Just so it is clear, Cathy Mazurkiewicz died of melanoma, not brain cancer. That was her son. She also has five other children, not just Rockne.
Lowry | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 10:45 am | #

Thanks for the correction Lowry. Hopefully people have learned that following the links to the stories is better than just taking my word for it.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 11:16 am | #

Zibby will sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" not the National Anthem, I hope.
Jack Bauer | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 1:18 pm | #

I would love to hear Harry Carry pronounce Samardzija.

I think is would be "Sammy-ard-Zi-dia. Steve, I think that's Aja-zi Drams spelled backward. Another Falstaff....I mean Old Style my friends."
Yago | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 1:56 pm | #

Tommy Z is singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game", probably not very well as his dad mentioned, "Tommy can't sing. At all." But nobody is going to boo Knockout Jesus anyway.

Lord can you imagine Harry trying to introduce Zibby or Shark between swigs of Old Style and Buds? Instant comedy.
IrishHoffy | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 2:11 pm | #

Aww man, you can't put that stuff in print on a pro- ND site. The Pope would shut you down . . . but the thought of it made me nearly fall out of my chair . . .
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 2:27 pm | #

Whoops, evidently this comment form didn't accept the

"Insert Ari Gold Quote Here" line I put at the beginning of my last message . . . .
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 2:28 pm | #

Clearly I didn't proofread any of this before clicking "Post".
Pat | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 2:35 pm | #

Commissioner Selig needs to take an Intro to Economics when considering the Sharks signing bonus.

1. The Shark was not a true 5th rounder, in that if it were not for his desire to return to ND for his final football season, the Shark would have been drafted in rounds 1 or 2, or so says the internet speculation.

2. When buying a player, the cost will go up if there is another league, also attempting to buy him. See Laws of Supply & Demand in Intro to Econ class.

What a numnut that guy must be.

Besides, if the Cubs are just going to ruin the kids arm, you might as well make them pay more upfront . ..
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 2:59 pm | #

Bud Selig : MLB :: Myles Brand : NCAA
Mike | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 3:05 pm | #

Completely unrelated.

Word from an inside source is that David Wolke has left the team.
ND08 | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 3:08 pm | #

I'm not terribly suprised by that. The kid will never even get an opportunity to play. Next year there will most likely be at least 3 guys ahead of him on the depth chart, and that doesn't include Brady Quinn.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 3:29 pm | #

Speaking of QBs, when was the last time we had a legit backup? Think about this depth chart....
BQ
-
Jones
Fraser
Sharpley
-
Clausen next year
IrishHoffy | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 4:03 pm | #

Re: The Samardzija contract...

The $7.25 million is heavily, heavily backloaded, so it still gives the Shark the option to go all football after the '07 NFL draft.

Scouting reports have said he has middling stuff, but good athleticism, etc.. and his stats certainly don't scream out "future ace."

A barely 2-to-1 K/BB ratio and a markedly worse season this year as a junior in a non-baseball power league suggest he'd be better off going the gridiron route provided he has a strong '06 season.
Sean McNally | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 5:41 pm | #

Why would Wolke leave? The kid hit the lottery and won a free education to ND. All he had to do was run the scout team for the next two years. He was a two star Qb out of HS that would have never been recuited by CW. I see CW only recruiting 4 or 5 star QBs in the future. If he does leave, I hope he finds success because he is turning down a great acadenic opportunity.
Rob | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 6:17 pm | #

Rob, you can leave the team without leaving ND. It has been done... once, maybe twice.
Lowry | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 8:32 pm | #

There are many players who leave the team and don't leave the school...in fact, two in the upcoming Junior class (Tregg Duerson and John Kadous, both of whom are great guys, but ND football isnt for everyone)

Also, I'm not sure if Wolke is leaving the school or not. But I would guess yes. Its very hard for an extremely competitive athlete go from the star of his school to sitting the bench. It probably just got to him.
ND08 | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 10:29 pm | #

"leaving the Notre Dame football team" =/= (does not equal) leaving the school, leaving life's greatest opportunity, throwing away the chance of a lifetime, the kid being a loser or out of his mind or concerned that he's not going to get playing time so he's going to leave and cry about it.

Until some details come out, we should all back off. I remember last year when Leitko left, and the message boards crackled with "he's a loser" and "he couldn't hack it" before the story about his family's issues and so forth came out. Maybe Wolke is just looking to go somewhere else to get a chance to play--maybe not. If he is--is that so wrong? Let's not treat it like he's defecting to North Korea.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 11:12 pm | #

Who pays for him if he leaves the team but stays in school?
Tintin84 | Email | Homepage | 06.20.06 - 11:35 pm | #

probably family or financial aid/scholarships
tedwick | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 12:03 am | #

If he leaves the team he loses the scholarship. So itll be financial aids/loans/family/whatever like everyone else.

Nate-

I don't think anyone has called David a loser. He is one of my personal friends and his reasons for leaving are simply his own reasons and are valid. Even if they are for the reason of playing time, thats ok too.
chris | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 12:23 am | #

Is Tregg Duerson still at ND? I was under the impression that he had transferred(to Cornell?!)
wyatt | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 12:42 am | #

Tregg Duerson transferred to Hampton then came back for second semester at ND.
chris | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 1:11 am | #

so to clarify, he was at ND for frosh year, transferred to Hampton (not Cornell, although he almost did) then came back after one semester.
chris | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 1:59 am | #

Chris--

I realize no one has gone that far yet, but some started to sound that way. I agree completely--his reasons are his reasons, and anything short of disciplinary reasons shouldn't become fodder for critics. If he wants to play, then we shouldn't jump on him for transferring to somewhere that he will play instead of staying at ND where he might think (and most here also think) that he'll get passed by Fraser, Jones, or Claussen. Whatever his reasons, good luck to him in the future.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 4:42 am | #

Apart from the profoundly sad news of the passing of Cathy Mazurkiewicz, the most interesting and significant item in this post is link to the Klansman letter. Not only is this a relic from a proud moment in the history of the school -- brawling in the streets for days to beat back the KKK -- but it's just awesome to look back on this 80-year-old boast of coming Klan ascendency and be able to say -- HEY, KLANSMAN, SHUT UP!!!
Fitzwater | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 8:34 am | #

Favorite quote from the Klansman letter:

"...the bunch of Mackerel Snapping Anarchists from Notre Dame..."


Other than that, the general spelling and punctuation errors in the letter are just hilarious.
Domer '99 | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 9:14 am | #

"Other than that, the general spelling and punctuation errors in the letter are just hilarious."

You just triggered fond memories of Zippy and all the other fine tOSU Men of Letters who have visited this site the past 6 months.
scott | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 9:27 am | #

scott, shut the f up.
Zibby | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 11:24 am | #

HA! Zippy, not Zibby, but thats funny none the less.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 06.21.06 - 11:34 am | #

No, this is Zbikowski. Not Zippy.
Zibby | Email | Homepage | 06.22.06 - 2:04 pm | #

I know. I am merely noting the similarity.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 06.22.06 - 2:29 pm | #