Some Thoughts on Notre Dame

Derek DeNote

Too many people are focusing on Manti Te’o and his fake girlfriend. I’d like to take this time and honor those that actually passed away and were forgotten after a week. So, this blog goes out to Declan Sullivan and Lizzy Seeberg.

Declan Sullivan, a student at the University of Notre Dame, was brought to his death by the negligence of the Notre Dame football staff. This event happened when I was still the biggest Notre Dame fan in my age group, but I can actually trace this back to the beginning of the end of the one-sided love affair. As many of you know, I was state champion manager (a proud one at that), and I would’ve done anything for that team. So, as you can imagine, my heart truly went out to Declan and the Sullivan family when I learned of his death. I followed this team pretty closely, and by pretty closely, I mean this season I missed watching only my 2^nd in 10 years. This was Brian Kelly’s inaugural season and I honestly thought he should be ousted for his negligence. As a manger, I can attest you do what you’re told. There’s no way in hell Declan Sullivan wanted to be up there, but he did what he was told because he loved the program. I’m sure Notre Dame paid the Sullivan’s a hefty amount of money for their negligence, but it’s kind of ironic that less than two years later their negligence has them as the butt of the jokes.

Lizzy Seeberg was a student at Saint Mary’s College, down the road from the University of Notre Dame. She claimed to be sexually assaulted by one of the Notre Dame football players (I recently learned who this player was and let’s put it this way, he was a contributor on the team that just played a National Championship) and after the university dismissed her claim, she committed suicide. I’m all about protecting one of your own and my dad always taught me “Never speak outside the family,” a quote from the Godfather, but when it comes to sexual violations, there should be absolutely no tolerance. Contrasting stories were written, so we’ll never know the truth behind the whole situation. But, more should’ve been done and you’re lying to yourself if you don’t think more could’ve been done. I mean Joe Fauria was “asked to leave” after committing a university standards violation. Wanna know what that violations was? It is rumored that as he was going to class he slapped the rector’s ass as to signal good game and the priest filed a sexual harassment suit…damn Notre Dame acted pretty promptly in that situation to demonstrate they had no tolerance for sexual assault.

Two students lost their lives do to the negligence of a university that eventually went on to believe a catfish scheme. My hope is that the public becomes as educated on the cases of Declan Sullivan and Lizzy Seeberg as they are about Lennay Kekua. Speaking of whom…..

Lennay Kekua: The Woman, The Myth, The Legend

I read the Deadspin article minutes after the whole thing broke, and the entire time I was reading the article I just kept thinking, “what you talkin about, Willis?” The two possible answers to this phenomenon are either Te’o is a sick individual or is just extremely gullible. I’m sure you’ve read all the articles pertaining to the situation (what else could you have been doing during Syllabus week?!) so I’m not going bore you facts, instead I am going to bore you with what I think is wrong with this story.

Manti Te'o's girlfriend posing for
a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.

• Every story has this starting in 2009 after the Stanford game, when Te’o was a freshman. If you had a creepy weird obsession with Notre Dame during this time you would know this was, 1) a sad day for Notre Dame (it signaled the end of the Weis era), and 2) a sad day for Notre Dame because they were absolutely torched by Toby Gerhart, who made the Notre Dame linebacking core look like it consisted of Mike Kiely, Hoov Nation, and myself. In case, you don’t understand how bad that is, Gerhart rushed for over 200 yards and 3 scores. Somehow after this great showing by the Notre Dame defense, the predators decided, “Hey! Lets prey on Manti Te’o. He’ll definitely become famous!” Swarbrick has said that the predators’ end game was to get the story on ESPN and NBC, but why choose Te’o? Yes, I know Te’o was a top tier recruit, in fact a 5 star and the best defensive player coming out. But not so fast my friend (as my favorite Jack Daniels-drinking analyst would say. Since we’re talking about Corso I think now is about as great a time to bring up when I visited Notre Dame this year for the Stanford game. While on set during a commercial break, Corso pulled out a flask and threw down a big gulp of what appeared Jack Daniels…needless to say Corso is the man and when he retires College Gameday will not be the same. Okay back to the fishy story…)! Notre Dame has brought in many top tier players before and they haven’t made it (too many for me to be okay with) , so what made them think this guy was going to be any different. Simply put, something doesn’t make sense here. Either these guys should be psychics for knowing Te’o was going to blossom into this Heisman candidate and resurrect the Notre Dame football program or Swarbrick is lying when he says that their end goal was to have this story break on ESPN or NBC.

Manti Te'o's girlfriend posing for
a picture in front of the Colosseum.

• Te’o’s delay to answer questions. I know, it’s probably extremely embarrassing to get catfished, knowing that you could have had sexual intercourse with any girl in the Midwest, but still it was a necessity to come out right away to address the issue. Why wait an extra day? I don’t know… maybe to get coached about how to answer the questions? Shouldn’t you have been prepared for this since you knew it was all a hoax on December 6^th? And you apparently were going to make the statement Thursday about it anyway, or, wait… was that just Notre Dame trying to cover their asses (once again) since they knew about the whole situation since the 26^th and failed to notify anyone? I’d completely agree with you if you said this wasn’t Notre Dame’s business, but they made it their business by launching their own investigation.

Manti Te'o's girlfriend posing for
a picture in front of Big Ben.

• Why were there no cameras? Do you have something to hide? After having watched way too much Criminal Minds for anyone’s own good and a decent amount of Lie to Me, as well (Whatever happened to that show? It would’ve been pure gold if it had been on USA), I understand that you can read people’s body language, but why did Te’o not want people reading his body language? Is he trying to hide something? If Te’o came out right away and did an interview with cameras, I’d be much more likely to believe him and have full confidence in him. I realize that my lowly opinion literally means nothing, but I’m sure if I feel this way, so do some NFL organizations. I’ve seen some mock drafts, having him in the late first round or early second, which is a damn shame for the kid because he would’ve been a sure fire top 10. I don’t feel bad for whatever team is getting him, because they are getting a kid that can play football.

I delayed this article for the sole purpose of hearing what Te’o had to say, but all that left me with was more questions. I do believe the poor kid was duped, but I also believe that all the truth has not surfaced.

Mark McGwire, Jim Crawford, and Ray Lewis

Matt Hoover

There’s nothing that I really want to write about right now, but there are a few things that I kind of want to write about right now. Additionally, I just figured out how to use the subheading feature. So here’s what I’ll do… I’m going to address three completely unrelated topics in one post. Let us begin.

Mark McGwire

Between the Lance Armstrong/Oprah thing (I loathe Oprah, by the way) and the recent Baseball Hall of Fame elections (or lack thereof), PEDs have been a big topic of discussion lately. I don’t really know where I stand on the issue of ‘roiders and the Hall of Fame, and my thoughts on steroids and baseball warrant their own, full-length post. I don’t want to get into the whole issue today. It’s obvious that Barry Bonds and Rodger Clemens have Hall of Fame credentials and that their affiliations with steroids are what is keeping them from being elected. Sammy Sosa also has a case (though a far less definitive one) to be made based on his numbers that steroids will continue to overshadow. Unlike the other names I have mentioned, however, Mark McGwire is not a worthy Hall of Fame candidate based on his numbers.

Eh.

McGwire was one of the premier power hitters of the 1990s. He hit a ton of home runs. That’s it. He couldn’t do anything else. His career average is an unimpressive .263 (to put this in perspective, Ryan Howard’s career average is currently .271). He has 1626 career hits (to put this in perspective, Aubrey Huff currently has 1699 career hits). He never won an MVP (to put this in perspective, I have also never won an MVP); he only finished in the top three in voting one time. He wasn’t a fast or a particularly smart baserunner. He wasn’t bad defensively, but he played primarily first base, a position that isn’t exactly known to produce brilliant defensive players. His best WAR accumulation in one season was a measly 5.5 (Mike Trout accumulated a 10.7 WAR rating in 2012). It is often said that baseball is a five-tool sport. McGwire was undoubtedly a one-tool player.

And while his mastery of his one tool may seem outstandingly good, he was putting up gaudy power numbers in an era where gaudy power numbers were the norm. I weigh trends in baseball by looking at a player’s numbers in the context of his peers’ numbers. McGwire’s power numbers seem impressive out of context, but when three or four other players are butting up similar (sometimes superior) numbers in the 90s, his totals are less outstanding. Mark McGwire was a top 5 (probably even top 3) power hitter in the 1990s. That is his lone credential for Hall of Fame consideration. Is it enough? In my eyes, the answer is a resounding no.

Jim Crawford

Jim "Skyman" Crawford led La Salle
in points, rebounds, and assists his
senior year. He was eventually
enshrined in the Big 5 Hall of Fame

I’m not sure what I can say about Mr. Crawford that hasn’t already been said. On Tuesday, he coached Camden Catholic boys’ basketball to an impressive upset win over previously unbeaten Lenape (ranked 3^rd in South Jersey). Skyman earned his 700^th career coaching victory, all of them at Camden Catholic, in the process. He’s only the third coach in South Jersey basketball history to achieve this feat, and while Crawford may never surpass St. Augustine’s Paul Rodeo or Camden’s Clarence Turner on the career victories list, his legacy is rock solid.

Skyman won his third state title my junior year at Camden Catholic, and his team that year is probably my second all-time favorite team ever behind the 2007 (yes, 2007) Phillies. Combining a half-court offense that ran like clockwork with the most beautiful manifestation of the 2-3 matchup zone I have ever seen on any level. I loved that team. Probably not as much as by coblogger did, but I still loved them. Mr. Crawford has made Camden Catholic basketball a force to be reckoned with. His success as a coach coupled with his outstanding college career at La Salle cements his legacy as a truly great basketball mind and basketball person. If you ever read this, Mr. Crawford, congratulations on an illustrious career and fuck you for giving me a demerit for being late to lunch sophomore year. It’s lunch.

Ray Lewis

No need to beat around the bush with this one, folks; Ray Lewis is a murderer. Funny what winning a few football games and doing some fucktard dances will make people forget, huh? I can’t stand the Ravens at all right now, and Ray Lewis is the sole reason why. So way to go, Ray. I’d be a fan of your team if it weren’t for you. I won’t miss Ray at all next year, but he’s on my mind for the moment. While he’s here, let’s mention some of our other favorite sports people who have committed serious felonies!!!

The only Ray that's worse than
Ray Lewis is this guy. Shout out
to Big Red if he reads this.

Lenny Dykstra – Bankruptcy Fraud, Grand Theft Auto, Possession of Cocaine, etc.

The sheer number of things Dykstra has gotten in trouble for is awesome. He once wrote a hooker a bad $1000 check. You name it, and he’s done it. He’s still an awesome dude though, as most 1993 Phillies are.

Brian Kelly – Murder

R.I.P Declan Sullivan. That is all.

Ugueth Urbina – Attempted Murder

Urbina attacked two farmhands with a machete and then attempted to pour gasoline on them and light them on fire. Try to tell me that’s not awesome.

Matt’s Top 10 of 2012

Matt Hoover

We may be doing this a little later than most “best of 2012” stuff came out, but we’ve been busy. So everybody relax; we are still doing the blog. Now without further adieu, I present my year-end power rankings: 2012 edition:

10. The Jets’ QB Corps

They were horrible. There is no question that they were absolutely God-awful at football. If there is a quarterback who played for the Jets this year that isn’t currently on suicide watch, then he did not take his job seriously enough. But while they gave new meaning to the phrase “blowing ass,” no other group in sports was more productive on Twitter. It seemed like every night there was a new Jets Quarterback joke that made me chuckle. The chuckle factor allows Sanchez, Tebow, and co. to just barely squeak into the top 10.

9. Anthony Davis

While there were few moments that made my blood boil more than Kentucky’s coronation as NCAA Tournament champions in April, so much good came out of The Brow’s tenure at Kentucky. Firstly, I got to watch one of the greatest defenders in the history of college basketball do his thing. Secondly, he set the bar so high for future Kentucky freshman that virtually every single one of them from now until the end of time will enter the season overrated. Thirdly, he and Michael Kidd-Gilchrest somehow tricked a large number of people into thinking that Calipari can coach defense. The current Kentucky team is living proof that he can’t. Thank you, Anthony Davis, for setting Kentucky up for disappointment in the future.

8. Ernie Els

For me, Ernie Els’s win at the 2012 Open edges out R.A. Dickey’s season as the best old guy performance of 2012. The Big Easy not only mounted an impressive comeback on Sunday but also helped to block Tiger Woods from winning a major tournament. I hate Tiger Woods, by the way. I don’t know if I ever wrote that on the blog before, but let it be known that I hate Tiger Woods. If you like Tiger Woods, you hate golf. Ernie is, in many ways, the anti-Tiger.

7. The Replacement Refs

Just because I love when everyone gets angry and no one was better at making people angry in 2012 than these guys.

6. Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman is on here partially for the same reason as the replacement refs. He also gave me yet another excuse to not start following hockey and has essentially reprieved me of having to write about the NHL on here for awhile.

5. Carlos Ruiz

Pretty much the lone bright spot on the spectacularly mediocre Phillies team of 2012, Chooch provided many of us Phillies fans with a reason to tune into games occasionally this year after we had lost all hope. He saved his best performance for last, though, as he racked up a 25 game suspension for testing positive for an amphetamine. This incident breathed new life into my longtime (and seemingly more absurd by the year) belief that there is still no way Carlos Ruiz should be starting over Chris Coste.

4. Rick Pitino

The only old Italian scumbag basketball coach that belongs on any “best of 2012” list is Rick Pitino. Following an extremely entertaining run in to the Final Four in March, Pitino returned virtually everybody for his current campaign, which has already proved to be an entertaining one. Pitino’s March run proved that he is still one of the best coaches in college basketball. He finds ways to win, and no one is better at adjusting to other teams mid-game. Don’t be surprised to find Rick the Brick on my year-end 2013 list as well.

3. Missy Franklin

Is she as flat-out attractive as Alex Morgan? No. Is she as nimble as a gymnast? Probably not. But it wasn’t Morgan or a gymnast that was my obligatory US Summer Olympic Team crush this time around. Missy Franklin captured my heart by being very good at what she does, having both a pleasant smile and pleasant demeanor, and being over six feet tall. As a short person (coming in at 5’5”), one of my life goals is to have relations with a woman who is 6 feet tall. Missy Franklin (6’1”) meets that criteria and is an all around pleasant young woman. Missy, if you ever read this, hit me up. I won’t have other plans.

2. The Eagles’ Offensive Line

Like the Jets’ quarterbacks, they were woefully, woefully bad, but they essentially ended Michael Vick’s career in Philadelphia, which makes me one step closer to being able to root for the Eagles again. Michael Vick is in the same category as John Calipari and Tiger Woods in my book for those of you who do not know me. I’m happy that he won’t be back in my city (yes, my city) nest year. Now, the only thing preventing me from rejoining the Eagles’s fanbase is the self-respect that comes with not wanting to be a part of the most moronic and annoying fanbase in all of professional sports (with the possible, possible, exception of the Boston Red Sox’s fanbase). My hatred for Eagles (and Red Sox) fans is a different story for a different time, though. For now, thank you, Eagles’ o-line, for being terrible.

1. Buck Showalter

Anyone who follows me on Twitter should have seen this one coming a mile ago. 2012 was the year of Buck. No one came even close to capturing my heart and imagination as much as Buck and his 2012 Orioles did this past year. Magical enough to come out of nowhere and make the playoffs for the first time in forever, yet human enough to fall short at the end, the Orioles embodied the essence of all that is good in baseball. America’s pastime never disappoints, and in 2012, Buck Showalter was the face of the game for me and for so many others. So buck what you heard.