ND officially has bottomed out

I'm sure ND Alum are thanking their lucky stars they didn't hire Bill Callahan. Of course, they did ink a 10-year deal with CW.

I hear in the upper echelons of Wisconsin, the lumberjacks (and any other real man) snort their shots of whiskey. So, how difficult is it to snort a jello shot, Roman?

You also missed the battle of the undefeateds. All I saw was the Patriots getting beat all game, but when I looked up at the score after the game was over I realized that the Patriots actually won. If Hester doesnt' work out here, I'd love to see him play for the Colts. He'd be a cool counter to Mr. Welker.

Roman responds: No, I did see that game. I don't see the Pats going undefeated.

On the last blog I was wrong for saying that Peyton choked. He did well inspite of missing a good receiver and his starting LT. Honestly, Pats have to come better than that. No, they won't go undefeated because they have a lot of old guys who won't make it through a whole season. Also,Moss was alligator-arming a few passes. I thought he was rejuvenated but it won't last. Funny,how his old coach thought that he had lost his legs when in all actuality he must've been only quitting on his team. Billichek is a tough old boy and maybe he'll find a way to keep the man-child in CHEK. I just don't have any faith in Randy. Weis is going to keep getting a pass because there are too many excuses that they were accepting to begin with. Remember the best one that those are Ty's guys and he's just trying to make pee into fine wine.

Great!!!!!!!!!
Let them eat Charlies salary.
Could not have happen to better university.

Somewhere, Ty Willingham is smiling.

Weis is making him look good; ... real good.

Bottomed out? I'm not too sure about that. The way they are playing there might be another loss or two on the remaining schedue.

ND game was the bomb! I saw it all! Ty was treated terribly and they made a huge PR blunder that they now must ride out. They are going to give Charlie the genious all the time he needs and they will spiral downward until the recruiting picks up. I rooted for NAVY as if they were at actual war! Charlie is like Curly of the three stooges and I want to see how much damage he can do before ND admits they were WRONG! Charlie could spray paint his name across the dome right now and they would shrug it off.

Brady has a pair and Peyton is still self-checked when it comes to the Pats. Keylan is right! Colts had that locked up. They sold out! And that is the sign for me that the Pats will run the table. If you can win the ones you are supposed to lose then its just your year.

Roman I am glad you and your lady went out and enjoyed life! Thats what um talking bout.

Disregarding the field goal was one thing (I probably would have done the same to burn more clock, seeing as Notre Dame couldn't stop them worth a lick) but that last two point attempt call was Ron Turneresque all the way. This guy's no Guru, just a recipient of the N.E. system and Tom Brady. It's tough to win games when you lose in the trenches on both sides of the ball, but don't throw gas on the fire with bonehead decisions, ESPECIALLY in the Golden Dome world.

There was a time in the seventies where I actually despised Notre Dame athletics. They had to be one of the luckiest sports institutions I had ever seen, not to mention the fact they were always in the thick of things and I loved to see the wealth shared. Now I feel sorry for their alumni who have to be one of the most loyal in all of college sports.

Luck has nothing to do with it now.

Roman responds: Doesn't look like Brady's missing him much, either.

He took a gamble on the highest rated Frosh QB in 15 years...and the kid didnt produce.

Its not my Grandpa's ND anymore....first of all, they allow Girls now..and didnt when he was there...or my GreatGrandpa...but....he did meet my Grandma (st.marys), secondly....they should be trying to recruit those cold weather kids instead of the Florida/southern kids. Those kids hate SouthBend.

More Chicago Locals....

I live(stuck) in Wisconsin, and I do not watch the packers' games-unless the Bears are playing them. So, why should you? You should have declined the first two shots. Please don't try to fit in...we need all the support we can get. We got a club that gets one tv for the Bears @ the Bar(when they are blacked out here). Without our resistance, that never would have happened. Don't give in to the unassuming-think it's a friendly rivalry-Packer backers! Of course....going to Door County.....you're already a 'sellout' . I'm surprised you met anyone from Wisconsin there...let alone see the Packers game on the T.V.

Bad as Notre Dame is, the networks still televise their games instead of Big Ten games that would attract more viewers. Though I'm from Indiana originally, I do not understand the Notre Dame mystique. Happily, the Big Ten network is now available, and we people in Big Ten country can opt out of the Notre Dame debacles.Watching the Indiana basketball game for an early look at some of their freshmen was sheer pleasure.
Go Bears and surprise everybody, including me.

November in Door Co.? I'm betting most were natives. Do you even know what was in those shots bro? Stick to the bottled beer up there.

Weis gets one year of development in my book. He was given upperclassmen and did OK although he couldn't beat SC. If next year we have more of the same: axe him. I think that he is a decent coach, its hard to make good decisions with a crap team, nearly every choice you make is wrong. Why they have a crap team is another question, or do they not have a crap team and they are just young? A good coach should be able to steer a young non crap team a little better then he is doing.

I say give the dude one more year. It's not a bad team. Navy's got a crushing running game right? ;p Of course if they lose to SC again next year you might have my vote to can him immediately following the game.

And they are the luckiest team in football, so what, someone has to be, having said that; if they get a bowl bid this year because if it, even my eyes will pop out.

Roman responds: You're right about the shots. Should have played it safe.
But why can't Weis at least be held accountable for the fact his team isn't improving over the course of this season? I mean, he gets a TOTAL free pass?

Did you swing by the Blue Ox?

Roman responds: Nope, had dinner at Mission Grille and went to Husbys for a few drinks. It was a good weekend.

You know Roman, if the Pats go undefeated until the last game of the season (which I believe they will) and the Giants are only one up on someone, I think Billichek plays his starters for one half for two reasons;

1) He has something to prove after getting his hands caught in the cookie jar, and going undefeated will do just fine.

2) He's going to use the gentlemans' crede of fielding a team to not just HAND that spot to the Giants (Even though it's really #1 that drives him).

They don't have the 'D' of the 85' Bears but I've not seen a team as solid since.

Barring a major injury, and scenario setting in place, I say they go undefeated. Brady will use that one half to manhandle N.Y. and Manning and Sorgi will be total equals in the second half.

Does New England even have a punter?

Charlie Weis, you are who we thought you were.

I turned the ND game on to catch the score....NBC had a list up on schools with the highest graduation rates....Navy, ND, Stanford, Northwestern, etc....(ie...teams that will never again compete)

ND hasn't bottomed out....academics has

Student Athlete is an oxymoron ....and honestly, that's a chance most of these athletes would gladly take

Admissions requirements and Curriculum might finally have to be tailored to these athletes who bring millions to a University...

ND is private...they can do what they want....USC seems to get it (last I checked, USC is a private school)

Ahhhh, the lesser of two evils

The Domers have more national exposure than anyone.... Now, all they need are degrees in highway safety, sports management, etc...

If state schools aren't going to be called on giving athletes BS classes to keep their eligibility......ummmmm?....duh!!

If I offended anyone...I was a college counselor for 4 years...I can offend you "way" worse than this...

but there's your solution to this problem

Roman responds: Interesting you stopped counting at the top four schools, considering Boston College is No. 5 and was ranked second in the BCS until last week. The list I saw was as follows and includes a perennial power in basketball:

1. NOTRE DAME (.818, 18/22)
2. Northwestern (.778, 14/18)
3. Duke (.727, 16/22)
4. Vanderbilt (.667, 8/12)
5. Boston College (.643, 18/28)

Notre Dame winless?

There IS a God. :)

Roman responds: They beat UCLA.

ok then...Boston College Rules!!!

Irregardless....the speed of the game is passing them all by at an average of 4.3 seconds every 40 yards

whats his over all record?

I guess I do give him a total pass this year. It took me a long time to type that. I suppose if he were smug about it I might ask for his head. I am not sure if I knew they were going to be horrible this year, but I have watched each game with upset in mind. As a result of that, the loses have been pretty painless and the UCLA win was extra sweet. I did think that they would beat Navy, they always beat Navy. But, that was the only game that pissed me off all year so far, in the years that they have won the National Championship I can't say that. This is the first time in 6 years the top of my head didn't blow off after the SC game. Least stressful season I have had in many years. So I give him a pass and wait for next year. But before that I hope they can beat Air Force, Duke, and The Cardinal, I will be routing them on in person for that final one.

All that has nothing to do with what should happen I think Jim Rome called for his head today too. I could argue improvement with you all but I admit it would be a hard argument for me; their record kind of speaks for itself. I haven't seen Weis stop trying. I see Chuck winning more than one Championship with the Irish, just not this year. Then again there could be a new guy at the helm next year. Regardless, they will always be Notre Dame, Our Lady therefore God's Team. The luckiest team in the world. You covered them, you know.

Meanwhile for the rest of this season... Go Mizzou?!!!! Great J school.

If you want an indictment of Weiss...just look at Illinois. Zook inherited a much bigger mess than what Ty left Jabba the Coach, and Zook is turning that program around, and doing so with a lot of young players that he recruited. One of the free passes Jabba gets is that "his players are young." Well, Zook is winning while getting quality play from his recruits: Juice (sophomore), Benn (true freshman), Vontae Davis (Soph), McGee as the bullpen (red shirt freshman) and Cortez Wilson (freshman). Not to mention that IL has a fraction of the national spotlight that ND has. Jabba the Coach is bad.

I was at ND in '84 and '85 during the Faust era, and his teams weren't this bad. ND has had more years of mediocrity than most Domers are willing to admit...Holtz had a championship program in '88 and some good years after that but think about it....(I hate to agree w/Jay the Bloviator but here goes)...other than the Holtz era, ND has had a pretty mediocre program for over 20 years. Don't know all the reasons why because I stopped giving them $$ when they doubled the minimum alum donation for the football lottery....there are still people waiting in line to give ND their money and there always will be, it's just the way it is. Who knows what will happen with Charlie? I think it's impossible to predict b/c the university writes and re-writes its own rules of engagement...

Bculz, take heart. Even though ND 'screwed up' by admitting women in the 70s, men (celibate and otherwise) are still the only ones calling the shots there....hmmm.....maybe that explains the current state of affairs...

Roman responds: Good post.

Cold Weather Schools are losing their recruiting edge...with the eXCEPTION of THE Ohio State...

Sweeney, I would like to know who cleans up after you watch the SC/ND games.

I don't think ND will beat Stanford or Air Force. By far, the college football highlight for me this year was watching Stanford beat Blondie Pete and the Trojans.

Fine, Notre Dame is God's Team... their performance over the past several years just proves God has more important things on His mind than football.

Bculz I disagree with you about cold weather schools -- look at U of I this year, and look at Michigan in particular -- they stand to get that McGuffie kid from Texas who is a tremendous athlete (go to any Youtube football segment and you'll see him).

hey Mrs Bubba, get off my back..

first of all, all i was saying, was that my alot has changed since my Gpa was there...not like I was yearning for the days of segragation or something....but..im sure some would love to twist my words up that way....

and....did you really use U of I as an example of a cold weather school? and Michigan.....

do you know that Michigan has has an NFL QB/RB and STARTING WR on every team for the last 15 years......and they havent won NOTHING.

Michigan.....they are pittiful.

Mr. Culz,

I guess we have to be formal here since you called me Mrs. Bubba.

I was teasing you about the old days at Notre Dame;Yyour post was very funny.

U of I is not a cold weather school? Oh, that's right...you have to cross the equator to get there. I need to brush up on my geography; been in the kitchen too long.

Bubba's Mom sez: "Fine, Notre Dame is God's Team... their performance over the past several years just proves God has more important things on His mind than football."
____________________________________________

God has managed to worm His way into almost every locker room in just about every sport; but He seems to pay an inordinate amount of attention to football.

I laugh whenever His disciples give Him all the credit after a hard fought victory, and yet God remains unscathed and blameless in defeat.

Talk about having it both ways.

If God is indeed responsible for a win, it stands to reason that He must have dropped the ball when his chosen ones (the Irish) lay an egg. But nobody ever points the finger at Him.

After a loss I'd give anything to hear one of these Bible toting athletes say, "God really let us down today; He gave us the Holy shaft out there. I won't be going to church on Sunday, and I might even switch religions if He doesn't get His act together."

But how, pray tell, is an athlete supposed to know which deity is the one that will give him the winning edge?

What if he practices the wrong religion and God lays the points against his team?

Or maybe he has the right religion but is a member of the wrong denomination. What will he do if he's a Baptist, and to his chagrin, it turns out that God likes to call himself Vishnu? Do you really think He's gonna forget all about what Coach said to those Hare Krishna’s at the airport? I don't think so.

In my humble opinion, if God really gave a damn about who won or lost, teams with names that use words like "Demons" or "Devils" would never win a game.

Roman responds: Well-crafted.

I would never assume God has a hand in the out come of any sporting event, too many people praying for different outcomes. Way to confusing I am sure.

ND is just God's favorite team. God cheers for them! Just like I do. I am sure the top of Gods head has blown off the last 6 years too I guarantee that God doesn't pull for the University of Spoiled Children.

While we are making fun of this, I cant stand all of Matt Hughes bible thumping on TUF. How did all that work out for him when JSP put the shin to his head? I hope little Matt Serra beats the god out of him. It would be much cooler if Hughes made them do war chants to Ares.

May the Force be with you!

GO ND!

Thank you Roman.

For me, sports have always been a pleasant diversion from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. (I'm a big fan, but not quite a fanatic)

Perhaps this is why I just don't get the "life and death" significance attributed to childrens games being played by a bunch of adults. When players and coaches go so far as to invoke the name of God, thereby implying that He has a vested interest in the outcome of any particular game, it makes me wanna gag.

Personally, I'm a cross between a Deist, and a Theist. But however jaded or abstract my vision of the Almighty happens to be, I do believe in a higher authority.

So it's not that I doubt His existence altogether. I just find it hard to imagine that He actually sat down for interviews with all of the various prophets and scribes that have been quoting Him down through the ages, or that He gives a rat's patootie about LSU wether or not LSU beats Alabama.

And many of these so called quotes must have been taken out of context, because armed with the Word of God, man has been waging war against the Infidels of opposing faiths since the dawn of time; slaughtering each other by the countless millions in His name. Somehow I get the feeling this wasn’t exactly what He had in mind, but if it is, then I respectfully suggest that He quit the lecture circuit and turn over the advice giving duties to Dear Abby.

To see this same crusading mentality manifest itself in the locker room saddens me.

Some of the older and more established religions put forth as proof of their legitimacy, ancient manuscripts, each purporting to be the Creators original operating manual. Every one of these religions claims to be in sole possession of the one and only road map to Heaven, warning that none of us will ever get there, lest we follow their instructions explicitly. According to the vast majority of them, the path to Heaven is a toll road that requires you to deposit a sizeable portion of your income as you pass through the toll plaza; which coincidently, looks ... EXACTLY like their church.

But even if you’re lucky enough to have picked the right religion, paid all the tolls, and obeyed the traffic signals while you were still on Earth, what happens if you take a wrong turn after you leave, and end up in Purgatory?

And if by some miracle you do manage to finally reach the Pearly Gates, what guarantee do you have of actually being allowed inside?

What if they changed the password, (Louie sent me) or the secret handshake? What if the guy you paid all that toll money to, forgot to phone ahead and inform them you were coming? Now what are you going to do, drop a few names and slip the doorman a sawbuck?

And imagine your disappointment if you do make it in, only to discover that everyone you liked went to Hell, and that you’ll be spending eternity chewing the fat with your second grade school teacher.

At that juncture LSU beating Alabama won't be all that important anymore.

What are you talking about? God hates the SEC. Grossmans curse is proof isn't it? I think God does attend the "cocktail party" each year but that's for the orange jello shots not the game God is gone before halftime most years.

God looks exactly like Father Jenkins (ND's Prez) -- You know, that nice looking man who is always laughing...all the way to the bank.

Charlie Weiss is a fraud. In Weiss's first two years at Norte Dame when they made a few BCS bowls they didnt beat a ranked team and got by beating the service schools and bad teams and Weiss was given a lot of credit for this and also turning Brady Quinn into the greatest QB ever. This was all fools gold. This guy keeps getting a free pass for everthing and I just dont understand why. Ty Willingham was all but gone going into his third season but this guy is beloved...I just cant understand why???????

MV.......Get a life. I hope every sporting event now till you leave this earth ends with a participant praising God in victory. That's a lot of gagging. No one said "God wanted us to win". Usually the comment is made to the effect of thanking God for blessing that particular team with a victory, being the inspiration for the effort. If you have a problem with that, it's your problem. Having said that can we get back to the subject - Charlie Weiss being a horrible coach? Nothing but excuses and arrogance.....enough reason to be fired.

I look at it like this...

Whatever gets people through the day. Whatever allows you to pull yourself out of bed....and get up in the morning and face the world..is fine by me. If you need to thank god for it. Awesome! If its your work habit, fear of failure, pride, whatever...not everyone is motivated the same way.

It would be silly for anyone to go around and try to debunk something that by in large causes people to act decent towards each other. Whether the cause is real or contrived, is not the outcome all that matters? (i know that religion has its dark side too), but im talking about by in large).

Now...it is a bit silly that we think we can use MAN MADE WORDS to decsribe the supreme supernatural. A bit egotistical, but that doesnt make it not so.

At the end of the day....jews think christians are going to hell, christians think jews and atheists are going to hell, and thats fine....it when the Muslims think that its their RIGHT to try to send me their.....thats when I have a problem.

Nobody has the right to try to send anyone else to hell.

Think it all you want.....but act on it....and ITS ON.

Democrats unable to bring troops home By ANNE FLAHERTY, YAHOO
Associated Press Writer
13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Nearly a year after anti-war voters put them in power, congressional Democrats remain unable to pass legislation ordering troops home from Iraq. Frustrated by Republican roadblocks, Democrats now plan to sit on President Bush's $196 billion request for war spending until next year — pushing the Pentagon toward an accounting nightmare and deepening their conflict with the White House on the war.

This is leadership? Seems like petty politics to me. Arent you sick of it yet??

Nice win over Duke today!

JC looked solid...last two games. Something to build on.

He certainly looked better than Mallett today!