This is entirely unrelated to Notre Dame - unless you consider the fact that one of these bright kids may be Irish within the next decade - but the Scripps National Spelling Bee concludes today.  Coverage begins at 11:00 am on ESPN and then shifts to ABC for a primetime finale.  If you've never watched Spellbound or found yourself tuning into this odd, addicting competition at the dawn of every summer, please do yourself a favor and check it out.

If you're interested in following the action this afternoon, head over to A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago.  They're professionals at covering the action after years of practice, bringing in ex-Bee participants and, somewhat randomly, Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice showrunner Shonda Rhimes to help liveblog the proceedings.  Say what you will about her shows (too much crying, Katherine Heigl being involved, more crying), but you have to agree with a person who wants to ignore the puff pieces and instead "love it for the bloodbath of spelling that it really is."

(Wouldn't it be great if instead of the Bee going until a champion is crowned, they just took two of the 45 competitors who have advanced to the championship round today and had them go head-to-head.  They could use a mix of computers and somewhat competent English teachers, who are really only interested in the success of their own charges and haven't followed the other spellers that closely.  It would probably be Tia Thompson and Matt Evans, with none of the first timers - those without an established spelling "program" - having a chance until they advanced to the final day a few more years.)

UPDAAAAATE: Forgot to mention that Erin Andrews is there , and in the intro, they had some kids leaping to touch a "Spell Like A Champion" banner.