Bizarro World

This is hard to believe, but today I find myself rooting for Ohio State (against Willingham's Huskies) and Nebraska (against the Trojans)..

Cupcake Watch: Week 3

Her Loyal Sons has got it covered here..

Can you even call it a mixed metaphor?

Charles Woodson says "When the ship is sinking, you've just got to keep playing."

My, they do mint them some scholars at Michigan..

Georgia Tech Reflections

Week 1 of the new Irish footbal season didn't go so well.
And yet, I don't feel so badly about the loss.

Going down 33-3 to Georgia Tech should sting... not that it doesn't. It'll sting more on Tuesday when I go into the office and face my Ga. Tech Alum boss.

But here are a few observations on the game.
1) Offensive line looks pretty bad. From my admittedly uneducated perspective, the Tech D-line looked at times like it was just pouring into the pocket.
2) Demetrius Jones didn't have a chance. As the running QB, he seemed like the logical choice, given the expected weakness of the o-line. But he just couldn't get settled back there. He put the ball on the ground a few times, got flushed and out of control repeatedly and didn't seem to be able to put anything together. At first he was able to get to he corner pretty quickly and make some yards.. but once Tech adjusted, it was all over for him.
3) Evan Sharpley looked pretty good at first. Pretty good zip on the ball in the first few series, and he was getting rid of the ball quickly-- at first. But again, once Tech adjusted, he got into trouble and started getting sacked.
4) Travis Thomas just looked slow. Period.
5) Armando Allen needs to start. He's F-A-S-T.
6) Jimmy Clausen didn't look like a freshman. He may not have been playing against the 1st-line Tech D. I don't care. He looked poised. And his arm appeared to be just fine.

With Armando Allen, John Carlson, and Jimmy Clausen, if they can put it all together this season, we could have some interesting games. But it's going to be tough to be an Irish fan this season. It's going to be some hard going. But the future certainly looks bright!

CupCake Watch, Week 1:
USC takes on Idaho.
Ohio State beats up on Youngstown State.
Penn State tunes it up against Florida International.
Michigan takes on Appalachian State... and loses. Oops!

"Humbled and grateful..."

This is a really nice reflection on Chris Zorich from Blue and Gold.

Congrats, Chris Zorich

Chris Zorich was the first football lineman I knew by name, coming up as a kid, watching those Irish teams of the late 80's. And he was such a MAN. Embodied all the traits of toughness and work ethic, combined with a human integrity that, I believe, set ND apart.
To say nothing of the pathos NDNation felt when news came out of how he returned home to his Chicago home following the bowl game (Orange?) to find his mother had passed away in her chair while watching her son on TV.

Zorich was the prototype.

We need more guys like him now.

And now he's in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Here's the press release from UND.com

Draft Afterwash

So Brady goes at #22 to the Browns. A great story, in the end, but excruciating to watch, even worse to live through, I'm sure.

Must Read story here by Peter King at Sports Illustrated about the whole sequence of events, through the eyes of Phil Savage, the Browns GM.




Money quote:

Savage showed some decency on draft weekend, when lying and deception is
often the norm. That's why I admire him more today than I did Friday; and I had a world of admiration for him before the draft, believe me.
"On Friday,'' he said, "I called [Quinn's agent] Tom Condon. I'd heard some stuff in the press that he might be negotiating with the Raiders for Brady to be picked at number one. And I had so much respect for Brady through this process. He's a great kid, and he's worked so hard, and he's done everything through the draft process
exactly the right way. I told Tom I didn't know if the Raiders were going to
take Brady or not, but I wanted to let him know that we'd decided not to take
him at number three; so if he was talking to the Raiders, he'd know he didn't
have us to fall back on.
"I'd heard Brady talk about having two dreams -- being the No. 1 pick, or playing for the Browns," Savage said. "And I didn't want to see his heart broken twice. We weren't going to take him, so I wanted Tom to be able to do whatever he could to get a deal done with Oakland, if that's what was happening.''
That's class right there.

The Quinn Spin

The Rock says this: Quinn is like Obi Wan Kenobi-- by striking him down, you only make him stronger. Money quote:

Here's the delicious irony: they've (the Quinn Spin group) made him more
popular and a bigger name than if they just ignored him. In the quest to harpoon
Quinn, they've given him an exponentially large platform proving his endorsement
worth and making him rich long before the draft and Quinn has shined in the
spotlight . In other words, all of that hard work to tear Quinn down has made
him so much bigger than he would have been to this point and actually created a
undercurrent of support for him.

Carroll is gone!

You heard it here first.. or maybe second.
Pete Carroll is as good as gone. He's going to take the Miami job, I guaran-damn-tee it!

"I'm thrilled to be here," he said. "As I've been the whole time, I haven't
wavered. I know that being curious about it has helped me appreciate what we
have here.
"I absolutely expect to be here."

He's thrilled to be there, but...

"It was a major statement he made finding me out there," Carroll said regarding
the meeting. "In a situation where you have an alternative, it's worth finding
out what it is.
"This was the only time I've even thought about talking with
anybody [from the NFL]. Here's a situation where a guy would give a head coach
the opportunity to do anything he wanted to do. He's an awesome guy."

Huizenga is an awesome guy?
Oh, Carroll is so totally gone!