Comments on: The calm before the storm

By: Alex Vosburgh

Alex Vosburgh — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:26:53 +0000

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By: Duane

Duane — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:37:21 +0000

Hello Guru, what entice you to post an article. This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last week.

By: irishfanintx

irishfanintx — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:02:11 +0000

Interesting comments about Penn State. I too would like to see ND and Penn State resume playing one another. I do find it interesting also that Joe Pa wants to expand the Big 10 with a Big East team and not consider ND for expansiion because they had their chance. Could this be because of the Pennsylvania recruiting??

By: mrrandolph

mrrandolph — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:29:20 +0000

I always thought that when Penn State joined the Big 10 and the schools quit playing one another started alot of the recruiting problems ND has had in the midwest.
How can you recruit the Pennsylvania kids if you don’t play Penn State?

By: BigMike4562

BigMike4562 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:09:38 +0000

All,
You are correct, I did over step the boundaries using the Irish Catholic analogy, accept my apologies for the religous slander, it was uncalled for rather done in haste or heat of battle.
Now, I will be reading the story on Randy, I was never a ‘Cane fan, but you have to admire his stance after the well publisized media fight game they had. This is truly someone who wants football to be a good thing in Miami, the days of Schnellenberger.
Charlie seems to be a good person, I think he is in the heat of the fire and it’s sinking fast, he , as well as I, we eat too much…lol…so my comments on him is from the lack of quality opponents and they still cannot string a win streak. The days of Holtz brings in the big teams is over, hell even playing my team the Lions of PSU the previous 2 years was dropped. What great games….

By: StephenOfTroy

StephenOfTroy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:36:22 +0000

BigMike: You raise an interesting point, albeit using a tone that isn’t likely to garner admiration from Irish fans.
Clausen didn’t just get sucker-punched. No, he hit the other guy first. The reports say Clausen “pushed” the other guy, and his hand landed on the other guy’s “throat area.” Query what sort of “push” hits someone in the throat. Regardless, Clausen hit the other man first, and the other guy is entitled to retaliate; that’s basic self-defense. Given that Clausen initiated the physical contact, how can anyone say he got sucker-punched? If you shove me, you’d better be prepared for me to hit you back, since I certainly will.
And after Clausen got socked in the eye, the reports say, he and the other guy “wrestled on the ground” for a few seconds before “the fight” was broken up. So, Clausen was at a bar and got into a fight after throwing the first punch. (Shove, punch, whatever you want to call it, he hit a man in the throat with his hand — that, by definition, is assault.) How is that not worthy of a suspension? No wonder Weis won’t talk about it. No wonder Weis canceled every player’s and coach’s media availability. Gee, could the fact that Weis has NO chance of beating Stanford if Clausen sits out even for a quarter of the game, and the fact that Weis is hanging on by a thread and desperately needs a win against Stanford to have something to tell the AD when they have that fateful meeting after the season ends have anything to do with why there’s no suspension in the works for Clausen? So much for the notion that ND holds itself to a higher standard than the “football factories.” At least Lane Kiffin talks to the media, you know?
Speaking of which, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what it means that the AD told us in his radio show that Weis will be returning to ND after the game to talk to him, rather than saying on the West Coast to recruit. Weis, mercifully, is finally on his way out. Playing Clausen in this situation tells me that it really IS about wins and losses, period, end of story.

By: willmose

willmose — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:16:10 +0000

The players blame themselves. Actually, they should be blaming the coaching staff, but the players are a poorly coached class act. It is what is wrong with the Notre Dame football program. The players are playing for the coach not the school. The players and Coach Weis come on to the field arm in arm and lose to a UConn team that isn’t very good. At home, on senior day, no less. The fish rots from the head. It has been very clear for some time that Charlie Weis has lost control of the program. It is about wins and loses and Norte Dame under Coach Weis has come up short. If Norte Dame football is not about wins and loses, then join Division III, no scholarships, just eleven players playing for the love of the game. Perhaps, Coach Weis will return next year. And things will get really ugly …

By: mrrandolph

mrrandolph — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:21:57 +0000

I agree Mike a little harsh. But, I think a half game suspension would probably be in order. And, if you ever get a chance to read the Randy Shannon story (Miami’s coach) do it, a great underdog story.

By: Keith Arnold

Keith Arnold — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:47:49 +0000

BigMike — Thanks for trying to make a principled stand all while lobbing a verbal grenade at the size of Charlie Weis, and an Irish-Catholic slam. A true hat trick…
-Keith

By: TLNDMA

TLNDMA — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:57 +0000

Nice of 20 somethings to man up and accept responsibility. The same could probably be said for 2007 & 2008′s teams. If they don’t make a change, count on 2010 too. This is not a situation unique to ND. Five years is about all the time a coach gets at this level.

By: BigMike4562

BigMike4562 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:40:19 +0000

I think thats a damn funny comment seeing how The U at Miami hired a coach who suspends players for fights and curfew violations….Does this mean that Dough Boy will suspend the great loser Clausen for the Stanford game? Well, where is the building of men in this case? 2 a.m. after a loss and getting in a fight, that he got whipped in,such a good catholic boy he is, must be his Irish Catholic side…

By: brandon

brandon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:07:28 +0000

anybody watching SC in the past hour or so? Seriously? how disrespectful can those people be at espn, they are just clowning on CW, and i am not ok with it….not like i can really do anything about it. but man, it really chaps my hide……its kinda like CW is my little brother, I can pick on him and poke fun at him, and get down on him when he’s screwing up, but when other people do it, it freakin pisses me off.

By: NDFAN401

NDFAN401 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:52:59 +0000

There it is Mr. Arnold right there in your latest article, The parents have blamed their sons for their own lack of success and the players have admitted that they let coach Weis and the other coaches down. Please forward that article to all that believe that Charlie Weis is the scapegoat.
The article makes me proud on several levels, first the parents can look at their sons and still look them in the eye and tell them that their effort on a given day or during this season was plain and simply not good enough. Secondly, the players are living up to the standards put forth by our fine university by taking responsibility for their poor play and effort. Truth be told that should be all Jack Swarbrick and the other administrators need to hear to make the proper decisions and leave Charlie Weis in place and let him continue. My personal thanks and respect go out to all the parents that told their sons the truth, in todays world that is all to rare. Mr. Arnold my respect goes out to you as well for writing this article that clearly shows that the players have taken large steps recently in understanding what it means to attend this excellent school and grow up and become a man among boys. It is easy to point fingers at other people for your failures but what must be remembered is that when you point a finger there are three pointing back at you, and it is apparent in your article that quite a few people have discovered this. KUDOS TO YOU AND ALL THAT HAVE REALIZED THIS!!!

By: John E. Orr

John E. Orr — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:13:48 +0000

THIS IS AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT & AD OF NOTRE DAME. GENTLEMEN SEARCH DEEP INTO YOUR HEARTS/MINDS BEFORE MAKING THE DECISION ON COACH WEISS. NOTRE DAME IN THE PAST HAS TWICE MADE A QUESTIONABLE DECISION TO FIRE TWO COACHES. LET US START BY ADMITTING MISTAKES AND DOING THE RIGHT THING. STOP BEING INTIMIDATED BY THE ALUMNI & SPORTS WRITERS. WE ARE ND – WE ARE ND – WE ARE ND, SO ACT LIKE IT AND ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT WEISS WILL BE BACK. THESE YOUNG MEN HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PRESSURE OF FIRING THE COACH WHO BROUGHT THEM TO ND. ASK THEM. BE MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT MISTAKES WERE MADE BUT YOU WILL NOT REPEAT HISTORY. LEARN FROM HISTORY. KEEP THE FAITH IN WEISS HIS STAFF AND THE PLAYERS. GIVE THEM THERE SENIOR YEAR. ND IS AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION NOT A MENTAL INSTITUTION. GOD HELP US ALL WHEN ONE OF THE GREATEST UNIVERSITY LOOSES ITS VALUES. LET FLORIDA-MIAMI AND OTHER FOOTBALL SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO BE NFL TRAINING GROUNDS FOR CRIMINALS WHILE YOU BUILD MEN.