Really? Nothing?

I must admit, I've been shocked - SHOCKED! - that there haven't been any postings in response to Notre Dame's performance in the Hawaii (excuse me, Hawai'i) Bowl. But it's not just this blog that didn't seem to notice - even the big sports-related sites and pundits seem to have missed ND's shellacking of Hawaii (again, my apologies, Hawai'i). The only non-AP story I could find was an article by Stuart "I Usually Take Glee in Watching Notre Dame Fail" Mandel here. As is typically the case when Notre Dame does well, EsPN.com had no mention of the victory after all their prognostications of another inevitable ND defeat in the days leading up to the game.

I have my own critiques of the game - they didn't have many sustained drives and relied a bit too much on the big plays - but the positives outweighed the negatives, and I'll gladly accept the end of the notorious bowl-loss streak with open arms. The offensive line, for once, wasn't offensive. The defense looked great. Even special teams was outstanding.

I'm actually excited for next fall, and probably will continue to be until about, oh, next fall...

The Day Detroit Died (today)

I'm currently up in Ann Arbor, MI and get all the Detroit radio stations. I just found out this morning that the Senate shot down the AutoMakers bailout package. They wanted ~$14 billion.

I'm actually torn on this issue. On the one hand, there are around 350,000 people employed by the Big 3 in Detroit, and another 600,000 that work for suppliers providing materials solely and directly to the Big 3. If GM and Chrysler go bankrupt, mostly likely all these people are out of jobs. As much as I like to think that these companies will come through this, and I believe they will, I also know I'm not buying a car from a company that is bankrupt. Who knows what kind of warranty or service you'll get. So essentially, estimates range that anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million jobs could be lost in 2009 if the AutoBailout doesn't occur.

On the other hand, I'm also a strong believer in our capitalistic, free-market economy. If anyone ever wanted to see evolution, they should only have to look at our corporations in America, where if you are a bad performer or your niche is no longer viable, you die out. Part of me says that Toyota and Honda, Nissan and Hyundai are the newly evolved car companies, and the old behemoths have simply been replaced. If they can't compete with these other companies, sorry.

I will say, however, that if Congress was OK with passing a $700 billion bailout of the financial institutions, with virtually no strings attached and no plan on how to disburse the money, what's another $15 billion for the car makers? They at least have a plan. I know, the auto industry has been bailed out before. But Lee Iacocca was required to pay back the loan the government gave him (through he tried to get out of it). Does anyone think that Citigroup will be paying back their loan? I sure as shit don't expect it to happen.

Congress wanted the UAW to take a big wage reduction. I'm solidly anti-union and for the following reason - if GM, Chrysler and their suppliers go under, all those blue-collar line workers will be out of work and pretty much unable to find other types of employment. Because they are a union, they won't be allowed to find other types of work. They fill a single niche, and apparently either can't or won't try to exist outside of it.

And now, when asked to take a wage reduction, they declined. Think of it this way: if someone told me that I could keep my job, the only job I'm capable of doing other than fast-food and janitorial services, but I had to reduce my pay from $75,000 to $60,000, I as an individual would do it. But since I'm in a union, I have to go along with the group and so we all get screwed. How long does anyone thing the UAW will last when one-third or more of its members stop paying fees and start collecting unemployment benefits from the UAW? At least there will be one less union in the world.

To be honest, I'm quite surprised Congress didn't enact the bailout. Both the Lameduck and the President-elect wanted it to happen, but enough other people didn't. I think if GM and Chrysler go down, and it's still not certain to happen, Detroit is going to be an even worse city to live in than it already is. Wow, is that even possible?

Ah, Hawaii

True story...

Last time Notre Dame played at Hawaii was in 1997. My ND roommate was a football manager and got to make the trip. So the night before the game tailback Cooper Rego got busted for picking up a hooker outside a bar in Honolulu. Icing on the cake was apparently she was pregnant, and not just newly pregnant, but visibly pregnant.

Word on the street is that one of the main reasons ND ended up in the Hawaii (excuse me, Hawai'i) Bowl this year was that the players voted for that over the Motor City Bowl in Detroit. Let's just hope that this time around Aldridge, Allen, and Hughes have the smarts to steer clear of the, ahem, business women of our 50th state.

It Never Ends

Well, Notre Dame football completed their regular season two weeks ago, so at least I was spared that misery this past weekend. But that didn't stop ND sports from spoiling an otherwise excellent two days for me...

On Saturday the #7 men's basketball team played like I expect a team coached by Mike Brey to play, dropping a neutral site game to Ohio State. Luke Zeller, despite being 7 f#%@ing feet tall, continues to exhibit a phobia of the key and an allergic reaction to the ball when outside the three point line - throwing it wildly in the direction of the basket as soon as he touches it. Why this ass-clown continues to receive minutes is beyond me. He contributes NOTHING! Be prepared for another 10-loss season with a second round NCAA exit - also known as the 'ND Special' in college b-ball circles.

The women's soccer team lost in the NCAA championship game to North Carolina... again. My history may be slightly off, but I think this is the 43rd time that's happened. I turned the game on near the end with the score tied 1-1 and UNC simply pounding them and immediately declared we would lose. UNC scored the game winner about 30 seconds later. So that makes a clean sweep for UNC over the Irish this year - football, basketball, and women's soccer. Egads, how the mighty have fallen.

On the bright side, I turned Zoe's car seats around, cut Bear's nails, and ate meatloaf. Hooray for me!

Thanks for Ruining Christmas!

So it wasn't good enough that ND succeeded in ruining my fall, my Thanksgiving and in general the last 2 football seasons. Now, they are poised to ruin Christmas too! ND just accepted a bid to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Of course game time is December 24 at 8pm.

So Ali is already upset about the proposition of another night without me speaking. However, I really think that even an Irish blowout loss to the Rainbow Warriors can't ruin my Christmas. It will just change Christmas Eve tradition just a bit this year. Hey, maybe now we can get Manti Te'o to commit!

By the way, I don't think the trip to Hawaii will be much fun for any Irish fans who decide to make the trip. Check out this fan account from last year when Fresno State played at Aloha Stadium. There are countless other stories like this on the web. That place is a nightmare.

So Charlie Is Staying...

I have to admit, the last 2 seasons of ND football have been so bad that I was actually numb to whether Weis (yes it's spelled "Weis" NOT "Weiss": I immediately disregard any comment which contains a misspelled version of his name) stayed on or was fired. Here are some of my thoughts in the form of bulleted stream of consciousness:

- I can't imagine high profile coaches were beating down the door to come to ND and get fired.

- Now the recruiting will continue without mass defections (hopefully).

- We were a couple of plays away from an 8-4 or 9-3 season. I know that we were also a play away from a 5-7 season, but you get my point.

- Have you looked at our schedule for next year? I think it was an easy decision for our new AD to keep Weis because if ND doesn't win at least 9 games next year Weis is as good as done.

- If Weis does get sacked next year at least the new coach will have some players to work with. People always harp how Weis won with Willingham's players; this is true. However, Willingham left a HUGE hole between the Quinn class and Weis' Clausen class. Whoever had coached ND in 2007 was primed for a horrible year. However, whoever coaches ND over the next 3 years should have no excuses regarding the depth chart.

I think we do well next year and become a perennial 9 or 10 win team, whoever the coach is.