Notre Dame’s high hopes crash and burn in Week 1
Posted by Paul Costanzo (09/03/2011 @ 8:55 pm)
Coach Brian Kelly (L) leads his Notre Dame team onto the field before their NCAA football game with Army, at the first football game at the new Yankee Stadium, in New York November 20, 2010. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)
Everything that could have gone wrong for Notre Dame today did. Fumble on the 1-yard line that was returned all the way for a touchdown? Check. A pair of interceptions inside the 10-yard line? Check. Seventy-three yards of penalties? Check.
All this added up to a 23-20 loss to South Florida in the Irish’s home opener. It wasn’t the start to the season Notre Dame expected. It wasn’t the start anyone expected, as several pundits had the Irish headed to a BCS game this year. That’s still not completely out of the question, but it sure seems like a longshot that this team can find a way to win 10 games.
Notre Dame was horribly prepared for this game, that’s the only way to explain what happened. If there’s one or two fluky/bad plays that cost you, that can be blamed on individuals. When it’s permeated throughout the entire team, that rests on the shoulders of the coaches. Brian Kelly didn’t have his team ready to play today, for whatever reason, and now the Irish are 0-1 in a season they were supposed to “return to glory.”
Making matters worse, Notre Dame dominated nearly every statistical category. They out-gained South Florida 508-254. They held the Bulls to three yards per rush (in reality, the defense played well, only allowing one touchdown despite being put in a bad spot multiple times).
One positive that comes from this is that Notre Dame found its starting quarterback for the rest of the season: Tommy Rees. The negative, Kelly maybe should have realized that before naming Dayne Crist the starter a couple of weeks ago. Rees led the Irish to a 4-0 finish last season. He’s more accurate and 10-bazillion times more poised. Crist struggled in the first half, throwing an interception in the redzone (Rees threw one there, too, but that one was on the receiver) and making a handful of poor throws that stalled drives. Rees took over in the second half and was 24-of-34 for 296 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Yes, there were two weather delays in the game, but if anything, those were beneficial to the Irish. There is nowhere other than Kelly and the coaching staff to pin this loss. When you’re Notre Dame, you have to be ready to go every week. This team clearly was not.
Will South Florida’s program suffer due to Leavitt’s lawsuit?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/16/2010 @ 10:25 am)
It was inevitable that former Bulls head coach Jim Leavitt would sue South Florida in an effort to recover the money he lost when he was fired on January 8. After all, he wasn’t going to leave millions of dollars on the table and just walk away into the dark of the night to never return.
But even if the situation was inevitable, this isn’t a situation that USF desired to be in. The program knows it had recourse to fire Leavitt and avoid paying him for the final five years left on his contract after allegations emerged that he slapped walk-on player Joel Miller. But the school would prefer to move on and start new head coach Skip Holtz’s career without this dark cloud hanging over its head.
Still, it’s a situation USF has to deal with and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of effect it’ll have on the program this year. Miller is still on the team, as are several of the witnesses that attest to Miller’s side of the story. Can the Bulls still be a power in the Big East if Leavitt’s lawsuit makes it to court? What will the media coverage of the story be?
With exciting quarterback B.J. Daniels set to enter his second season, South Florida has plenty to look forward to in 2010. But as his lawsuit can attest to, Leavitt isn’t going away quite yet.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
South Florida player wants apology from Leavitt
Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/14/2010 @ 5:00 pm)
The player who claims Jim Leavitt slapped him twice is seeking an apology from the recently fired South Florida head coach.
From SI.com:
The attorney for Joel Miller said Thursday that the sophomore walk-on is not interested in filing a lawsuit, but could if Leavitt doesn’t “man up” and admit wrongdoing in the locker room incident that cost the coach his job.
Leavitt was fired last week after a university investigation concluded he grabbed Miller during halftime of a game, slapped the player twice in the face and then lied about it. The coach strongly denies the accusation and wants his job back.
“We’re ready for a fight,” said Barry Cohen, Miller’s attorney. “We don’t want a fight. We don’t want a lawsuit. We don’t want to pursue any criminal cases. We just want you to say, I made a mistake.”
“He grabbed me by the neck and he hit me twice,” said Miller, flanked by Cohen and sitting in front of his parents.
“Everyone knows the truth inside that locker room. All the players know the truth. All the coaches know the truth. … I covered it up, and then it got to be where it was too big for me to handle any more. All I want is for the truth to come out, and I want coach Leavitt to just admit that he did grab me and did hit me twice.”
If I were this young man’s parent, I’d probably recommend him to move on and concentrate on his playing career. But the eye-for-an-eye in me applauds Miller for seeking an apology. If Leavitt did hit him, then he deserves to suffer some public embarrassment for what transpired.
Either way, I think Miller will be waiting a while to get that apology. Leavitt isn’t going to admit to anything and further damage his reputation.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
South Florida fires head coach Jim Leavitt
Posted by Anthony Stalter (01/08/2010 @ 2:45 pm)
South Florida has decided to fire head coach Jim Leavitt after he allegedly struck a player and subsequently lied to investigators.
From Fanhouse.com:
USF fired the only coach the Bulls have had in the program’s 13-year history following an investigation initiated after a FanHouse report that stated Leavitt grabbed sophomore Joel Miller by the throat and hit the walk-on twice in the face Nov. 21 at halftime of the Louisville game.
FanHouse first reported details of the incident Dec. 14. Five witnesses, USF players and staff members, said that Leavitt was upset by a mistake Miller made on special teams during the first half against Louisville, and subsequently struck Miller twice.
“You do something like that [on the street], you put them in jail,” Paul Miller, Joel’s father and a former Tampa police officer, told FanHouse at the time. “Somewhere [Leavitt] crossed the line.”
Wednesday, wide receiver Colby Erskin, who was not present in the locker room at the time, told FanHouse that Miller told him about the incident and asked for his advice on what he should do, a few days after the Nov. 21 incident.
Erskin also said Leavitt cleaned out his locker and threw his personal effects into a trash bin. Erskin said he believed that Leavitt suspected him of leaking the story to the media.
As the article notes, Leavitt was 95-47 during his tenure at South Florida. He essentially built that program from nothing and deserves credit for making USF relevant in college football.
That said, there’s zero excuse to hit a kid. There’s a difference between being a hard ass and hitting players because they screw up. If the report is true and Leavitt did strike Miller multiple times, then he deserves to be fired. Many of these college coaches have massive egos and think they can say and do whatever they want to players because they’re above them.
Leavitt found out the hard way that universities are stepping in to ensure that these types of situations don’t continue and won’t be tolerated.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Couch Potato Alert: 1/2
Posted by Thomas Conroy (01/02/2009 @ 3:00 pm)
All times ET…
College Football
Friday, 2 PM: No. 20 Mississippi vs. No. 8 Texas Tech – Cotton Bowl, Fox
Friday, 5 PM: Kentucky vs. East Carolina – Liberty Bowl, ESPN
Friday, 8 PM: No. 7 Utah vs. No. 4 Alabama – Sugar Bowl, Fox
Saturday, 12 PM: Buffalo vs. Connecticut – International Bowl, ESPN2
College Basketball
Friday, 8:30 PM: No. 11 Syracuse vs. South Florida, ESPN
Saturday, 12 PM: No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. No. 8 Georgetown, ESPN
Saturday, 12 PM: No. 23 Ohio State vs. No. 21 Minnesota
Sunday, TBA: Kentucky vs. No. 18 Louisville, CBS
NBA
Friday, 7:30 PM: Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks, NBA TV
Saturday, 8:30 PM: Philadelphia 76ers vs. San Antonio Spurs, NBA TV
Sunday, 6 PM: Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks, NBA TV
NFL
Saturday, 4:30 PM: Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals, NBC
Saturday, 8 PM: Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers, NBC
Sunday, 1 PM: Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins, CBS
Sunday, 4:30 PM: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings, Fox
NHL
Friday, 7 PM: Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
Friday: 10 PM: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Anaheim Ducks
Saturday, 5 PM: Ottawa Senators vs. New Jersey Devils
Posted in: College Basketball, College Football, Couch Potato Alert, NBA, NFL, NHL, Television
Tags: Alabama, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Boston Celtics, Buffalo, CBS, Connecticut, Cotton Bowl, East Carolina, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, Georgetown, Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis Colts, International Bowl, Kentucky, Liberty Bowl, Louisville, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota, Minnesota Vikings, Mississippi, Montreal Canadiens, NBA, NBA TV, NBC, New Jersey Devils, New York Knicks, NFL, NHL, Ohio State, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh, San Antonio Spurs, San Diego Chargers, South Florida, Sugar Bowl, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Utah
Couch Potato Alert: 9/29
Posted by Rav Deol (09/29/2008 @ 11:12 am)
 Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox
The White Sox will try to keep their season alive when they face the Detroit Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field. The Sox need have to win this make-up game in order to force a one-game playoff on Tuesday against the Twins, who currently lead the AL Central. Be sure to tune in and watch this crucial game on ESPN2 at 2:05 PM ET.
Ravens vs Steelers
The Ravens, led by rookie QB Joe Flacco and a strong defense, are on top the AFC North with a 2-0 record, but no one’s sold on them just yet. They travel to Pittsburgh to play a Steelers team that is coming off of a tough loss at Philadelphia last week. This is a good opportunity for the Ravens to show the NFL that they’re serious contenders. Watch this growing rivalry on ESPN at 8:30 PM ET.
MLB Division Series
The MLB playoffs begin this Wednesday with the Brewers heading to Philadelphia to play the Phillies at 3:00 PM ET. That game will be followed by Dodgers and Cubs at 6:30 PM ET. The Red Sox and Angels are the late game, starting at 10:00 PM ET. Thursday you can catch the Twins/White Sox go to Tampa to face the surprising Rays at 2:30 PM ET. The Brewers and Phillies will play game two at 6:00 PM ET. Game two of the Red Sox and Angels begins at 9:30 PM ET. All games can be seen on TBS.
Pittsburgh vs #13 South Florida
The Bulls of South Florida look to stay undefeated when they square off against the Pittsburgh Panthers this Thursday. With all of the upsets that occurred just this past weekend in college football, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Panthers come into Raymond James Stadium and steal one from the Bulls. This game can be seen on ESPN at 7:30 PM ET.
Posted in: College Football, Couch Potato Alert, MLB, NFL, Television
Tags: Anaheim Angels, Baltimore Ravens, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, LA Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, South Florida, Tampa Bay Rays
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