A Notre Dame Football Blog
You could feel that something special was going to happen Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion. Those in attendance were hoping to see if Coach Brey could lead the Fighting Irish to magical win 394, topping Irish coaching legend Digger Phelps. Among all the excitement, there was a sense of concern as well. The day before, we learned that the Irish would be without Captain Bonzie Colson due to a broken foot. However, ACC play stops for no one. So let's jump into the game recap and see ...
With the Irish at 16-2 and 5-0 in the ACC, the remainder of the NCAA basketball season looks as promising as the previous few under Mike Brey. I’ll admit as a kid, basketball always took a back seat to football in that the Irish football teams were typically better and I generally prefer football as a sport. As I got into my teen years, the gap widened as the Digger Phelps era gave way to John MacLeod. It might be said that Troy Murphy single-handedly brought me back to Notre Dame ...
A generous fellow named Murphy has just endowed the men’s basketball coachship. This goes along with previous endowments for the women’s basketball coachship, the lacrosse coachship, and of course, the football coachship. The defensive backs coachship is also endowed, and even the athletic directorship. Some people think this is crass, that only professorships should be endowed. I don’t have any problem with setting money aside to pay coaches, since it frees up funds to be used elsewhere. But I ...
There is a class of third-graders in California that has adopted the University as something of learning partner, teacher’s aide, and mentor. These young lads and lasses call themselves the Notre Dame Class of 2029. I enthusiastically applaud this kind of bold, audacious vision and aspiration; after all, in 1842, I declared a mildewed log cabin on the Midwestern American tundra to be a University. Didn’t go from mission to school to college – never used the word ‘impossible’ – didn’t bother to ...
How do you describe the indescribable? How do you treat the supernatural with the respect it deserves? These are the questions I struggle with attempting to write a piece about Mike Brey today. It’s easy to write a glowing piece about the coach coming off a tremendous win. While I don’t apologize for getting to do so, I worry that it cheapens what I’m about to write. I stress because I have so many words stuck in my mind about Mike Brey right now, and I don’t think a single one does him justice. ...
“This group should be remembered. When it’s all said and done – we’re going to play for a long time. Our season’s going to go for a while. We should be remembered for things that happened in Notre Dame basketball that’s never happened before.” – Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey It’s seven weeks before Selection Sunday, and Showtime has brought its cameras to two college basketball programs that are both on surprising upswings. After disappointing 2013-14 campaigns, the Notre ...
This week I had a chance to sit down with fellow Notre Dame author, Jerry Barca. His current book "Unbeatable," which details the 1988 National Title winning team, is being released on paperback on August 5th. Here are Jerry's thoughts on field turf, the '88 championship team and what makes Notre Dame such a special place. How did you first become a Notre Dame fan? Jerry Barca: I was born Irish-Italian and Catholic in New Jersey. I don’t think there was much choice about it. It was just ...
Eric Atkins and Mike Brey look on as the Irish fall to Wake Forrest in the ACC tournament. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The 2013-2014 Notre Dame men's basketball season is a frustrating thing to deconstruct. On one hand, you have one of the most incredible snake-bitten season's possible with the academic suspension of Jerian Grant, Austin Burgett needing heart surgery of all things, Demetrius Jackson had his own academic issues for a short while, and Cameron Biedscheid going from redshirt to transfer. On the other hand, you have simply the worst Fighting Irish basketball season in the Mike Brey era, ending the ...
Every year, the Notre Dame Club of Dallas gets ready for the upcoming Notre Dame football season with our annual kickoff party. The event allows our membership to enjoy to some food and drinks while we raise money via live auction for our scholarship fund, given annually to local Dallas students that attend ND (as a reference, last year, ND Dallas gave $70,000 out to 22 deserving students). One of the highlights of this event though, is the special guest that comes to talk to the club and ...
Last week, I was definitely worried about Notre Dame facing off against Iowa State. I didn't like the matchup. I picked against the Irish in every bracket I entered. I went into Friday night expecting the worst. What happened was beyond anything I could've possibly imagined. ...