Sorry for taking a few days off, but the amount of negativity permeating throughout the Fighting Irish side of cyberspace is somewhat sickening.  Domer Law Blog did a pretty good job going over all the idiotic whining of everyone regarding the Hawai'i Bowl and everything else surrounding the Notre Dame football program.  Perhaps the dumbest suggestion out of them all (and that's really saying something, considering the amount of conspiracy theories and emo posting all over the place), is the thought that Notre Dame should decline a bowl bid at 6-6.  No one -literally, not a single other program - would do such a thing.  I'm sorry it makes you, insane internet person, sick to your stomach to watch Charlie Weis coach another game (and I surely hope should Weis ever find success, you will not take any joy in it, considering how you've sworn off the program), but a lot of us wouldn't mind watching Notre Dame play another game.  We'd even enjoy it, with everyone healthy (Oh, St. Michael, we've missed you) and with our family and friends over the holidays.  I also wonder who, exactly, is going to tell Pat Kuntz and David Bruton they don't get to go to a bowl game because you don't think they deserve it.  Are you going to, internet tough guy?

Considering everything else going on in the world - the need to cull the best Christmas music from the deluge of carols available, Oscar movies being released, Rod Blagojevich trying to give Sean Astin a perfect made-for-TV movie opportunity, Bart Bass dying (or did he?!) - it's hard for me to get inspired to write extensively on a subject that causes me to come across the dregs of the internet every time I attempt to do the most minute of research.  Still, in the coming weeks, we will cover everything there is to know about the Rainbow Warriors football team.  There will be complete and total clarification between haka and hula, with a good dose of history in the form of Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan.  We've got your back, readers.

Pneumonia?  No Problem: At least for Luke Harangody, who played in Saturday's game against Ohio State after Mike Brey tried the ol' rope-a-dope with Thad Matta.  Harangody was not at 100% yet still tossed in 25 and 16, although the usually efficient Gody needed 25 shots to do so.  The rest of his teammates weren't up to the task against an Ohio State team I knew was going to be a tough match-up for the Irish, flustering them their length and a 2-2-1press falling back into swarming defense.  While the loss stings, it says something that Brey's squad, playing on a neutral floor, was only down one point in the final minute against a talented team on an afternoon where Kyle McAlarney was 0-6 from three.  There were lessons learned, but it's still a disappointing loss just because the Irish won't get another crack at an opponent with a pulse until the Big East opener on New Year's Eve.  This will be the last time the Irish go more than a few days without a chance to take out a quality opponent, as the only breather in the Big East schedule is a quick trip out to Westwood to take on a team that's been to three straight Final Fours.

Three cupcakes before New Year's Eve, then a fun, frantic three months begin.  Incase you were not aware, Zach Hillesland's second entry is up over at The Quad.  Nowhere near as entertaining as the first, but still worth checking out.

Your Government Working For You: Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) has an anti-BCS plan that's just crazy that it might work:

He said the bill - being co-sponsored by Reps. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat, and Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican - "will prohibit the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.''

Categorizing the BCS as a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act is total genius or complete madness, or possibly both. Either way, I like it.

One way to diffuse the BCS is to take away its ability to directly crown a champion, and this measure seems like an effective way of doing so.  Mandating the use of "Mythical" in front of  "BCS Championship Game" seems like the best way to embarrass the whole damn institution out of existence.  It seems like it would be easy enough to prove that successful football programs lead to both an increase in revenue and applicants for schools, and by favoring the bigger conferences, the BCS takes away certain competitive advantages from the Utahs and Boise States of the world.  You might say government has more important things to do, but there are 534 other lawmakers to save the economy and get us out of these wars; we can spare one to save college football.

Obsession, by Maize and Blue: I was over at MGoBlog to check out the newest BlogPoll (which my latest ballot didn't register on, oddly enough; my internet is the suck?) and see the latest Michigan football departures when I noticed something odd; Brian is really obsessed with Charlie Weis.  Even when it's absolutely unnecessary (praising the great John Beilein means taking a shot at Weis?), Cook does it.  He's more than welcome to do whatever he pleases with his site, obviously, but it's just odd.  I can understand if Weis was a figure worthy of damnation (he is, by a lot of counts) that wasn't constantly criticized from those inside and outside the Notre Dame fan base, but most people hate this guy!  It's not like you're taking the time to illuminate the world to an underreported problem (Penn State fans, say).  Take as many shots as you want, but doesn't it get old after a while?

(One thousand Rakes points for the Paul Zimmerman love, though.  Here's hoping the good doctor recovers and is able to nail his Super Bowl for many years to come.)

Etc., Etc., Etc,. . .

The women's soccer team fell in the championship game 2-1 to North Carolina, the second straight title game they've lost to the Tar Heels when the game was playing at the "neutral site" of Cary, North Carolina; I call bullshit. . .old but worth noting: 2007 Notre Dame vs. 2008 Michigan. . .we're going to have to set up some sort of competition between otherworldly shooters and their extremely supportive mothers, with Stephen and Sonya Curry trying battling toe-to-toe with Kyle and Joyce McAlarney. . .keeping track of the latest coaching changes. . .potential danger in the islands. . .