IrishAZ

From Charlie Weis's presser today... Q. Speaking of bumps and bruises, have you learned of anything more on Bob (Morton) that you're able to share? COACH WEIS: No. I talked to Jim (Russ) on the plane a little bit about it last night, I talked to Bob about it on the bus last night. He was going to get tested today. I meet with the doctors at 1:20. I really don't know where we are. I've been watching tape all morning. As was brought up earlier, Montana, there's a young boy by the name of Montana Mazurkiewicz who died on Thursday of this week. You know, very often Notre Dame gets asked to get involved with different people. This is a kid from Mishawaka who on Wednesday, I went over to visit him during the day for a brief time, brought him a ball and a couple of T shirts and hats and stuff. It was a very compelling visit, one that I'll always remember the rest of my life. When you walk in, here is this 10 year old kid with inoperable brain cancer. They basically told me he had a couple weeks to live. If you looked at him, you would know that a couple weeks was more realistically a couple days. I sat there with his mom and his brother, his mom Cathy, his brother Rockne. Montana, Rockne, you get the picture? First of all, I gave him an opportunity to hammer me on the Michigan State loss, which he did very well. Reminded me of my son. Then I was able to get a couple smiles out of him. His mom got to take a couple pictures. She said it was the first time he really smiled in about three months. But here is a 10 year old kid sitting there telling you, "Yeah, I have a tumor that's inoperable." He knew he was going. He had lost feeling in his lower body. While I'm sitting there, he has pains in his shoulders, asking his mother to rub him down. He's trying not to be a wimp. When you see the kid, it was really disheartening. I sat there with the kid, we talked about Notre Dame football. He talked to me about his love for Notre Dame football, how he just wanted to make it through this game this week. He just wanted to be able to live through this game so he could watch that game because he knew he wasn't going to last very much longer. I said, "What can I do for you?" He said, "I don't know." I said, "I'll tell you what. What do you want me to do on the first play of the game? Run or pass?" Like any 10 year old kid, the answer is going to be pass. I said, "Okay." All of a sudden (in the game) we're on the one-yard line, the first time we get the ball. I say, "I have a problem here." I had told the team briefly about Montana on Wednesday because it was kind of a compelling visit, like I said. I told them how important Notre Dame football is to a lot of people. I was using Montana as an example. I'm not big on "Win one for the Gipper" type of deals, but I wanted people to realize how important they are as football players at Notre Dame, that they represent a lot of people that they don't even realize they're representing. Sometimes you think of the media. Sometimes you think of the alumni. You don't think of the 10 year old kid who is dying of cancer. We're on the one-yard line. I told him I'd try to throw a pass to the right. I told Brady (Quinn) what I was going to do. We're on the one- yard line. "What are we going to do?" "I got no choice, we're throwing it to the right. Let's call bootleg. (Anthony) Fasano is going to be open, try to get it out of here, get it off the goal line." Anthony makes the catch, in a rare moment of athleticism, he leaps over the defender, gets some extra yards. It's almost as if Montana was willing him to beat that defender and take it to the house. I got the message when we were in Seattle, I got the message through a phone call that Montana had died. I called their house, I talked to his brother Rockne. Rockne said, "The only thing I really wish on behalf of Montana is that you guys would be thinking of Montana and playing in his memory." I try not to use any individual as a motivational tool. I promised Rockne that after this game was over, if we won the game, I would get this ball signed and bring it over to their house. The ball is signed. After I meet with the players today, I'm going over there today to give it to them. Just so you know, that's not to make me out to be a good guy. I was asked by somebody from the university to go. I thought it was the right thing to do. I tell you what, to watch a kid that's 10 years old, a lot of times we look at people that are older, that are sick, we feel bad for them, which we should. But having two kids myself, knowing that I would do anything in the world for my kids, to watch this 10 year old kid, knowing there wasn't much time left in this kid's life, and the only thing that could get a smile out of him was the head coach from Notre Dame sitting there talking about Notre Dame football, it makes me feel good that I went over there. I'd feel really bad if I didn't. If you'd like to ask any questions about that, I'd answer them. I think I tried to answer that as best I could. Q. How old are your kids? COACH WEIS: My kids are 12 and 10. My daughter was 10. The thought went through my mind. My daughter Hanna has special needs, we have our own set of problems. The first thing I did was call my wife up, "We think we got problems with Hanna." This kid could be lucky if he makes it to the weekend. Unfortunately, I was prophetic. Q. When exactly did you meet with him? COACH WEIS: I met with him Wednesday because we left on Thursday. I went over there on Wednesday after I finished doing what I was doing. I got the call Thursday night when we were in Seattle. Q. Did you talk to the family after the game? COACH WEIS: I talked to Cathy after the game yesterday. I said, "Did you see the first play?" She said, "Yeah, I was watching." She was toughening it out. She's a tough lady. But I called her just to let her know, A, that I was thinking of her and her family, and B, we called the play he wanted and it worked, that I'd be or the house today, to bring that game ball, which I promised I'd get that game ball and bring it over to their house, which I wanted to. Q. What did you, or your team, learn from this experience? COACH WEIS: Two things I said before, I'll tie together. One is I'm a big family guy. In addition to my wife, my son Charlie and my daughter Hanna - that's why I live. As a matter of fact, I was sick years ago, probably should have died. I know that I stayed alive because of them. Willed me not to die. To watch a kid that's 10- years-old only get a smile to his face because of his passion and love for Notre Dame football, that's really a good moral to tell your own players to realize to let them understand who they're representing when they put on that uniform. It's not just the university they're representing, it's all the people who support that university. Sometimes we forget who they are because you think you're on a pedestal and you're bigger than the rest. It really it kind of brings you back down to earth, realize how important it is to wear that jersey. Not to bring a somber note, but I think for Montana's sake, I hope he's smiling in heaven right now, and I'm glad he's out of pain. I'm glad we won, by the way, too, so I could bring him the ball.

HI M W IH E HI HI 3 ???

Even an 11th hour sushi festival couldn't save "Garlic of the Loom" marketing campaign.

Good point Dave...according to Scout.com, we had 9 at this point last year: Zack Bowma 09/12/2004 Jacob Hickman 09/05/2004 Wallace Franklin 08/26/2004 Rodney Picou 08/09/2004 Phillip Dillard 07/29/2004 David Harvey 07/01/2004 Craig Roark 06/28/2004 Harrison Beck 06/08/2004 Nick Covey 06/01/2004 The sky's not falling, of course...maybe things just seemed slow with all the visits and no commits for a couple of weeks. IRISH! GBR!

Is it me, or is this recruiting class going slower this year than the last two under BC? Is this a factor of there being so many scholarships handed out last year or are recruits just witholding verbals until they get a better look the Huskers this year? IRISH! GBR!

Bell, Ausberry, Reese and Dean have all been offered, I think. If we pick up any 1 or 2 of them, it'll be a huge boost. IRISH! GBR!

Looks like Gaines committed to ND, as reported by Irish Today on UHND.com SAFETY JASHAAD GAINES IS IRISH Notre Dame received its 15th verbal commitment last night when safety Jashaad Gaines of Las Vegas committed to the Irish. Gaines, the brother of Irish sophomore women’s basketball player Tulyah, is the third defensive back to join the Irish in this recruiting class. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis had informed the defensive backs he was recruiting that he was planning to take two safeties and two cornerbacks in this class. With the commitment yesterday by Gaines and the commitment by safety Leonard Gordon on the weekend, it appears the Irish have completed their recruiting at this position, leaving safety Sergio Brown of Maywood, Ill, as the odd man out. IRISH! GBR!

I think you mixed up KSU with Kansas (which does, in fact, host a very prestegious NDT debate camp every summer). Is it not obvious from the posts here that KSU fans and alums have no aptitude for debate whatsoever? IRISH! GBR!

True that. To the best of my limited knowledge, the thing that complicates the WCO is the routing of the receivers and backs the QB can do at the line as well as checking down the progression of receivers and calling situational audibles. QB goes to the line, sees the coverage, calls an audible and shifts receivers, running backs and blocking schemes JIT. The ball is snapped, and then the QB hands off or cycles through the receivers till he finds the one he wants and fires away. So, that's 3 points of decision making for the QB: 1. Reading the coverage/defense at the line 2. Calling an audible/routing receivers/sending men in motion 3. Picking the receiver and delivering the ball if it's a pass. Normally, this is what any QB would/could do...however, this is then complicated by situational plays based on down and distance and other mitigating factors (like 1st down after a running play or 3rd down after a penalty, etc). So it's also not just calling a play, but calling the *right* play. Then, this is further complicated by personell groups and formations trying to get mismatches. There is a *ton* of stuff to a full WCO just in the mental game and memorization...and that's not even including team coordination and timing either! IRISH!

OU discipline is a joke Stark contrast to NU/ND where players get suspended for parking tickets...then again, how many 3A's does OU have? IRISH! GBR!

Does the message incorporate roman numerals?

NU - 20 Pitt - 24 Rushing - 197 Passing - 145 Hate to be a naysayer, but I've got a bad feeling about this one...

Does "Him" refer to God?

Hey. cool beans. Thanks IRISH! GBR!

Michicken? No way is that an indicator of a NC caliber team. A Top 15 team, sure, but not Top 5. We beat USC, Tenn and Purdue however...I would lay a good bet on ND going to a BCS game, maybe even Pasedena. That's too far away to even speculate though... ...and that queasiness is coming back thinking about it, so I better stop now... IRISH! GBR! -ps I hope you all admire my restraint and reasonable optimism...it's taking a lot of effort to keep from getting over-hyped

I just had a thought... What would you all think of wagering Huskerbucks/point aginst other posters and having a way of facilitating the transfer? I'm thinking more of an ad hoc gentlemanly thing as opposed to the Pick-em contests. E.g.: Poster 1: "We'll pick up more than 150 yards rushing!" Poster 2: "No way!" Poster 1: "Care to make a 5 point wager?" ....and so on. IRISH! GBR!

I'm not a fan of BC or the WCO in the least - however, I think Taylor and the Offense needs more than 2 games to settle in. Good teams find ways to win and great teams can win in more than one way. Right now, the Huskers are playing good special teams and great defense (two things which are probably harder to get right than offense). Add offensive production to that, and the rest of the season looks pretty good. Give it a few more games and let's see what happens. IRISH! GBR!

This will definitely be a test - MSU will be a hard game. The Sparties have an explosive offense and even though they're playing in SB this week, that might work in their favor (ND gets overconfident due to the home game). Another tough game will be Washington - if anything will mess with their heads, it will be the Tyrone Factor. And then Purdue, who's playing very well this year (and, I think, wrongfully ranked behind the Irish in the polls) could easily light the Irish up for big points. And then USC...which, if the team gets through the next 3 games undefeated, will most certainly bring them crashing to earth if they don't have their heads on straight. And then Tennesse comes calling....and I suddenly feel sort of sick to my stomach, so I think I'll stop now... IRISH! GBR!

I like the rating, but admit to being a bit uncomfortable with it. It's sort of like having a really pretty girl friend in High School - you're not sure enough of yourself to be confident in keeping her. IRISH! GBR!

'zactly. Better to be underrated than over-hyped. We keep winning, show strong against the B12, beat the teams we should and look good on the field, who cares what analysts say? IRISH! GBR!

To make matters worse...not only was it classless, they ended up throwing stuff at a couple of recruits, including Darrin Walls, a 4-start CB prospect. Talk about shooting one's self in the foot... Morons!

Thanks for the breakdown ###### - that was pretty cool. To be fair ,though, maybe you could do something similar for the 2nd half? The O firmed up quite a bit after the break and Taylor looked pretty good during that long drive. IRISH! GRB!

HA! That kid was great. Looks like the Blackshirts have a personality again. On a side note, the next video was a tongue in cheek piece on Taylor talking about "the Pass"...his 1 completion when he played for Wake. I understand it was a light-hearted bit, but he made the comment "2 for 2? I don't think that's ever been done before"... Please tell me was joking because I'm not so sure he was... GBR! IRISH!

C'mon now...this is Lou "those Rice Owls scares the hell outta me" Holtz. The man spent his entire career at ND being terrified of Navy and wondering how we could play with "doze guys at Rutgers". I love the man for what he did for my Irish and his many entertaining Holtzisms, but he's not a polished analyst yet. Besides, and I'll say this for the Huskers as much as I said it for the Irish - until you do it on the field, don't expect the respect to come flooding back. NU rolls up on Pitt and goes into conference play 3-0 and they start showing Offensive production to at least match the Blackshirts, they'll be changing some minds. Personally, I would rather see the Huskers win upsets and have everyone in the Big 12 think we're patsies. That way, when we bust them in the chops we can enjoy their expressions all the more. IRISH! GBR!

Point taken, BRJ. The only similiarity is the W/L record though. The team is looking so much better this year than years past. They're prepared. They adjust. They play with focus. Can they beat USC? Purdue? Tennessee? I can't say right now. I know they'll give them all a good competitive game, though. The fact that the UT and USC games are at home ups our chances a bit of pullng off an upset. I think Herbstreit said something to the effect that Weis has them playing "downhill" and I think, for once, he's made an accurate assessment. On a side-note - nice to see you around TT. Looks like I'm not the only hybrid Husker-Irish fan around these parts. IRISH! GBR!