NOTRE DAME BLUE-GOLD WEEKEND

      The 125^th edition of Notre Dame football will commence with the annual Blue-Gold game on Saturday. There will be a number of former players on campus, including Super Bowl Champion Justin Tuck (who played I had the pleasure of meeting two years ago at Cedarbrook Country Club in Blue Bell, PA). On Friday, Tuck visited a South Bend elementary school to read his new children’s book, adapted and written from his own life story. I cannot confirm if Justin will be meeting with Aaron Lynch in Zahm Hall to counsel him for the life of a D-1 college scholarship athlete, though a discussion is likely (according to the South Bend Tribune).                                                             Justin Tuck...ND All-American & Super Bowl Champion

   

                                                           Aaron Lynch...probable non-All-American at ND

                                                    HAPPIER DAYS for #19

It was exactly one year ago when I met young Aaron at Armando’s on Friday before Blue-Gold for our haircuts. I reported his massive arms with nearly a book chapter tatt’ed on his limbs.  Guaranteed that the tattoos are still there; cannot guarantee Aaron for the Fall season.  

THURSDAY…

Great to be back on campus. Spring Practices actually concluded on Wednesday, perhaps because of Easter timing. Subsequently, it is relatively quiet and not very congested. The typical early morning began with coffee, the South Bend Tribune and chatting with a few regulars at “The Mart” before heading to Armando’s for a haircut.  I meet my compadre Big John Lium there.  He played for Ara on the '66 National Championship team and is the glue that assures the comraderie of that class. Armando reports a combination of confidence and conservativeness among coaches and players. No one is too boastful. Several players are still injured, but they are making  progress. Irish Center Braxton Cave (Penn H.S.) is an Armando’s regular. As much as he wants to play on Saturday, Coach Kelly will hold him back. Prince Shembo had surgery for turf toe. Good story…apparently Coach Kelly has decided to reward the walk-ons for their hard work by including them on the trip to Ireland vs. Navy. Classy move. Way to go for walk-on Joe Romano (who was hit so hard during a tackling drill at practice last Tuesday that his helmet went flying off his head. But he popped right back up for the next play).  Digger Phelps arrives to drop off Chicago Cubs schedules and to talk baseball, actually. He was genuinely sincere and proud for his son-in-law Jamie Moyer who is the oldest pitcher in MLB history to win a game. Digger is also very proud for daughter Karen and her role in the Moyer Family Foundation.                                        JAMIE MOYER--OLDEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL

                                           

Phillies fans will always remember and be grateful for Jamie’s great contributions during the 2008 World Series season. Three separate (and not to be named) sources have attended several ND Spring practices. The word on the QB derby is that the top performer is Tommy Rees, whose arm strength is significantly improved. While nice to hear, how about his foot-speed? This QB had 31 carries last year…for minus -56 yards. YIKES! Apparently, while very athletic, Everett Golson is inconsistent and does not yet possess the command or leadership of a starting ND QB. Andrew Hendrix is a very reliable #2. And young Gunner Kiel could very well be the QB of the future…but not as in 2012. For the record, this was my first Armando’s haircut of the 2012 season. And once again…”His hair was perfect!”

 

                              1st cut of the new season

 It got much more lively with a private VIP Tour of the ND Football Equipment Room facility adjacent the Romano Family Locker Room at the Gug. As all Dillionites know, Mr. Romano graduated from ND in 1950 and played on the legendary Frank Leahy teams. He never experienced a loss in his ND playing career. His sons Danny ’78 and Rocky ’80 were Bengal Bout Champions. Rocky is now a renowed orthopedic surgeon in Chicago and Danny is a philanthropist.  The tour was an invitation by Senior Football Manager Claire Kueny, one of the very few women managers in ND football history. She was a tenacious H.S basketball player at Mount St. Joseph’s Academy in suburban Philadelphia. She “gets” sports and athletes.

 

                                                     Maureen and Claire in equipment room

 The Equipment Room is place is massive. What an inventory. From shampoo and toiletries to every piece of apparel and football sports equipment imaginable.  There is a very cool rack of varying Coaches' wardrobe choices. They don't just wake up on Game Day and grab something out of their own closets. Full range of slacks, shirts, tops that are planned and awaiting them (at Adidas' direction). We will see some non-ND colors this year--steel grey, charcoal, light blue--with ND logos. (Sales & Marketing overrides tradition, I guess). There is a long table of items to be autographed (footballs, helmets, jerseys) by players and coaches for a deal with Steiner Sports Collectibles. Some lucky buyer may inspect his new football and ask, "Who the hell is Abe Kohler?"  If they gave me a large Hefty bag and just a 5-minute spree up and down the aisles and bins...I could wipe this place out!  

 USC and Maryland helmets

 

FRIDAY

Not many Holy Cross priests can match the cumulative scorecard of weddings, baptisms and funerals celebrated by Fr. (“Broadway”) Joe Carey, C.S.C. He has a wide following of devoted students, including ND Women hoopster star Skylar Diggins. She is a regular for the Tuesday night Open House for fresh cookies, ice cream and chat time in Broadway Joe's compound in Ryan Hall (the Ritz Carlton of ND dorms). As we are catching up with Broadway Joe,  Skylar Diggins actually shuffles hurriedly through the corridor…but stops when she sees Broadway. She stops to say hello to Fr. Joe ("Broadway" is reserved for the Men of Dillon) and to introduce herself to us. She is incredibly poised, warm, and engaging. She shares that she is already training for next season and has a summer internship with ESPN in Bristol, CT (go figure… what a surprise). There is the temptation to pose for a picture with her, but Skylar is coming from a work-out and is conscious of her fashionable image (with 230,000 fan followers on Twitter).  I will personally attest first-hand that Skylar is intelligent, articulate, wonderfully relaxed and excludes charisma. When I introduce her to my H.S. Senior daughter Maddie and tell Skylar that Maddie may play hoops (like her Mom Maureen) at SMC, Skylar appears genuinely interested. She wishes Maddie good luck. (Maddie promptly "tweets" her friends that Skylar spoke to her.) Without my knowledge or approval, daughter Katie snapped a blurry picture to document the meeting.                                             Skylar stopping to say “Hello” after a workout  

 

 Proving once again that my ND campus reporting job is more about “Let the game come to you…” the next encounter is also serendipitious.  We are walking from LaFortune to our car when striding toward me is University President John Jenkins. He smiles and extends his hand (as my 5 witnesses will attest). I state, “Hello Father…this is a campus of greatness. We were just with Fr. Joe Carey and Skylar Diggins at LaFortune, and now you!” Without missing a beat, Fr. John quickly trumped by responding, “Then that would make me just the 3^rd in the group!” (Good comeback). He welcomed our group to campus and I allowed him to proceed onto his appointment.

     

                   

It was next off to a South Bend tradition (since 1951)….Rocco’s for pizza.

 

                                               

 Over the years at Rocco’s, with our wonderful hosts and friends Warren and Linda, we have seen a range of interesting and entertaining characters like Dick Vitale, Regis Philbin, Digger and Ara, and even former Dillon Rector and now Bishop of Peoria—his Eminence Daniel Jenky, C.S.C.—he of the famous sermon last week citing Obama-Stalin-Hitler all in the same sentence. Who knew that our Fr. Jenky was a Republican? (And what was the Good Padre thinking, anyway in this YouTube generation?)  For the celebrities and VIP's we have encountered at Rocco's, we have also missed others  like Taylor Swift--whose brother transferred after one year at ND to Vanderbilt. While the Rocco’s menu is extensive and scrumptious, most people opt for the very special pizza. Including daughter Maddie—who as a Freshman at SMC in the Fall will have years of Rocco's cheer and memories .

                             Maddie goes for the cheese

Off to the Bookstore, we needed to see what the official 2012 “The Shirt” looked like. We are back to dark navy blue with the theme of “Tradition”. The Bookstore sales were brisk.

 

                                                                                                     FRONT

                                                                                                  BACK

 

SATURDAY-- GAMEDAY

 The 83^rd edition of the Blue-Gold game kicks-off at 1:30pm in the Stadium. The Honorary Captain is Justin Tuck.  Game time conditions should be clear and brisk at about 54 degrees (I need to check with Dick Addis at WNDU). We will be attending the Players-Coaches brunch at 9:30am at the Joyce Center, followed by the Rockne Heritage Fund tailgater luncheon at 11:30am in the big tent across from the Jordan Science Center. Coach Kelly is speaking at both. I expect the same speech. And why not? It is just Spring. I am not sure if we can hustle over to another reception at the new Compton Family Ice Arena... unless my Irish Crossings neighbor Mike Golic loans me his souped-up golf cart.  Need to sign-off for now. Hope to update with some stories and pictures

 GO IRISH.

 Abe