Campus News:
The Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, executive vice president emeritus, recently suffered a stroke. He was initially listed in stable condition. Joyce, 85, suffered partial paralysis but is able to speak. Edmund was our executive V.P. from 1952 until his retirement in 1987. Joyce was the University's chief finanical officer for 35 years. He oversaw campus construction and boosted the endowment from $9 million to $400 million. Joyce also was responsible for our athletic programs. He served as chairman of the University's board of athletics through to his retirement. Joyce is known as possibly the paramount figure in the educational integrity of ND's intercollegiate athletic programs and is still known and respected in college athletic circles.
A Domer couch potato's dream: ND TV. The debut of the campus' new television station is fast approaching. The program will kick off in early October and every other week will debut a brand new show. The first project will be a five-segment variety show, with the sections being News, Entertainment, Interview, Spotlight, and Miscellaneous. The news will obviously feature campus issues and events. The entertainment and spotlight areas will focus on choirs, acting groups, dance troupes, and campus bands. The station is not an officially school sponsored program. The students are attempting to gain University permission to turn it into a club.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipper received a strange e-mail from a budding screenwriter over the summer: it appears that, lo and behold, someone in Hollywood is thinking about recreating George Gipp's life on the silver screen. Apparently Jeff Daniels would play the starring role. Low-brow Alzheimer's jokes aside, the Gipper seems to recall this having been done a number of years ago by a certain ex-president. Still, the Gipp wouldn't complain. Rudy seems to be doing pretty well accomplishing nothing while the royalty checks roll in.
Hall Notes:
When did Carroll Hall cease to be in the West Wing of the Main Building? Interesting question. An olllllllld school alum ('26) thought Carroll at the Dome ended with World War II. Had to do some digging to confirm this. Prior to WWII Carroll was consistently mentioned amongst other dorms in the yearbooks. The Dome was not produced during the war. Post-WWII yearbooks again mention the hall but no longer acknowledge Carroll. Although the Dome was lacking during the war, random Scholastics were printed. The April 23, 1943 Scholastic had this to say:
"The war caused no housing shortage on campus this semester. Most of the previous doubles were un-doubled, and there was still plenty of room. Carroll Hall was closed for the duration, and maybe longer; Brownson was cut down to those who refused to move out, now amounting to about twenty students."
I guess they were right about the "maybe longer" part.
NDSportscenter:
1949 Heisman winner Leon Hart has passed away at the age of 73. He died from complications after battling a lengthy illness. Hart won the Heisman as a right end. He was one of only two lineman to ever win the award. Leon was a part of three National Championship teams ('46, '47, '49) and did not lose a game in his four year college career (36-0-2). The 6'5", 210 lb. Hart was the number one pick in the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played for eight years in the pros and helped the Lions win NFL Championshps in 1952, '53, and '57.
Carlyle was not allowed to do anything all week. He still says he will be ready to play. He says there is no pain, but he has yet to even test the arm. RB Ryan Grant is recovering and should be fine for the next game as there have been no reports to suggest otherwise.
Cover boys. The Irish recently graced the covers of both Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine.
We didn't have far to go to snag a top Midwest receiver. Jeff Samardzija (pronounced "I-have-no-frickin'-idea") is out of Valparaiso. Jeff has been compared to former Nittany Lion/current Buccaneer receiver Joe Jurevicius. Samardzija is 6'4", 190 lb. and runs a 4.5 - 40. His junior year he talled 51 catches for 1200 yards and 11 touchdowns. We were chosen over Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and USC. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming has labeled Jeff a "diamond in the rough." He's a possession receiver with great hands. Samardzija stated our new west coast offense was a big selling point.
The women's soccer team has had a rough start to the year. At the Notre Dame Classic, the lady Irish lost to both Santa Clara (4-0) and Portland (1-0). The Irish entered ranked #6. These were the first consecutive shutouts since 1989 and the first back-to-back losses since 1992. Injuries have continued to plague the team. They have yet to field their best eleven. The ladies have bounced back with four wins. The offense is still struggling as two of the victories were by the score of 1-0. One game, though, did involve a scoring explosion. The Irish trailed Maryland 2-0 with only 25 minutes remaining. Then the Domers went off for 5 unanswered goals. So the potential is there, but it has yet to be consistently utilized for every 90-minute contest. The women are currently ranked #9.
Hilarious article for y'all to read. It's been passing through the Domer email pipeline and you may have already received it. Go to the Articles of Interest page and read the piece titled "ND Declines Big Ten Championship."
Campus News:
Last week you heard about Bush's visit to the Bend. Prior to W's coming, Clinton was on campus. The REAL Clinton, that is. George Clinton and his P-Funk crew played the JACC. Twas a student-only concert featuring the opening acts of The Green Room and Better Than Ezra. Then George funked it up. Although the University denies it, the concert was an obvious attempt to lure people away from Rally in the Alley and other heavy-drinking parties that usually take place the first weekend of school. The same thing took place last year but Flipside, the non- drinking campus group, was linked to the concert. That made it all the more obvious that the University would spend an enormous amount of money in an attempt to thwart the Rally. Flipside was not named this year. How dare the administration expect Domers to be that dumb! What do they think they are, state school students?
Trial dates have been set for the four former players accused of rape. Look for that news to crash into the football season in a month. Lorenzo Crawford and Abram Elam go to court on Oct. 21. Justin Smith is to go to the courthouse on Oct. 28. Donald Dykes is last with a date of Nov. 12.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
After three years of trying to quash the moniker, the administration is still unable to rid this campus of the term "SYR." So, resolving to cut their losses, they've officially readopted the acronym, only now it stands for "Set up Your Roommate." Students, 1; Administration, 365. The Gipp wonders if they'll ever realize what SMC stands for.
Hall Notes:
Carroll became an undergrad dorm in the Fall of '77. Therefore, you'd think The Hotell would have been mentioned in the 1978 Dome. I didn't see it mentioned, though. In fact, I didn't see it mentioned in a yearbook until 1980.
The 1980 Dome stated Carroll was "the school's most recent addition to dorm life." Another paragraph read:
"Carroll Hall houses a close knit family of 97, mostly sophomores and juniors. The residents often enjoy the peacefulness of being set so far from the rest of the campus. Whether they be lounging in newly renovated quarters, playing basketball at 3am in the gym, enjoying the sun on the front lawn beach, or even snow writing; Carroll residents enjoy the difference their hall provides."
NDSportscenter:
4-0. 'Nuff said. By the way, how sweet was that when the football team was swaying to the alma mater after the game? Damn sweet. We have a bye next weekend which will allow players to heal. Carlyle must not be seriously hurt because he has already said he will be ready for the Stanford game.
Shane Walton was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defense Player of the Week after the Michigan game. He had 8 tackles (6 unassisted), a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception. He leads the nation in picks with four. He snatched 3 in the Maryland game and became the first person to do so since Dave Duerson in 1982 versus Navy. Shane has had a hand in 6 of our 11 takeaways. We are 12th in the nation in turnover margin (+2 per game, +6 overall).
We received yet another verbal commitment. Defensive back Freddie Parish was sold on the Irish after visiting the weekend of the Purdue game. Parish comes out of national powerhouse Long Beach Poly High School. The 6'1", 195lb. d-back chose us over USC and Washington. Not only is he a big defensive back, but he benches 275 while running a 4.48 - 40. Freddie has a 3.2 GPA and scored 930 on the SAT.
The men's soccer team has achieved its hightest ranking ever. The futbolers are up to #5. That came after a 4-0 drubbing of #6 Seton Hall. Second year coach Bobby Clark has the lads believing. The team defended its new ranking versus Cornell and Furman. The Irish tied Cornell 1-1 and defeated #7 Furman 2-1 in overtime.
Got another basketball recruit. Omari Israel is a 6'8", 210lb. recruit out of Rockville, Maryland. Last year he scored 18 ppg, snagged 8.5 rpg, and rejected 3 shots a game. This is our first D.C. area recruit in twelve year. The last was Monty Williams. Omari is rated as high as the 87th best player in the nation.
We have posted an article about Dick Vitale. He was in the Bend recently as the object of a fundraising-roast. Great piece. It's on the Articles of Interest page.
Campus News:
W visited the Bend and ND had two representatives on-hand to greet him. Bush spoke to a crowd of 5,000 at a hangar at the South Bend Regional Airport. The 34-minute speech touched on homeland security, the war on terror, the economy, and Saddam. After the speech the president went on to a fund-raising dinner for Republican candidate Chris Chocola who is running for a seat in the House. The September 5th event raised $650,000. One thousand two hundred people shelled out $250 per plate for the dinner. $300,000 was raised posing for photos. Seventy-five people paid $4,000 each for a private reception. (Why can't I be this popular? And I only charge $200 a plate! Where's the love?!?!)
Digger Phelps and Tyrone Willingham shook hands with el presidente. Ty presented W with a hat. Digger is a personal friend of the Bush family and served as director of the federal Weed and Seed Program under Bush #1. Upon greeting Bush #2, Phelps said, "I'm in charge of valet parking for Air Force One. Here's your claim check." The president was unable to attend a football practice but did mention Coach when he spoke: "This really great university hired a really good man to be its head coach. I appreciate Ty coming over."
The President was in the Bend for a total of five hours before flying out in the evening.
Campus Watch by Me:
I was seated in Section 132 for the Purdue game. That means my gate was the same as all the students. While mingling with the masses on the way into the game, I noticed a student whose head and shoulders were above the rest. Twas none other than Chris Clevenger, former offensive tackle from the mid '90s. Seems Chris is now an MBA student. His first game in the student section must have been vastly different from being on the sidelines. (Of note: Chris played Bookstore back in the day. Of course the opposing teams fans would always heckle him. Chris really didn't have any witty retorts. The lone one I recall was something to the effect of "I'll be making more money than you." But that was before an injury ended his playing days. Although he may still be correct about his monetary gains. However instead of millions in the pros it looks like he's having to settle for thousands in the suburbs.)
Hall Notes:
Ryan "O-Dogg" O'Leary '96 has been a solid contributor to the website. This is the last story I have on hand (although I'm certain more may be coming). Let's call it "Blazin'". It took place during the 1994-95 school year....
Despite numerous conspiracies on the part of T. Gay-hy and Mr. Sullivan to get me (and later Bill) tossed out of Carroll, it took quite a bit to make something stick. Junior year, Mikey got his wish. After a weekend blaxploitation-flick doubleheader in 413, Bill and I decided to set a small trash can fire (know that it wasn't our first). Naturally, the other cinema-goers bolted, and Mr. Edwards and I were left solo. Lighting a stack of newspapers, we got a good burn going and threw on our winter coats, huddling 'round the blaze and singing a la New Jack City or Rocky. At this point, somebody came in and saw the happenings, then ran off to alert Cafarella (aka Only Cool RA in Carroll History). Caf came in and told us to extinguish the torch, but didn't say a word to the higher-ups. After a few days, word got out and he had to cover his own ass at the expense of ours. The worst part is that rather than just kick us out, Mikey fined us $500 EACH (largest fine in Carroll history), and asked for it in cash (we talked it down to $300 and 40 hours). Did this money go to charity? No. The annual RA dinner in 1995 was a limo ride to Chicago...on us. (I got my revenge though...in the form of the $500 TV lounge speakers. Call it even.)
NDSportscenter:
This was only the 30th time we've played Michigan. We are the two winningest college football teams of all time. Prior to the game the win total was 815 for Michigan and 783 for us. It should be noted that the Wolverines have played nine more seasons than we have. Our winning percentage is 0.750 while Michigan has a percentage of 0.746. And ours just went up, baby! Make it 784 for us! First to 1000 wins!
Got another football recruit. Joe Brockington out of Palmyra High School in Pennsylvania verbally committed to play for us. The 6'2", 215 lb linebacker selected us over boston college. Joe runs a 4.56-40 and also played running back and quarterback for his high school squad.
Former basketball player Harold Swanagan has agreed to play for a professional European team. He's on his way to the Republic of Cyprus, an island country. It's the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is 70 miles south of turkey.
Former basketball player David Graves is still hoping to catch on with the Bulls. Graves turned down a six-figure deal offered by an Israeli team.
Yet another player from the women's basketball team has decided to transfer. Sophomore guard Allison Bustamante has left school and returned to her home in Miami. She is the third transfer out of the program in the past nine months. Guard Monique Hernandez and center Amanda Barksdale left last year.
Campus News:
Even though the 123,000 square-foot, $50 million Marie P. DeBartolo Performing Arts Center will not open until 2004, the first executive director started work on August 1st. John Haynes was the chief executive officer of the California Center for the Arts before coming to terms with ND. He also directed the Children's Theatre Company and School in Minneapolis and served on the board of governors and the executive committee of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts. Haynes will manage the daily operations of the Center, which includes the Department of Film, Television and Theatre along with five performance centers: the 900-seat Leighton Concert Hall, underwritten by South Bend civic leader and philanthropist Judd Leighton and his late wife, Mary Lou; the 350-seat Patricia George Decio Drama Theatre, underwritten by ND Trustee Arthur J. Decio in honor of his wife; the 100-seat Regis Philbin Studio Theatre, underwritten by some unknown; a 200-seat cinema theatre, and a 100-seat organ and chorale hall.
The Advisory Council for the Performing Arts at Notre Dame was recently established. The board will guide future artistic endeavors for the University. The new council is highlighted by director Martin Scorsese, actor/director/producer Sydney Pollack, "7th Heaven" actress Catherine Hicks, Regis Philbin, and Phil Donahue.
Campus Watch by Me:
A few weeks back you got news on the University's policy to not allow tailgating during gametime. However, recent talk has said the new policy is flexible. The official news release was that NO 'gaters will be allowed, but supposedly a recent radio discussion with ND security softened that stance a bit. Of course that revelation was released quietly and with little fanfar. Apparently security officers on patrol during game time are to make a judgment on whether or not to shut a 'gater down. If it's one involving peaceful alums who give money to the University, it will be allowed to continue. Only the rowdy non-donating ones will be shut down. That's the word on the street anyway.
Hall Notes:
The current Vermin live in a building that at one time was known as the Dujarie institute. Most of you no doubt noted the "Dujarie" and "1906" on Carroll's cornerstone. Here's a little background on Dujarie...
Despite the construction of the institute in 1906, it was not dedicated until 1907. An August 16th, 1907 article from the South Bend Times tells of Dujarie's dedication. Dujarie was erected on the southwest shore of St. Mary's lake at a cost of $30,000 and was used as a house of studies by brothers of the Holy Cross. The article went on to detail: "The institute is a four story white brick building provided with class rooms, study halls, dormitories, music hall, chapel, recreation rooms, dining hall, kitchen and heating plant. It is splendidly located and makes a notable improvement for the university grounds. The superior of the institute is Brother Adam."
Did they say "white brick building"? They musta meant off-white. Or maybe even off-off-off-off-off white.
NDSportscenter:
Football news: Only one player was lost for the year during the workouts before the season started. Cornerback Jason Beckstrom is most likely out for the year after undergoing left bicep surgery.... The Irish are naming game day captains this year. This is only the second time in 114 years of Irish football. The last time was in 1946 under Frank Leahy. The first game's captains were center Jeff Faine, CB Shane Walton, flanker Arnaz Battle, and DE Ryan Roberts.... Last week Nicholas Setta won the USATODAY.com National Player of the Week after booting five field goals (51, 32, 18, 46, and 24). Setta tied an Irish record for FGs in a game with the performance.... Vontez Duff is leading the team in touchdowns. Good ole V.D. has 2. In an ironic twist, the scoring is coming from VD and not the other way around.
Linebacker Nick Borseti out of Saugus, Massachusetts has decided to suit up for the Irish. Nick runs a 4.75 - 40 and benches 315. The 6'3", 220 lb. tackling machine carries a 3.2 GPA and earned an 1100 on the SAT. Borseti was down to us and Virginia. We won out because we didn't bring in any linebackers last year while UVA signed three solid 'backers.
Some basketball news: freshman Torin Francis was on campus this past summer to put in time before the school year even started. The National Player of the Year is also a stud in the classroom. Torin earned 12 credit hours before his first official freshman year class began. He tested out of two AP courses and added six more credit hours through summer school....The Big Ten is knocking on the door and wanting to play us in a big way. Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan, Purdue, and Michigan State have all expressed interest....Remember shooting guard Keith Kurowski from the mid to late '90s? He's still in the area and is on to his second high school coaching stint. His first job was at Marian High School where he stepped down after compiling a 24-13 record. Keith now heads the team at Marian's chief rival, St. Joseph's High School. Yip, Kurowski is coaching ball right across the street from campus.
Campus News:
Have it your way at Subway. Over the summer the national submarine sandwich chain opened in LaFortune. Subway replaced Tomasitos because of its popularity, the company's willingness to grant franchise rights and because of the healthy, quick serve menu. Long lines, though, have been a problem. The summer alone sometimes produced 30 minutes or longer of waiting just to order.
Another establishment is on the way. The Italian eatery, Sbarro, is to go in the basement. It will take the place of Allegro's, an old sub sandwich shop. Construction is scheduled to begin now and be completed around October's fall break. Sbarro was chosen for many reasons. First, they could satisfy the 'slice' pizza meal business during traditional meal time periods. Secondly, the menu also includes pasta-type dishes and calzoni. Also Sbarro will serve pizza until 4 am. This give North residence halls a late night option like the South residents do in Recker's. The lounge area near the new Sbarro will be completely refurnished and redecorated to better serve as a hang out space.
Finally, the Huddle Mart will undergo a smaller construction project to create a taco stand to be completed in January 2003.
Campus Watch by Me:
Well, the latest rumor thrown my way has been that Carroll may be closing soon. However, I'm not sure where this originated from and the person I heard it from is by far the weakest source to ever produce grapevine material. I've heard this allusion before anyway. In fact I've heard from am alum who was glad to know Carroll was still around because he had "heard" it had been torn down. I believe Carroll isn't going away anytime soon. (Better not.) No new dorms are scheduled to be built and the University would not dare lose 100+ students. At roughly $35,000 a pop, the University would be out $3.5 million. We all know the U would never turn away money like that.
Hall Notes:
Last few notes on some Vermin alums as stated by Ryan "O-Dogg" O'Leary '96.....
Ben Herrig has recently returned from a two-year stint in Australia, and he's back in Chi working for Andersen (while they still exist, anyway). He also brought an Australian wife with him - the two were married in a civil ceremony sometime in February, and a bigger wedding is planned for the fall Down Under.
Gary Girzadas (still in Chi) and Chris Lee (New Mexico) are both doing the grad school thing (both law, I think)...but that's about all the info I have on those two.
NDSportscenter:
Who said Carlyle can't throw? He was 17 of 27 (63%) for 226 yards. Holiday hit 8 different receivers including 2 tight ends, one being former QB Jared Clark. The offense gained 356 yards on 42 runs and 30 passing plays. Maryland racked up only 133 yards. Negatives: only averaged 3 yards per rush; 11 penalties for 80 yards; and the freshman receivers have to learn to hold on to the ball after taking a hit. Injuries: frosh receiver Rhema McKnight dinged up his shoulder and starting ILB Courtney Watson did not play because of a viral infection. Bring on the Boilerwackers.
Colin Falls of Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illnois committed to play basketball for the Irish. As a junior, Colin scored 24 ppg, snagged 5.5 rpg, and dropped four dimes a game. The 6'4", 190 lb. shooting guard selected us over Northwestern, boston college, DePaul, and Stanford.
High school teammates from Dublin, Ohio have committed to play football for the Irish. The first to verbal was Chinedum Ndukwe. (Even if I spelled it incorrectly you'd never know.) He's a 6'3", 200 lb. receiver. We beat out Purdue, Penn State, and Ohio State for his services. Last year he caught 59 balls for 850 yards and 11 touchdowns. Ndukwe runs in the low 4.5s and carries a GPA in the high 3.2s with a 1070 SAT on the side.
Chinedum's teammate is Brady Quinn, who just happens to be the passer of those 11 touchdowns. Quinn is 6'4", 215 lb. and is considered a top five QB prospect by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. Brady runs a 4.65 - 40 and benches 285. Last year he tossed 21 touchdowns and racked up 2,200 yards. Quinn got a 1030 on the SAT and has a 3.3 GPA. He turned down Michigan and Ohio State for the Dome.
The women's soccer team is entering the season ranked #7. They recently lost to North Carolina 4-2 in an exhibition game. However, the Irish were without six starters. Once the whole team is united, the lineup will feature seven returning starters and five of the top six scorers from last year. We have a brand spankin' new goalie and a freshmen class that was rated the 9th best. Unfortunately the 11th best prospect is the country, Annie Schefter, was lost for the season with a torn ACL. (Aside: Remember Chris Petrucelli? The coach who built the program and on a national title? He left for Texas a few years ago. Petrucelli has built the Longhorn program up and now has them ranked in the top ten.)
Campus News:
Another policy change on campus to report. This one concerns only football weekends. Tailgating is the target. The University has stated that it will no longer allow tailgating to take place during gametime. It will still be allowed before the game and after for a few hours. This step was taken in an attempt to reduce alcohol-related problems and promote a better atmosphere. The new rule will obviously only apply on University property. However, that includes most all the major tailgating areas, specifically the fields south of Edison, east of campus. So those who do not have tickets will have to scurry away for 3.5 to 4 hours. No word on how the University plans to alert visiting fans who follow their teams even if they do not have tickets and plan to watch the game on televisions set up at their 'gaters. (Luckily Nebraska and Tennessee are off the schedule to avoid that potential public relations nightmare.) Local Domers and fans are not thrilled with the new rule. Owners of local establishments are enthusiastic, though. Coaches, The Linebacker, and Between the Buns expect to pull in more business. As one local Domer stated about the proposed tailgating restriction: "Well, looks like I'll be going to the 'backer that much sooner."
Will this measure actually reduce alcohol-related problems? Doubt it. Will it provide a better atmosphere? Maybe. Will it irk many alums who already frown on the overzealous controling by the University? Definitely.
A Campus Watch item from the South Bend Tribune:
D'OH! Not one, but two groups fell asleep at the wheel. This year the University employed a new marketing company for the upcoming football season. In addition to designing the tickets, the company has designed posters. One such visual ad had the title "The Fight is Back." The poster showed a player plunging into the end zone for a touchdown. The problem? The player is Julius Jones, who flunked out and is far from being able to tote the pigskin. Jones' "22" was airbrushed out and replaced with a "3." Nice try. It's blatantly obvious that it's J.J. taking it to the house during last year's game versus West Virginia. Anyone who follows ND football (whick is more or less the entire ND Family) will detect the error. Niether the marketing company nor the University was apparently sharp enough to think anyone would catch on. The poster is on the back cover of this year's media guide. The photo also appears on 70,000 GA tickets for the Purdue game. Not a smart move.
Hall Notes:
Thought you might find this interesting. It's a paragraph from the 1948 book "Notre Dame One Hundred Years." The time period is the 1890s:
"The conduct of the students, mostly preps, during these and similar performances sometimes created terror in the hearts of actors and singers. In all truth, it must be said that this howling, hissing, foot-scraping body of young rapscallions found some cause for complaint. On the other hand, the boys of Carroll Hall were a sassy, defiant group of lads who more than likely would have hissed John McCormick or thrown pebbles at Sarah Bernhardt. We can laugh now, because those days have passed, let up hope, forever."
Not so fast, my friend.
NDSportscenter:
Game on. We play Maryland on Saturday, August 31st. It's a night game on ABC. Tune in at 7pm central time to see Tyrone's first game.
Watch ESPN Classic this Friday for a program on Tyrone. It will air at 7pm and 10pm central time.
Well, no one has any faith in the team. We are 46th in the AP poll, receiving a puny three votes. Seven of our twelve opponents are ranked higher: Florida State (3rd), Michigan (12th), Michigan State (18th), USC (20th), Maryland (21st), boston college (29th), and Purdue (38th).
The World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks recently visited the Bend to play an exhibition game versus the Silverhawks, one of their minor league teams. Secondbaseman and Domer Craig Counsell could not be in attendance as he was a player representative at the labor talks. The D'backs visited campus and met with Coach Willingham. Arizona presented Tyrone with a D'backs jersey with an "02" on the back to signify his first year at the helm of ND football. Luis Gonzalez, who had the game-winning RBI in the final game of last year's World Series, was also given a jersey. Craig Counsell arranged for a gag gift of an ND football jersey for "Rudy," as Gonzalez has been called. Seems the two had been playfully talking smack last spring when South Alabama (Luis' alma mater) played the Irish in baseball. After we crushed them 25-1, Gonzalez was left out in the cold.
The men's soccer team just completed a five game tour of Scotland. The Irish won the first four games easily and earned a tie in the fifth match. The fellas outscored the Scots 19 to 3 during the tour.
Campus News:
The news has slowed down. Just in time for it to start up again as the school year begins in one week. This week's item will provide some information on the Basilica.
On January 17, 1992 Sacred Heart Church was designated a "minor basilica" by Pope John Paul II. A minor basilica is defined as "a church of particular historic, artistic or devotional importance honored by the pope. The church so honored must be the center for a vibrant faith community where the sacraments are properly celebrated." Sacred Heart has served as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the United States for over 125 years. It is also quite a tourist attraction, as almost a quarter of a million people visit each year. Benefactor Thomas Coleman, recently deceased, helped restore it to its original beauty and splendor in 1990 after some five years of renovation. The Stations of the Cross and the murals in the Basilica were restored. These 56 or so murals were painted by Luigi Gregori in the late 19th century, along with the Christopher Columbus murals in the Main Building and the interior of the Dome. The Basilica hosts two daily Masses, three daily confessions, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Friday, four weddings every available Saturday, Vespers every Sunday during the academic year, and many sacred concerts. We'll close with a remark from Father Sorin. He summed it up best when he once described Sacred Heart as a "splendid monument to God's glory." Well said.
Campus Watch from Me:
I applaud the Athletic Department. For the first time, a location was set up by the practice fields to allow overheating players to cool down. A huge tent was propped up next to O'Neill. The first two weeks of practice once again took place on the intramural field west of the Bookstore, just south of the new dorms. The players stayed in O'Neill. The weights from the JACC were moved to the McGlinn basketball courts and were shielded by a tent. Everything was within a few hundred yards, including SDH.
I do not recall a cool down tent being erected in previous years. It seems the Athletic Department has taken measures to prevent what has happened in the past with college and pro players dying from heat exhaustion. Plenty of water is available. Giant fans surround the tent. A freezer stocked with ice is plugged into McGlinn. Luckily, the weeks of practice were relatively cool compared to the rest of the bake-heavy summer.
Hall Notes:
Another "Classic Moment in Vermin History." Mr. Ryan "O-Dogg" O'Leary '96 has provided a story on his first Bookstore team. Vermin are well known for their Bookstore highs as well as high jinks. It seems "The Pimp Clinic" is amongst the latter....
Freshman year (spring of 1993), with Bookstore approaching. On a spring break trip back home to Cape Cod, I had a friend do up some jerseys for our squad, Tha Pimp Clinic. The shirts had names and numbers (I wore #187), with the message "Stop Rape...Say Yes" on the bottom of the shirt backs. While my father had caught me on the way out and made me paint over the phrase in black, it was still visible when the 2nd Floor Residence Nazi spotted them. I was sent down to Mr. Sullivan, who promptly threatened confiscation if they weren't altered. Obviously, we couldn't "represent Carroll" in that way. So we blacked out the black and added customized messages in gold (my new cry of "Free Dahmer" was much cleaner). The story is ruined by the fact that we lost in round one...how humiliating.
NDSportscenter:
Ralph Guglielmi became the 39th Domer to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Ralph played from 1951 to 1954. He was a unanimous All-American selection and came in fourth in the Heisman voting in '54. In three seasons, the quarterback led the Irish to a 25-3-2 record. Guglielmi was also a stud on defense, where he picked off ten passes in two years.
A Domer also went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tight end Dave Casper played in the NFL for eleven years. "The Ghost," as he was known, made his mark with the Oakland Raiders. Dave was a 4 time All Pro. His career high had to have been in the 1977 Super Bowl when he caught four passes for seventy yards and a touchdown in a victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
We have our first ever rower All American. Junior Ashlee Warren was named a second team All American. She was the leader of the varsity eight that qualified for the NCAAs. Ashlee led the Irish to a final ranking of 13.
The NFL preseason is underway. Rocket Ismail is running patterns for the Dallas Cowboys. Rocket, though, has a second passion in life and he was hawking it this past spring on campus. Last April the Rocket was at the Bookstore for an autograph session promoting his new CD, "The Reign Cometh." To obtain Ismail's signature, it had to be on a copy of the first single off the album entitled "Bounce." That was just written on a sign, though. Rocket signed anything people brought up. Rocket shook everyone's hand before and after he signed and looked each person in the eyes. He smiled and said how much he appreciated those coming out to support him. No problem, Rocket. No problem.
Campus News:
Objections. Threatening. Complaints. Those are a few of the things that had arisen on campus when some saw ROTC members in battle fatigues. And because of the cry babies, the University had to scan the rule book to enforce something that had never before been enforced. The ROTC students have now been banned from wearing their camoflage in certain areas of the University grounds. That is the rumor out of the ROTC. Bill Kirk says it is untrue. He says it boils down to a ban of unsanctioned congregation, which has apparently always been on the books. ROTC have aroused the administration because of where they meet, not because of what they wear. Kirk says no group is allowed to use University grounds without permission. ROTC is being asked to say in its allocated space. This age-old rule, though, was dusted off after complaints and objections from people who supposedly feel the world should revolve around them and their desires. Some saw the cadence runs and the use of rubber, I repeat RUBBER, weapons as threatening. These activities were deemed to not be conducive to the "good order" that Kirk's office tries to maintain. Last year's ROTC seniors were particularly dumbfounded by the change. Sean Lyons commented: "It's upsetting for us, especially seniors, because we've been spending years doing this and there's never been a problem, and suddenly we're being told, 'You can't do this, you can't do this.'"
Of course no administrative measure is complete without some sort of miscommunication. Instead of these new rules being told directly to the students by the administrators, the University passed off the task to the ROTC leaders who are SEPARATE from the University. Gee, I wonder why a lapse of communication occurred. After the rule revival, the Rangers trained in jeans and t-shirts.
Campus Watch from Me:
Word on the street is that Coach Willingham is an avid golfer. However, his schedule is loaded with football duties. How to fit both in? Easy. The grapevine has it that on days he wishes to tee-off, Tyrone gets thee to the course early, before anyone. Don't know the exact time but it is very, very A.M. Well Tyrone only has so much time. Plus he likes to be able to make time to work out beyond golf. So he supposedly combines the two. Coach RUNS between shots. I guess it's not an all-out sprint considering he's running while carrying clubs.
A second word on the street is that on non-golf days, Willingham hits the weights before the sun rises. This is a carry-over from his Stanford days. At Stanford, though, Tyrone supposedly was NOT the earliest of risers in the weight room. For a few years Coach was second in dedication to one man.........Tiger Woods. Or so the rumor goes.
Hall Notes:
The origin of Carroll Hall. The original Main Building did not contain a west or east wing. The Great Fire of 1879 presented a tragedy but also an opportunity. In three months time, the Main Building was reconstructed in a T-formation (Is it any wonder we became a football school?) with the west extension known as Carroll Hall and the east wing that went by the name Brownson Hall. The Main Building officially re-opened in the Fall of 1879, just in time for the school year.
FYI: The Dome was not actually complete until September of 1882. Funny thing is the Statue of Mary arrived in 1880. Mary was perched atop the temp roof where she waited patiently for two years. (This information comes out of a book titled "Notre Dame 100 Years." It was published in the '40s and covered ND's first century.)
NDSportscenter:
Beware, those of you who attempt to sell your football tickets on the internet. The Athletic Department is cracking down on cyberscalping. Because of the sellouts that allowed the Nebraska game to be a sea of red, Kevin White has vowed to clamp down on on-line sales by alums. A recent report stated fifteen people had already had their ticket privileges revoked. University rules stipulate that a ticket may not be sold for more than face value. The alums were busted before tickets were even mailed out. Supposedly there will be case-by-case reviews to determine if the busted alums will be allowed into future lotteries. Now, the Athletic Department only has so much manpower in tracking things down. Latest word on the street is that a ND football fan website has gotten in the on the act. They are doing the dirty work and tracking down on-line ticket sales and turning the information over to the University. You've been warned.
Chris Thomas has had an active summer. Besides summer school, the soon-to-be sophomore worked at the Nike camp. While on campus, Thomas hit the weights and added 15 pounds. Came in handy when he was invited to Michael Jordan's Fantasy Baskeball Camp in Santa Barbara. Chris is a pre-season 1st Team All Big East selection and a Big East Player of the Year candidate. And this past week Thomas was named one of fifty in the running for the John Wooden NCAA Player of the Year.
Some late tennis news.... Men's tennis star Javier Taborga finished the season as an All-American. Javier was the #15 seed in the 64-player singles tournament. He did not advance very far but still proved he merited an All-American honor. He also competed in the doubles tourney but lost in the opening round. To top off the season, Taborga was named the National Senior Player of the Year by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. I guess that makes sense since he was coached by Billy Pate, the National Assistant Coach of the Year according to the same assocation.
Campus News:
Buy stock in crutches 'cause they are in demand on campus. The Office for Students with Disabilities has changed its policy on letting injured students use golf carts. The option of signing out a golf cart has been revoked. This policy change came about after theft and vandalization of carts. The vehicles had been mistreated and abused, often by students under the influence of alcohol. Carts were even stolen from right outside the OSD's office. The locks were actually cut off. (How many times do I have to tell them....Use The Club!) The carts cost $3,000 to $5,000 and it was estimated that the OSD spent nearly half of last year's budget on golf cart repairs and replacements. The new policy is that only students with a permanent medical condition that necessitates transportation assistance can have access to a private cart. Injured students can use the ride service which consists of ten drivers. The ride service, though, only operates during standard weekday class-time slots. So injured students are S.O.L. on weekends and evenings. The budget and primary commitment is to students with permanent disabilities. OSD hopes to expand its service hours for the coming school year and possibly arrange a shuttle service in conjunction with ND Security-Police and its SafeWalk program.
A Campus Watch item from the South Bend Tribune:
Once again the University has had to squelch another rumor. Apparently the grapevine had been circulating a story that the University plans to see WNDU-TV. The fabrication was dismissed by executive vice president Rev. Timothy R. Scully who said the school has no intention of selling the station. The University owns Michiana Telecasting Corp., which is the parent company of WNDU-TV, Channel 16. The South Bend Tribune reported there was speculation that the station was being prepared for a possible new owner. This story has been in existance since February when Michiana Telecasting shut down Golden Dome Media - a video and new-media production company that had been based at WNDU since 1982. Golden Dome was eliminated to make the station operation more profitable. There are also no plans to move WNDU, despite its close proximity to where the new Notre Dame Inn will be located. Dorr Road around WNDU will be enhanced with additional landscaping when the hotel is built.
Hall Notes:
We have another historical Carroll moment to share with y'all. It concerns how Carroll came to have washers and dryers.
Remember the good ole January days? Trudging to the Rock to do laundry on a crisp, brisk morn? I recall the times fondly. Many a Vermin knows the trek. We mimicked Santa Claus with our bountiful bags of goodies: ripe in one direction, fabric softened in the other. Those days came to an end after some Vermin resourcefulness.
The teller of this tale has had his ability to recall marred by the years of grad school. Please forgive his somewhat spotty memory. He's getting on in years despite his Vermin nickname. Jim "Sweet Baby" Zawada '97 details "The Vermin Redemption" from the spring of '96....
One fine spring evening during my time as a Vermin (I can't remember when, it all blurs together now), I was at a hall council meeting for some unknown reason. With Booker and Fumai running the show (or was it Darryl and Rudy, or someone else?), it was a safe bet nothing would be accomplished. But that didn't really bother me since I was more than half way to being comfortably numb - courtesy of few rum and Barq's. One of the issues brought up was the possibility of getting a laundry room in Carroll. That's when a bolt of inspiration struck me. Thanks to having just watched "The Shawshank Redemption" at the Delgado Cinema, it occurred to me that the best way to actually get some attention from the fine administration would be a letter writing campaign. So, I drafted a letter, printed a bunch of copies, and spread the word through the dorm with the help of a few Vermin (I can't remember who now). By the end of the week, approximately 100 individual letters (one from just about every Vermin) were dropped into campus mail for Bill Kirk.
A couple of days later, the Man summoned us to his office. He bowed before our presence and begged for mercy, "You can have the laundry, just please stop sending the letters," (or something like that). The following summer, the laundry was installed in the abandoned food sales room.
NDSportscenter:
Offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick has confirmed that Julius Jones will definitely NOT be back this fall. Yet there still has been no word on what he plans to do. There still is a possibility he could be back for the 2003 season (although it's highly doubtful). Past players with academic problems have attended IUSB to get their grades up before returning to campus. We'll have to wait and see.
Practice begins August 6th. Let's see if Coach Willingham's good fortune will continue. Tyrone recently had the luck to be invited to Chi-town to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Wrigly Field during the 7th inning stretch. The Cubs won the game. Willingham is the fourth Irish singer. The others were Coach Mike Brey, Digger Phelps, and Paul Hornung.
The women's basketball team toured Europe this summer. The ladies played four games over twelve days across the pond. The team went three and one and were solid ambassadors for ND.
Got some late softball news: Senior catcher Jarrah Myers became the 4th Domer to win the Big East Player of the Year. She had a 0.462 BA, banged 8 HRs, had an on-base percentage of 0.559 and a slugging percentage of 0.962....Seven players made 1st Team All Big East.... The coaches as a group won the Coaching Staff of the Year in the Big East....Junior Andrea Loman and Myers were named 3rd team All-Americans. This was Myers second year as an All-American....Freshman Megan Ciolli and Loman were invited to join Myers to compete for spots on the National Team.
Campus News:
Did you know there are nine locations around campus that feature Web cams? These sites are featured on the University's web site. The first Web cam was set up in front of the Dome seven years ago. It became popular with alums who wanted to check out a live feed of our beloved campus. The three most recent cameras to be installed are in three computer labs. You can now observe the computer labs in DeBartolo and the Coleman-Morse Center as well as the Engineering Learning Center. The web cams were set up to allow students to see how crowded these locations are without having to walk there. (Exercise be damned!) Privacy was an issue, so the OIT made sure there are no close-up views of any computer screen. Some students were a bit skeptical of the practice. It was thought that only the administrators could watch. One student found it "creepy" that this was on the worldwide internet. A few minor jokes have been played with the cameras. One joke, though, certainly takes top prize. A few freshmen from Morrissey learned that the camera in the Engineering Learning Center shuts off for the weekend at 5pm on Fridays. They clothed themselves in "Mortal Kombat" attire and struck fighting poses at 4:59:59pm. The shot remained on the University web site until the next Monday. The picture was later featured on the front page of CollegeHumor.com
Campus Watch courtesy of the South Bend Tribune:
Word on the street is that the University was attempting to de-emphasize the "Fighting" in "Fighting Irish" and get the Leprechaun to put down his dukes. This story had apparently rocketed through the Domer email pipeline. Same thing had been circulated a couple of years ago. A recent story had been written by someone who claimed to have a source on the inside. The Tribune investigated and found the rumor to be just that... a rumor. A University spokesman more or less said the story was "hogwash." (Actually, he never made that quote. I did. Very rarely do I get to delve inot my vocab grab-bag and put such a gem to use.)
Hall Notes:
This recently appeared in the Summer 2002 Notre Dame Magazine....
As many as 30 squirrels are thought to have been living, uninvited, in Carroll Hall this past winter. they were getting in through unscreened vents leading from the second-floor bathrooms of the dorm on the west end of Saint Mary's Lake. From there they made their way throughout the building, moving between walls and above ceilings. Carroll's residents found the new lodgers amusing at first, feeding them moon pies and catching them by wearing hockey gloves or just barehanded. When someone discovered the squirrels were of the flying variety, they began launching them down the hall to see them float. One day junior Tom Silio put his foot in his ROTC army boot and found it full of shells from Reese's Pieces. Apparently a squirrel had found a stash of the candy in another room and stored them in Silio's boot for later munching. Once the bathroom vents were screened, animal control professionals were able to trap and evict the rodents.
NDSportscenter:
Outfielder Brian Stavisky has signed with the Oakland A's. He is passing up his final year of college eligibility. Brian was selected in the 6th round. He has received a signing bonus and even took battting practice before a major league game. He is scheduled to join the single A Vancouver Canadians. Stavisky has stated that he plans to return in upcoming fall semesters in order to complete his degree. Brain is one of fourteen Domers playing professional baseball.
Penn State is back on the schedule. The Nittany Lions (whose original colors included pink, by the way) will come to Notre Dame Stadium in 2006. We will visit Happy Valley in 2007. The series is tied at 8-8-1. The last game was the memorable '92 Snow Bowl. The Irish won it in the end with a thrilling 17-16 finish.
Sophomore Kerry Walton won bronze at the World Junior Fencing Championships. She is just the second U.S. fencer ever to earn a medal in any level of women's epee in World Championship competition. Walton is the second Domer to medal at the World Juniors and the first in twenty-five years. Kerry also placed first in the NCAA Championships.
Nominations for the College Football Hall of Fame went out and two Domer quarterbacks were passed over. John Huarte and Joe Theismann were not selected this year. In fact, the Hall only prefers to take one quarterback per year. John and Joe were shunned in favor of some guy named Marino. I guess he was pretty okay at tossing the ball or something. John Huarte is our only eligible Heisman winner not in the Hall.
Campus News:
An out-of-court settlement was reached in a longtime professors's age discrimination suit against the University. Attorneys for Thomas J. Jemielity and the University agreed to dismiss the suit in a document filed in U.S. District Court. The amicable resolution was reached in confidential negotiations. The 67-year-old teacher, who came to ND in '63, claimed the school had fostered a hostile environment by underpaying experienced faculty members and treating them with contempt because of their age. Jemielity was singled out for retaliation because of his complaints, he alleged, and forced to announce his retirement two years earlier than he had planned. He sought compensatory and punitive damages.
More construction is planned. The law school will double in size after a $56 million addition. A 100,000 square foot building is expected to extend south and occupy the area of the existing post office. (As mentioned before, the new post office is currently being constructed and will be a part of the new security building on the old Stepan basketball courts.) The old law school will be renovated for an expanded law library and offices. It will be connected with the new building via an archway that would allow for pedestrian traffic below. I take that to mean that that will be an archway the band will march under on the same route they now take to the stadium after step-off on game days.
More on last week's Campus Urban Legend from Scholastic:
The Princeton Review also publishes a ranking of the nation's top 331 colleges that combines both workload and a few other academic variables such as the number of study hours, how vigorously students do assignments, class attendance, quality of students the college attracts and student/ teacher ratio. The colleges and universitites are scored on a scale from 60 to 100. Here, Notre Dame scored a 95 - in between Harvard's 93 and Northwestern's 96. Yale scored a 97.
To back up the urban legend, there have been fairly unscientific studies that have shown that Notre Dame has a high workload compared to other universities. However, to quote us as being ranked as No. 2 in the nation is to fall victim to rumor exaggeration.
Hall Notes:
News on some Vermin alums....
Terry Coonan '81 was the Vermin who passed us the history on Carroll in 1977 as the doors opened to undergrads. Terry is now a human rights and refugee attorney. He also directs a human rights program at Florida State University. Terry added: "...just goes to show that Vermin can eventually hold down socially redeeming jobs."
Ryan "O-Dogg" O'Leary '96 gave us news on a '95 grad...
"Greg Nowak is still in the Delaware area, living with his wife in suburban Philly and working for Financial Software Systems. In his spare time, he hustles always."
NDSportscenter:
Coach Willingham has landed his first recruit. David Marrero is a 5'10", 188 lb. running back out of Florida. The Fort Lauderdale resident hails from St. Thomas Aquinas High School, the same team that produced receiver Bobby Brown. David chose us over Stanford. He carries a 3.6 GPA and scored a 1130 SAT. Speed. David runs a 4.34 - 40 and recruiting analyst Tom Lemming gave props saying he's a "four star player."
The Irish made a strong showing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Freshman Lauren King ran a school record 4:16.85 in the 1500 meters. She gained All-American honors with that 6th place finish. Lauren became the first Domer woman to compete in all 3 national meets (outdoor, indoor, and cross country). The women's 4x400 relay came in fifth. Liz Grow, Kristen Dodd, Ayesha Boyd, and Kymia Love posted a school record with a time of 3:32.12. Tameisha King earned All-American honors in the long jump. The ladies as a team placed 27th overall.
The men were carried by their two stars. Ryan Shay came in second in the 10,000 meters. With that finish Ryan received his tenth All-American honor, far and away the most of any Domer track athlete. Luke Watson competed in the 3000 meter steeplechase. He became a five time All-American with his seventh place finish. Ryan and Luke led the men to a 24th place finish.
Sophomore-to-be Grant Johnson is touring with the USA National Team. The right handed slinger is one of twenty two on the squad. Grant is one of ten pitchers and one of only six rising sophomores. The team has a 30-game summer schedule. It all concludes with the World Championships in Italy.
Campus News:
University officials are considering the possibility of purchasing St. Joseph Hospital when the doctors and nurses pick up shop and move to a new location in Mishawaka in 2006. The hospital announced the move this past spring and phoned the University immediately about buying the future vacated buildings. The current Medical Center consists of nine buildings on a 35 acre site. Obviously the University was contacted since it has the resources to buy. More importantly, though, the University would assume a leadership role in assuring that the land was redeveloped, minimizing the impact of the hospital's departure on the community.
The residents of the Bend have been critical of the move. Since the new hospital is going up near UP Mall, many are claiming the move is solely to capitalize on the money in Granger, where all the well-to-do people live. Many of the poor near the current hospital are very dependent on St. Joseph's medical resources. Initially the University was not interested in the purchase. However, officials feel the Bend cannot afford to have another abandoned area of town. Therefore, the University agreed to become a lead agent in the sale process even if they do not buy. This would be another step in maintaining the stability of the Northeast Neighborhood, a goal the University set a few years back. The relocation may trigger a change in ER medical cases. Currently the University sends emergency cases to St. Joseph. The move will put the new hospital twice as far away as Memorial Hospital, which is located downtown.
Another Campus Urban Legend from Scholastic...
You're sitting in your dorm room in front of your computer, frantically trying to write your fifth paper in two weeks. You take a break to study for that big calculus exam tomorrow. The girl across the hall is complaining about her 15-page paper for journalism class, and the guy sitting diagonal from you in the library is surrounded by four stacks of research books. Sound familiar? You must be saying to yourself: "Wow! We must have the biggest workload in the country!" In fact, the buzz around campus is that ND had been ranked second nationally in terms of student workload. Well, there's good news and bad news. As gratifying as that recognition might be, unfortunately, Notre Dame doesn't even make the top 20 colleges in terms of study time according to the Princeton Review, which polls thousands of college students across the country. The top three colleges are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the California Institute of Technology. These rankings are the result of a poll of thousands of college students across the country.
Hall Notes:
More historical notes about Carroll when it was a part of the Main Building...
The 1941 yearbook surmised Carroll in a poem:
Carroll of the West Wing...
The "Frosh" now dominate
(The tiny acorns from which great oaks grow)
Where many a political faction is born...
Where "high-school-greats" of pride are shorn...
Here they live from floor to floor...
Wash stands and lockers far below
Rise to green desks row on row...
And further rise to row of beds...
But here the "rising" ceases
The tilted chairs in study hall
Where eyes look out to a yellow wall...
Carroll...
You'll remember it when...
You remember the place
Where men are men.
NDSportscenter:
Men's basketball coach Mike Brey has signed a two year contract extension through the 2008-09 campaign. Coach is set to begin his third season at the helm. Brey originally was signed to a seven year contract. Mike is the only Irish coach in our 96-year history to open a coaching career under the Dome with back-to-back 20 win seasons and consecutive NCAA appearances.
Women's coach Muffet McGraw also signed an extension. The four year extension will also take her through the 2008-09 season. She is set to begin her 16th season leading the lady Irish. Muffet was also named to a commission. McGraw is one of fifteen sports professionals and educators to be named to the National Title IX Commission. Title IX is the 30-year-old anti-discriminationo law that helped and still helps produce women's sports in schools.
Hockey star Rob Globke was selected in the NHL Entry Draft. He was taken in the 2nd round, 40th overall by the Florida Panthers. That is the highest a Domer has ever been selected.
Baseball centerfielder Steve Stanley was named a first team All- American by every publication and organization. He has already signed with the A's. Steve went without an agent and by doing so the A's promised a $200,000 signing bonus. Stanley was originally going to go to single A Vancouver but was shifted to higher-level Modesto, where he was immediately put into the starting lineup.
Our new fencing coach is Janusz Bednarski. He is the former Olympic coach for Poland (1978-88) and has been our top assistant for the past eight seasons.
Alfred C. Grisanti, the last living player from Rockne's tenure, past away at the age of 93. He was a reserve end in 1929 and 1930.
Campus News:
I mentioned the six new basketball courts over by the new Bookstore last week. They were to replace the eight at Stepan. At first it seemed the students had been short-changed two courts. Upon further inspection of Stepan I discovered two courts had been made immediately west of Stepan Center, end to end.
Quite a bit of below ground construction had been occurring this summer. Part of D-2000 was tore up, as was the lot right by Stepan. I assume it all has to do with the new Post Office/Security Building. And work has begun for the Science Teaching Building I spoke of a couple weeks back. Excavation and pipe-laying has taken place all the way from Pasquerilla Center to the JACC. Juniper, in fact, is closed for a stretch of a week and a half so that the road could be torn up and new pipe installed. Not a very cheap undertaking at all.
In other news, student ID card access will be installed in five dorms over the summer break. After this summer the University will only be five dorms short of a campus-wide system. The system allows students to access their dorms by simply scanning their University-issued identification cards and entering a four-digit pass code. This is a higher technology system not to be confused with Detex. Detex has gone the way of the dinosaur. Installation of this expensive system began 4 years ago. There are nearly 230 ID card readers on campus, providing access to both residence halls and public buildings such as SDH, the Law School, Main Building, and the stadium's training facilities. The main goal seems to be getting to a point where any student can enter any dorm during certain times. Students had expressed displeasure with the current system of being locked out of all dorms but their own at certain times. Correcting these difficulties in visitation is even expected to improve the lightning rod issue of gender relations on campus.
Another Campus Urban Legend from Scholastic:
At a university where 75 percent of students were varsity athletes in high school, interhall athletics showcase talent comparable to that found on many other colleges' varsity teams.
But how do the teams really stack up?
As the story goes, Dillon Hall's interhall football team was nationally ranked among Division III schools in the 1970s. Although definitive evidence pointing either way has yet to be found, all signs indicate that this story also rings false.
Dillon's current rector, the Rev. Paul Doyle, says that he has heard a similar rumor, but with different details. Doyle recalls that a Sports Illustrated writer once claimed that the Notre Dame football team was so good that even our largest men's dorm interhall football team could defeat other teams in Division I. However, more research into this rumor proved fruitless.
Dillon Hall's football team has a proud history of greatness; it has claimed the interhall championship seven times since 1975. Even its nickname, "Big Red," has its roots in the team's winning ways. Red shirts used to be awarded to the men's interhall football champions, and because Dillon residents were so often the victors, the dorm changed its nickname from the "Big D" to the "Big Red."
Both Dillon's and Notre Dame's traditional football greatness makes Doyle's version of the rumors plausible. But as for being ranked? Notre Dame men miss out once again.
Hall Notes:
Carroll is one of the five dorms to receive the new ID card access systems this summer. Father James Lewis, the Carroll Hall rector, said:
"We will literally go from using keys this spring to the security system in the fall."
Lewis went on to say:
"Anything that adds security to our residence halls is a good thing. It's important, given our location. It's a beautiful location, it's a wonderful location, but we really could face security problems."
So if we alums want to visit our old stomping ground, we'll have to wait for some Vermin to come out to be able to catch the door. And a lack of keys will make it terribly difficult to scratch names on the bricks that surround the main south door.
NDSportscenter:
Ryan Humphrey was traded to Orlando, where he felt he would go all along. Ryan tried out for 17 teams and twice for the Magic. Hump will be joining Monty Williams '94 and Pat Garrity '98 on the Orlando roster. The only other Domer in the league is Troy Murphy at Golden State. Troy and Ryan were the first back-to-back year Domer draft picks since 1980 and 81. One of the reasons Domers are getting a look in Orlando is that the Director of Player Personnel is Domer Gary Brokaw, who played for the Irish in '73 and '74. Humphrey will soon sign a 4-year contract, 3 of which are guaranteed.
David Graves worked out for the Memphis Grizzlies but was not drafted. He and Harold Swanagan are going to look to play overseas.
We finished 13th in the Sears Directors' Cup. We totaled 806.5 points. Last year we were 11th. Stanford once again took the crown, helped by four national championships. You know the saddest part about our athletic year? Our worst sport was football. How pathetic.
Some bright news about football comes out of Europe. Former safety Deke Cooper was the defensive MVP on the All-NFL Europe team. Deke plays for the Duesseldorf Rhein Fire.
Any time after July 9th you can find out about your football tickets. Either call the ticket office (574-631-7356) or check on-line. FYI, here's the breakdown for ticket allocation: 34,000 in the alumni lottery; 16,000 season tickets; 7500 faculty/staff tickets; 10,000 students; 5000 for visitors; and 7500 miscellaneous. 80,000 tickets and only 34,000 for the alums? Doesn't seem like much. 7500 toward "miscellaneous"? That seems like quite a bit. Jeez, before they expanded the stadium the alums in the lottery musta been really hard up. For those who didn't hear, there is now an alumni standing-only section in the stadium. The section is known as Alumni Alley and it is adjacent to the students. (Not on the 50-yard line side amongst all the "miscellaneous" seats, of course.) That was the only decent section that could be singled out because of its lack of season ticket holders. The Alley will consist of 900 to 1200 spots. If demand is greater than supply a separate lottery will be conducted after first securing a ticket in the stadium. If all goes well with this section look for it to become a permanent addition to the stadium "seating."