Irish center T.J. Tynan splits the defense in Notre Dame's 4-3 win over Merrimack last weekend. Photo from The Times Union

Notre Dame freshman center T.J. Tynan was named the College Hockey News’ Rookies of the Year on Tuesday. Tynan edged out his teammate Anders Lee and two other finalists to capture the honor.

While the College Hockey News award likely will pale in comparison to a couple of victories at the Frozen Four next, it is certainly nice for Tynan to have some hardware in the back after a very deserving freshman campaign. The Orland Park, Ill. native leads the Irish in points this season with 51 and was second only to Lee in goals scored with 22. Lee currently has 24 goal including two — one of which was an overtime game winner — last weekend in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tynan, who is undrafted for now, joined the Notre Dame team a year earlier than expected and has provided the team with an offensive spark since Day One. He played for the USHL’s Des Moines Bucaneers for a year before coming to South Bend.

The College Hockey News is one of the leading (and only) authorities on college hockey and is home to some of the more respected college hockey journalists. They have been naming rookies of the year for well over a decade, but Tynan is the first player from Notre Dame to earn the honor. Between him, Lee and the 10 other freshman on Notre Dame’s current roster it looks like the future of Irish hockey is bright.

In the much more immediate future, Notre Dame will take on Minnesota-Duluth in the Frozen Four semifinals at 5 p.m. on April 7. The game, being held in St. Paul, Minn., will be the third time in a row that the Irish will face a hostile crowd despite the so-called “neutral sites” of the NCAA Tournament. This is the second time in the past four years that Notre Dame has advanced to the Frozen Four. The Irish lost to Boston College in the championship game in 2008.

Photo from Getty Images

You know what they say, the 21st time is the charm.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team went into tonight’s Elite 8 match-up with Tennessee 0 for their last 20 against the Vols and their legendary head coach Pat Summitt. But the Irish were able to pull out a win when it counted most and are now headed to the Final Four with a convincing 73-59 win.

“We went into the locker room after the game and the first thing the team said was, ’1 and 20! 1 and 20!’” Irish coach Muffet McGraw said to reporters after the win.

McGraw’s second-seeded team pulled off the upset thanks to a stellar performance from hometown hero Skylar Diggins. Diggins finished the game with 24 points followed Natalie Novosel (17) and the equally alliterative Becca Bruszewski (13).

The Irish took a five-point lead into the half. The Vols were able to pull within one to start the second, but a pair of clutch 3′s from Diggins gave her team a little bit of breathing room. Notre Dame rolled from there never giving up the lead in the half. They were ahead for more than 37 minutes of the 40 minute game.

It doesn’t get any easier for McGraw and her team in Indianapolis. They will likely face UConn (who faces Duke in its regional final game Tuesday night) in their next game on Sunday. The Huskies beat Notre Dame in all three of their meetings this season.

Monday night’s win capped one of the most successful sports weekends in recent Notre Dame memory. After hitting lows with the men’s team being upset and Michael Floyd’s arrest last week, the Irish bounced back with a women’s trip to the final four, the hockey team reaching the Frozen Four with a win over UNH Sunday night, big wins from the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs and a national championship from the fencing team. It was definitely a good weekend to be gold and blue, through and through.

The sword-Fighting Irish have won the second most national championships as any team on campus with eight trophies in the past 35 years. The titles came in 1977, ’78, ’86, ’87, ’94, 2003, ’05 and now 2011. The last three championships have all come under the tutelage of head coach Janusz Bednarski. Bednarski has made his teams into perennial contenders for the better part of the past decade.

Notre Dame’s first national champion in the 2010-11 school year came when the women’s soccer team knocked off Stanford for their third title in program history.

This year it was freshman foiler Rachel Beck who iced the victory with a 3-2 overtime victory over her opponent from Harvard.

Courtney Hurley

Junior Courtney Hurley also knocked off one of Harvard’s sword-fighting beekeepers to win her first career individual gold medal.Hurley went 19-4 in the competition before winning an 8-7 decision over Noam Mills in the finals. If that name sounds familiar to you, you probably are a little too into collegiate fencing. Nonetheless, it is because Courtney’s sister Kelley also won an individual championship for the Irish in 2008.

Ariel DeSmet

On the men’s side, freshman Ariel DeSmet won Notre Dame’s only other individual gold medal in the men’s foil on Friday night. DeSmet continued a streak of ending his season on top after winning four straight state championship titles at Reynolds High School in Oregon.

Notre Dame celebrates after a tournament win in the 2008 Frozen Four.

The NCAA Frozen Four hockey tournament is also in its Sweet 16 mode this weekend. Notre Dame, a 3-seed in the Northeast Regional, will take on second-seeded Merrimack in New Hampshire tonight.

The Irish (23-13-5) finished the regular season ranked No. 8 in the nation despite a disappointing finish at the CCHA Tournament in Joe Louis Arena last weekend. Notre Dame gave up 10 goals in back-to-back losses to Miami and Michigan to finish in fourth place of the conference tournament and likely dropped to a three-seed in the national tournament because of it.

They will take on Merrimack College tonight from North Andover, Mass. The Warriors (25-9-4) made a statement during the highly-contested Hockey East tournament by knocking off UNH and Maine before losing to Boston College in the championship game.

Boston College was the first major upset of the tournament last night. The Eagles — a 1-seed in the West bracket — gave up 8 goals to Colorado College and were eliminated with an 8-4 loss. Another traditional hockey powerhouse, Michigan, narrowly avoided being upset as well. The Wolverines trailed 2-0 early against Nebraska-Omaha before a controversial overtime goal moved them into the Elite Eight.

If Notre Dame wins tonight, they will take on the winner of the Miami-New Hampshire game also being played today. The RedHawks are the No. 1 seed in the region, but have to take on UNH less than 10 miles from the school’s campus.

Tonight’s Notre Dame game will be televised in New England and in South Bend. It is also available on ESPN3.com where you can catch almost all of the tournament games this weekend.

Most reporters on the scene got hung up on the miniature camera attached to the side of Dayne Crist‘s helmet. The helmet cam, which dominated Notre Dame headlines Wednesday evening, is designed to allow coaches to see if the quarterback is properly going through his progressions. This technology wowed many who said it could usher in “a new era in Notre Dame  spring football practices” and who apparently missed the past 15 years of sports television. The helmet cam was around during the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, around the same time – as you can tell from this video – as the primitive Fox sports robots and, yes, the infamous glow puck experiment.

But I digress, back to the early enrollees and how they fared in Wednesday morning practice…

Kyle Brindza

Practice was only open to the prying eyes of the media for 20 minutes on Wednesday and not during any special teams work. His 6-foot-1, 220-pound frame did get him labeled as “the linebacker of the kicking squad.” He outweighs placekicker David Ruffer and punter Ben Turk by 45 and 25 pounds respectively.

Brad Carrico

Despite being recruited as a defensive end, Carrico lined up on the offensive side of the ball Wednesday and likely will stay there. As former Irish defensive end and current Blue & Gold Illustrated writer Jason Sapp said, the offensive line is normally a final stop in position changes. Sapp was surprised that Carrico didn’t at least get the chance to show what he could do on the defensive side.

Everett Golson

Golson reportedly looked shaky as he and the three other Notre Dame quarterbacks went through throwing drills on Wednesday. He also looked small. Despite putting on 10 pounds since arrive in South Bend, the 6-0, 180-pound quarterback was dwarfed standing next to Crist.

Kelly said he thought Golson had a natural comfort in the shotgun, but would have to be brought along slowly.

“He feels comfortable in the shotgun, you can see he can operate right away, but obviously it’s going to be a tailored package,” Kelly said. “He’s not going to be able to run everything we do. But some of the things he does, he’s pretty good. A little sloppy mechanically at times, we’ll have to clean that up.”

Aaron Lynch

Lynch, like Golson, has been taking advantage of the training table during his first month at school. He packed on 20 pounds since his arrival and Kelly said physically he is as ready to go as some of the juniors and seniors on the team.

Tim Prister of IrishIllustrated.com reported that the coaching staff was thrilled with Lynch’s early aggressive nature. He may not have a full grasp on the defense yet, but he was full speed ahead at all times, according to defensive line coach Mike Elston.

“He’s going to be able to do it all,” Elston said. “We’re very encouraged by Aaron, and he will definitely be able to defeat a block and stop the run.”

Ishaq Williams

Irish coaches said Williams has the prototypical body for the 3-4/4-3 hybrid linebacker in Bob Diaco‘s defense. He worked the third-team during drills Wednesday, but looked smooth and strong when attacking the blocking sled during brief videos of practice.

You can check out highlights of Ishaq’s first practice along with a few of the other early enrollees below.

First look Ishaq, Lynch, Golson from Irish Illustrated on Vimeo.

Last year Irish players wore their names on their helmets during spring practice. This time there will be a lot less getting to know one another and a lot more fine-tuning.

Notre Dame will officially begin Year 2 under Brian Kelly bright and early Wednesday morning. The 9 a.m. opening bell is just one of many changes that Kelly is making this Spring now that he has his feet under him and feels comfortable in South Bend.

The new start time, which was announced last month, is designed to allow players to focus on their school work during the day and is something that Kelly has done at previous coaching stops in the past. Among the other changes announced Tuesday are…

• Former OLB Coach Kerry Cooks will be coaching cornerbacks this year, leaving coordinator Bob Diaco in charge of all 4 linebacking positions. Last year’s secondary coach, Chuck Martin, will now be responsible for only the safeties. The switch was likely made to provide extra attention to the several new additions to the Irish secondary.

 

• Two former freshman wide receivers have been moved to the defensive backfield, Austin Collinsworth will play safety and Bennett Jackson will help fill a void at cornerback.

 

• Offensive line coach Ed Warriner will also be coordinating the Irish running attack this season, much like Charlie Weis’ assistant Frank Verducci in his last season in South Bend, leaving more time for Off. Coordinator Charley Molnar to focus on the passing attack.

 

• No news on when Michael Floyd‘s suspension might end, but he has been stripped of his captaincy. Kelly said Daniel Smith and John Goodman will compete for Floyd’s vacated spot at receiver. He also mentioned that senior Deion Walker, who has underperformed so far in college, has taken his offseason workouts to a new level and he expects Walker to compete for playing time in the Spring. Finally, he re-stated that former QB Luke Massa will also be working with the receivers this spring.

 

• Quarterbacks-in-training Andrew Hendrix and early enrollee Everett Golson will be fair game for the Irish defense during practice. Kelly said he wants to see his untested candidates true nature when they are under physical pressure. Dayne Crist will participate in practice in “a limited capacity” as he continues to rehab from knee surgery.

 

• In other injury news: Linebacker Manti Te`o will also be treated cautiously in the next few weeks. He had his knee scoped following an injury in the Sun Bowl, and frankly doesn’t have to prove too much to the staff at this point. Nose tackle Sean Cwynar has surgery on his foot and back this offseason and will not practice during the spring.

Kelly said he was excited to get his second round of spring ball underway in a press conference Tuesday. He said this year will be much more about developing the talent of individual players now that the team’s systems are in place — something that Irish fans haven’t heard in at least six or seven years.

Last year at this time, we had names taped on the helmets, were not really sure about a lot of the positions. We clearly had an understanding that we needed to hit the ground running last year, because we had to get our systems installed.

Year two now, obviously those things are in place, and it’s really going to be about skill development for our players, our charge to the assistant coaches has been really for us, as we hit the field, developing the skills of our players. And then the consistency of that unit, getting the right 11 players on the field on each side of the ball including special teams.  - Brian Kelly

To learn more about Kelly’s plans for the spring, the Michael Floyd situation and other individual players you can read the full transcript of Tuesday’s press conference. Or, if you are sick of reading, kick back and watch the video.

As if last night’s loss on the basketball court wasn’t enough, Notre Dame fans took another hit this afternoon when football coach Brian Kelly announced that star wide receiver Michael Floyd is suspended indefinitely following his arrest this weekend.

Floyd was arrested around 4 a.m. Sunday morning after he ran a stop sign, failed three field sobriety tests and blew a 0.19 into a St. Joseph County sheriff’s breathalyzer. For someone Floyd’s size that is the equivalent of about 10 drinks in four hours time. Floyd was arrested last winter on underage drinking charges in his home-state of Minnesota and will likely face stiffer penalties from the school, if not the law, because of his history. The maximum sentence for operating while intoxicated is one year in prison.

“I understand the gravity of the decision I made and how it could have had catastrophic effects on myself and others,” Floyd said in a prepared statement released by Notre Dame’s athletic department Monday evening. “I’ve talked to Coach Kelly and I accept the decision he made. I absolutely recognize that I have many things to work on to become a better person and will need to regain the trust of all whom I have hurt within my immediate family and the Notre Dame family.”

You can read the full statement and comments from Kelly here.

Kelly said that he did not know when Floyd would be reinstated, but reading a little deeper into the statement there was no “if” in Kelly’s statement that leads me to believe that Floyd will have another chance to suit up for the Irish as long as he keeps him nose clean from here on out. Which, of course, raises the question Does he deserve a third chance?

[poll id= "37"]

The Personal Scale

Floyd’s value to the Irish on the field is clearly evident, but should have little to do with the decision. However, his back story has caused some fans to call out for one last chance for the soon-to-be senior. Stories about the way Floyd’s mother scrapped to send him to the prestigious Cretin-Derham Hall High School so her son could get a good education pull at the heart strings. She actually made the trip to South Bend this morning to discuss Michael’s future with Coach Kelly in person. The apologists argue that this is no for the school to turn its back on a kid who has overcome a good deal of adversity.

Telling his his football career at Notre Dame is over isn’t exactly turning your back on him. Kicking Floyd off the team doesn’t keep him from getting a college degree at Notre Dame. If he decides he needs to be on the field this fall for his future in football, there are plenty of schools that would be happy to give him a shot.

While those claiming that Floyd has an alcohol abuse problem are probably a little delusion, and it is unfair for anyone who doesn’t know Mike personally to judge his personal character, they “college boys will be college boys” defense was thinned out by his earlier offense and got thrown out the window when he started the engine to his Cadillac.

The Notre Dame Scale

If Floyd does return to the team eventually, he will be the first player in recent memory to don the gold helmet after an OWI offense or multiple alcohol-related arrests.

The most recent football players with similar cases are 2005 fullback Rashon Powers-Neal and two-sport star Will Yeatman, who transferred to Maryland before his senior year. Powers-Neal was arrested on drunk driving charges as a senior the weekend before Notre Dame faced USC in the infamous “Bush Push” game. He never rejoined the team. Yeatman was arrested for driving a vehicle while under the influence on campus. He was suspended from the lacrosse team that spring and transferred to Maryland for the following school year. It was unclear whether or not Yeatman would have been allowed to play football the following year, but you would have to imagine that his decision to transfer was fueled by a desire to keep playing sports.

Yeatman technically left of his own accord and Powers-Neal’s incident was midway through the season, so there really is no telling how long their suspensions would have lasted if the timing were different. Current Irish tight end Mike Ragone was arrested two years ago in the spring for possession of marijuana and was back on the team for the start of the fall season.

The National Scale

The country-wide spotlight of controversy has been fixed on the Irish football program several times since Brian Kelly first led his team onto the field in September. While none of these incidents can be blamed on the coach himself, the program could make a strong statement about its integrity by putting its foot down in this case.

In three short months, 2011 has seen a slew of marquis college football names skating through indiscretions with minimal consequences. Cam Newton and OSU coach Jim Tressel most quickly come to mind. Notre Dame has the opportunity to prove that its program is, as it and its fans claim, held to a higher standard.

Floyd’s future is still controlled by a series of chips that have yet to fall — a May 2 court date, his behavior moving forward and the option to say the hell with it and enter the NFL supplemental draft this June. At the very least I think it is fair to assume we won’t see Floyd in Notre Dame’s season opener against South Florida in September. Irish fans who still believe the program is about more than wins and losses will hope his absence extends at least a few games longer and given the amount of variables still left in this equation, it’s not hard to imagine that Floyd’s MVP performance in the Sun Bowl on New Year’s Eve was in fact his last hurrah in the blue and gold.

Pittsburgh Steeler’s Ben Roethlisberger becomes “Big Stern Rebel Hero”
Struggling NBA star Stephon Marbury becomes “Numbers Atrophy”
and young NHL captain Sidney Crosby becomes “Nerdy Ice Boss”

The anagrams couldn’t have fit better, so I decided to see what type of fun word games I could play with Irish sports stars past and present. Besides the three listed above, there are 12 anagrams thinly disguised in this post. Can you find them all?

A cackle o’ joy arose from Irish nation last week as Jack Cooley and the Irish basketball team continued to dominate the Big East. If the team keeps playing this will throughout March, they will be a serious threat to steal some of the football team’s shaken down thunder in 2011. At the very least, fans will no longer worry about the loss of Luke Harangody, who looks like a gory lunkhead.

However, when March comes to a close, spring football will be starting and the attention of Notre Dame fans will once again be focused on the debate over a starting quarterback. Some will have a set memory of Tommy Rees leading his team to victory at the end of last year. Dayne Crist, despite a pair of knees that have proven as reliable as candy tires, also has a claim to the job. And finally, Andrex Hendrix spent his freshman year on the sidelines, relaying plays in with a series of strange hand signals. If he plays well in April, he has a chance to become an ex-handwinder.

Whoever wins the job will have some great targets to throw to even without tight end Kyle Rudolph. Yep, Lord Hulk left us for the NFL, but Michael Floyd‘s body is a chiefly mold for a receiver and he will be around for one more year.

On defense, the Irish will be led by junior Manti Te`o who, along with his great individual performances last year, has proven he is really into team.

I am sure Charlie Weis cries awhile when he sees the talent at Notre Dame right now, but most fans know he is little more than a chili sewer at this point. Will Brian Kelly have what it takes to return the Irish to glory? Something about his name makes me think he has the Blarney ilk to get the job done.

Missing a few? Don’t forget to check the title. Keep reading to see the answers…

1) Grin High If it’s = Fighting Irish
2) cackle o’ joy = Jack Cooley
3) a gory lunkhead = Luke Harangody
4) set memory = Tommy Rees
5) candy tires = Dayne Crist (I smell a new nickname)
6) ex-handwinder = Andrew Hendrix
7) Yep, Lord Hulk = Kyle Rudolph
8 ) a chiefly mold = Michael Floyd
9) into team = Manti Te`o
10 and 11) cries awhile and a chili sewer = Charlie Weis
12) Blarney ilk = Brian Kelly

Can you think of any good anagrams that we missed? Let us know by leaving a comment or dropping us a line on Facebook or Twitter.

Photo form TopRank.com

Notre Dame graduate Mike Lee moved to 4-0 in his promising young boxing career Saturday night with another first round TKO against Pablo Gomez in Las Vegas.

Lee, who was a three-time Bengal Bout champ and won the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament before turning pro, is being groomed to be a title contender in the light heavyweight division. As a member of Top Rank Boxing, he trains with Ronnie Shields who has previously molded former champs like Kermit Cintorn, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.

Saturday night, Lee and Gomez were the top undercard fight on a title bout between Brandon Rios and Miguel Acosta. After being stunned by a strong right from Gomez in the opening seconds of the fight, Lee regained his composure and twice sent the stepping stone Gomez (1-3-1) to the canvas with rights of his own. The first sent Gomez’s mouth guard soaring through the air and the second sent Lee to the winner’s circle.

It was the second time in as many fights that Lee needed less than a round to get a victory. He knocked out Keith Debow in front of 10,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium in November when he was an undercard for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito fight. Shortly after the fight, I talked to Mike and wrote an article about his budding career and his strange place in the boxing world (not many pro fighters have Notre Dame finance degrees). The story is posted below if anyone is interested in learning a bit more about his career…

H ighly-touted boxing historian Bert Sugar once famously described his sport as a “social staircase” — a chance for young men to quite literally fight their way out of a cycle of poverty and oppression. For over a century, one has needed to look no further than the inside of a boxing ring to determine what ethnicity sits on the bottom step of that staircase. Why else would you sign up to be bludgeoned for a living?

Mike Lee has his reasons.

The 23-year-old fledgling fighter was born and raised in Chicago’s comfortable west suburbs. He attended the well-respected Benet Academy, a private Catholic school in Lisle, Ill., before earning a finance degree from the University of Notre Dame with a 3.8 grade point average. Then he decided to try his hand at professional boxing.

Lee made his decision with the support of his family and few others. Many wondered if he was committed enough to take his career in the ring seriously. Success in boxing is paid for with gallons of blood and sweat, grueling workouts and training regimens that are often only completed because the fighter has no other options. Lee has options. He answered endless questions about why he would pass up job offers from some of the finest institutions on Wall Street to duke it out with the boys of Bert Sugar’s “mean streets.”

“In the beginning everyone was asking me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” Lee said. “It’s kind of nice now that those questions have sort of gone away. People are starting to figure out this is for real, it isn’t a joke.”

The six-foot, 175-pound middle heavyweight signed with promoting legend Bob Arum and Top Rank Boxing in January and has since silenced many of his doubters by winning his first three fights in convincing fashion. Lee made his debut in front of a packed house at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on Memorial Day weekend, winning a unanimous decision in a four-round fight against Emmit Woods.

The performance impressed the more than 2,000 fans that showed up specifically to see him fight as well as ESPN’s Dan Rafael.

“He kept his hands nice and high and threw a lot of combinations,” Rafael wrote following the fight. “For a pro debut, it was a fine performance. With his popularity, all-American back story and potential, he’s a guy to keep an eye on.”

Since then, Lee’s heavy hands haven’t allowed an opponent out of the second round. A strong left hook to the ribs caused the referee to stop Lee’s Sept. 11 contest with Alex Rivera in Las Vegas and Keith Debow decided not to stand up after running into an overhand right from Lee in the first round last weekend in the new Cowboys Stadium.

The most recent fight, which pushed Lee’s professional record to 3-0, showed that the folks at Top Rank are grooming him to be a legitimate contender in the future. It also gave the young boxer a taste of the big stage. The match-up was on the undercard for the biggest pay-per-view fight of the year, Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito. Lee, who was a linebacker for his high school football team, said walking out of an NFL locker room in front of a crowd of 15-20,000 fans was a surreal moment.

“I just wish the fight went a little longer. I didn’t get a chance to soak it all in,” he said with a hint of disbelief still lingering in his voice. “I do remember thinking when I stepped into the ring that this is the reason I train so hard. When everyone asks why I decided to fight, this is why.”

The fight also came with a few memorable perks like a good luck phone call from Pacquiao and a face-to-face congratulations from fellow Notre Dame graduate Regis Philbin. Not too bad for a kid who first stepped into the ring less than five years ago.

Lee got his first taste of the sweet science while visiting Notre Dame’s campus the spring of his senior year of high school. He went to watch the school’s 75^th annual Bengal Bouts boxing tournament and decided he needed to come to Notre Dame and he needed to box.

The Bengal Bouts began in 1931 under the command of legendary football coach and athletic director Knute Rockne. The program was heralded as the sport at its most pure, operating with “a lack of any commercial taint” according to a 1955 Sports Illustrated article by columnist Bud Schulberg. All of the money raised during the annual fights — which has regularly eclipsed the $100,000 mark in recent years — is sent to Catholic missionaries in Bangladesh (formerly Bengal).

“Our program has much less to do with boxing than it has to do with life,” said head coach Tom Suddes. “It’s just more about the discipline and the focus. They put on a good show and we raise some much-needed money.”

In recent years, The amateur tournament has drawn the likes of Teddy Atlas and Muhammad Ali to the doorstep of the northern Indiana campus as it begins to thaw each spring. It expanded rapidly during Lee’s time at Notre Dame with approximately 300 students signing up to fight on a yearly basis. Lee’s senior year was the first time in the program’s history than any of the boxers got the chance to see the fruits of their labor in person. In January of 2009, he and then-club president Mark Weber spent 14 life-changing days touring the schools and villages that had been built using money raised by the Bengal Bouts.

Weber and Lee, a pair of white, American boxers in a land devoid of tourism, were greeted like rock stars. They attracted a crowd of hundreds when they stopped to join in a pick-up cricket match with some local boys and were the subject of countless curious smiles as they toured the country. Whether they were in the slums of Dhaka, home to more than 12 million people, or in outlying mission on the Indian border both visitors were blown away by the happiness they found in a world of poverty and oppression.

“They were smiling non-stop the whole time we were around,” Lee said. “Everyone was so grateful for the money and that we had made the trip. When you can witness first hand what is going on, it just makes you that much more motivated.”

A month later, Lee was back in the ring and on his way to a third consecutive Bengal Bouts championship. And a month after that he brought home the crown in the 178-pound division of Chicago’s well-respected Golden Gloves tournament. Suddes, who has been a part of Notre Dame’s program since he started boxing as a freshman in 1968, said he doesn’t remember anyone who has been as motivated to turn boxing into a career as Lee is.

“I’m not sure it’s ever happened quite the way that it’s happening for Mike right now,” he said. “He’s just so committed, his attitude in the gym has always been very impressive.”

Lee’s new team of trainers has been equally impressed with his work ethic. Exactly one year after returning from Bangladesh, he found himself surrounded by the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip in the office of one of boxing’s best-known promoters. Bob Arum, Top Rank’s CEO, said his newest boxer was “a great example of the graduates Notre Dame produces” and immediately put the faith of his fighting empire behind the promising, well-educated Lee.

Lee moved to Houston shortly thereafter to begin training with Ronnie Shields. Shields, who has previously worked with champs like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, has told reporters he thinks Lee is going to be something special. He said Lee’s willingness to try anything that Shields shows him has helped him improve at a very quick pace.

The up-and-comer has plenty of good examples to learn from. The gym in Houston is a common training ground for fighters like “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Juan Diaz and Kermit Cintron — all of whom Lee studies whenever he gets the chance. He credits his education with giving him the discipline to try to learn something each time he works out.

“I think that I can use my head and my education to my advantage, especially when I start getting into longer fights,” he said.

In that respect, Lee is not alone. College-educated fighters, as rare as they may be, have found success at the very pinnacle of the boxing world. In 1999, heavyweight Vitali Klitschko became the first man to ever hold the title of Dr. World Champion. Klitschko, who currently holds the WBC heavyweight title, earned his doctorate in sports science from Kiev University in Ukraine. The following year Vitali’s younger brother, Wladimir, became the second Dr. World Champion when he outpunched American Chris Byrd for the WBO championship.

New Jersey native Bobby “The Matinee Idol” Czyz, who may be best known as the only member of Mensa to step inside a professional boxing ring, started his career in 1980 in much the same place that Lee has started his. As a well-spoken and intelligent white man, Czyz was a marketing dream but critics questioned if he could hang in the middle heavyweight division. Six years later, he was a world champion.

Lee said he hopes to join Czyz someday and win a title before he is done with boxing — a dream that could turn into reality if he continues to harness his unique intelligence.

Weber, a forming sparring partner, agreed that Lee’s sharp ascent into boxing relevance was due to his willingness to learn. He described his partner’s approach to boxing by borrowing the mantra from Bryce Courtney’s novel about a young South African boxer, The Power of One: “First with the head, then with the heart.”

Lee’s career choice didn’t make sense to many, but those that know him well are not surprised at his success.

Each year a small group of the Bengal Bout fighters spend a weekend training and doing team-building exercises at a high ropes course in Eagle Creek, Michigan. Lee, who had a fear of heights, first made the trip as a sophomore. Suddes said the first time Lee climbed the 20-plus foot ladder at the start of the treetop obstacle course he barely made it. Those heavy hands of his gripped the wood so hard that Suddes said he made indents that are still there.

“But three years later he was flying across that course,” Suddes said. “That transformation was pretty impressive to watch. It’s just his willingness to push himself, it impresses the hell out of you.”

Lee does not know yet when his next fight will be or how long he will continue to fight, but if he keeps pushing he may soon be leaving his mark in far more visible places that the treetops in Eagle Creek.

Follow Lee’s career at his website or on his Facebook page.

Irish senior Zach Brenneman led Notre Dame to a season-opening win Sunday.

Last week the Midwest let its temperatures flirt with the fifties in the annual Spring Tease that lets all of its residents remember why they live there with a little taste of good weather, before slamming us once again for the final snow storms and bitter cold days of winter. Notre Dame sports teams also gave fans their first glimpse of springtime action this weekend with the baseball, softball and lacrosse teams all opening up their schedules.

Lacrosse

On Sunday the men’s lacrosse team battled No. 5 Duke in a rematch of last year’s national championship game. The match kicked off the regular season for NCAA lacrosse with a dominant 12-7 Irish win. Senior midfielder Zach Brenneman led the team with a career-high five points against the Blue Devils. No. 6 Notre Dame can expect to move up a couple of spots in the rankings after their strong start for next week when they take on Penn State on the road.

Baseball

The Mik Aoki era started last Friday with a 2-1 loss to Michigan State in the opening round of the Big East/Big Ten Challenge. The Irish bast woke up on Saturday and Sunday scoring a combined 27 runs against Purdue and Penn State to pick up two out of three against their Big Ten foes. Notre Dame hung 19 runs on Purdue on Saturday and picked up an 8-5 win over the Nittany Lions on Sunday. Freshman Trey Mancini made a big splash by going 4-for-8 with a home run and a triple in his first two starts. He was hit by a pitch in his collegiate debut while pinch hitting during the Michigan State game.

Softball

Junior outfielder Alexa Maldanado was awarded the first Big East Player of the Week this year thanks to her heroic hitting in the UCF Invitational this weekend. Maldanado went 7-for-14 in the tourney with 6 RBI and 6 runs scored. Her team went undefeated giving up only eight runs in five games over the weekend. The Irish will continue to enjoy the artificial spring of the South next weekend at the College of Charleston Invite. They won’t play their first games in South Bend until March 25.