I'm just tossing this up and stepping back to the family gathering, but if anyone wants to get away from their loved ones for a moment to rant or rave, here's your place.

Kickoff is at 8:00pm, coverage on ESPN.  Mele Kalikimaka, everybody.

Jesus is packing.

It goes without saying that the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors had to fill a lot of holes after last year's undefeated regular season and Sugar Bowl thrashing (We've been there, guys; No shame.).  Colt Brennan went onto the NFL where he put up some impressive preseason stats for the Redskins while June Jones took the money and ran all the way to Dallas, where he's in Year One of a rebuilding program at SMU.  You probably are not aware that Miami Dolphin rookie receiver Davone Bess was on the other end of some of Brennan's record-breaking throws, or that he serves as an example that you might be able to find a receiver a little later down in the draft and don't, under any circumstances, have to draft TED GINN, JR., IN THE TOP TEN JUST BECAUSE MAYBE THE TEXANS WERE GOING TO MAYBE TAKE HIM WITH THE NEXT PICK.  Sigh. 

After losing so much from the 2007 squad, Hawaii struggled at the beginning of the season, with road trips to Gainesville and Corvalis helping to stunt the rebuilding.  Things took a turn for the better with an upset win at Fresno State in early October, with the rest of the season going according to plan save for dropping a game at woeful Utah State and nearly pulling the upset off against Cincinnati in the season finale.  The Warriors were a better home team than road team, although the fact they faced Florida, Oregon State and Boise State on the road while feasting on the likes of Washington State and Idaho at home probably contributed to this discrepancy as much as any sort of home cooking or road troubles. 

Just looking at the meat-and-potatoes statistics, nothing initially jumps out about the Warriors.  69^th in scoring offense, with the 108^th ranked rushing attack and 33^rd ranked passing attack.  72^nd in scoring defense, 72^nd at stopping the run and 54^th at slowing the pass.  The two things they're not particularly good at are keeping drives going (91^st in third down conversions) and keeping young Greg Alexander, or whoever is playing quarterback, on his feet (last in the entire nation in sacks allowed).

There's your basic rundown.  Now, things you need to know for the upcoming holiday:

The Irish Are Going To Need To Block This Guy: Meet David Veikune, defensive end for the Rainbow Warriors and legitimate NFL draft prospect.   After a relatively slow start to the season, Veikune ended up with 64 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 8 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.  You can see him raining down hell on hapless WAC opponents while a TRL favorite blasts in the background here:

After a 2007 season where they couldn't stop anybody from getting to the quarterback, the Irish made it through most of 2008 without facing too many elite pass-rushers.  That will change Wednesday evening. 

Also worth blocking?  Hawaii linebacker Solomon Elimimian, the all-time leading tackler in Rainbow Warrior history and your 2008 WAC Defensive Player of the Year.   The man knows what he is talking about.  

Where the best holiday marathons are:  Everyone loves opening gifts, watching fantastic NBA games and hanging out with their family and watching Elf for the ninth time (that is a good thing), but sometimes you just want to zone out in front of the television for hours at a time and just take in whatever the glowing box of happiness is willing to give you.  Here's a comprehensive list of what to find there from the 24^th to the 26^th.  Highlights?    

MTV on the 24^th: Engaged and Underaged/True Life.  This is worth watching only to see if True Life: I'm A High School Senior is on.  It originally aired in 2003, I believe, and contains two of the greatest hours of anything you will ever watch.  Second only to the Made in which the preppy girlie-girl learns how to do a back-flip on a BMX bike in regards to best episodes of 21^st century MTV programming.

Spike on the 24^th and 25th: James Bond Films.  The only really great one on Christmas Eve is You Only Live Twice in the morning, which features the worst ninjas you've ever seen, Sean Connery turning Japanese and the original volcano hideout.   Christmas Day is much, much better, with Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.  Timothy Dalton is conspicuously absent from both days, while Die Another Day somehow airs twice, because you just can't get enough invisible cars.

Game Show Network on the 25^th: Card Sharks.  Really just an all-time fantastic game show that would be fantastic for bringing back today (Ben Silverman, are you listening?  More cheap programming!).  You had contestants taking guesses at awkward social questions, some eye candy and gambling in the final round.  It would, without question, translate 100% into an hour format on primetime hosted by Jeff Probst.

TV Land on the 25^th: Christmas episodes of old shows.  These all seem like winners to me.     

Animal Planet on the 26^th: Whale Wars.  I have no idea what this is, but it sounds amazing.

Travel Channel on the 26^th: The Amazing Race 13.  TAR, despite winning heaps and heaps of worthless Emmys, does not get enough credit for how consistently entertaining it is.  This season started off really slow, with some ill-formed legs and incompetent competitors, but business picked up and resulted in some of the worst attempts at completing Road Blocks and Detours in the history of the program.  The criminally underrated Phil Keoghan, who can dance like a fiend:

What this game might resemble defensively:  After perusing a lot of Rainbow Warrior offensive linemen quotes, it seems they are well aware that everyone is point to the large amount of sacks they've given up this season as one of the biggest themes coming into the game.  While those numbers will certainly be tempting Pat Kuntz and friends, I can't help but think that the game film from the opener with the Aztecs is going to be studied extensively by the Hawaii coaching staff as a great way of dealing with the Tenuta blitzes while keeping the Irish offense off the field.  (I write the end of that previous sentence imagining that it's still 2005 and people are concerned about stopping the Notre Dame offense.  St. Michael protect us!) 

What will that mean?  Potentially huge days for David Bruton and Kyle McCarthy, who will have loads of crossing routes, shovel passes and screens to deal with over the course of the evening.  It could also mean some fun for the outside linebackers crashing in from the outside, which is one way Bob Davie (?) helped stunt the growth of the Run and Shoot offense.

Michael Floyd and Brian Smith will be back: An issue not brought up nearly enough is how the regression of the entire Irish team was expediated by the loss of Floyd.  Even in the losses to North Carolina and Pitt, the offense looked at least competent, putting up points on capable teams (I don't even want to think about the Boston College game; mulligan?).  Against Navy, the game where Floyd left very early on, the Irish did the majority of their damage on the ground.  From that point on, Jimmy Clausen and the entire offense struggled to string any sort of success together.  The Tribune point out that after Floyd left, the Irish passing offense dipped from 259 to 147.  In the preseason, we all thought Floyd was going to be something really special.  In an odd twist when it comes to preseason hype, he exceeded everyone's wildest dreams before being taken from us for the last three games of the season, sending everything and everyone into a venomous tailspin of finger-pointing and griping.

While I'm not going to get my hopes too high, what if Floyd's return just makes everything magically better?  Golden Tate will be able to get open, there will never be a safety in the box and Clausen will have a freak athlete to just toss bombs to anytime the defense foolishly leaves only one defender on him.    

On defense, Smith was the vocal and physical leader on the field before a bum knee cut him down as well.  Although the defense had still been playing well in his absence, it'll be good to have him back, if only for quotes like this:

"We were out walking around (Saturday) night, going in all the expensive stores - Louis Vuitton, Armani Exchange," linebacker Brian Smith said. "I saw a coat for about $1,700. I said, this is not the store I need to be in. This is not coming home with me."

Mike Haywood is out of there: As Rob mentioned below, ESPN is reporting that the Irish offensive coordinator is heading east to coach Miami (OH).

Hey guys, long-time reader, first-time poster.  My friend and I are on a quest to fix the Bulls, and after perusing here, it seems like some Blazer fans are interested in acquiring the services of Kirk Hinrich (while others are vehemently against it because of his contract).

What would be the general consesus of the Blazer fans if you:

Gave Up: Frye, Blake, Webster and RLEC

Got Back: Kirk Hinrich, Gerald Wallace, Drew Gooden (expiring contract)

This is what the entire beast looks like (somebody can throw a draft pick or two at the Bobcats as well).

Bill Simmon's column today is counting down 50 awful NFL gifts, from Vince Young and Matt Millen to Ryan Leaf and Michael Vick.  It made me think "What is the cruelest gift you could give a recent Notre Dame graduate?".  After about five seconds, I realized what it would be and immediately found it.  For only $416.10, you could ruin the Christmas of Fighting Irish fan in your life.  You'e welcome.

(And for those of you who saw this headline and thought it had something to do with ranting against playing in a bowl game on Christmas Eve, sorry.)

Sorry for taking a few days off, but the amount of negativity permeating throughout the Fighting Irish side of cyberspace is somewhat sickening.  Domer Law Blog did a pretty good job going over all the idiotic whining of everyone regarding the Hawai'i Bowl and everything else surrounding the Notre Dame football program.  Perhaps the dumbest suggestion out of them all (and that's really saying something, considering the amount of conspiracy theories and emo posting all over the place), is the thought that Notre Dame should decline a bowl bid at 6-6.  No one -literally, not a single other program - would do such a thing.  I'm sorry it makes you, insane internet person, sick to your stomach to watch Charlie Weis coach another game (and I surely hope should Weis ever find success, you will not take any joy in it, considering how you've sworn off the program), but a lot of us wouldn't mind watching Notre Dame play another game.  We'd even enjoy it, with everyone healthy (Oh, St. Michael, we've missed you) and with our family and friends over the holidays.  I also wonder who, exactly, is going to tell Pat Kuntz and David Bruton they don't get to go to a bowl game because you don't think they deserve it.  Are you going to, internet tough guy?

Considering everything else going on in the world - the need to cull the best Christmas music from the deluge of carols available, Oscar movies being released, Rod Blagojevich trying to give Sean Astin a perfect made-for-TV movie opportunity, Bart Bass dying (or did he?!) - it's hard for me to get inspired to write extensively on a subject that causes me to come across the dregs of the internet every time I attempt to do the most minute of research.  Still, in the coming weeks, we will cover everything there is to know about the Rainbow Warriors football team.  There will be complete and total clarification between haka and hula, with a good dose of history in the form of Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan.  We've got your back, readers.

Pneumonia?  No Problem: At least for Luke Harangody, who played in Saturday's game against Ohio State after Mike Brey tried the ol' rope-a-dope with Thad Matta.  Harangody was not at 100% yet still tossed in 25 and 16, although the usually efficient Gody needed 25 shots to do so.  The rest of his teammates weren't up to the task against an Ohio State team I knew was going to be a tough match-up for the Irish, flustering them their length and a 2-2-1press falling back into swarming defense.  While the loss stings, it says something that Brey's squad, playing on a neutral floor, was only down one point in the final minute against a talented team on an afternoon where Kyle McAlarney was 0-6 from three.  There were lessons learned, but it's still a disappointing loss just because the Irish won't get another crack at an opponent with a pulse until the Big East opener on New Year's Eve.  This will be the last time the Irish go more than a few days without a chance to take out a quality opponent, as the only breather in the Big East schedule is a quick trip out to Westwood to take on a team that's been to three straight Final Fours.

Three cupcakes before New Year's Eve, then a fun, frantic three months begin.  Incase you were not aware, Zach Hillesland's second entry is up over at The Quad.  Nowhere near as entertaining as the first, but still worth checking out.

Your Government Working For You: Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) has an anti-BCS plan that's just crazy that it might work:

He said the bill - being co-sponsored by Reps. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat, and Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican - "will prohibit the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.''

Categorizing the BCS as a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act is total genius or complete madness, or possibly both. Either way, I like it.

One way to diffuse the BCS is to take away its ability to directly crown a champion, and this measure seems like an effective way of doing so.  Mandating the use of "Mythical" in front of  "BCS Championship Game" seems like the best way to embarrass the whole damn institution out of existence.  It seems like it would be easy enough to prove that successful football programs lead to both an increase in revenue and applicants for schools, and by favoring the bigger conferences, the BCS takes away certain competitive advantages from the Utahs and Boise States of the world.  You might say government has more important things to do, but there are 534 other lawmakers to save the economy and get us out of these wars; we can spare one to save college football.

Obsession, by Maize and Blue: I was over at MGoBlog to check out the newest BlogPoll (which my latest ballot didn't register on, oddly enough; my internet is the suck?) and see the latest Michigan football departures when I noticed something odd; Brian is really obsessed with Charlie Weis.  Even when it's absolutely unnecessary (praising the great John Beilein means taking a shot at Weis?), Cook does it.  He's more than welcome to do whatever he pleases with his site, obviously, but it's just odd.  I can understand if Weis was a figure worthy of damnation (he is, by a lot of counts) that wasn't constantly criticized from those inside and outside the Notre Dame fan base, but most people hate this guy!  It's not like you're taking the time to illuminate the world to an underreported problem (Penn State fans, say).  Take as many shots as you want, but doesn't it get old after a while?

(One thousand Rakes points for the Paul Zimmerman love, though.  Here's hoping the good doctor recovers and is able to nail his Super Bowl for many years to come.)

Etc., Etc., Etc,. . .

The women's soccer team fell in the championship game 2-1 to North Carolina, the second straight title game they've lost to the Tar Heels when the game was playing at the "neutral site" of Cary, North Carolina; I call bullshit. . .old but worth noting: 2007 Notre Dame vs. 2008 Michigan. . .we're going to have to set up some sort of competition between otherworldly shooters and their extremely supportive mothers, with Stephen and Sonya Curry trying battling toe-to-toe with Kyle and Joyce McAlarney. . .keeping track of the latest coaching changes. . .potential danger in the islands. . .

I usually love bowl season.   Even if it's the ugliest of games and a lop-sided mismatch, getting to spend four hours with two teams you're not familiar with and C-team announcers give you the chance to learn so much while cracking a lot of entertaining jokes with friends during the holidays.  I remember the night I discovered the Pistol formation, Christmas Eve 2005, Nevada using it in an overtime Hawaii Bowl against Central Florida, and just two years later was being utilized in the BCS title game by LSU.

This year, I'm not as excited.  For one, this is a somewhat less-than-inspiring slate of games from top to bottom.  Secondly, it's getting kind of hard to believe that things are going to get better in regards to this entire playoff thing.  There are too many contrasting philosophies on how to fix it, too much money tied up in the current screwed up system and greedy conference commissioners completely and totally owning the powerless NCAA.  It will most likely take an executive order from the president of the United States to actually fix this thing, finally letting us settle things on the field the way every other sport does.  It'll finally be time for people who say "But it makes it more interesting; don't you like arguing?" (Die) and "But if there's a playoff, people won't care as much about their big-time rivalry games!" (even though 99% of rivalry games don't have anything to do with the national title hunt, yet teams still want to win them) to disappear into the collapsing newspapers or darker corners of the internet and let us celebrate our wonderful collegiate football season in peace.

The best and worst of the 2008-2009 bowl season, Part One:

Best Bowl Game That Always Looks Like It'll Be Entertaining Even If It Ends Up Being A Rout Like The Last Two Years: Holiday Bowl - Oklahoma State vs. Oregon

Oregon finally patched things together after an early season coaching carousel to put up roughly a thousand yards of offense in the Civil War, knocking their rival Beavers out of the Rose Bowl.  Oklahoma State's three losses are to three of the best teams in the country, giving both the Sooners and Longhorns some of the stiffest challenges they've faced all year (Texas Tech, not so much).  Jeremiah Masoli and Jeremiah Johnson take on Zac Robinson and Kendall Hunter in beautiful San Diego, California, with the wild card being, of course, what fashion statement Phil Knight is going to try and make on a national platform.

Best Sign the SEC and Big Ten Are Having Down Years: Outback Bowl - Iowa vs. South Carolina

Really?  This is a New Year's Day game?  To Iowa's credit, they might be the most snake bitten 8-4 team in the country, losing by one to Pitt, five to Northwestern, three to Michigan State and three to Illinois.  Shonn Greene, the guy who would be a household name and Heisman candidate running back if he were playing anywhere else, has rumbled to over a hundred yards in every game this season, including 117 in the big upset win over Penn State.  You last saw South Carolina being comfortably handled by Clemson and obliterated by Tim Tebow, making it a sad state of affairs they are the fourth/fifth best team in the SEC.  Iowa is a slight favorite, and with the Cotton Bowl moving to January 2^nd and the Gator Bowl not kicking off until 1:00, you better find something interesting about this game, as it will be your only source of pigskin for a couple of hours on New Year's Day.     

Best Pre-Christmas Game In A Long, Long While: Poinsettia Bowl - Boise State vs. TCU

As great as this game should be, it really sucks for the Broncos to be sent here after going undefeated.  Not that TCU is not a worthy, more-than-capable foe, but to ninety percent of college football fans -and most pundits - a win over the Horned Frogs doesn't mean anything in the national picture because they're not a BCS team.  This is just a way of completely and totally neutering any claim Boise may have to a national championship.  If they knocked off Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, people would have to pay attention, but beat TCU two weeks before the other big games are played?  Oh, you can just forget about them.  I hate college football.

Best Chance To See A Couple of Fifty Spots Put Up Before Florida/Oklahoma: Alamo Bowl - Missouri vs. Northwestern

The Tigers are one of the worst "good" teams in recent memory, getting absolutely trounced in both of their big games.  The Wildcats are one of the least ballyhooed nine win teams in a while (probably for good reason).  What do they have in common?  Two really good quarterbacks (Chase Daniel and C.J. Bacher) and some really scary threats elsewhere in the offense (Jeremy Maclin and Tyrell Sutton) combined with some not great defenses (you've seen Mizzou in action, but Northwestern gave up 37 to Michigan State and 45 to Ohio State) means the scoreboard will be getting a workout. 

Best Chance To See The Football Equivalent of Someone Slamming Their Car Door Really Hard After A Bad Day At Work: Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs. Ohio State

Ohio State has quietly put together another 10-2 season (losing to the only two good teams they played, but hey, who's keeping track?), but now must face the wrath of Colt McCoy and a jilted Longhorn squad who think they might still have an outside chance at an AP championship (they don't, but keep on believing).  The Big Ten has lost their last four BCS games by an average of 22 points, and I don't see any reason to believe that margin is going to be a lot smaller in this game.  However, the ‘Horns did struggle with the OK State backfield duo, so maybe the Pryor/Wells combination gives them difficulties.  Here's hoping Tressel puts a quality anti-McCoy game plan together just to keep things interesting.

Best Chance To Probably Nap Away That New Year's Hangover: Rose Bowl - Southern Cal vs. Penn State

Penn State fans will tell you their team is more than capable of taking on the Trojans because they have balance and have been great all year and "But just that one overthrow against Iowa!..." and blah blah blah, but considering the collegiate version of Vince Young isn't on the Nittany Lions, I don't see any reason to think this year will be any different than the following:

• Iowa in 2002 Orange Bowl
• Michigan in 2003 Rose Bowl
• Oklahoma in 2004 Orange Bowl
• Michigan in 2006 Rose Bowl
• Illinois in 2007 Rose Bowl

If you want to tack other games onto this, consider every other big non-conference game Southern Cal has played in the last half decade under Pete Carroll: with very few exceptions, they're all complete and total routs.  "But Oregon State and blah blah blah!".  The Beavers have under .500 records the last few Septembers and still ended up flirting with ten wins each year; for whatever reason, they're slow starters.  Also, don't you think it was a slightly different circumstance playing at home, at night, on a nationally televised Thursday game than flying across the country still desperately trying to fill in all of the gaping holes left from the offseason's departures?  No difference at all?  Does anyone think the final score of Penn State/Oregon State played tomorrow would be even close to what it was in the second weekend of the season?  If we follow this logic that teams are static from one game to another for the entire season, Pitt is surely a better team than Penn State, since they beat Iowa and the Nittany Lions did not.

I would love for this to be a special game that goes down to the wire, but for Penn State fans to act completely indignant over where the line is set at or how the media isn't giving them a chance is just ridiculous.  If anything, it is karmic payback for touting your undefeated season with a month's worth of games still to play.  Beat the Trojans, then we'll talk.    

Weirdest Line Of The Bowl Season: Cotton Bowl - Texas Tech (-6) vs. Ole Miss

Maybe it's not that weird, but just really respectful of the quality season the Rebels had in their first year under Houston Nutt.  If Jevan Snead can string some drives together and keep Graham Harrell off the field, maybe they stay within striking distance, but people are only remembering the Red Raiders unit that struggled against Oklahoma and Baylor, not the one that curb-stomped Oklahoma State and Texas.  Unless the Mad Nutter has one more trick up his sleeve, I think this could become one of many statement games that show just how much better the Big XII was compared to the rest of college football this year.

The Sopranos Disappointing Ending Award: Meineke Car Care Bowl - West Virginia vs. North Carolina

For Pat White, a quarterback who has victories in the Sugar, Gator and Fiesta Bowls on his resume, this must be an incredibly anti-climatic way to go out.  North Carolina was an early favorite in this game, which is just ridiculous when you consider what White does to opponents unfamiliar with his speed in bowl games.  Stop by ESPN at 1:00 on December 27^th to pay your respects to one of the more entertaining and consistently great four year starting quarterbacks to come through college football in some time.

Best Chance For Les Miles to Prove All Those Haters Wrong: Peach Bowl - Georgia Tech vs. LSU

Other than Houston Nutt, no one has even come close to putting on a rookie head coaching show like Paul Johnson, who ended his season with nationally televised drive-bys of both Miami (Fl) and Georgia.  Unless you're a Georgia fan or hate the Yellow Jackets for some other reason, there are few things more entertaining than them just punishing people with an offense many considered unsustainable in the age of spread passing attacks.  LSU, meanwhile, fell off a cliff after their mythical title win last year, a comeback win over Troy away from 6-6.  I know a lot of people (me) said that Les Miles couldn't actually coach and would fall apart as soon as Saban's players started moving on, but this is happening a little earlier than even his biggest critics imagined, spurred on by some of the worst quarterback play in the country.  Perhaps he can put the month of practice to good use and shape Jordan Jefferson (who was competent against Arkansas) into his field general of the future, but he'll also need to shape things up on the other side of the ball, where the Bayou Bengals have given up 31 points five times or more this season.  (They also gave up 21 to Auburn and 24 to Mississippi State, which is really like giving up more than 40 when you think about it.)  I don't see how this is anything more than a really, really entertaining game to properly close out 2008.

Best Game To Get Away To Forget 2008 (and 2007, While We're At It): Hawai'i Bowl - Notre Dame vs. Hawai'i

Not too much to say here, as we'll cover so much more regarding the Rainbow Warriors in the next two weeks, but this will certainly be an interesting tilt to watch as you wait for Santa to show up.  Hawai'i finished the season strong, winning four of their final six and nearly knocking off Big East champion Cincinnati in the season finale, while Notre Dame drug itself across the finish line, dropping four of the final games, with only a late stop against Navy securing a win in November.  The Warriors open as a slight favorite, and when you consider the fifteen year span since the Irish last won a bowl and the home field advantage of their WAC hosts, that seems about right.    

Rob mentioned the rather strong rumors below, but it is now official.  Notre Dame will be taking on the University of Hawai'i on Christmas Eve, coverage by ESPN beginning at 8:00 EST.

Notre Dame Will Not Be Going to El Paso: Mike Teel's gentle but firm deflowering of Louisville last night (six touchdown tosses...in the first half!) means that there is zero chance Notre Dame goes to the Sun Bowl, due to a bunch of rules regarding 7-5 teams versus 6-6 teams.  Thanks for the effort, Louisville; you were only playing for a bowl bid.  Everyone in wearing red is most likely still lingering on that Western Kentucky upset over the weekend, so a no show like this on Thursday night to avenge the Jeremy Ito game of 2006 is understandable.

Where will the Irish be bowling?  I still think Texas, just so Jarett Dillard can close out his career by catching seventeen balls for 300 yards against us.  I'd prefer Hawaii for any number of reasons (not on NFL Network, a nice birthday/Christmas gift to myself), but there are still a few other options still available, including San Diego and beautiful Shreveport.]

Luke Harangody might be resting until the Big East schedule starts: Mike Brey doesn't want to risk rushing Harangody back from his bout with pneumonia (Luke won by KO in seven rounds, for what it's worth), so while he may knock some rust off in the Functional DNP's against Delaware State and Savannah State in late December, it's unlikely he'll see the floor against Ohio State this weekend.  Andy Katz seems to think the team will now be leaning on Luke Zeller, and if by "leaning" he means "starting one Luke in place of the other," then he's probably correct.

This game Saturday is going to be a tough one: With Harangody out, the freakish height of the Buckeyes' starting guards (6' 6" and 6' 7") and the fact the game is being played in a football stadium that has the likelihood of throwing off three-point shooting (the large, cavernous venues tend to do that, at least at first), I am not feeling confident for the showdown between Ty Nash and BJ Mullens everyone's been talking about.  It's a 4:00ish start (Gonzaga murders Indiana beforehand) on ESPNU Saturday, and matches one of the best offenses in the country against one of the best defenses, but to be fair, the Buckeyes' defense didn't look that swell until future lottery pick Jack McClinton was kicked out of the game.  It will undoubtedly be a fun game and has the potential to give the Irish wins over two big-time conference champions. 

The women's soccer team is still undefeated: However, they are putting that pristine record on the line in the College Cup Final Four against the Stanford Cardinal at 4:30 pm on ESPN2 and ESPNU.  If they win, they'll either face UCLA, the team they bested for the 2004 national title, or North Carolina, the Irish's mortal enemy and a team that knocked them out in 2006, although the favor was returned last season.    

With all this talk about the Southern Cal game and Weis, the basketball team got forgotten for a brief period of time.  Let's make up for that and review the last week of Irish hoops.

Last Wednesday. . .

On Thanksgiving Eve, playing their third game in as many nights, the Fighting Irish ran into the number one team in the country, the North Carolina Tar Heels.  The Heels, whose bench is deeper than anyone else in the country by a mile, had a clear advantage in the Maui format, and it showed when the second wave of high school All-Americans rolled off the bench just as Notre Dame's legs went dead.  Luke Harangody was playing under the weather, Tyler Hansbrough was rested and Ty Lawson made Tory Jackson - Tory! ­- look like he was standing in cement.  If another team approaches the sort of numbers the Heels' offense rained down on the Irish for forty minutes, I can guarantee you Notre Dame loses that game. 

To put it in perspective, Notre Dame's defensive efficiency against Texas was 108.4, with none of the other cupcakes cracking 100.  UNC?  140.5.  Notre Dame's best effort all season, even against the uber-weak competition, was 134.  Roy William's bunch are very, very good, but despite a large deficit and dead legs, Notre Dame showed some steely reserve, rallying against the Monstars.  If a McAlarney three hadn't been disallowed because of a Deon Thompson foul on Tory, the lead would have been only eight with four and a half to play.  Sadly, Tory missed the front end of a one-and-one (Everyone on the team not from Staten Island needs to spend a few extra hours at the practice charity stripe) and a couple of quick Carolina baskets later the game was put away.

 Although it ended up being a fifteen point loss the Irish only barely threatened in, both the team and fans can take a lot from this game.  Unless something goes drastically wrong, North Carolina will be the number one overall seed in the tournament, and the Irish were at least in spitting distance of them.  (They were, at the very least, a heckuva lot closer than Michigan State last night.)  Down an almost insurmountable amount, the team didn't give up and showed some heart after a tiring three days of hoops and hula.  At the very least, the Irish probably won't be matched up with the Tar Heels in the Big Dance until the Elite Eight or Final Four.  These are all very good things to take from a fifteen point loss, and that's without even mentioning McAlarney's absurd three point shooting show, a late night performance anyone who witnessed it won't soon forget.

Saturday. . .

Trickles out that Harangody had contracted pneumonia and would be out indefinitely.  ESPN instinctively praises Tyler Hansbrough for working so hard through the illness before being reminded it was Harangody that was actually sick.

Sunday afternoon. . .

The Irish return to South Bend with a slow start against the Furman Paladins.  You can't really blame the team, as they had just spent a week in Maui and were trying to readjust to life in the permafrost of northern Indiana, a sobering reality that directly contributed to the fact they only led 19-18 with 6:39 to go in the first half.  After that, the Irish worked out whatever kinks set in during the long flight and blitzed the visitors to end the first half, leading 37-22 at the break.  It wasn't close in the second half, as Ryan Ayers set a temporary career high with nineteen points on 8-for-13 shooting and McAlarney knocked down nine treys on his way to a second straight thirty-point outburst.  Zach Hillesland submitted a great glue guy line (eight points, twelve boards, five assists, one steal) and Tory continued his outstanding play, scoring seventeen points on 8-for-12 shooting and chipping in eight assists. 

Tuesday evening. . .

This is South Dakota's first season as a division one school, so they probably don't have any access to Notre Dame game film.  This would explain why they thought it might be a good idea to try zoning the Irish, and also give us a clue on how Notre Dame reached the twenty point mark before the under sixteen minute timeout.  The Irish absolutely rolled the hapless Coyotes - as they should have  - leading 60-30 at halftime.  They didn't close well, losing the second half 46-42, but I think we can forgive them for not maintaining a killer intensity with a constant twenty-five point working margin. 

via media.scout.com

Ayers' career high set two days prior was topped with a very attractive thirty-five point outburst, knocking down nine threes and twelve of his twenty shots.  McAlarney knocked down another seven from behind the arc, bringing his total for the previous three games to twenty six and putting all future opponents on notice that maybe zoning or doubling or doing anything that doesn't defend the perimeter at all times is a bad idea.  Hillesland was again productive in all facets of the game (six points, nine boards, four assists, five steals), Tory dished out ten assists on a night he didn't connect from the field and the Peoples-Scott-Nash bench combination filled up the box score.

Today. . .

The Irish sit at 6-1, 7^th in the coaches poll, 14^th in Sagarin ratings and 28^th on KenPom, a date with the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes coming up Saturday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  After that intriguing match-up, it's back to cupcakes for the Irish until the Big East schedule kicks off on New Year's Eve, so it would be nice to pick up another solid non-conference win to go with the Texas scalp. 

Harangody missing games due to illness is unfortunate for the big guy, but I think it's great for the team overall, especially in these glorified scrimmages.  It would be fantastic to have him back to battle the Buckeyes, but should injury or foul trouble befall him later in the season, it's good for the Irish to know how to play without him.  The more reps that Nash and Scott get, the better, as it would be best if they were legitimate bench options once the rigors of Big East play start to take their toll.   Once Harangody gets nursed back to full health, maybe fake an injury for Tory or K-Mac for a game or two just so everyone is better prepared should they miss time later in the season.  Even if the Irish struggle, or God forbid, lose, someone will just mention to the selection committee in mid-March that "Oh, that was the one game McAlarney was in a full body cast and couldn't play" and it'll get immediately written off.    

Preview of the Buckeyes coming tomorrow.  They're young, but very capable, and the weird venue is going to make this a very intriguing game.

For the counterpoint, the case for firing Charlie Weis.

Although the messageboards will tell you that Notre Dame Stadium will be empty next year as fans revolt against a university trying to murder its football team, the majority of my friends are okay with this decision.  Sample size?  Relatively small, obviously, but this is an informed part of the Irish electorate and the general consensus is that while Weis might not be a great coach - probably won't be, even - this is the right decision to make.  A few completely unscientific polls - here, at The Observer, a few other places - had voters right around 50/50 on whether they wanted Weis to stay or not.  A lot of people were really oscillating on the issue, although it seems Swarbrick has made the decision relatively promptly (although Notre Dame failing to confirm it certainly makes things a little more interesting).

But isn't this embracing mediocrity?  Or worse, racist?  Not quite, and let's work through this one point at a time.

First, I don't think anyone was in love with Weis as a coach anymore, or would spend a great deal of time trying to defend him.  There were too many maddening decisions and too little progress from the beginning of this season to the end.  There is a laundry list of fireable offenses that anyone could point to and say "Yes, this is why we need to get rid of this guy."  The offensive line play, play-calling against Southern Cal, the misuse of timeouts, the decisions to go for field goals instead of first downs and vice-versa; none of these reflect particularly well on the head coach.  So why are we keeping him?

Maybe simply because nobody better was available.  I don't think many Irish fans would have stood behind Weis if Urban Meyer or Nick Saban were standing on the steps of the main building, bags in hand.  That vision, however, was not a particularly realistic fantasy at this juncture, even though Meyer continues to drop these tantalizing hints that get Irish fans all excited.  (He only steals our recruits because he secretly has a crush on us!  It's like elementary school, only instead of our crayons he's taking defensive linemen!)  Critics of the decision will say keeping Weis is an acceptance of mediocrity, but that implies firing him immediately wins us a national championship.  Who was Notre Dame going to bring into replace him?  Brian Kelly?  Kelly has a really nice track record at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati, but if he is in love with the Notre Dame job, why not give him another year to audition with the Bearcats, keeping up on both his coaching and recruiting?  If Weis is horrible this coming year, then you axe him, bring in Kelly, and the only downside was that Notre Dame has another subpar season while making sure the guy they wanted was right for the job retaining an excellent class of recruits to help contribute to yet another rebuilding effort.

There are no excuses for Weis this time around, and if he's not in a BCS bowl and in the area of the top ten with the talent he brought on board, I don't think anyone will testify that his stay should be longer than five years.  But there is something to be said for continuity, and the potential that once the leaders on the team are also the elder statesmen on the team and everyone has been immersed in the system for a few years that things will just click. Do you remember how good this team looked in the second half against Purdue, or the first half against North Carolina?  This is still the same team, although it's also the same squad that was completely and totally owned by Boston College and who lost to Syracuse.  If Weis can channel the capable Irish team next year, he stays on, and this was a good decision.  If he doesn't, he's gone, and no one will aid him in anyway save for holding the door while he boxes up the office.

In regards to the statement that Notre Dame is somehow racist for keeping Weis two years longer than Ty - a ridiculous accusation even Rob threw down last night - I can't do anything but shake my head and laugh.  Ty Willingham was an extraordinarily bad coach, as the poor people in Seattle found out over the last four years.  He was asleep at the wheel and had just brought in a truly awful recruiting class (Class of '08 pride!)  prior to his final season.  Keeping Ty on would have only deepened the hole that Weis, or his potential successor, was trying to dig the team out of.  Remember 2007?  Weis coached that team, but the struggle to fill the two-deep was in direct correlation to the improvement of Ty's short game (but my, you ought to see what he can do with a lob wedge).  What will another year of Weis do the program?  At worst, he could lose every game in 2009 and the cupboard would still be stocked, in a better place than when he left it.  Ty didn't even know where the cupboard was by the time he left.

So the Cliff Notes version of everything I said above: I don't know whether Charlie Weis will ever be a good football coach, but unless a sure-fire, top-notch target was going to replace him, I'll take another year of continuity in the program rather than rolling the dice on someone new.  One more less-than-stellar year and I will assist in delivering the pink slip to Weis.  If only for next season, better the devil you know than the devil you don't.