ND Students to Shave Heads Today!

Starting today at 4 PM @ LaFortune (Notre Dame's "Student Union") and running to 10 PM, for the next three days-- Notre Dame students will make a $10 donation to have their HEADS SHAVED to support the St. Baldrick Foundation and it's work with children stricken with cancer. Last year Notre Dame raised $26,500 from this event. Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist announced yesterday that he will be having his head shaved as will a number of his teammates. Crist also challenged other ND athletes to do the same. Here's a link to their website:

THE BALD & THE BEAUTIFUL

Golic To Wear USC Jersey to Pay Off Bet

It was announced this morning that former ND Football Player and Co-Host of ESPN's "Mike & MIKE" -- Mike Golic, will be wearing a USC Trojan Football Jersey at the University of Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Weekend. Each year, hosts Greenberg and Golic, place a fun wager on their NCAA basketball brackets. And, Golic lost. So, if you see Golic on Saturday, walking around campus with a USC jersey on -- you'll know why. Also, Mike Golic will be at the Notre Dame Bookstore at 9:30 AM on Saturday, signing copies of their book: "Mike & Mike's Rules for Sports and Life."

Did Clausen and Tate Leave Too Early?

The 2010 NFL Draft is two days a way and I'm sure the families of Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are anxiously wondering if their sons names will be called during Thursday night's First Round. I found this article this morning, on the NFL.com site -- and I don't think it's a story Jimmy Clausen will want to read. I don't want to believe Clausen's talent will translate into "out of the First Round." Yet, it begs the question -- did Clausen and Tate both leave too early? See the story:

CLAUSEN SLIDING OUT OF FIRST ROUND?

Recruiting Rankings -- Do They Pan Out?

Found this story yesterday at CNNSI.com and it speaks to a subject I believe is often overlooked. Ever "really listen" to the player introductions on Sunday Night and Monday Night Football? If you do, you'll be surprised at where many of the NFL "starters" played their college ball. You'll hear schools like; Alcorn State, Troy, Idaho State, Western Michigan, etc. -- not schools typically recruiting "five and four star" talent. Yet, these talented athletes, made it to the NFL. Well, with two days to go to this year's NFL Draft -- CNNSI.com looked at the "recruiting rankings" of the top projected players. Click on the link:

RECRUITING RANKINGS OF TOP PLAYERS IN 2010 NFL DRAFT

Robotic Blue-Gold Game This Friday at ND

If you're looking for something 'unique' to do on Friday evening in South Bend -- you should head over to the Stepan Center and attend the second annual "Robotic Blue-Gold Game." Kick-off is set for 7 PM. If you check the PHOTO OF THE DAY on this site -- you can see, Coach Kelly is already looking at whether or not a Robot QB has any eligibility left. Click on this link for more information -- and to see video of last year's game:

ROBOTIC "BLUE-GOLD" GAME

VIDEO COVERAGE OF LAST YEAR'S ROBOTIC BLUE-GOLD GAME

Notre Dame Baseball Players on MLB Rosters

The University of Notre Dame has placed a number of its student athletes onto Major League Baseball rosters over the years. Probably the most successful would be Carl Yastrzemski (even though he attended Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship), who played for the Boston Red Sox and was an 18 time American League All Star. Yaz's best season was in 1967 when he was named the American League's MVP after becoming the last hitter to achieve the "Triple Crown" -- leading the American League in; batting average, home runs and runs batted in that season. He retired with more than 3,000 hits and 400 home runs -- the first to achieve that mark in Major League history. A "first ballot" Hall of Famer, Yastrzemski's uniform #8 was retired by the Red Sox. Of the four former ND student athletes on Major League rosters -- Craig Counsell, infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers -- had the best day yesterday, hitting a GRAND SLAM in the Brewers 11 - 7 win over the Nationals (LINK TO VIDEO BELOW). Here's the list of former Notre Dame student athletes currently in the Major Leagues right now:

-Brad Lidge (Pitcher), Philadelphia Phillies
-Jeff Samardzia (Pitcher), Chicago Cubs
-Craig Counsell (Infielder), Milwaukee Brewers
-Aaron Heilman (Pitcher), Arizona Diamondbacks

VIDEO OF CRAIG COUNSELL'S GRAND SLAM

Terry Hanratty Talks Ara, Recruiting & ND

I find it ironic that next weekend, Conor Hanratty (Conor on right)-- son of former ND All American Terry Hanratty, will be visiting the University of Notre Dame with a scholarship offer in hand. Some believe Conor, one of the top OL on the East Coast, might commit this next weekend (Blue-Gold Game) to his Dad's Alma Mater -- here's hoping he does! Back in 2008, Conor's Dad spoke to a gathering in Milwaukee honoring Ara Parseghian -- and while doing so, he talked about his own recruiting process. Click on the Link:

HANRATTY ON PARSEGHIAN AND RECRUITING

CONOR HANRATTY PROFILE

Coach Kelly "Mic'd Up" at Practice Today

Found this at www.und.com -- it's six minutes long and it's good stuff. Coach Kelly agreed to wear a microphone at today's practice. You'll see him in action working on "footwork drills" with his QB's. Click on the link to the video:

COACH KELLY AT PRACTICE

Blue-Gold Game to be Televised LIVE

It was announced today that next Saturday's Notre Dame Blue-Gold Game -- kickoff at 1:30 PM EST -- will be televised live on the web, for the first time ever. You can find the game at www.und.com. Notre Dame will debut it's "ACTION CAM" -- an overhead camera that will provide a unique perspective "above the field" of the game action. Reggie Brooks, Mirko Jurkovic and Jack Nolan will provide the commentary.

Notre Dame to Test Skycam at Blue-Gold Game

If you're planning on attending the Blue-Gold Game next Saturday you will witness a "first" at Notre Dame Stadium -- a Skycam. ND's Official Athletic Website, www.und.com, will be "testing" the use of a Skycam (photo above) -- a camera suspended by a series of cables over the field -- during the game. NBC is expected to have some technical advisors in attendance -- looking to see if they want to use the camera for their telecasts this fall. Ironically, NBC was the first to use a Skycam for a football broadcast when they had the XFL television contract in 2001.

Notre Dame Releases Hockey Arena Plans

Construction's already started on the University of Notre Dame's (on campus) $53 million dollar Hockey "Cathedral." NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG published an artist rendering of the facility a couple of weeks ago -- now, Notre Dame has released this video that showcases what will become the finest college hockey building in America. Click on the link below -- and then click on the Hockey Video:

NOTRE DAME'S HOCKEY CATHEDRAL

Coach Brian Kelly to Visit a Few ND Clubs

The Notre Dame Alumni Association announced that Brian Kelly would be attending a number of ND Alumni Association Events over the next six weeks. If you're a ND Fan in one of these areas, but not a ND Alum - please contact the respective Notre Dame Alumni Clubs about attending -- they're usually quite accommodating. Here's the schedule:
-April 26th: ND Club of Cleveland - Luncheon
-May 11th: ND Club of St. Louis - Dinner
-May 18th: ND Club of Cedar Rapids/Iowa City - Luncheon
-May 18th: ND Club of Denver - Dinner
-May 19th: ND Club of Fresno(Central CA) - Luncheon
-May 23rd: ND Club of Jersey Shore - Dinner
-May 24th: ND Club of Staten Island - Luncheon
-May 24th: ND Club of Mid-Hudson Valley - Dinner

Clausen Attends "Gruden's QB Camp"

Folks, if you have three minutes, this is worth the look. Jimmy Clausen was one of four QB's that ESPN set up with Jon Gruden to spend a day with him and talk about playing the QB position in the NFL. Gruden, now an Analyst on Monday Night Football, led the Tampa Bay Buccanneers to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. A huge fan of Notre Dame, Gruden was generally regarded as one the top developers of QB's in the NFL. Jim, his Dad, was on Dan Devine's coaching staff at ND when Jon was student at South Bend's Clay High School. The other QB's Gruden met with were; Tebow, McCoy and Bradford. Here's a link to the video -- watch it!

CLAUSEN AT GRUDEN'S QB CAMP

ND Valedictorian deftly handles MSNBC "hack"

I'm very proud today of Katie Washington, Notre Dame's Class of 2010 Valedictorian. Katie, who just happens to be the first African American Valedictorian at Notre Dame -- is a 'WORLD CLASS' representative of her family and our Lady's University. Yesterday, MSNBC interviewed Katie in front of the Golden Dome -- and after about 30 seconds of "you must be excited..." -- they go for the "lack of minorities question" at Notre Dame. It was very obvious that MSNBC was looking to create a "news story" out of Katie's moment. As you'll see in the video (link below), Katie didn't take the bait. Shame on MSNBC and that reporter. Unfortunately, our media has turned to the news creation business, not the news reporting business. Katie, that MSNBC reporter could learn a thing or two from you!

MSNBC INTERVIEW OF ND VALEDICTORIAN

Knute Rockne -- Greatest Motivator of All Time

His name is often used to describe the quality of a locker room pre-game speech - a "Knute Rockne Speech." Here's one of Rockne's famous pre-game speeches from the Notre Dame Archives. Click on link to video:

KNUTE ROCKNE AT HIS BEST

Judge Napolitano -- Notre Dame Law Grad

If you watch the Fox News Channel -- you'll often see "Judge" Andrew Napolitano, who just happens to be a graduate of Notre Dame's Law School and a best selling author. He's written five books with the most recent being "Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power and Deception in American History." Besides his TV gig with Fox, you can also hear Judge Napolitano on Fox News Radio with his daily radio show "Brian and the Judge."

JUDGE NAPOLITANO'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

The Shirt -- Unveiling on April 23rd!

In 1990 it began as a simple fund raising project for a ND student in need. Since then it's become the #1 selling item in any college bookstore in America. Typical sale totals will run upwards of 135,000 to as many as 150,000 t-shirts sold. It's color is the subject of chat room and message board debate -- and it's only at Notre Dame. The Shirt 2010 Project will be unveiled on Friday, April 23rd in front of the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore. Coach Brian Kelly will be the featured speaker along with Mike Golic, Sr. -- from ESPN's "Mike & Mike" show. The fun begins at 4:00 PM with the unveiling set for 5:45 PM. Here's a link to the official website of THE SHIRT along with history and a link to pre-order a shirt or two:

THE SHIRT 2010 PROJECT

HISTORY OF THE SHIRT

PRE ORDERING OF THE SHIRT 2010

CommUniversity Day

Yesterday the University of Notre Dame gave back to the South Bend community in their second annual "CommUniversity Day" -- as more than 700 Notre Dame students volunteered to work on 40 projects throughout the city. There were also activities on the Notre Dame campus for the community. See the South Bend Tribune story:

COMMUNIVERSITY DAY

Katie Washington, Notre Dame's Valedictorian

Katie, a senior from Gary, IN was selected as Notre Dame's Class of 2010 Valedictorian. In 161 years of graduating students, Washington is the first African American to receive this honor at Notre Dame. A 4.0 GPA in Biology, Washington will pursue a M.D./Ph. D degree from John Hopkins University. Congratulations Katie! Here's a link to the story:

CLASS OF 2010 VALEDICTORIAN

Clausen's on ESPN the Magazine Cover

The cover says he throws the "perfect spiral." I'm sure he, his family and his agent hopes he throws well tomorrow morning at his NFL Pro Day. Here's a link to an interview on ESPN.com with Clausen -- and what he does to throw the perfect spiral -- click on the link below.


ESPN INTERVIEW OF CLAUSEN

Watch Jimmy Clausen's Pro Day at ND Tomorrow -- Live on the Web

Former Notre Dame QB, Jimmy Clausen, will have his "Pro Day" workout for NFL teams tomorrow morning at the University of Notre Dame. Representatives of every NFL team are expected to be on campus tomorrow to see Clausen throw for the first time since his off season foot surgery. Jimmy will be throwing to a few of his former teammates; Golden Tate, Robby Parris, James Aldridge and David Grimes. If you'd like to watch it LIVE -- you can at www.und.com. Here's a link to where you can watch his workout -- it begins at 11:30 AM, Friday April 9th. Good Luck Jimmy!

LIVE COVERAGE OF CLAUSEN'S NFL PRO DAY

ND Grad and "Mascot" Artist

His work received some publicity today when ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach wrote about Brian Kelly's purchase of a print entitled "Original Fighting Irish." The artist is none other than ND Alum; Revere La Noue. Revere was a former ND Lacrosse player and a large piece from his "Original Fighting Irish Print Series" is hanging in Arlotta Stadium (the new home of the ND Lacrosse program) at Notre Dame. La Noue's latest work is a series devoted to the unknown history of the college mascot. Here's a link to his website:

THE MASCOT GALLERY

Original Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly -- has this painting hanging in his office. The print is entitled "Original Fighting Irish" and it's the work of former ND Lacrosse player; Revere La Noue -- an award winning artist. ESPN.com reporter, Mark Schlabach penned this article today on the changes Coach Kelly is making to the "habits" of Notre Dame football -- click on the link below. You can also click on the link to a YouTube video that shows the actual steps involved in the painting of the Original Fighting Irish.

CHANGING NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

THE MAKING OF ORIGINAL FIGHTING IRISH

Top Florida OT commits to Notre Dame

Jordan Prestwood, a 6'-6" 270 lb. student athlete out of Plant City, FL held a press conference Monday afternoon, at his high school, to announce his commitment to the University of Notre Dame. Prestwood, chose the Irish over schools such as; Florida, USC, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, etc. He played TE for the majority of his junior season -- leading many schools to recruit him at that position. The Irish have other plans for Jordan -- and he's in agreement that his best position will be at the offensive tackle position in college. Prestwood is the second commitment from the Class of 2011 -- as high school athletes continue to commit earlier and earlier. Here's some info on Jordan:

RECRUITING PROFILE ON JORDAN PRESTWOOD

The Economic Impact of your Birthday

Notre Dame Professors Dan Hungerman and Kasey Buckles have been studying the economic impact of when you were born -- and have determined that if you are born in the winter months you are going to have lower wages and less education than most. Pretty controversial -- watch it for yourself:

WILL YOUR BIRTHDAY IMPACT YOUR EARNING POWER?

What are they doing now? -- Adrian Dantley

Former Notre Dame All-American, Adrian Dantley is currently the interim head coach of the Denver Nuggets -- while head coach George Karl deals with his cancer treatments. Dantley has been an assistant for the Nuggets for the past four seasons. The Nuggets are 9 - 7 since Karl had to leave the bench to deal with his neck and throat cancer.

Irish Recruit Matt James Dies From Fall

Matt James, a senior at St. Xavier High School, died yesterday from a fall from a hotel balcony in Panama City, Fl. James, a high school All American offensive tackle, was one of the top rated recruits in Brian Kelly's first recruiting class at Notre Dame. A memorial prayer service is about to begin at Xavier High School in Cincinnati. Our prayers go out to the James family.

Barlow Finishes Second in Three-Point Contest

Notre Dame senior, Ashley Barlow, competed last night in the State Farm Three-Point contest in Indianapolis -- finishing in second place to University of Detroit's Bridig Mulroy. Mulroy was the NCAA leader this season in three pointers made, with a .515 shooting percentage. Barlow scored 19 points in the first round to Mulroy's 20 -- and in the Finals, Barlow went first and struggled, scoring only 11 points. Mulroy surpassed Barlow with one rack of balls to go.

LINK TO SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

No ND Football Players in Bookstore Basketball

Coach Kelly announced yesterday that his football players would not be playing Bookstore Basketball this year -- meaning the defending champions "Hallelujah Holla Back" (Dayne Crist and Jonas Gray) will not be able to "re-peat." Kelly made it very clear that his players need to concentrate on football this spring. Probably a good idea! Coach Kelly said he would revisit this subject again next year. Games start this Saturday.

Notre Dame's Barlow at Final Four in Indy

Irish Senior, Ashley Barlow will be competing this evening at the 22nd Annual State Farm Slam Dunk and Three Point Championships at the site of this weekend's Final Four -- in her hometown of Indianapolis. Ashley, won't be dunking -- but, she will be competing in the three-point competition against seven of the top shooters in the country. The competition is taking place inside the Indiana Convention Center (adjacent to Lucas Oil Stadium - where the Final Four will be played) at 7 PM EST. ESPN will be televising the event on a "tape-delayed" basis at 9 PM EST tonight. Good Luck Ashley!

79th Anniversary of Knute Rockne's Death

A plane carrying Notre Dame Head Football Coach Knute Rockne - crashed on this date, 79 years ago. Ironically, Rockne was on his way to participate in the filming of a movie called "The Spirit of Notre Dame" -- which just happens to be the name of Notre Dame's current development campaign. The plane crashed in a wheat field near the town of Bazaar, Kansas -- killing all eight people on board.

Notre Dame Partners with YMCA

The University of Notre Dame's NonProfit Professional Development announced today that it would begin providing executive training to the YMCA's senior leadership this August -- at Notre Dame's executive classroom space in Chicago. The YMCA joins other service organizations such as; Volunteers of America, Catholic Charities USA and National Human Services Assembly -- who have sought executive training from Notre Dame.

NOTRE DAME AND THE YMCA

Graduation moves to Notre Dame Stadium

In a move to accommodate more people at graduation -- the University of Notre Dame is moving Commencement, for the first time, to Notre Dame Stadium. The renovation of Purcell Pavillion left the arena with about 1,000 fewer seats, thus the need to move to a larger venue. This morning, Notre Dame announced the eight who would be receiving Honorary Degrees from the University. Here's a link to the story:

NOTRE DAME GRADUATION

Notre Dame's "Social Robots" and Autism

The University of Notre Dame's Psychology Department is working with "social robots" in their work with children with Autism. Here's a story released yesterday by Notre Dame concerning their work in this area. Click on link:

ND'S SOCIAL ROBOTS

Notre Dame installs a "Cleanroom" on campus

No, its not a prototype for a "George Jetson" dorm room at Notre Dame -- it's a 9,000 square foot classroom in Stinson-Remick Hall. It's the new home for some of Notre Dame's most advanced research projects. Click on the link to the story:

NOTRE DAME'S CLEANROOM

A New "Helmet Rule" for Irish Football!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame hit the Lumbar Practice Fields for the first time yesterday under the direction of new Head Coach, Brian Kelly. One of the changes Kelly has brought to the Irish program is you "can't take your helmet off" during practice. It's all part of the discipline and attention to detail that Kelly felt our football program was lacking. Yesterday's practice was the first of fifteen (including April 24th's Blue & Gold Game) that the NCAA allows for Spring Practice. If you'd like to see some free video online of the Irish's practice -- click on the link below:

CBS SPORTS.COM ALL ACCESS PASS TO NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS

Notre Dame one of the "DREAM" colleges in America!

In an annual survey of more than 3,000 parents of college applicants by the Princeton Review, when asked "what dream college do you wish your child could attend if acceptance or cost weren't issues?" -- the University of Notre Dame was ranked the "seventh most dreamiest University in America." In last year's survey -- Notre Dame was ranked fourth, which leads me to think high school parents must have had some "nightmares" these past twelve months!!! To see the list of the "top ten" -- click on this link:

PARENTS TOP TEN DREAM SCHOOLS FOR THEIR KIDS

Irish IDOL -- three more contestants...

Every week the NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG -- searches the world wide web for the top performers of the greatest college fight song on the planet -- the Notre Dame Victory March. Here are three more contestants this week -- one has four legs! Click on the links below:

ONE FROM THE DOGS

TWO YEAR OLD ZACH & DAD

KAELIN