Outstanding.

Good stuff.

So the more things change, the more they stay the same, right?
atepesm | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 2:44 pm | #

I don't think I've ever read anything by Wojciechowski regarding ND that didn't fit some sort of typical anti-ND template.

Impressive find with that article from 59.
KWH | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 2:51 pm | #

hmmm. interesting. nice work.
hating, or perhaps being biased against, the irish and opining that the university has sold its soul is i guess one of those eternal conditions for non-fans. like for e.g. "back when i was a kid, we used to...."
on the bright side, folks wouldn't feel that way if n.d. didn't excel (save for the odd stinker year or two) and didn't have such an enormous natural advantage in terms of stature, appeal, name recognition, etc. said differently, the day gene wojchiewski stops writing about n.d. will be a bad day.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 2:55 pm | #

exactly my thoughts...
if wojchiewski thinks that ND would put one man in charge of some of the most scrutinized decision making at ND, much less among NCAA D-1 football programs, he obviously doesn't understand
there is a reason that the athletic program is under the umbrella that is the University of Notre Dame and not a stand alone money-making entity (see: Ohio State).
anonymous | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 3:15 pm | #

The Rick Telander article from the National Championship game is a flat out piece of crap. This was written in the middle of Miami's out of control on-field antics, yet who does Rick go after?

Here's what Telander wrote: "Maybe not, but Notre Dame was hit with 11 penalties, including a shocking eight personal fouls, to West Virginia 's three. At the end, with flags raining down on his players like locusts, coach Lou Holtz himself ran onto the field to try to calm down the members of his defensive unit. Holtz seemed visibly shaken by some of his players' antics, which included taunting, late hits and even the swatting of an official's cap. It was a classless finish to a classy season, and it led Holtz to say after the game, "Our players were completely in the wrong."
The Butobi Brothers | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 3:16 pm | #

I read that wojo article last week and thought about writing the typical cliche rant about the lack of research in professional journalism, but I am glad that I became too sidetracked to follow through because I clearly would have been one up-ed as soon as this got published. Great job again.
Pops | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 3:49 pm | #

I suspect Sports Illustrated is not charging for the archived magazine vault because no one would pay.
Subway Alumni | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 4:12 pm | #

The Rivalry, Esq. just put up a 2008 Notre Dame preview:

http://therivalryesq.blogspot.co...notre- dame.html

See what you think.
Jonathan Franz | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 4:47 pm | #

"The won-and-lost record is no ultimate criterion for a reasonable and thinking man"
-Father Hesburgh clearly lost the entire population of 'professional' sports writers when he said this. Woj and all of the other useless hacks ESPN employs write this kind of garbage in the hope of increasing their readership by enraging ND fans.
adam | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 5:18 pm | #

One change since then is that the AD is now a voting member of the Faculty Board.
DJ | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 5:58 pm | #

The most interesting part of this, at least to me, is that Fr. Hesburgh defended ND's decision publicly by writing a response to the SI article. I would love to see that kind of proactive public defense by the current ND administration.
CJs Burger | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 7:21 pm | #

Really great stuff, Pat.

CJs, I agree with you - what is wrong with a classy rebuttal now and then? However, I've heard others state they prefer our battles be fought in private.
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 9:11 pm | #

For what it is worth, I was at a graduation party over the weekend where relatives of Kevin White attended. I was told that White left ND because Duke made him an offer he could not refuse. If White was actually neutered in 2004, does it make sense that he would hang around for another three plus years? Face it, ESPN (and ABC) hate ND. They have for years and no matter what ND does, some two-bit punk "journalist" at ESPN will trash ND. Does anyone actually think the likes of Brent Musberger, Keith Jackson and Dan Fouts, among others, are not biased against ND when broadcasting games? It has reached the point where I watch the game on TV with the sound off and listen to Don Criqui on the radio.
lush | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 9:28 pm | #

8-4 is leeetle optimistic.
ThE LoSt BoY | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 9:41 pm | #

I quit ESPN (TV and internet) for good after the Dana Jacobsen fiasco. I read the Wojo piece after Pat's post -- the usual "I'm writing in order to look like a know-it-all insider" garbage. I agree w/ Lush -- if it was that bad, he would have been looking immediately and, with his resume, found something very appealing.
Shoetrees | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 10:17 pm | #

This again is indicative of why you are the best ND blog out there. Well done.
Hoosier95 | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 10:37 pm | #

Face it, ESPN (and ABC) hate ND. They have for years and no matter what ND does, some two-bit punk "journalist" at ESPN will trash ND.

ND football, that is. Note that when they discuss ND Basketball, ND Hockey, etc., they do so in a reasonably fair manner. Why? Because those sports are broadcast to some degree or other on ABC/ESPN. As ND Football is so closely associated with a competing network, it must be slammed at every opportunity.

I've always said that the worst thing that ever happened to ESPN was when CNN quit doing sports news, and they lost their serious competition. Now they do whatever damn fool things they want to do (Around the Horn, Steve Phillips's mock press conferences, First Take, etc.), and suffer no consequences,
DJ | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 10:55 pm | #

Thanks for doing the research Pat. Historical perspective is undeniably valuable, and I really appreciate your efforts in helping to provide intelligent context to sport media members' faulty research.
InsideOut Nightclub | Email | Homepage | 06.16.08 - 11:01 pm | #

The great irony?

Wojo gets paid for his crap, whereas your work, which is far more professional, does not.
fnwchs | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 1:08 am | #

Pat,
Excellent, excellent work. As others have said, this type of quality is what puts BGS in a league of its own.
The 1959 Fr. Ted quote that you unearthed is one for the ages. They should bronze-plaque his words and affix them to the stadium, or his Library...somewhere prominent for all the world to see. And it wouldn't be a bad thing for all of Notre Dame's coaches, present and future, to be familiar with it is as well. Looking back at where his words might have been re-applied, I only wish that Hesburgh hadn't gone so easy on Gerry Faust. When considering Fr. Ted's 1959 Letter, he (Faust) surely did not warrant a full five years at the helm. Notre Dame would have been well served to have had the bronze plaque installed soon after SI published them. And they are as applicable and wise today as they were fifty years ago.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 7:03 am | #

Lush....


Musberger must be doing something right...I always thought he rather liked ND.
Fouts on the other hand...was in all his glory doing the 06 Stanford game.

Generally speaking ....reportage of ND football has become analogous to so called news reporting of politics. Straight dope is hard to come by. In that, ND occupies a unique place
Dana Payne | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 7:13 am | #

Musberger must be doing something right...I always thought he rather liked ND.

Musberger is a Big Ten man (Northwestern grad). That trumps everything.
DJ | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 8:32 am | #

To be a thoughtful journalist you have to have thoughtful readers: which is why there is generally no money in thoughtful journalism, but there are thoughtful blogs such as this one. Hopefully, BGS will write a book or get some add revenue . . .
Jack Burton . . . Me | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 10:28 am | #

*ad revenue*
Jack Burton . . . Me | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 10:28 am | #

Mush got his start through Ara.
He loved Ara Parseghian(sp). And I thought that showed through on his tv tv work with ND football.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 10:31 am | #

The thing that struck me most here is really simple: just how damn smart Fr. Ted is. God love him.

We all want to win. Fr. Ted helps us remember what really counts, which is why this school is special in the first place, right?
domerdad1 | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 10:53 am | #

I think ND will be 6-6 this year. The defensive line will be the big problem. I'm not telling anybody anything that isn't already patently obvious.
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 12:08 pm | #

So what happens if we do go 6-6?
Dana Payne | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 4:58 pm | #

If we get to 6-6; then it's six of one and a half-dozen of the other.
Irish_Angst | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 6:08 pm | #

Sorry... couldn't resist.
Irish_Angst | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 6:09 pm | #

Irish_Angst: You darn sure should be sorry. That was horrible. ;)

For my guess on what Dana really was asking: If ND goes 6-6, nothing changes. People will still think Weis deserves to be fired, but he won't be.

Granted, this is assuming the six wins and losses come against teams worthy of those results. If Weis upsets USC en route to a 5-7 finish, e.g. he's probably still safe.
Marc | Email | Homepage | 06.17.08 - 8:53 pm | #