Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame allegedly committed major violations in recruiting an Ohio high school football player, but the college denied the charges yesterday. A major college football coach, who requested anonymity, was quoted yesterday in the St. Paul Pioneer Press as saying that Penn State and Ohio State had turned in Notre Dame for alleged NCAA violations in the recruitment of running back Ki-Jana Carter, of Westerville South High School. The allegations come on the heels of an admission by Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz last week that he gave $270 total to two athletes while at Minnesota.

Jim Dillon of Holy Ghost Prep, The Inquirer's Northern suburban basketball player of the year last season, has made an oral commitment to attend Notre Dame, and will receive a full scholarship when he reports for classes in South Bend, Ind., later this month. Dillon is a 6-foot-1 point guard who averaged 16.8 points and 4.6 assists in leading the Firebirds to a 28-3 record and to within one game of the state Class AAA championship. Holy Ghost previously said Dillon, 17, would attend The Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., for one year.

Top-ranked Notre Dame tied a school record with its 21st consecutive victory, beating Navy, 41-0, yesterday in South Bend, Ind., for its first shutout in six years. The Irish (9-0) beat Navy for the 26th consecutive time since 1963. Notre Dame rushed for 414 yards and five touchdowns and held the Midshipmen (2-6) to 67 yards rushing and 99 yards passing. Nonetheless, Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz said he had been worried about Navy. "I'm not insulting your intelligence; I'm a worrier," Holtz said.

Notre Dame tight end Will Yeatman has been suspended from the team for the rest of the season but remains enrolled at school after being arrested on a charge of underage drinking at an off-campus party. Yeatman, 20, was informed of the suspension Tuesday, his mother, Bonnie, said yesterday. She said he plans to play lacrosse for the Irish in the spring and take part in spring football practice. Yeatman and Notre Dame center Mike Golic Jr., whose father, Mike Golic, is an ex-Eagle and co-host of "Mike & Mike in the Morning" on ESPN, and women's basketball player Brittany Mallory were among 37 people arrested at a house in South Bend during the early morning hours of Sept.

It was one of the final postgame questions, and it made Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz turn away from the microphone. The question was about next season and a probable preseason No. 1 ranking for the Irish. The team that wiped out previously undefeated West Virginia, 34-21, in Fiesta Bowl XVIII to wrap up a 12-0 season and the mythical national championship was supposed to be a year away from greatness, remember? "We've really got some real problems on this team," Holtz deadpanned, bringing down the house.

Notre Dame won the Shipley tournament Saturday by defeating Lower Merion, 4-1. Amy Willard, Kara MacDermott, Rene Hardican and Christina Scanlon scored in the victory. Earlier, Notre Dame (9-5 overall), which is tied with Germantown Academy for first place in the Inter-Academic League at 4-0, faced Shipley and earned a first-round 5-1 victory. In that game, Notre Dame received 3 goals and an assist from Willard and a goal each from MacDermott and Hardican. Traci Brody scored for Lower Merion (5-6-1 overall, 2-5-1 in the Constitution League)

Brady Quinn tied a school record with four touchdown passes to lead Notre Dame to a 38-3 victory over Washington yesterday in South Bend, Ind. In the first half, Quinn completed 15 of 23 passes for 196 yards, with two TDs each to Matt Shelton and Anthony Fasano, leading Notre Dame (3-1) to its first easy win of the season. He completed only two passes in the second half, one for 53 yards that set up the Fighting Irish's final score, but it hardly mattered. The sophomore finished 17 for 32 for 266 yards with one interception.

Julie Marco has coached middle school girls, high school girls and college women. Whatever the level, Academy of Notre Dame's first-year coach knows that fundamentals determine the success of field hockey players. "If they know the techniques, if they know the fundamentals, game strategy is so much easier," Marco said. "You can put in every play you want, but it won't work if they can't stop the ball, if they can't hit the ball. " Marco, a former head coach at St. Mark's in Delaware and at Villanova University, is trying to teach the fundamentals to her Notre Dame players.

Absegami junior Rashad Kinlaw has committed to attend Notre Dame on a football scholarship. Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi Jr. said Kinlaw made his decision Monday night after a weekend visit to Notre Dame. "He's going to have a chance to play right away," Scuderi Jr. said. "It's a great opportunity for him. " The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Kinlaw played quarterback as a sophomore and junior for Absegami. He is projected to be a cornerback at Notre Dame. "He's everything you're looking for at that position," Scuderi Jr. said.

Notre Dame again is searching for a head basketball coach and the school is expected to reconsider some of the candidates who lost out when Matt Doherty was hired last March. Irish athletic director Kevin White declined to name any prospective candidates, but said the school began gathering information about a week ago, well before Doherty accepted the job at North Carolina yesterday. Delaware's Mike Brey, Minnesota's Dan Monson and Xavier's Skip Prosser have been targeted by Notre Dame, a source close to White told ESPN.

Twelve players from the Philadelphia area punched tickets to the NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four after wins Sunday at PPL Park in Chester. Notre Dame (13-2) outlasted Virginia (12-4) in the fourth quarter to knock out the defending national champion, 12-10, in front of 10,770 fans. In the other quarterfinal at PPL Park, Duke dominated Colgate for a 17-6 victory. Notre Dame will play Loyola-Maryland in the semifinals Saturday in Foxborough, Mass. Duke (15-4) will meet Maryland.

Twelve players from the Philadelphia area punched tickets to the NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four after wins Sunday at PPL Park in Chester. Notre Dame (13-2) outlasted Virginia (12-4) in the fourth quarter to knock out the defending national champion, 12-10, in front of 10,770 fans. In the other quarterfinal at PPL Park, Duke dominated Colgate for a 17-6 victory. Notre Dame will play Loyola-Maryland in the semifinals Saturday in Foxborough, Mass. Duke (15-4) will meet Maryland.

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone has signed a grant-in-aid form to complete his transfer to Kansas, where he will be reunited with former coach Charlie Weis. Ragone, who was a star at Camden Catholic and a top recruit, has completed his undergraduate degree and will be eligible to play for the Jayhawks immediately. He joins quarterback Dayne Crist and linebacker Anthony McDonald as former Irish players who will finish their college careers in Lawrence. Weis recruited all three players to Notre Dame while he was the head coach in South Bend.

DENVER - Fueled by the best big player in women's college basketball, Baylor decisively defeated Notre Dame, 80-61, in Tuesday night's NCAA championship. The Bears got 26 points from 6-foot-8 junior center Brittney Griner and became the first college team to finish a season 40-0. It was Baylor's second national title, both under coach Kim Mulkey. The first came in 2003. Griner, the AP player of the year, also grabbed 13 rebounds. A year ago, Notre Dame (35-4)

DENVER - Brittney Griner and Baylor left no doubt they're head and shoulders above any team in the country. In fact, they are perfect. Griner had 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks to lead Baylor to a dominating 80-61 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA women's basketball championship on Tuesday night, capping a 40-0 season for the Lady Bears. They became the seventh women's team to run through a season unbeaten and the first in NCAA history to win 40 games. It was the second national championship for Baylor, which also won a title in 2005.

DENVER - Notre Dame is back in the national championship thanks to Skylar Diggins' steady leadership and Brittany Mallory's clutch shooting. Diggins scored 19 points, Mallory hit two big three-pointers in overtime, and the Irish beat Connecticut, 83-75, on Sunday night. Notre Dame (35-3) also beat the Huskies (33-5) in the semifinals last year, ending Maya Moore's brilliant career and the Huskies' bid for a third straight national championship. But Notre Dame stumbled 48 hours later, losing to Texas A&M in the title game in Indianapolis.

Tiffany Hayes scored 22 points and top-seeded Connecticut beat Kentucky, 80-65, on Tuesday night in Kingston, R.I., to advance to the Final Four for the fifth consecutive season. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 18 for UConn (33-4), which will play Notre Dame (34-3) on Sunday in Denver. Coach Muffet McGraw, a St. Joseph's alum, guided the top-seeded Irish to a rout of No. 2 seed Maryland (31-5) on Tuesday night in the Raleigh Regional in North Carolina. The Huskies matched their own school mark of five straight trips to the national semifinals.

Absegami junior Rashad Kinlaw has committed to attend Notre Dame on a football scholarship. Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi Jr. said Kinlaw made his decision Monday night after a weekend visit to Notre Dame. "He's going to have a chance to play right away," Scuderi Jr. said. "It's a great opportunity for him. " The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Kinlaw played quarterback as a sophomore and junior for Absegami. He is projected to be a cornerback at Notre Dame. "He's everything you're looking for at that position," Scuderi Jr. said.

Laurin Mincy had 21 points and a career-best 12 rebounds to help Maryland rally past defending national champion Texas A&M, 81-74, on Sunday in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament's Raleigh Regional in North Carolina. Alyssa Thomas added 21 points and nine rebounds for the second-seeded Terps (31-4), who fought their way back and held the Aggies (24-11) to just one basket over the final 71/2 minutes. "This team knows and has the confidence it can come back against anyone," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said.

SOME U-TURNS are more interesting than others. After completing an unofficial visit to Notre Dame on Sunday, mammoth Penn Charter junior tackle Mike McGlinchey (6-8, 290) and his father were heading to their next stop, Wisconsin. Screech! They applied the breaks and turned around. McGlinchey told Irish Sports Daily , "I talked it over with my dad in the car and I decided to commit to Notre Dame. I decided it's the right place for me and it's a dream come true to be able to be a member of the Notre Dame football team.