Bobref

And the most athletic!

The more schools that do this, the greater the pressure on the remaining schools to follow suit. How far off is the “tipping point?”

Certainly, you should only move to stay on the QB’s throwing side as long as it’s feasible. You can’t get pushed into the sideline and basically take yourself out of the play.

I’m so sick and tired of reading (and writing) about non-football topics, I felt the need to at least attempt to get some substantive high school football conversation going. The referee on the game you’re watching is the guy in the offensive backfield With the white hat. He’s the quarterback of the crew. If you have a crew member who might be a little weak, possibly due to inexperience, there are ways to try and “hide” him, although it’s impossible to do that indefinitely on a 5 person crew. But the R position is not a place you can hide. Like the QB of the teams, the R often gets too much credit when the team succeeds, and too much blame when they don’t. So, how do you, sitting in the stands (or prowling the sideline), know when the R is a good one, or may struggle if challenged? Here are some nuances you probably wouldn’t pick up ordinarily. But if the R is consistently getting these little things right, he’s very likely to be getting the big things right — and seeing that the rest of the crew does, too. Watch the R’s head when the QB releases the ball. Does it stay locked on the QB? Or can you see the head turn to follow the flight of the ball? Everyone else in the place will watch the ball. But R’s focus has to remain on the QB. I guarantee you that if the QB’s coach looks back and sees his kid on the ground, you’re going to have to have an explanation for how he got there. Does R Mark the spot of a fumble in the backfield with his beanbag? Contrary to popular belief, this is bad mechanics. The purpose of bagging the spot of a fumble (or backward pass) is to have a spot from which to enforce the penalty for certain fouls that may occur before or during a loose ball. But if possession is lost behind the neutral zone, under NF rules that spot can never be an enforcement spot. So, if you see R’s beanbag come out on a fumble behind the LOS, he’s telling you he does things without knowing the underlying reasons. Always a bad sign. Does R let the passer cross his face on a rollout or scramble? R always assumes an initial position on the passer’s throwing side. There’s a reason for that: it is the best position from which to judge whether a loose ball is a forward pass vs. a fumble, arguably the toughest judgment call R has to make. It’s important to maintain that position as long as possible when the QB moves toward you. Good R’s will fight to maintain that relationship as long as possible. Does R go into the sideline on wide plays? The R is not normally involved in activity right around the dead ball spot unless the play ends in the offensive backfield. But a good R will help on plays that go into the sideline at the LOS or a short distance downfield. The wing official must maintain the out of bounds spot, and R should go past him, into the sideline, to make sure any players of the opposing team who went into the sideline come out without incident. It’s more than just hustle. It’s good dead ball officiating. And it’s a critical skill. Does R signal his “count” early and clearly. One of R’s primary responsibilities is to count the offensive players on every play, and signal his count to his wing officials. If R signals that there are 11 on offense, the wing officials then count the players in the backfield in order to determine legality of formation. In this day of specialty substitutions, no-huddle and up tempo offenses, it has become more important than ever that R get this done as early as possible, and let those wing officials know so they can go about the rest of their business. Does R signal crisply and properly? Believe it or not, good R’s practice signaling in front of a mirror. Do the arms go straight up when signaling a score, or do the elbows bend ? Does he wait to stop moving before starting to signal? Is he giving a preliminary signal to the press box when appropriate? Does he always use the dead ball signal for fouls prior to the snap, and after the play is over? Does R get the timing rules right? Last year in the playoffs — a sectional final and a regional — I saw 2 different R’s start the game clock after an accepted penalty for delay of game. An absolute no-no, and a dead giveaway that R has not done a deep dive into the rulebook recently. Now, since you know these “tricks of the trade” for the R position, when the loudmouth next to you starts dogging the R, you don’t have to take his word for it. An informed fan is a better fan.

Perhaps one of the few positives that come out of this is that, assuming that we have a season and a tournament, the #1 excuse from the whiny underachievers will change from “ we got jobbed by the zebras,” to “if it hadn’t been for the virus ... .” Just trying to find something of a silver lining.

For those that see what the Redskins are doing, and wonder how long before the thought police come for the “Fighting Irish,” read this article on how that nickname came to be. And the answer to your question is Notre Dame will be known as the Fighting Irish until the sun burns out. https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Article/How-The-Fighting-Irish-Got-Their-Name-149026778/ How The Fighting Irish Got Their Name ByPHIL HOUK Jul 11, 2:00 PM Those who believe Notre Dame’s “Fighting Irish” nickname to be a denigration of the Irish people do not know the historical facts. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish nickname is a tribute to an enduring relationship based upon respect and affection. So how did Notre Dame’s athletic teams acquire their unique and proud nickname the Fighting Irish? The history of Notre Dame reveals a rich and respectful connection to Ireland and the Irish people that is so engrained that over time, the University chose to honor that history with the iconic nickname. Four of the six Religious who founded Notre Dame on November 26, 1842 with French priest Edward Sorin were Irish. The student body has always had strong Irish representation. Most of Father Sorin’s successors at the post of Notre Dame President have been of Irish descent. But the history of Notre Dame-Irish connections goes much deeper than that. On July 2nd, 1863, Notre Dame was 20 years old, and on a Gettysburg battlefield known as The Wheatfield, Army Chaplin William Corby, a Notre Dame professor and future President of the University, performed an inspiring act of faith and mercy. Amidst significant enemy threat, Father Corby mounted a large rock before the men of the Union's legendary Fighting Irish Brigade. Legend has it that the Fighting Irish name, by which that group came to be known, was bestowed by General Robert E. Lee. Lee. as the story goes, greatly admired and respected their fighting prowess. As Father Corby summoned the group of about 500, made up of predominantly Irish-Catholic immigrants, they knelt before him. First, Father Corby shouted the prayers of general absolution to the soldiers. He then reminded them of their duties and exhorted them not to waver as they upheld their flag. Officers later reported they had never seen such an inspiring scene. Seconds later, the men were sent to the rescue of the crumbling Union flank. Within minutes of the brutal and bloody fighting, a third of the soldiers had become casualties, but the attack of the Fighting Irish brigade bought precious time for the Union. A monument to this event stands at the site of Father Corby's act. An identical one known as "Fair Catch Corby" stands on the Notre Dame campus. Of 1,328 monuments that have been built at Gettysburg, Father Corby is the only Chaplin to be so honored. Corby, after serving as University President, oversaw the building of the Notre Dame Grotto. In 1916, the Irish freedom fighter and later President of Ireland, Eamon de Valera, visited Notre Dame. de Valera had been part of the 1916 Easter Rebellion against the English in Ireland. After being imprisoned and then granted amnesty, de Valera was arrested by the English again. He later escaped to America, and after attracting a stadium record 60,000 at Fenway Park, he was welcomed as a hero at Notre Dame on October 15, 1919. At that time, admiration for and solidarity with the Irish people by the Notre Dame community reached a zenith. During the early 1900s, stereotypes and ethnic slurs were frequently expressed against Catholics and the Irish in the press. Because Notre Dame was largely populated by Catholics -- many of them Irish -- its athletic teams were commonly referred to derisively as the Catholics, the Papists or the Dirty Irish. During the Rockne years of Notre Dame Football, ND was also unofficially referred to as "the Rovers" or “the Ramblers.” That was because they were not in a conference and some Midwest teams simply refused to play them. It is likely that at least some of the difficulty in scheduling was the result of religious bigotry toward Catholics. So Notre Dame choose to "ramble" and "rove" far and wide to find good competition. Football coaching legend Knute Rockne, who had a keen mind for promotion, engaged in public relations that played upon his Notre Dame team's humble roots and need to travel long distances to find competition. Some of the agents who had worked for the team used the words "the Fighting Irish" when engaging with the media. These PR efforts particularly paid off in the 1920s when one of Rockne's former PR men, Francis Wallace, went to work for the New York Daily News and used the Fighting Irish moniker in his column. There was also a time Notre Dame was known unofficially as the "Terriers." For many years, an Irish Terrier nicknamed "Clashmore Mike" could be found on the Notre Dame football sidelines. In May of 1924, another event added to the Fighting Irish-Notre Dame connection. According to historian Todd Tucker in the book Notre Dame vs. the Klan, Notre Dame students violently clashed with the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan who were demonstrating in South Bend that spring. The fact that the student body was heavily of Irish descent and that those students embraced the full inference of the words "the Fighting Irish" is apparent. The power of the KKK was significant in the Hoosier State and at that time included control of the governor's office. According to the book, a weekend of clashes led by Notre Dame students helped bring an end to the KKK's political power in the State of Indiana. So as early as the Civil War, Our Lady's University had a connection to the name Fighting Irish. And several examples suggest that the Fighting Irish nickname was born not out of derision or stereotype but as a noble tribute to heroism and bravery. It all converged in 1927 when the Fighting Irish nickname came into common use. University President Rev. Matthew Walsh issued the following statement to the University community: “The university authorities are in no way adverse to the name ‘Fighting Irish’ as applied to our athletic teams…I sincerely hope that we may always be worthy of the ideal embodied in the term ‘Fighting Irish.'" Thus, the Fighting Irish identity of the University -- long a part of the university's esteemed fabric -- became official. Today, Notre Dame's connections with Ireland continue. Twice in their history, -- 1996 and 2012 -- Notre Dame football has traveled to Dublin and played games against the Naval Academy. The plan in 2020 was for Notre Dame to play the Naval Academy in Dublin once again, only to have the game relocated to Annapolis, Md. due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He knows what he’s talking about = He agrees with you. FYI - They’re not the same thing.

It will be interesting to see what the non-Power 5 conferences do, since non-con games with the big boys are how many of them make ends meet.

Let’s see what everyone else does, first. There’s going to be more than a few 6-0 teams.

Bring ‘em on. They’ve had a nice run. But we’ll end their 15 min. of fame ... relatively speaking.

No problem. I’m all for it. More direct path to the playoff.

Whatever it takes.

Heard Paul Finebaum this morning say CFB this year is “dying the death of a thousand cuts,” with the announcements that the ACC and B1G will play only conference games this year. The record should show I made that very same reference yesterday before those announcements, after hearing what the Ivy League and Stanford have done.g At some point a movement in any direction reaches a “tipping point.” If you’ve read the Malcolm Gladwell book, you know what I mean. It’s the point where momentum becomes irreversible, and there’s no longer any possibility of changing direction. The rest of the Power 5 conferences will announce something similar today or tomorrow. Other conferences will follow suit. Smaller schools will cancel their seasons ... because without the big payday a non-con game against a Power 5 school provides, they can’t make it financially. Then, when training camps start, you’re going to see a bunch of positive tests. Programs will “suspend” activity for a week as a band-aid. Then, some programs will cancel, or states will restrict fan attendance sharply. Other programs will “copycat,” because they don’t want to appear insensitive to the health concerns. The slide has started, and I don’t see any way to arrest it. I really, really hope I’m wrong

Things are starting to head south. In my experience, we’ll reach a “tipping point” where decisions will be driven primarily by the need to avoid looking like you’re lagging behind. After that, there’s no stopping it. https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Article/Jack-Swarbrick-Notre-Dame-Season-Less-Likely-To-Start-On-Time-148984015/ Jack Swarbrick: Notre Dame Season ‘Less Likely’ To Start On Time ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich spoke with Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick on Thursday about the 2020 football season, the likelihood of starting on time against Navy in September around Labor Day, and a few other topics. According to the story from Dinich, while nothing is set either way, Swarbrick believes it’s “less likely” that the 2020 football season starts on time. "It has grown more pessimistic over the past two weeks, but I'm not to a point to say we shouldn't continue to plan for the potential to open on time," said Swarbrick in an interview with ESPN. "I just think it's less likely. We have to shift our allocations a little bit -- a little more time on planning the alternatives, and a little less time on planning routine go forward." Recent COVID-19 testing results came back from Notre Dame and the numbers were great. There weren’t any positive tests based on the recent results and there was only one early last month, but that student-athlete has since had a full recovery. That is a positive sign. "It's so much about the guys and talking with [them], making sure there's an understanding, appealing to them to do all they can to protect their season," said Swarbrick to Dinich. "... They understand there's only two to an elevator in the hotel. They understand they're not to congregate in rooms. And they're just doing it." Notre Dame already moved its season-opener from Aug. 29 against Navy in Ireland to taking on the Midshipmen in Maryland during the first week of September. It’s possibly that things move back even further depending on how things play out moving forward. Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk recently shared a comment on where things stand on his end. "We still plan on playing them, and whether there are fans or not, that's the X factor," said Gladchuk. “But in communicating with Notre Dame this week, they're all ... they're getting ready to go. At least we can hope we can create some entertainment for television and see what happens."

As I recall, one of the end zones was shortened. They ended up basically playing a “half court” game.

Ivy League cancels the season. The Buckeyes “pause” voluntary workouts. Wrigley Field has opted out of hosting the Northwestern - Wisconsin game this November. I fear the football season is going to suffer a slow “death of a thousand cuts.”

It’s not blood-borne, like HIV or Hep B. But the tattooing environment is one that appears conducive to transmission. Pretty hard to social distance in that setting.

Dead on the money. Also, Munster has 2 Hall of Famers- John Friend and Leroy Marsh - and since there have only been 3 coaches in program history, the Mustangs hold the distinction of having the highest percentage of head coaches in the HOF.

Gee, if someone wrote a book on it, it must be true.

Nor is science a popularity contest. And the idea that Dr. Fauci is a spokesperson for the vaccine industry is, of course, ludicrous. Of course, he is pro-vaccine. Show me a highly regarded immunologist who isn’t. But he’s been the Director of NIAID since Reagan was President. None of us knew his name until 6 months ago. That’s a pretty lousy industry spokesperson. As far as a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, Dr. Fauci has been frequently misquoted and misrepresented on that subject by those with a political agenda. See, e.g., https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/meme-misrepresents-faucis-position-on-vaccine-trials/.

True science is neither “Left” nor “Right.” The fact that you think it is tells anyone all they need to know.

Your characterization of Dr. Fauci’s role reflects your bias. Everything that you’ve talked about happened during the last 6 months. The man has been the director of NIAID for 36 yrs., and has devoted his entire professional life to Public Health Service. He’s been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He’s one of the greatest scientists in the history of the field. You and the rest of the clueless character assassins should be ashamed of yourselves. Nobody is happy about what has gone on for the last several months. I guess some people just have to have a scapegoat.

One of the frequent battle cries of the folks who apparently believe that the coronavirus emergency was a liberal plot to wreck the economy for political reasons is the “fact” that all of the protesters and rioters gathering unmasked did not cause a spike in COVID-19 cases. Turns out it’s not so much a “fact” as it is one of those politically-driven assertions that, if repeated enough, becomes unquestioned. https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-protests-linked-to-covid-spike-garcetti LA Mayor Garcetti admits 'connection' between coronavirus outbreak and protests, after downplaying link "We are certain that there is going to be spread" By Nick Givas | Fox News Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that public protests are likely causing the number of citywide coronavirus cases to spike, just two days after claiming there wasn't "any conclusive evidence" showing a connection between the two. Garcetti, a Democrat, was speaking at a press conference concerning the recent Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles when he was asked if the demonstrations were contributing to the spread of COVID-19. He claimed he'd consulted with Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County's director of public health, and determined the protests were in fact contributing to the spread of the virus. “I talked again with Dr. Ferrer about that this morning. She does think some of the spread did come from our protests," he said. "It’s not the act of protesting – that’s a great and American thing to do no matter what your opinion is… but protesting without maintaining physical distancing, without wearing your mask, without having sanitizer – we just have to be smart. Whether you’re at a protest or at your home, whether in your workplace or whether you’re out shopping, these rules don’t change.” He added, “We do believe there is a connection, we don’t believe that everybody has been doing this safely and wherever you can, please stay at home.” Fox News reached out to the County Health Department for comment and received a video of a Wednesday interview with Dr. Ferrer, where she affirmed the statement. "In situations where people are close together for longer periods of time and it’s very crowded, we are certain that there is going to be spread. So, we’ve never said that there’s no spread from people who were protesting," she explained. After being asked earlier in the video if government officials were downplaying the protests' effect on coronavirus stats, she said, "We’ve been really honest and said from the beginning that for any people that are in crowded situations for long periods of time – which long for us means more than 15 minutes – where you’re in close contact with people, less than six feet apart and people aren’t wearing a cloth face covering you have a heightened risk of either transmitting the virus if you are an asymptomatic spreader, or getting the virus from someone else who is spreading because they also are an asymptomatic spreader." This clashed with statements made by Garcetti during the Tuesday press conference, however, where he called the idea a hypothesis and minimized the potential impact mass public demonstrations were having on the number of COVID-19 cases in the city. "We follow the data closely," he said, according to Fox 11. "There's no evidence yet that the protests led to much spread though it's something that Doctor Ferrer has hypothesized, but we haven't seen any conclusive evidence there."

Umm.... no. Dr. Fauci is the Director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, one of the institutes operating under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health. He is easily one of the most accomplished scientists in the history of his field, having contributed groundbreaking research for over 30 years. You and the other folks who constantly paint him as a buffoon because, as a spokesperson for an entire research discipline, there are times when new research findings conflict with others, are only displaying your own ignorance about the scientific process in general, and the massive effort ongoing with respect to SARS-CoV-2 in particular. Or, perhaps, you are letting your political desires get the better of logical judgment. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/anthony-s-fauci-md-bio