Ever Wonder How The Yellow Line During Football Games Is Produced?

Well, wonder no more my friends because the folks at FanDome kindly posted a video from the fine folks at NBC who produce the Notre Dame Football Games. Check out the video below. Who ever said sports couldn't be educational?

Mele Kalikimaka

Well, I stand seriously corrected. I thought that Notre Dame would continue their streak of bowl futility last night against the essentially home-standing Hawaii Warriors in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Notre Dame (7-6) exploded for a resounding 49-21 victory that really wasn't as close as the score indicates. Yeah, it was that bad.

Apparently the Warrior squad I saw nearly beat Cincinnati in their regular season finale is actually the worst team in a bowl game...ever.

At least last year when Hawaii (7-7) got pummeled in the Sugar Bowl it was by a Georgia squad that was clearly superior. This time around, they made a Notre Dame team that backed into a bowl game losing 4 of their last 5 games look like the Tennessee Titans.

The Fighting Irish deserve a great deal of credit too of course. Hawaii may have played their worst game of the season, but it came on a night when the Irish played their best.

Jimmy Clausen, who had an average season, played brilliantly, completing 22 of 26 passes for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns (both Irish bowl records).

Clausen exhibited his tremendous arm strength on deep balls floated perfectly into his receivers' arms. He zipped rockets across the middle, and most importantly didn't turn the ball over, something that has been a big problem for him this season.

Golden Tate put the finishing touches on a great personal season, catching 6 passes for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Irish receivers.

Perhaps the only negative for Notre Dame was that they only managed 65 yards rushing, but when you can pass like that who needs to run the ball?

Overall, the Irish can be quite proud of the effort turned in during the season finale and for the first time since 1994, they will head into the off-season brimming with confidence and excited about the prospects that lay ahead.



Also, on behalf of Stars & Slights, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Leaving Bowl Streak On The Mainland?

In case you hadn't heard - and ESPN has made sure everyone and their mom's are informed - Notre Dame has lost its last 9 consecutive bowl appearances. 

Tonight, at 8 EST on ESPN the Fighting Irish take on the Hawaii Warriors in the Sheraton Hotels Hawaii Bowl and hope to end their skid.

Much has been said up to this point whether or not the Irish should be playing in this bowl but the day has come and its time to see what the men in blue and gold are made of.

Go Irish. Beat Warriors! (and please, please end the bowl streak).

ND’s Bowl Trip No Strike, But Spare Will Suffice

If you are a member of Notre Dame Nation (alums and subway alums alike) you probably have a distinct opinion on Notre Dame’s acceptance to play in a bowl game with a 6-6 overall record.

Moreover, aside from the mere acceptance of the bowl bid it is probably safe to say you have an even more distinct opinion on the actual bowl game itself.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, Notre Dame accepted a bid this past Sunday to play in the Sheraton Hotels Hawaii bowl on Christmas Eve at 8pm EST. This marks the third bowl game that Charlie Weis has lead the Irish to after Tyrone Willingham led the Irish to two such games prior to Weis’ tenure (though he only coached one of them as Kent Baer served as interim Head Coach in the 2004 Insight Bowl).

Bowl games are generally exciting attractions for universities as they provide additional practice time/experience for the upcoming season and instant cash flow for the sake of merely showing up to play.

Moreover, they provide adoring fans yet another opportunity to see their teams play whether it be live and in person or on TV.

So, I beg the question, what is all the fuss about? If you read any fan forum or message board you would think the sky is falling and the program had lost all of its games this year.

Aside from even accepting the bid, people are complaining about ND choosing to play on Christmas Eve (what some ignorant people are calling the holiest day of the year even though Easter Sunday actually holds that title). They claim that more viable options existed, such as the Texas bowl on December 30, 2008.  They say ND should only accept more lucrative bids, such as BCS Bowls, Cotton Bowls, or Gator Bowls.

Perhaps the most shocking thing to me is that people are complaining about IMPROVEMENT. Sure, ND blew a number of games late in the year and lost to a hapless Syracuse team. But facts are facts: ND was 3-9 in 2007 without a bowl bid and are now 6-6 with a bowl game in the near future.

Consider where the program was last year and ask yourself this question: Can I honestly say that I expected ND to be in the national title game this year?

If you truthfully answered “yes” then I suggest you submit yourself to a psychiatric evaluation.

It simply is not logical (nor probable) to believe that ND would have transformed from 3-9 to 12-0, 11-1, or even 10-2. Heck, even 9-3 would have been a stretch, although it might have happened had the Irish closed out games against UNC, Pitt, and Syracuse.

ND has played with at least 12 underclassmen starters this season. At least 26 underclassmen have received playing time this season. (For an more in depth look at ND's youth, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of "The Youth Manifesto" by the fine gents over at Her Loyal Sons).

This young and talented team simply has not learned how to finish games yet. Say all you want about coaches motivating players, but the onus also falls on the players to execute and want to close out games in strong fashion rather than let their opponents creep back in.

Save for Ohio State’s heralded 1968 sophomore-led National Champions (10-0) there has not been as young as a team as the Irish that produced such amazing results (and OSU was 6-3 the year before).

I just finished reading a great book by Dr. Kenneth Blanchard  and Dr. Spencer Johnson called “The One Minute Manager” that is incredibly reflective of my outlook on this situation.

One of the sections in the book uses an analogy about teaching whales to jump over high ropes at aquatic shows. Trainers don’t go out to the ocean, hold a rope high over the water and wait for a whales to jump over it for show selection.

Whales aren’t born trained to jump over ropes held out of the water, let alone to swim over ones in the ocean. They must be trained to do so. Any expectation otherwise is wishful delusional thinking.

The same line of thinking can be applied to the state of Notre Dame football. The 2008 team has not yet been fully trained to jump over the proverbial rope, yet so many people illogically expect it and demand it.

I admire the passion, devotion and faith to one’s loyalties. I too want to see ND win national titles every year, let alone be in title contention. But I know that with the parity in sports today that that kind of thinking is improbable.

I love Notre Dame unconditionally, but that does not mean I simply sit back and blindly follow administration moves, faculty hiring/firing practices, development plans, or gameday operations.

However, that unconditional love does mean I can see the larger picture that ND is more than just football. If you think otherwise then you are sadly mistaken.

Notre Dame graduates – undergrad and graduate students alike – have gone on to become some of the world’s finest doctors, lawyers, mathematicians, businessmen and businesswomen, teachers, and priests.

Yet they haven't done so because of the success of the football team. They have done so because of their hard work, commitment, and determination to best the best. They embody what it means to "Play Like A Champion Today."

Family. Strength. Courage. Discipline. Sacrifice. Respect. Humility. Faith. Ethics. Service. Love. 

Those are all values that were either learned or reinforced during my time at Notre Dame. Our Lady's University provided the foundation for individuals who are fighting to make a positive impact on the lives of many.

I am proud to be a graduate of the University of Notre Dame because of the values it represents and holds itself accountable to, not because of its football team. 

National championships and Heisman trophies are great achievements by the University, but they should not be overlooked by the greater good facilitated by its graduates, faculty, and representatives.

As Lou Holtz once said, “People don’t come to Notre Dame to learn how to do something. They come to Notre Dame to learn how to be somebody.”

If you don’t believe so you are nobody.