April 2009 Entries
Notre Dame football players Dayne Crist, Joseph Fauria and Jonas Gray teamed up to win the annual Bookstore basketball tournament, winning 21-19 in the final. Fauria — who's 6-foot-7, remember — was the tournament MVP.
You can read the Notre Dame Observer's story on the game here.
The Gold team won Saturday's Notre Dame alumni flag football game in dramatic fashion on a length-of-the-field interception return with 3 minutes to play by Ajani Sanders. The final score was 20-14 and Sanders, understandably, was named unanimous MVP for his James Harrison-like effort.
Pat Steenberge was the quarterback and other participants included Melvin Dansby, Dean Lytle, Lee Becton and Ray Zellars.
Brian Boulac was the coach on the field with Tony Yelovich assisting from the press box. Tim Brown watched the game from the field while wearing a Heisman Trophy T-shirt.
Coach Lou Holtz on Saturday picked 50 players for the eventual 60-man roster for the Notre Dame Japan Bowl, to be held July 25 in Tokyo. There are 10 roster spots left, obviously, and they're being held for players who are currently NFL free agents or couldn't make the tryouts, plus there are a few players who worked out Saturday still under consideration. There are also 10 alternates, Holtz said, "in case I shoot somebody." (Good old Lou.) Around 80 former Irish players showed up for tryouts on Saturday morning on campus.
“The best thing I see about this is...
<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=206dc4ed4b" _fcksavedurl="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=206dc4ed4b" >Blue-Gold Live Blog</a>
Two freshmen — linebacker Zeke Motta and defensive lineman Tyler Stockton — will play in Saturday's Notre Dame Blue-Gold scrimmage, but a third, cornerback E.J. Banks, will have to wait until the fall before suiting up for the Irish.
Banks is out after tearing his ACL during a high school playoff game last November in Pennsylvania. He had surgery right before Thanksgiving. Banks said he'll be able to put on pads early this summer and step up his workouts, then be back to normal by August.
"Full go," he said.
Banks said he wants to be "as prepared as possible" mentally, though the...
Now available at the Notre Dame bookstore:
Can't say this gives me goosebumps or anything, but then again, I'm not really the target audience. Still, the proceeds go to a good cause, and everyone else will be wearing it, so you might as well pick one up.
Don't forget about our Blue-Gold live blog on Saturday:
<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=bcfb5f8525" _fcksavedurl="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=bcfb5f8525" >Notre Dame Blue/Gold Game Live Blog</a>
Consider this your invitation to join our live blog/chat during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold scrimmage on Saturday. For those who can't be at the game, I'll be giving updates and taking questions during the scrimmage, and if you're coming to the game and want to use Twitter to post a comment, include the hashtag #bluegold on your tweets.
We'll start a few minutes before kickoff on Saturday.
<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=bcfb5f8525" _fcksavedurl="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=bcfb5f8525" >Notre Dame Blue/Gold Game Live Blog</a>
Notre Dame offensive lineman Sam Young has been named a first-team preseason All-American by the Web site nationalchamps.net. Golden Tate and Eric Olsen earned honorable mention All-American.
Jimmy Clausen is on the Web site's list of Heisman candidates, though you have to scroll down pretty far to find him.
Notre Dame junior forward Luke Harangody will make himself available for the NBA draft but not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility that he could return to the Irish next season.
Harangody announced his decision at a press conference Thursday on campus.
“I sat down with Coach and discussed the factors that went into it and decided it would be a good chance to put my name in and keep my eligibility and see where I stand,” Harangody said.
Harangody said he was entering the process “full speed” with the goal of staying in the draft, but wouldn’t be disappointed if NBA...
Actually, you get more than 20 minutes' worth of observations today, because Notre Dame extended the practice-viewing window for the last open-to-the-media workout before Saturday's Blue-Gold scrimmage. Speaking of the Blue-Gold scrimmage, I'll be hosting a live-blog/chat for Saturday's scrimmage here on our Web site if you can't make it out to the game. I'll be taking questions and giving updates and observations on what's going on in the stadium. Check back here for a link to all the festivities on Saturday.
OK, on to Wednesday's practice:
The Irish were in full pads for the workout, which was outdoors at the LaBar...
Notre Dame guard Kyle McAlarney went 2-for-6 from the floor and scored five points in 28 minutes as his Sales Systems LTD team lost to Norfolk Naval Shipyard 72-69 Saturday in the final of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an event for college seniors to showcase their talents for NBA scouts. (I apologize, but I can't these stories to link, so you'll have to cut-and-paste these URLs: http://www.portsmouthinvitational.com/boxscores/2009_Game_12.html)
For the tournament, McAlarney scored 25 points in three games, going 9-of-30 from the floor (including 5-of-16 from 3-point range), went 2-of-2 from the line, pulled down five rebounds and dished out nine assists....
After a slow spring, it's going to be a busy summer for Notre Dame sophomore Darius Fleming.
Fleming is limited in spring practice because of a shoulder injury (he calls it "nothing big"), which means he'll be doing most of the preparation for his move to the Sam linebacker spot over the summer at home in Chicago.
Fleming played the Will linebacker position last season, which was essentially a defensive end in Notre Dame's 3-4 personnel grouping. He'll be going from a three-point stance to standing up in the Irish defense next season.
"I feel like I'm a pretty versatile player," Fleming said....
Wednesday's practice was Notre Dame's last for a week with Easter Break coming up this weekend, and apparently the energy the players showed at the start wasn't good enough for coach Charlie Weis.
"If that's what we're gonna get, it's gonna be a long day out here," Weis bellowed, sending the Irish back to the goal line to sprint out to their stretching positions again. They did, with considerably more whooping and hollering.
One thing Weis might've missed during the first run-out was safety Sergio Brown, full pads and all, hurdling assistant coach Brian Polian. And Polian was standing at the time....
As expected, Notre Dame cornerback Mike Anello, offensive tackle Paul Duncan, safeties Ray Herring and Kyle McCarthy and linebacker Scott Smith have been approved to return for a fifth year by the school's Faculty Board on Athletics.
"We are happy to officially include all five players onto our roster. Their leadership is greatly appreciated," Irish coach Charlie Weis said in a statement.
The players have been practicing all spring, but Weis has not been permitted to talk about them until their fifth years were officially approved.
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said Monday that running back Robert Hughes must either "lose weight or play big" to have a significant role for the Irish.
"He wants to be Armando (Allen) as far as how he runs the ball, so if he wants to be Jerome Bettis, he doesn't have to lose any weight," Weis said. "It all depends on the style he likes to run. He'll run them over, but he likes to make them miss, and if you're going to do that, dropping a few pounds is always a good thing if you're a big guy."
Weis said...
Snow — yes, snow — kept Notre Dame indoors for Monday's practice, which was opened to the media a half-hour later than expected. Jim Clausen Sr. walked past us on his way into practice and asked Michael Floyd if he was healthier, and Floyd told him he was. Clausen responded, "It's about time." (Charlie Weis, who has had all kinds of trouble keeping receivers healthy over the last month, would no doubt agree.) Kyle and Dan McCarthy's mom Janet was also on hand this afternoon.
The players were pretty lively today, led by Eric Olsen, who hustled to his spot for...
Shells and shorts for Notre Dame players for Friday's practice at the Loftus Center. I'm assuming the high winds moved practice indoors, because otherwise, it's been a pretty nice day around here. Wide receivers Michael Floyd and Duval Kamara were back at practice today, but plenty otherwise the "limited list" seemed the same.
The team broke the huddle with the chant "Go to work!" The huddle took a little longer than usual today — so much so that defensive coordinator Corwin Brown was standing off to the side humming the "Jeopardy!" theme.
When the huddle did finally break, Notre Dame's defense lined...
Notre Dame guard Kyle McAlarney is one of the invitees for the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a showcase for college seniors that usually draws scouts from every NBA team.
Here's a link to the full list.
Notre Dame kept it indoors on Wednesday, despite the sunny skies and mid-50s temperatures. The problem was the wind, and it really was whipping around out there. The players wore full pads for the workout.
I watched the running backs, where Armando Allen was leading the way through some agility drills. Charlie Weis stopped by just long enough to tell James Aldridge to keep his hips down, and coach Tony Alford was calling Robert Hughes "Fat Man." Maybe Hughes is this camp's version of Duval Kamara last year, though they haven't given Hughes an offensive lineman's number yet.
Alford at one point...