An iPhone Update...

Time for a brief treatise on the evil fate of the Pale Hose...at a later time. Right now I'm having too much damn fun with the iPhone!!!

Ozzie Guillen Lays the Smackdown...

I didn't even know this thing existed, but now that I've seen it...we officially live in the Matrix.

Just For The Freakin' Hell of It...

So Disney turned me into their slave. Sue me...

Return from Exile

Damn, it's been a while.

Suffice to say, in the two months since I last updated this page, a ton of s&*t happened. So it would be a little bit of a past-tense exercise to review everything that went on, since a lot did - changing D-coordinators, Mark Buehrle and Kenny Williams engaging in a staredown, recruiting trail intrigue, the arrival of The Chosen One on Campus, among others - so we'll just proceed now as if nothing ever happened.

Wait...LSU 41, Notre Dame 14. That happened. F&*K BEANS!

No matter now. Onward and upward to blogging victory, says I...

The Cubs Picked WHO?!?

In another sign that the Cubs secretly want to be the Sox, they pick Jeff Samardzija (yes, that Jeff Samardzija) in the fifth round of today's draft. Those of you with good memories will note that this is the second time in four years the Cubs have plucked a lifelong White Sox fan from the ND pitching staff (Grant Johnson, product of LT, being the other).

Sox use the 29th pick in the first round to snap up Andrew McCullough, who didn't finish his senior year very strong as Texas was eliminated on the first weekend of the College World Series (much like the Irish), but did go 12-4 in 2005 when the Longhorns won it all.

RE-DESIGN!

With 2006 in full swing, the time for a makeover on the site was well overdue. And with the Sox sitting at 30-15, times are good. So enjoy the re-designed site and keep watching as blogging resumes to a "normal" 2005 level - which is to say, probably once every six days, depending on how lazy I am.

The Return of the George

Where have we been? Well, if you read the Chicago Tribune, you'd know that we've centralized all the random Sox commentary onto an unoffical Podcast show known as "Soxcast". Mad props to the ChicagoSportsCast Network for this opportunity.

But never you fear, loyal blog-readers. I am alive and well and will regularly updating this space in the coming summer months. Go Irish! Go Sox! YEAH Me!!!

Merry Christmas to All

Our Christmas Wish list here at Sox-Irish...

1) World Championship for the White Sox...check

2) Prolonged agony for the Cubs...check

3) A new left-handed power protector for Paul Konerko...check

4) Paul Konerko...check

5) Ozzie back next year...check

6) A dazzling array of offensive firepower for the Irish...check

7) Brady Quinn, stud quarterback...check

8) Receivers who can catch, lineman who can block, and defenders who can tackle...check

9) A BCS Bowl Bid...check

10) A thrilling victory over USC, dethroning the self-proclaimed kings of college football...almost

So we didn't quite get everthing we wanted this year. But don't mistake that for complaining, Santa.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Finals Week

It's Finals time. The grind begins tomorrow at 8 AM with FTT 30101, History of the Film, Part I. Getting up at 6:45 AM to prepare for a test in that beautiful Browning Cinema. Be serious.

Fiesta Bowl: 20 days away. Irish have the week off to prep for final exams while Charlie Weis breaks down film after film after film, trying to find the chink in Ohio State's armor. He is going to have to look VERY, VERY hard.

Tune in for our season-ending wrap up two hour blowout show on WVFI Thursday evening. More details to follow.




20 DAYS
15 HOURS
36 MINUTES

Grand Valley?

Congratulations to the Grand Valley State Lakers for winning the CWPA National Championship this past weekend in Boston, taking home two thrillers, 4-2 over UCLA in the Semis and 9-8 over Michigan State in the championship.

For us, on the flipside...we at Notre Dame Water Polo must know what the football team felt after losing to USC.

Since most of you probably didn't even know that ND had a water polo team, allow me to explain here. We're one of the most competitive non-varsity teams in the country, as evidenced by out 15-5 record, top 10 CWPA Ranking, and victories this season over Michigan, Michigan State, and Miami (Ohio), three teams considered powerhouses in the club polo ranks.

And three of our losses? To Grand Valley. By a combined 8 goals. The one that hurts the most is easily the one which ended our season in last month's Great Lakes Conference title game. We played outstanding but gave back just a little bit more than we could handle and lost to the eventual national champions 10-9. And it wasn't like Grand Valley had always been far ahead of us and so we were happy to just close the gap. This year was the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR we have lost by one goal in the final minute to that team. We were so close, so agonizingly close...

In any event, I suppose we do owe the Lakers a bit of a thank you because next season's Great Lakes champion goes to the national tournament as the #1 seed.

3 AM Drop-In

Thanks to a less-than-perfect performance by their opponents, the Irish sit with the nation's 50th toughest schedule. My response to that? It's not Notre Dame's fault Pittsburgh and Purdue were vastly overrated, Michigan lost two games they shouldn't have, Michigan State forgot how to play defense, and Tennessee has absolutely no offense. It really isn't our fault. They schedule 'em, you play 'em. Sometimes I feel like strength of schedule is one of the sorriest ways to actually rate a team's performance.

Anyway, despite their less-than-super schedule, the Irish have a great shot at a BCS bowl berth, likely the Fiesta unless Texas slips and doesn't make the championship game. That makes the Orange Bowl the most likely destination. Either way, who would you rather have in charge of your program, Charlie Weis or Urban Meyer? Think about it.

OK...

I called that putt too early. USC 35, Cal 10.

However, there is good news: Notre Dame 42, Navy 21.

Can Cal Pull a Notre Dame?

Great streaks exist so that we can all go nuts when they finally end. Did you ever hear of somebody watching a record-breaking streak with the hope that it'll continue, other than die-hard fans of the ones doing the streaking? No. And so it is these days with the USC Trojans - everybody beyond the corner of Adams & Figueroa is rooting for their 31 game winning streak to crash and burn. The Irish were only.......NO, I cannot continue, just writing about it brings back terrible memories.

But this weekend, USC returns to the site of their last defeat, in September of 2003, against the Mighty Golden Bears of California-Berkely. And with God as my witness, I declare it now for all to hear: CAL WILL WIN THIS GAME.

Not because I don't like USC or have any particular fondness for the Golden Bears. But the symmetry is at work - a titan of college sports from Los Angeles being felled twice by the same underdog. Cal is about to pull a Notre Dame.

For those who don't follow, a little history lesson: on January 23, 1971, the UCLA Bruins entered Notre Dame's Joyce Center and left 89-82 losers. Three years later, they returned not only as back-to-back-to-back national champions, but undefeated since that cold South Bend day. 88 games, 88 wins. February 2, 1974 was the day it all ended, the Bruins denied their 89th in a row...on the same court to the same team, Digger Phelps' Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Not many teams can claim to be at both ends of an eye-popping streak like UCLA's 88 straight in basketball. But in today's college football world, USC's 31 is almost as impressive. But just to offer a little perspective, assuming USC does win out and take home the Rose Bowl, they would STILL have to go undefeated in 2006 in order to match Oklahoma's record of 47 straight gridiron victories.

And it ain't happening. I have faith in the Cal Bears. Blind and misinformed though it may be, I think you're really gonna see something tomorrow, particularly when you consider how under-the-radar this game is behind the SEC's three-headed monster Saturday of LSU-Alabama, Auburn-Georgia, and South Carolina-Florida (Steve S. gonna show Urby how it's done). So strap in for 3:30 PM ET. Cal's about to pull a Notre Dame out of its Golden Bear hat.

Remember Remember the 10th of November

Happy (Belated) Birthday to the Marines! And to George Lester Heidkamp (that's you, Grandpa!) and Terrence Gerard Heidkamp (that's you, Dad!), Semper Fi.

Irish versus Navy tomorrow at 1 p.m. - NBC's effort to get the game over as fast as possible. The quick pick? Notre Dame 37, Navy 10.

Sox' exclusive window to sign Paul Konerko has come and gone...Paulie remains a free agent. The drama is intense (but it won't save us any money on car insurance).

Dropping A Note...

OK, usually nothing rattles me, and that's still true, but there's something about FACEBOOK that I just don't comprehend. I won't waste your time explaining the whole thing, but it appears in one facebook photo album I've been denoted simply as "weird guy from Notre Dame".

I suppose I could be angry about this, but three things stand out: 1) I am a bit weird 2) I am a guy 3) I am from Notre Dame. So this person tossed three perfect strikes. Sometimes that's just the way things go...

OTHER NOTES

- Sox buy out Frank Thomas, as expected, but will likely try to re-sign if his health issues can be cleared up. With Carl Everett already out and the possible free-agency loss of Paul Konerko, a heavy bat is still a priority even for a Defending Championship Team (Almost two weeks have gone by, and writing that sentence STILL feels good).

- Notre Dame vs. Tennessee in about an hour with Coach Weis terming the Vols "the scariest 3-4 team you'll ever face". It may sound like a deadpan, but these guys can play defense hardcore. Still, they won't scratch out enough offense to keep up. Irish win in a low-scoring affair, 20-13.

NCAA buys NIT...

Now EVERYBODY gets to go to the NCAA Tournament in March...only not really.

NCAA purchases NIT for $56.5 million to end legal fight
By JIM O'CONNELL, AP Basketball Writer
August 17, 2005

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NCAA owns college basketball's postseason. Really.

The organization that made March mad with the 65-team national championship tournament, purchased the rights to the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments as part of a settlement that ends a four-year legal fight between the two parties.

The 40-team postseason NIT, which is a year older and was once the bigger event, will now be run by the NCAA.

But who will select which teams get to play in what is truly the grand-daddy of all postseason basketball tournaments? NCAA President Myles Brand...

Brand said the committee which selects and seeds the field of 65 will not be involved with the postseason NIT.

Oh. So, basically, once you've been screwed by them, earn the lucky consolation prize of a place in the official loser's bracket of March Madness.

Max Schrek For President?

What's crazier, the fact that somebody put this together or the fact that on some bizarre level, Christopher Walken for President makes a tiny shred of sense?

Walken Presidency Site a Hoax

WALKEN IN '08 - BECAUSE AMERICANS NEED MORE COWBELL!!!

T.O. Back in Camp

I can't be the first person to have difficulty taking this guy seriously.






















What we have here is Failure to Communicate...

TEST

This is only as test. This blog post will self-destruct in 10 seconds...9...8...7...