Bobref

Looks like they got your guy.

Don’t give up your day job. 😅🤣

I had occasion to get out the old crystal ball this week. So, I spent a little time looking into the future of football officiating at the upper levels of the game. Some people might find what I saw concerning, even disturbing. Don’t shoot the messenger. 😂 In the not too distant future, NFL and major college on field officials will have a greatly diminished role. For these purposes, I am treating the NFL and major college football the same, since the latter is becoming little more than the minor leagues for the NFL. But that’s a story for another day. The game at the upper level has evolved in 3 ways, all of which will combine to reduce the role of the on field officials. First, the game has evolved physically. The players are bigger, faster, more athletic, harder to keep up with. They can do things you’d swear a human being couldn’t do. This aspect of the game has never placed more demands on the officials than it does now. Secondly, the game has evolved technologically. Cameras everywhere. Enhanced use of replay. Now, every coach and fan can see, from multiple angles, in slow motion or stop action, what the on field official sees in a second. This has created unrealistic expectations among coaches and fans: “If I can see it, the official should have seen it, too.” The Dunning-Kruger Effect is in play here. Lastly, the game has evolved financially. Not just in terms of player compensation and broadcast revenue, but gambling. There is simply too much money at stake to leave things to the judgment of an official who may not have had the best look at a play. What does this mean for officials at the upper levels of the game? It means their role is going to be reduced to ministerial actions, like setting the ball, walking penalties, breaking up scuffles, etc. The actual calls (and no calls) will be made by AI using multiple cameras. AI will determine if there is a foul, for example, what the enforcement should be, etc., and relay that information to the field officials to administer. In the future, the real officiating will be done at the small college level and below. Then, as the technology gets even better and more commonplace, the “reduced role” of officials will start trickling down. Not a pretty picture, is it? I’m considering making my crystal ball into a garden ornament.

There will be a new #1 in men’s lacrosse this week … again. For the 2nd weekend in a row, the Irish dominate the #1 ranked team. This week the victim was top-ranked North Carolina who visited South Bend, and were completely stifled in the 10-5 Irish victory. ND should be back in the top spot today. 2 games left before the ACC Tournament: at Duke, and home against likely #2 Syracuse.

Not sure I understand the significance of an “older” roster with respect to the proposed new rule, so long as they are in compliance. Just curious, but did Notre Dame field any players last season who would have been ineligible if this rule had been in effect then?

I’d be very hesitant to attempt to extrapolate the % of CTE cases found in the brains studied to the League as a whole. There’s a very obvious selection bias that precludes that.

About 6% of individuals diagnosed with CTE also have ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), which was what killed McMichael. By comparison, the incidence of ALS in the general population is about one thousandth of that.

I wonder how @Coach Nowlin feels about the Bears’ latest move.

Today is the 95th anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of the University. It was on this day in 1931 that a plane crash claimed the life of the legendary Knute Rockne. Rock was only 43 when he died. Imagine what he might have accomplished had he lived a full life.

Chuck Norris has a bearskin rug at home. The bear’s not dead, it’s just too scared to move.

we”d love to have you.

Congratulations on a great career, James. Don’t be a stranger. 😉

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ⚔️🏆 The Irish claim the 2026 NCAA Men’s Fencing National Championship - the program’s 16th national title and 8th under head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia.

I blame the transfer portal, which allows the big boys to cherry pick anyone good playing for a mid-major.

Spring practice has started, and the primary project is the O-line. Here’s how they started the Spring. LT: Will Black (6’7/316) LG: Anthonie Knapp (6’5/304) C: Joe Otting (6’4/306) RG: Sullivan Absher (6’7/325) RT: Guerby Lambert (6’7/322) The team’s mantra this season: “Leave no doubt!”

If the family income is <$200K, you pay 50% tuition. And if your family income is <$60K, both tuition and housing are free. Last year tuition and housing at Notre Dame for a school year was a bit over $67K. If you’re going to talk about providing opportunities for the disadvantaged, this is how you put your money where your mouth is.

Just to keep you all updated. This is the first year the NCAA has divided the team championship in fencing into men’s and women’s teams. The women’s championship finished last night, with the Irish women taking home the championship. This weekend is the men’s. Stay tuned, as the Irish go for the sweep.

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

The “uniform police did not prevail. So, we have another season of players wearing Bermuda shorts instead of football pants. For the 2026 season, the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee on Thursday approved a one-year trial rule to modify the penalty structure when players are penalized for targeting. Under the rule, a player disqualified for targeting for the first time during the season, regardless of which half it occurs, may participate in the next game. Any player disqualified for targeting a second time during the season will be required to miss the first half of the next game. If a player is disqualified for a third targeting penalty during the season, the player will be required to miss the entire next game. No players were disqualified for targeting three times in the 2025 season. A conference has the option to initiate an appeals process after a player's second targeting offense. The appeal, which can cover the first and second targeting offenses, would be sent to the NCAA national coordinator of football officials, who would then facilitate a video review. If the call is overturned on appeal, the player will be able to play without sitting out the first half of the next game. Previously, players disqualified for targeting would be disqualified for the remainder of that game, and if the foul occurred in the second half, the player would sit the first half of the next game. Since the 2022 season, conference offices have been allowed to appeal second-half targeting disqualifications to the NCAA national coordinator of officials in hopes of having the call overturned so the player would not have to miss the first half of the next game. Fair catch kick Under another rule approved Thursday by the oversight committee, a team can choose to attempt a kick after a completed or awarded fair catch. The kick will be a field goal place kick with a holder (no tee) or a drop kick from the spot where the returner caught the ball. If the ensuing kick goes through the uprights, it will add 3 points to that team's total. The defense is required to be at least 10 yards from the spot of the kick. This rule further aligns Division I with similar rules that exist in NFL and high school football. Other rule changes approved On punts where jersey number exceptions (players who do not wear numbers 50-79) are used, the snapper and two adjacent linemen on either side who are lined up in (or touching) the tackle box are ineligible receivers by position and become exceptions to the numbering rule when the snapper takes his position. This clarifies which players are eligible receivers in the formation. While the Division I Football Rules Subcommittee is comfortable with the administration of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the oversight committee approved clarifying the rule to give on-field officials guidance to align with the current game. Officials will focus on unsportsmanlike conduct where a player taunts an opponent; actions that interfere with game administration; and celebrations found demeaning to the game or opponent. Offensive pass interference penalties will be 10 yards. Previously, the penalty for offensive pass interference was 15 yards. Uniforms The oversight committee did not approve a proposal that would have required players to wear leg coverings from the top of their shoes to the bottom of their pants.

The Great Austin Carr. All before there was a 3 pt. line.

Goes back further than that. Dave Harangody was a tight end at Whiting and IU in the late 1970s.

That’s why we need to keep all that playoff money. https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/education/2026/03/18/notre-dame-says-families-with-incomes-under-150k-will-pay-no-tuition/89208633007/ Notre Dame says families with incomes under $150K will pay no tuition

1 player holds 4 of the top 9 NCAA Men’s basketball tournament scoring games in history. Name him.

Did you know there were two things Coach Lou did that no other college HFC has done? He took 6 different teams to Bowl games, back when going to a Bowl meant something. More significantly, perhaps, he was the first coach to negotiate a contract that allowed him to leave without contractual penalty if offered the HFC job at a specific other school. This was the famous “Notre Dame Clause,” in his contract with Minnesota. Notre Dame was always his dream job.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all my Irish friends!