Oh, what a joy it is to be a Notre Dame fan this week.  First you hear about Brady Quinn's season ending injury and then you have to listen to the national media discuss the future of Notre Dame football and Charlie Weis.  After an embarrassing home loss to 2-8 Syracuse, Charlie Weis' job security is sticky at best.  From what I've heard and gathered, I think we may be on the lookout for a new coach if Notre Dame loses it's final regular season game against the Trojans of Southern California.  When there's smoke, there's fire, and we haven't heard a peep out of new Irish AD Jack Swarbrick about a public backing of the 4th-year head coach.  We've also heard that some of the people who's opinion actually matters (Fr. Jenkins and the Board of Trustees) have not been happy with Charlie since the disastrous 3-9 campaign a year ago.  I hate to chime in but I do believe Charlie will be in some big trouble if he drops this game by 10+ points.

You can't really feel sorry for Charlie.  I realize he is an alum and has worked hard to bring in some of the best talent we've had in years, but watching this team struggle over the past two years and hearing way too many stories about the guy's abrasive personality gives me little sympathy for the man.  I was a big fan of his and thought he had what it takes to become a legend at Notre Dame, but his inexperience as a head coach and his own arrogance in trying to look like another version of Parcells is ultimately what will do him in.  Irish fans should look at the guys that hired Weis (Fr. Jenkins, JAG, and Dr. White) and wonder what the hell they were thinking when their 2004 coaching search brought them to three finalists: Charlie Weis, Tom Clements, and Greg Blanche.  Let's say it one more time, "under no circumstances should ND ever consider a first-time head coach for their football program."

Of course, Charlie has a chance to get all rid of all of this talk with a win tonight, but I just don't see it happening.  Should be an interesting couple of weeks ahead of us, that's for sure.

December 13, 2004:

"You are what you are, folks, and right now you're a 6-5 football team. And guess what, that's just not good enough. That's not good enough for you, and it's certainly not going to be good enough for me. So, if you think they hired me here to go .500, you've got the wrong guy." - Charlie Weis

I hope to hell that one of the reporters brings this quote up at his next press conference.

Kind of lost in the shuffle of the basketball team’s top 10 ranking and the collapse of the Notre Dame football team was college basketball’s National Letter of Intent day last week.  Mike Brey and the Irish coaching staff signed 4 basketball players.  Last year they signed no prospects, but did get two transfers in Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin.  Here’ a little summary of the Fab 4:

F Jack Cooley (Glenview, IL) – 6’9", 235 – Probably the best player Notre Dame signed.  He was just named to ESPN’s Top 100 team where he came in at #97 in the class of 2009.  Many compare his style of play to our beloved Luke Harangody and his coiffure sure helps the comparisons.  With a lot of seniors on the team graduating this year and the possibility of Harangody leaving early, the Irish will have a void of big guys the next couple of seasons.  Guys like Abromatis, Martin, Nash, and Scott are not your traditional big men so Cooley will have an opportunity to start or contribute from day one.  A big commitment for Coach Brey and the Irish.

G Joey Brooks (Houston, TX) – 6’5", 200 – Brooks was the first player to commit to Notre Dame earlier last year and is one of the more versatile players ND has signed in awhile.  He can play a number of positions in Brey’s offense, including point guard if the situation arises.  He’s an athletic slasher that the Irish have missed in previous seasons and averaged 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists for his talented high school team.  Irish fans should be excited about Brooks as I think he could be a huge player for Notre Dame down the road.  Here is a short video and interview of Joey (he is #32 in the green jerseys):

F Mike Broghammer (Orono, MN) – 6’8", 220 – Broghammer committed earlier this school year after an official visit to Notre Dame’s campus.  I caught a glimpse of Mike on his visit to ND and he is a tall, but lanky kid.  He’ll need some time to work on his frame and his offensive game, but he is a well-rounded basketball player that does a number of good things on the court.  Broghammer chose Notre Dame over Iowa and a number of mid-majors.

F Tom Knight (Dixfield, ME) – 6’9", 260 – Tom was a late addition to the Irish class and is probably the biggest ‘prospect’ in terms of development.  Knight had a number of offers to smaller programs and ultimately selected ND over Rutgers, Davidson, Maine and Northeastern.  Part of his low profile is probably due to where he plays (Maine) but his stock improved in AAU play during the summer, according to Brey.  At 6’9", 260 lbs., Knight will enter the Irish program as probably the biggest player on the team both in height and weight.  He’s a left hander and is more polished than you would think, but he’ll probably need some time to develop into a Big East contributor.

Obviously we are not very knowledgeable in women’s college basketball, but women’s head coach Muffet McGraw signed one prospect in the class of 2009.  She also gained a huge commitment from local 2010 prospect Skylar Diggins who picked Notre Dame over Stanford.  She is the nation’s #3 ranked player in her class.

A truly embarrassing loss.  This team talks a lot of crap, but rarely ever lives up to it on the field.  I really wonder if we'll be able to win anymore games this year.

I speak for myself, and not CW, but I am off the Charlie Weis wagon.

Lots going on in the land of Mike Brey/Notre Dame men's basketball.  Let's have a run-down to see what's been going on:

• Notre Dame played in its first game of the season last Friday and beat the Briar Cliff Chargers 103-64 in an exhibition game.  Briar Hill, you may think, is not a country club team but a Iowan university located in Sioux Falls.  Ryan Ayers led all ND players with 21 points while Tory Jackson chipped in 18 and Luke Harangody provided 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the game was the play of the three sophomores (although Carleton Scott is technically a redshirt freshman).  Tim Abromatis is probably the best of the three offensively but Scott has scary athleticism that could help us on the boards.  Brey will likely only make room for one of the three so stay tuned to that competition.

• The preseason All-American list came out yesterday and Luke Harangody was the 3rd place vote getter behind Tyler Hansbrough and Stephen Curry.  I like the idea of giving awards out to people before they actually earn it.  I might never have gotten on the Dean's List at school, but a preseason Dean's List might not have been out of the question my freshman year and I would've appreciated that honor.  Getting back to Luke Harangody, that is a tremendous accomplishment and its good to see coaches and writers (I'm not entirely sure who votes for that, nor do I care) acknowledging his great play from last year.
  
• Finally, your lone 2008 senior basketball star Rob Kurz has been picked up again by the Golden State Warriors and is on their 15-man squad in place of suspended guard Monta Ellis.  Kurz, who is likely getting a non-guaranteed contract, has surprised most Irish fans with his play in the NBA so far.  Warriors coach Don Nelson liked Kurz a lot during the preseason and was visibly upset when he was forced to let him go just a few weeks ago.  The suspension of Ellis, however, allowed Nelson to bring Kurz back onto the team.  Hats off to you, Mr. Kurz.

Behind a 459 yard effort by the Irish offense, Notre Dame dominated Washington throughout most of the game.  The Irish defense played well, only allowing the Washington offense to cross midfield once, late in the fourth quarter.

via sportswashington.net

Notre Dame basketball started it's 2008-2009 season this past weekend and there are some high hopes for the talented squad.  Most services have the team as a Top 10 team going into the season, so excitement for the program is at an all-time high.  Sports Illustrated has a nice report on this year's team with some interesting quotes and stories.  For any Irish basketball fans out there, I would highly recommend it.

Luke Harangody (left) and Tory Jackson (right) enter the season as a Big East favorite

A couple of thoughts stemming from the article:

• It seems like the Irish are looking for a permanent replacement for departed senior Rob Kurz.  Zach Hillesland can certainly play down low, but I have to think Brey wants to keep Ryan Ayers as the 6th man, opening up another spot down low.  The candidates?  6-11 senior Luke Zeller, 6-8 sophomore Tyrone Nash, 6-7 sophomore Tim Abromitis, and 6-8 redshirt freshman Carleton Scott.  On Luke Zeller, from the article:

  X-Factor: Zeller. Says Brey of his 6-11 forward, "I don't yell at him much, but if I do, it's to rebound." Zeller has long acted like a shooting guard stuck in a center's body; he averaged a height-defying 2.2 rebounds per game last season. With Kurz gone they desperately need Zeller to gravitate more inside the arc and do some work on the offensive glass. Harangody can handle a heavy load in the post, but if he doesn't get any assistance down there, it's hard to see Notre Dame making a deep tourney run. If Zeller -- who appeared to have added bulk to his previously skinny upper body this offseason -- can take advantage of double-teams on Harangody and provide interior (or at the very least, mid-range) offense, he'll cement a role in the starting lineup and become a huge asset.

One of the more honest assessments of our most glaring question mark, in my honest opinion.  I'm not confident that Zeller is our best option all the time, but I think he can give Mike Brey some minutes somewhere on the floor and I think the other candidates certainly have some talent to help out Harangody and Hillesland.  If, God forbid, there's an injury to those two, there will be some major problems.

• I keep forgetting about Irish newcomers Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin.  Hansbrough (yes, Tyler's brother) is a transfer from Mississippi State and Martin is a transfer from Purdue.  Both are ineligible to play next season but will be able to practice with the team this season.  Hansbrough has 2 years of eligibility and should slide into Kyle McAlarney's role rather easily when he graduates.  Martin enters into the equation as one of ND's more highly rated players in awhile and will be an extra offensive weapon in a year's time.
• I am actually surprised at the lack of excitement on ND's campus right now.  I realize it's still early and the football team is actually competitive again, but there hasn't been much publicity for this team on campus despite it's top 10 status.  Fall break forced the ticket office to sell student tickets online and not at a 'Midnight Madness' type event and hopefully there will be more excitement one the students get back and the season gets underway.

It promises to be an exciting year for ND basketball and I'm looking forward to it.

Update: Here's a new article on Rivals. com about Luke Harangody.  Another good article.

This could be one of the funner weeks of the year:  Notre Dame vs. Washington.  Let's just be honest and say what it really is: Notre Dame vs. Tyrone Willingham.  The week just got off to a great start.  From ESPN.com:

	8 p.m.	ESPN2/ESPN360.com	Notre Dame at Washington
			Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Todd Harris

This is too good to be true.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out this 2008 Notre Dame football team.  Are we any good?  Is this going to be our version of ‘the greatest show on turf’?  There are so many questions and yet we have so few answers.  Figuring out this team really is a tough task.  Most of the impact players are freshman and sophomores, with a few solid rocks in the junior and senior class.  All but 2 of the team’s 16 touchdowns have been scored by underclassmen.  Those 16 touchdowns have also come against a sub par schedule – currently ranked at 55^th in the country.  So is this just a decent team playing against a bad schedule?  Or a good team in spite of its bad schedule?  I don’t know, but I’m going to try to compare the ’08 squad to the 2002 USC football team.

The Trojans’ first game was against a #23 Auburn team (an Auburn team that would go on to be 9-4) in which they won narrowly 24-17.  Obviously USC’s Auburn game was not our SDSU game, but they’re sort of similar, right?  We both opened the season a little slow following a mediocre (okay, in our case, flat out awful) season.  What happens the next game for USC?  They defeat #14 Colorado 40-3.  That’s our Michigan game, although we weren’t nearly as impressive.  Next three games the Trojans go 1-2, losing to a tough Kansas State and talented Washington State with a win against Oregon State sandwiched in the middle.  The two losses were very close, so we’ll call those three games our Michigan State game, although again they’re not identical.  After that 3-2 start, Carson Palmer and the Trojans’ offense exploded, averaging over 41 points per game in that time span and going on to win their last 8 games.

Carson Palmer went on to win the 2002 Heisman Trophy and wear strange rings

Before you jump down my throat, hear me out.  I don’t think we’re quite on the 2002 USC football team level of talent or skill.  That team had about 6 future-first rounders on it and plenty of other talent and depth.  But what happened to that team is something that I think a lot of people are witnessing right now.  Things are clicking for Notre Dame just like they did for USC in 2002.  The light switch is finally being turned on.  Although the Michigan State game was only a few weeks ago, what we’ve seen from Notre Dame since they came out of the tunnel in the second half against Purdue has been both impressive and exciting.  The offense has looked terrific, the defense is playing hard, and it looks like the Irish have developed a little bit of a swagger again.

This is a big weekend for Notre Dame football.  People will be watching them for the first time this season – the same people that have been ignoring them for the past two months.  They’re on the road for only the second time this season and looking for their first road win against a solid and respectable UNC team.  They want to be the 2002 USC football team?  They’ve only got 8 more to go.  Go Irish!

I love this picture.

I'm sure most of you have heard that Irish footballers Will Yeatman and Mike Golic, Jr. were arrested early Sunday morning by Indiana State Excise Cops in a raid that netted 37 Notre Dame students and over a dozen student athletes.  Yeatman's arrest is most concerning to Notre Dame fans and head coach Charlie Weis because of his DUI last February.  Weis is holding him out of play until the matter is resolved.  But if you've ever had an experience with Notre Dame's residence life office, I wouldn't hold your breath for his return anytime soon.

John Walters over at NBC Sports wrote a great piece about the incident over at MSNBC.com.  Check it out, he's a smart guy (and an ND grad to boot).