I'll never forget walking out of Notre Dame Stadium on October 23, 2004. I had just witnessed Notre Dame blow a 16-point lead to an inferior Boston College team, and Tyrone Willingham call for a punt from the Boston College 30-yard line. It was the perfect storm of frustration, anger, and depression. I thought Notre Dame football had hit rock bottom. I was wrong.
I saw Tyler Palko and Matt Leinart throw five touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks to drop Notre Dame to 6-6. Willingham was fired, and Derek Anderson shoveled dirt on the grave of the Ty era by throwing four scoring passes in a 38-21 Insight Bowl win that wasn’t as the final score indicated. I thought that was rock bottom. I was wrong.
Inexplicable evidence of Ty Willingham's coaching ineptitude
Then Notre Dame watched as Urban Meyer and others said "thanks, but no thanks" and eventually settled on Charlie Weis. He gave Irish fans hope almost immediately. In the opener, the arrogant jerk from Jersey (that term was originally used in complementary fashion) helped Notre Dame completely outclass the same Pitt team that ran them off the field in South Bend less than a year before. They followed that up by winning in Ann Arbor for the first time in longer than I could remember. Following ND’s epic near-upset of Southern Cal, I thought for sure that Notre Dame was back to stake a claim among college football’s elite. Even a tough loss to Ohio State***, which I reference below, didn’t tarnish what was believe to be a “resurrection” season.
After a feel-good ’05 campaign, Irish fans had visions of a National Championship entering the 2006 season. That notion came crashing down to earth after a 48-21 Week 3 loss to Michigan. Though Notre Dame finished 10-3 (their best record since Ty’s first season in 2002), the ’06 season is best remembered for three blowout losses and a failure to live up to expectations. However, back-to-back BCS appearances created the illusion that everything was OK. That was until the 2007 season. The worst season in Notre Dame’s illustrious football history sent some to the mental ward and me to the liquor store. The Irish suffered one of their worst home losses ever in a 33-3 pasting by Georgia Tech. Notre Dame was beaten 38-0 by a Michigan team that was just two-weeks removed from a loss to Appalachian State. They suffered lopsided losses to barely average Michigan State (31-14) and Purdue (33-19) teams. My cousin flew out from Brooklyn to witness a 38-0 USC rout - the only time we cheered the whole game is when the SC Song Girls came out - and I thought for sure that was rock bottom (again). That was until Navy and Air Force gave the Irish double-dose of service academy embarrassment in back-to-back weeks. Did I think it was rock bottom then? I think a better word would be Armageddon.
The loss to Navy was way worse than a stupid meteor
Flash forward to today. After Notre Dame's seventh straight loss left the Irish reeling at 6-6 someone asked what I could possibly compare the last seven years of Notre Dame football to. It didn’t take me long to come up with the perfect parallel – The Shawshank Redemption (just without the “redemption”). Try to follow me here: it was like the Notre Dame program was Andy Dufresne, and the Ty Willingham era was his 500-yard trek through the Shawshank Prison sewage pipe. The 2005 season made us think it was over, and made us feel like we were free. Little did I, or any other Irish fan, realize that there was another big sewage pipe waiting. Think about it – you can compare just about everything during the terrible Willingham/Weis era to the movie. Willingham’s 8-0 start in 2002 (the bucket of beer given to the inmates by Hadley on the rooftop), the 2005 season (Playing “Sull'aria, Che soave zeffiretto" over the Prison PA system), the lopsided losses to USC (Andy’s dealings with the “sisters”), the recruiting abyss left by Ty Willingham (Warden Norton putting Andy is solitary confinement), Willingham’s 2004 37-0 loss to Michigan and Weis’ 2007 38-0 loss to Michigan (Red's worst night at Shawshank...twice), losses to BYU, Navy, Air Force, and Syracuse (Andy's long tenure in the Laundromat), even the graduation of Brady Quinn (Norton orchestrates the murder of Andy’s friend Tommy).
Sure there have been random signs of hope, but no prologned stretches of success. Maybe it was Charlie's recruiting prowess, maybe it was the Super Bowl rings, or maybe it was my allegiance to a fellow east-coast guy, but for some reason the back-end of the Weis era has hurt more. Most of that is due to the fact that unlike the end of the Willingham era, I had hope the whole time that Weis was going to turn this ship around. That hope went out the window after the loss to Syracuse.
I don't know what Notre Dame will end up doing with Charlie Weis now, and frankly, I don't care. After the embarrassments and the corny ND-bashing jokes, I'm almost numb to it all. Where’s the end of the sewage pipe? Where’s the boat in Zihuatanejo? When will the rain wash this all away, if ever?
Andy writes this in a letter to Red after breaking out of prison:
“Remember, Red. Hope is a good
thing, maybe the best of things,
and no good thing ever dies.”
I only wish that quote pertained to Notre Dame football.
Notre Dame fans have waited nearly a decade for their "redemption"
***Side note: I want to clarify a blatant lie that has been perpetuated by the media and accepted as fact by those that didn’t actually watch the Fiesta Bowl matchup between Notre Dame and Ohio State. That game was NOT a blowout. Ohio State faced a 3rd-and-11 from their own 27-yard line leading 27-20 with 3:43 left in the 4th quarter. Would you seriously classify that as a blowout? Yes, Ohio State had 617 yards of offense, but who cares? The game seemed one-sided on paper, but the fact remains that Notre Dame was one down away from getting the ball back with three minutes and a chance to tie the game. That’s not a blowout by any stretch of the imagination. Not even close – and nobody will ever convince me otherwise.
SHOOTING THE REST OF THE SPORTS WORLD:
Swish: Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney
Are you sitting down? I want to pass along a piece of information that may alarm you. Did you know that Robert Mathis (8.5) and Dwight Freeney (8) rank 2nd and 3rd among AFC defensive ends in sacks this season? Only Mario Williams, after a three-sack performance on Monday Night football has more. You could make the argument that the Colts’ pass-rushing duo is the MVP(s) of the team and the key component to their sudden playoff resurgence. 5 of Freeney’s 8 sacks on the season have come in the last four games, while Mathis is on his way to potentially turning in a career year. Freeney has more name-recognition, but Mathis is more worthy of a Pro Bowl invite, although both could be Hawaii-bound. With by far the worst offense statistically since pre-2003, the play of the defense led by Freeney and Mathis is the reason that the Colts are still in position for a Wild Card berth.
Brick: SEC Football
Remember the days when this was the no-brainer top conference in all of America? That run has officially come to an abrupt end after a tough weekend exposed the SEC as a two-team league. The supposed third-best team in the league, Georgia, blew a 16-point halftime lead and gave up 409 rushing yards in a 45-42 loss to rival Georgia Tech. This is a Jackets team that lost by three touchdowns to North Carolina just two weeks ago. Meanwhile, LSU and South Carolina both fell to 7-5 after losses to awful Arkansas and Clemson teams. Only four teams remained ranked in the conference, and half of the league sits at 6-6 or worse. Alabama is still undefeated so they’re the obvious #1, but I don’t understand the infatuation with Florida. The pollsters drool over Tim Tebow like pre-pubscent girls do over the Jonas Brothers. Are those blowout wins over Georgia and LSU really looking that great right now? What’s the glaring difference between Florida and say, USC? The Trojans have a win over a top-ten Ohio State team (who is at least as good as UGA, and certainly better than LSU), and they trounced 16th ranked Oregon 44-10. Florida has only beaten one team that is currently in the Top 25 (17th ranked Georgia). USC lost on the road to #25 Oregon State while Florida lost to #22 Ole Miss AT HOME – shouldn’t those losses both be cancelled out? Don’t get me wrong, if the Gators beat Alabama they deserve a shot. But the fact that they’re getting first place votes and are ranked three spots ahead of USC doesn’t make any sense to me.
OMG Tebow and Florida! They're sooooo GR8!
Air Ball: Plaxico Burress
Unlike the rest of the national media, I’m not going to turn this into an “Athletes & Guns” debate. These athletes like Burress are grown men and if they choose to go to a club to party or choose to carry a firearm to protect themselves, then that’s fine by me. What’s not fine is Plax is illegally carrying said firearm, and going out to a club the night before a game when he’s supposed to be injured. Burress now faces two felony weapons charges, and thanks to New York’s stringent gun laws, jail-time is a strong possibility. I’ve used this column before to call-out Pacman Jones for having a case of baddecisionitis (adj. to continually make really, really stupid decisions), and I think that Burress has that same condition. This is a guy that has been fined nearly a quarter-million by the Giants over the past year for various rules violations, $45K by the NFL for on-field conduct, and has shown blatant disregard for both his organization and his teammates during this season. Only $4 million of Burress’ $27-million left on the extension that he signed in September is guaranteed, meaning that cutting him is an option for the Giants. It’s too bad because I’ve always liked Plaxico (enough to name my fantasy team after him) and his performance in last year’s NFC Championship game was one of the greatest performances turned in by any Giant in the franchise’s long history. His days in Jersey are likely over, but hopefully he can get a second chance somewhere (Please not Dallas, please not Dallas…) and get his priorities back in order.
Free Harris Smith!
Swish: LA Lakers
For the last two seasons, I thought this team would never go anywhere with the role players in place. Lucky for the Lakers, I’m wrong about 85% of the time (Seahawks-Chargers Super Bowl…). The only real team in Los Angeles moved to 14-1 after last weekend’s win over Toronto and looks head-and-shoulders above everyone else in the NBA. What makes this the best Lakers team since the three-peat of 2000-02, is the fact that it’s more than just Kobe Bryant. The Lakers have seven players averaging 9 points or more and have gotten a huge boost with the return of Andrew Bynum (12.4 ppg, 9 rpg, 2.2 bpg). One of the other keys has been the play of youngsters Trevor Ariza (who the Knicks traded for Steve Francis…doh) and Jordan Farmar. The ageless Derek Fisher is also pitching in with 10 points per game. The Lakers only have four games against teams above .500 in the month of December, so look for them to continue their winning ways. Cleveland and Boston both look tough in the East, but those teams just don’t have the horses to keep up with the Lakers high-powered attack.
Brick: Big Ten basketball
With a chance for the Big Ten’s top two teams to showcase their talents against major conference opponents, both Purdue and Michigan State fell flat during Feast Week. The perpetually overrated Spartans were trounced 80-62 by a Maryland team that looks like a borderline NCAA Tournament team in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic. The Terps followed up that victory with a 22-point loss to Gonzaga and a 28-point loss to Georgetown. Michigan State is a team that generally turns it on at the end of the season, but I find it infuriating that Tom Izzo could poop in a can, say it’s his team, and the pollsters would rank the Spartans in the preseason top ten. Meanwhile, Purdue does have a legitimate beef in their overtime loss to Oklahoma in the Preseason NIT. The Sooners shot 41 more free throws than Purdue, and also had the advantage of a critical “inadvertent whistle” during overtime which turned an Oklahoma turnover into a timeout. That being said, the game still goes down as an “L” in the Purdue loss column and turns Tuesday’s game against Duke (Big Ten/ACC Challenge) into a virtual must-win for the Boilers in order to gain some national respect with a marquee non-league win. I still think Purdue will contend for a Big Ten title, and make a nice NCAA Tournament run, but their lack of a frontline presence - as evident in their loss to the Sooners - may ultimately keep them from seriously contending for the Final Four.
Purdue is going to struggle with teams that have frontline stars like Blake Griffin
The Shots FANTASY Update:
Plax On, Plax Off (to jail) def. Spreitzer, 126-111
Plax On, Plax Off (to jail) is heading to the playoffs and is really hitting their stride at the right time. This is the fourth week in the month of November that my guys eclipsed 120+ fantasy points, and most of that is due to the continued strong play of Thomas Jones. Jones is now the 2nd rated fantasy back, and has scored at least one touchdown in five consecutive games. Only Matt Forte has scored more fantasy points. It really was a team effort this week as every single player scored in double-digit points, including late-season pickup Dustin Keller, the top-rated fantasy defense (Baltimore), and fellow top 20 RB’s Marion Barber and Ronnie Brown.
I made a huge mistake in my top league, dealing Vince Carter for Jamal Crawford – who I thought was going to average about 28 ppg with the crappy Knicks. Unfortunately, after his trade to the Warriors (which was awesome for me but not awesome for my fantasy team), he’s now the fourth option in Golden State. Meanwhile in the swamps of Jersey, Vinsanity is going to end up being a Top 30 fantasy player. Ugh. In my Knicks’ blog league, I made a major deal last week, shipping AI and Vince Carter (yes, I do hate him) for Paul Pierce, Raymond Felton, and Drew Gooden. I really needed PG help and Pierce can easily pick up the slack for AI and Carter – plus my team isn’t offensively challenged. It’s amazing that I’m in fifth place in this twelve-team league considering that I only have ONE fantasy player ranked in the top 30 (Jason Terry).
Good for the Knicks, bad for me
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Duke at Purdue, Tuesday
This is probably the biggest non-conference game in Purdue history, and a chance for the Boilermakers to earn major national respect. One of my fondest sports memories was attending the IU/Duke game just three years ago at Assembly Hall, and I feel like Purdue is in a similar situation this time around. The Blue Devils are a team that the Boilers match-up very well against, and I like Purdue in front of what should be a wild Mackey Arena crowd.
Oklahoma vs. Missouri - Big 12 Championship, Saturday
If you hate the BCS like I do, then you have to root for chaos. What would be more chaotic than Mizzou upsetting the Sooners and giving a BCS Title game berth to a Texas team that DIDN'T EVEN WIN THEIR OWN CONFERENCE? Normally I would give Texas a pass because this is the fault of a ludicrous tiebreaker, and they should be playing in this game. But, my golden rule has always been you have to win your conference to play for a National Championship. Texas won't do that, therefore they don't deserve a shot. If Mizzou does win, and Alabama loses to Florida close in the SEC Championship, I think that Bama (having only one loss) deserves a rematch. If the Gators completely blow the Tide out of the water, then USC should be the #1 contender. If USC loses to UCLA, then I guess Penn State should go? This is giving me a headache.
Dallas at Pittsburgh, Sunday
The Giants are clearly the top team in the NFL right now, but who is #2? I think the winner of Sunday's matchup will answer that question. Don't let the Cowboys 8-4 record fool you - they would be 10-2 at worst had they not lost QB Tony Romo for a few weeks. Meanwhile, you have to respect what the Steelers have done. By the end of the season, Pittsburgh will have played the Giants, Titans, Cowboys, Colts, and Ravens (twice). Besides missing Carolina and Tampa Bay, that could be one of the toughest regular season slates in NFL history.
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Sports-related –
Hidden video of the nightclub shooting involving Plaxico Burress (explicit).
Non-sports related –
Funny/Cool/Gross.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Larisa Oleynik
What ever happened to her? The last Wikipedia update came in 2006. When Wikipedia doesn’t know what you’re doing, then you’re really off the radar. She was hot in 10 Things I Hate About You - not that I saw that movie or anything - then dropped off the face of the earth.
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
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