That's one shillelagh rivalry trophy....

The Fighting Irish beat Purdue Saturday night 49-28. I thought the Irish could beat Purdue, (and what they could do and what they have done have often been completely different over the past 5 or so years), but I wasn't expecting anything near the blowout that occurred.

I didn't get to see any of the game as I was busy celebrating at a friend's house out in cow country, but we did find out the halftime score. And promptly celebrated as good Irishmen should. Or just good already drunks.

I have now clue how the USC game will turn out for Notre Dame, but the bye week and the momentum from the Purdue game should help. Playing in Notre Dame Stadium might help, too, but home-field advantage doesn't always mean much in rivalry games.

Yes!

Yes!!!!

Congratulations to everybody.

Sorry, Santa, Sir

The Danish air force compensated Santa for the death of one of his reindeer caused by an F-16 flying low over his farm.

Which reindeer do you think died? Comet? Blitzen? And what do you think he'll name the new one?

Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice

And so begins another Supreme Court era.

Okay, so it actually begins once he is sworn in, but I'm not waiting around for it to be official and posting again.

I am so tired

And sore.

Irish back on track?

Notre Dame managed to bounce back from losing to then-unranked Michigan State in the Battle for the Megaphone by beating unranked Washington and former coach Ty Willingham on the road.

Huh. They won a game they were supposed to win. That has been pretty rare the last few years.
I watched part of the game, and the offense looked good. They threw the ball more than you expect to see from Notre Dame, but it's not the 3 yards in a cloud of dust Four Horsemen days anymore. I also wore my green jersey on Saturday and it felt pretty good. I think I need to get a navy one though.

Next up, the shilleglah games: at Purdue next week and USC in South Bend after a bye week. Well, at least the get Purdue on the road, where Notre Dame is undefeated so far this year, and welcome the Trojans. It would be better of course if they hadn't lost their only home game so far.

Even if they drop both these games, I would still be happy if they ran the table for the rest of the season and finished 8-3. On the other hand, if they win out including these two (and get some help in the form of losses by major teams at the top of the polls), there's hope of a Bowl Championship Series berth. Not that I think that's very likely.

And robin, of course I have hope; I was just trying to fool the football gods into thinking they can't possibly disappoint me.

Notre Dame 17, Michigan 10

Okay, they held on to win it. Yes, it is their second straight upset win.

But I still refuse to have any hope for a good season.

You heard me, no hope. Why? First, this way there is no disappointment. Second, they still have 9 games they can completely blow.

But at least they beat Michigan. Woo hoo!!

536

Griffey hit his 35th homer of the year in Atlanta before he left the game with a sprained ankle. The homerun ties Junior with Mickey Mantle.

Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies

And so ends another Supreme Court era.

ND 42, Pitt 21

How wrong does that look?

I saw the game on tv, and I even watched for a few minutes. I didn't find the game until the score was already 14-10 Notre Dame, but I still couldn't bring myself to watch.

This is a good win, of course, knocking off the #23 team in the nation, but it doesn't really mean much for the rest of the season. The Irish have started off strong a few times in the last several years and still haven't done much. Plus there's the recent history of pulling off the upset, only to later lose the games they're supposed to win easily.

Next up is Michigan in the Big House. I think they were #4 last week. It will be a tough test for Notre Dame, but not impossible. They beat the Wolverines in South Bend last year, and you never know how a rivalry game will go.