Irish Insights

Mike Brey on The Passing of Red

Notre Dame men's basketball coach Mike Brey is a Washington, D.C. guy. He went to DeMatha High School, which was coached by the legendary Morgan Wooten. One of Wooten's close friends -- the late Red Auerbach. We spoke with Brey about Auerbach on Wednesday, jogging his memory about the legendary coach who almost single-handedly built the NBA.

Plus, Brey is a George Washington graduate and Auerbach loved his Colonials.

Here are Brey's thoughts about the late legend, who died Saturday at age 89.

"He used to do lunch at the China Doll in D.C. in

Chinatown. A couple times I got in there with Morgan Wooten. That was always interesting to be in there with that crew and to listen to the stories and basically let him hold court.

"When I was a senior, the old show, they used to do a show at halftime of the NBA games called ‘Red on Roundball.’ Our team, he came over and used our team in demonstrating ball handling, myself and Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg were actually out there demonstrating some ball handling and dribbling stuff for him.

"Being a D.C. guy, GW guy, you certainly felt kind of connected. I got a chance to know him. When I was a senior, Satch Sanders, who was one of his great forwards, was the coach at Harvard. He talked to me about how he wanted me to go to Harvard. Problem was, I couldn’t get in to Harvard. I would have been a good player there. I just couldn’t get into school. He had watched the summer league and he said ‘You need to go to Harvard and play for Satch. You’d be good.’ That was short-lived when the SATs came in."

"...I hadn’t talked to him in a while. I saw him at one of our

Georgetown games a couple years ago. That was the last time I really saw him. I hadn’t really talked to him in a while, two years, three years."

We'll light a cigar for you, Red. As someone who grew up watching basketball, you'll be missed.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Tuesday Practice Observations 10-31-06

It was a cold, cold day at Cartier Field -- complete with some players wearing long sleeves:

• Despite the chilliness, strength coach Ruben Mendoza was out there in shorts. Brave man.
• The kickers and punters -- not so brave. They wore sweatpants and most wore long sleeves.
• Keith Penrod, though, was out and about. He chatted up Michael Haywood during stretching.
• The coaches seemed adamant about getting a good practice out of the players. Weis kept saying "Time to go to work now, let's go. Time to go to work." Special teams coch Brian Polian did the same sort of the thing. The players, to their end, were the most chipper they have been in a while.
• Reserve linebacker Anthony Vernaglia was not at practice today. But as you can read in The Journal Gazette tomorrow, Vernaglia's injury isn't season ending and doesn't require surgery.
• D.J. Hord and Brandon Erickson went back to biking after stretching.
• During a defensive backs drill, Tom Zbikowski tried to one-hand a pass for an interception. Chinedum Ndukwe then yelled at him "What are you doing?" Ndukwe was lined up to get the ball.

We're back to the beginning on the predictions contest. E-mail your prediction to [email protected]. The winner of the Navy prediction contest will be announced on the blog Wednesday.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Looking At The Latest BCS Standings

The third BCS standings came out Sunday and we apologize for being a little late in our analysis. USC's loss didn't help Notre Dame out too much, and some pundits are saying the loss doomed any small chance Notre Dame has at the national title.

After more analysis into the BCS standings, we agree it didn't help Notre Dame that much, although we think many people are banking on USC losing again. We are still unsure if that will happen.

And as for dooming Notre Dame's chances, there still is a shot -- but the Irish need to root hard for Rutgers.

The BCS Standings: 1. Ohio State .986; 2. Michigan .970; 3. West Virginia .786; 4. Florida .779; 5. Louisville .762; 6. Auburn .758; 7. Texas .756; 8. USC .7152; 9. Notre Dame  .7151; 10. California .7133.

Breaking it down by conference in helping/hurting Notre Dame:

• Big Ten -- While the Irish would benefit from an Ohio State loss before Michigan, it is unlikely either team will lose before Nov. 18. The winner of this game will go to the national title game.
• Big East -- Thursday's matchup between West Virginia and Louisville is huge for the Notre Dame follower. Here's why: If West Virginia wins, it'll likely go into the final game of the season against Rutgers undefeated. If Louisville wins, it could get caught up in the hype of the prior win, which is dangerous because the Cardinals have Rutgers the next week. Best bet for Notre Dame is a Louisville win over West Virginia followed by a Rutgers win over Louisville. It would still be tough for Rutgers to jump too much, which could throw everything out of order. Plus, then Rutgers could lose to West Virginia, essentially eliminating the Big East from the national title conversation. This is all very speculative, though.
• ACC -- No title contenders, but a Georgia Tech appearance in the ACC title game will help the Irish when it comes to the computers and the strength of schedule at the end of the season. The Irish need Tech to win the ACC.
• Big 12 -- We're not sold on Texas. The Longhorns looked unimpressive for much of the game against Texas Tech. It is still possible for Texas to lose a game in the Big 12. Plus, the tail of the Horns schedule is not strong and the Big 12 championship game could be the highly-rated Horns versus an unranked foe.
• Pac 10 -- California might be the best team in the league, but it still has to travel to USC. If USC beats Cal and Oregon at home before Notre Dame, the Trojans could climb their way back to No. 5 or so. It could then be No. 5 in the BCS vs. No. 7. A win plus upsets could move Notre Dame up. This is its only shot.
• SEC -- The Irish still need Arkansas to win. It could help if Auburn loses again, essentially bumping them below Notre Dame. Then, if Arkansas beats Florida in the SEC title game, it would kick the Irish up again.

Bowl Projections:

Sugar: Notre Dame vs. Florida

Rose: Michigan vs. California

Orange: Georgia Tech vs. Auburn

Fiesta: Texas vs. Boise State

National Championship Game: Ohio State vs. West Virginia

So realize, this is all very out there, but it has been quite an odd college football season already, so anything can happen. But Notre Dame's chances are more likely to be in a BCS game than the national title game at this point.

Other quick things: The band Chicago will join the Notre Dame marching band in performing during halftime of the Notre Dame-North Carolina game Saturday. Chicago will also play in downtown South Bend on Saturday evening. We're stoked.

Revisiting the Weis 60 Minutes post, we still say the seasons themselves weren't miserable. Fans may have been miserable. With Notre Dame expectations, the seasons may have been miserable but compared to seasons at other schools, 5-7 and 6-6 are down years. 1-10, 3-8 -- those are miserable years. We will agree, though, that if things had kept going like they were, it looked like it turn from mediocre to miserable quite quickly.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Weis on 60 Minutes

We caught Charlie Weis on DVR late Sunday evening as we're still in Virginia working on some stories for the future. It's also why we won't break down the BCS Standings until sometime Monday. We were on the road for a bunch of the day Sunday and are trying to catch up. We'll also announce the winner of the first ND prediction contest. Someone finally got it right, but we're holding off until we contact that person to announce it.

But what stood out the most from the Weis piece on 60 Minutes is, well, that we didn't learn anything new. Weis has a potty mouth on the sidelines. Um, no surprise there. Most coaches do.

He's confident. OK, well, five minutes with the guy in any setting tells you that.

The two most interesting things in the piece were the intro and signing day. 60 Minutes got good access with Weis on signing day, something us print guys and local guys don't get to see. But it wasn't anything earth-shattering. Read his book and nothing at all is new in the piece. But for the people who know little about Weis -- like my mother, who watched to see if she could find her son -- it was new and interesting, which is the point of these magazine show pieces.

The other thing that struck me was the description of pre-Weis Notre Dame. They called the two seasons prior "miserable." OK, we know it's Notre Dame. We know the mood was down and that Irish fans and players expect perfection or close to it. ... But come on. Use mediocre or middling. "Miserable" is a word described to use Syracuse's 1-win season in 2005 or Duke's football program or Temple's just-broken losing streak. Those are miserable football times. A .500 or close record is highly mediocre. It even borders on below average. But miserable...get to 3-9 before using that.

Best part of the piece -- Brady Quinn. Kid is a natural. His attempt at a Weis face was pretty funny.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Pregame at Navy

So the Brigade of the Midshipmen just happened and they just tipped their collective caps and might be one of the coolest things in sports. Navy may not win today, but the precision with which their students do everything is amazing. Also, Notre Dame should play all of its games in NFL stadiums. The atmosphere is completely different but they are generally smaller, cozier venues which could lead to more noise.

We're not sure, but we think Charlie Weis' brother might be sitting in the row right below the press box, but we're not sure. Talk with ya more at halftime.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

ND-Navy Prediction

We're still perfect for the year, although UCLA almost made us look very, very bad. I really believe if Charlie Weis had his druthers, he wouldn't necessarily play the service academies. Not that he doesn't want to but I get the feeling he feels bad beating them because of the immense amount of respect he has for them. What did the computer from War Games say? "The only winning move is not to play."

Well in this case, that might be what Weis wants.

But the Notre Dame-Navy game is a long-standing rivalry on the Irish's schedule and a marquee game for the Midshipmen, so it must happen. Funny thing is, if Navy had starting quarterback Brian Hampton, the Middies would have had a shot Saturday. But without Hampton, it is going to be tough. Navy will score early, but it won't be nearly enough.

Expect a lot of running, probably 100 or so yards for Irish junior Darius Walker and 250 and a couple touchdowns for Brady Quinn before Weis pulls back and plays a bunch of the freshmen he's been looking at by the end of the third quarter. We're going to call for a James Aldridge touchdown on his fifth carry from scrimmage, whereever it is on the field. Munir Prince will also see ample time and Raeshon McNeil will eventually work his way in at cornerback. You might see both Will Yeatman and Konrad Reuland in at tight end and we're going to say Yeatman catches a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Evan Sharpley to make the final margin for Notre Dame.

Our score: Notre Dame 35, Navy 7.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Virtual Season, Navy Week

We're starting to think the Playstation either is demented or really, really doesn't like Notre Dame. It picked wrong again last week -- although if real-life Brady Quinn-to-Jeff Samardzija hadn't happened, it'd have been the smartest videogame system in the land.

Well, this week it's taking an even bigger chance.

With Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit picking Notre Dame again, the Irish appeared to be easy winners in this game, especially after Quinn found Samardzija for 15 yards on Notre Dame's first offensive play. Quarterback and receiver found each other again for a 56-yard score on the opening drive of the game. For No. 21 Notre Dame, it was as good as it would get. Navy scored 23 of the next 26 points and shut the Irish out in the second half. The Midshipmen knocked Quinn out of the game and controlled the ball on offense to keep Notre Dame's offense off the field.

The final score, 23-10 Navy, snapping a 42-game losing streak and shocking everyone in South Bend.

Statistical Leaders:

Notre Dame: Passing -- Quinn 10-13-1-137, 1 TD. Rushing -- Walker 4-26. Receiving -- Samardzija 5-98, 1 TD; McKnight 3-40. Defensive -- Abiamiri 4 tkl, TFL, Sack.

Navy: Passing -- Bryant 5-9-0-81. Rushing -- Ballard 19-95; Hines 3-49, 1 TD; Campbell 4-11; Bryant 10-1, 1 TD. Receiving -- Campbell 2-39. Defensive -- Thrasher 3 tkl., INT; McGown 3 tkl., INT.

After Week 9:

Notre Dame 4-4, unranked.

Polls: BCS: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. California; 4. Louisville; 5. Virginia Tech. Coaches: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. Louisville, 4. California; 5. Virginia Tech. Media: 1. Oklahoma; 2. West Virginia; 3. Louisville; 4. California; 5. Virginia Tech.

Heisman: 1. Troy Smith, Sr., QB, Ohio State; 2. Adrian Peterson, Jr., RB, Oklahoma; 3. DeSean Jackson, So., WR, California; 4. Reggie Ball, Sr., QB, Georgia Tech; 5. Chris Leak, Sr., QB, Florida.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Big East Basketball Media Day

So we missed Big East basketball media day due to football obligations, but the release is out and here is the consensus: Pittsburgh and Georgetown are going to be really, really good.

No argument here, as the Panthers and Hoyas return the conference's top two big men in Aaron Gray (Pitt) and Roy Hibbert (Georgetown). Notre Dame should be familiar with both as each player hurt the Irish last year. Luckily for Notre Dame, it only sees Hibbert this year as Pitt is off the schedule.

The Big East coaches slated Pitt to win the conference with Georgetown following a close second.

Then, a breakoff with the next group of three -- Syracuse, Marquette and Connecticut -- within the coaches' voting. The complete voting is as follows:

1. Pittsburgh (10) 219

2. Georgetown (4) 212

3. Syracuse (1) 182

4. Marquette (1) 181

5. Connecticut 173

6. Louisville 149

7. Villanova 146

8. DePaul 134

9. St. John's 105

10. Providence 102

11. Notre Dame 80

12. West Virginia 72

13. Cincinnati 52

14. Rutgers 49

15. Seton Hall 42

16. USF 22

The biggest surprises in the coaches poll are the placement of Villanova and Providence. The Wildcats lost all of their major cogs except for Curtis Sumpter, who missed last season with a knee injury. But to replace that much, Jay Wright's squad should be rebuilding this year. As for the Friars, we know they were freshmen last year but we weren't impressed with them then. Maybe they've improved a lot over the summer but it is still weird to see PC in the middle of the pack in the preseason.

As for Notre Dame, there are a lot of questions -- Who will lead? Who will rebound? Can this team win a close game? Without answers, it is the reason this team is at the No. 11 slot in the poll. The Irish could end up anywhere from seven to 13 in the league this year, depending on their play. Anything higher is a stretch at this point considering the talent at the top six schools. Anything lower would present a major disappointment and probably land Irish coach Mike Brey on a very steamy seat.

Gray was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year, which isn't all that surprising. Neither is the preseason Rookie of the Year selection in Syracuse's Paul Harris. Harris, for those who don't know, is a beast and should be one of the top freshmen in the country. His versatility creates all sorts of matchup problems and his length will give Jim Boeheim another option in his forever-used 2-3 zone. In another surprise, Notre Dame senior guard Colin Falls was named honorable mention preseason All-Big East.

This, though, is what the coaches thought. The Syracuse Post-Standard, which is known for excellent polls using writers and assistant coaches throughout the season, put together its yearly writers poll. Their opinions are close to the coaches, although there is a bit of difference. See here:

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1161767105169020.xml&coll=1

And in an effort to give more knowledge about the Big East, here is the Post Standard's basketball blog. It focuses on mostly the Big East conference. The link, which we highly recommend, is here: http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/weblog/

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Wednesday Practice Observations 10-25-06

As the crew team rowed on rowing machines outside, Notre Dame ventured inside the Loftus Center for the second day in a row. By the way, it is a great fall day in South Bend -- hence the crew guys:

• Sophomore fullback Asaph Schwapp was not at the media portion of practice for the second straight day.
• Wide receivers coach Rob Ianello and Charlie Weis had a lengthy conversation at midfield during stretching.
• Defensive backs coach Bill Lewis spent part of the stretching period lecturing his defensive backs about how to play the option and pressing.
• Offensive coordinator Michael Haywood tossed a football behind his back to Notre Dame assistant SID Michael Bertsch. It was an impressive toss from that range, but fell incomplete.
• The secondary, predictably, spent time working on the option and assignment drills in lanes in order to prepare for the Midshipmen, which run a foreign offense compared to most other Division I-A teams.
• Lewis told safety Ray Herring to hit stronger.
• We finally saw exactly how quick freshman running back Munir Prince is. During a cone drill as we were leaving, the kid cut like he was using a joystick to control himself. He did it with such speed, it almost looked like computer animation. In other words, we finally saw what "Whoooshshhsh," or whatever Weis called it in the preseason, really is with Prince. It is impressive. Very, very impressive.

Quick side notes: No one won the prediction contest for UCLA -- although a couple came close with guessing the correct UCLA final score. So, the kitty jumps even higher to Navy. Send your final score predictions to [email protected]. First one to get the right score wins a whole bunch of programs, pins, notebooks and whatever else we can come up with.

We've gotten good responses for the Navy tailgate invitations and even one looking ahead to Air Force. But we're always looking for a good tailgate. Either from Navy people or Notre Dame people. Having a tailgate? Invite us. We'll show up and if it is good enough, you'll get a mention or two here.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Tuesday Practice Observations 10-24-06

With a snowfall in South Bend on Monday evening, Notre Dame moved practice inside the Loftus Center for practice Tuesday. Beware, it was a very light load of both snow and observations:

• Sophomore fullback Asaph Schwapp was absent from practice Tuesday after making a reappearance last week.
• D.J. Hord and Brandon Erickson returned to the indoor bikes after a couple weeks of tossing the ball around.
• Keith Penrod also returned -- and spent time with the running backs.
• Athletic Director Kevin White was at practice.

Quick side notes: No one won the prediction contest for UCLA -- although a couple came close with guessing the correct UCLA final score. So, the kitty jumps even higher to Navy. Send your final score predictions to [email protected]. First one to get the right score wins a whole bunch of programs, pins, notebooks and whatever else we can come up with.

We're looking for a good Navy tailgate. Either from Navy people or Notre Dame people. Having a tailgate? Invite us. We'll show up and if it is good enough, you'll get a mention or two here.

To answer Craig's question in the comments of our latest BCS prognostication, the Orange Bowl should not leap the Sugar Bowl to get a pick if West Virginia, Louisville or dare we even say -- Rutgers -- gets in the national title game (OK, fantasy on the last one, but how cool would THAT be). The Orange Bowl gets the Big East or ACC champion and since Clemson, Boston College or Georgia Tech aren't going to the national title game, they'd slide in there. Good question, though. Keep 'em coming.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette