About Last Week

The biggest story of the last seven days simply has to be Notre Dame's return to glory in Honolulu. I was rooting for the Rainbows...but it was a win-win for me because one of the least-likable teams in America would lose the game...and by losing, Hawaii was forced into not forming their conga line in the center of the field after the game. But, my favorite part of the game was Jimmy Montana throwing up the "hang loose" symbol while mocking the Hawaii faithful in the second quarter. He continued his display of humility and class by pointing at the ND logo below his neck as the Irish pounded the lowly Rainbows.

Truth be told, it'd be hard to go 22/26 with 400 yards and 5 TDs versus no defense at all, so let's not underestimate the importance of this win. The momentum of this large bowl victory will surely carry over into next season...Right? The only question I had following the Christmas Eve contest was how long Andre Ware and Jimmy Clausen had been having their affair.

So it's official, I guess. The echoes are awakened and UND will be a major contender for the BCS championship in '09, at least in the mind of the pollsters. I can't wait to see the Irish ranked in the top-5 in pre-season polls and the talk of Pickles campaign for his first of two Heisman trophies!!

Suck it, EsPN (Musketeers & Zags, too).
I have a couple of friends who are Xavier grads...and get this, they are also UND football fans. So when X lost its second in a row, at home, versus Butler, I couldn't have been happier...but as Gonzaga went from a top-5 ranking to a three-loss team in a ten-day stretch, my level of happiness did actually grow.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing small programs win...especially the underdogs. But, I can't stand how EsPN and other outlets pick mid-majors every season to fall in love with and swoon over as they cut up the big conferences for being weak. It's a hell of a lot more difficult to play night-in, night-out against big conference foes and keep winning than it is to get up for the one-to-three respectable opponents in the WCC, MVC or HL.