Former Notre Dame offensive tackle, Sam Young -- is running with the "first team" these days with the Dallas Cowboys. The sixth round draft pick is replacing Marc Colombo who's knee injury looks like it will require surgery. It's going to be interesting to see if Sam can hold on to the job until Colombo comes back. Here's a link to the story:
I took a stroll through StubHub.com this morning to see what the ticket prices were for the Purdue game -- Saturday, September 4th. Well, prices ranged from $115 per ticket to $5,000 per ticket -- yeah, that's right! The guys selling upper level endzone tickets for this much "really don't want to sell their tickets" -- but, just might for $5,000 a piece. I've purchased Yankees tickets over the years with StubHub and have always had a good experience. Here's a link to available tickets for the Purdue game:
Found this video promoting the University of Notre Dame's efforts in marketing their "Olympic" sports -- though it appears more like a spot promoting the company that's given the Irish a good deal. Maybe that's the "payback?" Here's the link:
If you were watching the PGA Championship, from Whistling Straits, in the past hour -- you were witness to one of the most difficult rulings in major championship history. Dustin Johnson was leading the PGA Championship on the 18th tee. His tee shot was "blocked" way to the right into the gallery. His ball ended up on "sandy, flat" lie in a sea of people (photo of where his ball ended up in the gallery). His third shot went left of the pin into what I'll call a shaggy ditch. Remarkably, Johnson hit a great pitch shot to about eight feet from the pin. All he has to do is make the putt and he's won the PGA Championship. Well, he misses the putt -- putting him into a three man playoff -- so he thinks and we all think. Unfortunately, a PGA Rules Official was waiting for Johnson at the side of the green -- asking him if he "grounded his club in the bunker back there?" Dustin didn't know he was in a trap, nor did any of the "talking heads at CBS." History now knows that he was in a bunker and he did ground his club -- a two stroke penalty. Which, took him from tied for first and into a playoff -- to a tie for fifth place and a long ride home. What a shame. Can you imagine if he had made the putt -- thinking he had won a Major Championship!!!??? The PGA of America needs to review the rules concerning bunkers at Whistling Straits for future tournaments. My belief is if you allow spectators to stand and walk through bunkers -- which they did all week -- the players should be allowed to ground their clubs in them. When have you ever seen a PGA tour player hit a shot from a bunker full of spectators? Think about it... Here's an interview with Dustin Johnson and Mark Wilson -- the PGA Rules Official who made the call:
South Bend Tribune Notre Dame Football beatwriter, Eric Hansen, took a look at the depth chart at each position after yesterday's first scrimmage of fall camp. Coach Kelly was quite enthusiastic after yesterday's practice -- giving plenty to hope about for Notre Dame fans! Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story:
University of Notre Dame linebacker, Manti Teo, spent this past Sunday with a writer from the Chicago Tribune -- the result is an article that provides unique insight to how this young man operates. He's a special talent -- on and off the field. Click on the link below:
University of Notre Dame Football Coach, Brian Kelly, spent six minutes yesterday taking questions from the assembled media. Topics; health of Mike Ragone, status of EJ Banks, QB depth chart, practicing in the heat and Steve Filer's "skateboarding." Click on the link below and scroll to the right side of the page and click on Coach Kelly August 13th:
University of Notre Dame student, Javi Zubizarreta, a Film, Television and Theatre major -- won the 2010 Princess Grace Award from the Princess Grace Foundation (PGF). And, he also won the Cary Grant Film Award from the PGF - which is only awarded to one filmmaker each year. Zubizarreta will receive the awards in New York City in November at the annual black-tie Princess Grace Awards Gala. Javi (Boise, ID) will be a senior this fall at Notre Dame and he's the only underclassmen student of the six filmmakers receiving awards this year. Zubizarreta intends to use the grant he receives from PGF to produce a "soulful" film about an old and young Basque shepherd. Javi is a third-generation Basque-American (Basque is a region of northern Spain). Congratulations Javi! Here's a link to the Princess Grace Foundation website and their announcement of the award winners:
Former Notre Dame Safety's; Tommy Zbikowski and Sergio Brown, both made big plays in their teams' respective NFL pre-season openers last night. Zibby forced a Carolina fumble / turnover on his huge hit on QB Matt Moore and Sergio sealed the Patriots win over the Super Bowl Champion Saints with his own huge hit on a receiver that ended up in an interception. Zbikowski also had a nice punt return in the first half. Here's a couple video replays of Zibby and Sergio's big plays last night:
Blue & Gold Illustrated has a "SEVEN DAY FREE TRIAL" going on right now and during that time, they're making some of their interviews of Notre Dame Football coaches and players available for free. Here's a link to interviews of; Coach Martin, Prince Shembo, Jamoris Slaughter, Danny McCarthy, Danny Spond and Darrin Walls. Just click on the link below:
From time to time, THE NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG searches the world to find the best performers of the Greatest College Fight Song in the land: The Notre Dame Victory March. We found this video that was taken 16 years ago -- of then 3 year-old Stephanie -- who will be beginning her sophomore year at Notre Dame in a few weeks. As you can see, Stephanie Wesley (we believe that's her last name) didn't have many options when it came to picking a college! FYI: She does sing the song late in the video! Enjoy:
Former Notre Dame QB, Jimmy Clausen, got his "feet wet" and pretty much everything else wet in his NFL debut last night against the Baltimore Ravens. The skies opened up and it rained like crazy for most of the second half in the Carolina Panthers 17 - 12 loss. Clausen, as planned, came into the game in the second quarter and led the Panthers on five offensive series in the second and third quarters. Jimmy can claim that he led his team on a scoring drive in his first time behind center in an NFL game. On his first drive he completed 4 of 6 passes and the Panthers made a field goal. For the game, he completed 8 passes in 15 attempts with one interception after his receiver fell down making a cut in the rain. ESPN analysts' Ron Jaworski and John Gruden were extremely complimentary of Clausen's play as have been most of the media reports after the game. Here's a few links to what's being said about Clausen's debut:
Mike Frank and the gang at Irish Sports Daily have been kind enough to make some of their interviews of Notre Dame Football players and coaches available to "non-subscribers" to their site. Here's links to interviews with Darrin Walls and Danny Spond:
Former Notre Dame All-American, Golden Tate, is doing his thing now for the Seattle Seahawks. Here's a picture, from a recent practice, where Tate makes one of his patented "one handed" grabs. Just watch, he's going to have a big year for the Seahawks.
Forbes Magazine came out this morning with its third annual ranking of the Best Colleges in America. They say it's a ranking "from the student's perspective." Well -- I'm going to challenge their ranking of the University of Notre Dame! I WANT A RECOUNT! Forbes ranks Notre Dame as the 33rd best out of 610 colleges in the U.S. Here's a link to the article and the list of the rankings of all 610 schools:
Former Notre Dame coaching great, Lou Holtz, granted an interview with the South Bend Tribune this week to talk about a subject he's very fond of: Notre Dame Football. Coach is as bullish as ever about the Irish -- and his ESPN on screen partner; Mark May -- is giving the Domers some love as well. I wonder how long that will last! Anyway, Lou believes Notre Dame will be favored in every game they play this year! It's a wonderful article, touching on a number of subjects -- click on the link below:
It's his NFL debut! The Carolina Panthers have traveled to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in their first pre-season game. The Panthers' 'beatwriters' are predicting that Clausen will be the "SECOND" QB in the game -- meaning he'll probably hit the field "late in the first quarter" or at the start of the second quarter. The game starts at 8 PM EST on ESPN. Be sure to tune in -- and, don't forget he now wears #2!
The University of Notre Dame's Dean of the College of Science, Greg Crawford and his wife Renate, are less than 700 miles from Notre Dame! The 2,200 mile bike ride from the "desert" (Tucson, AZ) to the "dome" (Notre Dame, IN) is now in Missouri -- and only 12 days from their scheduled arrival to Notre Dame! Here's a link to their daily blog post:
ESPN is currently running a promotion of its first "Thursday Night NFL Game" and it stars former ND QB, Jimmy Clausen. The "tune in" promo is selling "Jimmy Clausen's first NFL game." I guess ESPN forgot that Notre Dame is still irrelevant and Clausen is the Panthers third string QB. Anyway, you can see Clausen throw his first NFL touchdown pass tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST on ESPN. The Carolina Panthers are traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Here's a link to a story about Clausen's first game and a second story on how he's fitting in with the team:
He's the mega-selling author of The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and Message in a Bottle. Earlier this year, his book The Last Song was turned into a movie that starred Myley Cyrus (seen here in the photo with Sparks) for which Sparks agreed to be a screenwriter as well. Seeing his books turned into movies, is nothing new for Sparks. To date, six of his novels (including The Last Song) have been adapted for the big screen; Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember and Message in a Bottle. Yet, it's his track career that gets equal billing when he talks about his life. Sparks received a full scholarship to the University of Notre Dame to run track. In fact, he's still on the Notre Dame Record Board for a relay he was part of at the Drake Relays. And, it was a track injury -- that provided him with the time to write his first novel when he was a sophomore at Notre Dame. Here's a link to an interview Sparks gave at a Notre Dame track meet this past March -- a link to a USA Today interview he gave with the release of the movie; The Last Song and finally a link to his official website:
Former Notre Dame All American, Luke Harangody impressed the Boston Celtics enough to earn an NBA contract today! It's a two-year deal that is GUARANTEED! Luke was named to the 1st Team All NBA Summer League with his 16.8 pts. per game and 50% shooting from the floor. One of the first things Harangody must do is introduce himself to Shaquille O'Neal -- who didn't know who Harangody was when the Celtics announced his signing in the middle of Shaq's introductory press conference. The other thing he'll have to do is teach the Boston sportswriters how to spell his last name -- see the story below:
Can you imagine nine months ago weighing 350 lbs. and being able to do 4 pull-ups -- and six months later you weigh 12 LBS MORE. and can now do 23 pull-ups! That's Notre Dame's Chris Stewart's story. Every single player on the Notre Dame Football team that went through winter and summer conditioning with Paul Longo (pictured) -- Notre Dame Football's Strength & Conditioning Coordinator -- lowered their body fat index, yet gained weight. Every single player improved their bench press and their vertical leap. In fact -- eight months ago, only 1 Notre Dame Football player could bench press 400 lbs. or squat 600 lbs. Now 9 can! Here's a link to a video of the workouts that began this past January with Coach Longo and his staff:
Here's your chance. If you haven't been to campus in the past 12 months or so -- you're in for a big surprise. Eddy Street Commons, a real-estate development located immediately south of campus, is filling up with owners, tenants, businesses and PEOPLE. This photo is of the Champions Way City Homes which face the Notre Dame campus off of Angela Boulevard. 22 of these homes, priced at $400,000 or so -- have already been sold. Here's a story in the South Bend Tribune which updates the progress of this community -- along with a link to the development's website:
The University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) is sending four of its "teachers" into the Richmond (VA) Diocese this month. In its 16th year of serving Catholic education in America, ACE will place 180 young teachers, who are completing their masters of education degrees at Notre Dame, into Catholic dioceses across the nation. These teachers come from some 50 undergraduate schools, including Notre Dame, and commit to two years of service at primarily city and rural Catholic elementary and high schools. In addition, ACE has 48 students enrolled in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, a master’s degree program that prepares aspiring leaders to be principals and superintendents for Catholic schools. The "brain-child" of Co-Founders; Fr. Tim Scully, C.S.C. and Fr. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., ACE is a great example of Notre Dame "giving back" to the Catholic Church in America. Here's a story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about ACE coming to town. There's a second link to the ACE website -- if you'd like to learn more about this wonderful program:
NFL life hasn't been easy for former Notre Dame star, Trevor Laws. Trevor is in his third training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles after being drafted by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Here's a nice story yesterday, about the favorable impression Laws is making early in camp - after "working his butt off" in the off season with the Eagles training staff:
Here's a link to all of the press conferences (VIDEO) held yesterday at Notre Dame, "kicking-off" the 2010 Football Season. Enjoy!
Former Notre Dame All American and Heisman Trophy winner -- Tim Brown has joined ESPN. Brown will become an analyst for ESPN's "3D" telecasts of 13 football games this season, including the BCS Championship Game. ESPN launched a 3D Network in June -- with coverage of the June 11th World Cup Match between South Africa and Mexico. This network has been in the works for two years now, with the first football game "test" broadcast in 3D being the USC vs. Ohio State game this past season. ESPN has plans to broadcast 85 live sporting events in the next twelve months in 3D. So you'll want to check to see if your TV is 3D ready -- only 4% of the new TV's purchased in America in the past twelve months have this option. If it is, you'll need to buy some 3D glasses (they cost more than $100) and you'll need a 3D ready "top box" -- see link below for how to sign up for this network. If you don't have a 3D TV, ESPN has plans to broadcast some of these games in 3D movie theaters across the country. No word yet, if Notre Dame will be one of the team's on ESPN's schedule this year for 3D -- though I wouldn't be surprised if the USC game ends up in 3D. Brown's first game for ESPN's 3D network will be the September 6th matchup between Boise State and Virginia Tech.
Whenever you see Coach Kelly wearing a sport coat or suit coat -- you'll see him wearing his "official kelly green" Notre Dame lapel pin, made just for him. Now, you can get one too! All you have to do is make a $10, $15, $20 or more donation to the Coach Kelly Challenge. I did just that for several family members -- it's a great Notre Dame gift! Here's a link to how you can get this pin and join Coach Kelly in this challenge:
In case you missed it, here's the replay of Coach Brian Kelly's interview last night with the boys from the WSBT 960 AM's Weekday SportsBeat radio show. One of the callers "Kevin from Holland" asking a question of Coach Kelly, is a regular visitor to the NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG. Just click on the link:
If you're like me -- and I bet you are -- you can't wait for September 4th to get here. But, first things first -- our team needs to practice -- make that, go through MEDIA DAY. Today's annual Notre Dame Football Media Day begins at 11:30 AM EST with LIVE COVERAGE on www.und.com. Be sure to check in on all of the interviews. Here's the link below:
Coach Kelly just finished with the boys at Weekday SportsBeat - here's a few of his comments: "Every single player is healthy and ready to go tomorrow." "We've gone from 1 player to 9 players who can now benchpress 400 lbs." "We've gone from 1 player who could squat 600 lbs. to 9 players." "We showed a highlight video to our team prior to the Spring Game and I was surprised that a few of our players didn't know who Jerome Bettis was." "We're close to the limit of the number of scholarships we have left..." "We'll be announcing a few more exciting opponents in the next few weeks (when asked about the Texas announcement).
Ara Parseghian, Lou Hotlz, Johhny Lattner and Johhny Lujack were in Bridgman, MI for the Irish Legends golf event this week. Thanks to Kevin Sweeney for sending this to me! Here's the link:
University of Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, will be on the WSBT 960 AM Weekly SportsBeat show this afternoon. The show begins at 5:30 PM EST with Coach Kelly expected on the show til' 6:00 PM EST. Just click on the link below -- and then at the top left of their home page -- click on the LISTEN LIVE" button. Here's the link:
The University of Notre Dame just announced the opportunity to "Name Your Moment" at Purcell Pavillion -- the chance to put your name on a seat or on a plaque on the wall. The investment is $1,500 - here's a link to the video and promotion:
Gerald Bradley, University of Notre Dame Law Professor -- wrote an opinion piece yesterday on the Federal Judge in California's ruling on Proposition 8, concerning same-sex marriage. Here's a link to the Notre Dame Prof's opinion piece -- along with his bio on the Notre Dame Law School site:
Former University of Notre Dame safety, Tommy Zbikowski -- showed off his improving speed this morning, intercepting a Flaco pass and going 60 yards for a TD. Zibby worked with a new trainer this off-season and the hard work appears to be paying off. Here's a link to the story:
Former Notre Dame offensive tackle and sixth round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, Sam Young -- is impressing his new coach. Here's an update on the Domer's first camp with the Cowboys: