CLUTCH

guest post by James

Week 4 of college football is in the books and we are starting to see who will be contenders and who the pretenders are. Alabama looks like a contender and Cal is definitely a pretender. Texas is a contender and Penn State is the pretender.

I don’t know what is going on this year in college football, but there seems to have been an amazing amount of bad and season ending injuries. One big injury was on Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. That was a nasty hit to the head. Tebow suffered a concussion and as of right now they don’t know when he will return to play. Another freak accident occurred yesterday at the USC weight room. Stafon Johnson was doing bench presses when the bar bell slipped from his right hand and landed on his neck. Thankfully he is in critical but stable condition. Keep him and all players in your prayers.

One player who wears a gold helmet overcame turf toe pain and led his team in a clutch performance to victory. That player is Jimmy Clausen. Clausen definitely deserves player of the week honors for playing through pain and leading the Irish in a last minute drive to victory. If you watched the game it was one to remember. That close win over the weekend was definitely needed to build more confidence on this team. Good teams find was to win and Notre Dame did so, with an injured quarterback, missing their best running back, and not having their best receiver for the year. I think this win will push the team to the next level.

Up next for the Irish this week is the resurgent Washington Huskies. As you probably know Washington has already beaten USC this year and have their sites set on the Irish. Should be a good game, but I am hoping for an Irish blow out.

GO IRISH and enjoy the highlights.

Fantasy Crack...Blunders

Blunder (v) - the act of drafting someone who's already been drafted

A video by Albo from Fantasy Crack's 2009 Fantasy Football Draft
(I'm currently in first place...undefeated)
For the record, profanity is used in this video...sorry., but it's great!

Still one-legged

Yesterday was the first time in over a month that I tested my leg's endurance in a short run, and within half a mile I realized that my absence from the roads will be prolonged. The outer tendon of my right distal hamstring started to inflame and stress was transferred over to the inner tendon, which subsequently started aching. Needless to say, I am not a happy runner, or should I say x-runner.

This is the first time that I've ever had to endure this kind prolonge leave from being physically active, and the inactivity is intolerable. I feel like the sedentary population that I preach to on a daily basis at work. A forty-pound gut, flat foot, and diabetes will likely ensue. Daily insulin injections are inevitable.

I intend to see a specialist within the next week in order to get a scrip for some physical therapy. Hopefully a month or so of that will do the trick. I can't see the need to stop swimming, and will pose that question to my PT. Another month or two of zero exercise would be too much to bare.

Until then, I'll continue the grandma stretches and exercises...twice a friggin' day.

Upsets and Polls

Guest post by James


We had another fun weekend of college football. The biggest upset of the weekend happened at Husky Stadium when Washington upset USC. Washington was unranked and caught USC sleeping after their big win in the Horse Shoe. USC seems to do this at least once a year; although, I think this year they will lose at least three games.

As for the Irish, they finally got that pesky monkey off their back and that monkey was Sparty. Finally, Notre Dame took care of business against one of their rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State has beaten Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium since 1993. Yeah, that’s right, the last time Notre Dame beat Sparty in ND Stadium was when Lou Holtz coached the team. The Irish defense bent but did not break, and came up with the game clinching interception. I think winning a close game against a rival was a big step for the Irish’s confidence especially after losing a close game to hated rival Michigan. Next up for the Irish this week is a night game against Purdue. Hopefully, the Irish will be able to win handily, but with Jimmy Clausen banged up and star receiver Michael Floyd out for the season with a broken collar bone, it could be a tough one…hopefully not.

On another topic, one thing that bothers me is how teams are ranked in the polls every week. For example, Nebraska has played two Sunbelt opponents and lost a close game against a medium ranked Virginia Tech team. Nebraska is still ranked in the top 25, why? Notre Dame lost a close game to a 3-0 Michigan, shut out a descent Nevada team, and beat a historically strong Michigan State team, yet Notre Dame isn’t ranked in the top 25 and lost even more votes to be in the top 25 after winning this week. Why does this happen? I don’t know. Does ND deserve to be in the top 25, not yet, but maybe after another strong win. Also how is it fair that Florida State who totally destroyed a fraud of a top 15 team BYU at home and BYU is still ranked higher than Florida State in the Coaches Poll. In my opinion their shouldn’t be rankings till at least week 7. I hope things change but bias will always be in polls….what a shame.

Enjoy this weeks of games and GO IRISH!!!

Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.
-Lou Holtz

"What just happened?"

That must have been Darren Sproles first thoughts after being pummeled by the future HOFer Ray Lewis. Rarely do LBs get the kind of accolades that were thrown his way post-game. Peter King had an interesting conversation with Dan Patrick regarding the tackle, which he says is "the best tackle of his career." After seeing that game-winning hit one has to include the Ravens as a ledgit team...don't worry guys. I'm not forgetting our high-flying Saints, but this tackle was sick!

As busy as it gets

A serious thanks needs to go out to James, as his weekly guest posts have kept any activity on LOM going. Despite what you may have heard, I am alive and well, just extremely busy. I don't think I've let you on to my continuing education, but graduate school has my full attention and clinicalls start next week. I've been enrolled in UL's Nurse Practitioner program for three semesters (took a break last semester), and have decided to tackle it full time in order to discover a new role/career by next December.

The common question I get with this is "What's a nurse practitioner?" This question can take an entire month's post to answer, so I'll give you the short of it: A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse (me) who has received specialized training (in process) and can perform many of the duties of a physician (fromwordnetweb.princeton).

The next common question is "What are you going to do with that?", and the answer is "I don't know." I have many desires, and clinicals are suppose to assist me in finding my niche. I plan to keep you aloof regarding this new adventure in my life, but since patient privacy and HIPPA is an issue I may have to start a second anonymous blog or something...nevertheless you will be informed of the avenue.

College Football Week 2-Disappointment & Awesomeness

guest post by James

As week 2 of college football comes to an end, a couple of games stood out over the weekend. Oklahoma State ranked #5 in the country, went down at home to an unranked Houston team. The battle in the Horseshoe between Ohio State and USC didn’t disappoint; however, the disappointment came when the Irish lost in the last seconds to Michigan. It was a hostile environment in the Big House for the Irish and after overcoming questionable officiating (was Armando Allen out of bounds? Excessive celebration, really?, multiple holding calls?), twice double digit deficits in the game, the Irish took the lead late in the fourth quarter; however, what should have been the closing drive of the game turned into a nightmare when questionable calls by Charlie Weis and a poor punt gave Michigan the ball on their own 45 with two timeouts and with less than 2 minutes to play. Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t hold and Michigan pulled out a last second victory. Although a difficult loss some positives that can be taken from the game for the Irish is that they didn’t fold. The offense looks outstanding; however, for them to run the table the defense needs to really step up. This week will be a test of leadership for the captains of the Irish, as Michigan State rolls into Notre Dame Stadium. I feel the Irish will rebound and pummel Sparty this weekend. Should be a good game.

And now for the Awesomeness: The UL Ragin Cajuns upset Kansas State 17-15 at Cajun Field. This is only the second time the Cajuns have beaten a BCS conference team. Congrats to the Cajuns for a great win and hopefully this is a step toward a bowl game this year. Next up for the Cajuns is the LSU Tigers. Here’s to hoping the Cajuns can pull off the upset.

GO IRISH!!! GO CAJUNS!!!


"Lads, you're not to miss practice unless your parents died or you died." - Frank Leahy, Notre Dame

A hard copy of APA's 6th edition

This conversation tool place at Barnes & Noble:

Me: I'm looking for the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the APA. Where can I find it?

CSR: It's behind the registers. Ask the sales clerk.

Me: Behind the registers? Why is it kept there?

CSR: It's the number one book that kids walk off with, so we keep it behind the register to prevent more thefts.

Me: If you don't mind me asking, what are the next two books...that people walk off with?

CSR: Graphic kid's novels and the Bible.

Week One

a guest post by James

Week one of college football is in the books. There were some great games and plenty of blow outs. The biggest upset this weekend came from #20 BYU who defeated #3 Oklahoma. Last years Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford who plays for Oklahoma was put out of the game after injuring his throwing shoulder. I mention this because at the beginning of the year I thought Bradford wouldn’t be able to come close to his stellar stats of last year. Why, because Oklahoma had 4 of 5 starting offensive lineman graduate last year. Bradford was hurried, hit, and sacked most of the night. This is important to remember when looking at teams. If you have experienced offensive and defensive linemen you will succeed. If you don’t, watch out. Championships are won in the trenches.

One thing that always bothers me every year about most teams, is scheduling. In my opinion if you schedule a Division II (yes I know there is another name for it) team on your schedule you should not be able to play for the title, yes that includes all Division I schools except for four. According to my research since the NCAA divided Division I and II in 1978 only Notre Dame, Washington, Southern Cal, and UCLA have not scheduled the lower division. Kudos to those schools for not being chumps. Give me a break, can’t all you other schools beat up on some lowly Sun Belt team. If I was a season ticket holder, I would be livid at some of the horrid schedules.

As for the Fighting Irish this weekend…Some analyst were picking the Irish to lose to the Nevada Wolf Pack even though the Irish were favored by 14pts. The Irish beat down the Wolf Pack 35-0. That’s right, a shut out. The Irish were in mid-season form. Jimmy Clausen was 15/18 for 315 yards, Michael Floyd led the receivers with 4 rec. for 189 yards, and Armando Allen had 15 carries for 72 yards rushing. The defense was solid and held the Wolf Pack only to 307 total yards and zero points. For comparison the Wolf Pack averaged 508 total yards a game last year. Now, the Irish will face the Michigan Wolverines in the Big House this week. No matter how each team is playing since this is a rivalry game anything can happen, but hopefully Charlie Weis will have the team humble and ready to beat down the Skunk Bears.

Enjoy the second week of College Football and GO IRISH!!!

By the way its Tuesday and Michigan Sucks!

Enjoy the highlights from the ND/Nevada game.

Paul Dietzel, LSU—"You learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life."

8 rushes for -5 yards...take that

It might not have been the best game to watch, but the fireworks after Boise State's 19-8 beat down of Oregon is not the way to start a college football season.

LeGarrette Blount needs to be removed from the team indefinitely. There is no room for this kind of behavior in college football. While it may do some serious damage to Chip Kelly's season, it will give him the authority to turn around this abysmal start to his tenure in Eugene.

Here Come the Irish

a guest post by James

Can you hear it? Do you smell it? Can you see it? I do. The sound of snare drums in the distance, the trumpet blaring, the tuba bellowing, the bass drum pounding, the smoke rising, the smell of bar-b-que wafting through the air, see the colors changing on the leaves. It is time to cheer and shout with undying devotion for your school. Time for Golden Domes, Touchdown Jesus, Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium, Rocky Top, Dotting the “I”, and Win One for the Gipper. That’s right, College Football is here.

I am Mark’s cousin James, and he has asked me to write a guest post each week about College Football, and about the greatest school/football team in the land, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Everyone has their favorite teams/schools for one reason or another. But for me and my family the Fighting Irish stand out above all. Since I was little the Irish have always been a big part of my life. My dad and his family were big ND fans and that carried down to me. Go Irish!

One thing I and my wife Lacie have done each year since 2001, has been to watch the “Rites of Autumn”. It is a must, at the start of each college football season to watch all 5 disc. Watching the “Rites of Autumn” gives you a better appreciation for college football and the game of football itself. Do yourself a favor and watch this series. It is what college football is all about.

As I look at the teams this year, one can obviously see that Florida will be favorite to win it all again. However, their schedule should be a little harder than last year and the loss of Percy Harvin should hurt the offense somewhat. I think both OU and Texas should be strong and in the title hunt. But, my dark horses this year are Georgia Tech, Penn State, and Notre Dame.

Notre Dame should have a great year, maybe even a special year. After a tough two years, ND is poised for a run. In 2007 ND hit a new low; however, if you look at the players, the team was filled with inexperience underclassmen, and due to poor recruiting by the previous coach, ND was lacking talented upperclassmen. Last year we saw ND move forward, but the lack of experience and lack of upperclassmen leadership cost the Irish at least 3 close games, all of which they blew double digit leads in the second half. This year will be different. The Irish are loaded with a talented team full of experienced juniors and seniors, and key coaching changes should improve the team exponentially. The offensive line will now be coached by Frank Verducci, defensive line by Randy Hart, and running backs coach Tony Alford. Blitz happy John Tenuta will take over the defensive play calling and Corwin Brown is now the official Assistant head coach. An apparent manageable schedule combined with returning talent, depth, and experience, ND is poised for a great year.

Here is a list of players to watch this year for the Irish.

1. Offensive Line: Sam Young (Sr.), Trevor Robinson (So.), and Paul Duncan (Sr.). Young is a beast and should be All American candidate this year, and Duncan is returning from injury last year and has had a great spring and summer.
2. Defensive Line: Ian Williams (Jr..), Kapron Lewis-Moore (So.), Morrice Richardson (Sr.), Tyler Stockton (Fr.). With new coach Randy Hart expect to see much improvement on the defensive line.
3. Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen (Jr.) and Dayne Crist (So.). If the offensive line plays to its potential expect Clausen to shine. The “Golden Boy” very well could have a Heisman Trophy type season and All American honors.
4. Linebacker: Brian Smith (Jr.), Scott Smith (Sr.), Toryan Smith (Jr.), Steve Filer (So.), Darius Fleming (So.), Kerry Neal (Jr.), Zeke Motta (Fr.), Dan Fox (Fr.), Manti Teo (Fr.). At linebacker the Irish are stacked. With Tenuta calling plays expect the linebackers to cause havoc in the opponents backfield. Also I expect special seasons from Kerry Neal, Steve Filer, Brian Smith, and 5 star recruit Manti Teo.
5. Tight End: Kyle Rudolph (So.) and Mike Ragone (Jr.). Rudolph is one of the best TE in the country. He should definitely be an All American this year. What will really help the Irish is that Ragone is healthy this year. Charlie Weis’ offense incorporates two TE sets and this year the Irish will be able to do that. So watch for the TE position this year.
6. Defensive Back: Robert Blanton (So.), Sergio Brown (Sr.), Harrison Smith (So.), Raeshon McNeil (Jr.), Darrin Walls (Sr.). Defensive back is filled with talent and experience. I think it will be very tough to throw on the Irish this year. Expect lots of turnovers from this bunch.
7. Running Back: James Aldridge (Sr.), Armando Allen (Jr.), Jonas Gray (So.), Robert Hughes (Jr.), Cierra Wood (Fr.), Theo Riddick (Fr.). With good offensive line play, I expect the Irish running backs to well, run wild. Aldridge will move to full back this year and Allen, Hughes, and Gray should get most of the carries, with Wood and Riddick maybe getting some playing time.
8. Special Teams: Brandon Walker (Jr.), Ryan Burkhart (Sr.), Ben Turk (Fr.), Nick Tausch (Fr.), Jordan Cowart (Fr.), Mike Anello (Sr.), Armando Allen (Jr.), Theo Riddick (Fr.), Cierra Wood (Fr.). Hopefully we will see big improvement in this area this year. Mike Anello is like a Rudy Ruettiger but with far better talent. Anello is an animal on kickoffs and punts. He will usually be the first to make contact on the return man. The kicking game needs to improve quite a bit. Tausch a freshmen has won the starting job and will be kicking this year. This year we will have a special long snapper, Cowart. He was recruited for that purpose. So that should help the kicking and punting teams. On kickoff and punt returns, I don’t know if we will see Allen, Wood, or Riddick. I would like to see Wood and Riddick more often even though they are freshmen due to their tremendous speed. Hopefully though we will see some kick returns for touchdowns this year.
9. Receiving: Golden Tate (Jr.), Michael Floyd (So.), Deion Walker (So.), Duval Kamara (Jr.), Robby Parris (Sr.), Shaquelle Evans (Fr.), Roby Toma (Fr.), John Goodman (So.), George West (Sr.). This is a talented bunch. Expect to see Tate and Floyd get All American honors this year. With Tate and Floyd on the outside, I expect to see Kamara, Evans, Parris, Goodman, or West in the slot receiver spot. Just think with this talent at receiver and two TE sets the Irish should destroy the defenses they face.

This should get you ready on what to watch this year for the Irish, so till next week, enjoy the first week of college football and Go Irish!

"Show me a good and gracious loser, and I'll show you a failure." - Knute Rockne, Notre Dame

Jame's posts can be found here every Tuesday morning to recap the weekend in college football.

The Picks

Last weeks edition of the Independent included an article that had KLFY TV10 Sports Director George Faust and KPEL’s Steve Peloquin making predictions on ULL, LSU, and the Saints football schedule. Included in this lively bunch was John Mikell, local soccer referee extraordinaire and unoffical local historian on everything Louisiana. He also happens to be a close friend of mine, and challenged me to make my predictions on the upcoming seasons.

The pros picks (click on picture for clearer image) with some snarky remarks:


So, here it is for all to criticize...Mark's football picks for the 2009 season:



And for those who care...Notre Dame:

vs. Nevada W
@ Michigan W
vs. Michigan St. W
@ Purdue W
vs. Washington W
vs. USC W
vs. Boston College W
vs. Washington St. W
vs. Navy W
@ Pittsburg W
vs. Conneticut W
@ Stanford W

You heard it here first...
Notre Dame 12-0 and "lets go Irish!"