PDF for Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Unbearable

Baylor center Griner scores 26, grabs 13 rebounds as Lady Bears down Notre Dame in national championship

By CHRIS MASOUD Senior Sports Writer

DENVER — The scene was all too familiar. The buzzer sounded, the confetti fell and Notre Dame was denied in the national championship for a second consecutive season.

Baylor looked every bit like the national favorite that had not lost a game all season, blowing past the Irish 80-61 to claim the program’s second national title. Naismith Player of the Year Brittney Griner led the Lady Bears with 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, as Baylor became the first team in Division I basketball history to finish a season 40-0.

“I think it hurts no matter how much you lose by,” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. “I think the feeling last year was a little different, more of ‘We kind of let it slip away,’ but this game got out of hand. I think there was some frustration that everybody didn’t play as well as they wanted to, but it’s still pretty much the same [feeling].”

No. 4 Notre Dame (35-4) kept the contest close in the first half, heading into the break down by just six points. But

like their victory over No. 2 Stanford in the national semifinals, the No. 1 Lady Bears (400) broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the Irish 46-33.

Irish junior guard Skylar Diggins paced Notre Dame with 20 points and sophomore guard Kayla McBride added 11, but the rest of the Irish were plagued by cold shooting.

sessions.

But momentum turned when Peters was sent to the bench just two minutes and 38 sec-

“I think there was some frustration that everybody didn’t play as well as they wanted to, but it’s still pretty much the same [feeling]”

“We just kept digging ourselves into a hole by not taking our shots,” Diggins said. “I don’t think we were taking the shots that we had and when we were, we weren’t shooting them confidently … We spent a lot of energy chasing.”

McGraw’s game plan was simple and effective in the opening minutes: double-team Griner on defense and engage the center on offense before finding the backdoor cut. Diggins and Irish graduate student forward Devereaux Peters scored a quick five points on two field goals and a foul shot in Notre Dame’s first three pos-

Muffet McGraw Irish coach

onds into the game after picking up two quick fouls.

“When we got into foul trouble, it just destroyed our game plan,” McGraw said. “We really needed Devereaux — she was a big part of the plan and we didn’t have her … But in the second half we were afraid to foul, and every time Brittney got the ball, even when we brought the double team, we didn’t really lean on her and she got really close to the bas-

ket.” Griner and the Lady Bears took advantage of Peters’ absence on both ends of the floor, outscoring Notre Dame 40 to 22 in the paint and outrebounding the Irish 46 to 27. Baylor sophomore guard Odyssey Sims contributed 19 points and seven rebounds captaining the Lady Bears frontcourt.

“It’s frustrating,” Peters said. “But you can’t knock what the team has done this year in being able to get to back-to-back Final Fours and back-to-back national championships. We’ve just done so much and my teammates have stepped up when they needed to.”

Peters, senior guards Natalie Novosel and Fraderica Miller and graduate student guard Brittany Mallory leave behind quite a legacy. During their combined five-year tenure, they helped Notre Dame

achieve 142 wins and reach four Sweet Sixteens, two Final Fours and two national championship games.

“It’s just a great senior class. I know me watching their whole careers on the sidelines — just amazing what they’ve been able to do, [bringing] this program back to an elite program and being able to lead this team to back-to-back national championship games,” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. “I hate that it ends on a game like this because you fail to see everything they did to get to this point.”

Notre Dame returns just two starters, Diggins and McBride, but McGraw said several bench players are ready to step into larger roles next season.

Diggins added that her role as a leader will also expand as Notre Dame’s lone returning senior starter and its top scorer.

“I’ve got to be a better job being a leader,” she said. “I thought I didn’t have very good leadership there tonight as far as keeping our fire, but I’ll be better. I promise.”

Contact Chris Masoud at cmasoud@nd.edu

By the numbers

1 46 3 63 6 2 1,038 117 0 17

Baylor becomes the first team in NCAA basketball history to win 40 games in one season while going undefeated on the year.

Points scored by Brittney Griner in the second half. Griner finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks and earned MVP honors for the national championship.

Rebounds by Baylor, compared to Notre Dame’s 27. The Lady Bears also recorded 16 offensive rebounds, compared to Notre Dame’s nine.

Shots made by senior guard Natalie Novosel in the game. The guard went 0-for11 against the solid Baylor defense in 30 minutes of play.

The Baylor lead with 15:09 left in the second half before graduate student forward Devereaux Peters picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench.

Percent shooting for Baylor in the second half. The Lady Bears ended the game shooting 50 percent on 29-of-58 shooting.

The number of wins Baylor had this season over teams ranked in the top-10 in the polls.

Consecutive years the Irish have lost to a Texas team in the national championship game while wearing green.

The attendance at the Purcell Pavilion for the national championship game watch.

Wins by the senior class of Natalie Novosel, Brittany Mallory, Devereaux Peters and Fraderica Miller.

Baylor deserved win, but ND will be back

DENVER — Last year Notre Dame ran into a buzzsaw. Texas A&M had beaten Baylor and Stanford on its way to the championship game. This year, Notre Dame hit a brick wall in the form of 6-foot-8 Brittney Griner and Baylor.

say, you can’t stop her, you can only hope to contain her. Griner got hers, as expected — but the Baylor supporting cast stepped up as well. Odyssey Sims effectively controlled the pace and Destiny Williams pounded the offensive glass.

Matthew Robison Sports Writer

When it boils down, Baylor was the better team Tuesday. There is absolutely no doubt about that. The Lady Bears solidified their yearlong assertion they are the best team in the country.

While the pressure should have been entirely on Baylor, Notre Dame was the team who came out tight. Devereaux Peters picked up two quick fouls, Natalie Novosel could not hit a shot and no one beside Skylar Diggins or Kayla McBride looked willing to step up and make a play. One bright spot was the play of Natalie Achonwa and Markisha Wright, who did everything they could to slow down Griner.

But, like Dan Patrick used to

There was a question as to whether Griner’s physical presence and the Lady Bears’ undefeated record created a psychological component to beating Baylor. Looking at the way the Irish played, I don’t really think that is a question anymore. The Lady Bears were physically, mentally and psychologically dominant throughout the game. When it all boils down, Baylor simply outperformed Notre Dame. The Lady Bears came ready to play, they executed on their game plan and they made shots. They deserved the title.

It is yet to be seen how Notre Dame will recover from a second consecutive loss in the national title game. As heartbroken as the team was last year, this one has to sting even more. The worst part about the loss might be that this was probably Notre Dame’s best chance to win a title since 2001.

Before the game against Connecticut, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said Notre Dame lacked a weakness. The Irish had great guards, a strong corps of seniors

and solid post players. Unfortunately, the pieces just did not fall into place when it mattered most. Diggins has made an incredible impact on the program, but one has to wonder if her legacy will be shadowed if she fails to take home a championship during her career. Undoubtedly, Mallory, Peters and Novosel all had tremendous careers. But none of them have quite the reputation Diggins carries.

This generation’s great players — Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Maya Moore, even Brittney Griner — all have titles. Right or wrong, people will hesitate to put Diggins in that category if she does not win a championship for Notre Dame. There is a bright side to all the heartbreak. Among all the questions, all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure. McGraw has turned the Irish into an elite program.

If the play of freshman Wright, sophomore Achonwa and sophomore McBride on Tuesday is any indication, the future of the Irish is blindingly bright.

Notre Dame will be back.

Contact Matthew Robison at mrobison@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Howard wins Hall of the Year

By ANNA BOARINI News Writer

While students fiercely contest which residence hall is the best dorm on campus, only residents of Howard Hall can truthfully make that claim this year. Hall Presidents’ Council named Howard the 2012 overall Hall of the Year on Tuesday night. Carroll Hall was awarded men’s Hall of the Year, and Ryan Hall earned women’s Hall of the Year honors.

Seniors Jay Mathes and Billy Wardlaw, executive co-chairs of Hall Presidents’ Council, said they modified the Hall of the Year selection process this year to “make it a more democratic voting process,” Mathes said.

Wardlaw said each hall gave a presentation to Hall Presidents’ Council, and the winners were chosen based on a point system.

Howard Hall was recognized as the best dorm on campus for its development of a family atmo -

Fans react to championship loss

GRANT TOBIN/The Observer

More than 1,000 students and local Notre Dame fans gather at Purcell Pavilion to watch the Irish women’s basketball team take on Baylor in the national championship game Tuesday night. The Irish fell 80-61 to the undefeated Lady Bears in Denver.

By ANNA BOARINI News Writer

Playing in their second national championship game in as many years, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team ended their otherwise stellar season with a disappointing 80-61 loss to Baylor in Denver on Tuesday evening.

ties Office, the Leprechaun Legion and the Athletics Department hosted a game watch at Purcell Pavilion.

Leprechaun Legion president Matthew Cunningham said the goal of the event was to show support for the team even though the game took place halfway across the country.

helped support the team because not many people could make it to Denver,” he said.

Legion executive vice president Kristen Stoutenburgh said the student turnout was impressive.

Joyce Center officials said 1,038 people attended the game watch in Purcell.

with the short amount of time.”

To rally student and community support for the Irish, the Student Activi -

“Our whole goal [as an organization] is to get people to go to games and support the teams, so this event

“We are so pleased with the turnout,” Stoutenburgh said. “We really didn’t know what to expect, especially

At last year’s national championship game in Indianapolis, Saint Mary’s junior Heidi Ryan accompanied the team as a member of the band’s drumline. She said attending the game watch in Purcell was much different from attending the actual game in person.

“The crowd was more

HOWARD/page 8 see IRISH/page 5

Dyngus Day celebrations combine religion and politics

By MARISA IATI Associate News Editor

There is no St. Dyngus. But South Bend celebrates Dyngus Day the way the Irish observe St. Patrick’s Day, with crowds drawn to bars, restaurants and clubs for ethnic food, music and plenty of liquid refreshment.

Former St. Joseph County Democratic Chairman Owen D. “Butch” Morgan said South Bend’s Dyngus Day celebration on Easter Monday has been an opportunity for community members to meet candidates for local, state and national political offices since the 1930s.

“It allowed people who may not have access to the candidates an opportunity to [do so] now that they were going to be here at the [West Side Democratic and Civic] Club,” Morgan said. “I’m sure that the Club

By ADRIANA PRATT Senior Staff Writer

A day of indulgence takes over South Bend on Easter Monday, a celebration meant to both kick off the political season and mark the end of Lent. Polka music is played, kielbasa is eaten and Fr. Leonard Chrobot whips out his special multi-colored vest from Poland. Everybody is Polish on Dyngus Day.

“After Lent, it’s kind of a release, so everybody does crazy things,” Chrobot, pastor of St. Patrick’s and St. Hedwig’s Catholic churches in

Bend, said.

South Bend’s West Side Democratic and Civic Club will host the day’s primary event, which falls on April 9 this year. The club touts itself as the birthplace of

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Matt Cunningham sophomore Keough

“Disappointing.”

Kristen Stoutenburgh junior Pasquerilla West

“Good effort, third time’s the charm.”

Nate Trembley graduate student off campus

“Even with this game, the team had a great season and nothing takes away from that.”

Margaret Miranda senior Holy Cross

“Good season, tough loss.”

Lauren Vidal freshman Pasquerilla West

“Disappointing but they tried.”

offbeat

Mother driving with baby zipped in her purse

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands — U.S. Virgin Islands police say a woman was allegedly driving with her newborn baby zipped up in her purse.

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A police statement says an officer pulled over a woman driving a pickup during a routine traffic stop Tuesday. While asking for the St. Croix woman’s license, the officer reported hearing a baby crying but did not see a baby seat in the vehicle.

The motorist then allegedly unzipped a purse sitting on the seat next to

LocaL Weather

her and revealed a tiny newborn.

Police say the woman told them that the baby girl was born at home a week ago and had no prenatal care. She was apparently driving the infant to a doctor.

Authorities rushed the newborn to a hospital. The mother may face criminal charges. Her name and age were not disclosed.

Men arrested after deputy finds calf in backseat

CARLSBAD, N.M. — New Mexico authorities have arrested three men found with a 220-pound calf in the backseat of

their car.

The Carlsbad Current Argus reports that the men are accused of cattle rustling. They were jailed on charges of suspicion of larceny of livestock, conspiracy, lack of a bill of sale and exporting livestock.

Luna County sheriff’s office says a deputy pulled over their Honda Civic on Friday and saw the animal sharing the backseat with one of the alleged thieves.

The three are being held at the Luna County Detention Center.

Information compiled from the Associated Press.

In brIef

The Cesar Chavez Blood Drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in the LaFortune Ballroom Free t-shirts are available for donors.

A Reilly Forum lecture titled “Fixing the Global Commons: what humans can and should do to help nature live and thrive through climate change” will be held today at 3 p.m. in 210-214 McKenna Hall.

The Notre Dame Men’s Tennis team has a match today against DePaul at 4 p.m. at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.

The Notre Dame Women’s Tennis team has a match today against Northwestern at 4 p.m. at the Eck Tennis Pavilion.

A physics colloquium titled “Tailoring Dirac Fermions in Molecular Graphene” will be held today at 4 p.m. in 118 Nieuwland Science Hall.

The Notre Dame women’s softball team faces Northwestern tonight at 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium. Student tickets cost $5.

John Bolton, former ambassador to the U.N., will be visiting the law school to speak on foreign policy changes to the Obama administration. The event will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in room 1140 of the Eck Hall of Law. The event is open to the public, and a reception with Mr. Bolton will follow.

To submit information to be included in this section of The Observer, email detailed information about an event to obsnews.nd@gmail.com

By BRIDGET FEENEY

said.

proving Zimbra service in the immediate future.

Zimbra undergoes changes Professor shaves head to support cancer fundraiser

Associate Saint Mary’s Editor

Since spring break, Saint Mary’s students, faculty and staff have encountered more Zimbra outages, as the service experienced sporadic shortages and dysfunction. Similar shortages and minor outages have plagued the College since February.

A major shortage occurred last month when Zimbra functioned unreliably for several days in a row. Once the email system began functioning properly again, the Department of Information Technology sent emails to students and faculty with advice on how to combat slow servers. Recommendations included emptying trash and junk folders regularly, limiting the number of attachments sent in emails and sending messages through Blackboard instead of Zimbra.

However, unresponsive servers continue to disrupt communication between students, professors and the College. Junior Annie Root said she recognizes the problems are not easy fixes, but she is frustrated with frequent technical difficulties.

“We stay in contact with alumnae through emails. Therefore, our office runs mainly on Zimbra.”

“I understand that Information Technology is working as diligently as possible to fix the problems, but it’s so frustrating to have Zimbra constantly out of service,” she said. “I rely on email to work on group projects and talk with my professors and for work. It’s aggravating to have Zimbra not work and slows my productivity.”

Meghan Feasel junior

Junior Meghan Feasel said Zimbra use is essential for everyday tasks, especially her job as an employee of the Alumnae Relations office.

Chief Information Officer [CIO] Michael Boehm said working through technical difficulties requires cooperation from everyone.

“We can all do our part by lightening the load on the email server, which can only help with service,” he

“We stay in contact with alumnae through emails. Therefore, our office runs mainly on Zimbra,” she said. “Lately, we haven’t been able to receive any emails. It’s not just frustrating, it’s detrimental.”

In order to address these issues, Boehm said plans are in the works for im -

“In the short term, Information Technology has contracted with a Zimbra business partner for support, which will include an update to the software and remote monitoring and support,” he said. “This should resolve some of the issues that Zimbra continues to experience.”

Some students have questioned whether Saint Mary’s should switch to another service provider.

“I understand it isn’t an easy fix and the process is probably complicated, but I wish we would get rid of Zimbra and switch to [Google’s email service] Gmail,” Root said. “I think it would significantly improve things.”

Although no email service change has been confirmed, Boehm said a switch could occur sometime in the future. While some students may support the implementation of Gmail, Information Technology is considering other options as part of its long-term goals to improve email services.

“The College is investigating long-term solutions to improve email communication, which includes looking at a vendor other than Zimbra,” Boehm said. “As the CIO, I will lead the evaluation of the email system and the resolution efforts. Gmail is certainly an option. We are looking at a number of products and vendors.”

Contact Bridget Feeney at bfeene01@saintmarys.edu

By DAN BROMBACH News Writer

The Bald and the Beautiful doesn’t officially begin until April 18, but Notre Dame biology professor David Veselik has already started raising cancer awareness on campus.

For the second straight year, Veselik shaved his head Tuesday in hopes of boosting enthusiasm about the upcoming Bald and the Beautiful event, which supports cancer research by raising funds for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and Memorial Hospital of South Bend.

Veselik said he shaved his head during his regularly scheduled cell biology lecture to motivate his students to contribute to the event.

awareness by his involvement in cancer research, the memory of cancer victims and the future health of his children.

“I have three kids of my own, so it makes the whole thing more real. It definitely motivates you more in a way,” he said.

Veselik said he plans to shave his head in upcoming years, and is already brainstorming ways to make build on his participation this year.

“Everyone who comes to this event, even if they’re too nervous to shave or to cut their hair, walks away finding that they’ve gained more than they’ve given up.”

“My objective is hopefully to inspire my students and others to get involved, to either participate or donate,” Veselik said. “I think the students really get excited and get into it.”

Catherine Soler event organizer Bald and the Beautiful

“I definitely want to continue it, and I’m thinking of new ideas to make it bigger and better, to make more money and get more people involved,” Veselik said. Now in its fourth year, the Bald and the Beautiful event has raised a total $115,000 since its inception in 2009, according to the event’s website.

As collection buckets were passed around the room, Veselik said he and three of his students shaved their heads, with one of the students even shaving his eyebrows as well.

Veselik said he first decided to shave his head after a student suggested the idea last year.

“We worked out a plan for me to shave my head in the classroom as kind of an early kick-off to the Bald and the Beautiful,” Veselik said.

As a graduate of the University, Veselik said his connection to the student body inspires him to contribute to student causes in any way possible.

“I definitely feel a special connection to Notre Dame undergraduates,” Veselik said. “If I can help them out in any way or in any cause, I try.”

Veselik said he is motivated to raise cancer funding and

Senior Catherine Soler has been involved with the event since it began her freshman year. She said the Bald and the Beautiful is a great opportunity to unite the Notre Dame community in the fight against cancer.

“The spirit of camaraderie during the Bald and the Beautiful is inspiring, and we hope it creates a feeling of optimism for finding a cure,” Soler said.

For Notre Dame students considering participation in the Bald and the Beautiful this year, Soler said they should not let fear hold them back from participating in a uniquely-rewarding experience.

“Everyone who comes to this event, even if they’re too nervous to shave or to cut their hair, walks away finding that they’ve gained more than they’ve given up,” she said.

Contact Dan Brombach at dbrombac@nd.edu

continued from page 1

lively in Indianapolis, but we were actually there with the players,” she said. “With us not being there, they can’t hear the fans and they can’t see us supporting them. I just with I could tell them we’re behind the team.”

Despite the Irish loss, Ryan said she would not have missed the game watch for anything.

support of the team.

“I’m a huge fan and I have been for 14 years,” she said. “I have so much respect for this team and it has been a joy to watch them this year.”

Hall said she is proud of the team’s efforts throughout the entire season.

“I am so grateful they are all such wonderful human beings, besides such great athletes,” she said.

“It was rough coming in [and then losing], hoping to win the national title, especially after last year.”

“I have so much work to do, but I though this was a really good idea and a way to experience the game that was better than just being in my room alone and screaming like a maniac,” she said.

Tom McGuire sophomore

Sophomore Tom McGuire said the Irish women still had a great season, even though it ended on a note of defeat.

“It was rough coming in [and then losing], hoping to win the national title, especially after last year,” he said. “They were a tough team to beat, but we still had a fantastic season.”

South Bend resident and Irish fan Cathy Hall said she heard about the Purcell game watch on Facebook and decided to attend to unite with the Notre Dame fan community in

Sophomore Tim Kenney said he was disappointed by the game’s outcome but still took pride in the team’s accomplishments this season.

“We tried hard and we got into foul trouble early, and [Baylor center] Brittney Griner is a great athlete,” he said. “ But I’m still proud of our success; we have talents as a team and [Irish coach] Muffet [McGraw] really knows how to coach.”

Sophomore Brian Scully said he was also saddened by the loss, but he focused more on Notre Dame’s excellent run in the NCAA tournament.

“Really, we need to look at how we got here,” he said. “It’s still been a great trip and tonight’s event reminded me of how much community Notre Dame really has. It was great support tonight.”

Contact a nna Boarini at aboari01@saintmarys.edu

Innovation Park hosts event

By CHRISTIAN MYERS News Writer

Could you develop a prototype for a new business in a little more than two days?

Participants in Notre Dame’s first-ever Startup Weekend event will attempt to do just that during a 54hour period from April 13 to the 15.

The event, hosted by Innovation Park at Notre Dame and sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to entrepreneurship, brings creative thinkers together to conceptualize and launch companies during Startup Weekends around the world, co-organizer Melissa Parker said.

Parker and co-organizer Brendan Daly, students in the Engineering, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Excellence Masters (ESTEEM) program, have planned the event since November, and hope Notre Dame’s Startup Weekend becomes an annual event.

Project teams will need a variety of designers, developers, lawyers and business people, Parker said, but the event is open to anyone interested in learning more about startups.

“We’re trying to build collaboration. Businesses require a lot of people working together,” Parker said. “Technology, business, marketing, law and design, all of these pieces need to come together for a successful startup.”

Parker said she recommends the event to anyone interested in business, namely entrepreneurship.

“You can meet a lot of people who are entrepreneurial-minded, and it’s a great way to get in contact with startup companies that are looking to hire people,” Parker said.

“I believe Notre Dame is on the cusp of a huge technology revolution, especially compared to other universities.”

John Rocha co-founder, myFit

“We had heard about Startup Weekend and even visited a Startup Weekend event in Grand Rapids, [Mich.] We wanted to bring something here that was a hands-on entrepreneurship experience,” Parker said.

According to Parker, a startup is simply a new company different from ones already “out there,” and Startup Weekend event embraces this innovation, though it focuses on technology-related ideas.

“There’s a wide range of startups. A new restaurant is considered a startup.” Parker said. “This weekend tends to be more webbased because it’s easier to develop the prototype, but that doesn’t have to be the core business-model of the startup.”

Startup Weekend also provides undergraduate students with new creative opportunities, Parker said.

“For undergraduates who are worried about finding jobs after graduating, it will look great on their resume, but it is also an alternative — starting a company instead of working for one,” she said.

The weekend kicks off 8 p.m. Friday, when attendees begin pitching ideas for potential startup businesses.

Attendees then vote on their favorite proposals, and the creators of the top-10 ideas assemble their respective teams from other participants and begin working on their projects.

The prototypes are completed by 12 p.m. Sunday and are presented to the judges at 1 p.m.

Experienced faculty members and business professionals will serve as mentors during the event and assist the teams with their

projects.

Parker said roughly 60 percent of the currently registered participants are undergraduate, MBA, Law and ESTEEM program students. Forty percent of attendees come from the greater South Bend community, a majority of which are web developers.

One of the community participants, class of 2011 alumnus John Rocha, is the co-founder of myFit, a startup company housed in Innovation Park.

Rocha said Startup Weekend presents an opportunity for Notre Dame to make a name for itself in the world of technology.

“I believe Notre Dame is on the cusp of a huge technology revolution, especially compared to other universities,” Rocha said.

myFit is developing software that will allow Microsoft Kinect and Windows 8 PC users to create a virtual avatar and fitting room for online clothing shopping.

Although the myFit software will not be included in Startup Weekend, Rocha said he plans to present other ideas that will make use of the compatibility of the soon-to-be-released Windows 8 with the Kinect system, which currently operates with Microsoft’s Xbox.

Tim Braun, an entrepreneur-in-residence at Elevate Ventures, Dave Brenner, president and CEO of Innovation Park, and Mike Vogel, entrepreneur-in-residence at the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, will serve as judges for the event.

Developer Town, Localstake, Elevate Ventures and Innovation Park donated prizes for the winning team, including a dinner, design software, free consultation, a business plan review and six months of free rent at Innovation Park.

The second-place team will receive three months of free rent at Innovation Park, and the third-place team will receive free consultation on pitching their idea.

Contact Christian Myers at cmyers8@nd.edu

Students recall Easter traditions

By CAILIN CROWE News Writer

As Holy Week comes to a close and Easter break approaches, Saint Mary’s students will celebrate the holiday weekend and the end of Lent with family, friends and the Easter Bunny.

Like many Saint Mary’s students who visit family during break, junior Anna Capannari will return home to Ohio, where her family participates in a Cincinnati Easter tradition.

“My family and I walk the steps of Immaculate Church on Good Friday for the Stations of the Cross,” Capannari said.

Junior Caroline Gallagher said she is looking forward to returning home to Connecticut and watching her nieces and nephews participate in family traditions.

“I really enjoy watching

[my nieces and nephews] run around during the Easter egg hunt,” Gallagher said. “They remind me of how my cousins and I used to run like chickens with our heads cut off, searching for the golden egg.”

Junior Maria Malm said she celebrates Easter Sunday in a less traditional manner.

“My family likes to go golfing on Easter,” Malm said.

Junior Hannah Murdoch said she enjoys her neighborhood’s Easter egg hunt because someone from the neighborhood dresses up in an Easter Bunny costume each year.

“This year, I’m going to dress up like the Easter Bunny, and maybe find some real bunnies to hop around with,” she said.

Other students are looking forward to the end of Lenten sacrifices. Although

many students gave up certain foods or activities for season, some were more successful than others in remaining committed to their goals.

First-year student Maeve Curley said she abstained from lemonade and swearing during Lent.

“I have not drank any lemonade, but I have sworn a few times,” Curley said. “Every time I swear, I put money into a swearing jar… So far the jar has $40 in it. I plan on donating that money to charity.”

Other students struggled to go without their favorite treats and guilty pleasures for all forty days of Lent.

“I tried to stop eating junk food and visiting my favorite blog, but that only lasted a week,” junior Mariah Niedbalski said.

Contact Cailin Crowe at ccrowe01@saintmarys.edu

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Dyngus Day on its website. However, Dyngus celebrations date back more than a thousand years, commemorating the rise of Catholicism in Poland.

Traditionally, Dyngus Day celebrations involved boys dousing girls with water and rapping their legs with pussy willow branches to show their affection. Participants in Poland would attend Easter Monday Mass, then go out and feast.

Today in South Bend, the celebration is first and foremost centered on politics, not religion. However, Chrobot still plays an integral role in the day’s festivities, opening each year’s ceremony with a prayer.

“I believe people should have days for celebration,” Chrobot said. “It’s certainly part of our Catholic tradition, and certainly part of our Polish tradition. The Polish have a saying … ‘You should be able to dance and pray the rosary with equal zest.’”

South Bend celebrants often begin eating and drinking around 9 a.m., then gather to hear political speeches at the West Side Democratic and Civic Club at noon. Chrobot opens the ceremony with a Benedictionary prayer, then grabs a broom dipped in holy water to sprinkle attendees. He makes a point to hit the politicians and journalists, saying he wants to get rid of any devils in the room.

ish bakeries, Polish beauty shops, clothiers, all kinds of Polish shops. All of those are gone now.”

The West Side has a history of ethnic transition and tension, exemplified by the locations of the Irish St. Patrick’s parish founded in 1858 and the Polish St. Hedwig’s church built in 1877. Chrobot is pastor of both, and said their locations across the street from each other speak to a history of both pride and resentment.

“When [the Polish] came to this country, that language was so much a part of their identity,” Chrobot said. “Much more so than the Irish, who spoke English … They built their own churches. There are five Polish parishes in the area.

“There was antagonism between the [Polish and Irish]. The Irish looked down on the Poles because of the language. ‘Why don’t you speak English?’ ‘Well, because Polish is important to us.’ The separation, one priest used to refer to it as ‘the kielbasa curtain.’”

“ I believe people should have days for celebration. It’s certainly part of our Catholic tradition, and certainly part of our Polish tradition.”

Fr. Leonard Chrobot

St. Patrick’s and St. Hedwig’s Catholic churches

After World War II, Chrobot said Polish Americans returned home to find housing limited. New developments opened but quickly filled, resulting in a migration to the suburbs. African Americans moved in and the demographic of the West Side shifted. It is once again in flux as the Hispanic community grows in the area.

“I sprinkle them with the waters that we bless on Holy Saturday to chase out any evil spirits,” Chrobot said.

“When President Clinton was involved with the sex scandal, I took some holy water to there and I think it was … [then-Indiana Sen.]

Evan Bayh, I think said, ‘We’ll need much more water to bless the White House than this.’”

Chrobot also brings an Easter candle to the event and lights it, symbolically illuminating a world of darkness. After he opens the ceremony, candidates running for office are introduced. Governors and state officials attend, but the focus usually remains on those from northern Indiana and South Bend.

Other local celebrities are introduced and praised. Chrobot said the club especially enjoys acknowledging those who make the West Side proud.

“The West Side, it’s suffered a lot in the last 20 or 30 years, especially since the [1960s civil rights] riot. I mean, I grew up on the West Side, so I know it very well,” he said. “It was virtually all-Polish up until after the war. It was multiethnic, but the vast majority was Polish.

“All the stores down Western Avenue were Pol -

A separation still exists between the various ethnicities around the city of South Bend. Chrobot said the West Side Democratic Club is shoulder-to-shoulder packed on Dyngus Day, but not usually with African Americans, who host their own event called “Solidarity Day.” Black clubs around the city open up and hold celebrations full of dancing.

“I went to the Solidarity Club,” Chrobot said. “And I walked in and I said, ‘Am I welcome here?’ Because there was a guy at the door, and he said, ‘About as welcome as I am in Mishawaka.’”

Chrobot said the comment was in jest, but there was truth to the sentiment. A folder sits in his office, stuffed with handwritten copies of Dyngus Day prayers. Usually, he said, they include words meant to relieve the ethnic tensions.

“There have been a lot of racial issues over the years,” Chrobot said. “Many of my prayers address that issue.”

A beacon of racial equality, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy once made a stop at South Bend’s Dyngus Day, putting it on the national map. The Easter Monday celebration became known for its politics and the day is now commonly associated with the Democratic Party of South Bend.

Contact a driana Pratt at apratt@nd.edu

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wasn’t the only place to have it, but if people wanted a chance to get out and see face-to-face the people that were running for office, then this was a chance to do that. It also gave a chance for people to wear buttons and show support for the candidates.”

Tim Hudak, president of the West Side Democratic and Civic Club, said Dyngus Day began as a Polish tradition to celebrate Easter Monday. Boys used to hit girls’ legs with pussy willow branches and splash water on them as ways of flirting.

“It was supposed to be fun, too … but it wasn’t fun for the girls, I guess,” Hudak said. “Here in the 1930s, we were having a little conflict with getting voters to the poll, and we decided there’s got to be some way how we can make this happen.”

Hudak said the Club’s staff decided to add political significance to Dyngus Day by inviting politicians to the Club to meet and speak to voters.

More than eight decades later, political candidates still visit the Club and other South Bend establishments on Dyngus Day to promote their platforms, Morgan said. He said the Club sells Polish food like kielbasa, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to attendees.

Sophomore Kim Halstead, a South Bend native, said although she has never visited the Club on Dyngus Day, her PolishAmerican family celebrates the occasion like an extension of Easter.

“My mom’s side of the family is entirely Polish, so essentially all we do is eat more food,” Halstead said. “We always have a Polish-food Easter, with mashed potatoes and sausages and cabbage and green beans and other things. And we get dessert of paczkis from a Polish bakery downtown. Essentially for us, Dyngus Day is Easter’s second life.”

Morgan said candidates post campaign signs on the first floor of the Club, where they speak on Dyngus Day, as early as the morning of Good Friday. On the day of the event, he said most of the candidates and the media arrive at the Club around 11 a.m., but some arrive much earlier.

“One thing that’s really important is around 5 in the morning, some candidates and some media show up to watch Tim [Hudak] and the rest of his staff cook the food,” Morgan said.

The political candidates speak on a small stage in front of a mural illustrating a 19th century Dyngus Day celebration. The Polish word “solidarnosc,” meaning “solidarity,” is inscribed at the top of the painting.

“We’re ‘solidarity’ on get out to vote,” Hudak said. “That’s our connection to ‘solidarnosc.’”

Morgan said political candidates know they will find the biggest Dyngus Day crowd in South Bend at the Club between 11 a.m. and 1:30 or 2 p.m.

“It’s just gospel,” he said. “There are 20 or 30 places in St. [Joseph] County that have really good Dyngus Day activities, but the mecca is right here.”

In the early 1970s, South Bend’s African-American community created Solidarity Day to interface with the PolishAmerican community, Morgan said. He said Solidarity Day is celebrated primarily at the

South Bend Elks Lodge and is a different name for the same concept as Dyngus Day.

“It celebrates our diversity as a community and the fact that the black community works very hard with the rest of the community to promote good government and good candidates, and it has been a very big success since it started,”

Morgan said.

Morgan said representatives from Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, including former President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea, came to the Club on Dyngus Day in 2008 while the candidates battled in Indiana’s Democratic primary.

Several members of the Kennedy family also visited, some to support Clinton and others to support Obama.

“That particular Dyngus Day was a madhouse,” he said. “It gave a lot of publicity to the Club, but because of the Secret Service, it narrowed down the traffic that was coming through in buying food. It was great to have them here as far as building on the reputation and the aura of the Club, but that year we got hurt revenue-wise.”

Morgan said former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy visited the Club on Dyngus Day in 1968 when he was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

“That crowd was unmatched,” Morgan said. “They always have a great crowd here, but that was just something totally different.”

Robert Kennedy was assassinated shortly after midnight June 5, 1968, less than two months after visiting the Club and less than one month after winning Indiana’s Democratic primary election.

This year, Morgan said gubernatorial candidate John Gregg, senatorial candidate Joe Donnelly and congressional candidate Brendan Mullen will be among the speakers at the April 9 event.

“While Dyngus Day is several months away from the fall [elections], you can start building momentum on Dyngus Day for the fall,” Morgan said. “It really serves multiple purposes for candidates to be here at the West Side.”

Morgan said Indiana’s rightto-work law, which Gov. Mitch Daniels signed in February, will be an important topic at this year’s Dyngus Day events. The law bans unions from collecting mandatory fees for representation.

“It’ll be like a ‘Remember the Alamo’ type thing,” Morgan said. “That’s how passionate the Democrats are to help enough people undo that law.”

Morgan said Republican political candidates can come to the Club on Dyngus Day if they pay the regular entrance fee.

“But this is the West Side Democratic Club,” he said. “They do not get access to the microphone … They don’t go up on stage and speak … They don’t put up signs.”

Dyngus Day is an opportunity to celebrate Christianity and give community members a chance to learn about candidates for political office, Morgan said.

“The Republicans usually have something at their headquarters,” he said. “Republicans and Democrats alike can get out and mingle with hundreds and thousands of voters … And I think economically for a lot of places, it’s a third or half of their budget that they can put together for the year.”

Contact Marisa Iati at miati@nd.edu

Howard

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sphere this year, Wardlaw said.

“This year, they had a new hall staff and hall government, and they really tried to create a family environment in Howard, to make it feel open and welcome,” he said.

Sophomore and Howard co-president Clare Robinson said she felt she reached her goal of “making Howard a better place to live.”

“[Howard co-president] Shelby Hood and I ran on the platform of bringing a little Disney magic to Howard,” Robinson said. “We started with a completely new hall staff, so when we started this year, we really did start fresh.”

Mathes said Howard’s collaboration with other halls, clubs and groups on campus also factored into their win.

“It was the overall collaboration and accomplishment with other groups and clubs,” he said. “Their work was consistent and exceptional this year.”

Carroll Hall was named men’s Hall of the Year for its dorm unity and spirit, junior and former Carroll president Andrew Owens said. (Editor’s Note: Owens is an assistant managing editor at The Observer.)

“Carroll Hall won men’s Hall of the Year with an extreme amount of unity and spirit that is unparalleled anywhere else on campus,” he said. “It

is great to see the rest of campus realize what we’ve known for awhile.”

Wardlaw said one contribution to Carroll’s win was the number of students the hall retained from last year.

“Carroll had one of its highest retention rates this year,” he said. “Lots of people leave due to the location, but they have really been able to foster the community.”

Ryan Hall earned women’s Hall of the Year honors for its commitment to its goal of upholding the mission of the Congregation of Holy Cross, “making God loved, known and served” throughout the year, Mathes said.

Wardlaw said the Ryan community also upheld the mantra “Ryan Go Bragh,” or “Ryan Forever,” in all its activities and initiatives.

Junior and Ryan Hall president Chrissie Diebold said the hall community wanted to demonstrate their investment in the campus community by hosting some campuswide events and collaborating with other dorms. “We’ve done a great job this year and really come together as a dorm,” she said. “We hosted the September 11th Room of Remembrance in [LaFortune Student Center] with other dorms the weekend of 9/11,” she said. “And we collaborated with Pangborn to host an event for non-juniors on Junior Parents Weekend. We had an inflatable obstacle course and mechanical bull.”

Contact a nna Boarini at aboari01@saintmarys.edu

Romney sweeps three primaries

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Mitt Romney tightened his grip on the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night, sweeping primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington D.C., with time left over to swap charges with President Barack Obama.

“Four more years?” Romney asked sarcastically of the president as supporters cheered in Milwaukee.

He said Obama was “a little out of touch” after spending four years surrounded by the trappings of power and had presided over near-record job losses as well as increases in poverty, home foreclosures, government debt and gasoline prices. In Washington, Obama said things could be worse — and he predicted they would be if Romney and the Republicans got their way.

The victories enabled Romney to pad his already-wide delegate lead over Republican rival Rick Santorum, who flashed defiance in the face of pressure to abandon his own candidacy in the name of party unity.

Wisconsin was the marquee contest of the night, the only place of the three on the ballot where Santorum mounted a significant effort. Romney’s victory there marked his fourth in little more than a month in a belt of industrial states that also included Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois.

Returns from 15 percent of the state’s precincts showed Romney with 43 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Santorum, 11 percent for Ron Paul and 6 percent for Newt Gingrich.

Returns from 25 percent of Maryland’s precincts showed

Romney with 48 percent of the vote to 30 percent for Santorum, 11 percent for Gingrich and 9 percent for Ron Paul.

With 43 percent precincts counted in Washington, Romney had 68 percent of the vote to 13 percent for Paul and 11 percent for Gingrich. Santorum was not on the ballot.

“We won ‘em all,” Romney declared, a former Massachusetts governor now the nominee-inwaiting for a party eager to reclaim the White House.

For Romney, the end of the contested primary campaign could hardly come soon enough. Obama has gained in the polls in recent months, particularly among women, as Republicans vie among themselves for support from a conservative party electorate. Santorum has devoted more time to social concerns — including birth control — than Romney, who has generally stayed focused on economic issues.

Additionally, surveys indicate Americans are growing more optimistic about the overall state of the economy.

Unemployment has fallen in recent months, but it is still at a relatively high 8.3 percent of the work force.

Romney won at least 74 delegates in the three races, with 21 yet to be allocated.

That pushed his total to 646 of the 1,144 needed to clinch the nomination. Santorum has 272 delegates, Gingrich 135 and Paul 51.

Interviews with voters leaving Republican polling places in Maryland and Wisconsin showed an electorate more concerned with a candidate’s ability to ability to defeat Obama than with the strength of his conservatism, his moral char-

acter or his stand on the issues. Similar soundings in earlier states have consistently worked to Romney’s advantage.

Voters in both states were less apt to be born again or evangelical Christians than in most previous contests — 37 percent in Wisconsin and 33 percent in Maryland. Based on earlier contests, that, too, suggested an advantage for Romney.

Increasingly, Romney and many senior figures in his party have begun behaving as if the primaries are an afterthought, hoping to pivot to the fall campaign and criticism of Obama.

“He gets full credit or blame for what’s happened in this economy and what’s happened to gasoline prices under his watch and what’s happened to our schools and what’s happened to our military forces,” Romney said of the president while campaigning in Waukesha, Wis.

Obama, in a speech to the annual meeting of The Associated Press, said a House-passed budget written by Republicans was “antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who’s willing to work for it ... It is a prescription for decline.”

When he wasn’t focusing his rhetoric on Obama, Romney prodded Santorum to quit the race, suggesting a refusal to do so could cost the party the election in November.

“The right thing for us, I think, is to get a nominee as soon as we can and be able to focus on Barack Obama,” Romney said in an interview with Fox News.

“You have to remember that it was Ross Perot that allowed Bill Clinton to win” in 1992, he added, a reference to the Texan who ran as an independent that year.

Six students, one employee killed in school shooting

Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — Six students and one employee died when a gunman opened fire at Christianbased Oikos University in Oakland, Calif. Three other people were wounded.

Authorities have yet to release the identities of the victims, but family members have been speaking out about their loved ones, who ranged from 21 to 40 years old and came from Nigeria, Nepal and the Philippines, as well as the United States.

Here’s a look at some of the victims whose identifies have been confirmed.

Katleen Ping, 24, was called the rock of her family.

The secretary/receptionist worked the front desk in the university’s administration department, where the gunman took her hostage then killed her.

She had been working at the school for about seven months to support her family and her 4-year-old son Kayzzer. She had moved from the Philippines to Oakland with her family in 2007.

Ping shared a home with her parents, brother and two younger sisters. Her husband lives in the Philippines and had been trying to get permission to move to the United States.

Her father, Liberty Ping, said he does not think his daughter knew the person who shot her.

“She’s with the Lord,” he said. “She’s in a better place right now.”

Lydia Sim, 21, was described as a happy person who always had a smile on her face.

She babysat children at Hayward Baptist Church while attending nursing classes at the university.

Daniel Sim said his sister was drawn to the school because of its predominant Korean-American student body, as well as its faithbased teachings.

“She felt a lot more comfortable,” he said. “She was really outgoing and really independent.”

He said his sister loved children, and children loved being around her.

She was studying for her nursing degree, but her ultimate goal was to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. She had attended Ohlone College in Fremont before transferring to Oikos and was nearing graduation.

Sim lived at home in Hayward with her parents and brother.

Friends said Tshering Rinzing Bhutia, 38, was a gentle Buddhist from the Indian state of Sikkim near the Himalayan Mountains. He worked nights as a janitor at San Francisco International Airport and lived alone in the city’s North Beach neighborhood.

The Contra Costa Times reported he was killed when the gunman stole his car outside the university.

Prem Singh, his landlord at a residential hotel, said Bhutia attended nursing school classes at Oikos in the morning.

Sonam Chodon, 33, grew up in India as the child of Tibetan refugees. She worked in education administration for Tibet’s exiled government before moving to the San Francisco Bay area city of El Cerrito from Dharamsala, India, a year and a half ago.

“Her death is really shocking to our community,” said family spokesman Tenzin Tsedup, president of the Tibetan Association of Northern California, where Chodon was a member. “There are many horrific things happening in Tibet and now we have to face yet another tragedy in the U.S.” Chodon had worked for five years in the Education of Central Tibetan Administration in India, Tsedup said.

“She was a humble and loving person,” he said. “She was a simple and very kind person.”

Chodon was one of many new Tibetan immigrants who enrolled at Oikos to earn nursing degrees, Tsedup said.

Stop the madness Unfairness of the best possible kind

It’s a new year, but the same old news. Yesterday, The Observer announced the statistics regarding regular decision admitted students and yet again, this year’s admitted pool is even better than the last.

Peter Steiner Sports Writer

Not only did the average SAT increase by 17 points and the average ACT rise from 32.7 to 33, but the University also admitted a smaller percentage of applicants this year than in the past.

First, I would like to extend my wholehearted congratulations to those admitted students. Your acceptance to Notre Dame is a testament to your hard work and achievement in high school and you will undoubtedly achieve remarkable things if you decide to attend our great institution.

In addition, Notre Dame also benefits from an improved class of incoming freshman, as they can only serve to improve our University. The fact that the University had to admit a smaller percentage of applicants also shows that more people want to come to our University.

But now that all the sentimentality is out of the way, I come to my real question. It’s great that the statistics of the admitted students improves every year, but when will the escalating statistics end?

No one should be surprised that this year’s admitted students are statistically better than last, because it happens every year. With these rising statistics, there are also many other questions that can be raised.

Even though a higher test score would suggest that a student is more intelligent, are the admitted students actually smarter than those of previous years? There are many ACT and SAT classes high school students can take to improve their test scores. But does all this preparation actually reflect a more intelligent applicant? In fact, some test-prep classes guarantee they will raise the student’s score or they will give them their money back. In addition, because higher test scores reflect a student’s education, high schools and even middle schools are changing their curriculums to teach to the test. This education strategy is something I don’t necessarily agree with.

It is certainly understandable that every student will do all they can to achieve the highest test score, because applying to college is a high-stakes game. I actually took the ACT three times in order to give myself the best opportunity to be admitted.

Finally, with test scores improving every year, what does all this mean for applicants years down the line? I, like many others, have a younger sibling who may wish to attend Notre Dame (I hope), but he will only be a freshman in high school next year. What will the standards be by the time he is applying for colleges?

Thankfully, an applicant is not solely assessed by his test score. Certainly at Notre Dame, characteristics like integrity, leadership, ambition and involvement in activities and service play a large role in an application. While they may not be progressing at the rate of test scores, I am sure that these factors of applications also improve every year.

In the end, increasing test scores and improving applications are advantageous for our University, but I wonder when or if they will ever plateau?

Contact Peter Steiner at psteiner@nd.edu

The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

“See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him — so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals — so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless.”

Barrett Faithpoint

This verse from the prophet Isaiah (52:13-14) reflects on the “startling” and “amazing” appearance of the suffering servant of the Lord, that nameless character in Isaiah who comes to fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. You can hear the full text of the reading on Good Friday and it continues on, asking, “Who would believe it? Everyone avoided him! People hid their faces from him!” Then, as if the prophet is realizing it himself as he speaks, he marvels, “The servant did this for us. We thought God had afflicted him, but he was crushed for our sins! He was pierced for our offenses — he gave his life for our sins. He was counted among the wicked for us; we who rejected him.”

My children — demonstrating a universal trait of childhood — are often quite preoccupied with what’s “fair.”

One of them is almost fanatical about it and really was meant to be born in the Old Testament days of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” And though I sound just like my own parents (and I cringe when I say it), I do tell them, “Sometimes life isn’t fair.” While perhaps they may continue to wrestle into adulthood — as we all do — with when they can expect fair treatment and when they can’t, I believe that one of

the most important lessons I can teach them is that our faith, hands down, isn’t fair. Our relationship with our savior, Jesus Christ, isn’t fair. Not a bit of it.

Years ago, you used to see billboards and other marketing outlets displaying an advertising campaign hoping to bring people back to Mass. They asked, “Can’t you spare an hour a week after all Jesus has done for you?” My take on it was that the signs more or less meant to guilt those who saw them into getting back into church on Sundays. So the assumption was that the reader, overwhelmed with sudden appreciation for Jesus’ willingness to die for him or her, would find a place of worship to attend for an hour a week. I suppose the signs were just meant as a starting point, a way of getting folks in the door who hadn’t been regulars for a while, but I always wondered about the implied “lowest common denominator” aspect of the message. So after spending an hour a week at Mass, you’d be “square” with God? Can you imagine someone thinking, “OK, Jesus; thanks so much for your sacrifice; now I’ve done my fair share.”

No, Christianity isn’t fair. In fact, it’s so far out of whack that on ESPN, they’d liken it to a game that had gotten “competitively out of hand.” However, we usually get all bent out of shape when we feel that someone hasn’t been fair to us, that we haven’t received “our fair share.”

This week, Holy Week, is a perfect time to remember that our relationship with God isn’t even about “fair.” It’s about love — love which isn’t the least bit worried about being 50-50, but

is willing to be 110-0. It’s about love so forgiving that it gets sloppy, like the father of the prodigal son who hikes up his robes and runs out down the road. It’s about love so deep that it’s willing to get tough, tough enough to demand that we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. It’s about love so humble that it’s willing to wash the dirty, crusty, aching feet of his companions, as we will hear proclaimed of Jesus in the Gospel on Holy Thursday. Holy Week is about gratuitous unfairness of the best possible kind. The events of Jesus’ Passion are for all parents who know their children can never “pay them back,” except possibly by someday loving their own children. Jesus’ love provides an example for friends who stand by each other through illness and insecurity and thoughtlessness and pain, without keeping track of “who’s ahead.” This week is God’s gift to each one of us who stumbles along trying and trying again to follow what seems to be God’s will for us.

“Because of him kings shall stand speechless,” and so should we. We could not be luckier: Our God loves us so much that he gave us the never-ending gift of the life and death of his son and our savior Jesus Christ. We should forever be grateful that he’s willing to be so unfair.

Kate Barrett is the director of the Emmaus Program in Campus Ministry. She can be reached at kbarrett@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Quote of the day

“A tough lesson in life that one has to learn is that not everybody wishes you well.”

Dan Rather U.S. newscaster

Weekly poll Is Haley Scott DeMaria a good choice to be the Commencement speaker?

Yes — she’ll be inspiring No — she’s too low-profile Vote by 5 p.m. Wednesday at ndsmcobserver.com

letters to the edItor

Yacht Dance app

Spring is here, and love is in the air. As the flowers bloom, new romances are blossoming. But all good things must come to an end. So what is the best way to celebrate spring and go out with a bang? That’s right: the St. Ed’s Yacht Dance. It has been widely touted as the finest dorm dance of all, even attracting poor imitators like Duncan’s Highlander Highrise. Now why would I bring this up? Simply to taunt you with a dance that only St. Ed’s gentlemen and their carefully chosen dates can attend? Nay. I am writing to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the chance to attend the St. Ed’s Yacht Dance with none other than me, Josh Underhill.

As is the tradition with the outgoing St. Ed’s president, I am now accepting applications for you to become my date for this year’s Yacht Dance. Applications are now available online. So impress me. Just search “The Yacht Dance 2012 with Josh Underhill — Apply Now” on Facebook. Also, you will not only be expected to submit a beautiful written application. This year, I will take the top five applications and bring them into the second round: the talent competition. Prepare to woo and wow me. Good luck to you all, and I look forward to taking one of you on the yacht with me.

Care for an art festival?

After much thought and discussion between myself and other students, it has become clear that the University of Notre Dame is in need of two things: one, the public promotion of creativity particularly in the arts, and two, integration within the South Bend community. To this dual end, I have a proposal. At some point next year, in a collaborative effort between administration and various departments and student groups, the University of Notre Dame should host a community arts festival for the city of South Bend and Notre Dame.

The question should naturally arise, “Of what would this community arts festival consist?” I envision a weekend, or perhaps longer, when artists from Notre Dame and the City of South Bend would gather at Notre Dame to not only exhibit their art and possibly sell it, but also to actually produce art over the weekend; a series of specific events over a couple days, in a way like IRISHenanigans. Painters from the art and architecture schools could join painters from the community and together work on paintings. Sculptors, pottery-makers, basket-weavers, carpenters, etc. could do the same. Also, a possibility is for students from the theatre department to work on and perform plays with members of the community. Musicians and poets could have time for presenting their original work or performing the work of others. Engineering students could demonstrate machines that they designed.

Such a community festival would accomplish the two goals that I set out at the beginning of this letter. It would be a public promotion of art (such as is present on the streets of major cities such as Rome) and because it would involve artists from the community, it would do more (it would seem) to unite the two entities than numerous meetings and initiatives that do not have the creation of art as their goal. Art unites because it is a powerful expression of a common humanity.

Nate Gotcher junior abroad

Beautiful Easter options

Students staying on campus over Easter break, fretting over what to do with so much time on your hands — you have options. You can sleep in. You can check out some of the (many) hotspots of South Bend. But here’s something that might not be so intuitive: Why not experience one of the most beautiful ecclesiastic atmospheres in the world?

You hear enough of that “Catholic obligations” shtick. You want an incentive? How about, “Holy Week is a unique chance to contemplate your faith (whichever it is) and your connection to the Notre Dame family.” It celebrates rebirth and salvation!

And Notre Dame does a heck of a job celebrating it. Imagine our commemoration of the foundations of Christian faith: “The mystery of Holy Thursday, the tragedy of Good Friday, the utter glory of Easter,” to quote a wise friend.

Come hear the agony in the garden in the dramatic retelling of the Passion of Christ and understand the ultimate sacrifice he made for us. Or immerse yourself in the silent darkness of the Basilica at Thursday night’s Tenebrae and reflect on how you can be a light for others. Or bask in that utter glory of Easter Morning, when you are part of the family of the faithful around the world that greets the new day and rejoices in our salvation.

As a proud member of the Notre Dame Liturgical Choir, I experience that glory firsthand. I want you to feel it as well. And let me tell you, the music of Holy Week is enough to put any man, woman or child in the pew. The only words I could use to describe the sounds of Easter are “stunning,” “surreal” and “insane.” Knowing the hard work we’re putting into this amazing week, I’m sure that everyone else involved is doing their part too.

I understand what many readers are thinking: It’s just not your thing or you’re not even a practicing Catholic. Please, don’t let that stop you. You wouldn’t believe how many nonpracticing and non-Catholic friends I’ve had tell me how much they love Easter here. This can resonate with anyone, but you have to challenge and open yourself to it. I’m certainly no “über-Catholic” and I’m not trying to convert anyone. I just want everyone on campus to consider the opportunity of an unequivocally beautiful Easter. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Sincerely,

Shame on them

As regular as daffodils in spring, a few letters from self-absorbed seniors arrive at The Observer declaring that the commencement speaker is not worthy of their dignity. It probably never occurs to the writers that the speaker might be offended by their disdain. “The gentleman,” Cardinal Newman once wrote, “is one who does not offend consciously.” He did not discuss those who have not the wit to do so consciously. Had he so considered the matter he might well have judged them to be twits. By contrast: Kudos to the newspaper for the generous remarks about a distinguished alumna who will be welcomed by the vast majority of the Notre Dame family, the pretentious few notwithstanding.

Lawrence Cunningham professor Theology Dept. April 2

When Anthony Thomas talks about the origins of KNO Clothing, the company he helped co-found, his story starts on the streets of New York. He tells the story of a man one of his colleagues met on the street. He held an MBA degree and possessed a stellar education, but this man had few close connections. In the recent past, he had undergone an accident that left him in a coma. Despite his higher education, when he awoke, he was without a support network. He was homeless.

ioned to Love T-shirt,” launched a year ago in honor of Valentine’s Day, emphasizes communicating love and concern for the homeless through its superimposition and submission of a heart into complicated latticework. Letters inside each compartment spell the company’s slogan, “Fashioned to End Homelessness.”

Caponigri Scene Writer

It is the ease with which that story could be his, yours, mine or any one of our friends or acquaintances that spurred Thomas, along with his partner and college buddy Stephen Caldwell, to found KNO Clothing, a non-profit fashion line. For every piece of KNO clothing you buy, a piece of clothing is given to a person experiencing homelessness. Funds for shelter are also donated to the company’s partners, such as the Bethesda Mission.

KNO unites the right to clothing and the right to shelter through their designs, and reflects this sentiment in their name. It combines the ideology that “Knowledge” about homelessness destroys stereotypes associated with the homeless with the belief “No One” should go without the physical protection both a home and clothing provide. Indeed, the company’s website, knoclothing.com, emphasizes housing is a human right under international law.

So many of us Notre Dame fashionistas take for granted on a daily basis such a basic human right so many lack. Fashion is a nonverbal, visual language and we are its most avid speakers. It is most apt, appropriate and indeed, our fashion responsibility to use its communicative powers to combat an injustice. By supporting KNO, we can do so.

KNO’s fashion options combine relaxed, casual wardrobe staples with innovative designs inspired by college fashion moments when Caldwell had an almost-Pollack penchant for splashing paint on his own graphic t-shirts. The “Fash-

The design seemingly conveys all of Thomas’ points — like each part of the lattice in the design, we all have an individual responsibility to help the homeless. However, to accomplish this, we all must work together and become whole, banding our hearts and minds together to fashion an end to the problem. The “And We Love That T-Shirt” boldly displays KNO’s last sentence of their mission statement over bright neon paint streaks, emphasizing the fact anyone can help end homelessness. The company also offers items with a more bohemian vibe, such as a violet flower-motif dress. Whoever said being socially conscious was incompatible with chic has clearly never heard of KNO.

Floral dress, knoclothing.com, $40

I have heard people deride an interest in fashion. They call it fluff, even going so far as to call an interest in clothes a luxury. In fact, an interest in fashion and how we adorn ourselves helps us to create our own individuality, our own sense of personal pride, a knowledge of who we are. We use clothing and fashion not only to shelter ourselves from the elements, but also to communicate our solidarity with a group, our common beliefs. Does it not make sense that the first step to fighting homelessness is not only to actually help give homeless people shelter, but to grant them a tool with which to recreate their own individuality, find common bonds with a group and rebuild their lives with visual fashion communication?

Fashion as it turns out is not fl far from it. It is a tool with which we can affect social change. Dear Fashionistas, let’s show the world how powerful we can be.

To support the fight to end homelessness you can buy a fashion item from KNO’s website at knoclothing.com. On Saturday, Sept. 22, the company will also hold a 5K race in Chicago, titled “Change of Pace,” to encourage involvement in the Fashioning to End Homelessness movement. Visit their website for more details.

“Fashioned to Love T,” knoclothing.com, $25

Contact Felicia Caponigri at fcaponig@nd.edu

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

By KEVIN NOONAN Scene Editor

Today, James Cameron exposes his latest get-richquick scheme to the world — “Titanic 3D.” This new re-release of his 1997 cash cow starring Billy Zane is just another in a line of crafty moves by the Hollywood moneymaking machine to squeeze a few more dollars out of the pockets of its adoring audiences.

The original was the highest grossing film of all time until Cameron dropped “Avatar” on our plates, and the world ate it up like three-day-old, partiallyreheated Chinese food.

So it is reasonable to expect that this re-release will vacuum the metaphorical couch seats of the movie-going population for whatever nasty, shamefilled change it can find.

The problem with this may not be obvious on the surface. It’s Cameron’s movie, and studios need money to make more films. So what’s wrong with them whipping up a few camera angles that make the movie look a little different, charging an extra five dollars for it at theaters and then raking in the profits?

The problem is Cameron, long considered an innovator and rightfully so, and others in Hollywood are quickly turning into used-car salesmen.

“Avatar” wasn’t a very good movie. Say all you

want about the revolutionary 3-D technology used to create the amazing visuals. The movie itself was painfully average. If the movie isn’t seen in 3-D, it is completely unmemorable.

As much as it kills me to say this, “Titanic” is a great movie. It’s a moving story that uses its tragic historical value to its advantage, and is made all the more magnificent by Cameron’s incredible visual ability.

The same can be said for many of Cameron’s early movies. “Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” are all fantastic movies founded in an intriguing story and welldeveloped characters. The visual aspects of these films added to their value, but they did not define the movies.

The original “Titanic” was an example of audiences paying for a great movie, sending a message to moviemakers people are willing to spend a great deal of money on a movie worth going to see.

What has happened since the 3-D boom, however, is the opposite. Since “Avatar” topped the billiondollar mark, Hollywood received the message it does not need original storytelling, or even a good movie to get people to spend money. All they need is for people to perceive the movie as technologically-advanced or futuristic in its visuals.

We see this with the re-release of “Titanic” in 3D.

Scene Staff Report

Easter weekend at Notre Dame doesn’t have to be a boring four days of video games and TV show marathons in your room. Get out of the dorm and experience what campus and the surrounding area have to offer.

Go to a Cubs game

This season promises to be yet another disappointment for the Chicago Cubs, but that doesn’t mean the games won’t be as fun as ever. The atmosphere at Wrigley Field is one of the best in baseball, and the fans are always ready to have a good time, win or lose. This weekend is opening weekend for the Cubs, and they’ll host the Washington Nationals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon. So if you get done with classes early on Thursday, head to the North Side, grab a spot in the left field bleachers, watch Washington phenom Stephen Strasburg make mincemeat of the Cubs’ offense and, best of all, listen to the crowd berate their own players mercilessly all game long.

Navy Pier in Chicago

It’s the exact same movie as before. Nothing in the movie is changed. The ship still sinks at the end.

The only difference is it will look a little different. And people will pay more for it. It’s already happened with “Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast,” and will happen again starting today. And it will continue to happen.

Disney plans to release three more of its classics in 3-D following the success of the first two, which combined for over $200 million worldwide.

The next two films in Cameron’s queue are “Avatar 2” and “Avatar 3.”

I’d take my belated 1996 Ford Taurus (God rest its soul) rather than pay $30,000 for more or less the exact same thing in a new Ford Fusion, and I’d take the storytelling of “Titanic” or the action-packed thrills of “Terminator” over the dull mediocrity of “Avatar.”

Don’t go see “Titanic 3D” in theaters. Send a message, and go buy the original on DVD, or rent it if there are still Blockbusters anywhere in the world — Redbox is also a good option if they have the film. Show Cameron and the rest of Hollywood if they want to take more leisurely dives to the bottom of the ocean (for science!), they’ll have to actually make a movie worth seeing first.

Contact Kevin Noonan at knoonan2@nd.edu

friends and take in the sights of Chicago.

Easter Mass in the Basilica

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus is an absolutely beautiful church, but for many Catholic students on campus who regularly attend their dorm’s Mass, it is often an underappreciated aspect of the Notre Dame experience. Easter Mass is as good a time as any to experience the Basilica — the Mass will be joyous because of the holiday, and it will be crowded so it won’t feel like an empty, creepy church. Also, there are no dorm Masses on Sunday, so if you want to go to Mass on Easter and are staying on campus, your options are limited.

Easter Sunday Brunch Rumor has it, the best meal on campus all year round is the Easter Sunday buffet in South Dining Hall. As a good number of students go home for break, the brunch shouldn’t be too crowded, so don’t be too worried about waiting forever to get food. Don’t be fooled by the title, though. This is the only meal served in the dining hall all day, so it’s more of a “brunchinner” than just a brunch. So eat up.

The South Bend Museum of Art

Even if you’re not a baseball fan, there are still things for you to do in Chicago this weekend, which is supposed to be very sunny. Be sure to head down the Magnificent Mile to Navy Pier. The pier overlooks Lake Michigan and is Chicago’s number-one tourist attraction. With its sightseeing cruises, amusement park rides — yes, it has a Ferris Wheel — and delicious restaurants, it is not a place to miss. Relax with

Think local about high culture this week and head to the South Bend Museum of Art on St. Joseph Street. It has a permanent collection featuring historical Indiana artists and contemporary regional artists. The collection also has a few nationally recognized pieces, but mostly focuses on regional artists. Right now, the museum is featuring an exhibit titled “The Flowering Cross: Holy Week in an Andean Village.”

With new acquisitions, look out for the AL

Mickelson prepares for Masters

Assistant Managing Editor

Each year, when the confetti drops to mark the end of another college basketball season, it also means baseball is right around the corner. Along with the annual narrative of warm weather and a rapidly approaching summer are several new storylines unique to the 2012 season. First off, an already dominant American League just became that much stronger during the off-season. The Angels and Tigers poached Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder from the Cardinals and Brewers, respectively, which, along with the retirement of St. Louis skipper Tony LaRussa, vastly decimates the National League Central.

There are six excellent clubs in the American League. At most, five of them will earn a berth in the postseason. The Tigers are most likely to make the postseason among the six because of their talent and the fact that they reside in baseball’s worst division. They won the AL Central by 15 games in 2011 and widened the gap during the winter by adding Fielder and journeyman reliever Octavio Dotel to the mix.

The Indians and Royals will be contenders in a year or two, but they’re just not ready yet. Other than adding Derek Lowe, the only excitement out of Cleveland this winter was the revelation that Fausto Carmona is not in fact Fausto Carmona, but Roberto Hernandez Heredia, a 31-year-old, not 28 as he had claimed.

Baseball’s most intriguing division became even more tantalizing with Boston’s dramatic September collapse that allowed rival Tampa Bay to reach the playoffs.

The Red Sox hired one of the best minds in the game, Bobby Valentine, to gain control of the clubhouse and erase the memories of beer and chicken.

The Yankees were quiet for most of the off-season before swapping Jesus Montero and Michael Pineda to bolster the pitching staff. In the midst of spring training, New York welcomed Andy Pettitte of the original ‘Core Four’ back to the pinstripes. Although Pineda is injured to start the season

ClassIfIeds

and Pettitte needs more training before he is gameready, both should factor largely in a much-improved rotation.

The Rangers are the two-time defending American League champions and twice were a strike away from winning the organization’s first World Series in last year’s Fall Classic, only to watch the Cardinals send Pujols and LaRussa into the sunset with a championship to cap off their stints in St. Louis.

As strong as Texas is, the Angels committed to more than $300 million with the Pujols and C.J. Wilson contracts. Pujols is an aging star, but a star nonetheless and will provide an excellent 3-4 punch in the middle of the lineup with Kendrys Morales, a strength the Angels have typically lacked in past years.

The National League is the David to the American League’s Goliath, but then again, it’s the NL that has won two consecutive World Series.

The NL East should be extremely competitive, especially now that the Nationals and Marlins (in their shiny new ballpark) can be thrown into the mix. The Phillies are without a doubt the team to beat, but every club but the Mets has a chance.

Predictions:

In the AL, the Rays, Tigers and Rangers will win their respective divisions, with the Yankees and Angels earning wild card spots. In the NL, the Phillies, Brewers and Giants will win their divisions, with the Marlins and Diamondbacks getting their tickets punched with a wild card berth.

The Rangers will advance to the World Series with the most complete roster and the addition of Yu Darvish. The Giants will win the NLCS to form a 2010 Fall Classic rematch, only the third time will be the charm for Texas, as they finally finish the deal and bring home a championship.

Contact Andrew Owens at aowens2@nd.edu

The views expressed in this Sports Authority column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Threetime Masters winner Phil Mickelson said the course he’s loved and respected for decades is not yet its fearsome, soul-destroying self — and that has him worried.

“It seems that some of the planning I have made may go by the wayside,” Mickelson said Tuesday. “As soft as the golf course is, you can fire at a lot of the pins.”

That means a host of fearless, 20-somethings will whack away in the fairways with little concern for impediments like Rae’s Creek or the tricky, closely mown slopes protecting the greens.

“Unless something changes,” Mickelson predicted, “it’s going to be a ‘birdiefest.’”

Mickelson is making his 20th appearance at the Masters, many of those spent learning each bump and bunker through painstaking trial and error. It took several changes in his game and attitude before he finally broke through with his 2004 victory here.

Mickelson said one of the most drastic changes was how he approached the pivotal, par-5 15th hole, which has made as many Masters champions as it has ruined through the years.

Count Mickelson one of those waylaid by the daunting hole with the pond in front. Mickelson had played it for years as a “must birdie” hole, fearing anything else would drop him behind the field. That led to what Mickelson called some disastrous scores and the realization that something

had to change.

“I think when you get hit in the head enough times, you look back and say, ‘You know, maybe I should step back,’” Mickelson said.

These days, par is perfectly acceptable for Mickelson on the 15th.

“That’s kind of what happened to me after just getting hammered by that hole so many times in the ‘90s that when I finally won in 2004, I just accepted the fact that it’s hard hole,” he said. “If I make four, great, but five is not bad.”

Mickelson’s Masters win in 2004 changed his attitude here forever. Gone were the questions about when he’d win a major, replaced by an unfettered excitement whenever the tournament nears.

“There was this burden of having never won a major. There was this burden of wanting to win the Masters so bad and being a part of the history of the tournament,” he explained. “When I won in 2004, it was no longer pressure. It was excitement.”

There figures to be plenty of excitement heading into Thursday’s opening round.

World No. 1 Luke Donald, second-ranked Rory McIlroy, Mickelson and four-time champion Tiger Woods have won PGA Tour events in the run up to the Masters.

The soft conditions, Mickelson said, opens the door for players like McIlroy to make a barrage of birdies and run away and hide with this event the way he did in winning the 2011 U.S. Open.

“He plays without fear, which is a great way to play,” Mickelson said of McIlroy.

“When you get soft conditions like at the U.S. Open

(last year), he’s going to light it up.”

McIlroy is seeking redemption from his back-nine meltdown at Augusta that cost him the tournament. Woods is also chasing a golf rebirth, hoping to add his first major title since 2008 — before a sex scandal tarnished his image.

Mickelson carries no such baggage into the season’s first major. When he won here two years ago, the focus was as much on Mickelson’s wife, Amy, and her fight against breast cancer. She was on hand to celebrate leaving a poignant picture in the minds of all who watched the couple embrace.

All’s well with the Mickelson family, who’ll join Phil this weekend then leave for a vacation in the Bahamas next week.

“It’s cool to look back now on where we’re at now and look back and think, you know, how far we’ve come,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson hopes the preparation he’s put in, plus the years of knowledge he’s accumulated will pay off this week. He’s also counting on the sun to kick in as well to dry up the greens and give them their trademark lightning speed that typically punishes aggressive play.

“If the green speeds get a little bit quicker and get a little bit firmer, I think we’ll see some of the young players make some mistakes that will cost them the tournament,” Mickelson said. “The experienced players who position the ball properly and vary their risk-reward shot making, I think they will have an easier time staying on the leaderboard.”

Fielder gets rare steal in loss

Associated Press

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Prince Fielder took a big lead off first base and Toronto pitcher Henderson Alvarez never gave him a glance. So the hefty slugger took off and slid in with his first spring training swipe since 2008.

“I think any time I steal anything, everybody’s off-guard. That’s the point,” Fielder said following the Blue Jays’ 13-8 win Tuesday over the Detroit Tigers.

In a game that had five home runs among its 28 hits, Fielder’s theft was a highlight.

Fielder followed Miguel Cabrera’s single up the middle in the third inning with a forceout. After Delmon Young popped up, Fielder ran on Alvarez’s first pitch to Alex Avila and beat J.C. Arencibia’s throw and shortstop Yunel Escobar’s tag.

“I just wanted to try it. There was no deep thinking involved,” Fielder said, adding that he should have one steal every spring. “Just to keep in shape.”

Deadpanned Tigers manager Jim Leyland: “I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.”

“I don’t think you’ll see it very much,” he said. “You can tell Rickey Henderson not to worry about it.”

Fielder has 16 stolen bases in seven major league seasons, putting him 1,390 behind Hall of Famer Henderson’s record.

Fielder’s next gamble on the bases also brought a roar from the crowd, but it wasn’t nearly as successful.

With two outs and Fielder still at second, Jhonny Peralta lined a single to left field. The

275-pound Fielder thundered around third — the coach just watching him race by — and headed home. Left fielder Eric Thames threw Fielder out by two steps to end the inning.

“I thought I had it,” Fielder said, smiling. He received fist bumps from teammates.

Arencibia playfully patted Fielder on the helmet.

Tigers starter Max Scherzer had a rough day, charged with nine runs on 11 hits and three walks in 4 1-3 innings. He was chased during the Blue Jays’ seven-run fifth inning.

“He was out of synch all day long, just not in a good rhythm all day,” Leyland said. “It happens once in a while.”

Thames and two minor leaguers hit home runs for the Blue Jays. Miguel Cabrera

connected off Alvarez and Danny Worth hit one off Kyle Drabek, who gave up single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and two in the ninth.

The Blue Jays took a 4-3 lead in the second with Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie hitting ground-rule doubles and made it 5-3 in the third on Thames’ homer.

In his first at-bat of the spring, Ryan Schimpf hit a 2-0 pitch over the centerfield fence for a grand slam. Five pitches later, fellow Class A player Kevin Ahrens homered to left.

Toronto loaded the bases in the fifth on singles by Adam Lind, Thames and Jeff Mathis and when Scherzer walked Rasmus for a run.

McIlroy aims to make up for last year’s Masters

Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Ga. — In the aftermath of his Masters meltdown, one phone call that meant the most to Rory McIlroy was from Greg Norman, the master of the Sunday collapse at Augusta National.

Norman had four good chances to slip on a green jacket, the most unforgettable in 1996 when he blew a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo. So the Shark could speak from experience, and the kid was more than willing to listen.

“I think it was great coming from him because he had sort of been in the same position in 1996 — well, ‘96 where Faldo won, but I think ‘86 as well, 1987,” McIlroy said, pausing to try to get the years right. “Sorry, I wasn’t born.”

It’s that kind of humor that has helped McIlroy move on — that and the U.S. Open title he won a few months later.

Still fresh this week for the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland is how he lost a four-shot lead in the final round. There was the tee shot on the 10th hole that bounced around the trees and landed behind the cabins left of the fairway — way left.

There was a three-putt on the 11th, a four-putt on the 12th and eventually an 80 on his scorecard.

“Obviously, the first time I played the back nine last week, there’s memories that come back and memories that you probably don’t want,” McIlroy said. “It’s fine. I got that all out of the way, and just looking forward to this week and looking forward to try to put myself in contention to try and win this thing.”

Norman’s first big opportunity was in 1986, the year he had the 54-hole lead at all four majors. He sent a 4-iron over the 18th green in the final round, and his bogey made Jack Nicklaus a Masters champion for the sixth time. Norman won the British Open that summer, spent the better part of the next decade at No. 1 in the world and became a perennial favorite at the majors.

That’s where McIlroy is now.

He won with a record score at Congressional for his first major. He rose to No. 1 in the world last month, though only for two weeks, when he won the Honda Classic. And, like Norman, he still doesn’t have a green jacket.

But he’s young. He’s super talented. And he copes with success and failure with a refreshing dose of self-deprecating humor and raw honesty. He is comfortable with his game and who he is, and he’s not interested in comparisons with anyone but himself.

Even Tiger Woods.

“It’s nice to be getting all this praise and everything, but you have to take it with a pinch of salt,” McIlroy said. “I definitely don’t have the achievements that Tiger has or nowhere near the level of success that he’s had over the last 15 years. But hopefully, I can one day even get close to that point.”

Woods had never played with McIlroy until a practice round at Abu Dhabi to start the season, followed by the first two rounds. He knew enough about

Boy Wonder, however, and while Woods wasn’t at Congressional last summer, he was impressed by how someone so young could recover so quickly from a major disappointment.

“He has all of makings of being a great champion for a long period of time,” Woods said. “We’ve seen what he did last year at the Masters and how he came back at the Open. He led what, seven out of eight rounds in major championships? Which is pretty impressive. So he just needs to get more experienced. That’s just from playing. He’s put himself there. Seems like every single tournament he plays in, he’s in the top 10. And that’s great to see.”

In his last 12 official events, McIlroy has won twice and has finished in the top 3 eight times. Only once has he been out of the top 10. Woods’ recent record isn’t quite that good, although he has given himself more chances at winning than the last two years. Woods comes into the Masters after his first PGA Tour win 30 months, a fiveshot win at Bay Hill.

That doesn’t hurt.

“I think it’s huge for him,” Phil Mickelson said of Woods. “And I think he’s going to have a great week, because he’s obviously been playing well, and to have won heading in gives him a lot of confidence. Sucks for us, but ....”

The bookies made Woods the favorite after his win at Bay Hill — an amazing turnaround considering only a month ago he left Doral in the middle of the last round because of soreness and swelling in his left Achilles tendon.

But they have never strayed too far from McIlroy. Never mind his age, or that this is only his fourth Masters. What he showed through 54 holes last year, and how he bounced back, is enough for everyone to take notice.

And so much for those demons on the 10th hole at Augusta; McIlroy conquered them with more humor.

“I mean, I can’t believe how close the cabins are. They are only 50 yards off the tee,” McIlroy said as the room filled with laughter. “But no, look, it’s great to be able to laugh about it now.” It wasn’t always that easy. He cried on the phone with his mother after the Masters. There were days of reflection, when McIlroy realized he must not have been ready to win a major. He noticed when he watched videotape of the final round that the bounce in his step was missing. He was looking down, not up. Joy gave way to stress.

Seven putts on the 11th and 12th holes are what did him in. Still, most remember the 10th, and for good reason. Some players barely notice those cabins left of the 10th fairway. Not many can imagine a player behind stuck behind them.

“I played here last week, and I did ask my caddie where exactly Rory was,” Luke Donald said. “And he goes, ‘You know, there wasn’t a single person that doesn’t go by here that asks where Rory’s ball was.’ You’ve obviously got to be a bit unlucky to take such a bounce.”

Not even McIlroy is sure what happened on that shot, much less the rest of the day.

New York tops Flyers, claims top seed in East

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov scored as part of a four-goal first period, and the New York Rangers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 1994 with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

The Rangers are tops in the East for the first time since Mark Messier led them to their last Stanley Cup championship 18 years ago. The Rangers, who lead the overall NHL standings with 109 points, are assured of home-ice advantage until at least the Stanley Cup finals.

The Rangers are atop the East thanks to a stunning series sweep of the Atlantic Division-rival Flyers. They went 6-0 against Philadelphia for the first time in 40 years.

Ryan McDonagh and Brian Boyle also scored to help the Rangers storm to a 4-0 lead.

Marian Gaborik added his 41st goal, and Henrik Lundqvist earned his career-best 39th victory.

The Rangers have ridden the All-Star Lundqvist all the way to the top, and he was sensational again in the clincher. It was Rangers defenseman Marc Staal who knocked the puck past him for the first Philadelphia goal. Staal kicked the puck with his left skate under Lundqvist’s right leg in the second to make it 4-1. Jakub Voracek got credit for the goal.

Lundqvist solidified his Vezina Trophy credentials with 37 saves in his milestone victory.

First place is rare air for a team that has won only two postseason series since 1998.

Owner James Dolan made an atypical visit to the postgame news conference in January and proclaimed the Rangers Stanley Cup contenders.

“I think we’re pretty close to getting that back,” Dolan said of the Stanley Cup.

Ilya Bryzgalov was a spar-

nba San Antonio crushes Cavaliers

Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Danny Green scored 19 points against a Cleveland team that released him last season, Tony Parker added 19 and the San Antonio Spurs coasted to their eighth straight win, 125-90 over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Green played his rookie season for Cleveland, which cut him at the end of training camp in 2011. He’s found a new home with the Spurs, who built a 22-point lead in the first half and rested Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for most of the fourth quarter while pushing their lead to 37.

Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs in his return after missing one game with a sprained right shoulder.

Cleveland has lost eight in a row, 11 of 12 and been outscored by 72 points in its past two home games. Antawn Jamison led the Cavs with 15 points.

The Spurs began a 16-gamesin-23-days stretch to finish the lockout-shortened regular season, a grueling finish before the playoffs for any team, and especially for one with so many veterans.

kling 10-2-1 in March and chosen as the NHL’s first star, but he sat out the previous three games because of a chip fracture in his right foot. In his return, he had Flyers fans wishing he missed one more.

McDonagh took Gaborik’s feed from behind the net and scored his seventh goal of the season 6:25 in. Boyle followed with his 10th, and Anisimov and Callahan both scored on the power play for a 4-0 lead that quieted an oddly sparse crowd for Philadelphia.

Unable to solve Lundqvist, the Flyers took out their frustrations with their fists. Zac Rinaldo slugged it out with New York’s Brandon Prust in a lengthy bout the refs were in no rush to stop. Philadelphia’s Jody Shelley used a series of rights to the face to pummel Mike Rupp.

The teams kept up the trashtalking, pushing and poking for the rest of the game.

All the scrapping helped both teams score power-play goals in the final 90 seconds of the second. Gaborik a shot from the slot past two defenders for a 5-1 lead. Wayne Simmonds, wearing a visor after he was hit in the face by a puck last week, followed for the Flyers with his 28th goal.

Scott Hartnell added a goal in the third, but it was too late for Philadelphia.

The Rangers won the first five meetings with Philadelphia by Feb. 11, including a 2-1 victory in the Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park.

Dating to last season, the Rangers have seven straight wins against the Flyers for the first time since Philadelphia went 13 games without a win from November 1971 to December 1973.

The Flyers have been fired up lately. Coach Peter Laviolette was fined $10,000 on Monday after calling out Penguins counterpart Dan Bylsma for sending out his checking line late in Philadelphia’s 6-3 win at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich wants to rest his regulars as much as possible and a date with the Cavs provided the perfect opportunity to sit his starters.

“It’s a little bit more difficult than the normal season,” Popovich said before the game of managing minutes. “We’ve always played our guys less than most teams, so it’s a little bit more emphasis than usual.”

Duncan and Parker played only 23 minutes and Manu Ginobili 18, giving the Spurs’ “Big Three” a chance to get ready for Wednesday’s game in Boston.

Reserve guard Patty Mills scored a season-high 20 for San Antonio, which has won 11 of 12 and taken a comfortable hold on the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference behind Oklahoma City.

Green spent much of the pregame visiting with former Cavs teammates, coach Byron Scott and arena employees, offering a handshake and hug to people

he used to see on an almost daily basis.

In the first half, he seemed intent on showing Cleveland what they gave up.

Green, who scored just 40 points in 20 games in his season with the Cavs, made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points to help the Spurs open a 60-41 lead at the break. The 6-foot-6 swingman has gone from being a Cleveland castoff to a starter with the Spurs, who have again gone under the radar but are playing as well as any team in the league.

Cleveland, on the other hand, has lost 17 of its past 21 and the Cavs are staggering toward the finish after showing some early promise.

After a 3-pointer by Jamison tied it 16-all in the first quarter, the Spurs went to work.

San Antonio reeled off 16 straight points in less than

three minutes and Parker picked up a second personal foul on Irving, who went to the bench with 3:32 left.

When the Cavs scored four quick points to open the second quarter, Popovich called a timeout and spent the break ripping into his players, particularly Mills, who gave up an easy layup.

The Spurs responded to the tongue lashing as Green hit a pair of 3-pointers to help open a 53-31 lead.

Parker scored six straight points during a 12-2 run by the Spurs in the third. James Anderson, who didn’t play at all in the first half, closed the quarter with a 3-pointer from the right corner to put San Antonio ahead 90-63.

The final 12 minutes resembled a pickup game at the local YMCA as both coaches played their reserves.

Nike introduces new NFL uniforms

Associated Press

NEW YORK — For fans worried that Nike was going to give their favorite NFL team’s uniform an extreme makeover, full-blown Oregon style, no need to fret.

Ben Roethlisberger still looked very much like a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nobody would have mistaken Jermichael Finley for anything but a Green Bay Packer. And the Browns’ jersey wore by Joe Haden was still brown.

Going for a slightly sleeker but very familiar look, the NFL unveiled its new uniforms Tuesday. Nike, the league’s latest apparel maker, stayed away from the wildly experimental designs it uses with the University of Oregon, get-ups that sometimes make it hard

to identify the Ducks.

“You look good, you play good,” said Finley, Green Bay’s star tight end. “Hopefully that kicks into effect this season.”

Nike put on a gridironthemed fashion show at a Brooklyn film studio, with a player from each of the 32 franchises modeling his team’s new threads.

No, Big Ben, Ndamukong Suh and Brian Urlacher didn’t walk the runway.

Instead, after a handful of Nike big wigs worked their way through half-hour presentation that could have been dubbed “The Making of the Uniforms,” the players walked out onto an artificial turf-covered mini-field, suited up from shoes to shoulder pads and lined up in four rows. After the house lights went up, their hel-

mets went on.

There were no surprises. Commissioner Roger Goodell said the goal of the redesign was to combine “tradition with innovation.”

“Some teams will lean more toward the traditions,” Goodell said. “But you can see here you can put innovation into the uniform without changing the look, necessarily, about it.”

In college football, flashy uniforms, with non-traditional colors and patterns are all the rage these days. Oregon, the alma mater of Nike founder Phil Knight, has made the cutting-edge — some would say over-the-edge — look its calling card. Nike outfits dozens of major college football teams and while few have gone all-in the way Oregon does, many are at least dabbling in funky gear.

James leads Heat in playoff-clinching win over 76ers

Associated Press

MIAMI — LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points, Mario Chalmers added 19 and the Miami Heat clinched a playoff spot with a 99-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter, helping the Heat finish off a four-game season sweep of Philadelphia and extend their home-court winning streak to 16 games.

Chris Bosh scored 17 points and Udonis Haslem grabbed 11 rebounds for Miami, which won despite Dwyane Wade sitting out with a bruised left knee.

Evan Turner scored 26 points for Philadelphia, which fell 1½ games behind Boston in the Atlantic Division. Lou Williams scored 18, Spencer Hawes added 12 and Andre Iguodala had 11 before leaving in the third quarter with a left eye contusion.

Miami improved to 9-1 when Wade doesn’t play this season. He bruised his left knee in Sunday’s loss at Boston, though the Heat are hopeful he will be ready for Wednesday’s showdown with Oklahoma City — which will come on a huge night in South Florida, with the Miami Marlins opening their new $515 million ballpark a few miles away against the reigning World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

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Shane Battier started in Wade’s place, and the Heat made another change to the starting lineup, with Ronny Turiaf getting the start at center over Joel Anthony.

Before the game, Sixers coach Doug Collins lamented how his team had the misfortune of playing Miami twice already this season in games immediately following Heat losses. And in both of those games, Miami made statements — winning 99-79 on Feb. 3, then running out to a ridiculous 57-30 halftime lead on March 16 before escaping with an 84-78 victory.

And with the combination of the loss in Boston on Sunday, and the looming Wednesday game with Oklahoma City, Collins figured the Heat would try to put the 76ers away early.

Of course, when he said that, he also thought Wade would be playing.

So even with James shooting 9 for 12 — his best firsthalf shooting effort in nearly a month — and Chalmers recording just his second double-digit-scoring first half in Miami’s last 19 games, the Heat trailed 54-51 at the break. Philadelphia shot 53 percent in the opening two quarters, held an 11-6 edge in fast-break points and got 15 points before intermission from Turner.

Philadelphia managed only two field goals in the first six minutes of the third quarter,

the second of them a baseline drive and dunk by Iguodala, but largely survived the drought. Iguodala’s dunk cut Miami’s lead to 66-61, but his night quickly took a bad turn.

With 4:42 left in the third, Iguodala was holding the ball as Chalmers tried swiping it away — but only wound up connecting with the face of the 76ers’ guard. Iguodala went to the floor in pain, holding the area around his left eye, then eventually made his way to the Philadelphia bench with part of his face covered by a towel . After a few moments there, he went to the 76ers’ locker room for further evaluation.

At that point, Miami led 6864. Soon, the Heat had what was then their biggest lead. James had six points in a quick 8-2 spurt that pushed Miami’s edge to 76-66 with 2:23 left in the third.

Midway through the fourth, the 76ers said Iguodala had a left eye contusion and his return was questionable.

Even without him on the floor, so was the outcome.

Williams’ jumper with 2:27 left got Philadelphia within three, the closest margin since early in the third quarter.

But James made a pair of jumpers, and after Battier sprawled out for the ball and extended a Miami possession, Chalmers found James for an alley-oop dunk that put the Heat up 92-85 with 1:27 left.

Devils improve seeding prospects with third straight win

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. — With the playoffs on tap next week, Travis Zajac is rounding into form at the right time for the New Jersey Devils.

Zajac broke a tie early in the second period with a powerplay goal and the Devils nailed down at least the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

“I am getting there,” said Zajac, who has been limited to 13 games this season because of an Achilles’ tendon injury suffered during an off-ice workout in August. “I mean I feel better every game. I feel more confident with the puck and making plays every game. I am starting to hold on to it more and not throwing it away as I was a couple of games before. It’s just nice to contribute and help out.”

Zajac has played well the past week. He had a game-deciding goal in a shootout win over Chicago last week and he is centering the top line with Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk as his wings.

Parise, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, said the game-winner had to be big for Zajac, who had a goal in eight games after making his season debut in mid December before being shut down again because he came back too soon.

“When you are out that long, you want to come back and make an impact right away,” said Parise, who had two assists in the game including the primary pass on Zajac’s goal.

“We’ve been trying to find him and maybe trying to find him too much. Tonight was good. It has to feel good for him to get that one before the postseason starts.

Coupled with Carolina’s 2-1 win over seventh-place Ottawa, New Jersey likely will be the No. 6 seed when the postseason starts next week. It has an outside shot at the No. 5 spot but it would have to win its final two games and have Philadelphia lose both of its games in regulation.

“We want to take care of business, put as many points on the board as we can, and see where the cards come out for the playoffs,” Devils coach Peter DeBoer said.

Patrik Elias added a goal and an assist, and Kovalchuk scored into an empty net in the final minute to help the Devils win their third straight. Johan Hedberg had 19 saves.

Matt Moulson scored for the Islanders, who have lost three straight.

Islanders goaltender Al Montoya said the Devils played their game to perfection. All he wants for the team’s last two games is complete games.

“We’ve done it through stretches of the year,” Montoya said. “We know what type of team we can be when we are consistent and give that effort that everyone expects out of us and we expect out of ourselves. That’s what we hope for and that’s what we will bring to our fans on Thursday night.”

The win didn’t come without

a price for the Devils, who lost second-year center Jacob Josefson for four to six weeks with a broken left wrist in a secondperiod collision with Jay Pandolfo. It’s Josfson’s second major injury this season. He broke a clavicle early in the season.

“Everybody in the room really feels for Jake,” Hedberg said. “He’s been through so much these two years with injuries and every time he is getting his groove and things are going well for him, and it looks like he is really to take the next step, some unfortunate injury happens.”

Hedberg, who started for the second time in 12 games, made his best save late in the second period when he stopped a shorthanded chance in close by Michael Grabner.

Zajac broke a 1-all tie 22 seconds into the second period with a power-play goal from the hashmark between the circles.

Parise, who also assisted on Kovalchuk’s goal, carried the puck in from the point and sent it to Elias along the side boards.

Parise took a return pass along the goal line and found Zajac alone for a shot that whizzed past a defenseless Montoya.

“Zach made a good pass and there didn’t seem like there was too much around me,” Zajac said after scoring his first goal since returning to the lineup for the second time this season from an Achilles tendon injury.

“He put it right in the wheelhouse and I was able to get a good shot away.”

It was the second goal of the season for Zajac, who has played

in 13 games this season because of the Achilles injury he suffered training in the offseason.

The first two goals came in the opening 3:57 on rebounds.

Elias gave New Jersey the lead at 1:18 with his 26th of the season. Montoya stopped a shot from the point by Mark Fayne, but Petr Sykora got the rebound and found Elias alone 10 feet in front of the goalie for a shot into an open net.

Moulson tied it with his career-best 35th goal. John Tavares outfought Fayne for the puck behind the Devils net and sent it to defenseman Mark Streit at the left point. His shot was stopped in front but Moulson, who has scored at least 30 goals in each of his three seasons with the Islanders, backhanded the rebound under Hedberg’s pads.

Irish set to compete in meet at Stanford

By LAURA COLETTI Sports Writer

Notre Dame will head west this weekend to participate in the Stanford Invitational, a meet known for its highly competitive distance races.

The Irish will bring various event groups to the meet in Palo Alto, Calif., for a total of 41 athletes. Senior multieventer Maddie Buttinger said she is anticipating a strong meet for the Irish.

“This meet used to just be distance runners, but this year we’re taking some other events groups,” she said. “It’s a small group for us [traveling]. We’re basically only taking people who scored at the Big East Indoor [championships] and who have done pretty well so far. It’s an invite, so you have to qualify, and the meet only accepted a certain amount of people.”

Buttinger said this meet should be a good test for each event group, in particular for the distance athletes.

“It should be really competitive. Every year, really good times are run at this meet. It was a hard meet to get into,” she said. “It should be nice because we’ll be going up against good people in good weather, and overall the competition will be good.

“For most distance runners this is the first meet of the year, for example, the [10,000-meter] runners, the steeplechas-

Invitational brings tough competition

By BRENDAN BELL Sports Writer

Saint Mary’s will head south this weekend, where the Belles will compete in the Southwestern Invitational, trying to build off their opening performance at the Phoenix Invitational.

The Belles will look to expand on their depth and push more golfers to shoot in the low 80’s in the upcoming competition.

ers and the distance medley relays will all be competing for the first time.”

The group of athletes making their outdoor season debut includes junior middle-distance runner Jeremy Rae, who was part of the Indoor National Championship distance-medley relay team. Rae is looking to carry the momentum to his first meet of the outdoor season, Buttinger said.

“This meet is especially known for distance, so it’s really competitive for our distance runners,” Buttigner said. “It’s a really good chance for them to open against some good competition in good weather, and to get a good start early and see what they can do well.”

The Irish have performed strong in outdoor showings thus far, and are looking to continue that success allaround, Buttinger said.

“Everyone opened pretty well at [the Victor Lopez Invitational in] Houston and [the Purdue-Poehlein Invitational] was pretty good, so I think people are looking to build off of what they’ve done,” she said. “We’re all trying to score higher and better our marks for [the Big East Outdoor championships] and to qualify for regionals.”

The Irish will open their first day of competition at the Stanford Invitational on Friday.

Contact l aura Coletti at lcoletti@nd.edu

“We are competing against one top-10 team and two other teams currently ranked ahead of us. It will be a challenge playing the Texas teams in their own environment, but I expect our players to rise to the occasion and be very competitive,” Belles coach Mark Hamilton said. “We won the tournament in 2011, and I fully expect us to do the same this year.”

“We won the tournament in 2011 and I fully expect us to do the same this year.”

Mark Hamilton Belles coach

St. Mary’s will travel to Berry Creek Country Club in Georgetown, Tex., to face a variety of highly competitive opponents, including No. 13 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Trinity University.

smC softball

Saint Mary’s will look to use its familiarity with the course to gain an advantage over its opponents.

“It is a tight golf course with hard fairways and is similar in design to other courses we play,” Hamilton said. “It takes precision off the tee. Keep it in play, and you can make pars.”

With nearly a month off

since their last competition, the Belles have taken the time to develop and fine-tune their play in preparation for the upcoming tournament.

“We have been able to get in quality range and course time to make the necessary adjustments,” Hamilton said.

Saint Mary’s started the season with a tough outing at the Phoenix Invitational in Arizona, in which the team finished behind George Fox University and the University of Washington St. Louis. However, the Belles took many positives from their spring break trip to Arizona, as senior captain Natalie Matuszak lead the way for the Belles and shot a teamlow score of 79. Additionally, freshman Janice Heffernan and sophomore Paige Pollak both shot scores of 82 to give Matuszak support at the top of the leaderboard.

Saint Mary’s will compete at the Southwestern Invitational in an effort to defend its title, teeing off April 9 and continuing play through the 10th.

Contact Brendan Bell at bbell2@nd.edu

Belles host Calvin for doubleheader

By NICK BOYLE Sports Writer

Looking to bounce back from a pair of losses to No. 24 Carthage, Saint Mary’s returns to conference play Thursday when it hosts Calvin for a doubleheader.

Saint Mary’s (13-7, 0-2 MIAA) will look to get back on track on offense, where the team has struggled lately.

“We need to bounce back from the last few games and improve our hitting,” Belles coach Erin Sullivan said.

“We haven’t been stringing hits together well lately. We’re swinging at a lot of bad pitches. This needs to improve if we’re going to win conference games.”

Though the Belles dropped their last two games, Sullivan said she believes the team is still mentally tough. She expects the team to be ready for Calvin on Thursday.

“I don’t think the two losses [against Carthage] ruined our mentality,” Sullivan said. “Carthage was a great team and it was good to play against them, even though

we lost. The team should be prepared for Calvin.”

With the conference schedule about to enter into full swing, Saint Mary’s will need to be focused Thursday and weeks to come, Sullivan said. With only four teams qualifying for the MIAA tournament, Saint Mary’s cannot afford to drop many conference games if they want to compete in the playoffs.

“Every game is really important if we want to finish in the top four,” Sullivan said. “We need to beat the teams we should beat, and with all respect to Calvin, these games are ones we should win.”

leadership Thursday,” Sullivan said. “They are good players and they know how to win. They just need to have confidence, play with swagger, and go into the games with a positive mentality.”

“Every game is really important if we want to finish in the top four ... We need to beat the teams we should beat, and with all respect to Calvin, these games are ones we should win.”

Erin Sullivan Belles coach

In order to capture two wins, Sullivan believes her seniors will have to provide leadership Thursday and through the rest of the season.

“We need to have some senior

Sullivan said the team can look to senior outfielder Kristen Nelson to provide this kind of mentality. “Nelson has been playing outstanding as of late,” Sullivan said. “She’s been a real offensive spark for our team. She’s playing free of any pressure, just playing to have fun. The rest of the team should take a page out of her book.”

Saint Mary’s continues its conference campaign when it takes on Calvin at home Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Contact Nick Boyle at nboyle1@nd.edu

Irish hope for good weather

By VICKY JACOBSEN Sports Writer

Everyone enjoys sunshine, but the Irish have reason for hoping the weather holds for today’s home match against No. 14 Northwestern – namely, the Wildcats’ dominance on indoor courts.

“They’ve been very good historically, especially indoors,” Irish coach Jay Louderback said. “They’ve won the national indoor [championship] once or twice. They’re deep, and they’re good at the top of their lineup usually, so they’re always a good team. The last five years they’ve been ranked as high as No. 1 in the country.”

Louderback said Northwestern (10-7, 4-1 Big 10) has a special advantage on indoor courts because of the geography of their Evanston, Ill., campus.

“They’re right on the lake, so even when the weather’s nice in a lot of areas, like in downtown Chicago or even here, it seems colder there,” Louderback said. “Even though we’re not that far away, we still are able to get outdoors a lot more than they are. They just don’t get out a whole lot, so they practice in-

men’s tennIs

doors.”

The Wildcat style of play fits well with the indoor game, Louderback said.

“They usually have kids that like to hit the ball pretty big, which is good indoors,” Louderback said. “They have to play a lot of indoor tennis — that’s pretty much all they do — and the game they play is suited to indoor.”

The No. 18 Irish (14-5, 3-0 Big East) and the Wildcats have developed something of a rivalry over the past few years.

“In the last ten years we’ve both been in the top-10 in the country a lot, and so we’ve been in some big matches with them,” Louderback said. “It’s always been a good rivalry — they have good kids that play fair and play hard. But we’ve both been ranked high and we’ve both played each other when the other team was ranked higher and knocked them off, and it’s been some good matches with them.”

Louderback said the rivalry has been heightened because the teams often meet in the NCAA tournament.

“If one of us isn’t a host site for the NCAAs — if one of us

isn’t in the top-16 — we almost always play each other,” Louderback said. “If we’re not in [the top-16], we end up playing our first and second round at Northwestern; if they’re not in the top-16 and we are, they come here. So that’s part of it, too. We play not only once during the year, but we’ve played a lot regionally at the NCAA tournament, too.”

The Wildcats are coming off a 6-1 road win over Wisconsin on Sunday, while the Irish swept DePaul 7-0 on Saturday. This match is the first of a tough three-match side that will also pit Notre Dame against No. 11 Baylor and No. 16 Texas A&M.

“We’re at the point now where it’s important for us just to win as many matches as we can,” Louderback said. “We play three teams in a row that are ranked ahead of us, which is a great opportunity for us.”

The Irish will offer serve against Northwestern at the Courtney Tennis Center — weather permitting — at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Contact Vicky Jacobsen at vjacobse@nd.edu

DePaul looks for first win against Irish

By LAURA COLETTI Sports Writer

The Irish will take on Big East foe DePaul this afternoon in the first outdoor match at the Courtney Tennis Center this season.

The Irish (14-7, 1-1 Big East) are coming off two dominant victories last weekend against Ball State and St. Bonaventure. DePaul (11-12) had been nationally ranked for much of the year, but has recently dropped out. The Blue Demons are coming off two losses, both against ranked opposition.

Irish coach Bob Bayliss is expecting the Blue Demons to come out strong.

“[DePaul] is one of four or five teams that will contend for the Big East championship later this month in Tampa,” he said. “They have veteran players and have played a good schedule. They have good depth and will compete well here. I expect a

tough match.”

Preparation for DePaul has been typical for the Irish, and Bayliss said sticking to routine will bode well for Notre Dame.

“We have been fortunate to get outdoors to practice the last two days,” Bayliss said. “We have not done anything differently than a normal preparation. Today we did volleying work and practiced returning serves. We kept the workout under an hour and a half to ensure fresh legs tomorrow.”

The Irish are playing well lately and will be glad to have the home-court advantage this afternoon. Bayliss expects his squad will be able to handle the Blue Demons’ top players.

The Irish have looked to senior Casey Watt and sophomore Greg Andrews for strong play all season long, and will continue to do so moving forward.

“We have gotten much stronger play at the top part of our lineup

Notre Dame aims to keep streak alive

By MEGAN FINNERAN Sports Writer

The Irish carry six straight wins into the final game of their opening home series this afternoon against Northwestern. Since defeating Western Michigan in their home opener March 27, Notre Dame has triumphed over Toledo in a double-header and Connecticut in a three-game matchup.

this year than last,” Bayliss said. “Casey has been pretty consistent for us and that has helped. Greg has blossomed at [the number-two spot] and has been able to fill in well at [the top spot] when needed.”

Edging out DePaul will be the first step in making a strong close to the season for the Irish. Notre Dame has never lost to DePaul, with the series record currently standing at 26-0.

“We are playing well at this point, but are feeling the effects of several close losses that have kept us below where we expect to finish,” Bayliss said. “I believe that we can come on very strong as the year ends.”

Notre Dame squares off with the Blue Demons at 4 p.m. Wednesday at home.

Contact l aura Coletti at lcoletti@nd.edu

“Coming off a home sweep of UConn, the Wildcats can expect to see a very confident Irish defense and offense,” junior catcher Amy Buntin said.

Hitting does not seem to be a problem for the Irish (17-10, 3-0 Big East), who have averaged nearly seven runs per game during the home stretch. The squad has most recently looked to senior outfielder Alexa Maldonado and Buntin as leaders in the lineup. In the home opener last week, Buntin hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh to seal the Irish victory against Western Michigan.

“I just hope to keep putting the ball in play hard, and making the Wildcat defense work,” Buntin said.

The junior contributed three hits and Maldonado added two in the final game against Connecticut, which the Irish won 7-2. Freshman infielder Katey Haus also stepped up for the Irish, adding two hits.

On the mound, sophomore

Laura Winter has found success with strikeouts and keeping runners off the bases. In the last game against Connecticut, she struck out four Huskies and managed to avoid issuing a single walk.

While the Irish have a string of victories, Buntin said they come to each game with the same mentality.

“Honestly, as a team we approach each game with the same composure and confidence no matter who our opponent might be that day,” Buntin said.

Northwestern (14-18, 2-4 Big Ten) is coming off an 8-3 win against Wisconsin in which the team scored six runs in the fifth inning to take the lead after a slow start. Junior pitcher Meghan Lamberth led the strong defensive side for Northwestern, yielding just seven hits to the Badgers.

Notre Dame looks to conclude its home stand against the Wildcats in the same manner as its first six home games.

“I think anytime we play at home, we are at a great advantage thanks to our fan support each and every game,” Buntin said. “Without our fans, this game would not be nearly as exciting.”

The Irish take on Northwestern on Wednesday with first pitch thrown out at 5 p.m. in Melissa Cox Stadium.

Contact Megan Finneran at mfinnera@nd.edu

Walker leads Irish at Woodlands tournament

By CONOR KELLY Sports Writer

After more than two weeks off, the Irish return to competition Monday and Tuesday at the All-American Intercollegiate at the Woodlands Course in Houston. The tournament will be a homecoming for Irish senior Chris Walker, who grew up playing the Woodlands Course.

The Woodlands, Tex., native will headline the Irish quintet entered in the Intercollegiate, a unit that has returned to equilibrium following a period of turbulence the past few weeks. For Irish coach Jim Kubinski, it is all about finding the combination of golfers who will consistently post four strong, countable scores.

“We’re going to have the three seniors in there [Walker, Max Scodro, Tom Usher], especially with it being Walker’s home course,” Kubinski said.

“Tom [Usher] just needed a rest last week. He’s been back to playing well. [Junior] Paul McNamara actually won our challenge match this week, so he’ll be in there. We just have to figure out how to post four good scores instead of two or three. That’s what we need to compete.”

One golfer Kubinski has not had to worry about this year has been Scodro. The senior recently earned the title of the Big East Golfer of the Week for the second consecutive week for his fourth-place finish at the Linger Longer Invitational in Eatonton, Ga., on March 25. The finish marked the seventh tournament this season in which Scodro finished in the top-25 individually. Scodro and sophomore Niall Platt have been entrenched as Notre Dame’s top-two for most of the year, but beyond that, the field has been less stable.

At the Linger Longer Invitational, Kubinski inserted sophomore Andrew Lane into Usher’s spot, hoping to kick-start the lineup. Lane failed to hold on to the spot, however, and Usher will return to his spot in the top five.

“We’ve just been trying to find the right combination, and I have confidence in these guys,” Kubinski said. “We’re trying to get back to how we were playing at the end of the fall season.”

The Intercollegiate will feature a number of top teams, especially hailing from the state of Texas. Baylor, Texas Tech,

Struggling Friars pay a visit

and host Houston will provide stiff competition for the Irish, Kubinski said.

“I’ve said to my guys a lot that it will be very tough to go into Texas and beat these teams on their home turf,” Kubinski said. “We’ll need to play very well.”

Notre Dame is currently ranked 64th in the nation, according to Golfweek magazine, well below where the Irish had hoped to find themselves, but there is still time to make up ground. With the Big East tournament less than a month away, the Irish view the Intercollegiate as an opportunity to make a statement and defend their standing as the highest-rated team in the conference.

“We’re getting down towards the end of the year,” Kubinski said. “We’d love a strong, top-5 finish here to really solidify our position going into the postseason.”

The Irish take to the course for the All-American Intercollegiate beginning April 9 in Houston.

Contact Conor Kelly at ckelly17@nd.edu

By SAM GANS Sports Writer

After heading east last weekend to participate in the Big City Classic, the No. 6 Irish return to the friendly confines of Arlotta Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face Big East foe Providence.

Fresh off a 13-6 victory over St. John’s in East Rutherford, N.J., in which the Irish (7-1, 2-0 Big East) trailed at halftime before dominating the second half, Notre Dame will look to extend its winning streak to seven when it hosts the Friars (1-7, 0-3).

Providence will play its third game in eight days after losing to Rutgers in overtime March 31 and hosting Yale on Tuesday. The Friars have had a rough season up to this point, having been outscored 76-63 on the season entering last night’s game against the Bulldogs, including a 27-12 margin in the first period.

While the only win for Prov-

idence came in late February against Wagner, the return of senior attack Jake Nolan on Saturday following a four-game absence provided a spark for the Friars. Nolan, who led the team in scoring last year and is currently second this year despite playing in only half of Providence’s games, scored twice against the Scarlet Knights. In addition, three Friar losses have been by two goals or less, suggesting the Friars’ record might be more competitive than their record indicates.

Irish coach Kevin Corrigan said Providence’s unique style of play could provide a challenge for the Irish.

“[Providence has] got a young team and they play a little different than a lot of people do, which is a challenge in itself,”

Corrigan said. “This time of year, you get kind of to the point where you’ve seen enough things where you get comfortable against them. When you play a team that plays differently, you go back to the beginning

of the year.

“They’re a challenge that way, and they’ve got a good team. They’ve played everyone tremendously, and I think they’re a team on the cusp.”

Though it might be easy for the Irish to overlook onewin Providence, Corrigan has stressed to his team the importance of focusing on itself instead of on the opposition.

“One of the things we talked about [Sunday] is that we want to concentrate on ourselves. We don’t want to play according to our competition,” Corrigan said. “I hope they play with confidence, but not with arrogance. There’s a fine line between the two when you’re playing against a team, thinking, ‘we’re 7-1, and they’re 1-7.’”

The Irish will look to improve their Big East and overall record when they take on Providence at Arlotta Stadium on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Contact Sam Gans at sgans@nd.edu

Roster

continued from page 24

paint what he wants, because it is just his second year with a program trying to recapture what once was.

And, to be honest, he certainly has the inspiration for this masterpiece.

Junior catcher Joe Hudson wasn’t supposed to be the guy to lead this offense, let alone do anything outside of gunning down base-stealers from behind the dish. It seems as though Hudson has pulled a line from one of the greatest sports movies of all time, “Field of Dreams”: “Build it and they will come,” with the ‘it’ being his batting average and ‘they’ being major league scouts. The catcher has gone from a management consulting major to a star who could have the chance to consult with managers about his stance in the minor leagues next year. If he keeps it going at this rate (.402 batting average, 24 RBIs), he could easily go in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft and be on his way to the Show.

Sure, he has been a revelation for an offense that left men on

base last season like it was the ‘cool’ thing to do. But you don’t build a team around Hudson. You let him lead by example and supplement the young guns, the guys who will form this new identity of Irish baseball.

The new wave includes the sophomore duo of Eric Jagielo and Trey Mancini, who hold down the infield corners. Last season, Mancini singlehandedly led the Irish offense (if you could even call it an offense) and was the sole bright spot in the lineup. Jagielo, meanwhile, leads the Irish with six home runs this year to accompany his position change to the hot corner.

Then there are the promising freshmen. One has a legacy in his last name, the other has a legacy in another sport.

Outfielder Conor Biggio has shown he inherited the ice in his veins from his pops, future hall of famer Craig Biggio. Biggio is one of the few freshmen who broke into the Irish lineup, and already has a few clutch hits to his name.

Then there is right-handed pitcher Pat Connaughton, who recently joined the team after breaking into the starting lineup for Mike Brey across the way at the Joyce Center. The six-foot-

five forward has shown his passion for America’s Pastime by starting a game on the mound less than four days after losing to Xavier in the NCAA tournament. His end: the strikeout, his means: an overpowering fastball.

Aoki tells a story of how Connaughton, after scoring a career-high 23 points to upset No. 15 Marquette on the hardwood, came across the parking lot to Frank Eck Stadium to throw a bullpen session. And man-oh-man, can this guy throw.

These are Mik’s boys, his masterpiece.

And if he had to compare them to one major league team, Aoki would probably hope for last year’s Cardinals. They came out of nowhere, against all odds, and did something with their season.

Paintings take time, masterpieces need talent. He’s got both.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Andrew Gastelum at agastel1@nd.edu

Jagielo

continued from page 24

coach Mik Aoki said. “I just think that the sky is the limit for that kid. He has such easy power, and as he really learns how to hit a little bit more and learns his swing a little bit more, I think he’s going to be one of the best hitters in the country.”

Jagielo’s homer brought the Irish even with Toledo, and the bullpen shut the door from there. Toledo was held to just one hit in its last four innings – a collaborative effort from several different Irish arms.

For a unit that has had its share of ups and downs early in 2012, Aoki said he was pleased with the solid performance from his relievers.

“I thought [the bullpen] did a good job,” he said. “[Senior] Steve Sabatino came in and threw strikes. [Freshman] Matty Ternowchek got his, and [sophomore] Danny Slania did a nice job too.”

After junior outfielder Charlie Markson helped spark a tworun rally in the sixth, the heart of the order stepped up again for Notre Dame in the eighth to put the game away. Toledo chose to pitch around Jagielo, loading the bases for Mancini. The sophomore first baseman worked a full count, then hit a two-run single to center to cement the final scoreline.

For Aoki, the core of Jagielo, Mancini and Hudson – who’s

hitting .402 on the year – has been the key to Notre Dame’s offensive production early on this season.

“The middle of our lineup has done it all year long,” Aoki said. “Our three-four-five guys are hitting .350, .350, and .400-something, and they’ve all got over twenty RBIs. I don’t know how much more you can expect out of the middle of the lineup, and they’ve been doing it all year.”

After the non-conference victory, the Irish will head east for a three-game conference series at Seton Hall, starting with a Holy Thursday doubleheader. The Pirates (13-14, 2-4 Big East) boast one of the strongest pitching staffs in the Big East, and should pose a challenge to Notre Dame’s hot bats.

“Seton Hall is a team that can pitch the heck out of it, and of course they’re the defending Big East tournament champs,” Aoki said. “They’ve struggled a little bit at the plate, but their pitching is so good that they’re in every game. They’re a really competitive, hard-nosed group, so we’re really going to have to go in there and really be our best in order to come away with a result.”

First pitch of the series will be thrown at 1 p.m. Thursday in South Orange, N.J., with the second game scheduled for 4 p.m. The Irish close the series at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Contact Jack Hefferon at wheffero@nd.edu

Orange

continued from page 24

per game.

“They’ve got some very nice speed, and they’re definitely doing a nice job offensively getting some big outputs from a number of scoring threats,” Halfpenny said. “Defensively, I think they play a really aggressive game and have the ability

to change the momentum of the game. But I think we do a nice job of matching them from top to bottom in terms of depth and speed.”

Halfpenny said the team’s game plan for Syracuse revolves around smart play as well as an emphasis on the high-powered offensive attack that has characterized the Irish’s play this season.

“It’s going to be really important that we are aware of ev-

erybody’s needs on each unit,”

Halfpenny said. “If we’re playing in a high-pressure situation, it’s important that, when we do gain control of the ball, we have a nice complement of possession and an attacking offense. We’re looking to play the Notre Dame brand of lacrosse, which is a highscoring affair, but also allows our defense to be successful by controlling the game when we have possession.”

After hosting the Orange, Notre Dame will face a quick turnaround as they prepare to play Villanova (2-7, 0-1) on Saturday. The Wildcats have struggled this season, losing seven of their last eight contests and only topping the 10goal mark twice this season.

Senior attack Justine Donodeo leads the Wildcats with 22 goals, while junior defender Shawna Giust, who has won 16 ground balls on the season, anchors the team’s defensive front.

Despite the quick turnaround between games, Halfpenny said she is confident the Irish will be able to avoid a letdown against Villanova.

“We’ve already had quick turnarounds over spring break and last weekend,” Halfpenny said. “Our girls understand how to close the door on one game and get focused on the next one.”

The Irish will look to start a new winning streak when they battle Syracuse at 7 p.m. Thursday in Arlotta Stadium and host Villanova at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Contact Brian Hartnett at bhartnett@nd.edu

Floyd

continued from page 24

and he wanted me to come back and throw for his Pro Day,” Clausen said. “And I said I would have to make a few phone calls and I had my agent talk to the Panthers. And I talked to coaches here and they all said okay. It was a good opportunity for me to come back and get back with Mike and throwing with some of the guys.”

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who was also in attendance, said Floyd looked like a top-10 pick in April’s NFL Draft.

“In my book [Floyd is a top10 pick]. If you take the offthe-field stuff away and just watch the tape, he compares very favorable to [Oklahoma State’s] Justin Blackmon,” Mayock said. “In my opinion, Jacksonville at No. 7 starts his interest. I don’t think he gets past [No.] 16 with the Jets. Then I think there are some teams down there like Chicago at [No.] 19 who would love to have Michael Floyd.”

Meanwhile, Mayock came away impressed with former Irish safety Harrison Smith’s athleticism and smarts.

“I think he is a solid second round pick, and if somebody got stuck at the end of the first round and needed a good football player, I wouldn’t be stunned if he went,” Mayock said.

Smith said the process of preparing for the draft has been a cycle of workouts from the day the season ended.

“It’s just working out every day,” the former captain said. “I’ve worked out from the [Champs Sports Bowl] to the Senior Bowl, from the Senior Bowl to the [NFL] Combine, and from the Combine until now. And now it’s going through visits and interviews with teams. So it’s a hectic process.”

Former Irish cornerbacks Robert Blanton and Gary Gray, offensive lineman Taylor Dever and Trevor Robinson, linebacker Darius Fleming, kicker David Ruffer and running back Jonas Gray also participated in Pro Day. Mayock said Fleming and Blanton did the most for their respective draft stock. Fleming surprised scouts by running the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds, good enough for the third-best among linebackers at the NFL Combine.

“[Blanton and Fleming] both ran in the 4.5 range,” Mayock said. “I have been a believer for a long time. I think Blanton is a real quality safety prospect. Some people think that is a cut but it is not. It’s a complement ... Darius Fleming to me is underrated. He is one of those tweener-size guys at 247-pounds...He is more explosive than teams thought. He will be a core special teams player.”

Contact a ndrew Gastelum at agastel1@nd.edu

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football

Former players impress at Pro Day

By ANDREW GASTELUM Associate Sports Editor

Former Irish receiver Michael Floyd was feeling the love at Notre Dame’s Pro Day on Tuesday, eagerly chatting it up with Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith following Floyd’s impressive workout at the Loftus Center.

“He just said I did a good job,” Floyd said with a grin. “Just to keep working hard and just stay focused.”

Smith joined Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith in attendance, among a multitude of scouts to watch the six-foot-three receiver haul in passes from Carolina Panthers and former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

Clausen and Floyd combined for 16 touchdowns and well over a thousand yards in their two seasons together. Tuesday afternoon, their chemistry was on full display, as Clausen connected with Floyd on every pass.

“I am in a great position to reach my goal of playing in the NFL,” Floyd said. “And hopefully I put [myself] in a good position to be picked by

baseball

a team. And I am just glad that I stayed [at Notre Dame] and get to graduate in May.

“It’s kind of crazy. I never really thought I would be in this position. But I worked hard, and the people in my life worked hard to get me to this point.”

Unofficially, in front of NFL scouts, it was a Pro Day of

sorts for Clausen, who lost his starting job last season to Offensive Rookie of the Year Cam Newton. But ultimately, Clausen said he welcomed the opportunity to come back and play catch with his old target.

“I talked to Mike [Floyd]

see FLOYD/page 22

nd Women’s laCrosse Irish try to rebound against the Orange

By BRIAN HARTNETT Sports Writer

After seeing their undefeated record fall last weekend, the No. 6 Irish will look to rebound under the national spotlight Thursday at Arlotta Stadium when they square off with No. 2 Syracuse. The game against the Orange is part of a quick two-game homestand that also features a matchup with Villanova on Saturday.

Notre Dame (8-1, 2-1) embarked on a similar stretch of two games in three days last weekend, when it made a conference road trip to Rutgers and No. 15 Loyola (Md.). The Irish captured a thrilling 13-12 overtime win over the Scarlet Knights on Friday with a game-winning goal by sophomore midfielder Margaret Smith, but saw their hopes of an undefeated season vanish in a 17-11 loss to Loyola on Sunday, due mainly to a crucial 8-0 Greyhounds scoring run in the second half.

Irish coach Christine Halfpenny said she has confidence

Rocking the Rockets

Heart of batting order shines against Toledo

By JACK HEFFERON Sports Writer

Notre Dame’s win over Toledo on Tuesday night was straight from the heart.

Sophomore third baseman Eric Jagielo, sophomore first baseman Trey Mancini and junior catcher Joe Hudsonthe heart of the Irish batting order - continued to build on their strong start to the year, coming up with the timely hitting their team needed in a 7-3 win over the Rockets (12-15, 3-3 MAC).

After Irish junior starter Patrick Veerkamp surrendered three runs on just four hits, the Irish (17-10, 4-2 Big East) found themselves in a 3-2 hole. In the bottom half of the fifth inning, Jagielo stepped up to the plate and changed the momentum with one swing of the bat. With the bases empty and two men gone, the sophomore crushed a solo homer well over the right field fence.

After battling inconsistency as a freshman, Jagielo’s moonshot showed another glimpse of his remarkable potential.

“I know [Jagielo] struggled from time to time last year, but I think he’s coming into his own a little more this year,” Irish

see JAGIELO/page 21

in her team’s ability to rebound from their first loss.

“Obviously, I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me, but I’ve seen our team respond really well to adversity over the course of the year,” Halfpenny said. “They’ve done a great job of getting rest, getting perspective, taking a look at what’s gone well and what they have to fix, and they’ve rebounded tremendously.”

Notre Dame will be given a grand stage on which to respond when they play Syracuse (6-2, 1-0) in a home night game televised by CBS Sports Network, marking the first appearance for the Irish on television this season. The Irish will face a formidable opponent in the Orange, who are currently on a five-game winning streak, featuring victories over No. 5 Florida, No. 3 Maryland and then-No. 18 Towson. The Orange feature a high-powered offense, headed by sophomore attack Alyssa Murray, who leads the team with 25 goals, and a defense allowing 9.125 goals

These Irish might just stick around

Andrew Gastelum Associate Sports Editor

We see it all too often. That young, inexperienced baseball club coming off a disappointing year starts the season hot, catching everyone by surprise before cooling off and missing the postseason. But this team is not the Indians. There really is no legacy, or anyone on the roster who has ever tasted the postseason in the NCAA tournament. So this is no Yankees team either.

There are no stars, just the occasional stud. The coach isn’t a high-profile controversial figure, just a humble, driven family man.

We have yet to see a Jeff Samardzija or a Craig Counsell emerge, but there is no pressure for this young team. The canvas is still blank, and Irish coach Mik Aoki is Bob Ross, minus the afro. He gets to

see ROSTER/page 21

Peters’ foul trouble plagues Irish

By MOLLY SAMMON Sports Writer

Trying to beat Baylor in the national championship is tough enough. Trying to beat Baylor with 6-foot-2 graduate student forward Devereaux Peters on the bench for more than half of the game is even tougher.

Early foul trouble for Peters inhibited Notre Dame’s ability to keep up with the Bears’ defense, especially junior center Brittney Griner, for the entirety of the 80-61 Irish loss for the national title at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Peters went to the bench early in the first half, but came back in and helped the Irish climb to a sixpoint deficit before the break. She sat out again in the second half and the Bears ran away with the lead.

“It was really disappointing that [Peters] got the third foul in the first half,” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. “That was really disappointing. Because she was why we made that run, having her back in.”

With Notre Dame’s top rebounder off the court for most of the game, Griner flirted with the possibility of a triple-double, put up 26 points for the Bears, had 13 rebounds and made

five steals to wrap up the Bears’ perfect 40-0 season and national championship win.

“When [Griner] got the ball we didn’t lean on her and she shot over us,” McGraw said. “She made great shots, she’s a great player. She was unstoppable.

“It would have been great to see Devereaux play 39 minutes, but I don’t think it would have changed a lot. [Griner] is one-of-a-kind.”

Throughout the season, Peters averaged 24.5 minutes of play per game, but plagued by fouls in the title game, Peters spent just 15 minutes on the court. During the season she averaged 9.4 rebounds a game overall and 10.9 in the Big East, but grabbed only 3 against the Bears.

“We just couldn’t get key stops when we needed to,” Peters said.

“Down three, we give up an offensive rebound, they get a put back. Or we might have a call not go our way and get a foul and then we’re not as aggressive as we normally were. We just were struggling today and it showed.”

Peters went 3-for-5 from the field for a total seven points.

“I thought we did a great job getting [Peters] in foul trouble because

she helped Notre Dame out with rebounds and blocking shots,” Baylor redshirt junior forward Destiny Williams said. “We had to rebound. We couldn’t allow them to get secondchance points. If so, it would have kept them in the game, and we had to limit them to one shot. A couple times they did and they’d score off it. And it’s something that we had to do in order to win.”

Sophomore forward Natalie Achonwa and freshman forward Markisha Wright got a chance to play the position in a national championship situation that does not usually lend itself to much dependence on the bench. But with Peters on the bench, they got prime preparation for their future seasons with the Irish in that role.

Achonwa tied graduate student guard Brittany Mallory in rebounds for the Irish with six.

“I think [foul trouble is] something we’ve had to deal with before,” Peters said. “It wasn’t that difficult. It’s a position we’ve been in. We’re fighters. We never quit. We’ve never been that type of team.”

Contact Molly s ammon at msammon@nd.edu

Quartet caps historic tenure at ND

By CHRIS MASOUD Senior Sports Writer

DENVER — Graduate students Devereaux Peters and Brittany Mallory and seniors Natalie Novosel and Fraderica Miller leave Notre Dame as one of its most accomplished classes. The foursome compiled 142 wins and one Big East regular season title, while reaching four Sweet Sixteens, two Final Fours and two National Championships in their combined five seasons.

“I’m just completely just so proud of them and what we’ve done this year and how we fought back,” Peters said. “Even this game we didn’t quit throughout the game. I’m just happy for them and for what we’ve accomplished in our careers. Not many people can say what we’ve done.”

Back-to-back national runner-up

Notre Dame has now lost back-toback national championship games, falling to Baylor 80-61 after losing to Texas A&M 76-70 in 2011. Notre Dame became the third team to do so, join-

ing Tennessee in 2003 and 2004 and Auburn in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

“I feel a little numb right now,” Novosel said. “To get all the way back to this point, it hurts the most because we came up short once again. To come all this way, especially as a senior, and wanting and willing a sense of urgency to come back this whole way and to not be able to come out on top against is what hurts the most.”

Senior-itis

Devereaux Peters was on the floor for just 15 minutes and played in foul trouble all night, finishing with four fouls. Her regular-season average was 24.5 minutes per game.

Natalie Novosel failed to record a field goal Tuesday, finishing 0-for-11 from the floor and five-for-eight on free throws. Novosel led Notre Dame in scoring with 28 points in its Nov. 20 loss to Baylor.

“I was trying to get confidence baskets, trying to get a layup or get to the line, and even my free throws weren’t going in,” Novosel said. “I thought they

did a really good job on me defensively, not helping off me at all so I could get a clean look at the basket. They always had a hand in my face.”

Big time on the big stage

Baylor junior center Brittney Griner registered 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the win, earning herself the title of Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Prior to the contest, Griner was named the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Naismith Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy winner.

“Brittany Griner comes to work every day,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “A lot of great players think they’re all that and they half go through drills and they come to practice and they dog it. That child comes to work and brings her work pail every day.”

Sports writer Kelsey Manning also contributed to this report.

Contact Chris Masoud at cmasoud@nd.edu

Title game heartbreak

A dominant performance from Baylor junior center Brittney Griner handed Notre Dame a loss in the national championship game for the second straight season. Lady Bears sophomore forward Odyssey Sims added 19 points of her own and Notre Dame All-American Skylar Diggins scored 20 points as Baylor built a second-half lead and cruised to an 80-61 victory.