Andy

If you want a break from the football, ESPN has a tripleheader of hoops tomorrow culminating in UConn/Duke in the preseason NIT final.

100,000 times agree.

But I'm dropping the subject going forward because it's taking up too much space in this thread. Didn't realize losing money to go to a crap bowl and probably lose to a MAC team was looked at as such a good idea by others.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with a sense of entitlement and more to do with the fact that ND would likely lose money going to that bowl game and has very little to gain from it. Yes, practice time, but if the new coach isn't ready/able to coach the bowl game, what good does practice time under a lame-duck coaching staff do? Not to mention the predictable media laugh-fest if ND lost to Central Michigan - which I'm certain they would do. yeah, notre dame's strapped for cash. probably can't afford a charter to detroit or wherever the hell that bowl is. abuck's philosophy: If you're rich, then you are under orders to piss away money for no real reason simply to appease people who hate you who think you have a sense of entitlement. Really, people like you are going to hate Notre Dame whether they go to a pathetic bowl or not, so why should they do it just to shut you up? Everyone knows you wouldn't shut up anyway.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with a sense of entitlement and more to do with the fact that ND would likely lose money going to that bowl game and has very little to gain from it. Yes, practice time, but if the new coach isn't ready/able to coach the bowl game, what good does practice time under a lame-duck coaching staff do? Not to mention the predictable media laugh-fest if ND lost to Central Michigan - which I'm certain they would do. Seriously, there aren't a whole lot of reasons to go to a Pizza Bowl, but if it makes you feel better to make up some sense of entitlement that doesn't exist, then go ahead. If Notre Dame actually does turn down a bowl game I think the media would hit them just as hard over that......."who does ND think they are, etc, blah blah". Yes teams lose money on bowl games sometimes. It happens. But I've never ever heard of any team seriously consider refusing a bowl game to stay home for the holidays. So when that talk comes in involving Notre Dame, yes it absolutely is going to be associated with the idea of a "sense of entitlement". Notre Dame did the same thing in 1996 when Holtz left. There wasn't much of a point going to a bowl game then, and there isn't much of a point doing it now. Again, with the caveat that if Stoops/Kelly/whoever gets hired and wants to coach the bowl game that it would be worthwhile to get the kids some time with the new staff.

Pretty nice way to end the season. WMU's no joke - at least not inside the MAC. The Cards will get just about everyone back next year and Kelly Page should be much improved. Eric Williams and Cory Sykes can flat-out play. Can't wait to see them as a RB tandem next fall.

I think y'all do have delusions of grandeur as a fan base. Notre Dame fan reminds me alot of BAMA fan. Although I guess BAMA fans can't be classified as having "delusions" of grandeur anymore. As a fan base, definitely. I don't think I do, though - some may disagree - and I'm about the only person speaking seriously about declining a Pizza Bowl bid.

Wed have probably ended up with Dewon Brazelton or Colt Griffin and 2003 might not have happened. Steve Bartman would be at home quietly enjoying his headphones and turtleneck. In the book Cubs Nation, Gene Wojciechowski spends a day interviewing the Cubs' draft team and they tell him that we'd have taken Mauer if Prior was gone.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with a sense of entitlement and more to do with the fact that ND would likely lose money going to that bowl game and has very little to gain from it. Yes, practice time, but if the new coach isn't ready/able to coach the bowl game, what good does practice time under a lame-duck coaching staff do? Not to mention the predictable media laugh-fest if ND lost to Central Michigan - which I'm certain they would do. Seriously, there aren't a whole lot of reasons to go to a Pizza Bowl, but if it makes you feel better to make up some sense of entitlement that doesn't exist, then go ahead.

The latest from the SB Tribune:

Hey, come on guys, the winner gets to go to the CollegeInsider.com tournament.

I was just annoyed. I guess just like I'm likely to immediately assume the guy (who was apparently an ND alum) who punched him instigated everything, everyone else is probably (and not entirely without merit) assume Clausen is going to start stuff. September 4th, 2010 can't come soon enough.

I don't know. I'm just sick of everything. I want a new team.

ESPN's Joe Schad reports that Clausen was sucker-punched by a fan (ergo, didn't do anything wrong) while out to dinner with his parents. But why should Chicago news report the truth when they can insinuate something about ND's quarterback?

ND has a Helms title too (1924 I think). I'd rather have a real one.

I think they should be in the championship game whether Texas loses or not.

Yeah, I don't care if the Lions get the Thanksgiving game. In the parity of today's league it'd be silly to get rid of them having it because in theory they can be good any given year.

i really don't think oklahoma st matters. they have 2 losses in a mediocre conference and don't even sell out their own 60,000 seat stadium. iowa and penn st are clearly better options. Deserving or not, I think Penn State gets selected over Iowa for an at-large bid. on what basis? Iowa is ahead of them in the BCS standings (and isn't likely to be jumped since they're both done), won the H2H matchup, has more quality wins (both AZ and Wisconsin are better than any non-Iowa, non-OSU team PSU played, which is to say, Iowa has at least 3 quality wins to PSU's 0), and has fans that travel in droves (as does PSU, but this is a neutral factor, at best, for PSU). So again, on what possible basis? I wasn't aware Iowa had a well-traveling fan base. In that case I withdraw the comment. And I don't care THAT much about declining a bowl bid, so I won't argue the point. I would just hate to see the national response after Central Michigan cleaned our clocks in the bowl game (and with LeFevour, they probably would).

They probably won't, but they should.

I really hope ND would turn down a freaking Pizza Bowl invite. The only exception would be if we hired a coach quickly and he wanted to coach the bowl game - then maybe I could see it to help get the players acclimated.

i really don't think oklahoma st matters. they have 2 losses in a mediocre conference and don't even sell out their own 60,000 seat stadium. iowa and penn st are clearly better options. Deserving or not, I think Penn State gets selected over Iowa for an at-large bid.

ND smearing Liberty 81-56 in the opening round of the Chicago Invitational with 7 minutes left. Harangody's day ended early, but he still scored 32.

I will fill in the FCS playoff info when it becomes available.

Top 25 games --------------------------- Florida State at (1) Florida (3:30 pm, CBS) (2) Alabama at Auburn (2:30 pm Friday, CBS) (3) Texas at Texas A&M (8 pm Thursday, ESPN) New Mexico at (4) TCU (1 pm, The Mountain) Illinois at (5) Cincinnati (12 pm Friday, ABC) Nevada at (6) Boise State (10:15 pm Friday, ESPN2) Georgia at (7) Georgia Tech (8 pm, ABC - Regional) (9) Pittsburgh at West Virginia (7 pm Friday, ESPN2) (12) Oklahoma State at Oklahoma (12:30 pm, FSN/CSN) (14) Virginia Tech at Virginia (3:30 pm, ESPN) Arkansas at (15) LSU (7 pm, ESPN) (17) Miami at South Florida (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) (18) Clemson at South Carolina (12 pm, ESPN) (21) Utah at (19) BYU (5 pm, CBS College) UCLA at (20) USC (10:15 pm, FSN/CSN) Rice at (23) Houston (12 pm, CSN South) (24) North Carolina at NC State (12 pm, ESPN2) (25) Ole Miss at Mississippi State (12 pm, SEC Network) Games of interest ---------------------------- Ball State at Western Michigan (7 pm Tuesday, ESPN2) Rutgers at Louisville (11 am Friday, ESPN2) Northern Illinois at Central Michigan (2 pm Friday, ESPN 360) Wake Forest at Duke (12 pm, Raycom Sports) Kansas vs Missouri – in Kansas City (3:30 pm, ABC – Regional) Middle Tennessee at UL Monroe (4 pm, CSN South) Texas Tech vs Baylor – in Arlington, TX (6 pm, FSN/CSN) Tennessee at Kentucky (7 pm, ESPNU) Notre Dame at Stanford (8 pm, ABC - Regional) Other nationally available games ------------------------------------------ Temple at Ohio (11 am Friday, ESPNU) Memphis at Tulsa (3:30 pm Friday, CBS College) Nebraska at Colorado (3:30 pm Friday, ABC) Syracuse at UConn (12 pm, ESPN 360) Southern Miss at East Carolina (1:30 pm, CBS College) Boston College at Maryland (3:30 pm, ESPNU) Arizona at Arizona State (3:30 pm, ABC – Regional) Utah State at Idaho (5 pm, ESPN 360) New Mexico State at San Jose State (8 pm, ESPN 360) Navy at Hawaii (10:30 pm, ESPNU) I-AA playoff games of interest --------------------------------- Holy Cross at Villanova (12 pm) Eastern Illinois at Southern Illinois (2 pm) Nationally available games outside I-A ------------------------------------------------- Tuskegee at Alabama State (4 pm Thursday, ESPNU) South Carolina State at Appalachian State - I-AA playoffs (12 pm, ESPNU) Grambling vs Southern – in New Orleans (2 pm, NBC)

Interference in the end zone. Lions score and win. Good job Browns. How many times do you get 37 points on the board, and you still lose?