A rather eventful week for Notre Dame football considering it's mid-June.  I'm taking off after posting this for a Rakes summit with Rob and Jay Bruce, as I make my first and last visit to the House Ruth Built before the Yankees move out at the end of this year.  If anything should break over the weekend, please hit up the FanPosts on the side.  I'll be back Sunday evening some time and back to regular posting Monday.

Anyway, the week that was:

* NBC extends Notre Dame's contract through 2015, although I totally agree that there needs to be some sort of agreement - less money, or whatever it takes - to shorten the commercial breaks.  There's no excuse for the games stretching as long as they do, sucking the life out of the Stadium at nearly every change of possession.  It was so pleasant to go to away games if only because they never lasted as long as the home ones.

* We got a kicker, which isn't that exciting until you realize how awful that aspect of Irish football has been since the Stanford game in '05 when DJ Fitzpatrick got hurt.  I don't have to look up the numbers to let you know they've been really bad.  Perhaps Nicholas Tausch is capable of knocking down a 41-yarder as time runs down against Navy in a tie game. . .

* Pat Kuntz, thank goodness, is officially back in school.  The defensive line is going to need all hands on deck all season long.

* I tried to be objective in looking at this season's opponents but made the mistake of assigning roughly estimated, totally arbitrary number values to each game of this season, but it still made Brian mad.  How could I be so disrespectful to a team that loses its four-year starting quarterback, back-up quarterback, four-year starting running back, best two wide receivers (by a mile), top four tacklers and four offensive lineman, including their number one draft pick/All-American left tackle who may or may not have been that giant dude Brad Pitt kills at the beginning of Troy.  Oh, and they also have a new coach implementing a new system with a quarterback who will have zero experience and running backs known for their ability to fumble every time Mike Hart got a rest.  The nerve of me.  I don't want this to turn into some fact-free debate about preseason expectations (see: SMQ vs. BN), but come on.  It's a freaking integer (and North Carolina is going to be good this season, just wait and see).  Let's call a true on this until at least August. 

(Also, still on Michigan, Dave has the most information you'll be able to find on their offensive line.  Just really well done.)

* Next Thursday is the NBA draft, one of my favorite days of the year, so I hope you're all getting properly hyped up for The Rob Kurz Watch.*  Other than March phenom Joe Alexander, the Big East is not well represented, but Rakes will still be very, very active in getting ready for the first giant mistake to be made (Dear Kevin McHale, Please take Kevin Love at three.  Love, Chris).

Dancing Lou will now take you all to your hard-earned weekend:

* I do not have any expectations of Rob Kurz getting drafted, but I'm going to tie the Irish to the draft somehow, dammit.