The Good- The Season Ending
The Bad- The Season
The Ugly- The state of the program

Anyone feel like watching the Irish in a Bowl this year?

Nicely done, mrrandolph. I cannot improve on what you wrote, so I'll just tip my hat and move on to the next posting.

This is the time, when true fans will be seperated from the wanna-bes. We will overcome! And that's all I have to say about that.

Funny thing ND gets beat and Meyer already getting in front of the rumor mill and saying "I will be at Florida as long as they will have me". It is interesting that ND is 6-5 and makes headlines with its loses. Florida is unbeaten and can't make headlines with it's wins. I know they didn't play anyone this week but the point is clear love or hate them ND makes news.

Time for Chuck to grab the tanning oil and spandex, get the bikini wax, and head for the islands.

Charlie Weis, in his own words, has indicated what should happen. Five years ago, he said that he wasn't hired to return a 6-5 teams.
If he doesn't resign, he is NOT a man of his word, but is putting his own financial welfare ahead of the good of the team and Notre Dame Football. In my opinion, he has defaulted on his promise.

Listen I am as disapointed as anyone in the way things have gone this year. The defense I thought after last year would be the difference maker this year but they are horrible. The offense is very good if not great. turnovers lately have spelled doom for ND. Not being able to score inside the 3 yard line has been the deciding factor in the last 3 games. ND with some good defense should be undefeated I have no doubt of that. I say Charlie should stay let him have next year if all the weapons come back and I think they will no one wants to go out this way ever. Charlie is not the problem. Need the defense to get going. Charlie and the Irish good luck this Saturday we deserve a break a win against Stanford and winning a bowl game would help the pain some. Go IRISH....

Every Great Team Has two elements First is Talent the second is coaching We have the talent, What else is there to say
BernieO'K

Yeah , Me I'll be watching them no matter what I just keep hoping for the best fo ND no matter how Badly I feel after a season with Faust or Davies or Willingham or Weiss What bothered me the most is when they gave unproven Davies an extension on his contract and then did the same with weiss.

Weiss said that the Notre Dame job was the job of a lifetime and then waved a so called offer in their face to hold thm up for more money and a contract extension, At that point they should hve said "Go for it Charlie" I cant help thinking about what they paid Holz and what he did with the team and what they are paying Weiss and what he has done with the team.

I became a ND Football fan when I was eight years old In 1940 and my Mom took me to see Knute Rockne All American, My Mom didnt care a whiff about football she just wanted to see Pat O'Brien and that new young actor Ronald Regan Ive been loyal ever since althought dissappointed many times , But Hope Springs Eternal, Yes Ill Be watching ND in a bowl game even if its a Toilet Bowl and hoping they will "Shake Down The Echoes one more time

Bernie O'K

You should watch the games!!! Give him another year!!! That's what everyone was saying last year and look where that has gotten us. The offense could be great, but is really only average, at best. The team is 6 and 5 against a weak schedule. The offense does great between the 20's, but can't do anything in the red zone. Remember the game against Washington??? Five field goals. I think the offense could be great, but not under Weis. His play calling is not creative and is predictable. This from a "great offensive mind"???

The defense is another story. I think they have shown signs of being good, but they too are poorly coached. Navy's FB ran all over them and they never made an adjustment. The players said they were out schemed, and I believe they were. Poor M. Teo runs around the field like he has no idea what's going on, rarely gets to the QB when he blitzes, and is always behind the back he is supposed to be covering out of the backfield.

The whole team effort is lacking in creativity, and execution dicipline. Worst of all, they team has not spirit. They die in the second half when they realize that it's just more of the same and the other team know it and has made adjustments. You can't entirely blame the defense when the offense gets two TD's in their first 3 possessions, and 2 field goals in their last 8 or 9. That is a failure of the offense, not the defense.

It's all coaching. Charlie need to move on, now.

Bernie,

You are one of the few who have been an ND fan longer than I. You made a really good comment when you mentioned that Weis held up the AD for more money and a contract extension. The guy is a slime. He talks about how much he loves the school, but he does this and then won't resign when he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can't coach worth squat.

They will be back, but it will take someone who doesn't look for excuses why they don't win, but finds reasons they can win.

Go Irish.

Keith Arnold, take a look at the entire season and tell me about the good ! There is none! Notre Dame is one game away from firing their coach, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate most likely will not return and the program itself is now circling the bowl. I don't know about you but individual stats and yardage totals don't do a damn thing for me if the game is lost. We lost to Uconn on Senior Day in double overtime, there is nothing but bad & ugly, you can add this to your stat list that is 2 losses on the past 2 senior days, 2 losses to Navy the last 2 years and several games lost because of poor defense and all this is going to be laid at the feet of Charlie Weis. The first step to correcting this program is to take all of your stupid stats and file them where they belong which is in the garbage right along with all the stupid excuses we have been hearing about a season, a career and a BCS opportunity gone horribly wrong. The icing on the cake is that once Charlie Weis is fired and gone there are no good candidates to take over the program. So do you know what that means Mr. Arnold, it means that we are going to get to hear the same stupid stats, the same stupid excuses and the same stupid rhetoric from all of you journalists for the next 5 years, boy I for one cannot wait for the future to begin, LET THE STAT TAKING COMMENCE!!!!

Keith Arnold, take a look at the entire season and tell me about the good ! There is none! Notre Dame is one game away from firing their coach, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate most likely will not return and the program itself is now circling the bowl. I don't know about you but individual stats and yardage totals don't do a damn thing for me if the game is lost. We lost to Uconn on Senior Day in double overtime, there is nothing but bad & ugly, you can add this to your stat list that is 2 losses on the past 2 senior days, 2 losses to Navy the last 2 years and several games lost because of poor defense and all this is going to be laid at the feet of Charlie Weis. The first step to correcting this program is to take all of your stupid stats and file them where they belong which is in the garbage right along with all the stupid excuses we have been hearing about a season, a career and a BCS opportunity gone horribly wrong. The icing on the cake is that once Charlie Weis is fired and gone there are no good candidates to take over the program. So do you know what that means Mr. Arnold, it means that we are going to get to hear the same stupid stats, the same stupid excuses and the same stupid rhetoric from all of you journalists for the next 5 years, boy I for one cannot wait for the future to begin, LET THE STAT TAKING COMMENCE!!!!

If the theme of the column is good, bad, and ugly, I can't just skip the good!

Keith...in answer to your question, in respect to the ND football program, I'm Thankful for:

1. The character of our players - none of which are so stupid or immoral as to rob a convenience store (not to mention in their school colors) OR to commit other assorted felonies - up to and including one of our Heisman winners actually "getting away with murder" (yes, Stephen of Troy that comment is especially for you).

For those of you who claim there is no spirit (Indiana Joe) or fight or heart on this team, I invite you to rewatch the games. Week after week they came out and played to the final second - even when self proclaimed Irish fans and an army of detractors predicted that the team couldn't/wouldn't overcome the disappointment of a recent loss.

Unlike many of the so called fans, the players demonstrated the character and loyalty to literally stand shoulder to shoulder with their embattled coach despite the vile, character attacking cheap shots so easily discharged by blogging cowards.

Why don't you detractors cut to the chase and start chanting the familiar refrain: "Crucify him, Crucify him". Would that finally satisfy your thirst for blood?

2. ND actually treating football as a game (albeit with big business implications) for student athletes who actually graduate and view football as being a PART - not the end all - of the ND college experience. The fans that feel entitled to a National Championship at any cost may be better served to root for USC, OSU, TX, AL, or any number of elite "football factories".

Starting with the days of Rockne (yes, even Knute had difficulties with the Adminsitration), definitely in the Leahy years, including Ara's years, ditto for Lou.....ND has always maintained football in a balanced perspective within the stated mission of the University. Read the mission and vision of ND (see the website) going back to Fr. Sorin's words. If you don't agree: get elected President of ND, AD, or member of the board and change it - but stop already with the whining.

Indiana Joe states in one of his posts "..it's only a game.."
and weeks later reacts with indignation (seemingly akin to the public reaction to Madoff's ponzi scheme) to the very thought of Charlie continuing his work for another year. What damage has this man caused you? Have you lost your life's savings betting on the games? A fan sending Charlie a cap mocking Charlie's mentally handicapped daughter? REALLY????

3. The state of the ND football program being far more positive than 5 years ago. You're welcome to call me a biased nut, rabid ND fan, or anything else you wish. This year especially, I read comments from top notch recruits (and their parents) that they chose ND to: a) EARN a top notch education for life, b) have the opportunity to play NFL style football, c) be part of a program of integrity, and (unspoken) d) get unsurpassed media exposure for going pro - if part of the very small minority of players talented enough to have a shot.

In my opinion, that is the current ND Unique Selling Proposition - and Charlie and staff have done a superb job of positioning it well in the recruiting "marketplace". ND does not have a monopoly on any one of the above elements - obviously. I assert that over the past 5 years, we have built a unique combination of at least those four elements. Top notch players have a good reason to select ND.

I do not recall reading/hearing about recruits perceiving ND in this light going back to the days of coach Davie and especially "poor" coach Willingham (how many millions of $$ did "poor" Ty take when he left ND).

4. I don't depend on many of the "fans" blogging on this site (and other forums) to support me or cover my back.

I'm old fashion. I've never met Charlie, I have no vested interest or hidden agenda in standing up for him. He's a ND man in the best sense of the term. I would do anything in my power (short of harming my own family's best interest) to help him or any other ND man (or woman) in their life pursuits - okay, honestly there are a few exceptions that I've met along the way. To me that's what I mean when I say "We are ND". If that's arrogance or thinking that there's something special or a mystique at ND (Stephen of Troy and other ND detractors) - so be it. Guilty as charged. Get over it, that's how many of us feel.

5. The President of ND and the AD will make the decision about Charlie's future at ND, presumably WITHOUT the "wise" input of the hordes of bloggers, TV "talking heads", sports writers (with their own hidden agendas), or other self proclaimed gurus.

I trust and have faith in the ND decison makers to learn from the mistakes made in the past (painfully evident since Lou Holtz's untimely "departure"), to use reason, to evaluate the program progress in total and not fan(atically) ranting, to do what is in the best interest of ND and of all "stakeholders" (players, students, alumni, faculty, coaches & their families) with ND's long term future as their agendas

Thank you God for these many blessings!!!!

Jan Dec, ND'69

Jan - I am an ND fan and can cover you to a point. I agree it is great that ND has great student atheletes on and off the field. The graduation rate are incredible and Charlie deserves credit for that. In general, the academics at Notre Dame are among the best out there.

It is also important to remember that Notre Dame wouldn't be Notre Dame if it wasn't for their football team. The football program is the most noticable face of the University and their are high expectations for success. That means the head coach must show results on the field with wins, and it has not happened. I don't expect championships every year either, but I do expect to see better than this. I think their are a lot of fans who feel the same way.

A good case in point are the losses to Navy in 07 and 09. Both times, they had the most talent, but could not beat them. But Navy is the better team because they are tougher and more disciplined. This is something Charlie's teams do not have, and I do not see that changing. It is time to let him go and wish him well.

1. the only big ugly in the notre dame/uconn game was the same big ugly that has resulted in every single one of notre dame's losses on paper this season and was tried, but failed, in all but 2 of notre dame's wins this season- blatantly dishonest officiating by officiating crews hired and paid by conferences and protected by those conferences and by the ncaa, so far, from the consequences of those numerous acts of dishonest conduct.
2. for any objective person who wants just one example of such game outcome altering dishonest officiating by the big east officials at the notre dame, go to und.com and watch and listen to this week's edition of inside notre dame football with charlie weis and jack nolan.
3. pay particuar attention to the closeups of the phantom 15 yard penalty awarded against notrte dame's sergio brown theortically for inflicting an illegal hit on a uconn player while the uconn player was theoretically out of bounds. result- an illegal td for uconn.
4. the physical film evidence from the closeups is very clear. sergio legally pushed the uconn player out of bounds. both sergio and the uconn player were in bounds when the contact occurred.
5. however, that did not stop these big east officials from giving a 15 yard illegal gift to uconn, a school which, unlike notre dame, is a member of the big east conference in football.
6. why can charlie and his staff and jack nolan and notre dame's student athletes not speak out about the blatantly dishonest officiating?
7. there are currently, both at the ncaa and the conference levels, so called sportmanship conduct rules(aka keep quiet about the dishonest officiating, rules enforcement, and rankings systems which have turned college football into the massive con opertation that it is today or you will be banned from college sports for life).
8. if anyone thinks that charlie has not received quite a few such warnings in wrting from the con artists who illegally rake in hundreds of millions every season from crooked college sports enterprises, then that person would be wrong.
9. while you are watching and listening to inside notre dame football. watch how loyal notre dame's student athletes are to charlie and his staff.
10. notre dame's student athletes who also play football have personnaly experienced blantantly dishonest officiating in every game but for 2 in which notre dame has played this season.
11. they know that charlie and his staff do not have to defend a 6-5 record because notre dame's real record is 11-0 when anyone with the equipment and experts to break down the game films takes out the points illegally given to notre dame's opponents and adds in the points illegaly taken away from notre dame by these dishonest officials.
12. charlie and his staff and notre dame's athletes who also play football have done outstanding jobs for notre dame bothg on the field and off the field.
13. notre dame's enemies are filling the media with articles intended to create the impression that charlie and his staff are going to be fired.
14.notre dame's enemies are also filling the media with fraudulent information inteneded to mislead notre dame fans into believing that notre dame real record is 6-5 and unacceptable and that the officials are honest( try contacting the conferences to get any background information at all on ant official. you will be stonewalled unless you show up with a court subpoena, as we have and will continue to do).
15.instead of showing the type of solidarity with and support of charlie and his staff exhibited by notre dame's student athletes who also play football, notre dame's enemies want to con notre dame fans into getting caught up in these vicious attacks that they asre promoting.
16. watch and listen closely to charlie's press conferences and to those of notre dame's student athletes who also play football, who are in much better positions to evaluate what charlie and his staff have done on and off the field for them and for notre dame than any casual noytre dame fan.
17. when you watch and listen to those interviews at und.com, ask yourselves the question "are charlie and his staff and notre dame's student athletes who also play football not shining examples of everything good and honest for which notre dame has always stood?".
18. the answer to that question is a resounding yes.
19. if notre dame football is to have a future outside of the ivy league option, then notre dame ad jack swarbrick and the administration will do what they should have done much earlier this season.
20. they will publicly support charlie and his staff and notre dame's student athletes and publicly demand that the current corrupt officiating, rules enforcement, and rankings systems be changed immediately.
21. that is up to notre dame and we have no direct vote in such matters, although we know quite a few people who do and we know that they have already made the correct decision.
22. notre dame will continue to play college football with honesty and integrity and giving every student athlete a top quality education and preparation for life.
23. otherwise, notre dame will no longer be notre dame.
24. with respect to the economic fates of every person and entity involved in crooked college sports enterprises, none of them will be around next season and none of them will have any material possesions.
25. the football factories and the predator coaches and the teams composed of full time football players being presented to the public as real student athletes will be out of business and gone, just as enron and mcoi worldcom and so many other con operations are.
26. we do not need the permission of anyone at notre dame or anywhere else to do what we do better than anyone else-take down con operations in the civil courts and punish, with extreme economic prejudice and with no mercy, in the civil courts those who have deceived and ripped off the public and people whom we love and admire.
27. every day, the media puts forth a new list of coaches who are billed as the perfect replacements for charlie and his staff. every day, the coaches named state publicly that they have no interest in coaching at notre dame.
28. it is not difficult to understand their reasons. at notre dame, they would not have the use of the full time football players that they have at other schools.
29. at notre dame, they would not get assistance from dishonest officials in their conferences, as they now do.
30. in fact, at notre dame. they would have to deal with the same dishonest officials with whom charlie and his staff and notre dame'sc student athletes who also play sports have to deal with every week.
31. at notre dame, they and their families and their student athletes would be left hanging out in the wind by notre dame's ad and admistration to be tortured by media vultures, as has, so far, been the case with charlie and his staff and with notre dame's student athletes who also play football.
GO IRISH!!!

This website is not pemitting me to post.
This is a test.

Jan, I must have misread you. I treated you cordially and respectfully, and when I disagreed with you, I disagreed gently.

But you single me out by name twice, and in one instance you give me a ridiculous O.J. Simpson crack? O.J. didn't get away with murder. There's no indication that he murdered anyone. The legal system is designed to force the state to prove its case beyond a shadow of a doubt. No one who watched even a DAY of that trial could conclude that the state proved its case.

And how do you explain the fact that O.J., a middle-aged man with bad knees, had no injuries despite supposedly being in a hand-to-hand life-or-death battle with two people younger than him? How do you explain the timeline? How do you explain the missing blood? How do you explain the socks that weren't there at Time 1 in the video of the bedroom but mysteriously WERE there at Time 2? How do you explain the LAPD's decision to send FOUR DETECTIVES to O.J.'s house to "notify him" and then how do you subsequently explain their decision to SCALE THE WALL of his property? Oh, wait, you're not going to explain anything. You're just a "biased nut, rabid ND fan," as you put it. You just wanted to make a cheap-shot crack about O.J. because you haven't got anything substantive to say. More of that "integrity" you're always on about. What was that you were saying about how ND has a "mystique?" The only mystery is why so many of you people are unaware that your feces does in fact stink.

At least I'm sure you sleep soundly now, knowing that O.J. got locked up for trying to take his own stolen trophies away. Go back to watching your archival video of the Four Horsemen.

Oh, and bolsh: good post. Agree completely with you.

IndianaJoe: You used a bit harsher terminology than I'd have selected to describe Weis, but I concur with your argument. He DID wave that "offer" in their faces, half a year into his contract, as a way to extract yet more cash from them. What's that about him being a "loyal alum?" Did we hear HIM saying anything about ND being his "dream job," a la Urban Meyer? No, but it was apparently his dream to make a lot of money and talk a lot of smack without having to do much in the way of producing results.

It sounds, IndianaJoe, like NDFAN401 may be a beer or two ahead of us. (I also agree with your post, NDFAN -- you're right, no one cares about stats when you lose, and there wasn't any "good" this week except insofar as mrrandolph pointed it out, namely that the season is over.) If we hurry, we can catch him before last call. I'm buying. But I want a screwdriver. Need some "O.J." to get the taste of going at it with Jan out of my mouth.

1. why, stephen of troy has a hero-o j simpson of usc.
2. how appropriate for stephen and for the crooked usc football program and how nice of stephen to post more information in his own words that we will use against him in the civil courts.
3. while it is true that a jury in los angeles did vote to find oj innocent of the crimal charges of murder, it is also true that the reasonable doubts were created by dishonest and sloppy conduct of the lapd and the la county da's office, not by any real evidence.
4. another civil jury in los angeles found oj civilly liable for murder and, until oj was caught in las vegas, oj spent his time illegally dodging asll attemepts to collect on that civil judgment.
5. until oj himself rendered that issue moot by getting himself put away in a nevada prison forever, i was actually considering purchasing the civil judgments against oj since i knew how oj and his attorneys had illegally been dodging collection and through which offshore jurisdictions the assets were being washed.
6. honesty and integrity have never been valued in usc's crooked football program or by the usc boosters who shill for that program.
7. fortunately for usc the educational insitution, the stephen of troy element has become a small minority in the usc community.
8. some of our best information on the corruption within the usc football program and athletic program comes from fine honest members of the usc community who find people like stephen of troy to be severely embarassing, along with the crooked football and athletic programs that currently hide on the usc campus, soon to be booted out.
GO IRISH!!!

robertg,

The only thing dishonest is you not being honest with yourself....the officiating isnt what killed your so called 11-0 record, your lack of player performance did. Every play is reviewed by replay during the game, so no score occurs when there is not a true score. Penalties are judgemental, if the league reviews them and punishes them after the game, why havent we heard of this? ( see the SEC even punishes its officials)

So robbie, quit crying and numbering your sentences....the Irish are exactly what we thought they are...a 6-6 team at best....

A ND fan complaining about a bad call? That is rich. I guess the two holding penalties at the end of the game were legit, right?

As a diehard Irish fan its been a tough year. The only way I see Charlie staying if the core 4 as mentioned in the article, talk the AD out of letting him go, with the promise they will stay in school for next season. After saying that, if Charlies stays he must get rid of Jon Tenuta and Corwin Brown. I thought Tenuta was a defensive genius. The Irish D could always stop the run, this year every team was able to run all over them. I thought the D would be a strong point, returning letterman, a prize linebacker (who is outstanding)what happened? I'm at a lose. Thanks for listening, I feel better getting off my chest.

Why is ANYONE considering ND for any kind of bowl game? Is there a shortage of teams with at least 7 wins? I always thought that playing in a season ending bowl game was a reward for having a successful season, not looking into the fan base to see who has the most alumni and fans.

I just hope the Motor City Bowl invites some actual competitive teams, and not a joke. If ND is invited, then I'm staying home, just like not attending a Lions Game.

the only acceptable losses should be usc,pitt,and stanford.if we can`t beat the stuffing out of these other programs with 4 and 5 star recruits changes need to be made, lets just hope the ad boosters,alums can make the right decesions down the road or you can start pointing the fingers at them.they picked weiss to begin with gave him the extension and money.weis worked hard but just did`nt get it done.

To state the obvious. Bowls games are about money not athletic competition. Rather than drag some other team who would have a hard time mustering 10 thousand fans the would rather pick ND. They know that ND fans will back their team regardless of the team's record. 11-0 according to robertg.

C.W. should be retained. The defense is the problem. The players on offense are great. Firing C.W. would kill the current recruiting class and put Notre Dame in the same group of money-grubbing football programs that sacrifice the coach to quiet the unwashed critics. I swould suggest that Notre Dame do the right thing; respect C.W.'s dignity, the valiant effort of a great offense, and allow the defense to grow up. Notre Dame is one year away from being a top ten team.

bolsh - thank you for the reply; likewise I can agree with you to a point.

Top or Bottomline, I also would like to see more wins, a National Championship much more frequently, BCS bowls, domination of other teams - I am a fan afterall. No argument.

In the final analysis, I would like to see ND:

1. Use Charlie's skills in the best possible way - call it VP of Football OPS, Asst AD, whatever - in charge of recruiting, player issues, conference(s) liaison, scheduling, etc. and possibly even Offensive advisor to a new Head Coach. I'd earmark next year for Charlie to remain as Head Coach while he helps transition the program to his successor smoothly and rationally - unlike the "process" since Lou Holtz "left". I believe that this would be in the best interests of ALL "stakeholders".

2. Join a conference - probably either the Big 10 or the Big East. The days of participating in big time (big business) college football as an independent is long gone. I also understand that the academic (professor exchange for example) and Federal grant benefits would be highly supportive of the university's stated mission.

In Fr. Hesburgh's words (not mine), paraphrasing..."Notre Dame would survive without football..." It would not by any means be what I or any other ND fan would like; but the powers that be will not change the core values of ND to win a National Championship at any cost.

Net, I don NOT agree that it's time for Charlie to go, rather to utilize his skills in the best possible way.

Stephen of Troy;

Perhaps I've misconstrued the intention of your posts due to the limitations of the email medium - little opportunity for reading tone, body language, and clarifying intent. If so, I publicly apologize for my reaction to you in this same forum.

I've viewed your posts and comments about ND as anything but cordial, respectful, gentle, and supportive. At best, I've interpreted them to be self serving, adversarial, and undermining of ND's approach to it's the spirit and intent of college football. The gist I've gotten of your comments has been essentially (paraphrasing into my words):

"Come on ND, get your act together...as a long term rival, USC is ENTITLED and deserves better competition from you".

....followed by what I've perceived as attempts to cast doubt on the long term viability of the ND football program, it's value to top notch recruits (who may be considering USC), it's right to be considered for TV coverage, and it's "relevance" to college football at all.

I interpret these type of statements as self serving by fans of competitive programs that would be delighted to see ND's recruiting progress return to the days of Ty Willingham's last 2 lane duck years of incompetence or indifference. The short and long term impact of recruiting quality athletes is obvious to anyone following any sport.

Additionally, I'm not sure if it was you (or others who I perceive as anything but ND supporters) that essentially called "robertg" a nut for claiming biased officiating by crews that are in fact affiliated and compensated by a given conference. Why are any crews affiliated with any given conference instead of being NCAA officials? Do you seriously deny that there is opportunity for bias under these circumstances - especially when the $$$$ amounts involved in college sports (especially football and basketball) are so significant?

For the record, I have no illusion about the smell of my feces. If there was any doubt in my mind, I can assure you that my immediate family has clarified any misconception. I'll assume that your comment is more accurately referring to the allegation that ND fans have a monopoly on arrogance. From my perspective, it is far more arrogant for fans of competitive institutions to ctiticize and attempt to undermine ND's approach of treating their players as students as well as athletes.

Believe it or not, I have the utmost respect for the academic achievements and high standards of USC as well as OSU, TX, OK, AL, etc. - for the general student body. I do however find it detrimental to the spirit and intent of collegiate sports and the long term benefit of the recruited athletes to year after year have a graduation rate for said athletes far below the general student population. Stories of over the top special treatment of select players makes a mockery of the term "college football." Again, purely my opinion, said treatment may be a major contributer to the message that these individuals are "above the law" or any other rules agreed upon by other participants in the sport.

I find it further repulsive for fans of universities with this type of special treatment policies to undermine universities like ND, BC, Duke, Stanford, etc. for trying to field competitive teams while maintaing high academic standards & graduation rates for ALL students - athletes or otherwise.

I admit that the O.J. comment may have been a cheap shot of sorts in reaction to the attacks on Charlie and his family (for God's sake, a USC fan sending Charlie a cap mocking his mentally handicapped daughter - REALLY!!! Talk about the smell of one's excrement). The USC grads that I've had the pleasure of getting to know are far better than that. I attempted to dramatize my point regarding the importance of athlete (and all student) character development - at O.J.'s expense. Like it or not, O.J. is probably the most famous and publicized USC athlete - in essence becoming the poster child for your university's approach to football. The public's perception of his behavior/action/attitudes have become as real as your apparent perception of ND fans.

If we have misunderstood each other's intent or motivations, perhaps we shall meet one day in person to wash out the taste of going at it - with an O.J. "screwdriver" or Irish whiskey, respectively.

ok folks. you're beginning to scare me! Now Jan is posting like robertg..... By the way, robertg. I want what you are smoking, man. Don't want it to go where you go, but it's gotta be one helluva buzz!!

1. two desperate media shills who planted the jimmy clausen articles, brian hamilton and eric hansen, did show up at charlie's press conference today, only to get their questions shoved down their throats by charlie weis.
2. that press conference is currently available for your viewing pleasures at und.com.
3. tj, we thank you for joining your buddy stephen of troy in donating all of your material assets to us in the civil courts, whether or not charlie and his staff are back at notre dame next season.
4.jan is absolutely correct about stephen of troy and his pack of usc goons who have been popping up at nd central and at other internet sites for a few years, using different internet names.
5. notre dame haters hunt in packs on the internet and, when exposed, try to fall back on the phony polite agendas.
6. honest judges and juries all over the us will make the only decisions about the dishonest officiating all over the us this season and all the way back through the 2005 season.
7. they will make their decisions based on the game films, expert witness testimony, and a lot of other evidence, including the sworn testimonies of a growing number of dishonest officials who have partipated in the dishonest officiating scams, but who have wisely decided to settle with us out of the courts and tell the truth.
8. there is nothing that anyone at notre dame or anywhere else can do to stop that inevitable process in the civil courts.we show no mercy and as my father and one of my uncles taught me"Nothing can stop the army air corps". my father flew bombers in the pacific threatre and my uncle in the european theatre and neither came home until those wars were completely won and over.
9. the word desperate does bring to mind the articles written and posted online today by eric hansen of the south bend tribune and brian hamilton of the chicago tribune, each of whom has been a well paid shill for notre dame's enemies for years.
10. you have to understand that each of these media shills have big bonuses waiting in escrow if charlie and his staff do leave notre dame.
11. they really though that they could pocket those bonuses by getting jimmy clausen and his date ambushed by thugs in a parking lot after jimmy and his date went back there to get her purse which she had forgotten.
12. well, while it certainly does matter for the future of notre dame football that charlie and his staff stay at notre dame for next season and for the forseeable future, we will take all of ther material possessions of hamilton and hansen in the civil courts with or without the bonuses.
GO IRISH!!!

1. notre dame ad jack swarbick needed a wakeup call and they got another one.
2. jack was very upset that jimmy was ambushed and sucker punched by some paid thugs in a parking lot when jimmy and his date went back to the bar/restaurant at which jimmy and his family and some of his teammates had had dinner that evening to retrieve jimmy's date's purse, which she had forgotten.
3.the objectives of the paid thugs were to injure jimmy badly enough so that he could not play at the stanford game or to get him arrested or suspended.
4. the people who paid these thugs did not pay them enough to keep quiet about who had paid them. that was a fatal error.
5. any remaining doubts about how far notre dame's enemies are willing to go to get charlie and his staff fored and to destroy notre dame football have been erased.
6. is charlie coming back to south bend after the stanford game,instead of recruiting, as jack swarbrick anounced today because charlie and his staff asre going to be fired, an agenda currently being pushed by some media shills?
7. no, charlie and his family and charlie's staff and their families, along with notre dame's student athletes, have received many death threats and the lights in the heads of jack swarbrick and notre dame's administration have finally gone on.
8. charlie and his staff and notre dame's student athletes are finally going to get the public announcements of full confidence and support and protection from thugs that jack swarbrick and notre dame's administration should have given them long ago to kill of these vicious attacks.
7. at the notre dame/stanford game, there will be another big east game officiating crew and pac 10 tech review crew.
9. as we know, the big easst football officials are still hopelesly dishonest and corrupt.
10. courtesy of new and honest pac 10 commissioner larry scott, the pac 10 officiating has been cleaned up, but not completely.
11. the tv feed of the 2008 notre dame/stanford game can be viewed right here at nd central.
12. the tv feed of the 2007 notre dame stanford game is available through espn and 2 plays which resulted in 14 points being stolen from notre dame by the crooked big east game officiating crew and the pac 10 tech review crew are available with commentary from the espn announcers and from jack nolan of und.com at und.com under football and under greatest plays of the charlie weis era and the videos and audios say it all.
13. the dishonest officiating at the 2008 notre dame stanford game is also very obviously with a pac 10 game officiating crew and a big east tech review crew trying unsuccesfully to alter the game outcomes.
14. stanford does field teams of real student athletes and stanford does not knowingly participate in any dishonesty.
15. however, stanford's current coach jim harbaugh brought with him from michigan a michigan tradition, being more than willing to cheat to win and to rely upon dishonest officials for coverups.
16.in charlie and his staff and in notre dame's student athletes who also play football, we have absolute trust and confidence, even with armando allen out for ther stanford game.
17. in the big east game officials and in current stanford coach, we have zero trust.
GO IRISH!!!

Jan, you have indeed misconstrued my posts.

I'm not just a USC fan. I'm also an ND fan and have been one since I was a boy. I watched Tony Rice and Chris Zorich with pleasure. My favorite player for years was Rocket Ismail. I was a Bears fan and thus HATED the 49ers but made an exception for Joe Montana because he was a Domer.

USC DOES deserve better competition from ND. ND deserves better competition from ND! Come on, that's fair. It's the greatest rivalry in college football. I'll admit that there were years when we stunk. You deserved better then. I may be outspoken but I'm consistent.

I've never tried to cast doubt on the long term viability of ND football. My issue is with the short term. ND's stock is slipping. You're a bright person. If you have a stock that's worth a dollar and it loses 10% of its value, it has to gain more than 10% to get back to that original dollar. So the short term slippage you're suffering could have consequences that are lasting and far-reaching.

I pay homage to the tradition and I criticize the current situation because I expect them to bring themselves back to the level they were back in the old days. Long term, you'll be fine. Just fire Weis and then stop bringing in coaches who don't understand how to coach. Your program shouldn't have pushed Holtz out and every decision since then has been knee-jerk. Your program also has to reconcile where it fits within collegiate athletics. If you want to win, hire winners and stop micromanaging them or booting them out after 3 years. If you want to be Yale or Harvard, stop worrying about wins and losses.

ND can be on TV all it wants. But as my mother told me, to whom much is given, much is expected. If you're going to be on national TV every week, you'd better win, or you're going to get mocked for being grossly over-hyped and over-rated, which ND assuredly is.

When I was in Torts class in law school, the professor explained why people get in fights in bars (this is NOT about Jimmy Clausen!). He drew two stick figures on the blackboard, one much larger than the other. Then he drew two stick figures of equal size. When you're sober, you see yourself and others accurately, and you correctly see that the other guy is much bigger to you, so you don't talk smack to him. When you're drunk, you think you're the same size as the big guy. ND is not as big as the elite teams, but its (drunk-on-the-heady-past) fans think it is, so they talk smack about We Are ND. The elite teams say, We Know That And We Are Not Impressed.

That is my problem with ND being televised. Your team isn't that good. I'd rather watch any of about 10 games than the ND game, unless there's some "will they choke AGAIN" subplot. The best games are in the SEC and the Pac-10.

Robert T. Gilleran (robertg) IS a nut, but not simply because he claims biased officiating was behind the grassy knoll. He's a nut because he pretends to be G Robert Blakey. He's a nut because he cannot accept reality. He's a nut because he uses the freaking royal we. He's a nut because he makes asinine threats to sue everyone who gets in his imaginary way. He's a nut because he writes nutty things.

Just because officials who officiate a game are affiliated with a conference does not mean they cheat for that conference. Yes, there is "opportunity for bias" but that has no bearing on whether there is actual bias. The reward for a GIVEN OFFICIAL is FAR, FAR outweighed by the risk to that official of being caught cheating. Think about Tim Donaghy, the NBA referee who admitted to cheating. His career is over. His name is mud. A random Big-X official who cheats on the theory that it MIGHT help "his" conference get a bowl game stands to gain, WHAT, precisely, under your theory? Who is paying him? And how much? Why would he risk his livelihood and his reputation?

What do you make of the 2 phantom holding calls against UConn? Why didn't ND get called for unsportsmanlike conduct when your frosh linebacker flexed HIS muscles after a play? Why didn't ND get called for a late hit when YOUR defender tackled USC's Joe McKnight after he took four long strides out of bounds? Why didn't the clock start until 3 seconds after Clausen snapped the ball on the "first" last play of the USC game, before they added one MORE second to the clock after the players were already greeting each other on the field? Or do you only care about (perceived) cheating when it benefits someone other than ND?

I didn't know about, much less have anything to do with, a USC fan allegedly sending Charlie Weis a cap mocking his handicapped child. I don't see how you bashing me has anything to do with settling that score, even if the facts you allege are true. I roundly condemn (and already did so condemn) any attacks on Weis's appearance or family as out of bounds, no matter who did the attacking. There's plenty to attack about Weis's coaching and attitude without needing to stray into such things.

As far as that goes, if you've read ALL of my posts, you'll remember that I chide the people who come in here and make out-of-bounds comments about pedophile scandals or call you "Iwish fans" or simply tell you that you're "losers" or that you "suck." I keep the comments I INITIATE on the subject of football. I won't dispute that I'm adversarial when people try to bash me for being a USC fan ("go back where you came from" or some variant of that isn't persuasive and "you're not an ND fan so your opinion doesn't count" is belittling)

All that said, I'm not here to make enemies. I don't care whether you think O.J. murdered Nicole and Ron. I do intend to stand up for myself when I feel I've been treated unfairly, and I did that. I'm satisfied with your explanation, and as long as it's not Bushmill's, which is best used for stripping paint off a jalopy, I'm in. Make it Macallan or Clan MacGregor and I'll buy the first round. GO IRISH!

P.S. You really should reconsider whether you want to adopt Robert T. Gilleran's writing style. It does you no favors.

Robert T. Gilleran (aka robertg): As usual, your remarks bear no resemblance to the truth. At the risk of being called out by Art Vandelay for using sentence fragments, I'm going to try to use short sentences so as not to confuse you.

Weis didn't shove any questions down anyone's throat in the "I'm here to talk about Stanford" press conference. He pathetically avoided discussing the only issues anyone gives a rip about. We already KNOW you have no answer for Stanford. Weis didn't do any shoving. He was begging, both with his words and his eyes, for someone to ask him a question that isn't about why his QB got in and lost a fight outside a bar at 2:30 am or about why his college head coaching career came in with a bang and is going out with a whimper. Oops, that sentence was a tad long.

There were no "paid thugs" who attacked Jimmy Clausen. It was one guy. There's no evidence, outside your own shameless imagination, that anyone paid him. First you thought it was writers from the South Bend Tribune who paid him, and now it's...who? Notre Dame's enemies? Way to go, Columbo. Do you look for any evidence before blaming YOUR enemies? You typify the phrase "ready, fire!, aim," Robert T. Gilleran. "Immig'ants! I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was them!" - Moe Syzlak, the bartender on The Simpsons

And Clausen hit him first. In the throat. Clausen got hit back. He just got back worse than what he gave. The other combatant's intent was not to injure Clausen so that he couldn't play football. It was to defend himself. Against getting hit in the throat again by a sore loser who cannot control his sore-loser emotions. It's called self-defense. Not a sucker punch.

Clausen and the guy he hit first ended up "wrestling around on the ground" for a few seconds before "the fight" was broken up. Clausen apparently cannot fight any better than he can avoid Navy's fearsome pass-rushers. Surprise, surprise. Clausen will not be suspended from playing in Charlie Weis's desperation game, despite throwing the first punch in a fight outside a bar at 2:30 a.m. Surprise, surprise.

Weis is coming back to South Bend immediately after the Stanford game. But not because he received death threats. His career received death threats. From ND's athletic director. Who summoned Weis back to campus. For a meeting behind the woodshed. That is at least 2 years overdue.

Speaking of things that are two years overdue, two years ago you were posting gibberish over at uhnd.com about how the national championships would be rolling into ND by now. What gives? Did your crystal ball turn out to be a Christmas ornament? You were also blaming "lazy Bob Davie" for everything under the sun. Is he responsible in some way for Clausen needing to wear a steak on his eye AND a dark visor on his helmet for the media portion of practice? What does your cutting-edge technology and tireless research tell you?

Oh, Robert T. Gilleran. You were so much funnier before your upper lip started quivering every time you posted a response to me. Buck up, little one. Soon it will be next year, and you can look forward to disregarding "the paper record" of ND's wins and losses all over again.

stephen of troy,
1. before next season begins, we will have stripped you of all of your material possessions in the civil courts and you will be out on the streets without a computer or an email address.
2. crooked college sports enterprises will be out of business. 3.college football officiating will be in the high tech 21st century, with no cheating possible. your hero pete carroll and his crooked team of full time football players will be kicked off the usc campus and banned for life from college sports. you and your friends will be banned from the usc campus.
4. i have had jerks like you pull guns on me and try to punch me out when they finally realized that i really was going to take all of their material possesions in the civil courts.
5. my associates have encountered similar situations with jerks like you.
6. the results are always the same. they lose and we win.
7. in the meantime, you might as well post away, although you seem to have lost your former internet friends.
8. unlike you, they must actually have some intelligence.
9. anyone can watch and listen to charlie's press conference at und.com. the video and audio speak for themselves.
10. post away. you might as well enjoy your last few months of being an internet bully.
GO IRISH!!!

Robert T. Gilleran,

You sure do make a lot of silly threats for a guy who got disbarred by the California Supreme Court in August 1997, seven months after being declared inactive because of an "irreparable injury." You aren't allowed to practice law. So stop making nonsensical threats to sue people. And stop pretending you had anything to do with RICO. For that matter, stop pretending you're G Robert Blakey.

You sure do make a lot of silly predictions about what will happen in the future. You predicted, two years ago, that ND would have won more national titles by now. How's that prediction working out? You predicted, two years ago, that Pete Carroll would be facing indictments the next year. What happened? Aside from...nothing happening to Pete Carroll, that is.

You sure do make a lot of noise about Pete Carroll for a guy whose only connection, as you've said yourself, to ND is that you admire her integrity. So Pete owns ND like Siegfried owns Roy. What's it to you? What, does Fordham (your undergrad alma mater) not field a football team? Sure they do. Cheer for them. Or are you still sick over the Yale (your law school alma mater) coach's decision to go for it on 4th-and-22 in his own half of the field against Harvard? Pete will still be on the USC campus next year, and he will still be in college sports. My friends and I will be on USC's campus multiple times, as we are every year.

You sure make up a lot of gibberish. Now you're imagining people pulling guns on you. Is this at all related to the fact that you wish you could have been like Bernie Goetz and saved Jimmy Clausen from being beaten up after he hit the other guy in the throat? You have issues, Rob. Just saying.

What do you mean, my "last few months of being an internet bully?" First of all, that sounds like a threat. Careful with that. It's actionable. I'm not a public figure. Second, the premise is false. I'm not an internet bully. You're the dolt who threatens to sue people who don't agree with your idiocy.

But you're right about one thing. I'll continue to post away. You continue to do the same. I cannot improve on the comment left at the site we were directed to by a colleague on another thread:

"Seriously though, Michael - Awesome response to the Bob Gilleran post. Absolutely hilarious responses to all 10. It is guys like him that make the rest of the ND universe cringe. What a wacko! Why do I have an image of the guy in a barren, one room apartment with the walls covered in photos of Bob Davie with all the eye balls poked out pacing back and forth muttering to himself about how vengence [sic] will be his???"

http://jgwebblogs.typepad.com/notre_dame/2007/10/its-a-mailbag-1.html

Robert T. Gilleran, when I found out who you really are, my Christmas came early. Thanks and happy holidays!

Listen if USC can ask John Robinson (Nat'l Championship Coach, USC legend) to step down, then why won't CW. CW could avoid this infighting by resigning and it would be honorable.

stephen of troy,
1. since you and your alleged friends claim to be such big shots at usc, wear stephen of troy t shirts to saturday's ucla/usc game.
2. i will not be there. however, many of my ucla friends will be with cameras ready to take your pictures if any of you have the guts to show up wearing any such to shirts. if you do, we can speed up your civil rico cases.
3. pete carroll and mike garrett have both known me for many years, along with their few remaining allies at usc.
4. in fact, before mike garrett decided to take the usc football program crooked, mike and i were personal friends.
5. no amount of threats or garbage that you throw at me can save you or anyone else involved in crooked college sports enterprises from their economic fates in the civil courts, not even the crooked california superior court judges that you have in mind, 2 of whom, so far, have spent significant time in federal prisons as a result of their illegal conduct.
6. i made certain to be at both sentencing hearings in the us district court in los angeles. after pleading guilty to federal felonies, both ex california state superior court judges cried as they were led off in chains to federal prisons.
7. but for the fact that sitting judges are immune from civil lawsuits, i would have simply stripped them both and the others, who resigned from the bench, of their material possessions in the civil courts.
8. i was wondering why you and your friends had not pulled out that 1997 california state bar garbage before now.
9. well, califorina ad dan lundgen found no grounds to prosecuter me for anything. no one ever sued me in any civil or crimimal court in connection with those matters. california gov wilson vetoed the entire state bar budget and forced them to sell off their assets and lay off 95% of their employees.
10. in a series of published opinions, the california supreme court was forced to admit that the so called california state bar court was not a real court at all and that its findings and opinions were not entitled to be admitted into evidence in any real court in any proceeding and were nothing more than the personal opinions of the people who authored them, no matter what titles they illegally used in those documents and no matter what was published in the california state bar journal.
11. the california supreme court was forced to admit that they had not looked at the merits in any case in this area since 1991 because they were simply too lazy to do so, even though the us supreme court had forbidden them to delegate any such tasks to any other entity.
12. a war then took place involving the california state bar beaurocracy, the california supreme court, the california governor, and the california state legislature.
13. the net result was that the legislature passed laws in 2001 creating a state bar court as an administrative court, but not retroactively to validate any prior bogus proceedings.
14. several state bar beaurocrats attacked the constitutionality of these new laws.
15. unwilling to take on an additional workload, a slim majority of the california supreme court twisted the laws to find the new legislation constitutional.
16. rather than taking the issues to the us supreme court, we simply worked on bipartisan federal legislation to eliminate what little is left of all state bar associations and hasve all of those functions taken over by honest trasparent systems run by the american bar association, of which i am a member in good standing.
these are all matters of public record and admissible in evidence in real courts, with the exception of your california state bar garbage.
17. the effects of all of this garbage on my personal and professional lives have been zero. i try and win cases in which i am the plaintiff, including causes of action and judgments which i purchase from 3rd parties.
18. i do discovery, expert witness preparation, writing pleadings and jury selection on huge civil rico business cases, including enron and mci worldcom and i own many thriving busineses.
19. so now, having exhausted your weapons of last resort and had that blow up in your face, what do you and your friends do next.
20. my friends and i will be amused, but will never back down or show any mercy to those like you who do not deserve any.
21.having seen that all of that garbage that was thrown at me by forces much more powerful than you and seen that the experiences only made me stronger, you and your friends can always try brazil.
22. no, i am not professor blakey. he is a fine academic with very little trial experience who was primarily responsible for drafting the criminal and civil rico acts. my associates and i in these cases are the experienced trial attorneys who turned the civil rico
statute from a dead piece of legislation into a deadly weapon in the civil courts.
23. the only threat i have made to you is that my friends and i will take all of your material possessions in the civil courts as a result of what you have volutarily posted after being warned many times.
24. perhaps you want to send your garbage over to the la county da, a usc alum. based upon his prior expoeriences with me, he will not protect you. you can also try california ag brown or the local us attorneys's office or what little is left of the california state bar association(they especially do not want to tangle with me ever again).
25. for our part, we stick with honest judges and well chosen honest juries.
GO IRISH!!!

robertg - You most certainly have entertaining posts. I don't understand why you are going after SOT so much. I do not understand the law in the same way you do, but I believe there is something called freedom of speech, which all on these boards should have.

I do like your passion for Notre Dame, but your arguements stink. The simple fact is that ND is 6-5. I might not have liked the officiating in every game, great teams win despite this. I like ND, but they are an average FBS team. They get pushed around too much on the field, the special teams are not that special and the offense is good, but not great yet. The red zone is a real issue now. If we want an average team, by all means Charlie should stay. If we wnat more, then another coach is needed to take ND to that level.

SOT;

Whenever I try to give you the benefit of the doubt, you give me cause to shake my head in disgust....now regarding Jimmy Clausen and the "fight".

In earlier posts you make the case for waiting until all facts are in, question the relaibility of eye witnesses (especially at 2:30 AM), and to the best of my ability to understand you - call for people to be rational in listening/reading these accounts.

Now in your latest post, you apparently have deemed yourself the very "Colombo" that you attribute to robertg. Tell me, were you physically on the scene, can you verify that the stories (I assume from the account that I have read, supposedly from the father of so called "Tim") that you now relate have any element of truth?

In the end, viewing your "body of work" on this site you always seem to have a axe to grind with our 22 old QB, our coach, or anyone else you can target in what seems to be an attempt to discredit the ND program.

It's very difficult to accept your comments as cordial, gentle, respectful, or agreeable in any way -- as you have claimed. At best, if I can believe that you actually have earned a law degree and are indeed skilled in the art of legal arguing, I will accept that you are (as you state) "churlish" -- boorish, intractable, and difficult...take pleasure in arguing just for the sake of arguing.

In the end I conclude that you delight in making unfounded statements, allegations, and inflamatory comments to get a rise out of the Irish fans - essentially (paraphrasing your words) verbally kicking a rival when down and things aren't going well for their program....

If this is your true intent, I would assert that you are indeed an internet bully; and I find it hard to believe that you are a USC alum as you claim. The USC graduates that I've had the privelege to meet/know use their quality education, intellect, and time in far better pursuits. They do not find joy in attacking others that are down...they are not thugs.

This will be my last reply to you Stephen of Troy. I have no desire to feed your ego or "churlish" delights. I hope others on this site ignore your self serving postings as well, following what my granmother urged as her 11th Commandment:

"Don't argue with a fool".

i thought the irish would be 6&6 this year before the season started, even though they put up a "powder puff" schedule.
GO AWAY IRISH

1. some of us remember the term the medium is the message and what that terms means;namely, that, if enough people in the media become dishonest, what is reported in the media becomes a fraud on the public, something like the propaganda operations run by josef goebbels in nazi germany and pravda( the russian word for truth) in russia.
2. well,serious cracks are beginning to show in the notre dame, weis, clausen bashing fraudulent media propaganda con operations.
3. the chicago tribune, long term notre dame and weis bashing media shill brian hamilton had published online in the 11/25/2009 chicago tribune an article stating that the clausen family residence in south bend had been sold and that this was additional conclusive evidence that charlie and his staff were going to be fired.
4. we contacted the owners of the chicago tribune and their attorneys, provided them with evidence that brian hamilton has been taking payoffs to run fraudulent articles about notre dame and charlie weis and illegally using the resources and name of the chicago tribune to lend credibilty to these fraudulent articles.
5. not being interested in going down in the civil courts with brian hamilton, the owners of the chicago tribune and their attorneys immediately published online the following retraction and apology:
"Editor's note: This story,originally published in Wednesday's editions of the Chicago Tribune's Sports section, included incorrect information that the South Bend,Ind., house owned by the parents of Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen had been sold. The error was the result of a miscommunication between the Century 21 represenative and the reporter."
6. is this the only retraction and apology coming from the chicago tribune of the many fraudulent articles posted online by brian hamilton and his con artist associates? NO.
7. are the owners of the chicago tribune and their attorneys going to terminate for cause brian hamilton and anyone who cooperated with him within the chicago tribune and take down in the civil courts, with our assistance, brian hamilton and the others. along with the persons and entities that made the illegal payoffs to get the fraudulent articles published in the chicago tribune and elsewhere? YES.
8. in the meantime, at the really rotten core foundations of these media con operations, eric hansen, al lesar, and bob wieneke of the south bend tribune who,in return for payoffs from notre dame's enemies, have for years have been writing and publishing online fraudulent and vicious attacks against notre dame football, charlie weis and his staff and their families and notre dame's student athletes and their families, illegally using the resources and name of the south bend tribune, and spreading their trash through other media outlets by claiming to have reliable sources within the notre dame administration, over the extremely angry protests of eric hansen, al lesar, and bob wieneke, the owners of the south bend tribune published online on 11/26/2009 an article by ap reporter tom withers " Quinn stands by Weis".
9. are the owners of the south bend tribune going to terminate hansen, lesar, and wieneke for cause and cooperate with us in taking down eric hansen, al lesar, bob wieneke, and those who paid them off to write and put online all of these fraudulent articles intended to drive recruits away from notre dame and to terrorize notre dame ad jack swarbrick and father jenkins into firing charlie and his staff( something which notre dame's enemies would kill off the future of notre dame football? YES.
10.are similar things happening to paid con artist shill tom dienhard and others, currently at yahoo sports and other media outlets? YES.
11. are there signs that other paid media shills, such as john taylor of cft and prt, currently illegally using the resources and names of msnbc and nbc sports to spread fraudulent information about notre dame football, charlie weis and jimmy clausen? YES.
12. yes, we are aware that keith arnold formerly had some association with cft and pft. however, unlike those con artists at cft and pft, keith and his staff have honored their contractual obligations with msnbc and nbc sports and done an excellent and very difficult job, under immense pressure at nd central.
13. is it possible that notre dame ad jack swarbrick and notre dame president father jenkins will be conned by all of these fraudulent media articles and others presure and kill off the future of notre dame football by firing charlie weis and his staff, which is exactly what notre dame's enemies and the proprietors of crooked college sports enterprises have wanted so desperately?
14. YES, it is possible, since naieve and uninformed members of the notre dame adminstration have allowed such things to happen in the past.
15. however, we are not the only people who have correctly identified the current corrupt officiating, rules enforcement, and rankings systems as the real cause of what appears to be wrong with notre dame football and that charlie weis and his staff are the perfect fit for notre dame for the forseeable future.
16. many of the same notre dame alumni who enjoyed great success as student athletes also playing football at notre dame, in the nfl, and in their personal and business lives who stepped uo to rescue notre dame football in 2005, when father jenkins permitted a similar near murder of the future of notre dame football to occur, concur with our analyses and conclusions.
17. if jack swarbrick and father jenkins do make that fatal error for notre dame football, will we still take down in the civil courts, with extreme economic prejudice, every person and entity involved in crooked college sports enterprises, including stephen of troy and his friends.
18. we follow a diffenent version of the 11th commandment "thers does come a point when arguing with a fool becomes pointless. however, when the fools have gioven you an opportunity to take all of their material possessions in the civil courts,do so or be held responsible for the damage that those fools do to the lives of other people."
GO IRISH!!!

Jan,

The facts are in now. When I advised Brandon not to lose heart, it was because there was a silly story about how an ND fan punched Clausen. That was absurd on its face, no pun intended. There's no serious dispute, several days later, that Clausen shoved the guy in his throat first. I don't claim to know what was said. And it doesn't matter. If you shove me in my throat, I'm allowed to punch you in self-defense. Period, end of story.

I like ND. That doesn't mean I have to like everything about ND, or that I have to ignore her hypocrisy. Clausen and Weis are prime instances. I love my country, but it's patriotic to point out when my country strays from its beloved principles.

I don't have an axe to grind against Clausen. 22 years old or not, he's an overrated brat, and he has always been one. Do you have any factual basis to dispute that? Or would you just rather call me names and avoid admitting that Clausen does in fact throw temper tantrums and does in fact lose at least as often as he wins and does in fact take sacks instead of throwing the ball away? Isn't it nifty to overlook the way Clausen used a stretch Hummer limo to announce he would be gracing you Domers with his overrated, spoiled-rich-brat presence? Swept that alcohol stuff under the rug, because boys will be boys, right? Do you find it convenient to ignore the fact that Clausen hit someone outside of a bar at 2:30 a.m. before he got hit back, and yet he's got the verboten dark visor on in practice and Coach won't allow ANY player or coach to talk to the media? It's reminiscent of Kobe getting to fly to Colorado on a Laker plane to have his rape trial. Bending the rules for talent didn't begin with Clausen and won't end with him, but at least Kobe won a title without Shaq. Clausen has done, what, precisely, to deserve special treatment?

I don't have an axe to grind against Weis. I don't think his weight is fair game to joke about. I don't think his kids are fair game to joke about. But more importantly I don't think his record entitles HIM to have made the comments he made about his predecessor, when Weis first showed up in South Bend. Weis was brought in to win, period. You already had a class act who upheld the warm, fuzzy standards. But Weis didn't win.

I don't like arrogance. Seems to be a lot of that coming from South Bend. I don't like losing. Seems to be a lot of that coming from South Bend too. Most of all I don't like excuses. Seems to be.... Stop me when you've heard this one already.

I don't care at all if you don't like me or if you don't think my posts are up to your standards. Nor do I care if you call me a "thug." Big stuff coming from the person who made a crack about O.J. getting away with murder. But what am I to make of you standing up for Robert T. Gilleran, who threatened to SUE me, bankrupt me, humiliate me in public, etc, all because he doesn't agree with my opinion? What is he, chopped liver? He's not a Domer, much less the ND law professor he pretends to be. At least be consistent, if you're going to come in here and be high-and-mighty. ND already has a Team Mom. They don't need two.

And, sorry to burst your bubble, but I AM in fact a USC alum. Undergrad class of 1997, law school class of 2000.

Now that you've given me my comeuppance, I can thank you for saving me the $8.50 I'd otherwise have spent on that Irish whisky. Oh, and not to be churlish, because I know that galls you, but there's no "e" in whisky. I know that because when I was in Ireland a lot of people told me that. And I read it on a bottle of single malt.

Carry on, Team Mom. I think Jimmy needs you to change his bandages.

Robert T. Gilleran,

Consider this post a precursor to the written discovery requests I will serve you with when you commence your very public jury trials.

Request 1. Please identify all evidence upon which you base your libelous contention, made in Para. #17 of your post 44, supra, that I am in any way "involved with crooked college sports enterprises."

Request 2. Please set forth every fact upon which you based the libelous contention identified in Request 1.

Request 3. Please produce original versions of each and every document identified in your response to Request 1.

Happy Holidays, Robert. I hope you didn't lose your sense of taste when you suffered that "irreparable injury." It would be a shame not to be able to taste the Thanksgiving feast. With any luck, the injury only affected your ability to think rationally or construct grammatically-correct sentences.

See you around the bankruptcy courts, Robert. I may even have a spare copy of Call of Duty for you. You DO have an Xbox 360, don't you? I'm sure you need something to fill all your downtime when your associates aren't busy bringing down the CA judiciary, the Catholic church, or the NCAA. In my office we have a video game system and a pool table, and we're nowhere near your stratospheric talent level.

Robert T. Gilleran,

Far be it from me to quibble with your knowledge. But I thought the 11th Commandment was "never speak ill of a fellow Republican." Please advise where I went wrong.

And I always heard that the reason not to argue with a fool is because "they'll bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

This, you see, is why I studiously avoid arguing with you, Robert. Instead, I simply ask you to help me solve the problems that are too unwieldy for me. The birds are still not fairly apportioning time to my birdfeeder, and the North-South traffic is becoming ever-more disdainful of the time demands faced by us East-Westers. Please hurry with your assistance, Robert. Tomorrow is Black Friday and I need to get some shopping done before you bankrupt me for having the gall to tell you that you're looney as a tune for the gibberish you write.

my my folks i thought i had heard it all,guess not i certainly am
glad there are only a few people involved in cws retention as
this bunch of kooks who pretend to be nd fans really dont have a clue what a good coach is with the talent that was left by ty is it such a wonder we would have a bad time of it if you fail to recruit well for two years that gap in recruiting is gone forever
charlies recruits are now in place so it is on his shoulders now
rightly so has anyone considered that a contract is in place and should be honoered but keeping your word is a forgotten trait
mr. swarbrick,honer our commitment go nd

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