Ball State Gives Up On Football, Lets Hoke Walk

I'm so very disappointed in my alma mater today.

As wonderful, incredible, amazing as the 2008 football season was to watch Ball State rise as high as 12th in the polls - almost assuredly as high as they will ever go - it is just as disheartening to see that Ball State's leadership has absolutely no intention of keeping it going, or even attempting to.

Brady Hoke, the coach and architect of the 12-0 start, bolted BSU for San Diego State over the weekend. It is, at best, a lateral football move and is probably more like a downgrade. Hoke's salary will be more than twice what it was at BSU, so he has that going for him. But all reports are he would've stayed if Ball State had done one simple thing...give his assistants the raises they deserved.

The offer on the table for Hoke was 390,000 dollars a year (SDSU will be paying him 700k a year for 5 years). But when Hoke asked president Jo Ann Gora about raises for his assistants - you know, like Stan Parrish, who's only one of five finalists for the national asst. coach of the year award, or Mark Smith, who, as much as he was shredded by people like me the last few years, actually put together a pretty solid defense this year - Gora said no.

That was it. Hoke was gone. A Ball State alum. A great guy. Exactly the kind of person Ball State should have representing their football program and their university. Done.

This was the equivalent of Notre Dame saying thanks but no thanks to Frank Leahy after the four straight undefeated seasons in the late 1940s. Florida dumping Steve Spurrier after he won the 1996 national championship. Nebraska chasing out Tom Osborne after his back to back titles in the mid-1990s. Simply a humiliating day.

Ball State should be ashamed of itself. They could get a new coach who's better. I really doubt it. This university has shown no aptitude for achieving anything in athletics. Ronny Thompson saga, firing the women's volleyball coach after his 1st losing season out of EIGHTEEN, pick your humiliating move. This school, for all its talk of achieving, seems to have no desire to achieve what would give us the most publicity.

One-Line Bowl Breakdowns

EagleBank Bowl - Navy vs Wake Forest:
Triple option and the home field in DC? Advantage Middies.

New Mexico Bowl - Colorado St vs Fresno St:
Anytime, anywhere for FSU coach Pat Hill means Albuquerque this year.

magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl - Memphis vs South Florida:
Not exactly where USF wanted to be playing a 'home' game this bowl season.

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl - BYU vs Arizona:
Chance for the Cats to make a name for themselves by winning the first bowl with a ranked team.

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Southern Mississippi vs Troy:
Ten bucks if you can name one player on either of these teams without looking.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - Boise St vs TCU:
After Ball State's loss, this is now the "not in a BCS bowl" national championship game.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Hawaii vs Notre Dame:
This is what ND's reduced itself to - a bowl game off the mainland on Christmas Eve.

Motor City Bowl - Florida Atlantic vs Central Michigan:
CMU in Detroit for the 3rd year in a row in a real yawner of a matchup.

Meineke Car Care Bowl - West Virginia vs North Carolina:
I remember when bowl games at least used to have a real name after the sponsor's name.

Champs Sports Bowl - Wisconsin vs Florida St:
Wisconsin almost lost to a I-AA team - FSU was almost ranked at the end of the season.

Emerald Bowl - California vs Miami:
I thought this bowl was in Seattle (Emerald City) for a couple of years. Nope - it's Emerald Nuts.

Independence Bowl - Northern Illinois vs Louisiana Tech:
6-6 MAC teams should never, ever, ever get a bowl bid.

Papajohns.com Bowl - NC St vs Rutgers:
Rutgers started the year 1-5 and I'm impressed with their in-season turnaround.

Valero Alamo Bowl - Missouri vs Northwestern:
Both these teams should be in better bowls but got passed up for more name teams.

Roady's Humanitarian Bowl - Maryland vs Nevada:
I can't imagine any scenario in which a fan of either school would go to Boise for this.

Texas Bowl - Rice vs Western Michigan:
I'm guessing few new subscribers to the NFL Network earmark this one as the reason.

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl - Oklahoma St vs Oregon:
First bowl of the year with two ranked teams, and this should be a very good one.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - Houston vs Air Force:
Gotta think this bowl jumped at the chance to get an academy, given the name.

Brut Sun Bowl - Oregon St vs Pittsburgh:
It's a long way from Pasadena to El Paso for OSU. And from Miami to El Paso for Pitt.

Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl - Boston College vs Vanderbilt:
There are many bowls with essentially a home team this season, and this one might be the oddest.

Insight Bowl - Kansas vs Minnesota:
Minnesota has no right to be in a bowl despite their 7-5 record. This should be a massacre.

Chick-fil-A Bowl - LSU vs Georgia Tech:
The Jackets might be the best team no one is talking about right now - they ended up BCS-eligible.

Outback Bowl - South Carolina vs Iowa:
Pretty good matchup of under-the-radar teams from the SEC and Big Ten.

Capital One Bowl - Georgia vs Michigan St:
The annual matchup of 'teams that look good until you realize that they beat no one who matters.'

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl - Clemson vs Nebraska:
Gotta give Dabo Swinney credit for getting the Tigers here.

AT&T Cotton Bowl - Ole Miss vs Texas Tech:
A tremendous job by Houston Nutt to get the Rebs here, but their prize is a beatdown loss, assumedly.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl - Kentucky vs East Carolina:
Why is this bowl on Jan. 2nd? Answer me that. The spate of post-New Year's crappy bowls annoys me.

International Bowl - Connecticut vs Buffalo:
See what I mean? This one's on Jan. 3rd. Toronto thrilled to get two nearby teams.

GMAC Bowl - Tulsa vs Ball St:
BSU might have ended up here regardless of their MAC title game defeat.

Rose Bowl - Penn St vs USC:
Is anyone going to take PSU in this game?

FedEx Orange Bowl - Virginia Tech vs Cincinnati:
The Orange locking itself into the ACC champ is why there's never a good Orange Bowl matchup.

Allstate Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs Utah:
This might be the best bowl matchup besides the national title game.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs Ohio St:
A 3rd straight BCS humiliation for the Buckeyes as Texas takes out their Big 12 snub on them.

FedEx National Championship Game - Florida vs Oklahoma:
The last good matchup in the national title game was three years ago. This one might end that streak.

Charlie Weis's Resignation Speech

Jason Whitlock was more right than I was. He was right for all the wrong reasons, but he was still right. Charlie Weis will not make it at Notre Dame. That's obvious.

That's why I have written Charlie up a resignation letter. It looks an awful lot like his hiring speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, right now we're a 6-5 football team. That's not good enough for you, and it's certainly not good enough for me. And that's why I'm resigning."

"The attitude of the head coach has been permeated through the players. We couldn't get up for a Senior Day with a New Year's Day game on the line. Our guys ran out of the tunnel and didn't look like they gave a shit. And they didn't play like they did either."

"If you hired me here to go .500, you got the wrong guy. I'm resigning so you can get the right one."

Rebutting Jason Whitlock - Again

I haven't even read this article yet, but I hear Jason Whitlock is bashing Charlie Weis again. Even though I'm not so sure how I feel about the guy myself after two ridiculous losses to Pittsburgh and Boston College, I am positive that my fellow Cardinal alum Whitlock has once again made a bunch of ridiculous, if not patently false, assertions regarding the fourth-year Irish coach - see a couple posts down for what happened the last time he tried to do this.

Again, Whitlock in bold italics.

It is very brave and quite magnanimous for The Great Weis Hope to throw his offensive coordinator under the bus by publicly announcing his decision to reclaim leadership of the Notre Dame offense with defensive powerhouses Navy and Syracuse on the Irish schedule.

This "Great Weis Hope" business has to stop. It's never going to catch on. No one besides Whitlock even probably gets the reference. And Whitlock is blatantly ignoring the reason given for Weis taking play-calling duties for the week: Mike Haywood, the offensive coordinator, is going to be missing practices to be attending a family funeral. Granted, I think (and I don't want to make light of a family tragedy) this is as 'convenient' a reason as many others do given the ND offense's struggles, but I have to, for the sake of integrity, assume outwardly that this is the real reason.

And in case Whitlock missed it, ND faced a terrible defense LAST WEEK. BC had given up 27 points to CLEMSON AT HOME THE PREVIOUS FREAKING WEEK...and Notre Dame got shut out. With Haywood calling the plays. Funeral or not, clearly something needed shaking up.

Too often, I waste column inches blasting Charlie Weis, Notre Dame and the lifetime contract awarded to an unproven blowhard. I never take the time to point out the good side of "Pear Bryant."

You certainly do waste column inches. Maybe you should stop. And now Whitlock is making fat jokes. That's rich. How much do you weigh, Jason? That's what I thought.

I cannot deny the courageousness and nobility of Weis embarrassing offensive coordinator Mike Haywood following Notre Dame's 17-0 loss to Boston College over the weekend.

Look, most college coaches of reasonable character and integrity would've stripped Haywood of his control of Notre Dame's offense privately. A low-key, moderate-ego coach would've kept the behind-the-scenes maneuvering behind the scenes.

I will have to read further into it to see Whitlock's rationale for saying that Haywood is being embarrassed, but I've missed that to this point. Weis has not even mentioned Haywood by name this week as being a problem. He has just said the offense needs to improve - repeatedly. I don't think that after a zero-point showing that this can really be argued, but since Haywood is black, like Whitlock is, he'll probably find a way.

(EDITED TO ADD:I just noticed after re-reading that Whitlock never does say that Haywood is black in this article. Considering your background, Jason, that seems a pretty dishonest thing to do, especially since your dislike for Charlie seems largely predicated on his whiteness vs. another guy's blackness.)

And I don't think there's any coach in America that would do something as radical as take over play-calling duties for a week without telling the media about it. But I wouldn't want to get in the way of an uninformed bash session, would I?

But Weis has virtually no ego. He is arguably the most ego-less coach working today.

That's why he made it crystal clear to anyone who would listen that he will be responsible for any offensive success the Irish have when they face defensive juggernauts Navy and Syracuse.

I am once again awaiting actual evidence that Whitlock has to back this up. So far, all we know is that Weis is taking over play-calling duties. In fact, Jason hasn't even specifically said that, lest he miss out on an opportunity to make a fat joke and/or use a stupid nickname for Charlie. All we've got from him is "reclaiming leadership of the Notre Dame offense".

The undersized Middies are giving up just 27 points per game to Division I opponents. The 2-7 Orangemen are nearly as stingy, surrendering just 37 points per outing.

As you can see, a week after battling the nation's 10th-best defense (Boston College), it's extremely noble for Weis to alert the media of his plans to fix Notre Dame's offense.

Yes, we know the next two opponents are bad on defense. Got it. And BC is not the nation's 10th-best defense. They are ranked 10th on defense, but that is thanks to a ridiculously easy schedule. This team is TWO AND THREE IN THE ACC, possibly the worst league of the BCS six. Stop building them up to be some incredible force that poor Mike Haywood could not have hoped to gameplan against.

I'm sure the same media members who championed Weis' lifetime contract will once again sing his praises when the Irish show remarkable improvement and climb to 7-4 before getting waxed by USC.

Again, Notre Dame's progress and Pear Bryant's greatness can best be seen by analyzing Washington's failure under Tyrone Willingham. You must remember that Tyrone Willingham's recruiting is what destroyed Notre Dame football, and as long as Tyrone is recruiting — no matter the school — Notre Dame won't be any good.

STOP. DEAR GOD, STOP. No one has even MENTIONED Ty Willingham since he finally got his unceremonious axe from Washington. Not one Domer, not one Irish subway alumni, not anyone wearing the color green on any occasion in America. STOP TRYING TO PANDER TO THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR. Dear God. And, I ask what I asked last time, who exactly "championed" this contract extension? Everyone in America is basically calling this extension an anvil around ND's neck at the moment.

That has to be the explanation. I realize The Great Weis Hope is in his fourth season and has a roster flush with mature talent he recruited. And I realize that Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski made a point to remind his players that none of them was good enough to be recruited by Pear Bryant. (I must admit I stole the Pear Bryant nickname from an e-mailer.)

I'm not going to defend Weis's work the last couple of weeks. It's not worth trying, because he has not done a good job. Calling the ND roster "flush" with "mature" talent is probably not entirely accurate, but there is plenty enough talent on this team (as Jagodzinski did point out last week) that Notre Dame has no business losing to the Eagles.

I love how Whitlock didn't even come up with the ridiculously unoriginal "Pear Bryant" name himself. That's even more pathetic than using it a billion times after coming up with it yourself (see: Great Weis Hope).

You would think that superior talent and the decided schematic advantage that Weis promised upon his coronation as Notre Dame messiah would allow the Irish to at least kick a field goal against Boston College. That's naive thinking. You don't understand the damage being caused in South Bend by Willingham's recruiting in Seattle.

This is sickening. It really is. It was one thing when he attacked ND fans for being overly willing to blame the last couple years on Ty. He was overdramatizing it, but at least he had a point. This is just wailing away on a dead horse. No one has even alluded to Ty in weeks. It has not happened. I know Whitlock is a good writer. Crap like this is not why.

And if you can't understand that, then you surely can't grasp the self-serving motive of Weis retaking over his offense with two weak opponents on the schedule.

You see, now I'm actually starting to believe that Jason thinks this was a calculated move. Which is even more pathetic, more ridiculous, more jaw-droppingly STUPID, than this whole sarcasm-laced tirade was.

It's no secret. I dislike Charlie Weis and despise the free pass he was given by the media when he was handed a huge contract extension for doing less than Willingham.

Weis is a bully and a coward, and his well-timed announcement that he would abandon this "head coach stuff" so he could bail out his offense proves my contentions.

There is no "free pass". This never happened. Most of your former colleagues at ESPN spent the 2005 season alternately blasting Notre Dame's schedule strength and reviving the racism accusations against ND for handing Weis a contract extension. Whitlock is openly making things up. And your deciding to assume the worst about Charlie when he decides to try and win a damn football game any way he can proves nothing except your open racism. Yes, I'm calling it racism. Because this is ridiculous. If Weis was black, you'd love him.

He's planning on the Irish averaging 35 points the next two weeks and selling his impatient fan base on the myth that he's making real progress. He's hoping the media will assist him in selling this lie.

Unless you have access to Charlie's brain, you can't say this with any degree of certainty. And since ND's season freaking high for regulation-time points is 35, I doubt he's banking on averaging 35. But I bet he wants to average more than 0.

Weis is an average college head coach with horrendous people skills. That's not a good combination. Bobby Knight had poor people skills, a brilliant mind and a superior work ethic. Nick Saban is a football Bobby Knight.

Weis probably does have horrendous people skills, and there's some evidence out there of that being true. But have you ever met Charlie, Whitlock? I'd venture to say you have, but I may be overestimating your ability to face up to people you've spent years trashing behind a computer screen. And Charlie has an incredible work ethic, or maybe you haven't taken a look at: A) his recruiting classes, or B) his daily itinerary that begins with getting to work BEFORE FIVE IN THE FUCKING MORNING, a time at which I assume you are still sleeping/digesting pizza (hey, I can make fat jokes too!).

Weis might be a reverse of Pete Carroll, who bombed in the pros and excelled in the collegiate game. Coaching in the NFL is easier. Everyone is on more equal footing. There are fewer variables. You can hire someone else to evaluate talent. College coaches have already developed the talent.

Maybe he is. I don't believe he'd be the first. This paragraph is probably the only one in the entire column that I don't have a gripe with. Coaching in the NFL is not "easier" in terms of the hours, but the other stuff is true.

Weis is in over his head coaching the college game.

You can't prove that, though you aren't the first to claim it, so I'll let it slide.

There are rumors that Notre Dame might pull the plug on The Great Weis Hope if he loses to Navy.

Rumors that were debunked today by Notre Dame A.D. Jack Swarbrick (for the readers, not for Jason).

I'll be rooting for Notre Dame this weekend. I want Charlie Weis at Notre Dame as long as I'm a columnist. His failures and the rationalizations offered up by Notre Dame fans are worth two to three columns a year.

Yeah, you're hilarious. For all this talk about rationalizations, I haven't seen you print one comment from anyone to prove it. Maybe you just don't want to distract from your own writing "brilliance" on this topic, or maybe you don't want to give idiots a forum (though you could just make the comment anonymous if that were the case), but I don't know how much of these so-called rationalizations aren't inside your head.

Hell, I've written two this month and could easily get a third if Navy pulls an upset. Stay tuned.

If Navy pulls the upset, I will probably give up on Charlie. Not that that means I'd let you get away with making things up for another column, but I would give up on Charlie.

Till next time.

Ball State vs. Northern Illinois

The mighty Cardinals, ranked 17th in the nation by the BCS and, of course, my alma mater, are back in action tomorrow night on ESPN2. Watch the game (the College Football Final gang of Rece, Mark and Lou will be there for your entertainment) and read my preview on FansKnowBest.com.

Go Cardinals!!

Rebutting Jason Whitlock

I haven't posted in nearly a month, but what better reason to do so than in a post that links my two favorite schools?

Rebutting Jason Whitlock isn't all that popular to Ball Staters, because Whitlock is a proud BSU alum who mentions the Cardinals whenever possible. He even wrote an entire column before the season about how the mighty bird would crash a BCS bowl game.

I confess that I used to HATE Whitlock. I thought he was just another one of those race-baiting big black dudes that play the race card all the time whether it makes sense or not. I now know better - he doesn't play the race card all the time. He does so too much, and even when he doesn't, he considers it, but he's not just another one of 'those guys', and is an open disliker of one of the guys who is - Scoop Jackson. Naturally, in ESPN's wisdom, they dumped the guy that's not and have kept the guy that is.

Anyway, he wrote an article this last week after Tyrone Willingham was finally fired at Washington, a move that would've taken place last year if UW wasn't scared of getting the business from the media about firing him after three years like Notre Dame did. This, of course, would never have happened because Washington is not Notre Dame. Now we have L.A. Times columnists actually saying, "Ty deserved to get fired from Washington, but he was still wronged by Notre Dame".

I am a huge Notre Dame fan, as most of you know, so I feel I need to clear things up.

Deconstructing Whitlock's article on, as he calls Charlie, "The Great Weis Hope" v. Ty Willingham (Whitlock in bold):

Here's what Notre Dame football fans don't seem to comprehend:

1. I've never stated that Tyrone Willingham was a great (or even good) coach; 2. I never blasted Notre Dame for firing Tyrone Willingham; 3. My problem with Charlie Weis and Notre Dame is the premature, undeserved lifetime contract he received after proving nothing and the reach-around Notre Dame and Weis received from most of the media during his first season.

Fair enough. I didn't read Whitlock at the time of Willingham's firing, so I couldn't say if he blasted ND or not, but he's not the type to just lie, so I'll buy it.

However, I consumed more media than I ever have in my life during the 2005 football season and saw little evidence of this "reach-around" ND supposedly got. Most personalities - Jim Rome, both "PTI" co-hosts, everyone on "Around the Horn" - were busier trying to justify why Notre Dame should not have gotten a BCS bid over Oregon, ignoring that a) it wasn't the BCS's choice (under existing rules, the Irish got an auto-bid by being ranked top 6) and b) Oregon played a horribly weak schedule, even weaker than ND's surprisingly toothless 2005 slate. It was all about 10-1 (Oregon) vs 9-2 (ND).

But I can understand why Whitlock thinks of it as a reach-around, given that he's an ND-hater (and I suspect he was before this whole thing happened).

I have never disagreed with those who believe Weis's contract extension was undeserved, but I have also never gotten any indication from anyone in the know that the extension was for any reason other than Weis wanting to diffuse any "he's going to the NFL" rumors. People forget this now (the anti-ND media doesn't want to say so), but Adam Schefter of NFL.com - a Michigan alum, by the way - floated a story before the extension that Weis was headed to the Giants after the season to replace then-embattled Tom Coughlin. This rumor was later debunked, but it was the catalyst for the extension. Weis, who is ironically a lot like Whitlock, is a very honest and open guy who I don't believe would tell the media his extension was to avoid negative recruiting by others if it wasn't true.

Notre Dame fans are having trouble grasping either column. They somehow think that Willingham's failure at Washington justifies giving Weis a record contract at Notre Dame.

This is simply wrong. ND fans are not trying to justify giving Weis a record contract. I can personally say that my open rooting against Ty during his entire Huskies tenure had nothing to do with it, and in fact often forget about the contract fiasco entirely until someone else brings it up.

ND fans' hatred of Ty stems from most of the media harrassing ND for being racist after firing Willingham. The media spreads lies like "violated a contract", when Ty's contract had mutually agreed-upon buyout terms after the third year. They ignore proven facts like Willingham having met with Washington about their upcoming vacancy during the bye week before ND's 2004 matchup with USC (instead of, you know, recruiting), or Willingham's utter refusal to fire horrible defensive coordinator Kent Baer having played a large role in Ty's axe. (The ever-loyal Ty would eventually axe Baer anyway at Washington.)

Their/my hatred of Ty stems from an interview that played on ABC before ND faced Washington in 2005 - the first Weis/Willingham matchup. Here's a link to the transcript. John Saunders - who, by the way, is a skunk and is the lowest form of "journalist" - blatantly floats racism accusations against ND to Ty. Willingham - who is also a skunk - coyly doesn't confirm or deny the accusations (keep in mind Ty knew damn well why he was fired and that it had nothing to do with racism). This enabled Ty to keep the heat on ND without coming off bitter. It was played brilliantly by the man, who knows how to spin the P.R. machine in his favor. He still does not receive his share of blame for his horrid recruiting at ND, which helped contribute to the historically awful 2007 season (look at the starting depth charts from those games and play Find the Upperclassman). And now he is getting largely let off the hook for his horrible job at Washington, where recruiting has been even worse and Ty will leave as the worst coach - by percentage - in Huskies history.

So, Jason, that's why we hate Ty. Has nothing to do with Charlie's contract.

(Ty Willingham replaced a guy who got fired after 20 games at UW. Keith Gilbertson. He was white. No one defended him. Not one person.)

Even with the Irish sitting at 5-2, every word in those columns still rings true. Notre Dame and a hefty percentage of the sports media overreacted to Weis' hot start, and Weis' complexion played a role in the overreaction.

Did the media overreact to Charlie's hot start? Probably. At the time, we didn't know how bad the teams he was beating were, though.

Did Weis's being white have anything to do with it? Bullshit. Absolute 100 percent pure non-alcoholic bullshit. I will give anyone 1,000 dollars if they can name a black coach at any school or pro team in the entire universe who is a good coach and doesn't get enough credit for it. If everything else at ND were exactly the same, except Willingham was white and Weis was black, I guarantee nothing ND would've done changes.

As of today, we have little evidence that Weis is a better college football coach than Willingham.

This is one of the worst and most indefensible sentences that Jason Whitlock has ever written. Charlie took two ND teams to BCS games his first two years. Yes, he was using Ty's recruits, but he was also GETTING PERFORMANCE out of Ty's recruits that Ty never even came close to getting. He was using guys like Jeff Samardzija, who caught like 14 passes in Ty's two years with him. And Darius Walker, who wasn't even taken on the team plane to BYU for his first game (ND lost by three) before running for 100 yards in like a quarter against Michigan. Hell, Walker never did get the starting job from Ryan Grant, even though he proved himself to be better repeatedly in 2004.

Even this year, Charlie is 5-2 with a team that still has virtually no senior presence, thanks largely to Willingham. Against a weak schedule, yes, but imagine what would be happening if Ty were still here (hint: look at Washington's 2008 season so far).

Meanwhile, Ty has a career record that hovers around .500, has never done anything of consequence except for taking one Stanford team to the Rose Bowl in a horrible Pac-10 football year, and can't recruit ANYBODY. Whitlock should be ashamed of himself for writing this sentence.

Notre Dame fans are repeating the same mistake they made in 2005 when the school overpaid for Weis. They're turning conceited based on a glossy record compiled against weak competition.

San Diego State, Michigan, Purdue, Stanford and Washington — ND's victims — have a combined record of 9-32. Only Stanford, 4-4, has more than two victories.

No argument here. As I just wrote, no one is denying ND's schedule thus far has been pretty weak. Although I don't know many Irish fans who are getting "conceited" about it. Rooting against our former coach, who tried his best to destroy the program, is not being conceited.

I'm not saying that the Irish haven't made progress. Hell, a year ago the Great Weis Hope finished 3-9 and lost back-to-back games to Navy and Air Force. Although, if you listen to Notre Dame fans, those losses, like all ND losses under Weis, were a byproduct of Weis having to play with Willingham's pathetic recruits.

The "all ND losses under Weis" addendum is an unnecessary and false potshot at Irish fans. ND's loss to Navy last year might not happen if Charlie Weis decides to kick a makeable field goal of 42 yards with Brandon Walker instead of going for it on a 4th down. That was what led to the now-infamous flying sack of then-QB Evan Sharpley. ND ended up losing in triple OT, because of another poor Weis decision, running Travis Thomas off-tackle on ND's two-point attempt.

See? I just blamed an ND loss on Weis without any potshots at the guy I hate. Was that so hard, Jason?

However, as much as Whitlock doesn't want to hear it, ND's 3-9 season WAS caused in part by "Willingham's pathetic recruits". Now, if Charlie had done a better job with that team, it would not have been the embarrassment it became, and I think Charlie, if forced to take truth serum, would tell you that himself. But you take away essentially two years of decent recruiting and replace them with upper-echelon MAC-type classes, and try and play ND's schedule, and yes, you're gonna have problems. I doubt even the best coach could've done much more than 6-6 or 7-5 with that ND team. People forget the first 10 teams the Irish played in 2007 were bowl teams (including "Navy and Air Force"). ND beat the only two nonbowl teams they played, Duke and Stanford, in the final weeks of the season.

You know, Navy and Air Force routinely pluck four- and five-star recruits from across the country. A great coaching mind like Weis' couldn't be expected to overcome ND's obvious talent deficiency against the service academies.

More unnecessary potshots, but point taken.

Has The Great Weis Hope so lowered expectations at Notre Dame that a 5-2 team incapable of cracking the top 25 is worthy of celebration and I-told-you-so e-mails?

No. Your buddy Ty Willingham did. With some help from Bob Davie. Davie could at least recruit though. He was just an idiotic coach.

Charlie claimed he'd never get outcoached, he'd never lose to Michigan State again and that after his first 5-2 start every team in the NFL was ready to fire its coach and land the offensive coordinator who carried Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to the Super Bowl.

The MSU comment came at an alumni function. Come on, man. And you find me the quote where Charlie said every NFL team wanted him. You find it, and I'll apologize, Jason.

Stoops won a national championship in his second season at Oklahoma. Carroll won titles in his third and fourth seasons.

As I've gone over, both those guys had much more well-stocked cupboards than Charlie did. Easier schedules, too. While you're at it, why not bring up Urban Meyer, who won one in his 2nd season at Florida? (He replaced Ron Zook, who entered Florida coaching the same year Willingham came to ND. Zook was fired half a season before Ty was. What color is Zook's skin?)

Notre Dame fans need to get over their fixation on Tyrone Willingham. He's not their problem anymore. His inadequacies don't strengthen Weis' resume. Willingham's resignation at Washington isn't going to make Notre Dame a national-title contender or justify Weis' bloated salary.

He does have a point here. Some ND fans care far too much about Ty. I myself like to laugh at him and will miss that. Did you know he once ended a statement about this season and how it's gone wrong with "...but not everything is microwave popcorn?" Apparently that's a well-known simile I just missed somewhere. Willingham was fired, by the way. Not resigned.

He can begin to do that over the last month of the season. Notre Dame's last five opponents — Pittsburgh, Boston College, Navy, Syracuse and USC — own a combined record of 22-14.

He certainly can. This five-game stretch (six with the expected bowl game) is very big to ND and laying the groundwork for what many Irish fans expect to be a possible title-contending team in 2009. Take out pathetic Syracuse from that quintet, by the way, and the record is 21-8. Whitlock and I agree on this thought.

If he goes 3-2, I'll consider it a passing grade and abstain from taking another potshot at him until next season. If he goes 4-1, I'll call it progress and agree that he's the coaching equivalent of Frank Solich. If the Irish overcome Weis' shortcomings and run the table, I'll strongly consider writing an apology column.

I personally think ND's going 4-1 to end the season. The Pitt game is at home and the Panthers will be without their starting QB. BC is not very good, Navy should be a layup for the remainder of Charlie's tenure (although they have a road win at Wake on their resume) and Syracuse is Syracuse. I like the backhanded compliment of calling Weis Solich's equal. Very nice.

If they fall on their face and lose three or more games, I'd speculate that most Irish fans would prefer Willingham be named Notre Dame athletic director than read my follow-up column.

Notre Dame would have to refrain from getting on the team plane to BC and Navy to do that in all likelihood. But if that somehow happens, I'll be ready for you, Jason.

Learning About Your Team

You learn a lot about your team when things are going worst. Case in point: Both of my favorite schools' games that were played on Saturday.

Notre Dame at Michigan State

The Irish ran on their first six offensive plays. They got seven yards. That's about how it went the rest of the game. ND's 2-0 start wasn't quite a mirage, but it certainly was not a sign that the struggles of 2007 were gone forever. When almost your entire starting lineup is freshmen or sophomores, crap happens. Jimmy Clausen throws dumb picks. Duval Kamara allows balls to be wrestled away from him in the end zone. Michael Floyd flat-out drops the ball in the MSU red zone. Armando Allen runs with a lack of vision that is almost shocking at times. Underclassman linebackers bounce off MSU's Javon Ringer like a bowling ball. The Irish lost 23-7 but were never legitimately in the game.

We learned: that Jimmy still hasn't made the leap. That for all the potential and talent that Michael Floyd has, the only legitimately unstoppable playmaker on the ND offense is Golden Tate. That Tate is going to be a legitimate national star very soon - that 3rd and 17 effort play to squeeze out of tackles 10 yards short of the first and get it anyway was unreal. That ND's offensive line still is not very good. That the Irish might not have a single running back that can truly get the job done.

The other one was a little happier.

Ball State at Indiana

This 'worst' was a little more serious than mere football issues. Dante Love took an inadvertent helmet to helmet shot early in the 2nd quarter, lost the ball, and had it returned for a score by IU that cut the Ball State lead 14-13. But things soon turned somber when Love didn't move. For a long time. He was immobilized and finally carted off the field. Turns out he suffered a cervical spine fracture and underwent a 5-hour surgery to correct it. He does have feeling in all his limbs and all indications are that he will not suffer any lasting damage from the hit. But he's done playing football.

The play surely put Ball State in a daze for a while. But barely two minutes later, Nate Davis - who is legitimately among the top dozen or so quarterbacks in the nation, any class, anywhere - rolled out under pressure from Indiana's defensive line. Heading for the sideline, he chucked a long ball - 45 yards in the air, that is - to Myles Trempe, the guy who replaced Love. It was right on the money. It was one of the most incredible throws I've ever seen anyone make. Davis makes it seem routine anymore. Touchdown Ball State. The Cardinals pretty much cruised from there, 42-20.

They showed guts and heart. They showed incredible talent. They showed a strong front four defensively and a stronger front five offensively, paving the way for MiQuale Lewis to crack 166 yards and 4 scores and bust into the Cingular All-America player of the week balloting. And they showed incredible poise. Ball State can go 12-0. They may not - but last night proved that they can.

You learn a lot about your team when things are going worst. Some are good, and some are bad. But you learn.

Just So We're Clear...

USC is NOT a shoo-in for the title game - even if they go undefeated.

This depends on some other circumstances, but if you click on my Dan Shanoff link in the blogroll you'll see. Basically, if an SEC and a Big 12 team go unbeaten...why should USC get in?

The Trojans are great, but as of now it looks like even an unbeaten USC team wouldn't have a win better than Ohio State - and there's no evidence thus far to suggest they're really that special. In fact, the way things are going, the only other ranked team USC might face - and they'd have to keep winning, obviously - would be Notre Dame. Now, an ND fan myself speaking, the Irish might well be good. We don't know yet. But they sure don't have a shot in hell of beating USC and they're probably not good enough for a title contender to be touting them as their second-best win.

This weekend is back to the September norm for college football - a lot of mismatches and not a lot of hotly anticipated games. Notre Dame/MSU, Georgia/Arizona State, and yes, Ball State/Indiana are among the games that should be pretty good this weekend. Check 'em out. College football is the greatest sport in the world - even on mediocre slates like this one. It demands your attention.

College Football Thoughts So Far

East Carolina. Not much else to say. First you Beamerball Frank Beamer and beat Virginia Tech at a semineutral site, then you simply own West Virginia and hold Pat White and Co. to 3 points. The Pirates are currently ranked 14th in the nation after those victories, which is - without doing any research whatsoever - probably the highest they've ever been ranked. They have no one left on their schedule that should take them down if they play their best, meaning there may be more than one BCS-busting possibility. Speaking of...

Ball State. Yes sir, the old alma mater is 2-0 for the first time since 1995 after beating Navy 35-23 on national TV (ESPN) last Friday night. There are two legitimately scary games left - @Indiana, because the Cards have never beaten a BCS conference opponent, and @Central Michigan, because Dan LeFevour owns us. Of course, between the aforementioned Pirates and the already-ranked BYU, it seems spectacularly unlikely that Ball State would get into the big prize even if they went 12-0, especially considering their schedule. But BSU is setting themselves up nicely.

Ohio State. Color me unimpressed. The Buckeyes handled I-AA Youngstown State well enough, but trailed after 3 quarters against MAC nonentity Ohio and needed the Bobcats to fumble a punt and then foul up coverage horribly defending another to get their 26-14 win. They'll go to top-ranked USC next week. Good luck with that.

Notre Dame. Had to be mentioned. The Irish also trailed an inferior opponent entering the final quarter, down 13-7 to San Diego State before scoring 14 straight and outgaining SDSU 146-5 the rest of the game. This one was nearly really embarrassing since the Aztecs fell at home to I-AA Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo the previous week, but ND escaped with their lives. They'll host equally unimpressive Michigan (lost to Utah then edged Miami of Ohio) on Saturday. As an ND fan, I feel obligated to tell you I'm not that worried unless the Irish struggle again this week. Until then they're just one of many teams that had first-week issues, albeit magnified because they're ND and because they're coming off 2007.

Not much uncertainty. Other than ECU, the thrilling UCLA/Tennessee upset and the odd Akron-over-Syracuse style game in the first two weeks, things are more or less going according to script. I have a feeling by the end of the week of 9/20 we'll have a really good idea of what's going on around the country, but for now, all we know is USC is looking much better than everybody else, the ACC still blows, and the SEC is still awesome.

College Football Is Better Than Pro

Is it a popular sentiment? Probably more so than you might think, but it really isn't. But the fact is, in my mind, college football is just better than the pros. Pro football has become increasingly about Brett Favre or the Madden Curse. Pro football has exorbitant fines if your uniform isn't exactly right (to paraphrase Peter Gibbons, the Nazis made the Jews wear uniforms, too). Pro football has free agency, veterans being cut left and right, and Daunte Culpepper not being able to find a job.

College football for the most part has few team changes. The games don't fit into some insane bit of history. There is no Spygate. Whereas the NFL has Spygate, college football has supposed offensive genius Charlie Weis guiding the nation's worst offense in 2007. The college game is about what happens on the field, not what happens on the sidelines.

The college game has multiple threats like Percy Harvin or Terrelle Pryor. In the NFL, one guy becomes a multiple threat (Hester) and everyone thinks it's the greatest thing ever.

I have disjointed thoughts about this, and part of it is assuredly that in college, I root for one of the most talked-about and legendary programs ever (Notre Dame), and in the pros, I root for one of the most completely irrelevant and mediocre franchises (Carolina Panthers). But here's the simple truth: I will watch college football day to night, no matter whether ND is involved or not. I cannot stand to watch NFL football in the same fashion. College football is different from the NFL, and in my mind, different is better.

Much better.

Befuddlement

Baseball makes no sense. No one can deny this. But try to make sense of Randy Wolf getting shredded by Cubs bats on May 12, then tossing a shutout at Wrigley on September 3rd, and you really are going to have a thinker on your hands.

You would think jet-setting to 85-50, the best record the Cubs had had since 1945, would have been enough to take the sting out of losses like the ones in the last five games. It doesn't. It makes them worse. When Lou Piniella inexplicably goes to Bob Howry after Carlos Zambrano leaves the game after five (don't get me started on him) and Bob immediately puts the game out of reach. Or so you think, until the Cubs launch one of their famous comebacks, capped by Jimmy Edmonds finally going deep again to tie it. Then Geoff Freaking Blum caps a banner day of Gold Glove plays by hitting the game-winning two run homer in the 11th.

And then there was tonight's debacle, in which the only time the Cubs got a runner to third, it was on his way home to get thrown out at the plate. At 85-55, with a Baseball Prospectus-calculated 99.5 percent odds of making the playoffs thanks to a 10-game cushion on the wild card runner up right now, we shouldn't care. But we care more than ever.

Then there's Zambrano. Left injured after five. Claims to be hurt. Goes to the doctor today, skips the MRI portion of his check-up, then doesn't show up to the game. You'd think the Cubs would take better care of their 90 million dollar investment. You'd think Zambrano would have outgrown this ridiculousness by now. And you'd think that of former reliever Ryan Dempster, walking injury report Rich Harden, and Zambrano, that Z was the least likely to go down.

That's baseball.

Greatest Sports Quote Ever That May Not Have Actually Been Said

"I'm fucking done with St. Louis TV and radio and I'm fucking done with the Cardinals."
- Jim Edmonds last Friday to members of the STL media seeking an interview, after he hit 2 homers against STL, sending the game to extras in a game the Cubs eventually won

He disputes actually saying the quote, but even if he didn't say it, it has spread to the point where he may as well have.

Bravo, Jimmy.

Bravo, Cubs.

The Cubs enter today at 73-47, their best mark since the end of the 1984 regular season. Mind-blowing.

(Of note: Jimmy's .610 slugging percentage since joining the Cubs, were it eligible for consideration, would be the highest slugging average IN BASEBALL.)

The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Cubs

This is a long-overdue post.

The 2008 Chicago Cubs have proven to be the most fun, enjoyable, entertaining and probably the best sports team I have ever followed on a day to day basis (a Bulls fan, I was only a kid when the team was dominating and didn't have the same access to the team that the Internet and regional TV networks have given me now).

It became obvious rather quickly that this team was a little different from previous incarnations of the lovable losers. Not necessarily on Opening Day, when Kosuke Fukudome had the most incredible debut in the history of the team with 3 hits, a walk, and a game-tying, bottom of the 9th inning homer. After all (no one remembers this), but not only did the Cubs lose that game, but they lost the next one. It took a while for things to hit critical mass.

However, when the team managed to keep afloat despite getting virtually nothing from two of their best hitters (Aramis Ramirez was awful in April, and Alfonso Soriano was so terrible that many fans legitimately wondered if he'd ever be good again), things were pretty obviously different.

It was mid-April when things became clear. By that point, Reed Johnson had wrested the starting job from Felix Pie in center field, quite possibly spelling the end of the former top prospect's Cubs run. The New York Mets, widely considered one of the NL favorites, invaded Wrigley for a two-game set. The Cubs proceeded to destroy them by a 15-2 margin, with exclamation points provided by - Felix Pie and Ronny Cedeno? Yep. Pie had a three-run homer in game 1 and Cedeno a grand slam in game 2 to cement Cubs victories in both games. The games showcased the Cubs' massive amount of depth.

May brought a three-game sweep of the other presumptive NL favorites entering the season, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Reed Johnson was the hero for the Cubs in game 3 of this series, creaming an eventual game-winning three-run homer. May also saw the Cubs begin an absurd 14-game home win streak, including the final blow to the doubters - an incredible comeback from down 9-1 to beat the Colorado Rockies 10-9. Everyone was now officially on the bandwagon.

And that's the way it's remained. With the possible exceptions of Jason Marquis and Bob Howry, every single Cub is beloved for one reason or another. The clubhouse chemistry of the team has to be as high as any team's in history, as evidenced by the umpteen 'secret handshakes' that take place in the dugout before each game - so many that the television cameras can't get them all. Carlos Zambrano and Mike Fontenot have one. Ronny Cedeno and Mark DeRosa have one. Zambrano has one with Kosuke Fukudome. Aside from the handshakes, there is manager Lou Piniella, who is less than savvy on the field at many moments (at times excessive hit and running; the horrible misuse of Carlos Marmol this year) but is good enough that his quirky personality overrides his managerial weaknesses in the eyes of many.

More than anyone, Lou probably realizes what is on the line this year. Other than 2004's team, whose faith from the fans was probably misplaced, this is the best chance Cubs fans have had to witness a World Series winner since 1969. Lou, and everyone involved with this team, will become legends in Chicago forever if the unthinkable happens. With the best record in the NL by five games, and only the overachieving Angels holding a better one, this could be, finally...well, it's too cliche to say, but you know what two words were going to finish that sentence.

The faithful's hopes are as high as ever. St. Louis is coming to town this weekend for what should be an emotionally charged series - and for the Cardinals, possibly a season-breaking one, as only 44 games remain for them to catch the Cubs after this series. They trail by 6 games coming in.

Let's get it on.

The Ballad of Brady Quinn

Most of you probably don't want to feel sorry for Brady Quinn.

After all, he's your typical 'pretty boy' who's making money for, at this point, doing more or less nothing. He's dating a hot former soccer player from Miami (OH). He's a member of his hometown team and probably the most universally liked backup QB of any NFL team's.

But that's the problem - he's a backup QB.

After drafting Brady with a first-round pick they acquired from Dallas in the 2007 draft, Cleveland was stunned to see Derek Anderson explode onto the scene as a viable QB in 2007. Anderson completed 56 percent of his passes for nearly 3,800 yards and 29 TDs to go with 19 interceptions and nearly led the Browns to their first playoff berth in nearly a decade. Quinn played one series in the final game of the season when Anderson was momentarily injured and threw a TD pass that was dropped by Kellen Winslow.

Anderson subsequently signed a 3-year contract extension with Cleveland and Romeo Crennel, the coach whose job Anderson probably saved last year, has been adamant that there is no QB competition this season, although don't tell that to Quinn. Anderson's lack of success at the college or NFL level prior to last season would seem to be evidence (along with his somewhat unsettling amount of interceptions in 2007) that he's a flash in the pan. Maybe something clicked for him, or maybe he was in the right place at the right time. We find out this fall.

Quinn should be used to being in the wrong place at the wrong time by now. After verbally committing to Notre Dame as soon as they showed interest (which they didn't do until fellow Notre Dame commit Chinedum Ndukwe's father convinced then-coach Tyrone Willingham that Quinn might be ok - sharp guy, that Tyrone), Quinn was forced into the starting job early in his career due to a total collapse by previous Irish QB Carlyle Holiday. Quinn's debut is notable in that he threw a Notre Dame-record 63 passes against Purdue, in a game the Irish lost, and that he was smoked over and over again by Purdue defenders treating the ND o-line like a sieve.

It is also notable that Quinn never mentioned this fact when asked questions afterwards.

In fact, in four years Quinn never complained about poor protection, even when his still-horrid-after-all-these-years offensive line probably cost him a Heisman Trophy - and his team a shot at the national title - in a horrifyingly awful display against Michigan his senior year in 2006.

He never complained about being given the absurd label of 'can't win the big game' despite performing very well against USC in 2005, and despite the fact that his defense allowed 47, 44 and 44 points in the 'only the almighty media can decide what is a big game' big games that ND played against Michigan, USC and LSU in 2006.

He never complained that Ohio State QB Troy Smith got a Heisman ahead of him basically because his team was good enough to not lose a game with him at QB (nor about finishing 3rd behind Darren McFadden, voted ahead of him mostly because SEC writers always assume that the best player in the SEC is the best player in football), and he never snarkily mentioned that the only game the entire season that Smith faced significant pressure - the national title game against Florida - Smith played one of the most god-awful games in the history of the QB position.

He's never complained about being taken behind JaMarcus Russell in 2007, whose most prodigious talent, so far as I have seen, is throwing long passes to wide open receivers who have slow DBs beaten by at least three steps. Nor has he wondered why Matt Ryan, who wasn't one-fifth the college QB Quinn was, got taken in the top five mainly because he threw a ridiculously ill-advised pass against Virginia Tech that was miraculously caught by one of his receivers.

None of this is brought up when talking about Quinn, who is by turns known as A.J. Hawk's brother-in-law, the most overrated college football player of all time, or gay, if you believe some bloggers.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to make you feel sorry for Quinn.

But considering the mainstream opinion of him, maybe you should.

7/12/08: Got a Hard-on for Harden

Rich Harden made his Cubs debut today. And it was beautiful. 5 1/3 innings pitched, 5 hits, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts, and the beautiful goose-egg next to runs. The Cubs led 7-0 when he left the game, after a strikeout with men on 1st and 2nd. At no point, it seemed, were any Cubs fans worried that Harden might not succeed. He overmatched hitters with an array of fastballs and changeups that bordered on the ridiculous. He even dialed it up to 98 mph to get one K. He was everything that he was advertised to be.

However, the game, as is usually the case at Wrigley, was not over.

The Cubs gave up 2 evidently meaningless runs in the 8th, then Lou Piniella - who evidently thinks every game needs a dose of Marmolade - served up Carlos Marmol once again in the 9th. Marmol leads the world in innings by a reliever, mostly thanks to Piniella's fear of using anyone else. And I do mean anyone.

This would be fine if Marmol were currently as good as he was in April and May. He isn't. He gave up 5 runs, all in increasingly ugly fashion. At one point, Marmol fell down while attempting to make a pick at first base on an attempted double play. That didn't work. He booted a routine grounder into foul territory on another play. On still another, shortstop Ryan Theriot tried to get on ESPN by throwing to second base from his back after fielding a hot shot. He threw it ten feet over second baseman Mike Fontenot's head for the tying runs.

Somehow, Marmol managed to get out of the inning before the go-ahead runs scored. I missed how because of my heart attack.

After being escorted back to the apartment for the free frames, I saw Sean Marshall, who at one point was ready to go in the 9th and should have been put in, pitch the 10th and the 11th flawlessly. I saw Marshall lead off the 11th with a single, I saw Mark DeRosa coax a walk to get him to scoring position, and then I saw Piniella attempt to lose the game once again by sacrifice bunting with Fontenot, who only has been on base roughly 82 straight times at the plate. With a pitcher at second, he was naturally thrown out at third, basically wasting an out.

When Reed Johnson, who sports an OPS below .700 for the year against righthanders, stepped to the plate, I immediately attempted a reverse jinx by announcing that there was no chance at all that Johnson came through. Lo and behold...

So now the Cubs are 57-37 - best record in baseball. They have unequivocally the best rotation in the NL (Zambrano, Harden, Dempster, Lilly and Marquis, with Rich Hill seemingly on his way back from his mental breakdown early on), though with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren in the same league, the title of 1/2 punch - which means everything in a short series - is up for grabs.

But I'd go into battle with that group of 25 any day.

Yeah. That Just Happened.

The Cubs acquired Rich Harden today, along with "6th starter" Chad Gaudin.

The Cubs gave up Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and minor league catcher Josh Donaldson.

The move came just a couple of hours before CC Sabathia made his debut for the Brewers, having been acquired a couple of days before. Harden will make his Cubs debut either Friday or Saturday, and is the owner of a 2.34 ERA this season in 9 starts.

Game on, NL Central

What Happened All Week? Or: The Bulls Take Rose and the Sox Bitch-Slap the Cubs

So, as I hoped and expected, the Bulls took Derrick Rose with the top overall pick in this year's NBA draft. A huge move for the team, who needed a dynamic guard. Granted they also need an inside scoring presence, but they're closer to getting that from Drew Gooden than they are to getting guard play from Hinrich/Gordon/Duhon/pu-pu platter. Rose can come in and be an impact player immediately a la Chris Paul.

In the baseball world, the Cubs followed their sweep of the White Sox by losing 2 of 3 to the Orioles at home, then getting swept by the same Sox to plummet to 49-33. Still good, but since the wildly overachieving Cardinals refuse to remember that they suck, it's only good for a 2.5 game lead. The Sox, meanwhile, maintain their 1.5 game lead on the red-hot Twins.

Not much else going on, but with me starting a new and less inconsistently scheduled job tomorrow, we'll see if I can't get better about consistent posting.

Gone For a Week???

Sorry about being MIA all week - especially in one of the biggest Chicago sports weeks in recent memory. I was rip-roaring drunk for Sunday Night Baseball, worked 12 hours on Monday, then found out I had another job, and on top of that traveled to Chicago from Tuesday to Thursday to watch the Cubs and O's. I worked again yesterday, work again today, and bought a new computer. Basically the busiest week of my life. I promise a full post tonight.

What Happened Today? 6/21/08 Or: One Way or the Other...

In case you hadn't noticed, I have decided for the time being to make this a Chicago sports-only blog. Figure I might as well give this baby a focus.

So today, the Cubs found a new way to win at home: fall behind early, then bury the opponent with a one-inning explosion. The lovable winners scored 9 runs in the 4th inning today against the White Sox, including 2 homers by that guy, Jim Edmonds, to score an 11-7 win and clinch the first round of the Crosstown Showdown. The win improved the Cubs to an unfathomable 31-8 at home, including 13 straight wins. The Wrigley magic lives.

Tomorrow, it's Sunday Night Baseball. Jon Miller overpronouncing Aramis Ramirez's name and Joe Morgan preaching how Ryan Theriot "plays the game the right way". Are you ready?

Let's go get the brooms.

(Also of note: We are very close to the Bulls' No. 1 pick selection. All indications are that it will be Derrick Rose. And I could not be happier.)

What Happened Today? 6/20/08 Or: Of Course They Did It Again

Ironically, this morning when I woke up, a friend of mine who is a Sox fan IM'ed me about this series. A battle of first-place teams is always intriguing, and despite my feelings about it (see below), an intracity series adds a little spice to things. He cracked that he was circulating a petition to keep the Cubs from playing the bottom of the 7th inning today due to their penchant for coming back in that inning, especially at home.

Sure enough, that afternoon, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez went back to back in the bottom of the 7th, erasing a 2-run deficit and leading to Ramirez continuing his legend as one of the great big-situation hitters in Cubs history with a walk-off to center field to lead off the 9th. It was a win the Cubs absolutely had to have after the demoralizing 3-game sweep to the Rays, and in retrospect seems even bigger after Jason LaRue, Skip Schumaker and an on-the-take Red Sox defense led the Cardinals to yet another ridiculous win over a superior opponent tonight.

The Cubbies have won 12 straight home games, are a nearly unfathomable 30-8 at Wrigley and send Jason Marquis to the mound tomorrow for Game 2 of a series that all of a sudden seems sweepable.

In perhaps even better news, Carlos Zambrano's MRI revealed only a minor shoulder strain. It is likely that Z will miss two starts, then be back in the saddle. It is rumored that Z agreed to miss the 2nd start largely because it would be at U.S. Cellular Field, meaning he wouldn't be able to hit for himself. He's just too hilarious.

In other Chicago sports news (well, kinda), NBC has agreed to extend their exclusive contract with Notre Dame football for five more years, through 2015. Mike Wilbon smartly pointed out on PTI today that NBC has pretty much boxed themselves into a corner with the Irish - since all the major conferences now have deals with other networks, NBC is left with ND. Fine by me.

It's worth noting also that Jay Mariotti, the windbag of windbags, has had about enough of Ozzie Guillen. Mariotti ripped his colleagues at the Chicago Sun-Times for being what he called "brainwashed" to believe that Guillen's periodic rants is just Ozzie being Ozzie. Mariotti is not a fan of that, calling Guillen "one of the great crackpots in the history of professional sports". Welllll...this could be interesting.

What Happened Today? 6/19/08 Or: The Least Secure Best Team In Baseball Ever

So, Cubs fans, not only have we lost Carlos Zambrano for at least one start, but for the first time in 2008, the Cubs will be entering a series coming off a sweep. The Cubbies choked away a 3-1 lead in the 7th inning in Tampa tonight, as Carlos Marmol walked 2 and hit 2 in the only 4 batters he faced, followed by Scott Eyre immediately giving up a grand slam to Carl Crawford followed by about 17 more line shots - I lost count after a while because I was washing the gushing blood from my eyes.

Next up for the free-falling but still best-in-baseball Cubs is a home set against the White Sox. There will be literally thousands of articles published about how the teams are "archrivals" in the next few days, but the fact is, they are just not. Apart from the minor annoyance of Sox fans paying far too much attention to a team that has literally zero effect on their playoff hopes, I could give a rat's ass about this weekend's series. Sure, the Sox annoy me, but no more so than any other team on the schedule does once the game starts. Tomorrow's pitching matchup, John Danks vs. Ted Lilly, could be an even one if the Cubs get the Lilly of the last few starts or could be wildly mismatched. Who knows. All I know is the Cubs need wins, no matter who they're against. Luckily, they're headed back to Wrigley, where the team is nearly invincible. (By the way, if you want Len and Bob rather than the completely unwatchable Hawk and DJ to call the game, watch Comcast Sportsnet Chicago tomorrow and WGN on Saturday - and NOT the reverse.)

Elsewhere in sports:

He's out! The latest manager to join the unemployment lines is Mariners skipper John McLaren. This makes far more sense than the Randolph axing, as Seattle is the worst team in baseball and McLaren had already gone through his prerequisite meltdown press conference a couple of weeks ago. Taking the reins will be former Cubs manager and ex-Mariners bench coach Jim Riggleman. That should go well. Rumors are swirling that the M's aren't done with their reshaping, even after dumping their G.M. and their manager.

Shocking - Chicago native wants to play in Chicago. Derrick Rose, he who has already said he believes Michael Beasley is the best option at the top of the draft, is now publicly asking the Bulls to take him. I'm on record as wanting this since I found out about the Bulls' being handed the #1 pick by a desperate David Stern...err....I mean, catching a lucky break with the lottery balls. Rose is a franchise PG. As has been proven over and over again, a franchise PG means everything, provided you aren't stocked with stars at other positions. And the Bulls are not. What they do have, however, is two pretty good players - Luol Deng and Drew Gooden - in the spots Beasley would be playing in. Not quite as good a fit.

Last Word: But seriously, to quote one of my friend's Facebook statuses, in what universe do Sox fans care if the "Cubs are swept by the Rays", let alone "walking on air" about it?? If anything, they should be unhappy - the Rays would be the White Sox's chief competition for the wild card should they fail to win the AL Central division. Ah, the mind of a Sox fan.

What Happened Today? 6/18/08 Or: Here We Go Again, Cubs Fans

Yep. Things were just going too well. A couple of days ago, the Cubs were 45-25, the best team in baseball and pulling away from the Cardinals. Sure, Soriano was on the DL for a few weeks, but the Cubs could absolutely get through without him.

Now, the Cubs are 45-27. Still the best team in baseball. However, the injury train is coming, Carlos Zambrano got hurt tonight - and he may well have been hurt for a while, There's no telling where he's headed. Half the Cubs' outfielders have gotten hurt in the last 24 hours.

Granted, St. Louis is still down to us 3.5 games, and after spending most of the season defying any statistical reason why they should be good, they've lost two in a row at home to the Royals. But bad things seem afoot...

Also of note, Tiger's done for the year. This vaults his U.S. Open to a whole new level of brilliance - the MJ Flu Game times about 150. He was playing four weeks before he should have even been MOVING. Incredible.

Image Credit: AP

What Happened Today? 6/17/08 Or: We Have New Champions But From the Same Old City

I will confess to having watched nearly none of tonight's deciding 131-92 Game 6 blowout to give the Boston Celtics their record 17th NBA title. I was addicted to a rather exciting Cubs game (and baseball always takes precedence over hoops to me), and by the time it was over, so was the NBA Finals game. The Lakers didn't even bother showing up to try and take the NBA crown. Boston laid the smack down, so much so that Kevin Garnett, who I swear put up the most unimpressive double-double average in a Finals ever, piled up a 26/14 in his winning moment.

The person I'm happiest for is Finals MVP Paul Pierce, who toiled on a terrible team for much of his career, and in an amazing twist of fate, found himself with two worthy sidekicks in one off-season. Maybe we were aiming the praise a little too heavily in KG's direction this year, maybe not. But Paul Pierce is a legitimate badass.

Either way, it's nice to see Boston win one. That city's had a really rough sports year.

Not a whole lot else happened today, except that Willie Randolph got canned. Probably not justified, but as I said the other day, it was probably time to make a change and these things just seem to happen a lot these days in sports. Of course, the Mets lost the debut of interim manager Jerry Manuel - the ex-White Sox manager.

More tomorrow. Congrats, Celtics.

Image Credit: Getty Images

What Happened Today? 6/16/08 Or: Tiger Flips the Script

Usually, it's complete domination. The inevitable playoff charge followed by the opponent cowering in Tiger's wake.

Today, it was neither. Rocco Mediate, an unlikely competitor (he would've been the oldest first-time major champion ever), played very well in the 18-hole playoff, and Tiger looked highly uneven. Mediate did struggle late with some bunker shots, but contrary to his usual work, Tiger did not roar forward and destroy the universe. Maybe he wasn't even capable of it with his bad knee. But Mediate was given extra chances all over the place, and ultimately, it was Rocco himself that handed out the extra chance when he missed an entirely makeable putt that would've clinched the Open on the 18th hole. He followed that by a disaster of a sudden death playoff in which he beached his first shot, then put his 2nd nearly into the gallery, forcing him to take a drop. Tiger easily two-putted in for the title.

In the end, it was major No. 14, and I'm guessing the great one takes a month off before the British Open after this trying endeavor. He clearly was not 100 percent.

Elsewhere:

The completely insane Hank Steinbrenner. Chien-Ming Wang of the Yankees will be out until at least September after hurting his foot running the bases yesterday at Houston. This is not the major news. Hank Steinbrenner took the opportunity to blast the NL for playing without the DH. "My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said. "That was a rule from the 1800s." Well, the AL didn't have the DH until 1972, and for another thing, Hank, the FREAKING FIRST RULE OF BASEBALL in the book is that baseball is a game of "9 against 9". What the AL is doing is technically not even baseball. This is why I'm an NL fan pretty much exclusively.

Everything else that happened today in baseball is here.

Draft business. Mario Chalmers of Kansas will stay in the draft. So will Joe Alexander of West Virginia, whose stock skyrocketed in the final month and a half of the season. But the big news is that three Tar Heels - Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green - are coming back...this sounds like a UNC title in 2009.

More Euro-madness. If you weren't flipping back to ESPN2 here and there while the U.S. Open playoff was going on, you missed out on a classic Euro 2008 game. Turkey's Nihat Kahveci scored two goals in less than two minutes (87th and 89th minute) to lead his team into the quarterfinals with a dramatic 3-2 win over the Czech Republic. The first goal came when Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech flubbed a ball coming right at him straight into Kahveci's foot, then the Turk fired a perfect shot into the very top of the net in the 89th minute.

The Last Word: I have to give it to Mike Mussina, talking about the 'plight' of AL pitchers playing with no DH: "We run in straight lines most of the time. Turning corners, you just don’t do that.”

What Happened Today? 6/15/08 Or: Too Much For One Headline

This post is a few hours late. Oh, well.

With two great headline-worthy stories, I've elected to spotlight both of them.

We start with Tiger, of course. Down one shot going into the 18th hole, with Rocco Mediate, looking to become the oldest U.S. Open champ ever, waiting in the clubhouse, was there any doubt Tiger was going to birdie? Even though The Man beached his tee shot, he managed to get up to the green in 3 shots and sank his birdie putt, setting off the loudest celebration I've ever seen in golf from the gallery. Mediate was shown on NBC saying, "I knew he'd make it", immediately after the shot. As I write this, they're in an 18-hole playoff and tied at +1 through 5 holes.

Also in the headlines: The Lakers fought off another late Celtics rally to salvage Game 5 and force the NBA Finals back to Boston. Not to be overlooked, however, is a brilliant performance by Paul Pierce, who put up a mind-boggling stat line of 38 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists to try and lead his team to the title on L.A.'s floor. Also not to be overlooked is the sheer mediocrity of Kobe Bryant's second half. Apart from his steal-should-have-been-a-foul late in the 4th quarter, the guy who's supposedly compared to MJ was decidedly un-star-like. No way that the greatest player ever would be allowing this nonsense to happen in the Finals.

Also in the news:

At least he didn't get the 'vote of confidence'. Mets manager Willie Randolph got no reassurances from his G.M. Omar Minaya that he will be leading the team much longer going into the Mets' West Coast trip. Two games under .500, the Mets are in 4th place in the N.L. East with the daunting Phillies starting to pull away. For a team that was among the N.L. favorites, that just doesn't work. It might be time to fire Randolph if for no other reason than to get rid of the everlasting distraction involving his job security.

Oh yeah, racing's still going on. My attention to NASCAR normally begins - and ends - with the Daytona 500 each year. But it is noteworthy that Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally won his first race in his new Hendrick Motorsports car by smartly saving some gas for the final few laps. 76 races was the winless streak that Little E had had before finally taking the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway.

Save our Sonics. The trial to determine if the gasbag Clay Bennett can move his team immediately to Oklahoma City begins today. This is one of the saddest stories in sports this year - a team being ripped from its home and its fans for no real reason. Supposedly they need a new arena, which is a joke because their current one is about 15 years old and was roundly praised at the time as one of the best in the league. The lawyer for Seattle says that a deal was made that would keep Seattle there until the year 2010 at least, and Bennett must uphold that bargain. We'll see how it plays out. Good luck, Seattle.

The Last Word: Who will come up and immediately start raking for St. Louis after Yadier Molina likely hits the DL? The unfortunate reality is that Cubs fans are forced to be bitter towards the Cardinals due to their incredible ability to get good years out of players that are not good (Skip Schumaker, Ryan Ludwick, Todd Wellemeyer, Kyle Lohse, Braden Looper, etc.) Hopefully Molina is ok after his neck injury yesterday.

What Happened Today? 6/14/08 Or: Eldrick Roars To the Top

Well, my allusion to Tiger being atop the leaderboard after round 3 of the U.S. Open proved correct today. The man, the myth, and the legend sunk an eagle putt from about 20 miles away to bring the gallery to its feet and to take a one-shot lead on Lee Westwood (after being down 5 with 6 holes to play) heading into Red Sunday, as Tiger would like to call it. Just an electrifying experience to watch this man play golf. I don't even follow the sport much, but you have to appreciate this level of greatness from an athlete. Inspiring to see.

Also from the wires today:

Replay debate lives on. Today's word is that umpires, not managers, would be responsible for initating any replay review that is required during the course of a baseball game. Umpire crew chiefs, to be exact. That's always comforting. If we trusted the umpire's judgment, would we be using replay to begin with? I think we should stick with the whole 'challenge' thing - easier, more fan-friendly, and also leaves less to the umps' discretion.

These Cubbies don't lose twice in a row. At this point, it's safe to say the Cubs own Roy Halladay. Three years ago, Cubs scrub Sergio Mitre managed to beat Halladay when the Jays visited Wrigley during interleague play. In 2008, Jason Marquis, who is no better certainly than Mitre was, beat Halladay. Yes, sample size, but it's fun to see. And kind of unbelievable. Former Blue Jay Reed Johnson hit a 3-run homer - and got a standing O from the Canadians - to spark the Cubs to the win, and Marquis lasted into the 8th before needing to be pulled. Very nice work.

In the amateur ranks... I don't really follow college baseball either - except for the occasional foray into my alma mater's fortunes - but a surprising result today as top-ranked Miami fell to Georgia 7-4 in a CWS game. The Dawgs scored 4 in the 9th to capitalize on Canes' closer Carlos Gutierrez's throwing error to nab the victory. The Canes now need to play their way out of the loser's bracket while Georgia gets Stanford next.

He's tired from carrying KG? Young Celtic Kendrick Perkins is reportedly heavily favoring a strained left shoulder and didn't practice Saturday in L.A. He still says, though, that he's likely to go in Game 5 tomorrow night, a possible clincher. Personally, I think it seems likely the NBA will assign Dick Bavetta, now-unemployed Tim Donaghy, and Magic Johnson to officiate Game 5, the better to send the series back to Boston.

The Last Word: Anyone like soccer? I've grown to enjoy it a little more, and Euro '08 is going on now. David Villa of Spain, who already boasts a hat trick in the tournament, scored a goal in injury time to beat Sweden 2-1 today, a big win for the Spaniards, who, if I'm correct, were not exactly favorites to compete in the tournament. Meanwhile, defending champ Greece (I remember this happening, because it was such a giant upset) has already been eliminated, being dumped by Russia 1-0.

Image Credit: AP

What Happened Today? 6/13/08 Or: Remember That Tiger Guy?

Was there ever any doubt, good denizens of the blog universe, that the great Tiger Woods would shrug off his knee injury and begin his charge today in the 2nd round of the U.S. Open? Shooting an impressive 68 at Torrey Pines - one off the best score of the day (that pesky Padraig Harrington fellow fired a 67) - Woods climbed into a tie for 2nd place at the year's 2nd major. He trails Stuart Appleby by a stroke halfway through the tournament. I'm guessing this will change by about 9 holes into Tiger's Saturday round...don't you?

In other news:

What is this devilry on my television screen? Those perpetually behind-the-times, crochety old men, pick-whatever-silly-generalization-you-like guys at Major League Baseball might be picking up instant replay sooner than you think. Like, this year, if you believe the always-trustworthy "two sources familiar with the discussions". Maybe this will put an end to the recent spate of blown home run calls...maybe not.

Meanwhile, on the field...um...the Cardinals suck. Those of you waiting for the insanely overperforming Cardinals, led by the suddenly-great-for-the-first-time-at-29 Ryan Ludwick, to come back to earth probably enjoyed tonight's 20-2 shellacking at the hands of Philadelphia a bit too much. The Phillies' Big Three - Utley, Howard and Burrell - went back to back to back in the 1st inning and it's safe to say the Cardinals never threatened from there. The archboys even sent infielder Aaron Miles out to the mound at one point, always a fun time for everyone. The Cubs lost as well, though, leaving STL 3.5 games out of first.

I won't make an eye joke, I promise. Chipper Jones, the latest guy to take a hack at Ted Williams's claim to being the last player to hit .400, might be angering the Baseball Gods or something. After limping through Atlanta's last series with the Cubs, Chipper took a ricocheted BP pitch to the face today and was a late scratch from the Braves/Angels game, which the Braves...umm...bravely gathered together to win anyway.

The Last Word: Sad day for sports fans and nonsports fans alike. Sportscaster Charlie Jones, who worked the first Super Bowl as a broadcaster, and more recently was the voice of one of the defining football games of my young fanhood - the 1993 clash between #1 Florida State and #2 Notre Dame - passed away today of a heart attack. Meanwhile, anyone who loved seeing Tim Russert expertly wield his white board during NBC's presidential election coverage the last couple of times around is saddened by his passing today after collapsing in the Washington, D.C. bureau he was the head of. As an aspiring journalist myself, I look to Russert as one of the best examples of impartiality and pride in the media. Sad to say he is gone.

Image Credit: Getty Images

What Happened Today? 6/12/08 Or: The Lakers Take the Driver's Seat and Fall Asleep at the Wheel

After the 1st quarter of tonight's Game 4 of the NBA Finals, it looked like the Celtics' goose, for the moment, had its head in the oven. They had missed their opportunity to take control of the series by allowing the Lakers to take Game 3, thanks largely to incredibly bad performances from Paul Pierce (2/14 shooting) and Kevin Garnett (6/21). They were the proud owners of the largest end-of-1st-frame deficit in the history of the NBA Finals. And L.A. was doing it all without the services of Messr. Kobe Bean Bryant.

But, in the 3rd, the Celts made their inevitable run, ripping off a 21-3 run in the final 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter, and the Lakers never responded. Bryant posted an underwhelming 19 points on 6/19 shooting, Ray Allen continued his run for a Finals MVP award, and Pau Gasol continued his quest to lull me into a false sense of security by not impressing me in any game I watch him play.

The Lakers never really showed up in the 4th, and when they graciously allowed Allen to make a pretty much uncontested layup with 16 seconds to play, that pretty much shoved the fork into the Lakers. They lost the game 97-91. Now Showtime is down 3-1 in the series, with 2 games left in Boston. No team has ever come back from down 3-1 to win the Finals. Maybe there's a first time for everything, but I doubt this year is it.

Other stuff that happened today:

The Cubs win - no matter what year it is. Full disclosure - I'm a Cubs fan. There will be a post very soon describing the incredible surreality of the 2008 season for me. Today was yet another example of how the Cubs make the once-impossible late-inning comebacks seem like a formality. While the team celebrated 60 years of WGN baseball with throwback uniforms and 2 innings of black and white 'retro-style' broadcasting, the most recent hero was Jim Edmonds, who found the basket in the LF bleachers to tie the game at 2 in the 9th inning. In the 11th, after the Cubs loaded the bases with no one out, Reed Johnson pinch-hit for Edmonds against the lefty pitcher Jeff Ridgway of Atlanta. Ridgway promptly hit Johnson to end the game with his first pitch. The win gives Chicago a 43-24 record - the best in baseball by two games - including a completely ridiculous 29-8 record at Wrigley Field. Although Alfonso Soriano is still out a while with that fractured hand, I have a feeling they'll be alright.

Billy, Mr. Randolph would like a word with you. A few days ago, Billy Wagner was fine as closer of the Mets. He was 13/15 in save chances, was sporting an 0.36 ERA and was generally regarded as one cog in the underperforming Mets' machine that didn't need to be worried about. Well, Wagner has blown three straight saves, all multiple-run leads to boot, and today's was perhaps the most damaging, as NY lost to the D-Backs 5-4, falling to three below .500, 7.5 behind Philadelphia, and also 7.5 out of the wild card. For a team that was universally considered to be Arizona's biggest threat to keep them out of the World Series this year, it's not working out so well there. At least Randolph's job's not in jeopardy, right? Umm...right?

You don't care about steroids, but here it comes anyway. Although baseball fans - including myself - have pretty much decided to ignore that anything steroid-related has ever happened (except for making fun of any fans of a team whose player gets caught), the news keeps leaking out. Today comes word that Congress wants to hear more from Bud Selig and Don Fehr, who the lawmakers suspect may not have been entirely truthful in the original 2005 steroids hearings. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA) are particularly intrerested in passages of the Mitchell Report that claim "that the random testing program was suspended for a large part of the 2004 baseball season" and "that players may have been told of upcoming tests". Hmmmm.

Chad Johnson shows up, but is he healthy? As he promised to do a while back, that master of celebration Chadwick Johnson arrived on time for Bengals minicamp today. But he never said he'd actually do anything. Johnson claims to have bone chips in his ankle, although the Bengals' medical staff gave him a physical and found nothing of the sort. Bengals QB Carson Palmer (remember those other guys on the team?) tellingly refused to talk about Johnson, saying he's pretty sure everyone's "sick of hearing about him, so I'm not going to talk about him". I dunno about you, Carson, but I'm never sick of hearing about Mr. Johnson.

Here's to you, Alex Ovechkin. The most electrifying talent in the NHL this side of Pittsburgh, as expected, took home the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP tonight, receiving 128 out of 134 first-place votes. Speaking as someone who can name no other Capital despite their division championship this season, that sounds like a pretty good choice. Ovie said he has his sights set on a Stanley Cup, though. We shall see...

Last Word: Is anyone remotely surprised that with all the Tim Donaghy crap going on that the Feds are looking to see if there are any more crooked refs? And is anyone remotely surprised that in their hunt for crooked refs, the Feds are honing in on the one and only Dick Bavetta, universally considered the worst remaining ref in the NBA?

Image Credit: New York Times