Google Just Posted 360 Photos of ND Campus!

If you get a chance today -- go to this URL:  http://maps.google.com and put in NOTRE DAME, IN -- this will lead you to an aerial shot of campus. 

Now, here's where you need to pay attention.

To the left of the aerial view of campus and above the ZOOM-IN tool -- you'll find a PERSON ICON.  Click on that icon and drag it onto the aerial map of the University of Notre Dame.  This ICON will allow you to take a 360 degree look of campus from ground level.

Have fun with this!

LINK:  AERIAL VIEW OF NOTRE DAME CAMPUS

Coach Kelly & Coach Holtz -- Same Record!

FUN FACT:  In their first twenty-seven games as head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team -- both Lou Holtz and Brian Kelly had identical records of 17 wins and 10 losses.

Now, it must be pointed out that Lou Holtz went on to win the next 18 games his IRISH teams played in...

By the way -- that guy to the right in the photo -- he was 23-3-1 in his first 27 games coaching Notre Dame!

Watch Brian Kelly's Radio Show Tonight -- LIVE

The Brian Kelly Radio Show kicks off it's third season tonight at 7 PM ET -- and you can watch it here LIVE.  Just click on the link below:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY RADIO SHOW

Domer Featured on Seventeen Magazine Cover

Former Notre Dame student-athlete Lindsay Brown graces the cover of Seventeen Magazine next month!  Lindsey was the winner of a national contest -- click on the link below:

 LINK:  COVER GIRL!

Is Notre Dame Blimp Worthy? -- We Decide!

The folks at ESPN's SportsNation are running a contest right now to determine which football game the Goodyear Blimp will be visiting next week.  Here are the choices:

• Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
• California vs. Ohio State
• Texas vs. Ole Miss

Here's where Notre Dame fans can go to vote -- the contest ends on Friday.

LINK:  VOTE FOR NOTRE DAME

"Best Notre Dame Team in Fifteen Years..."

The Naval Academy's head football coach Ken Niumatalolo -- met with the media yesterday to talk about their game with Notre Dame in Dublin Saturday.  At the 1:28 minute mark in the video -- Niumatalolo calls this edition of the IRISH the best he's seen in fifteen years and then he talks about the "front four and Manti..."

Here's hoping Purdue's head coach has a similar discussion with the media next Monday!

LINK:  NAVY'S HEAD FOOTBALL COACH

Brian Kelly on the Jim Rome Show Today

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was on the Jim Rome Show today -- unfortunately, Rome requires you to join his "INSIDER CLUB" to see the entire interview... 

If you're so inclined it will run you $6.95 to watch the interview -- frankly, I wouldn't do it!

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY ON WITH JIM ROME

Voice of the Boilermakers Talks Notre Dame

Tim Newton, the play-by-play guy for the Purdue Boilermakers, was interviewed by Indy Sports Legend about Saturday's game against the IRISH.  As you'll see in the article -- the gang in West Lafayette is feeling pretty good about their chances...

LINK:  PURDUE GUY TALKS NOTRE DAME

Tim Brando and Aaron Taylor Talk Notre Dame

CBS Sports' Tim Brando and former Notre Dame All-American Aaron Taylor talked about the IRISH this afternoon...  Brando has done a "180" in the past week about ND.  Watch the video linked below:

LINK:  BRANDO A BELIEVER?

Purdue Week: Coach Kelly's Press Conference

University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly met with the media today to talk about this week's game against Purdue.  Here's a link to the press conference:

LINK:  PURDUE PRESS CONFERENCE

Second Half Highlights: Notre Dame vs. Navy

Here's a condensed version of CBS's coverage of the second half action from Notre Dame's 50 - 10 win over the Naval Academy in Dublin's AVIVA Stadium.  Enjoy!

LINK:  SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

First Half Highlights: Notre Dame vs. Navy

Here's a compilation of most of the action that took place in the first half of Saturday's Notre Dame game against Navy in Dublin on CBS.  Just click on the link below:

LINK:  FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

Irish Move to #22 in the Polls This Week

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish moved up to #22 in the national polls this morning in both the AP and USA Today rankings.  Here's the link to their respective Top 25 polls:

LINK:  WEEK 2 -- COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS

Saturday's Mass From Dublin Castle -- Replay

More than 4,000 members of the Notre Dame Family celebrated Mass this past Saturday morning in the courtyard of historic Dublin Castle.  Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was the celebrant along with 40 other concelebrants.  Here's a link to the video of Mass -- when you get to the site linked below go to the SEARCH BOX and enter NOTRE DAME OPEN AIR MASS and you'll find the video:

LINK:  MASS AT DUBLIN CASTLE

Trick Shot Monday is Back -- Only Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish Football Team started a new weekly tradition last year called TRICK SHOT MONDAY -- well today's episode saw Jake Golic  (photo on left) make a remarkable shot...

LINK:  TRICK SHOT MONDAY

Irish Connection -- ND Football in Dublin

The gang at UND.COM produced their first IRISH CONNECTION video of the 125th Anniversary season of Notre Dame Football and you're going to enjoy the view from the sidelines, locker room and all around Dublin...

And, you'll hear a song entitled "WE ARE THE IRISH."

LINK:  IRISH CONNECTION #40

CBS' Replay of Notre Dame vs. Navy

Here's a link to a number of videos hosted on the CBS SPORTS site of their coverage of Notre Dame's 50 - 10 win over Navy Saturday in Dublin. 

LINK:  CBS COVERAGE OF NOTRE DAME vs. NAVY

"Nothing is Wrong with Notre Dame" -- Forde

Yahoo! Sports' national college columnist, Pat Forde -- wrote a story late last week that defended Notre Dame's unwillingness to compromise values for wins.

NOTRE DAME FANS -- THIS IS A MUST READ.

LINK:  HOW DARE NOTRE DAME!

The Irish Sun: A Dame Fine Day at AVIVA

ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Pat McDonough forwarded me a note he received from his daughter Lauren '04 who was in Dublin for Notre Dame's weekend in Ireland.  You'll enjoy the link to a story in the IRISH SUN about Saturday's game that Lauren had forwarded to Pat:

LINK:  A DAME FINE DAY

Crist and Ragone Team Up for Kansas Victory

Dayne Crist '12 and Mike Ragone '12 teamed up for a TD Saturday afternoon in Kansas University's 31 - 17 win over the South Dakota State "Jackrabbits" in the first game in the Charlie Weis '79 era.

Crist completed 47% of his passes (17 for 36) for 169 yards with one TD and one INT -- in front of 46,601 fans in Kansas' home opener (stadium capacity 50,071).

LINK:  GAME STORY

LINK:  BLOG

IRISH TIMES: A Proud Emotional Homecoming

A columnist with Dublin's IRISH TIMES -- wrote a column about Notre Dame's "homecoming" this past weekend -- you'll want to read this!

LINK:  IRISH TIMES

The ESPN Experts Talk ND's Game in Dublin

The folks at ESPN were saying NICE THINGS about the Fighting Irish this weekend -- check that, all of them not named Mark May...

Here's a link:

LINK:  ESPN RECAPS ND'S WIN OVER NAVY

Notre Dame vs. Navy -- Postgame Video

The good folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media were "across the pond" in Ireland for Notre Dame's 50 - 10 win over Navy.  Here's their postgame coverage:

LINK:  POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  POST GAME CELEBRATION

Sunday Update: Know Thy Opponent

Took a lap around the "hometown" newspapers of all of the teams the IRISH play this season -- to see what they're saying about WEEK ONE of the COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON. 

Notre Dame's opponents went 8 - 4.

Just click on the team's name and you'll find their news report:

LINK:  NAVY

LINK:  PURDUE

LINK:  MICHIGAN STATE

LINK:  MICHIGAN

LINK:  MIAMI

LINK:  STANFORD

LINK:  BYU

LINK:  OKLAHOMA

LINK:  PITTSBURGH

LINK:  BOSTON COLLEGE 

LINK:  WAKE FOREST

LINK:  SOUTHERN CAL

T. Boone Pickens Still Talkin' Notre Dame...

Billionaire T. Boone Pickens spoke with the media yesterday about "wanting to play Notre Dame..."

His alma mater, Oklahoma State, pounded Savannah State 84 - 0 yesterday afternoon.

LINK: T BOONE WOULD LIKE TO PICK NOTRE DAME

A Weekend Notre Dame Will Never Forget!

WOW...

That's the best description I can come up with after returning home this evening from Dublin.

I spent the past four days in Ireland with 35,000 Notre Dame fans in what's being called "America's most traveled to single day sporting event -- outside the United States -- in our 236 year history!

Think about that.

For those of us who had the opportunity to make the trip to Ireland -- we will never forget.  For those who were not as fortunate -- here's a few links to a number of the special events that took place this weekend.  ENJOY!

LINK:  DUBLIN PARADE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME FANS IN DUBLIN

LINK:  TEAM'S TOUR OF DUBLIN

LINK:  NOTRE DAME GAME PREVIEW

Replay: Notre Dame's Dublin Pep Rally

Now, it wasn't called a pep rally -- it was named; NOTRE DAME:  A WELCOME HOME...

Folks, it was a special night in Dublin for some 9,000 Irish fans.  Here's a full replay of Friday night's show from O2 Arena:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME DUBLIN PEP RALLY

Hours After -- The View From Dublin, Ireland

It's been a few hours since the Fightin' Irish put a "half a hundred" on the Naval Academy this afternoon at AVIVA Stadium.  The 50 - 10 final score put a nice bow on what has been a special weekend for the University of Notre Dame and the ND Family.

From Friday Night's "Welcome Home" celebration to Mass this morning with thousands of Notre Dame fans at historic Dublin Castle -- to our team's performance on the field -- you just couldn't have had a better time in IRELAND if you were an IRISH fan!

In the past few minutes I've taken a lap around the worldwide web to see what the early reaction is to ND's dominating win -- and what the IRISH people are saying about Notre Dame's visit to their country:

LINK:  ESPN BLOG

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  NBC NOTRE DAME CENTRAL 

LINK:  IRISH INDEPENDENT

LINK:  IRISH INDEPENDENT #2

LINK:  IRISH TIMES

LINK:  WNDU-TV

LINK:  DAILY MAIL UK

FACT: Nowwhere Else But Notre Dame!

I challenge any of your friends that root for schools other than Notre Dame -- and I will name them for you; Michigan, USC, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Ohio State, etc. -- and ask them if they've ever experienced this:

• A Pep Rally televised on NATIONAL TELEVISION -- in a country THOUSANDS of miles away from home -- with forty of that countries "top artists" performing along with the Band of the Fighting Irish.  With MILLIONS more watching it online!!

Folks -- Friday's Pep Rally in Dublin is INCREDIBLE!!!

I had the good fortune of sitting in on the Band of the Fighting Irish's performance yesterday and I will tell you it's off the charts (PHOTO ABOVE OF REHEARSAL).  College Football has never seen anything like this --- EVER!

 I can't stress enough how special this night will be for the University of Notre Dame and its family!

So, if you're sitting back in the States -- just click on the link below and you can watch a one-hour TAPE DELAY of the Pep Rally at the link below.  THE SHOW BEGINS at 4:30 PM ET:

LINK:  WATCH THE NOTRE DAME DUBLIN PEP RALLY HERE!
 

Notre Dame Endzone -- Aviva Stadium

Here's a photo I took this afternoon at AVIVA Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.  As you can see they're in the process of painting IRISH in the endzone.   This is a beautiful stadium!

If you look closely in the bottom left of the photo you'll see some media assembled to take pictures of the FIGHTING IRISH who were getting their first look at the stadium.

The NOTRE DAME DOORS of IRELAND...

If your travels ever take you to Dublin, Ireland -- you'll see a blue door with a green carpet outside and the iconic NOTRE DAME MONOGRAM on Merrion Square.

It just happens to be the entrance to the University of Notre Dame's O'Connell House.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S O'CONNELL HOUSE

NOTRE DAME TAKES OVER DUBLIN!

35,000 Notre Dame football fans have begun to make their arrival known here in Dublin, Ireland!  Here's some of the coverage:

LINK:  IRISH TIMES

LINK:  AVIVA STADIUM

Watch Notre Dame's Dublin Pep Rally!!!

If you'd like to watch Notre Dame:  A Welcome Home -- an eighty minute "extravaganza of IRISH TALENT and NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL - you can!!!

At 4:30 PM ET this FRIDAY -- the WORLD can watch Notre Dame's celebration in IRELAND on the web!  Click on this link below:

LINK:  WATCH THE DUBLIN PEP RALLY -- HERE AT 4:30 PM ET

Photo of Notre Dame Locker Room Plates

Here's what will be hanging above the lockers in Notre Dame's locker room at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.  Makes you kind of wonder what the jersey color might be???   

This photo was "tweeted" by Notre Dame Football Equipment Manager Ryan Grooms.

Diggins Earns Silver @ World Skills Challenge!

Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins competed in a skills competition this past weekend in Athens, Greece -- and she walked away with SILVER!

LINK:  WORLD SKILLS CHALLENGE

Skylar Diggins Leads USA to WORLD TITLE!

Skylar Diggins spent the last week in Athens, Greece -- representing the United States of American in the inaugural 3x3 World Championships --and she's a WORLD CHAMPION!  This three-on-three tournament featured Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins, Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike and UCONN's Bria Hartley and Ann Strother.  Here's the story:


LINK:  SKYLAR'S A WORLD CHAMPION!

Bringing "Home" the Fighting Irish to Ireland

The man who played the key role in bringing Notre Dame back to Dublin -- along with his good friend Don Keough, Life Trustee -- is Ireland businessman and Trustee Emeritus, Martin Naughton .  (Photo -- that's Naughton on the left and Keough on the right)

Notre Dame fans will enjoy this story that ran in the IRISH TIMES yesterday.  Click on the link below.

LINK:  NAUGHTON & KEOUGH

LINK:  AN INTERVIEW OF MARTIN NAUGHTON

Vatican's Papal Nuncio to Ireland -- a Domer!

Archbishop Charles John Brown is a 1981 graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the current nuncio to Ireland.  Brown was named to this post by Pope Benedict XVI last November. 

The Archbishop will be one of 40 expected concelebrants for Saturday's Mass at Dublin Castle -- prior to kick-off of the Notre Dame / Navy game.

LINK:  ORDINATION OF ARCHBISHOP CHARLES BROWN

LINK:  ARCHBISHOP BROWN IN THE NEWS

Irish Eyes Just Might Be Smiling in Dublin!

Here's a first look at the weather forecast for Notre Dame's opening game this Saturday in Dublin, Ireland... 

I'm liking what I see for Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- have my fingers crossed!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME WEATHER IN DUBLIN

Domer On David Letterman Last Thursday

Michael Somerville '94, was on The Late Show with David Letterman last Thursday night doing his stand-up comedy routine -- FUNNY!  Here's a link to Michael's performance and a link to his official website:

LINK:  MICHAEL SOMERVILLE ON LETTERMAN

LINK:  OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Notre Dame Football Facemask Turns GOLD!

I am lovin' this move!!!

I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like -- but word broke today that the facemasks on the GOLD HELMETS of Notre Dame are being replaced with a new mask that has some GOLD in them!

This photo was "tweeted" by Ryan Grooms, Notre Dame Football Equipment Manager.

Notre Dame Sets Guinness World Record!!!

The folks at Guinness World Records just announced that the University of Notre Dame set a world-record on March 2, 2012 in the Purcell Pavilion in a game called "knock-out basketball."

433 participants -- smashed the previous world record of 379!

Here's a link to how you play this game -- along with a link to the World Record:

LINK:  KNOCKOUT BASKETBALL RULES

LINK:  GUINNESS WORLD RECORD!

Golden Tate Returns Punt 92 Yards for TD!

Tonight in an NFL Exhibition game, former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate -- returned a punt 92 yards for a TD!  The Seahawks rolled over the Chiefs 44 - 14.  Here's a link to Tates' TD!

LINK:  GOLDEN GOES 92!

Photo "Tweets" -- ND Football Equipment Mgr.

Ryan Grooms has been busy packing the Fighting Irish for Ireland -- yet, he continues to find time to "tease" the Notre Dame Nation with his tweets.  His "tweet' associated with the photo above was "back up jerseys" for Ireland..."

Coach Kelly with ESPN's Mike & MIKE

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was on ESPN's Mike & MIKE show this morning.  Here's an audio link to the segment:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY ON MIKE & MIKE

Notre Dame Football Tickets On Sale Today!

At 8:30 AM ET -- TODAY -- a few tickets to select Notre Dame football games will go on sale.  You can call 574.631.7356 or visit the Notre Dame Ticket Office at the Purcell Pavilion.

LINK:  TICKETS RELEASED FOR PUBLIC SALE

Coach Kelly Names ND's Starters for Navy

In today's press conference, Coach Kelly let the media in on who we would see on the field first on both sides of the ball.  And, you're going to see some new faces!  (One of those new faces is starting corner Keivarae Russell -- pictured above.)

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S PRESS CONFERENCE

Is this the FASTEST ND Offense of All-Time?

I ask this question for good reason...

If you were to go "five wide" on offense with these players -- it just might be the FASTEST team ever to wear the GOLD HELMET -- add don't forget our QB Everett Golson:

• George Atkinson III
• Chris Brown
• Davonte Neal
• Davaris Daniels
• TJ Jones / Cierre Wood / Theo Riddick

Can you think of five with more speed in the same offense at Notre Dame?