Why ND Will Win: Sam Young Pics Say It All

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This is the reason why ND will win. Sam Young before and after pictures. As you guys can see, Sam Young is sporting a stash similar to that of John Holmes and Dave Wannstedt. Uber cool... Uber Cool Sam. The future millionaire looking cool. His hair is probably the best I've seen amongst the Irish since Samardzija let.



Let's go Irish O-Line!!! PROTECT CLAUSEN!!!

Shout Out To Other ND Sites Out There!!!

Less than 24 hours away from the start of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football 2009 season. I'm so jacked up for this season. I can't even imagine how jacked up the players are. Many articles have been written and read, and quite frankly, I don't even read them any more because they all say they same things: It's time for the Fighting Irish to

"Show It".

I just want to give a lot of shout out to the other ND bloggers out there specially for the ones that are actually on sight covering the Irish without any charges such as BlueAndGold.com, Rivals and Scouts, IrishIllustrated, UND, UNHD, Subway Domer, BlueGraySky, and all the others. I'm pretty sure that more of the ND blogs will start to become more active in the next few days. I'm also sure that when ND wins the National Championship, many more ND blogs will pop out.

There's all of the ND blogs I subscribe to. Thank you all for keeping me awake on my boring lecture classes. Hope you guys will still keep me awake for the rest of this semester.

Go Irish!!!

My Notre Dame Game Day Experience

I still remember watching my first football game on TV. We got to watch American channels because we had cable which was acquired illegally. We payed the cable man/neighbor to hook us up by using our neighbor's connection. That was awesome because of the cartoon channels. Anyways. It was the Super Bowl game with the Packers and Patriots. I was like 8 or 9, and I remember waking up really early, and my dad was watching football (which at the time I had no idea what the hell it was). Just imagine a kid 8 or 9 years old in the Philippines waking up in the morning and watching a game so foreign. We moved to Guam which is a U.S. territory about 1 or 2 years later where football is basically shown every time, but not until I was a freshman in the University where I watched a football game from start to finish. Long and behold, it was the USC at Notre Dame game of 2005 or what many people call the "Bush Push" game. That was amazing and ever since I have been a fan.

We have a motto here on Guam. It states "Where America's Day Begins". And ND games are actually shown very early, like around 5 o'clock in the morning. Sunday (instead of Saturday) might I add also. So it has that weird feeling because everyone is still asleep except for the hardcore fans. It gets really tough when you only have a 2 hour sleep and still tired from last night. You can go to sports bar, friend's house, or restaurants to watch the game, but you'll be lucky if the football game you're going to be watching is an ND game. So it's actually better to just watch it at your home.

It gets very cool also especially when it's raining. So you can imagine that there's not much tailgating going on, but the food is still awesome because it's breakfast food. The game is shown on NBC which is fantastic because it's live (if it's on other channel it's tape delayed). It gets really zen like when you're watching the game. Open all the windows and you'll feel and smell the fresh morning air. Not much noise, just the announcers talking. Just got a new flat HD TV so I'm taking it up a notch this season. Also love that noise when an O-Line crashes with the D-Line.

Half time comes. If it's a blow out whether ND is doing the blowing up or the one getting blown out, I go for my morning run to Ypao beach or around a mall knowing that the game has already been decided. If it's not and the game is close, I don't go for the run.

It's around 6:30 a.m. The sun is rising but still very cold and windy. Not much car. Other people also exercising especially around the mall. Lots of old people. Sometimes I encounter a runner/walker with his dog which I really really hate because dogs hate/bark at me. I don't know why they bring their dogs. No ones going to attack them or anything. And I just imagine the dogs hating that too especially when their owner is a runner.

You get to the beach and you see old people doing Tai Chi which is quite impressive for old people. They just move very gracefully. If I don't stop, I usually reach the beach when the sun is still rising. It's quite amazing. Not a lot of people and tourists. Just a few people exercising also.

You can see the Two lover's point (picture above is exactly the scene I see every morning) and the tall hotels. Sound of waves crashing is fantastic. The sound is a lot like when an O-Line crashes with the D-Line in a more graceful manner. I reach the life guard tower which is vacant at this hour and just sit down and take it all in. Still sweating, dead tired and taking deep breathes. Very surreal point. A point of with mix feelings. Hot from the run and cold from the morning sea air filters the body. You try to enjoy the view but still dead tired. You try to think of the future, present and past in your life but still I'm thinking that it's only the half way point and I still have to run back home with dead legs. It's quite a feeling I tell you, Pain and happiness both at the same time when you're in the life guard's tower.

When it's raining, it's a very different experience. Dead cold. Dead cold. The cold rain mix with your hot sweat is quite a feeling. Dead cold feeling that is. Not fun when it rains. It's even more scarier when dark clouds are in the sky and not raining. That is so because you know that it's going to rain, and you can feel the cold air more. Scary because it's really dark and usually no people in the beach. But the funny thing is that it energizes you. It makes you run faster, stamina gets stronger, and rest time is much faster. I don't get to enjoy the view in the beach when it's raining. I just want to get home and finish the run.

I get back home at around 7:40. The sun is well in its place by now. Game is finished or with just a few minutes. Take a shower and go back to sleep. Wake up in time for lunch and see the highlights of the other game unless when ND looses the game. I just hate watching highlights of the other games when ND looses because they usually mock ND. Sometimes ND plays in California against Stanford or USC, and they show that at around 11 a.m. or 10 even. Then enjoy the rest of my Sunday. The next thing I know, it's the weekday, going and studying for school. Can't wait for the next Sunday to come.

There you go. That's pretty much my pregame activities on Sundays (Saturdays in the US). I'm pretty sure you guys' game experience is quite different from me and the people in the Pacific. I've never been to the US mainland, but I'm pretty sure it's pretty sweet also. I've seen the tailgate parties and atmosphere on TV. I love the food I see especially the barbecue in the southern states. I've also seen the boat tailgating parties. ND has an excellent pregame pageantry also. I love the march of the student athletes, the Grotto is holy sweet. I like the Irish guards and heard that lots of people go to the bookstore to but ND swags. I'll definitely be there one day with lots of sweaters and shirts on me.

Go Irish!!!

Where Are (ND Players) They Now?

Welcome to another post from the series "Where Are (ND Players) They Now?". NFL Camps are now in full go, and players are getting injured and getting cut. First we start out with The Shark, Jeff Samardzija. Then head back to the NFL.

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* Jeff Samardzija (Chicago Cubs)

As I've mentioned in my previous post, Jeff is set to start on Wednesday, and I think it will be shown nationally on ESPN against the Phillies. This will definitely headline SportsCenter no matter how the Shark does because the opposing pitcher will be Pedro Martinez. Pedro is back in the big leagues. It is a very good move by the Phillies staff. For one, this gives Pedro a higher percentage of winning the ball game since the opposing pitcher is Samardzija. They probably think that they can light up Samardzija easily and thus allow Pedro Martinez to make some mistakes of his own. The cubs' bats have improved since the All Star Break, but it is still not as potent as last season, and they disappear from time to time.

The Battle of the Hair

I do not know which pitcher will come on top come Wednesday, but I do know who wins in the battle of the hair category. Jheri Curls all the way!!!

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First we start out with past ND players that have been recently cut. This is why you go to Notre Dame, to get a high education if football does not work out. I'm sure these guys will put their ND diploma to good use.

* Michael Turkovich (Dallas Cowboys)

He was a very servicable OL for Notre Dame. Wish him the best of luck.

* Pat Kuntz (Indianapolis Colts)

A fan favorite including me. Played with his heart and soul. Good Luck. I'm pretty sure he'll have a better hair cut when he goes for job interviews.

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* Anthony Fasano (Miami Dolphins)

Doing great in camp. Scoring TDs left to right.

* Asaph Schwapp (Dallas Cowboys)

Survive the first cuts.

* Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns)

Still in a tight race against Derek Anderson. He threw a 51 yard touchdown on the first play of scrimmage in front of Browns fan in the annual "Family Day". Check out the video here. The defenders probably thought that BQ will throw a dink-n-dunk pass, and poof 50 yard touch down.

* Chinedum Ndukwe (Cincinnati Bengals)

Started out the camp on fire. Intercepted two footballs, but no news of late.

* Dan Santucci (Cincinnati Bengals)

No news is a good news for OL. Eric Olsen did mention him in his interview on how Dan praised the importance of snapping a football.

* Darius Walker (Denver Broncos)

Still in camp. Knowshon Moreno is also in camp.

* David Bruton (Denver Broncos)

Bruton is playing with the first team defense because Brian Dawkins is injured. From what I've read, he is holding his own.

* Derek Landri (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Still with the team

* John Carlson (Seattle Seahawks)

"White Jesus" 'nuff said. He is a sleeper in a lot of mock fantasy drafts.

* John Sullivan (Minnesota Vikings)

Still being projected as the starting C.

* Maurice Stovall (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Second behind the starting WRs in latest depth chart.

* Mike Richardson (New England Patriots)

Still with the team

* Ryan Harris (Denver Broncos)

No news is a good news

* Terrail Lambert (San Francisco 49ers)

Still sticking around

* Tom Zbikowski (Baltimore Ravens)

It has not beed a good camp for Z thus far. He got his in the man region and miss a couple of practices because of it. OUCH!!! When he is on the field, it seems like he is always getting mentioneed on a WR getting a TD. Not good. He needs to pick it up if he wants the starting job.

* Trevor Laws and Victor Abiamiri (Philadelphia Eagles)

Both are injured. Trevor Laws (hamstring) Victor Abiamiri (pec strain).
Abimiri better pick it up. He does not want to be in the statistics where is states that the average playing career of an NFL player is 3. I think this is his 3rd year and a contract year

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Samardzija Will Pitch on Wednesday for His First Major League Start

With Big Z out with an injury, Jeff Samardzija a.k.a The Shark will finally make his long awaited debut as a starter for the Chicago Cubs. To think of it, Shark is probably the most successful player to come out of the 2005/2006 football team. Although you could argue for Carlson who is being tabbed as "White Jesus" in Seattle. All others are backups right now in their respective teams. It was just a couple of years ago that The Shark chose baseball over football. He was given a major league contract which is the second best contract only behind of Brady Quinn, and it is somewhat similar to that of a late first round draft pick in the NFL. Wise move because of the guranteed money and longevity of playing time.

I'm a big Cubs fan, so I follow the Shark. To say the least, he is having a really bad year especially with the way he performed during the second half of last season in MLB. Shark was basically unhittable last year, and the team and Lou had great expectations for him coming in to this year. His audition for a starting pitched during the offseason was awful. He was sent back and pitched well then called back again but as reliever in the bullpen. This year, he is basically giving up a run(s) every time he is called out, and that is no exageration. That's how bad he is this year.

But when he pitches as a starter he is very very good especially when he pitched for the Iowa Cubs. This is a great chance for the Shark to show Lou that he does not bellong in the bullpen, and if he does show his good stuff this Wednesday, there is a good chance for him to stay there for the whole season. This will allow Ryan Dempster to go back to the bull pen and make the Cubs' bull pen very strong.

The Shark will go against the defending champion, Phillies. It is at home, so Shark better be in his game. Earlier this year, Shark was booed off by the Cubs faithful for increasing the opponent's lead. If I remember correctly, the next day, he was sent back to AAA.

I think he'll do just fine. He'll give up about 4 (plus or minus 2) runs. He'll pitch six innings. It will be up to his batters if he gets his second win (first as the starting pitcher) this season. For him to pitch well and get the W, his first pitch better be strike and get ahead of the batters and finish it off with his fastball.

Let's Go Shark.

Where Are (ND Players) They Now?

I now introduce another series in this site called "Where Are (Notre Dame Players in the NFL) They Now?" Inspired by the show in VH1 "Where are they now?"

As we all know, NFL and College Football coincide with each other. I still do not get why that is so. Wouldn't it be a lot better if it does not so that we could watch football all year long. The NFL can be in Spring and NCAAF in Fall. The world would be a much better place.

Anyways, if you have read my earlier posts, you would have known that I have only been a fan of the Irish since the beginning of the Weis' era. I did not become a fan become of Weis; it just happened to be at the same time. NFL training camp is oozing all over the country now as we enter the FOOTBALL season. As a first post on the series "Where Are (Notre Dame Players in the NFL) They Now?", I will try to summarize the Charlie Weis' past ND players' career in the NFL thus far.

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Before I go to the ND players in the NFL I will start out with the guy that chose MLB over the NFL, a SMART move may I add. SAMARDZIJA

* Jeff Samardzija (Chicago Cubs)

I am a big Cubs fan and an ND fan so I follow the Shark. His first year in baseball was spent in the minors. He didn't do well there, but they moved him to AA then AAA last season. In the middle of last season he pitched a string of solid starts, and he got the call to the big league. You guys might have seen him in SportsCenter that day. It was like a big deal and all especially his fastball (99 or even 100 mph I think). Blown save was the result. His second was better because of the diving catch by that old guy. He got the save. This season he got a shot at the fifth spot in the starting rotation. He was no where close during the audition. Sent back to AAA. Called back to big leagues. Sent back to AAA. Call back. So you guys can imagine the season that the Shark is having thus far. He's in the big leagues as I write. You guys may have seen him gave up the game winning homerun against the Phillies. But he also got the win against the Astros just few days ago. He'll stay in the big leagues all the way this year because the roster size will be increased for the upcoming postseason and plus the Cubs do not have the best bullpen in the league exactly. But do not expect to see Lou to put him on when the lead is less than two. Lou only uses Shark when the lead is like 10 or when it can't be helped. If the Cubs make it to the playoff, expect Jeff there, but just don't expect to see him in a tight game. That is how much Lou trusts Jeff right now. A stark contrast last year where he was used a lot and was terrific. He strucked out like one player for every innings work last year, so he definitely has the talent. He just needs to be more consistent.

As for his future, he really is a starter and not a bullpen guy. Not a lot of people are happy as how he is being handled. Many thinks that he should not be in the Big leagues right now because he is wasting playing experience because he is stash in the bullpen rotting where he could get soeplaying time as a starter in AAA. But nonetheless, next season will be crucial for Shark. The Cubs are really loaded in starting pitcher, so he really needs to step up big time next year if he wants to become a starting pitcher rather than a set up man.

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* Anthony Fasano - Miami Dolphins

Fasano statred out with the Dallas Cowboys, but was traded to Miami Dolphins for two reasons:

1.) Jason Witten is still young and a top 3 TE in the league.
2.) The Big Tuna Bill Parcells left Dallas and moved to sunny Miami. Big Tuna drafted and saw enough talent in Fasano to trade for him and move him to sunny Miami.

Fasano's career has been decent thus far. He had a breakout year last year catching lots of TDs last year. Expect him to continue his performance from last year.

* Asaph Schwapp - Dallas Cowboys

Not really a big fan of during his time in ND. I'm glad to see him leave to be honest. Anyways, he went undrafted but landed in Dallas. The latest on him was that he was arrested. Read this article here.

* Brady Quinn - Cleveland Browns

Well, where to start with the Mighty Quinn. First, there was the draft night fiasco that landed him in Cleveland, the place where he wanted to go, but just 2 or 3 or even 4 hours too late. Then commercials happened from Subway to that purple drink that now stars Matt Hasselbeck. Then we all thought he gets the starting job for sure, but then Derek Anderson happened. Two years later which means today, he is fighting for the starting job.

It is a very crucial season for Mighty Quinn. I'm surprised many is labeling him as a bust already. He needs to win that starting job. If he does, he has to play lights out because Cleveland is pretty much a slight average in all the sides of the team if the Browns is to make the playoffs. If he does lead them to the playoffs, he will be once again the Mighty Quinn and expect DA to get cut. A lot of money is also in the table for Quinn. His contract is structured based on how he plays. Not getting in to the field means less money from the team and endorsements. The coach is Mangenius, a Weis disciple, should technically help Quinn out.

* Chinedum Ndukwe - Cincinnati Bengals

Drafted by Bengals. Almost became Mr. Irrelevant. He has by far the one in this list that has grabbed and seized the oppurtunity given to him in the NFL. A Starter most of last year and should be the starter this upcoming season.

* Dan Santucci - Cincinnati Bengals

I have not heard a lot about Dan which is a good thing because he is a lineman. The lack of news probably means that he is doing fine and probably a solic back up.

* Darius Walker - Denver Broncos

Now here me, just imagine if this guy didn't leave right away for the NFL. He would have suffered along with the 2007 class which means that he would have played as a senior last year. If he was there last year, there is no doubt that we could have won all those other games except USC.

Anyways, he too had a bad day during the draft; he did not even get drafted. In fact, I thought he was done with the NFL. I heard somewhere was that he was going back to ND for his degree.

Surprise but glad to see him in Denver where the coach is supposed to be like his mentor Charlie Weis.

* David Bruton - Denver Broncos

The lone Irish drafted last year. One of my favorite Irish. His story is just unbelivable. I read a story about him when he came to ND; the story about him and his son is also inspirational.

Expect to see a lot of Bruton on special teams this year. He will most likely be their gunner. Do not expect to see him in defense a lot because Broncos is loaded in safeties; Bruton will benefit this year because he will have a mentor in Brian Dawkins.

* Derek Landri - Jacksonville Jaguars

The last time I heard about Landri was in the playoffs where he made a couple of plays during the end of the game.

* John Carlson - Seattle Seahawks

BY FAR, and I mean BY FAR the most succesful player in this list. Last year as a rookie, he broke/tied all of the TE records in Seahawks history. He led all recievers in every category last year in Seattle. He should have been the #1 TE drafted last year and ahead of the TE in the Jets. He is already being touted as the next great TE. Expect Carlson to enter the national scene this year for 3 reasons.

1.) The WR Whosyourmama is in Seattle
2.) Matt Hasselbeck missed most of last year. He is back now.
3.) The coach and Offensive coordinator (Mora and Greg Knapp) are friendly to TE

How good was this guy, and how good does Seahawks' fans think this guy could be?

Carlson is being called "White Jesus".

The previous coach (Holmgren) also called Carlson the best TE (Not saying much) he has ever had and said that he wish he had him years ago.

It just goes to show that ND is "Tight End U"!

* John Sullivan - Minnesota Vikings

He is expected to become the starting Center in Minnesota. Simple as that. OH BOY, I bet he wishes that Bret Favre came out of retirement.

* Maurice Stovall - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

MoMo has been a solid special teams guy. He is their gunner. I also read somewhere that Gruden (Expect Gruden to become the next ND coach if Weis is fired this year) called MoMo "Gunner Stovall". MoMo in WR has simply been nonexistant.

* Mike Richardson - New England Patriots

This guy definetely came under the radar. He has had a very solid career in NE. Mostly in practice squad but expect him to be in rotation this year.

* Michael Turkovich - Dallas Cowboys

In Dallas now. Glad that he didn't get hurt when Dallas practice facility collapsed. He should be able to make the practice squad.

* Pat Kuntz - Indianapolis Colts

OHHHH the MoHawk and the hair style. This guy was awesome last year. A fan favorite. I read somewhere when he was asked how his last name is pronounced. HILARIOUS. This guy was definetely one of those guys that just exceeded their God given talent with heart. He should at least make the practice squad.

* Ryan Harris - Denver Broncos

Very solid career also thus far. He's been a starter for sometime now at RT I think, and should do the same thing again this year. Not a lot of news from him which is a good sign.

* Terrail Lambert - San Francisco 49ers

The last time I heard from him was that he was running like 4.3 or something. Still remember his performance against Michigan state. CLASSIC. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, THE LOOK ON JOHN L. SMITH.

I WISH JOHN L. SMITH WAS STILL THE COACH IN MICHIGAN STATE.

* Tom Zbikowski - Baltimore Ravens

He had a great combine. I remember reading about him walking out after the lifts because someone was calling him RUDY. You guys should also check this video out. The guys in the NFL network really admired Zbos' calves.

Anyways, he should have a very good shot playing along side Ed Reed because Jim Leohnard went to New York to play with Ryan again. The kid Nakamura should be his biggest threat for starting a job.

* Trevor Laws - Philadelphia Eagles

Laws had a very good combine prompting him to be drafted in early second round. He had a very disappointing rookie season. I think he was injured a lot last season. Laws was also a fan favorite known mostly for his FG blocks but also because of his hair.

* Victor Abiamiri - Philadelphia Eagles

This guy has really had a very disappointing NFL career. I sill remember McShay's analysis on Abiamiri. I think he called him "looks like Tarzan plays like Jane" if I still remember correct. That made me laugh like hell.

Check back next week for the second installment of "Where Are (Notre Dame Players in the NFL) They Now?" where we should get a better feel as to where these guys stand because training camp is very much on the way.