Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas

It was a big day in the Carolinas on Saturday. The Civil War between North and South Carolina finally arrived. Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas , as it is called, was played. Ben Councell is part of a linebacking crew that did very well. He was also listed in the top ten players of the game. Ben Councell blocked a punt for his North Carolina side and Everett Golson played well in the win for the South. Councell was one of the only bright spots for a North Carolina team that was handled pretty much all day.

Cloak of darkness

In a recent story, Notre Dame has issued a STATEMENTthat basically says we are not governed by NORMAL police investigations.

We yell and scream when other institutions cover up for athletes and now we are that institution.

A young girl has died, a football player is accused of assault prior to her suicide. Whether on has anything to do with the other, Notre Dame is on damage control and it has the feeling of a story similiar to the Davinci Code and the Knights Templar

I don't think the football player should be held accountable unless proven otherwise, but the attack was not investigated as it should have been. Too many girls/women are attacked and a lot of them do not report incidents because of shame, embarassment and bullying. Let's hope the University does the right thing and let the investigation continue unimpeded.

News and Notes

Graduation Rates Highest

Chris Stewart, The Campbell Finalist, not the Soup

Miami looking forward to matchup with Notre Dame

Everett Golson Legacy

Kelly talks a little trash

Weis has the last word...LINK

From LSJ.com

It was following the MSU-Notre Dame football game in 2004 that 20 people ended up in Lansing-area emergency rooms with blood alcohol levels in excess of 0.30 percent, a situation physicians regarded as life-threatening

Just as I feared...LINK

Of course it is time for the head coach at Notre Dame to take some heat. So if you see Charlie standing next to Dayne Crist next season, hopefully he knows what the defense is running, and Clausen connects on a long pass to Kamara or Floyd. It was obvious to this observer that last season the Irish barely knew what play they were running let alone the other team. The scandal that really isn't is making it difficult to listen to my Talk Radio. I am tired of hearing about the Patriots and the "So Called" cheating. Everyone has done it and they will continue to figure out ways to try and bend the system. Just play the game and punch the other guy in the mouth. Hopefully ND will man-up next season and play like we want.

It's ND's Party And You Can Play If You Want To...

MY GAME

In more important news...

It was a hard fought battle, but the Notre Dame Leprechaun beat out Bucky Badger and the PSU Lion to win Pros Vs. Joes.

Yeatman and Lacrosse Update...

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Hat tricks from sophomore Ryan Hoff (Baldwin, Md./Dulaney) and freshman Will Yeatman (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) propelled the No. 19 Notre Dame men's lacrosse team to an 11-3 win over Bellarmine on Tuesday afternoon at Moose Krause Stadium. The contest was the 2007 Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) opener for both squads and just the second meeting ever between the two schools. Bellarmine is in its first season as a member of the GWLL.

Hat Trick for Yeatman -- (CSTV-ND Lacrosse)

3. 5 . 07

Chat With Derek Landri -- (ESPN)

The Vikings weren't the only team with a big delegation -- including owner Zygi Wilf -- at the workout of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday. The Browns had an equally large group there, including their owner. The Browns draft third, four spots ahead of the Vikings. Houston, which drafts eighth, has talked to teams about moving up so it can draft Quinn, who did a good job of selling himself on Sunday. -- (ST)

The Florida Gators became the first Southeastern Conference team to win six in a row against the Wildcats. Only Notre Dame has won seven straight against the storied program. -- (SAR)

Zibby ready for fight -- (FWJG)

Who killed the American Indian....?

The NCAA did!

The Chiefs Last Dance VIDEO

I have taken major issue with the situtation of the NCAA and their holier than thou authoritative dictatorial way of running their World. The right to express yourself is only applicable to issues one agrees with the other side. Any free thought or thinking processes are Not allowed in the world of the NCAA.

How long will it take for all schools to lose scholorships or funding for not complying with these regulations. Oh wait, it already has begun.

My issue right now is with the Illinois Board for folding to the pressures. There are always two sides to the story, but only one side gets their word to matter.

Arguments for the Chief are strong. To early Illinois Indian tribes, the word “Illiniwek” meant “we are men,” or “the complete man.” Football Coach Bob Zuppke is believed to have been the first person to use the expression “Illiniwek” in describing the strength of the character of his teams: “The complete man, the strong, physical man, the intellectual man, and the spiritual man.” The name “Illiniwek” would later prove the perfect complement to the symbol chosen to represent the tradition of Illinois’ athletics.

Does the Chief Illiniwek tradition create a racist environment?

There is no evidence that this noble symbol has created a racist or hostile climate. Actually, there are several facts to the contrary:

• 
  In 1980, 8% of the undergraduate population of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were identified as minorities. Today, that number has risen to 26.1%. Within the Big Ten, the University of Illinois ranks consistently among the top three in terms of minority undergraduates.
• 
  Minority tenured and tenure-track faculty has increased by 100% since 1990. In that same time period, the number of minority academic professionals has increased by 75%.
  According to the 1990 U.S. Census, 0.2% of the population in the State of Illinois identified itself as "American Indian." That percentage is identical to the current number of Native American students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• 
  Following a 20-month investigation, the decision of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (11/30/95) concluded that there was insufficient evidence to show that a racially hostile environment existed at the University.

Because this action has created a precedent potentially threatens other institutions and other states, legislation been introduced into Congress to stop the intrusive actions of the NCAA. HR 5289, called the Protection of University Governance Act of 2006, would not include or preclude any policy or position, but it does enforce state rights to self-determination. When passed, the law will return the NCAA to its rightful role as a sports monitor and not social engineer.

Letter to NCAA from University of North Dakota President Charles Kupchella
- from GrandForksHerald.com (June 10, 2006)

READ IT HERE

Why is this important?

In his Ash Wednesday homily Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, the primate of All Ireland, asks:

Has the time not come for us to ditch, once and for all, the caricature of the drunken Irish and to consign it to the realm of history along with the slur of the Fighting Irish? [emphasis added]

Slur? Does that mean the term shouldn't be used?

American college football fans have already seen Redmen and Warriors morph into politically-correct birds and mammals. Now the Fighting Illini will be what, The Urbanaites? But if the day comes when you see the leprechaun in the South Bend unemployment line, you can kiss the Notre Dame endowment goodbye.

Maybe it's just my rant to the world, but we can't let this continue. First the NCAA gets to choose our seed for the upcoming tournament this weekend. What's next, each team going with a number based on longitude and latitude, or maybe just a number. We could be the fighting 125th's, or the 41° 40' 29" -- -86° 14' 55". Which I personally feel is too long.....

Would that make everyone happy? Probably not. There has to be a group that is against numbers.

Basketball Diary 3.2.07

Preview Rutgers Game -- (C)

Focus on Rutgers -- (AP)

Irish close out season -- (UND)

Hoops News -- (IE)

3.1.07

The Brackets -- (FSN)

Ara & Lou -- (Observer)

All District Team -- (CSTV)

Blue-Gold Game -- (CSTV)

Luke Harangody FOW -- (CSTV)

Hobey Baker -- (SBT)

Freshman Boost -- (SN)

Hobey Baker Watch -- (CSTV)

In the spotlight

Only those closest to Charlie Weis were supposed to know. The Notre Dame football coach, then offensive coordinator for the Patriots, checked into Massachusetts General Hospital in 2002 under an assumed name.

Weis Trial

Notre Dame Offers for 2008

Notre Dame 2008 Prospects -- (B&G)

NFL Combine Information

Preview

Schedule

Pro Day Schedule

NFL Team Needs

Now Were Talking

Finally the Irish put a full game together and got rid of the Demons and did it early. That is 3 for 3 in MY 3 must wins. Now comes Marquette. A win Saturday will almost for sure guarantee a bye in the first round of the B.E. Tourney. We will take a look at Marquette on Friday, but for now, this was a very good win. Even if it was at Home.

Team Effort -- (IE)

3 in a Row -- (BE)

Stats -- (UND)

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of a win on Saturdays..

I have been a Notre Dame fan since 1968. My family had just moved here from Israel and we were settled into our humble apartment in Miami Florida. I was just 5 years old and a couple of months from my sixth birthday.

Coming from Israel and not speaking the language was difficult enough, but not ever seeing a Television with programming from the United States, that is another matter. I remember sailing across the Atlantic on the Queen Anna Maria. I remember coming into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty. I still remember the faces of my parents as they looked at her and wept. I can remember the plane ride down to Miami and getting in on a Saturday. Me and my brothers all huddled around the television and watched Cartoons. We were amazed.

We went to bed and when I woke up on Sunday morning I ran into a channel showing a game I had never seen. It was the Ara Parseghian Show and the game was football. The pageantry of the half-time show and the leprechaun caught my eye, but the game, WOW! From that day forward, I have been a fan of the Fighting Irish. Looking back at historical game data, I now know that the show was after the Win. It was a 45-21 victory over Oklahoma.

Even after years in the Miami area and the rest of the family being Cane fans, I stuck with the Irish. Catholics v. Convicts was always a treat at my home.

As we ponder the questions about Life, about meaning and the truth behind liquid soap, we must come up with WHY is Notre Dame important. Well I found it. I know it is an old article, but it sums up the meaning in some fashion. At least to me that is.

READ THE STORY HERE

Power Hour

Irish Eyes Power Hour Tonight.

We have another great show lined up for tonight's show. Joining us will defensive line prospect Sean Cwynar and linebacker prospect David Posluszny. We'll also take your calls and answer your questions via e-mail. Don't miss the show!

2.20.07

“You make sure that you commit. It’s more than just committing. It’s a life lesson on giving your word on something. I know circumstances can change, but you want to be known as a guy on your word.”

It was the point Golic stressed to his son – important considering Weis made a similar philosophy known during his signing day news conference less than two weeks ago about how he’ll handle recruiting in the future.

HONOR -- (FWJG)

Little Time To Enjoy -- (FWJG)

Quinn Silencing Doubters -- (SBT)

The Haunting -- (SBT)

He's a Legacy, He has to get in

From Rivals: Notre Dame started its next recruiting class on Monday with a familiar name that came on board in an unconventional way. The Irish received a verbal commitment from offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr., son of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Mike Golic Sr., while the standout from West Hartford, Conn., was in the middle of a class trip to Italy.

6'5" 265 lb Offensive Tackle will be a welcome addition to the 2008 class. He was an S class all star in Connecticut and had interest in OSU, USC and UMiami.

Last year the first commit, Kerry Neal, did so on Feb. 24th. And like Neal, I expect this committment to stick through 2008. Charlie has stated that once you commit to Notre Dame, You are Committed to Notre Dame. Don't look elsewhere or you're gone. I like that tactic and think it will be very good in the long run. No more Chicken Littles on NSD.

2.19.07

Big Boss Man -- (Blue Gray Sky)

Ayers Apparent -- (SBT)

Falls Champion -- (SBT)

Quinn and Pressure --(Rock Report)

Light Amid Darkness -- (Cincy Enquirer)

UC Struggles -- (Cincy Enquirer)