Dr. Saturday - NCAAF

Weis Watch. Another sign of Charlie Weis' impending demise: Notre Dame has blocked the university plane from appearing on flightaware.com (see for yourself), a proactive effort at cutting off the breathless surfers intent on tracking its path to Cincinnati or Gainesville or Vatican City or wherever ND's next coach is waiting. That comes on the heels of the athletic director assuring reporters that Weis' huge buyout won't affect whether he stays or goes and the two most notable Irish-centric newspapers both calling for his head almost simultaneously, completing the Holy Trinity of "You're Fired." [South Bend Tribune]

Oh, to be a Knoxville lawyer. News leaked Tuesday that Tennessee freshman defensive back Nyshier Oliver was cited for shoplifting for allegedly walking out of a Dillard's with a $110 polo shirt just hours before the Vols' win over Memphis on Nov. 7, a relatively piddling misdemeanor that would usually pass without much notice if not for a) Last week's blockbuster armed robbery arrest involving three other UT freshmen, raising the legal antennae around Knoxville, and b) Coach Lane Kiffin's repeated statements just hours before the armed robbery news broke that his team had been entirely arrest-free over his 11-month tenure -- despite being fully aware of Oliver's shoplifting charge.

Kiffin may skate by charges that he blatantly lied on a technicality -- Oliver was cited, not arrested; his arrest warrant was issued Tuesday, and he won't be booked until Nov. 23 -- but he's certainly lost the "clean program" pitch for the next year or two. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]

The good Cap'n a Cardinal? Hornswaggle! Weirdest coaching rumor so far in the early rounds of silly season: Mike Leach to Louisville? The Louisville Courier-Journal cites a radio interview with ex-Georgia and Marshall coach Jim Donnan, who thinks Cap'n Leach would be interested and would be "a good fit" if/when UL dumps current coach Steve Kragthorpe. That's better sourcing than CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd offers in his Leach-Louisville speculation, which seems based entirely on the pirate coach's no-buyout contract in Lubbock and the Louisville opening existing ... you know, probably, at some point in the near future. It's too strange to make up, frankly, although Leach has never lamented any extra attention. [Louisville Courier-Journal]

Z-Rob still shaking out the cobwebs. It can't say for sure, but the Tulsa World believes that backup quarterback Alex Cate has been taking most of the snaps in Oklahoma State's preparation for Colorado Thursday night, though starter Zac Robinson is still expected to suit up and possibly be available for senior night in Stillwater despite being knocked silly by Texas Tech's Jamar Wall last Saturday. Think of it as an investment, Cowboy fans: It may be Robinson's last home game, but his presence is not mandatory for beating the sad-sack Buffaloes, and it can never hurt to get the quarterback of the future some live reps. [Tulsa World]

No one snubs Urban's cubs. Urban Meyer will be "upset" if the Tebow Child isn't invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony for the third consecutive season: "Absolutely, yeah I’ll be upset. ... He's the quarterback of the No. 1 team in college football. I think the Heisman goes to the best player, and it’d be hard to argue that he’s not." Actually, it's fairly easy to argue: Florida is relying far more on its dominant defense to make up for a good-not-great offense averaging 50 fewer yards and 16 fewer points in SEC games than it did in 2008, and Tebow is well behind Ryan Mallett as the league's best statistical passer. But don't let semantics get in the way: Tebow will be in New York, because his exclusion from the proceedings will only hasten the horrors of the tribulation. The Downtown Athletic Club makes its decisions based on the relatively peaceful continuity of human civilization, not stats. [Palm Beach Post]

Quickly ... James Vandenberg is one poised quarterback. ... The victim in an alleged assault case against Auburn's Eric Smith is suing Smith and two unnamed Tiger players. ... Washington State linebacker Jason Stripling was arrested for assault and obstructing a public servant, both misdemeanors. ... Old hat Jerry Glanville resigns at Portland State. ... And yes, that is a 13-year-old middle-schooler being touted as "probably the most celebrated high school recruit in history" before enrolling in high school.

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  1. Tim
    1. Posted by Tim Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:28 am EST

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    Tebow needs to skip it and work on his mechanics to prepare for their bowl game. If everyone left him off the ballot last year he has no chance this year (or shouldn't, anyway). And that's a good thing -- with as bad as they're playing right now, the Gators don't need a Heisman curse to weigh them down too.
  2. cantcatchuf
    2. Posted by cantcatchuf Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:36 am EST

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    Caleb Sturgis was a Heisman shoo-in until that dismal 1-4 performance against South Carolina. Addazzio is very unhappy right now.
  3. JP Girouard
    3. Posted by JP Girouard Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:53 am EST

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    I saw a six-year-old on the playground the other day with tremendously fluid hips and great tackling mechanics. Where can I go to get his hype as the next "most celebrated high school recruit in history" started?
  4. A C
    4. Posted by A C Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:41 am EST

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    This is just sad, how every so called journalist parrots one stupid story after another. It has nothing to do with Charlie Weis' job status. You're just parroting what you read on ESPN and other idiot sports sites. The tracking of Notre Dame's plane was turned off before June of this year. You can read for yourself, look at the entry on June 5, 2009: http://www.goldhelmet.com/showthread.php?p=168337#post168337
    A message board poster just pwned you. The plane tracking doesn't "come on the heels" of anything related to Charlie Weis' job status. How about some research next time?
  5. Jeff K
    5. Posted by Jeff K Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:01 am EST

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    Tebow gets to go to NY anyway as a former winner, right? Just doesn't get the puff-piece interview with Chris Fowler if he's not a finalist. But he can sit in the crowd like Billy Sims and yell something stupid like, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, dem Gator don't take no jive!"
  6. Doghouse Reilly
    6. Posted by Doghouse Reilly Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:05 am EST

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    You know what's fun? Mix-matching those rumors, so that Notre Dame is interested in Captain Leach. I know there's no way Notre Dame would ever hire a Mormon head football coach, but man, if I was an Irish fan I'd be begging for him.
    (Also: Urban Meyer "upset" if Ryan Mallet isn't invited to the Heisman ceremony after shoplifting a $110 polo shirt.)
  7. David E
    7. Posted by David E Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:27 pm EST

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    On the subject of coaching rumors, who is going to replace the Zooker at Illinois?
  8. Ricky
    8. Posted by Ricky Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:11 pm EST

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    I don't think "the great TEBOW" is that great in the first place..... he never should have won the heisman... the fact that he plays on a high powered team surrounded by a lot of talent should tell that... I thought the heisman trophy was awarded to the BEST PLAYER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL period and he ain't the best... ain't even close to the best. Just cuz he can put up silly video game stats 1 yr everybody is on his jock like he is the next big thing.... ain't the case... the heisman needs to get back to what it was meant for and I'll repeat for the cheap seats THE BEST PLAYER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.... u know the one guy that if he went down to an injury the team would be lost and it shouldn't matter if its an offensive or defensive or hell even a special teams player.... And on another note I'm glad Kiffin is getting what he deserves... he loves dragging people through the mud and throwing people under the bus i.e. look at his stint with the raiders... and how he's handled himself so far at UT... gotta love the karma effect in full force :)
  9. PHUC NUTT/as in houston
    9. Posted by PHUC NUTT/as in houston Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:18 pm EST

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    bet they flew too weis when they offered him the job. he's not fitting on that plane through the door. we're not paying for two first class seat's, & we don't have a plane big enough. how do you let it go this long w/weis ? it defies all logic.
  10. PHUC NUTT/as in houston
    10. Posted by PHUC NUTT/as in houston Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:40 pm EST

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    on kiffin. he walked into it just like alot of other coaches i.e. spurrier @ redskin's, (& sou car) saban @ miami, petrino @ atlanta (& ark - thanks houston) calipari @ new jersey, yadda yadda yadda. get a big pitcher of say kool -aid grab a big spoon now spin it real fast one direction, & then go back the other direction. tennessee wasn't in the best of situation's when kiffin stepped in. so whaddya do. you try to put in a different direction. not easy. if one of my friend's say trip, & bust their head open after i said your shoe is untied i might not laugh, but i will point. the off the field incident's are inexcusable. but it's like nolan richardson said i'm paid to coach not raise your kid's. the only thing i can say about the arrest's (@ any program) is we shot perfectly good monkey's into space. then again maybe these coaches should take a harder look at how these bumquisha's be brangin' day kid's up.
  11. Dan
    11. Posted by Dan Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:29 pm EST

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    On the other hand, Tebow is ahead of Mallett in the only statistic that counts: 10 - 0 vs 6 - 4 (and 8 - 0 vs 2 - 4 in the conference).
  12. Paolo X
    12. Posted by Paolo X Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:39 pm EST

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    (Copied From Above) This is just sad, how every so called journalist parrots one stupid story after another.
    ESPN is the worst at this, and I am new here but I am we don't get just more of the same. So far the reporting here looks much, much better, but that with regard to the story about the site tracking the plane banned since June was quite the oversight on the author's part.
    /Hate Pack And Lazy Journalism -- That's Not Free The Media That We See Usually Only With Dissent

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