Campus News:
Freshman Kevin McShane recently won a $100,000 scholarship. For throwing footballs into a giant Dr. Pepper can. The scholarship was part of the Dr. Pepper half time challenge at various football conference championship games. Six grand prize winning college students each received a trip for two to either the ACC, SEC, or Big XII Championship game. Two winners attended each game where they competed for money. McShane went to the Big XII game on Dec. 6 and took his brother. The competitors had 10 footballs to throw at an 8 ft high Dr. Pepper can five yards away. McShane chose the Big XII game because he thought it would be the best to attend. It took place in Kansas City and was quite chilly.
Kevin entered the contest on a whim. He saw the promotion on the Dr. Pepper website and filled out the application. Then he received a call in November. He immediately began working on his accuracy. The contestants were able to practice on the field the night before the game. At the game he was able to spend time with retired Dallas Cowboy Marcellus Wiley who helped host the challenge.
Part of the application process involved submitting an essay about his experience with Dr. Pepper. But McShane believes the essay was not read. He said the Dr. Pepper people said people were picked randomly. Actually Kevin was not one of the original winners chosen. He was selected because the initial winner failed to respond. After winning the $100,000, McShane immediately quit his dining hall job.
In other news...
Fr. Tim Scully, the former University executive Vice President, recently received the Presidential Citizens Medal at an Oval Office ceremony. The award is the second-highest award given by the president to a civilian. Scully was one of 24 to receive the award this year. Scully co-founded our Alliance for Catholic Education program, which provides Catholic school teachers to under-served schools across the country.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Our next story brings up sandwiches of a more human variety; namely, Gipp refers to "the man-wich." This story also brings up someone who is now becoming a recurring character in Gipp-dom - our beloved Gentle Blonde Giant from last spring, when he relieved himself on his girlfriend in sleepwalking naked glory. As for you youngins, have no fear, new antics are here. This time, the scene is set with friends frolicking around the house in banana suits, curly-haired blondes dancing all up on inflatable alcoholic beverages and a pong battle for the ages. Such a mess can only end in slumber, as it did for the Gentle Blonde Giant, who managed at least to remain clothed and in a bed (belonging to the aforementioned girlfriend - yes, they're still together) at the beginning of his sleep. But it only took 15 minutes for him to resist such comforts and bust out of the room, eventually settling on a wooden board. After some maneuvering, the Gentle Blonde Giant was coaxed back into bed, and everyone fell asleep for the night. Or so it seemed. In the morning, Gentle Blonde Giant awoke to discover he was not wearing nothing below the button-down he wore to the Linebacker the night before. NOTHING. Although he found himself in the same bed he began the night in, his skivvies were nowhere in the vicinity. After some searching, the missing lower halves were eventually found in a downstairs bedroom, still together and quite obviously released in one fell swoop, and luckily unaccompanied by any golden signs or smells of GBG's old habits. The story of Gentle Blonde Giant's mysterious nighttime journey was further complicated when another housemate awoke to tell her tale.
Sometime early in the morning, she was roused to find not one, but two pairs of hairy legs surrounding her. Remembering that she had snagged one lucky lad from the Backer - but by no means two - she jumped out of the naked man-wich in a terrified haze. It turns out that in the darkness, Gentle Blonde Giant had somehow mistaken the ladies of the house and crawled into the already doubled-up bed of his girlfriend's roommate, completely pantless. Screaming, the two invaded lovers pushed the Gentle Blonde Giant back to his girlfriend's home base, where he promptly passed out with absolutely no recollection of his journeys. Much like one will never discover the secret ingredient in General Tso's Chicken, so too will the Gentle Blonde Giant never exactly know what led him to his man-wich position on that fateful Friday night.
Hall Notes:
A couple weekends back Carroll hosted its annual Christmas celebration, "A Carroll Christmas." This year's event was like no other. In addition, it received an entire article in The Observer. That newspaper piece was written even BEFORE the event. A link to the article is below....
If for some reason the link does not work, the article is posted on the VerminNet Carroll Hall History page.
NDSportscenter:
Our 18th verbal commitment is 6'2", 225 lb Jordan Cowart. He is a specialist in long snapping. We are stressing special teams more with this scholarship offer. Cowart attends St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It's the same school that produced linemen Sam Young and Dan Wegner. Jordan said "yes" despite never having visited campus. The two-star prospect received interest from Georgia, Florida, Ohio State, and Rutgers.
The hockey team is back at #1. This was accomplished after going 8-0-2 over 10 games. We kept that run going and went into finals break with a 12-0-2 streak. That equaled nearly two months without a loss. The Irish set a school record of 8 straight road wins. As of this writing we are also #1 in the CCHA. (Big surprise there.)
Suspended tight end Will Yeatman met with Coach Weis and has requested to be released from his scholarship.
Injured starters linebacker Brian Smith and receiver Michael Floyd are back working out and are hopeful for the bowl game.
The volleyball team has a rough and unspectacular season. The ladies were the #5 seed in the Big East tournament. They made a run and beat #4 seed UConn and #1 seed St. John's. However, #3 Louisville knocked us off in the title game and erased any hope of the NCAA tournament. The team was barely over .500 for the season.
Patrick Smyth earned his third cross country All American honor after finishing 10th in the NCAAs. The team came in ranked 27th and finished 19th out of 31. It was an improvement for all. Last year Smyth was 15th and the team 21st. The women made their first NCAA since 2005. The highest finisher was 99th and we were 29th out of 31 teams.
Campus News:
I believe a recent news release stated that Harvard's endowment has dropped $8 billion in the falling economy. The University has not gone public with any dollar amounts regarding our endowment. Our endowment is expected to shrink over the new few years. It is heavily invested in market-related securities. The University will continue to extract the same amount of money from the endowment each year as they had previously. They do not pay out a fixed percentage. The University goes for a specific dollar amount so they always have the same amount of cash coming out of the endowment. Our executive vice president had this to say: "I think the people who led the University's financial sytem before me - Fr. Ned Joyce and Fr. Tim Scully - did such a wonderful job of creating a financial discipline in the University that has always allowed us to be cautious of overspending in good times and that is providing us now with a great reserve so we don't have to impact our operations too much."
Do you know how many Advisory Councils we have on campus? We have sixteen. The latest, begun last year, is the University Council for the Undergraduate Experience (ACUE). It seeks to understand undergraduates' needs by handling issues currently unaddressed by the other 15 Advisory Councils. Financial aid is the top council priority. International studies is another area of concern. International studies often fall through the cracks because it does not fall under a specific college. Yet 58 percent of undergraduates study abroad. ACUE will also look at internships, a new student center and residence halls. The council met for the first time on October 31, 2008. The 10 to 15 selected members are alumni, parents of current students or alumni, and other friends with relevant expertise. The budget of any coucil is dependent on its size, which is determined by the council's focus and age.
Campus Watch by Me:
Last week news was given on the band traveling to the USC game. The news items quoted a band member describing the USC band's show as being "classless." So what exactly did they do? I had to do a little digging to find someone who attended the game. I came across a senior who was in L.A. and saw the USC band, albeit peripherally since he was not paying close attention. According to him, an announcer was on the mic before each song the band played. The announcer spoke of particular year and the songs were from those years. What years were selected? Years in which USC beat the Irish in L.A. That was the focus of each year announcement: how USC beat us on these particular years. They played the songs they would have played those particular years so our band could hear it now since we had not traveled to USC in the past. Now you know why the term "classless" was incredibly accurate.
Hall Notes:
As promised last week, it's the re-telling of the marshmallow throwing tradition at football games. This was written to The Gipper of Scholatic back in February of 1999...
Gipper,
I've caught the last couple of issues of Scholastic and it seems that a couple of the staff have been pulling a "non-Clinton" and inhaling. Their hallucinations about marshmallows at football games are ludicrous. Time to set the record straight...We're playin' the feud! Hands on buzzers. Allison Fashek, stated, "It's common knowledge that seniors have long held a tradition of throwing marshmallows at each other across the student section during halftime..." Survey SAYS! Buzzzz. Strike one. Patrick Kelly stated the fights started in '91 when we lost to Tennessee in the last home game. Survey SAYS! Buzzzz. Strike two. Oh yeah, and tell Kelly if he can spell "marshmallow" right in the article, then maybe he should not use "marshmallow" in the title. Strike Three... Alumni, are you ready for the steal? Here's the real story...
The all-out marshmallow wars that are a "long held tradition" started way, way, way back in '96. How do I know? Because I was a senior and a member of one of the two original warring factions. During the third to last home game of '96, one of the Hatfields began throwing marshmallows for the hell of it at a fellow mechanical engineer who happened to be a member of my crew, the McCoys. The next game we came armed, as did a few others. For the final game against Rutgers, everybody was packin'. When the clock hit 0:00 at the end of the second quarter, Senior War I was born. The rapid-fire Rambo-like discharging of marshmallows was harrowing. Cocked arm after cocked arm unleashed a torrent of white puffs that criss-crossed the blue, gray November sky. Friends became enemies...Enemies became friends...pandemonium...human sacrifice...cats and dogs living together....... MASS HYSTERIA! It was Armaggedon (minus the sappy Aerosmith song).
Therefore, those seniors who "remember" seeing marshmallows as freshmen should probably lay off the mushrooms. A '95 grad at the '91 game against Tennessee refutes the marshmallow war theory of Mr. Kelly. Please, enough with the yellow journalism.
Dan Delgado '97
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team played in their seventh NCAA Championship. Unfortunately we did not win our third national title. The women fell 2-1 to North Carolina. Senior Kerri Hanks scored our goal 17 seconds into the game. The Tar Heels scored their first goal after a questionable Irish foul just outside of the box. Carolina scored the winning goal with only two minutes left in the game. We had one last chance near the end. Hanks made a run in the box with only 30 second left. A Carolina defender was on her and Hanks hit the ground but a foul was not called. For the game we were outshot 18-7 and the Tar Heels had 6 corner kicks to our 3. The team finished 26-1-0.
The football team has accepted an invitation to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. The players helped to decide our destination. Charlie discussed the bowl options. In addition to Hawaii, there were offers to play in Detroit, Houston, Toronto, and Shreveport. The team obviously voted for the Aloha state. The game in on ESPN on December 24 at 8pm EST. We will be playing the University of Hawaii in their 50,000-seat stadium. It's our third time playing the Warriors. Because of finals and the early bowl game, the team will only be able to get in 10 of the allowed 15 practices. The team will leave for the island on December 19 and have four practices in Hawaii.
Mike Anello, our special teams ace, broke his leg in the USC game. A cracked fibula will keep him out of the bowl game. It is expected he will be offered a fifth year of eligibility.
Another recruit, tight end Jake Golic, son of ESPN's Mike Golic, has been invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American game.
The first set of standings have come out for the Directors' Cup. After the first set of fall sports, we sit in 31st place.
Campus News:
The economy is slow but construction projects can still be planned. There are plans for a new student center, two new dorms, and a social science building. Construction will not happen soon but the locations have already been earmarked. Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves had this to say, "We have place markers on campus for where new buildings can go. We haven't decided that those buildings will be. For instance, the social science building is slated to go just south of the Hesburgh Center for International Studies. We know that the two new dorms are slated to go on old Juniper, just east of Pasquerilla East and Knott. We know the student activity center is slated to go just east of the Stepan Center." Fund raising will push those projects out a couple of years.
There was another ground breaking ceremony in late November. Father Jenkins spoke at the event which dedicated Harper Hall, a center for cancer research for the Indiana School of Medicine - South Bend (IUSM-SB). Harper Hall will be a joint effort between IUSM-SB and the University. South Bend-native Mike Harper gave a $10 million gift and the State of Indiana matched that. A matching donation by the State to a private establishment is not a common practice. But the potential and opportunity proved too good to pass up. The public/private partnership will work well because IUSM-SB and the University already have a partnership. The new hall will also benefit the region with more health care professionals. Cancer research has been a big priority with the Medical school and the center will allow the school to expand its capabilities. The new hall is going in south of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, across Angela Street.
Campus Watch by The Gipper from Scholastic:
This story finds us at a birthday celebration, complete with tumbling cups, inebriated seminarians and a lonesome lad minding his own business in a chair. Because girls always dig the dude in the chair, it should come as no surprise that our sitting duck, Wheaty William, soon found himself being fawned over by his very own St. Mary's chick, who jumped into his lap without provocation or warning. Never one to resist the enthusiasm of fervent ladies, Wheaty William humored his lap-dweller's whispered advances and insidious glances. When she could no longer resist our gallant WW, she presented an offer: take her to his room, stat. But WW, ever the gentleman, chose not to exile his studious roommate, who was using their dwelling for his own passions (writing a lab report). Unfazed, WW's chick immediately offeren an alternative: she wanted some bread. This struck WW as a strange departure from where the night had originally seemed headed, but the chick insisted. SHE WANTED SOME BREAD. And so WW went on a quest for quenching starches. After hijacking an entire loaf from an unnamed source within his dorm, he returned to find the partying seminarians "parting like the Red Sea" and leading him to a closed-door lovenest. There, his chick had climbed into the first available lofted bed and now waited in hypoglycemic anticipation for him. When WW entered, bread in hand, her eyes lit up in crazed excitement. She asked our gallant WW to do the only thing one can do with bread and a hot chick: feed it to her. And so he did. Never the selfish eater, our chick quickly returned the favor, generously feeding WW bread from her own bare hands. Then, they brought their crumbed lips together in passion, occasionally taking replenishing breaks that involved more forced feedings. As the loaf wore down, the chick wanted to continue their love, but WW found himself a little confused and frightened over what had become a night of multiple deadly sins. In one clean swoop, the chick had appeased both his lust and his gluttony.
Hall Notes:
Well, we know the student section threw snowballs. Actually, the whole country knows they threw snowballs at their own team. Nice job, morons. But are they still throwing marshmallows? That would be a "yes" if The Observer was any indication. The Friday Observer before the final home game referenced the little sweet treats. The "Question of the Day" on page 2 of the paper read: "Jet-Puffed or Generic Marshmallows?" So it was clear that the throwing of marshmallows would continue in the senior section. This is mentioned here because the Vermin from back in the day were amongst the instigators of this tradition. We did not bring the first bag. We were the targets of the initial throwers. And it was prior to the last game. So the men of Carroll had time to generate a game plan and represent at the final game of the '96 season. The story will be re-told next week.
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team avenged last year's tournament loss. We downed #6 Florida State 2-0 to advance to the Final Four. It's our sixth semi-final in 10 years. Senior Kerri Hanks recorded two assists. She is the first player to ever score 73 goals and assist on 73 goals. Her 73 assists are a tie for second all-time. Can you say "Player of the Year" (again)?
The team traveled to North Carolina to play #5 Stanford this past Friday. The ladies battled the Cardinal and very low temperatures on the way to a 1-0 victory. The Irish advanced to the championship to face North Carolina December 7 at 2pm EST on ESPN2.
The band traveled to USC for the first time ever. The plan to send the 380-member band was primarily funded by four alums. It took two years to plan and cost approximately $250,000. The band practiced at two local high schools and the Los Angeles and Orange County Alumni Clubs provided food. The non-Los Angeles band residents flew out of Chicago. The larger band equipment left by truck the Sunday before. The band, as we know, was the best part of the game from the Irish perspective. Word is the Trojan band was outplayed, out-marched, and out-choreographed. Apparently the USC band put on quite the spectacle. A senior band member had this to say: "USC's halftime show was a classless attack on Notre Dame. Thier show was designed to remind Notre Dame of what we missed out on in the 35 years that we haven't been traveling to USC." (I don't know what they did, but I guess it was pretty heinous. What is it with PAC-10 bands?)
The men's soccer team faced Northwestern in the NCAA tournament. This Wildcat squad was ranked #2 earlier in the season. And they proved superior this time out by knocking uf off 2-1. We finished the season with a record of 12-7-2.
Campus News:
Last week's final home game was the first "carbon-neutral" game played in Notre Dame Stadium. All carbon emissions produced by stadium energy use, fan travel, hotel stays, and visiting team travel were expected to be offset by energy conservation projects coordinated by the campus Office of Sustainability during this semester. The total carbon emissions are estimated.
Student-led conservation efforts have already made an impact. One carbon emission offsettin project was upgrading to fluorescent light bulbs. They replaced traditional bulbs and use 75 percent less energy. There was a residence hall energy competition. Between Sept. 25 and Oct. 19 the competition results in the conservation of 93,674 kilowatt hours. Game day recycling on campus and in tailgating areas has caught everyone's eye. Prior to the Syracuse game, 65 tons of recycling had been collected, resulting in 144 metric tons of reduced carbon emissions.
NBC even got in on the action. The network hosted an eco-competition between Notre Dame and Syracuse. The school that "has the most team members making commitments to lead greener lives" will win $10,000. The money will be used to enhance sustainability efforts on the winning campus.
On to some construction news. Normally when there is an economic turndown, construction projects become more scarce. But the University will be able to complete its current projects and will continue to function normally. But future building plans may be delayed. All the current projects are fully funded. That is the University policy: construction only begins when all the necessary money has been coordinated. The total 100 percent must be pledged. They must have 75 percent cash in hand and the remaining 25 percent needs to be received within five years.
More next week on campus construction.
Campus Watch by The Gipper from Scholastic:
Our next story takes us to the land of voodoo, Ditka and, of course, MASKS - the Gipp's favorite October accessory. Then again, the revellers in this story did not make use of any of the above, though perhaps we could give them more credit if any of the three had been involved. As for their savory activities, our festive mob stuck to the traditional wholesome necessities: copies amounts of indulgence, exotic and illicit bars, meeting up with random freshman yacht dance dates wearing multiple beads and letting waitresses "get all up in their grills" (direct quote). One particularly fesity member of the mob mangaed to find himself a particular 4x4x50 gem. The numbers refer to the love interest's purported height in feet, purported width in feet and purported age. After all, big things come in little packages, and certain packages (typically wines, cheeses and Louisian women) only get better with age. Not to be outdone, another mobster - we'll call him Cougar Jack - decided to wingman to the extreme. Grabbing a cowbell from the onstage band, he shimmied over to 4x4x50's equally elder friend and proceeded to get all up in her grill (that's at least two grills in one night). Cougar Jack whispered the following sweet nothings to the lady. Number 1: "Are you married?" (response: no); number 2: "Do you have a boyfriend?" (again, no); and then, the suavest, most irresistable and most daring of all commands, number 3: "Then kiss me!" And kiss him she did. They kissed and kissed and kissed until the sun rose up and fell down again. And then they kissed some more. And later, Cougar Jack looked back and told himself," No, that was not voodoo. She was not wearing a mask. That was not Mike Ditka. But that was very real."
Hall Notes:
The end of the semester is fast approaching. I'm going to assume the study days of today are nothing like the study days from back in the day. Today's Domer has cable in their dorm room and certainly countless DVDs. We had VCRs and plenty of VHS tapes. But they were for sharing. Study days in Carroll had unspoken study breaks. In the evening a classic '80s comedy would be put on in the 24 hr lounge. Chevy Chase in "Vacation" had the room packed. Chevy seemed to be a study days staple. "Caddyshack" was a hit amongst the Vermin as well. And of course there was "Fletch" and "Christmas Vacation." They really weren't study days. They were Chevy Chase days. Those were the good ol' days, when studying meant watching movies and when Chevy Chase used to be funny.
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team continued its winning ways. The ladies defeated Minnesota on the frozen tundra. We beat them 1-0. Kerri Hanks drew a penalty kick after being fouled in the box. She converted on the kick and put us in the Elite Eight where we were to face Florida State at Alumni Field.
Mike Brey added a fourth recruit to his latest class. Tom Knight, a 6'9", 260 lb. forward/center is on board. He hails from Dixfield, Maine and signed with us on November 12. As a junior he scored 17 ppg and grabbed 8 rpg. The Scout three-star prospect is well known for his big, wide body. Knight considered playing for Rutgers, Davidson, Maine, and Northeastern.
The women's basketball program landed possibly its biggest recruit ever. Skylar Diggins is the #3 prospect in the country. She is a left guard playing at Washington High School right here in South Bend. Skylar signed early and will stay near her family. Diggins also considered Stanford and Penn State. In her first three years with Washington the team was 77-6 and won state her sophomore year. As a junior she averaged 29.7 ppg. We've had our eye on Skylar for quite some time. We offered her a scholarship after 8th grade.
More basketball news. Guard Kyle McCarthey and Ashley Barlow of the women's team were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The duo made up one of six regional covers.
So far we have five football recruits playing in the U.S. Army All American game, assuming injuries do not keep them off the field. Saftey Zeke Motta, receiver Shaquelle Evans, defensive tackle Tyler Stockton, running back Cierre Wood, and guard Chris Watt will play in the game. Then Stockton and Motta will start school in the spring.
Women's soccer star Brittany Bock earned 1st Team Academic All American honors. She is our ninth 1st Team Academic All American in 9 years.
Campus News:
The recently openend residence building, Duncan Hall, was honored with an award of merit in Midwest Construction's "Best of 2008" competition in the residential/hospitality catgeory. Midwest Construction is a monthly magazine focused on the construction industry in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Eastern Missouri. It is one of ten regional magazines published by McGraw-Hill Construction. The honor is very interesting considering the University did not submit Duncan Hall for consideration for the award. It was a pleasant surprise.
Duncan Hall shares the award of merit honor with Dana Hotel and Spa of Chicago. The project of the year distinction in the residential/hospitality category was awarded to One Museum Park East, the tallest residential structure in Chicago.
One hundred twenty-eight projects were judged by an independent jury of experts. The criteria included quality, project management, team work, and service. The 128 projects were divided into categories to allow the juries to better judge the merits of comparable projects. The Overall Project of the Year was Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Indianapolis Colts.
Cameras are everywhere on campus. Campus security uses closed circuit television (CCTV) as part of surveillance. CCTV helps direct traffic, direct patrols to place of need, and alerts emergency personnel. They are placed on campus only in public places where safety issues may potentially arise. Other organizations, though, have cameras. OIT runs the cluster webcams. DeBartolo, Coleman-Morse, and the Engineering clusters have webcams that are available for viewing on the University website.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Some weekends, when the luck of the Irish is particularly strong, an adventuring boy does not even need to wear a Barack Obama mask in order to procure himself a choice lady. One night, this stroke of luck befell our dear Harold (the Gipp has chosen this name arbitrarily because the American population has neglected it). Harold was lucky enough to pick the prettiest metaphorical pig in the whole pig pen, who returned his coy advances with welcome enthusiasm and a night time dorm room invitation. SCORE. Back in the dorm, the young lovers rushed into the darkness of the room, too enamoured to bother with electricity (they had so much of their own!). Miss Metaphorical Piggy, setting herself down on the couch, pulled Harold on top of her in order to continue their festival of passion. The love continued uninterrupted for a good 15 seconds, when one voice rang out and shattered the, until then, silent interaction: "Umm....hello?" Harold understood that voice immediately - it was inevitably the voice of an offended roommate, begging love to be extinguished from her domain. Harold waited for his adored one to make a move of exit, but Miss Metaphorical Piggy continued her zest, so Harold, confident in her judgment, continued to embrace his opportunity and opportune one. But the voice would not die, and 10 seconds later it rang out again: "Umm...excuse me?" And since Harold had not yet opened his eyes, and since Harold's eyes had not had a chance to adjust to the dark, and since Harold had not paused the love consummation and was consequently unable to reason until this moment, what happened next was quite a shock. Finally opening his eyes, Harold saw not two, but four eyes beneath him on the couch. Apparently, in her lusty fervor, Miss Metaphorical Piggy had failed to realize that another girl was sleeping on it, this did not stop her from fulfilling her passion with Harold. Miss Metaphorical Piggy made out with a lover while lying on top of her roommate, who must be commended for silently supporting her friend's endeavor for as long as she did. Poor Miss Metaphorical Piggy. It can be difficult to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Hall Notes:
It had been awhile since I checked on Carroll's website through the University. Someone sure has put their time in on the site. There is quite a bit of new information. It has photos of the rector, assistant rectors, and RAs. There are some historical items and a link to the dorm's signature event, A Carroll Christmas. The site even has one menu item dedicated to "Freshmen." It's not about the current roster of freshmen, though. It's a 28-page PDF for incoming freshmen. Sort of an internet cliff notes. But what jumped out at me about the 28-page document was the section titled "A Short Notre Dame History." It was written by Pat Belton '98. Feel free to check out the current Vermin website:
NDSportscenter:
Specifics on player injuries are rarely given by Coach Weis. Sophomore linebacker Brian Smith and freshman receive Michael Floyd are out with knee injuries until the bowl game. That would indicate the lack of a need for surgery. But don't be surprised if a major injury is being kept quiet and one or both are completely done for the year.
The women's soccer team won its first round NCAA tournament game. Toledo was defeated 5-2. Then the ladies faced Michigan State. The Spartans fell 1-0. In the process of winning those two games, senior Kerri Hanks became the third player ever to score at least 70 goals and assist on 70 goals.
The men's soccer team had a solid, but rough season. The #9 Irish made it to the Big East semi-finals but lost to #8 South Florida 2-1. Due to that loss, the team fell in the NCAA seeding. The team received the #12 seed and have a first round bye.
Freshman guard Trevor Robinson started the Navy game. In doing so he became only our fifth freshman to ever start on the offensive line and the first frosh to start at guard. Also, freshman Robert Blanton started at cornerback for the Navy game. He is our sixth freshman to start this season.
Despite our recent gridiron struggles, we continue to snag top recruits. The latest was receive Shaquelle Evans of Inglewood (Calif.) High School. Evans is a 6'1", 200 lb. prospect. Both Rivals and Scout give him four stars. Shaquelle is very fast and could immediately start as the slot receiver. In high school, according to his coach, Evans produces a big play every third time he touches the ball. Shaquelle had been a soft verbal to USC. But then he visited us. The visit stayed with him and he decided he was Irish.
Campus News:
Five Domers - two Democrats and three Republicans - were re-elected to the United States House of Representatives. Three of the nine House seats allotted to Indiana are held by Notre Dame graduates.
Democrat Joe Donnelly was his second term for the 2nd District. His district includes the University. Donnelly won 67 percent of the vote. He graduated in 1977 and went on to get a Notre Dame Law degree in 1981. Donnelly is a pro-life, conservative Democrat.
Democrat Peter Visclosky won his 12th term in the 1st District. He graduated from the Notre Dame Law School in 1973. He garnered 71 percent of the vote.
The other Indiana Domer Congressman is Republican Mark Souder of the 3rd District. Mark won his eighth term. The district, which includes Fort Wayne, went to Souder to the tune of 55 percent. He received his University MBA in 1974.
The other Representative Domers represented our two coasts. Peter King looks out for New York's 3rd District. He received 64 percent of the vote and earned his 10th term. King received a Notre Dame law degree in 1968.
The closest vote came in California's third district. Dan Lungren received 50 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for his opponent. Lundgren won his second term. He is a 1968 Domer.
We could possibly have had eight Representatives, but Mike Ferguson, a New Jersey 7th District Republican, chose not to seek re-election.
And what will Condoleezza Rice do after completing her stint as Secretary of State? It has been continually reported that Rice is a huge fan of professional football. Will she be brought into a front office somewhere? Some are speculating she could be brought into some organization to help them secure funding for a new stadium.
Campus Watch by Me:
Normally, this is about our campus. Of course. Well, this week I've got some news of another campus. Purdue. I know of some local high school seniors who visited the university this past week. They were incredibly unimpressed. The students that were giving information and a tour were not the best representatives. A female fifth year student speaking for the College of Arts and Letters was not even speaking with proper English. Another girl was speaking while looking at the ground and carried herself as if she was embarrassed to be before a group. A tour that went to a dormitory room was to find a student who would show her living quarters to prospective students. Well, the girl had forgotten she was to show her room and was still in bed when the group came by. And it was noon!
The speakers failed to provide much detail on the university. There was no discussion of athletics, intramurals, or other campus activities. Also all the students on campus do not seem to even interact. Everyone was walking alone. There was no camaraderie or a friendly atmosphere between the current students. I was told that the most impressive thing they saw was a newly constructed dining hall.
Now you see why I wrote about OUR campus.
Hall Notes:
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team faired well in the Big East tournament. The ladies hosted the tourney. They beat Cincinnati 5-0 and Marquette 2-0. Then the team faced UConn in the championship. The Irish moved to 21-0-0 after beating the Huskies 1-0 in overtime. That game was played without Kerri Hanks and Brittany Bock. Their injuries are expected to be healed by the NCAA tournament.
The ladies won their 10th Big East title in 14 years. Kerri Hanks was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year. Carrie Dew was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Melissa Henderson was the Rookie to the Year. And the sweep was complete when Randy Waldrum won Coach of the Year.
The women were given the #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. We will host the first two rounds. Up first: Toledo. The ladies continue to make their run without sophomore defender/midfielder Lauren Fowlkes. She joined the Under-20 National Team just recently. She's one of twenty on the team going to Chile from Nov. 19 through Dec. 7 for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Because of these commitments she is gone for the rest of this season. But I'll bet she gets a ring if we win it all!
The football team laid an egg against boston college. But the hockey team did not. The squad traveled to b.c. and upended the eagles 4-1. We were #12 and they were #2. Over the last six meetings we are 4-1-1 against b.c. The eagles were 0 for 8 on the power play. The Irish climbed to #9 with a 5-3-0 record after last weekend.
The guest speaker at the 88th Football Banquet will be gridiron great Joe Theismann.
More football recruiting news next week.
Time for some mid-season NFL reports.
Bert Berry has been relatively injury free so far this year. He didn't play in back-to-back games versus the Jets and Bills, but did start against St. Louis on Nov. 22. On the season Bert has four sacks, 10 tackles, 2 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.
Seattle Seahawk Julius Jones has gained 597 yards and scored 2 touchdowns in 9 games. Julius has fumbled once but is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Jones has started the last eight games and had a season-high 140 yards against St. Louis on Sept. 21.
Arnaz Battle is in his sixth season with the San Francisco 49ers. This season he has 318 yards on 24 catches. But more importantly, Arnaz has proven to be a go-to guy with 18 first downs to his credit. Recently Battle has been inactive with a foot injury.
Campus News:
We are all aware that our football players are assisted by tutors. Actually many of our athletes are aided by the on-campus tutoring, as are many non-athletes. But how does tutoring work with regard to athletes? Our Tutor Coordinator oversees around 200 tutors. All tutors have earned an A or A- in the courses they are hired to tutor. There are also strict rules preventing a tutor from completing homework or a paper for a student-athlete. Most of the athletes are already doing well in their courses and look to tutoring to improve their grades. Tutoring tends to occur most frequently in the athlete's first and second years. As stated previously, we have the second most Academic All Americans amongst all schools in the country. And in the Graduation Success Rate standings of 2006, we had a GSR of 98 percent for all student-athletes. That's seocnd only to the Naval Academy's 99 percent. In fact, of our 22 sports, 19 have graduation rates of 100 percent. None of them are below 90 percent. All eleven of our women's sports had a 100 percent graduation rate. Men's golf was our lowest at 90 percent. Hockey was 96 percent. Football stood at 94 percent. The football graduation rate was second only to Navy's 95 percent. These graduation rates do not have transfers counting against the school and degrees must be earned within six years to be counted.
Guess what? Today's Domers get an extra day off. When we were in school, Thanksgiving break started with the Thursday holiday. Starting this year, students will now have the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off. Pass the word on to my boss about this newest trend.
Campus Watch by Me:
Well it finally happened at the last home game. Bon Jovi finally showed up. Rumors of a Bon Jovi visit have been circulating since Charlie first revealed he was a fan of the Jersey band. I believe the first rumor I heard was that the band was going to perform in the stadium after Charlie's first Blue-Gold Game. Yeah, right.
Jon Bon Jovi, though, did make a surprise showing at the pep rally prior to the Pitt game. Jon also stuck around for most of the game. He was spotted on the sidelines carrying an honorary band hat. Of course the band was well prepared for his visit. Jon had to have gotten a kick out of hearing the band perform "Livin' on a Prayer." But he certainly had to get a bigger kick out of the student section singing along. Most weren't even alive when the song first burst on to the scene! Then later in the game, the band performed "It's My Life" from their corner of the field. What, no "Blaze of Glory"? Come on.
Jon was introduced at halftime and the crowd was quite vociferous. Did you know Jon is a small guy? Even standing next to non-football players on the sidelines. He's little. In fact he appeared so tiny that one person commented he was "the white Prince." I didn't mind that comparison as long as Jon didn't come out in ass-less pants like the Purple One circa 1999.
Hall Notes:
So last Saturday I went to YouTube to see if the Jon Bon Jovi pep really speech had been recorded and posted. No dice at that time. But I did stumble across a Carroll Hall pep rally video. The title read "ND Pep Rally Carroll Hall Wins 2008." It was added on September 13, 2008. The footage is not spectacular but the Vermin were certainly representin'. Click on the link below and see for yourself....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obmv11B_PWg
NDSportscenter:
Expect big things out of the men's basketball team this year. The team has a pre-season ranking of #9 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll. Luke Harangody has been selected as a pre-season 1st Team All American. He received the third most votes of the five named to the team behind Tyler Hansbrough and Stephen Curry. Last year Harangody scored 20.4 ppg and snagged 10.6 rpg. He was a 2nd Team All American and the Big East Player of the Year. Luke is this year's pre-season Big East Player of the Year.
Speaking of Irish hoops, recent graduate Rob Kurz was the last player cut from the Golden State Warriors. And then he became the first player they re-signed after guard Monta Ellis was placed on suspension. In four Warrior pre-season games he averaged 4.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, and 1.8 apg. If Rob can stay on the roster until Jan. 10 he will be guaranteed the rookie minimum salary of $442,117.
Freshman phenom, Michael Floyd has already begun re-writing the record books. He already holds the freshman record for touchdown catches in a season and receptions in a season. If the offense is struggling (see 7 yards in the third quarter versus Pitt), GET HIM THE BALL!
Hopefully the Pitt game did not scare off any prospects. We hosted over 40 of the top juniors in the country. They came from as far as California on their own dime. Word on the recruiting street is that we are way ahead on recruiting for 2010. We're the farthest along we've ever been in locating and contacting the top talent. Now if we can just finish out the '09 class.
Campus News:
Has anyone had a chance to roam INDOORS while back on campus? Every once in awhile I will pass through O'Shaughessy just to check it out. I just recently noticed a new small art gallery. I did not immediate recall what the area had been when I was an undergrad. The new Isis Gallery is on the first floor across from Waddick's, the little coffee shop. The gallery is sponsored by the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. It features a new collection of artwork every few months. It originally was begun by students returning from Rome with artwork they wanted to display. The collection was organized into a gallery that was named after the goddess Isis who kept dying and returning to life. It first opened in 1974 and was housed in Riley Hall until six years ago. Since then it has trekked around campus, disappearing for a yera and returning the next in various locations. It has a permanent home now in O'Shag. If officially opened last October 3 with a collection by a professor emeritus. Shows also run through the summer. One was of graduate student work. There was a showing of Egyptian artwork. And there was a collection of undergrad work. It's come a long way since it was just souvenirs from Rome.
The gallery was previously offices for the Arts and Letters Department. It appears to be about the size of two O'Shag classrooms. The exhibits are available for viewing on football weekends. And, yes, I realize I'm bringing it to your attention with only one home game to go. My bad.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipp's next story is sure to cheer up those desperate for hope and inspiration amid the task of befriending the South Bend community. This next tale takes place at a party with revelers of all ages (including wrong ages). Our defenders of civil justice, hearing the fun and joy bursting forth from the apartment, decided to disperse themselves among the outdoor shrubberies in anticipation of a sting. When the front door opened, chaos did in fact ensure - but one head stood out among the rest. A gentle sould with the build of a lumberjack descended down the steps, ready to inquire and engage in civilized and responsible discourse with our authorities. But before one could say, "Is there a problem, my svelte, attractive, punctual community protectors?" the enshrubbed cops mistook our lumberjack's outstretched hands of peace as an attack - and prompty beat him down. Confused, our giant tried to resist their blows, handcuffs and accusations, but ultimately to no avail. In the middle of the night, Lumberjack was transported to the county jail. But what could have been a nightmare turned into an opportunity, for Lumbie found friendship in the Big House. After a morning of bonding and watching the sunrise, Lumbie left with a future trial but also a standing invitation to visit one new friend's house to his underage heart's content - as long as he didn't drop by unannounced during certain designated "business" hours of the day, as his new comrade described them. There are, after all, some entrepreneurship areas that just can't be learned in our Mendoza College of Business.
Hall Notes:
Who remembers the Haunted House? OK, that's everybody. Those were the days. The Vermin did admirable jobs at trying to entertain the campus. It certainly could not be perfect. There just wasn't the time to put together quality skits nor funding for sustained horrors. I have some quick memories to share. I'll save the skits and stories for another time. Let's see...
We had a skit in the second floor bathroom. So of course patrons felt the need to flush the urinals to totally undermine the mojo of the skit....Jim "Sweet Baby" Zawada '97 was clained to a door in the basement and basically inhaled dry ice for two hours plus. It kind of messed him up. Next thing anyone knew he was listening to Ozzy and decorating the room with gargoyles....The chainless chainsaw running out of gas and making the last scare out of the basement non-existant....Kevin "Cricket" Reichart '96 acquiring his nickname from his skit's sound effects (I think)....A second floor bathroom skit that involved one "attacking" Vermin pulling another "innocent" Vermin into the shower and accidentally turning the shower on both Vermin. More than once....Sheep dung in "The Crackhouse" skit....Post-house naked slip-n-slide on the front lawn....Ahhh, the good ol' days.
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team had its first ever unbeaten and untied regular season in program history. The lady Irish host the Big East tournament with senior Kerri Hanks leading the way. She recently tied the school record of 14 for consecutive games with at least one point scored.
Prior to this school year the Big East doled out its Academic Excellence Awards for the previous year. Each sport was recognized. Six of our twenty-one Big East sports took the top honor in the conference. The sports were men's basketball, women's lacrosse, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's indoor track, and men's outdoor track and field.
Lou Holtz. Once a coach, always a coach. On July 25, 2009, Lou will coach a team of Notre Dame football alumni against the Japanese National Team in the Tokyo Dome. Former Irish running back Reggie Brooks will recruit players for the game. Brooks currently handles Notre Dame Football Alumni Relations. Reggie will focus on players who have graduated in the last ten years. The team will meet in South Bend July 17 and 18 for mini-camp before heading to Japan. Holtz has previously coached in Japan on three different occasions. The game will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Japan American Football Association. Global Football, an organization that coordinates football at all levels and runs fantasy camps, has organized the game. The President of Global Football is Patrick Steenberge, a former Irish quarterback from the '70s under Ara Parseghian. Steenberge is also the camp director of Notre Dame's fantasy camp that takes place every July. Lou already has an assistant coach for the gig. Holtz will be joined by Bill Lewis, a former assistant coach at Notre Dame and former coach at Georgia Tech, East Carolina, and Wyoming.
Campus News:
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in mid-September for the $26.3 million Purcell Pavilion, the renovation to the JACC. The entire project is scheduled for completion in January 2010. The arena will be open for this year's basketball seasons. Interior renovations will begin right after the seasons and will re-open by mid-October 2009 for next year's basketball seasons. The first phase now underway involves exterior changes that include a three-story addition on the building's south end. This addition will include the stadium club and hospitality area.
The addition's first floor will include a 3,000 square-foot varsity shop for apparel and souvenirs and nearly 4,500 square feet for ticket offices, including four exterior and 10 interior ticket windows. The new main entrance will include displays that highlight our athletic programs.
The JACC interior will include new, blue chair-back seating throughout the entire arena. The bleachers will be gone and permanent treads, risers, and seats will be put in their place. New student seating options are still being considered. The capacity will drop from 11,418 to approximately 9,800. That new total includes the proposed 800-person premium club seating that will be located in the new third-floor stadium club area.
The arena will be named Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Alumnus and trustee Philip J. Purcell III is the retired chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley. He provided the project's $12.5 million leadership gift. This project is part of the $68.5 million designated for new athletics facilities on campus.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Some nights, all that an off-campus Domer wants is to curl up in his bed, forget the terrors of neighborhood larceny and pass a quiet night in the arms of sweet, sweet slumber. Our first hero, Trusting Trig (named affectionately after a Palin), wished for just one night, but alas, it was not to be. In the wee, dark morning hours, TT awoke to the sound of a grown man fumbling about in his room. Being of the friendly persuasion (and in a half-conscious state of mind), TT decided that his visitor's intrusion must be nothing more than a simple, explainable misunderstanding. Even when said intruder started relieving himself all over TT's bed as though it were his own personal chamberpot, TT somehow managed to laugh it off by repeating the calming mantra: 'Crazy townies! These crazy ol' townies!' While trying to usher the new friend out of his room, TT was soon joined by yet another visitor: his roommate, the Peeping Piper. Excited to have some backup in the bouncing project, TT updated PP on the situation: 'Dude, check out this townie who has somehow broken into our house and climbed the rickety stairs and opened the door to my room and is now relieving himself all over my bed! South Bend, man!' In response, PP said nothing, but simply walked up to the visitor and said, 'Come on, Dad, let's get you to bed.' Indeed, the darkness of the night had made Mr. PP Senior unrecognizable - a Club 23- rejected townie nomad this was not. South Bend, you shifty mistress of sorcery! Not only do you seduce the young ones with your festive and wily ways, but even those who have begotten us are not immune! All Gipp can say is, at least it wasn't another type of Father...
Hall Notes:
I have some very good news about a recently ill Vermin. It was reported in early September that Joe Schenher '98 had come down with an illness and was unable to make it to the San Diegeo State game. The illness was very serious. Joe was hospitalized for over two weeks. I will not get too specific on the illness and what occurred since Joe may not want it written about. The news of today, though, is that he is back home recovering with his family. Joe is married and has two sons. Hopefully we can catch up with Joe during the next football season when he is completely healthy and back to 100%.
NDSportscenter:
Zeke Motta, a four-star prospect by both Rivals and Scout, is our 16th verbal commitment. Zeke attends Vero Beach High in Vero Beach, Florida. Motta is a 6'3', 225 lb safety/linebacker. It is my opinion that sophomore and current safety/linebacker Harrison Smith is a more athletic and instinctive Tom Zbikowski. Well, I believe Zeke to be stronger, bigger, more athletic, and more instinctive than Harrison. Motta considered Auburn (where his father was a linebacker), boston college, and Florida. Zeke will play in the U.S. Army All American game and then begin life as a Domer with early enrollment in January.
The women's soccer team continues to be undefeated and maintains its #1 ranking. Potential Player of the Year senior Kerri Hanks continues to decimate the school record book. She recently became the school's all-time leader in points. The previous mark was held by Jenny Streiffer ('93-'96) with 212. Kerri then moved to the top of the list for goals scored. Hanks just scored for the 81st time. Jenny Heft ('96-'99) scored 80 goals during her playing days. Prior to this weekend Hanks had led the squad to a 2008 record of 16-0-0, 9-0-0 in the Big East.
The NCAA recently issued a release regarding graduation rates for student-athletes. For all sports, we had a #1 ranking amongst universities for the years 1998-2001. We graduated 98 percent of our athletes. Quite the accomplishment.
Campus News:
At the end of September, ground officially broke on the construction of the Innovation Park south of campus. The technology park will focus on transforming high-level research from theory to practical application. Innovation Park will foster research in areas such as aerospace, the environment, nanoelectronics, and life sciences. Innovation Park also has a president and CEO. The park will be directly linked to the University. The company will hire student interns to take part in research. The park's first building is scheduled for completion in Fall 2009. It will fill 12 acres of land and house research labs, offices, and conference rooms.
Good thing the fiscal year for the endowment ended before the stock market tanked. A late September news release stated the endowment pool brought in a 5.8 percent return for the last fiscal year. The fiscal year ended June 30 and the endowment was just over $7 billion. Last year it was $6.54 billion and $5.08 billion the year before. The core investment team consists of 15 Notre Dame graduates. There are 170 investment partners spread across the entire endowment portfolio. Almost half of the funds are in non-U.S. dollar assests. We are more diversified than most and put more in hedge funds. We have also profited from investing in gold. At the close of fiscal year 2007, the rate of return was 25.9 percent. That put was in the top two among rates of return amongst all universities. The long-term goal is to gain a return of 5 to 6 percent above inflation. Our investment team believes it can be in the top ten for overall endowment size within the next ten years. Last year we were 14th. Twenty years ago the endowment supported less than five percent of our operating budget. It now funds over 20 percent of our day to day operations.
Campus Watch by Me from the South Bend Tribune:
So news has been posted of the underage party that was busted and all the athletes that were caught. More stories have come out about the event. Some students have hired attorneys because they believe the police entered unlawfully. There have been claims that one or more of the officers taunted the football players and were even mentioning Jimmy Clausen even though he was not present at the party. When the announcement of "COPS!" was made at the party, students scrambled and tried to hide anywhere within the house. The police raided the residence and kicked in/broke down doors throughout the house. But the worst took place after the students were rounded up for questioning. Many students were in dire need of using the restroom. The police denied them the opportunity. A number of undergrads wet themselves for the first time in 15 or so years. No doubt these students, upon being arrested, thought to themselves: "You're in trouble." No doubt these students, upon self-wetting, thought to themselves: "Urine trouble."
Hall Notes:
The Vermin got in one more game before fall break, which began this weekend. Carroll took on the Sorin Otters. The Vermin opened the game strongly and drove down to the five yard line. But on the eighth play of the drive the Vermin fumbled on near the goal line. Very little else happened in the first two quarters. The two squads played a scoreless first half. But on the second play of the second half, the Otters struck. They scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass and took a 7-0 lead. Sorin set Carroll's cornerback up with a play-action pass. Carroll's first drive of the second half was eventful as well. But not eventful in Carroll's favor. The Vermin quarterback went down with a sprained ankle and was knocked out of the game. And out went Carroll's chances. The Vermin were unable to score and were eliminated from the playoffs with their 1-2-1 record.
NDSportscenter:
Res Life has finally made its decision on tight end Will Yeatman. The University has said he is done for the year for football. No games, no practice. Yeatman will be eligible to play lacrosse in the spring, a sport in which he will likely be a pre-season All American. And the word is he will not be transferring. Will had only played in three games and then became injured. Because of this he could technically apply for a medical red-shirt and get an extra year of eligibility.
Old school Irish baller Bill Laimbeer recently won his third WNBA title as head coach of the Detroit Shock. Laimbeer has led them to titles in 2003, 2006 and 2008.
A women's pro soccer league is about to start up again in the U.S. It is aptly called Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). Two Domer gold medalists will anchor two of the seven teams. Shannon Boxx will play for the Los Angeles franchise. Kate (Sobrero) Markgraf will be with Chicago. Melissa Tancredi '04 and former player and current Irish volunteer assistant coach Amanda Cinalli will play in St. Louis. The league starts play in April 2009.
Will we have more Academic All Americans this year? No doubt we will. Coming into this school year we have had a total of 201 Academic All Americans. That is second only to Nebraska's 261. But since 2006 we have both had 76. Along with Nebraska we have far more than other universities. Stanford has only had 126.
More recruiting news next week.
Campus News:
Here's an update on the students that were arrested at that house party a few weeks ago. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Officed offered 37 (not 41 as previously reported) arrested people the opportunity to participate in a voluntary diversion program. The diversion program involves paying user fees and they "may be required to perform community service, participate in an alcohol use evaluation and follow through with an educational program determined to be appropriate after the evaluation." Formal charging will take place if the diversion program is not used. Three of the 37 have prior records and will "be dealt with more harshly, on a case-by-case basis."
One of the three was tight end Will Yeatman. It has been determined that Yeatman will be sentenced on his previous misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. He had been in a "Deferred Sentencing" program where the charges would have been dismissed had he kept his nose clean for a year. Yeatman has been offered a diversion program for Minor Consuming, a Class C misdemeanor. All students may still be subject to a University punishment.
The new women's dorm under construction between Welsh Family Hall and the Bookstore has received a name. Ryan Hall will open next fall. Like Duncan Hall, this dorm will include classrooms. Ryan Hall will house 246 women and will be 74,600 square feet. The dorm will have "super quads" (two doubles connected by a common area with bay windows, a bathroom, and a shower), more singles, and fewer triples. It will have a first floor chapel, an exercise room in the basement, and a study and social lounge on each wing. The dorm will fill via lottery. Last year 350 applied to get into Duncan. Expect more now that students know how rad Duncan Hall is. About 100 spots will be reserved for freshmen.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Our next Domer - we'll call her "Rihanna" - had a night that began innocently enough. She recounts mild social indulgence, a free drink at our favorite football-themed establishment and quality time pocketing money from her roommates's family members. But after that point - Rihanna's mind went into Disturbia. BLACKOUT. The darkness in the light! After a significant amount of undocumented time, Rihanna's next memory proceeded along the lines of "Shut Up and Drive," and she found herself riding in the back of a local squad car alongside a member of the Neighborhood Enforcement Service Team. Once home and unprompted by the po-po, she proceeded to search for a sober, of-age housemate to converse with her new friends (a task which proved quite difficult). Once she found a qualified candidate, Rihanna proved her ableness to the officials by producing her valid state-issued ID. Eventually, the officers reminded Rihanna of how she's been discovered: sprinting at break-neck speed and scaling fences through graduate residences. But since this had all happened in the Disturbia phase, Rihanna recollected nothing. Days later, Rihanna was approached by a 20-something man who knew her name. Believing him to be one of her civic saviors, Rihanna wondered why he wasn't wearing a badge. But when he asked if she had escaped the authorities unscathed, she knew that he could be none other than a prominent player in her Disturbia...and he was too close for comfort. Rather than discover the hidden truth, Rihanna decided not to even speak about it, she didn't even want to think about it, and quickly ran away from her mystery suitor/accomplice/pursuer/stalker/friend/Chris Brown. So was there a thief in the night? Was it a disease of the mind? Had Rihanna simply played a game of townie capture the flag gone terribly, terribly wrong? Perhaps we'll never know. But remember kids, when you drunkenly falter, try to be wise...or you'll find you made all sorts of strange friends in Disturbia.
Hall Notes:
Last weekend the Vermin took on long-time rival zahm. The game could have been looked at in two ways: defense at its finest or offense at its worst. The conflict was marred by six turnovers. The Vermin intercepted early but then fumbled on offense. The Carroll defense was on fire at one point, holding zahm to 9 yards over 7 plays. The Vermin turned the ball over on downs and zahm finally strung together some plays. Receptions of 17 and 16 yards were followed by a 15-yard touchdown run. The PAT was missed. zahm then picked off a pass in the red zone to end the half. The second half was tough as well. Then junior defensive back Tommy Mumforeod intercepted a ball and fumbled. But Carroll recovered the loose pigskin. Sophomore quarterback Nick Ruof optioned to sophomore running back Kris Kast who threw a 64-yard pass to Mumford. Ruof then hit sophomore Sam Russ in the end zone for a touchdown near the end of the game. The PAT was blocked. Little time was left and the game ended in a 6-6 tie. One more regular season game to go.
NDSportscenter:
Our recruiting class has finally grown beyond 14. The 15th verbal commitment comes from Nyshier Oliver, a 5'11", 185 lb athlete from Jersey City, New Jersey. One site listed him as an athlete and another as a safety. We recruited him and his 4.4 speed to be a receiver. The St. Peters Preparatory School product gets 3 stars from Rivals and 4 stars from Scout. Oliver was an interesting verbal. He de-committed from Tennessee and we contacted him the next day. Shortly thereafter he was Irish. Other schools seeking his skills were Alabama, boston college, Georgia, Michigan, and Penn State. If you watched the Stanford game on television you did not have the privilege of watching the halftime show. Last Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the Victory March. Our 380-member marching band was joined by over 500 alumni band members. It was quite a sight and quite a sound. The oldest members to participate were two trumpet players. They represented the Classes of '41 and '48. Basketball alum Chris Quinn has signed a two-year contract to stay with the Miami Heat. This coming year he will receive $975,000. The second year will bring $1.05 million. Not too shabby, as Adam Sandler once sang. Last year he played in 60 games and started 25 of them. Quinn averaged 7.8 ppg, 2 rpg, and 3 apg in 22.3 minutes per game. He even played a full 48 minutes in one game. Twice he scored a career-best 24 points in a game. Pat Riley gave him the ultimate compliment and said he's seen no one in all his years work harder than Chris Quinn.
Campus News:
Father Jenkins recently went before the faculty with his annual address. A major portion of his address focused on our numbers of ethnic minorities and women as faculty. Our percentages were compared to 62 leading research universities. Those schools had 28 percent of full-time female instructional faculty. We are at 23 percent. We exceed their percentages for female assistant professors but not for associate professors and full professors. Our ethnical faculty percentage has increased since 1997. Seventeen percent of our faculty are minorities. In comparison, other school percentages are 28 (Yale), 25 (University of Chicago), 14 (Duke), and 11 (Brown). Jenkins said the University should strive to increase female and minority faculty and especially to recruit and train them in senior ranks. Last year Jenkins' address focused on research. So how did we progress during the 2007-2008 academic year? Our research funding increased by 4 percent, "a substantial figure considering that National Science Foundation funding decreased in real dollars and National Institute of Health funding was flat."
Duncan Hall has selected its mascot. The residents will be the "Highlanders." Their image is the silhouette of a Scottish warrior. At the most recent pep rally, the residents were covered in war paint and clad in kilts. In addition to the strong, warrior status, the mascot also reflects the Duncan family heritage. The dorm colors are unique as well. They are a criss-crossing kilt pattern of royal blue and Kelly green.
Once again a concert kicked off the school year. "The Show" is on the first weekend of the school year. The headliner for this year's even was Good Charlotte.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Our first story finds us at a competition of concentration and consumption. The rules of this clever game are fairly set, but under certain circumstances can change to allow for crowd-pleasing creativity. Such was the case the other night when one daring Domer - we'll call him "Usain Bolt" in honor of his self-assuredness - challenged a group of seven females - we'll call them "the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team" - to a scintillating round of "turn over the beverage container." The gall! The insanity! What kind of man could possibly expect to destroy seven solo cups before seven individual girls? Only the ingenious and drunken Usain Bolt, who even made our gymnasts agree that a loss in the game would also equal a loss of all garments. Yes, Usain Bolt, already warmed up by an hour's worth of liver-stretching, was up to the challenge.
At the gun, our favorite Jamaican sprinted out to an early lead, hitting the first three cups with an ease known only to men motivated by the hope of seeing a skivvied female form. But Team USA refused to give up so easily, and high drama ensued at cup six - the parties were tied. Back and forth, spectators waited to see who would be defeated and disrobed. And much like our own U.S. gymnasts, in the end, our girls just couldn't stick it. Usain continued his unbeaten streak and avoid streaking. And in his moment of exaltation, overcome by pride for his God-given abilities, staunch determination and ever-expanding stomach capacity, our Usain could no longer hold back his joy...or anything else for that matter. Unable to find a path through the raucous and celebratory fans surrounding him, Usain had no choice but to project his liquid courage all over our second-place gymnasts. Sounds like someone shouldn't have been cranked up.
Hall Notes:
Last year Carroll did not win a game. 0 and 4. The first game was lost this year. The losing streak ended last week. The Vermin won back the Crooked Stick after beating Fisher, 7-6. The game was 0-0 at the half. Fisher came out and scored first, but missed the PAT. After turning the ball over multiple times, the Vermin finally got their act together. Quarterback Kris Kast had moved to running back. A fifteen yard jaunt by Kast set up a touchdown pass from Nick Ruof. The TD pass was to the back right corner and came in the final seconds. Way to break into the Win column. Up next: zahm.
NDSportscenter:
During the off-season Charlie picked the brain of Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer concerning special teams. Except for our erratic field goal kicking, our special teams are MUCH improved. Despite not being able to put a kickoff in the end zone, we were ranked #1 in kickoff coverage prior to the Stanford game. A great deal of credit must go to #37 Mike Anello, a 5'10", 170 lb former walk-on. He's a special teams ace.
Our hockey team has a pre-season ranking of #3. Last year's runner-up is getting some respect this year. We should fair well this year with only three players lost from last year's squad.
Joe Theismann is the 2008 recipient of the O'Brien Legends Award that goes out to former players that have contributed greatly to college football even after their playing days were over. Previous winners were Steve Spurrier, Paul Hornung, Len Dawson, Archie Manning, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Roger Staubach.
The Princeton Review recently rated college campuses in terms of athletics amongst the student body. We were ranked #1 for intramural sports participation. Domers came in 3rd for "filling the stands" at our sporting events. Despite these rankings we were only the #5 jock school. Our other top 20 ranking was 13th for athletics facilities.