While it's not at the Twilight Zone level of the Ron Zook or Frank Solich firings, I'm annoyed at Notre Dame's firing of Ty Willingham today.

Willingham becomes the first Notre Dame head coach to get fired before the end of his initial contract. I don't necessarily find that annoying, but it's irritating to think that lesser coaches (hello, Gerry Faust) got that consideration when they probably didn't deserve it.

More annoying is that Willingham spent three years installing a new offense, only to get canned just as he's starting to get all of the players recruited specifically for that offense into the starting lineup. Then again, the problem may be more defensive in nature (see the late losses to BC and Pitt and this past weekend's thumping by USC, which proves that I should watch the whole game as I didn't think it got that bad).

Most annoying - I don't think Willingham would have gotten the gate if Urban Meyer wasn't out there. Not that it's his fault; that lies squarely with the alumni, tout sheet writers, and other loudmouths who've been fueling the fire since September.

What it comes down to, I suppose, is that I'm irritated that Notre Dame is allowing itself to fall prey to the same inanities that bedevil other division 1A programs. I know they're not perfect, but the idea that Notre Dame approaches college football differently from other schools is in the ICU and fading. I suppose it was only a matter of time (and, of course, money).

Stealing a page from Craig, here’s my 24 hours of football (from over the last 4 days):

HIGH SCHOOL: While I didn’t see the game, it is my sad duty to report that the Manchester-Essex Regional High School Hornets fell to our hated rivals from Georgetown, thus tagging the Hornets with a 0-11 record for the season. I’m not sure if it’s the first winless season in school history, but I have to think it’s the first 11 loss season they’ve ever suffered. The team was very young, having graduated many of the players who led the team to the conference title last season. Better things have to be ahead for 2005.

COLLEGE: When did Craig James become the BCS’s bitch? It seems like every time I saw him talk he was spouting off on why the teams from outside of the BCS arrangement didn’t deserve to make it. He felt very strongly that BC deserved to make it over Utah or Boise State – this before BC got slapped around at home by Syracuse, keeping the Orangemen alive for a BCS berth at 6-5.

Nope, nothing wrong with the BCS at all.

I was rooting for Texas A&M against Texas, both because they’re my default Texas team and because it could get two non-BCS teams into the mix. I didn’t expect A&M to win, but I thought they played pretty well. I had the same reasons for rooting for Notre Dame over USC (ok, they’re not my default Texas team, but you get my drift), and they more or less went the same way as the Aggies.

Oddly enough, the BC-Syracuse game is probably the one I watched the most of, primarily because the result was so unlikely. I had resigned myself to seeing BC in the Fiesta, but should have taken my lesson from the Sox and kept the faith.

I felt badly about Louisville beating Cincinnati 70-7, as the Cardinals went the Bob Stoops route to trying to impress voters to hopefully make up ground in the polls. Because, really, it’s not going to work. Voters know that the Bearcats stink; you don’t get extra credit for pounding that sort of team (or shouldn’t). I suppose they may have had Texas lost.

And I’d like to call a quick truce with northern New England to give kudos to the UNH football team, who won their first 1-AA playoff game ever by handing Georgia Southern its first first round loss ever (and doing so in Statesboro, no less).

PRO: My viewing of the NFL today was impeded by the drive back from Maine and some playing of one of those vintage video game things that have the games loaded into the controller box (the wife got one for her birthday that includes Ms. Pac Man, Xevious, Galaga, and Pole Position – I’m not sure why Pole Position is included with a handset of Namco games, but I’m digging it).

I did see most of the Pats game, and the real story there was the field. It seems like every year at this time the pounding brought by the MLS and NFL make the field a quagmire when there’s rain.

And there was rain today. Boy howdy, was there rain (I think it was the rain the UNH got to play in last night).

The Revs have to find a new home. I happen to know a place where there’s a new turn field paid for by the WUSA. They’d need to put in some new seating, but it’s a nice Boston location in an area with a lot of students. You just have to make sure you don’t have any home games during finals, lest there be more riots.

Address all inquiries to Dr. Aram Chobanian, 2 Sherborn Street, Boston.

I did watch goodly portions of both Thanksgiving games, even that ugly Dallas-Chicago match up. I had picked Dallas as one of my teams in Craig’s cut-throat league, so it was the one time during the year that I lean for the Cowboys to score enough points to beat another team I don’t care about in a situation that will not lead to a playoff berth.

Then again, the way the NFC is going Dallas may still have a shot if they win out.

I also picked Miami in their tilt against the 49ers. I liked the way they played against Seattle the week previous, and figured I had to take them at some point. Why not now?

I’d considered taking both Miami and San Francisco as a strategic two points. Probably a good thing I didn’t, though at some point before the end of the season I’ll still have to take the Niners. Ugh.

I’d thought the Bengals-Browns game went to OT when I saw the score there, but then reminded myself that the NFL doesn’t use the NCAA tiebreak. It’s games like this that make fantasy geeks all tingly.

Now that Eli Manning is 0-2, are we ready for Warner’s second go ‘round? Will they try to get Kerry Collins back from Oakland? Do they have Vince Evans’ number in their Rolodex?

There’s also been an unusual amount of confusion by announcers today. Jim Nantz called Corey Dillon “Warrick Dunn” a couple of times, and Phil Simms had trouble keeping Chester Taylor and Travis Taylor separate. Mike Patrick also noted that it was still odd seeing Warren Sapp in any other uniform than Denver’s – I think the orange confused him.

Are condos evil?

Admittedly, this is kind of an unusual question, given that I know a few people who own condos and they all seem to have made out fine on the deal. But these people own condos in an urban context, where condos make a good option when put against the smallish stock of houses and the lack of return one gets from renting.

My question comes from my current suburban context, where there are plenty of houses and even a few places where one could build more. On some level, I'm thinking that the condo market, purposefully or otherwise, is propping up the high cost of houses by being the only affordable option that results in actual property ownership.

Now, if people didn't want condos you'd assume they wouldn't sell. But they seem to be (based on what I see being built), so I'm trying to sort out whether they're popular or people are just giving in. Like with the root canals, I may be talking through my hat and looking for a scam where none exists.

My concern here may be fueled by condo projects that went up in my home town when I was in high school and college, many of which struggled to find full occupancy. I suppose they're full now, but the years of seeing places with as few as four units only half full makes me skeptical.

In any event, thoughts on this are welcome. Happy Thanksgiving to all where a Happy Thanksgiving would apply!

I think the person who came up with the metaphor of herding cats for a difficult task was, at some point, a middle school gym teacher.

At least, that's my theory based on my experiences this week, where I was involved with trying to corral up to 60 7th and 8th graders. Thankfully, there are three teachers, and the weather's been nice enough that outdoor stuff is available.

I think that gym has been the hardest subject to sub for so far given that the students are (a) semi-anonymous, and (b) in a large room with several exits, some out of the locker rooms. It went OK, but it was much more touch and go than regular classroom assignments where the students have work and there's one door.

Anyway, here's one for the P.E. teachers.

So there's good news and bad news relative to my just-completed trip to the dentist.

The good news is that one of the fillings went off without a hitch. The bad news is that the other was worse than expected and a root canal, with a post, crown and all the trimmings, is in the offing. Can't say I'm thrilled at the prospect.

(And for all of you who are planning on posting saying that it's what I get for waiting so long to return to the dentist, Sarah's beaten you to it. So don't bother.)

While I am disliking both the likely pain and certain cost of the procedure, there's also a feeling that I'm pretty much throwing money down a hole. It seems like anyone who's had a root canal has pretty meagre results. I'm wondering if it wouldn't make more long-term sense to chuck the tooth and get an implant. Granted, this could be the inexperience with things dental talking.

I'll open the floor to discussion - do I have any options here, or do I just suck it up and get the root canal?

OK, I've really got nothing to say, but I'm trying to kill some time before going to the dentist to get some cavities drilled. I'm told that most of what's coming is minor, but given my continuing stance on the lack of progress in dental technology since the 15th century, I'm not looking forward to this.

Given what some of you've been through recently (hello, Greg), I have no right to be a baby about this. On the other hand, having a blog gives you a licence to whine, doesn't it?

I've not said anything about reality TV in a while (and I know you've missed it), but there is one particularly annoying thing that's become more obvious on The Apprentice. There's an increasing amount of post-taped boardroom dialog from Trump (and at least once from Carolyn), which stands out given that it sounds different. I don't know the technical terms to use here, but it just sounds remarkably different. Content-wise it sounds a little scripted, too, given Trump's usual off the cuff remarks. You'd think with the two-plus hours of boardroom they'd be able to get 10 good minutes, but apparently not.

Greetings from the computer in the lobby of the Hampton Inn in Voorhees, New Jersey! Sarah and I are here for a wedding, as fellow BUCBer Chris Rosenberg takes the plunge.

This is a very positive end to a week that saw me attend a funeral on Tuesday for a family friend and former co-worker of my mother. She had the same cancer as her husband, which was also the same sort of cancer as my mother. As you can imagine this has raised some warning signs regarding unusual environmental exposures (especially as we all live near the town Highway Department yard), though my mom and the friend's husband were both long-term smokers. Not sure if it's time to go all A Civil Action on people or not.

In a lot of ways, Tuesday marked the end of our neighborhood. The people I remember growing up are all pretty much dead (outside of one family that moved in next door when I was in late elementary/junior high). As much as I went to mourn this woman, I also went to mourn the end of where I grew up. I suppose this happens to everyone eventually, but I'd not really considered it until Tuesday.

This was also the first non-Catholic funeral I've ever attended (not counting graveside-only funerals), which suggests I'm a little closer to Mike Kellerman's Irish Catholic cocoon that I'd imagined previously. For those of you who don't get that reference, please peruse an episode guide for Homicide: Life on the Streets and don't expect me to say anything about wanting to plotz.

Anyway, more positive focus tomorrow for Chris and Ali. It should be a joyous time!

I am proud to announce that, like one of the Coreys (Haim, I think), I am now licensed to drive.

This may come as a surprise to some of you, assuming that most people of my age got their license years ago. I managed to avoid this through a curious mixture of disinterest and city living.

Unlike many of my fellow teens, I didn't care all that much about driving. I was fortunate enough to have older friends who had their licenses, so as I neared the usual age the lack of a license didn't weigh on me as much. So I didn't really do too much to get one (though I did eventually take driver's ed and take a lackluster go at the driving test).

Then there was the good decade or so that I was living in Boston, where having a car is often a disadvantage. I got an ID to take care of the various things that require one, but never really thought about driving.

This did make the time I lived at home a little dicey, not to mention my time out at Babson. There was only so much I could do on foot in either location.

As it is with so many things, it was the wife that got me moving towards actually obtaining my license. And as it is with many of those things, it's probably for the better.

Not that getting it was that easy. In Massachusetts you take the road test with a state trooper (they took over the Registry police force about 15 years ago), and they don't often pass you the first time around. In fact, the first time I took the test the trooper who rode with me didn't even get the stamp that they use to endorse the learner's permit until my test (bad luck for the 2 or 3 people who went before me). Not that it mattered; I was told that I needed more experience. This based on a test whose trickiest element was a three point turn.

The second test went well - until I hit the curb in front of the Registry at the end of the test. The third time proved to be the charm, ironic in that (a) I had a different trooper this time, and (b) I think I drove better during my two other tests.

I've not really taken the car out on my own too much, as I don't often go places without the wife and gas is too expensive to go joyriding. At some point I'll get out on the open road. I'll try to warn you before that happens.

After a couple days of processing, there's not much more I can add to what some of my fellow bloggers at left have said about the election.

But there was one interesting statement made by Tucker Carlson during the CNN coverage. He noted that after Goldwater lost, the GOP spent some time "in the woods" so to speak, writing and thinking about the party and conservatism, setting a base for the GOP success over the last 20 years or so.

I'm wondering if it isn't time for the Dems to do the same. Not that they need to cede the playing field, of course, but rather that it may be a good time to stop and really think about long-term focus and direction. Right now it's kind of a mess. While he was speaking in a different context, I think Danny Concannon had a point about Dems being bumfuzzled a bit.

Going back to suggestions made by Cooch and Boggie, if you really are concerned about where our government is taking us, just showing up to vote every two to four years may not be enough. I was heartened to read about a number of people my age (and younger) taking time to work at polls, which is a nice break from the string of retirees who usually inhabit polling places.

I would also like mention Dwight and Craig's burgeoning Mascot Party, of which I think I'd have to be a charter member given my Yahoo profile picture. Please note it is the only picture I've ever used.

Sticking with Dwight's comments for a second, I was also disappointed with the skating rink turned electoral map on NBC. Horribly underutilized. I mostly watched ABC and CNN. You'd think it was ABC's first time covering a Presidential election, given the overall lack of coordination. Peter Jennings also seemed to be having a lot of trouble with the touch screen that accessed maps and such. Good thing he's Canadian; his lack of touch screen prowess could have messed up a polling place big time.


CNN was as CNN does, though they were being very cautious with calling states. On the other end, the first call for New Hampshire that I heard came from a guy on our local NBC affiliate. I suppose he had less to lose than a national anchor.

While I can't speak for other locations, I can say that voting in ward 2, precincts 1 and 2 in Beverly, Massachusetts is going swimmingly. Having the flexibility to vote in the early afternoon, after lunch and before work lets out, is a real plus. No lines, no lawyers trying to disenfranchise me, and no chads.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure why more locations don't use optical machines. I imagine there's a technology investment to make, but the tech is pretty straightforward. Not to mention that if you've ever had to fill out a form, or went to kindergarten, you understand the single most important principle to voting this way: color in the lines. Even I, as someone who could never stay in the lines in my youth, can get the hang of these ballots.

There's really nothing I can say about the process here, too easy. The benefit of living in a state where the results were never in doubt, if you can call it that.