CelticImport

Yea I believe that's the case. Now on that subject, since my last name begins with 'O-apostrophe - I wouldn't say 'no' to some green as a member of stereotyped class. (j/k)

120 miles every fall from far northwest Chicago suburbs. Far enough. Sometimes feels like I PARK that far away from the stadium once I get there.

Really? First at Glasgow Celtic and now at ND. All kidding aside - all are welcome at Our Lady's University (Btw Celtic flies the Irish Tricolor in their stadium - not the Union Jack.)

They daydream, as God forgive me I do sometimes.

'Coach of the Year' is nice. Doesn't necessarily mean much. I personally just want to see Kelly win just one thing: National Championship.

DD is easy to navigate and post; members keep it up to date in an unpretentious manner (unlike some other sites that shall go unnamed); input is knowledgeable and informative (especially for one who never played this kind of football); discourse is usually civil; n addition to being Notre Dame football fans, most posters share a devotion to Our Lady's University and respect what it stands for.

Five weeks shy of 50.

Introduce her to the big time - you're giving her a real team to root for. To spicen the deal - give her ND apparel.

The whole announcement, timing, circumstances were goofy - for Act I. "You think Cincy has issues with their coach bolting? We've got even bigger issues." He's Gone. For Health, Family, Faith - sounds all wise and noble - but it's stilll hard to buy, like something's missing. ACt II Five minutes later --He WILL Be Back -- to coach in 2010 after the shortest leave of absence in history. Shelley Shelley Shelley - do you have/ or are you the answer? She said, "NFW he will change his mind." Soon after - he does. Are we talking tawdry tiger-like behavior or just garden variety parental spat involving way too nuch alcohol and a broken rollingpin? Maybe he's just bummed that ND blew him off - got loaded, said some things he regretted, sobered up and is hoping to be back to coach in 2010. Had he taken the ND job where would we be now? Wondering what on earth is going on and what have we just bought - or not bought. Great escape! I wish Coach Meyer well - for whatever happiness to be eating at him - may this just be an overblown family argument needlessly being played out in public. Once more I'm thrilled that we got Kelly.

I'm no threat to your corner of the fridge.

To quote the person who was flashed in the park by a 'wee' man, "Oh you are brave! If mine was that small I wouldn't show it to anyone."

Notre Dame aint utopia but things go on at some football factories that would never happen at ND. It's one thing for athletic depts to cover for their players - but for academics to bow to athletics to fix grades? True Story from D1 football powerhouse more than 10 years ago: Grad Asst gives take home test - says, "Don't copy - I'll be able to tell if you cheat - and I will fail you if you cheat." 10+ Football players are in his intro Algebra class. He gets back 10+ identical yellow lined papers with exactly the same answers on exactly the same lines on each sheet. He's a statistics and probability guru - figures more likely he gets hit by lightning and wins the Florida lottery before he gets 10+ honestly innocent such papers turned in. He fails the 'student' athletes. Athletic Dept contacts Math Dept to 'resolve' situation. Math Dept leans on Grad Asst - gives him flexibility to fix as he sees fit - with the message - you WILL fix this. Disgusted, he refuses to change grades. After a week of pressure, quits PhD program at this football factory and joins the work force.

Better that than 'The Angry Inch'

Merry Christmas all! To paraphrase Emerson, Lake & Palmer - May we all get a better Christmas than we deserve. As Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol, "God bless us, everyone!"

Re Weis Hate-Kelly Love: OK so the media now hates Charlie even more than they dislike ND, so what? Like most I was thrilled when Charlie came in - ND guy; Jersey Boy; successful track record under some big coaches in the NFL. He supercharged the offense, making household names out of Quinn, The Shark, et al. He worked long and hard and was serious about recruiting (instead of a certain predecessor who was a) more interested in playing golf on the road; and b) getting a new job back out West.) He won a bunch of games, got us in BCS bowls. And then the wheels fell off the bus in a 3 win season. Was it Charlie's fault? Not entirely - but it was his responsibility. When we stayed at .500 for not one but two more years Charlie owned the problem. CW lost my support and that of a lot of true ND fans - not because of who he was as a person but because he didn't get his teams to perform at an acceptable level (which even he admitted). Charlie became a convenient target for ND haters - and he took it like a man. He isn't a bad man, just not HC material. It didn't work out; move on. Now Brian Kelly is here and once again optimism abounds. Will he win a bunch of games? Don't see why not - heck even Ty did that - at first. Will BK lead us back to the Promised Land? I sure hope so but know there are no guarantees. When people make purchasing decisions - new house, new car, new girlfriend, new head coach - they usually buy something with exact opposite qualities of what they had before. BK has what CW didn't have - a long, successful record as a college HC. Will that translate to a national championship? Again, who knows? But it sure gives us a proven leader to aim to get us there. Frankly I don't care what the media says about the man or Our Lady's University - they're the same people who say we're irrelevant - yet devote so much time to covering us. Go Irish!

Welcome back Hawaii - good to see you posting again. We missed DD's eternal optimist.

I generally like and do respect JoePa but here he sounds like the bitter kid who asked the prom queen to the junior dance. He got turned down so he won't even ask her senior year - as if she wanted to go with him! Doesn't matter what he thinks; her answer is still the same - no thanks. No threat here to Notre Dame's independence. ND won't become a part of the Big 10, 11, 12 but will remain apart and different - and that's a good thing. Rutgers may be a good choice for a solid an historic 'institution' (founded 1766, 1st college football game ever, 1st Big East game) but I doubt they'd bring the 'New York TV market.' Living in NJ for 20 years (including thru high school and college) taught me NY is a pro football market. Would be curious about Rutgers TV numbers, bet they're miniscule.

10+ wins IS crazy talk. I'll be OK with 8 wins as the first step in a rebuilding process. Let's not just follow the wins but fundamentals (solid play, fewer bonehead mistakes, penalties) We need to stop the run, defend the pass; establish the run, protect our QB. In short we were not a fundamentally sound team and there is much work to be done to get there. Offense - We lost a great QB and a great WR who combined were a large percentage of our offense. That needs to get rebuilt with the ability to run at will and control the clock. Defense - well that's a total overhaul. Recruiting - Kelly has won with little talent but I expect him to get better players and get everything out of them - that's what good coaches do. I trust Kelly to get the right players at most positions not just glamour offensive stars - but also the Clydesdales in the trenches. Coaching staff - we have obvious weaknesses here but now we have a savvy leader - coach of the year! - who has his go-to guys to get his players to play his way. Sir John, just because we wanted Kelly doesn't mean we think he walks on water. We want spectacular results but we have to be realistic. That being said, Kelly was hired to get us to compete for national championships, which means winning 11 or 12 games. How long till we get to that level? No idea. It's unrealistic to expect 10-11 wins in year 1 - let's first put a team on the field that doesn't beat itself. If we do the little things right, the wins will follow.

a high five would be fine

Gotta love negotiations. Kelly talks extension at Cincy and we talk Edsall. Hmm not sure I like our hand. (Edsall??)

Could be. More virgins at ND than a Massachusetts high school: http://thelanetrain.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/seventeen-pregnant-girlsat-the-same-high-schoolyup-its-a-coincidence/

Please! It's been snowing for about 24 hrs in NW Chicagoland; temp at 33F. I've got to get my lazy ass out to clear the driveway and sidewalk. Thank God for snowblowers! Re Meyer - he used ND last go round - some would say he not only dissed us but caused us to go in a direction that hurt us. Tho I say our bad for not making sure he was coming; not having a plan b. Why go back to him given the grief he caused last time? If he truly didn't want the gig then why offer it to him now? Kelly on the other hand is ripe. He's on the cusp of greatness. You don't hire guys after they get to the top rung - you have to identify the talent on the way up and make it yours. I've interviewed top talent and had to ask myself - why would they suddenly want to come here? Something is usually wrong - and often that something is they're using you to leverage a better deal elsewhere. Get 'em while they're still young, hungry and on the way up - they're much more affordable and loyal then.

But this article sure appeals to my wishful thinking and hints Kelly met ND officials shortly after Cincy beat Pitt. Let me climb higher on the grassy knoll for a better view. http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/after-meeting-last-week-brian-kelly-on-brink-of-becoming-notre-dame-coach.html

"Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look." Is that what you meant Wave?

::averting eyes - too late:: Rock, that is WRONG!