Irish Insights

Touring the city and seeing the devastation

During a break in media sessions we took a drive with a few other reporters through the streets of New Orleans, more specifically parts of the city that haven't recovered from Hurricane Katrina.

Growing up in New York, I remember Hurricane Gloria, which reached Long Island as a fairly powerful storm in the mid-1980's. We had a tree break in half outside our home and I thought then that was bad. Seeing what I've seen today, I laugh at thinking that was anything now.

The group of reporters ended up in almost silence for an hour and words, no matter how descriptive, struggle to encapsulate what you will see if you take this drive. The visuals were disturbing. Boats still overturned in the bayou of St. Bernard's Parish. Houses tilted on its sides. Entire shopping centers boarded up and shuttered for over a year. Blocks upon blocks of abandoned homes, many of which looked like they were fairly nice before the storm.

Anyone who comes to New Orleans should take this trip. Rent a car. Drive down Claiborne Road and you'll be shocked at the devastation and the fact that it doesn't look like the area has been touched since Katrina.

There were hotels missing roofs. Signs which were advertising back to school specials, meaning they haven't been touched since Katrina hit in late August 2005.

ND Practice Observations 12-30-06

It's the last open practice of the year for Notre Dame -- kinda weird as the season winds down:

• Senior tight end John Carlson looked pretty crisp today -- he's definitely ready to go.
• Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was decked out in sweats today, different than his shorts-and-sweatshirt look from Friday.
• Brian Polian had the frat-boy look going, complete with backwards Notre Dame cap.
• One person wandering the sidelines must have been trying to copy a bowl representative. Instead of wearing a coat with a Sugar Bowl logo, though, he had one with a large Notre Dame leprechaun logo.
• One thing we've noticed between JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn -- Quinn makes his throws look like they take a lot more effort.
• In a quarterback drill we haven't seen this season, two other quarterbacks start beating another quarterback who is holding the ball in a pocket situation. The other QB's take big yellow pads and start smacking the quarterback with the ball. It seemed pretty light today but one has to wonder what type of shots will be taken in the spring when the quarterback race heats up.
• In a wide receiver drill, coach Rob Ianello wore big blue sleeves which looked like two giant traffic cones on his arms. He'd hit his receivers trying to wrap-tackle them in it. His best shot -- he wrapped the head of wide receiver George West.

Don't forget about the prediction contest: [email protected]. We'll talk with you more later on.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

McAlarney Out

Notre Dame sophomore starting point guard Kyle McAlarney is out for today's game against Stony Brook, Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White said Saturday morning.

"He's not going to play," White said just prior to a Notre Dame football press conference in New Orleans. "He's not playing. End of story, that's all I know at this point.

"He won't play today. That's I think all I'm prepared to say at this point. I know very little about this situation, probably not a heck of a lot more than any of you. That's all I know at this point but he won't play today."

McAlarney was arrested Friday after police allegedly found marijuana in his 1996 Honda Accord after being pulled over early Friday morning in South Bend. He was transferred to St. Joseph County Jail, where he was released on $250 bond a couple hours later.

His status for the Big East opener against Louisville on Jan. 3 is still unknown at this point.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

LSU Practice Observations 12-30-06

We took a visit to LSU's Superdome practice Saturday morning and from what we saw -- man, are the Tigers big, starting with junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

• One reporter commented about the 6-foot-6 Russell: "His quads...Jeez." Watching him practice, he looks to toss the ball 50 yards downfield almost without effort, like he flicks his wrist and next blink, it's there.
• LSU's practice jerseys -- purple and white -- have "Tiger Club," written on the back of them.
• Sophomore defensive tackle Marlon Favorite -- at least we think it was him because the Tigers' defensive linemen switched up their jersey numbers -- engulfed a blocking dummy during one drill. The force he used was extremely impressive.
• During drills, the LSU defensive linemen used five yellow garbage cans as stand-ins to simulate positioning for Notre Dame's offensive line.
• After one repetition, sophomore defensive end Tyson Jackson tosses one of the big tackling dummies aside a few yards downfield. Jackson and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey switched numbers Saturday -- but both are extremely large and physically impressive.
• From looking at one LSU practice, we'll say this: Notre Dame is going to have to play awful well to beat the Tigers.

Don't forget about our prediction contest. Send your guesses to [email protected]. We've got a Sugar Bowl backpack included in the deal now, too.

We'll be back later today with Notre Dame practice observations.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Practice Observations 12-28-06

Man, is the Superdome massive. You walk into the place and its size just shocks you. It's huge and considering what the building has gone through in the past 18 months, looks pretty sharp. Notre Dame practiced for the first time inside the building today:

• Reserve defensive tackle Derrell Hand was in sweats and sophomore fullback Asaph Schwapp was in shorts. Everyone else, it appeared, was in full pads.
• Offensive line coach John Latina was pretty chatty with the players in practice, something we don't always see during stretching.
• Athletic director Kevin White was in the Dome, and sitting in a rolling office chair on the sidelines at the 50-yard line.
• Charlie Weis, Jr. was also there, tossing a football with two other coaches' kids.
• On the end zones, there are posters for some of the Saints individual charitable player foundations. Included among the players: Reggie Bush, Joe Horn, Hollis Thomas, Charles Grant and Deuce McAllister.
• Brandon Erickson remained on the bicycle, his customary spot for the season.
• The team ended their huddle-up saying the word "Win."
• Senior safety Chinedum Ndukwe has a brace on his left knee but looked healthy moving around on the Superdome turf. He even made a one-handed interception during a drill and then was playfully pegged with another football by defensive line coach Jappy Oliver to the howls of the defensive linemen.

Don't forget about the score prediction contest: Send your guesses to [email protected]. First one to submit a correct score guess wins a prize.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Welcome to New Orleans

In the small lobby of the J.W. Marriott gathered a group of Sugar Bowl suits, a five-piece band called "Third Line," which included a tuba player with a New Orleans Saints bumper sticker on his horn and a small gathering of media.

This is how Notre Dame was officially welcomed to New Orleans on Thursday afternoon before heading out to do a community service project. Slowly, the players came off the elevators and when the band began to play, the first group of players had this stunned look on their faces. Even linebacker Travis Thomas commented later about it, saying the players had no clue what was going on.

The Notre Dame players appeared to get into doing the community service project, even though it mostly consisted of moving some boxes, chairs and a couple of couches around a school affected by Hurricane Katrina. Plus, there were ample photo opportunities for those there who wanted a quick shot or autograph from players, including quarterback Brady Quinn and coach Charlie Weis. At one point after Quinn had taken multiple photographs he went to Weis and said "I'm the voice of the people." We're not quite sure what that was about, but it was a humorous outtake.

As for the city, it's getting a little chilly and beginning to rain as we type this. Official media stuff gets underway tomorrow, as does the bulk of the action.

Not too many fans seem to be around yet, but we anticipate that'll change by Friday evening. As for food, we haven't gotten to try anything yet -- but we'll report back on places as we go.

Talk with ya later.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Finishing out the Virtual Season...Bowl Game

For those who have forgotten -- and we understand if you have, we'll take you back to what has been a horrid virtual Playstation season for Notre Dame.

Some things to catch you up on: Notre Dame plays Oregon in the Insight Bowl. Troy Smith won the virtual Heisman as well, only this time Reggie Ball finished second and Brady Quinn wasn't in the Top 5. Senior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija won the Biletnikoff Award, beating out Cal's DeSean Jackson and Michigan State's Matt Trannon. Senior Ryan Harris won the best offensive lineman award. Center John Sullivan finished fourth for the Rimington Award. Samardzija and Harris were both first-team All-Americans. Kicker Ryan Burkhart ended up as a freshman All-American.

As far as its bowl game, Notre Dame ended its bowl losing streak, defeating Oregon 32-20. Senior quarterback Brady Quinn completed 19 of 30 passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns in his final game, two of them to Samardzija. Notre Dame finished its virtual season 8-5, worse than its current real-life mark of 10-2. And if you were curious, Oklahoma won the national championship.

Quinn also set a new NCAA record for quarterback rating, finishing the season with a 203.4 rating, smashing the old record held by Shaun King, who had a 183.3 rating according to the game.

We hope you enjoyed the virtual season we ran and are curious on your feedback. Feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

ND Picks Up A Commit...

Notre Dame added another football verbal commitment Friday as safety Harrison Smith from Knoxville Catholic in Tennessee chose the Irish over Tennessee according to IrishIllustrated.com.

Smith is the 16th commitment to Notre Dame for next season, a class which will be officially unveiled on National Signing Day on Feb. 7.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Smith runs the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds -- giving Notre Dame a small dose of speed it has been lacking.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is barred from talking about recruits until National Signing Day.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Guess Who's Back...Falls Is Back

Colin Falls emerged from the dressing room a little under two hours before gametime, dressed in his warmups and holding a lemon-lime Gatorade. He smiled briefly before confirming that he'd be back in the lineup tonight against Army.

Even the public address announcer recognized Falls return with a "Hee's Baaackk."

It'll be interesting to see, though, how much the senior guard actually plays. Early on, he made his first five shots and had 12 points less than seven minutes in.

Among those watching tonight is Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Practice Observations, 12-21-06

It's the last media practice viewing of the year in South Bend, taking place inside the Loftus Center as Notre Dame continues its preparation for the Sugar Bowl:

• "Form good habits," running backs coach Michael Haywood said to freshman Munir Prince as he ran with the ball through a drill...so even in the latter stages of the season, they are still coaching them up.
• Asaph Schwapp, Derrell Hand and Brandon Erickson remained on the bicycle. We're going to make sure we ask Weis at the next media availability about Hand.
• Sophomore wide receiver D.J. Hord was in pads for the second straight day -- but he still looks well short of healthy. During one cone drill, he struggled to catch passes as he looks to be attempting to get back into the swing of playing.
• Senior quarterback Brady Quinn is fairly impressive. Duh, you say. Well, check this. Quinn was catching 40 yard passes from sophomore Evan Sharpley -- and doing it with one hand. It was something we hadn't noticed all year from the third-place Heisman finisher and we couldn't quite believe it the first time we saw it. Then, he did it on the next pass from Sharpley as the quarterbacks were warming up.

Don't forget about our predictions contest for the Sugar Bowl, either. First one to guess the right score wins the rest of the prizes for a year (Mardi Gras beads optional). E-mail your guesses to [email protected].

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette