The Bare Knuckles

The Art of Prediction

2010-08-18T11:26:00.000-04:00

As the 2010 football season approaches we are inundated with countless acts of bold prognostications, high hopes and the ever present top ten list of whatever. Out of the haystack of articles, a majority of the pile can be attributed to a few subjects and a handful of schools. The SEC is always the best conference; texas will rack up every 5-star recruit and the ones that don't commit to texas, texas didn't want 'em anyways; whichever Rich-Rod or USC scandal is the hot topic, and of course whether or not Notre Dame will win the National Championship. If there were a National Championship for predicting National Championship wins, I think Domers take the cake.

So how does my nonsense differ? Well, I wanted to take a look at the long storied history of Notre Dame coaches to see how they've fared in their first seasons. More so, what does it mean, if anything? As we all know, NCs of old were fuzzy at best with numerous different organizations and agencies declaring their own champion. For the sake of brevity I will only use consensus National Championships awarded. I mean, Knute Rockne truly should five or six NCs but is generally credited with three. That's neither here nor there and an argument for another post.

So what about his contemporaries who have held the sacred position and where did they end up?

I'll start with Jesse Harper, the great Jesse Harper. College football was much different then but I saw it fit to be a good starting point. Jesse Harper's first season was 1913 and he ended up 7-0-0. Although he never had a NC awarded, in his five seasons as head coach, Notre Dame never lost more than two games.

Knute Rockne began his dynasty in 1918 with a 3-1-2 record but of course strung together two back-to-back 9-0 seasons afterwards. And I will say that he still stands as the greatest college football coach of all time, regardless of era.

Elmer Layden in 1934 went 6-3. He strung together some very decent seasons but lacked the success of the Notre Dame greats.

Frank Leahy had two first years, 8-0 and 8-0! And of course he won four NCs. I will go ahead and say that Frank Leahy should be considered one of the very best coaches of all time, in that top five list. Five undefeated seasons and one, one loss season!

Terry Brennan started off at 9-1 in 1954 but never repeated that success.

Joe Kuharich went 5-5 in 1959. There's not much to say about the Kuharich era as far as I'm concerned. That was about the peak of it.

Ara Parseghian shot out of the cannon in 1964 at 9-1 and never looked back. Two consensus NCs and a few other contenders. Another one of the all-time greats, probably top 10 in my book, maybe right outside that top five.

Dan Devine in 1975 went 8-3. Not a bad start and not the worst tenure at all with the 1977 NC. Some very good wins in the late 1970s (as far as what I've read at least)!

Gerry Faust started out a loser at 5-6 and pretty much maintained status quo. Although some, including myself say otherwise, Faust is considered to be the worst of the bunch.

The great Lou Holtz also started off with a dud at 5-6. There were probably some who didn't know what to think after 1986. In two years he put together one of the greatest college football teams ever with the 1988 NC team, at least in the modern era. He coached five of his teams to double digit wins, won five bowl games and nearly two more NCs. Yet another one of the all-time greats!

Bob Davie took the reins in 1997 and went 7-6. Although he did take the Irish to their first BCS bid he is another considered towards the bottom of the Notre Dame coaching list, although I tend to disagree.

Tyrone Willingham was hired amidst controversy and after the botched hiring/firing of George O'Leary. He shut down most of the haters after coaching a 10-3 team to nearly another BCS bid in 2002. Unluckily for him it was kind of a steady decline from there, even if only given three years on the job.

Then came the most recent savior of saviors, Charlie Weis, in 2005. Some were skeptical but after a 9-3 start and a BCS bid the echoes started to awaken a bit. After a 10-3 second season and yet another BCS bid, the Notre Dame checkbook awakened. All were deflated the next season and the following two with some of the most memorable losses in history. I consider the era to be the lowest point in Notre Dame history regardless of the few successes.

Looking back, minus the few one-and-doners I skipped, only two coaches started out below .500. One was a huge success, the other a huge flop, Holtz and Faust respectively. Davie and Kuharich finished near and at .500. Both were other than memorable. The all-time greats, most of them, started out great...but so did the all-time duds in Willingham and Weis.

So here we are, amidst another inaugural season for a new Chief of Staff, a 5-star general , the savior of all that can be saved, restorer of glory, etc, etc, etc. Bla bla bla. Some think they are BCS bound, naturally, see above. Some are more realistic and point to a marginally successful season, 7 or 8 wins. I suppose the point is that the first season truly means nothing. That said, based on the analysis of historical data rather than logical data, i.e. players, system and schedule, I predict a 9-3 season and they will win their bowl, so a 10-3 season all said and done. The difference between the previous three-loss inaugural seasons is that Kelly will coach a NC Notre Dame football season in one the following three seasons, possibly in the third season.

Where's the sense in this you say? Well, there is none, that's the point!

Realistic Aggie Expectations

2010-08-07T11:32:00.002-04:00

It could probably go without saying that many Aggie fans have higher expectations than they actually deserve. It’s natural for any fan of any team really, I mean, who predicts a 4-8 season? While there are certainly some question marks with a few changes, primarily the near NCAA bottom defense, I will attempt to breakdown why this years high expectations are different than recent years past.

First, the sched. On paper it plays out nicely to what the Ags need to achieve this season. Here’s how I see it breaking down:

One, two and three, SFA, LA Tech and FIU respectively. Why I’m not sweatin’ it – because it’s Stephen F. Austin, LA Tech and Florida International. A loss here and heads will roll. Boy oh boy the Big 12 loves to roll up on the Sun Belt come scrimmage time, no chance they’d ever come up losers right? Why I’m sweatin’ it – Arky State 2008. Yeah, it can happen and it did happen. (W-W-W)

Ags travel to Oklahoma State for game four. Why I’m not sweatin’ it – three words, no Keith Toston. Sans Bryant and Hunter, this guy tore the Aggie D a new one, as it turned out, not an outrageous feat but cost them the game nonetheless. Furthermore, new OC, new QB, new Cowboy stars-in-the-making, hoping they’re not quite there yet after rolling over their scrub preseason. Why I’m sweatin’ it – Aggies on TV usually = FAIL (at least recently). Also, home Big 12 opener in T. Boone Pickens Stadium is tough for anyone. (W)

Southwest Classic Time! Ags v Hogs. Why I’m not sweatin’ it – last season. See disappointing TV. They ended the game well albeit too little too late. Why I’m sweatin’ it – last season. See Aggies on TV. Oh, and that guy called Ryan Mallett. (W/L)

Number six is at home to Mizzou; seven, at Kansas. Why I’m not sweatin’ it – because this aint 2008. Mizzou will once again be overrated and Kansas will sink back down to the bottom of the North. Why I’m sweatin’ it – the ole “looking through team whoever” excuse. These two games will be easy to look past as the gauntlet of their schedule will start next in the week. Gill is legit but may take him a few to establish himself in Lawrence. (W-W)

Week eight brings the Red Raiders into town. As much as Aggie fans want to disrespect this rivalry as no rivalry at all the team has to win and win every year. Last season was a good start! Why I’m not sweatin’ it – new coach new system. While they bring back Sheffield and Potts, gone are the days where you could expect the Texas Tech QBs putting up grody numbers. Take a look at Hawaii after Jones. Tuberville is legit and there’s no way around that but I’m afraid he’s going to have a tougher time in Lubbock than everyone seems to think. Why I’m sweatin’ it – Tommy Tuberville is legit, as I said. And Tech is Tech. If any team seems to beat folks when they least expect it, it’s Tech, right Sooners y horns? (W)
The ninth game will be the biggest test of the season... I said it first right here! Oklahoma comes to Kyle Field. Arguably one of the best wins in recent history came back in 2002 when A&M beat #1 Oklahoma in College Station. Guess what, they haven’t come close since save a one point game a few years back. In fact most of the game sense have been the most embarrassing Aggie football games in history! Two straight seasons they’ve hung over 60 points and three straight over 42! Why I’m not sweatin’ it – Not sure here, due theory maybe. A win has gotta come sometime and this year sets up to be a good one. They will NEED this win more than any other especially if Oklahoma is where they usually are, near top, and the Ags do what I expect them to, this could be a Big 12 decider! Why I’m sweatin’ it – Uh, start from the beginning of this paragraph. For whatever reason, Stoops just disrespects A&M year in and year out and there’s nothing they can do about it. (W/L)

It’s break time right... tenth game, hang out in Waco for a minute... beat Baylor. Wrong! Why I’m not sweatin’ it – because it’s Baylor, needn’t anything more to say. Why I’m sweatin’ it – Robert Griffith, again, nothing else to say about that. (W)

The Blackshirts roll in for game eleven. Why I’m not sweatin’ it – because they will have already beaten texas at home so they won’t care about A&M. Not really that simple actually. This game is going to be a battle of power offense (A&M) vs. power defense (Huskers). The experience and weaponry points to the Ags. Why I’m sweatin’ it – Nebraska will likely be on top of the North, so if things go as I see it, there could be a rematch in a couple weeks. They won’t want that so they’ll be gunnin’ for this one! (W)

The Lonestar Showdown! Texas A&M at texas! It will not get any better than this in the 2010 season. Texas will be where they normally are but I predict a little bit of a drop-off sans McCoy. Why I’m not sweatin’ it – the truth is, everyone sweats this game because you can throw everything out the window. It’s the best rivalry in sports (opinion). Statistically the best QB in college football history was 2-2 vs. the Aggies. He’s gone now. I’m sure Gilbert is legit, I mean, texas won’t settle for a scrub under center, but there will be some lag time here. With a couple of losses, texas will be less fired up for this game than the Aggies. Why I’m sweatin’ it – take the above, jumble around and drop here. Like I said, it really doesn’t matter. Johnson will want this win more than any other, but he’s yet to prove himself under tremendous pressure. Luckily this year every game will bring tremendous pressure. Oh, and Mack Brown hates babies and A&M! (W/L)

The way I see it they have a legitimate chance at not worse than a 9-3 season. 9-3 to me, given last year is a success but given the chance to be even better, it’s a fail. For some reason I think they lose the Arkansas game and will lose either Oklahoma or texas. That’s a two-loss season and a good chance at playing for the Big 12. IF, and a big IF they do play for the Championship, they will win that game.

10-2 is truly what I expect this season. Whether or not that’s good enough for a Big 12 championship who knows. As I said before there are huge question marks, primarily the O line and defense. I’m placing all my chips in on DeRuyter bringing this D back to old form...especially with some guy named Dat Nguyen helping out!

Show Me the Money!

2010-08-05T12:58:00.002-04:00

So today I've decided to leave work until my company moves me to a better location. I also want to be the highest paid employee. I encourage everyone to do the same. Why not? I mean, this is essentially what we've got in professional sports right now.

This trend of inmates running the prison is nothing new, it's just getting worse. Perennial titty-baby Kobe Bryant publicly displayed his wish to be traded because he couldn't play nice with his teammates. The annual Brett Favre saga continues to hold whatever team he's signed to hostage grasping on every movement in the hopes of even a hint to whether or not he returns. The Lebron debacle this off-season was possibly the most sickening display of media exhaustion of one particular subject. Even though I don't fully blame Lebron for the overexposure, he certainly did nothing to quell the storm. Chris Paul felt left out and sad, so he decided he wanted to move as well even though he's still under contract. Now we have Albert Haynesworth who has cashed a $21 million check but doesn't want to play in the new defensive scheme and continues to fail or not complete his fitness test to keep himself out of training camp. Injury, power move or just plain laziness, either way it's a disaster here in D.C. Even more egregious in my opinion is Jets CB Derrelle Revis who is set to make $1 million this year and is under contract for three more years. He is not showing up to camp until he gets what he thinks is due to him, for the Jets to tear up his current contract and make him the highest paid DB in the league, over $15 million. I am purposely going to leave out the many examples of criminal accusations against players in virtually every pro league and those respective leagues lack of, or inconsistent, disciplinary action.

There's one thing that many fans and media folks seem to forget or fail to realize. That pro league is a business not unlike any other multimillion (or billion) dollar corporation. Actually the same can be said for each team. If I fail to show up for work because I'm unhappy with my current condition, or they move my desk or I feel as though I'm ready for a raise, I will be fired. If I am a repeat drunk driver, I will probably be fired. If I take a picture of my junk and send it to a co-worker, I will be fired. If I tell my boss I'm going to leave the company but decide not to at the last minute, how many times before he tells me to jog off? If I take a picture of my junk and send it to a co-worker, I will be fired and probably be charged with at least an indecency crime. So why aren't pros held to the same standards as any other business employee? Wins and losses, negative media, just plain ole cash?

There is such a thing called conduct unbecoming in the professional world. Just because a player has not been convicted of an accused crime should not determine whether or not action is taken from the team or the league. There's simply no accountability for actions. And when there is it's a joke. Not that I ever expect it to change though, as long as the casheesh is flowing. I do, however, expect it to get worse. No matter how much these guys want to believe they are not role models we all know, the truth is, they are.

I understand players getting their share compared to what's coming in for the owners, but let's be honest here... you think the dude digging a well out in some oil field is getting his fare share of the trillion dollar oil industry income? What about the teller at your multimillion dollar bank? The list can go on and on... Deserve or not, the fact is these pros have lost sight of the fact that they play a damned game for a living...and get paid well to do it. Have some dignity, better yet some integrity, and shut the hell up and play!

Let's Dance... Bare Knuckle Style!

2009-12-17T07:05:00.006-05:00

In light of getting beat down yet again to the Ottawa Sens, I've dug up a few gratuitous fight clips for your viewing pleasure.

Rob Ray vs Tie Domi I & II - Rob Ray of course, one of my all time faves as he would lay the wood to just about anyone who crossed his path (ref. last clip). Domi was a thorn in everyone's side. He was the Avery before Avery...a mug that you just wanted to punch.

Andrew Peters, while virtually non-existent on offense filled out the enforcer role nicely for quite a few years. Certainly not as much of a badass as Ray, but he had no problem dropping the gloves with anyone. Any video of Chris Neil getting a beat down is worthy of a watch or two.

A good all round brawl with the Islanders last season. Mair, Kaleta and Rivet all getting into the mix.

And how could I not at least mention Ron Hextall. Even though he never donned the Sabre sweater, he is still my #1 seed. He scored, he slashed and he had no issue rolling cross-ice to throw down with Potvin. Classic!

I'll end it with none other than Rob Ray of course. Apparently it didn't matter whether you were playing the game or being a jackass trying to get on tv. Get the frozen meat and pack a lunch because you're gettin' the business right in the face!

Kaleta is My Homeboy!

2009-12-15T07:39:00.001-05:00

Who is this guy and what have they done with the real Patrick Kaleta? Three goals in the last two games... with no time in the hot box! It took #36 26 games to get to three goals and now he's a scoring machine.

November was busy month for Kaleta being sent away for 37 minutes. He's up to 11 PIM midway through December but hasn't committed a crime in the past two games. That isn't necessarily unheard of, but couple that with scoring three goals! In fact five of the past twelve goals have come from the third line. Not too shabby!

While Buffalo certainly isn't breaking any scoring records this season thus far, they are tied for second best in goals allowed. Miller is a badass, we all know this, but this also could show dividends are paying off from off-season defensive moves.

Either way, whoever is scoring or not, wins are wins and points are points. The Sabres need all they can get with a beautiful four-game week; their second four-game week in a row dammitall! At Ottawa Wednesday then home vs Toronto and Pittsburgh Friday and Saturday respectively.

Adios Buffalo Dick!

2009-11-18T12:16:00.002-05:00

Post Authored By: Ian Cowan

Well my friends, it finally happened. The moment that we have ALL been waiting for. Dick Jauron has been relieved of his duty as the Head Coach of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Yes, that noise you hear is the collective sigh of relief from “Bills Nation.” Christmas has in fact come early. Although, for some (including myself), it came about a year and a half late. But, I digress.

The Jauron “era” has come to an end, an era that probably should have never started. In order to completely understand the frustration of Bills fans, I feel we must first take a look at the path of both coach and team that set them on a collision course of horrible, uninspired football.

First, there is my beloved Buffalo Bills. They won two consecutive championships in the AFL before becoming a member of the NFL, where the successful seasons failed to transfer over. From the years 1966 to 1986, they posted a staggering 104-199-4 record. They were the equivalent to the modern day Lions, Bucs, Rams, or even Bills. It wasn’t until the 1986 season, when Marv Levy took over, that they began to resemble a football team. During Levy’s tenure (1986-1997), the Bills went 112-70. This included the infamous stretch of four Super Bowls in a row, from 1990-1993. I’m not sure how, but Levy was able to instill such a desire to win in his players that they became one of the most tenacious defensive teams paired with a deadly offensive attack that could put points on the board against anybody; accept the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.

Things took a turn for the worse once Levy decided to step down as Head Coach after the 1997 season. In stepped Wade Phillips. He coached from 1998-2000 winning 29 of 48 games. Now, I must admit, this looks like a decent record. However, the numbers are deceiving. This was in fact the period of time where the desire and the “know-how” to win football games slipped away from the Buffalo Bills, and has yet to return.

After Phillips, came Greg Williams and Mike Mularkey. Both of them are very capable coordinators (defensive and offensive respectively). Unfortunately, their success as coordinators did not translate into successful head coaching careers. They combined for a record of 31-48 between the years 2001-2005, all of the while not making one playoff appearance.

This brings us to our beloved Dick Jauron. The simple fact that he was chosen be the head coach beginning the 2006 season was simply mind-numbing. When Jauron came to Buffalo, he brought with him a 36-49 record as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions

So began Jauron’s career in Buffalo. His first season came to an end at 7-9. Not too horrible, considering they were 5-11 the season before. In 2007, he “coached” the Bills to another 7-9 season. This is when Bills fans began to get a little uneasy, but Jauron received a free pass because of certain situations during that season to included the dreaded “quarterback controversy” between J.P. Losman and newly drafted Trent Edwards. By the beginning of the 2008 season, Trent Edwards had been officially named the starting quarterback. Bills fans were optimistic, despite two consecutive 7-9 seasons. The team began the season 5-2, then the injury bug bit. Edwards went down, and so did the Bills season. They finished…drum roll please…7-9. Everyone thought for sure that this meant the end of Dick Jauron. I mean, three consecutive 7-9 seasons with no upside in sight, there is no way he returns. Right?

Well, apparently Bills upper management felt otherwise and decided to stick with Jauron for the 2009 season. The season is now over half way through, and our beloved Bills sit near the bottom of the league at 3-6. It doesn’t even look as though they will attain the 7-9 record that the fans have grown to know and expect. So, as I stated before, Bills fans have been awaiting this moment for about a year and a half.

Now, I’m not sure how many people out there are actually reading this (no offense Jim), but I’m sure some of you may be thinking that I’m cold hearted for wishing/hoping that this person lose his job. To that I say, he shouldn’t have been a suck-ass coach!

Hallelujah! Holy Shit!

P.S. I hear Charlie Weis may be looking for a job soon! Here's hoping! I can't wait for the next ass-clown of a coach to step in! for 5 games. Hidden within that record is ONE winning season, in which he let the Bears play to a 13-3 record in 2001. To this I quote a very wise man; "Even a blind dog can find his nuts once in a while." Jauron's resume simply reeked of success. At least the Bills front office thought so.

Notre Dame's View From Three Point Land

2009-11-17T08:49:00.001-05:00

In recent years Notre Dame has had their share of sharp-shooters from behind the arc. In fact, Coach Brey's modus operandi, intentional or not, has been to have two or more marksmen on the court at any given time. Their reliance on the three-point game was all too evident last season though. After a lights-out season two years ago, Big East teams at least were hip to the McAlarney game even if he dropped 124 three pointers from all over the court and a few from South America!

Even when McAlarney, who ended his career with 298 three pointers at a 43 percent click, was neutralized, teams had to be cognizant of Ryan Ayers, who contributed 170 of his own over his career, 94 of which came last season. He was deadly as well at 42 percent.

Before the McAlarney/Ayers tandem, the Big East had to worry about the likes of Chris Quinn and Colin Falls. Falls was generally considered more dangerous as he was the first player ever to drop 100 threes in a season in South Bend when he made 102 in 2005/06. He left with a 40 percent success rate making 232 three pointers. Quinn was no slouch as he complimented Falls with Ayers-like support with 169 threes at 42 percent himself.

Those days were thought to be long gone. Are they though? Not so fast says Ben Hansbrough! It's certainly too early to predict anything this season, but over his two previous playing seasons he's made 42 percent of his three attempts dropping 173 of them down. If two games can be any indication, he's off to a good start throwing in eight out of ten threes thus far.

So if Hansbrough is this season's Falls/McAlarney, who fits the bill for the Quinn/Ayers character? It's tough to pinpoint solid candidates, if any, but there are a few indicators early on. Peoples and Jackson drain an occasional three but I don't think they have the green light to put it up any time they want. Tim Abromaitis and Luke Harangody have shown they can hit from anywhere on the court. I expect both to contribute to the three point game.

Coach Brey is fully aware their game plan must change from the previous seasons where McAlarney would jack up threes from half court, and make them! With no one expecting much out of South Bend, other than 'Gody producing MVP numbers, the Irish may be able to fly under the radar a bit and surprise some folks once again come Big East time. Either way, I still expect to see plenty shots from downtown and hopefully just as many drops!

The Unofficial Top Five Notre Dame Coaching Prospects

2009-11-09T09:04:00.004-05:00

At this point every single living Notre Dame fan has contemplated the football program's future and who should replace Coach Weis. I suspect there are even a few graves turning over at the recent loss to Navy. No coach since the Kuharich experiment has lost to Navy...not even once, let alone twice!

Let us say for all intents and purposes Weis is released at the end of this season. I'd support shipping him up Lake Michigan right now and punting the rest of the season, but that's an admittedly irrational personal opinion. The way I see it, at least when they get their asses kicked by Pitt and Stanford they'll have the interim coach excuse.

Either way, I wish I could say I'm breaking new ground here, but I cannot. Like I said, we've all thought about who would be best to fill the enormous shoes as head football coach at the University of Notre Dame. I've come up with my five top candidates, assuming they would leave their respective jobs of course.

Let me first say, I am not a fan of inter-league coaching moves, ala NFL coaches to NCAA and vice-versa. For the most part, save Pete Carroll and a few others, it is a failure. With the exception of Bill Cowher, I would not support another NFL to Notre Dame coaching move right now.

Here you go:
Kyle Whittingham, Utah – Replaced Urban Meyer as head coach at Utah and has a 45-15 record in his fifth season. He's been at Utah as a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator for most of his career and coached the Utes to an undefeated season in 2008.

Brian Kelly. Cincy – In his fourth season as head coach of Cincinnati and has a 31-6 record there. But his totals as head coach are now 168-57-2. He has one Big East title, contending for a second, one division title with Central Michigan, six division titles and two national championships with Grand Valley State. An undefeated season this year could land the Bearcats in the BCS National Championship game.

Gary Patterson, TCU – He has coached the Horned Frogs to an 80-27 record in his tenth season. I believe he is the only head coach who can say he's coached three separate conference winners, all with the same school certainly. One WAC, one Conference USA and one Mountain West Conference title and will pretty much coach for a second this week. He's got TCU at #4 in the country as I type this.

Chris Petersen, Boise State – Certainly the best coaching record out of my five here at 44-4 in his fourth season. The Broncos are on their way to a second undefeated season under Petersen, the first in 2006 of course ending with the BCS win over Oklahoma. They are also playing for their third WAC title in his four years as well. Personally, this choice is very intriguing and is probably my top choice. The only thing I would say is that he can be conservative at times where opening up the play book a bit would be warranted. That point can be countered though with the simple fact that they are a damned good football team and don't really need to be loose with the play calling.

Bronco Mendenhall, BYU – Maybe a bit of a sleeper here but he's coached the Cougars to a 44-15 record in his fifth season at the helm. He's probably the most uncontested as far has head coaching goes, but I think he's done a hell of a job in a tough spot like BYU. They are on their way to a fourth consecutive 10 win season and will contend for the third Mountain West Conference title this season under Mendenhall.

As you can see, I'm in the Midwest box here as far as my coaching candidates go. That was unintentional. I purposely left off the Urban Meyer and Nick Saban type coaches because, while I believe they come in and provide proven credentials and instant wins, I don't see them as either truly available or long term candidates. Looking back in Notre Dame's coaching history, many choices have been unconventional, dark-horse types. Many have panned out to be hall of fame coaches, some have faltered.

Either way you flip that coin, this regime is on it's last leg...and it's one that John Ryan buckled a season ago. I'll open this up as many other articles have thus far...who are your top candidates?

Top Animal Casualties in Pro Sports

2009-11-05T07:25:00.002-05:00

Here's my top three animal deaths over the past 35 years. I couldn't pick one over the other...you be the judge.

Sabres' Jim Lorentz Bat-Fog Game – 1975

Considered by many at the time an evil omen, in game three of the 1974/75 Stanley Cup Finals, Jim Lorentz swatted a bat out of the air with his stick. Later that game would later be known as the fog game for the ridiculously thick fog due to an unusually hot Buffalo May.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvzp32zYtCY

Randy Johnson Hits Bird With Pitch – 2001

What are the odds a bird, or dove, whatever it was flies into a 100 mph Johnson pitch or the other way around? Will we ever see this again? Allegedly there was a seagull hit in the minors, Buffalo go figure. And there was another video of German Michael Ballack hitting a bird in shooting practice before a match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF85R1em7Zs

Manu Ginobili Kills the Bat – 2009

Halloween night + bat + AT&T Center + Manu = another dead bat! Unlike Lorentz, Ginobili swatted the bat out of the air with his bare hands, picks it up and passes it to some poor donk on the baseline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1DpjBEwekE

CFB Uniforms - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2009-11-04T17:06:00.033-05:00

There are certainly many factors which help college coaches persuade a certain athlete to attend their respective institutions. It would be naïve to believe in this day and age football uniforms are not one of said factors. Minor as it may be, if I have the choice between school A and school B, all else equal, I may choose the school which unis make me look better on the field. Let’s face it, to many of these kids, looks may be a top factor.

Before I break down what will surely be my most objectionable post yet, let me give the disclaimer. This is my opinion and my opinion only. I am admittedly biased. I am not an SEC hater...trust me, I spread my hate equally. I apologize if I offend anyone's sensibilities, as I fully understand it may be hard for some of you to comprehend the fact that your team's uniforms may be ugly. Own it, be proud of it and embrace your ugliness.

That said, I'll start out with...

The Good.

8. Utah Utes – I cannot place exactly what I like about the Utes... as with a few of the teams on my lists, there is a recency effect. They're good, winning and maybe a bit disrespected. Or maybe it's just all the red!

7. South Carolina – I'm certainly not a fan of the Old Ball Coach, but I cannot help but like their subtle disrespect of the North with the lone “CAROLINA” or the endless play on words with “Gamecock”. I'm not sure what garnet is but it looks sharp with black and white.

6. North Carolina – I hate UNC and I hate powder blue, but for some reason with the dark blue and white, it's a solid home jersey. All powder is all ugly though.

5. Penn State – For the most part unchanged for many years. White and blue. It would seem hard to imagine fouling that up. Is it true the colors once consisted of dark pink? Thinkin' Joe-Pa would not have settled for that.

4. Indiana – If this were a list for best jerseys coupled with worst team, I think Indiana tops that list. Either way, they're unis with the IU helmet logo and stripes are pretty bad ass looking!

3. Ole Miss – While there are other schools with the same color combo the Rebels do it right. Right now, they've got the best unis in the SEC. Close behind are the Arizona Wildcats with pretty much the same colors but damed solid uniforms as well.

2. Texas A&M – Tried and true, the Aggies remain old school with their colors and uniforms. Tradition is everything in College Station and certainly their uniforms are part of that tradition.

1. Notre Dame – No surprise who holds the number one seed and how can you argue really. The golden dome, the plain blue jersey sans name-plate. While there have been a number of variations over the years, nothing gets the blood pumping or boiling on Saturday like watching the blue and gold take the field.

The Bad.

8. Boston College – Blue and gold works; maroon and gold, not so much. The colors are bad, the numbers look bad and that eagle is bad as well. Even the gold is dull...

7. Iowa State – They finally dropped that toon bird in the hurricane logo on the helmet but they've still got the eerily USC like jerseys. Maybe they're hoping Pete Carroll will mistakenly be dropped off in Ames, Iowa and not realizing where he is, coach a winning football team. Yeah, probably not...

6. Toledo – Maybe a long shot on the list here, but the helmet “Toledo” with the rocket has got to go. The rest is salvageable, but I guess they care as much as you care...not at all, it's Toledo.

5. Wyoming – If it weren't bad enough your team is in Wyoming. A state with the poo-end of the stick as far as population and recruiting goes, you have to match it with equally smelly uniforms. I actually like the logo. I mean what says I'm going to whup your but on this here field like a cowboy, right? Let's attempt to attract dudes other than real-life Cope-spittin', flannel-wearin' cowboys though. For Pete's sake, jerseys may be the only thing to attract talent to your wonderful state... get it right!

4. Oregon – Well let me say I attempted to put Oregon on all three of my lists, but I could not find the good uniform...why, because Nike hasn't made it yet! The winged jersey would be on the 'Good' side save the stupid wings. I mean, I get that you're the Ducks... but wings. I'm sure to get quack-attacked come next post!

3. Tennessee – And here starts my meat and potatoes of the 'Bad' list. I don't have any bias against UT generally... I mean, they are the real U.T.! But I just cannot be down with the florescent orange. You will all soon notice my prejudice against a certain color. Indeed it starts with an o and ends in range!

2. Florida – I know I know, I'm a hater... I don't like Jesus Tebow so I'm picking on their uniforms... I get it. What I don't get is the bright blue and ultra bright orange. It's not a good combo, sorry. I like the old “F” on the helmet but hate the cursive “Florida” and more so that goofy cartoony gator logo. Enough already.

1. texas – What would my list be without showing some hate to old t.u.? It's truly not about the hate though here. I can honestly say that burnt orange is worse than florescent orange and bright orange. That’s all I’ve got to say about that right now.

The Ugly.

8. Bowling Green – With the rare television appearance on Tuesday I realized these guys sport an ugly getup. The BG, the orange and brown once again.

7. Okie State and Oregon State – Virtually one in the same here...orange and black with varying amounts of each week-to-week. It’s just not cool! Otherwise, Cowboys and Beavers, that’s a lethal combo!

6. Miami – Bright green and more bright orange...ugh. Coupled with inconsistent football, just makes ugly more ugly.

5. Oregon – That’s right, bad and ugly. It’s a different combo of both each week. Only they have the means to roll with both at a time! Bad and ugly they may be to myself but to ridiculous football talent, they must know something I don’t.

4. Clemson – Purple and orange now. I don’t know how many ways to say it, but orange is ugly! More orange, less orange or orange paw prints don’t make a bit of difference. At least when Spiller runs by it’s hard to notice what ugly combo he’s wearing.

3. LSU –That’s right, I said it. Ugly. Purple and yellow = ugly. There’s no beating around the bush and no way around it. The block letters and tiger logo, also ugly. Do I hold a grudge, yeah maybe a couple, but at least I don’t have to wear yellow!

2. Virginia Tech – What do you get when you combine thug life with nerd life? That’s right, puke brown and burnt orange. There’s just no viable excuse for it. Bruce Smith is about the only thing keeping you out of number one... oh yeah, and the number one ugly.

1. The Ville – Maybe a dark horse to win in many eyes but the buffoonery that is the University of Louisville’s uniforms is unacceptable. First and foremost, let me say, I disrespect birds with teeth. I don’t appreciate Cardinal Bird grittin’ his unnatural teeth all over the place. Second, the ugly hip new font. It screams, we have no real tradition here to go old school so we’re going make some cool edgy logos! And finally you drop the “Louis” and roll with “The Ville”. I cannot even type into words how ludicrous this is.

Seriously...

2009-10-29T14:53:00.003-04:00

Don't Look Now...are the Sabres Back?

2009-10-29T06:48:00.003-04:00

One tenth into the season, the NHL's best record belongs not to the Pens, not the Caps, not the Avs but to the Buffalo Sabres. Of course they've only played nine games compared to nearly everyone else whose played up to 13 games, but with a 7-1-1 start, they hold best record.

Slow starts, poor D and overplaying Miller has been the Achilles heal in the past couple years and it looked to be more of the same in the first few games. Then they scored 18 goals and gave up five against Detroit and New York, lost to Atlanta 4-2, and are now riding a three game win streak scoring 12 giving up five.

At least right now Miller and the defense are lights out. They've given up 17 goals over nine games. That is by far the best in the NHL by ten goals. Even playing two or three games less than the rest of the league, their average beats the next best Coyotes.

The Sabres are also league tied going undefeated on the road thus far at 4-0; the Penguins are 5-0 on the road.

So far, the goal leader is Clarke MacArthur with five goals and seven points. Vanek has four goals, Grier, Pominville and Stafford all have three.

Myers is proving to be the badass I thought he would be and doing it early. He's sitting at +8 only behind Tallinder who's +9. Myers also has two goals and three assists leading all defensemen in points.

One of their two losses came on one of their two-in-a-rows, which by the way, they are playing more of than any other team. In November, I'll say they've got the toughest schedule I've ever seen.

First they play Wednesday, Friday and Saturday every single week in November. That is a grind! Then they play Philly three times, Boston twice, Washington, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Carolina; the Sabres start this joke of a sched. with NYI on the 4th.

While it's certainly early to get too excited, I've got a vibe that Buffalo will fly under the radar and surprise some folks if the can survive November.

LETS GO BUFFALO!!!

Six Blunt Points On The Irish Win

2009-10-25T14:52:00.002-04:00

I’m very happy to see this win as ugly as it was but I have a few points I think need to be said.

1. I hope no one credits Weis for this victory...he certainly did his part to F it up!

2. Harrison Smith sucks! There's just no other way to say it. He can lay wood, but that's about it...and when it doesn't knock a guy down, it's worthless wood...which is what happens ALL THE TIME. Or worse yet, he just whiffs. Regardless, he needs to have a seat because he's now a liability.

3. Why the F is Kyle Rudolph not getting the ball? I understand Tate is probably the best athlete on any field at any given time, but Rudolph is not far behind! He is constantly being ignored and I don't know why.

4. Thanks wildcat once again!

5. Hughes is overrated. I love the kid's heart and what he did a couple seasons ago but he's not a tailback and I'd appreciate it if Weis would wake up and realize this fact.

6. Dammit it was good to see Notre Dame beat BC! The old man was there so it made the win that much more enjoyable!

Mr. Obama Stay Out of My College Football!!!

2009-10-23T14:17:00.002-04:00

I will be the first one to say that the BCS is an ugly baby and needs to disappear in favor of a playoff system, or just something else for that matter. I will also be the first person to say that government involvement in the NCAA is so far from an acceptable solution it’s an absolute joke!

While I believe a majority will agree that there is a need for a new post-season system in D1, I’m fairly certain I’m in the minority as far as who should institute that change. Without getting too political, it’s evident we Americans have become far too dependent upon Uncle Sam fixing everything that we foul up. NCAA officials either did not predict or did not care about the scenarios which we’ve seen play out over the past few years. But to have senators, representatives and now the President involved is ludicrous!

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/12399197

This is not a debate on whether or not the BCS is a boondoggle and what should be done. We’ve all been to that party. This is, however, my fundamental objection to a government who’s successfully encroaching on my personal freedoms day by day is now pressing to decide how best to solve problems in college football.

I throw the B.S. flag!

The Half Decade of Dominance – USC v Notre Dame Rivalry

2009-10-19T07:36:00.002-04:00

188-85, sounds like I'm talking basketball again right...I wish!

After the eighth blunder against USC, I decided to take a look at how Notre Dame, specifically, the Charlie Weis era, has fared against USC's other annual opponents. While I understand numbers don't really mean squat, it is a just a reminder how inept the our beloved Irish have been in this rivalry. Since this was Weis' fifth consecutive loss to USC during his entire tenure, I've taken the last five games played against USC and their Pac-10 opponents and crunched a few numbers.

I'll start top down...
Oregon State- For whatever reason, if there was a team who could claim to have stinky Pete's number, it's the Beavers. Of course, that just means they've squeaked out a couple of wins over the last five! They've been the closest though as the numbers show. Score: USC 156 – 111 OSU (Edge USC by 45)

UCLA- It's certainly no surprise that the fellas across the street would be somewhere near the top. I'm not sure, but my guess would be that UCLA holds the status as being the top rival? Either way they're 0-5, but a second best 0-5. USC 156 – 85 UCLA (Edge USC by 76)

California- With the success Cal has had over the past few years it's easy to forget they haven't beaten USC...0-5. They have shown the ability to stop the bleeding though with only allowing just over 25 points per game. USC 129 – 42 Cal (Edge USC by 87)

Washington- The Huskies have probably been one of the closest save the 0-56 score last season. For whatever reason, UW has been a forgettable rival and this year the Trojans got bit! 1-4. USC 173 – 84 UW (Edge USC by 89)

Arizona- Maybe a surprise middle-of-the-packer here in the Wildcats, but not a surprise they're 0-5. They've just kept it respectable over the past few years. USC 148 – 56 UA (Edge USC by 92)

Oregon- Certainly did not expect Oregon to be on the bottom side of this spectrum even with a win in '07. I also didn't realize there was a few season hiatus where they didn't play so I had to go back to 2002 to get the first of five...that was a loss too. 1-4. USC 185 – 90 UO (Edge USC by 95)

Stanford- Probably considered “that other California team” over the past few years, but again, they did pull out the one point victory two years ago! Sans that game, it's been pretty dismal. 1-4. USC 192 – 96 Stanford (Edge USC by 96)

Arizona State- The Sun-Devils are getting better under Erickson; maybe not as fast as some would have liked, but they are a worthy opponent, except when playing USC. Nearing the bottom now, they're 0-5. USC 183 – 80 ASU (Edge USC by 103)

Notre Dame- And there they are. I'll relate some thoughts below. As we're well aware of, they're 0-5. Of course save the Bush-push and the last 8 minutes on Saturday, it's been absolute murder. But do not jump off that ledge just yet...they're not as bad as Wazzu and tied with ASU! USC 188 – 85 UND (Edge USC by 103)

Washington State- I don't think this will blow anyone's lid here. The Cougars are bad...real bad. Whether or not they've improved under Wulff is debatable but they did survive this season with only a three TD loss, which given recent history may be as good as a win in Pullman! USC 226 – 55 WSU (Edge USC by 171)

The point the these numbers are few but I believe they are significant. One, well, the Irish are not as sucky as Washington State so that's pretty cool. In this category they are 68 points from being as bad as the 18-36 Cougars (over past 5 including this year).

Point two, which is kind of a multi-point point, in this rivalry, how can anyone affiliated with Notre Dame, fans included, accept these numbers? Look at any five year span in any major rivalry in college football, has there been such a difference in scores whilst posting a lopsided 0-5? I actually have not looked, but I'd bet money on no. A point was made a while back by someone on the Bleacher Report who I would never agree with, but she said that any coach worth their salt would NEVER get their ass kicked by a rival and survive. Of course, the point is not factual as their have been plenty of beat-downs by rivals where coaches were not immediately fired. But taken as a whole, over five seasons now, a 103 point difference by arguably your biggest rival! Is that acceptable? And the other point just pointing out how bad Notre Dame's D has been. I mean, only Stanford and Wazzu have given up more to USC.

Let me say that I actually believe they can win out. Do I think they will, no, but I believe they certainly can would kill to see it. That would make for a 10-2 record this year and probably a “guaranteed” BCS birth. Joke or not, that = success by the standards we're given. Success or not, there's still something amiss when you not only do not beat your rivals, you get creamed by them.

Sure, I'm a Weis hater, call me out. “But it was a moral victory...look at the positives...bla bla bla. Moral victory = bollocks in my book. That crap only flies when you can make it a close game for 60 minutes. Maybe next year yes...maybe next year.

Wildcat Extinction Would Ever Be So Sweet

2009-10-05T13:42:00.004-04:00

There indeed was three sightings of the enigmatic wildcat this weekend in South Bend. But the Nick Holt led defense lie in wait and poached the dead-beat animal to an oblivion!

I loath the wildcat. I could only hope it is dead and gone. But sure enough, the mad genius himself will not let bygones be bygones and I'm sure we'll have yet another wildcat sighting or two.

I know what you'll say... “Golden Tate in the Purdue game... what about the two touchdowns earlier...”

Throw enough sh*t against the wall and some of it is bound to stick. And for cryin' out loud, Golden Tate is generally the best athlete on any field at any given time; put him in any stupid play and he'll probably get something out of it!

Here's the deal... Notre Dame has never proven successful with gimmick plays in the Weis era. It's just not their bag. While I think their athletic talent can match with anyone position to position, it's not conducive to these types of plays. They run a pro-style offense; it's like a quasi-west coast with a college twist. And let me say, I think they are unstoppable when Chucky sticks to that plan. When they are hitting the quick 8-15 yarders, Clausen is unstoppable! Mix that with a few long bombs (not overdoing it like we've seen some) and of course mix in the run (not 10 pass plays then 7 run plays simultaneously)... this offense is unstoppable!

I digress... the wildcat scheme can be successful with the right talent. First and foremost, my biggest problem is that you're virtually running a play with 10 men. Splitting Jimmy Clausen out wide is worthless. One he's going to get the sh*t knocked out of him sometime, and two, who are they fooling? What's he going to do out there, run a fly!? If you have a QB like Griffin or Robinson, putting them out wide may be a legitimate threat...not Jimmy Clausen though.

Second, there's no secret. The wishbone option is great because the QB can run one of about 4 different plays in a split second decision. With the wildcat, it's virtually just a direct snap to the tailback where he what, runs an off tackle or worse yet, they try and pull some double reverse crap! Lastly, is just the risk vs reward. It is a low percentage play and I see it as a wasted play.

Sure, I understand that every play is a crapshoot all things considered, but how many times does this play have to bust for Weis to shelve it for a while?

The three times they ran it against UW arguably cost them two touchdowns! I was glad to see, at least for one week, the wildcat is dead!!!

October Madness...Notre Dame 09/10 Schedule

2009-10-02T10:02:00.003-04:00

November 14 is a ways away but...

I figure a little before a month after its release date, I can start to contemplate the fare for the 2009-10 season. I'm actually glad to not see a repeat of last season's gauntlet right out of the gate. Indiana, Texas, North Carolina and Ohio State to the big games... that is no joke. If anything, Mike Brey probably recognized the need to set themselves up a little better for Big East play. The problem is when they lose a couple of those games, they start behind the curve.

This season they open up a little softer. I like it. They've got enough experience and talent that they don't need to play in some big-time tourney to prepare themselves or to show what they've got. Truth be told, they should be able to cruise through most of their first games setting up for the showdown with UCLA on Dec. 19 the Joyce Center. This is how it looks:

November
1 LEWIS (Exhibition)
6 QUINCY (Exhibition)
TBA
14 NORTH FLORIDA
16 ST. FRANCIS (PA)
19 LONG BEACH STATE
22 LIBERTY (Tourney)
24 KENNESAW STATE (Tourney)
27 Northwestern (Tourney)
28 Iowa State or Saint Louis
December
1 IDAHO STATE
6 CENTRAL FLORIDA
9 IUPUI
12 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
19 UCLA
22 BUCKNELL

Weak non-conference schedule or not, why kill yourself before entering Big East play. Say what you will about the ACC or Pac-10, but I still put the Big East on top when they start pounding on each other.

There hasn't been much buzz about the Irish as of yet... another point I like. The beauty of the Big East is that no matter what, they'll be talking about someone else. There's always going to be a contending Georgetown, or Uconn, or, now West Virginia and Villanova; the list goes on and on. They can all sleep on the fact that, while they lost McAlarney, Harangody returns with a sick cast of characters with him (another breakdown later...).

...is it ever too early to talk NCAA hoops?

Both Will Bend, But Who Will Break in the Southwest Classic

2009-09-30T12:42:00.001-04:00

In a renewed old school Southwest Conference rivalry, which hasn't been played since 1991, Texas A&M and Arkansas have both showed the ability to score. After three games the Aggies still lead D1 in offensive yards per game. Arkansas is no scrubinni at 19^th best. The question is not whether there could be 1000 yards gained in this game, but rather which defense will allow those yards to end in points. A&M's defense is hovering around the middle of the pack giving up 352 yards per game, but only allowing just over 18 points per game. Arkansas' D is not much worse giving up 387 but allowing just over 32 points per game.

It should be noted though that Arkansas has played both Georgia and Alabama so those statistics may be a bit misleading. The Ags should not go into this game and expect to run a muck in Dallas. Arkansas, even at 1-2, still has a legitimate chance to cause problems in the SEC west.

Also, another point to be made is that even though A&M's D is around average in most stats, they lead BCS in sacks. Ryan Mallet is no joke but if Miller can keep the pressure up it could make for a long day.

As I've said before, teams will live and die by the offensive line. A&M's line has provided the offense with the ability to utilize a balanced attack. Look for Micheal to return in the backfield and Johnson to continue spreading the ball around to multiple targets. With Fuller gone for a majority of the season, instead of a one for one sub, the entire receiving corps has stood out!

Alabama has provided a blueprint on how to shut down Arkansas' offense. I'm not going to say that A&M is Alabama caliber right now, but I will say they should have the ability to mirror some of 'Bama's defensive schemes to neutralize the Arkansas attack.

A&M is top ten in penalties... they need to tighten it up a bit. 33 penalties for 295 yards is unacceptable by any stretch. As they end their non-conference at with the Southwest Classic and begin Big 12 play with Okie St, they cannot afford to give away 100 yards a game in penalties.

The importance of this game to both teams should be notted. Arkansas desperately needs a win. They're schedule doesn't get any easier with Auburn, Florida, and Ole Miss coming up next. Heading into that gauntlet at 1-3 would be a dagger. A&M needs this win for legitimacy. They've been dealt a sh*t sandwich over the past six years and have seemed to eat their way through it. A win against Arkansas would show the Big 12, and more importantly themselves, they are the real deal and can compete for a Big 12 title. Confidence is huge but keeping it is paramount!

Gig 'Em Ags!

Is Notre Dame Football Content With Mediocrity?

2009-09-21T07:51:00.001-04:00

At what point did it become acceptable to field a pretty good team in South Bend? Was it in the Davie era, Willingham's maybe or possibly the current administration? Sure, there's a sense of entitlement here; maybe more so than any other program in the country. That's a natural reaction which inevitably comes with winning at least one National Championship in every decade since the 1910's. So why is it different now?

Arguably the last time Notre Dame was in the NC spotlight was in 1993; they were actually awarded the championship title by the NCF and probably robbed otherwise. The following year was a disaster for Coach Holtz losing five games for a 6-5-1 record. And the following two, both three loss seasons. Lou Holtz has claimed to have left for many reasons one of which being he felt it was time to move on and to give someone else the opportunity he was given. But part of me believes another reason is because the team compiled 11 losses and a tie in those last three seasons. There may have been a feeling that it was unacceptable at Notre Dame to have the football team lose 11 games in a three season span.

Enter Bob Davie. I actually like Bob Davie. I think he is a hell of a defensive coordinator. What he did at Texas A&M and later somewhat at Notre Dame has rarely been repeated in college football. He coached some of the most feared defensive units ever, albeit mostly at TAMU with the Wrecking Crew. That said it was just not in the cards for him to be a head coach, more so, head coach at Notre Dame. I don't think it was a bad choice at the time. Given his track record and his time there at Notre Dame, it was a natural selection. I've said this before...damned good coordinator, okay head coach, but not so good recruiter. If you take any consecutive three year span out of his five years as head coach, you will get 16, 11, 16 losses. While there were some underlying problems during that time as well with violations, that loss count was unacceptable.

After the George O'Leary debacle (which I cannot even fathom) Tyrone Willingham was brought in. This choice has always kind of baffled me, but if you look back at history, it's Notre Dame's MO to pick these kind of guys. Faust was a high school coach. Devine had a couple good seasons at Mizzou but nothing spectacular. Parseghian was a big ole bust-a-rooni Northwestern and just kind of fell into the position. So it wasn't all too far out that Notre Dame was going to pick someone off the radar. But even still, I'm not sure what White saw in his resume that screamed, “I will bring a NC back to South Bend!” I have also said this...Willingham was a better recruiter, good motivator, but not a good head coach. He was only given three years where he compiled 15 losses. Unacceptable.

Now good ole Charlie Weis. He comes in, high profile hiring, now in the spotlight, going to change things in South Bend. He's got three Super Bowl rings and is the self-proclaimed offensive genius behind the 199th pick of the 2000 draft “Tommy” Brady. And that's exactly what happened. Everything changed. Notre Dame goes 9-2 and by Notre Dame Clause is selected to play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. “Hmm...what just happened here,” we all thought after that drumming? Next season, 10-2! And by Notre Dame Clause once again, they play LSU in the Sugar Bowl. No chance Notre Dame holds the bowl losses record right? “Hmmmm...trend, or just another fluke?” And of course we all know what happens next. So of course if you mix in a nine loss season with any other, chances are it's going to look poor...and it does. Take any consecutive three year span and you get 15 and 18, not counting this season thus far.

Just for the sake of argument I'll go back a little bit farther. Gerry Faust, considered the worst of the bunch by many, can claim 15, 14 and 16 in any consecutive stretch over his five seasons. Devine has 7, 7, 8 and 9 with a NC of course.

So barring they win out this season which is highly unlikely, or as far as my standards go finishing with two losses, is another three loss season acceptable? What about four?

So just going by the numbers, why is it acceptable now for Notre Dame to field consecutive years of mediocrity where in the past it was unheard of? Have they lost that sense of entitlement where they are relegated to “hopefully a decent season” status every year? Coach Weis has said it himself, two and three loss seasons are unacceptable at the University of Notre Dame.

Of course this season is still new. I'm not saying they will lose three games this season. I am saying it is likely and if that indeed is the case, will people finally call an ugly baby an ugly baby and realize what we've got here? Or will the grass be continually greener...next season?

Texas Aggies vs. Utah St. Aggies = A Guaranteed Aggies Win!

2009-09-20T10:47:00.002-04:00

All Aggies would compile nearly 1100 yards of total offense, 68 points and 25 penalties for 213 yards. Mix that all together and what do you get; one ugly win for the Aggies...the Texas A&M Aggies that is. Even though they tried almost everything in their power to give this game away in the last few minutes, they finally realized a loss to the Utah State Aggies was not really what they wanted in week two.

Even though the final was 38-30, nearly three quarters of the game, A&M's D allowed only a field goal after allowing a quick two TDs in the first. They wouldn't touch again until six minutes remaining in the forth. If Joe Kines had the bend but don't break mentality yesterday, Utah St. had the Ags D tied in a knot! But it worked out in the end. The D forced four fumbles getting two and had five sacks on the day.

On the other side, the Ags continue their offensive dominance even with Jeff Fuller out of the game with a cracked fibula. Johnson lit it up once again for 322 yards, four TDs and rushing 11 times for 78 yards! With the absence of Fuller, Uzoma Nwachukwu stepped up big scoring four TDs, three catch and one run.

In the Big 12 there is no shortage of offensive fire-power so A&Ms improvement will largely go unnoticed, at least until week four when they play Arkansas in a renewed Southwest Conference showdown. I will say this offense, two games in, is on par with the rest of the Big 12 elite.

It will take a couple of signature wins before they get the respect though. Until then, under the radar is where they need to be in my opinion. With their defense at times still adapting and bit lethargic, opposing teams will likely focus on their offensive game plan. Meanwhile they'll be surprised with a round-house kick to the face by Jerrod Johnson and crew.

BCS Thoughts...What Does it Mean?

2009-09-18T23:34:00.001-04:00

We are now into week three of “debacle” year 11, also known as the BCS era. While history claims otherwise, like it or not, earning a BCS bid is our primary measure of success. Sure there are the undefeated 2004s, some conference champs who are snubbed, Independents not named Notre Dame and those who play Big 12 teams in the first four weeks, but for the most part, are those who've failed to make it thus far considered lower on the football program totem pole? I dare to ask...

For the sake of brevity, I'll single out the big six conferences in D1 football, or, as some would say, the upper echelon of D1. In the 11 previous seasons there has been 37 out of 65 teams to reach the holy grail of post-season play out of the six major conferences.

My question is, are these teams considered inferior programs because of their absence BCS bowl games? Let me break it down...

Those who have failed by BCS standards:
Big Ten – Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan State, Northwestern
SEC – Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Big 12 – Iowa State, Mizzou, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech
Pac-10 – Arizona, Arizona State, Cal
Big East – USF, Rutgers, UConn
ACC – Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, UNC, NC State, Virginia

Now let me make myself abundantly clear..I'm not calling these programs out as inferior. I'm just wondering if, by BCS standards, are these teams considered irrelevant until they reach that landmark? More so, if this is how we are to measure success, then is it the best system possible, leaving out the likes of Texas Tech, Mizzou and Cal who has had tremendous success in recent years?

If They Only Knew... The Post R.C. Slocum Years

2009-09-18T07:53:00.001-04:00

If They Only Knew... The Post R.C. Slocum Years

It's is hard to imagine the that there was a time where Texas A&M football was a mainstay in the top 25. It's even harder to imagine the days of one and two loss seasons. That's exactly what Aggies had become accustomed to during the 14 seasons R.C. Slocum ran the program. The man largely responsible for producing some of the most feared defenses ever during the Sherrill years, also holds the best winning percentage in the old Southwest Conference.

Of course hindsight is always 20/20, but looking back to 2002, his firing brought on a span of mediocrity nearly unmatched in elite college football programs. Possibly no other program on par with A&M has fallen off the map in a shorter period of time. Colorado has but only after a few coaching changes mixed in with a couple successful seasons. Washington was a powerhouse for many years in the Don James era but after he retired in 1992, they've had only few good seasons for their standards. And of course there's Notre Dame, but their measure of success is nothing less than National Championships, and their last one was 1988.

The fact is that the powers that be became so jaded that one poor season and a couple slow seasons before was enough to fire arguably the most successful coach in school history. I wanted to see the difference between the Slocum and Franchione eras.

Just a few numbers broken down:

R.C. Slocum – 14 years as HC
>123-47-2 (.715)
>3 SWC Titles (4 if they had not been ineligible in their 10-0-1 1994 season)
>2 Big 12 South Titles
>1 Big 12 Title
>Never had a losing season. Only once, his last year, they had a losing conference record of 3-5.
>Eight 9+ win seasons
>Lost ONE home game in the 1990s!
>Defense – 17.01 ppg / Offense – 29.4 ppg

Dennis Franchione
>32-28 (.533)
>0 conference/division titles
>One 9 win season (3rd in Big 12 South)
>Defense – 28.1 ppg / Offense 28.5 ppg

Now of course all of this means nothing except for the fact that it's painfully obvious they jumped the gun ousting Slocum because of a couple slow seasons and the thought that defense was no longer a priority in the Big 12. It is possible the outcome may have been similar had they not fired him, but it is entirely plausible that they would have eventually bounced back to national prominence...where they belong.

I did not include last season as I will not criticize Sherman's effort after one season albeit a horrible season. If there is not steady improvement in virtually every statistical category after a 4-8 season, then there are issues. But a 600 yard game performance and no touchdowns allowed, they're on the right track...at least after week one!

Notre Dame Upends Michigan 34-41!

2009-09-14T09:45:00.003-04:00

Jimmy Clausen has solidified his status as a Heisman contender and has quieted the critics who said he was not worth the hype almost three years ago. His game winning drive this weekend against arch-rival Michigan capped off another stellar performance, this time against a non-MAC opponent.

After his game winning TD pass to Golden Tate, it was up to Coach John Tenuta's defense to make a stop, and that's exactly what they did, giving Notre Dame possession with just over three minutes to go. Michigan had retained two timeouts while Notre Dame had one remaining. Pass complete, few yards short...skip a play, run, get first down... all going according to plan, right. There were still a couple minutes left, but no problem, let's run it out boys. Allen is out with a stinger, no problem, we've got Gray, who needs redemption for his earlier fumble, Hughes, who as all but disappeared, and rook Riddick as well. Hell, lets give them all one chance.

First down, Hughes up the gut for a two yard gain. Second down, Riddick, draw, fights for seven yards! All meanwhile Clausen clock managing running seconds down, tick, tick... Michigan second time out. Third down, Riddick off tackle, into the wall but he fails to get a first down. Michigan calls last time-out.

They did get one last ditch effort, but with less than a minute to go, the young Michigan QB just ran out of time.

Now wait just one second you say. Is this guy lost it? This jack-ass must have not watched the last two minutes right, you ask?

In fact I did watch it. Nothing so regrettable as seeing was I saw unfold those last three minutes. So here it is folks, reality round-house kicked me right in the jaw.

I cannot help but feel as though I've been violated in a way. I'm afraid we've been sold a Bentley and got a Le Car! We got duped. No wait, WE GOT WEISED!

Unfortunately you don't know you've been Weised until 5 years after the fact because that Le Car is pretty kick ass those first two years, then performance starts to dwindle. You replace parts here and there, some improvement, but still not what you thought you bought. Finally you replace the entire interior and exterior you finally look as though you've got your Bentley. But guess what, one piece remains, that piece of shit Le Car engine.

We've polished this turd about as much as conceivably possible. We've got a turd still in our hands, and his name is Charlie Weis.

I digress. This rant has a point, which is any coach at any level would have noticed the necessity to burn as much time off of the clock, if for nothing else than to just make them use their timeouts. What does Chuck decide to do. Long pass down the sidelines! Oops, now it's third and long, pass to a non looking freshman. The WTF expression does not even cover the amount of disbelief in the play-calling. In fact there is no expression for that. Then I read this morning that he's calling out the players for their mistakes. What the f*ggity-f*ck?!!

I'll tell you what, I love the way those guys played! Clausen IS the real deal. The line IS bad ass. The run game is solid. Floyd para Presidente as far as I'm concerned! Even the D did what they were supposed to do when it counted.

But no thanks to coach, he leaves Michigan with two timeouts AND plenty of time! Even Matt “every baby from now until the end of time should be named Stud-bolt Tate Forcier” Millen called him out as saying Michigan should thank the Irish for putting them in such a favorable position.

So this is it. National Champions or bust. Even with a NC, I would not even question the first time in history a head coach being fired after winning a National Championship. Because one thing is certain. Every win here on out will be by the shear will and awesome athletic talent of the Irish players, NOT by the so-called offensive genius of Charlie Weis.

His one saving grace, professionally, is that he is a hell of a salesman. I'd say he missed his calling, but then again, it got him a 10 year contract at Notre Dame!

I am officially done with this guy.

The Sabres' Competition for Roster Spots

2009-09-09T09:28:00.002-04:00

Buffalo's 'grow your own program' will hopefully start to bear fruit as a few of their recent draft picks should be competing for permanent roster spots this season.

Boston College standout Nathan Gerbe, while only 5'5”, has already showcased his abilities by scoring 56 points in 57 games last season for Portland. He was drafted in 2005 by Buffalo in the entry draft.

Meanwhile Buffalo native Tim Kennedy should also be competing for a LW spot as well. He scored 67 points in 73 games last year in Portland. I would say, behind Vanek, Hecht and Paille, it's wide open. These two could make it interesting.

The most anticipated arrival in the past few years has been the early draft pick, defenseman Tyler Myers. Not only is his skill and raw talent allegedly solid, the kid is 6'8”. If you can remember a few years back Chara was kind of a very large tomato can with a rocket slap shot. He's since developed his skill to become an obvious force at 6'9” and a premier defender in the league. Could Myers be the next Chara? Word is from practice reports is that the guys have to really be on point when he's on ice because he was ripping people's heads off! Him and Butler had a little inside competition with each other to see who could lay the smack down on fools! With the Montador addition and the Brabarian up front, there could be record PIMs this year!!!

As I've said before, watch out for Tyler Myers.

The Offense Nobody is Talking About...Texas A&M!

2009-09-06T22:56:00.004-04:00

Of course, as we all know, there are a lot of teams who consistently choose pad their off-season schedule with a line-up of tomato cans. Florida plays Charleston Southern University, a (formerly) D-II school with a blistering population of 3000 kids. It's no surprise they're able to lay up >60! Tennessee, same deal except that the Hilltoppers are D-1 and have 17K more students. But still, no surprise Lane Kiffin wanted to make a statement in his first game at Neyland.

The same argument can also be made for Texas A&M's game one against the New Mexico Lobos. New Mexico are not what anyone can consider a football powerhouse. Nevertheless, they are not the level of scrubinni as Florida International, or Louisiana-Monroe, in my opinion at least. That said, records were broken in College Station saturday! No, Von Miller did not bust through your grandma's door and Jack her music collection. I'm talking about 606 yards of total offense! Let me remind you I'm talking about the Texas A&M Fightin' Aggies! When was the last time they were in the top ten in offensive production? I didn't actually look it up, but I'd bet it hasn't happened, maybe ever.

A&M's defense has always buttered the bread in College Station. While the term 'Wrecking Crew' has become a distant memory of late, I don't know that anyone would expect the Aggies to become an offensive juggernaut.

I will not get ahead of myself here, not by any stretch. Like I said, it was against New Mexico. Show me some consistency, and do it against what the Big 12 South is going to bring, and I'll go all in. But it may be a point worth noting that last year the Ags just beat the Lobos in week two 28-22.

Some other points of success worth noting:
Their D showed up as well. Allowing 21 yards rushing, only two field goals, and only 231 yards total...that's not too shabby for a bottom five defense a year ago.

Celebrate the week one win...for a minute. The Ags were penalized 14 times for 123 yards; unacceptable by any stretch!

The biggest surprise, even with the Johnson, Michael, the Jack position, allowing 6 points, is that there seemed to be a little bit of attitude that there hasn't been in recent years. A little bit of swagger bordering on cockyness. It's what they've needed for far too long. It's an attitude that they're going to need this season maybe more than others recently with Okie State deciding to step it up, t.u. and their 13th year receiver, Tech who they cannot beat, and now Baylor with the sub-human Griffin.

I'll say the same as I did for the Notre Dame's week one win...they did what they were supposed to do. I can only hope they remain on that track until week 4 when Arkansas travels to Dallas.

This Just In...Te'o is a Badass-Four Points to Week 1

2009-09-05T20:14:00.004-04:00

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish otherwise did what they were supposed to do. Everyone will be Lou Holtz believers after this win, but I choose to reserve my enthusiasm until week 4. I'm not going to type out what most fans will...what the obvious playmakers did. There were, however, a few points that stood out to me.

The fact still remains this was Nevada. Back in the day, a Nevada equivalent would come to town and get their ass whipped. Today, Nevada comes to town and got their ass whipped. The offense looked spot, rightly so. Point one is exactly that, they did what they were supposed to... put a whuppin' on a team they were supposed to whup.

But the real test was going to be how their D held up against the high octane pistol offense. John Tenuta and Corwin Brown brought the heat today and looked solid against a legit rushing attack. We cannot go and sell the farm just yet though. Realize that there wasn't much of a passing threat so it was easy to bring numbers each and every play. Also, Taua still put up a buck eighteen, and the Wolfpack racked up over 300 yards. Overall, a damned good show for the D though. Point two, D players all over the place; different looks, blitz packages, and quickness.

The real surprise, which is no surprise at all. Manti Te'o is gross! In limited minutes he was able to show why he may be the sickest defensive recruit ND has ever pulled. I simply cannot wait to watch this guy grow! Expect him to continually rack up playing time. Point three, Manti Te'o will punch your grandma in the face...if she's not sporting a #5 Irish jersey!

Also, I like to see the scrubinnis get some time! The only thing 'scrub' about them is that there is a sicker athlete who's got some more time in the system in front of him on the depth chart. Point four, the second team are no longer 22 Jim Cowan's on the field...they are actual legit athletes!

Seattle is Cool

2009-08-29T23:57:00.002-04:00

Seattle gave to me...
12 Dollar Parking
11 Vagabonds
10 Awesome Pictures
9 Tattooed Ladies
8 Fishes Throwing
7 Bums a Bumming
6 Cups o' Coffee
5 Things I bought!!!!
4 Times a Peein'
3 Miles Walking
2 Trips to Market
1 Awesome Space Needle

Bras off!!!

2009-08-21T18:29:00.005-04:00

Jeff Cowan signed with the Sabres yesterday!!! That's all I have to say about that.

The Top 5 Most Annoying College Football Fans List

2009-08-21T09:09:00.009-04:00

In light of one of the best times of year right around the corner, I've decided to compile a list of the top 5 most annoying college football fans. This task was an exercise in futility as it is nearly impossible to pick only five. I've narrowed it down the best I could from my own personal experiences and opinions.

First, the honorable mentions...
Every Florida school. The state of Florida is a polished turd. You have old people, rednecks, and a history of providing the country with a stock of sick football players. If you own an unlicensed weapon, you probably go to Miami. If you enjoy helping yourself to other student's test scores, you probably would like FSU. If you're a sick athlete superstar but claim abstinence, Florida is the place for you. Annoying indeed!

WE ARE... PENN STATE!!! THANK YOU...YOU'RE WELCOME!!! Enough said...

F-USC... I hate you so much I don't even want to include you on my top five most annoying fans. I can almost with near certainty claim I probably have not received any compensation for you being on my list...so here you are.

The list...
5. University of Notre Dame. Yes that is correct. The faithful Irish. To be only fair, as much as it pains me, I must include us on this list. We are annoying, there's no way around it. We're either old crusty fart curmudgeon white guys, or, well, that's about it. We believe that Jesus himself has has deemed our team National Champions year in and year out. Hell, George O'Leary was the second coming for about a minute! I attempt to at least not be so outwardly annoying and hope that the team I love will prove it on the field every Saturday.

4. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, aka VT. Living in the D.C. area for an unfortunately large portion of my life I've come to realize these nerds have probably figured out some equation to ultimately breed out any other sports fan in the mid-Atlantic. They are EVERYWHERE! They are loud, obnoxious, and believe their overrated, over-ranked football team will one day win a NC. Hokie = annoyance!

3. There is a tie for number 3. “The” Ohio State University and the University of Michigan. It is natural these two be lumped together. While I have seemingly a vested interest in the demise of RichRod and Michigan football, I could stand to see both programs suffer a couple more 3-9 seasons. For all I care they can play the greatest rivalry in history over and over 12 weeks in a row. O-HI-O!!! GO BIG BLUE!!! At least Hokies are somewhat contained to a three state radius. These clowns are all over the world!

2. Louisiana State Agriculture and Mechanical College, aka LSU. Truly, I could put nearly the entire Southeastern Conference on this list, but for the sake of brevity, I chose the most annoying, in recent years anyways. Let's be honest, sans a block or two in New Orleans, LA is the worst state in the union. No offense, but I mean, even the French didn't want it. I digress... somehow “the Mad Hatter” lunch-boxed his way into a NC a couple years ago and can now walk on the murky swamp water in the Bayou. Although I have no proof of any evidential value, I'm convinced that guy is dirty. Regardless, he's annoying, “Death Valley” is annoying, the Bayou Bengals nickname is annoying, as well as adding -eaux in lieu of -o on words. I wish they would just geaux away!

1. Indeed there is a tie for number 1 most annoying college football fans. The University of Texas and Texas Tech University. The state of Texas has arguably the best football from Pop Warner through college. Texas believes they are the best in the country regardless of polls, bowls, or any games for that matter. Whether it's a hit on McCoy or supposedly getting screwed out of a three-way tie, we will hear it from Texas fans. They are generally the whiniest fans I've seen (not counting the few in the family of course!). They believe in fairness and opportunity for all, who would like to be ranked 2-25 that is. Tceh on the other hand is a different story. These folks are comprised of mostly kids who could not get into t.u. or A&M, and did not want to live in Waco or El Paso. They throw tortillas at opposing fans and players... who does that?!? Their constant bell ringing is amongst the most annoying sounds in the world. I would give them a slight edge in the tie because they are spoilers for OU and t.u. except for the fact they pwn the Ags every year too dammit. Guns up and Hook-em!!! Annnnnoying!

Watch Out for Jerrod Johnson

2009-08-18T11:05:00.001-04:00

Announced yesterday, Jr QB Jerrod Johnson was named on the Manning Award “watch list”. What does that mean in the broad scheme of things? Not much in reality. But it does show that someone is paying attention, and it could possibly provide just a little bit of motivation and confidence to an offense which struggled at times last year. A struggling offense which allowed Johnson to set the all-time Aggie passing touchdown record (21). While Johnson's job is not 100% secure just yet, I don't think he'll lose the job. Furthermore, Tannehill + Fuller = more than formidable, bordering on a bad-ass receiving duo.

I will say this... watch out for this offense this season. Not because they're going to wow anyone with numbers and they probably will not produce any Heisman candidates, but for a team that only won 4 last season, they are unknown and will be overlooked.

I believe, depending on O-line development, Johnson has the potential to be a serious threat. He's 6'5”-243; that is no joke! He is a pocket passer with good fundamentals and a hell of an arm. Fuller and Tennehill are nearly identical [in size] at 6'4”-215/216 respectively. Cyrus Gray should fill the Goodson void with no problems. Watch for Fr RB Christine Michael to emerge at some point this season as well.

Other teams have gotten used to the old Francione offenses which relied on grinding out boring yards which hopefully amounted to 10.5 yards in 3 or 4 plays. Sherman should be able to open it up a bit with a few more of his guys on the roster and one more year of exposure to his system. Again, I'm not going to predict wins and losses, but I do expect significant improvement, improvement which will hopefully go under the radar for much of the season.

The Aggieland Fix

2009-08-15T20:17:00.003-04:00

I was going to break down the Aggie schedule much like everyone does for every team, but while researching Alabama-Birmingham, I decided that it just does not matter. There are, however, two points which will make break the season for the Ags. Of course the points can be made for every team in the country, but for the Texas Aggies, they are paramount. First, is offensive line improvement. While the top position athletes from Texas and elsewhere are drawn to the Oklahomas, Texas', and Floridas of the country for some reason, few make the wise choice of becoming a Texas A&M Aggie. This should not be the case for offensive linemen. Rural Texas has never been short of humongous talent, literally. A&M's wheelhouse right? What has changed in recent years in College Station? Why are they not producing top ten lines year in and year out? 2009 should be different. They were successful in turning one of the most prolific high school quarterbacks in Texas state history into a run-first, pass-if-you-can QB in Stephen McGee. Luckily he had the legs to run away, and not die! Johnson has shown his ability to throw the rock...but can he run? Maybe he wont have to this year...

Of the ten linemen, two in each of the five positions, not counting tight ends, the average weight is 304 lbs. The average height is 6'4”. Size should not be the problem yet Coach Buddy Wyatt has his hands full. The line gave up 39 sacks for a loss of nearly 300 yards. The Aggies only rushed for just over 1000 yards, averaging 88 dismal yards a game. They also averaged about 250 passing yards a game. That is not going to cut it playing Big 12 football! But I can tell you this...the entire team, on any team, lives and dies by the offensive line.

My other point of contention is secondary to the offensive line problems but hardly less important. Texas A&M has rarely wowed anyone with their prolific offenses. I haven't verified, but I'd bet they've never led the country in a major offensive statistic. They have however produced some great teams in the past. They did so in Aggieland with their defense. The Wrecking Crew is known nationwide as some of the most tenacious defenses to play the game. Teams were once terrified to step onto Kyle Field, not only because of the atmosphere, but because they knew a long ice bath was coming. Recently this has not been the case. While the 12th Man continues to post, the defense remains absent. Where's the attitude? Where's the assurance that whomever chose to touch that ball would have to deal with getting their head ripped from neck? My solution starts from the top. Defensive athletes can be molded into a cohesive defensive powerhouse. There needs to be intensity from the sidelines I'm not sure they're getting with Coach Kines. I don't discredit what he has done over his career. He's sustained a long and successful one for sure, but let's be honest here. Kines is 65 years old, plain and simple. How can he relate to a 19 year old kid? Can he get in the face of a 6-4 300 D lineman and scare the sh*t out of him? Possibly, but I don't believe it. I could be wrong of course, but show me on the field.

Simple... O line and Defense.

Speak the truth...

2009-08-14T11:47:00.001-04:00

I cannot remember a season in recent years where I've been more excited and scared at the same time. There seems to once again be a high expectation from Irish fans and critics alike. It's hard not to feel that way. The talent pool of athletes Weis has racked up is on par with the perennial BSC mainstays. Pound for pound, I'd put up their raw athletic talent with that of any team, albeit their pool is not as deep as the likes of Florida, Oklahoma, or USC. Given a couple more offseasons like the past few and that will change. Their raw talent is not the only reason to be excited. An unmolested look at this year's schedule lends to believe they have a shot at 10 wins. Statistically, from last year of course, those predictions are warranted.

Not so fast I say. While I refuse to predict wins and losses this year, I will say I'm no longer optimistic that this year's schedule is as weak as everyone thinks. While combined 2008 wins/losses may not be impressive, to assume the same sorry teams will repeat this season without improvement is asinine!

Nevada brings back a highly potent offense led by QB Colin Kaepernick. Coach Ault invented the Pistol Formation, and this kid has perfected it. Think about this... he is only the fifth player in NCAA history to rush for 1000 and throw for 2000 yards! Do not underestimate this offense. Much like the old Nebraska option, it's a bit more gimmicky, but when executed to perfection, it's hard to stop. The question mark for this team is their turnstile D which gave up somewhere around 40 points a game last year, hence their 7 win season.

Michigan is Michigan. As much as I'd like to see Rich-rod fall straight on his fat face and turn out to be a bust, I don't see it happening. His style is not Michigan-like, but winning has been his business in the past, and that is was Michigan folks want and expect. I expect them to follow Notre Dame's footsteps after their 3-9 season and end up around .500 or maybe a couple better. Especially with their creampuff out of conference sched of Western and Eastern Michigan and the powerhouse Delaware State! Pretty tough...

For once, I can go into week three and feel just a wee bit of hope that the Irish will not be embarrassed at home by Michigan State. My optimism lies only in the fact that Irish killer Javon Ringer is finally gone. Brian Hoyer is also gone which is a plus. God I hate these guys... but it is Michigan State and a huge underrated Notre Dame rival.

What should be an expected win has usually turned out to be disappointment in recent years. This is one of those games which can go either way any given season. For whatever reason, no matter how soft Purdue is, they show up for Notre Dame. Do not expect these guys to lie down. While Painter is finally gone, Sr. Elliot takes the helm. But remember who we're talking about here. It's QB U! Brees, Hance, Orton, Painter... those are just recently, the list goes on. Also long time coordinator Danny Hope takes over as Head Coach.

The Irish come home for a few and open up to Washington. This team is a sleeper that WILL NOT be as poor as they were previously. They've got a coach now who has the bollocks to open it up and the ability to recruit the talent to do so. Jake Locker is the real deal. If Notre Dame falls asleep at the wheel, ala Syracuse last year, they will get bitten.

If there is one season in the past decade I could actually say I'm looking forward to the USC game, it's this one. I'll admit, I still hold a grudge for 2005; I may never let that go. I still cringe at the thought that they would have ended with a one loss season, and a one loss Notre Dame who beat #1 USC probably would have played in the NC and of course would have lost to Young and the Longhorns. I digress. This season, first, off from a bye week after UW at home. Next, USC is bringing a new QB out this season. What does that mean? Nothing. He will be surrounded by ridiculous athletes like all Pete Carroll quarterbacks and will play the part as they all have. But just hopefully, he will be a little bit green halfway in the season. USC lost nearly all of their D. Of course, like I said, where one 5-star All-American graduates (or moves on) another pops up in his place. Norton and Carroll will have whomever ready to go, no question about that. The offense is a bigger question only in the facts that they are indeed going with either new starter Corp or the #1 QB recruit Barkley and that their former OC will hopefully have gotten the beat-down two weeks prior. But let's be honest here and call an ugly baby an ugly baby. Chances are FUSC will come in and whup the Irish as they've done the entire Carroll era.

7 of 8, back to the Bob Davie era. That is called PWNED and that is what Boston College has done to Notre Dame over the past decade. There is not much to say about this game. There is no excuse for another loss in this series. New coach, Fr QB, young offense all around. This is a must win, hands down.

I will be in San Antonio for the ND v. WSU game. I suspect it will be similar to an Irish home game... mostly old, quiet, white guys, and the strong Catholic Mexican presence of course. Only kidding of course...about the Mexicans. Along with their Apple Cup buddies, WSU will improve this season. While I truly don't feel worried about this game, I wasn't worried when I was in South Bend last season for the Syracuse game either. Paul Wulff will have these guys fired up for sure.

The Navy games used to be a given W; as they should be. Michigan plays Delaware State, USC plays San Jose State, and the Irish play Navy. The last two seasons, it's been a little different story obviously. This team is fairly young, small as usual, but athletic as hell. They have proven to no longer be the doormat of the Irish. I would like to see them return to that status though.

Pitt brings another question mark to the schedule. Early reports predict them to win the Big East. That and 50 cents will get you a coke compared to the Big 12, SEC and Pac-10 champs, but either way, a division championship is no small feat. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here though. New OC this season, sans McCoy, McKillop and Kinder, this team is young and somewhat inexperienced. They do return Stull and former starter Bostic, but they have hardly been consistent. Needless to say, it could depend on how the earlier part of the season goes for the Irish. They go into Pitt expecting an easy win, they'll be sorely mistaken.

The Connecticut game will be really interesting. They're attempting to steamroll their way into legitimacy in D1 ball by signing a contract with Notre Dame. The new rivalry already brings some heat as there was some disdain from U Conn folks because of Notre Dame's demand to play the away games in a larger venue such as Foxborough or the Meadowlands. Also don't sleep on the fact that Zack Frasier is an Irish transfer a few years back. He actually backed up Brady Quinn his senior year and contended for the starting gig which ultimately ran Jones out of town. The kid has talent and it should not be over looked. I don't expect the Irish to do that, but if they're looking ahead to Stanford, they might regret it.

The Irish conclude 2009 going to Palo Alto. If you think this recent rivalry does not have some kick, think again. Weis has owned Stanford...it's about the only one he can claim right now. Remember last year, Jim Harbaugh jumping around slamming his clipboard and hat to the ground practically doing back flips onto the field? This guy wants to beat the Irish, make no mistake about that. On offense there's one Fr and one So, the rest are upperclassmen. Five So on D round out the inexperienced. That's 18 of 24 starters who are Jr's and above. Pritchard is back as well as Gerhart who treated the Irish D line like bowling pins last season. Depending on how the first 11 games end up, this game could be a tremendous spoiler. Remember 1990 folks! Or how about 1992?! Do not over look Stanford.

There it is. While most Notre Dame fans will not agree, I hate their pre-season 24 ranking. I hate the fact that there's already so much talk about this team. Zip it already! Show me something on the field not on paper. Going by last season's stats, yes, this is a tomato can schedule. But I bet the farm, this year's stats will show otherwise. I can only hope, we, the fans, do not get ahead of ourselves. I don't want to hear about 10 wins, BCS games, and for cryin out loud, National Championships. This team has proven nothing except for the fact that they finally won a bowl game against a cream puff Hawaii team. What I hope for and what I expect are now two different things. Until I see otherwise on the field against teams worth a damned, that will continue to be the case.

Versus = WTF!!!

2009-05-08T21:35:00.001-04:00

Someone PLEASE help me out with this one... Okay for the second time in as many games, the NHL has scheduled two playoff games on the same night one half hour apart. I can understand that, of course, as all teams involved are east coast teams. Sure no one wants a game to start at 9:30... I do get that. For cyrin’ out loud, show the frickin’ games though.

I live in the DC metro area, so naturally, I’m going to see the Caps regardless. Versus has the NHL contract, so I understand they have the rights to the NHL playoff games. For the local games here in DC though, the local sports channel shows the game...okay, fully understandable, they want in on the cash cow that is NHL broadcasting. What I absolutely do not get is that when the local sports channel shows the Capitals game, Versus blocks out the channel; completely blocks it out!

I know for an absolute fact, with today’s television technology, they have the ability to show one game in one area and another in a different viewing area. In fact, now that the Caps game has just ended, VS will now show the remaining half hour of the Boston v Carolina game...WTF is that!?

Please tell me why they cannot give up the right to the local game to the local sports station and show the remaining game. You can explain to me about money and rights, bla bla bla. You cannot, however, convince me it’s better for the league to one, schedule two out of two playoff games at the same time, and two, not show both of those games.

Someone gets an F for that one!

NHL Logos – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2009-05-06T10:18:00.001-04:00

In honor of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, I’ve compiled my top five seeds of NHL logos. And what would a top five list be without a bottom five to hit if off? For the sake of argument, I’ve added five mediocre logos as well.

The Good – Maybe the history, maybe the color, maybe just bad-ass!

5. The Original Six – although I’m not a fan of any of these six teams, I cannot argue the fact that these logos are time tested and still impress.

4. Montreal Wanderers – while most of the defunct teams of the early teens, Montreal at least had the wherewithal to roll with a W o

n a shield. Right on!

3. Colorado Rockies – thought by many to be ugly...I, on the other hand, see

70s classic! It’s got a blue mountain, a red C, and a little orange circle in the mix...how can you go wrong?

2. Kansas City Scouts – Not really PC, but this isn’t a politeness list, it’s a list of cool! A Sioux warrior scouting out the ice, planning for his next attack...yeah buddy!

1. Buffalo Sabres (Old School) – Not a surprise here, the Sabres logo is and

will always be the best logo of any sports team, of all time! Yes I said it... ALL TIME!

The Bad – Not necessarily ugly, but head scratchers nonetheless.

5. Dallas Stars – I’ve added the ole Stars because, well, I don’t like them first of all, s

ome should know why... and two because it just doesn’t make sense. You take a team from “hockey country”, Minnesota, rightly named the NorthStars, move them to Dallas, and drop the North. Senseless move, senseless name.

4. Quebec Nordiques – Intriguing at first,then again, not really sure what its supposed to be. Is it an elephant with a stick...a red hump with a stick? It’s just something else from the French we don’t understand?

3. California/Oakland Golden/Seals – Yeah... much like Al Davis’ Raiders, for cryin’ out loud, pick a name already! And, kind of cool, kind of weird, cute littl

e seal face on a bird-like shaped body thing going on... enough said.

2. Minnesota Wild –

This one would be on the Ugliest

but its creative if nothing else. A picture in a picture...ugly, yet cool, I guess.

1. Buffalo Sabres (2nd generation) – For reasons unknown, the Sabres

took the greatest jerseys/logos of all time, changed the colors to red and black, and decided to roll out with a big buffalo head... potential yes, execution no. Fail.

The Ugly – Not only ugly, but f-ugly!!!

5. Tampa Bay Lightening – I get it, Tampa, storms, lightening...but the logo sucks, plain and simple.

4. San Jose Sharks – triangle + stick-eating shark + horrible colors = recipe for a sucky logo.

3. Vancouver Canucks – Maybe one of the just plain ugliest of all

time...on par with the 70s/early 80s Houston Astros. They get the ultimate WTF!

2. Buffalo Sabres (current) – The most painful on the list...the Buffa-slug, snot-rocket,

Donald Trump’s hair. It has many names indeed, none of which are called awesome.

1. Anaheim Mighty Ducks – Worst franchise in history, meet worst logo in history! A team that never should have been. Yes they’ve had success, but they’ve got to go!

The Caps UNLEASH THE FUUUURY in game 7!

2009-04-29T07:18:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I am at best a second rate Caps fan. Only be default of course as the Sabres missed out this postseason. That said, there are few things better than a game 7 after a 3-1 comeback. This is the point of rankings; this is the point of wins, losses, and the point system; to get to this point where your home ice advantage is reality.

It was a shaky start for the Caps, who didn’t have a quality shot until near the end of the first period. After that, the D buckled down and only allowed 15 shots for the entire game. The Caps had 24 shots in about two and one third periods. Not a bombardment in the least, but enough to get two by.

The biggest stat of the game for the Caps is the 46 hits they laid down on the Rangers to their 30. With Brashear out for six games, one of the worries was the uncertainty of who would fill that enforcer roll. It turns out everyone did. 90% of the 46 hits were quality checks.

There were a few good hits on the Rangers’ circus clown Sean Avery too, who not shockingly, came up with losers limp in the last minute.

After watching this game, I’ve come to one conclusion: as an NHL team, you are much better off the more Russians you have. The Caps are stacked! Simeon Varlomov is the real deal folks…at least for this series he was.

An Early Look to the Future...Irish Basketball 2009/10

2009-04-17T09:27:00.000-04:00

At first glance, if you’re a casual observer, you may be concerned about the 2009-2010 basketball season for the Fighting Irish. You also may not believe that I’m pretty excited about next season, even with the sure losses and the potential huge loss to the team.

It has been recently reported that Luke Harangody has declared for the draft one year early, although he will not hire an agent. This leaves the door open to return in case he doesn’t get a warm fuzzy about his pull in the draft. Let me say this: I hope for Luke to have a long successful career in the NBA. I’ve seen enough to make the call that there’s no reason he shouldn’t. Here’s the catch…as a fan, I just hope it’s after next year.

First thing’s first… what do they lose. The Irish will also lose one of the best outside shooters I’ve ever seen. While I could run a laundry list of shooters the NCAA has seen in recent years, Kyle McAlarney is one of the best, and his range is maybe unparalleled in the college game. While that threat will surely be missed, Notre Dame has lost 3 point killers before, namely Colin Falls a couple years ago, and just filled the gap with McAlarney. Who’s next up remains to be seen. With the departure of Kurz a year ago, Zeller stepped up to fill the big man’s spot this past season. Now Zeller is gone and that gap probably concerns me more than any other so far. Ryan Ayers emerged this year as a serious offensive threat and Hillesland has been a solid starter and defender the entire season.

That said, I’m counting on watching an Irish team sans Harangody next season as well. But like I said, there’s still room for much optimism. Even though they have been to the dance 29 times, tied for ninth amongst all others, Notre Dame has never truly been seen as that powerhouse basketball school. I’m not talking about putting together successful seasons, but more about bringing in talent with little or no effort for the basketball pedigree, ala Kentucky, UNC, Duke, Kansas, UCLA. So one could argue that Mike Brey is asked to do more with less than say, John Calipari at Kentucky who has 5 star recruits waiting at the doorstep year in year out. That’s not a complaint, or a knock on the players in any way, it’s just a fact that Notre Dame, with all the factors, does not rake in 5 stars too often, if ever.

The four recruits coming in next season are as follows:
Center Thomas Knight from Maine – 6’8” 260 – He was Mr. Basketball in Maine, one of the best players to come out the state, who knew… He’s left-handed shooter, which can pose problems for defenses if they’re unprepared for it. With his size he should Harangody-esque type player. He’s a big boy and should be able to help fill that slot immediately.

SF Joey Brooks from Texas– 6’5” 205 – He’s a good defender, solid range shooter, smart player with good size and strength. From what I’ve read, he’s an intense player who should help with the boards and getting to the basket.

PF Mike Broghammer from Minnesota – 6’8” 215 – He is another tough inside player, should be like Harangody yet again with a little less size, solid outside shooting. If he puts on a few lbs, think Harangody meets Brockman = sickness!

PF Jack Cooley from Illinios – 6’8” 210 – He looks to be a very solid defender and great post player, which should also assist with the defensive losses this season. He has shown some areas needing work but should improve in most other aspects and has potential to be a long-term great asset.

With the four rooks, the much anticipated transfers will play as well next year. Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin. Hansbrough of course, the little brother trade off with Tyler Zeller at UNC has tons of natural talent and should fill some of the leadership roles as well. I’m really excited to see Scott Martin play next season. He’s a transfer from Purdue after his freshman season in West Lafayette. I can remember watching a few games he played for Purdue noted his skills even then. He had a very solid freshman season and should be a pillar of the Irish team next season as a junior. He has good size and a good basketball IQ.

I won’t go into depth about the returning players, but look out for Tyrone Nash to continue his development, Peoples and Jackson to take the lead, and should see some quality time from Carlton Scott and other solid role players such as Tim Andree and Tim Abromaitis.

My last nugget is that I believe the Big East will not be as brutal as it was this season; how could it possibly be? Syracuse should be gutted from their departures; UConn will take a hit with Thabeet, Adrien, Austrie, and Price leaving, thank god; and Louisville loses Williams and McGee. Sure when all these guys leave, another 5-star falls in place, but we can only hope, they all won’t be as good as their predecessors.

While I will never jinx the Irish into predicting where they’ll go in the Tourney, I do expect another solid winning season out of the boys next year, hopefully with Harangody, and without a seven game skid… Cannot wait for October!

Don't Disrespect the NIT... Irish Updates

2009-03-26T08:54:00.000-04:00

Even if they didn’t make the big dance this year, accepting a bid as a 2 seed in the lowly NIT, I’ll call this a successful season yet again for Mike Brey and the boys. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say getting down to the NIT semis is their most successful post season since making it to the Sweet Sixteen in 02-03 where they were then bounced by 3 loss Arizona. Two years ago, the upset by Winthrop in the first round was a huge disappointment, and even last year where they did beat George Mason in Rd 1, they got their ass handed to them by Washington State in Rd 2. With the seasons they had in those two years, I call those finales disappointing.

This year however, where they’ve had a few tough breaks in the toughest Big East in a long time, they’re one of the last four teams alive in a NIT filled with some damned good basketball programs.

The NIT truly gets a bad wrap. With teams like Georgetown, Kansas St., Tennessee, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Florida, who, hello, is two years removed from their NC! These are no scrubbini programs here. Whomever comes out on top will have accomplished no small feat.

So back to the Irish… They bounced UAB, squeaked by New Mexico on the last second drive by Tory Jackson, then pretty much handed Kentucky a beatdown in the Joyce Center last night, with the exception of a late UK run. Harangody has been his normal self scoring 78 points in those three games. But last night, I think proved to be the better win of the three. While I don’t believe Kentucky is that good, they do have talent; they are still Kentucky after all.

The biggest story of the night though I think is this was the last home game for four seniors. Kyle McAlarney, Ryan Ayers, Zach Hillesland, and Luke Zeller. With Harangody testing the NBA waters this off-season, this could shape up to be a huge blow to next years squad. As a fan, I can only hope Luke decides to stick it out one more year. I think with additions of the transfers and some developing talent, they could actually have a better than solid group next year. More on that later…

But for now, Pennsylvania State University awaits in the Big Apple.
Good luck to the boys… GO IRISH!

Buffalo's 2-0 Baby....This Week at Least

2009-03-06T23:37:00.001-05:00

I guess it’s true what they say; 4.5 M per for a couple years provides a little kick in the ass. In the case of Tim Connolly, amidst rumors of a possible trade, and many fans calling for the trade, a new contract has proved just that.

While only two games after the trade deadline, and dangerously close to must win territory, they’re 2-0. In those two games, the Sabres have notched 10 goals giving up only 2. Lalime as not only started and won both games, due to Miller’s injury, but has stopped 67 shots. That doesn’t bode well for Buffalo’s D, but I’ll take 2 goals on 67 shots any day!

Connolly meanwhile has two goals and three assists in the same time. Not too shabby for a guy who was unsure of his future only a few days ago.

With seven teams within five points of each other in the playoff race, every win is crucial as it seems the competition not letting off.

NHL Network, NHL Not-work?

2009-03-03T18:49:00.000-05:00

There are some things I don’t understand when it comes to the folks running the NHL...well, a lot of things. We’ve seen a lot of fans talking of contraction, shifting teams, bringing back old teams, etc. All good ideas if you ask me.

One of the major issues I have is their selling the game. Better yet, how they’re not selling the game. I actually like the NHL games on VS. I think they do a fine job; I’ve become accustomed to the corny-ness of the set, etc. It’s better than a few years ago on FOX with the dumbass robots, which everyone knows and loves.

The reason for my post today is that the NHL has its own channel yet only shows games every few days. Why is it that on a night that 12 games are going to be played, zero of them will be shown on the NHL network? There’s NHL Live and about four hours of NHL on the fly. While I like NHL on the fly, where they’ll hit on every game, I believe it would benefit more to show actual games. There’s no excuse to not show a live game every single night one is played.

I’m a huge college basketball fan, so I don’t mind that any given night Jan-Mar, I have the choice of anywhere from two to four games on various channels. In a dream world, I would have a hockey game on every night too! I won’t go so far as to wish for a choice...yet.

NHL Network...get with the program!

NCAA Superstar Treatment...Does it Exist?

2009-03-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

A recent post by a faithful Duke fan has prompted me to give my unsolicited two cents on the subject of preferential treatment to a handful of NCAA teams, the “basketball” schools if you will.

I always find it funny when people refuse to recognize the real truth usually only when you’re team is one of discussion.

In my previous article, I point out the NCAAs fault in allowing a so called "hurt" player who happens to be a superstar player, who happens to be a 60% free throw shooter get subbed out for an 80% shooter at the time of a critical foul in the last minute of a two point game. Preferential treatment? I don’t know, maybe just a loophole in the system. But would they have allowed Kyle McAlarney to shoot for Tory Jackson in the same situation AGAINST UConn? YES, since there’s no rule against it, but the difference is, it would have been pasted all over the front pages, ESPN and other outlets would have publicized the outrage on how the lowly Irish scammed the system to sure up a win against the poor #2 Huskies. In this case, I think my crappy blog is the only written word of the incident.

I digress…

If you think preferential treatment does not exist whether consciously or not, you are living in a dream world folks. There are a handful special teams in the league, one of which IS Duke, that get these calls. I don't go so far to say "all the calls" that's ridiculous. I do however believe that when it comes down to a call being made in the split second to make it, the call will always go to those teams. "Tyler Hansbrough under the rim could never put up a poop shot, he must have been fouled there...whistle..." (These are the thoughts going through the mind of a ref in a fraction of a second"

It's not a conscious decision, it's a reaction to the outcome of a moment on the court, not actually processing whether or not a foul or NO foul has taken place. For the sake of explanation I call this a tie, to use the baseball analogy, and the tie always goes to the aforementioned special teams. Just to name a few: Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Connecticut, Georgetown, and Syracuse, Louisville... (not to mention any team playing Notre Dame ;-)

On top of those teams is the "superstar" treatment some receive. Names such as Hansbrough, Griffin, Thabeet, Meeks, Texas players in Big 12 play, etc, (even my boy Harangody sometimes...not really). Those guys and like players will always get the benefit of the doubt. It's just natural... but very unfortunate. But to say it doesn't exist is just a little naive.

To Flop, or Not to Flop...Irish Lose Close One

2009-03-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

In my previous post, I thought there is nothing worse for an Irish fan than considering their road ahead. I was wrong. There is something much worse. That is watching a University of Connecticut home game. There is not much more detestable a place in the league. I’m not talking about the facilities; I’ve never been. Nor have I been to Storrs, CT. I’m talking about the all out ridiculousness UConn gets away with.

I know what the thoughts will be, “Of course, Irish lose and you scream ‘bad officiating’.” That’s probably a valid point in most cases. For the sake of argument though, I’ll try to pry the homer goggles off for a second and break down a couple of points.

First, are the calls and non-calls. When viewing a game, it’s natural to believe your team is getting the shaft, I know I always do. But I’ll just look at the statistics first. UConn had 13 blocked shots...13! Okay, I get it, they have a 7 footer, who’s a blocker. But my problem is 13 blocked shots with 7 personal fouls. Seven personal fouls, in 40 minutes, that’s unheard of in most games. The commentators stated they don’t have to commit fouls because they know they can block shots. What a bunch of bollocks! The fact is, I’d say 50% of those, were legit blocked shots, heck, I’ll give them 60%, which would put them right around their average. But I will not accept the fact they have they have the second best blocks per game average and near, if not at, the top of the list for least penalized. I throw the BS flag on that.

My second beef is with Thabeet. His antics in the last minute were the most revolting thing I’ve seen all season. While it may be legal, it’s dirty. The NCAA should take a hard look at the rule, or lack there of. To flop, sit out, and let an 80% free throw shooter take the shots... Calhoun and your 800 wins, shove it! I have zero respect for you and that call. In a moment where those free throws basically locked up your victory. To call it unsportsmanlike is an insult to unsportsmanlike! Calhoun and Thabeet, shame on you both.

And that’s all I have to say about that.
GO IRISH!

Irish Basketball...the Remaining Few

2009-02-27T21:50:00.000-05:00

I don’t know that there’s anything worse, as an Irish fan, to look at the remaining schedule and see @ (2) UConn, (10) Villanova and St. Johns at home. St. Johns of course dealt Notre Dame a blow near the start of Big East play. I also don’t know that there’s anything the Irish need less than three must wins at the ass end of the season. Unfortunately for all of us, that’s what they’ve got. The ugly fact is every single team in the Big East was dealt a turd sandwich this season, so Notre Dame’s final three is truly not much worse than any given Big East team.

Another unfortunate fact is that the few teams with more favorable remaining schedules are the few teams ahead of the Irish. Cincy finishes up with Syracuse, USF, and Seton Hall. West Virginia has USF, DePaul, and Louisville. Syracuse’s remaining three possibly favors that slim chance of assisting the Irish with Cincy, Rutgers, and Marquette, but it is ‘Cuse, and we all know how that goes. Providence ends up with Rutgers and Villanova. Yet another problem is that Cincy, West Virginia, and Syracuse all beat Notre Dame earlier so that renders a tie worthless.

The good news, though, is that those conference records are 9-7, (3x) 8-7, and Notre Dame at 7-8. There’s not much room for error, but that proves to be the similar fate of all the aforementioned teams.

The formula is rather easy. WIN. There’s not much else they can do. I will never make a prediction, but I will say a W tomorrow would rank among the NCAA’s upsets of the year. There’s no better time to stroke a little ‘Irish Luck’ than tomorrow afternoon!

Layin' A Buck O' Three - The Hard Way...

2009-02-22T00:08:00.000-05:00

Just a few hours before I watched Michael Finley and Roger Mason drain 10 of the Spurs’ 13 three pointers from 6 rows up, Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney drained 11 of the Irish’s 13 tres in Providence today. The two combined for 53 as the Irish put up a bill for only the second time this season, the other being back in early December against powerhouse South Dakota. I think its safe to say if the boys play as they did today and even more so how they did against Louisville a few games ago, they should have a good chance at a low bid in March. The schedule is favorable playing Rutgers at home, at UConn, then finish up with Villanova and rematch with St. Johns at home. Of course anything is possible in the Big East.

Just What the Digger Ordered...

2009-02-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

Of course any chance at a lame play on words including the great Digger Phelps, I’ve got to take it. Last night the Irish had the chance to loose eight straight for the first time since Digger was boss. They failed to capitalize. With the exception of beating up Texas earlier, this was by far the most satisfying beat-down this season. There are two points of emphasis, which I believe warrant improvement. One, they were unable to lay a bill on the Cards, and two, beating Pitino by 40 would be much sweeter than by 33. Mike Brey and the fellas should remember this for next season, or better yet, the Big East Tournament shall they meet again.

Major football announcment today, Chucklebuck Weis will also consume the role of Offensive Coordinator in 2009. This is an interesting move...not at all! This seems to be consistent with the long list of gimmicky moves Weis seems to invent. In the past, I wouldn’t have hesitated for a second believing the genius-ness was far too complicated for my feeble mind to understand, because of course, as everyone knows, we’re talking about the offensive guru Coach Weis. Over the mind numbing attempts to contemplate these decisions over the past couple seasons, it’s become evident I’m either just too dumb to understand them, or these war plans are maybe more like connect the dots with missing numbers rather than detailed schematics of brilliance in the form of offensive innovation. Me thinks they just no worky. Please prove me wrong for once, but I gotta believe we may be at the last ditch effort for changing up the titles and coaching lineups here. I also read there may be another inbound NFL-er to fill the defensive line coach position. My opinion on that another time... but hey... Te’o is still Irish right? Hell yes he is!

When Name Alone is Not Enough...

2009-02-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

Then what? What happens in a world where the words Notre Dame football flirt with irrelevancy? Are we living in that unfortunate reality now? How long does a National Championship coach retain his job? 5 years... 10 years... lifetime membership in the ‘Jolly of the Month’ club? Ask Lloyd Carr, or Phillip Fulmer rather. The pattern shows that Bob Stoops is next! What about for a program? How long without a championship can a college football program consider itself among the elite? Assuming of course championships are not only desired, but expected. The real question is, when a coach has neither a recently minted ring and a case displaying trophies etched with dates older than the recruit, what then does he sell to the kid? What can the coach hang is hat on? The Willingham school of ‘Notre Dame 5 stars will come to me’ was a proven failure and certainly would not work now. That idea may very well have worked in the days of Devine and Parseghian. They had the checks that Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy wrote in the decades before. The parents of those recruits lived the glory years, so yeah, Notre Dame football sold itself. What does Weis have to sell? What makes a Manti Te’o, or Jelani Jenkins, or Byron Moore choose Notre Dame over Southern California, Texas, Oklahoma, or Florida? While I love the snow and sub freezing temperatures, I can understand it’s not much of a selling point compared to the hotspots of the south. While I like attractive, smart, and maybe little nerdy type of a woman, I can appreciate the differences between the women of South Bend, Indiana and coastal California. And while given the choice now between being pushed passed my comfort level to achieve my maximum potential, and maybe getting to half that point with little or no effort, at 18, I certainly would have chosen the path of least resistance. (Not to mention maybe my pops get a new house close to my school...unofficially of course) So is the promise of a supreme education, strict enforcement of rules, and crummy weather enough to sway the decision of young Te’o; time has yet to tell? Or is the lure of Rockne’s ghost yet significant enough to still sign top recruits year after year with a championship-less coach and no NC in the past 20 years?

February 4th could not come fast enough...

Irish Updates

2008-12-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

Once again Friday night the Irish women dominated anyone who steps onto Alumni Field, beating Florida State 2-0. Schuveiller and Knaack both scored with Kerri Hanks assisting both. They’ll face Stanford in the Final Four Friday at 330 CST. The game should be aired on ESPN2. Stanford is 22-1-1 and of course the Irish are 25-0. Watch the game!!!

Irish basketball improving their home winning streak beat up on Furman without the big man Sunday afternoon. The streak is now 39 wins, which is a new record! McAlarney drained 9 threes, enough said! He’s got 32 threes in six games this season. South Dakota tomorrow night. How about the women’s basketball, now 6-0, rolled up on ranked Michigan State as well this weekend. Men’s hockey is now number one for only the third time in history!!! Right now the Irish have 6 teams in top 25 rankings and 4 breaking top ten!

Watch the Brey and the boys play South Dakota today online 630 CST! Women play Eastern Michigan at 6 as well... GO IRISH!!!

Weekly Steamers

2008-12-02T08:07:00.000-05:00

This weekend, my Steamers go out to Mizzou, Oregon State, and of course, Notre Dame. I didn’t watch the entire Border War, or as our pussified society now must call it, the Border Showdown, but I did watch most of it. The lack of defense was evident but consistent with Big 12 play this season. Mizzou wins because they rolled down the field to score after letting Kansas score within 5 minutes but left a buck fifty on the clock. Not only that, they let Reesing march down and toss an egg to a wide open Meier to score once again leaving UM only a few seconds of desperation play. A great game, but Missouri should have pulled that one out. Oregon State had the chance to lock up the Pac-10 and secure a BCS Rose Bowl bid to play Penn State. All they had to do was win the Civil War at home this year and failed miserably. 800+ yards of offense they allowed! They controlled their own destiny and flushed it right down the pooper! I never expected Notre Dame to win, even if Weis was pleading for believers all week. I’ve been a homer all year, but I know a sure loss when I see one. What I did expect is that Charlie would not be out coached once again as he was the week before at home, at senior day, against Syracuse! I did expect to see a first down in the first half. I did expect for them to at least cover the spread, which was a record 30 points. Guess what they did.... laid a big fat turd where they used to play football. Pathetic is the only word I can use. How about the second worse loss in history, only second to last year’s drumming. They scored three points and gained less than a hundred yards. Jimmy threw for...wait for it...41 yards! They did not get a first down until almost the forth quarter. To top it all off this weekend, Cincinnati, who had locked up the Big East already, beat up Syracuse 30-10 this week when they had virtually nothing to play for bud pride. At least someone cares to beat teams they’re supposed to beat. Just for that, Notre Dame gets an extra steamer!

Is There Anything Left to Defend – The Charlie Weis Era?

2008-11-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

I don’t know that there are any redeeming qualities about the play of our beloved Irish anymore. I’ve read for the past 5 years about how Tyrone Willingham destroyed the program and how Bob Davie started an era of losing and how Charlie Weis was to turn it all around. At what cost, more importantly, at what time is this transition going to occur? If I were a betting man, well, I’d put my wallet away...’cause it just ain’t happening. The argument was made for the off field improvements Willingham made which no one can discredit. I believe he had the highest graduation rates ever. And through it all, as conservative as he was, he was a stand up guy, even after a winless U Dub season. Guess what, that and 50 cents will get you a coke when it comes to saving your job as head football coach at the University of Notre Dame. It’s about winning football games. It’s about beating our rivals. It’s about upholding tradition. It’s about bringing National Championships to South Bend! He was cut loose. So lets talk about winning. Bob Davie’s Notre Dame coaching career ended with a .583 winning percentage. Tyrone Willingham’s was cut short with a .583 winning percentage. Before Saturday Charlie Weis’ winning percentage was, you guessed it, .583. Now he holds the sole third turd position at .571 behind Joe Kuharich and Gerry Faust at 1 and 2 respectively.

So how can anyone in an official capacity support Weis’ continuance with a worse record than his past two predecessors? Davie had a 30-19 record at this point in his career. Weis is 28-21. Willingham didn’t even get a forth year to worsen his record. Records aside, from what I can remember, Davie’s and Willingham’s losses were not as bad as the ones we’ve witnessed over the past two years.

I look at virtually every other major college football program and changes they’ve made in the past which led to their recent success. While there are a few more recruiting restrictions and maybe a few more challenges that come with the job, there’s no conceivable reason Notre Dame should not be able to have a coaching staff which breeds success and produces championship caliber teams year in and year out. It’s an unfortunate decision Swarbrick has to make, but a necessary one nevertheless. I’m not talking about the decision as to whether to keep Weis, but to choose the next boss. I’ve never heard of forth time’s a charm, but let’s hope that is indeed the case.

New Winning Traditions

2008-11-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

It’s time to get out of your box and support your Notre Dame winning programs right now! If you call yourself a Notre Dame fan, you should know that the 24-0 ladies soccer team is now playing in the elite eight in their tourney against Florida State. If they pull out another win at home they’ll play either Stanford or Portland which is no joke either way.

Mike Brey and crew proved last night they are legit but have little time to relish in a close win against Texas as they face #1 North Carolina tonight. They pretty much handled Texas with no problems with the exception of the last 30 seconds where they let Abrams shoot easy threes to make it close. The game was really not a one point game though.

So watch the friggin game tonight! Support the other teams who are actually winning right now.

The Lone Steamer, Notre Dame v. Syracuse

2008-11-26T15:03:00.000-05:00

There are just no words in the English dictionary to explain the loss to Syracuse at home. If there ever was a sure thing, even more so than USC’s 29-½ point favor this weekend, it was Notre Dame to beat a 2-8 Syracuse at home. Everything pointed to a Notre Dame win; Gregg Robinson’s departure at season’s end, dome team playing outside in 20 degree weather, Notre Dame coming off of a squeaker to Navy where they should’ve won big, oh yeah, and how about Syracuse’s 2-8 record! Does it seem every week there’s some sort of reprehensible event which unfolds? Once again play calling and Jimmy Clausen’s play prove to be counterproductive at best. This loss more than any this season is unacceptable and now I cannot help but to sit my ass on the back bumper of the Fire Charlie Bandwagon.

Lou Holtz anybody? More on that later!!!

So this week, Notre Dame football gets the only weekly steamer award, albeit a few days late, it’s theirs alone. The one game I get to at South Bend was the one game I was sure to see a win...thanks for letting me down!

Returning to Glory, Episode II: The Fans

2008-11-20T08:29:00.000-05:00

It is my nature to not only bitch and complain about more things than not, but I’ll also suggest alternatives and solutions. In this and subsequent episodes, I’ll offer some of my keen observations and what should be done if the program will ever truly return to glory.

There’s something to be said for fan attitude. My Saturday’s pretty much revolve around college football, which revolves around the weekly Notre Dame installment. We sit here and watch at least a few minutes of every game aired as well. Every week I realize that Notre Dame fans, while probably superior in sheer numbers across the country, are far inferior in attitude. I watched the Penn State v. Michigan white out game in envy. It seems every single fan in attendance is committed to making that place a friggin’ nuthouse. I was at Kyle Field to see the Aggies beat Army and let me tell you, even in a down year against a mediocre opponent, those fans bring it, week in and week out. Every home game is a maroon-out and is pretty damned impressive!

Why is it I always feel like I’m the youngest Notre Dame fan around? I know that’s not the case, but what do we get to see on TV…Regis Philbin and those two fossils calling the home games on the Notre Dame channel. Regis pumps me up! When I want to get fired up, I think about the toughness of Regis and want to smash somebody’s skull in! There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of asshole to show every once in a while. I’m afraid of what type of signs I’ll see if College Gameday ever makes it to South Bend. I’m not saying Notre Dame fans don’t get fired up. But when I read about intimidating joints to play in, we always here about the same stadiums and never one in South Bend. To change, it starts with us! Leave grandma at home and bring your ballzack instead!

Clausen Critique

2008-11-18T12:24:00.000-05:00

I’m going to take a moment and dive into minutiae-ville for a few and discuss some things about young Jimmy Clausen that has bothered me this season. While these points are all small by themselves, taken as a whole, they damage the offense’s productivity.

First is the play action compared to the hand-off. What is the point of play action? In most cases, its to make the defensive backfield commit to the run play, to dupe them into making that step forward where once they realize it’s not a run, they’re out of sync and hopefully out of the coverage pattern. In a pro-style offense the play action pass is a pivotal piece and selling the fake-me-out hand off is paramount. When a run is dialed up, look at how Clausen does it. He sticks his arm way out with one hand holding the ball to hand it off to whomever, whether it be run up the gut or off tackle, whatever. Okay fine, what’s wrong with that? Nothing other than you can tell it’s all the way and it always is. Now a proper play action would be to utilize the same mechanics but instead of handing it off, he pulls it back in last second to his gut, holds for a split second and hits an open Tate or Floyd down the sidelines. This is not how it happens though. Clausen’s play action move is to double hand the ball and barely stick it out for a fraction of a second, while the back barely sells the handoff either. It doesn’t fool anyone anytime.

The next point is obvious…he’s staring down his receivers all too often. In the beginning of the season, he did very well moving the ball around to everyone. For some reason now he’s looking at Floyd or looking down Tate and that’s it. Once he realizes defenses are hip to that game (those two for the long ball), he’s almost at a loss and lately either throws it away because he spent too long staring at them, or he tries to force it which ends up as a pickle. Kumara has had some hiccups, but he’s still 6-5 and he’s got the talent. Tate and Floyd are obvious playmakers, and Grimes and Paris are great 3rd receivers complimenting Kumara. Rudolph, even if a rook, has shown he’ll have Fasano/Carlson hands down field as well. Basically…mix it up and don’t stare them down.

Third point, for God’s sake man running out of bounds for a two yard gain is better than chucking the ball to the cheap seats. We all know you’re not a running QB; we saw your frustration this week and some Navy clown almost ripped your head off. I’m not saying, although I’d love it, you have to put your pads down and rip off a few extra after contact. But sweet Jesus, you don’t have to toss the ball up to the cheerleaders because your there’s 8 in coverage. Even every once in a while, the 6.4/40 will get you a couple yards!

My final point, clock/timeout management, it’s some of the worst I’ve ever seen. There is no conceivable reason why you should have to burn a timeout in the first few minutes. If you see an odd coverage, call an audible to counter and roll with it. If it’s busted play, so be it, but you’ve got to manage those timeouts a little better.

Now I understand Clausen is still young, I get that. The real problem I have is that these are all very coachable offenses and doing so is supposed to be Charlie’s wheelhouse. I’m no expert by any stretch of any imagination, but I can see these flaws that I believe hurt the offense over the course of a game, and when the team plays a bunch of squeakers, a few botched plays makes a difference.

Just Another Couple Days at the Office...

2008-11-17T18:39:00.000-05:00

The Irish women advanced to the third round after a squeaker past Michigan State 1-0! Once again, Rose Augustin scoring first, and last, in the 73rd minute. They will play Minnesota, probably on Friday.

So something must be in the South Bend water lately…at least this past weekend. Irish hockey remains unbeaten for the 6th straight game. The women’s hoops start off their season beating ranked LSU and the men lay the wood to South Carolina Upstate.

I was a little worried about a number nine start to the season, but that soon disappeared as Harangody and crew were back at their normal business. It’s hard not to have high expectations this season. The past two years, although no one expected that much, were still huge disappointments. They were better than Winthrop and better than Wazzu if you ask me. This year they’ve got the target on their back so we’ll see how they handle it. Regardless, they looked damned good today. I really didn’t see anything that concerned me, even if Upstate kept it close in the 1st half. The Luke’s were unstoppable as Harangody laid out 30 and 14, and Zeller was 4-6 from behind the arc with 18 pts. and 5 boards. 50% shooting, 25 assists and 42 rebounds, good start to the season.

A couple of hoops notes, I’m not a fan of the three-point line change. The problem is my 3 pt. shot percentage, which up until now was a respectable 11.3%, may take a hit this season. I expect my shot will be off a bit during this adjustment period. Now if they could just go with the 9 ½ foot basket, I could slam on some fools!

Weekly Steamers

2008-11-15T22:26:00.000-05:00

Every week I’ll give you my take on the week’s biggest turds.

1. Michigan Wolverines – Rich Rod and his wonderful spread offense now owns the record for most losses in a season for our storied rivals. 129 seasons! Ironic…I see a 3-9 record in your very near future.

2. Notre Dame special teams – After scoring the first touchdown off of a blocked punt you never cease to amaze as you allow not one, but TWO onsides kicks in the last minute and a half of the game. I’ve actually never seen anything like it. But buck up…you will be exemplified for years to come when teams feel they have no chance in hell to come back two scores in the last minute…”but remember when Navy got two in a row!”

3. The referees in every USC game – No surprise here. Every week they’re always good for a few missed calls, drive extending calls, and always a couple of game-changing non-calls.

4. Billy Gillespie and the UK basketball team – Good job preparing all off season there Billy. You left the Aggies high and dry only to coach better talent to a worse record. Nothing like starting off the season right, just like last season…with a defensive epic FAIL! Oh Billy Billy Billy, Ashley and Adolph disapprove…

5. Troy State Trojans - You make me re-type this entry as I had LSU zingers ready to roll. You go up 31-3 only to quit and allow a 29 pt. 4th. Seriously. In your defense, the game wasn't televised here in the Republic, so I wasn't able to witness the usual Les Miles shadyness always present in Baton Rouge.

6. I think every single week the Bowl Championship Series will cap my list. As my five month anticipation of the greatest tournament in all sports rises, I can only dream of the day when the big shots will chuck it up as a loss and move on. Playoffs are inevitable. How many more Debacle Years do we have to endure for you to realize it just doesn’t work?

Congrats to you all. Instead of success, you laid a giant growler in it’s place.

Notre Dame v. Navy thoughts

2008-11-15T14:04:00.000-05:00

First Half
I sit here baffled, awed at what I’m forced to witness. It’s like some sort of bizarro world. It is unbelievable to me that a team which snapped your 40+ year winning streak would not be punished to submission. Some observations...

First and foremost Clausen’s confidence is in the toilet right now. Ever since the North Carolina pickle to start the second half he has not been the same. I don’t have the answer, but I do know, whatever the staff is doing with him right now is not working. If this continues, how long before we see a change? At what point of liability is enough to sit him down?

The play calling once again is atrocious. I saw three third down conversion possibilities squashed from poor play calls. Robert Hughes is not an outside runner. He’s not going to turn the corner on anyone; he just doesn’t have the speed. 3rd and 4, and they run Jimmy Clausen keeper? I’m speechless. And for God’s sake, out of a timeout, they line up in a goofy direct snap play? WTF is that about?

Any other team and this would be blowout already. There’s not much else to say.

Second Half and My Conclusion...

Well, the second half started off a little better. But it’s what they should have done. I’m not all that impressed when you do what you’re supposed to which is beat a cream puff Navy team. Okay, some observations…

They ran the ball well, but again, I expected them too. It was obvious CW chose to deal with Clausen by taking him off the front burner and have them run the ball all game. I’m not sure that’s what he needs, and like I said above, I don’t know what the right answer is now, but I do know it ain’t whatever they’re doing. And I also know, there's a 6-4 230 lb. freshman waiting for his chance too!

I’m a Golden Tate fan all the way. This guy has all of the intangibles and obviously what it takes to be a superstar…but not on the return team. I don’t know what spurred that decision, but it sucks. Reverse it immediately.

I’m all for good sportsmanship. I hate to see teams like Oklahoma and USC consistently lay up 70 spots on mediocre opponents; it’s a joke. But as a coach, I would like to have more than a three-possession cushion. Especially with dodgy special teams play and 10 friggin’ minutes left. If you think any team in the nation cannot score three TD’s in 10 minutes…well, you’ve got shit for brains. And that move to play second team players with 10 minutes left and in the red zone is a shit-for-brains move. Pound the score in, go up four scores, then play to run the clock out. It almost cost two games now!!!

There are just no words that can explain losing two onsides kicks in the last minute-30. For the sake of saving my four letter expressions for the USC game, I have nothing to say about it right now.

Either way, they get a win. But I will say this. I hope they get their shit together before going to Cali. While I certainly don’t expect a win, I hope as always, to not see a massacre. F.U.S.C. – GO IRISH!

Let's talk about chicks man...

2008-11-15T00:36:00.000-05:00

After winning another Big East Championship, the undefeated Irish women’s soccer team is now making their run at their third national title. The home-unbeaten streak is now at 2 million games after beating the University of Toledo Rockets 5-2. Carrie Dew was first on the board in the 7th minute. Rose Augustin followed with a pair of goals in three minutes in the 13th and 16th. Melissa Henderson and Erica Iantorno capped off the Irish scoring in the 36th and 77th respectively. They’ll face Michigan State this Sunday at home once again. A little HD coverage here in Texas would be nice!

Other business...
The men’s team lost a close game to USF unfortunately, 2-1, who will play St. Johns for the Big East title.

Mike Brey and the fellas will tip off the season at home defending their, now 37 game, home win streak against USC Upstate Spartans. While most D-1 programs schedule their first few games against tomato cans, you can never underestimate anyone. Ask Billy Gillespie what he thinks about Gardener-Webb last year and…wait for it…wait for it…Virginia Military Institute about creampuffs! Preseason preparation is paramount…how does it go, Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Muy importante senor! Nevertheless, Coach Brey will have his guys ready to roll.

A Little Home Cookin'

2008-11-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the University of Buffalo Bulls, who are now bowl eligible for the first time since 1958. Their 4 OT win over the ole Akron Zips put them over the 6 win mark. Whether or not they get a bid is yet to be determined, regardless if they win out or not, they are certainly worthy if you ask me. Coach Turner Gill has turned that program up-side down and unfortunately (for UB) will most likely move on in the very near future, as his name has been tossed around for a few of the coaching vacancies this season. According to Wiki, the Bulls were invited to the Tangerine Bowl in 1958, but refused the bid due to the fact their black players would not have been eligible to play. Right now, they are holding down first place in the MAC’s Eastern Division with two games remaining. Watch out for the new D-1 powerhouse folks!

Returning to Glory, Episode I: What does this really mean?

2008-11-14T08:36:00.000-05:00

The fact is Notre Dame fans were spoiled during a majority of the Lou Holtz era. I believe if you take any of his squads from ’88-’93 and time warp them to recent past seasons, they win 6 consecutive National Championships! Yeah, that’s a homer call; blasphemous to Satan himself, Pete Carroll and all of his evil minions, ala Les Miles, Mack Brown, and Bob Stoops, but those Notre Dame teams trump all we’ve seen through the BCS Debacle Years. But I’ll take off my blue and gold goggles for once and look at the more recent history sans ’88-’93.

Save 1977 of course, you would have to go back to the early 70’s, during Coach Parseghian’s, time to really appreciate the successful storied program we always hear about. And being only 29 years old, that was a little bit before my time. Again with my dodgy math, I’ve added up the wins from ’78-end of Willingham era again leaving out ’88-’93. 133-87-3, or reality to Notre Dame fans, 133-90 is the outcome. That would be an ass-whuppin’ 59% winning percentage over the course of 19 seasons. So, I ask again, what the hell are we talking about when we say “Returning to Glory”? It sounds nice; it sounds a lot better than “attempting to develop a winning season after a string of mediocrity”, but really, the Rock ain’t comin’ back. Last time I looked Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley, and Layden aren’t on the commitment list for 2009. It’s time to stop reveling in the past. It’s time for change, for the future, and for a “New Glory”!

And so it begins...

2008-11-13T18:17:00.000-05:00

The maiden voyage into the mind-numbing nonsense that is this blog.

I think it’s safe to say now that we were all a bit spoiled by a 4-1 start. But rather than point out the obvious flaws right now as well as the many disappointments we’ve had thus far, I figured my first post should remain positive. For some reason my optimism is unwavering even if every week the wind from the Fire Charlie/Bench Jimmy bandwagon passing by is strong enough to blow my hat off. While every Saturday after a tough loss, I may grab the hand of the last fan hanging on to that wagon as it passes by, I release last minute to realize, even after dropping 3 of the last 4, it still ain't that bad. I’ll yet again hope for victory, even if only to keep the Mark Mays of the world quiet for one more week.

While I read the message boards regularly, there are some who refuse to acknowledge, or maybe just don’t realize, or better yet blocked it from memory, where this team was only last year. Assuming they win 2 of 3, which most should agree they should, that would result in a 7-5 season, average I’d say. But a four win improvement over last year. On a team of mostly sophomores and juniors, is it safe to say they could show the same improvement next year? That remains to be seen of course, but that would put them at 11-1 if my dodgy math proves right. The one loss being to BC of course! I quickly dove into some quick stats, just to pull some numbers and decided the results warranted recognition.

2007 2008 +/-
Scoring offense 117 69 -48
Yards per game 120 50 -70
Pass ypg 110 21 -89
Rush ypg 116 95 -21
1st downs 115 43 -28
3rd down conv. 112 66 -46
4th down conv. 45 100 +55
Penalties 67 77 -10 (higher # better)

In all offensive categories with the exception of 4th down conversions the team has significantly improved. Yards per game; they were dead last in ’07, now 50th. Scoring, tied for second to last; now 69th. While there’s no doubting room for improvement, no one can deny the numbers. This is pretty much the same nucleus as 2007, most of who will be here in 2009. At this rate of improvement, they are on track to be a top 20 team in most categories if not better. Ironically, perhaps the best turnaround season was Coach Holtz’s ’99-’00 transition from 0-11 to 8-4, but even if the ’08 season ends up average, wouldn't it be a top five seed for turnaround seasons?