A Bling-loaded LOTD, the future of the Purdue series, and another Gator arrested (LOTD 6/2)

So I think the transition to the .com world is complete. I haven't had any more troubles getting on the site or getting to old archived articles, so we should be set now. Also, TDS had it's 10,000 hit in the wee hours of the morning yesterday. Thanks to all of you who have dropped by the site, I hope you continue to check it out.

It's a slow news day, which I've come to expect from Tuesdays. Let's get right to it.

Yesterday I talked about the auction on Steiner sports for the Notre Dame scoreboard. If you want to own a piece of Notre Dame history but either don't have the room for the scoreboard or the funds to light up the neighborhood then try this on for size: A solid gold Notre Dame Gator Bowl ring from 1999. The ring has the number 21 on it, so I assume it belonged to Javin Hunter. I'm not sure if Hunter is strapped for cash (he's currently playting for something called Team Michigan in the All American Football League) or gave this to someone who is, but now it can be yours. Bidding is now running at $910, with the reserve already having been met, so you can pick up some bling on ebay, or possibly get the perfect Father's Day gift for all the ND dads out there.

BoilerStation.com is reporting that Purdue AD Morgan Burke is in discussions with Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick to extend the Purdue-ND series past the current 2015 ending date. The two teams have played annually since 1946 season. Rumors have been that the Irish are looking for four years on, two years off with Purdue, possibly to squeeze Wisconsin in for a home-and-home series. Burke says the rumors are not true, stating "I marvel at the reports that are out there. We would like to find a way to continue it." Burke obviously doesn't want the series to come to an end, but I'm not sure how the Irish benefit from playing Purdue annually. There is obviously history there, plus the benefit of recruiting ties and appeal in the Midwest, so I wouldn't recommend ending it completely, but an annual beating of Purdue doesn't do much for the Irish, and the occasional loss can only hurt ND.

Matt Hayes has listed his top 25 players in college football, starting with Tim Tevow (of course), but also making the list is Irish wide receiver Golden Tate (at #21). Hayes comments that Tate is an "Explosive, tough athlete, a breakaway threat in any route on the field -- and with kick returns." It's nice to see Tate get some national recognition. I've always held the belief that Tate is a good wide receiver who is made better by having Michael Floyd on the opposite side of the field. If you look at the statistics from last season, Tate's production went down once Floyd was injured and defenses began to focus on #23. Having the two healthy will be key next year, as both are deep ball threats on every play.

The Irish have offerred California defensive end Justin Utopo. Utopo, who plays defensive tackle in high school, has the body for a DE at the next level (6'4" 240). Utopo had 78 tackles last year, 30 for a loss, and 10 sacks, all very impressive numbers for a defensive tackle. He has offers from Missouri, Arizona St, Oregon, Nebrasksa, Oklahoma St, and Washington. It's interesting to see how the Big XII schools have taken interest in the West Coast product, which leads me to believe that the kid is going to be on the national stage with a good senior year. I'm not sure of his interest level in ND at this point, but there's plenty of time to work on that.

On to non-ND news: Another day, another Florida Gator arrested... only this time it involves a taser! Florida starting cornerback Janoris Jackson was arrested early Saturday morning when he was involved in a fight and an officer used a taser to subdue him. Jenkins was arrested on charges of misdemeanor affray (?) and resisting arrest without violence. Apparently Jackson was involved in a fight, officers showed up and told them to stop, Jenkins then proceeded to throw another punch, and then was hit with the taser. It's the 24th arrest in Urban Meyer's tenure.

Finally, Reggie Bush is about to buy some bling for girlfriend (fiance?) Kim Kardashian (maybe he should consider Javin Hunter's Gator Bowl ring). Not wanting to stress Reggie out (you know, he has that whole investigation that he's not participating in), Kim decided to go shopping for the ring on her own. "It's just easier," the celebutante said. "Isn't it easy if someone's like, 'This is exactly what I want.' It'll make your life so easy." Kim's sister Kourtney says that the sex tape queen and reality star has found a ring she likes: "She found one the other day and she was like, 'It's only $20 million,'" Kourtney says. How nice of her! She's willing to do all of the shopping, and it's only, like, $20 mil. Ohmygod!

Alright, that's all for today... I don't think I can stretch the news any farther. Cheers until tomorrow.