Bowl Options for Notre Dame Football...

The South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen looked ahead at what Notre Dame's bowl options might be if we don't finish in the top-14 and earn a BCS bowl bid.  You won't be happy...

LINK:  BOWL OPTIONS

Domer Dad Walks Super-Fan Down the Aisle

Jon Bon Jovi -- the rock-n-roll Dad of Notre Dame student-athlete Jesse Bongiovi granted the wish of a fan this week when he showed up at her Las Vegas wedding.  Here's the story:

LINK:  WEDDING CRASHER

NCAA Eligibility Standards -- Game Changer?

The folks at NCAA headquarters have decided to "up the ante" on academics for high school student-athletes who want to receive a college scholarship...

The new rules -- which will go into effect for those who are currently in their freshman year of high school -- will require a higher GPA and more core classes, prior to their senior year, to be eligible.  Click on the link below for all of the changes.

According to the NCAA's research -- 43% of the college basketball players and 35% of the college football players who are "seniors" this year would not have been eligible to receive a scholarship if the new rules were in effect.

LINK:  ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS

10th Anniversary of Bartman's Wrigley Foul Ball

10 years ago Monday evening (October 14, 2003) -- Notre Dame alum Steve Bartman '99, was sitting in the stands at Wrigley Field watching his beloved Chicago Cubs.  Unfortunately for Steve -- a foul ball forever changed his life...

LINK:  BARTMAN -- 10 YEARS LATER

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE STORY

Know Thy Opponent: USC's Haden on Orgeron

The interim head football coach of the USC Trojans -- Ed Orgeron will be auditioning again for the full-time gig this Saturday night in prime time at Notre Dame Stadium.

Orgeron's record is now 11 - 25 as a head coach.

We should expect a Trojan team to show up fired up to play -- as I suspect Orgeron will need to beat the IRISH to have any chance at getting this job full-time.  Here's what former NBC analyst for Notre Dame football -- turned athletic director -- Pat Haden says about his coaching situation.

LINK:  HADEN ON ORGERON

A "Perfect Start" to a Hockey Season for ND!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame kicked off the 2013 - 2014 college hockey season with two wins over Western Michigan: 4 - 0 on Friday night and then 3 - 0 on Saturday night!

Two SHUTOUT WINS to start the season!

LINK:  HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY'S GAME

LINK:  WEEKEND STORY

Domer Talks "D.C. Dysfunction" on CNBC

Former Notre Dame Lacrosse "three-time" All-American Jim Keenan '98 and BlackRock's Managing Director -- was a guest this morning on CNBC talking about the government shutdown's impact on the stock market.

LINK:  JIM KEENAN

Lookout Hockey East! -- Here Come The Irish!

Notre Dame's move to the Hockey East Conference this year will put the Fighting Irish on some college campuses in towns we haven't seen before:  North Andover (MA), Durham (NH), Burlington (VT), etc.

And, it will place us back with a school in Chestnut Hill who knows how to play the game.  Should be fun!

LINK:  HOCKEY EAST

The New "Big House" for College Football

Bristol Motor Speedway will be "building" a football field over top of their infield garage area -- to host a college football game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech in 2016. 

Bristol can seat 160,000 fans -- the artist illustration above shows how they plan on pulling this off...

Pretty cool.

"Romeo and His Roommates" -- MUST SEE !!!

The folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media just produced this story on ND football player Romeo Okwara and his life off the field with his buddies at Dillon Hall...

You're going to love this story:

LINK:  ROMEO'S ROOMMATES

Doug Brown -- Long Time Notre Dame Usher...

Notre Dame fans will recognize the face -- and probably not the name...

For thirty-five years you could find Elkhart native Doug Brown at every home football and basketball game at Notre Dame -- wearing that familiar blue blazer.

Doug Brown left for heaven Tuesday -- losing his battle with cancer.  A friend of his at the Elkhart Truth wrote a wonderful tribute to this "big man with a big heart" -- you'll want to read this.

LINK:  DOUG BROWN

Interim USC Football Coach Going Back in Time

Ed Orgeron, the interim head coach for the University of Southern California football team is showing videos of the good old days of Trojan football -- in an attempt to turn things around in Los Angeles.

The Trojans are 10 - 8 in their last 18 football games -- they play Arizona tonight in the LA Coliseum on Fox Sports 1 at 10:30 PM ET.

LINK:  GOING OLD SCHOOL

Media Day for Notre Dame Men's Basketball

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish met with the media today -- as they tip-off their first season of competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Here's a report from today's event:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME PLAYERS

Paying Off a Bet to Notre Dame NFL Teammates

Baltimore Raven star Terrell Suggs is seen here wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt as "payback" for Notre Dame's 37 - 34 win over his Arizona State Sun Devils.  That's former Irish stars and Raven teammates Kapron Lewis-Moore on the left and Jonas Gray on the right.

Turning Point: SIX QB SACKS AGAINST ASU!

Have to admit it was exciting to see -- and it was a long time coming...

LINK:  TURNING POINT

Muffet's Lady IRISH Talk With Media Today!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame's women's basketball program -- fresh off three straight trips to the FINAL FOUR -- open the first season in sometime without a player named Skylar...

And believe it or not, they just might be more talented this season than last.

Here's a few of the Irish stars talking with the media today:

LINK:  MEDIA DAY

Muffet McGraw's Media Day Press Conference

Notre Dame women's head basketball coach Muffet McGraw met with the media this afternoon to talk about the upcoming season -- the Fighting Irish's first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

You can watch the replay of the press conference right here!

LINK:  MUFFET McGRAW PRESS CONFERENCE

Women's Basketball Media Day -- Tuesday!

Muffet McGraw's Fighting Irish "tip-off" the 2013 - 2014 basketball season tomorrow afternoon with their annual media day.  The gang at Fighting Irish Digital Media will be in attendance.  The fun begins at 3:30 PM ET!

LINK:  WATCH MEDIA DAY LIVE -- RIGHT HERE!

Tommy Rees: Quieting His Many Critics !!!

Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees had a quality game Saturday night for the Irish as they upset #22 ranked Arizona State 37 - 34.  In the process -- he quieted a few of his critics...

LINK:  QUIETING THE CRITICS

The View From the Sideline & Locker Room !!!

The folks at Fighting Irish Digital Media just released their show called IRISH CONNECTION -- which takes you to the sideline and into the locker room of Notre Dame's 37 - 34 win over #22 Arizona State.  Enjoy!

LINK:  IRISH CONNECTION

ASU's Todd Graham Talks Loss to Notre Dame

Here's a video of Arizona State head football coach Todd Graham with the media after their 37 - 34 loss to Notre Dame last night.

LINK:  TODD GRAHAM WITH MEDIA

Tommy Rees On Field Interview Last Night

Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees is interviewed on the field after their 37 - 34 win over Arizona State.  Here's the link:

LINK:  REES ON FIELD INTERVIEW

Irish Ranked #27 and #30 in Two Major Polls

The AP Poll and Coaches' Poll were released today and Notre Dame was ranked #27 and #30 -- respectively...

LINK:  COACHES POLL

LINK: AP POLL

Notre Dame Held Up Their End of History...

It was widely noted that no team had ever beaten USC and Notre Dame on consecutive weeks in the history of college football...

That streak remains in tact -- sorry coach!

Photo of Notre Dame's "Home Field" in Texas

The "house that Jerry built" turned over the keys to Notre Dame last night...

Mornin' After Notre Dame's Big Win Over ASU

There were very few "media experts" who were predicting a Notre Dame win last night -- especially Musberger, Corso and Herbstreit from ESPN and even NBC's Flutie and Hines -- who all picked Arizona State to beat our IRISH.

What though the odds...

Here's what the media is saying ten hours after Notre Dame's 37 - 34 victory:


LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  NBC'S NOTRE DAME CENTRAL

LINK:  DALLAS MORNING NEWS

LINK:  ARIZONA SPORTS

LINK:  FORTH WORTH TELEGRAM

LINK:  ESPN

Replay of Shamrock Series Pre-Game Show

If you missed WatchND's pre-game coverage from AT&T Stadium -- you can watch it right here...

LINK:  REPLAY OF PRE-GAME SHOW

Coach Brian Kelly's Post Game Media Session

Notre Dame beat #22 Arizona State 37 - 34 last night in the "house that Jerry built."  Here is what Coach Kelly had to say to the media after the BIG WIN!

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY

Video: Shamrock Series Weekend in Texas!

A fun video to watch of Notre Dame's Shamrock Series weekend in Texas.  Enjoy!

LINK:  SHAMROCK SERIES WEEKEND

PHOTO: Notre Dame Players Celebrate Win!

The Notre Dame players at the end of the ALMA MATER tonight in AT&T Stadium.

NBC FULL REPLAY: Notre Dame 37 - ASU 34

If you'd like to watch the replay of Notre Dame's win over Arizona State tonight -- here it is!

LINK:  FULL GAME REPLAY

Quick Media Reaction to Notre Dame's Victory!

Notre Dame beat #22 Arizona State this evening 37 - 34 in a game that had more turns than a mountain road.  WOW!

Here's a look at the media's quick reaction to the Fighting Irish victory!

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

LINK:  ARIZONA REPUBLIC

Pass Rush Pressure! IRISH BEAT #22 ASU!!!

Folks, Arizona State's high scoring offense was kept in check tonight by the Fighting Irish -- as Notre Dame beats the #22 ranked team in the country tonight 37 - 34!

BIG TIME WIN for the IRISH!

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

First Look @ White Jersey / White Pants...

Here's a photo of Notre Dame dressed in ALL WHITE -- from the floor of AT&T Stadium.

Not Surprised: Most Popular Team in America

Harris Interactive just released the results of a survey of the most popular brand in college athletics...

LINK:  NOTRE DAME IS #1

"Vine" of Coach Brian Kelly's Locker Today

The Notre Dame Football Equipment gang posted this "vine" of Coach Kelly's locker at AT&T Stadium.

LINK:  KELLY'S LOCKER

Notre Dame Football's Travel Gear for Texas

Here's what the Fighting Irish are wearing on their road trip to a "home" game in Arlington, TX this weekend.  Pretty slick!

LINK:  SHAMROCK SERIES GEAR FOR SALE -- RIGHT HERE!

Pretty Awesome Photo of Notre Dame Football

Here's Louis Nix III with his head football coach Brian Kelly on the field last night in Arlington, TX...

This photo offers a pretty cool perspective of the size of that scoreboard as the Fighting Irish pose for an impromptu team photo!

Domer Justin Tuck Starring on Bowhunter TV

Former Notre Dame All-American and NFL Super Bowl Champion Justin Tuck -- traveled this past off-season to Argentina to hunt an axis deer.  Here's a link to the video.  Special thanks to ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Mike Doyle for alerting me to this!

LINK:  TUCK HUNTING

For the Notre Dame Fans @ Home Today...

Here's the web and TV schedule that will get you ready for tonight's game between our Fighting Irish and the Sun Devils -- the photos above are courtesy of @NDFootball as the IRISH arrived for their walk through at AT&T Stadium yesterday afternoon...

• 5:30 PM ET -- WatchND goes live with their pre-game show:  CLICK HERE TO WATCH
• 7:00 PM ET -- NBC Sports Network -- pre-game show
• 7:30 PM ET -- NBC's telecast of Arizona State vs. Notre Dame
• 10:30 PM ET -- WatchND's post game show:  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Here's What's Being Said About ASU vs ND

Took my customary lap around the worldwide web this morning to see what the media is saying about Notre Dame's game tonight with #22 ranked Arizona State.  Just click on the links below:

LINK:  ESPN'S NOTRE DAME BLOG

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  NBC'S NOTRE DAME CENTRAL

LINK:  ARIZONA SPORTS

Only Notre Dame Could Pull This Off in Texas...

Look at the crowd assembled at a Notre Dame pep rally in Forth Worth, TX last night -- 1,059 miles from campus -- for a regular season game.

LINK:  VIDEO OF PEP RALLY

WatchND's PreGame Show Saturday: 5:30 PM

As you can see in the photo above -- the gang at WatchND is inside AT&T Stadium getting ready for tomorrow's pre-game show at 5:30 PM ET.  Two hours before kick-off of Arizona State vs. Notre Dame!

LINK:  WATCH IT LIVE RIGHT HERE

New Turf in Notre Dame Stadium This Week

The grounds crew at Notre Dame Stadium has been busy these past few days stripping off the old turf and putting down some new.  As you can see in the picture above -- the turf is gone!

Notre Dame Stadium's turf has not held up well in the first three home games -- here's hoping it will be ready by October 19th when USC rolls into town.

LINK:  REPLACING THE SOD

ACC Digital Network Previews: ASU vs ND

Here is former Notre Dame defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn working with the gang at the ACC Digital Network -- talking about Saturday's game with Arizona State:

LINK:  ACC DIGITAL NETWORK

Notre Dame Football Arrives in Texas!

Here is a photo of Notre Dame Football's equipment truck getting ready to unload inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.