Campus News:
The Student Senate met after Monk's statement that The Observer was not independent and could not run ads for GLND/SMC. The Student Senate insisted The Observer IS independent. The University is the accountant, not the publisher. The University had bailed The Observer out of financial trouble in the early '80s and today still pays fees toward it. The fees, though, only make up 15% of the budget. The Senate brought forward a 1983 letter from then- University President Fr. Theodore Hesburgh to the then-editor-in- chief David Dziedzk. Hesburgh stressed he would not interfere with editorial content. The Senate stressed that that included advertisements. (Apparently that was NOT the actual defintion put forward by Hesburgh as the Senate continued to debate the issue of whether advertising was part of editorial independence.) Malloy would not meet with newspaper representatives.
(Due to the holidays, the next posting will be on Jan. 9, 2000.)
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipp recently received an email that contained two of his favorite subjects: campus gossip and a great set of knockers. "Glowing boobs," the subject of the email, proves that maybe Our Lady really is watching over the Gipp after all. The e-mail was about a girl who jogs around the lakes wearinga sports bra, in which she keeps a set of flashlights. The tipper commented, "I guess she uses them to light her path on the dark nights." Apparently, these built-in headlights can be worn with anything - not just workout wear. The tipper continued, "I spotted her at a Halloween party in which she would turn them on when she wanted a certain guy's attention just by gently pulling back her shoulders." The tipper believes that she uses those little round flashlights that glow when you put a bit of pressure on them. How inventive. The Gipp thinks he might start running around the lakes at night, just to catch a glimpse of this. And in hopes of getting the attention of the girl with the glowing boobs, the Gipp is looking for a ride to Meijer so he can get one of those little squeezie lights to stuff in his shorts.
Hall Notes:
Last Saturday the hooded gangsta, Greg Nowak '95, tied the knot. Here's the recap courtesy of Michael "Q" Bergan '95...
Another member of the Vermin class of '95 fell to marriage this past weekend as Gregory E. Nowak of Wilmington, Delaware married Ms.Caroline Sweeney, also of Wilmington, Delaware and a Villanova University graduate.Caroline is a nurse in Philadelphia. Greg works as a computer programmer for Financial Software Systems.
The wedding took place in Wilmington, DE on Saturday December 11th at a 2:00 ceremony in Delaware with a reception later that night at the Wilmington Whist club.(Boy, it doesn't get much more WASPish than a whist club, does it?) Vermin in attendance included Jake May (with Maria Culcasi), Michael Bergan, Matthew Festa, Chad Harrison, Michael Angaiak, and Jeff Grabowski. Michael Bergan and Jake May were in the wedding party. Jeff Nowak, Greg's brother, served as best man while four of Greg's local friends and Caroline's brother filled out the wedding party.
Fresh tuxes for the groomsman and Greg. Can you say Ralph Lauren? Word.
Night ended with a stirring rendition of Vermin Unite.
Greg & Caroline are in St. Lucia until next week.
NDSportscenter:
A couple weeks ago the 80th football banquet was attended by roughly 1,000 people, which is 50% lower than the top banquet crowds of the early '90s. Regis Philbin hosted the event. Sixteen recruits were present. Two committed: LB Mike Goolsby (Joliet, IL) is rated the 13th best overall player and DT Greg Pauly (Waukesha, WI) is rated 19th. Jarious was named the team MVP.
Last weekend eight recruits came to the Bend, Warren Sapp's cousin amongst them. Just prior to the weekend, Jarious and Jabari Holloway had been named honorable mention All-American by Football News. The Irish had 6 players named to the Football news All- Independent team: Holloway, Fisher, Merandi, Bryant, Denman, and Sanders.
We got our fourth verbal commitment from Kyle Budinscak. The 6'4", 250 lb. defensive lineman out of New Jersey chose us over Minnesota, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Michigan State. He runs a 4.8 and comes in with a 3.0 GPA and 1250 SAT. Our fifth verbal came from Garron Bible of Klingwood, TX. He will most likely play corner and will be welcome with his size and speed...5'11", 186lb, 4.4. He comes in with a 3.9 GPA and 1000 SAT.
'99 football wrap-up: 33 sacks given up (vs. 9 in '98); only 18 sacks by the D-line; 10 missed FGs; 5 missed PATs; Clifford was toasted 8 times; 15 fumbles and 15 interceptions (13 total turn- overs last year, I believe); 3rd toughest schedule according to NCAA stats (behind Alabama and Auburn); played 8 bowl teams this year.....we received a letter from the Big Ten saying they were wrong about Bobby Brown's celebration penalty in the Michigan game. Gee, thanks.....You may have heard Mariucci rumors a few weeks ago from ESPN. Don't believe the hype. ESPN is almost always WRONG when it come to ND sports and they usually only tell half the story. Had they half a brain they would have realized a new coach would NEVER be brought in one week after we just had 16 recruits come in to be officially introduced to ND courtesy of Davie.....the marshmallow wars returned to the senior section during halftimes. Last year's antics were not repeated ("Campus News" Nov. 8, 1998).....However, during the last home game an inflated baloon in the shape of...um...a male organ did bounce around the student section. It was too large to sneak in in that form so someone had to blow it up. (Pun intended.)
Final chapter on the Dunbar issue is closed. The NCAA made its ruling. Two years probation and loss of one scholarship for the next 2 years. We have 84 of 85 scholarships to use. We will not be appealling. At least 2 of the recruits (the two mentioned above, in fact) have said they have not been influenced to look elsewhere.
We've added 3 articles. The "Decline the Penalty" article is the ONLY piece I've read where the media actually wrote an unbiased report on the ludicrous Dunbar incident. The "Dunbar Clarifications" is a letter I came across where Domers are attempting to bring a clue to sportswriters who have no concept of the WHOLE story. Finally the actual NCAA report has been posted. Some issues in that report....
"Major violations" give an "extensive recruiting or competitive advantage"....So how's this "major"?
"Competitive advantages gained by the University in as much as the University continued to use student-athletes who were later declared ineligible"....Huh? I guess I'm not dumb enough to understand that.
"Revied the performance evaluation procedures for football coaches, to hold them accountable for player progress off the field, including academics and personal matters".....Is it "football coaches" or "football parents"?
By the way, the NCAA can be emailed at webmaster@ncaa.org.
Campus News:
Monk recently spoke to the Faculty Senate and addressed some issues. Malloy said no to a request that the minutes from the Board of Trustees and Fellows meetings be published. Monk informed the Senate that meeting issues would be brought forward when appropriate.
The other main issue was over whether The Observer was independent and therefore had the right to allow ads for GLND/SMC. Monk stated that The Observer is an official University organization and the University its publisher because of its relationship as a collector of student fees and owner of its leased office space. (Simply put...it is NOT independent.) There is not a formal written policy on advertisements because it would not be able to cover everything. As long as the students act professionally, they will have full academic freedom in editorial content. Advertisements, according to Monk, are not considered editorial content.
We have added another Article of Interest. It has to do with the character of Notre Dame and the literal giving of a shirt off of one's back.
Campus Watch By The Gipper From Scholastic:
(I have the sneaking suspicion this one comes from Carroll.)
In another dorm, far across campus, a gentleman caught his date hooking up with his roommate. In this case, there was no Corona exchanged and the gentleman grew very angry - so angry that he decided to punch out a window with his bare fist. Apparently, he tore up his hand so badly that he had to get a skin graft, meaning that skin had to be removed from another part of the gentleman's body to replace the skin on his hand. The Gipp isn't sure if he should mention exactly where the grafted skin came from, but he guarantees that as long as the gentleman is wearing his bikini briefs, nobody will see the scar.
Hall Notes:
Last weekend was the lighting of the 2nd annual Carroll Christmas Tree. Since the Haunted House ended in the fall of '97 (story in "Hall Notes" June 13, 1998), this has taken its place. It's no Haunted House, but at least its something. The half hour event began with a blessing by the new Vice President of Student Affairs Father Mark Poorman. The liturgical choir was on hand to sing Christmas carols courtesy of a Vermin choir member, Andres "Big Country" Arredondo '00. The 30 ft tree was placed in the middle of the front lawn. The University placed the tree and even performed the labor of hanging the lights. The large pine is well tethered and should remain standing. Too bad the same couldn't be said last year. Hopefully pictures can be provided in the future...but it will be awhile so don't hold your breath. Pimpi...hold your breath.
NDSportscenter:
Football News...
Center John Merandi will NOT be back for a fifth year. LB Joe Ferrer, G Mike Gandy, TE Dan O'Leary, and DT Lance Legree may be back. Two others - LB Ronnie (Vermin) Nicks and FB Joey Goodspeed - can appeal to the NCAA for medical 5th years due to injuries. (I doubt they will be back.) Others being considered for 5th years are DE Jason Ching, G Matt Brennan, WR Jay Johnson, and G Rob Mowl. CB Lee Lafayetter could come back but there is no indication after being dismissed for academic reasons. Tony Driver and Brock Williams will be back.
Recruiting season is upon us. The official signing day is Feb. 2. We have a link - The Recruiting Corner - that has almost daily updates. Check out the Recruiting Notes and the Message Board.
Football odds and ends: Jarious went into the Irish record books by breaking Joe Theismann's marks in passing yards for a season and total offensive yards in a season.....Speaking of Theismann, he has contacted Kevin Rogers and Bob Davie about offering to personally tutor Arnaz (Vermin) Battle for brief periods in the spring and August to work on his throwing mechanics.....Battle is fine, according to Davie, and will NOT be having surgery..... The ND-wannabe..I mean ND-BC series has been extended. The series will run through 2004, take a 2 year break, and then run from 2007 to 2013.
The volleyball team won the Big East regular season and came in 2nd in the Big East tournament. Senior Mary Leffers was named Big East Player of the Year. They again went to the NCAA tourney, but lost to the Suckeyes in the 1st round. Their final record was 20-9.
Two more sports-related Articles of Interest have been added. One concerns the top 20 moments in Notre Dame Football history over the past 100 years as voted by the fans. The other is of a posting I read on a message board that shows just how classless other schools programs can be. (I don't know if it's true, but I have no reason to doubt that it isn't.)
Campus News:
More campus renovations...
The Library will be fixed up starting in the summer of 2000. All the work will be on the interior. The focus will be directed toward the basement, first, and second floors. The plan is to make the areas more open and inviting to visitors. Some of the changes are still to be finalized. The computer lab supposedly is to move from the second to first floor and a cafe may be going in on the first floor also. An allocation of 24 hour space will apparently be addressed in the basement and on the first floor. Other alterations will be special reading rooms for medieval studies and the theology department. Attention will also be given to adding more quiet study area.
Work will also be done just outside the library around the reflecting pool. Word on the street is that next spring granite walls will be erected on both ends of the reflecting pool. The walls will be engraved with the names of the chairs and benefactors.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Once upon a time, a Keenan knight was set up for an SYR, but as the dance approached, the knight decided that he didn't want to go. Meanwhile, a certain squire down the hall was dateless and very depressed about it. Approximately three hours before the festivities began, the melancholy knight traded his date for 20 bucks, a T-shirt and a pack of Corona. The Gipp would like to add the going rate for dates was high that weekend because of the many dances taking place.
Hall Notes:
Here's the word on Carroll Apparel...
A hooded gray CARROLL sweatshirt with a front pouch is going for $40. Burgunday shorts with white lettering of CARROLL HALL are on sale for $23. The material for the shorts is supposed to be a glossy fabric, similar to that worn by most college and pro basketball teams. Both items also have the ND monogram. An order is going out AFTER break, which ends in mid-January. So if you are interested, please send me (Dan Delgado) a check for the item(s) plus $3 for S&H. (Just make it out to me (Dan Delgado) and I will in turn just write one large check to the dorm for all the alumni purchases.) Let's set a due date of January 15. If you have any questions or comments please email me (Dan Delgado: irishtradition@hotmail.com).
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team beat Nebraska in an NCAA tourney quarter- final. They won 4 to 3 on penalty kicks after 4 OTs ended in a 1-1 tie. On Friday the Irish came out in green versus #1 and undefeated Santa Clara. Freshman Ali Lovelace gave us the 1-0 victory. Lost 2-0 to North Carolina in the final.
The women's cross country team was 1 of 13 teams to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. They placed 29th and the top Irish runner, Allison Klemmer, came in 73rd. The lady Irish were again without 2 time cross country All American Joanna Deeter. She apparently was fully healed from an injured achilles tendon, but the University Health Services were worried about another issue. She had had past bouts with anorexia, but she and her support group had it under control. The University kept pressing the issue apparently (I don't know why). Rather than revisit that issue, she chose to leave the team. The chances of her returning for track are minimal. Last year she was an All American in cross- country, indoor track, and outdoor track. The 2000 Olympic trials are almost completely out of the picture.
The men's basketball team lost to Indiana on Tuesday. They fell in the hole 17-0, but came back to send it into overtime. Then they were outscored 19-2 in that extra session. The Irish committed 28 turnovers and failed to win at IU for the first time since '73. On Saturday they lost to Vanderbilt in another overtime game. Got screwed by a ref calling a charge on Murphy at the end of overtime when the guy was standing underneath the basket. Horrible call.
Footnotes: More than a dozen football players will have surgery. One of the key players may be Arnaz Battle. He hasn't fully recovered from a shoulder separation from last year. He will be re-evalutated to determine if surgery is necessary. If he does he will miss spring ball and present freshman Gary Godsey will be the only QB...Godsey was a highly recruited TE...Basketball star Troy Murphy was hospitalized for dehydration after the pre-season NIT...women's soccer senior Jenny Streiffer scored the 70th goal of her career in the quarterfinal game versus Nebraska. She is only the second player to score at least 70 goals and register 70 assists in a career. The other player? Mia Hamm... supposedly got 2 commitments this weekend: LB Mike Goolsby (6'4"/ 225lb/4.6) and DL Greg Pauly (6'5"/275lb/4.8).
Campus News:
A few weeks ago an ND student in the London program suffered head injuries in a fall. No recent news has updated his condition. Andy Donlan, a junior from Fisher Hall, most likely remains in stable condition in the intensive therapy unit at National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. He is unconscious as he was put in a coma to more safely treat the swelling of his brain. His neck and spine were not damaged. He has some significant injury to his brain and some blood in his lungs.
Lyons Hall recently had 2 fires of the same nature. Both were caused by light bulbs in closets. Fire alarms did not go off in either case. Did I already mention the Generations campaign has raised over $820 million? I believe effective smoke detectors cost in the neighborhood of $1 billion. Come on, people, chip in.
I received an email from our very own Tom Mullarkey containing a forward that you may get a kick out of. The Article of Interest is titled "Classic Notre Dame Story."
In 1991 the University basically produced a mission statement called the "Colloquy for the Year 2000." Scholastic examined the report and judged the University's progress. The article can be read at..... http://www.nd.edu/~scholast/news.htm.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
In preparation for an upcoming SYR (standing for Super Yeti Riot - nothing offensive there), a fine young Dillonite took a trip to Meijer to get a gift for his date. He passed by a display of hunting paraphernalia and decided to purchase for his ladylove the best bottle of Red Fox Urine that his money could buy. The tipper explains, "No joke, this stuff is used to cover the human scent of clandestine hunters. It came with countless warning labels, though none about mixing with Captain Morgan to help woo that special someone." The Gipp is now convinced that Meijer really DOES have everything.
Hall Notes:
Are there any Vermin alums out there interested in some Vermin wear, especially now that you've got some money? I am in contact with the present dorm representative in charge of Carroll wear. I have emailed him in hopes of getting descriptions of the clothing, prices, and due dates. I may be too late in contacting him. My apologies. (I'll make contact much earlier next year.) If anyone is interested in acquiring some Carroll wear please email me ASAP. At present I am only aware of the items of sweatshirts and shorts.
NDSportscenter:
The men's basketball team lost to #8 Arizona in the semi-finals of the pre-season NIT by 16. Never in the game. On Friday they lost to #24 Maryland in the consolation game. The Irish were down by 18 at one point and got it down to 1 before losing by 5. Just prior to the pre-season NIT final four the Irish were amongst the "others receiving votes" in both polls (#31 in coaches and #27 in AP). One other note...Sports Illustrated played themselves by saying, about the pre-season NIT, that "Madison Square Garden should become Scoonie Penn Station." How many times do the Suckeyes beat us? No times.
The men's cross country team received an automatic bid to the NCAA championships after placing 2nd in the district meet. They finished 8th overall. Junior Ryan Shay finished 12th overall and earned All-American honors. Shay has a bright future ahead of him. Over the summer he was on the U.S. team that competed at the World Junior Cross Country Championship held in Morocco. He was 20th out of 200, the best American finish since '92. The U.S. team placed 7th, the best since '88. Shay even has his sights on the 2000 Olympics.
Footnotes: Word on the street is Bob Davie's job is safe for at least one more year. Maybe I'll be wrong...Some of you may have heard about the suffering the men's basketball team took earlier in the season. After losing to Marathon Oil by 20+ points, Coach Doherty made the team run sprints. 304 of them. Ouch...What was Bob Davie's motivation to his team for the BC game? "Fear of embarrassment." Thanks, Bob. That ranks right up there with "Win One for the Gipper"...Another Bob Blunder occurred at the pep rally. Some BC students were present and apparently being a little vocal. Davie pointed to them and said, "That's another reason right there to kick Boston College's ass." Hello, foot. I'd like to introduce you to mouth...This year is the first losing season since '86 and the first 7 game losing season since '63. Is Bob Davie a joke, or does he just play one on TV?...an Article of Interest has been added from Coach Doherty to the student body. This guy's his own PR man.
Campus News:
Another new building will break ground after the final football game. It will be located behind O'Shag. The structure will connect to Decio and basically make a fourth leg onto that building. The new L-shaped building will be 56,000 square feet. The Philosophy and Theology departments will move out of O'Shag and occupy the new building. In addition to those courses of study, the new four story structure will have offices for professors, seminar rooms, a chapel, increased workspace for grad students, and more seminar discussion space. The building will cost $13 million and the donor wishes to remain anonymous at this time. The scheduled completion date is June 2001.
You may be interested to know that we have added some new photos, most of which are of the renovated Dome. They are on The Campus page under the heading "Pictures taken in October of '99."
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
A Gipp tipper was standing outside of Heartland when he noticed a young man meandering along the entire length of the College Football Hall of Fame, marking his entire path with what seemed like an endless stream of urine. The tipper emphasized that the owner of this gigantic bladder walked not only the length of the building itself, but also along the half-football field outside and managed to keep a continuous flow for the whole distance. The Gipp also heard that this bladder-busting youth was not even empty at the end of his stroll, but the Gipp isn't sure if that's humanly, heck, even pachydermically, possible.
Hall Notes:
New photos were also taken of the renovated basement. The alterations were made last spring under the regime of then-dorm president Jim Kwiatt '00. The weight bench bought during the '96-'97 school year has been removed. The new look is drastically different. The snapshots can be seen on the Present Day Carroll Hall page under the title "Pictures taken in October of '99."
NDSportscenter:
The women's soccer team won its fifth straight conference championship by defeating UCONN 4-2 in the Big East final. In the process Jenny Streiffer became the third person in NCAA history to record 70 assists in a career. The lady Irish received the fifth seed in the NCAA tournament. They won their first tournament game 5-1 over Dayton and advanced to play Stanford. The Irish defeated Stanford 1-0. (Luck o the Irish as Stanford hit the post on a missed penalty kick.)
The men's basketball team defeated the Ohio State Suckeyes (#4 and #6 in the 2 polls) at Ohio State by a score of 59-57. David Graves hit a shot at the buzzer. They followed that with a 107-96 win over Siena. The Irish play Arizona at Madison Square Garden in the semis of the pre-season NIT on Wednesday on ESPN.
The men's soccer team finished with an 8-9-3 overall record and a 4-5-3 Big East record. They were the #8 seed in the Big East tournament and finished the season losing to #1 seed and 17th ranked Rutgers.
Foot notes: Assuming Bob Davie is back next year, he has said Tony Driver will go back to playing safety...Coach Doherty was booed on his way into the lockerroom at halftime of the Suckeyes game. His response? He pumped it up. He raised the roof. Give 'em hell, coach...Men's basketball team was supposed to play an exhibition game against the Cuban National Team. But it was cancelled for fear of player defection. (I hate it when that happens.)
Campus News:
The Faculty Senate requested the University to provide an additional 150 faculty members over the next 10 years. Since Monk took over in 1987, he has added 10 full time faculty positions each year. The Senate is placing importance on a low student-to-professor ratio. They want to get the class size down to improve our position in the U.S. News and World Report College Rankings. To match numbers similar to those of universities in the top ten we need exactly 150 more faculty members. Our ratio will then be 9 to 1.
And one final note on the Demetrius DuBose shooting....The two police officers were cleared of all criminal charges in the case after shooting DuBose twelve times.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Hall Presidents' Council, or HPC for short, recently was notified by the university that there will be no more SYRs. That is, the dance will still take place, but they will go by a different name, such as "all-hall dances" or "hall-wide parties"...unless somebody can think of something catchier. Word on the street says that the term "SYR," particularly the verb that the "S" stands for, is way too sexual for a good Catholic party. Also, the idea that the verb in question refers to one's roommate has a shade of a homosexual connotation, and we all know how the administration feels about homosexuality.
Hall Notes:
A few weeks ago some current Vermin updated the Carroll webpage. It has a new look for the first time in years. The site, however, is still under construction and some of its links are nonexistant, specifically the alumni one. I was surprised to find out that the current dorm presidents - Bob LeBlanc and Tim Dolezal - are both only sophomores. Both presidents have been contacted and hopefully any and all dorm news can be passed on so I can keep you all up to speed. The Carroll website can be found on The Missing Links page.
NDSportscenter:
The captains for the men's basketball team are Troy Murphy, Todd Palmer, and Skylard Owens. Doherty chose them based on academic standards and on-court leadership. Jimmy Dillon, the third senior, was not named a captain "because of academic reasons" (read: he's a dumbass).
In their opening exhibition game the starting lineup was Murphy, Dillon, Harold Swanagan (at center), David Graves, and freshman Matt Carroll. The Irish won and scored 94 points in the process. Freshman center Ivan Kartelo went down with a sprained knee. Murphy had 28 and dominated from all over the court, even from behind the 3-point line. Carroll had 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Carroll is the real deal when it comes to shooting the rock. In practice, for example, he drained 162 out of 200 (81%) 3-pointers. In the second exhibition game the familiar Irish showed up. They turned a 12 point lead into a 27 point deficit quicker than you can say "matador defense and turnovers." Did I mention the powerhouse that beat them is named "Marathon Oil"?
Although sitting out the year due to transferring, Ryan Humphrey has made an impact with his hustle and tenacity. Unfortunately his style of play has aggravated tendinitis in his knees. Easy, big boy, we need 2 years out of those joints. So find a TV and a couch and make like Vermin.
Foot(ball) Notes: The South Bend Tribune, prior to the Tennessee game, stated the Irish graduate 80% of its players and 77% of its black players. Tennessee graduates 27% of its players and 15% of its black players...Had we won out we probably would have gone to the Gator Bowl. Now it looks like the Insight.com Bowl is the front runner. I'm attempting to pool together funds to lure the Irish to the VerminNet.com Bowl to be played on the front lawn of Carroll. I currently have $27.36. Donations are welcome...To remind everyone: the Boston College game has a 2:30 EST starting time. The tickets said 1:30 EST as did other old schedules.... We have added another Article of Interest from an alum who wrote a Letter to the Editor in the Observer about being at the Tennessee game...A second article is written by the South Bend Tribune about Bob Davie...A third article talks our dwindling bowl hopes...LATE BREAKING NEWS: In addition to losing OL Jordan Black in the TN game, OL Teasdale and OL Jones went down with arch injuries and will not be ready this week. RB Julius Jones' knee is even more banged up and RB Tony Fisher's shoulder will require surgery at the end of the season.
Campus News:
More news on the Dunbar issue...
She was released from prison a few weeks ago and reportedly picked up by former Irish player Jarvis Edison, with whom she has a child. She will be on probation until 2014. She served her time at Atterbury Correctional Unit, a minimum security prison for women near Columbus, Indiana. Supposedly she has returned $200,000 in cash, jewelry, and vehicles. (Only roughly $1 million more to go, honey.) She apparently only spent $18,000 on players. Derrick Mayes has already settled a civil suit and paid $10,000. He's now the leading receiver for the Seattle Seahawks. Jarvis Edison lives in the South Bend area and works for AT&T Cable. He coaches 10 to 12 year olds in a Michiana Pop Warner Football League.
Still no news on the NCAA response to the incident. Wadsworth expects something in late November/early December. News releases speculated the punishment may seem harsh but in reality should be easy to appeal. Prior to that statement, the University claimed it would accept whatever ruling was handed down and not offer an appeal. As for now...."mum"'s the word.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
Last Thursday, one of the Gipp's cohorts was spending the evening at Heartland, when a couple of youngsters managed to steal a couple of bottled beers from the bar. The devilish youths were well into their celebration when a Heartland employee approached them and asked how much they paid for their beers. Good question. Once their evil deed was discovered, the employee scolded them: "Get out of here, and don't come back!...At least, not until next week."
Hall Notes:
This "Classic Moment in Vermin History" comes from current Vermin senior Jim Kwiatt. He received the info from an "ex-Lyons rector/ old school Holy Cross priest"...
"When the brothers moved out of the hall, and students moved in, the study lounge was located on the second floor. At the end of the dorm's first year, new tiles were ordered for the lounge, black and white ones. Apparently the rector assigned a few students to lay the tiles down. They did, but they spelled out "F*CK YOU" with the black tiles. The rector quit, apparently that was the last straw for the guy."...The rector/priest told Kwiatt this occurred "in the late '60s," but as I recall, Dujarie didn't become Carroll until 1977. Can any older alums verify this? Please write in if you have any info.
NDSportscenter:
Coach Doherty secured 2 more verbal commitments. Tom Timmermans, a 6'11", 240 lb. center from Blue Ridge School in Dyke, Virginia, chose us over George Mason, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Siena, and SMU. He's a native of The Netherlands and last year averaged 13 ppg and 10 rpg. Torrian Jones is a 6'4", 185 lb. swingman out of Fairless Hills, PA. The near-Philly native chose us over Penn, Princeton, and Rutgers. He carries a 3.4 GPA and scored 1100 on the SAT. (Still can't land recruits bound for Carolina, Kansas, or UCONN.) The early signing period commences on Nov. 10. We are also in pursuit of Chris Thomas, another prospect out of the Hoosier state at Pike High School.
The men's cross country team currently ranks 8th in the nation. They just won the Big East and Junior Ryan Shay became the first Irish runner to win an individual crown with an 8K time of 24:22. The women placed 5th as Alison Klemmer placed 4th. Two time All-American Joanna Deeter did not compete due to an ankle injury and she may not be back for Nationals. Prior to her injury the lady Irish ranked 12th.
Foot(ball) Notes: At halftime of the Navy game the Four Horsemen were honored for their 75th anniversary. Over 200 descendants of the backfield gathered as the gridirion greats were remembered.... If you glance on the back of one of your old ticket stubs from this year you'll notice a comment on the creation of the Four Horsemen. It spoke of "an early-season victory over Navy at the Polo Grounds." Too bad the actual team played was Army. Sports Illustrated pointed that out. Oops...Bob Davie is 3-9 versus ranked teams...A "Letter to the Editor" concering Wadsworth has been added to the Articles of Interest page.
Campus News:
The Notre Dame and St. Mary's gay and lesbian alumni group, GALA ND/SMC, is considering legal action against the University, claiming prohibition of GALA ads in The Observer is discrimination. The student government leaders and faculty senate have all pushed Monk & Co. to re-address the issue. The U offered a terse statement of "NO" and have yet to respond to any letters/lectures/ discussions/resolutions/etc. made by the students, faculty, or alumni.
In other news, Elton John will be performing at the JACC in the near future. Ads for his concert were in The Observer.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
The Gipp likes a friendly rector as much as the next guy, but the Gipp does his best to avoid getting within arm's reach of a certain rector, famed for greeting the residents of his hall with a friendly pat on the rear. Apparently, this gesture is also offered as a sign of peace at dorm mass. Well, this rector has upped the ante, so to speak, and has recently initiated a new tender gesture - a friendly rub on the tummy. The Gipp doesn't want to mention any names, but instead will refer to this affectionate rector as "Father That's-A-Bad Touch."
Hall Notes:
'95 Vermin Matthew Festa became the proud papa of Natalie Claire Festa on October 20, 1999. She came complete with rounded ears, pointy nose, and whiskers. (Don't ya just love Vermin offspring?!) The newborn tipped the scales at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and reached the incredible length of 20.5 inches. Apparently the little tyke was aware of Dad's tale of going without sleep for a few days in a row for the hell of it Freshman year, and decided to keep Ma and Pa Kettle up late, as she was born at 4:41 AM. (Don't know about the sleepless story? Don't worry, it will be a future "Classic Moment in Vermin History.") Mother and child are healthy. Father is still mentally unstable. Feel free to drop congratulations to Big Poppa as he is stirred from his slumber every 2 hours and has nothing better to do than check his email.
NDSportscenter:
During Fall Break the men's basketball team got away from the grind of 2-a-days for an afternoon, and road tripped 90 minutes to Huntington North High School. The 2 hour workout was performed in front of 150 spectators. Doherty was also in town to speak at a dinner for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. But the real reason for the journey was....6'8", 220 lb. forward Sean Kline. Last year he averaged 22.2 ppg and over the summer was rated #8 overall at the Nike Camp in Indianapolis. His wish list is ND, Indiana, or Michigan State. NCAA recruiting regulations were NOT violated. The coaches did not talk to Kline. The players, however, could and did. The kicker was that when the Irish initially came out of the locker room they were all sporting Adidas headbands (even Doherty) - a Kline trademark.
Foot(ball) Notes: Seeing less of Jabari Holloway this year? He's had less time with the first unit because he misses practice on Tuesday and Thursday due to labs. He is a computer engineer and has physics and computer architecture labs from 3 to 5 PM on those days. Jabari missed a good deal of practice time because he was maintaining a 3.2 GPA. Peter Warrick missed a good deal of practice time because he was in jail. (Well...he should have been).. ..Sophomore FB Mike McNair has called it a season because of a nagging arch injury. He did not play at all this year and is eligible to apply for a 5th year...Raki Nelson might be back from a knee injury in time to see action in the Tennessee game... I recently spoke with someone who was just at Florida who found out FSU students wrote the Spurrier article...a local commentary on the Tony Driver dismissal can be found on the Articles of Interest page...the Tennessee game on Saturday, November 6 is on ESPN at 7:30 pm EST.
Campus News:
S'more off campus news...
The Irish Connection, the bar formerly known as Jazzman's, recently surrendered its liquor license to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission due to a citation against the club. The pub was charged with "failure to maintain a high and fine reputation" after such instances as a bar fight with 5 arrests and a raid that busted 95 underage drinkers. The establishment has not closed up shop. It has gone alcohol-free (obviously) and brought in more pool tables, dartboards, games etc. More foods are available and the tavern will still bring in a plethora of local bands.
Molly McGuire's, the new school Bridget's, just complete a 9 month renovation to a coffee house. The old school bar was shut down after a raid.
Finnegan's in downtown seems to be the only easily accessible watering hole for young 'uns now-a-days.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
One of the girls' interhall football teams was having a tough time recruiting male coaches, and desperate times call for desperate measures. So, the female football commissioners approached the young men they wanted for the job and struck a deal: If the fellows agreed to coach the team, they were guaranteed a little hook-up action from team members. The Gipp knows that the hope of getting some off-the-field play is always in the back of an interhall football coaches' mind. After all, girls' football is not really one of those sports one coaches for the love of the game. But for these lucky men, their dream has become a promise - the ladies in charge of the team signed a contract guaranteeing that if none of the other team members offered some affection to the coaches, the signees would personally provide the lovin' at the end of the season. Awww, yeah.
Hall Notes:
Classic Moment in Vermin History... Since it is October...a Haunted House skit in the Fall of '94. Not the scariest room ever, but quite possibly the vilest.
The Braintrust: O-Dogg, Bill Edwards, Jake May, Matt Festa, Greg Nowak, and Q.
The Location: 2nd floor bathroom.
The Motive: Sensory Overload.
Skit: A Crackhouse.
Plot: (As stated by O-Dogg).."a bunch of cracked out muthaphuckas" playing dominoes, drinking 40s, and smoking so many things the room doubled as a chimney. A guy (Nowak) comes in to make a deal with 2 dealers (O-Dogg and Festa). At which point an argument ensues and Festa rips Nowak's heart out.
Props:
Well, The Braintrust duct taped the hot air blower so it blew constantly into the barrel. Festa - who was either owner of the short straw, the keeper of the iron stomach, or the childhood friend of Tom Green - would stir it by hand between skits. As the evening wore on the guides would just push in their group and wait in the hall. In the words of O-Dogg, imagine "a sauna where someone took a dump and left." Well said, my boy, well said.
NDSportscenter:
The Irish hockey team got trounced by #5 Michigan in the first two games of the season by a combined score of 11 to 4. The Irish were the more physical team....and were punished for it. Penalties killed.
The #6 ND women's soccer team beat #8 UCONN 2-1 in O.T. Friday night. That was coming off a 4-2 loss to #1 Santa Clara. The 4 goals came within 10 minutes of each other in the first 20 minutes of the game. The Irish are 12-3-0. Previous to that ND beat #16 Michigan 4-1 for their 37th straight win over the Little Eleven.
Foot(ball) Notes: Freshman Jason Beckstrom will be filling in for senior CB Lee Lafayette for the rest of the season after Lafayette was dimissed from the team because of academic problems....The win over USC was our biggest comeback since St. Joe and the chicken soup in the '79 Cotton Bowl....Muhammad Ali, who lives just across the border in Michigan, attended the Michigan State game and was in the press box. Wayne Gretzky was at the USC game and was on our sideline....The Irish offense currently ranks 23rd with 427 yds/game. Last year we were 48th with 377 yds/game at this point. We are 23rd in rushing, 34th in passing, and 31st in scoring....LATE BREAKING NEWS: Tony Driver has also been dismissed from the team for the rest of the season. After the Michigan State game he was busted for violating parietals. Student Affairs said no more football. He is forced to live off campus. Spring ball is the earlies he can return. Thoughts of transfer are not an option...for now. I don't think he's going anywhere seeing as how he has a tattoo of the interlocking "ND" on his arm.
Campus News:
More tales of student endangerment...
Awhile back a man was apprehended in Walsh during a Monday afternoon. He was attempting to enter rooms on the fourth floor. The 20-year-old was charged with criminal trespassing and giving police false information. The man gave 6 different names. When questioned he said he was on crack cocaine. No drugs were found.
Recent break-ins have become a growing concern. Security plans to eventually install detex systems into all of the dorms, but the process will be gradual because of the cost.
In other news...the Generations campaign crossed the $820 million mark. Now, I'm just guessing, but I think that $820 million could pay for detex in at least one dorm. But I don't have the figures in front of me, so don't quote me on that.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
A game of cups at St. Pete's Street took on new and naughty dimensions when the losers of each round were required to remove their shirts. The Gipp heard an on-looker say, "It's almost not worth seeing a hot girl in her bra when you've got to look past all those nasty shirtless guys to see her." Another spectator said that the shirtless lass was the first person he ever saw wearing one of those W.W.J.D bracelets, but they seem to have gone out of style now. Still other witnesses discussed cup size, thought the Gipp is sure they were talking about the cups from which she was drinking. The Gipp wondered, "What would Jesus do if there was a girl playing shirtless cups?" Probably just say a prayer for her salvation, repent for checking out her goods and put that W.W.J.D. bracelet back on for good measure.
Hall Notes:
Before the Arizona State game another Vermin tailgater was hosted by John Butler '96. Whereas with the week before's heavy Class of '98 attendance, this one leaned toward the Class of '96. Butler, Pimpi, Kevin Reichart, John Schuring, Tim Nelson, and O-Dogg were keepin' it real. Rangers, Dave Ratliff, and Del were also in da house. Discussion has already begun to determin which game would be best for VERMINPALOOZA '00. Maybe we could even have an all-alumni picture like the dorm photos of old.
Registry note: If you submitted your info and have not seen it posted within a week, it means your use of the form did not go through. In that case just email the info to webmaster@verminnet.com if you wish to make your presence known and stand up and be counted as proud Vermin.
NDSportscenter:
Talk has arisen about the status of Bob Davie coaching the Irish after this season. See the Oct. 11 posting of an article to our newest page - Articles of Interest. It was a forward we received and didn't come with the name of the newspaper or the author. See our Editor's Note for the validity of the piece.
One issue that surfaced locally is that of the graduation rate of the football team. Apparently Davie was hired under the stipulation that the graduation rate be no less than 80%. If Brock Williams comes back next year and gets his degree in the future, the best Davie can do is 78%. Of Davie's 55 recruits, 18 (33%) have left because of discipline, mutual decision, or injury. There are also the troubled exits of John Cersani, Cooper Rego, Brock Williams, and Eric Chappell. Holtz actually had a lower percentage of problems. Lou's '92-'94 recruiting classes lost 18 of 64 (28%) and '95-'97 lost 17 of 66 (26%). Holtz last class was less 5 of 24 (21%), whereas Davie's first class registered 32% with 6 of 19 gone. Issues have arisen about the face that last year Davie's team was the first in quite awhile to have NO players academically ineligible during spring ball. Could it be that there were no problems because the questionable players had already been excused?
Foot(ball) Note: A few weeks ago the Dallas Cowboys were on Monday Night Football and Al Michaels incorrectly referred to the Rocket as a "Heisman Trophy winner." Well, he should have been. Too bad the sports writers were too into politics and didn't want to give the Irish 2 Heisman's in 4 years. Good thing they weren't around in Leon Hart ('49) and Paul Hornung's ('56) eras. (Johnny Lujack won in '47 and John Lattner in '53.)
Campus News:
A woman has been allowed to proceed with a lawsuit against the University. The woman was injured by someone lunging for a ball in the stands during a game on Sept. 16, 1995. She suffered a fractured left shoulder and collarbone. This decision reversed a lower court ruling that dimissed the lawsuit saying ND did NOT owe a "duty to protect her from a criminal act of a third party." The court said ND should have forseen that this could happen and should have taken steps to prevent it. She is suing the University for "failing to exercise care to protect her."
Huh? Lunging for a ball is a "criminal act of a third party"? The University should have had to "exercise care to protect her"? Whatever. She shoulda made the catch and took the hit.
Campus Watch by the Gipper from Scholastic:
This seems to be the one thing most people check out in Scholastic. Granted, we have a link to Scholastic but we know very well that most Vermin would prefer to be lazy and stay in the cut. Therefore we will take excerpts from the Gipp and print them verbatim. Without further ado...
1) During room picks last year, a particular rector cut a deal with a certain dorm resident who was planning on floating for a single. The rector promised the student a double all to himself in his home dorm. The catch? Just keep the room looking as if it's being shared with a particular football player who really lives off-campus without university permission.
b) One freshman baseball recruit bragged to the Gipp that he never has any trouble getting into Finnegan's - one senior baseball star who doubles as a bouncer there on weekends always lets his teammates in. The Gipp has news for you, rookie. No other underagers have any trouble getting into Finnegan's either.
Hall Notes:
Contactt has been established with older Vermin. Welcome to those
of you veterans that are rookies to VerminNet. The Vermin of the
late '80s and early '90s have had a mailing list in existance
for roughtly 5 years. This information comes courtesy of Vermin
Sean Donnelly. To subscribe to the Vermin-l (lower case "L")
mailing list simply send a message to
LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ND.EDU
and in the body of the message, type: subscribe vermin-l
However, we younger Vermin would obviously be out of place not
knowing anyone. But it would be nice to be able to contact the
older Vermin in certain instances. For example, in the case of
VERMINPALOOZA '99, it would have been beneficial to have the
email address to contact many with one fell swoop. Also if
someone is looking to buy or sell tickets this could be a
helpful resource. Therefore to bridge the generations of Vermin
we will permanently notify all Vermin of the mailing list so that
they can contact the older Vermin should they so desire. (This
should prove to be an efficient means of contact so Slimmer
need only email Vermin-l and VerminNet in the future instead of
having to put together the Mother of All Email Addresses' List
again.) Thank you to the veteran Vermin for making themselves
accesible to those of us still wet behind the ears.
NDSportscenter:
Some basketball notes...
The men's team has a verbal commitment from 6'4", 180 lb. Chris
Markwood of South Portland, Maine. He is a G/F swingman. Coach
Doherty still has 3 scholarships to distribute this recruiting
season.
One of the players no longer considering the Irish is the 7'6"
English high school propect out of Massachusetts. He apparently
doesn't want to get too far away from Worchester, MA. Doesn't
want to get homesick, I guess. Ex-squeeze me? Baking powder?
I thought he was from ENGLAND! What's another 1000 miles!
Buster.
Coach Doherty has been working on the schedule also. In an effort
to win back the students he moved some games that were to be
played over break to a time when students would be on campus.
On Nov. 25, 2000 the Irish will play Cincinnati in the John R.
Wooden Tradition at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The other game at the Tradition will be Purdue vs. Arizona.
ND and Purdue, who haven't played in 34 years, were recently
close to a deal to play but it fell through because of a financial
disagreement.
FYI: John Wooden was originally from Martinsville, IN. He is
a former basketball, baseball, and tennis coach at South Bend
Central High School. He was a 2 time All-American at Purdue
and led them to Big Ten titles in '31 and '32. Oh, yeah, I think
he coached UCLA to some titles or something.
Campus News:
Actually a little off-campus news...
Two ND students were assaulted in 2 separate incidents the Friday
before the Michigan State game. At roughly 12:45 AM a student
was walking near Turtle Creek when a man jumped out of some
bushes ans asked for the student's wallet and watch. The thief
took the money and watch and returned the wallet at the request
of the student. No force was used. What a polite young criminal!
Thoughtfulness is its own reward.
At 1:30 AM, a student walking near Lafayette Square Apts. was
struck in the face and his wallet taken. That thief could really
use a lesson in manners like his non-partner in crime. Being
polite could have garnered him a watch as well.
Hall Notes:
Wrap-up of VERMINPALOOZA '99 tailgater before the Oklahome game...
By my count there were 17 Vermin in all that gathered under the
maroon and gold flag. Those in attendance were...Mad Rise, Paul
Lewis, Mo, Slimmer, Mitch, Brian Buoye, Todd Kuczaj, Big Joe,
Fin, Del, Rangers, John Butler, Dave Ratliff, Tony Farina, and
Kevin Kileen. They covered years '96-'99. A couple older Vermin
from the very early '90s - Chris Fillio and Sean Donnelly -
also dropped by. Some photos were taken by Butler's wife and
hopefully we can get them posted soon. It was a solid get-together
for all the Vermin and their significant others. Hopefully for
VERMINPALOOZA '00 the game can be named a few months in advance
so everyone who so desires can attempt to get tickets. Thank
you to Butler for hosting the 'gater and Slimmer for spreading
the word.
NDSportscenter:
For those who weren't in attendance...the best thing...in fact
the ONLY thing good about the Michigan State game was the halftime
show. I'm not sure if the bands were in cahoots or if Sparty
stole our band playbook, but both had Star Wars as their themes.
MSU actually had Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and light saber battles.
It looked like the Irish were outmatched. But no. The Domers
mounted another gridiron comeback and culminated their set by
marching toward the tunnel in an awkward, unbalanced configuration.
They reached the far end, stopped, and formed...a Star Destroyer!
The Irish Guard were at the back forming the turbo boosters.
They blasted off with fire extinguishers and provided the
"exhaust" for the Imperial ship as the band marched across the
field in a formation that would've brought a tear to Darth
Vader's eye.
The women's soccer team had to play a recent game on astroturf.
Take care of those legs, ladies. They won 4-0. However, soon
after they were shut out for the first time in 55 games in a
1-0 loss to SMU. The Irish only managed 6 shots on goal. They
then defeated #8 Texas A&M 1-0. Both games were played without
Anne Makinen, the team's best player, who was in her native
Finland playing for the national team.
Two new links have recently been added.
Notre Dame Football News
carries most any article that can be found in most any
newspaper.
USA Football Center Online
gives the spread on
all games, college or pro.
Oct. 3, 1999
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