Bleacher Report - Articles by Don Juan -- domerdomain.com

Notre Dame Guaranteed Nothing

Don Juan -- domerdomain.com — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 03:40:38 -0400

One more week 'til kickoff, and we are all more than ready to go—but is our beloved team the same? "We’ll be ready to go," said an eager Jimmy Clausen. I hope that sentiment is true and we come out prepared.

This week should be full contact in the beginning and shells towards the end. I think that with a more physical approach, we should be able to put a more confident, prepared, and hard-working team on the field. If we come out against San Diego State and lay a couple of early eggs, it might be indicative of our future and later games.

No amount of music or fanciful banners will be able to increase the productivity of our players—sorry, Bon Jovi.

Thank you for coming, college football: no more “remembering Notre Dame’s national...nobody knows until kick...if I had a guess..." blah, blah, blah.

One thing we know for sure: If we play like we did last year, everyone on our schedule can beat us.

It doesn’t matter if San Diego State has a freshman playing quarterback, or if Michigan’s running game was horrid, or if Michigan State’s defense looked penetrable, or if "U-Dub" had another ill-adjusted Ty-coached second half that cost them the game. All of this is moot when it comes to actually performing on the field.

I don’t care if it’s McNeese State: If he doesn’t block him, and he doesn’t throw the ball accurately, and he doesn’t run through the holes, then we won’t beat anybody.

Anyone who guarantees a completely different team this year must have drank the Lou Holtz Kool-Aid. Remember this: We are the same team from last year.

We have the same players, give or take the freshman class and a few who left for the NFL. We have most of our coaching staff back, minus one plus Jon Tenuta. We’ll have the stadium full of old-timers who can only stand for the national anthem.

Last but not least, we’ll have those horrible TV announcers on NBC boring everybody to sleep with their meaningless color attempt, which sounds more like a golf announcer adding his thoughts quietly during the back swing.

My point is this: College football is here, and whether we’re ready or not, we have to play. I hope we’re a completely different team from last year, and I think everybody feels the same. But I wouldn’t put my expectations too high, as it would be a horrible letdown if our season went to crap.

I, like Switzerland, will remain neutral and just ride with reality wherever it may go... Whatever—we’re going to go undefeated and win the national championship! I’ll go out on a limb and drink Lou’s Kool-Aid and then some! You all know where I stand.

Will the Next Notre Dame Tight End Please Stand Up?

Don Juan -- domerdomain.com — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 06:02:09 -0400

Losing Mike Ragone for the season might worry some, but really, this is “Tight-End U.”

After conversing with Kyle Rudolph at the spring game, we really shouldn’t worry about his mental approach.

He even passes the eyeball test in regards to physical size.

The question should really be, can Will Yeatman increase his numbers from last year?

And can Luke Schmidt make the transition from full back to H-back/situational TE?

While no one can answer these questions definitively, we can all agree to take solace in the fact that Notre Dame produces tight ends on a seemingly regular basis.

And having the nation’s former No. 1 tight end in our fold (Kyle Rudolph) should only increase our chances for a productive season from that position.

Kicking it with Notre Dame

Don Juan -- domerdomain.com — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:00:59 -0400

Kicking through the up-rights, Ryan Burkhart shows his strength.

So, where has this leg been?

It’s always been there; it was more of an accuracy issue that kept him on the sidelines, clean as a whistle.

What about our special teams?

This is where I’m going to stop you.

Did you read what I just wrote?

Notre Dame has a kicker who can kick it out of the end zone. I repeat: Notre Dame has a kicker who can kick it out of the end zone.

Is he from Hawaii and is his name Reggie?

Nope, his name is Ryan and he’s ready to pummel some leather on kick-offs.

So, what’s this entire mean and why is it important?

Well, our defense won’t be defending on average fifty-six yards after kick return.

Forty-four yards were automatically given up after kick returns, because of our inability to put the ball in the end zone.

We just got better.

Thank you Mr. Walker.

With Brandon Walker pushing and jelling with Ryan, he now has corrected his slice and centering the ball down in the end zone on a consistent basis.

Cheers to not watching Penn State receivers bringing it to the house.

What other surprises will there be?

Stay tuned; everyday is a different headline.

Notre Dame Recruiting: A Poem

Don Juan -- domerdomain.com — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:23:28 -0400

Notre Dame is on a mission, spending dime on worthy cases

Building blocks to further goals, a campus littered with new faces

Some decide and some do not, making friends and signing balls

Others leave for family reasons, turning down our coaches’ calls

Five-star, four-star, three-star rankings, cattle herded in big cities

One by one a hat is worn, causing chaos with great pity

He said she said they said yes, but he chose to go here instead

Liar, liar pants on fire, you said he’d be in South Bend

We still are weak at this position, won’t he get one more for this?

I can’t believe he offered this guy, his 40 time isn’t worth the risk

Can he kick it out of here, and can he catch a bubble screen?

He looks to stiff to run a straight line, why’s he smiling, isn’t he mean?

And what about this guy’s MySpace profile, shows he can’t be trusted right?

Stacks of money, alcohol pouring, I never did that high school nights

Overbearing we’re all to blame,

While watching film of a high school game

Can’t we hold kids at one level and not act the professional way?

Soon we’re going to realize that it has, trickled on down to our own kids' play

Football’s almost here to end this, speculative talk on this guy’s choice

I can’t wait for this to happen, soon forgetting all this noise

Notre Dame Football: A Change In Southbend

Don Juan -- domerdomain.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:18:30 -0400

Come witness the ultimate season of change, more than a colored leaf landing in the library fountain, one of historic proportions. Gold will be the color of champions once again, shedding the pharisaic shroud of mediocre significance. The end of the line can be so humbling, yet so necessary.

You have to learn how to lose before you learn how to win. The Celtics and the Rays should give comfort in knowing what they accomplished after torrid seasons. All we have are hypothetical guesses and conclusions as to what lies ahead, so I suggest you look further than the usual. In Tenuta we trust, as far as the defense goes, and don’t overlook Mr. Brown and what he could do for you.

A dynamic duo, who have joined forces reminiscent of the boys in tights. “I want to go to the NFL someday but also be prepared mentally for it, and Corwin can do that” said newly acquired defensive back E.J. Banks, who spurned the Buckeyes for a recovering 3-9 Irish squad.

Harrison Smith is a name, which will likely be a sound like a broken record come fall. I have a strong feeling that we will be playing a nickel defense, 70 percent of the time, putting Mr. Smith out there for the “safe-backer” blitz.

I like the coaching of our defensive backs too. It seems they’ve been coached to bump the receiver and not let him dictate what and when, which I would attribute to Corwin. One more name to watch according to the chief himself would be Brian Smith. It sounds like we really got a plan A guy out of an expected plan B.

With all of the negative media expectations, it takes some gall to write encouraging articles. Yeah, I know it’s true, we diehards will scream national championship every year but that’s all passion talking. When was the last time the two worst professional teams in baseball and basketball, pulled a giddy-up U-turn? Might we follow in those prints laid before us? I hope so. All the rest is baseless, speculative, hypothetical, and I love it.

“Why so serious?” asks Joker in Dark Knight, and he has a point. Why drag up all the boring stats and formulated calculations deducting 6-9 wins? Do you think Doc Rivers was researching numbers from the previous season; I doubt it. Once it happens, it happens.

There’s no need to complicate the process involved in an emotion-filled season. College football runs on emotion, the new smart fuel. It’s what separates it from all the other sports. It’s not predictable, and sometimes unreliable, but it’s the foundation in which Notre Dame must rebuild.

“I want to be more approachable,” replied Charlie Weis. I hope he follows through with his intended response, and I hope our team follows his lead as well.

Notre Dame and a Football Conference: A Perfect Separation

Don Juan -- domerdomain.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:08:17 -0400

To fully understand Notre Dame and its reasoning for remaining independent, you have to know its storied past—a past littered with national championships and Heisman Trophy winners, and a past that captivated all of America and made the Irish her team, with Ronald Reagan playing the “Gipp” and Rudy becoming an instant sports classic.

From revolutionary coaches who changed the entire landscape of college football to world-class academics stressing the virtues of the student athlete, these are the things make Notre Dame different. These values are what set them apart—apart from other universities and apart from their mega-conferences.

So why would other schools want Notre Dame to be in a conference, and how would that benefit them? Why wouldn’t Notre Dame want to be a part of it?

The controversial BCS (Bowl Championship Series) committee has put Notre Dame in a class by itself. In doing so, they’ve created a tumultuous debate over America’s team.

Should Notre Dame join a conference, or are they simply in a league of their own, despite their current losing ways, and able to remain independent?

B.J. Luria of the Michigan Daily writes: “Notre Dame has traditionally cherished its standing as an independent. The changes that have taken place in college football over the past several years, particularly with the Bowl Alliance, have made life more difficult for independents.”

He also goes on to write about the financial gains that would be attained from playing in a conference: “The addition of Notre Dame would most likely be advantageous for the Big Ten. With 11 teams currently in the conference, the Big Ten could add a 12th, allowing it to split into two six-team divisions and set up a conference championship game. Such a game could provide each school in the conference with as much as $2 million in additional revenue. Similar formats are already in place in several conferences, including the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.”

He suggests that with the addition of the BCS, conference championship games have squeezed the independents out and forced them to go along with the big money. The added championship game to a team’s conference would contribute a hefty sum in the millions to both participants and their said conference.

Why wouldn’t Notre Dame want more money? They don’t have the state funding since they’re a Catholic school, so any extra money would be beneficial for a small private university, right?

Normally, yes, but in this case it’s Notre Dame, not your ordinary university. With national TV contracts and the largest base of “subway alumni” (fans who didn’t have the privilege of attending Notre Dame but still contribute financially), Notre Dame remains on top of the Forbes most valuable college football team list.

According to Forbes, “The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, worth $101 million, is the most valuable team in college football.” So financially, Notre Dame is self-reliant and not in need of shared revenue like a conference team.

B.J. Luria, the writer from the Michigan Daily, goes on to further discuss another possible reason for complication. He writes: “One problem with adding the Fighting Irish to one of the nation's oldest athletic conferences is Notre Dame's television contract with NBC. The school recently signed a new deal with the network which will pay the Fighting Irish $9 million a year through 2005.” (This contract has since been renewed until the year 2011.)

With the current Big Ten contract belonging to ABC, this would cause awkward coverage and royalty disputes. Never has a university had a national TV contract for every home football game. Conferences might have TV contracts, but usually the network will pick one game to air while going back and forth between commercials to show the highlights.

To have every home game aired on a national non-cable network is extremely beneficial. Imagine a potential high school recruit who sees Notre Dame on every Saturday, while the other schools recruiting him are hard to find on basic cable.

This causes a lot of the animosity from other schools, and it’s directly related to this deal with NBC. While other teams go uncovered week to week, Notre Dame remains on national TV despite playing poorly the last few years. (A 3-9 record last year has made Notre Dame a media laughingstock, but still air-worthy.)

The way the bowl system pays out is the better the bowl, the more money your institution reaps. If your team is selected to the Toilet Bowl, then your college will only receive a measly one million dollars or so. Now if your team is selected to go to the Sugar Bowl, then you can potentially receive a pot worth 14 million dollars.

This is where the conferences step in. When you get that check and you belong to a conference, expect it to be evenly divided amongst its member-teams.

When the Fighting Irish make a major bowl, they keep it all, being independent. A lot of bowls will even pass on a more “noteworthy” team due to Notre Dame’s high TV draw. More money for them equals more money for Notre Dame.

Although the fans are seething with rage because of Notre Dame’s media perks, there isn’t a single conference that wouldn’t want to take Notre Dame in. As Gene Corrigan states in the Buckeye Buzz, "It's one of those things Notre Dame will have to look at and see what the landscape looks like and try to decide what's best for them," he said.

"I think Notre Dame can do what it wants. I don't think there's anybody around who would turn Notre Dame down if Notre Dame came and said, 'We'd like to be in your conference.' I think it has its own choices to make."

Another benefit of not belonging to a conference is that the schedule can change every year. You are not required to play the same teams year in and year out. Teams from the Big Ten are continually playing each other and consequently not improving. When you play outside of a conference, you have the choice to play anybody anywhere, which also greatly benefits your recruiting,

The problem with losing and being independent is that it can cripple most universities. Again, this is not the case for Notre Dame.

A blogger for the New York Times writes: “If Notre Dame regains its football prominence under Coach Charlie Weis, who reportedly has a throwback recruiting class to soothe the pain of the 3-9 debacle last fall, the Irish will have no reason to question the viability of remaining independent. If the losing continues to the point where a conference affiliation becomes the ultimate concession to contemporary reality, the Big Ten and its natural Midwest rivalries will be impossible to resist.”

His suggested outcome for Notre Dame if it were to continue its losing ways is that it would be forced to join a conference. This is simply not true.

The Irish were 3-9 last year and ranked close to last in every statistic available. But guess what? They still, according to Forbes, grossed the most money, even beating out the national champion LSU Tigers.

So how does a team who can’t score against itself and loses nine regular season games still take home more than 45 million dollars in profits, compared to LSU’s 32 million?

Also according to Forbes, “Notre Dame's football program contributed $21.1 million to the university's academic programs last season, far more than any other college football team.” These are the facts an outsider might not know when arguing for Notre Dame to join a conference. In fact, their argument is baseless.

“Notre Dame is just afraid to play in the Big Ten” (although they have 11 teams, they still refer to themselves as the Big Ten) is pretty much the response that I’ve heard from many, when the real truth is jealousy.

To have your favorite team located only hours away, but consistently get snubbed by local television for Notre Dame, is basically what this all boils down to. I’ve given you facts and stats and figures, and yet there is still a debate over this dead horse.

“Yeah, but even Penn State joined the Big Ten after being independent for so many years, and it's worked for them,” says a former fellow workmate of mine. My reply: “But that’s because Penn State is losing every year more so than Notre Dame, and with being part of a conference/franchise, the profit sharing is the only thing keeping them afloat.” Whereas Notre Dame, like I said before, does not need the measly two million dollars shared by other conference members.

To be honest with you, nobody likes the guy on a high horse—in this case, Notre Dame. The guy comes galloping over as everybody watches and steals your wallet and your girl. What a douche!

But there’s more to the story. What if that guy deserves everything he gets? What if he takes his profits and applies more than 75 percent of them to higher education? What if he consistently graduates his players at the best rate in all of college football?

"18 of 22 athletics programs at the University of Notre Dame compiled graduation rates of 100 percent, and none were below 90 percent, according to the third year of Graduation Success Rate measurements developed by the NCAA and released Wednesday. None of the 120 Division I-A football-playing programs in the country had a higher percentage of 100 GSR scores than did Notre Dame with its .818 figure."

After reading this article released from the Notre Dame Home Site, you can start to see a reason for standing alone.

If your objective is not that of which you argue about, then there really is no argument. The underlying feeling is one of jealousy, not for any valid reasons pertaining to Notre Dame joining a conference. To be great you have set yourself apart—apart from the norm, against the grain.

If all of these financial and academic reasons don’t express the real reasoning of Notre Dame remaining independent, then I don’t know what will. But the minute someone can give me a valid argument supported by facts, I’ll listen. That probably won’t ever happen, and I really hope it doesn’t!

Having a school like Notre Dame independently on top is good for all of college football. When the winning comes back and losing is forgotten, this topic will be too.