Campus News:
At the beginning of this month the campus roads project kicked off again. Portions of Douglas Road north of campus have been closed and torn up. The road east of the Eck Tennis Center, Ivy Road, is also closed and has been removed. Construction is beginning on a roundabout at the Douglas-Ivy intersection. A roundabout is a circular intersection without signals or stop signs. Traffic flows, merges and yields in a counter-clockwise direction. Motorists then peel off onto their desired road.
The project will also involve completing a new four-lane road to tie into Twyckenham Drive southeast of campus. This new four-lane north-south corridor east of campus is expected to be faster and better able to handle traffic around the University. This is all part of the total roads project costing $23.77 million. These new roads are basically an outline for the campus. The University is not allowed to expand beyond this outline. The University has stated that it doesn't want a "sprawling, non-walkable campus."
The section of Juniper Road cutting through campus will close in August. Be prepared to recognize less and less when you come back for future visits.
Domer Charlie Ebersol and his family appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in February to tell the story of the November 2004 plane crash that took the life of his younger brother. The father, Dick Ebersol, is the Chairman of NBC Sports. Charlie's mother is actress Susan Saint James. This was the first time the well-known family had spoken publicly about the tragedy.
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
Here is Part 2 of the marshmallow-throwing tradition at football games....
Problematic Projectiles
Marshmallows aren't the only objects that have been flung by students over the years. During the 1998 home game against Army, one student in Section 31 added to the traditional marshmallow throw a two-pound, 15-inch carp, according to [security coordinator Cappy] Gagnon. The fish didn't last long, however, because Gagnon says "the usher confiscated the piscatorial projectile and disposed of it." The projectiles continue to be creative that year when a squid was thrown around for two games. During the first game the squid was thrown, it hit a student in the face, cutting her cheek near her eye. The practice was condemned soon after its debut, although the squid made one last appearance in a subsequent game. According to Gagnon, one student was removed from the Baylor game for allegedly throwing a squid. The student denied the accusation, claiming it was actually a frog. It turns out that both a frog and a squid appeared in that game's halftime marshmallow throw.
Hall Notes:
Another Vermin in the National Football League has struck it rich in free agency. Anthony Weaver signed with the Houston Texans on March 11. The Domer defensive end missed eight games last year due to back and toe injuries. He has been proclaimed healthy and will now help the Texans switch to a 4-3 defense. Weaver had spent his first four years in the league with the Baltimore Ravens. The specifics of the multi-year deal were not immediately clear. League sources said the contract could average in the $5 million per year range with an eight-figure signing bonus. Anthony's mobility and his stoutness versus the run helped him become the 15th best rated unrestricted free agent by ESPN.com.
NDSportscenter:
The women's tennis team has climbed to #2 in the nation. The ladies started the season ranked #22. They started out knocking off #10 North Carolina, 5-1. It was our first top 10 victory since '01-'02. The team started 4-0, our best start since '97-'98. The Irish climbed to 10-0 and matched our best ranking ever of #5. Most recently the squad beat #5 Duke as we entered #2. The Duke victory was our third top 10 victory this team. The team went to 13-0. The undefeated start has given coach Jay Louderback his 500th victory. He is only the 10th coach to do so in women's college tennis.
The women's basketball team finished 10th in the Big East. The team defeated South Florida in the first round of the Big East tourney, but then fell to UConn. The Irish still made the NCAA tournament. It was our 11th consecutive year. We were a #9 seed and took on boston college. The eagles knocked us off. The team finished with an 18-12 record (8-8 in the Big East).
Senior point guard Megan Duffy had a memorable final season with the Irish. She was voted 1st Team All Big East and was the Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She joins Ruth Riley and Alicia Ratay as a recognized Domer student-athlete. ESPN The Magazine named Duffy as 1st team Academic All American. The Magazine had Ruth Riley as an Academic 1st teamer in the past. Finally, Duffy won the Frances Pomeray Naismith Award that goes to the top senior 5'8" and under who excels on the court and in the classroom. Niele Ivey won the award in 2001.
Campus News:
At the end of February Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves presented the campus plan to the Student Senate. He detailed plans for the "Northeast Neighborhood Project," a mix of retail, residential and office complexes meant to rebuild the area south of campus. Other projects in the near future include expanding the law school, constructing an engineering facility, landscaping the area south of DeBartolo Hall to create a "Town Commons," renovating the student health center and finishing the Jordan Hall of Science which is projected to open this August.
Within seven years constructions is expected to begin on three new residence halls. Two would be located east of Pasquerilla East and Knott. They will be located on current day Juniper Road after it is officially closed and traffic re-routed to the east. The other dorm would be built next to McGlinn and complete the row of West Quad dorms. There are also plans to renovate all of the current residence halls. Affleck-Graves stated, "[The goal] over the next ten to 15 years [is] to go through every dorm on campus...[and] redefine the space." Apparently rooms will be re-configured to provide a wide variety of doubles, triples, and quads.
Further campus changes include building a four-story center for social sciences south of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies and replacing the Stepan Center. Research is on-going and a new student activities center might go up on Stepan's current location. A new inn is still being talked about, but it seems to be farther off than any other projects. Athletic facility upgrades are also long-term. The JACC will someday be expanded and renovated. New stadiums will eventually be built for soccer, lacrosse, and softball.
The "college town" was greeted warmly by the student senate. There are plans for a four-block set-up along the Eddy Corridor. The stores there would be independent of the University but Affleck-Graves stressed the importance of students giving feedback regarding what types of development they would like to see. The businesses, though, will depend on more than just students. Restaurants will not move into the district unless they believe they can make between five and seven million dollars a year.
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
One last football tradition needs to be detailed. Here is Part 1 of marshmallow throwing....
Problematic Projectiles
Marshmallow throwing in the student section began over 30 years ago. Notre Dame was on its way to the 1970 Cotton Bowl - its first bowl game in 45 years (bowls did not count toward national championships in those days) - and according to Charles Lucy ('72), students began to throw marshmallows that season in symbolic anticipation of the bowl. Since marshmallows traveled further than cotton balls, they became the students' projectile of choice during that and subsequent seasons.
There was a hiatus in marshmallow throwing in the early '90s, but the tradition was reborn around 1996. "[It] became a problem soon after it started," says Rex Rakow, director of Notre Dame Security/Police. The marshmallows turned into more than just innocent pieces of confection when students inserted weighted objects into them to increase their trajectory. Cappy Gagnon, manager of event security and coordinator of stadium personnel, says the "potentially painful items" inserted into the marshmallows included small rocks, ice cubes, pennies and golf tees. At least one eye injury resulted from these inserted items, Rakow says. More next week.
Hall Notes:
One last note on Rick Cornett. Rick started for the last home game of the regular season. It was senior night and with it came a starting spot for the Vermin senior. For once Brey did something right. Rick graduates as one of our most wasted basketball talents ever. For his career he barely received 10 minutes of playing time a game. Meanwhile, Torin Francis received about three times Rick's minutes and finished his career as arguably our biggest bust ever. He came in as the National Player of the Year and didn't even make Honorable Mention All Big East as a senior. Rick was robbed.
NDSportscenter:
And now for the positive from the men's basketball season: Chris Quinn was named 1st Team All Big East....Colin Falls was Honorable Mention All Big East....Freshman Kyle McAlarney was All Rookie Honorable Mention....Chris Quinn won the Big East Sportsmanship Award....Chris Quinn averaged 20.2 ppg in the Big East. Only Pat Garrity and Troy Murphy averaged over 20 points a game in the Big East....this is news, not necessarily positive: Chris Thomas was at the Marquette game on crutches with his fiancee. He had arthroscopic surgery in South Bend on his right knee. He had surgery on his left knee during his junior and senior years. Thomas is signed to play professionally in Italy.
Incoming football recruit Robby Parris has suffered another injury. During football season he dislocated his right hip. Well, he broke his left collar bone in a basketball game. The 6'4", 195 lb receiver was undercut on a dunk attempt. (White men can't jump.)
Speaking of a football recruit, Charlie has his first verbal for next year already. Kerry Neal, a 6'5", 225 lb defensive end/tight end has verbally committed. Neal is out of Bunn, North Carolina. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, Weis was watching film of Neal at 5:30am when he called his high school coach to leave a message that he was offering a scholarship. Neal accepted having never visited the Bend. Kerry has received offers from East Carolina and Wake Forest.
Campus News:
At the end of February the University announced that tuition will increase 5.8 percent for the 2006-07 academic year. That equates to $1,865 for the undergraduates. The decision was made in Rome at the winter Board of Trustees meeting. The total cost for 2006-07 will be $42,137. Tuition will be $33,407 while room and board is $8,730. The 5.8 percent also applies to our other schools. Graduate School has a total of $32,800. The Law School and the Master's of Business Administration are at $33,670.
This year's increase is lower than the previous years. Last year's increase was 7.0 percent. The rise for 2004-05 came out to be 6.9 percent. And before that it was 6.5 percent in 2003-04. The lowest increases in 40 years occurred in 2001-02 and 2002-03 when the rise was only 4.5 percent.
The University stated that this year's lower increase was because of a strong performance by the University's endowment. More income was also generated by auxiliary enterprises, including the Hammes Bookstore, athletics, licensed merchandise and laundry. In a letter to parents, President Jenkins explained the need for the increase "to attract and sustain a superb faculty, administer and maintain a large and complex physical plant, and secure a peaceful, hopeful and pleasant environment for our students."
The University's total yearly cost remains below the average of its peer institutions, as determined by the U.S. News & World Report survey of America's best colleges. That survey has us as the 18th best college in the U.S. in 2006 and the 19th best value in education. While tuition increases, so will the financial aid for students in need. Over about the last 15 years, University scholarship aid has grown from around $5.4 million to over $60 million per year. Need-based aid is "the highest priority in the University's fundraising and budgeting and continues to be so."
One last note for February: Black History Month brought plenty of lectures and speakers to campus. The most notable speaker from a pop culture point of view had to be Public Enemy's Chuck D. D gave a lecture entitled "Rap, Race & Reality." And, no, Flavor Flav was not in full effect, BOYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
This is an old school football tradition that was detailed in Scholastic...
In the '50s and '60s, many universities had sections that held up differently- colored cards that were specifically arranged to create a picture during the halftime show. According to [Security manager Cappy] Gagnon, a card section was organized in the freshman section for one game of the 1962 season. Each student was supposed to hold up a series of four cards during the halftime show. "During the first half of that game, some awful officiating calls were made," Gagnon says. "The cards went flying." The foot-long cards made of thick cardboard were flung toward the field at the officials, and many spectators were injured in the process. "It was a disaster," Gagnon says. "That was the beginning and the end of the Notre Dame card section."
Hall Notes:
2006. Carroll Hall is 100 years old. Well, technically the building is 100 years old. "Carroll" started to occupy it in the 1970s, first with graduate students and then with undergraduates. Like other old buildings on campus, the bricks were made from the marl deposits in St. Mary's Lake. In 1906 the building was referred to as "Dujarie" and was used as a seminary for the Brothers of Holy Cross. "Dujarie" is still called out on the cornerstone. Hopefully I can contact current Carroll representatives to see if they have anything planned for the 100th birthday of Carroll Hall.
NDSportscenter:
Last week the 76th Bengal Bouts were held in the JACC. All the money raised goes to the Holy Cross Mission in Bangladesh. Last year $100,000 went to the mission. The funds helped build several elementary and secondary schools and launched several medical care and nutritional programs in the region. Bengal Bouts finds its roots in Knute Rockne. Hebrought boxing to Notre Dame in the 1920s to keep players in shape in the spring. Eventually the program evolved into the Bouts and moved from solely the football team to the entire campus.
Only three Domers were invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. TE Anthony Fasano, G Dan Stevenson, and WR Maurice Stovall did their best to impress NFL scouts. LB Brandon Hoyte was not invited but he and the other seniors hope to put on a show on March 8 and 23. On those dates, ND will host a combine for pro scouts. The Indy Combine is not a guarantee to the NFL nor is not being at the combine the end of the line. Only about two-thirds of those at the Indy Combine get drafted.
The Irish faired well at the Big East Indoor Track & Field Championships. The women were down 18 points with only a few events remaining. They cameback and took first place. They did so with a team effort as only one individual title was captured by junior Maryann Erigha in the 200 meters. The men came in third and were led by junior Thomas Chamney who won the 800 meters and anchored the win on the 4 x 800 meter relay. It was the men's 11th consecutive top 3. The women's team was also honored with the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year. It is the second time they have been honored.
The hockey team hosted Alaska in the first round of the CCHA playoff. And the Irish promptly lost the best-of-3 by scores of 3-1 and 1-0. The team finished the year 13-19-4.
Campus News:
Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) will have it's future federal funding protected. The Supreme Court refused to review a March 2005 U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columia Circuit decision. That ruling stated that AmeriCorps members can receive training from and teach at religiously affiliated institutions without violating the Constitution's establishment clause. The January 9 announcement brought nearly two years of litigation to a close. (Money and time well spent since the end result was exactly like it was before. Money and time well spent.)
ACE is a two-year teacher training program that puts members in disadvantaged schools throughout the U.S. Roughly 300 to 350 apply and about 85 are selected. During the summer the participants return to the University to earn master's degrees in education. ACE students receive approximately $11,000 per year from their schools. They also apply for and receive two annual $4,725 education vouchers through AmeriCorps, a federal service program. The vouchers require that the teachers complete 1,700 hours of non-religious affiliated service in or outside of the classroom. The University also receives a grant from AmeriCorps for full-time AmeriCorps members.
The American Jewish Congress (AJC) filed suit in 2004 claiming AmeriCorps was violating the Constitution by providing government funds to those teaching in parochial schools. In July 2005 a Federal District ruled in favor of AJC. However, in March 2005 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision by a 3-0 vote. The court ruled taxpayer support of religious school is constitutional in cases where money goes to "programs of true private choice." The University was not ruled against because the main beneficiaries of the federal funding are AmeriCorps members and the underprivileged students they teach, not ND. ACE has always taken precautions to be within the law. Teachers carefully log and distinguish hours spent in secular activity and faith-based activity.
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
Time to share a little information and a story about Coach Weis....
Although the football season is over, football Head Coach Charlie Weis can't seem to get out of the spotlight. According to the Boston Globe, Weis attended the Super Bowl XL festivities in Detroit, Mich., and reconnected with New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. At one point, Weis was hounded by an autograph-seeking fan wearing a Michigan jacket. "I have a policy," Weis said. "I don't sign for anyone wearing a Michigan jacket." The disappointed fan began walking away when Weis said, "I was just kidding. I had to bust you a little bit." After signing for the fan, Weis added, "Anyway, my favorite player ever went to Michigan." Weis, of course, was referring to Brady, the man who helped Weis win three of his four Super Bowl rings during his tenure in the National Football League.
Hall Notes:
The following is the final installment of the Scholastic article on Vermin Rick Cornett....
Now You See Me...
The three did not remember seeing any Notre Dame students around during their project. They realized that choosing a location like the library would not be directed towards students, but that going to an area where there would be tailgating would take away from the serious tone of the project. "We didn't want to be overly aggressive in our demonstration, and [we] had all of the necessary approvals from the Department of Art, Art History and Design," Sebree says. "Alumni didn't react negatively, and security did not give us any problems, but many people were shocked to see a homeless person there at the reflecting pool."
Although the project lasted for only one hour, the three believe that it made a difference. Some people may have strayed purposely from the disturbing scene, but many took the time to at least look at the cards and see the connection between Cornett and Sebree. "If only a few people understood our message and took a card then we were successful," Cornett emphazies.
NDSportscenter:
Jerome Bettis is joining the NBC football broadcast team. He will be doing Sunday night games during NBC's "Football Night in America." Bettis will be an analyst with Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth. The first game is September 7 at Pittsburgh. Jerome auditioned during this past season. NBC executives were blown away by his audition. Look for the Bus this fall.
The hockey team has bounced back this year. How could they not seeing as how they only won five games last year? Early in the year the Irish beat Princeton 2-0 to end a 22-game winless streak (0-20-2). The team went almost a year between victories. The Irish finished 8th in the CCHA and won home ice in the first round of the CCHA Playoffs. The squad finished the regular season with a record of 13-17-4 and 11-13-4 in the conference.
Domer and Houston Astro closer Brad Lidge has been named to the 30-man U.S. roster for the World Baseball Classic. The 16-nation tournament will be held in Japan from March 3-20. Domer and Arizona Diamondback infielder Craig Counsell was one of twenty-two on the provisional roster. And the Irish baseball team has performed strongly in the classroom. The team GPA for the past semester was 3.17. We had 11 players with GPAs over 3.4. Our graduation rate is 100%. We are one of only two teams in the top 25 with a perfect graduation rate.
Campus News:
The main speaker for this year's commencement has been announced. On May 21 Mary McAleese, the president of Ireland, will speak before graduates. She will be the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree. McAleese was elected in 1997 and was unopposed for re-election in 2004. She is a native of Belfast and the country's eighth president, the first from Northern Ireland. McAleese talks of a "building bridges" theme and is respected by both the Catholics and Protestants. She officially recognizes both St. Patrick's Day and the Twelfth of July, the anniversary of the Protestant victory in the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.
McAleese was raised in a Catholic family in a mainly Protestant area of Belfast. She studied law at Queen's University in Belfast and graduated with honors in 1973. Mary practiced law for a year. Then she became a professor of criminal law, criminology and penology at Dublin's Trinity College. Following the university work she dove into journalism for two years on two programs on the national televisioin network of Ireland. In 1987 McAleese became director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at her alma mater. In 1994 she was appointed a pro vice-chancellor at Queen's. The position have her management responsibilities for the entire university.
Speaking of presidents, our former president is back in the news. Monk has been reappointed to the board of governors of the University of Notre Dame Australia through 2009. Notre Dame Australia was established in 1990. The enrollment has grown from 60 in 1992 to over 3,000 today. ND Australia is the nation's first Catholic university and has three campuses. There are no legal or financial ties to our ND. But ND Australia was patterned after us. I don't know if they have a Carroll Hall but they should if they expect to have an credibility whatsoever.
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
Here is another story from Scholastic on a football tradition. However, I take issue with it. The issue is the establishment date. I recall it for sure as a freshman in '93. I have to believe it was around before that as well. But the following is what was printed in Scholastic in November 2004...
Push-up
[Head of Campus Security Rex] Rakow believes that push-ups - a tradition borrowed from the service academies - started at Notre Dame in 1995. That year Notre Dame played the three service academies - Army, Navy, and Air Force - which all have a long tradition of doing push-ups after scoring. "Push-ups are not a struggle for them," Rakow says. "It was particularly the Air Force Academy who made a big deal about them." At the AFA, each "doolie" (freshman) had to leave the stands, go down to the field, and do push-ups each time Air Force scored. Notre Dame thus began its slightly altered version of throwing students up in the stands for push-ups.
Hall Notes:
The 4th part in a story about Vermin hoops player Rick Cornett...
Now You See Me... (Part 4)
Along with their signs, Cornett and Sebree had cards around them that indicated that "in South Bend along, there are over 17,000 people living in poverty each year... visible or not." On the back of the cards were several local organizations' Web addresses, including the Center for the Homeless, Hope Rescue Mission, Food Bank of Northern Indiana and The Salvation Army, to inform passers-by of the organized attempts being made to help the problem of local poverty and homelessness. The students received approval from each organization to include their names in the project.
Reactions to the scene varied. Some people actually believed that the two students were homeless, while others realized it was a project. Sebree recalled little children asking their parents what was going on, to which they responded that it was "probably students doing some sort of project." However, according to Cornett, "People were also walking by saying, 'That's terrible,' and, 'That's ridiculous.' Only one person actually walked right up to me and took a card." Howard observed that many people avoided Rick but had no trouble coming closer to Erica. There were a few, however, who came closer to Rick, but not necessarily with the right intentions. "People were actually taking pictures with Rick, leaving him money, and even [offering] him a beer," Howard says.
NDSportscenter:
Did you know Jeff Samardzija supposedly has a 5th year available to him? The South Bend Tribune stated he has two years of eligibility remaining. I don't understand how, though. As a freshman he played in all 12 games and had 7 catches for 53 yards. Jeff played 35:32 minutes and made 75 special teams appearances. Despite the possible 5th year, Samardzija is already rated the #1 wide receiver prospect for the NFL.
Samardzija, a consensus All American, is also rated as a pro baseball prospect. The righthanded pitcher is predicted to be anywhere from a 4th round pick to an 8th round selection. Jeff has been joined on the baseball team by another football player. Freshman Evan Sharpley is a first baseman and designated hitter. Because he is a position player and is battling to be the #2 QB, he will not bounce between sports like Jeff. From March 22-April 22 it will only be football. Before and after that month it will strictly be baseball.
Charlie Weis was supposedly listed in a "Most Powerful People in Sports" ranking. In one article he was referred to as the "fifty-third" most powerful person in sports. (I gotta say he should be higher.) Charlie spoke at the 5th annual Opening Night Baseball Dinner. He was one of two main speakers, the other being four-time Domer All American and current New York Met pitcher Aaron Heilman. Roughly 1,700 people attended the event. The baseball team has a pre-season ranking of #22.
Campus News:
Last week's news was given on University officials as they visited the Vatican. Here is a little history lesson on the relationship between Notre Dame and the Pope.
The relationship between the University and the Vatican does not only go one way. "It's important for us to be familiar with the Church and for them to know us. It's mutual respect," said Campus Ministry Director Father Richard Warner. Trips to Rome help the Vatican "to see Notre Dame as the treasure it is for the Church." The connection has been strong and stable for many decades. Father Hesburgh had a personal relationship while Father Malloy had an institutional relationship.
In 1960, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini received an honorary degree at ND's commencement. Hesburgh remembered, "We spent three or four days just touring the campus and we became very good friends. In future years, every time I went to Rome he asked me to lunch or dinner with him, and he asked me about Catholic higher education, which he was very interested in." In June of 1963 Montini was elected Pope Paul VI. A few years later the pope asked Hesburgh for an important favor. The pope wished to revitalize the International Federation of Catholic Universities - an organization Hesburgh called "the only officia representation of all of the Catholic universities in the world [to] the Church." Paul VI instructed Hesburgh to rewrite the organization's constitution to make universities more independent. Since bringing the Federation out of hibernation, ND has had a "helpful and fruitful" relationship with the Vatican.
Malloy went to the Vatican once a year for 15 years. He met with Pope John Paul II every other year. Malloy's institutional relationship involved four specific tasks: paying regular visits to the Vatican, familiarizing Vatican offices with Notre Dame, awarding one honorary degree a year to a member of the Vatican and introducing the degree recipient to ND students and faculty during Commencement weekend. Malloy dealt with John Paul II on matters of higher education. Monk was one of three U.S. educators to serve on a 15-member commission to help revise the papal Apostolic Constitution, a draft document released by the World Congress on Catholic higher education in November 1989.
What sort of relationship will Jenkins have with Rome? Based on his recent visit with the new pope, it will certainly be positive.
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
Here is another football tradition's history as told in Scholastic....
Up and Over
The tradition of "passing up" in the student section dates back to at least the 1960s, according to [Head of Usher's Cappy] Gagnon, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1966. Once during each game, one student would be lifted up and over the students' heads and passed to the top of the student section. This was possible, Gagnon says, because the stadium only had 60 rows. Once the student was passed to the top, the students would cheer, "Over the wall, over the wall!" The student would disappear, and in his or her place the group often lifted up a life-size dummy, tossing it over the stadium wall.
[Head of Campus Security Rex] Rakow says an effort was made to stop this practice after one student suffered a injury when dropped on her head in the late '70s or early '80s. The tradition was finally quelled in the early '90s. "It had to stop," Gagnon says, "because both boys and girls were being passed up, and the students had had too much to drink. There became an issue of boys handling the girls."
Hall Notes:
More of the article on Vermin Rick Cornett.
Now You See Me... (Part 3)
For the demonstration, Cornett dressed as a stereotypical homeless person. He wore stained, torn pants with an old ratty blanket covering his entire body and rags covering his face. Sebree, on the other hand, dressed as a person with more typical but older and less fashionable clothing. Holding a piece of cardboard that said, "Now You See Me," Cornett clearly attracted attention. In contrast, Sebree, holding a "Now You Don't" sign, represented those who were not easily recognizable as homeless but who suffered from poverty nonetheless. Although Cornett's attire was indeed more obvious, he did not want people to be able to realize his identity as a forward on the Notre Dame basketball team. "I wasn't doing this for publicity," Cornett says. "This was a serious project, and I didn't want people to be distracted by the fact that I was a basketball player."
All three were nervous about people's reactions to their message, but were resolved to put their project into action. Cornett curled up on the ground at the base of the reflecting pool with a full garbage bag at his feet, while Sebree sat on the edge of the pool among other people. "It was amazing how I blended in with everyone," Sebree says. "I couldn't be picked out from the crowd of people I was sitting with unless you knew what we were doing." Howard documented the project by taking pictures of Sebree and Cornett and making sure that everything ran smoothly.
NDSportscenter:
There is already a report on recruiting for NEXT year. Rivals.com named QB Jimmy Clausen the top junior of this past year. Clausen has us on his short list. In fact there was a stretch where Clausen had visited campus 3 times in 3 months (Tennesse game, USC game, Junior Day). Rivals has also ranked the top 100 players for next year. Of those 100, we are short-listed by 48 and only one of those 48 expressed "low" interest. It appeared that we were named more than any other school and we were going after almost all the same players as USC. Of Rivals top ten players, we were short-listed by six of them.
On our winter Junior Day, Charlie hosted 15 of the top 100 players. Another big name besides Clausen is that of Josh Oglesby. He did not make it for Junior Day but has visited several times. Oglesby is a 16-year-old offensive lineman tipping the scaled at 325 lbs. The 6'7" prospect attends St. Francis High School in St. Francis, Wisconsin. He is also looking at Ohio State, Tennessee, and Michigan. We have supposedly already made a scholarship offer to Oglesby.
Jerome Bettis became the 32nd Domer to win a Super Bowl ring. Jerome had 43 yards on 14 carries and retired as the fifth leading rusher in NFL history. Twenty-seven of the forty Super Bowl Champions have had Domers. And thirty-four of the Super Bowls have had Domers.
Campus News:
The Board of Trustees convened in Rome for five days for its annual winter meeting. They met with key Vatican leaders, participated in an academic conference and conferred two honorary degrees. The Board was scheduled to meet in Rome a couple of years ago but postponed it to reduce costs during a downturn in the U.S. economy. Father Jenkins met the pope. The last time a Notre Dame president met the pope was in July 2001 when Monk met the late Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI knew Jenkins was from ND and commended him, calling our school a "great Catholic university." The two spoke for about 30 seconds and ended with Jenkins kissing the pope's ring.
The Trustees met with numerous Vatican officials, including representatives of the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Secretariat of State.
The academic conference featured addresses by Jenkins and trustee Daniel Jenky, bishop of Peoria, Ill. Jenkins delivered an address entitled "Notre Dame: A Catholic University within American Academe." The speech focused heavily on the Church-culture interface and said it was the role of a Catholic university to serve as an intermediary between the sometimes opposing forces.
A group of 48 trustees, officers and their spouses attended a papal address. The pope gave his commentary in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Polish. Before each translation, a different cardinal welcomed the speakers of the particular language. The specific groups in attendance are mentioned and they respond with raucous applause, flag waving or even synchronized chants. When "The Board of Trustees and Officers from Notre Dame, Ind." were announced, our delegates leapt to their feet and cheered.
Campus Watch from Scholastic:
Here is another football tradition. It's very old school and probably unknown to damn near all of us.
The Naked Kahuna
The reign of the "Naked Kahuna" began during the late '60s. In the fourth quarter of each game, student Jamie Egan would climb the shoulders of a friend and begin to strip, [security head Cappy} Gagnon says. The Kahuna took off multiple layers of clothing, beginning with sweaters, then several shirts and undershirts, until he was finally down to his boxers. After each piece of clothing was removed, the Kahuna would twirl it over his head and release it into the crowd. "He may have been feuled by at least a couple of beers," says his classmate, Lucy. The "Naked Klunker," student Ed Klunk, was the successor of the "Naked Kahuna" and took over fourth-quarter stripping duties after Egan's graduation.
Hall Notes:
More about Rick Cornett's studies.
Now You See Me... (Part 2)
For the project, the professor instructed his students to use words and images to make a statement about poverty. One of Sedlack's major concerns was that the project would turn into a parody of the homeless. Therefore, he stressed to his students the need for a serious tone in their presentations. As a class, Sedlack's students went to the Center for the Homeless to obtain facts about South Bend's poverty situation and to develop project ideas.
The group of seniors Rick Cornett, Caroline Howard and Erica Sebree chose to focus on the poverty of South Bend, particularly the idea that impoverished people do not always look like the stereotypical homeless person on the street. "We wanted to use the shock value," Howard says, "to make it more visible. The key word was visibility." The three decided to perform their project for an hour on the Saturday morning of the Syracuse game. They chose the reflecting pool in front of the Hesburgh Library, a highly trafficked area of campus on home football Saturdays, to reach many people at one time with their message.
NDSportscenter:
So signing day went off without any surprises. We had 27 players send in their letter of intent. A 28th player will sign with our lacrosse team for a year and then switch over to football for his scholarship but will still play both. We had one scholarship left and it will probably go to a walk-on for just one football season. Our class ranked from 3rd (Tom Lemming) to 9th (SuperPrep). We offered to 58 players. Of them 37 came on official visits. And we got 73% of those 37. We rated in the top four at every position but linebacker and defensive line. One last recruiting note: we may be getting a 29th player. Eric Maust is a 6'2", 180 lb right- handed pitcher and a punter. The Alpharetta, Georgia native averaged 40 yards a punt last year. He's getting a baseball scholarship but has talked to Weis about walking on to the football team.
Speaking of Charlie, he was voted New Jersey's "Man of the Year."
Here is a summary of the records set this past season: Most points scored in a season (440); 11 team records with 8 of them passing (so basically Quinn records); 9 career individual records (Quinn); 14 season individual records (9 for Quinn); 7 single-game individual records (4 for Quinn); and 6 miscellaneous records (3 for Quinn).
Five seniors played in post-season games. D.J. Fitzpatrick made a 36-yard field goal and had a 45 yard punt in the Hula Bowl. Corey Mays had a game high 6 tackles (3 solo) in the same game. Brandon Hoyte had 2 tackles and guard Dan Stevenson helped his offense to 412 yards in the East-West Shrine Game. Maurice Stovall was in the Senior Bowl and is now projected by Mel Kiper to be the last pick in the 1st round of the NFL Draft (Seattle Seahawks).
Campus News:
Two weeks ago was an interesting week on campus. First came the hacker that breached the Development Office server. Personal and financial information of some donors may have been at risk. The data in question possibly included Social Security numbers, credit card information, and check images from donations made between Nov. 22, 2005 and Jan. 12, 2006. The hacking did not take place on campus and the hacker is still a mystery. Two independent forensics firms were brought in to crack the case. To alert donors, the University sent emails and letters advising appropriate safeguards.
Later in the week President Jenkins had two information sesssions for the campus. The first was for the faculty and the second for the students. Jenkins spoke about re-establishing the Catholic identity of the University. The two main topics of discussion were the play "The Vagina Monologues" and the Queer Film Festival. The monologues has played on campus every year for the past few years. The film festival has been on campus for two years. Jenkins said the film festival will be re-named "Gay & Lesbian Film: Filmmakers, Narratives and Spectatorships." The monologues will be limited to a classroom setting this year. Tickets will not be sold and the performance will not be a fundraiser for community organizations. Beyond this year, the play and festival's continuation and sponsorship may be in doubt. Jenkins made his presentation and said he has yet to make a final decision. He wished to get the feedback of the Notre Dame Family to aid in the decision-making process. Boldly, he put his feet to the flames and opened up to a Q & A session after each presentation. Of course academic freedom and free speech were the concerns of the faculty and students. Letters can be written to the Office of the President. All the material will be reviewed over the next few weeks before Jenkins makes a final decision.
Campus Watch by Me:
Here is another story of a football tradition. Well, it's sort of a tradition. (Not really, but I'm trying to adhere to the previous theme.)
Jeff Samardzija's Hair
Samardzija's locks were quite the conversation piece this past season. For the Pitt game, his dark brown follicles peaked out a mere inch or two from under his golden helmet. As the season progressed, so did his mane. By the Fiesta Bowl his Fabio-ness was cascading down his shoulder pads. But what would he do come baseball season? Surely he could not sustain the beast under a mere baseball cap. Jeff had to make his way to a barbershop. And the local Fox affiliate was there to document it. Yes, the centerpiece of a three minute story on the local news was Samardzija getting a haircut. A reporter was dispatched. A cameraman was there to document. Real news takes place at barbershops. Clip after clip of hair became clip after clip for the nightly news. Now Jeff didn't take it down the scalp or anything. It's still relatively long. Let's just say he went from Jesus-at-age-33 length to Jesus-at-age-18 length. It's still over the ears and down the neck but hardly the shelter for nesting robins. Hopefully over the summer the media will keep us abreast of the growth so that in the fall we can rejoice over the resurrection of Gold-n-locks.
Hall Notes:
Vermin senior basketball player Rick Cornett has been highlighted recently. But this next news item has to do with his academic work. The piece appeared in Scholastic this Fall. It will be broken into multiple segments.
NOW YOU SEE ME... (Part 1) Demonstration informs Irish about poverty
The morning of the Notre Dame-Syracuse game seemed like any other. Alumni and visitors scurried around campus, taking pictures in front of notable landmarks; fans followed the marching band in preparation for another thrilling football game; and student enjoyed themselves at tailgates with family and friends. One thing that was not so typical on that morning, however, was the presence of two ostensibly homeless people below the outstretched arms of Touchdown Jesus. In reality, though, these apparently homeless individuals actually were three Notre Dame seniors who were participating in a project whose goal was to create awarenesss on Notre Dame's campus about poverty.
The project was a requirement for Professor Robert Sedlack's Graphic Design 3 class. The class was divided into four groups of three, and each group addressed the problem of poverty from either a worldwide, national, regional or local viewpoint. The initial focus of the project was on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but because of the students' various backgrounds, Sedlack's students also were encouraged to investigate poverty from different perspectives. "Katrina revealed the problem of poverty to the nation and forced Americans to realize that we, ourselves, are not immune to it," Sedlack says.
NDSportscenter:
Former women's basketball legend Ruth Riley was selected as one of the top twenty-five women's players of the past twenty-five years by ESPN.com.
Women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw collected her 500th win this year. Muffet also missed three games this year because of an "acute illness." McGraw was taken to the emergency room and spent twelve days in the hospital. The illness did not require surgery. After leaving the hospital Muffet needed four weeks to get back to normal. She lost 10 pounds during the ordeal.
Tennis news: The Thompson twins made it to the second grand slame of the college tennis circuit. But they lost in the quarterfinal. They fell to Stanford 8-3 at the ITA National Indoor Championships. But on Jan. 10 they returned to the #1 ranking. We are the only school with three nationaly-ranked doubles teams (#1, #35, and #45). And the twins are also solid singles players. Catrina is 24th and Christian is 44th....the women's team has signed the nation's #1 prospect. Colleen Rielley of Overland Park, Kansas is #1 in the USTA 18-and-under Girls' Singless Nations Rankings.... Domer David DiLucia has left his position with the USTA to become the personal coach for the #1 ranked player in pro tennis, Lindsay Davenport. DiLucia starred for the Irish in '90, '91 and '92. He's the only 5-time All American in ND men's tennis history.
Campus News:
Former football captain and Super Bowl winner Dave Duerson, who resigned from the Board of Trustees last February, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery. Duerson appeared in the traffic and misdemeanor division of Superior Court in South Bend. He pled guilty to one of four misdemeanor counts against him. All stem from an argument between Duerson and his wife in which she was pushed into a wall. It took place at the Morris Inn last February during the Trustees winter meeting. Duerson's wife was treated and released from a local hospital.
Duerson agreed to plead guilty to the domestic battery charge as part of a deal in which the three other counts against him would be dismissed. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 14 and faces up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Duerson is an '83 grad and had been a Trustee since 2001. He had also been president of the Monogram Club since 2003, a position he also resigned. The former Irish great is president and CEO of Duerson Foods, LLC.
Campus Watch:
Here is another Scholastic history lesson on a Notre Dame Stadium football tradition....
Officer Tim McCarthy
The one man capable of bringing a hush over the entire stadium for over 40 years is Sgt. Tim McCarthy of the Indiana State Police. McCarthy began giving his fourth-quarter warnings against drunk driving in 1960. The warnings didn't start out as the puns we hear now, McCarthy says.
"There were two games left in the season when I began, and I said the messages very seriously. No one was listening," McCarthy says. The next season McCarthy began using pun lines to get the crowd's attention. "After that first joke, I could hear the stadium's laughter and groans from the press box," McCarthy says. He has continued with the jokes ever since.
The stadium still settles to a hush today at the sound of "May I have your attention please..." and erupts into a raucous cheer after McCarthy delivers the much anticipated pun. McCarthy sill remembers the first joke he used: "The automobile replaced the horse, but the driver should stay on the wagon."
Hall Notes:
Vermin and senior basketball player Rick Cornett was named a tri-captain on January 11. The previous captains were only seniors Chris Quinn and Torin Francis. Stangely enough, this came on the heels of the January 7 game versus DePaul in which Rick played a meager 6 minutes. The game at DePaul was in Rick's hometown and he had plenty of family and friends in attendance. And Brey only played him 6 frickin' minutes.
Cornett is a Design and Computer Applications major. He was on the Big East Academic All Star team in '03-'04 and '04-'05. Rick is very much a crowd favorite despite playing less than 10 minutes a game. The home crowd has been getting testy with Brey. Francis' ineffectiveness and turnovers have irked the crowd who applaud noticeably when Rick gets off the bench to replace Torin. Brey needs to get his act together.
NDSportscenter:
Our 28th commitment came from tackle Sam Young. Young is a five-star prospect. Tom Lemming rates him the #1 tackle and the #10 player overall. He is also our 8th recruit from Lemming's top 100. Young selected us live on ESPNews. He had canceled visits to Michigan and Penn State and had his choices down to us and USC. Sam is 6'7", 300 lbs and the sixth o-lineman of this class. As a senior he had 80 pancake blocks. He attends St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is a teammate of Dan Wegner, a center who is also a recruit of ours. Scout.com has all six of our o-line recruits in the top 52.
We actually have three recruits starting their freshman years now. RB James Aldridge, G Chris Stewart, and DB George West finished high school early.
The men's and women's cross country teams had top 10 years. The #5 men and #4 women each finished 2nd at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Both moved on to the NCAAs. At the NCAAs the men placed 3rd while the women were 7th. It was the first time ever we had both finish in the top 10 at the same time. The men matched 3rd places finishes in '63 and '90. The only better finish was the '57 National Championship. Senior Stephanie Madia earned her second All-American honor with a time of 19:49. She finished 3rd and notched the best ever finish for a woman Domer. Senior Molly Huddle was 15th at 20:13 and also earned All American honors. It was the third honor in cross country. Including track, Huddle is an 8-time All American. The highest finish for the men was junior Kurt Benninger. He was 8th with 29:51. Kurt earned his first cross country All American honor.
Campus News:
The Leprechaun Legion was formed in 2001. The very well organized student section at men's basketball games have brought unity and dedication to the games. In '01 a small group within the student section began wearing Kelly green shirts. Later nine students came together one morning in the basement of McKenna Hall to talk about their passion for Notre Dame basketball. They brainstormed ideas to get the crowd more involved. Their presence became known in 2002 when 25 members camped out for 17 hours in freezing temperatures prior to the Kentucky game.
The Legion operated like a business and even had a president. The group was divided into departments, including Signs and Ballyhoo, Human Resources and Public. The Digging and Sloganry department became notorious. That committee researched opponents for embarrassing information to chant about. Some felt they went too far when commenting on fathering illegitimate children and players accused of assault. One opponent was so flustered by the Legion he spit on one of our cheerleaders after being ejected from the game.
The Legion gained official club status in 2003. The club opened itself to the entire student section before the 2004-05 season. All season ticket holders received a Legion shirt, which was sponsored by Chili's and raised over $4,500 for the Coaches vs Cancer Foundation. But official affiliation with the University meant toning down the insults. Every year the student tickets sell out so it seems the Legion will be going strong for many years to come.
Campus Watch:
There is currently a lack of "Campus Watch" stories to share. So here is a story about the student section at football games...
The Legendary Keg Smuggle
The largest prohibited item ever reportedly smuggled into the stadium is a keg, a feat that was accomplished in November 1977 by six Dillon seniors. The students set up a table stacked with programs just outside the stadium and hid the keg under it, an unidentified source says.
The Dillon group had observed the point of the game when the outside ushers entered the stadium, and waited for that moment to make a move. "Each person had a responsibility," the unidentified source says. For example, one person was responsible for the cups and the tap. With some people stationed at the bottom of the stadium as well as at the top, the keg was hoisted up and over the wall using rope, a feat that would have been easier then than now, since the stadium height in 1977 was only 60 feet. To make the keg easier to lift, only a quarter-keg was brought in, and "it didn't take long for the students to finish it," the source says. The keg was never detected by the ushers during the game, since students with large coats and blankets obstructed the view. The Dillon group simply left the keg in the stands and walked away when the game ended, never attempting the stunt again. "We were one and done," the source says. "We wanted to end up in the plus column."
Hall Notes:
"Midnight Laundry" by Dan Delgado, Part 2...
After raising the gate to get the car initially on campus, Dean and I still had to proceed with caution. We weren't worried about cars behind us but in front of us. (Unlike donkeys I know who tried to lift the gate but never looked behind them only to have a security vehicle show up on their back bumper.) From the gate to the Grotto was a long and winding road. The headlights were off and we were in stealth-Honda mode. Never once did we run across security. Why? Because I'm 1/8th Irish and I'm one lucky son of a beotch. We were able to pull the car right up to the laundry room doors. We had a shorter distance than people in a house who have to cart clothes from the hamper to the washing machine.
The bonus came if we did laundry at the end of the week. We'd keep the car on campus all weekend. Security never really checked additional cars parked out at Carroll, especially on the weekends. So we drove to the dining hall for brunch and dinner while the windchill was subzero. Vermin are crafty, crafty mammals.
NDSportscenter:
We are first in the Directors' Cup athletics standings. All the fall sports through football have been included. Speaking of excellence, 16 of our 20 athletic programs had graduation rates of 100%. No sports were below 90%. Football was at 96% and that's second only to Navy. Golf (92%), basketball (90%) and women's soccer (94%) were the other sports not at 100%. We had the highest percentage of 100% sports in the nation. Men's basketball had a team GPA of 3.244 for the first semester, our highest ever. Nine of twelve were over 3.0 and Chris Quinn led the way at 3.833. The football team excelled as well. We had 56 of 97 players above 3.0.
The volleyball team entered the NCAAs with its best record ever at 28-3. The ladies had a 15 game win streak in the regular season. The women were ranked #8 during the Big East tournament and won the crown with a victory over #7 Louisville. The team climbed to #7 but were given the #6 seed in the NCAAs, our highest ever. The first two NCAA rounds were at the JACC. Dayton was defeated in the first round and Northwestern went down next. The Irish were 30-3 and on to the Sweet 16 at Texas A&M. The women faced #11 seed Wisconsin. We fell to the Badgers in 5 games. Coach Debbie Brown was named Big East Coach of the Year. She's the first 5-time Coach of the Year in the Big East. Three Domers were on the All Big East 1st Team and two were on the 2nd Team. Senior middle blocker Lauren Brewster was named 2nd team All American. The team finished the year ranked #11 in one poll and #12 in the other.
Campus News:
The University has signed a ten-year deal with Adidas worth a reported $60 million. All 26 varsity teams will be outfitted in Adidas. Irish athletes began the current contract to wear the gear in '97-'98. The new contract extends through the 2013-14 academic year. The deal provides us with free footwear, apparel and practice gear. And we also get cash. How is this not the most one-sided deal ever? $60 million worth of free stuff. Sweet. Athletic Director Kevin White stated that the funds would help "subsidize grant-in-aid expenses which comprise one third of our budget."
The rubber wristband craze first made popular by Lance Armstrong has hit campus in at least a couple of ways. First, Charlie Weis has bands out that collect money for a foundation he leads for children with mental development issues. Now there is a navy blue wristband that says "Pass Right" in honor of Montana Mazurkiewicz, the boy who passed away from cancer and called the first play of the Washington game. Three juniors developed the wristband as part of an entrepreneurship class. Each band is $3 and all the proceeds go to the family to pay medical and funeral expenses. As of mid-December, $2,250 had been raised.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Let's begin wiht a little something to tempt the palate. Picture this: A jolly game of beer pong, friends are laughing and loving and imbibing, their blurry contentment unblemished with an inkling of the dark deeds in store that night. As the evening rolls on, our tipster's partner politely excuses himself to the crapper. Their opponent, eyes a-glow with satanic delight, seizes upon the momentary absence, and from his lips flows these words, like a rush of snow from the eaves, "I'd like the waterfall, please." So, in a moment so thick with homoerotic tension you could cut it with a menorah, our boy acquiesces and joyfully INSERTS A "SPECIAL APPENDAGE" INTO ONE OF HIS TEAM'S SOLO CUPS, his anatomy thus forming something of a wacky, stomach-turning Slip-n-Slide. Our tipster points out unnecessarily that phrase "the waterslide" refers only to an action performed by a male. Thanks pal. While it has been a while, Gipp thinks he still has a clear enough understanding of the human reproductive tract to get the picture. On a side note, Gipp is now taking suggestions for a similar act of drink defilement that could be performed by the ladies, descriptive names such as "equally disgusting" or "impossible, but potentially erotic."
Needless to say, the unsuspecting chump returns and, wonder of wonders, soon ends up downing the drink, operating under the foolish presumption that it had not been stirred by his partner's swizzle stick. The tipster rationalized that since the victim was "a kid they had just met that night," they couldn't be held in reproach. Which just goes to show, if you don't know someone, you don't have to treat them with any modicum of respect. Gipp thinks that's in the Bible somewhere.
Hall Notes:
"Midnight Laundry" by Dan Delgado.
The current Vermin have no idea that old school Vermin used to have to go to the Rock to do laundry. Vermin would stuff their laundry bags and make the hike. I'd have two giant bags each weekend. And forget about ironing because the cleaned items had to return in those same bags. I had more wrinkles than the Rolling Stones. That trek was a tad more challenging in the winter.
Well that got old real quick. Luckily my roommate, Dean Busack, had a sporty little Honda and a penchant for disobeying the rules. "Midnight Laundry" at Badin was born. It's not very easy to get past the security gates with an excuse at midnight. So we had to be more proactive. Across from St. Mary's main drive was an unguarded gate. First we would travel up and down U.S. 31 to be sure no security cars were in the area. Then we cut the headlights and snuck up to the gate. The Honda was nice and low so the hood slid under the gate arm almost to the windshield. I pulled a "Dukes of Hazzard" and leaned out the window. I reached forward, got an arm under the gate, and lifted it up. Those gates have a sweet pressure guage. Apply enough force and those suckers will go up the whole way before coming back down. I curled it like a dumbbell. It went up. Dean hit the gas. We got on campus more than football players get on jersey chasers.
Part 2 next week.
NDSportscenter:
So which football players are coming back for a 5th year? Nine players were eligible and most will be back. Tight end Anthony Fasano has decided to go pro. But tight end Marcus Freeman can return. Offensive linemen Bob Morton and Dan Santucci will return. Santucci started at left guard and Morton played guard and center in every game. Of course receiver Rhema McKnight will be back because of a medical redshirt after a knee injury. Defensive linemen Chris Frome and Derek Landri started this past year and will log major minutes next year. Finally, cornerback Mike Richardson will be back in the secondary. We need to replace two lost starting linebackers and the right side of the o-line. We also need a punter and kicker. And a kickoff return team would be nice too.
We had ten recruits in last week's U.S. Army All-American game. We entered the game with nine and during the game Matt Carufel became our 27th overall recruit. Carufel is an offensive lineman from Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. It's the same school that produced tackle Ryan Harris, TE Marcus Freeman, and FB Rashon Powers- Neal. The 6'5", 290 lb. Carful chose us over Iowa and Miami. Matt is the 5th o-lineman of this class. He has great technique and is very physical. Tom Lemming has us with the #2 class.
Our most productive player in the All-American game was Raeshon McNeil. In addition to five pass breakups, he also had a 65 yard touchdown after returning a blocked field goal.
Campus News:
Classes aren't back in session so the news is pretty slim. Here are a flock of random items to hold you over....
Monk has been inducted into the South Bend Hall of Fame. He was one of five community leaders honored at the 19th annual banquet.
Domer Joe Kernan is a former governor and South Bend mayor. Now he is a teacher. The University has added him to the faculty to teach a single credit class. The gubernatorial leadership seminar will begin this spring semester. The class will have about 20 students. The class will be titled "Executive Branch and Public Policy." It will focus on state and local budgets, welfare, economic development, health care, capital punishment, urban development, and crime. In addition to teaching, Kernan will also give periodic campus lectures. Joe was South Bend's mayor for nine years. The '68 grad became Indiana's lieutenant governor in '96 and took over the governorship in '03 when then-governor Frank O'Bannon past away from a stroke.
Previously details were given on a lawsuit between the University and The Copy Shop situated in LaFortune. Basically, the University wants them out while the Shop says it has a contract to stay. A judge has declared that the lease is valid for renewal. However, the judge did not say if this was the case every year or just this year. Look for both parties to get their attorney on again next year.
The Student Union Board did its best to bring entertainment to campus. Last semester wedding crasher Vince Vaughn brought his "Wild West" comedy show to Stepan. The two-hour event featured four comics and three guests that did skits between acts. Despite $30 tickets, the show sold out.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
This next story might be one of Gipp's favorites this semester - spare, simple, pared down to the point of elegance while still incredibly disturbing. This reader's helpful e-mail suggests that for those who find themselves stuck waiting in Health Services with a scratchy throat or a mild cough, instead of sitting around the waiting room for hours trying not to catch mono from the armrests, one need only to saunter confidently up to the counter, set pen to sign-in page and check the magic words: rectal bleeding.
Rectal bleeding. Rectal. Bleeding. I'm not going to lie, mis Gippitos. I thought we were on a rocket-powered hand basket to hell this semester, what with the desecration of grave and Glad Bag-brand love gloves. But, no, this is it. This is the culmination of Gipp's life up until this exact moment: rectal bleeding. What makes this tip so poignant, so deeply moving is the presumption that instead of concealing the results of, as she puts it, "a giant rip in your rectum," you would in fact lie to falsely convince people your rectum is bleeding. It makes Gipp want to go lay down in a darkened room with the shades drawn for a few hours just thinking about it.
Hall Notes:
The NFL regular season is done. Vermin Julius Jones had a rough year with the Dallas Cowboys. But he still finished with 993 yards despite injuries and splitting time in the backfield. And a week before Christmas the Arizona Cardinals promoted Vermin receiver Carlyle Holiday from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Apparently Carlyle has a future with the team. At the end of the season, practice squad players become free agents. By promoting the 6'1", 207 lb rookie to the regular roster, the Cardinals control his rights this off season. "He's been spectacular in practice," Coach Dennis Green said. "We've been trying to get by with four receivers. Ii would be nice to have five receivers available." As a practice squad member, Carlyle made about $4,700 a week. Now that he's on the roster he will receive $13,500 a week.
NDSportscenter:
Time to catch up on s'more recruits. We left off at #22. The next to commit was center/guard Daniel Wegner from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wenger is 6'4", 290 lbs and runs a 5.2-40. Tom Lemming rates him a four-star player. Daniel is the fourth offensive lineman in this class and brings the toughness Charlie is always looking for. Wenger was also sought by Florida, Penn State, Purdue, boston college, and Duke.
The 24th verbal is also a four-star player according to Lemming. Linebacker Toryan Smith is out of Rome (Ga.) High School. Smith is a much-needed inside linebacker at 6'1", 235 lbs. Alabama, Florida and Michigan liked his game. Last year Toryan had 117 tackles, 10 sacks, and 4 picks. Smith is a very physical playmaker and should help a thin linebacking core.
Our 25th verbal is a tricky one. Scout.com counts Will Yeatman, the #39 tight end and a three-star player, as the 25th member of our class. Yeatman attends Rancho Bernardo High School in Poway, California. He is 6'6", 255 lbs and runs a 4.85 - 40. Last year he had 37 catches for 500 yards and 7 touchdowns. He carries a 3.4 GPA and scored 1500 on the SAT. But here's the tricky part: he's coming here on a lacrosse scholarship. His first year, anyway. Will shall practice with the football team in the summer and fall but not play. As a sophomore he will switch over to a football scholarship. Nice play by Charlie to add a recruit and not have it count against this year's total.
Recruit #26 is a huge get. Konrad Reuland is considered th etop tight end and is a USAToday 1st team All American. We were chosen over USC and UCLA. Konrad played for Mission Viejo (Ca.) High School and is 6'6", 240 lbs and runs a 4.7 - 40. His stats were relatively weak (23 for 400 and 4 TDs) but he still gets mad props for his hands, blocking and all-around game.
And here are a few other football notes: Jeff Samardzija received 8 All-American honors with 6 of them being 1st team....Charlie Weis was third in voting in AP's Coach of the Year. He received 3 votes. But the Football Writers Association of America voted him the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year....Three of our recruits (QB Demetrius Jones, RB James Aldridge, TE Konrad Reuland) were named Parade All-Americans.