Last night Univ. of Cincinnati receiver Mardy Gilyard accused his former coach Brian Kelly of not being completely truthful with the team in the past about how much interest the coach had in the Notre Dame job.

(Video)

You may have seen clips or read additional excerpts of Gilyard’s incendiary comments from outside the UC football banquet hall last night. Last night Gilyard also went on Fox Sports Radio where he eviscerated his former coach, eventually hanging up on the interview. Read more…

Ryan Ernst of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER reports on what UC quarterback Tony Pike said about the prospect of coach Brian Kelly accepting the Notre Dame coaching job before the Bearcats banquet on Thursday:

“He told us from the get-go that we’d be the first people to know whatever he decides,” senior quarterback Tony Pike said Thursday evening before the team banquet. “We’re going to keep him at his word. We’ve trusted him this far and we’re going to believe what he says.”

Oops!

Turns out the UC players were the absolute last to know, relegated to learning the news via ESPN television reports while their former coach slinked around banquet’s host hotel hallways flanked by security guards. Read more…

Thanks in part to David Haugh of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, Neil Hayes of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE and Tim Keown of ESPN.com, Brian Kelly’s personal stance on abortion is suddenly a topic of conversation in the main media as it pertains to his candidacy for the football coaching job at Notre Dame. 

Haugh today:

The toughest ones have nothing to do with his well-documented background working for Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart 25 years ago or Kelly’s alleged pro-choice beliefs.

Hayes last Saturday:

Then there’s the latest controversy that’s lighting up the message boards of what might be the most plugged-in fan base in the nation: Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is said to be pro-choice.

And Keown of ESPN.com today:

Should Kelly’s apparent pro-choice stance remove him from consideration?

“Alleged.” “Said to be.” “Apparent.”

At this moment, those are the only three main media sources reporting about Kelly’s view on abortion. Did anyone actually consider picking up the phone and asking the coach? Or using their handy media credential to query him in person?

Apparently not.

I searched online media archives all day today trying to find one reputable media reference to Kelly’s stance on abortion. I found none. That isn’t to say that the coach isn’t pro-choice, but if his view on such a polarizing subject in our society isn’t immediately clear, why is anyone in the main media speculating on the impact it would have on the Notre Dame football coaching job? Read more…

Losing to Stanford to finish the season 6-6 and certainly sealing your head coach’s fate must feel like a punch to the eye.

Oh - sorry, Jimmy.

UPDATE: New, more specific details have emerged regarding Jimmy Clausen getting punched outside a South Bend bar.

Everyone’s been taking shots these days at Notre Dame these days, including aiming their ire at star QB Jimmy Clausen. Unfortunately, some people are taking their pot-shotting too literally.

ESPN’s Joe Schad reports that Clausen was at a South Bend restaurant early Sunday morning, when an irate fan “sucker-punched” him and left him with a swollen eye.

Read more…

Let’s operate with a premise that may or may not come true, but for the sake of an argument and speculation we’ll say is true: Notre Dame will fire Charlie Weis relatively soon. That much isn’t exactly a stretch, though it’s anybody’s guess how long it’ll be before Weis’ buyout becomes “worth it” to Notre Dame. Economy and all.

(You know it’s bad when Weis’ Invisibility Cloak isn’t even working for him anymore.)

Once that hypothetical situation hypothetically bears itself out (strictly hypothetically, we might add), obviously, the search for a replacement is on and it had better be fruitful. While Notre Dame fans are busy explaining to themselves why they’re too good for Urban Meyer (no, really), Bob Stoops may be busy explaining to himself why he’s just right for the Golden Domers.

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You can say the buzzards are really circling Charlie Weis now, as Notre Dame suffers yet another defeat, a 27-22 loss to Pittsburgh that leaves the Irish at 6-4. So it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion amongst many media circles that Charlie will be saying sayonara to South Bend at season’s end.

However, letting Weis go is not just a matter of a simple “Sorry, Charlie,” as he’s pushed out the door. Such a move would actually be very costly for Notre Dame.

Read more…

As you’ve probably heard, Comcast is in heavy negotiations to acquire NBC for roughly eleventy kerjillion dollars, give or take a kerjillion or threeve. What effect that would have on NBC’s sports programming seemed to be of minimal concern… until you realize that Comcast also owns the Versus Network, and boy would they like to have some good content on that channel, seeing as how DirecTV reportedly called it “a glorified infomercial”. You probably already know where this one’s going.

(An Irish fan’s dream come true!)

According to the SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, if NBC gets swallowed up by the cable giant, Notre Dame’s probably one of the first big sports programs headed to Versus. And the school and its fans can complain until they’re hoarse, but Notre Dame’s the first to blame; after all, a move to cable is already in their contract.

Read more…

We finally have some on-the-record reaction from Jimmy Clausen and Rich Gunnell after their confrontation following ND’s 20-16 win over BC last Saturday.

(Clausen a “phony”? Mr. Gunnell, get in line)

Clausen said this week that he did his best to avoid what happened: “I was just going up to him to say he’s a heck of a receiver. He was making plays left and right and he’s a real good talent.”

Gunnell wasn’t nearly as complimentary. Actually, swap out “nearly as” with “at all”. Read more…

Scene: Notre Dame Stadium. Two Irish fans ask if they can get onto the field before Notre Dame’s battle with USC - one that would prove to be a heroic seven-point loss. The usher obliges, because sometimes this is a civil society after all. The two take their picture, but there appears to be a third party, uninvited but more than willing to add his own mark to the photo.

The result?

(Via NBCLOSANGELES.COM)

Two scoops of middle-finger, courtesy of USC tight end Blake Ayles, coming right up!

We don’t much care for those who think the middle finger is a big deal anymore - it’s commonplace among, like, second-graders - but we understand that there are those who abhor it, thus the Tiny Teddy Bears Of Good Taste And Restraint. To view the photo sans Teddy Bears, please drive through.
Read more…