The Cincinnati Bengals took Eifert  with their pick, 21st overall. Te’o, however, slide out of the first round completely. This shocked quite a few Irish fans, especially after Minnesota traded up to the 29th pick, their third pick in the first round. The seemingly ever growing home for NFL Domers decided to take Tennessee WR, Cordarrelle Patterson, instead.

Yes, it was definitely disappointing to watch one of Notre Dame’s favorite sons fall out of the first round; however, it shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise, nor is it the end of the world.

Personally, my draft predictions had Eifert as the only no-doubt first round pick, with Te’o possibly sliding into the second round. While the combine results certainly weighed heavily in my decision there were several other factors in play as well.

Firstly, just look at how the first round played out. Offensive and defensive linemen ruled the round, as the majority of the elite talent was found there. Usually, you would also see a few QBs and RBs taken as well, but no RBs were taken and the only QB taken was Florida State’s E.J Manuel (another huge storyline slightly buried by the Te’o slide was Geno Smith falling to the second round). What you do not see in this first round, nor in any first round, are LBs of any kind being taken in large numbers, especially inside LBs like Te’o.

The first LB taken in the draft was Georgia’s Jarvis Jones, an OLB that excels in pass rushing, at #17 by Pittsburgh. As a pass rushing LB, he fits perfectly into the 3-4 defense of Pittsburgh whom were looking for a new sack threat. Pass rushers are always at a premium in the first round, so it is no shock Jones found his way off the board in short order.

The only other LB taken was ILB Alec Ogletree (Gerogia) who was selected by the Rams at #30. Even before the combine, many draft experts had Ogletree above Te’o, and after, there was no doubt he was above Te’o on just about everyone’s draft board. Either way, realize that it took until pick #30, the third-to-last pick of the first round for anyone at Te’o’s position to be selected.

It isn’t a huge knock on Te’o and Notre Dame fans don’t need to wonder what is wrong with teams that passed on him. The fact is that there are loads of ILBs still available and teams realize that. I expect that, when the dust settles, Te’o will still very likely be the second ILB taken in this draft and that’s nothing to be upset about in the least.

Yeah, it sucks that the payday won’t be as big, but I have a feeling someone of Te’o’s character will be perfectly fine with having to play his way into a larger contract. Feel free to be disappointed, but don’t go into “what does this mean?”, “what did Te’o do wrong?”, “did the whole Leenay thing mess this up for him?”, or “what’s wrong with NFL teams?” mode — ESPN and the NFL Network more than enough of that for everyone.

The Roundup

RIP stupid conference realignment. Our new friends at the ACC effectively killed the insanity and it all was indeed completely, bat-shit insane.

RIP BCS — we now have a new, exciting playoff which is called…The College Football Playoff. Yes, this is a thing that a group of people sat down and decided, along with the title game’s location and all the other new playoff bowls.

Coaches can use Photoshop and Twitter to recruit, this will end well. Check that, this will end hilariously.

CAST DA FIRST STONE. Twitter is the perfect medium in which to admit an NCAA violation, especially when you can claim you were hacked after your PR team turns your brain back on for you.

Notre Dame continues to collect more of the last Big East titles. This time it was Women’s Golf, who took not only the team title, but also had two golfers tie for top individual honors. And yes, they are in the Roundup because I used to manage them back in the day. Good work, ladies!

Speaking of awesome Notre Dame female athletes…Skylar Diggins has inked a contract with Jay-Z’s new agency.

Make your travel plans now. Basketball has announced their new ACC schedule, with highlights being home games against Duke and North Carolina. All kickoff times for the 2013 football season have been announced as well.

Normally, I would try to make a joke for this story. However, Holly Anderson stole all the Bon Jovi puns and I simply need to tip my cap to her.

The Beer My Liver HATES Me Right Now

To recap, two weeks ago I was in Vegas. Last weekend I was at Notre Dame pretending like I was still in college. This weekend, I will be attending a bachelor party that will start at a ranch and then move into College Station.

The weekend will include far too much beer, a trip to the Dixie Chicken and visiting far too many shot bars for my own good.

Oh, and Cinco de Mayo is next weekend.

Forget suggesting a beer, someone donate a liver for a transplant. I need it.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Sliding” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

 Coach Muffet McGraw’s Fighting Irish gave as good as they got against Geno Auriemma’s Huskies for the first fifty combined points. ND was up 26-25 with 3:44 to go in the first half when things went pear-shaped for the Irish. The half ended with Notre Dame down 39-29 and everyone wondering what happened to Skylar Diggins.

Notre Dame’s talismanic leader, Skylar Diggins was as cold last night as a mint julep cup. Limited to two points on free throws in the first, she finished her career with just ten points on a sorry 3-15 from the field. Despite her defense, 4 steals and 3 blocks, and distribution, 8 assists, she was unable to get anything going.

After that 26-25 lead was lost, nothing worked last night for ND, who never got closer than six points distant from the rampant Huskies in the second half. Swaths of time melted from the clock as Irish shots missed their mark. With the final seconds dripping away, Notre Dame ultimately crumbled and lost, 83-65.

In a city where stories are written as freely and as fast as sazeracs are poured, two freshmen penned new chapters in their teams’ legends. For UConn, Brenna Stewart led all scorers, hanging 29 points on the Irish and giving them fits on the defensive end of the court. For Notre Dame, Kayla McBride had the high hand, netting 16 points. Of the fallout from the Big East’s demise, that these two won’t be able to square off regularly is among the most disappointing.

Both teams travelled well. If you watched the early game, in which Louisville clawed back to defeat Cal and punch their ticket into the final, you saw that only about eleven people were able to free themselves from the Crescent City’s embrace and make it to the Arena. By the time the Irish tipped off, UConn and Notre Dame had sizeable contingents who were in full throat. The pregame festivities, put on by the Alumni Association and the Monogram Club, were well-attended and Ruth Reily and other former players signing autographs and mingling with the fans.

It was a disappointing showing by the Irish and by Diggins in particular. She’s the most decorated and accomplished female athlete in Irish history, with a successful professional career all but guaranteed. Last night’s defeat will not dull her legacy’s lustre or the affection South Bend and Notre Dame have for their hometown hero. Still, in the light of the day after, as crumpled ticket stubs swirl in the eddies along the muddy waters of the Mississippi, something feels that the Irish left something on the table last night and failed to rise to the moment.

The post Sweet Dreams in Pieces: Notre Dame Crashes Out appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The Big East Tournaments are forever behind the Irish and both men’s and women’s basketball have earned berths in their respective NCAA Tournaments. One squad will be looking for a chance at the title that just barely eluded them last season. For the other, a chance to put previous March disappointments behind them and start their ACC lives with a new legacy.

So let’s take a look at both teams paths to potential March glory. Hit the preview music (if this isn’t used continuously by CBS, I will be shocked):

Women’s Basketball

Region: Norfolk
Seed in Region: #1
First Opponent: #16 Tennessee-Martin
First Game: Sunday, March 24 5:50pm ET (ESPN2/WatchESPN)

Ladies (and Big East Champs and a #1 seed) first.

Led by all-everything Skylar Diggins, the Irish look to claim the title that has eluded them the past two years. In 2011, they finally dispatched Tennessee in convincing fashion and took down rival UCONN in the Final Four, only to watch their storybook ending fall short by six points against Texas A&M. Last year, the Irish again took UCONN out in the Final Four in overtime, but ran into the machine that was (and still is) Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears.

Baylor is the favorite to take it all home once again and the Irish find themselves lined up themselves aligned for a possible title game rematch. UCONN once again could be a potential Final Four opponent, as Geno’s squad has landed the #1 seed in the Bridgeport reason.

Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to watch this play out again:

If you haven’t been watching this season, you’ve been missing out on quite the dominate run for Skylar Diggins’ senior season. The Irish went a perfect 16-0 against Big East opponents, capturing both the regular season and Big East Tournament titles. In fact, the Irish only suffered one loss all season…a 12 point loss to Baylor (whom themselves only have one loss all season: Stanford — another #1 seed and likely Final Four opponent on the other end of the bracket).

So yes, the stars seem aligned for yet another Final Four face off with UCONN and a possible title rematch with Baylor. Anything less than that would be likely be considered a serious disappointment for this team.

Here’s hoping their last act in the Big East is taking it all home.

Men’s Basketball

Region: West
Seed in Region: #7
First Opponent: #10 Iowa State
First Game: Friday, March 22 9:45pm ET (CBS)

The men, however, are fighting a different kind of postseason frustration as we seem to find ourselves in the same spot we usually do every year at this time. Every year it appears as if the Irish might just finally get hot at the right time — only to fall apart in the Big East Tournament followed by an early exist from the Big Dance.

The last four years, the Irish have been bounced from the Big East Tournament in the semifinals — the last three by Louisville alone (this year, the Cardinals find themselves as a #1 seed and one of the few tournament favorites). And since 2010, the Irish has followed up each of those disappointments, which an equally awful NCAA Tourney showing, with their best being a second round exit in 2011 when they found themselves as a #2 seed.

The Irish haven’t found themselves in the Sweet Sixteen since 2003 — the sole appearance in the Mike Brey era.

So yes, the Irish have quite a few postseason demons to exorcise.

This year, the Irish find themselves facing off against #10 seed Iowa State, the 4th best scoring team in the nation, driven mostly by their three-point shooting (their field goal percentage is a surprising 45.5% — good or only 70th in the nation). The Cyclones have attempted an incredible 878 three-pointers and hit 37%.

To put this in perspective, Iowa State took 2000 field goal attempts total, making 43.9% of them three-pointers. ND, who also has relied on the three quite heavily, has only taken 600 three-point attempts out of 1878 field goal attempts, making 31.9% of all attempts three-pointers (the Irish success rate was similar: 37.3%).

To be quite frank, it’s a matchup that I absolutely fear for this squad. There is very little you can do defensively against a team that is willing to take nearly half their shots willingly from beyond the arc. If they get hot, they get hot and there’s nothing you can really do about it. All of a sudden you are wondering what hit you and by then, it’s too late (think Jerian Grant vs Louisville in the 5-OT thriller).

Add on to the fact that the Irish have had some horribly slow starts out of the gate and you have a potential recipe for a blowout by halftime in the wrong direction.

Even if the Irish manage to get past Iowa State, their road to the Sweet Sixteen gets no easier as they would potentially face #2 seed, and Big Ten Champion, Ohio State. The Buckeyes have played fairly solid all season long and only suffered losses to some of the better teams in the nation: Duke, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan (in OT), Indiana, and Wisconsin (it should also be noted that Ohio State also managed to beat each of those Big Ten teams at some point this season).

In short, the Irish look to have quite a rough road ahead of them and I’m not overly hopeful about their chances.

—————–

So there you have it. Your March Madness Preview of how our two squads will go forth and try to get their…well, you know:

http://youtu.be/c9-w5OHeemw

The post Men’s & Women’s Hoops Prepare for the Madness appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.