Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Team in Europe

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team is in Europe for a 10-day trip overseas which will act as a chance for the Irish to play foreign competition, a way to participate in athletic statesmanship, a fun excursion and a chance to team-build. The Irish have already played the French Junior National Team, which they killed 77-44.

One cool thing the Irish have set up while in France is a journal entry. Senior guard Melissa Lechlitner has a diary available online for viewing. Every day she retells the adventures the team is currently going through. Yesterday the team went to Nice by train and then hung out at the beach along the French Rivera, eating gelato and signing autographs. Boy wouldn’t that be nice!

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 13, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame’s Golden Tate Featured in ESPN

Ivan Maisel, writer for ESPN, has a feature on Golden Tate, a two sport star at Notre Dame. Tate was picked not because he’s particularly good at football or particularly good at baseball, but because he’s good at both. Two-sport athletes are becoming increasingly rare these days.

Why are two sport athletes like Golden Tate becoming less and less common? Well, as competition gets more fierce, a more intense dedication to sport must necessarily follow. If you want to be the best high school football player possible, the pressure is on to play football all year round, giving you an advantage over athletes who play soccer, baseball, track or basketball in the other seasons.

However, athletes with pure, natural abilities like Golden Tate can excel at two sports. Former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija (2.28 ERA last year with the Chicago Cubs) used to be a star wide receiver with the Irish, just like Golden Tate. Other two-sport stars like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders are relatively easy to find in years’ past. But can you think of a two-sport star playing professional sports today?

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 12, 2009 - Post a comment

What’s Charlie Weis’ Magic Number?

As the next college football season gets closer and closer, talk about the coaching situation at the top football schools in the country will get louder and louder. Perhaps no coach in the game will be under more scrutiny than Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis, who has been on the hot seat before.

Just two years ago the Irish won only 3 games. That was the worst record for the team, perhaps in its entire history. Last year the regular season ended with a .500 record and the Fighting Irish went on to win a bowl game. This year, the football experts are thinking that the Irish will have to be “in the BCS discussion” in order for Charlie Weis to keep his job. Jack Swarbrick, AD at Notre Dame, might or might not have a number of minimum victories in his mind. Let the speculation begin.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 11, 2009 - Post a comment

Kyle McAlarney to Play Pro in Europe?

Notre Dame shooting guard Kyle McAlarney wants to play in the NBA one day. The trouble? He’s widely considered to be too short, too slow and not developed enough to get drafted or picked up as a free agent anytime soon. Clearly the kid can play ball, though, so there are options for a potential path to the NBA. The most obvious route is through a couple of seasons of playing pro basketball in Europe. It’s been done before. Players have come out of college to play in Europe, earn some cash, improve their game and then eventually get to the most elite league, the NBA. According to the South Bend Tribune, McAlarney said of a possible trip across the Atlantic:

“If I have to go overseas first, I wouldn’t be devastated. I’d embrace it whole-heartedly. I just want to play…. Wherever it takes me, I’m not worried about it.”

Hopefully you can achieve your dreams, Kyle. The Notre Dame Blog would like to wish you good luck in the summer basketball camps, and good fortune in all of your future endeavors.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 8, 2009 - Post a comment

It’s Official: UND Student-Athletes Best in the Classroom!

The University of Notre Dame’s student-athletes are hands down the smartest student-athletes in the nation. According to the recently released APR (Academic Progress Report) data, the University of Notre Dame was the top Football Bowl Subdivision school in the country in regards to their performance in the classroom. Each sport in each school is graded on a number of things- from grades to graduation rates, and assigned a score from 1-1,000. Nine Notre Dame sports teams earned perfect 1,000 scores, more than any other Bowl school. The average APR for Notre Dame was well above the rest. Here are a few schools that got their blue books handed to them. Notre Dame athletes are smarter than athletes at:

  • Duke
  • Boston College
  • Stanford
  • U.S. Naval Academy
  • Michigan
  • Rutgers
  • Rice
  • Miami
  • Penn State
  • Georgia
  • Northwestern
  • North Carolina

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 7, 2009 - Post a comment

No Big Ten Switch in Football

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team won’t play in the Big Ten Conference anytime soon. The last time there was a serious move to take the Notre Dame Football team to a real conference was back in the late 1990s, when it was widely speculated that the Domers would move into the Big Ten.  After recent remarks by Penn State coach Joe Paterno, a guy with more than a little bit of clout in the college football world, it was seen as a possibility that the Big Ten (which currently has 11 team as football members) might add one or two more teams. The obvious choice would be Notre Dame. However, the idea was shot down.

The benefits of joining a conference like the Big Ten are many. Games won’t be all over the place near the end of the season. You’ll get to stack up against other top notch teams in the conference standings, thus making your power level more easily definable. However, joining the Big Ten would mean the Irish have a more restrictive schedule. It might be harder to get into a bowl game. For now, at least, the Irish will remain independent.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 6, 2009 - Post a comment

Get Your Notre Dame News via Tweets

Are you a Domer supporter who only has time to read 140 characters or fewer? If so: http://twitter.com/UND_com. That was the official Twitter page for the University of Notre Dame Athletics Department. A combination of organizations within UND athletics has teamed up to provide the more up-to-the-minute sports news and information regarding your Notre Dame Fighting Irish sports teams and athletes- all of them, from football to swimming to basketball to fencing.

Twitter is the fastest-growing social networking tool around. Basically, you get about one sentence to answer the question: What are you doing?  Most individuals with this service update their Twitter through “tweets” from their Blackberries and computers. Common tweets would be “Going to the bar to watch UND- who’s in?” or “Just got two Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets to the football home opener. Who needs a seat?” So far Notre Dame is using the service to update fans on the accomplishments of UND athletes. Check it out!

To get Notre Dame Fighting Irish tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on May 5, 2009 - Post a comment

Notre Dame Basketball by the Numbers

Can’t stop thinking about the past season of Notre Dame basketball?  Neither can we.  The Irish came into the season with some very optimistic expectations, fell into some horrible parts of the regular season, and then did respectably well in the NIT.  What just happened, you ask?  Why don’t you take a trip on over to KenPom.com, where the Notre Dame team page will give you more than enough statistical information to go over.

As you’ll see, from an individual player perspective Luke Harangody was basically the whole team. He did everything- score, rebound, dish assists. Rightfully, he was an All-American. Let’s just hope he comes back

Looking at the schedule, the glaring splash of red in the middle of the season jumps out. Who could forget the seven-game losing streak in the middle of the Big East portion of the schedule?

Looking at the scouting report, we can see that there were several things the Irish did well- they held onto the ball on offense- best in the nation, in fact. However, they were unable to get any steals on defense. They shot the three bal well and had a high overall offensive efficiency.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 4, 2009 - Post a comment

Tim Brown Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

Tim Brown is a football legend at Notre Dame. His name belongs in the same sentences of Montana, Rudy, Knute and the Gipper. His time spent playing football for the Irish was masterful, prolific and worthy of the highest praise. Just the other day he got his just reward. Tim Brown has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Tim Brown was a two-time All-American while playing wide receiver for the Irish. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment while on the team was when he won the Heisman Trophy in 1987. He set over a dozen receiving records for the Irish and then went on to have a sparkling career in the NFL.  Congratulations are in order for Tim Brown. He joins 43 other Notre Dame alums in the Hall of Fame.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 1, 2009 - Post a comment


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