March 2009 Entries
It was only in the mid-40s, temperature-wise, as the Notre Dame football team practiced at the LaBar Complex, but the bright sunshine made it feel much warmer. (I was wearing a sweater, which probably didn't hurt, either.)
There was a big group of prospective international students on the field today, and they had their picture taken with Charlie Weis while the team was stretching. They looked to be enjoying themselves, even if they weren't necessarily well-versed on the rules of the game. I overhead director of football operations Chad Klunder explaining the kickoff at one point. If they end up enrolling...
Documenting these open practices is a battle between not wanting to leave out any important details and not wanting to sit in front of my computer all night. So with that in mind, here we go:
Along with all the coaches in town for Notre Dame’s coaches clinic, one of the visitors to Saturday’s practice at the Loftus Center was former Irish safety Chinedum Ndukwe, now with the Cincinnati Bengals. Some of the players shouted “Nedu!” when he walked in. New Miami of Ohio coach Mike Haywood was also on hand, as were verbal commitments Daniel Smith and Christian Lombard.
Among those...
Joe Montana was in the house for Wednesday's practice at the LaBar Complex, where the winds made it seem a lot colder than 57 degrees.
The defense ran a pursuit drill to start the post-stretching portion of practice. Here's how the first couple of groups lined up:
First Group
Safeties: Kyle McCarthy, Harrison Smith
Cornerbacks: Raeshon McNeil, Robert Blanton
Linebackers: Brian Smith, Toryan Smith, Scott Smith
Defensive line: Kapron Lewis-Moore, Ethan Johnson, Ian Williams, John Ryan
Second Group
Safeties: Sergio Brown, Dan McCarthy
Cornerbacks: Darrin Walls, Jamoris Slaughter
Linebackers: David Posluszny, Zeke Motta, Steve Filer
Defensive line: Morrice Richardson, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Hafis Williams, Emeka Nwankwo
Charlie Weis had plenty of sarcastic comments...
Kentucky and Notre Dame have played in basketball four times this decade — it'll be five after Wednesday's NIT game — but unless they meet in another tournament someday, this could be the last time the two face each other for quite a while.
UK, which has won 10 in a row over Notre Dame and leads the all-time series 41-17, played a four-year home-and-home with Notre Dame from 2001-04, starting with a meeting at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Irish coach Mike Brey, who's sometimes criticized by fans for putting together soft non-conference schedules, "blames" former coach John MacLeod for making...
Notre Dame practiced inside the Loftus Center on Monday, in full pads. The word of the day — or at least the word that broke the huddle — was "Compete!"
A few recruits on hand today, including two guys from St. Louis' Chaminade College Prep School — running back Rob Standard and quarterback Christan Suntrup. I also saw a couple T-shirts from DeSmet Jesuit High School, also in St. Louis. The quarterback there, Steven Kaiser, is a 2010 prospect.
Irish lineman Taylor Dever was riding the stationary bike when the media entered practice, but jumped down to join the rest of his...
A chilly day for the second day of spring practice at the LaBar Practice Complex, but that didn't stop Irish commitment Daniel Smith and recruit Blake Lueders from taking in the action. Notre Dame player Steve Filer's father was also at practice.
Receiver Duval Kamara had a big brace on his left arm, as you can kind of see in this bad picture, but it didn't seem to be affecting him much.
Tight end Mike Ragone, back after an injury sidelined him last year, has a brace on his left knee, but that's not much of a surprise.
Yesterday I mentioned the new...
Amid all the March Madness — NCAA, NIT and otherwise — spring football began Friday afternoon at Notre Dame under sunny skies, though with temperatures only in the low 40s.
There were a few new faces and sights on the LaBar Practice Fields today, and we'll get to some of them in this post and some more over the next few weeks. The first thing I noticed, actually, was this a piece of equipment that looked like this:
I'm not sure exactly what the main point of this is, though obviously it eliminates the need for a receiver while the QB throws,...
Notre Dame's men's basketball team was seeded second in Creighton's quarter of the NIT bracket and will play at home on Tuesday night against seventh-seeded UAB, coached by former Indiana coach Mike Davis. The game starts at 9 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.
If the Irish win, they'll play host to either New Mexico — which features ex-Concord star Dairese Gary and is coached by Steve Alford — or Nebraska. That game could be played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Monday the 23rd, but it'll most likely be Thursday or Friday, because Notre Dame is hosting rounds 1 and...
From the Notre Dame ticket office:
Ticket Information for 2009 Blue-Gold Spring Football Festival
80th annual Blue-Gold game set for Saturday, April 18 at 1:35 pm
TICKET INFORMATION
* Blue-Gold Tickets go on sale beginning Tuesday, March 17th at 8:30 a.m.
(Notre Dame is in the Eastern Time Zone)
* Tickets may be purchased online at www.und.com/tickets, in person at the
Joyce Center Gate 1 Box Office, by telephone at (574) 631-7356 or by mailing
the ticket form from this brochure to:
University of Notre Dame Ticket Office
113 Joyce Center
Notre Dame, IN 46556
* Press Box, VIP Brunch and Reserved Gold tickets are available for sale
ONLY via telephone at (574)...