Irish Wide Receiver: Swimmin' With the Sharks!

Notre Dame wide receiver T.J. Jones -- spent some time this summer swimming with sharks at the Florida Aquarium!  See the video feature below:

LINK:  T.J. JONES -- WITH THE SHARKS

Notre Dame to Start Fall Training Camp Away!

The Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame will be moving "off campus" to Marion, IN to Shiloh Park to begin their training for the 2013 college football season.  The "fun" begins August 5th.  Shilo Park is a conference / retreat center located a little over 100 miles from the Notre Dame campus.  

Coach Kelly made the announcement today -- see the story below:

LINK:  COACH KELLY TALKS SHILOH PARK

LINK:  NEW FIELDS AT SHILO PARK 

LINK:  OFFICIAL RELEASE 

LINK:  SHILO PARK WEBSITE

Pope Francis @ World Youth Day in Rio!

These are photos of Pope Francis' visit to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro -- over 1 million Catholic youth have gathered for this year's event.

Notre Dame: "A Great College to Work For!"

The Chronicle of Higher Education just released its annual list of the top colleges to work for -- and for the FIFTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR the University of Notre Dame was named to the "honor roll."

Having the honor of being an employee of this university -- I'm not surprised!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME -- FIVE PEAT!

OT: Jack Nicklaus' Grandson Motorcycle Crash

You will not believe that Nick O'Leary -- a football player at Florida State University and the grandson of hall of famer Jack Nicklaus -- walked away from this motorcycle crash.  Incredible!

LINK:  STORY

Robby Toma Signs with Arizona Cardinals

In the past 24 hours -- Robby Toma '13, signed a contract with the Arizona Cardinals and will compete for a spot on their 53 man roster.  Toma, the high school pal of Manti Te'o will be lining up alongside former teammate and Notre Dame All-American Michael Floyd. 

Good luck Robby!

LINK:  TOMA TO CARDINALS

ACC Commissioner Defends Deal with ND

Over the past few months a few coaches have openly questioned the deal the Atlantic Coast Conference struck with Notre Dame.  This past Sunday, ACC Commissioner Jack Swofford spoke about why the deal was important to make for their conference -- here's a link to the story:

LINK:  ACC TALKS NOTRE DAME DEAL

Single Game Tickets to ND Football On Sale!

If you're looking to see the Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame football team play a game this fall -- CALL BEGINNING AT 8:30 AM ET tomorrow morning!  The Notre Dame ticket office will be selling tickets to these games:

• August 31:  Temple -- you can buy up to four tickets
• October 8:  Arizona State -- game at Cowboys Stadium (you can buy up to eight end zone tickets)
• November 2: Navy -- you can buy up to eight tickets
• November 23:  BYI -- you can buy up to eight tickets

Here's the number to call:  574.631.7356

LINK:  LOUIS NIX'S -- TICKET SALES PITCH

Stanley Cup Champs to Train at Notre Dame!

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have picked the University of Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena to train for four days in September (12th to the 15th).

The Stanley Cup Champions' General Manager is none other than Domer Stan Bowman '95, -- who's named after the Stanley Cup -- so I'm not surprised he's bringing his team "home" to Notre Dame.

Here's the story:

LINK:  STANLEY CUP CHAMPS AT NOTRE DAME

OT: You Can't Make This Stuff Up...

The University of Florida's Antonio Morrison (pictured) -- expected to be their starting middle linebacker this fall -- was arrested early this morning for BARKING AT A POLICE DOG and then resisting arrest.

Here's a link to the story below:

LINK:  GATOR BARKING AT DOG

Notre Dame Football Equipment Photos!

These two photos were recently "tweeted" by Ryan Grooms, Notre Dame's Football Equipment Manager.  The top photo is the shirt the Irish players will wear under their shoulder pads.  The bottom photo is a shot of the ND shoulder pads the freshmen will be wearing.  Ryan's twitter handle is @NDFBEquipment

#1 Selling NFL Rookie Jersey -- A 2nd Rd Pick

The power of the Notre Dame brand...

Former Fightin' Irish All-American Manti Te'o has the #1 selling NFL jersey among all of the rookies in this year's class -- I'm not surpised!

LINK:  MANTI TE'O'S TOP SELLING JERSEY

LINK:  BUY IT HERE!

Only 41 Days to Notre Dame's First Game!

Notre Dame's game against Temple is only forty-one days from today!

Class Action Lawsuit Against NCAA...

Six college football players joined a federal lawsuit against the NCAA this week.

Here's a link to the ESPN story -- which also announced that the NCAA would not re-up its contract with EA Sports and their popular college football video game.

LINK:  FEDERAL LAWSUIT

Domer & NBC Sports Blogger Ranks the Irish

Keith Arnold '02, a blogger at NBC's Notre Dame Central, just ranked the top 25 football players on the Irish roster.  Here's the list:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S TOP 25

Domer Rae wins Silver Medal at World Games

Notre Dame senior Jamie Rae, representing his home country of Canada at the World University Games, finished second in the 1,500 meters -- after a stumble in the last turn.

Listen to Rae talk about his race strategy:

LINK:  2ND AT WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES!

Photo of the Day: Eilar Hardy's ND Tattoo

Notre Dame football player Eilar Hardy -- showing off his "ink" in this photo.

South Bend Tribune's Response to Spurrier

I posted a story Wednesday about South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and his comments concerning Notre Dame and the respect we're given by the major conference commissioners.  Well, the South Bend Tribune's Al Lesar decided to respond to the "ol' bawl coach."

LINK:  THE NOTRE DAME BRAND

Cooley Playing Well in NBA Summer League

Former Notre Dame basketball player Jack Cooley '13 scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a NBA Summer League game last night for the Memphis Grizzlies.   He's now gone for a "double double" in back to back games!

LINK:  COOLEY SCORES 20

Brian Kelly Interview on ESPN RADIO Today

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was a guest this afternoon on ESPN's Scott Van Pelt Radio Show -- talkin' the state of his football team and the upcoming season:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY INTERVIEW

Regis Philbin '53 Tries Out Google's Glasses

Domer Regis Philbin '53, was given a pair of the new Google Glasses to give them a try -- while visiting the gang at the Wall Street Journal -- you'll get a kick out of this.

Thanks to the gang at the DAILY DOMER for this story!

LINK:  DAILY DOMER

Incoming Domer: Gatorade Athlete of the Year!

Morgan Andrews was just named the GATORADE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR for all of high school women's sports! 

Andrews is the #1 ranked women's soccer recruit in the country and she'll be arriving in South Bend next month to play for Randy Waldrum's Fighting Irish.  Here's the media coverage coming out this afternoon:

LINK:  HER HOMETOWN PAPER

LINK:  USA TODAY

LINK:  US SOCCER

LINK:  SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

LINK:  UND

Spurrier Speaks to Notre Dame's Status...

The SEC had their big press junket last night and each of their football coaches took the podium to talk about the upcoming season -- and as you'll see in this story, a few other subjects as well.

The big news of the night came from Steve Spurrier, the head coach at South Carolina, who decided to take on our Fightin' Irish and their position "at the table with all of the conference commissioners.".  I'll let you read and see what he had to say:

LINK:  USA TODAY STORY

LINK:  ORLANDO SENTINEL STORY

LINK:  VIDEO OF SPURRIER

Domer Named Deloitte LLP Vice Chairman!

Former Notre Dame football co-captain, Byron Spruell '87 (he played offensive tackle for Lou Holtz in the late 80's) was just named vice chairman of Deloitte LLP, Central region managing principal and Chicago office managing principal. 

Congratulations Byron!

LINK:  SPRUELL JOINS "FIGHTING IRISH CLUB"

LINK:  OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Brady Quinn's 3rd & Goal Foundation

Seattle Seahawks QB and former Notre Dame All-American Brady Quinn '07, was the subject of a wonderful story today.  If you're a fan of Brady Quinn -- you'll want to read this!

LINK:  A PIVOTAL MOMENT

Looking for Notre Dame Football Tickets?

Pick up the phone JULY 23rd (beginning at 8:30 AM ET) and call the Notre Dame Ticket Office at 574.631.7356

Word on the street is you may still be able to buy a few tickets (face value) to the following games:

• August 31:  Temple
• September 21:  Michigan State
• October 5:  Arizona State @ Cowboys Stadium
• November 2:  Navy
• November 23:  BYU

Ian Williams Battling for Starting Spot -- 49ers

Former Notre Dame defensive tackle Ian Williams is in a battle right now with former LSU star Glen Dorsey for the starting nose tackle position in the San Francisco 49ers' "3-4" defense.  Here's the story:

LINK:  WILLIAMS BATTLING TO START

Domer Nominated Brigadier General

A former student manager for Lou Holtz -- Bryan Fenton '87, was nominated earlier this month by President Obama to become Brigadier General.  The career Special Forces officer is currently director of operations, Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

LINK:  GREAT HONOR

LINK:  WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BRIGADIER GENERAL

Notre Dame's New Adidas Football Shoes

Notre Dame Football Equipment Manager, Ryan Grooms -- "tweeted" this photo today of the Adidas shoes the IRISH will be wearing this season.  Over 700 pairs showed up today...

Notre Dame Football Cancer Bowling Benefit

A few members of the Notre Dame football team were at Mishawaka's "Strikes n' Spares" this Sunday morning to raise money for cancer research.  The gang at WNDU-TV tagged along and filed this story -- there is a second link to a story in the South Bend Tribune:

LINK:  FIGHTING CANCER

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE STORY

Photo of Notre Dame's New Rugby Field

As you can see they're getting close to completing the work on a new "field turf" playing surface for Notre Dame's rugby teams and recreational sports.  It's located in an area just east and north of Stepan Center.

OT: Dick and Rick Hoyt -- A Love Story...

If you ever think you CAN'T -- you better watch this!  I know I'll be tuning in to Wednesday night's ESPY AWARDS on ESPN to see Dick and Rick receive the "Jimmy V Award."  Won't be a dry eye in the place.

LINK:  A STORY FOR THE AGES

LINK:  ESPY'S TO HONOR THE HOYT'S

Cajun Creole Food Coming to Notre Dame?

Word on the street and the South Bend Tribune is that YATS -- a Cajun Creole restaurant -- is in negotiations to set up shop at Eddy Street Commons. 

Their story is CAJUN. CREOLE. CRAZY.  Sounds like fun!

LINK:  CAJUN CREOLE AT NOTRE DAME

LINK:  YATS OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Melani Ismail in Concert -- Rocket's Wife

Former Notre Dame All-American Rocket Ismail is married to Melani Ismail -- who just happens to be an accomplished singer/songwriter and author...

Some of you may remember Melani from the VH1 show "Football Wives" which she starred in.

Melani and Rocket are the proud parents of four kids.

LINK:  MELANI IN CONCERT

Notre Dame to Face 13th Toughest Schedule

Phil Steele just came out with his analysis of the toughest schedules for the upcoming 2013 college football season and Notre Dame's opponents rank the #13 most difficult.  Here's a link:

LINK:  PHIL STEELE -- MOST DIFFICULT SCHEDULES

Alan Page's Kids Book Concerning His Pinky!

Former Notre Dame All-American, NFL Hall of Famer and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice -- Alan Page, recently wrote a children's book with his daughter...

The title "Alan and His Perfectly Pointy, Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky" -- speaks to a broken pinky finger from his days with the Minnesota Vikings.  (see the broken pinky finger in above photo)

Here's a link to a TV interview of Alan and his daughter Kamie:


LINK:  ALAN PAGE'S CHILDREN'S BOOK

Skylar Has a Professional Basketball First

Former Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins led her Tulsa Shock in scoring last night in their loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.  It was the FIRST TIME in her WNBA career that she was her team's leading scorer.  Skylar finished with 19 points -- here's the story:

LINK:  SKYLAR LEADS SHOCK

ACE Celebrates 20 Years With National Tour

Keep an eye out this summer for this BUS -- which carries the name of every Catholic school in America.  Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) will be celebrating their twentieth anniversary with a national bus tour that will take it to more than 40 cities.

Here's a little more information:

LINK:  NATIONAL BUS TOUR

Everett Golson Story in The Sporting News

The Sporting News' Matt Hayes penned a nice story about former Notre Dame student-athlete Everett Golson -- it's a story all Irish fans should read!

LINK:  EVERETT GOLSON

Photo of the Day: Fitting the Irish Freshmen

Notre Dame Football's Equipment Manager -- Ryan Grooms "tweeted this photo" of the "practice helmets" he's preparing for the freshmen football players for the Fightin' Irish!

America's Most Famous Investor's SECRET!

You'll find this sign in the office of one Warren Buffet -- the world's third richest man...


LINK:  INVEST LIKE A CHAMPION

Three NFL Domers -- Travel to the UK

The Minnesota Vikings and the NFL sent three former Notre Dame football stars to the United Kingdom to promote their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this September at Wembley Stadium. 

Along the way -- John Sullivan, Kyle Rudolph and Harrison Smith learned a new game...

LINK:  THREE FORMER IRISH FOOTBALL STARS

QB Everett Golson Gives First TV Interview

A TV station in Myrtle Beach, SC caught up with former Notre Dame student-athlete Everett Golson as he was preparing to play in a basketball game.  Golson didn't want to answer any questions about what happened -- but, he did say he was coming back...

Click on the link below to watch the entire interview:

LINK:  EVERETT GOLSON INTERVIEW

Zack Martin: The Leader of ND Football 2013

 

He's one of the best left tackles in college football -- and if you remember recruiting rankings he wasn't one of the most sought after high school stars at his position...

Yet today -- as Coach Martin will tell you; "He's the best player at his position in our football program."  Pretty high praise.  Notre Dame fans will enjoy this story:

LINK:  COUNT ON ME

Taking a "Little Vacation" Away From the Blog

I promised my wife Susan that I'd put the computer down for a few days -- not going to be easy.

Going "unplugged" for the next 119 hours...

When I get back up on the blog there will only be 52 days until the start of the 2013 Notre Dame football season!  See you Wednesday!

GO IRISH!