LINK: GERRY FAUST -- TELLING A NOTRE DAME STORY
LINK: THE GOLDEN DREAM #1 - ESPN
LINK: THE GOLDEN DREAM #2 - ESPN
Looks like Notre Dame Football has a couple of new fans! Singers Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez, are seen here with their "IRISH ON" before yesterday's game at Notre Dame Stadium. Swift was in town to visit her brother Austin, who's a freshman at Notre Dame. Here's a link to a "gossip story" about Swift's visit to Rocco's for dinner last night. Photo courtesy of the South Bend Tribune.
The NFL required each of their teams to make their final cuts, yesterday, to reduce their team rosters down to 53 players by the 4 PM EST deadline. Now, you can still get cut this week or picked up by another team -- as teams make their final roster adjustments leading into the NFL's opening weekend. Here's an update on a few of the players who played for Notre Dame this past season that were "on the bubble." Click on their names for story:
It's a day he'll never forget, September 4th, 2010 -- the day he led his Notre Dame Football team, for the first time, into historic Notre Dame Stadium. Coach Kelly has experienced a number of "firsts" these past 9 months since taking over as the 29th coach in the history of Notre Dame football -- yet, they all pale in comparison to his first victory at Notre Dame. Here's a video -- taken from Section 14 -- of some highlights from the first game in the Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame -- enjoy:
For the first time in the 123-year history or Notre Dame Football -- the Fighting Irish took the field for pre-game via the Notre Dame student section. Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly's Irish entered historic Notre Dame Stadium via Section 31 at approximately 2:40 PM EST. Here's a photo of Irish QB, Dayne Crist entering the Stadium and a link to a video of what it looked like from Section 14 as Notre Dame Football started a new tradition. Here's the link:
Shot this video yesterday afternoon of Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly and his Fighting Irish football team on their walk from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to Notre Dame Stadium. One of the great traditions in college football. You have to wonder what Coach Kelly is thinking while experiencing this for the very first time as the Head Coach of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Here's a link to the video:
Folks, I'm about five minutes away from leaving Motown on my way to Notre Dame and our seats in Section 14. For those of you sitting at home today - here's a few things you might want to do:
Have been following the "tweets" from those in attendance. One "tweeter" had the crowd at 15,000 for the Pep Rally. This photo was "tweeted" forty-five minutes before the Pep Rally started. Coach Kelly announced a brand new tradition for Notre Dame Football -- tomorrow, before warm-ups, the Fighting Irish will enter Notre Dame Stadium from the Students Section onto the field. Keep an eye out for www.und.com -- I would suspect in the next 30 minutes they will post the video from the Pep Rally. Go Irish!
I promise you, you will never guess which college football game this season is the "most expensive" in college football! Tickets to this game are going for $583 per seat. It's the Notre Dame vs. Army game at Yankee Stadium in November! CNBC did a story on the ten most expensive tickets to get -- and here's their ranking -- followed by a link to the story:
He's a freshman football player at UCLA, who most thought -- including his Mom -- that he would be wearing the gold helmet of Notre Dame tomorrow against Purdue. You see, Anthony Barr is the son of a former ND football player (Tony Brooks) and St. Mary's grad (Lori Barr) -- yet, he chose to stay close to home and play for the Bruins. The Los Angeles Times ran a story yesterday on Barr's decision to pick UCLA over Notre Dame. Here's the link:
There's plenty to do Football Weekend at Notre Dame -- the fun begins today and runs through Sunday. Today's South Bend Tribune provides a "calendar" for ND Football fans -- see link below. And, don't forget to visit Notre Dame's GAME DAY SITE -- that link is below as well:
The University of Notre Dame's official website: www.nd.edu -- has a number of LIVE webcams on campus that allows you to take a look "24/7" at Notre Dame. Webcams are pointed at the Main Building (Golden Dome) and Basilica, South Quad, Clarke Memorial Fountain and a couple of the computer labs on campus. Maybe we can convince someone at ND to point the South Quad webcam at today's Pep Rally! Here's a link:
Former Notre Dame coaching great, Ara Parseghian, was a guest this week on WSBT 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat. Here's a link to the Parseghian interview:
In case you missed it last night, here's a link to a replay of Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly's first radio show from Legends. As you plan your future "Thursday evenings" during the Notre Dame football season, please note that The Brian Kelly Radio Show will air every Thursday night at 7 PM EST. If you'd like to attend in person, you'll want to get to Legends by 5:30 PM to get a seat. Here' the link:
The 2010 Season kicks off tomorrow and I can't wait!!! For those of you fortunate enough to be on the Notre Dame campus today, here's a few of the activities you might want to take in: Walk Down The Tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium (10 AM to 3 PM) -- Trumpets in the Dome before The Band of the Fighting Irish's March Out (4 PM) in the Main Building -- Dillon Hall Pep Rally (6 PM) join the thousands (photo) in South Quad and Drummer's Circle -- Midnight, in front of the Main Building (Golden Dome). To get a look at all of the activities planned for Football Weekend at Notre Dame click on the link below to the ND Game Day site - it's good!:
Former Notre Dame All-American pitcher, Jeff Manship, threw four strong innings last night for the Minnesota Twins in their extra-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers (YEAH!). Manship entered the game in the 3rd after Twins starter Scott Baker complained of elbow pain. Jeff came in and gave up one run and struck out three in his four inning stint for Minnesota. On the year, Manship has a 2.38 ERA -- striking out 14 in his 22 innings pitched. Here's a link to his statistics:
University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of History and Peace Studies, Asher Kaufman says "very few believe" the talks in Washington D.C. yesterday between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas will lead to peace. Yet, Kaufman does see some positives that could come from these talks -- and he should know. A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2005, Kaufman previously taught at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and served as a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, leading its Middle East Unit. Here's a link to some comments Kaufman made yesterday:
If you want to see seven Heisman Trophies -- the only place in the world where you'll see that many -- you'll now have to take a walk to the lobby of the Guglielmino Athletics Complex this weekend on the University of Notre Dame campus. Coach Kelly had the "Heismans" moved from the Monogram Room in Joyce to the "Gug." Football fans -- the GUG's main lobby will be open Friday and Saturday to see the Heismans. Chicago Tribune Notre Dame beatwriter, Brian Hamilton was kind enough to take this picture in the past hour and post it on Twitter. Thanks Brian!
Think again. This story in today's Salt Lake City Tribune speaks "honestly" to what it means for a college football program to schedule the University of Notre Dame. Here's the link:
Yesterday's announcement in Provo, UT that Brigham Young University was going "independent" in football -- did not go without significant influence from Notre Dame. Here's a link to a story in today's Salt Lake City Tribune in which the columnist now calls BYU "The Notre Dame of ESPN" and gives the announcement of BYU's six-game series with Notre Dame and the ESPN TV deal as all the credibility they need. Here's a link to a few of the stories on BYU following in Notre Dame's foot steps:
We're approaching 48 hours to kick-off and if you're like me -- it's dominating your thoughts. So, to get you ready for Saturday's game against Purdue -- here are some "outlets" for Notre Dame fans to get their IRISH ON, all day long -- today! Just click on the links and you'll be led to the conversation! Don't forget -- The Brian Kelly Radio Show is tonight at 7PM EST -- and it's being broadcast LIVE from Legends on the Notre Dame campus.
Friday, September 3rd has been declared as "College Colors Day" across America - and for the first time, the University of Notre Dame is participating. If you've visited the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore in the past couple of weeks you've seen a large "cut out" of Brian Kelly urging Notre Dame fans to show your school spirit tomorrow. So, Irish fans -- wear your Notre Dame "stuff" all day tomorrow - and wear it with pride!!! And, to prepare yourself for the conversations you're sure to have with fans from schools in the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 10, etc., -- I've provided you with a link to "FIVE TALKING POINTS" for every NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL FAN.
NBC announced today a number of "enhancements" to its coverage of Notre Dame Football - now in its 20th season. Those who choose to watch the game on the web -- will have exclusive access to an extra TV camera only available to web viewers. NBC also announced a distribution deal with EuroSport to broadcast the Notre Dame games in Europe and Asia. Here's a link to all that NBC has planned:
University of Notre Dame Basketball Coach, Mike Brey is a good sport! Coach Brey is participating in a fund-raising effort for the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Michiana. Click on the link below and vote for Coach Brey as the "best dressed man" in a kilt -- and maybe he'll be convinced to show off this look "courtside" this winter!
Former Notre Dame coaching great, Ara Parseghian will be a guest today on 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat. Here's a link to the webcast -- when you get to their website, click on the LISTEN LIVE button at the top left corner of the home page. Coach Parseghian is expected on at 5:06 PM EST:
With final NFL cuts scheduled for this weekend -- teams had until 4 PM EST yesterday to cut their rosters to 75 players with the final cut to 53 players set for Saturday. FYI: There's presently six former Domers on this morning's Denver Broncos roster: Brady Quinn, Ryan Harris, David Bruton, Eric Olsen, Paul Duncan and Kyle McCarthy. Here's a quick update on where things currently stand for some of the more recent Notre Dame players in their attempt to earn a spot on an NFL roster:
Former Notre Dame All-American, Aaron Taylor, sat down with Brian Kelly for an interview yesterday. Here's a link to the video:
When you turn on your television set this Saturday afternoon to watch the Irish -- keep an eye out for a young man wearing uniform number 7. His name is Tai-ler "TJ" Jones and he's a FRESHMAN STARTING WIDE RECEIVER for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. What makes this story more special is TJ's dad -- Andre Jones, also wore #7 when he was a starting linebacker for the Irish and a member of the 1988 National Championship team. This photo was taken of the two at this year's Under Armour All-American game in Orlando. Here's a link to Irish Illustrated's interview of TJ after yesterday's practice -- and a link to a story from Irish Sports Daily back in January:
I'm sure many of you have yet to hear of a car service called Zipcar -- well it's quite unique. Zipcar has built a business around parking cars in populated areas and selling "memberships" to drive them -- whenever you need them. The University of Notre Dame has just entered an agreement with Zipcar that calls for four cars to be parked on campus for students, faculty and staff to use at their leisure -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All they have to do is become a member -- it's $35 to join -- and you'll have use of one of the four cars. It's $8 an hour to use the car and $66 per day. You must be 18 years old. Gas, insurance, emergency roadside assistance, etc., is all included with Zipcar. Zipcar also offers a fun and functional iPhone app that will honk the horn to locate a Zipcar and unlock the doors for members. Here's a link to the Zipcar website and the release announcing their relationship with Notre Dame.
An old colleague of mine sent this to me this morning. I'm going to be sending it off to my kids shortly. I encourage all to click on this link and explore one's true potential. Your attitude drives your effort -- ARE YOU GIVING IT YOUR BEST? Click on the link:
The University of Notre Dame and the City of South Bend have teamed up in creating a program that encourages Notre Dame's 10,000+ students to visit South Bend parks, museums and other attractions. Students will receive a "cultural passport" that contains information on 14 area attractions. When Notre Dame students visit one of these sites, they will get their "passport" stamped and those who visit all 14 will receive a certificate signed by the Mayor and the Dean of their college. The photo above is of one of the attractions in their passport; the Permanent Collection of the South Bend Museum of Art. Here's a link to the South Bend / Mishawaka Convention & Visitors Bureau website and a link to the South Bend Museum of Art's website:
Found this interesting article last night that ran in Sunday's Grand Rapids Press. The West Michigan area has "adopted" Brian Kelly as one of its own from his days at Grand Valley State -- and the area's main newspaper, The Grand Rapids Press, has been quite kind to Coach Kelly since he was announced as Notre Dame's Football Coach. This story covers a number of subjects -- including "expanding" his office space in the Gug. You'll enjoy this article:
Just received an email from Kelly Cares Foundation alerting me that their new website just went LIVE! The photo is of Paqui Kelly, Brian's wife -- of barefoot punting fame! Here's a link -- click on it and join the Kelly Cares Foundation Friendship Club:
Former Notre Dame Football Coach, Lou Holtz offered up his thoughts on Brian Kelly -- and he likes him!!! Here's a link to the story in today's Grand Rapids Press:
The University of Notre Dame is taking a new approach to education this semester -- debuting the University’s first and only class taught using Apple’s new wireless tablet computer to replace traditional textbooks. The course is part of a unique, year-long Notre Dame study of eReaders. Corey Angst, Assistant Professor of Management (that's not Corey in the photo -- that's Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple) is conducting the first phase using iPads, which just went on sale to the public in April. Here's a link to a video -- that you can watch on your iPad!
WNDU=TV's Jeff Jeffers interviewed Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly this week. Here's a link to the interview
Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly will start a "new tradition" for Irish fans. Beginning this Thursday -- and every Thursday thereafter during the season -- Coach Kelly will host his own radio show from Legends, with Jack Nolan, from 7 PM to 8 PM EST. Notre Dame fans can attend the show live at Legends (on the Notre Dame campus) or listen on Audio outlets; WSBT 960AM in South Bend, UND.com, WXNT 1430 AM in Indianapolis, and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. WSBT, WXNT and und.com will carry the show live; Sirius/XM will carry it the following day at a time to be determined.
University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly, was at the podium for 12 minutes -- last night after practice -- and he said some interesting things. Among them; Today's practice will be in Notre Dame Stadium and they'll work on the "49 scenarios that are possible in a college football game." You'll enjoy his explanation. Coach Kelly was also quite candid about whether or not he would have been ready for this job without any previous head coaching experience, and what was his motivation to lose weight -- an obvious slight on the reporter's part to Coach Charlie Weis. Here's a link:
Sports Illustrated came out with their annual College Football Preview issue and their analysis of our Fighting Irish -- which they "tag teamed" with Athlon Sports. Is business that bad that "SI" can no longer do this on their own? Anyway, here's a link to what "they" think of Brian Kelly's first Notre Dame football squad:
When I saw this story, I just had to post it on the blog. Apparently, there are two treadmills set up at work stations on the University of Notre Dame campus -- see photo. WNDU-TV did a story on these "contraptions" -- and I thought I'd share this with you. For the more "experienced" visitors to the NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG I'm guessing you're thinking "George Jetson" right about now: Here's the link:
Found this blog post today at IRISH CREED concerning the ranking of the ten most influential Domers in the history of Notre Dame. The photo is of Father Sorin, the founder of the University of Notre Dame. Thought you would enjoy this!:
NBC's Mike Mayock -- their new TV Analyst for Notre Dame home football games, was on the Dan Patrick Radio Show this morning. Here's a link to the interview - just scroll down to the interview with Mike Mayock:
My brother Jay, who lives in Denver, sent me this link to an interview former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn recently gave to a show called "Movers & Shakers in the Mile High City." Once again, Brady Quinn does Notre Dame proud -- boy, I wish he was having more success! After watching this, I'm sure the TV networks will be "lining up" looking to hire him when he decides to hang it up someday. Here's a link to the interview:
The University of Notre Dame's Women's Volleyball received a verbal commit from one of the top players in the country last week -- and she hasn't event started her "JUNIOR YEAR" in high school! Her name is Taylor Morey and she's out of Burris High School in Muncie, IN. Notre Dame coaches believe Morey might be the top "defensive player" in the nation. Morey's high school team (Burris) is currently ranked #7 in the country in the pre-season polls for girls high school volleyball. FYI: This year's Irish incoming freshman class is ranked 13th best in the country. Here's a link to a couple of stories about Taylor Morey:
Here's a few stories that ran in the last 24 hours concerning Notre Dame Football -- that I thought you'd enjoy. Just click on the links: