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Manti Te'o: The Last Word

So here we are. After a month of nonstop rumors, falsities and near-constant ridicule of Manti Te'o nationally, the truth is finally out there. No more guessing. We know what happened with Te'o and his supposedly dead girlfriend Lennay Kekua. Both Te'o and Ronaiah Tuiasosopo have given extensive TV interviews, including their families.

So now that we see the extent to which Tuiasosopo went with his hoax, is there any support for Te'o from the media? No. Has anyone who ridiculed him offered an apology? No. There is really only one word that I would consider to describe this situation. Cruel.

• Cruel what Tuiasosopo did to Te'o.
• Cruel how the media immediately reported that Te'o faked a dead girlfriend to win the Heisman.
• Cruel how Te'o was ridiculed for being hoaxed.

As a Notre Dame alum, I have been asked about this so many times, that I have first hand experience in seeing the huge misconceptions that the public has about this story. Without exception, when I explain some of the details to people, they immediately change their minds and show a lot of sympathy toward Te'o. Here are a few of the details that I think the media has decided to ignore: 


Te'o is a devout Mormon.  
So Mormon's have an unusual moral code that very strictly points out the do's and don'ts of dating. It is called For the Strength of Youth and is part of the Law of Chastity. It details celibacy, dating, dress code, dancing, music, language and pretty much everything fun about being young! In essence, Mormon's are allowed to hold hands and lightly kiss before marriage. That's it! In this context, it is not so unusual for a guy to be extremely inexperienced with women, and a long-distance or internet relationship is not so unusual.

This is 2013.
For all the reporters age 30 or greater, it is a whole new world of dating. Facebook, Twitter, texting and online dating are more common than hanging out in bars or at parties to meet girls. Yeah, it seems strange to me too, but that's just the way it is now. The geezers who can't believe Te'o had an online girlfriend who he never met are out of touch with dating in 2013.

Kekua was not a serious girlfriend until April 2012. A total of about 5 months.
Most reports ridicule Te'o for having an online girlfriend that he never met for years. That is blatantly wrong. This was literally a Facebook friend for a couple years. It wasn't until Tuiasosopo invented a car accident in April that Te'o was drawn in. So when was Te'o supposed to meet her while at ND and playing football? She was "in the hospital" from her car accident, then she was "diagnosed with leukemia" and undergoing chemo. Even if she was real, he wouldn't have had a chance to see her - he didn't even get to see his grandmother before she died.

Te'o was far from the lost puppy dog in the relationship.
As evidenced by the voice messages Te'o released, Te'o had plenty of other female friends before and during the intense few months that he had a relationship with "Kekua". On one, Tuiasosopo goes crazy when a girl answered Te'o's phone. There are pics online of a St. Mary's student Te'o was seeing shortly after "Kekua" died. Te'o also tried to break off the online relationship many times, feeling it was strange or not right. In fact, "Kekua's" death was 1 week after Te'o had called things off for good. When Tuiasosopo found out Te'o's grandmother had died, he called as Kekua again that same day. Te'o was angry and hung up on her. That's when and why Tuiasosopo had a family member call Te'o and say Kekua had died. The absolute height of cruelty.

My last word on this: 
Te'o's naivete made him a target, and as a result he was publicly humiliated. The degree to which the public took joy in ridiculing Te'o is completely unfair, especially because almost no one knows (or cares to know) the facts of the story. The laziness that the media displayed in first running with the dead girlfriend story was nothing compared to the laziness displayed in reporting this hoax. Te'o will forever be associated with this hoax, which makes me sad. In my eyes, it doesn't diminish him in any way as one of the greatest Notre Dame players ever.

Kickgate!!!

Is there anything better than the crazy Asian animations of pop culture events?

This is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed in soccer. I've seen streakers (funny and sad), fights (is America the only country where people don't kick fight?), riots and stampedes (terrifying) and even fans assaulting players (shameful). This is a new low. You might think I mean Eden Hazard kicking a ballboy, but you'd be wrong.

I put not 100%, but 1000% of the blame in this situation on Charlie Morgan. He is a 17 year-old ballboy for Swansea, a team in which his father is the majority owner. The match decided who was to play in the League Cup between Chelsea and Swansea. The kid even posted the following Tweet before the game:

Then, with the match tied and Chelsea needing goals late in the game, this punk holds the ball and refuses t give it to Hazard. He then falls to the ground and lays on top of the ball???!!! Hazard barely kicked the ball, and gets it back. The kid earns an Oscar, Hazard gets a red card, Swansea draws to advance, and Hazard is being charged by the FA.

I'm thinking about what I would have done at McNick in a district final if a punk ballboy refused to give me the ball at Summit. Then I wonder what Colin or Kevin would have done in a similar situation. I think they may have ended up in jail! I could care less about Chelsea, Swansea or anyone involved in this debacle. However, I want this kid to catch some awful disease and suffer miserably. What a total loser.

Manti's GF: Hoax or Con?

It was recently reported by Deadspin.com that Manti Te'o's girlfried, Lennay Kekua, not only didn't die of leukemia, but didn't exist.  Here's the original article:  Deadspin

On first read, I must say this article is pretty damning to Te'o.  It paints him as either a gullible, naive fool, or an unscrupulous genius with near-omniscient powers.  It's tough reading this article and not thinking that Te'o was in on it in some way.  All of his comments about talking with her in her coma, and the news stories that tell about their first meeting, make him seem like a terrifically good con artist.

My opinion is that Te'o got in over his head.  I think he had an Internet girlfriend that he never met, but made up a few "white lies" here and there to make it seem like he really met her.  What college guy, especially one with the campus stature that Te'o has, wants to admit that he met the girl he loved on the Internet and had never actually met her?  I think he embellished his relationship, found out that his "girlfriend" "died", and that with all the news outlets picking up the story, it escalated too quick for him to come clean that he'd never met her. 

Hopefully this blows over soon and Te'o is acquitted in the public courts.  But even if it doesn't, or even if he is in on it, what's the big deal?!  The kid didn't break any laws, he's still going to go pro this fall and make millions of dollars.  Yeah, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, but know that Manti's biggest fault was not doing drugs. steroids, felonies - it was trying to make himself bigger than he actually was.  What 21/22-year-old doesn't try to do that?

 Why Manti didn't want to admin he had an online girlfriend.

Looking Ahead

Well, the BCS Game was a little brutal, but it still was better than going 3-9, right?!  Let's go ahead and put that travesty of a game in the rear-view mirror and focus ahead.  Guess what folks, BK is coming back next year, and the team is going to be even better!  Will we go undefeated again?  Who know, but we certainly will have the talent to do so.  We also have incredible depth across almost all positions.  This isn't something we've had in years, and makes watching games so much more enjoyable.  Starting RB gets hurt, but in our 5-star back-up.

Go ahead and get excited about next year by reading one of the many articles that talk about how great next year could be.  I'll start you off:

Back to Business in 2013


And I haven't even brought up the Reds yet!  They are going to be the team to beat in the NL in 2013.  Again, who knows if they'll make the World Series or not, but they definitely have the talent to make a strong run.

Let's exorcise the demons of 2012 and get ready for an even better 2013!

Filthy Hobbitses

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit opened this weekend. For me, The Hobbit was not one of those movies that I was dying to see and would stay up late to see it on opening night (Prometheus). Don't get me wrong, I was totally pumped to see it, but it would normally be a movie I wait until a day off and see. One thing totally changed that. They were showing the first 9 minutes of Star Trek: Into Darkness on December 14th only, months before the movie is released. That was enough for me. I was there at 11pm Friday night to watch in IMAX 3D.

I have 3 comments about the night. First, Star Trek. I have never seen a resurrected franchise kick so much ass. The most recent film is absolutely unbelievable. Contrary to prior Trek films, every character is fully developed and has one or more uniquely heroic moments. This is a cast that is more fun to watch than any before. The new movie looks amazing, and who are they kidding. It's Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!

Second, The Hobbit itself. In a nutshell, satisfying. You knew when PJ decided to stretch this 350 page book into three 3-hour films that there would be added layers, and the raucous adventure that the book was would be a bit more plodding, and ominous. That's exactly the case here. I remember first reading The Hobbit. I think the first 40 pages are spent in Bilbo's house. BORING! The movie is the same. Although not boring, this movie takes a while to get going. I guess my biggest complaint is the similarity to TFOTR movie. Slow start in Hobbiton, trip to Rivendell, dangerous mountain pass, and Goblin halls = Moria. The movie was great fun, but the Smaug teases were cruel. Bring on the dragon! I suspect the next 2 will be absolutely awe-inspiring.

Finally, I was fortunate to have one of the few IMAX 3D theaters projecting the movie at 48 fps. Throughout the history of film, movies were shot and projected at 24 fps. This is the first feature film to shoot at 48 fps. There are tons of debates online about the pros and cons of 48 fps. On the pro side, they say double the frames reduces blur, creates a lifelike picture and improves 3D. On the con side, they say it looks like video or not a film. I'm gonna be honest. Not a big deal. I am a radiologist, so my eyes are my career. Did 48 fps eliminate blur? No. In mega action scenes with thousands of orcs chasing the dwarves through the caverns with panning cameras, I still saw plenty of blur. Was the 3D better? Yes. Much of the film is rather dark, and the 3D normally would suffer. Not at 48 fps. It was a pretty picture. As for "the look", give me a break. This whole cinophile argument that it "doesn't look like a film" is a joke. Film is an outdated convention. When you go for a hike and look at a waterfall with your own eyes, do you see film grain? Of course not. So why would it be a bad thing to eliminate film grain and make movies more lifelike? It's not. This is like audiophiles clinging to their LPs, mechanics holding onto their 60's muscle cars or IT morons clinging to Windows XP. Not once did I think what I was watching looked like a cheap TV show or soap opera. Technology evolves, and in this case for the better. Movies are being shot digitally, and we need to readjust our brains to enjoy the higher quality we are now privileged to enjoy.

Go see it. It's a fun movie.

Reds Update

I know most of us have been focusing on NCAA football and the end of the Fantasy Football season, so it might come as a surprise that there's been some news from the Cincinnati Reds organization.  The Reds have completed a few trades, some minor, one a bit bigger, in the last few days and have made some pitching changes:

• Re-signed Jonathan Broxton (Closer) for three (3) years
• Assigned Aroldis Chapman to the starting rotation
• In a 3-team trade, obtained Shin Soo Choo (RF) and Jason Donald (IF)
• In the same deal, got rid of Drew Stubbs and Didi Gregorious
• Re-signed Ryan Ludwick to a 2-year deal
• Reportedly signed Jack Hannahan (IF)

These signings go a long way to shoring up some difficult spots in the Reds roster.  The biggest problem for the Reds in 2012 was the lead-off spot in the batting order.  Drew Stubbs typically held down this spot, but his OBP was .277 - the worst of any Reds regular hitter in 2012.  Choo will likely be replacing Stubbs in center field next year, which, while a slight drop-off in defense, is a HUGE gain in offense.  Choo batted .310 and had a .389 OBP from the lead-off spot in 2012 for a pretty bad Indians team.   Overall, he hit .273 with 16 HRs and 21 SBs - so he's got a little pop to his bat and will also steal a base or two throughout the year.  He's also a lefty hitter, so if he hits lead-off, it plays into Dusty's L-R-L-R batting order, since you know Votto (a lefty) will be hitting third).  He may play a little worse defense than Stubbs did, but let's face it, most balls over his head are going out of GABP, so I'm not too concerned.  Besides, pitchers need to pitch better.

Donald and Hannahan will be utility infielders, with maybe a spell or two in the OF.  Votto, Phillips, Cozart, and Frazier will be holding down the infield next year.  I just hope that Rolen calls it a career, or that we don't re-sign him.  Dude is old.

Finally, re-signing Broxton is exciting because we have a proven closer and can move Chapman back to the rotation.  Chapman did solid work in the closer role last year, but he was also the best SP in spring training, and if he can hold that form throughout the season, Cueto, Chapman, Arroyo, Latos, and Bailey will be a fabulous rotation.  Since it's unlikely they all stay healthy, maybe we can keep Leake around - but I wouldn't be heartbroken if we got a couple of young prospects for him. 

My personal feelings are that Jocketty is improving the club with these moves.  I don't know how well Ludwick will do in 2013 - I see him being like Johnny Gomes in 2010 and 2011.  However, the addition of Choo and re-signing of Broxton are really good moves that allow this lineup to be much more consistent in terms of batting order and pitching order in late innings. 

Finally, I'd just like to say that it was time for Stubbs to go, and I'm glad he's gone.  Projected batting order for 2013:  Choo, Frazier, Votto, Phillips, Bruce, Ludwick, Cozart, Hanigan, Pitcher. 

We are stacked!

SEC Overrated - Redux

As a follow-up to Ian's post, I wanted to throw another shovel of dirt onto SEC superiority. I had quite an original thought that I wanted to share.

The SEC almost universally refuse to travel, and only rarely takes on a top out-of-conference opponent. As a result, their teams' schedules almost always include 8 conference games, 2 FCS games, 1 mid-major FBS game and sometimes a rivalry. So how are we to judge the might of such a conference?

Bowl games would be a good start. Since 1992, the SEC's record in Bowl games is 89-57. That's a .640 winning percentage. Not the picture of dominance when you look past the current BCS title streak. What this tells me is that the conference is woefully top-heavy.

Another way to judge? How about looking at the bottom half. When people talk about the weekly gauntlet, that should include ALL the SEC teams on the schedule. This year, the bottom 7 would be Miss State (4-4/8-4), Ole Miss (3-5/6-6), Missouri (2-6/5-7), Arkansas (2-6/4-8), Tennessee (1-7/5-7), Auburn (0-8/3-9) and Kentucky (0-8/2-10). So 5 teams are NOT Bowl eligible. Take a closer look. Kentucky's only wins were Kent State and Samford. Auburn beat LA-Monroe, NM State and Alabama A&M. Look at some of the other victories in this group. Bottom line, these 7 teams would STRUGGLE to win games in the MAC, or MWC.

Now here's my original thought. A constant critique of Notre Dame by idiotic SEC fans is that we would be the 7th best team in the SEC. Oh really? So let's do a mental exercise and see what happens when you take a Notre Dame team fresh off back to back 8-5 seasons, with a 3rd year coach and a redshirt freshman starting at QB and put them smack in the middle of the SEC in 2012. Wait a minute, WE DON'T HAVE TO IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO! This is almost EXACTLY the Texas A&M Aggies in 2012!!!

The Aggies are coming off of 9-4 and 7-6 records. Almost identical to ND. They have a 1st year coach, a disadvantage to ND. They also have a redshirt freshman QB. And how did they do? They went 10-2, lost 2 games to mighty Florida and LSU by a combined 8 points, upset the unbeatable Alabama in Tuscaloosa, got player of the year for the redshirt freshman QB and coach of the year for the 1st year coach.

If this doesn't expose the myth of SEC dominance, then I just can't argue with you anymore.

So the next time you hear some redneck hillbilly from SEC-country tell you ND would be the 7th best team in the SEC, bring up A&M and how they ROLLED through the mightly SEC in only their 1st season in the conference.

Super-Conferences

The recent expansion of the B1G to 14 by poaching Rutgers and Maryland, as well as the quick ACC response to poach Louisville has cemented it:

The future of college football is four 16-team super-conferences.

If anyone denies this at this point, they are delusional. Academics are an afterthought now that the B1G has thrown away it's academic standards for a geographic footprint. Reality check, the Big East is already dead. Moving on, right now the SEC, B1G and ACC have 14. The Pac-12 has 12, and the Big-12 has 10. What do you think is going to happen? I also wonder if they split from the NCAA and set up their own rules, as they do with the BCS and upcoming playoff.

This is going to happen. The big question I have: Can Notre Dame exist alone with 64 super-conference teams?

My gut, my heart and my brain all tell me NO. These conferences would likely break into 2 8-team divisions, playing 7 division games. You would have to play a few teams in the other division, otherwise you may never face them in the regular season. I think 3 would be the minimum. That would include 1 annual rivalry and 2 games that rotate. That leavs only a couple games that would probably be inter-conference tie-ins. Even if ND could schedule a couple of these, how would they get a game every week? Also, why would a 16-team conference take a 17th member in all sports except football. It's getting cutthroat out there, and I think the conferences will force ND to join or cut-bait.

I am 1 million percent certain that the end game in conference realignment is Notre Dame. The B1G and ACC are reluctant to go to 16 now, hoping ND will pick them. So I see the future playing out in 1 of 2 ways.

1) ND commits to fully join the ACC
If we committed to the ACC, the conference is secure, and a 16th member would quickly be added. This would start a chaotic cascade of events. The Pac-12, B1G and SEC would scramble to get to 16. The only way for the Pac-12 to get to 16 is to rob the Big-12. The Big-12 is then toast. It almost happened a year ago, so you can bet it's on the table in Pac-12 meetings as the other guys have been aggressively expanding. There just aren't enough major football programs to support a 5th super-conference.

2) ND sticks on it's own, and is forced to join a conference
This would be a slower, more painful process for us. This is already happening. I think the next domino to fall would be either the Pac-12 or SEC going to 16. Like I said, the Pac-12 has already tried to do this, so the plan is there. There would then be a mad dash to grab the best of the ACC and Big-12, and one of those conferences would be mortally wounded. This could very well be the ACC, which could lose it's football powers to the B1G, SEC or Big-12. That could leave our olympic sports homeless. On the other hand, the Big-12 could crumble, which I think is more likely. Either way, ND will be forced to pick between the B1G and the ACC for all sports.

Here's how I see the super-conferences filling out:

Pac-12: adds Texas, Oklahoma, BYU and either Baylor/Texas Tech
B1G: adds Kansas and Oklahoma State
ACC: adds Notre Dame and UConn
SEC: adds Kansas State State and West Virginia

That's it. Everyone else is left out in the cold. If ND were to hold out, I think the ACC would be in trouble. However, while a lot of Big-12 schools are pretty undesirable, all the ACC schools would be desirable additions to other conferences. I just can't see EVERY ACC school finding a place in the other 4 super-conferences. Why would BC want to join a Big-12 devoid of Texas and Oklahoma?

One way or another, I think the day is soon approaching when we will have to decide to go all-in with the ACC or run to the B1G with our tail between our legs.

SEC

It's begun. In fact, it began as soon as the last second ticked off the clock in Southern California with Notre Dame 12-0 and headed to the BCS National Championship Game...

• "Whoever wins the SEC championship game will destroy Notre Dame."
• "Notre Dame would be a .500 team if it played in the SEC."
• "Notre Dame is the sixth best team in the SEC."
• "Let's see Notre Dame go 12-0 if they have to play Alabama, LSU, and Georgia every year."

First of all, I'm think Notre Dame's chances of beating an SEC team are pretty solid. Notre Dame plays like an SEC team - great defense, ball control offense.

I won't even touch items two and three. Complete speculation.

I will comment on item four. Everyone thinks the SEC is such a rough schedule, but the reality is not even Alabama, Georgia, and LSU had to play Alabama, Georgia, and LSU - and they're all in the SEC! And none of them are 12-0.

Alabama did play LSU in the regular season, but avoided Georgia (until this weekend), Florida, and South Carolina. In what I would consider their only "competitive" SEC games, they went 1-1, with a home lost to Texas A&M.

Georgia played Florida in the regular season, but avoided Alabama (until this weekend), LSU, and Texas A&M. They were routed by South Carolina, 35-7, to go 1-1 in "competitive" SEC games.

LSU had the most difficult path of the three, playing Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama in the regular season. They avoided Georgia. They went 2-2 in "competitive" SEC games.

The SEC isn't stupid. It knows that if it schedules all its big dogs against each other every season the odds of one (or two) coming out unscathed are slim. So it balances the schedules to ensure that the big clashes are offset with plenty of Kentucky's, Ole Miss's, and Tennessee's.

Take a gander at the SEC conference standings when you have a minute. Seven of the 14 teams in the conference finished the season at or below .500. Two teams, Kentucky and Auburn won zero - ZERO! - conference games and another, Tennessee, won only 1. The SEC, like all other conferences, is one of have's and have-not's.

So before you start touting the merits of the SEC (or any other conference) take a step back and really look at both the separation of powers and the results. Oh, and every SEC team - Every. Single. One. - padded their schedule with FCS and/or lower-tier FBS opponents. Not so for Notre Dame.

And don't give me any crap about Notre Dame not playing in a championship game. It's not ND's fault that the SEC wanted a money grab at the possible expense of a representative in a BCS game.

Of course, this is all a moot point if the SEC opponent whips Notre Dame. But I don't see that happening. Go Irish!