The Mass of Remembrance for Declan Sullivan

The University of Notre Dame has posted a video of Thursday night's Mass for Declan Sullivan.  Here's a link:

LINK:  CELEBRATING DECLAN SULLIVAN'S LIFE

The University of Notre Dame -- An Easy Target

This week's tragedy on the Notre Dame football practice field served up another "fat one" for an opportunistic main stream media.  You see, Notre Dame is an easy target for the media -- always has been, always will be -- for this simple reason:  they dare to do things right.

On a typical college football Saturday, a day that you could find a running back in the SEC (Chris Rainey) -- playing for the beloved Urban Meyer's Florida Gators, who just a few weeks ago is arrested for threatening to kill his girlfriend -- scores a TD in their win over Georgia.  Or, in the Big Ten -- where this past Thursday a defensive back from Michigan State (Chris Rucker) was sitting in a jail cell (serving a two week prison sentence for a parole violation) and two days later, he's in uniform -- playing against Iowa for the undefeated Spartans.

Yet, the media's not talking about Florida and Michigan State's "win at all cost" approach today -- no, they're talking about the university that dares to graduate all of its student athletes.  The school that sends you home for a semester or longer; for cheating on a paper, for driving a golf cart on campus while intoxicated, etc.   The EASY TARGET, because it dares to have standards and expectations for its student athletes and its university.

The University of Notre Dame failed one of its own this past Wednesday -- we know that -- and trust me, Notre Dame knows that.  Declan Sullivan's death was a tragedy, it was an accident and it can't be taken back.  The Sullivan's lost a son, a brother and a shining light on Wednesday -- Notre Dame lost one of its own.

What good does the media serve this morning with their attack on Notre Dame?

Do they think Notre Dame won't do their absolute best to ensure an accident like this never happens again?  Or, do they really think Notre Dame's going to "look the other way" and they (the media) need to serve the public good and force Notre Dame to do the right thing?

No, this is a selfish move -- to drive up ratings, page views and newspaper sales.

They know Notre Dame is going to do the right thing.

Shouldn't the media be putting the spotlight on schools like Florida and Michigan State -- maybe, just maybe they can help save a life -- by forcing these schools (and others) to "do the right thing" -- and not look the other way -- even when it might lead to a defeat on the football field...??

It just goes to show -- that administrators in Gainesville and East Lansing believe there are benefits in having such low expectations of their student athletes, their football programs and their universities.

Isn't this where the outrage should be today?

The Next Great Irish QB?

He's a nineteen year-old "baby faced" Notre Dame freshman -- who now just happens to be the starting QB for the Fighting Irish.  Tommy Rees, didn't earn that starting role -- he inherited it.  Yet, after yesterday's record setting performance for a freshman -- 4 TD passes going 33-54 and 334 yards -- Rees proved he belongs.


As a point of reference, Jimmy Clausen threw seven TD passes his entire freshman season in ten games as a starter.  Rees throws five TD passes in his five quarters of relief duty.  

He just might be the perfect passing QB for Brian Kelly's system.  Rees appears to get rid of the ball on time and is accurate -- two key elements in Kelly's spread offense.  While I don't think he'll ever be the runner I'm sure Kelly would like -- he can move the Irish down the field and score.  Think about it, he comes in off the bench in the first quarter (in the middle of an Irish possession) and proceeds to complete his first eight passes and leads the Irish to TD's the first two times he's on the field.


In a season that has turned into an unmitigated disaster -- Tommy Rees just might be the guy who turns "our frowns upside down."

Here's a link to his first post game interview session -- pretty impressive:

LINK:  TOMMY REES INTERVIEW

The Morning After -- The Media's IRISH Spin

The ND GO IRISH BLOG takes a "lap" around the web, every Sunday morning during the football season, to check in on the media's take on Notre Dame's performance the day before.  Today we get the opportunity to read what they're saying about our 28-27 loss to Tulsa.

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  TULSA WORLD #1

LINK:  TULSA WORLD #2

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN TIMES

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #1

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE #2