Notre Dame, the gift that keeps on giving.

From ESPN.com



SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame football players were pelted by snowballs from fans sitting in the student section during their loss to Syracuse on Saturday.


"To throw snowballs at their own team, I didn't think that was a smart thing to do. I guess [they thought] it was funny," defensive tackle Pat Kuntz said after Syracuse upset the Irish 24-23.


South Bend was hit with about 10 inches of snow Friday. While the field had been cleared before the game, there was still snow along the fringes and in some areas of the stands.


Fans at first threw snow in the air, but then quickly switched to tossing snowballs toward the Notre Dame sideline. Defensive lineman Ian Williams got hit in the helmet, defensive end Ethan Johnson was struck on the left cheek and a St. Joseph County police officer on the sideline looking into the crowd got hit in the chest. An NBC camera man also was a frequent target and several snowballs reached the field, although none landed near where play was occurring.


When the Irish defense held a meeting on the sideline, injured linebacker Brian Smith stood on a bench to try to shield his teammates. But when a snowball hit Kuntz, he stood and faced the crowd and appeared to challenge whoever threw it to come down on the field.


"I was pretty mad about that, but whatever the fans want to do," Kuntz, a senior who was playing his last game at Notre Dame Stadium, said flatly.


At least one fan was seen being led away by police.



Please, please keep Charlie Weiss as your head coach. I love how ND fans are still defending him. He is a talentless charlatan. He can't recruit, despite what rivals.com and ND fans may think. He can't coach and is proving that every weekend. More and more alum are becoming disgruntled and now fans are throwing snowballs at their own players. Absolutely classic. What a proud institution.

The worst two year span in school history. Weiss makes Faust look like Knute Rockne. Be patient alumni. Let Charlie stay one more year, maybe two. By then your significance in college football will be so obsolete that even NBC will be having second thoughts.

Face it Irish fans, its time to join the Big 10. Players don't want to go to South Bend so that they can play against Navy and Stanford. Its a dive with no women. Unless there are season long rivalries and you are playing for something besides your BCS autobid, this will continue to be a trend.

Notre Dame is now just a mark on the schedule. When teams look and say "well we have ND this week but the real test is next week when we play Central Michigan" you know your program has fallen.

The mystique is gone. It was over hyped the last 30 years anyway. If you can't deal with it, then you have a big dump in your pants.

Links for Thanksgiving

Here are some links to look at for the day, weekend or whatever. I'm hoping to figure out how to make this more "cool" like on real blogs. I'm hoping The Prodigy and I can really dress this thing up over the weekend. It may be tough though. Lots of food to eat. Lots of Scotch to drink. Lots of birds to shoot. Lots and lots of football.



I found a sight called "Asylum" and took some of their lists and posted them here. These are pretty good. Enjoy.

Ooops. Before I forget, there might not be a "Top Chef" post this week. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Disappointing I know. It depends what time I get to Sheridan. I'll watch it on a rerun later and post then if I have to. My dedication to pointles drivel that no one cares about except me is boundless.

Church signs: http://www.asylum.com/2008/11/25/bizarre-church-signs-read-the-writing-on-the-wall/


Amazing feats of survivol: http://www.asylum.com/2008/10/09/amazing-feats-of-survival/


Here's a list of fringe presidential candidates. Even the blogosphere is becoming liberally biased. Barry Hussein isn't on here: http://www.asylum.com/2008/11/04/fringe-presidential-candidates-change-were-all-afraid-of/


Former beauty queens, now and then: http://www.asylum.com/2008/09/12/famous-former-beauty-queens-where-were-they-then/


We will keep trying.

Random Thoughts

Things that cross my mind while wondering if Shane really died.

Is there any doubt that if Bobbie Hauck had been a member of the Cobra Kai dojo, he would sweep the leg without hesitation?

Why do Europe and the U.S. have different shoe sizes? Don't give me the metric system either Maybe Europeans are so got up in the "big feet" lore that the have a larger system. They're too stupid to know that big feet just mean big shoes.

I do not believe that you will be able to walk into the Scoop and still not smell like smoke after Jan 9th, 2009. There is so much residual smoke in everything there that you will always smell it in your clothes.

Why doesn't anyone count back change anymore? It's not that hard.

I agree with whoever said, "if there aren't dogs in heaven, then I don't know if I want to go."

When I talk, does it sound like I have a Wisconsin accent?

I'm glad that Ford doesn't make airplanes.

I found some pictures on the internet of bigfoot talking a bath. If I sent it to the Hutterites do you think they'd get the message?

I came up with the invention of the two-strap golf bag at the Sleeping Buffalo in 1983. The next vision I have like that I will definitely take advantage of. I think I invented the the drink hole on the styrofoam cups as well, but that might have been Rex Kaufman.

The only good thing about the merger between Sirius and XM is that I should be able to get NASCAR on the radio again for next season. Other than that the Sirius music stations suck.

If you thought there was a racial divide in this country before November 4th, wait until after the inauguration. If "The Messiah" doesn't play his cards right, this country will be divided and financially crippled irreversibly.

The biggest problem facing this country isn't the financial crisis but the way people choose to be informed. Laziness breeds ignorance and ignorant people shouldn't be allowed to vote. Or reproduce.

I hate that I'm 45 and still get zits.

I don't like having to trim hair off of my ears.

If you want to find a good employee, ask prospects if they've ever had a paper route. If you can deliver papers at 5 AM during a blizzard, you are dependable.

According to my brother Bill, you know you are hungover when bacon doesn't taste good.

Defining friendship is one of the most important things you will do with your life. Have good definition of what a true friend is and you will have plenty. Regardless of who makes the cut, treat people the way you want to be treated. Until they are rude to you, then tell them they are pricks and go about your business.

My friend John Craig told me a few years ago that he had seen my ex-wife. He said she had put on some weight. I told him if she got hit by a bus, I'd get both my wishes.

I'll be on the way to Sheridan for Thanksgiving. Going to see The Prodigy's new baby and shoot some pheasants. If I don't post for a couple of days, that is why.

Root agains Nebraska on Friday and Notre Dame on Saturday. Hope Texas State upsets the griz. Most importantly, find the little things to be thankful for. A dry warm house, a full belly, cable, whatever. Remember that most of the world will never have these so make sure that you look at the big picture.

Safe journeys,

Chip

And then, depression set in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peXZBKCQOV0


Well, I still have my health.

A crushing defeat

Well that picture pretty much sums up this past Saturday. Five turnovers? The Cats wouldn't beat Malta if they turned the ball over five times.

The Cats had their chances earlier. Going for it on 4th and 2 for a touchdown may have been a wrong call. I say may have as I was calling for it all the way. Not giving the ball to DC four times was definitely the wrong call. The kid ran it 80 yards, let him run it the rest of the way. Christsakes!!

The griz took advantage and played great. Are they the 4th best team in the country? Well, they were the second best in the conference so I guess the immediate answer to this is "no." I do think they will make it to the second round of the playoffs. They are chipped up in the secondary and at wideout so their chances to make a deep run will depend as much on luck as anything. However, there never seems to be a shortage of that in Missoula. The Reynolds kid ran hard but I guess he didn't really scare me. I don't think that as the level of difficulty increases, he will be as much of a factor as he was coming into the Cat/griz.

The griz put together a great drive to start the fourth, just as I had predicted. Not going for it start the fourth quarter was probably the biggest mistake Coach Ash made. I'm sorry, but you're down 18 on the road and getting some points there was imperative to any chance we had. Instead of punting he should have just walked out to the 50, shook Bobbies' hand and headed for the bus.

It would be nice to see Coach Ash grasp the full context of what this game means. I'm not going to be overly critical because I didn't think Mike gave this game as much meaning as it deserved as well. I will give it to Bobbie for beating us as badly as he did. If given the chance, I hope Rob repays the favor, and soon.

Good luck to Texas State this weekend. They are Bobcats as well. Maybe I can post a better picture next week.

The Classic Battle: Cat/griz 2008

It's here. The biggest sporting event of the season not held in Malta. The 2008 Cat/griz game.

Question: What's the hardest part about being a griz fan?

Answer: Telling your dad that your gay.

If you've been paying any attention to the BSC this year, and if you read this then you have been, the dark pink are playing pretty good football right now. Couple that with the fact that they still have an outside chance to tie for the conference title and that this game is in heart of communist Montana, then trust me when I say that they will come out very ready to play football.

Bobbie Hauck, head coach, um (do you know how long I had to look for this? about 20 seconds. Looks just like him except this guy has a smaller nose.)

The griz have a lot at stake this Saturday. A loss would certainly drop them in the national rankings and probably make them go on the road for a playoff game. I guarantee that they get a home game in the first round and they are certainly going to the playoffs, but a loss against the Cats might make them leave Missoula for round two.

That leads to me a different point. The Roberta lead griz have been beaten 3 times in the first round the last 5 years. They have become very good at being one and done. Yes, griz fans talk about how they play Thanksgiving weekend and we don't. But what they won't tell you is that the stands aren't full and they don't win. The letter that I posted yesterday was well researched but it makes almost every point I've been making about ol' hooknose for the last 5 years. Hell, Earl Somonson could win the conference there. Well, maybe.

Back to the game. It's cliche to say what I'm going to say but it's also the truth. There are four things the Cats need to do Saturday to even have a chance of winning. The first thing is that they cannot turn the ball over. We might be able to give them one but more than that will all but seal our fate. This isn't NAU or PSU. If we turn the ball over more than once, we lose. Plain and simple. The other three things won't even matter. The Cats have seven turnovers the last two games. Yes, they have a pick six in there, and they've been great at converting these into points the last two games but this is in Missoula. The griz feast on turnovers. 25,000 screaming hippies get them pretty riled up. So hang onto the ball.

Second we have to establish the run and do it early. I know everyone is excited because Marc Desin is starting in Missoula and the comparisons are being made to Lulay and he's a Montana boy but we have to run. The line has to get it together and do it on our first possession. If we can run on NAU we should be able to run on the griz. Run establishes play action, which will really make Desin effective. Demetrius is already fired up to play these guys. I also think that CJ has been kept in check long enough. Mix it up. I love the twin back formation that I called for four weeks ago. They must have read it on Chipshots.

Third we have to stop their running game. This kid from Drummond is playing like a man possessed and I'm sure he's as amped up as DC. We have to stop him and do it early. I know that Berquist is tough. Hell, I think he's the best QB in the BSC but if they get the run going then it's going to be tough for us just like it will be for them. I like our chances against slowing them down. I do think they will come out throwing. Our coverage has really improved the last couple of games but they have outstanding wideouts. We have to put pressure on Berquist. This means bringing the heat and bringing it often.

Last, we have to be ahead going into the fourth quarter. This isn't an option. If the griz aren't running early in the game you can damn sure bet they will be in the fourth especially if they have the lead. The boys aren't deep enough on defense with the injuries they have to go into the fourth.

Regardless the outcome, this has been a great year for the Cats. They effectively ruined their playoff chances when they lost to Eastern but they've run off four in a row and have shown a lot more emotion then they did in the two losses.

The point spread is currently the griz +15. Take the Cats and the points if you get the chance. Oh, and Coach Ash, if you get the chance to beat them badly, please by all means do it. Send Bobbie and the dark pink to the playoffs hanging their heads. And while your at it, show the rest of the state and the doubters that you are the man. Because you are.

I'd rather have a sister who works in a whore house than a brother who is a grizzly fan!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't root for the grizzlies if they were playing Iraq!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Safe journeys,

GO CATS

Chip

Bobbie Hauckaloogie

I received this email last week. It was written by an alum from the University of Washington. Evidently, Coach Bobbie is starting the rumors about where he is going much earlier this year than normal. Don't you worry griz fans. He isn't going anywhere.

I've left the name off this letter intentionally. Thanks to Brian A for the email.

BOBBY HAUCK - THE FINAL CASE AGAINST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've grown weary of the Hauck family members and those with no ability to look inside the numbers showing up here and trying to foist that hack on this program, thus it's time to outline what truly has occurred in Montana and why he would fail miserably in Seattle.

Let’s have a look at the evolution of the Montana program. They rarely won anything of real value in football up until 1991 when a man who had failed miserably at Oregon and Portland State ran headlong into one of the most incredible pieces of luck a coach has ever encountered. A dozer operator turned billionaire decided that he was tired of watching games while perched on rusted out benches and made it a point to turn Montana into a massive power in their division by fronting the cash for what would be one of (if certainly not the best) venues in the country at that level.

The stadium opened up in 1986 and Don Read went from 6-4 to 6-5 to 8-4 to 11-3. Every kid in Montana and the surrounding area wanted to play there, and the word was getting out to those with skills who might have been passed over, tossed away, or never found. Read had his usual lull for a few years thereafter (not even MT could contain his odd ability to sink in sand) until the recruiting had become so easy that even he could maintain the W/L record at 10+ every year.


He won the National Championship in 1995. Don frickin’ Read. Was it his great coaching? Of course not. The guy’s track record before he got that stadium made Willingham’s read like a dream. He retired as a comical hero, never seeming to fully understanding or perhaps acknowledge that he could write all the passing books in the world, but that would never change the fact that he was a pure hack before they laid the stone on the new field.

A Neanderthal from the central regions took over the reigns and proceeded to pull out a picture of that stadium each time he needed to recruit a new linebacker. He went to the playoffs each year and tanked the Championship game in 1996 – on the fumes of the Read team, of course. See where this is heading? Mick Dennehy felt haughty, he felt invincible, he felt he could win anywhere. Utah State fired him after a few years, and last I heard he was an admin. for some Podunk town near the big river.

Enter Cowboy Joe Glenn. A guy with a proven record of winning at two different levels. A guy who could charm and recruit with the best of them. Not that this was essential as even he realized that the $ Montana could put forth each year to subsidize the playoffs almost guaranteed and appearance. Play the usual patsies, beat up on the joke of a conference you were in, and raise hell when the real season arrived.

Hired guns now started looking to Montana as the Best of the Best of Last Chances. Ex-BYU ringer and QB Drew Miller made the competition look like the joke you would expect and, even after losing him, Glen still made it to the Quarters before pulling a Dennehy and heading to another hell hole that would give him little chance to succeed.

Montana yet again needed a new coach. Who better than an unproven assistant best known for being Rick Neuheisel’s bagman. The guy who was one of the first on the phones to Colorado and amassing violations the second he stepped foot in Washington air space. What the hell? He was from Montana, and the process of selecting a coach who had actually shown he could win the truly important games was simply unnecessary. Hell, Ty Willingham could bring the best to the school now. What could possibly go wrong and why does Hauck suck when it comes right down to it?

Let’s start with the number of the conference Montana plays in. A quick check at CFB DW and some rapid # crunching shows that the teams in the Big Sky conference are a combined 186-245 during the first 5 years of Hauck’s stint. The teams are 43-45 this year thus all holds up nicely for our purposes.

186-245…….. This doesn’t even include the laughable non-conference games they play against the likes of Fort Lewis and Southern Utah. With competition like this is it any wonder that a school that even remotely cares about giving money to its football program could end up with a reasonable record, win the conference, and get to the playoffs almost every year? Certainly not.


What has he done with this gold-plated currency in his 5 years? 3 1st-round playoff failures, one semifinal, and one appearance in the championship game in 2004 on the backs of Joe Glenn’s recruits. This is a horrid performance when you consider the fact that Montana holds all of the advantages. When you lose to Wofford? at home after having yet another “fabulous” regular season of 11-1 you have some serious issues.

Do you like thugs? Do you think we should even consider hiring someone who has the slightest tinge of difficulty with felons after what transpired the past few years? If you do, then Bobby is certainly your guy.

Let’s start with J.D. Drew. JD was a beast of a lineman best known for cribbing checks he hadn’t earned. Bobby was all over his ass to get him to Missoula, despite other stories of idiocy and a known incident involving booze. Guess what? Drew managed to get himself 2 more DUI’s during his tenure at MT, he weaseled his way out of both, and Bobby still thinks he should be on the team. This we can do without.

How about curb stompings? Just last month 3 idiots who think they run that school got caught on camera sucker punching and gang smashing a kid. These guys had barely been on campus for a month. Hauck tried to write it off as not a big deal. Well, Bob, the problem is that you have been running a dirty program now for some time and have clearly hit the “lack of institutional control” point of your career long before this.

A guy named Jimmy Wilson decided it was OK to blow away someone rather than let the system do its thing. Nice thought, but not the way to approach things.


His good buddy Quentin Freeman was another piece of work who has a record stretching from Arizona to the NW. Hauck had to admit he knew his record but clearly the thought of getting another Pac-10 dropdown overrode anything else.

How about the 3 players who were popped for kidnapping, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery? Bobby claimed that he was “sickened” but he has used this word in the past regarding his thugs and undoubtedly will again very soon as he just keeps bringing them in.

Numerous other stories, publicly known and well-known to those with ties to the program, make you wonder how the idiot still has a gig. Do you want the Times back up the ass of the program in very short order? Call for Hauck as the next coach.


Do we really need to even get into his issues with recruiting violations? He was Rick’s point man in Colorado, people. Nothing changed when he came here and he certainly has not learned his lesson since then.


It’s really quite simple, people. The UM administration always looks to hire from the state if at all possible. Bobby Hauck was brought on because he happened to be from Montana and had experience shoveling for a coach with some success. He inherited a program that had been to the playoffs 10 years in a row and had just come off a Championship 2 years earlier. He walked into what is almost without question the nicest stadium in 1-AA – ask those who are calling for a new Husky Stadium how important that is in recruiting the best. His predecessor did far more in 3 years than he has accomplished in 5+, yet for some reason people feel that he should take over the reins of a truly storied program because he has won against a putrid Big Sky with insane resources at his disposal. Flash: every coach there does that now and will continue to do so after he is no longer there.

Hauck is not and never will be the guy to lead this team. Willingham would have about the same record at Montana, and I guarantee Hauck would do about as well here as Ty.