Football News and Notes (None of which are good news)

A couple of items to pass on regarding ND football. Also, I’d like to remind everyone that if you have a question about the football team, post it in the comment box or e-mail observersports@gmail.com. Check Michael’s post below for full info.

• First, due to personal reasons, tight end Joseph Fauria will not be enrolled in summer school and will not enroll this fall.
• “Joseph won’t be with us this fall but I hope to have him return for the spring semester,” Irish head coach Charlie Weis said.
  UPDATE: According to both interviews with Fauria and a statement issued by Weis, Fauria asked for his release from the team and will be looking at destinations to transfer to.
• This is a big blow for the Irish. All of a sudden, a deep spot in the roster becomes one known quantity (Rudolph) and several question marks (Can Ragone get back to full strength? Are Tyler Eifert and Jake Golic ready to contribute right away? Just who on earth is Bobby Burger?).  Especially in an ideal Charlie Weis offense, which relies on multiple TE sets, this hurts a lot. Fauria seemed to develop as a competent blocker late in the season, and could have had a breakout year in 2009. Hopefully he’ll come back hungry and take advantage of an extra year of eligibility down the line.
• UPDATE: Martin has reportedly backed off any discussion of looking around and will not be taking any official visits except to South Bend. Barring a collapse this season and significant coaching changes, he appears to be all Irish.
  Irish Illustrated is reporting that Notre Dame defensive end commit Chris Martin, one of the highest rated defensive players in the class of 2010, will take official visits to other schools this season. It’s no secret that Martin is very, very high on Pete Carroll’s target list. It’s unknown whether or not USC will be one of Martin’s five officials, but Irish fans have been down this road too many times before (*cough*Omar Hunter*cough*) to not be at least a little nervous.
  This news is also puzzling to say the least. Martin has, so far, been the epitome of a solid verbal commitment, stating numerous times his newfound hatred for all things Trojan. He also moved 3,000 miles across the country just to have the possibility to enroll at Notre Dame early (which he ended up not being able to do). These signs point to this just being a case of an 18-year old kid wanting five free trips around the country, but there’s also a good sign there’s more too it then that.

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Speeding up the summer

76 days until kickoff, and Notre Dame football cannot come fast enough.

Fortunately we’re going to get the football talk rolling early here, with our team of beat writers (myself, Matt Gamber, Sam Werner, and Bill Brink) answering roundtable questions each week. We’ll talk strategy, hopes, predictions, and fears for the ’09 season, likely the most critical of the Weis era.

So hit us up with your best question regarding the upcoming season, and we’ll field one or two per week. Either leave a comment below or email us at observersports@gmail.com.

Hockey Schedule Released

Notre Dame’s 2009-2010 schedule was announced today. Full schedule posted after the jump.

Pollock taken 17th in MLB Draft

Notre Dame center fielder A.J. Pollock was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the No. 17 overall pick in the MLB draft this past week. The rising senior led the Irish in hitting ever year with the team.

Pollock had another outstanding year  as a junior in 2009, batting .365 with ten home runs and 52 RBI. He also played flawless defense, playing without an error in all 59 Notre Dame games.

At 17th overall Pollock is the highest drafted player ever out of Notre Dame. The center fielder’s next move probably won’t be too far away, however, as it’s likely Pollock will join the South Bend Silverhawks, the Diamondback’s A minor league team, in the future.

Got $1,988?

Actually, you’ll need a bit more. But if you’ve got a few grand lying around you can buy the actual scoreboard from Notre Dame Stadium from Steiner Sports Auctions (click here for the link).

The question remains, though, as to how they’ll keep score in the Stadium if this board, which has looked over Notre Dame Stadium since its renovation in 1997, is going into someone’s living room. Senior Associate Athletics Director John Heisler confirmed that the Stadium will be receiving a “technology upgrade.” Heisler said that LED displays will replace the current bulbs in the message board and scoreboard areas.