Notre Dame Fighting Irish

SOUTH BEND -- The closest thing to booing at the final football pep rally of the season was some scattered groaning when Notre Dame fifth-year senior Scott Smith tried his hand briefly at standup comedy.

If Michigan State's Allyssa DeHaan, a 77 percent free-throw shooter, made two free throws Thursday instead of one of two in shooting a technical foul, things might have turned out differently for the No. 5 Notre Dame womens basketball team.

SOUTH BEND -- Before there was "the streak," there was "the escape."

Junior midfielder Rose Augustin (Silver Lake, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) scored her seventh goal of the season in the 62nd minute, as fifth-ranked (and second-seeded) Notre Dame advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship for the sixth consecutive year with a hard-fought 1-0 win over upset-minded Oregon State on Friday night before a boisterous crowd of 1,500 fans at Alumni Stadium.

The Notre Dame women's swimming and diving team won four of five events Friday at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center to kick off the Hoosierland Invitational hosted by Indiana. The meet continues Saturday with the preliminary session starting at 6:00 p.m. (ET). The finals will be held at 6:00.

Christina Kaelin and Serinity Phillips each pounded 12 kills as Notre Dame picked up a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-19) win over Seton Hall in the quarterfinals of the 2009 BIG EAST Conference Volleyball Championship at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

The acquisition of Aaron Heilman was just the beginning for the Arizona Diamondbacks offseason. They may add another bullpen arm and a veteran corner infielder, plus they are certain to add an innings-eater to slot fourth in their starting rotation as they promise to increase their $73 million payroll from last year.

IrishEyes examines the pitfalls of senior day and offers a change-of-heart prediction for Saturday's matchup with the Huskies.

Midlands regional manager Baron Flenory talks about early commitments in the Midlands, the players who are having the best senior seasons, and what juniors to watch for next year in this edition of "Five Questions".

From Brian Hamilton: Has a possible Notre Dame coaching search lost one of its premier candidates before it even started? Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden has agreed to a multi-year extension with ESPN, the network announced this morning, and the wording of the release suggests the man who attended high school in South Bend won’t be returning [...]

Weis is as good as gone. Notre Dame needs a bad ass coach with a killer instinct. So who do you want to take over this program? Here is the IRT Top 5: 1)Gruden 2)Stoops 3)Kelly 4)Peterson 5)Ditka BTW, I love that Harbaugh went for two against USC in the fourth up by a ton. That killer instinct will [...]

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