So You Think You Know Notre Dame Football? # 6

6 # Why is former Michigan coach and AD Fielding Yost reviled by ND fans?

He led a boycott against Big Ten teams playing ND

He blackballed ND when they tried to join the Big Ten

He abruptly cancelled the 1910 game in South Bend because ND had won the previous year in Ann Arbor

All of the Above

Robert Hughes - Fullback - University of Notre Dame

If you love to watch football, then you’ve got to love fullbacks.  Unfortunately, they are going the way of the passenger pigeon and the dodo bird.  The NFL is pass-happy and college football is in the middle of spread offenses and sundry variations of receivers being told, “you go long.”

Robert Hughes did not set any records on the gridiron while attending the University of Notre Dame. He did what he had to do while suffering the loss of his brother to a senseless murder on the streets of Chicago.

His story has a happy ending, from dealing with the murder, being under-utilized by two head coaches, passed over on the depth chart, switching positions and trying to run east-west instead of north-south.  He wasn’t drafted by the NFL and with no free agency chances because of the lockout; Robert’s football career is on hold.

Coach Brian Kelly gave USC a dose of Robert this past fall.  Probably his best game if for no other reason it was against USC.  After that first carry on the winning drive, you just knew that Robert was going to pound and punish any linebacker or safety stupid enough to try and drag him down. 

For now just a goofy mortarboard and no more golden helmet.

Yet, Robert has a graduation ring, degree in sociology and a diploma from the University of Notre Dame de Lac that will suit him very well in all his future dreams and aspirations for greatest.

Congratulations Robert. Good Luck. God Bless.

So You Think You Know Notre Dame Football? # 5

We need something to take our minds off the self-destruction of the tOSU Football Program.  How about trying to beat the Wizard!

5 # Which famous coach said “To Hell With Notre Dame?”

Paul “Bear” Bryant

Bo Schembechler

Charlie Weis

Fielding Yost

Congratulations George Dohrmann

George Dohrmann

The Sports Illustrated article on Jim Tressel is damning.  Read it here.  Congratulations to Pulitzer Prize winner George Dohrmann, Notre Dame Class of 1995 for great investigative reporting.  We suspect more to come out of this sleazy affair.  You can be well assured that we will have an opinion too.

Assistant Head Coach Luke Finkell has been named interim Head Coach for 2011 while tOSU attempts to find a possible replacement for a Program headed for NCAA sanctions that will make U$C’s look like a slap-on-the-wrist.

Loved the small piece where allegedly Tressel rigged a summer camp raffle for certain star recruits over those that had no chance of going to tOSU.  Like taking candy from babies huh Jim?

We here at Subway Alumni Station thought we would enter some names as possible Head Coaching candidates at “Tattoo U.”

Tyrone Willingham – Columbus has some great golf courses.

Rich Rodriquez – If you can’t beat them—join them.

Pete Carroll – Been there, seen it, done it.

George O’Leary – Where lying will fit right in.

Goodbye Tressel - Ohio State Will Be Better Off Without You

FLAMING IDIOT

Ohio State University finally did the right thing.  It took way too long.  It forced Jim Tressel to resign.  The next step is to deep-six the athletic director, Gene Smith (A Notre Dame Graduate.)  The Ohio State Football Program stinks to high heaven.  The system needs to be cleaned up from top to bottom.  tOSU is faced with consequences similar to U$C or maybe worse.  The entire Program is under a cloud.  Was the National Championship led by street thug Maurice Clarett tainted?

Jim Tressel bent on a 2010 NC run did great damage to a storied and great football program.  Goodbye Jim.  Things must be very bad in Buckeye Land for Jim to quit.  Resign and lose his future wages instead of being fired?  Hmmm.

Why have we at Subway Alumni Station been on Tressel’s kester from the beginning?  Because just like Pete Carroll at U$C, individual coaches have done great harm to college football and what Notre Dame and all the rest of college football stands for.  (Please excuse the preposition at the end)

Here is Ohio State Quarterback Pryor and his car not sure how be obtained it. (Please excuse the preposition at the end)

Quick Fix on Notre Dame Football

If you need a quick fix on some info concerning Notre Dame Football during the Dead Zone, here is a good one.  Eric Hansen from the South Bend Tribune provides a good update on the Irish.  Noticeably lacking is mention of Michael Floyd. 

It appears the Irish Head Coach is touring the country visiting ND Alumni Clubs to booster support and show the flag while he is unable to recruit.  Wish he would come to West Virginia.  I guess I have to start a Club to get him here.

Of particular interest is the moving around of players especially incoming freshmen.  Shoot these guys are not even on campus yet for summer school.  Obviously, Coach Brian Kelly feels some can make an impact on the depth chart immediately and not just Special Teams.  The need for a kickoff return and punt return sparkplug is hopefully being addressed.  Man we sucked last year.

The switching of positions highlights Kelly’s desire to find players who can play where they are needed and have that Right Kind of Guy athleticism that he keeps talking about.  Anytime you can strengthen the depth chart you are creating competition for playing time and that sure is better than what Charlie Weis had going during his lean years.

I’m going to have to have that new ten second run-off option explained to me a couple of times by Tom Hammond before it sinks in.  The more taunting and hot-dog rules the NCAA can add to the college game is fine with me.  I'm sick of it in the NFL.

Understand USC is in a bit of a bind recruit-wise now that the NCAA infraction boys have said no dice to the Reggie Bush appeal.  It appears USC stocked up on recruits in 2011, have a total of 75 scholarship players, but can only recruit six in 2012.  They are going to have some skewed recruiting years until the three year, 75-scholarship limit runs it course. 

Speaking of tainted football programs.  The chickens are coming home to roost in Buckeye Nut Land.  Former sometime player Ray Small has come clean to tell his selling of Big Ten Championship Rings and sweet car deals during his short time playing for tOSU.  This was not out of any sense of righteousness but good old revenge.  Small was in the Doghouse more than he was sitting on the bench.  If you got nothing better to do here is the low-down.

Well have a great Memorial Day weekend, don't burn the burgers.

Subway Alumni

So You Think You Know Notre Dame Football? # 4

4 #  Which Notre Dame All-American did not leave school early to pursue a professional football career?

Jerome Bettis

Tim Brown

Tom Carter

Rocket Ismail

Michael Floyd Is Back !!

For god's sake can we beat Sparty at home?  Subway Alumni Station Crew will be there!

Therefore, reading the tea leafs and between the “BrianSpeak,” it appears Michael Floyd will be back catching passes from Dayne Crist in the opening game of the 2011 season versus South Florida. 

Hmmm.  Go IRISH

Obviously, we do not know the details but fear finger pointing and repercussions from the Notre Dame haters.

Hmmm.  Go IRISH

Let us hope Dayne Crist is up to finding Michael open and that Notre Dame can weather the storm of abuse coming.

Hmmm.  Go IRISH

We think in the long run, multipe quarterbacks will steer the Notre Dame offense in this run for the National Campionship.  The 2012  schedule does not look inviting or promising.

Hmmm.  Go IRISH

Nuts And Bolts On Where Notre Dame Football Stands

The nuts and bolts on where Notre Dame Football stands during the Dead Zone.  What's the heck is the Dead Zone?  Here it is.

Over some of our favorite very cold iced down brewski’s.

With some friends.

Three of us here at the Station deliberated over a number of issues to be thankful for concerning the state of Notre Dame Football.

1.  Other than Cameron Roberson, the IRISH came out of spring practice pretty much intact.  Here is a previous post on Cameron.

2.  Michael Floyd apparently is lying low and staying out of trouble while he awaits a June court date.  We suspect he will get a game(s) suspension(s) of some sort from Kelly but will be allowed to participate in fall camp.  A fine, community service, counseling, and DUI class if he is found guilty.  Most of which we think he has been working on.

3.  No one has transferred or dropped out of the Football Program based upon the results of spring practice, depth chart assignment or the issuance of semester grades.

4.  It appears the current seven 2012 recruits are exactly what Notre Dame needs for the future.  They are scattered from around the country, a great sign of national recruiting.  Keep it up Brian Kelly!  Check them out on the right side of the blog.

5.  No IRISH Assistant Coach has headed for greener pastures.  But just wait until we win the NC, that will change.  A pleasant future predicament for Coach Brian Kelly.

6.  An unprecedented five Notre Dame primetime night games and counting!  The 2011 Schedule is somewhere on the right side of the Blog.  Rumor has it that either Wake Forest or Pitt may also be a night game.   This gives us five Saturdays time to pick and choose an afternoon game to watch, work some chores off the ole Honey-Do list and even catch a nap.  Sweet.

This is a pretty short list.  But the beer ran out and the ladies demanded dinner.

So You Think You Know Notre Dame Football? # 3

3 # Was the sod from Notre Dame's Cartier Field transplanted onto the then new 1930 Notre Dame Stadium?

TRUE

FALSE

Subway Alumni Station Milestones For A Notre Dame Blog

Well for cryin out loud.  We here at Subway Alumni Station screwed up again.  Two milestones passed us by without recognition or a well deserved pat on the back!

On March 26^th, we completed our first year as a Blog. 

On April 15^th, we posted our 200^th article.  The current total is 212 as of today and counting.

This Blog was started as an alterative location for Domers and Subway Alumni to gather on Notre Dame Football game day and post comments before, during and after each game.  The intent was to fill in where the great Blue-Gray Sky Blog left off when they went off-line.

Well that did not happen.  The loyal Blue-Gray Sky Bloggers went elsewhere or didn’t care to carry on ranting and raving in the comment section of SAS.  So be it.  We then just started writing and tried to create a niche where other Notre Dame oriented websites and blogs did not bother to tread.

As it turns out thanks to NDNation adding us their blog list, we have sustained a loyal following of Notre Dame Football Fans.  Thank You.

We have written some pretty crappy posts.

We have written some very thought provoking posts.  Next time you have some extra time on your hands, scroll through the archives.

BTW, if you are interested in some different Catholic oriented short stories, check out The Saint Philip Neri Reading Room here.

Thanks for reading.  Go IRISH.

Subway Alumni

Jimmy Clausen Graduates From Notre Dame

Sunday, May 22, 2011, Jimmy Clausen fulfilled his promise to his mother and received his bachelors degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Congratulations Jimmy and the best of luck in all your future endeavors. 

Especially in beating out Cam Newton for the starting quarterback position with the Carolina Panthers. 

That is if the NFL even has a season in 2011.

So You Think You Know Notre Dame Football? # 2

Most colleges have one mascot and two school colors.  Although Auburn has taken the mascot thing a step further with the “Auburn Tiger” and the “War Eagle.”  Notre Dame is unique in that it boasts three school colors.  Green, Blue, and Gold.  The green is formally called “Kelly Green.”

2 # Is Madonna Blue and Papal Gold the official colors of the Fighting Irish?

True

False

Recruit Number 7 - Mark Harrell

During a month in which head coaches are prohibited from recruiting, Notre Dame picked up verbal commitment number seven.  His mug shot is at the right side of the blog.  Our math specialist Shaun indicates that Notre Dame is after between 18-20 recruits this year.

Here is a link to a typical local article with some interesting comments from Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly.

So You Think You Know Notre Dame Football? # 1

The Wizard is back by popular demand. Every couple of days we will be offering another question concerning Notre Dame Football to help get us through the Dead Zone. Take the Yellow Line from Subway Alumni Station and join the crowd. You can find the question on the right side of the Blog to mark your selection and vote. Check back to keep up with the Wizard. Can you beat the Wizard? No fair Googling!

When the smoke settles we'll run all of questions and will post the answers.

Beware of Wizard tricks!

Good Luck!  Go IRISH!

Question # 1: Which ND coach has the highest winning percentage?

Jesse Harper                 

Frank Leahy                

Jack Marks                  

Knute Rockne

Notre Dame Recruiting Wars

TO THE VICTOR BELONGS THE SPOILS

Some folks get more excited about the Notre Dame recruiting wars than others. Take Cyndi for example. She is our recruiting specialist here at the Station and is the only one who seems to care. Sure the Fighting Irish Football news is downright slow just now. After all we are in the DEAD ZONE and will just have to grin and bear it.

The current six verbal commitments can be found along with their mug shots on the right side of the Blog.

The rest of us here do not care to jump out of basement windows every time a prized five-star recruit decides to take his talents elsewhere. Take Noor Davis for example. He is a 6'4", 225 pound LB from The Villages, Florida, had a top five of Notre Dame, Florida, USC, Alabama and Stanford. He took his time, studied his finalists and made his decision.

Davis will be heading to the Pac-12, as he will be attending Stanford, which came as a bit of an upset to some observers. But what the heck?

It seems every day a recruit somewhere commits to “College A” and he lists Notre Dame as one of those schools that made him an offer. How can this be?

It appears that Coach Brian Kelly has approximately 130 offers on the table out there in recruit land. Notre Dame management of the procress appears to be an art form and exact protocols and philosophies are a closely guarded recruitment secret. We did offer an explanation here.

Anyway, Cyndi wanted to let you know that Keith Marshall a #1 running back will be visiting Notre Dame shortly. He’s 5’ 11” and 190 lbs. and the best running back out of the class of 2012 out of Millbrook High School in Raleigh NC.

If he ends up committing to Notre Dame, we don’t know what Cyndi will do. We are hoping for a free round at our favorite watering hole from her though.

Subway Alumni Station Threat

We here at Subway Alumni Station want to thank all the loyal bloggers who emailed us with concerns over possible al-Qaeda targeting of trains, subways and stations in America.

Not to fear, we are prepared! Our Red Line to South Bend will be running every Saturday during college football season. The Blue Line will continue to report game day activities. The Yellow Line will always be tracking and reporting illegal, unauthorized activities and NCAA rule violations in college football recruiting and Football Program administration .

Of course our security consists of…….

AND



Nuff Said

Notre Dame Did The Right Thing

Notre Dame is in the middle of upgrading its image and enhancing the Football Game Day experience on campus.  One of the areas needing attention was the Stadium concessions.  Notre Dame has always allowed and encouraged local nonprofit organizations to run concessions during football and basketball games.  It was a win-win for the School and the Organizations.

When the University decided to update and modernize the menus and refreshments at Sporting Events it became clear that the local organizations were out of their element and league.  Thus, initially Notre Dame turned to Centerplate Inc. to take over the management of the food and beverage concessions at Notre Dame Stadium and other campus venues.  This raised a cry and hue over Notre Dame looking only at profits and a big guy coming in and muscling out the little nonprofits.

Well now, everyone is grinning and happy.  Notre Dame changed their minds and everyone is a winner.  Notre Dame gets their good South Bend public image back and a broaden food and beverage choice.  The fans get to pay $$ for a watered down soda and a cold dog.  Centerplate gets to increase their operations and profit margin.  The nonprofit volunteers will still staff the concession sales, but instead of working alongside university employees, now they will work with Centerplate employees.  The nonprofits now will collect a 12 percent commission, compared to 15 percent in past years.  For some groups, that still will add up to thousands of dollars annually.   

We here at SAS only hope we can still buy our brats and canned coke on the Quad, on game day Saturday morning.  Yum.

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Notre Dame Sports Network

NOTRE DAME SPORTS NETWORK

Boy does that title sound impressive and strike fear in the hearts of Notre Dame haters, The NCAA, BCS Guru’s and the rest of college sports.  Let’s face it, the Notre Dame – NBC contract, agreement and mutual admiration society is obsolete.  It expires in 2015.  Why it was extended to 2015 without due diligence, forward looking vision and the aspect of reaping big $$$ is beyond comprehension. Especially for Notre Dame and its desire to make $$ and continue to portray a national image.

The Big Ten (12) Network was a wakeup call that college sports was changing in a way that it provided viewing in which advertisers could capitalize upon and exploit.  Then the formation of the PAC-12 and that Conferences TV deal.  The best is the deal between Texas and the $300 million agreement with ESPN.

Let’s face it, college sports is a venue worth providing to viewers hungry for good clean athletic competition.

What does Notre Dame have to offer up?  State-of-the-art facilities in Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Baseball, et. al.  A national audience.  The Subway Alumni.  Who wants to watch Texas play Baylor in New York City?

Notre Dame is coming back in Football (Thank God).  The men’s basketball team was supposed to make a run for the Final Four but fell short.  Not the women who made it to the Championship game.  Notre Dame’s Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, and now Women’s Golf (Go Nicole Zhang, Kristina Nhim and Katie Conway) are all competitive and worthy of following and cheering for Ole Notre Dame.

NBC owns Versus Network, they are the ones who broadcasted the 2011 Blue-Gold Game last month.  Versus is readily available on DirectTV, Dish, and most cable companies.  Soon they will add “NBC” to their name.  It would be nice to add: Notre Dame Sports as well.

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The Self Destruction of tOSU Football Program Continues Unabated

So now it is being investigated by the NCAA that as many as 50 Ohio State players may have received special deals for automobiles from a Buckeye fan and car dealer. The dealer picked up game and Bowl passes in return from the players. Read it all here.

It had been previously reported that Terrelle Pryor drives a Corvette around his home town of Jeannette, Pa., now we know where he got it.

A Skunkbear fan up in Michigan thinks the whole Jim Tressel affair funny and had the below billboard sign posted between Ann Arbor and Detroit on I-94.

This is a Coach and Program infected with a mentality of winning at any cost and is flaunting illegal activities in the name of sportsmanship and fair play.

We think the OSU Football Program should forfeit all games in incidences where players who received “special favors” participated. Coach Jim Tressel and Athletic Director Gene Smith should be fired and the Program be given the Death Sentence.

Why do we here at Subway Alumni Station consider this important and newsworthy on this Blog?  For the sake of honest college football that Notre Dame is a part of and to try and keep it that way.

Notre Dame 2011 Draft – Busted

The Fighting IRISH had nine players eligible for the NFL 2011 Draft.  But only one TE Kyle Rudolph was selected by the Vikings in the second round.  Why?

Many expected NG Ian Williams and CB Darrin Walls to get picked up late in the selection process.

Why weren’t they?

Now the eight are stuck in greed limbo between the NFL players and the owners.  Resolution and getting down to playing football is now anybody’s guess. 

To refresh your memory here are the nine Fighting Irish, eight seniors and Rudolph the junior.

Armando Allen – RB – Fought through injuries, ran behind a less than stellar offensive line for a couple years.

Robert Hughes – FB – A nice young man who played fullback for two coaches that did not have many plays in there playbooks for a fullback.

Duval Kamara – WR – Played in the shadows of Golden Tate and Michael Floyd.  Showed up overweight for fall camp and ended up in Charlie’s dog house.  Left Notre Dame and the Team before the Sun Bowl.  Strange.

Kerry Neal – LB - Hope Kerry got his degree.

Kyle Rudolph – TE - Nuff said.

Brian Smith – LB - Hope Brian got his degree as well.

Chris Stewart – OG - Chris may want to relook law school.

Darrin Walls – CB - So strange, he was such a high prospect coming out of high school.  That year he left Notre Dame for personal reasons was strange as well.  Someone will pick him up.

Ian Williams – NG - Someone will pick him up as well.

These guys are probably wondering what if they had chosen a school other than Notre Dame.  What if they had played the majority of their college careers under a different coach at Notre Dame. 

Hopefully they will all at least get a tryout with some NFL team.  Maybe Canadian Football.  Hopefully not Arena Football.

Joke of the Day:  Jim Tressel knew about the raid to get Osama bin Laden two weeks ago.  He just never bothered to tell anybody.  :+)

Notre Dame’s White Field North

Subway Alumni Tailgating UM Game 2010

Unless you are a Notre Dame student, faculty member, big shot season ticket holder with a parking tag or a ‘beautiful ND person’, if you want to tailgate then it is the White Field North Parking lot for you. Those fortunate enough to possess one of the above titles or $$ can get pretty close to the stadium to park and participate in tailgating activities. Not only are they close to the action, they do not have to put up with moronic, obnoxious Skunkbear fans. (More later) In addition, it is a lot easier and closer to haul loot back from the Bookstore.

For the Subway Alumni Fan at the bottom basement price of $25, you can park your car/pickup and catch a free shuttle bus to the main campus from White Field. For $120, you can park your RV there but no over-nighters! Years ago, you could park your RV right in the JACC lot, but thanks to some fans dumping their ‘holding tanks’ that got nixed for good. We always suspected it was disgruntled Skunkbear fans back in the Lou Holtz Era.

For $40, you can park on the Burke golf course (weather permitting) but no shuttle service. It is a little closer to campus, especially the bookstore. If you get bored you can always practice your putting.

They start taking your $25 parking fee at 8:00 a.m. game day; we showed up about 8:30 and got two spots in the second row. These were great slots with the port-a-potties close and the first shuttle stop just one row up. They are pretty liberal with the spaces too, which allows for setting up camp and games. There is plenty of room to throw the pigskin around or play Corn Hole. Most of the paved lots on campus for the privileged are pretty stingy with real estate, of course it's location, location, location.

Here is what White Field looks like relatively empty. Note the RV’s way in the back.

Been to many Notre Dame Football games but this was my first tailgate experience. Was extremely blessed to have my two sons with me plus one of my boy’s old high school friends. We no sooner got the tent up and fired up the grill than it started to rain. A cold, constant rain, one that when you looked to the West where it was coming from and all you could see was gray. Therefore, it became a matter of sitting under the tent, talking football and drinking beer at 9:00 a.m.

Who sets up behind us but a vanload of rowdy Skunkbears. They pull out a noisy generator and commenced being loud and stupid. The women were ugly and the music they played sounded like something only Bo, Mo, Lloyd, or Rich would find entertaining. All we could do was consume more brats and drink additional beer. Down near the port-a-potties two more carloads of the enemy showed up and they pulled out a flat screen TV and started playing last years (2009) ND-UM Game. Damn them!  A good time to head to the Bookstore and see what new buildings were being thrown up on campus.

By the time we got back, it was still raining of course, White Field looked like this.  Please note ememy encampment.

The Field was beginning to reach rain saturation point as well. What do you want for $25 bucks? Thankfully Rudy, Touchdown Jesus, or the Weatherman thought we’d had enough because it stopped raining just before kickoff.

Ate more brats but backed off the beer, the port-a-potty lines were getting pretty long by then and we did not want to have to go to the restroom in the stadium until halftime. (Who can hold it for 4+ hours worth of NBC timeouts?)

Great game, we came up short of course. It was interesting that 80,000+ fans were trying to text or call and find out what happened to Dayne Crist. It became more frantic when Rees, then Montana threw picks. The circuits were completely overloaded.

When Kyle Rudolph caught that touchdown pass, we went crazy. I never hugged so many total strangers in my life. That soon ended when the IRISH defense could not stop Denard Robinson for the final score.

After the game, we trudged back to White Field, the heck with the shuttle.  The lines were long and nobody wanted to sit on a bus with stinky Skunkbears. The Notre Dame fans next to us had left and completely trashed their space with beer cans, liquor bottles and miscellaneous junk. The obnoxious Skunkbear fans with the flat screen TV and fight song were ringed by about half a dozen campus gendarmerie. I guess they were expecting trouble. The Skunkbears soon packed it up and went back to Ann Arbor. It was getting dark but we could still pick out the UM fans, they were the ones laying on there horns as they drove off. Talk about rubbing our noses in it.

We sat around, cried in our beer and commiserated about what could have been with a healthy Dayne Crist or if Kelly should have went for a field goal just before halftime (well it could have been some much needed Mo).

Despite the bitter loss, crappy weather, goofy UM fans, we had a simply grand time. We agreed to come back in 2011.

Good ole White Field.

Editors Note: Apparently 6-8 members of Subway Alumni Station will be attending the ND-MSU Game on September 17th. Tailgating of course.  More info to follow in September if you want to tailgate and meet some of the Staff.

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A Window Of Opportunity To Enhance Notre Dame Football

Things are real slow down here on the Blog front. Just about every topic imaginable concerning Notre Dame Football and the upcoming Blue-Gold Game has been digested and reported by someone. Quarterback controversy, injuries, lack of running backs, early enrollee impacts (or lack thereof), Michael Floyd, Spring Practice, prospects for the fall and foes added to the out-year schedule. They have all been taken.  If you scroll down, you can see where Subway Alumni Station jumped right in with a number of those topics as well. Unfortunately the staff here at SAS prides itself in leading the pack in opinions, controversy, hard analysis, and holding persons accountable. After all we are Loyal Subway Alumni of Notre Dame. It is interesting to note that one major sports website periodically takes one of our topics and expands upon it and juices it up a bit. We have also been informed from an unnamed reliable source that certain persons associated with Notre Dame even take a peek at this Blog.

Anyway.

While riding in on the Red Line this morning I read where Mike Mayock has been picked to do color commentary for Thursday Night NFL Football. Dang, does that mean he won’t be working the booth for NBC and Notre Dame Football on Saturdays? Man, he was a breath of knowledge and insight compared to Tom Hammond’s vanilla play-by-play! He offered a lot more than Pat Haden did, even though Pat played at USC and in the NFL.


So can Mayock give justice to the NFL Thursday night and still cover the Irish Saturday afternoon? This may be a moot point considering the greed being engaged in by the NFL owners and players even as we speak. Who knows, Notre Dame may be playing on Sunday, right after the televised Mass in the Sacred Heart Basilica.

We called The Peacock to get a reading on this question and see if Mayock would be available to sit in the booth high above Notre Dame Stadium this fall. If not, then who? After explaining to the receptionist that I was from Subway Alumni Station she would not put me through to NBC Sports. Go figure.

Anyway.

This is a golden (blatant pun) opportunity for NBC and Notre Dame to bring in a whole new broadcast team. This is in keeping with the shrewd makeover that Notre Dame is undertaking to market the football program. See: The Subtle New Marketing of Notre Dame Football.

This would entail jettisoning perennial announcer Tom Hammond. Oh my, Tom is pretty much an institution around NBC. A regular jack-of-all-trades type announcer and part time commentator. Tom has done or does for NBC; the Olympics, NFL Football, The Triple Crown, track and field, gymnastics, SEC basketball, The NBA and probably some sports and events we couldn’t remember.

Don’t get us wrong, we like Tom we really do. It’s just like Bert Parks and the Miss America Pageant; he’s outlived his usefulness and relevancy. Of course you have to be careful what you ask for; we could end up with Kathy Lee Gifford’s husband.

Anyway, what do you think? Replace Tom? Vote on the right side. Vote early and vote often, just like we do in West Virginia.

Last Of The Mohicans

Now there are three. Notre Dame, Southern California and UCLA. These are the three remaining FBS schools that have never scheduled/played a FCS school in football. Washington State was number four but this fall they will dip down into the cupcake ranks to secure an easy victory over Idaho State. Of course Michigan may beg to differ on that “easy victory” account. Appalachian State University in 2007 defeated the then number 5 ranked Skunkbears, 34-32. Until surpassed, this game is considered one of the greatest upsets in all of sports.

The NCAA changed the rule in 2005, allowing a FBS school to count a victory over a cupcake, oops, excuse me, a FCS school each year. This opened the door for FBS schools to make/save some money and pretty much guarantee an easy win. Last year, FBS schools won 88% of the time against FCS opponents.

Remember a FCS school is only allowed 63 scholarships compared to 85 for a FBS school.

The reasons are also economic. A FBS school usually has to pay a minimum of $900,000 to $1,000,000 to schedule another FBS opponent. Not so with a FCS little guy, they will settle for as little as $400,000.

Scheduling cupcakes is big victories and easy money for the likes of the Mighty SEC. In 2011 all 12 member schools will play FCS opponents.

When will USC and UCLA succumb to the temptation?

Cameron Roberson Injury - When Will He Be Back?

So when can we expect Cameron Roberson back on the field?  Lot questions only a few answers.  We have called upon our resident Physical Therapist (PT) Alex Brenner to give us a run-down on what a PT would expect once he gets his hands on a patient such as Roberson from an orthopedic surgeon.

Brenner writes:

Kelly announced that his suspicions were correct about Cameron Roberson’s knee injury. It appears he has a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). At this time I have very limited information on this injury and can at best give an educated guess on his recovery time. It would be nice to know if this was a contact or a non-contact mechanism of injury.

Quick Anatomy Lesson

The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is a very strong ligament that runs on the outside of the knee and connects the thigh bone (femur) to the lower leg bone (fibula) while simultaneously providing lateral side-to-side support of the knee. It is what helps keep the knee to articulate as a hinge and plays a very important role in the lateral stability of the knee.

The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is the ligament in the knee that most people have heard of and is probably the most commonly torn ligament in the knee. It runs from the underside of femur to the tibia and crosses over the PCL. It also plays an important role in stability of the knee, especially in the anterior to posterior direction. On a side note (with Easter in mind), cruciate means “arranged in forming a cross” and comes from the latin word of “crux” which means cross. You can see above the two ligaments (ACL and PCL) forming that cross.

Injury

The ACL is most commonly torn during a non-contact event, meaning the player was running and made a cut to avoid a tackler and goes down without even being touched by a defender. A good example of this caught on tape was Dayne Crist from the 2009 season against Washington State. Other ways to tear the ACL include blunt trauma from a tackler that forces the knee into hyperextension. The lateral collateral ligament is most commonly torn from a direct contact blow to the outside portion of the knee. The blunt force causes the knee to be forced inward resulting in the tear. As an educated guess, Roberson sustained a lateral blow to the knee such that the LCL was completely torn and the ACL was partially torn.

Recovery

The big question here is whether or not Roberson will need surgery. Again, without examining this patient it is difficult to ascertain from a brief MRI report what his recovery might entail. Partially torn ACL ligaments are very common and are not typically repaired surgically unless it is hanging by a thread of tissue. It is very common for athletes even with 50-75% of the ACL torn to return to competitive play without having a surgical repair. The prognosis for an isolated partially torn ACL is very good and in fact, these do not need surgery and can recovery can be as quick as 2-3 months. Unfortunately, it appears that Roberson has a complete torn LCL. This makes the situation a bit more precarious. A completely torn LCL will most likely require surgery to repair because if there are no fibers of the LCL intact it will need to be sewed together by a surgeon. A partially torn LCL and ACL could heal on its own without surgery. I am certain the Ortho surgery team is currently contemplating these same questions and time is of the essence.

If he undergoes surgery they will most likely only repair the LCL and leave the ACL alone assuming he has at least 25% of the ACL fibers intact. Recovery for just the LCL repair is 4-6 months, best case scenario, start to finish. If no surgery is needed then we can assume the LCL and ACL are both only partially torn. Rehab for that scenario is more like 3-4 months.

Lastly, with a blunt force knee injury the meniscus (cups of cartilage between the thigh bone and leg bone) are almost always injured. I have not heard them mention that the meniscus is torn but if it turns out that he has torn meniscus on top of a LCL and partial ACL then the rehab time could be a few months longer.

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Why Notre Dame’s Dayne Crist Will Start Against South Florida

There is no quarterback controversy, no competition for number one, or questions as to who will be under center come September 3rd. This along with Coach Brian Kelly’s and various beat reporters who are baiting opponents concerning the mobility and option threat abilities of Andrew Hendrix and Everett Golson make for excellent wailing and grinding of teeth by 12 opponents. Rest assured, Dayne Crist with start.

** Dayne Crist is one tough Hombre.  He has recovered and rehabilitated from TWO major injuries.

**  He is now healthy, fleet afoot and throwing exceedingly well.

**  Dayne is a senior. He is a proven leader.

**  He has the experience and total digestion of the play book.

**  He and Brian Kelly have a mind meld thing.  They are comfortable with each other.

**  If not injured in the Michigan and Tulsa games he would have been the quarterback for all of 2010.

**  He is leading the first team offense in Spring 2011 and will do so in the Blue – Gold Game.

It is expected that he will again invite his receivers to his home in California to continue to stay sharp and fine tune routes, patterns and timing.

Tommy Rees is nowhere in this equation as long as Dayne Crist remains healthy.

Michael Floyd Punishment Poll

Michael has a May court date in South Bend to determine the public justice in his DWI case. The talk has been that The Resident Life Board would act after that outcome in May. Apparently according to Coach Brian Kelly, Res Life is meeting next week with Michael. It is assumed and expected that his fate will be decided/handed down at that time. Yes, no sense in letting anyone twist in the wind any longer than necessary. We suspect Coach Kelly has asked for early resolution.

Becky from our advertisement department suggested a Poll to see where loyal readers of Subway Alumni Station (SAS) stand on the issue and outcome. Most of us here at SAS know that our Polls have received rather dismal attention. Unfortunately Becky is the first one in the office in the morning. She makes the coffee and often brings in ‘Fat Boy Pills" or bagels. Thus she gets her way. The Michael Floyd Punishment Poll is posted on the right side of the Blog. Vote and voice your opinion on Michael's punishment below this post.

Editors Note:  An article on Marketing Notre Dame Football was posted yesterday (see below) and a Dayne Crist starting quarterback article will be posted shortly.