Who's really to blame for Notre Dame's problems? Try NBC.

After nineteen years of being the home of Notre Dame football, and with the Fighting Irish about to fire Charlie Weis, NBC is to blame for giving Notre Dame a contract back in '91. The Fighting Irish have struggled every year, and from '95 to '07, Notre Dame did not win a bowl game. And Notre Dame's 3-9 record was the worst ever. And Notre Dame's worst home losses were aired on NBC. It's time NBC Universal should demote Dick Ebersol from president of NBC Sports and Olympics and make him host 25 hours of ShopNBC a week, because he's ruined Notre Dame's reputation because of NBC.

When was the last time Charlie Weis had a signature win? About the same time NBC won the ratings race since 2005.

Notre Dame never had a signature win in 5 years under Charlie Weis. NBC NEVER had any signature shows that made a difference during that span. "Heroes" is getting beat down by "Dancing With the Stars," the "Law & Order" trilogy has declined, "Friday Night Lights" has struggled, "ER" and "My Name is Earl" have been axed, "Southland" lasted longer than Demetrius Jones' tenure as ND's starting QB, and "My Own Worst Enemy" has been just as bad as Notre Dame's losses to USC. When the network said back in 2003, THE QUALITY SHOWS ON NBC, look at Notre Dame's pitiful performances the last 3 years on NBC. Then look at NBC's pitiful ratings. The quality does show on NBC...POOR QUALITY.

NBC, the network that tarnished Notre Dame's famed football program.

NBC's coverage of Notre Dame football has mirrored the network's primetime ratings. The 2007 ratings for Notre Dame football games on NBC were 1.8, while NBC's primetime ratings for 2007-08 were at the bottom, the only networks with lower ratings were MyNetworkTV and the CW. The only watchable thing on NBC? Sunday Night Football. When the Irish lose on NBC, people ignore NBC like the plague for the rest of the week.

Watching Jon Tenuta's defense on NBC every week reminds me of this.

Seeing Notre Dame's defense, led by assistant coach Jon Tenuta, has been horrible this year (except for the Nevada and Washington State games, which aired on NBC!) Notre Dame's poorest performances (i.e.: FSU 37, Irish 0 in 2003, USC 38, Irish 0 in 2007 and that loss to a Syracuse team that lost 8 times last year) reminds me of NBC's poorest performances. Like Marlena from Days of Our Lives (above) being possessed back in '95. Look at what you get from NBC every afternoon: weekdays, the fourth hour of the Today Show, which is nothing but women's gossip from something named Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford (who hosted a morning show with famous Notre Dame alum REGIS PHILBIN!), and it's followed by Days of our Lives, which is about to be on its last legs. And on Sunday afternoons, NBC airs boring sports programs like the Dew Tour BMX races and poker. Back when Lou Holtz was coaching the Irish, NBC was the place to be every afternoon, soap operas, the NFL, the NBA and Notre Dame football. My, how times changed. I'm still loyal to the Irish, win or lose when they play on NBC, but NBC is to blame for boring sports programming outside of the Fighting Irish, the NFL and Tiger Woods.

What now, since NBC ruined Notre Dame's reputation?

Well, the Fighting Irish and NBC are still together until 2015, and Davie, Willingham and Weis have been disappointments since Lou Holtz retired in '96. The best way to have Notre Dame's ratings on NBC improve is by hiring a big name coach, like Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, or former Colts coach and Super Bowl winner Tony Dungy, who is now with NBC's Football Night in America. Another thing I hope for is to see Jon Tenuta fired and have someone who knows defense better, like what Dick LeBeau does with the Steelers or like Dallas' Doomsday Defense in the 70s. Oh yeah, I hope Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate return for their senior year. Anyway, I am always faithful to Notre Dame football, and hopefully a return to glory will happen for the Irish, Notre Dame Nation and NBC. But it's going to take time to get the trust (and the ratings and the glory) to be restored back to the days of 1988. Hopefully, Charlie will get a job back in the NFL and the Irish will return to glory, and things will be back to normal. Go Irish!