This is cool…

Courtesy of Legends of South Bend…

Robert F. Thomson, II continued…

I don’t check the comments of my blog that often, so I just ran across a comment that Robert F. Thomson, II left on November 16th.  It reads as follows:

Mr. Butter -

Do me a favor and take my personal information off of your website.
That was a private letter and was not posted anywhere public by me.

If my information is not down by the end of the day, you’ll be hearing from my attorney.

Thanks, and Go Irish!

Well, I didn’t get the contact info from a private letter, I got it from the Notre Dame Club of Orlando’s Board of Directors page.  All I did was copy it from there.  However, because I’m desperately frightened of the threat of legal action, I have removed it from my site.

So if anyone out there really wants to get in touch with Robert F. Thomson, you now must go to the Notre Dame Club of Orlando’s Board of Directors page to get his phone number or email address, and proceed from there.  Is it illegal to link to another website on a blog?  I hope not, because I do it all the time!

Sports Guy Gem

I just had to link to this column from the Sports Guy.  I don’t think he’s as funny as he used to be, but this made me laugh out loud.  He writes a letter to himself in 1982, and then gives his NFL picks for the week.  Best line:

“Speaking of old people, some buddies and I had a great argument last
night: Who’s the oldest celebrity you’d be excited to have sex with?
The consensus? Sophia Loren. She’s like 77. I voted for her as well,
but only after confirming that Mona from “Who’s the Boss?” wasn’t alive
anymore.”

Classic.

Quick Football Note

I haven’t talked much about football this year, because there hasn’t been much good to say.  Just a quick update though: in case you haven’t heard, Jimmy Clausen will be starting this weekend vs. Air Force.  Let’s hope Charlie lets him throw a pass longer longer than 7 yards that isn’t an out to the sidelines.

Robert F. Thomson, II is an embarassment to the University of Notre Dame

This is hot off the ND message boards as of a few minutes ago.  Some idiot Alumni Board Director by the name of Rob Thomson evidently wrote a scathing letter to Charlie Weis and, thinking he was cool, emailed it to his friends.  Now it’s hitting the boards and ND people (including me) are pissed.

Mr. Thomson is listed as a director of the Orlando Alumni Club here. So if you are so inclined, you can email him at [edited due to threat of legal action] or call him at [edited due to threat of legal action] to tell him what an embarrassment he is to Notre Dame.  I’ve decided not to post the letter because it won’t do anything good for our program.  Suffice to say, it’s a piece of poo.

UPDATE: See here

 

Technorati Tags: robert thomson, nd, irish, football, notre dame

It’s USC Week…

…which means I’m obligated to show this picture.  Sorry for the crassness.

2 for 2 for Looe

Thus far the Notre Dame football season has left much to be desired, however there has been one major highlight in both games we’ve played this season.  This comes in the form of my buddy Looe being featured (semi)prominetely on television during both games.  Georgia Tech was obvious.  He got more air time than Pat Haden.  Exhibit A:

Penn State was a bit more of a “Where’s Waldo” scenario, but if you look close enough, you’ll see the tattered Rocky Boiman jersey in with the Notre Dame faithful (thanks to Tully for the big red arrow so we know where to look).  You’ll notice that Looe’s cheer of choice is the over-the-head clap.  Exhibit B:

Big Game Tomorrow

About 5 years ago when Penn State was really sucking wind, my dad (an alum) had it in his mind to get rid of his season tickets that he’s had since I was a little kid.  I pleaded with him not to do it because I knew ND would be playing Penn State in 2007.  What seemed like a far off date is finally here, and I can’t wait.  Two of my college buddies (McDonald and Looe) are coming in tonight for the game.  You may know Looe from NBC fame.  He was the awesome looking fan in the faded Rocky Boiman jersey and aviator sunglasses that was on TV last week when Jimmy Clausen came into the game.

Many of my dad’s old fraternity brothers still live in State College, and they’ve been waiting for this game for 15 years.  Last season they all trekked out to South Bend to see their Nittany Lions demolished, but they did get on WNDU for having such an awesome tailgate.  I fully expect this year’s to be even better.

I have no idea what to expect in this game.  Here’s what I expect:

- Beaver Stadium will be rocking.  A 6PM start (too much time to drink) coupled with 107,000 is a bad combination for a visiting team

- Jimmy Clausen will make quick decisions and show glimpses of brilliance

- Jimmy Clausen will be sacked at least 3 times

- Armando Allen will carry the ball at least 10 times (please?!)

- The Irish secondary will be tested much more than they were last week

- I will make at least 4 “Anthony Morelli is dumber than a box of rocks” jokes

- The Irish D will look much better against the run

- Justin Brown will not karate chop someone in the face and get thrown out of the game again

- I will be heckled by at least 500 drunk Penn State fans

- I will heckle at least 15 Penn State fans

- I will be thoroughly annoyed by zombie nation by the end of the night

How annoying is that?

Technorati Tags: notre dame, penn state, football

Saturday Didn’t Happen

Saturday didn’t happen.  I went to work on Friday, and then woke up Sunday.  That’s all I’m going to say about that.

Now, on to Penn State.  I will be going to the game on Saturday, and according to Coach Weis in today’s press conference, I will see Jimmy Clausen starting at quarterback.

Let’s hope I see more of Armando Allen and James Aldridge too.

T - 26 hours…

It’s almost gameday, at long last.  26 hours from now a young and unproven Irish squad will walk out of the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium.  Seasons like these are fun because no one knows what to expect.  Here’s what I expect:

- Armando Allen and/or Golden Tate will make someone look stupid on a kickoff return

- Demetrius Jones will be the starting quarterback and do something Vick-esque with his feet (no, not stomping on the throat of a pit bull or opposing player)

- Sam Young will be ridiculous at RT

- Tommy Zbikowski will eat the boogers out of a dead man’s nose and ask for seconds

- Charlie Weis will consume poor officials with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lighting from his arse.

- Jimmy Clausen will not play

- A commentator or analyst will make an asinine comment about how Jimmy Clausen didn’t play and is therefore a disappointment

- A commentator or analyst will make an asinine comment about how Ty Willingham was fired after his third year and Charlie Weis is now entering his third year and has something to prove

- A sideline reporter with large breasts will ask Charlie Weis at least one asinine question on his way to the locker room at half time, to which he will reply, “There are no ovaries allowed on this field on Saturdays.  Get lost.”

- I will have fun watching the game in STUNNING HIGH DEFINITION win, lose, or draw

On a side note, despite the fact that it will annoy my wife to no end, I’m planning on Twittering my thoughts on the game on Saturday.  If you’re sitting around watching with a computer, go here and it will be just like you’re sitting there with me, which is really one of the best experiences in life.

GO IRISH!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Just a quick note to everyone: the “official” Notre Dame depth chart is available on UND.com.  Couple of quick items of note:

- Freshman Matt Romine is listed ahead of Barley Webb at LT
- Sophomore K Ryan Burkhart is nowhere to be found on the chart
- Darrin Walls is listed ahead of Ambrose Wooden at CB
- Lacrosse superstar Will Yeatman won the 2nd TE spot ahead of former 5-star recruit Konrad Reuland
- James Aldridge has bulked up to 222
- Looks like D.J. Hord has really made a come back at WR.  Look for him to get significant minutes behind George West and David Grimes
- Don’t be at all shocked to see Duval Kamara get some PT
- Two freshmen, Golden Tate and Armando Allen, are listed as our KR’s.  That’s some crazy speed.

I’m so excited for the season I can barely contain myself.  Obviously we’re a young team, but in 3 years it will be fun to say we watched National Champions when they were mere freshmen.  It’s going to be even more exciting seeing next year’s class come in.  Man, we’re going to be good.

Armando Allen is scary fast

Bartender, we’re going to need another round of Kool-Aid over here!

Are you ready?

The day is finally here, everyone.  We’ve waited for this day since January, and finally we can get the bitter Sugar Bowl taste out of our mouths and focus on a new season.  That’s right, it’s the first day of fall practice!  Lots of question marks and low expectations this year, but that will make it all the more fun.  It should be entertaining to watch all these young, talented guys this season and see what we have in store when we make our championship run in 2009.

Be sure to check out www.und.com today for post-practice press conferences with Coach Weis.  Those are always entertaining.

Go Irish!

Campeones!

Real Madrid won their first Spanish La Liga title in 4 years yesterday with a 3-1 victory over Mallorca thanks to two goals by Jose Reyes.  All they had to do was get rid of Ronaldo, Michael Owen, Morientes, Zidane, and about 12 coaches to do it.

Felicidades!

Rhema Impresses

Saw this quote this morning on BGS that I think is very telling:

In the four minicamp practices in which Meachem did participate this week, he was overshadowed by free agent Rhema McKnight of Notre Dame, and Dante Ridgeway, who spent time toward the end of the 2006 season on the Saints’ practice squad.
nola.com

“He [Rhema McKnight]
is coming out of a very sophisticated system, with many similarities to
some of the things we do,” said Johnson said of Notre Dame’s and the
Saints’ top-ranked offense last season. “He understands the game of
football and a lot of the intricacies about offensive sets that young
players often donﾹt have at the same stage of their careers that he has
right now. That is a credit to what he learned under Charlie Weis.”
NewOrleansSaints.com

It’s nice having a good coach.

Technorati Tags: weis, rhema mcknight, nfl, nd football

Oh happy day…

It’s going to be light posting for the next couple weeks as I gear up for the CFA exam, everyone, but I had to post this.  If you watched the 2006 Fiesta Bowl between Notre Dame and Ohio State, you’ll remember that the most oft talked about story line was that of Brady Quinn’s sister Laura dating A.J. Hawk (thanks a lot, Musberger).  Well, Brent and ABC Sports will be happy to know that A.J. and Laura finally tied the knot on March 17th, and have the pictures to prove it.  Especially check out the shot of the groomsmen.  It’s been awhile since a collection of mullets like that has formed anywhere in the U.S.

I’m sure sportscasters everywhere are salivating at the prospect of the first game between the Browns and Packers.  Ugh.

The Dolphins are morons

I’m not even going to start talking about Brady Quinn’s fall in the draft last week, but I did want to post this video of Dolphin fans booing their new coach and chanting “Brady” at the draft party.  What an incredibly dumb move.

He’s excited about what the Ginn family can bring to the Dolphins?!  Are you kidding me?  I hate the Ginn family.

More Corwin

Great post today on BGS about Corwin Brown at the ND coaching clinic over the weekend. Check it out!

Betting update

Yesterday was a much better day on the betting front, where I earned a return of about 25%. Unfortunately, I’m still down about 32% from where I was before Tuesday’s debacle. My biggest win of the night was the Mariners over the Red Sox which payed +162. Just an outstanding performance from 21 year old Felix Hernandez, who pitched a no-hitter into the 8th. The expected payout on this bet according to my model was about 2.76%. My actual return on that bet turned out to be 81%. Nice.

Other good bets yesterday included the Padres and Dodgers who both beat their opponents by two runs to pay out +150 and +140, respectively. Also, thanks to a Mike Mussina pulled hammy, the Twins beating the Yankees paid me +143.

Like Mike McD turning his Jeep around for Worm, I had to get back on the horse yesterday.

Technorati Tags: betting, gambling, rounders, baseball

MLB stuck it to me yesterday

Yesterday I bet on 7 Major League Baseball games.  One of the bets I always make is that the favored team will win by greater than 1 run.  According to my calculations, over the past 20 seasons a home team will win a game by exactly 1 run roughly 15.46% of the time (i.e., given all the games played by all the teams in a season, exactly 15.46% of those will be a home win by 1 run).  Away teams will win by exactly one run about 9.8% of the time.

For me, the one thing you don’t want to have happen is for the home (or favored) team to win by exactly one run.  Yesterday, that happened in 3 out of the 7 games I bet (thanks a lot, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Indians).  That’s bogus, as it means I lose on both sides of my bet (I bet the favored team to win by 2 and the underdog to win straight up, thereby hedging a bit).  According to the binomial probability function, the chances of this happening are only about 6.61%.  This ended up losing me about 42.5% of my total bet–not a good return on “investment”.

Yesterday was not my lucky day.

No one was chomping on Oreos for me yesterday.

Baseball in Cleveland

The Tribe started off their season by taking two out of three games from the hated White Sox, then went home for a series against the Mariners this past weekend and didn’t play one game.  Snow hit Cleveland hard, as it has a tendency to do.  Today’s forecast calls for rain and temperatures in the 40’s, so MLB in all its wisdom has decided to move the Indians’ home games to Milwaukee.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?  It’s craziness.  Sure teams have been forced to play elsewhere due to extenuating circumstances (e.g., the Saints after Katrina, the Expos because Canadians hate baseball), but I can’t recall a team moving just because the weather stunk for 6 consecutive days.