October 2006 Archives

So I was absolutely nonplussed tonight when I turned to the NBC at 10 p.m. and saw they'd pre-empted "Studio 60" with "Varsity Blues". Seriously. My roommate, Patrick, noticed the bewildered look on my face and said, "Man, you look so nonplussed"

"I am!" I cried. "I am! I'm absolutely nonplussed. I couldn't be any more nonplussed than I am at this very moment."

"So you're nonplussed?"

"That's what I am. I am nonplussed."

Okay, I made that dialogue up, but for a reason. It's the kind of repartee you might hear in an Aaron Sorkin production, such as "Studio 60". This was a show that I so desperately wanted to love but a show that now, after only six episodes, seems destined to be canceled (I think Kim Auer gave me a longer tryout before dumping me in 7th grade although, to her credit, she did promise to give me another look during 8th grade pilot season). Anyway, it was pre-empted this evening by "Friday Night Lights". "Studio 60"'s chances for survival? To borrow a phrase from "Seinfeld", a show that itself nearly got the axe in the midst of its rookie season, "prognosis negative".

You know, considering that Studio 60's show-within-a-show airs live on Friday evenings, I'm wondering if Sorkin's show would have done better if they'd stolen that title for it.

Meanwhile, "FNL" aired directly after rookie sensation "Heroes". I haven't done all the research on this, but I belive this makes NBC the only network that can boast having consecutive hour-long dramas that feature a Texas high school cheerleader as a promiment character. To quote John Mellencamp, "This is my country."

Like most nerds who read too much and can sooner quote "A Few Good Men" than "Scarface", I was rooting for "Studio 60" to succeed. I was hoping that it would be the "SportsNight" that people finally got. But I was wrong.

In an editorial that recently appeared in The Onion, Artie Mayer wrote that, "Ever since Judd Hirsch left, the show's totally gone downhill."

Yes, it was satire. And it's funny because Hirsch appeared in the opening scene (and one more, a few scenes later) of the series and then left. But you know what? Mayer's right. Hirsch's Peter Finney "I'm mad as hell" moment and the scene that followed, the awards dinner scene that establishes the rapport between Matt Albie (Matthew Perry) and Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford), are the peak of the show. It never got better than that.

You know what could be cool? If someone wrote a show in which all the best characters from the best failed series (Angela Chase from "My So-Called Life", Gob from "Arrested Development", etc.) inhabited some parallel universe in which they interacted with one another. I'd watch that show. Until it was canceled.

The Patriots ran the ball nine times when Monday night's game was "competitive." Why? Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel knew that running on the Vikings would be a fool's errand. They weren't going to expend all their energy for minimal reward. So they whipped it all over the lot.

Sunday night, the Patriots find a favorable matchup for their rushing attack against the Colts. Indy's 31st in the league against the run and allowed 227 on Sunday to Denver.

Anticipate the Patriots handing it off more than 30 times Sunday night, maybe more. The goal is to move the ball, yes, but also to milk the clock and keep Peyton Manning where you want him. Watching from the sidelines.

OK, home after a marathon commute from Denver to Providence and then home in Massachusetts. I took my middle son, Dan, to a haunted house one of his school friends set up in the family garage.

As we're driving up, the 8-year-old says, "If you don't go in with me or they don't let parents go in, we're out of here."

He's got an iron will, that one.

A few leftovers from yesterday's Denver-Indy game.

1) That's the best I've ever seen Peyton Manning play. And given the way Tom Brady's playing tonight with almost 260 yards passing in the first half, what a tremendous matchup. I wonder which network has that game.

2) The point was made, I think it was on ESPN Sunday night but I've been wrong before, that the Broncos should have been wise to the fact that the best way to unnerve the Indy offense is get Peyton Manning moving around. Some teams can do it with a four-man rush as the Patriots did in the 2003 AFC Championship when they laid back in zone and relied on their pass rush exerted by Jarvis Green, Ty Warren, Richard Seymour and others to force mistakes. The Steelers did it in last year's playoffs by being blitz happy. Denver tried to get after Manning with a four-man rush with defensive tackle Gerard Warren inactive and they couldn't do it. And then they didn't seem to have a backup plan to switch to in the second half when the rush didn't get there and corner Darrent Williams got eaten alive by Reggie Wayne. You can't sit around all day waiting for Manning to misfire. And that seemed to be the gameplan.

3) "I think it's been very successful for this defense so far this year," Broncos safety John Lynch said when asked why they didn't blitz. "We had a bad game but you don't go make wholesale changes because you had a bad game. I'm all for what the coaches feel will give us our best chance. (Blitzing) is a double-edged sword. When you blitz you expose yourself and thats what makes hm so great. His ability to adjust. We played well in the first half and then they go in and make adjustments and he comes out firing."

4) Jake Plummer played a very solid game for Denver. He did a tremendous job avoiding a sack on the third-and-9 play at the end of Denver's final drive, spinning out of trouble but then throwing low to Rod Smith. "The first thing Ii was thinking, was that I had to get out of the sack or we'd be out of field goal range. When I got out of the sack I didn't want to stand there holding the ball and I knew Rod was in man and I tried to get my feet set and get it to him I just didn't have enough on the ball. I'm sick with that play. I should have run, i should have made the throw. It's going to bother me."

5) Broncos strong safety Nick Ferguson has corner Darrent Williams' back. "It had nothing to do with the matchup between Darrent and Reggie. I'll take Darrent all day every day. A couple of things got mixed up but other than that our corners held it down. I don't want anybody writing stuff about the fact that Darrent didn't do the job against Reggie Wayne. He did what he needed to do. It wasn't our best performance but you know what you're get with this team. If I see something in the paper about someone trying to scapegoat, I'm going to call them out and I'm not going to be too happy. Someone tried to do that last year with (Dominique Foxworth) after the Pittsburgh game. That's BS."

6) Hunter Smith punted once for the Colts on Sunday. As he was leaving the locker room, I said to him, "Quiet day, huh?" Smith smiled and said, "Quiet career."

...was that? From the time Jake Plummer's pass fell incomplete at the other end of the field and the Broncos had to settle for a field goal with 1:52 left, you absolutely knew the Colts would take their pound of flesh.

And the did, moving 62 yards in 8 plays in 1:47 and getting a 37-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri to win it.

DENVER - Capping a drive in which he completely worked over Denver corner Darrent Williams, Reggie Wayne caught a 19-yard touchdown pass on third-and-2 to make it 29-28, Colts. Manning hit Wayne again on the two-point conversion throw to make it 31-28 which is how it stands now with 3:35 left.

...for a terrific ending. The Broncos just ran over Indy's defense on an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive that highlighted the biggest shortcoming the Colts have -- a horrid run defense.

Now it's 28-23 denver with 5:13 left and Indy marching. They're at the Denver 33 and Reggie Wayne is devouring Darrent Williams.

DENVER - Denver just swallowed up the final 8:54 of the third quarter and went on a 91-yard drive that culminated with a 1-yard run by Mike Bell to make it 21-20 Broncos at the start of the fourth.

It's getting good.

DENVER - The Colts just caught a huge break as Gary Brackett pried the ball loose from Jake Plummer and pulled him on top of him, causing a fumble the Colts turned into a touchdown.

So now Denver has allowed two touchdowns in 3:09 after allowing just two in the first six games.

DENVER - Talk about silencing 75,000 fans in a hurry. The Colts just went 56 yards in six plays and got a 12-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne to make it 14-13 just three minutes into the third.

The Colts looked scarily efficient on the drive.

DENVER - Javon Walker just ran a little stop-and-go on Colts corner Jason David and caught a well-thrown pass from Jake Plummer for a 15-yard score.

Plummer had a nice little conversion on a third-and-5 scramble in the Colts red zone and another one earlier in the drive to help Denver along.

DENVER - Jake Plummer's 5 for 8 for 101 yards and two of his three misses were on long downfield throws. The bootleg action is working as Plummer just hit Tony Scheffler for 27 yards on a throwback.

DENVER - Two big plays have the Broncos knocking on the door. A 45-yard throwback pass to wide receiver David Kircus and then a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Raheim Brock for pulling a helmet moved the ball downfield and a terrific throw from Plummer to Rod Smith (the 820th catch of his career) moved it to the 2. Plummer snuck it in to make it 7-3.

Smith passed Steve Largent to move into 12th place on the career receptions list.

DENVER - The Colts just got jobbed a little. A really well-designed halfback pass with Joseph Addai throwing to the end zone for Reggie Wayne wound up incomplete. A flag flew and it looked for a moment that the Colts would get a call putting the ball on the edge of the goal line but the call went against Wayne for pushing off.

Indy wound up settling for a field goal by Adam Vinatieri from 42 yards away.

DENVER - Colts linebacker Gary Brackett just delivered a forearm to a sliding Jake Plummer giving Denver a first down. No blood though as Denver had to punt after Plummer narrowly overthrew Javon Walker on a fly down the right sideline.

The Colts first drive featured some no-huddle let's see if they do it again. And Joseph Addai is now in the backfield.

DENVER -- The Colts first drive just ended with Dallas Clark mishandling a Peyton Manning pass on third-and-6 from the Broncos 43.

Denver takes over at its own 10 with 12:24.

Meanwhile, in case you were wondering, I just saw an old school orange crush Haven Moses jersey. And I liked it.

DENVER - The Broncos had the Colts where they wanted them in third down and then let Dominic Rhodes leak out to the right and get free for a sizable pickup. Here comes another third-and-6...

DENVER - We got the inactives for you.

COLTS: S Bob Sanders, DB T.J. Rushing, TE Jerome Collins, LB Keith O'Neil, DE Bo Scholbel, G Matt Ulrich, WR Brandon Stokley, DT Montae Reagor.

BRONCOS: WR Quincy Morgan, WR Todd Devoe, S Hamza Abdullah, RB Cedric Cobbs, LB Nate Webster, DT Gerard Warren, G Chris Kuper, TE Nate Jackson.

Again, perfect day, no wind.

DENVER - How in God's name can a team allow 41 points in the first half of a football game as the Niners have?

When you go fumble, punt, interception, fumble, punt, punt, fumble and waste no time doing so (just 20 plays in the first half) that's a pretty good recipe for destruction.

By contrast, the Bears have run 43 plays.

Other than that, I like what the Niners are doing.

DENVER - Phil Simms is here in Denver doing the game for CBS and we just talked a bit about the matchup. Personally, I don't hate Jake Plummer's game. So I asked Simms why Plummer's having so much trouble this season after playing so well in 2005.

Simms explained that the lack of cutbacks by the Broncos running backs is having a domino effect on the rest of the offense.

So much of what the Broncos like to do is predicated on running their stretch play where, for instance, the ball is handed to Tatum Bell who sweeps left, picks a seam in the defense and cuts it up. Once he gets to the second level, he should cut back across the field again if he can. That helps occupy the back side of the defense and make them have to respect the play downfield. So, for instance, the defensive end on the opposite side has to remain cognizant of Bell even when the play goes away from him.

Denver then likes to fake that stretch to Bell and have Plummer bootleg back the other way. In years past, when Mike Anderson was the running back, he had nobody in his face because the backside of the defense had to give attention to the cutback.

Bell doesn't cut it back so the defensive end on the weak side is in Plummer's face. Last week, Simms said, Plummer was 0 for 7 on bootleg throws.

It's a theory.

DENVER - What a great game to look forward to today.

All I can say is, if the Broncos can't score today against a battered Colts defense, then there are seeerious issues.

It's pretty much a perfect day here -- 50s, minimal wind -- so that won't enter the equation.

Aside from the injuries Indy's dealing with, they're also going through a difficult stretch of games.

They had a surprisingly tough game with Tennessee two weeks ago, fell behind Washington and won last week, they have the Broncos today and then the Patriots in Foxboro next Sunday night on NBC.

You watch the first half of today's game and you wonder how Rutgers held the Middies scoreless two weeks ago. Yes, Navy lost quarterback Brian Hampton that day, but the synchronicity the Middie offense has is like watching an assembly line mass-production thingamabob. Very impressive.

The first punt in the game, as you may know, did not take place until the final play of the first half. Navy punted.

Biggest play of the game thus far: KNKE's 17-yard scramble on 3rd-and-19. At the time it was 10-0 Irish and with the way the ND offense has been playing, had Navy been forced to punt the Irish could have put them in a 17-point hole. Instead, KNKE gains 17, then draws Derek Landri offside on 4th-and-1, and Navy marches dowfield to score.

How about Travis Thomas! In his first carry since his 4th-and-goal one-yard TD run against Penn State on Sept. 9, Thomas ran 16 yards for a score. Thomas took the handoff, bounced outside and and exploded downfield without anyone laying a solid hit on him. Maybe even untouched. And so the question arises: Can Darius Walker play linebacker?

Actually, Walker's had a good game thus far: 11 carries for 69 yards plus one reception. But here's the problem. Darius gets his yards against defenses such as Purdue's, Stanford's and Navy's. But Purdue is 96th versus the run, Stanford 119th (last) and Navy 56th. Does Walker or Thomas give the Irish a better chance from a rushing standpoint against a team with a good defense, such as USC? One carry isn't enough to say, of course, but it would be nice to see one game where Walker and Thomas had an equal number of carries.

Defensively for the Irish, Joe Brockington is playing a great game. Tom Zbikowski has done the equivalent of running 16:31 (Navy's time of possession) worth of gassers in the first half. Don't know if you can see it on CBS, bu the offense are basically playing a Cover 3 (three-deep zone) with Zibby alone in the middle of the field and both corners pinched in toward the slot backs. As soon as Zibby reads pitch he zeroes in on the ballcarrier, which is why the Irish were so exposed on Navy's lone reverse.

Correction: Notre Dame's corners are playing man and Zibby is the lone deep guy in coverage. And yet he's making most of the tackles. Sure, he's unblocked, but you always just get the feeling that Zibby wants contact more than anyone else on the field.

Give Navy credit for running their offense with maximum efficiency, and give the Irish DBs credit for tackling sure-handedly in the first half. And Landri and Laws have basically nullified Adam Ballard on the belly dives. The difference is that the Middie slot backs are getting the corner before the Irish linebackers can make the play.

By the way, BQQB set a school record for most games in a row (44) with at least one completion. Is there a dumber record? If any QB at a non-option school went an entire game without a completion, how many games in a row do you think he'd be starting?

Is there a Most Games in a Row with at Least One Snap record held by a center at each school? Do they keep track of that?

John Carlson just caught another pass on 4th down for a 1st down for the Irish. According to the ND folks, that's the 4th time this year for him. I thought it was at least his 5th. Anyway, that's something Pete Carroll want to write a post-it note to himself about.

Well, you already knew that. But if you look at the flipchart that shows both team's starters, you'll see that Navy's defense only has three starters who weigh more than Quinn (233 pounds). They are noseguard Larry Cylc (280), right end John Chan (249) and inside linebacker Irv Spencer (241). However, Quinn is also 6'4", while those three are just 6'2", 6'1", and 6'0". So in terms of vertical and total mass overall HUGEALITY, Quinn is larger than any of the Navy defenders.

Navy used six different rushers on their opening drive. Notre Dame has used seven different rushers all season.

John Carlson just caught a 4th-down pass for a first down. Is that the 33rd time that's happened this season? Maybe an exaggeration, but that's at least the fourth 4th down completion Carlson has. I guess if I were really curious I could ask Notre Dame SID Brian Hardin, who is seated just ten yards to my left. Maybe later.

Quinn just completed a 36-yard TD pass to David Grimes for a touchdown. If you see Grimes in person, your first reaction is, "Where's your big brother?" Honestly, he looks to be about 15. But the young man is fast and he has great hands, as that play illustrated. that's his longest catch and first career TD reception. Jimmy Clausen, meet your new best friend.

Quinn's throw was pretty sick. On the run, eluding a pass rush, going to his left, and he threw it 40 yards on the money. I'm seated next to Notre Dame Observer assistant managing editor Bob Griffin, who noted that "That's the kind of throw that NFL scouts love to see."

In the interest of brevity--and of sanity--I will be abbreviating the name of Navy QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada to his initials, KNKE. By the way, I just did a radio station call-letter search on radio-locator.com and it turns out there's no radio station in the U.S. with call letters KNKE. Does Joe Schad have game-breaking scoop like that?!? I dare say not.

Also, there are four men seated immediately in front of us in the stands who look like extras from "Clerks". One of the dudes has a tattoo of a bar code on the back of his neck. Anyone know what that's all about?

Eleven Hundred Thirty-Six

First, the weather report: Contrary to what you may be thinking if you live in New York City (where I hear it's raining), or if you were watching College GameDay, it's neither windy nor raining here this morning.

In fact, jduging from the walk over from the hotel, any coat or sweatshirt seems superfluous today. Not that folks won't be waring them.

Anywyay, considering that M&T Bank Stadium has artificial turf, and that Baltimore has negligible wind and no moisture today, the Middies lose that opportunity to "even the playing field".

For your amusement if you're sitting around watching the game with friends or family, see who can be the first one to correctly spell the Navy quarterback's name. It's

KAIPO-NOA KAHEAKU-ENHADA

The public address announcer here today will definitely earn his salary.

Other news: Because this is an NFL stadium, they can sell beer at the game. You'll never see that at most college games. I'm guessing that the Naval brigade (i.e., student body) isn't allowed to partake during the game.

If you're a newspaper editor, what's the best nautical-themed headline you run with should Navy snap Notre Dame's 42-game win streak this afternoon?

"UNFATHOMABLE!"

"NAVY SINKS IRISH!"

or do you think Starkist?

"SORRY, CHARLIE"

If you have a better one (and I'd think you'd have to), send it in.
More in a bit....

So it was about 11 p.m. last night and I was talking to my favorite married couple under 41 years old (over 41, it's my parents), Mike and Katie McCollow. And suddenly it hit me: "Mike," I said, "I just realized that all day long I've only spoken to two people face-to-face. And here's the weird thing. The two people are Tom Zbikowski and Brady Quinn. And it was at a press conference."

I believe Katie said something like, "How sad", and I remarked that it was worse because in my brief face-to-face time with other humans, I'd asked Brady a dumb question. But jeez, those pressers (as they're known) can be so all about letting your peers know you're not as dumb as you look (in my case, an easy task). Seriously, though, those things are just too tense.

I thought, What if I were just given the mic next time BQQB is sitting at the table, and I say, "Knock knock"?

Would BQQB reply with a "Hunh?", or with a "Who's there?" I doubt we'll ever find out.

By the way, Katie came up with a great new sniglet (newly coined terms for situations that no currently existing English word adequately describes) the other night. She and Mike were out to dinner in Minneapolis, which was convenient, since that's where they live. And, well, I'll let Katie explain: "You know that moment when you're at a restaurant and you see the waiter or waitress coming out with your dinner, and you're excited cuz it's finally coming, but you act like it's no big deal?"

Uh-huh.

"Entree-cipation."

Genius. That Katie McCollow, she's whipsmart she is. You can check out her blog (yuckysaladwithbones.com) whenever you want.

I haven't seen "Flags of Our Fathers" yet, but the book was pretty damn good. Today I read that Clint Eastwood, who directed "FOOF" (Has anyone already coined that acronym for the movie?), is also directing a film on the same WW II battle from a Japanese perspective. It's going to be called "Letters From Iwo Jima" (LFIJ?). The big difference between the two films is that in the latter, a few audience members will remain in the theater long after the movie is over, not believing that it is really over.

Anyway, Eastwood's conceit has inspired me to assess Notre Dame football in the same way. From opposing perspectives. Let's give it a try:

THE IRISH ARE SO #*%$! OVERRATED!

How can you call yourselves a top ten team, a BCS-bowl worthy outfit, when your rushing offense is rated 99th in the nation and your scoring defense is rated 65th? In fact, ND is not rated in the top ten in any single statistical team category...except for the BCS rankings (10th) and the Coaches' Poll (9th). They're extremely fortunate not to be 4-3 right now and having Jimmy Clausen pull a Heisman on the verbal commitment he gave the school last April.

THE IRISH ARE ACTUALLY UNDERRATED

Notre Dame, since their 44-41 overtime loss to Michigan State on September 17, 2005, is 13-3. The three teams that defeated them--Michigan, Ohio State and USC-- are all currently rated 1,2 and 3 (though not in that order) in both major polls and the BCS standings. If you take the combined records of those teams that beat ND in the season that they did so, it would be 30-3, with two of those three losses having come to 2005 undefeated national champion Texas. In other words, if you boil it down to wins and losses, you've had to be a national-championship caliber team to defeat the Irish since mid-September of '05.
If ND is 10-1 when they meet Southern Cal, Charlie Weis will be entering the L.A. Coliseum with a record of 19-4 at Notre Dame, for a .826 win percentage. With really only one "bad" loss on his resume, in terms of the quality of the opponent who beat the Irish.

BRADY QUINN IS SO @$%! OVERRATED!

One commenter on the Hugh Johnson Project this weekend noted that the only thing not overrated about Quinn is his sister. I hear that! The dude is supposedly a Heisman Trophy candidate even though he's rated only 34th in the nation in passing efficiency?!? Hell, you give me Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and John Carlson and I might be able to complete a few passes as well. He personally gift-wrapped two touchdowns (very nearly three) for the Wolverines in September and another one for the Spartans. If he weren't on national TV every week he'd be John Beck (no disrespect intended to Mr. Beck). And, thanks, but I didn't really need to know that he shaves his arms and legs. How far away are we from a "KELLY CLARKSON!" chest-waxing episode while Samardzija, Zbikowski, Ryan Harris and Chinedum Ndukwe stand around the waxing table chuckling?

BRADY QUINN IS ACTUALLY UNDERRATED

The Irish, whether you want to blame Quinn or not, have mounted four memorable late-game drives during the four-year starter's tenure at Notre Dame. The first came against Navy in 2003, when the Irish beat Navy on a last-second field goal; the next came against USC last year and, although the Irish lost, Quinn led them on an 87-yard touchdown drive against the nation's top-ranked team. The other two were last year against Stanford and last Saturday versus UCLA. Anyway, here's the point: In those four drives Quinn is 14-16 for 236 yards passing with one touchdown throw (to Samardzija, versus UCLA) and one touchdown run (of 5 yards, versus USC).

Quinn is 5th in the nation in pass completions per game (25), ninth in passing yards per game (276), and is the only QB who has three of his receivers (Samardzija, Darius Walker and McKnight) in the top 22 in receptions per game. And in what direction do you think those numbers are going to go after upcoming games against Navy, North Carolina, Air Force and Army?

Finally, for what it's worth, BQQB is as mature and focused as any Notre Dame player I've ever come across. He seems as if he's extremely popular with his teammates, though he rarely gives the media too much of a window into his personality. He's politely aloof, but the next time you see him do a throat-slash gesture or call out one of his teammates on the field for running the wrong route, let me know. As I've written before, he's Derek Jeter in a gold helmet.

ATLANTA - So Atlanta kicker Michael Koenen had a 56-yard field goal that he made wiped out by a timeout and then had his next one -- the real one -- come up a foot short. But he got run over by Troy Polamalu so he was getting another chance to win it with a 51-yard attempt.

Then, from his rocker on the sidelines, Morten Andersen was summoned instead. If Koenen was hurt, it didn't look it on the sidelines. He had his helmet on before overtime and was being consoled by teammates after apparently being passed over.

Anyway, Andersen was about 5 feet short from 15 feet closer than Koenen's previous attempt.

If Atlanta loses this game - - and OT's about to start with Pitt kicking off -- Jim Mora will have some 'splaining.

ATLANTA - With 35 seconds left and Falcons kicker Michael Kaeding lining up a 56-yard field goal for the win, the Steelers called timeout. Actually Bill Cowher did. The only ref that heard it was the one on the sidelines and he signaled for it. But Kaeding went ahead and kicked the useless field goal and made it.

Here comes the retry.

About a foot short...

AND HE WAS RUN INTO BY THE HUMAN SHAG RUG TROY POLAMALU!

On third-and-10, Vick was cuffed and stuffed and almost sacked when he flipped a half-shovel pass to fullback Justin Griffith who gained 16. He followed that with a 14-yard run and an 8-yard scramble. Terrific game for Vick and, in some ways, it's so hard to figure why we don't see it more. Is it his fault? Coaches? Is it just that the stars have to be aligned?

AT-FREAKIN-LANTA - I gots a feeling this is going to be on NFL Reeeplay (On Tuesday....)...what a damn game. Charlie Batch just came in off the shelf and threw his second touchdown pass of the day and this thing's tied with 3:14 left and Atlanta taking over at its 18.

But I'd be lying if I didn't admit I was anxious for the fourth quarter to start. 3..2...1....finally.

We go to the fourth, Atlanta up 35-31 with the ball and a second-and-7 on their own 43.

Through three, Mike Vick is 13 for 22 for 181 yards, four TDs and two picks.

He's run three times for 19 yards. He started the game 1 for 6 passing.

ATLANTA - After Big Ben got KOd and the Falcons cashed in with a Warrick Dunn TD to make it 28-24, Atlanta, every speck of momentum their way.

Four plays into the next drive, Roethlisberger's replacement Charlie Batch, hit Hines Ward on a skinny post and Ward outran the secondary for a 70-yard score and it's now 31-28.

This may be the best game of the year so far. Unless one likes defense. Then? Not so good.

By Tom Curran
NBCSports.com
ATLANTA - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is out of the game after getting drilled in the head by Falcons defensive lineman Chauncey Davis.

Roethlisberger laid on his stomach after the hit for two minutes and was attended to by trainers who rolled him onto his back. After several more minutes, Roethlisberger sat up. He was then led from the field, steadied on both sides by members of the Steelers training staff.

After being checked on by trainers on the sideline, he went and sat on the back of a cart and was driven in for further examinations.

Roethlisberger went down with 7:40 left in the third quarter and the Steelers leading 24-21. He was replaced by Charlie Batch. Two plays later, a Steelers fumble was recovered at the Steelers 26 by Jonathan Babineaux. It looked like there was a mishandle between Batch and running back Willie Parker.

The Falcons then scored a touchdown less than two minutes later to make it 28-24.

Roethisberger was in the midst of a terrific game with three touchdown passes on 16 of 22 passing for 238 yards.

This is the latest physical blow for the quarterback who had an appendectomy just before the season opener and was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in the summer.

ATLANTA - Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is down and not moving very much if at all after getting sandwiched around the helmet after throwing a pass with 7:40 left in the third.

We'll be updating.

ATLANTA - That Mike Vick got picked and that's why the drive ended after one play. In actuality, his short pass doinked off the hands of Allen Rossum and resulted in the pick.

ATLANTA - Allen Rossum just returned the kick 51 yards and forced Steelers kicker Jeff Reed into a smart tripping penalty or it'd be 28-24.

The Falcons have the ball at the Pittsburgh 28 with 54 seconds left.

ATLANTA - The Steelers go 80 yard in six plays over the span of 66 seconds to reclaim the lead.

The Large Ben was 3 for 4 for 69 yards including a 10-yard score and a pinpoint placement of a 36-yard throw down the sidelines to Santonio Holmes who is having (fumble aside) a massive game.

ATLANTA - The Falcons just took an onsides kick recovery and drove 51yards for a touchdown -- a tremendous throw and catch to wide receiver Michael Jenkins -- and now Atlanta's up 21-17 and Vick has three TD passes.

After starting 1 for 6, Vick has gone 7 for 9 for 64 yards. The three TD passes is a single-game career high.

ATLANTA - The Steelers have first-and-goal from the Falcons 2 with 10:38 left in the half and should make it 17-7.

So far Mike Vick's 1 for 6 with a touchdown and a pick. One of the incompletions was a drop, two others were deep throws. Meanwhile, Warrick Dunn's got 4 carries for 12 yards. Fat chance they're getting their team average of 232 today. At this rate, they're only on pace to get past 32.

ATLANTA - Just checked out the play-byplay of the Eagles-Bucs game. The Eagles have so far fumbled on the Tampa 14 and Donovan McNabb's thrown two picks, the second of which was returned 37 yards for a score by Ronde Barber.

I'm telling you, to stay in the game against the Eagles, play 4 quarters of prevent and let the mistakes come to you.

ATLANTA - Ben Roethlisberger. He's throwing with extreme confidence and - except for a bad decision on a screen on the first offensive play of the game - he's looked absolutely terrific.

He's now got a TD pass to Hines Ward as well and it's 10-7 Pittsburgh as the Steelers strike from 11 yards awau with 2:2 left in the first.

ATLANTA - First drive of the game: the Falcons run for minus-1 on first down and get flagged for an illegal formation. So it's first-and-15. And they run the same off-tackle play and gain 1. On second-and-14, Roddy White has a pass from Mike Vick in the flat CLANG off his hands. White wasn't even moving. Just standing there. Then there's a knockdown dragout fight between white and Bryant McFadden on a long throw downfield that falls incomplete.

Horrid start for the Falcons.

Until Santonio Holmes fumbles the punt, Atlanta recovers and Vick hits Alge Crumpler who burrows into the end zone for a touchdown from 22 yards out.

And now - I swear to God, - Holmes had a TD on the kickoff return and had just kicker Nate Kaeding to beat and Kaeding brought him down by his shoelace.

Phew. 12:57 left in the first.

ATLANTA - Steelers linebacker Joey Porter is down today with a hamstring while the Falcons are going without defensive end John Abraham and defensive tackle Rod Coleman.

Those are the key inactives from this game.

ATLANTA - A cat named Tyson Clabo is under the gun today. He's never played a snap in the NFL and now he's thrust into the starting lineup against the stifling Steelers defense at left guard.

Atlanta starter Matt Lehr is now serving a four-game suspension after testing positive for steroids which puts Clabo in the starting lineup.

He'll be dealing quite a bit with Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton who's just one of the best defensive linemen in the league.

This puts interesting strain on an Atlanta offense that's averaging an absurd 232 yards per game on the ground. That's 74 yards higher than the second place Chargers (158.2 YPG).

ATLANTA - We've got a little interconference flavor for you this week. I'm in the ATL for the Steelers and Falcons starting at 1.

If I was in Pittsburgh would I say I'm in the PIT? Or would it be MIA in Miami? I don't know. We'll think on that. I'm leaning towards no.

Other than this game and Carolina at Cincinnati the pickings are slim in terms of marquee matchups. Maybe Minnesota and Seattle. Maybe.

I'm in the press box already doing some radio back in Boston on WEEI. They stream their audio so for the really twisted, you can listen to me chatter AND read the Bump 'n Run simultaneously.

We'll be back shortly with some links.

T

UCLA is playing the Irish even, but give credit to Notre Dame's defense for a terrific 3rd quarter. The Irish D allowed no points and just 41 yards all quarter.

On the powder blue and gold side, Bruin defensive end Justin Hickman is a havoc-wreaking machine. And as I typed that, I swear, Hickman just sacked Brady Quinn on 3rd down. ND is now 3 of 16 on 3rd-down conversions.

If you're keeping score, Officer Tim McCarthy' s between-quarters message was: "When traffic is thick as fleas, don't let it bug you".

You sit next to Austin Murphy during a football game, you get a lot more popular. It's halftime and T.J. Simers, the hilariously sardonic columnist for the L.A. Times, has just stopped by. Simers is wearing an Angels baseball cap that he has pimped (remember when people used to use the word "customized"? They've pimped that word) by stitching an "L" just to the right of the halo'd "A". So that it reads "LA".

You have to love a man in his 50s who still delights in doing something for a goof.

The good folks at the Hugh Johnson Project report that Nebraska wideout Terrence Nunn dates Playmate Miss October Jordan Monroe. Nunn is the Cornhusker whose fumble in the final moments allowed Texas a second chance, one that they capitalized on in the game's final seconds.

Longhorns 22, Pornhuskers 20

So, as we were saying, Jordan Monroe is Terrence Nunn's girlfriend. Well, I think she's still dating him.

(Whatever you do, please do NOT Google the name "JORDAN MONROE". At least not in a crowded pressbox the way Murph and I just did. We're lucky we weren't booted--bootyed?--out). Seriously, don't Google Jordan Monroe. I'm just sayin' I wouldn't if I were you. Please. Okay, if you must, make sure the small children and girlfriend or wife (and even maybe the cat) are not looking over your shoulder.

William Snead, the UCLA player who just caught a 36-yard touchdown pass, did not have a catch this year before that play. In fact, he's not even listed on the Bruins' two-deep chart. In fact, in the UCLA media guide Snead is listed at defensive end.

If you're wondering how come Ray Herring and Chinedum Ndukwe bounced off Snead like tiny raindrops plinking against a windshield, it may be because Snead goes 6'5", 265.

Long-time blog readers will be happy to hear that the press box is comfy this afternoon, temp-wise. I love October.

If you're watching this 2nd quarter and thinking, Brady Quinn is not doing much to enhance his Heisman chances right now, you're correct. If I'm scouting Notre Dame, I'm realizing that the only player who has caught anything deep this season is tight end John Carlson.

I swear to the guy on the south face of the Hesburgh Library that I wrote the previous sentence two plays before Quinn hit Carlson with a 20-yard pass downfield. Carlson is playing like a 1st-team All-American this year, and is quickly becoming Quinn's go-to guy. I think he has four catches this half.

Purdue has the World's Largest Drum; Stanford's has the world's most banned band; and UCLA has college football's only sideline juggler. I was doing a lap of the field before the game and I noticed a dude* wearing a blue suit with a blue shirt and yellow tie. It was straight off the Craig Sager sales rack. He was juggling five balls at once. I asked a band member about him and he told me he's simply known as "The Juggler".

(* First "Dude" of the UCLA weekend recorded yesterday at 2:33 p.m.)

I don't know how many other bands have jugglers, but I like this idea. I mean, if you're a fire-breather or a sword swallower, The Juggler gives you hope that you too can grow up to perform with a marching band.

Nothing sets female hearts aflutter faster than the idea of a Sportswriter Slumber Party. Last night I hosted one.

My good friend and mentor, Sports Illustrated's Austin Murphy, blew into town and hotel rates being what they are in South Bend on football weekends, I volunteered my couch. Welcome to the big-time world of corporate media. Austin's by far America's most charming sportswriter which, I'll admit, is low praise. But Austin is one of those guys who'd actually be able to converse with you on something other than his fantasy league.

Anyway, it was big fun and it's been so long since I had s'mores, I'd forgotten how much I liked them.

Darius Walker just fumbled, gotta go....

You missed the best pep rally of the season last night. Luckily for you, I didn't so here's a quick run-down.

Your speakers:

Richard "Digger" Phelps, former Notre Dame basketball coach, ESPN analyst
Dick Vitale, noted ESPN personality, coiner of term "Diaper Dandy", proud dad of two ND alums
Paul Hornung, '56 Heisman Trophy winner, Golden Boy, serial trou dropper
Ryan Harris, Offensive Lineman, former MTV star
Trevor Laws, Defensive Tackle, designated team "hippie"
Charlie Weis

The Highlights:

--Walking into a packed JACC at 6:30 and taking a spot right at the entrance of the northwest tunnel. As I'm standing there, I'm offered a seat next to a preternaturally lovely woman holding her daughter (clad in a Notre Dame cheerleading uniform...the daughter, not the mom) in her lap. Hold on, let me look up the definition of "preternatural"...waiting...waiting..."out of the ordinary course of nature"; yep, that's correct. Anyway, you know who it was? It was Notre Dame alumna and CBS Morning hostie Hannah Storm. The Perfect Storm, if you ask me. Her husband, Dan Hicks, was sitting with two other daughters, a few seats over, and as Dan works for NBC, I'm glad I did not say something preternaturally stupid, as is my nature.

--Digger's speech. Digger was INTENSE. I mean, the last time anyone was that intense was...was...well, Monday night, Dennis Green. Digger spoke about Notre Dame basketball's three upsets of No. 1 teams (UCLA and the 88-game win streak; University of San Francisco, who were 29-0 at the time; and North Carolina) and it's pretty cool, and I had forgotten, that during the USF game the student body had spent the entire game chanting "29-1".
Diggers' face was beet-red, in clear contrast with his green shirt, so that he looked like a traffic signal. He'd lead every sentence off with, "Understand this!", and since it was in English, I did. Digger led the audience through a series of clap cheers that inevitably someone would get wrong, and you could see the glare of the old coach escaping, as if he wanted to halt practice and take the entire rally crowd through some suicide run drills.

--Dickie V. led off by saying, "How many times in the last decade at ESPN do you think I've heard that (UCLA win streak being snapped) story?" That made me laugh. Nine years ago I spent a lot of time with Digger co-writing "Basketball for Dummies", although some might claim it should be called "Basketball by Dummies". You know, Digger gets a bad rap from some in the media, but I've spent a lot of time around him and I dig Digger. He definitely can be imperious--preternaturally so-- and you will hear the ND-UCLA story if you spend enough time with him, but you know, he's a pretty talented dude. He's actually a very talented painter. Who knew, right?

--Paul Hornung, of course, stole the show. As you probably already know, he was in the middle of a pretty cool speech when suddenly, inexplicably, his pants dropped to his ankles (We all wondered how many times the Golden Boy had used this tactic before--"Oops. Well, as long as they're down"...). And now the world knows that on the weekend of a game versus UCLA, a Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner was wearing powder-blue boxers. My colleague on the webcast, Paula Faris, believes the pants-dropping was staged, citing the fact that Hornung's face did not turn red when it happened. I disagree. I think it was just a case of spontaneous-pants-dropping.

You may be asking yourself, as I did, "John, how exactly does spontaneous-pants-dropping occur? Have you ever had your pants just drop on you? Is this something we should all worry about?" Hornung told the crowd that he'd gone down to Duke University and dropped 47 pounds (I presume at their Medical Center) recently. Paul, there's this new invention. It's called the belt...

Anyway, Hornung's fumble led to some great unintentional comic lines. Right afterward, for example, he said, "Let me introduce you to some of my friends", which led everybone to wonder if another layer was about to head south. Well, who couldn't chuckle at that.

It would be irresponsible of me, though, to simply portray Hornung as a cartoon. He actually told a terrific story about the first Notre Dame pep rally he attended. The year was 1953, and he was a freshman (frosh were ineligible then). The week before, Notre Dame catpain Don Penza had dropped a potential game-winning pass against Iowa. The Irish were No. 1 at the time, and the game ended in a 14-14 tie (ND finished No. 2 that year because of it).

Anyway, as Hornung told the story, Penza stood up at the old Fieldhouse here and in front of a crowd of 3,000 mostly male attendees ("We didn't have the pretty ladies then," Hornung noted. "Hell, I'd still be here"), he simply said, "Men, I'm sorry."

And here's what happened next, according to Hornung: "The next 25 minutes, they wouldn't let him speak. From that moment on, I knew what I loved."

And that's when, a few moments later, he looked at the Notre Dame players, all of them clad in suits, and admonished, "Take these friendships, and don't drop them."

Dont' drop them. Love that.
There are few moments that bring both a tear to your eye and make you giggle at the same time. This was one of them.

You can almost plot the situation out using the Cartesian coordinate system. X would be "time" and Y would be "No. of rumors about Charlie Weis being solicited about NFL job openings". It happened again this week and Weis addressed the topic head-on:

"Here's what happened. People start calling-- they're called feelers.

"People call early just to see. People haven't figured it out yet, so
let's see if we can get this settled once and for all, Tom. When we
re-did my contract last year, it should have alleviated any doubt that
I'm leaving here, leaving Notre Dame. It's alleviating all doubt. So
when people-- last year they called to see if you're interested because
you hadn't done that contract yet. This year they're calling to see if
the contract is real.

Because they want to find out if what you're saying-- what they hear
you're saying--is what the truth is. How many times do I have to say
the same thing? People still call, and they will continue to call.
It's a good thing because I always give the same answer. If I was giving
you one answer and him a different answer, it'd be a bad thing."

I've noticed that there's an inversely proportional relationship, by the way, between the number of rumors about Weis leaving for the NFL and the number of times media members equate the tenures of Weis and Tyrone Willingham in their respective positions via their records.

In December 1989, a few days before the Irish were to face Colorado in the Orange Bowl, USA Today's Danny Sheridan reported that ND coach Lou Holtz would leave for another job "some time before or after the Orange Bowl."

That is what he wrote. Honestly. I mean, how do you argue with that? Sheridan was correct, of course. Holtz did leave. He left seven seasons later, but leave he did. You can always trust Danny Sheridan.

By the way, they call it "Cartesian" after Rene Descartes. I don' t know why they don't call it "Descartesian".

Anyone taking bets on whether you'll be hearing Charlie Weis go Denny Green about an ursine opponent this Saturday? It ain't ever been less easy being Green than it was last night. Honestly, have you ever witnessed a press-conference meltdown that was more:

1) foreseeable?
2) forgiveable?

I grew up in Arizona and though I am no fan of the Buzzsaw, it was odd yesterday to begin the day in Phoenix, fly to Chicago, and then catch the 2nd half on television from the tropical environs that is South Bend. From nearly two decades of following the (fold-like-a-deck-of) Cards, however, I, like most Valley of the Sun natives, was just awaiting the implosion.
This time, however, AZ outdid even themselves. I mean, after Wrecks Grossman threw his 4th INT with less than six minutes left, even I thought it was over. And that was after Darnell Dockett's almost-TD runback off Grossman's 3rd INT a few minutes earlier.

Anyway, after that 4th pick I looked at my roommate, the ex-seminarian (how cliche of me, I mean, here in South Bend) who also happens to be a huge Bears fan, and said, "Well, that's it, I'm going to bed."

And I was barely in my room when he let out a WHOOP! and the next thing I see a Bear is running a fumble recovery into the end zone to make it 23-17. From there we all knew it was just a matter of time, didn't we? The punt return? Rackers' miss? Even the fact that it wasn't Leinart's fault (it's as if he's Marilyn and the rest of the franchise are the Munsters) was predictable.

Easily the most exciting and entertaining NFL game in years, at least to me.

Today I read on espn.com that it was the O-line's fault, while our own Tom Curran writes that it was Edgerrin James's fault (great weekend for the James family, no? What with l'il cuz playing for the Hurricanes). They're both correct, but can we also agree that maybe someone in the cardinal-colored jerseys should have blocked Brian "19 tackles" Urlacher?

This never would have happened had the Cards' given Rod Tidwell that contract extension he wanted.

This loss, even for the Cards', is a gutpunch. Maybe they should re-relocate. How about to a burgeoning metropolis like San Jose? The San Jose Cardenals? Anybody?

By the way, on the Card website it notes that Coach Green, whom I truly felt for last night (the only ones I felt worse for were the Cardinal defenders, who allowed nada), is also an expert fisherman who regularly appears on national fishing shows as well as the owner of his own sports marketing company. Coach, fisher, entrepeneur. Call him a jack-of-all-tirades.

The insufferable one just scored his second touchdown of the day on a 21-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe to make it 17-6 Dallas over the Texans

BALTIMORE - Nice drive - 9 plays, 65 yards in three minutes -- allows the Panthers to get up on Baltimore 13-7 at the break.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme had a huge first half going 15 for 21 for 193 yards with a touchdown and a pick.

Keyshawn Johnson and Steve Smith have combined for seven catches for 86 yards so far.

BALTIMORE - Boller just cashed in on the drive, with some good fortune mixed in.

On second-and-1 from the Carolina 14, Boller tried to hit Derrick Mason running a skinny post but Panthers corner Chris Gamble undercut the route and got a hand in. The pass ricocheted off his arm about 20 feet in the air and to the left. Waiting there, at the back of the end zone, was Ravens receiver Mark Clayton. Touchdown.

It's now 7-3 Baltimore.

BALTIMORE - As so often happens, a guy who expected to spend the day wearing headphones and a baseball hat while chewing sunflower seeds is playing loose and effectively.

Kyle Boller is in for the Ravens and is 5 for 10 for 46 yards and has the Ravens down to the Carolina 23 on his second drive of the game.

He best get points while the getting's good because -- inevitably -- he'll level off once his presence on the field instead of on the field sinks in.

BALTIMORE - Steve McNair is down after getting run over by a Panthers pass rush. He came off with assistance and is going immediately to the Ravens locker room.

BALTIMORE - The Panthers were cobbling together a nice little drive until, on third-and-6 from the Ravens 42, Jake Delhomme locked in on Keyshawn Johnson and under heavy pressure heaved a pass toward Key that was picked by Dawan Landry.

Not to be outdone, Steve McNair just air-mailed tight end Daniel Wilcox on a third-and-1 pass after Jamal Lewis ran for 9 yards on first and second down. The pass was picked off.

BALTIMORE - Staked to good field position after the Panthers kicked off out of bounds, the Ravens threw three times on their first drive and got a whole lot of nothing (5 yards). Clearly trying to loosen things up to commence pounding the run.

BALTIMORE - Among the inactives for the Panthers today are running back DeAngelo Williams, safety Shaun Williams, linebacker Shaun Davis, defensive tackle Jordan Carstens and center Justin Hartwig.

Carolina just booted the opening kickoff out of bounds. Bleech.

BALTIMORE - I'm here for the Ravens and Panthers watching 6-foot-9, 345-pound Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden skip down the sidelines.

He's nimble.

This is a huge game for the Panthers who follow this game by playing at Cincinnati and then hosting the Cowboys. They come in today at 3-2 having won three straight after tripping out of the gate with two losses.

Given the massive struggle the Ravens had moving the ball against Denver on Monday dealing with a difficult defense like Carolina's on a short week is not the right recipe for scoring a ton of points.

Terrell Owens coughs up the quotes everyone was expecting, saying he's not a big enough part of the offense. In other news, the sun will rise in the east today and is expected to set in the west.

Sunday in Philly, Owens caught three passes for 45 yards and had a pair of drops. He was thrown to 13 times according to the Cowboys but, given the game Drew Bledsoe had, "thrown to" is a loose definition of what some of the passes looked like.

Owens hasn't shanked Bledsoe yet.

"I think we all need to play better," Owens said. "That was one of the things (Bledsoe) came up to me and said. Even after the game, he sent me a text that said, `Stay with me,' he'll play better for me. You can only respect that. He's trying his best to get the ball to me in certain situations. It's hard when he has a lot of pressure on him."

One extremely interesting sideline note from Sunday's game is that the Cowboy who spent the most time next to and conversing with Owens during the game was Tony Romo, the Dallas backup quarterback. Given Owens' frustration level during the game, their sideline chatter must have been interesting.

It would have been better if Nick Saban said this last week instead of today.

"(Daunte Culpepper) needs to continue rehab so that he can play fast which is a real asset in his game. We tried to play him when he wasn't quite all the way back and I think it was affecting his ability. He's made progress from the second preseason game until right now but I'm afraid some of the hits he was taking were setting him back. I think his shoulder is OK. I think the shoulder was an issue short term that recoccured. But (it's an example) of putting a guy at risk to get something else hurt (because the knee wasn't ready) and this was the best thing to do."

Unfortunately, the Dolphins coach went the misdirection route out of the chutes when trying to ease his quarteback into the shop for further repairs.

As of today, though, it appears Saban's settling down. This blog listened on-line to his press conference and there was little of the "smarter than thou" bluster that too often creeps in when he thinks he's under siege.

Culpepper, meanwhile, is taking Saban off the hook with his comments.

"Everything good for you doesn't always feel good for you," Culpepper said in the Dolphins locker room today. "I have to say thank you to Coach Saban for protecting me and doing what's best for the team."

After four games of horrible quarterbacking, Culpepper was removed from the lineup last week. The cause was shady. The week began with Culpepper not on the injury report, then he was listed as having a shoulder issue. By late in the week, the Patriots believed Culpepper wasn't going to play but Culpepper still practiced Friday. When he was told by Saban he wasn't playing, Culpepper got riled. Then Saban said after Joey Harrington started at QB in a loss to the Patriots that it wasn't the shoulder that caused the team to sit Culpepper but the ongoing rehab of his knee.

Culpepper's going to rehab until, as he says, "(He) gets to 100 percent and can play the way Daunte Culpepper plays."

All this begs the question of A) Why Culpeper was allowed to play at much less than 100 percent when a celebrated coaching genius like Saban should have known Culpepper would be a sitting duck; and B) Why Culpepper wasn't able to come back by now when players like Rodney Harrison, Carson Palmer and others are back despite Harrison being four years older than Culpepper and Palmer having gotten hurt months after him.

The answer to "A" is that the Dolphins screwed up.

As for "B"?

"There are things we should have continued to do, he should have continued to do," said Saban. "Sometimes what happens is you get into football part of it and you think you're OK and you just start working 15 minutes instead of 45 and that's a part of getting back to full strength and full speed."

In other words, for all the hosannas thrown to Culpepper for working hard, maybe Vikings coach Brad Childress was on to something when he carved up Culpepper for refusing to rehab in Minnesota as late as last March, instead insisting on working out away from the team in Orlando.

A reader from Phoenix sends in the following comment:

I was at a Notre Dame press conference several weeks ago, and noticed that Sirius Radio is a sponsor of the illustrious Notre Dame football program. Does anyone else see the irony of Shock Jock Howard Stern and his network's alliance with the likes of Touchdown Jesus?

First, Phoenix Fan, thanks for writing. My mom gets bored being the only one who reads the Blog. But I must disagree with you. Rather than irony, it's harmony. Think about it. What do Howard Stern and Jesus have in common?

1. They're both Jewish.
2. They both say things that make some people, most of them hypocrites, uncomfortable.
3. They both have huge legions of loyal disciples.
4. And one of their most prominent disciples is named John.
5. They both started with nothing and now look how much they're worth.

The important rankings this week at Notre Dame:

Associated Press poll: No. 9
USA Today/Coaches Poll: No. 8
Amazon.com Best Sellers List: No. 1,283

That last number is due to change very soon.
The four-digit number is the as-I-type-this listing for Charlie Weis' autobiography (written along with veteran NFL writer Vic Carucci), "No Excuses". It is being released today. Tonight, from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m., Weis will be signing copies of the book at the Notre Dame Bookstore.

Do they expect a crowd? Beginning at 5 p.m. they will distribute line numbers to the first 200 consumers who buy a copy, but you can only have one book signed per line number.

Weis was asked today if he had read the book. "I wrote it," he replied.
Well, then, is he pleased with how it turned out? "I think it sounds like me."

As someone who has read the book, I can tell you that if you are already invested in Notre Dame football, then another $25.95 (or $17.13 at Amazon) will not trouble you (if only that coin could go toward your alumni donation). Anyway, I've read Lou Holtz's first Notre Dame book (written with current associate athletic director John Heisler), and while that one is far more anecdotal and funny, what do you expect? Holtz is a very clever and funny guy.

Weis' book, like the man himself, is more straightforward. It could be more--what was the word he used on Saturday?-- "meticulous" in terms of details, but he does open with a fantastic anecdote about a meeting he had with ND prez Fr. Ted Hesburgh when he was a student. There are some other worthwhile tales, such as how he met his wife, Moira--as well.

By the way, Weis the 1978 ND grad should climb into the top 500 in a day or two on Amazon's list. Nicholas Sparks, the 1988 ND grad, currently has his most recent novel, "Dear John", at No. 123.

PHILADELPHIA - Howard Eskin of WIP in Philadelphia is reporting that Terrell Owens entered the Cowboys locker room after their 38-24 loss and roared, "Why did you guys bring me here! Why the (bleep) am I here."

Owens, no doubt, was fuming over only catching three passes for 45 yards in the loss. By unofficial count, the Cowboys targeted Owens on 11 plays. He had three drops. Two passes intended for him were intercepted.

pout. He was just getting counseled and "Hang in there, Tigers" from kicker Mike Vanderjagt. Now there's a soulmate for ya...

PHILADELPHIA - In an effort to get the ball to Terrell Owens for the first time all day, the Cowboys decided to throw sideways. With 14:20 left in the half Bledsoe threw a quick wide receiver screen out to Owens on the left. "The player" stepped out of a tackle and picked up 9 yards then did a bastardized version of The Robot back to the huddle.

Oh, and it's 21-17 Dallas.

PHILADELPHIA - There will be no shortage of smirk-inducing replays when this one's done.

Donovan McNabb just got drilled from the front-side by Greg Ellis, the ball popped up and was picked off by DeMarcus Ware. En route to a 69-yard touchdown, L.J. Smith of the Eagles tried to pop the ball loose from behind and, instead, actually propelled Ware forward. Now it's 14-10, Dallas.

Oh, and looky, here goes L.J. Smith for 60 yards down to the Cowboys 2.

To come back from three first-quarter turnovers and still win but that's what the Cowboys are going to try to do. Drew Bledsoe just got picked by Brian Dawkins on a long throw down the left sideline. The Eagles ran a stunt on the defensive line on the play, freeing up Darren Howard to bring pressure up the middle on Bledsoe. He delivered under duress. Women, of course, do that all the time but quarterbacks aren't accustomed to it.

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles defense is going to have to ratchet up the stinginess if they want to stay competitive. The ease with which the Cowboys went downfield on their touchdown drive was eye-opening. Julius Jones ran seven times for 31 yards on the drive with carries of 10, 6, 4, 4, and 8 yards.

PHILADELPHIA - Matt McBriar bungled a punt snap, got annihilated by an oncoming Eagles rusher (we'll find out who it was, don't worry) and gave the ball up to the Eagles at the 5. Two plays later, the Eagles scored to make it 7-0 with 11:30 left in the first quarter.

Looking around the league, the two biggest surprises so far today have to be Detroit handling Minnesota so far and the Titans making life difficult for the Colts.

It's hard to imagine the Titans getting that horse into the barn, especially in Indy but the folks in Vegas had them as 18.5 point underdogs so there are people sitting pretty. Unless they had the Colts in their knockout pools.

The Vikings, as we type, have now tied their game at 17. Another surprise would be the Bills getting absolutely waxed by Chicago 30-0 at this point. And Joey Harrington (as I suspected) are hanging around at New England, 13-10. Tom Brady is going through another down week in a roller-coaster season. He hasn't cracked 100 yards passing as the third quarter nears its close. Harrington, meanwhile, is over 200 and has been very accurate.

Harrington's talented. And the time spent observing and coming in for a 1-3 team with minimal expectations all signaled for a good day from Joey.

PHILADELPHIA - Donte Stallworth leads the list of inactives. The Eagles wideout was doubtful with a hamstring injury but won't play. Also down for the Eagles are CB Roderick Hood, LB Defrick Roper, G Max Jean-Gilles, T Pat McCoy, T Winston Justice and DT Sam (Gene) Rayburn.

For the Cowboys, WR Miles Austin, CB Nathan Jones, LB Oliver Hoyte, DT J'Vonne Parker, G Cory Procter, T Pat McQuistan, WR Jamaica Rector and TE Ryan Hannam all will sit.

Bledsoe got sacked twice and had two passes batted down but avoided the pick....(see comments section for further edification).

PHILADELPHIA - Owens was just overthrown by Drew Bledsoe while running a post into the end zone. The 100 or so fans already lining the front row roared with approval which Owens respnded to with a smile.

Donovan McNabb is on the field now as well. He doesn't seem upset about Owens. But you can never be too sure. If someone has a chance, maybe they'll ask McNabb about Owens after the game. But there's no guarantee.

PHILADELPHIA - Owens, Terry Glenn and the other Cowboys receivers are runnign short routes for Drew Bledsoe. Owens has some kind of nylon shirt thing that has one short sleeve and one cut off sleeve with a white T-shirt under. The bottom of his cleats are shiny silver.

Sometimes sportswriting isn't a profession that does a lot for your dignity.

PHILADELPHIA - There are 21 television cameras still photographers stationed at the players entrace to the field waiting for Terrell Owens to enter the field.

There are 13 security personnel there. Owens just trotted by and onto the field at 2:33. He's wearing tights.

PHILADELPHIA - The day is perfect. Not a cloud to be seen currently, 150 minutes before kickoff. And it's about 75 degrees.

I took a long walk to get into Lincoln Financial Field getting dropped off about a mile from the stadium to drink in the atmosphere. And there was drinking in the atmosphere, lemme tellya (ba-dump, bump).

The police presence is, as advertised, very significant. Walking in front of the Phillies stadium, Citizens Bank Park, which is right next to Lincoln Financial Field, a souped-up paddywagon with the words "Major Incident Response Team" rolled by.

Good name for a band, ain't it.

Checking in with my credential, I asked the people at the desk how it looked upstairs in the press box.

"Mobbed," came the reply.

We'll be updating frequently as players come onto the field.

The sideshow of the T.O. sideshow actually is the coverage of the sideshow.

The difference between NE and ND?

Well, in the NFL coaching staffs can receive stiff fines if they do not accurately note an injured player's status ("questionable", "probable", etc.). However, in college, you don't have to tell anyone anything. Thus, the media being pretty much in the dark about tri-captain and strong safety Tom Zbikowski not playing in the first half.

Coach Weis did inform the media on Wednesday about the injury status of a few players whose status was uncertain. Fullback Asaph Schwapp was having season-ending knee surgery; the status of players such as David Grimes, Bob Morton, Travis Thomas and Ambrose Wooden was also noted.

But Tom Zbikowski? Well, he's not that important to the Irish defense, so why mention him? Tactically, it's hard to argue with Charlie's secrecy. Maybe this was truly a game-time decision. Perhaps if Stanford's receivers had better hands, Zibby would be playing this afternoon.

We'll just have to wait until the game is over to discover what's going on.

Okay, so I'll keep updating this blog with a lot of brief notes.

For instance, last year at Stanford Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-0 lead via a Brady Quinn-to-Jeff Samardzija touchdown pass. That drive took two plays and lasted 15 seconds. The touchdown pass was good for 80 yards.

Today? Notre Dame jumps out to a 7-0 lead on the Cardinal via a Quinn-to-Samardzija touchdown pass. This drive takes 17 plays and lasts more than 7 minutes (7:10). The TD pass was good for 8 yards.

While killing a few minutes on this fantastic fall day up in Notre Dame's suddenly extremely roomy press box (none of the national boys showed today...that's more chili for me!), here's a few notes I thought you might be interested in. And if you are not, I bet JIMMY CLAUSEN is:

1. With a 262 yard passing day this afternoon, Brady Quinn would become the first Notre Dame quarterback to eclipse the 10,000-yard mark. The next closest behind BQQB is Ron Powlus, who threw for 7,602 career yards.

2. BQQB is currently .03 percentage points behind Powlus in career completion percentage for 2nd place. A precision day today should put him ahead of Powlus and ehind only Kevin McDougal, who was the one-year starter in 1993.

3. Quinn should have his 20th career 250-yard passing day against the Cardinal. The next best ND quarterback, Jarious Jackson, had nine.

Belinda Carlisle was once a cute but corpulent lead singer for the best all-girl band of the Eighties, if not ever, The Go-Go's (and I'm including Josie and the Pussycats, the Pussycat Dolls and Journey in that lineup). She even had a fat girl name.
Then, some time around 1985 or '86 Carlisle took off the pounds and added some red tint to her hair. For a brief while there she was the hottest woman in rock. And this was before Tae Bo, Pilates or NutriSystem had been invented. I'm still shocked that she never opened a chain of "Belinda Carlisle Weight-Loss Centers".

Except that she was no longer singing rock. Or even New Wave. She was singing Casey Kasem-worthy Top 40 pablum such as "Mad About You" (a song that spawned a lame sitcom) and "I Get Weak" (which did not). However, she did have one song that was so over-the-top hokey that, like those worms in the "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan", they burrow inside your head and drive you mad. And that song was "Heaven is a Place on Earth" ("Ooh, baby do you know what that's worth/Ooh, heaven is a place on earth"), whose melody twenty years later I still cannot escape.

All of which is to say that yesterday and today are the reasons, climatically, that you live in the Midwest. There are not very many of them, but that fortnight period between about Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 is absolutely sublime. It'll be hard to believe this in February, but on a day such as today in South Bend, ooh, heaven is a place on earth.

One last thing: During my days as a student at Notre Dame, which coincided with Belinda's transition from Snickers queen to uber-babe, someone continuously placed a classified (it was free to do so) in The Observer that read something like: "ND Girls, take a lesson from Belinda Carlisle. Drop 25 pounds and see how the world will change for you."
It wasn't me, I swear. But there were no shortage of (sexually frustrated) suspects on campus.

It's 8 a.m. and I must have already had too many Bloody Marys, because I'm standing inside the Linebacker Lounge and I would swear that Mike Greenberg is wearing a leprechaun outfit. As it turns out, I have had too many Bloody Marys, but my eyes are not fooling me. The ESPN morning radio dude, the lighter half of Mike & Mike, is wearing a leprechaun costume. Turns out he lost a bet to Mike Golic, his radio partner and my former Dillon Hall dorm mate.

Why have I gotten up so early and trudged over to the 'backer? For you. For you. I came for you. (my editor reacts to Springsteen lyrics the way Gomez reacted when Morticia spoke French...if only he were a fabulous babe). Anyway, I figured I'd drive the mile and a half from my bed to the 'backer, and after a B.M. (Bloody Mary, people! Please, you disgust me), return home.

Well, the 'backer was packed. And even though you could see Matt and Meredith on one TV, people were drinking and smoking as if it were last call. All that was missing was someone holding the lightweight's hair back as she knelt over the toilet, but then, my hair's fairly short.

Really, I'm not in the habit of waking up before dawn and downing Bloody Marys. My brother Porge is, but I'm not.

Anyway, the special guest at 8:05 was Charlie Weis, and Mike (the green one), knowing that Charlie's a Yankee fan, asked him about A-Rod's latest meltdown at the plate yesterday. And Charlie, being Charlie, replied that you just can't put it on A-Rod, that the whole heart of the order was 1 for 14 in Game 2 against the Tigers.

I swear, Charlie and I might as well be attached at the hip. We both obsess over Notre Dame football, the Yankees and the Gilmore Girls (I'm just assuming that last one). Charlie's comment betrayed that he'd already read today's sports section, as did a later remark about how he doesn't believe in running up the score on an opponent. That sound bite was most likely an allusion to a commentary in this morning's South Bend Tribune by columnist Jason Kelly, who wrote, "With six gimmes, Irish just can't win".

Although Kelly's point was NOT that it isn't enough for the Irish to win, that they need to blow opponents out. Kelly's point was that, with a creampuff schedule (trap game: Navy; hear me now and listen to me later), the Irish can't win if they cover the spread (expected) and they certainly cannot win if they don't (underwhelming).

It's hard to disagree with Charlie about his refusal to run up the score--example: against Michigan--but I think he should be conscious of how many points his defense allows. A 28-0 or 35-0 victory against Stanford is impressive without being obnoxious. But if the Irish give up more than 10 points tomorrow to a team that has scored 19 in its last three games, no amount of touchdowns the Irish score will make the win look good.

By the way, Charlie: Derek Jeter, 6 for 10 in the first two games against the Tigers, A-Rod, 1 for 8. During Game 1 my roommate, who doesn't get to see the Yankees as often as I do, asked if it was fair how people say that A-Rod is not a gamer. At the time the score was 0-0 and I told him, "A-Rod will only get a hit if the Yankees are up or down by more than three runs." (I know, Bill Simmons and others have been saying this forever, but I watch my Yankees almost every day). Anyway, what happens next?

Johnny Damon, single.
Derek Jeter, single.
Bobby Abreu, double.
Gary Sheffield, single.
Jason Giambi, home run.

Five consecutive Yankee batters, five hits, 5-0 score. A-Rod's up next: single. And that's his only hit of the Series so far. You can throw all the numbers you want at me, Joe Morgan and Joe Buck, but A-Rod, this year, is baseball's version of a garbage-time All-Star. Whatever the opposite of money in the bank is, that's A-Rod. Unless it's his money, of course.

1. T.O. says, "Message? What message?

2. Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette says Big Ben has been Kordellian.

3. Hey Albert, you know you messed up when Kevin Mawae thinks you've gone over the line.

4. Chris Simms, one spleen lighter, will get his chat on this afternoon.

5. The Philly Inquirer got bang for its buck with Shannon Ryan in Dallas. Here's one of her four stories today showing Bill Parcells' tender side in the case of stomped center Andre Gurode.

6. Advice streams in for The Mighty Vince.

7. Nick Saban says the Dolphins didn't ask for all the high expectations.

8. Packers defenders are stunned and amazed that Ahmad Carroll got cut. If thought bubbles were reality, they would have read, "Uh-oh, they're taking this stuff serious I guess."

9. It just ain't working out for David Givens in Tennessee.

10. Nice to see Jonathan Vilma being a pro. Seriously.

I made Tom Zbikowski laugh today. And I didn't say a thing.

Every Wednesday Zbikowski and Brady Quinn each do a 20-minute tele-conference. So that reporters listening in on the telephone can participate, and for other reasons, the media in attendance must use a microphone when asking their questions. So picture this auditorium, with movie-theater seats, and reporters walking down the aisles to pass the mic to one another.

That's your setup.

Anyway, Ken Fowler, the sports editor of The Observer, had just finished asking a question and I felt the need to justify my existence, so I motioned to Ken for the mic. I had to walk over about three seats to retrieve it, and when I returned to my seat and went to push my keester into it, well, it was Mary Catherine Gallagher in the girls' room, if you know what I mean.
Full sprawl. And Zibby just shook his head and chuckled.
Now, for anyone who knows me personally, this is the tiniest of surprises. My nickname is Spilly, after all. I spill things all the time, even myself. I pulled a similar stunt at a women's Final Four press conference in front of Geno Auriemma and Sue Bird a few years back, but here's the difference...the internet was not so advanced then.

Now? Well, you can visit und.com and surf around a little. Hit the "football" link and then look for the Tom Zbikowski press conference link. Press "WATCH NOW!" You won't see me Chevy Chasing it, but you will see Zbikowski's chuckle. It's in the first half of the video.

Suddenly I have compassion for Lindsay Lohan.

A whiparound look at Tuesday's news of note.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant gets perspective on how the Giants feel about Jeremy Shockey's comments and contributions in 2006.

Chris Havel of the Green Bay Press Gazette lacerates a still smoldering Ahmad Caroll for his work last night.

The venerable Nick Canepa of he San Diego Union-Tribune gently decries Marty Schottenheimer's lack of killer instinct Sunday in Baltimore.

Steve Corkran in the Contra Costa Times says Art Shell is down on the coaches in the booth who didn't call for a challenge against the Browns. Meanwhile, Randy Moss is blissful.

John Tomase of the Boston Herald has the Pats doffing caps to Reche Caldwell after the wideout came back from a medieval hit against the Bengals.

The Miami Herald reports that the chunks are hitting the fan in Miami.

Tom Rock of Newsday notes that Eric Mangini is comfy with his decision to go for the throat in the third against the Colts.

Clare Farnsworth of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on the Seahawks getting a blow

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has Charlie Frye flogging himself.

David Boclair of the Tennesseean has Jeff Fisher speaking with Adam Jones on his word selection.

BALTIMORE - You had to see what's gone on here in the last quarter to believe it. Baltimore now leads 16-13 because Marty Schottenheimer tried to take the air out of the ball for pretty much the entire second half.

BALTIMORE - So San Diego has the ball at the Baltimore 25 with a first down and ends up having to attempt a 51-yard field goal which never happens because holder Mike Scifres mishandles the snap. He tried to throw a pass forward but it fell out of his hands and was ultimately recovered by San Diego but at their own 43. Kinda looked like a fumble on the replay.

Unfortunately for the Ravens, they were out of challenges so the ruling of an incomplete pass stood and the Ravens took over on their own 33.

Then Marty -- inexplicably -- threw his challenge flag before somebody told him it'd be better if the Ravens drive started at the Baltimore 33 instead of the Chargers 45.

BALTIMORE - San Diego's Mike Scifres just cranked a Ruthian punt, a 71-yarder INTO THE WIND!! There's 10:43 left in the game and San Diego leads 13-7. Marty can't get out of here fast enough with this win.

Looks like he will Donnie Edwards just picked off McNair with a diving play. He fumbled during the return but San Diego receoverd at the Baltimore 25.

BALTIMORE - Here's going for it on the road. The Chargers end up with first-and-20 at their own 18 and they ran LaDainian Tomlinson three times for 8 yards then punted it away.

Schottenheimer coaching with a lead is like an 87-year-old grandmother driving on the highway at night in a hailstorm.

BALTIMORE - OK, the Ravens lost the challenge, the ball and their final timeout and they trail 13-7.

It's really really nice out though.

And the Ravens just failed to pick up a fumble by Lorenzo Neal inside the Chargers 10.

BALTIMORE - This play is being challenged but Baltimore just had second-and-goal from the 2 and ran a shovel pass to tight end Daniel Wilcox. Wilcox got stood up by Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper and then the ball squirted loose, recovered by San Diego which leads 16-7 with 5:18 left in the third. If the Ravens don't win this challenge, they're out of timeouts.

BALTIMORE - I don't know how the Ravens fix what's going on with them offensively.

The Chargers are just playing downhill on defense. They seem so fast against both the run and the pass and Ravens QB Steve McNair doesn't seem comfortable with what he's looking at. Hence the 5 for 12 for 25 yards in the first half line.

Baltimore's managed just 45 yards of offense so far. The speed of the Chargers defense is the kind you see when a really good college team matches up with a pretty good college team. Think Miami against anyone outside the top 10 in the mid-90s.

****

Reggie Bush is laboring against Carolina. He's got six carries for 8 yards and just ran around like a cracked-out squirrel on a punt return inside his 5 before being hauled down for a 4-yard loss.

*****

Vince Young was 9 for 13 for 99 yards against the Cowboys in the first half. Good for him, I say. Good for Vince.

BALTIMORE - The Ravens-Chargers game has officially devolved into a rock fight bereft of offense.

On the Ravens last drive, Steve McNair threw a punt. Seriously. That was picked off by Quentin Jammer. The Chargers just ran some overhand option play that went for nothing.

BALTIMORE -- A very interesting play just happened.

On first-and-10 from the San Diego 43, outside linebacker Shawne Merriman lined up on the right of the Baltimore offense over Ravens tight end Todd Heap. Just before the snap, Merriman and the OLB on the left, Shaun Philips switched sides. At the snap, Merriman drove Ravens tight end Daniel Wilcox into the backfield where -- it just so happened -- Baltimore was trying to run a wide receiver reverse with Mark Clayton and they lost 3 yards.

As with any reverse, the Ravens were trying to use the pursuit and speed of the defense and Merriman against it. But the last-second switch of Merriman to the reverse side blew that up.

Following the reverse there was a 5-yard sack and a punt.

Now San Diego has third-and-4 from its own 22 with 8:19 left.

BALTIMORE - Steve McNair just got the Ravens in the end zone to cap that drive started by the Philip Rivers pick to Bart Scott. The drive went 22 yards in five plays and ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Wilcox. So much for a defensive struggle, and all those who "officially" predicted a low-scoring affair may be sweating already.

BALTIMORE - With Antonio Gates having leaked out behind the linebackers and away from the safeties, all Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers needed to do was put some air under his throw and San Diego had a 20-plus yard play. He didn't, though, and Ravens LB Bart Scott made the pick in San Diego territory and returned it to the San Diego 22.

Now Baltimore is at the Chargers 7 on the verge of tying things with 6:30 left in the first.

BALTIMORE - Philip Rivers just hit Antonio Gates with a little dive pass that Gates juggled and caught on third-and-13 that extended the Chargers opening drive.

SD is now on the Baltimore 31. Scratch that, they're in the end zone after Malcom Floyd stepped inside Samari Rolle on a fly pattern down the rght sideline. Rolle slipped, Floyd scored.

7-0.

BALTIMORE - The Ray Lewis Pregame Seizure remains the single goofiest thing in the NFL and perhaps all of professional sports.

And no, I don't think I would say that to his face. But I might. It bugs me that much.

BALTIMORE - We're less than an hour from kickoff here in Baltimore. The inactives:

Ravens: David Pittman, Derrick Martin, P.J. Daniels, Cory Ross, Dan Cody, Devard Darling, Clarence Moore and Dwan Edwards.

Chargers: Billy Volek (3rd QB), Cletis Gordon, Bhawoh Jue, Andrew Pinnock, Terrence Kiel, Leander Jordan, Greg Camarillo and Ryan Krause.

Terrell Suggs of the Ravens, who was dinged coming into the game, is on the field and taking part fully in pregame warmups.

Ben Roethlisberger has head gas.

*****

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post gets after the minimal coverage (except on NBCSports.com) of the Ricky Manning Jr. case where he allegedly called a beating victim an "ugly (expletive) Jew." Good point by the great Mushnick.

*****

BALTIMORE - Chargers color guy and former special teams ace Hank Bauer just traipsed through the press box. Cool guy who - in terms of intensity - seems like he could strap it on and hit the field RIGHT NOW if necessary. He believes this Chargers team is absolutely loaded despite having beaten the meager talents of Tennessee and Oakland.

Press Box Side Notes

The press box here is terrific. We're probably about 30 feet above the field hanging behind the first level. And the bacon? Tremendous.

(Happy, Doug?)

BALTIMORE - Steve McNair got out on the field at 10:15 and has been working alone on his drops and footwork under a bright and beautiful late September sky here at M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore.

The anticipation for this game in Baltimore is terrific. There were people milling around outside the stadium at 8:30 a.m. There's enthusiasm and then there's twisted. That may fall in the twisted category.