Hype Begins for #4 Duke vs. #8 Notre Dame

Purcell Pavilion will host the first game amongst two "top-ten" ranked teams in men's basketball in 12 years tomorrow night when #4 Duke comes to town to take on the #8 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Here's what the media is saying...

LINK:  USA TODAY

LINK:  INDIANAPOLIS STAR

LINK:  ESPN

Coach Mike Brey Talks OT Win Over NC State

Notre Dame head basketball coach Mike Brey was obviously excited after last night's OT win over North Carolina State.  Here's a link to his post game press conference:

LINK:  "THEY ADJUST TO US"

PRO BOWL: Golden Tate's 60 Yard Catch & Run

Here's a video replay of former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate who made a nice catch and run -- in today's NFL PRO BOWL.

Along, with the sequence of photos of the catch, breaking the tackle and then the run after...

LINK:  GOLDEN'S PRO BOWL

Down 18 -- Notre Dame Wins in OT Tonight!

WOW!!!

In a game that the "studio host for ESPN" was giving to North Carolina State after just twenty minutes -- the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame fought back from a dreadful first half (down 18 points) to force the game into OT with a last second tip-in by VJ Beachem!

Then, the IRISH finished the job winning 81 - 78 in overtime -- A HUGE WIN!!!

LINK:  VIDEO REPLAY OF BEACHEM TIP-IN

LINK:  ESPN GAME RECAP

LINK:  RALEIGH NEWS OBSERVER 

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE 

Aerial Photo: Construction at "Rock's House"

The lack of snow in South Bend -- though it's snowing today -- has had to help the construction work around Notre Dame Stadium.

Expected to be done September 2017.

Tate & Martin on "Team Irvin" -- NFL Pro Bowl

Former Notre Dame student-athletes Golden Tate and Zack Martin were selected by former Miami Hurricane and Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin for his team in today's NFL Pro Bowl in Phoenix.  Looks like Golden may have missed the team photo...

They will be wearing the "black uniforms" in today's game.

The game will be telecast on ESPN at 8 PM ET.

LINK:  ROSTERS

OT: SNL's "Deflategate" Parody Last Night

The funny folks at 30 Rock did their thing last night with the "deflategate" controversy surrounding the New England Patriots...

Pretty funny stuff:

LINK:  SNL'S "DEFLATEGATE"

Notre Dame's Auguste Talks Return to Team

The Chicago Tribune interviewed Zach Auguste at practice about his return to the Fighting Irish:

LINK:  ZACH AUGUSTE

Domer Koyack Scores TD in Senior Bowl Game

Notre Dame tight-end Ben Koyack caught two passes for 19 yards and a TD in yesterday's Senior Bowl played in Mobile, AL.  Here's a replay of the TD -- along with a second link to a story earlier this week about Koyack in the Chicago Tribune.

Nothing like that Notre Dame GOLD HELMET at these all-star games...

LINK:  BEN KOYACK TD

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

NC State Coach Gott Talks Notre Dame Game

Here's what North Carolina State's head basketball coach has to say about their game today at 6:30 PM ET on ESPNU against our #8 ranked Fighting Irish:

LINK:  COACH GOTT

Notre Dame Game Televised on ESPNU Today

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish travel to Raleigh, NC today to take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack -- the first time Notre Dame has played there in 32 years!   

The game is sold-out -- 15,000 fans -- plenty of red in the stands!

The Wolfpack are 13 - 7 on the season with wins over Duke, Tennessee and Florida State -- this is not going to be easy today.

The game tips-off at 6:30 PM ET on ESPNU -- GO IRISH!

LINK:  RALEIGH NEWSPAPER

LINK:  GAME NOTES

Lions Expect Even More From Golden in 2015!

Domer Golden Tate will be playing in his first NFL Pro Bowl game tomorrow -- after leading the Detroit Lions in catches (99) and yards (1,331) this season.

Here's what Lions' head coach Jim Caldwell had to say about the former Notre Dame All-American:

LINK:  LIONS TALK GOLDEN TATE

LINK:  CAREER STATS

OT: Jim Harbaugh's Michigan 7-Year Contract

Ever wonder what a coaching contract looks like for a big-time football program?

Here's your chance to look at a copy of the seven-year contract Jim Harbaugh signed with the University of Michigan.  As you'll see in the story -- and in the contract -- Harbaugh is guaranteed more than $5.7 million a year.

And, he can buy out his contract -- for a lot less than I expected.

LINK:  STORY ABOUT CONTRACT

LINK:  ACTUAL CONTRACT

MUST SEE: The Collinsworth Brothers at ND

You are going to want to watch this HBO feature about Cris and Holly Collinsworth's two Notre Dame Men.

Pretty awesome family.

LINK:  HBO'S COLLINSWORTH BOYS

Skylar Diggin's Feature in Self Magazine

Former Notre Dame All-American and WNBA star Skylar Diggins is once again in the media...

Here's the story:

LINK:  SKYLAR

Brian Kelly Has the Most 2015 NFL Pro Bowlers

Quite a distinction for Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly.

Grantland Story: Can Jerian Lead the Irish...

The Grantland folks are very talented storytellers...

Here's a story penned by Adam Doster about Jerian Grant and the Fighting Irish.  A good read:

LINK:  GO PAST MARCH?

Domer Fleming Finally Gets His Super Chance

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Darius Fleming is finally healthy and will be running out of the tunnel in Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX with the favored New England Patriots.

That's Darius #58 in the photo above recovering a key fumble in Sunday's AFC Championship game.

Darius and teammate Jonas Gary are the only Notre Dame alums playing in next week's Super Bowl...

LINK:  DARIUS FLEMING

Notre Dame's "Momma Bettis" Fighting Cancer

Gladys Bettis, mother of all-time great Notre Dame running back Jerome Bettis and former Campbell Soup TV commercial star -- is in a battle with breast cancer.

Here's the story:

LINK:  THE BUS' MOM

Chicago Tribune: Weis & Cutler a Perfect Match

It's been rumored that former Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis '78, is being interviewed by the Chicago Bears for their open Offensive Coordinator position...

Well, the Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom thinks Charlie would be just what's needed to handle Jay Cutler.

LINK:  WEIS & CUTLER

Under Armour / Notre Dame: Happy Anniversary

It was a year ago this very morning that Notre Dame's Jack Swarbrick and Under Armour's Kevin Plank stood at a podium (see link below) to announce the "most valuable shoe and apparel contract in college sports history."

In the 365 days since, Under Armour's "market cap" has increased dramatically.  Take a look at the growth:

• January 21, 2014:  $8.96 billion
• January 21, 2015:  $13.99 billion 

Under Armour's "market cap" has grown 56.1% -- since the announcement of the Notre Dame relationship.

Happy Anniversary to the Under Armour shareholders!

LINK:  ANNOUNCEMENT

Domer Charlie Weis Interviewing With Bears?

Word on the street is Notre Dame alum and former football coach Charlie Weis '78 -- is interviewing for the Offensive Coordinator's role with the Chicago Bears. 

Here's the story:

LINK:  WEIS TO BEARS?

Tommy Hawkins Returns "Home" to Notre Dame

One of the all-time great Notre Dame people Tommy Hawkins -- was honored this past weekend with membership in the NOTRE DAME BASKETBALL RING OF HONOR.

Here's a recap of "The Hawk's" visit HOME -- you'll want to watch this -- see link below.

I must admit I had tears in my eyes during his acceptance speech Saturday:

LINK:  TOMMY HAWKINS

Tennessee Coach & Players Talk Loss to ND

Here is Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick along with her players -- with the media -- after their 88 - 77 loss to the Fighting Irish tonight...

LINK:  COACH WARLICK

LINK:  PLAYERS

Muffet & Players Post Game Presser After Win

Notre Dame women's head basketball coach Muffet McGraw met with the media tonight after her #6 Fighting Irish beat #5 Tennessee 88 - 77.

Jewell Loyd and Taya Reimer were also asked questions by the media.

Here's what they had to say:

LINK:  MUFFET PRESSER

OT: My Cousin Dropped a "Quadruple Double"

Tara Lierman, a senior at Holt High School (MI) -- earlier this week recorded a rare "quadruple double" -- scoring 28 points, dishing out 12 assists, grabbing 11 rebounds and 10 steals...  That's her in the photo above -- #10.

In a game three days later she throws in another 28 points, 8 assists and 5 steals.  Tara has already committed to playing college soccer at Grand Valley State -- a huge get for the Lakers!

She's up for the Lansing State Journal's "ATHLETE OF THE WEEK."  Tara's a big Notre Dame fan -- you can vote for her at the link below:

LINK:  TARA LIERMAN

List of ND Opponents Losing Players to NFL

Here's the list of 2015 Notre Dame football opponents who are losing players "early" to the NFL Draft:

• USC:  4 players
• Stanford:  2 players
• Clemson:  1 player
• Texas:  1 player
• UMass:  1 player

#6 Notre Dame's BIG Win Over #5 Tennessee

Jewell Loyd was the best women's basketball player on the PLANET tonight...

• 34 Points
• 5 Rebounds
• 4 Assists

And, Lindsay Allen and Jewell Loyd served notice that they just might be the best back court in the country.

As #6 ND beat #5 Tennessee tonight 88 - 77 in front of a national TV audience - in a game the Volunteers were looking to "dominate" the Fighting Irish.  This was Notre Dame's 6th win this season over a top-25 team.  A win that will help the Fighting Irish at NCAA Tournament seeding time.

It was a battle between the #4 scoring offense in the country -- Notre Dame -- vs. the #8 scoring defense in the country -- Tennessee.  THE OFFENSE WON.

The Irish came into the game averaging 85.4 points a game, Tennessee came in allowing only 51.8 points a game.

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN GAME RECAP

Had to Share This On Martin Luther King Day

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Sergio Brown -- who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts -- just posted this photo and comments on his Instagram account.

Thought you'd enjoy its content on a day like today.

sergiobrown38 1 hour ago · God's country
The Rev. Theodore M Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. linking hands in solidarity during a civil rights rally at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1964. The University of Notre Dame has a long-standing commitment to diversity and social justice. We recognize that an academic community must be diverse in gender, race and ethnicity, country of origin, socio-economic group, and religion to be a community rich in perspectives, learning, and culture. The variegated texture of Notre Dame prepares graduates to live and work in a world that is global in reach and diverse in composition. So proud and glad #ND chose me to be a part of something special they told us it's a life long deal, not just 4 yrs. They taught us to think for ourselves, challenge beliefs and to love. #WeAreND #MLK

Notre Dame Women -- "Wearin' of the Green"

It's BIG MONDAY on ESPN2 tonight and the eyes of the women's college basketball world will be on Notre Dame, IN as the #6 Fighting Irish host #5 Tennessee in a game that will probably play a role in the "seedings" for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Irish will be wearin' the GREEN tonight from Under Armour!

Rare Air: Only Two Top Ten Hoops Teams!

There's only two college athletic programs in the country who can make this claim today -- two teams ranked among the TOP TEN in college basketball! 

Notre Dame and Louisville.

LINK:  MEN'S BASKETBALL -- AP POLL

LINK:  WOMEN'S BASKETBALL -- AP POLL

Notre Dame Men's Basketball Cracks TOP TEN!

The 17 - 2 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are ranked #8 in the AP Poll and #9 today in the Coaches Poll!

LINK:  AP POLL

LINK:  USA TODAY COACHES POLL
 

HBO Real Sports: DOMER Dad Collinsworth

This Tuesday (January 20) at 10 PM ET -- Bryant Gumble's REAL SPORTS will be doing a feature on NBC's Cris Collinsworth -- father of two Notre Dame sons; Austin and Jac.

Here's a sneak preview:

LINK:  COLLINSWORTH

#5 Tennessee vs. #6 Notre Dame on ESPN2

If you're looking for some good TV tonight -- Muffet's Fighting Irish will be taking on the Tennessee Volunteers at 7 PM ET on ESPN2.

Should be fun!


LINK:  TENNESSEE COACH TALKING NOTRE DAME

Domer Golden Tate Earns Ticket to Pro Bowl!

Former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate finally received the phone call he should have received weeks ago -- he's headed to Phoenix to play in the NFL's Pro Bowl game.

Golden led the Lions with 99 catches and 1,331 yards receiving.

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE -- NFL PRO BOWL

Brian Kelly's Biggest Recruiting Trip of the Year

The folks at Fox Sports recount Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly's trip to Las Vegas and Indianapolis during the NCAA mandated recruiting "quiet period."

Interesting to learn that Notre Dame is purchasing "loss of value" insurance coverage for players willing to stay another year.

It landed the Fighting Irish two "FIVE STAR" recruits who will see "early" playing time next season...

LINK:  RECRUITING TRIP

Irish Hockey's Jeff Jackson Gets Win #400 !!!

Notre Dame hockey's Jeff Jackson just recorded his 400th career win as a head coach as the Fighting Irish beat UCONN 6 -1.

Congratulations Coach Jackson!

Ric Flair Weighs In On Domer's Impersonation

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Sergio Brown -- has earned the respect of Ric Flair with his Indianapolis Colts locker room impression...

Have to admit, I never thought there would be a Ric Flair post on the ND GO IRISH BLOG.

LINK:  RIC FLAIR

Notre Dame Basketball: ACC & NCAA Ranking

A 17 - 2 start to the 2014 - 2014 season for Notre Dame -- and a #12 ranking -- has turned the heads of many in the college basketball world.  Here's how the IRISH stack up in the ACC and the NCAA in a number of statistical categories:


ACC -- 15 TEAMS:

• 2nd place in the league -- "half game out of first"
• Field Goal % -- 1st in the ACC
• 3 Point Field Goals Made -- 1st in the ACC 
• Points Per Game -- 2nd in the ACC
• Free Throw % -- 2nd in the ACC
• 3 Point Field Goal % -- 2nd in the ACC
• Turnover Per Game (Fewest) -- 2nd in the ACC
• Jerian Grant is 2nd in the ACC in assists per game
• Zach Auguste is 2nd in the ACC in field goal percentage
• Demetrius Jackson is 4th in the ACC in steals per game

NCAA -- 351 TEAMS:

• Field Goal % -- 2nd in the country
• Points per game -- 12th in the country
• 3 Point Field Goal % -- 17th in the country
• 3 Point Field Goals Per Game -- 18th in the country
• Assists Per Game -- 29th in the country

A "Fighting Irish" Family -- A Must Read Story

Many of you may remember the name Brian Hardin -- he's the former Director of Football Media Relations at the University of Notre Dame...

Brian, left ND for a job at Ball State University -- as its Deputy Athletics Director -- two year's ago this month.

This is a story about the Hardin family -- a "FIGHTING IRISH" family -- and their journey to bring their infant son Bennett home.

You are going to want to read this:

LINK:  THE LONG WAY HOME

Mike Brey With Media After Big Win Over Miami!

Here is Coach Mike Brey with the media today after Notre Dame's 75 - 70 win over Miami.  Here he is in the locker room:

LINK:  COACH BREY

Go Inside the Notre Dame Locker Room Today

The #12 ranked Fighting Irish continue to impress!  Today it was a big win over a Miami Hurricanes team that had yet to lose on the road this season...

That's Fr. Ralph Haag, C.S.C., -- Rector at St. Ed's Hall -- in the black clerics with his back to the camera.

Here's Coach Brey with his team -- at halftime and after -- as the IRISH roll over Miami!

LINK:  INSIDE THE IRISH

Notre Dame Ring Of Honor Ceremony Today!

Notre Dame's all-time leading rebounder Tommy Hawkins -- was enshrined today in ND's Ring Of Honor.

Here's the video:

LINK:  RING OF HONOR

Another Big Win For the "Small Ball" IRISH!

#12 Notre Dame played much of the game today against Miami with a line-up feature "five players" all under 6' - 7" tall and the Fighting Irish came out victorius 75 - 70 to go 17 - 2 on the season!!!  This was Miami's first road loss of the season.

Miami came into the game having beaten #4 Duke (Tuesday) at Cameron Indoor Arena by the score of 90 - 74 -- after, Coach K called the Miami back court -- "the best in the ACC..."

Well, there's a "BACK COURT IN SOUTH BEND" who might disagree!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  ESPN RECAP

LINK:  VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

#12 Notre Dame on ESPN2 Today @ 2 PM ET

Mike Brey's (16 - 2) Fighting Irish take on the (12 - 4) Miami Hurricanes this afternoon at Purcell Pavilion in front of a national TV audience.

The game will be telecast on ESPN2 -- beginning at 2 PM ET.

The Hurricanes a are coming off of a HUGE win Tuesday night at #4 Duke  90 - 74!  Going to be a very tough test for Notre Dame today!


LINK:  GAME NOTES

Former ND Assistants -- "Returning Home"

The news first broke a week ago -- but, it became official last night in Seattle, that Jim McLaughlin was leaving the University of Washington to return to Notre Dame to lead the women's volleyball program -- replacing the Fighting Irish's all-time wins leader Debbie Brown.

It's obvious, the University of Notre Dame allowed the University of Washington to break the news of McLaughlin's departure -- first.  A class move. 

Jim and his wife Margaret (Jarc) '93 are "both" former Notre Dame assistant coaches!

Jim was an assistant on Brown's 1996 coaching staff and Margaret is a former Notre Dame student-athlete and assistant coach with the women's soccer program.  Quite the homecoming!

McLaughlin led the Washington Huskies to a National Championship in 2005 and he led the USC men's team to a National Championship in 1990.  He's the only head coach in NCAA history to accomplish this feat.

He leaves a Huskies program that he built into one of the TOP TEN programs in the country.

Welcome home VIDEO FROM ND 

LINK:  WASHINGTON HUSKIES -- ATHLETIC SITE
 
LINK:  SEATTLE TIMES STORY

LINK:  MCLAUGHLIN BIO

Now More Than 1,000,000 Unique Followers!

It was the afternoon of January 26, 2010 (4:56 PM ET) when I launched the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- and, it was a little more than an hour later when I had my first Notre Dame fan visit the site -- my wife...

I've been asked many times since; "why did you decide to do this?"  My reason for doing so was simply this: I wanted to prove to myself (at a dinosaur's age, in this thing called social media) that I could "tell a story" that would generate and sustain a following. 

Little did I know (I didn't dream this BIG) that nearly four years later -- at 3:01 PM ET on Friday, January 16, 2014 -- a Notre Dame fan from Ramone, CA would become UNIQUE FOLLOWER #1,000,000 for my "little blog that did."

Here's some quick "fun facts" about the first four years of the ND GO IRISH BLOG:

• The site is now 1,451 days old.
• In this time period -- there have been only 19 days when I haven't posted a story about Notre Dame.  Seven (7) of those days were an intentional shut down of the ND GO IRISH BLOG while our family mourned the loss of my MOM--JOAN SMALL (2012) and my GRANDMA--BARBARA DOYLE (2011) -- two people who taught me (and our family) to love Notre Dame. On eleven (11) other days I was out of town / country with limited to no access to the internet and one (1) day I simply forgot!!!
• And, as of this very moment -- I've posted 6,489 "positive" stories on the ND GO IRISH BLOG about the University of Notre Dame, its students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and fans.  That's an average of 4.47 stories each day over the last four years.

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU so much for making the ND GO IRISH BLOG one of your daily, weekly or monthly stops on the worldwide web for "positive" Notre Dame stories.  

THANK YOU for the kind letters, tweets, emails, conversations and calls over these past four years.  I'm truly humbled that so many of you have taken the time to let me know how much you enjoy the ND GO IRISH BLOG. THANK YOU!

And, I need to thank my wife Susan for putting up with this "daily obsession" of mine -- she thinks I'm crazy and she's right...

IT'S BEEN FUN! -- ONWARD TO THE NEXT MILLION!

GO IRISH!


Jim Small