"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