Posted on 08/21/2009 9:49:59 AM PDT by GOP_Raider
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- So a couple of years ago Charlie Weis was sitting on a beach in Puerto Rico when a USC grad, of all people, approached the Notre Dame coach and asked whether Albert Pujols, who was sitting a shovel pass away with his family, could stop by and say hello.
Pujols, the best baseball player on the planet, wanted to talk to him?
Weis, a baseball guy who adores the New York Yankees, said yes. Pujols and Weis hit it off. They talked ball. They talked family. They talked charities. (Both are heavily involved in special-needs fundraising.) Go figure, Charlie and Albert -- pals.
--snip--
But the new and improved Weis is keeping his mouth shut for now. He speaks, but there are no predictions attached. When you have the worst two-year total of losses (15) in Notre Dame football history, you learn the power of choosing your words carefully.
"Show me, right?" Weis said. "OK, that's what we're going to do. We intend to show you."
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Weis on a beach. Not a good sight.
The worst thing that happened to ND football recently was not keeping George O’Leary. He may not of had the paperwork, but he is a heck of a football coach.
He was solid at Georgia Tech, and he has made UCF into a legit, competitive program.
Not that it matters, anyway . . . that's got to be one of the most overrated college football teams in history.
“Not that it matters, anyway . . . that’s got to be one of the most overrated college football teams in history.”
That might be true, but going to a game there is a lot of fun...
A few months ago I posted another ND article and in my initial post on the thread I posed the theory that Notre Dame hasn’t really been the same since they lost to Boston College back in ‘93 when the Irish were undefeated and ranked #1. That’s kind of the moment that I point to where things started to go downhill for them.
You do make a pretty good point about O’Leary, though. Who knows what would have happened if the man had found a better way to embellish his credentials?
Notre Dame’s defeat of Hawaii in last year’s Hawaii Bowl was a good start for the Irish.
Though the Hawaii Bowl was not a prominent game, a win is a win - especially when you’re essentially playing Hawaii on their home field. And Notre Dame looked very dynamic in that game. Admittedly, this wasn’t the same hawaii team of previous years but they were still good.
Now Weis no longer has to hear about how Notre Dame has lost their last nine bowl games.
The returning players can come back with good feeling about how last year ended and hopefully strive for better.
How different would things have been if only he had listed past employment as a "community organizer"
With their easiest schedule in my memory, Notre Dame needs to “show us” this year. They play one ranked team (USC) at home. They will be favored in every game (except SC). I will tolerate one other loss, but if they lose more than two games this season, time for a new coach.
Perhaps it’s somewhat absurd to think that, say, a 9-3 season for the Irish would be a disappointment (and could likely cost Weis his job), but I have to think you’re right. Looking at their games before they get USC (Nevada, @ Michigan, Michigan State, @ Purdue, Washington), there’s no conceivable reason why they couldn’t be 5-0 by the time the Trojans roll into South Bend.
Out of curiosity, what other game on their schedule do you see as a potential L? I was thinking possibly a road game, most likely 14 Nov @ Pitt, as I think the Irish should (on paper at least) have enough talent to beat Michigan this year.
I think Weis needs to get them to a BCS bowl to keep his job.
Still waiting for the Mountain West preview!
sean, I’ve been debating whether or not to post the MWC preview, as I’ve been keeping it primarily to the BCS conferences, but I think you’ve inspired me to sandwich it between the Big XII and SEC previews.
The MWC should be a BCS Conference. They are better than the Big East, and ask the Pac-10 how good they are after last year’s beatdown courtesy of the MWC. There is also a certain SEC team who got embarrased by Utah in the Sugar Bowl!!!
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