Hey Bartender... Jobu Needs A Refill!
by John Ryan
The title is neither clever, nor witty. It has nothing to do with any of the content, either. So what gives? I was late, of course. Crazy day at my “day job” yesterday. (Actually I was off and buying every episode ever of The Sopranos, and the First 2 seasons of Big Love. So, I guess every episode of that show, as well. Well, sports did happen this weekend, and a lot of them. So off we go…….
1.) Let’s start with what I consider the biggest news of the weekend/Monday. Notre Dame is reportedly going to fire Charlie Weis at seasons end, and may not even wait that long after their loss to Boston College on Saturday. This story is outragous to me for a few reasons. First, it gives evidence that Notre Dame isn’t racist as some have suggested in the past. (Ahem, lots of respected sports writers, Ahem) They fired Tyrone Willingham quick, and they will do the same with Weis, 10 year contract or not. Second, it proves my other point. Notre Dame is quickly becoming the Oakland Raiders of the NCAA. As Colin Cowherd would say greatly and excitedly, “Who would wanna play there???!!!!” Notre Dame is cold and ugly in the winter, they act like they’re better than everyone, and now everyone from FAU to BYU to SMU to Rowan to Temple can be seen on TV any day of the week. What gifted recruit would want to go deal with all those things when they can go to Florida, USC, LSU, or any other warm weather city where college football is religion and the home stadium is church. And yet……….I’m still a big Notre Dame football fan and always will be. Look, it’s all or nothing with ND. You either love them or hate them. But make no mistake: They are still Notre Dame. They will bounce back. But why fire Weis? Why even fire Willingham? For the record, I liked them both. I thought both were judged way too harshly, and both did great recruiting. But………are they outdated? Put it this way: They look like a slow Big-10 team. Yikes.
2.) Did anyone even notice the Scott Olsen/Josh Willingham swap for the guy traded for Jon Rauch and two minor leaguers? It was in my “transactions” column in my paper today. Enough said. Washington got a great deal here. Olsen (who I despise) is a talent and a lefty, and Willingham can hit. On a good team he’s a fourth OF/super utility guy. I’d love to have him for the weak package Washington gave Florida even though I hate Olsen. Couldn’t they have traded him outside the division?
3.) The 76ers officially stink and who’s going to beat the Lakers? First the 76ers. They have no floor spacing, Brand looks out of place, Miller is suddenly not a “true” PG anymore and shooting way more now, and the lone bright spot (Thad Young) can’t even drink for another 2 years. Not good. They also look horrid on defense. A 2-5 start was what slapped them in the face last night after a loss to the Jazz amidst boos from a half packed house. Again, Yikes. Now the Lakers. Who will beat them? Oh….Oh, thats all. Just asking……..
4.) Now the NFL. I kind of worked in a weird order today, but doing this on Wednesday side-swiped me. First, in my humble estimation the Giants are the best team in the NFL and its close. Very close. But I feel like they are a bit better than the Titans. As for the whole playoff picture, here’s how I see things after 10 weeks: NFC : 1.) Giants 2.) Carolina 3.) Arizona 4.) Minnesota 5.) Tampa Bay 6.) Washington. I’m rooting big time for Atlanta, but I just don’t see it. And Chicago? Hah. I knew you were joking when you asked about a team QB’d by Rex Grossman who’s #1 receiver is an enigmatic TE who went to Miami. (Side note: You know who is getting the silent treatment. After 10 years, I’m finished with the regime and their terrible polarizing attitude towards the fans. I said my peace, I’ll leave it at that.) AFC : 1.) Tennessee 2.) New England 3.) Pittsburgh 4.) Denver 5.) Indianapolis 6.) New York Jets. Baltimore is close, but not there yet. And Buffalo and Miami need another year. Settle down South Beach and Buff. SD??? Norv Turner??? hahahahahhahah. The Jets and Denver have showed me something. Don’t know what yet, but they showed me something. Shaping up to be an exciting year besides the fact that the Titans are as boring as any contender over the past 20 years and I hate the Giants.
5.) Penn State lost and I don’t care. You heard me. Kudos to Texas, USC, Penn State, Oklahoma and Florida. Good luck in your quest, because if it finishes Alabama-Texas Tech I’d be shocked. SHOCKED. Kudos also to FAU. Big win, baby! Big win! (I feel like Lou Brown from major League 2 in the hospital bed screaming after Pedro Cerano smashes that improbable HR in the World Series game).
6.) Phillies are still World F@cking Champions! (That never gets old!)
7.) Entourage was greaaaat on Sunday. SPOILER ALERT: Who didn’t predict this? I knew this would happen to Vince. My question is: why? When will he ever make a movie again? I get why they’re doing it, but it’s frustrating. I liken it to the Phillies finally winning and me not caring as much anymore……but I still will, I swear. They have a myriad of options in terms of keeping the “drama” (no pun intended) around Vince. He could get an STD, date Brit/Paris/Lindsay, get a girl pregnant, get married, any of the crap that consumes millions of Americans and makes certain rag magazines rich as hell. Why not go with any of that? This waiting game is getting very old and tiring. There is a point where if you wait too long for the big pay off it may get old and stale. Are we past 28 episodes from Aquaman hey day yet? I say yes, and I say I’m ready for Vince to be a star and move on from this already!!!!
Philadelphia Sports Blog 
Update from JR: As of now, it looks as if ND will NOT fire Weis because his buyout would be too prohibitive. Good move. Prudence never hurt anyone, it just made a few balls blue.
Should have gone with the Wi Fit…you can watch Sopranos and Big Love on Demand
Few things….
1.Californication BLOWS Entourage out of the water…Best show on TV right now.
2. Sixers were 18-30 last season and will be fine.
3. College Football stuff…Bill Stewert killed WVU, they lost AT HOME to Cincy. Cincy is a good team, but your a proven team, they are on the rise, when you lose to a team like that at home, that tells me you are on the way down.
4. Notre Dame will never be Notre Dame again, the days of them telling kids they have a NBC contract are over. And playing the academy’s isnt going to help generate recruits to visit cold south bend.