre Dame Stadium (see post) shows a stone covered playing surface -- the actual turf installation must not be far off!
Here's a USA Today story on Notre Dame's first opponent of the 2014 season -- the Rice Owls.
Not many "top tier" college football programs schedule an opening game with a team coming off of a TEN WIN season -- yet, that's the case with the Irish home opener with Rice. The Owls went 10 - 3 last season.
Over the past few days -- Under Armour has sent out a "gold" case out to influencers announcing the official start of their relationship with Notre Dame -- here is what it looks like.
The new field turf installation keeps humming along inside Notre Dame Stadium. As you can see a layer of stone now resides over top of the drainage system...
The first game against Rice is now only 59 days away!
Notre Dame fans will remember former student-athlete Mark Green '89, who played running back during the Holtz era for the Fighting Irish.
His is a story the Notre Dame Football staff will want to share with a number of the top high school football players (and their families) in the country...
On January 21, 2014 the University of Notre Dame and Under Armour announced the largest shoe and apparel contract in the history of collegiate athletics. At the time -- Under Armour's market cap was $8.96 Billion.
Fast forward 164 days later...
Under Armour's market cap is now $12.89 Billion -- an increase of 43.5% since the Notre Dame announcement.
This photo was making the rounds on Twitter the last few days. It shows former Notre Dame running back Vagas Ferguson with three young Fighting Irish fans...
Well, the young man in the Notre Dame sweatshirt on the left is none other than the head football coach for the Texas A&M Aggies -- Kevin Sumlin.
You can't make this up -- either Adidas is trying to save money by recycling Notre Dame stuff -- or, merchandise isn't selling well in Ann Arbor and they needed a little help...