The Latest in Pigskin

In Stevenson's second football season, the Mustangs duplicated the 2-8 record of their inaugural campaign, posting wins over Misericordia (itself a first-year program) and FDU-Florham (in the season's final home game).  That second home win in SU history, in all honesty, was something of a dud spirit-wise.  It had to be rescheduled several times and was finally turned into a Saturday night game, but the band, for some reason, failed to make an appearance, and the night grew cold enough that Nicky and I decided to leave at halftime.  We followed the rest of the action online.

The record may not look like much, but the Mustangs were considerably more competitive this season.  The defense was better, and the team put up gallant fights against superior opponents on several occasions.  Aside from the near miss against Lebanon Valley, the Mustangs showed their best form against Wilkes in the homecoming game.  The "jernt" was packed to the rafters and SU responded by staying ahead of or tied with Wilkes until literally the last few seconds of the game, losing 38-35 on a gun-beating field goal.  Now the team just has to learn how to close the deal.

Needless to say, I've been delighted by how well Notre Dame has done this year.  No, make that stunned.  Despite a spotty offense and occasional recourse to strange-looking gear (see picture above), the Irish continue to grind out wins and now stand just two victories away from a 12-0 record and a possible berth in the BCS Championship Game.  At the moment, the latter is contingent upon either Kansas State or Oregon dropping a game, which has some folks (including a few without any particular pro- or anti-ND axe to grind) upset.  If the Irish wind up #3 and on the outside looking in at the title game, however, I won't be too upset.  They have massively overachieved in 2012.

As for the Eagles?  Leaning on a broken Reid at the moment.  The regime is finished and it's time to clean house.

A "Disney Princess by Proxy" Gets Aid & Comfort

This was a pretty rough weekend for a Notre Dame graduate and Philadelphia sports follower. I was able to put it in perspective, though. My niece Zoe broke her arm in a playground mishap, and said appendage is now in a cast. Her family is now living in the Orlando area, so she was able to seek aid and comfort from some friendly folks in the neighborhood...

Zoe's "boo-boo" casing was also signed by Minnie Mouse, Peter Pan, and others. No amount of "magic dust" can replace good, old-fashioned modern medical healing, however.

In other medical news, Nicky is about a week to 10 days away from finally being able to walk unaided. She will be joining me tomorrow at Susan Slattery's memorial service on the Stevenson campus. We've also been invited to a reception with the family at Gramercy Mansion, a bed and breakfast across the road from the college.

RIP Tom Brookshier

Former Philadelphia Eagles player and "NFL on CBS" broadcaster Tom Brookshier died of cancer yesterday. It was Brookshier's unfortunate destiny to serve as Pat Summerall's sidekick before John Madden entered the booth and blotted out the sun, as it were... but Brookshier and Summerall made a great team, too.  They did three Super Bowls together, the last being SB XIV, Steelers vs. Rams, in January 1980.  Here, they call Wilbert Montgomery's TD run in the 1980 NFC Championship game, Eagles vs. Cowboys:

Like Tony Kubek, Brookshier made up for an untrained voice with enthusiasm and a wealth of knowledge. Pat and Tom will always be associated in my mind with those fall Sundays of my teen years.

Eying the Eagles

Not many comics to review of late, and the "grind" has begun again in earnest, but I have to pay tribute to the Eagles' return to the NFC championship game. Given life by some fortunate results on the last weekend of the season, they've taken full advantage. Not sure if they can make it three straight road wins, but, with the Phillies having busted that maddening "curse of Billy Penn," at least the "weight of expectations" has lessened considerably.

In preparation for the NFC title clash, here's a link to a blast from the past: Wilbert Montgomery's TD run vs. Dallas in the 1980 NFC championship game vs. the Cowboys. I watched this live! (At home on TV, I should say, not at Vet Stadium.)