This has me almost in tears this morning...
From Ivan Maisel's "3-Point Stance" this morning...
1. On the day before 10-year-old Montana Mazurkiewicz, named for Joe, died of brain cancer Friday, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis visited him and let him call the first play vs. Washington. Even from the Irish 1, Weis sent in Montana's pass. Brady Quinn completed it. Yesterday, Montana's family got a game ball. God bless Charlie Weis.
A few half-time stats:
Irish lead 12-3.
First downs: ND leads 17-9
Turnovers: Wash leads 2-0
Total Offense: ND leads 246-231
Time of Possession: Irish 17:39, Wash 12:21
Quinn: 15-21, 146 yards.
Walker: 11 rushes, for 73 yards.
Samardzija: 5 catches for 62 yards
Fasano: 3 catches for 33 yards
Well, it only took me until about the end of the 1st quarter to find WLS-AM radio out of Chicago for a live stream of the game broadcast. Listening to it now through iTunes.
About 10 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. ND and Washington are tied, 3-3.
Quinn is 10-14 with 87 yards.
Walker has 44 yards on 7 attempts.
Bummer... looks like the game isn't on TV locally.. so we'll be treated instead to VA Tech vs. GA Tech. Lovely. According the ABC's coverage map, it looks like everyone from San Diego to the northern tip of Maine will be watching the ND game.. while we in the southeast corner of the country will get our regional game.
In past years, I think the local ABC affiliate has been so overrun with phone calls that they've decided to change the feed. Maybe that'll happen again. But I won't hold my breath.
So instead, I guess I'll be listening to the streaming radio broadcast, if I can find it.
Pretty mellow this morning. Was up late last night watching BattleStar Galactica (Oh my! "Pegasus" might be the best episode so far!).. and Bryce was pretty restless during the night. So forgive me if I'm not my exuberant self for gameday today.
Still reeling from yesterday's loss... I couldn't believe my eyes when Teague when scampering into the end-zone in Overtime...
Then again, I couldn't believe that the Irish came back from a 3-touchdown deficit to tie the game in the 4th quarter.
Makes the loss all the more heartbreaking.
Quinn threw for close to 500 yards and five touchdowns...
And Samardzija caught three touchdowns..
But, as Weis said after the game,
"I'm not a stat guy. I play the game to win. We didn't win and that's the bottom line."
But about Samardzija, it does my heart good to see him making those catches this year. After seeing a guy like Samardzija be so under-utilized last year-- then see him catch three touchdowns yesterday, five on the year...I don't know how Bryce does it.
Up all night. Up all day.
Up until 1:00am last night.. then up at 7:17am this morning, and still going.
As I write this, he's furiously climbing all over the Kangaroo climber we've setup (after a 2-year hiatus) again downstairs.
Amazing.
I'll have what he's having...
It looks like a beautiful morning in South Bend!
And South Quad is, as always, the place to be. I'm sure they've been grilling outside the KofC hall since early this morning...
And O'Shaughnessy Hall, my old haunt, is awash in people.. I'm sure they're not there to get Seamus Deane's autograph.
Go00000000 Irish! Beeeeaaaat Spartans!
#10 Notre Dame welcomes unranked Michigan State to Notre Dame Stadium...
Like many Irish fans, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go into the Michigan State game without a sense of dread. For a seeming eternity now, the Irish have appeared to be completely unraveled by Michigan State in the closing quarter. No matter the score at half-time, you can trust the Spartans will be within a touchdown of the Irish by the 4th quarter...
...and that's about the time the Irish Defense forgets how to defend against the pass over the middle... and Smoker slings the ball to a slanting receiver cutting across the middle and goes for 50..60..70 yards and a game-winning touchdown...
oh, sorry.. having a flashback there...
So here we are. with the Spartans coming to South Bend.. and that sense of dread comes with them.
Then again.. Weis seems to have changed the whole equation. The defense, a big weakness in many minds this year, has been a pleasant surprise. Linebackers Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays -- we might have expected good things from them.. But Ambrose Wooden, and Tommy Zbikowski are off to great starts, as well ("Crazy" Zbikowski has been all over the papers this week) and it's clear that this defense is just better coached than any Irish squad in recent memory.
What a difference a coach can make?
What a difference 5 coaches can make!
Hiring Weis got the buzz going...
but when people saw the assistants he brought on board in the months that followed... that's when everyone really started to believe, I think.
And who could have guessed that that great collection of coaches could have such an impact so quickly? So where are they now? The pundits who insisted that Notre Dame's talent was inferior? That the University would, as Paul Hornung infamously (and wrongly) asserted on camera last year, have to reduce admission requirements to bring in 'difference makers.'
And let's be honest-- when you hear people talking about 'difference makers' in college football.. you know they're not talking about kids that look like Jeff Samardzija.
This assumption-- and it's an assumption made by college athletics top to bottom, from the NCAA on down-- that a kid can't be smart, athletic, and black is most troubling. It gets more troubling when you consider how much MONEY the NCAA and these universities make on the backs of kids brought in on athletic scholarship-- kids with little or no preparation for post-secondary academics who will almost certainly fail out of school (as soon as the football coach allows them to fail out, that is)...
NCAA makes its money.
College makes its money.
But where's the kid left? Without a pro football contract. And without an education.
A lot of pundits make hay, talking about how athletes in revenue sports should be given a portion of that revenue the University takes in.
What's wrong with making sure those athletes receive that education first?
You know, you can't exactly call yourself surprised when a pro athlete who's been in the league for 25 years retires...
But, all the same, it took the wind out of my sails a little bit yesterday when I heard that Mark Messier-- the Mess-iah; the Jaw; the toughest man in hockey; most importantly (to me at least) the man who brought a Stanley Cup to the New York Rangers-- has retired.
I grew up a casual hockey fan-- but even I knew, watching those Edmonton teams in the 80's, when everyone was talking about Gretzky (and why wouldn't they?), Messier stood out as the tough, gritty skater who just always seemed to be in the right place at the right time-- whether it was to deliver the puck, or to deliver a hit.
When he came to the Rangers in 1991-- he'd already won 5 Stanley Cups in Edmonton-- his hometown, no less-- so you'd think winning one more would be an anti-climax. But Messier seemed to flourish in New York. When he came to town, he guaranteed a Cup. And New York became his adopted hometown. But he never seemed to relish the limelight-- even when he fulfilled that guarantee in 1994. He led by example. He gave gracious interviews. And he always attributed the success of the team to his teammates. And then he hung up his skates and went home.
Rangers fans everywhere wept the day he signed with Vancouver-- and, strangely, even he never seemed happy to go. It was like a short, bad dream. And then he was back in uniform with the Rangers. And we could hope that all would be well with hockey again.
But Mess was slowly starting to give into injuries and his time on the ice was more and more limited... you knew in the back of your mind that this day would come
But what a leader. Toughness through and through. Hardly seems possible he's Canadian!
Two straight light-sleeping nights from Bryce... So when we all got up at 7:00 this morning (a scant 5 1/2 hours after I got to bed), I brewed up some good stiff Gold Coast for breakfast..
Then again, I was up too late reading college football websites last night...
What's Bryce's deal? I don't know. He's got some allergies maybe.. been having trouble with some snottiness (sorry.. there's just no better way to say that).. so he just hasn't been sleeping very deeply.
And with the pterodactyl scream he's developed over the last few weeks, when he doesn't sleep well, none of the rest of us sleep well. That's for sure.
Zbikowski's interception in the 3rd Quarter has to be the play of the game.
Michigan was driving for its first touchdown.. with plenty of time left to tie it up..
And Zbikowski makes a key interception at the goal-line...
Key play at a key moment..
Trevor Laws and the Irish celebrate their first victory in 'The Big House' since 1993.
Just watched Lloyd Carr's press conference on ESPNNews... and all I can say is.. wuh.. huh..
Oh, sorry, I dozed off there..
The guy just puts you to sleep.
No wonder he can't get his players fired up.
And then there came the double-talk:"…we have no excuses here. We've never made excuses and we never will, but have been a very unlucky football team from an injury standpoint right from beginning of this fall training camp."
| Team Stat Comparison | ||
 |  | |
| 1st Downs | 19 | 15 |
3rd down efficiency | 4-15 | 5-18 |
4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 2-4 |
| Total Yards | 247 | 335 |
| Passing | 140 | 224 |
Comp-Att | 19-30 | 19-44 |
Yards per pass | 4.7 | 5.1 |
| Rushing | 107 | 111 |
Rushing Attempts | 44 | 28 |
Yards per rush | 2.4 | 4.0 |
| Penalties | 4-20 | 4-27 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
Fumbles lost | 1 | 1 |
Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
Irish win it!
They're 2-0...
but only 47 total yards in the 2nd half. They got very very conservative.. plus the Michigan Defense really stood up..
But Quinn just didn't look as sharp this week...
Weis, in his post game remarks to Lyn Swann said:
"Defense played great; Special Teams played great; Offense played well enough."
Ndukwe makes such a heads-up play grabbing a fumbled ball on the goal-line!
Of course, the officials on the ground make the wrong call.. and the Review box has to call down with the proper call and give the Irish the ball on the touchback!
And the Michigan fans start throwing junk on the field... classy!
Go Irish!
Irish go three and out..
Then Zbikowski gets away with touching Manningham, the Michigan receiver, when he gets beat on a deep route...
These officials really are bad.
What is this prevent defense.. Irish let Michigan into the end-zone for the first time all day..
Irish up 17-10.
4 downs. No points.
Henne chokes on 4th and goal and throws to the band.
8 minutes left and Quinn throws from his own goal line on 1st down.
I love it!
Nessler and Griese are now talking about what will happen to Michigan's No. 3 ranking if they lose this game.
From the ESPN.com front page:
Looks like the Fighting Irish are legit. Notre Dame leads No. 3 Michigan 17-3 in the fourth.
I'm so impressed with the Irish Defensive line...
Outweighed by an average of 50 pounds by the Michigan O-line.. but they're controlling the line of scrimmage and not letting Michigan get any kind of run game going...
Irish up 17-3, 4th quarter...
And here's why strength of schedule matters...
McKnight
Wooden
Walker
All have gone down with one kind of injury or another... and who knows how many others on both sides will come out of this game with knicks and dings...
And if the Irish can pull of this win.. and beat Michigan State next week.. those tough games you play should count for something more than the meaningless wins over hapless I-AA creampuffs...
Irish are up 14-3, in the 3rd quarter.
And Walker is back. Not sure what happened, but he was down there for a while, but they've got him back in..
The ABC crew got into it a little bit about a college football playoff...
I look at it this way.. if the top college programs all had to play a minimum number of other top programs-- for one thing you wouldn't wind up with 2 or 3 undefeated teams at the end of the year.. and it would be much clearer who the rightful champion is.
The regular season should be the playoff... but it won't be as long games like Nebraska-Maine (last week) and VA Tech-Duke (this week) count in the Win-Loss records at the end of the year...
Bring back the Strength of Schedule-- make it a PRIMARY component of the BCS-- and incent schools to schedule the big intersectional opponents...
Okay.. without a doubt.. ABC is wearing out the freakin' "Tom Brady Quinn" quips..
Shuddup already.
2nd Quarter. 7-3.. the Michigan defense has stood up and ND hasn't been able to put together much of a drive until now..
Rhema McKnight goes down with an AWFUL looking knee bent sideways...
AND the Big Ten officials say he didn't catch the ball!
Thank God, McKnight walks off the field (with some help)-- there's still hope.
Darius Walker shows he is still the man! Has 93 yards...
Irish inside the 10..
Tipped pass... Samardjiza TOUCHDOWN!
ND is ranked #20.
Michigan is #3.
Wow. The Gameday guys just can't stop talking about Weis and the Irish.
How irrelevant does the OSU-Texas game seem? regardless of the rankings...
Herbstreit even calls Brady Quinn his "Game Changer"...
Much more of this and OSU will be taking back his Buckeye...
Herbstreit and Corso both pick ND (and the OSU crowd goes crazy..)
| Year | Site | Score | Rank |
| 1887 | ND | UM 8, ND 0 | -/- |
| 1888 | ND | UM 26, ND 6 | -/- |
| 1888 | ND | UM 10, ND 4 | -/- |
| 1898 | UM | UM 23, ND 0 | -/- |
| 1899 | UM | UM 12, ND 0 | -/- |
| 1900 | UM | UM 7, ND 0 | -/- |
| 1902 | N* | UM 23, ND 0 | -/- |
| 1908 | UM | UM 12, ND 6 | -/- |
| 1909 | UM | ND 11, UM 3 | -/- |
| 1942 | ND | UM 32, ND 20 | 6/4 |
| 1943 | UM | ND 35, UM 12 | 1/2 |
| 1978 | ND | UM 28, ND 14 | 5/14 |
| 1979 | UM | ND 12, UM 10 | 9/6 |
| 1980 | ND | ND 29, UM 27 | 8/14 |
| 1981 | UM | UM 25, ND 7 | 11/1 |
| 1982 | ND | ND 23, UM 17 | 20/10 |
| 1985 | UM | UM 20, ND 12 | -/13 |
| 1986 | ND | UM 24, ND 23 | 3/- |
| 1987 | UM | ND 26, UM 7 | 16/9 |
| 1988 | ND | ND 19, UM 17 | 13/9 |
| 1989 | UM | ND 24, UM 19 | 1/2 |
| 1990 | ND | ND 28, UM 24 | 1/4 |
| 1991 | UM | UM 24, ND 14 | 3/7 |
| 1992 | ND | UM 17, ND 17 | 6/3 |
| 1993 | UM | ND 27, UM 23 | 11/3 |
| 1994 | ND | UM 26, ND 24 | 6/3 |
| 1997 | UM | UM 21, ND 14 | 6/- |
| 1998 | ND | ND 36, UM 20 | 22/3 |
| 1999 | UM | UM 26, ND 22 | 7/16 |
| 2002 | ND | ND 25, UM 23 | 20/7 |
| 2003 | UM | UM 38, ND 0 | 5/15 |
| 2004 | ND | ND 28, UM 20 | -/8 |
| 2005 | UM | ND vs. UM | 20/3 |
Alright.. I'm a geek. I admit it.
But when I saw the first pictures of this new iPod Nano... it flat took my breath away.
Lightweight (1.5 ounces) and just beautiful!
Am I gonna buy one? Well, no. Not this year anyway.
But one analyst I read mentioned that he thinks Apple will sell 12 million of the things in the 4th quarter alone!
Oh. And the Apple/Motorola iTunes phone was released. Ho hum.
Just like Steve Jobs to show up his own new product release with another debut that a) took everyone by surprise ; and b) totally blows the main event out of the water!
From Herbstreit's article on ESPN.com:
The best thing I saw from Notre Dame last week was the confidence that was
growing as the game progressed. The Irish have become a confident team after
being beat up for so long. The other thing I noticed was the offensive variety:
formations, play calling, getting the running backs involved, throwing to the
tight end … it was the New England Patriots' offense. Variety and
diversification are two things that are tough to prepare for because there
aren't any tendencies. And it's going to take a similar effort in Ann Arbor this
weekend...
...
Back to Weis for a moment. Everybody wondered how Weis would do as a head
coach in South Bend. I know it's only one game, but I'm telling you right now he
is going to recruit like a madman. Offensive skill-position players will take a
hard look at going to South Bend if that is the kind of offense Weis is going to
play on the collegiate level. You will see a lot of recruits want to play for
him for one reason: Not only are you going to win -- and maybe win championships
-- but you have a great shot at getting to the NFL. In the process of gathering
a lot of talent, Weis is going to be competing within two to three years for BCS
bowl rights, there's no question in my mind.
Don't miss Robert Cringely's latest venture-- an online 'TV' interview program called Nerd TV.
One-hour, wall to wall interviews with some of the seminal figures in the history of IT.
This week, episode 1, is Andy Hertzfeld, the first Mac programmer.. ever.
Two weeks from today, Bill Joy! Co-Founder of Sun, father of Berkeley Unix.. and all around big-brain.
From today's South Bend Tribune:
That's not to say Brady doesn't have a rooting interest and something on the line other than pride for Saturday's clash between the 20th-ranked Irish and No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"Oh we have a friendly agreement," Weis said. "Well I'm not going to tell you what I would owe him, but I can tell you (that) if he loses, he's going to be wearing a Notre Dame football hat to his next press conference."
Clip from The Rock 9/4:
Turns out that it doesn't take three years to install an offense. You can win a night game. Notre Dame players do have talent. In-game adjustments are vitally important. And winning on the field doesn't mean you have to cut corners. You just have to coach them; nice game Ambrose...
It was by no means perfection. Brady still has some accuracy issues; his interception was a puzzler. Our defensive line pressure was almost non-existent in the first half. Our deep safety help was suspect as was our overall pass defense. Our punting was abysmal, though we were fortunate to get a few lucky rolls. Ten penalties are far too much....
We hit hard. We gang tackled. We were aggressive.
Most of all, the Irish finally looked like a well-coached, talented, motivated, football team. How much of a difference does coaching make? These were essentially the same teams that played last year, but with new coaches.
Except the challenge last night was greater. The intangibles were against us Saturday: we played on the road, at night, against a higher ranked team... and we torched them.
From Gene Wojciechowski's column (on the front page of ESPN.com) this morning:
You could see Weis' smudge marks all over this Notre Dame team, especially on offense. The Irish led 35-13 at halftime, scoring more points in two quarters than the Irish scored in 10 different games last year. So Patriot-like was the offensive efficiency that a Boston Globe writer, here to cover Weis's first game, couldn't help himself after the Irish scored their fourth touchdown.
"I saw this in January," said the writer, referring to New England's 41-27 win against the Steelers in this same stadium.
Even Weis was willing to admit that the Irish occasionally flirted with perfection in those first 30 minutes.
"I think by halftime the players started to realize they're better than they thought they were," he said.
It will take more than the Patriots' playbook and this stomping of Pitt to revitalize Notre Dame football. After all, the Irish haven't been in a BCS bowl since the 2000 season, haven't won a bowl game since 1993, and haven't won a national championship since 1988. That's when Lou Holtz still referred to one of the service academies as, "The University of Navy." But Saturday night's game is a pleasant start, though it's probably wise to remember that Tyrone Willingham won his first eight games as Notre Dame's coach, and look what happened to him: canned last season with three years remaining on his contract.
a few notes from the Game Stats page:
ND had 503 total yards offense.
228 yards passing/275 rushing.
10 penalties-- I think 5 or 6 of them in the 2nd half.
Quinn went 18 for 27 with 2 TDs
Meanwhile, the Irish Defense held Pitt to 105 yards rushing.. and 219 passing.
Not great.. but not bad, considering what happened last year.
It's official
The Irish win, 42-21.
And Charlie Weis has his first win as a head coach, his first win for the Irish...
The Panthers tacked on a late touchdown on a nice pass from Tyler Palko.
The Irish defense looked better after that lousy 1st quarter.
But the second half was pretty sloppy in general-- a number of penalties and a few mental errors.
But overall, I have to say-- this looked like the best-coached Irish team I've seen in years and years.. maybe the best I've ever seen. Then again, maybe I'm just still giddy with the excitement of witnessing it...
And it does look like Weis is going to be able to turn Brady Quinn into a star.
Last year, Quinn couldn't seem to throw a hard, accurate pass to save his life.
Tonight, he was zinging the ball in their and hitting his receivers beautifully.
10 for 10 for 100 yards, just in the second quarter.
And thank the Lord the coaches appear to have recognized that Jeff Samardzija can catch the ball!
Wake up the echoes! Shake down the thunder!
Is it really any surprise that #1 USC (The University of Spoiled Children, as my old roommate used to call them) destroyed Hawaii today?
May as well pull a Spurrier and call it a 'pre-season' game...
ND is up 42-13, 3rd quarter.
The Irish are dominating with 319 total yards on offense (to 154 from Pitt)..
198 yards passing!
and 19 first downs...
and (here's the biggie) only one turnover...
Fingers crossed! that the second-half can live up to the first!
Oh yeah, and then there's this little piece of news:
Air Force beats Willingham's Huskies
Where's Corso? Where's Reece Witherspoon, (or whatever his name is..)?
Wonder what the guys at Gameday will be saying now that ND is up 35-13...
against the first of 5 ranked opponents the Irish play this year...
Rashon Powers-Neale rumbled in for the latest touchdown a few minutes ago.
I know it's a long game.. and the Irish could well give this one up in the 2nd half-- we'll see what the Panthers do in the lockerroom to adjust.
But I'm overjoyed with what I'm seeing out of the Irish offense.
Defense still needs some work-- though they have responded since the first quarter..
Weis is reported to have told them, after the first terrible defensive series, that they'd "better play better or [Weis] will put in the 2nd string."
Go Irish!
2nd Quarter and ND is up 21-10 now.
Three pretty convincing offensive drives-- courtesy of our man Weis.
And man, is Darius Walker having an impressive half!
And it is soooo nice to see an actual Notre Dame offense on the field!
Then again, this Pitt defense is not exactly top calibre.
I still worry how the Irish will fare against the likes of Michigan or USC later in the season...
Irish kick off was just fumbled by Pitt-- ND Ball!
and Brady Quinn passes to Jeff Samardijzaijaihaiah, TOUCHDOWN!
28-10.
Go Irish!
In just about an hour, Notre Dame takes the field against Pittsburgh and the Charlie Weis era begins.
I'm not going to pretend to be some kind of college football pundit.. but I am a fan... and I'm guardedly optimistic, as I am every year at this time. We'll see how it goes.
I'm hopeful that Weis is able to put together a decent offense this year- something we haven't seen at ND in several years. There were glimpses of creativity under Willingham-- backs shifting around, sets moving to give the Defense something to think about... but none of it ever seemed to come together.
With Weis' reknown as an offensive mind, and his talent for making in-game adjustments (something else ND has been TERRIBLE at for many years).. I hope he's at least able to keep it interesting and keep the real pundits (especially those guys at ESPN) off his back.
Word from the coast is that everyone's houses survived! Amazing!
Some damage, of course, but even Grandma's house in Long Beach-- in an area that the reporters down there indicated was totally destroyed-- is still standing.
If you can believe it, Ruth and Jackie's house is still standing.
Amazingly, they were on the opposite side of one of the levees that gave way.
As Ruth's brother David put it, "they were spared."
They went to a local hotel (I think) to weather the storm, afraid that their little trailer would be turned over in the winds. But it wasn't. And it isn't flooded either.
Unbelievable when you look at where they are on the map of New Orleans...
So now, they have a bathtub full of water and canned goods.. but not much else.
No word yet on whether they'll be required to evacuate. Not sure if Metairie is under the same orders as the residents of downtown New Orleans.
Just a moment ago, the phone rang with news that Ruth and Jackie, Amanda's cousins down in Metairie are ALIVE!
Amanda's still on the phone, so more details will be forthcoming!
For a must-read account of how it all happened down there, take a look at this blog called Eye of the Storm.
It's amazing stuff.
Two local news reporters down on the MS coast, hunkered down with some beef jerky and beer-- they start out cracking jokes and having fun... and now they're giving some of the best reports of damage, with pictures, neighborhood by neighborhood, that we've read anywhere...
Since we've been getting a lot of emails from all over asking about Amanda's family, let me take a quick minute to give an update:
The family in Long Beach and Biloxi-- Grandma, Aunt Martha, cousins Melinda and Adam and family are all reported to be safe, though we're afraid that, like so many down there, they have lost everything.
Still no word, however, on her Great Cousins Ruth and Jackie in Metairie, outside New Orleans. Given their age and what happened to Metairie, we can only hope that they made it to shelter in time. But there's not much hope of getting word from that area for quite some time...
Needless to say, we've been praying for all of them up here non-stop since last weekend..
