Hey Temple -- Are You Ready For This !!!

NBC's New Voice for Notre Dame Football

His name is Dan Hicks and his wife is none other than Hannah Storm '83 of ESPN fame.  Dan takes over for Tom Hammond -- officially this Saturday.  The folks at the Chicago Tribune recently caught up with Dan to talk about his new gig:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

It's a Big Stage for Temple and its New Coach

Matt Ruhle will run out of Notre Dame's famed tunnel as a head football coach for the first time in his career less than 72 hours from now.  Not a bad place to make your debut!  A Philadelphia Inquirer reporter penned this story on Ruhle's "opening act."

LINK:  THE FIRST TIME

Sports Illustrated Writers -- Not High on Irish

They picked their top FLOP team for 2013 and five out of seven picked our Fightin' Irish.  I trust Coach Kelly will bring this to his team's attention...

LINK:  PICKED TO FLOP

Temple Football Coach Press Conference Today

Temple's head football coach Matt Ruhle, met with the media today to talk about their football game Saturday with Notre Dame.  Here's what he had to say:

LINK:  MATT RUHLE

Temple Week -- Coach Kelly Press Conference

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly met with the media today -- as is customary on Tuesday of game week -- to talk about Temple.  GO IRISH!

LINK:  TEMPLE WEEK PRESS CONFERENCE

NBC's Mike Mayock Talks Notre Dame Football

With the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame kicking-off the 2013 football season this Saturday -- the media is asking the question -- can the Irish repeat?

Mike Mayock is the "analyst" on NBC's TV coverage of Notre Dame football.  Here's a link to what Mayock thinks of ND's chances this season:

LINK:  MIKE MAYOCK ON ND

Strong & True: Building Bonds from NBC

Here's the replay of Saturday's NBC Sports Network's airing of "Strong & True:  Building Bonds" -- a look at Notre Dame Football.  Enjoy!

LINK:  BUILDING BONDS

Temple Owls -- Media Coverage Today

Took a look at what the Philadelphia media is saying about Temple and their game this Saturday with our Fightin' Irish -- click on the links below. 

This is the FIRST MEETING -- EVER -- on the football field between these two schools.

LINK:  PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

LINK:  ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINK:  PHILLY COM

Brian Kelly on the Dan Patrick Show Today

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly appeared on the Dan Patrick Radio Show today -- here's a link to the interview:

LINK:  COACH KELLY ON DAN PATRICK SHOW

Forbes: Notre Dame's Enduring Brand

A Forbes writer penned an interesting piece on what we can learn about an enduring brand from the University of Notre Dame.  Good stuff here...

LINK:  AN ENDURING BRAND

Excerpt from "UNBEATABLE" -- 1988 Team

"The last great college football season" -- is what you'll see on the cover of UNBEATABLE, a look back at Notre Dame's 1988 National Championship.

Jerry Barca '99 (pictured), a Notre Dame alum -- authored this look back at that magical season for the Fightin' Irish.  Here's a link to an excerpt from the book and a second link to where you can buy it!

LINK:  BOOK EXCERPT

LINK:  BUY THE BOOK HERE

The Latest on Notre Dame Players in the NFL...

Took a lap around the worldwide web this afternoon to see what's being said about former Notre Dame football stars in the NFL.  You can watch a number of former IRISH stars tonight in the game on NBC between the Vikings and 49ers.   (That's Harrison Smith, Kyle Rudolph, Jimmy Clausen and Michael Floyd LtoR in the photo above.)

This morning -- 36 former Notre Dame football stars were still on NFL rosters -- unfortunately, that could change before day's end!

Just click on the player's name below:

LINK:  JONAS GRAY

LINK:  CIERRE WOOD

LINK:  THEO RIDDICK

LINK:  ZEKE MOTTA

LINK:  JIMMY CLAUSEN

LINK:  JAMORIS SLAUGHTER

LINK:  BRAXSTON CAVE

LINK:  BRADY QUINN

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE

LINK:  MICHAEL FLOYD

LINK:  MANTI TE'O

LINK:  SAM YOUNG

LINK:  ANTHONY FASANO

LINK:  ROBBY TOMA

LINK:  MIKE GOLIC JR.

LINK:  DAVID BRUTON

LINK:  ERIC OLSEN

LINK:  DEREK LANDRI

LINK:  DARRIN WALLS

LINK:  JUSTIN TUCK

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH

LINK:  TYLER EIFERT

LINK:  JOHN SULLIVAN

LINK:  KYLE RUDOLPH

LINK:  TREVOR ROBINSON

LINK:  JOHN CARLSON

LINK:  R.J. BLANTON

LINK:  IAN WILLIAMS

LINK:  RYAN HARRIS

LINK:  ARMANDO ALLEN

LINK:  ROBERT HUGHES

LINK:  SERGIO BROWN

LINK:  DARIUS FLEMING

LINK:  BRIAN SMITH

LINK:  TOM ZBIKOWSKI

LINK:  J.J. JANSEN

Painting the Numbers @ Notre Dame Stadium

With the opening game just six days away -- the gang at Notre Dame Stadium is hard at work getting the "house that Rock built" ready for 80,000 fans and the Fightin' Irish.

This photo was "tweeted" by Fighting Irish Digital Media's Jack Nolan.  You can follow Jack on Twitter @NDJackNolan

University of Notre Dame's Orientation 2013

It's a special day at Notre Dame -- and a sad one...

The Class of 2017 says good-bye to its parents this afternoon -- for the first time -- as Orientation 2013 comes to a close.

The first video link is of the Alma Mater "Notre Dame Our Mother" being sung at the end of today's Mass.  The second link is of the Band of the Fighting Irish playing the Victory Clog and the "greatest of all college fight songs" the Notre Dame Victory March at the Spirit of Notre Dame celebration.  Enjoy!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME ALMA MATER

LINK:  NOTRE DAME VICTORY MARCH

Another "NFL ALL PRO" Tight End from ND!

Kyle Rudolph caught nine TD passes last season and earned a spot in the NFL Pro Bowl game -- where he walked away with the MVP honors.  Here's a story on how Kyle is doing with the Vikings:

LINK:  A COMPLETE TIGHT END

Didn't Enjoy Waking Up to this Prediction...

The South Bend Tribune's Al Lesar went a little "negative" this morning on our Notre Dame football team -- forecasting a down season for the Irish.  Here's his prediction:

LINK:  LITTLE CAESAR'S BOWL?

Video of Michael Floyd's TD Catch Last Night

He looked like the old Floyd last night -- making a great TD catch.  Here's the video below:

LINK:  HIGHLIGHTS

USA Today Football Story on Notre Dame

The gang at USA Today has been previewing the college football season and yesterday they took a look at our Fightin' Irish.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME

Golden Tate's "Fail Mary" Touchdown Catch

Former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate -- returned to the "scene of the catch" last night as his Seattle Seahawks played the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. 

The infamous "catch / non-catch," that eliminated the Packers from the NFL Playoffs last season, was the subject of a story at Channel 4 in Green Bay:

LINK:  FAIL MARY

Our Man Golden Tate -- Having Some Fun!

I don't think the Green Bay Packer fans will find this amusing...

However, you've got to give it to former Notre Dame All-American Golden Tate and the creativity of some Seahawk fans in this t-shirt design.  Classic!

LINK:  GOLDEN TATE -- DON'T HATE

Jonas Gray "On the Bubble" with Dolphins

Just found this story that has Jonas Gray "on the bubble" to make the 53 man NFL roster of the Miami Dolphins.  Gray, the former Notre Dame running back,, is coming off a major knee injury that shortened his senior season with the Irish and placed him on the "physically unable to perform" list this past NFL season.

Going into the Dolphin's fourth exhibition game tomorrow night -- Jonas leads Miami in rushing yards!

I'm rooting for this young man to make the Dolphins!

LINK:  ON THE BUBBLE?

LINK:  MIAMI OFFENSIVE STATS

Last ND Practice Report Before Temple Game

This video is the last you'll see on the practice field of the Fightin' Irish before they head out of the tunnel to play Temple next Saturday.  You'll see a number of the freshman offensive players in this video -- plenty of young talent!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

Brian Kelly's Media Day Press Conference

The 126th season of Notre Dame football "kicked off" officially yesterday afternoon as the Fightin' Irish held their annual Media Day.  Here's what Coach Brian Kelly had to say:

LINK:  PRESS CONFERENCE

Notre Dame Football: "Wearing the C"

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame named their three captains yesterday for the 2013 football season;  Bennett Jackson, T.J. Jones and Zach Martin.  Martin becomes only the 18th player in the 126 year history of Notre Dame football to be named captain for two seasons.

I love the story that Fighting Irish Digital Media put together for this:

LINK:  WEARING THE "C" 

LINK:  ALL-TIME LIST OF CAPTAINS

Mike Golic Jr. to Make Steelers Practice Squad?

Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr., is being projected to make the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad -- as you'll see in this article linked below.  Irish fans will recall that Mike was an "un-drafted" free agent signee with Pittsburgh.

LINK:  GOLIC

Video of Theo Riddick's First NFL Touchdown!

Former Notre Dame running back Theo Riddick scored his first NFL Touchdown tonight in a 40 - 9 Detroit Lions exhibition game victory over the New England Patriots.  Theo scored on a three-yard run in the 4th quarter. 

I'm quite sure he'll be hearing from his former teammates on his attempt at a celebration dance in the endzone!

Here's the video:

LINK:  RIDDICK'S FIRST NFL TD

Notre Dame Has the Higest Demand for Tickets!

Forbes did some research as to which "home" college football ticket was the most in demand this season and it wasn't even close...

Football tickets on the "secondary market" for Notre Dame football this season -- are the highest priced in college football this season at $293.40 a pop.  Here's the story:

LINK:  THE TICKET - MOST IN DEMAND

2013 Notre Dame Football Team Photo!

This photo was just "tweeted" by JR Sandlin -- a member of Coach Kelly's football staff at Notre Dame.  It's nice to see Danny Spond (#13) in uniform -- in the team photo.  Just click on the photo to enlarge.  You can follow JR on Twitter here: @JR_Sandlin

Where You'll Find Everett Golson This Fall

It was announced in the past few hours that Everett Golson will spend the next couple of months in San Diego working with QB coach George Whitfield Jr.   Whitfield is becoming the latest "QB coach for the stars."  The folks at Sports Illustrated recently tabbed him the "Quarterback Whisperer..." 

LINK:  EVERETT GOLSON'S QB COACH

LINK:  QB WHISPERER

Photos From Notre Dame's Media Day -- Today!

Matthias Farley (#41 -- Safety)

Stephon Tuitt (#7 Defensive End)

Bennett Jackson (#2 -- Defensive Back)

Tommy Rees (#11 - QB)

T.J. Jones (#7 -- Wide Receiver)

Chris Watt (#66 -- Left Guard)

These are the photos being "tweeted" by Notre Dame Football and its staff -- from today's MEDIA DAY.

"March Out' This Morning @ Notre Dame!

The Band of the Fighting Irish begins their 168th season with a MARCH AROUND CAMPUS beginning at 9:30 AM ET THIS MORNING!  The "first" university marching band in the country will march out nearly 500 students -- seeking one of 380 to 400 spots in the greatest college band in America!

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT TRADITIONS AT NOTRE DAME!

Here's the WSBT-TV story:

LINK:  MARCH OUT

Photos of the "New" Morris Inn @ Notre Dame

Folks, if you haven't seen the new Morris Inn -- be prepared to go WOW!

We had an event at the Morris Inn tonight and "to a person" we were all blown away with the transformation of this campus landmark.  INCREDIBLE!

"Hayseed" -- "Like an Assistant Coach on Field"

Former Notre Dame football captain Harrison Smith is making quite a name for himself in the NFL.  His head coach is already calling the "second year" safety for the Vikings "... a coach on the field..."

You'll enjoy this NFL story on "Hayseed."

LINK:  HARRISON SMITH

Brian Kelly -- "I Want to be at Notre Dame"

My friend Jeff Jeffers (WNDU-TV) sat down with Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly for WNDU's COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF show that will air at 2 PM ET on August 31st.  The folks at WNDU-TV gave us a "sneak preview" of the conversation tonight -- Irish fans will enjoy seeing this!

LINK:  JEFF JEFFERS WITH COACH KELLY

Looking for ND Memorabilia -- Here's the Place!

I stumbled upon Augie's Locker Room this afternoon during the lunch hour in South Bend -- and all I can say is WOW!

If you are a fan of Notre Dame -- you MUST stop in and see what Jim Augustine has in his store.  I could have spent an hour walking around taking in what "Augie" has collected.  It's vintage Notre Dame at its best!

So, if you're coming in for a football weekend this fall -- please be sure to carve out some time to visit Augie's Locker Room -- they're located on South Bend Avenue (SR 23) -- just across the street from Oak Hill Condominiums and around the corner from the Linebacker.  Here's a link to their website:

LINK:  AUGIE'S LOCKER ROOM

Domer Hits First Professional Walk-Off Homer!

Eric Jagielo, who was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1st round this past June, hit a "walk-off" home run this weekend to lead the Staten Island Yankees over the Tri-City Valley Cats.  Jagielo, is having a terrific rookie season for the Yankees -- having been selected to play in the 2013 NY-Penn League All-Star game.

After Jagielo's "big fly" a local TV station caught up with him for this extensive interview -- the second link shows a video of his "walk-off" home run:

LINK:  JAGIELO INTERVIEW

LINK:  VIDEO OF JAGIELO'S HOME RUN!