As much as we here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON hate that Notre Dame is in the Big East, we nonetheless have to act professionally, do our jobs, and treat Notre Dame's head coach with the dignity and respect he deserves. Today we're bringing you everything you need to know about the Fighting Irish ahead of the clash with our heroes from Georgetown. Special thanks to casual Notre Dame alum 'KatieND1' and Notre Dame blog Rakes of Mallow for providing the answers to our penetrating questions. KatieND1 and Rakes of Mallow, this Coors Light is for you. Actually, KatieND1 may prefer this beverage. Onto the Q&A...
Harangody not quite 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin'. via SMH
CH: Who will be a bigger flop at the next level: Jimmy Clausen or Luke Harangody?
KatieND1:
Without a doubt Clausen. expectations are crazy high, too high. Plus he's a little shit with no real leadership skills and a giant ego. Kind of like Brady Quinn, but with no heart or work ethic.
If Harangody stays healthy, he'll make an impact with some team. Although the last few games with Gody out, the Ewing Theory has been on display full force.Rakes of Mallow:
Seems like it would be unlikely that Harangody could be considered a flop, considering he's not even projected as a first round draft pick. I think Clausen will be fine, although it's always sketchy projecting any quarterback to the NFL.
Other than Harangody, who should the Hoyas be worried about on Saturday?
KatieND1:
I wouldn't worry about Harangody too much if he's still on the bench which is likely.
Tim Abromaitis has been ridiculous this year. I think I read that he's scored double-digits in all but 3 games. He's consistent outside and fast. The freshman coming off the bench (Cooley and Broghammer) have also been solid in Gody's absence.Rakes of Mallow:
The combination of Ben Hansbrough, Tory Jackson and Tim Abromaitis have all been playing well, and it'll be interesting to see how they try to match up with Freeman and Wright. Abro's probably got the highest upside of anyone in the group, as he's shooting 49% from three and also finding his way to the rim more and more each game. He's got two years of eligibility left after this year and could turn into a special player.
More with Notre Dame after The Jump:
Please list your top 5 quotes from the movie 'Rudy' (in PARTICULAR order):
KatieND1:
(5) "if you're playing for that team, then my opinion of Notre Dame football just hit the shits."
(4) "This is the greatest sight these eyes have ever seen." (Rudy's dad was talking about Notre Dame stadium but just as easily could have been referencing the burgers at CJ's - site of the Clausen Melee of '09)
(3) "Having dreams is what makes life tolerable." (we have to tell ourselves this throughout winter in South Bend when we are dreaming about spring football)
(2) The Gipper Speech.
And.....
(1) "You're five foot nothing. A hundred and nothing. And you've got hardly a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in with the best football team in the country for two years. In this lifetime, you don't have to prove nothing to nobody except yourself."Rakes of Mallow:
"You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't gonna never happen. Now go on back."
"I rode the bench for two years. Thought I wasn't being played because of my color, I got filled up with a lotta attitude. So I quit. Still not a week goes by I don't regret it. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of ya. You hear me clear enough?"
"Well, you know what my dad always said, Having dreams is what makes life tolerable. "
"This is the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen!"
"You just summed up your entire sorry career here in one sentence! If you had a tenth of the heart of Ruettiger, you'd have made All-American by now! As it is, you just went from third team to the prep team! Get out of here!" (Casual Note: This was said to QB Jamie O'Hara, played by a young Vince Vaughn. O'Hara might have been better in college than Jimmy Clausen.)
If it's Saturday night in South Bend, where are the cool kids going and what is going down?
KatieND1:
During football season, the cool kids are depressed and passed out after partying since Wednesday and getting up at 6:00 am for Kegs and Eggs, only to see a crushing loss at the hands of, say, Syracuse. The rest of the year, it used to be the Linebacker Lounge, although last time I was there they played "Party in the USA" four times in a row. In other words you would love it. (Casual Note: I hopped off the plane at LAX...)Rakes of Mallow:
Oh, I'm an old man now, in two years they've sprung up an entire commons area and a half dozen shiny apartment complexes. Back in the day it was usually a house party then out to Finnigan's, a bar that was always too crowded and played the same three dozen songs. Oh, do I miss it.
(And obviously this only occurred before November and after mid-April, because in the intervening months no one can leave their residences due to the snow.)
Is the Mike Brey era coming to an end after this season? If so, who are some potential replacements that you have heard? Record aside, shouldn't he be fired for simply refusing to wear a necktie?
KatieND1:
My bookstore basketball team senior year was "The Mock Turtlenecks" in honor of our then-popular coach's wardrobe. I wouldn't mind it so much if he didn't consistently dress in the other team's colors.I don't think he gets fired this year, especially after the Pitt win and if they manage to squeeze into the tourney. If he did, the only name I've heard whispered is Pitino - his son (who is just as douchy as he is) went to ND. I'm not holding my breath.Rakes of Mallow:
No, I don't see any way Brey gets canned after this season, for a few reasons. The first is that the administration doesn't pay that much attention to basketball as some of us would like, and I doubt they want another coaching search on their hands after the Weis-to-Kelly transition (although that did actually go pretty smoothly in comparison to the rest of the college offseason). Also, the team's been playing really well the last couple weeks without Harangody. I think if they'd continued to play poorly things would be different, but people are starting to talk themselves into next year.
In regards to Mike Brey's style, he's mixed it up a little this year, throwing in some collared shirts. I think it's a sartorial race to the bottom between him and Stan Van Gundy.
If you own a pistol, have you ever loaded it, placed it in your mouth, and gone to bed hoping it goes off in the night because the Notre Dame football team has become so pathetic?
KatieND1:
At least we have a football team. (Casual Note: Dammit.)
No. But my dad and I have each smashed one TV. Senior year, under Bob Davie, we went 10-2 and went to the Fiesta Bowl (where we got drilled 41-9 by Oregon State) and he still got fired. I didn't think it could get worse than the Davie years. I was wrong.
That said, like every other ND fan, I'll have a lobotomy in August, get all psyched about how good we're going to be under Brian Kelly, and with a straight face say that Lou's prediction that we're going to the National Championship game is legit.Rakes of Mallow:
There isn't a Notre Dame fan that hasn't considered that in the darker moments, but people are relatively positive and optimistic with Brian Kelly, another top fifteen recruiting class and manageable schedule in 2010. I'm sure Speaking of the ol' pigskin, how's Georgetown's football team doing? Are they still struggling in Division IV, or did they finally just put everyone out of their misery and euthanize the program?(Casual Note: Notre Dame football fans are excited about landing the head coach of Cincinnati).
As a ND alum, do you ever get sick of your fight song?
KatieND1:
No. But I get really sick of USC's song. "This is the only song we know....it's repetitive and slow...."Rakes of Mallow:
That's like asking a Vol if they get tired of Conway Twitty or a Mountaineer if they're bored with John Denver. Never.
True or False: Ben Hansbrough is impossible to root for because of his douchebag brother.
KatieND1:
That would be true if (a) I wasn't forced to cheer for his brother as a Pacer fan and (b) he didn't light it up against Pitt. That, and I'm used to cheering for douchy guys (see Clausen).Rakes of Mallow:
False, although a great question. Maybe if their builds and games were more similar it would be hard to root for him, but Ben's played great this year, especially rebounding the ball from the guard position. You forget he's Pycho T's brother pretty quickly.
How do you see this game playing out? Final score prediction.
KatieND1:
ND, 69-67. And then fairies will fly out of Brey's turtleneck. Seriously, if Harangody is back they could give them a show.Rakes of Mallow:
Earlier in the season, Notre Dame was getting into trouble because its rotation was so short, but Georgetown's bench is just as short. If ND is making their shots, I imagine this stays relatively close, but I think either Wright or Freeman shake free late and put the Hoyas over the top. It'll be interesting whether or not Harangody plays, as he's obviously tremendously talented, but the current line-up worked great against Pitt and you wonder how they'll work him back into the system. I'll say it's close to about the five minute mark, then the Hoyas pull away for a eight-to-ten point win.
Bonus Question for KatieND1: What do you think of Lost so far this season?
KatieND1:
I know I'm in the minority but I am loving this season. Love that it feels like Season 1, love the alt timeline. I was getting sick of Jack but loved this week's episode.
