That Ought to Shut Them Up

After a week where there were plenty of baseless rumors that Charlie Weis might leave Notre Dame for the NFL, Notre Dame quickly quashed those rumors today as they signed Weis to a 10 year extension through 2015. While there was no chance that Weis was planning on leaving Notre Dame anytime soon, this extension should prevent any negative recruiting repercussions that these kind of rumors can create. Kudos to Kevin White and Father Jenkins for their quick work.

Occasionally I'm Right

Harriet Miers will not be confirmed, as she withdrew her nomination today. I second Lucas's skepticism over at Daily Contentions that her withdrawal has to do with whether she would turn over documents related to her tenure as White House Counsel. Her nomination was becoming more troubled by the day, and it was going to take a great performance at the confirmation hearings to get confirmed. Now President Bush has a second chance to get this pick right, and remember George there are plenty of well qualified conservatives who have actually thought about constitutional issues for more than two weeks such as Samuel Alito, Michael McConnell, Edith Jones, Michael Luttig, Priscilla Owen and Edith Brown Clement just to name a few.

I'm Rich

8 months ago I started this little blog, and now the fruits of my labor have paid off, as I just discovered today that my blog is worth $564.54. I might as well cash in while I'm still ahead. You can find out how much your blog is worth here.

World Champs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way back in April in my season preview of the White Sox, I said that if the Sox got all the breaks to go their way, they would be playing in the ALCS. I thought they had no chance to play in the World Series. There was just too many good teams in the American League: Yankees, Red Sox and Angels. Boy I was wrong. Horribly wrong. Not only did the White Sox win the World Series tonight, but they did it with ease. They went 11-1 in the playoffs and if you go back to the Detroit series in September, the White Sox won 16 of their last 17 games. Simply incredible. The Sox may not have a cute curse like the Cubs or the Red Sox, but the White Sox have suffered through 88 years of absolute futility. So futile that when they won their first playoff series a few weeks ago, it was their first playoff series win in 88 years. It's going to take a day or two for this to all sink in, but I can't wait until the ring ceremony on opening day next year and I can't wait to start chanting, "1908!" when they play the Cubs. The scary thing about the Sox is that assuming they can resign Konerko and stay healthy, they will go deep into the playoffs again next season.

One Win From Glory

The White Sox are now one victory shy of championship glory with their 14 inning 7-5 victory over the Astros earlier this morning. It took a mere 5 hours and 41 minutes and yours truly was up until almost 2:30 AM to watch the game until the bitter end. It was well worth it. Now I just need a large cup of coffee.

Miers Round-Up

On a non-White Sox and non-Notre Dame note, In the Agora has a great round-up of stories on the increasing disaster that is the Harriet Miers nomination. If she gets confirmed, I will be very surprised.

Hat tip: Daily Contentions

Scott Podsednik!!!!!

Of all people, the last person I expected to hit a home run off Brad Lidge was Scott Podsednik. With Podsednik's improbable home run, the Sox are two games away from glory.

Three Wins Away From Glory

Keep mowing them down Bobby.

That Was Fast

The honeymoon is already over for Urban Meyer in Florida, as evident in this website. To think, he was Notre Dame's 1st choice. Thank you Urban for turning Notre Dame down. Your contribution will not be forgotten when Notre Dame is hoisting the championship trophy in January 2007.

Don't cry on us on Urban.

BYU Prediction

Before I get to my BYU prediction, I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts this week. I have been swamped with work and law school applications, so that has left me zero time to post anything. Posting is likely going to continue to be sporadic over the next couple of weeks as I try to finish all of my applications. Now to the BYU game. Last year the BYU game was the beginning of the end of the Willingham era as Notre Dame suffered an embarrassing 20-17 loss at BYU. Notre Dame rushed for only 11 yards and looked lost offensively the entire game. This year will be a different story, and it all starts with the coaching staff. Last year Bill Dedrick did not have a clue on how to attack the 3-3-5 defense of BYU, while this year, Weis has proven time and time again his ability to exploit all defenses. He should have no problem exploiting the high risk, high reward defense of BYU. In addition, Notre Dame is a far more talented team than BYU. The only way this game is close is if the defense of BYU can create a number of turnovers because BYU is going to struggle mightily to move the ball against the Irish. They don't have Reggie Bush, so they're going to struggle to run the ball. In addition, they have only one good receiver, Todd Watkins, and Notre Dame has shown in previous games (e.g., Michigan and Pitt) that it can shut down a team's passing attack if there's only one good receiver to defend. If this game is within two touchdowns in the 4th quarter I'll be shocked. There will be no USC hangover. Notre Dame 42 BYU 14

How About Them White Sox!!!!

The White Sox will be making their first World Series appearance since 1959 after their 6-3 victory over the Angels last night. The victory almost makes me forget about the Notre Dame loss.

I'm Hurtin

But I did it. I completed the Baltimore Marathon yesterday in 3:32:26, and somehow found the strength to stand for nearly four consecutive hours while partaking in several grain alcoholic beverages along with my closest several hundred DC ND alumni friends at Sine Irish Pub. As expected, I am paying the price today for my utter disregard I had for my body yesterday. I'm basically doing the shuffle walk today, as I'm too sore to bend my legs.

The marathon went well for the first 18 miles as I was averaging a sub 7:30 pace and seemed on my way to running a 3:10 or a 3:15 which would have been pretty damn good for my first time out. Unfortunately, the course by mile 18 started to get to me. Mile 16 to Mile 22 were basically straight up hill, and I just got worn down of having to run up one hill after another. Then around mile 22, I pulled or strained an abdominal muscle and there is nothing more painful when you're running than having a side stitch that you cannot get rid of. So I ended up walking a fair amount between when I hurt my abdominal muscle and the finish, but I found a way to finish, which for a first time marathoner like myself is probably the most important thing.

As for the game, that game felt like a kick in the stomach. Notre Dame had that game won. I was jumping around and hugging anyone around me, then the refs had to take away the game from the Irish. First, they placed the ball on the 1/2 yard line after the Leinart (who by the way will be nothing more than a left-handed Steve Walsh in the NFL) fumble appeared to me to go out of bounds at the 2 or 3 yard line (of course this could not have been reviewed thanks to the Poodle). Then they let Reggie Bush shove Leinart into the endzone, which should have been a penalty. That being said when you let the refs decide a game, you don't deserve to win. Notre Dame had a ton of missed opportunities. The overthrow by Quinn to Schwapp, which would have been a sure first down. The missed field goal by Fitzpatrick on the next play. The inability to stop USC from converting on 4th and 9. This is probably the second most painful loss in my years of watching Notre Dame football (the first being the 41-38 loss to BC in 1993), and luckily my White Sox were able to get some of the bitter taste out of my mouth with their 8-2 win last night, putting them one victory away from going to their first World Series since 1959.

Despite the bitter pill of yesterday's game, there was a positive from the game. The future appears to be extremely bright for the Irish. They played a team that was more talented than them at almost every position, yet they were seconds away from upsetting them. Charlie Weis completely outcoached Pete Carroll. You have to believe that once that talent gap begins to close beginning next year, this is going to be a completely different story in the years to come. In fact, I am right now predicting a Notre Dame victory over USC next season.

Can I Do It?

Normally, I don't bore you with details about my life; however, Saturday, I have a tough and interesting challenge. And no it does not involve taking a drink every time I hear the USC fight song (I would be passed out by the end of the first quarter). Instead of starting off my day by grilling some brats and drinking some beers before the game, I will be running my first ever marathon in Baltimore, Maryland. I have been told that the course is similar to the Boston Marathon in terms of hills, so it's possible this could get ugly. After driving back to DC, resting for maybe a couple of hours, and hopefully regaining some feeling in my legs, I will head off to the DC Notre Dame alumni gamewatch at Sine Irish Pub, where I plan on consuming many grain beverages while yelling at the big screen TV. So the question is: Will I make it through the gamewatch without passing out? I'll let you know on Sunday... if I'm still alive.

ND-USC Match-Up

With the big game just a couple of days away, it's time to break down the match-ups between USC and Notre Dame.

USC Rushing vs. ND Rushing Defense
USC has one of the best offensive lines in the country and they also have two of the five top running backs in the country. Notre Dame has been shutting down the run all season, but they have yet to face as good of a rushing attack as USC.
Advantage: USC

USC Passing vs. ND Pass Defense
Um yeah we're f*&%ed.
Advantage: USC

ND Rushing vs. USC Rush Defense
USC has the 11th best run defense in the country. However, the only good rushing team they have faced all season was Arkansas (3rd in the country), and Arkansas ran for nearly 200 yards against the Trojans. With a talented and physical offensive line, there should be some holes for Darius. However, Darius cannot dance around like he usually does or the lightening fast USC linebackers will stuff him quickly. If Notre Dame can run the ball effectively, Notre Dame will have a much better chance to pull off the upset.
Advantage: Slightly Notre Dame

ND Passing vs. USC Pass Defense
This has been the Achilles Heel of the USC defense all year. USC's secondary is banged up, and their defensive line has not put enough pressure on the quarterback to make up for the injuries. Brady Quinn has been phenomenal all season and he will have plenty of targets to throw to on Saturday: Fasano, Walker, Samardzija, Shelton, Stovall, and hopefully, a fairly healthy Rhema McKnight. Not to mention, since the Michigan game, the offensive line has been outstanding in giving Quinn plenty of time to find the open receiver. If Notre Dame struggles to run the football, Notre Dame MUST be able to control the clock with the short passing attack or they won't have much of a chance to beat USC.
Advantage: Notre Dame

Special Teams
Notre Dame has a solid punter and place kicker. They also have solid kick return coverages. Zbikowski has shown flashes of being an outstanding punt returner. Notre Dame has struggled to find that kick returner who can break off that big return, though David Grimes might be that guy at some point.

As for USC, they have a punter who almost never punts and place kicker who kicks basically extra points. They have the best return man in the country in Reggie Bush. They have, however, been horrid in their kick return coverages, as every team they have faced this year including Hawaii, has ripped off at least one big return. Pete Carroll has vowed to clean up the piss poor kick coverage by putting a couple of the defensive starters on the kick coverage team. I would expect USC to be much improved in their kick return coverage on Saturday.
Advantage: Slightly USC

Intangibles
Pete Carroll is going to have his team ready to play. Carroll is an ego-manic, and I'm sure he has not taken too kindly to all of the people putting the genius label on Weis after just five games. I would be shocked if USC came out flat-footed like they have the last three games.

As for Notre Dame, there has not been this much buzz about a Notre Dame game since the 1993 "Game of the Century" between Notre Dame and Florida State. The crowd should be absolutely jacked up. Having two weeks to prepare to prepare for USC should help Notre Dame exponentially, as Notre Dame has an .800 winning percentage after a bye week since 1900.
Advantage: Notre Dame

Prediction
There is a new era in Notre Dame. The team is playing with passion and poise not seen since the Lou Holtz days. The future look bright, especially when you consider the 19 verbal commitments already. However, Notre Dame does not have the horses this year to beat USC. Two years down the line will be a completely different story. This will not, however, be another 31-point beatdown. Notre Dame is too talented and too well-coached for that to happen again. Notre Dame will keep this game close into the 4th quarter before USC pulls away.

USC 49 Notre Dame 35

So True

Memo to Self

If you're trying to get your town to built you a new football stadium you may not want your players doing this:

Minnesota Vikings players are being investigated in connection with a lake cruise that turned into a wild sex party last week on Lake Minnetonka. The party became so out of control that crew members on the two yachts were offered money for sex and feared for their safety, law enforcement authorities and an attorney for the cruise company said Tuesday....

....Almost immediately after boarding, crew members noticed partially disrobed women walking around, he said. One employee opened a galley and three nude women popped out, he said.

Then the crew -- about five people on each boat -- saw women giving lap dances for money.

"Players were approaching the wait staff telling them they would be tipped if they danced," Doyle said.

The players started to become more aggressive, wanting to pour their own drinks and screaming at the bartenders, he said. Naked woman walked around without hesitation. They performed oral sex in the open, he said. Sex toys were strewn about, he said.

At some point, the yacht captains called each other to see whether similar activity was happening on both vessels. It was, Doyle said, recalling what he called eye-popping conversations he had with crew members.

"They [the captains] had to step around people who were having sex on the floor," he said. "They were thinking it couldn't be safe out in the middle of the lake. It was a petrifying scene."

Man, if the Bears can't beat these guys on Sunday, its time to pack it in for the 2005 season.

Food for Thought

I got this tidbit via e-mail today:

On October 15th, 2005, just a few short months after the regilding of the golden dome, USC will come into Notre Dame Stadium ranked number 1. The past three meetings they have beat ND by a combined 93 points. This will be Charlie Weis's first home game versus USC.

On October 15th, 1988, just a few short months after the regilding of the golden dome, Miami came into Notre Dame Stadium ranked number 1. The past three meetings they had beat ND by a combined 93 points. It was Lou Holtz's first home game versus Miami.

Notre Dame upset Miami 31-30.

Let's hope history repeats itself.

Ten Things Notre Dame Must Do to Beat USC

There is no question that USC will be Notre Dame's toughest test of the season. USC has won 27 consecutive games and has quite possibly the greatest offense in NCAA history. USC is a two touchdown favorite. So what will it take for Notre Dame to pull off the upset? Here are ten things Notre Dame must do to beat USC.

1) Dominate the time of possession battle
As well as Notre Dame's offense has played, it does not have the firepower to win a 56-49 type game against USC. The easiest way to slow down USC's offense is to keep them off the field.

2) Win the turnover battle
When you're playing a much more talented team, the great equalizer is to force more turnovers than you give up, just ask any team that has played the Patriots in the post-season over the past five years.

3) Pressure the quarterback
If Notre Dame generates the same pressure on the quarterback they have against Washington and Purdue, Matt Leinart might have the first ever 1,000 yard game. The easiest way to slow down the USC passing attack is to pressure Leinart.

4) Adequate play from the secondary
The USC passing attack is a lot like Michael Jordan in his prime. You cannot stop it, you can only hope to contain it. What this means for the Notre Dame secondary is that they have to limit the big pass plays. They can't let Leinart throw a screen pass to Reggie Bush and let Bush runs 60 yards down the field untouched. They can't blow pass coverage assignments. In addition, Zbikowski and Ndukwe cannot bite so easily on the play action passes as they have or Leinart is going to throw downfield with great success. If the Irish can limit USC to less than 325 yards passing, then the secondary has had a successful day.

5) Hold Bush and Lendale White under 200 yards of total offense
Leinart, Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett are all outstanding players, but the USC offense starts with Reggie Bush and Lendale White. Without Bush and White, defenses could blitz Leinart all day and the USC passing attack would be no were near as effective. Again, much like the USC passing game, Notre Dame is not going to stop Bush or White, but they must limit their big plays. They cannot allow them to run for 300 yards in half like ASU did two weeks ago or allow Bush to have 150 yards receiving.

6) No special teams mistakes
It's pretty hard to beat a more talented team when throw away points on botched snaps or botched holds on field goal attempts or if you give away points on blown kick return coverage or snap the ball over the punter's head.

7) Score over 30 points
Even if Notre Dame plays its best defensive game of the season, USC will still score at least 28 points, hence, Notre Dame is going to need to put up a lot of points. With the Notre Dame offense clicking all season, facing a banged-up USC secondary and Weis having two weeks to game plan, this should be the easiest thing on this list to accomplish.

8) Limit Penalties
When you need to score a lot of points and stopping the USC offense is going to be a significant challenge, penalties from either side of the ball by the Irish will absolutely kill.

9) Don't Get Complacent When You Get the Lead
I would not be surprised if Notre Dame is up by one or two touchdowns at halftime; however, the Irish offense and defense has to play the entire game like it's 0-0, otherwise we could see another Oregon or ASU type game. USC has no fear about about playing from behind and it seems like when they get behind, USC starts to play up to its potential, which is a very scary thought.

10) Get a little lucky
You don't beat a team that has won 27 in row and a two touchdown favorite without getting some bounces going your way such as injuries suffered during the game by USC, calls going the Irish's way, a batted ball landing in Irish defensive back's hands, etc.

Charlie Weis is Channeling Lou Holtz

From today's presser:

Well, good morning, slash good afternoon. This is going to take a few minutes for us before we get going with questions because I have a number of things to talk about with our opponent this week. Obviously, they have been ranked in the top 10 for 37 games. They have won 38 out of their last 39, including 27 straight, which, obviously, is a great accomplishment.

They have been at the top of the AP's poll for the last 25 polls, and the biggest out of all the things, they are trying to become the only team to win three consecutive national titles. They have a great head coach, Pete Carroll. He has been there for five years now. His record is 47 and 9, that's an 84 percent winning percentage. And the scary thing, I know one of the big deals or his big deals is emphasis on outscoring opponents in the second half and over his career, they've outscored them 1,041 to 449 which I'd say is quite a difference.

Lane Kiffin, their offensive coordinator. He has been, you know, at USC for five years, son of Monty Kiffin who I have known for quite sometime with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, this offense is high powered, but really I am going to talk today about they have outscored their opponents 258 to 96, including 168 to 42 in the second half this year. They are averaging 604 yards a game, and the scary thing is 349 comes by pass and another 291 comes by rush.

I think in all of the research I came out with, as far as their offensive players, the thing that is most impressive that this group is on pace to be the first group in history to have a 3,000 yard passer, with two 1,000 yard rushers and two 1,000 yard receivers. That's kind of scary. You know, (Matt) Leinart not only is their captain, quarterback, but he has had a chance to win back to back Heisman trophies. His record as a starter is 30 and 1. He spreads the ball around. He has got five receivers that has 10 catches or more, completes about two thirds of his passes and throws four touchdown passes for every interception.

At running back, pick your poison. I mean, do you want me to talk about Bush, do you want me to talk about White. It really doesn't take much to realize they have got two dynamic running backs. You know, Reggie (Bush) is well, first of all, between the two of them, in the last 31 games, they have scored 72 touchdowns. For three straight weeks, both of them have rushed for over 100 yards. Now, Reggie is their captain. He reminds me of Marshall Falk. He can do it all. 194 yards a game. He is a dynamic returner, both in the punt game and the kickoff game. He can run the ball. He can catch. He can pick up the blitz. He is averaging eight and a half yards a carry. He is a very, very, very good player.

I think (LenDale) White sometimes gets lost in the limelight because of both Leinart and Bush. Here's the big guy at 6'2", 235 that's really been their leading rusher for last two years. He's got 10 touchdowns already and he only averages 7.6 a carry. So there is a big drop off from that 8.5 that Reggie averages per carry. And while we're at it, we might as well throw (Desmond) Reed into the mix because he has touched the ball 23 times and he is averaging 13 yards every time he touches the ball. So, you can't, when 22 comes on the field, all of a sudden, say, `Okay great, we have got those other two guys off the field.'

I think one of the more underrated guys on the team is actually their fullback (David) Kirtman. They throw the ball to him, 12 catches for a 14-yard average, and helps round out that offense. I will get to (Dominique) Byrd and the tight ends here in a couple of minutes.

At wide receiver, you know, they have got two dynamic wide receivers in (Dwayne) Jarrett and (Steve) Smith. Jarrett is the big guy, 6'5", 210, 35 catches, 467 yards, nine touchdowns, over 13 yards a catch. He's played 18 games in his career and has 22 touchdowns. So obviously, he is a go to guy. And he is from Jersey, too, so I have a little soft spot for Jersey guys. Smith has got 27 catches for 575 yards, so he is averaging more per catch and a little over 21 yards a catch. And then they can throw in (Patrick) Turner and (Chris) McFoy as well, if they want to go to three or four wide receiver sets. And at tight end, Byrd is a big guy. He is another guy like Kirtman that a lot of times goes unnoticed. And they do play multiple tight end sets. They have more of a receiving second tight end (Fred) Davis and more of a blocker in (Dale) Thompson.

I think out of the whole offense though the position that gets most underrated out of all offensive positions are their offensive linemen. I've already said they averaging 291 yards rushing a game. All these guys are returning starters. Actually, literally four of them are returning starters from last year, but the one that didn't play last year started the two years before that. So you can get to know (Winston) Justice, (Fred) Matua, (Ryan) Kalil, (Taitusi) Lutui and (Sam) Baker. Get to know those guys, probably the most underrated position they have. Obviously, they're the biggest key to making that whole offense go.

Defensively, Pete is the defensive coordinator. They're giving up less than 20 points a game and scoring more than 50 points a game. It doesn't take a math major to figure it, that's a 30-point differential. They have got two pass rushing defensive ends in (Frostee) Rucker and (Lawrence) Jackson and they both have four sacks. (LaJuan) Ramsey is coming back. It isn't like any big secret that he is coming back this week. They add another guy to their inside players. Get to the linebackers. (Oscar) Lua, he is leading the team in tackles. He had 10 last week. (Thomas) Williams is playing Sam - (Dallas) Sartz may or may not be back, he is their captain. He may or may not be back, but that doesn't make too much of a difference because Williams is really playing well, as well as (Keith) Rivers, on the weak side.

Pete has notoriously always had good safeties play for him. He has always been strong up the middle. You notice Lua is the leading tackler at linebacker. He has always been good at safety. Their captain (Darnell) Bing, he is their strong safety, where their pre safety both are solid players. That's even before you get to (John) Walker and (Justin) Wyatt outside.

And to top everything off, let's talk about their kickers. You know, (Tom) Malone is one the best punters in the country. Unfortunately, he doesn't get much action. And (Mario) Danelo, he does a great job of kicking extra points because that's about all he is doing. I think he is 30 for 30 on extra points. He has tried three field goals this year.

When I talked earlier about Bush, you know, I talked about him as a returner. You also can't forget about Reed because he has got four returns this year, that he is averaging over 40 yards a return every time he touches the ball. Obviously, they have weapons on offense. They got weapons on defense. They're very well coached. They are the No. 1 team in the country and they deserve to be.

First Qualification Questions, Now Ethical Questions

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was already facing serious questions about her nomination with her scant experience in working on constitutional issues and her lack of paper trail. Now Miers might be facing some serious ethical questions.

When Miers was the managing partner of the Dallas-based Locke, Liddell & Sapp, her law firm provided investors with questionable legal opinions for an abusive tax shelter for $50,000 a pop, according to a February 2005 Senate report. The report also states that Locke, working jointly with the accounting firm, Ernest and Young, provided this legal opinion assuring clients that challenges to the tax shelter "should" be upheld in court. One problem, though, the Locke opinion relied on "dated and irrelevant case law and did not address the relevant facts [of the legality of the tax shelter]," according to one client's lawyer in an e-mail to Ernest and Young.

Since this information is coming from a Senate report, I have to believe that Senators are going to question her about this and I would be very surprised if this does not reach the MSM within the next few days. Miers better have damn good answers for this allegation because the first requirement of a judge is impeccable ethics.

I already hated this nomination because she has little experience in constitutional law and now with this revelation, I just loathe the nomination. But hey she was the most qualified one for the job, right President Bush?

Bring on the Yankees or Angels

The White Sox finished off the Red Sox tonight, giving them their first playoff series win since 1917 (I said 1959 below, but apparently, they didn't need to win a playoff series back then to get to the World Series). Yes, the White Sox have been pretty pathetic for a long time, but things are finally starting to look up. If they pitch like they did in the ALDS in the ALCS, they will be playing in the World Series.

1 to Go

The White Sox are just one win away from their first playoff series win since 1959.

In Not So Surprising News

In an independent analysis, the Washington Post has found that the intersections in the District that have red-light traffic cameras saw a larger increase in accidents than those intersections that did not. Here's the money quote:

Three outside traffic specialists independently reviewed the data and said they were surprised by the results. Their conclusion: The cameras do not appear to be making any difference in preventing injuries or collisions.

"The data are very clear," said Dick Raub, a traffic consultant and a former senior researcher at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety. "They are not performing any better than intersections without cameras."

This is not the first time that researchers have come to this conclusion. Since traffic cameras appear to do little to improve traffic safety, does this mean that the District will get rid of the red light camera program and do something more sensible like increasing the length of time the traffic light stays yellow? Don't bet on it. There's 32 million reasons to maintain the status-quo.

So Far So Good

The White Sox got their first playoff win since 1993 and their first home playoff win since 1959, beating the Red Sox 14-2. One down, two to go.

Call Me Old-Fashioned...

...but its hard to get enthused about a Supreme Court nominee who has neither previous experience as a judge or experience in working on constitutional issues (either scholarly or in private practice).

Five Years in the Making

After a five year absence and nearly blowing a 15 game lead before winning the division comfortably by 6 games, my beloved White Sox are back in the playoffs. Game one is tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM against the Boston Red Sox. On a side note, the start time of the game tomorrow reminds me why I hate the Yankees. The Yankees always get the prime time slot, whereas teams like the White Sox always get the shaft unless they're playing the Yankees.

Out of all of the American League playoff teams, I think this is the best team for the White Sox to face because the Red Sox have major questions both in their starting rotation and in their bullpen. Scoring runs should not be a problem for the White Sox, however, the Red Sox offense is a whole lot better than the White Sox, as they have the best 3-4 combination in baseball with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. The White Sox won't be able to win any slug fests in this series. This series will come down to one thing: pitching. If the White Sox pitch like they did the last two weeks of the season, they win the series in 4. If the White Sox pitch like they did at the beginning of September, the White Sox could easily be swept.

Jackpot

The nation's top-rated cornerback, Darrin Walls, verbally committed to the Irish today. For anyone who has watched the Notre Dame pass defense the past couple of years, this is a HUGE pick-up. Walls is not only tall (6'0"), but fast as well (4.4-40). With that combination of size and speed, Walls might also get a few snaps at wide receiver as well. If Walls is not starting in the defensive backfield by mid-September next year I would be shocked.

While this a great signing, the Irish still need help on the defensive line. A poor pass rush can make even a good secondary look really bad. The Irish currently have only two firm verbal commitments from defensive linemen (Kellen Wade and John Ryan), and they need a couple more for this to be a great recruiting class on the defensive side of the ball.

Pete Carroll is the Anti-Christ

If you need any proof, check out his website. Very scary!

Purdue Quick Hits

I think Bob Kravitz of IndyStar sums up last night's game best:

Weis was playing chess Saturday night, and Tiller was playing Candyland.

On that note, instead of doing my usual post-game wrap-up looking at the positives and negatives of the game, I thought I'd share my three favorite moments from last night's game.

1) Jeff Samardzija's one-handed diving catch.


2) The look on Purdue defensive coordinator Brock Sprock's face after Darius Walker's touchdown.

3) Bob Davie's comment in the third quarter, "If Charlie Weis is holding a coaching clinic, I'm going to go." Ah Bob, how I am so happy neither you or Ty is the head coach.

Bring on USC!!!

Mmmmmmm That's Some Tasty Crow

I was horribly, horribly, horribly, horribly wrong, but hey at least the crow is good.