official campaigning for the election of student body president and vice president began Tuesday, marking the beginning of the week-long race between six student tickets.
These tickets will face off in a debate monday, Feb. 4, making their case to students, who will cast their ballots wednesday, Feb. 6. in the event of a runoff, there will be a second debate Thursday, Feb. 7, and a final election monday, Feb. 11.
austin O’Brien and nick Boggess
Freshmen austin o’brien and nick boggess are looking
outward in setting goals for their potential term as head of student government.
“The main aspect of our platform is making notre dame students better citizens of south bend, and at the same time making south bend into the college town that students want to be a part of,” o’brien said. “i would like to be able to find a way for students to be able to be more engaged in the community in order to develop our own unique student cultural scene.”
o’brien, who hails from granger, ind., said he believes he has a home-field advantage when it comes to serving students and reaching this goal.
“i feel that being from the area qualifies me to represent the
Kelly addresses Te’o controversy
By ANDREW OWENS
a ssistant managing e ditor
i rish coach b rian k elly publicly defended former linebacker m anti Te’o on Tuesday in the aftermath of the Jan. 16 report that revealed l ennay k ekua, Te’o’s purported girlfriend, to be a hoax.
k elly said the timeline included in university p resident Fr. John Jenkins’ letter to university officials matched what he remembered.
“ w hen i looked at it, that was all in line with my
recollection of getting a phone call from m anti on [ d ec.] 26 [when Te’o supposedly told k elly and defensive coordinator b ob d iaco about the ordeal],” k elly said.
“ e verything from there kind of followed the time line that had been set-up.
“ s o everything that [Te’o] told me, every little thing that’s come out of the past couple of weeks is what he told me. s o i can only go on the information that he gave
interests of the students of notre dame to leaders in the community who can help make our vision a reality,” he said.
a lex Coccia and nancy joyce
Juniors a lex coccia and nancy Joyce want to refresh the way student government engages with and serves its student constituents by refocusing the organization on advocacy.
“student government has the potential to be a great advocacy organization for students,” coccia said. “it requires being able to engage directly with students and their passions, persevere through the challenges we
Film festival focuses on non-violent resistance
By MEL FLANAGAN news writer
peace studies course material and film study will converge at the fifth annual screenpeace Film Festival, where attendees will share in the experiences of five nonviolent resistors from around the world.
The festival, which begins Thursday and runs through
saturday, is co-sponsored by the k roc institute for international peace studies and the debartolo performing a rts center.
hal culbertson, executive director of the k roc institute, said this year’s festival theme of nonviolent resistance developed in response to the a rab spring, a series of civil resistance movements in the a rab world that began in late 2010.
“we thought there would be significant interest in the a rab spring and its impact around the world,” culbertson said. “we decided to make the theme of nonviolent resistance the centerpiece because we knew of several films that related to this.”
The five films that will be
Students explore careers, internships at fair
By ERIN AUCAR news writer
notre dame students trudged through the dreary weather in their best business formal outfits with freshly printed resumés and the determination to connect with and learn from representatives of potential employers at the annual winter career Fair on Tuesday.
w hile many of the students attending the fair were upperclassmen hoping to land that dream internship or full-time position, a number of younger students were there looking to get their feet wet in the professional world.
Freshman william cheely was one such underclassmen attending mostly for the experience.
“i have absolutely no idea what
to expect,” cheely said. “i just want to look around and get a better idea of how these events work.”
with a slightly clearer goal in mind, sophomore gregory moyers viewed the fair as a broad but defined search for summer options. w hile the formal corporate positions offer tempting
JACQUELINE O’NEILL | The Observer
SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer Irish coach Brian Kelly speaks at BCS media day on Jan. 4 in Miami. Kelly spoke Tuesday about the Manti Te’o hoax.
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“it’s important to have an umbrella even if it’s January.”
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Mike Gregory freshman keenan hall
“how to draw a perfect circle.”
Students embrace new coaching program
By NICOLE MICHELS news writer
e very n otre d ame athlete is encouraged to ‘play like a champion today,’ a motto that aspiring coaches among n otre d ame’s student body are learning to pass on to local youth teams.
n otre d ame’s physical education department has devised a coaching certification program in order to give students the tools to coach youth sports teams effectively, said s tephen b ender, visiting associate specialist in the physical education department.
“This program allows n otre d ame students to become certified coaches,” b ender said. “This program offers a pretty solid base to help our students get their feet in the door.”
n otre d ame’s coaching certification program, supported by both its physical education department and the i nstitute for e ducational i nitiatives, certifies students through the a merican s port e ducation p rogram, b ender said.
certification requires two courses — “social Foundations of coaching” and “p rinciples of coaching” — as well as an exam, bender said.
“The social foundations class is more about ways to motivate people, while the principles class is about
teaching coaches how to coach … and getting them to realize that there is a lot more to coaching than just going out onto the field,” b ender said.
The social foundations of coaching course teaches the essentials of the “ p lay l ike a c hampion Today” e ducational s eries, an initiative that instills positive coaching techniques in organizations around the united s tates, a ssociate p rogram d irector d amian k earney said.
“The research behind this philosophy was conducted by p rofessor c lark p ower, who found that a high percentage of children were leaving sports, basically because it wasn’t fun anymore,” k earney said. “The concept of youth sporting around the country had become so focused on winning and professionalization that the end had strayed from what ‘youth sports’ had been meant to be initially. we want kids to have fun, maintain good physical fitness and to make friends.”
The “ p lay l ike a c hampion Today” staff teaches clinics throughout the country, k earney said. he said the undergraduate course is more academic.
“ we read social psychologists who have written on
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‘flow’ in sports and how the best performances come from athletes when they’re feeling an equal amount of challenge and fun — we get more into the science of how our philosophy came about,” k earney said. “The end goal of the course would be for our students — if they go on to be coaches in communities — to know the reasons we get into coaching in the first place and to use these techniques to raise not only good athletes, but good people.”
b ender said he seeks to offer a coaching practicum that allows interested students to get hands on experience outside of the classroom.
“ i f students want to get into the coaching practicum — which is basically student teaching for a semester by getting hands on coaching experience — i go out and find positions for those girls and guys to coach for a whole season at local high schools,” b ender said. “ i find coaches to take them under their wings while they coach — it’s an awesome experience.”
Junior n ick c onrad said the best part of his coaching experience was becoming a part of his team’s community.
“For me, i was fortunate enough to work at s t. Joseph h igh s chool in s outh b end, where i was welcomed into their family of players,
coaches and staff,” c onrad said. “ it was amazing how in four months i was able to become so invested in the school and football program. i still stay in touch with coaches and players and plan on volunteering again next year.”
c onrad said dealing with the interpersonal aspect of coaching proved to be the biggest obstacle.
“The most challenging experience of coaching is understanding your players,” c onrad said. “ understanding personalities and how to motivate is key. s ince this was my first coaching job, it was also a challenge to recognize what drills and practice
Kelly con T inued F rom page 1
me versus what we’re seeing out there.”
k elly said his initial concern was to figure out what had happened rather than worrying about when to release the information. h e said he immediately forwarded the information to administrative officials.
“That was my first thought,” k elly said. “ l et’s find out what the heck is going on here. b ecause you get a phone call in the middle of the night, and the first thing is this young lady is not, in fact, dead. you don’t know what to think. s o try to get dialogue and make sure that we begin to find out what happened here.
“a s we went on in the process, our athletic director, Jack s warbrick was, as you know, a center in it. a nd he was putting together all the pieces over a period of time. i don’t know that any of us were motivated by — we don’t want this to be a news story. we wanted to find out what the facts were.”
k elly added that he was focused on coaching the i rish in the bcs n ational c hampionship g ame against a labama and was not involved in the decision on when to
techniques were actually translating to field success and where i needed to focus my attention for practice plans.”
b ender said this practicum helps students to discern if they would like to pursue further coaching opportunities.
“The practicum solidifies their passion. They might be a little skeptical going out into the real world and seeing what coaching is all about, but everyone that we’ve placed has come back and said, ‘that was the greatest thing i ’ve done at n otre d ame,’” b ender said.
Contact Nicole Michels at nmichels@nd.edu
release the information.
Te’o, who struggled in the 42-14 loss, did not appear to be affected by the situation leading up to the game, k elly said. h e said he did not sense his captain played poorly because of the ordeal, but he added that only Te’o could answer that question.
“ m anti’s a young man that continues to lead, and you don’t really see him — because, obviously, he went through a tough time during the year, and we didn’t really see anything there that would have set off an alarm that he was under so much pressure concerning the situation,” the third-year coach said. “ i just didn’t see it as we practiced and leading into the game.”
k elly said he thinks Te’o will be remembered as a “great leader on our football team on an undefeated team at n otre d ame” and considers Te’o to be one of the best teammates he has witnessed in his 22 years of coaching.
“ h e was just special to coach, and he did all the great things that i think great players have to do on a day-to-day basis,” k elly said. “a nd we’re going to continue to hold him in that type of esteem.”
Contact Andrew Owens at aowens2@nd.edu
Photo Courtesy of Nick Conrad
Through a coaching certification program, junior Nick Conrad worked with the St. Joseph High School football team.
SMC campus fire deemed minor
By JILLIAN BARWICK saint mary’s e ditor
The investigation into the cause of s unday night’s fire in o ’ l aughlin a uditorium is ongoing and a report is expected in a few weeks, g wen o ’ b rien, director of media relations at s aint m ary’s, said Tuesday.
o ’ b rien said there is no imminent danger stemming from the fire. s aint m ary’s s ecurity and the n otre d ame Fire d epartment were alerted of the fire at 10:59 p.m. s unday and responded immediately to put the blaze under control.
The c ollege notified students of the fire around 7 a.m. m onday via text, email and phone call with an automated voice recording.
“ s aint m ary’s uses an alert system that is programmed by the c ollege [determining] when to send out messages and what the messages say,” o ’ b rien said. “The messages sent through text, call and email were not an emergency alert but rather a community notice. s ince there was no imminent danger, we did not feel the need to send out an emergency alert.”
s ince no one had been in the auditorium at the time of the fire, c ollege administrators made the decision to send out a community notice several hours after the fire had been extinguished and not an immediate emergency alert, o ’ b rien said.
k aren Johnson, vice president for s tudent a ffairs, sent the community notice m onday morning to alert students of the fire. h er message also informed students that classes were to be called for the day in m oreau h all, which reopened Tuesday.
“ s aint m ary’s c ollege is dedicated to providing a safe environment for all our community members,” Johnson said. “ i n cases of imminent danger to any member of the community, we use our e mergency a lert s ystem to contact those persons impacted by the situation.
“ i n the case of the fire in o ’ l aughlin a uditorium, the auditorium was empty. n o student, faculty or staff member was in imminent danger so we did not contact the community.”
o ’ b rien said there was no reason to assume a
speaker shares experience with stalking
connection between this fire and another fire that occurred in m oreau h all in the fall.
“ we do not believe that this fire was connected with the first fire that was in m oreau this past november,” o ’ b rien said. “The cause of the last fire was undetermined but deemed not suspicious. a ll indications showed that the fire had not been caused with a purpose.”
w hen the fire alarm that went off inside the auditorium, o ’ b rien said s aint m ary’s s ecurity was notified at the same time as the n otre d ame Fire d epartment.
“ s ince the s aint m ary’s s ecurity is located on campus, they were the first to arrive at the auditorium when the alarm went off,” o ’ b rien said. “ n otre d ame Fire d epartment followed shortly after, arriving within about three minutes. s aint m ary’s s ecurity was trying to get the fire and smoke under control when the n otre d ame Fire d epartment arrived on campus.”
o ’ b rien said all safety procedures functioned smoothly s unday evening.
“ s aint m ary’s s ecurity might not have been aware of how the c ollege wanted to handle classes the next morning because decisions were being made throughout the night,” o ’ b rien said.
“ we made the information available on a need-to-know basis.”
a third-party specialist, First r esponse, has visited the building to expel the smoke that had seeped into m oreau h all and caused classes to be cancelled, o ’ b rien said.
w hile m oreau h all has reopened for classes,
o ’ l aughlin a uditorium will be closed for an undetermined amount of time. The next event scheduled for o ’ l aughlin is d ance a rts 2013: d ance s peaks on Feb. 14. it’s unclear at this time whether the venue will need to be changed, o ’ b rien said.
“There is water damage to the stage area and offices below the stage. o nce the investigation is complete, First r esponse restoration specialists will clean and refurbish damaged spaces,” she said.
Contact Jillian Barwick at jbarwi01@saintmarys.edu
By SARAH SWIDERSKI news writer
To enhance the educational impact of national stalking awareness month, saint mary’s belles against v iolence office hosted speaker debbie r iddle, whose sister’s tragic experience with a stalker made the all-too-common issue personal.
The Tuesday lecture focused on the story of r iddle’s sister peggy, who met her stalker patrick kennedy through a study group while attending school in a lbuquerque, n m in January 2003, kennedy attacked k linke, later killing her and himself at a neighboring home she fled to.
r iddle said she remembers the last time she saw her sister.
“she looked like a walking cadaver,” she said.
r iddle said the stalking affected her whole family.
“[peggy] was terrified to be with her family, [worried] that patrick would kill one of us.”
r iddle said the nature of the pair’s relationship drove a “wedge” within the family once they began dating.
“peggy was not to pay attention to … her family,” r iddle said, “[kennedy] kept inserting himself between [the family] and my sister.”
r iddle said that she saw physical and behavioral changes in her sister as a result of the relationship.
“her hair started to thin, she lost interest in things,” she said.
once k linke ended the relationship in 2002, kennedy began stalking her, requiring k linke to keep vigilant about his presence in her life.
“she comes out [of work] and his truck is still there,” r iddle said. “she [couldn’t] live her life without looking over her shoulder.”
once k linke began another relationship the stalking escalated, r iddle said. she believes kennedy was set off by k linke’s rejection of a marriage proposal.
“he [waited] for her at work and [handed] her a dozen roses and a ring,” r iddle said. “That possession he had control of for three years [didn’t] need him anymore.”
w hen k linke reported kennedy after he put up fliers with her picture, false statements and phone number, r iddle said the police dismissed the incident.
“[The officer said] it’s really just a piece of paper,” she said. “There is really nothing you can do.”
kennedy had also vandalized
k linke’s mother’s home in ohio while the family was at a wedding in Florida, r iddle said. he then went back to new mexico where he also vandalized k linke’s boyfriend’s home. For r iddle, the murder highlighted the need to raise awareness on the issue of stalking. she teamed up with the stalking resource center of the national center for v ictims of crime, legal activist erin brockovich and new mexico state rep. heather w ilson to spread the word. she helped record a “roll call Tape,” a video for police officers to use as a training tool and raise awareness of stalking so they pay attention to the stalking victims, r iddle said. r iddle shared the video with students, including the 911 call k linke made before her death, where kennedy can be heard saying, “hang up the phone.” r iddle encouraged students before the question-and-answer session to pay attention to the signs of stalking.
“i would advise if you ever hear anything like you heard tonight … get help,” she said, “There are many, many services available, but i’m telling you, trust your instincts.”
Contact Sarah Swiderski at sswide01@saintmarys.edu
credential boosts, he said he is exploring nontraditional options as well.
“right now i’m exploring some options. i’m interested in accounting but i’m thinking about a leadership camp this year,” he said. “That way i can work up to more opportunities in the future.”
sophomore melissa o’brien said she had narrowed her search to a few industries but was largely attending the fair for early exposure to the networking experience.
“i went so i could talk to some finance and consulting firms that i was interested in, so that i could learn more about them and their internship offerings,” she said. “overall, it was a good
experience getting to talk to potential employers as a sophomore so i can know what they’re looking for next year.”
w hile often seen as catering to those interested in traditional business or corporate work, the career Fair had something for everyone, with over 100 companies and organizations present.
“i was pleasantly surprised to see that there were a lot of opportunities for my political science major,” junior Tom mcguire said. “i was mostly surprised to see that a lot of companies are looking for skills such as good writing abilities – skills that students in arts and letters [majors] have.”
Felicia byrd, a junior, said she was interested to see how her recent change in major from accounting to management consulting affected her response
from recruiters.
“i was actually more excited about the career Fair because i’ve changed my major, and i’m more confident in my ability to perform now,” byrd said. “i feel more comfortable approaching the [recruiters].”
a lready well into the recruiting process, junior katie knapp intended to follow up with recruiters from organizations she had already applied to.
“i think it’s helpful to meet the recruiters in person to get a better feel for each company,” she said. “i’m glad that i went, because i learned a lot more about each position than i could have from simply scanning the job descriptions on [job listing site] goirish.”
Contact Erin Aucar at eaucar@nd.edu
EMILY KRUSE | The Observer
Sophomore Elizabeth Quinn speaks to representatives from KPMG at the Winter Career and Internship Fair. The event was held in the Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center on Tuesday.
culture as a professor of French and Francophone literature, she said.
shown over the course of the festival portray the stories of a varied cast of people: a palestinian farmer, a chinese artist and activist, a scholar of nonviolent resistance, an interracial a merican couple and an aspiring a lgerian filmmaker. a lison rice, associate professor of French and Francophone literatures, will introduce the last film of the weekend, “normal!,” about a young a lgerian filmmaker living and working when the a rab spring protests begin in his country in the last days of 2010.
“with these protests taking place, it’s like a documentary, but it’s not labeled a documentary,” rice said. “it’s like a film within a film.”
The film follows the struggles of the filmmaker as he tries to discern how to act appropriately in the midst of the protests, rice said.
“[it is] really about the dilemma of how to act when you’re in a societal system in a country where you do not agree with the way things are going,” she said. “how do you react, how do you respond effectively?”
The film sends a message of solidarity, rice said, and the feeling of “everyone participating in something together.”
rice was chosen to introduce “normal!” for the screenpeace Festival because of her close connections with a lgerian
“i also love the work the k roc institute does, and i am firmly behind the idea of peace studies, and i love film as well,” rice said. “it was a perfect opportunity for me to respond to.”
culbertson said the k roc institute chooses films for the festival that will relate to the material the peace studies department is teaching in the classroom.
“we designate films with our chief educational goals in mind and we try to complement our class discussions of peace with films that are particularly situated where conflict and peace issues are prominent,” he said. “it can address issues on a more local level and more in context than we often can in the classroom.”
The festival also provides food for thought for others who may not know a great deal about peace issues around the world.
“The real goal is to stimulate thought and reflection of peace issues around the world,” he said. “i think film as a medium is a wonderful way for people to learn about other cultures and contexts. it’s a different way of seeing peace issues played out.”
The festival is free to attend, but tickets are required. For a full schedule of films and to obtain tickets, visit performingarts.nd.edu.
Contact Mel Flanagan at mflanag3@nd.edu
face by approaching obstacles with new ideas and creativity and promote the voices of all students in the conversations that affect us.”
coccia said it is important to embrace the range of differing passions, while highlighting the commonality between students.
“we want to be in the best position possible to most effectively advocate for a wide range of student interests,” he said. “at the end of the day, what we all have in common by virtue of our attendance at this school is a passion for the university of notre dame.”
The coccia-Joyce platform is based on enhanced communication through social media and other online resources as well as campus publications; innovation, including the creation of a new position focusing on national outreach; and collaboration, especially with the leprechaun legion and the student activities office; inclusion, focused especially on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (glbTQ) and minority students.
Kevin salat and Paul Mascarenhas
Freshmen kevin salat and paul mascarenhas hope to avoid some of the vague rhetoric they believe can sometimes impair student government groups.
“paul and i are trying to get to the real interests of the students,” salat said. “we’re not trying to win over the student body with vague idioms about hard work and ambiguous reform promises.”
w hile refusing to offer details at this time, salat said his ticket hopes to make structural improvements at the university and improve intercollegiate relations.
“we have worked … to develop
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plans for football stadium renovations,” he said. “we will be going to great lengths to improve our relationship with the fine ladies of saint mary’s college as well.”
dominic romeo and Philip Hootsmans
Juniors dominic romeo and philip hootsmans have a threepronged approach to a potential term in office.
romeo said his administration would emphasize interaction and integration between groups on campus to improve programming and safety on campus.
“by working with students, community leaders and faculty, we will improve safety, increase relations between dorms and hold more programs, conferences and meetings so all of us can listen and learn from what each other has to say,” he said.
he said he would oversee the development of an online space for organizing and informing students about extracurricular opportunities.
“phil and i envision an online space where students can come together to find out more about campus activities,” he said. “This mentoring platform will enable all of us to reach our full potential at notre dame.”
The ticket’s third focus will be on improving the day-to-day life of members of the notre dame community.
”we will work together to encourage more night football games, more and better concerts, cheaper printing and huddle prices, more reasonable meal plan rules, more trips and finally a café in [debartolo],” he said.
Billy Christy and Patrick roemer
sophomores billy christy and patrick roemer want to use the offices of student body president and vice president to enhance local outreach, student government accountability,
equality across the student body and encouragement of student initiatives.
christy said there could be more funding directed towards local social concerns.
“we want to be able to use [center for undergraduate scholarly engagement] funding to reach out to the south bend community,” he said. “we have a unique opportunity to reward those who want to better south bend.”
roemer said the institution of regular video recordings of student government meetings and updates on progress will allow students to better assess their leaders’ results.
“we see a problem with student government to be that most students don’t know exactly what it does,” roemer said. “This is something we want to fix through meetings with hall presidents [and] youTube videos at the end of every month so that we can be held accountable.”
christy said his administration would look to carry forward momentum with the push for equal standing across a diverse student body.
“we want to be able to continue fighting for equal rights for all, regardless of gender, race, age or sexual orientation,” he said.
christy also pledged to increase support of students’ startup projects on campus.
“it can’t hurt to have an ally in the present and [vice president] when the university administration looks over their proposal for funding or to approve a club,” he said.
Michael Masi and Timothy scanlan
Junior michael masi and sophomore Timothy scanlan are focused on making the notre dame community more unified, communicative and connected with the off-campus community.
“The masi-scanlan campaign is focusing on uniting the notre dame community together as one,” masi said. “This comprehensive platform aims to foster a community that is welcoming and inclusive, meet the day-today needs of the student body and encourage students to reach beyond the university to affect change beyond the boundaries of our campus.”
some of the tickets’ specific initiatives include a review of campus information technology and an intercollegiate “social Justice Forum.”
before such a forum can be effective, masi said his administration would need to increase student body unity and improve the relationship between campus and student government.
“before we can successfully reach beyond the walls of our university, we must first unite our student body,” he said. “we believe we can accomplish this by increasing the visibility and accessibility of student government.” Contact John Cameron at jcamero2@nd.edu
JACQUELINE O’NEILL | The Observer
InsIde COluMn
respect for our season
i am generally a pretty easygoing person. i wait patiently in the sandwich line of south dining hall while the student in front of me can’t pick up a slice of ham. i nod politely when the barista at starbucks writes the name “curry” on my coffee cup. i even chatted with the occasional a labama fan loitering around sun l ife stadium in m iami. however, one of the few things i cannot stand is the “hate on notre dame” train that seems to be gaining steam this semester.
being from columbus, ohio, i have had a fair share of irish discrimination from my buckeye peers. i’ll even admit i have probably contributed to the target on my back from all of the notre damerelated statuses i have been spewing as of late. w hat i don’t understand is for the need of perfect strangers to insist i am aware of their distaste for my university. now, i am all about school spirit. i will forever believe we have the privilege of going to the best school in the world. i also understand everyone else participating in collegiate academia believe the same about their respective establishments. w hatever happened to coexisting peacefully?
instead of being recognized for the incredible season we have had this year, the legacy of this football season has now become a public whipping by the sec, a case of cold feet and an overblown piece of gossip. rather than commendation from my ohio state friends on also being undefeated, i have the pleasure of hearing what they imagine what would happened if they faced a labama. real talk, it would not have been any prettier.
i do not feel like i am asking for a lot. it is not necessary for others to cheer for old notre dame with the same gusto we do. w hat i request is a little respect. regardless of who you are, if you start the season unranked and end up going to the national championship, kudos is well earned. if you dislike notre dame, you are more than entitled to your own opinion. w hat i do not need is for you to expel your hatred all over my Facebook wall/phone. pointing out another school’s flaws does not make your institution look better. i f anything, it results in returned scrutiny.
notre dame is not perfect. no university is. we have had a lot of negative attention these past few weeks, heck, the past couple of decades. w hat students from other universities fail to understand is how far we have come. a s the wise Thumper once said, if you do not have anything nice to say, do not say anything at all.
Contact Kirby McKenna at kmckenn5@nd.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Believe in God, believe in yourself
a lthough it’s sometimes hard to admit, i get nervous easily. This was especially problematic in high school. m y nerves made big decisions difficult. i always put off asking girls to dances until the last minute and told n otre d ame of my decision to attend on the day of the application deadline.
i ’ve always felt more comfortable away from the spotlight. i ’ve never liked organizing and have always been more content helping as a part of a team rather than leading one. s o, college was great for me. There were always activities and people that needed help. i could be something to everyone and could stay away from big decisions.
e verything changed once i started this year in c ampus m inistry. s uddenly, my opinion mattered more. i was given responsibilities. i was no longer just part of the team, but instead was responsible for leading it and organizing meetings, committees and programming. i was especially shocked — and scared — when i discovered i would be co-leading n otre d ame’s s enior r etreat. i helped with the s enior r etreat as a senior, so i figured i would not have any trouble this time around. This was not entirely the case, as i soon discovered. m y co-leader, k atie, and i were tasked with overhauling the entire retreat. we changed everything from the previous year and gave it a different focus and structure. we took on a lot of responsibility and tried to organize the retreat so that little help was needed from others during the course of the two days.
i grew a lot during the preparations for the retreat, learning to manage the stress and responsibility that came from juggling many different details and people. b ut perhaps my greatest insight came not at the end but near the beginning of the preparations in a conversation with Fr. Jim k ing, d irector of c ampus m inistry. a nd i ’m just now starting to live into its truth. Fr. Jim and i were talking about my future and i mentioned to him i was, as usual, having difficulties making decisions. To shake things up, i asked him a question point blank: “ h aving known me for a couple of months, what is one thing that i could work on?” h e replied to me almost without hesitation: “ l ook, you’ve got a lot of gifts s cott. i ’d hire you tomorrow to work in c ampus m inistry.” Then he paused. “ b ut i can’t hire you.” “ w hy’s that?”
i asked. “ b ecause,” he replied, “ you’re not confident in what you do.”
it would be no exaggeration to say these words have changed the way i look at myself. The more i thought about it, the more i realized Fr. Jim was right. i couldn’t make big decisions because i didn’t believe i had the capability to make them. i n other words, i didn’t believe in myself. i realized i had been handicapped by my desire to make everybody happy. a nd this desire had hindered my ability and confidence in making decisions, decisions that may have been right but also difficult for people to hear or accept.
d uring the retreat, i learned very quickly that you can’t make everyone happy. i guess i could have if i had remained guarded and revealed only a part of myself into the process of planning and execution. b ut
that’s not what i wanted. i wanted to pour all of myself into that retreat.
Jesus too did not make everyone happy. a lthough he led his disciples with truth and love, he made some people so mad they crucified him on a cross. c s l ewis writes in this capacity: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. l ove anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. i f you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.”
s o i ’ve realized leadership, if done well, does not invite us into an ivory tower, but into vulnerability. h enri n ouwen comments, “ i wonder if not all creativity [and leadership] asks for a certain encounter with our loneliness. a nd it is fear of this encounter which severely limits our possible self-expression.”
i realized i had been fearful of leading because i had been incapable of being vulnerable and opening myself to some of the hardest realities of life: criticism, failure and the loneliness that comes with these experiences. b ut, despite all my fears, Fr. Jim believed in me. a nd i still ran the retreat.
i think Fr. Jim reminded me of a deeper reality too: g od always believes in us. There is nothing we cannot accomplish in h im. i f we take a leap, h e will not abandon us. h e will support us as we discover ourselves and, most importantly, will give us the wings to fly.
Scott Boyle is a graduate of Notre Dame and intern in the Office of Campus Ministry. He can be reached at sboyle2@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
edITOrIal CarTOOn
Scott Boyle The sincere seeker
Kirby McKenna photographer
s ome come to n otre d ame for the academics, some come for the sports and some for the community. Farther down the list of attributes, nestled somewhere between parietals and “the diversity,” is the weather. w ith second semester comes January and its array of arctic temperatures. w hile initially entertaining, it soon becomes old as the memory of the snowball fight fades and you’re faced with yet another day of sobbing quietly on your trek to d e b artolo h all, praying your tears don’t freeze before your arrival. a s the single-digit degree temperature days continue, some will stay tucked warmly in their dorms while others will brave the epic journey to their classrooms. i nevitably, the dorm idiot will leave in a t-shirt and return with pneumonia. These are the grave challenges the i rish bear as they courageously venture outdoors in pursuit of an education and/or night at Fever.
For many, however, there is no respite from the cold. There is no heated dorm or warm coat. i ndeed, there is no place to call home. For
Freezing for a cause
tens of thousands of people, each night is a challenge in its own right. h omelessness affects people from coast-to-coast, from s outh b each to s outh b end. For those afflicted in the n orth, the harsh climate of winter poses specific and perilous challenges. i n times of extreme cold, these trials become lethal.
i n the heart of the wealthiest nation on earth, there will be some who go without shelter during the dead of i ndiana’s frosty winter. i n a given year, over 1.5 million a mericans will find themselves homeless for some length of time. Ten percent of these will be veterans; over one-fifth will be children. o ften the cause is a death, an unstable family situation, a sudden financial turn or an unforeseeable emergency. i t takes a relatively small amount of assistance to help them back on their feet. For others who experience chronic homelessness, the path to self-sufficiency can be a more arduous process. o f the chronic homeless population, approximately 30 percent suffer from mental health conditions, while even more find themselves battling issues of substance abuse. b y any statistic, homelessness is both a tragic occurrence and a daunting challenge.
c hallenges, however, can be met. l ocally, the s outh b end c enter for the h omeless spearheads the effort to fight this societal disease. s ince its inception in d ec.1988, the c enter has worked to combat homelessness in s outh b end and throughout s t. Joseph c ounty. b y seeking to reach beyond the topical effects and into the issue’s fundamental causes, the c enter looks to fight homelessness in a comprehensive manner. Through an array of initiatives and community support, the c enter works to both meet the immediate needs of its clients while working to put them on a path to self-sufficiency and break the cycle of homelessness. b eginning in Feb. 2007, s iegfried h all has worked to help make the c enter’s mission a reality. Through its annual d ay of m an, the men of s iegfried raise funds to help s outh b end’s homeless. o ne February day a year, the resident ‘ r amblers’ of s iegfried don nothing more than a tshirt, shorts and sandals in a display of solidarity with those who face the cold on a daily basis. The event inevitably draws a few comments criticizing its perception of masculinity and helping the homeless as “discriminatory” (2011) or “exalt[ing] restrictive, gender essentialist ideas”
(2012). To junior Johnny d ang, one of the event’s commissioners, these critiques miss the point. “ we want to raise awareness. i t’s not about gender stereotypes,” d ang said. w hile some may argue with the testosterone-laced format of the fundraising, few can quarrel with its results. s ince 2007, s iegfried has managed to raise tens of thousands of dollars to aid those most in need.
n ext wednesday, s iegfried will once again take to the sidewalks, buildings and classrooms of n otre d ame for the seventh annual d ay of m an. we invite you to join the pinkoutfitted men of s iegfried in supporting the s outh b end c enter for the h omeless. w hether a few cents or a few dollars, your donations will make a marked impact on the lives of those in our very own community. h omelessness will not vanish today, tomorrow or perhaps ever. i ts reduction, however, must start somewhere.
Matt Miklavic is a sophomore studying political science and business from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He can be reached at mmiklavi@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Football and failed family
“softening” campus environment.
For c hristmas, i received a framed sports i llustrated cover. The top reads, “The notre dame m iracle.” The story discusses the “modern i rish,” and Tim l ayden opens his piece by writing, “The echoes have been awoken, the thunder shaken down, and the new notre dame is marching onward to the national championship game— and downward from the moral high ground it has claimed for a century.”
The article chronicles recent changes to notre dame’s football program. it suggests that moral standards for notre dame athletes have dramatically decreased and that our athletes are becoming less a part of notre dame’s student body. yet, comments by one “ weis-era employee” illustrate some irony. he told l ayden, “[ i ] think the campus environment softens a kid. Then you’ve got to get him back over to the facility and unsoften him.’” s o at the behest of coach brian k elly, our players got facilities with their own training table, pool, p ing-pong tables, an Xbox 360 and other video games. Football players now have more perks and fewer reasons to stay in the
This employee seems to criticize the seriousness of this environment. b eing a world-class athlete requires a certain commitment to excellence, and he suggests the campus environment is not conducive for this excellence. a fter living in the dorms, i have found these criticisms are not entirely unfounded. w hen freshman dorm parties down the hall result in alcohol poisoning three weekends in a row, one must wonder what kind of environment these communities are seeking to create.
i n a certain respect, our athletes are worthy of great admiration. i have met few notre dame students whose commitment to their studies matches our athletes’ commitment to their teams. a thletes are called upon to work their hardest every day in practice and in competition, but few students do the same in their primary commitments as members of the university. it is easy to imagine a student who is lazy in his or her classes. it is difficult to imagine a football player who is lazy on the field.
This, however, is not the entire story. l ayden writes, “The current generation of notre dame football will be forever connected ... to the lives of
d eclan sullivan and l izzy s eeberg, both of whom died during brian kelly’s first season.” my notre dame experience will also be forever connected to these deaths, particularly the death of l izzy, who accused one notre dame football player of assaulting her and, after little happened but threats from the player’s friend, ten days later committed suicide.
i n a washington post article, notre dame alumna melinda henneberger notes that this player was actively recruited and publicly praised by our current coach both before and after the incident. she questions why he was recruited at all, considering “he was suspended during his senior year in high school for throwing a desk at a teacher who’d taken away his cell phone.”
i n a different article, henneberger notes another incident last year: “a resident assistant in a notre dame dorm drove a freshman to the hospital for a rape exam ... ‘she [the freshman] said she’d been raped by a member of the football team at a party off campus,’ the r a . [said]… The r a .’s parents, who met the young woman that same night, when their daughter brought her to their home after leaving the hospital ... said they saw — and
reported to athletic officials — a hailstorm of texts from other players, warning the young woman not to report what had happened: ‘They were trying to silence this girl,’ the r a .’s father [said].” They succeeded. she never filed a complaint.
a t the end of his career, c harlie weis named residence l ife “the biggest problem on notre dame’s campus.” now, with recent restructuring and turned heads, it seems our football program has won against resl ife, and others, including at least two young women and their families, have lost. w hile, according to our university president, “we did our best to get to the truth” of a girl who never existed, the events leading up to the death of l izzy s eeberg still remain unclear. l izzy’s family, which includes 13 notre dame and st. mary’s alumni, now feels betrayed by the school they had always loved. perhaps the “notre dame family” only goes so far as the football team.
Christopher Damian is a senior studying philosophy. He can be contacted at cdamian1@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Matt Miklavic
The maine idea
Christopher Damian ideas of a university
By SAM STRYKER assistant managing editor
The british invasion has extended to our television sets, as in the last year or so “downton abbey” has joined the ranks of “mad men” and “homeland” as one of the most popular — and critically-acclaimed — shows on Tv. now in its third season, americans just can’t seem to get enough of it. and while the subject material of “downton abbey” is distinctly british (for those out of the loop, the show takes place at a fictional estate and deals with the lives of the resident nobility and servants) the ensemble cast of characters is entirely relatable and diverse.
if you remove all the puffy costumes, tea and biscuits from “downton,” you are left with an array of characters who display depth and range that rival that of any american Tv show. everyone has a “downton” character they are most invested in. The real question is, what does your favorite character from the show say about you?
lady Mary Crawley
she’s beautiful and wealthy, but she’s also the resident drama queen/brat of downton and always has to have her way. she desperately wants a husband, but won’t settle if he isn’t wealthy or good looking enough.
if you’re a fan of lady mary you probably major in something “sophisticated” like art history and live in a new fancy dorm like ryan or duncan, the closest thing to downton abbey on campus. you’re looking for the ring by spring, but any old domer won’t do. you don’t understand the meaning of the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers.” also, you wouldn’t dream of leaving your dorm room without your longchamp bag, northface jacket and Tory burch flats. most of all, you’re a daddy’s girl (even if you’re a dude).
The dowager Countess
sassy is your middle name. what you lack for in nobility you make up with witty banter and a fabulous wardrobe. violet, as she is otherwise known, is played by the beloved dame maggie smith (mcgonagall, hey!) and she is a fan-favorite. always equipped with a one-liner, the dowager countess doesn’t put up with riff-raff.
if she’s your favorite, you don’t like people wasting your time or getting in your way. you’re probably a second-semester senior who has seen and done it all at notre dame, and you are so over dealing with all the peasants (read: freshmen) on campus. That being said, you’re a softy at heart and are always willing to help someone in need, even if he or she is a stranger. you are resistant to technological change and think Twitter is just something birds do.
lady edith Crawley
Just kidding, no one would ever admit to lady edith being
their favorite character, but after being stranded at the altar earlier this season by sir anthony, who was much older and crippled, it’s hard not to feel sympathetic towards her. but it’s just that she makes it so easy to make fun of her. lady edith is the most socially awkward of the crawley sisters and she drives the rest of her family crazy. she began to write a newspaper column this season, so it’s looking like she may be gaining some independence. if you can sympathize with lady edith, you’re probably studying something “cultured” like english and are perennially jealous of your friends in mendoza who have actual jobs following graduation.
lady sybil Crawley
where mary and edith went wrong, sybil went right. The youngest crawley sister is beautiful, down-to-earth and hardworking. most of all, she marches to the beat of her own drum. she volunteers as a nurse and participates in protests, much to the chagrin of her father. but the most defiant thing she does is marry the family’s irish driver branson, who in addition to being quite handsome is a revolutionary (hey, no one is perfect.)
defy the odds and not even the separation of prison time for the possibly wrongly-convicted bates can deny their love.
if you are an anna and bates fan, you believe in love at first sight and that romance is real. you probably watch a lot of romantic comedies and aside from “downton abbey,” your favorite show on television is “The bachelor.” maybe you live in pw and your boyfriend lives in carroll, or you live in knott and your girlfriend in mcglinn. no matter, because distance doesn’t matter — only true love does.
if sybil is your favorite, you’re probably a free spirit who cares a lot about the world around you. you’ve participated in an sslp, studied abroad and probably are majoring in something that interests you like medieval studies or Film, Television and Theater rather than following the mendoza path. but you also know how to let your hair down and have a good time — the stage at Finny’s and the cage at Fever are like your second homes.
Carson and Mrs. Hughes
The head butler and housekeeper of downton, carson and mrs. hughes can be somewhat stern and crusty, but they are loyal employees with good intentions.
if you take a liking to either of these characters, you probably really enjoy keeping your room clean. a fun Friday night for you involves stacking your textbooks in a neat pile and dusting every corner of your living space. extravagant pur-
chases for you are a nice vacuum or a 12-pack of paper towels. you have impeccable attention to detail.
anna and Bates
anna and bates’ love story has to be the most depressing — not sad, depressing — on television. anna, the beautiful young maid, falls in love with bates, who is older, already married, crippled and possibly a murderer. Talk about coming with a lot of baggage. but in inspirational fashion, the two
Thomas and O’Brien picture a diabolically evil anderson cooper, and you’ve got Thomas. imagine if voldemort was female and had bangs and sideburns, and that’s o’brien. if any characters on “downton abbey” were to be considered villains, it is these two. it’s amazing the plotting and scheming Thomas and o’brien are able to do considering they’re supposed to be working full-time as servants. in previous seasons the two were always plotting some mischief together, but now, they’re at each other’s throats. if Thomas and o’brien are your favorite characters, you’re an opportunist who will stop at nothing to get ahead in life. you’re driven and cutthroat and probably plan on working at somewhere like goldman sachs following graduation. you would backstab even your best friend to get what you want. Things that matter to you: #winning, being evil and rolling your eyes really well. Things that don’t matter: bad hair, friendships and use of your left hand.
Mrs. Patmore and daisy
The resident kitchen all-stars of downton abbey also provide some much-needed humor on the program. if you like mrs. patmore and daisy, you spend most of your time in the kitchen cooking elaborate recipes. you have trouble relating to your friends sometimes, like the time they weren’t as excited as you about getting a kitchen torch to make flan. daisy is also known for marrying william, another servant, on his deathbed, despite the fact she didn’t love him. This bothered her for a while before she came to accept she did the right thing. in a similar manner, you’ve probably been to your fair share of syr’s with boys or girls you didn’t fancy, but let’s be honest, if it weren’t for you they would being going solo (and not the cup type). you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of yourself to help others not necessarily because it is the right thing, but because you were guilted into doing it.
Contact Sam Stryker at sstryke1@nd.edu
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By GABRIELA LESKUR scene writer
There’s a new media darling in town. but you won’t see her on the red carpet. you won’t see her donning the latest couture. you won’t see her in the tabloids. you won’t even know her name. she’s extra #15, dressed in rags, caked in elaborate make-up, and, oh yeah, she’s a zombie.
From the upcoming movie “warm bodies” to the new york Times bestseller “Zombie survival guide,” zombies are infecting the minds of unsuspecting americans. whether we’re shooting them on our Xboxes or watching them on hulu, zombies are an essential part of our consciousness.
however, zombies aren’t simply present in pop culture. They are dominating, roaming their way into the heart of pop culture and onto our Tv screens.
move over humans, primetime is for the dead.
“The walking dead,” an amc drama that chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic zombie rampant world, held the most viewers of any television show when it aired its midseason finale in december. “The walking dead” beat out all other Tv dramas — including “modern Family” and “The big bang Theory” — in the 18-to-49 age group. so what is it with the undead that makes the living so
infatuated with them?
The rebirth of the zombie fad arrived around 2005, after the bird flu outbreak—for good reason. with a debilitating illness racking the globe, television and film played on our fear by planting zombies back into the mainstream. epidemics scare people, sure. but at least those end. Zombies present a horrifying alternative.
Zombisim very often is presented as a disease, passed through an infectious bite or even through the air. however, zombisim does not merely kill or maim an individual.
Zombisim realizes a greater fear within us—having the ones we love not only suffer and die, but having them reincarnated as monsters dead set on eating us.
if zombies awaken our greatest fears, then why do we chose to watch it realized? science offers interesting hypotheses. when we experience our worst nightmare unearthed on screen, a curious process happens: our brain reacts as if we are experiencing the zombie slaying ourselves. when will smith’s character in the zombie-ravaged world of “i am legend” fearlessly fights against the zombie masses, our neurons fire instinctively with every move will smith makes. one hypothesis then is that the positive reinforcement for watching zombie flicks comes from our subconscious belief that since we walk out of the movie theater unscathed, we
would be able to handle a real zombie apocalypse. perhaps, though, a more selfish desire leads us to zombies. in the post-apocalyptic world of “The walking dead,” we see people throw away the monotonous days of living paycheck to paycheck or the silly stress of acing that gen chem final. hey, you might have failed orgo, but you sure can hit a zombie with a bat. suddenly, you’re a big deal. The attractiveness of a zombie apocalypse, in this case, is the possibility to start again, a second chance to make something of oneself. success is redefined and failure is nothing more than death.
For me, i really don’t know what keeps me coming back week after week to sit, terrified, starting at the Tv screen. but i know i’ll keep watching.
Contact Gabriela Leskur at gleskur@nd.edu
“The
Walking Dead”
Creator: Frank Darabont
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Sarah Wayne Callies
By COURTNEY COX scene editor
each year one indie darling film storms into the national conversation following the announcement of the academy award nominees. sometimes it’s well deserved, other times it’s a bit of a stretch. This year’s choice low-budget beauty is “beasts of the southern wild.”
narrated through the voice of hushpuppy, a five-year-old girl being raised by her single father, “beasts of the southern wild” tells the story of a secluded, loosely organized community just beyond the levees of the louisiana bayou called the “bathtub.”
hushpuppy is independent out of necessity. her father lives in one trailer-style home while she lives on another a few yards away.
he calls her for dinner every night but isn’t necessarily the most nurturing of parents. one night he isn’t there to feed her, so she finds a way to feed herself but starts a major fire that burns down her entire trailer. it forces the two of them to live together under the same roof and yet they don’t necessarily grow closer together.
perhaps one of the most puzzling parts of the film is whether hushpuppy’s father, wink, is a good father or a cruel man. he yells a lot. he doesn’t baby hushpuppy in a way that most people would treat a five-year-old girl. at the same time maybe that truly isn’t necessary.
maybe what he needs to do is instill strength in her so that she can take care of herself one day. in a lot of ways, he does his best to prepare her for the troubles of the real world. one of the most touching moments of the whole film is when wink and hushpuppy are floating down the river on a raft and wink teaches her how to catch a catfish with her bare hands. it’s a small thing that indicates that he truly does love her and while he may make her do some uncomfortable things it’s all in her best interest.
The critical moment of the film comes when a hurricane hits the coast of louisiana. it completely floods the “bathtub” but the levees have protected the rest of the state from being affected.
The salt eats away at the earth beneath the massive flood and kills all of the wildlife that sustained this ragtag bunch of “bathtub” residents for years. it devastated their community but they band together and commit to powering through. despite all their loss, everyone in the “bathtub” has the same mentality that they are never to cry over their misfortune. They celebrate the life they have and drink heavily, eat seafood and strengthen the bond that keeps them living in such a unique environment.
living in abject poverty has never looked so good. They genuinely seem like a happy group of people despite living outside conventional norms of social acceptability. at one point they are taken away from their homes by social workers and brought into a clinic. The stark contrast between
the natural environment of the “bathtub” and the bright lights and sterile environment of the clinic is jarring and upsetting in many ways.
one cannot discuss the movie as a whole, however, without acknowledging the stunning performance of newcomer Quvenzhane wallis as hushpuppy. her expressive face is so beautiful and painful to watch as she endures a complete shakeup in everything she’s ever known.
The narration she gives guides the film in the most beautifully quiet way and it’s a remarkable accomplishment for such a young actress. she deserves all the praise she has been receiving since her nomination for best actress at the academy awards.
all in all, the film was a great testament to this small imaginary community just beyond the boundary of society.
Contact Courtney Cox at ccox3@nd.edu
“Beasts
of the Southern Wild”
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Starring: Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry
The greatness of march madness
Jack Hefferon sports writer
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a 10-part series discussing the best event in sports. In this installment, Jack Hefferon argues for March Madness.
The series is about finding the greatest event in all of sports. a nd, so far, writers have argued for some of the biggest games around. b ut why settle for just one?
i have an event of a bigger variety in mind. i t takes over the country for three weeks every year, bringing us dream matchups and unknown underdogs. a lmost everyone watches, and even more people have a betting interest in it.
i guess the real question is this: w hy have one great game, when you can have 67?
m arch m adness is the king of sports festivals. i t begins on s election s unday, which falls on both the last day of spring break and s t. p atrick’s d ay this year, forming some kind of megaholiday. o n that date, the field is set, matchups are analyzed and everyone you know becomes an expert on bracketology (plus, how many other events have pseudo-sciences named after them?).
Then, the tournament begins officially with the First Four, an idea that added three play-in games that i initially despised. m ore is good but pushing much past 64 teams borders on overkill. s till, these games are a good way to ease into the tournament, and allow fans to watch small-time teams play on national T v for the right to be a sacrificial 16seed. i t’s the calm before the storm.
Then, the greatest four-day weekend in sports happens. The opening-round games are stacked to put the tournament favorites against heavy underdogs, but every year several d avids upend g oliaths to move on. e very game of the tournament is
now nationally televised and streamed on the web, which is especially critical on the opening weekend. i t has been estimated that billions of dollars of productivity are lost every year by the distraction these games cause and, if one of my professors has read this far, it’s the reason i won’t be in your class on Thursday the 21st. ( s orry, but that’s your fault for having class that day in the first place.)
a nd as the field of 64 winds down to 16 and 8, we go from fun upset bids to powerhouse matchups, with one-seeds meeting twoseeds to determine who will survive and advance.
The Final Four concludes the tournament and is an event on par with any other in its own right. i t has gotten so big the court has had to be placed in the center of an enormous football stadium to accommodate the crowds, and it always seems to feature games for the ages. a nd when the tournament is over? well, winning six games in a row in three stress-packed weekends against the nation’s best competition is basically impossible, but one team finds a way to do it every year. a nd, when they finally do, they get their o ne s hining m oment, and the title of undisputed national champions (something college football is still working on. a four-team bracket? s tep your game up.)
b asketball is not like other sports. w hereas football puts all its emphasis on the regular season, every basketball team worth its salt will make the b ig d ance. a nd, while the merits of one single tournament determining a champion can be debated, there’s no question about one thing:
That one tournament is the greatest.
Contact Jack Hefferon at wheffero@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
woods aims for comeback
Associated Press
san diego — Tiger woods hates the question, even though the answer should be simple enough.
is he back?
woods was asked that when he ended his 749-day drought by winning his world challenge at the end of 2011. The question came up in various forms last year after each of his wins at bay hill, memorial and the aT&T national at congressional. a nd it was inevitable after winning for a record eighth time at Torrey pines.
woods will be “back” when no else is in front of him.
The answer he gave monday after a four-shot win in the Farmers insurance open was that he “never left.” but that’s not entirely accurate, because woods was the undisputed no. 1 player in golf for the better part of five years and now he’s not. everything he did last year, rory mcilroy did better.
you can believe woods when he says he is excited about the year.
Torrey pines was his fourth win in his last 16 starts on the pga Tour. perhaps a better indication of his game is consistency. he has finished in the top 10 in six of his last seven tournaments around the world, which doesn’t sound like that big of a deal except that he hasn’t had a stretch like that since he “left” at the end of 2009. so where is he now? it’s too early to say.
golf is off to a quirky start this year. Four weeks into the season, one tournament finished on Tuesday because of wind and another tournament finished on monday because of fog. it becomes even more stilted with the schedule of the two biggest stars.
The pebble beach national pro-a m tournament director told the san Francisco chronicle that woods will not be playing next week. woods’ caddie told the los a ngeles daily news that he tried to talk him into playing riviera but to no avail. so woods has 23 days off until playing the match play championship. That’s not a surprise. mcilroy, meanwhile, is in the middle of
a four-week break and he won’t show up until match play, either. so right when woods generates a buzz by winning Torrey pines, golf will have to do without him until the end of next month.
it’s tempting to make bold declarations about the rest of the year based on how woods played last week, though the finish left just as many questions. a nd remember, it was only a week ago that woods missed the cut in abu dhabi. give it time.
still, there was something inevitable about this win, beyond the location. woods took over the tournament during a fourhole stretch in the second round when he rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt, hit 5-iron to 5 feet for eagle, had a two-putt birdie and then one-hopped his wedge off the flag for another birdie. his lead went from two shots after 36 holes, to four shots after 54 holes, to six shots at the close of business sunday with 11 holes left.
“a fter last week, i think he was irritated and i think he was a little upset at how he played,” hunter mahan said monday morning. “i think he wanted to make a statement, and there’s not many guys in golf who can go to a tournament and make a statement, but he is. i think he’s making one this week, and i think he’s going to do everything he can to make this a
double-digit win for himself and just kind of reclaim his dominance on the tour.”
it looked as if that would be the case when woods two-putted the 13th hole for an eight-shot lead monday. w hat happened the rest of the way was awkward. woods hit two tee shots that barely traveled more than 200 yards — one that was pulled into the trees and caromed into a patch of ice plant (double bogey), another that was a chunk pop-up and left him a 4-iron to the green and 50 yards behind two guys he had been blasting by all day.
“This one is going to irk him,” nick Faldo said, adding that woods still had demons with his driving. maybe so. The better measure of his driving is when the shots actually mean something. woods looked more interested in getting off the golf course than winning by double digits.
winning was never in doubt, however, and that’s what should be remembered.
The real measure, of course, is the majors.
woods winning at Torrey pines, with a red shirt under a black sweater vest, was a reminder of how long it had been since his last major title. it was five years ago that he won on a monday afternoon at Torrey pines to capture the u s open in a playoff, his 14th major.
-Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
Woods celebrates after winning the Farmers Insurance Open by four shots at Torrey Pines on Jan. 28 in San Diego.
caps lose 2-0 lead to ottawa
Associated Press
o TT awa — s ergei
g onchar scored on the power play with 2:30 left in regulation as the o ttawa s enators battled back from a sluggish start to defeat the washington c apitals 3-2 on Tuesday.
Jim o’ b rien and m ilan m ichalek also scored for the s enators (4-1-1), who got 31 saves from c raig a nderson.
Troy b rouwer and m att hendricks scored for the c apitals (1-4-1). m ichal neuvirth stopped 24 shots in taking the loss for washington, which blew a 2-0 lead.
g onchar’s winner came after e rik k arlsson wove through the c apitals’ defense on a man advantage before finding his partner, who fired a one-timer that deflected of hendricks in front and past neuvirth with o ttawa’s c hris neil screening on the play.
Then with time winding down and washington pressing for the tie, a nderson made a great save on a lex o vechkin before robbing m ike r ibeiro from in tight.
Trailing 2-0 late in the second period and looking for a spark, s enators coach p aul m ac l ean chose to double-shift the one line that showed any jump.
The gamble paid off as o’ b rien, who celebrated his 24th birthday, cut the lead in half with 1:23 remaining in the period on a setup from e rik c onda and ahl call-up m ika Zibanejad.
The s enators then quickly
tied the game at 2:20 of the third. kyle Turris won a faceoff in the offensive zone and pushed the puck ahead to m ichalek, who scooped it passed a surprised neuvirth.
p laying without Jason s pezza because of an undisclosed upper body injury, the s enators struggled and the c apitals owned much of the momentum in the first period and jumped out to a 2-0 lead.
a turnover by g uillaume l atendresse midway through the period at the s enators’ blue-line allowed wojtek wolski to jump on the puck and feed b rouwer, who caught a nderson moving the wrong way.
washington then made it 2-0 as hendricks tipped Jay b eagle’s shot home.
The s enators continued to struggle in the second and seemed incapable of breaking through the c apitals’ forecheck as washington pinned the home side in its own end for nearly two minutes, leading to a chorus of boos from the 19,267 on hand at s cotiabank p lace.
notes: lw k aspars
d augavins and d a ndre
b enoit were healthy scratches for the s enators. a part from s pezza, d Jared c owen (hip, out for season), d m ike
l undin (finger, two weeks) also missed out. ... c b rooks
l aich (strained groin, out indefinitely), d Jack h illen (upper body, out indefinitely) sat for washington with injuries, while c m arcus Johansson, d Tom p oti and d r oman h amrlik were healthy scratches.
paid a dverT isemen T
Rangers win second straight
Associated Press
new york — The new york r angers already had depth problems at forward before captain r yan c allahan left the ice with his left arm dangling.
The injury didn’t hurt the r angers in the short term as new york held on for a 2-1 victory over the philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, but it could become troublesome if c allahan is sidelined for any length of time in this already shortened nhl season.
c allahan scored the eventual game-winning goal during a second-period power play and then got hurt in the third during a post-whistle scrum with philadelphia’s max Talbot, who dragged c allahan to the ice by his arm.
There was no immediate medical update regarding c allahan after the game.
The r angers managed to kill two late philadelphia power plays despite c allahan’s absence. new york turned aside five of six Flyers advantages, including a 5-on-3 edge in the second period.
“c ally does everything so well — the little plays, especially blocking shots,” said defenseman m ichael del Zotto, who had a goal and an assist. “The guys did a good job of gathering ourselves after he went off with that injury.”
The r angers have largely relied on their top line of r ick nash, brad r ichards, and marian gaborik to provide most of the offense. They sought outside help, and thought veteran Jason a rnott would join the mix, but a failed physical wrecked those plans.
w here secondary scoring will come from now remains to be seen.
Two goals were enough this time, largely because henrik lundqvist was sharp in making 26 saves. new york (3-3) has won two in a row for the first time.
philadelphia (2-5) has
dropped two in a row.
k immo Timonen ended lundqvist’s shutout bid 7:09 into the third with a powerplay goal after the r angers were caught with too many men on the ice. philadelphia’s power play failed twice in the second half of the period when the Flyers pressed for the tying goal.
“ we have to be more hungry,” said Flyers forward danny briere, who tied a career high with 10 shots. “The 5-on-3 got us. it’s something we’ll have to look at.
“Their goalie is so good. you need a great shot to beat him.”
i lya bryzgalov, back in the net after his first game off, was solid in making 26 saves for philadelphia.
new york got back at the Flyers after losing 2-1 last week in philadelphia. l ast season, the r angers won all six games over the Flyers.
The r angers, who have won three of four overall, have one game left on a three-game homestand that ends Thursday against p ittsburgh. new york rallied to beat Toronto 5-2 on s aturday with four goals in the third period.
“ we’re trying to keep our game consistent,” del Zotto said. “i thought last game we did a great job trying to gain our identity back. we followed up with, maybe it wasn’t the prettiest at times, but we found a way to win.”
it wasn’t easy. w ith the r angers short-handed following a penalty for too many men on the ice, Timonen brought the Flyers within 2-1. he was left alone in the high slot when new york had all four players involved in a scrum in the right corner.
The power play for both sides told the story in the second period. philadelphia was turned away by the r angers during a 5-on-3 advantage that lasted for 1:17, and then allowed a power-play goal to new york 3:32 after the teams got back to
full strength.
philadelphia had a chance to at least get even after r ichards was called for holding, and derek stepan took a delay-ofgame penalty 43 seconds later.
Flyers coach peter l aviolette used his lone timeout, but his club got very few pucks to the net despite controlling play throughout. philadelphia had an added benefit when Jeff halpern lost his stick in front, but still couldn’t create anything.
“ we certainly had our chances,” Flyers forward m ike k nuble said. “it’s the little things. we started to wear them down but couldn’t cash in.
“They are great shot-blocking team. we were passing up some good opportunities. The 5-on-3 was a turning point.”
The madison s quare garden crowd let out a roar when stepan left the penalty box, and then had more reason to cheer when c allahan doubled new york’s lead.
The r angers had scored only twice in 22 power-play chances over their first five games, and failed again on their lone opportunity in the first period. but del Zotto got involved again to help new york net its second goal.
nash took a shot from the high slot that del Zotto tipped in front of bryzgalov. c allahan got the rebound, calmly settled the puck down as he shifted to his right, and then slid a shot into the open right side at 11:31 for his second goal of the season and 200th nhl point.
The r angers struck quickly after their top line couldn’t get the puck out of its zone during the game’s first shift.
new york worked the puck around in the philadelphia end, and del Zotto let go a shot from the left point that slid across the ice through a maze of legs and skates and found its way past bryzgalov, who appeared not to see the puck as brian boyle and benn Ferriero screened him.
nHl
New York right winger Ryan Callahan, left, puts the puck past Flyers goalkeeper Ilya Bryzgalov in the second period of a 2-1 Rangers win at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
nHl
program.”
The w ildcats will feature a senior frontcourt player of their own in forward/center mouphtaou yarou, who recorded 14 points and 16 rebounds against the orange on saturday. sophomore forward Jayvaughn p inkston leads the w ildcats in scoring with 13 points per game off the bench. Freshman guard ryan a rcidiacono and sophomore guard darrun h illiard average 11.7 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. h illiard scored a game-high 25 points against syracuse and a rcidiacono poured in 15 points against l ouisville.
notre dame will look for scoring of its own against the w ildcats. The i rish have averaged 75.2 points per game in their four big east victories but are averaging just 56 points in their three league losses.
against the bulls on saturday, junior guard Jerian grant had a team-high 18 points to go along with eight assists. The irish made 9-of-19 threes against south Florida after making just nine total in their previous three games.
“we really tried to emphasize this week be better screeners off the ball because we have another big body [in k night] that can set screens,” brey said after saturday’s victory. “i thought we did a good job of that.”
The offensive plan worked, as the i rish scored more points saturday than in any of their last five games. notre dame shot 54 percent from the field against the bulls. The irish are 10-0 this season when they shoot 50 percent or greater on their field goals.
notre dame tips off against v illanova on wednesday at 6 p.m. at p urcell pavilion.
Contact Mike Monaco at jmonaco@nd.edu
holden savors final season
By ALEX WILCOX s ports w riter
a senior capping off a storied career. a n athlete crushing the competition since freshmen year. w inning accolades every step of the way, and now looking to carry the team to a championship. For k im h olden, these storylines sound all too familiar..
h olden, a native of m ount k isco, n y., has made a name for herself since stepping on campus back in 2009. a s a freshmen, she burst onto the scene with four b ig e ast titles and six all- b ig e ast honors, and followed that up with a trip to the ncaa n ational c hampionships her sophomore year. d espite a shoulder injury that forced her to miss all but two meets her junior year, h olden set personal bests in all four of her events at last year’s b ig e ast c hampionship, placing third and setting a n otre d ame record in the 100-yard backstroke while also finishing third in the 100-yard fly. h olden’s senior campaign has gotten off to a fast start, as the swimmer set a r olfs a quatic c enter record in last week’s s hamrock i nvitational.
“ i t has been a really good season,” h olden said. “ weird season last year with my injury, it kept me out till February, so i had a very short season, but i trained through the summer to get healthy and stronger. i ’ve been very happy with my season so far, and i ’m looking forward to the rest of it.” p art of h olden’s summer training included a trip to o maha, n eb., where she and three of her teammates swam for a spot on the
u s n ational Team at the o lympic Trials.
“ i t was just an awesome experience,” h olden said. “ i t’s definitely one of those memories that will not easily be forgotten. The venue was amazing; it was the most people i ’ve ever seen at a swim meet. i t was awesome just swimming next to o lympians and some of the fastest swimmers in the world.”
w hile h olden did not qualify for l ondon, she still believes the experience had a positive impact on her as a swimmer and has helped her this season.
“From the training perspective, trials was a major motivator to stay in shape all summer,” h olden said. “a lso, being in a big pressure situation like that, with everyone watching, definitely teaches you to control your emotions and focus, which obviously prepares you well for other meets.”
w ith the regular season winding down, one of the meets h olden knows she is well prepared for is the b ig e ast c hampionship.
“ i ’ve had that date circled on my calendar for awhile now,” h olden said. “a t practice we’re counting down the days. e veryday our coach gives us a list of our workout for the day and in the corner is the number of days till the b ig e ast c hampionship.”
i ndividually, h olden has done quite well at this meet in the past, winning seven b ig e ast titles and finishing third twice. d espite her individual victories, she credits her success to the team.
“The team atmosphere is really what brings out my best performance,” h olden
said. “That’s the meet where our whole team is rested and ready to swim the best races of our lives. i t’s really exciting to be in that atmosphere, and its fun to see friends and family and be there with the team.”
s ince she is a senior, h olden knows her n otre d ame career is winding down and expects to be emotional.
“To be honest, it hasn’t quite hit me yet,” h olden said.“ i t probably will at iupui [the site of b ig e ast c hampionships] and at ncaa s, but right now it’s just the status quo since were all working pretty hard.
“ b ut at the meets it’s going to be emotional knowing it could be the last time i ’m swimming that event, when i have been swimming for the past 12 years.”
w ith a stellar career behind her, h olden said she has pondered her legacy.
“ i t’s definitely something you think about,” h olden said. “a t the [ s hamrock i nvitational], i broke a pool record, so it’s nice to know you have made an impact, and hopefully i will continue to do that at the conference meet and the ncaa s.”
To prepare for her life beyond swimming, h olden has applied to several graduate schools to pursue a doctor of audiology program, as she plans to help people with hearing and balance disorders.
i f h olden’s past is any indication, her future accomplishments look to be just as noteworthy, even as they occur outside the pool.
Contact Alex Wilcox at awilcox1@nd.edu
Belles hope to rebound at Trine
By COLE SCHIETINGER s ports w riter
c oming off a 63-59 home loss to k alamazoo, s aint m ary’s will visit Trine today in search of its sixth win of the season.
The b elles (5-15, 3-8 miaa ) are looking to snap a four-game losing streak, their second-longest of the year, with another victory over the Thunder (10-9, 4-6). i n those four losses, fouls and freethrow shooting have been major issues for s aint m ary’s, who shot only 52.2 percent from the line in its last game.
The b elles defeated Trine 59-43 in the first meeting between the teams Jan. 9.
“Trine has some very good outside shooters, and they do a great job of reading the defense in their motion,” b elles coach Jennifer h enley said.
The victory over Trine marked one of the b elles’ best all-around efforts this season. The team finished the game with a season-high in rebounds and near season-highs in free-throw shooting and steals.
s ophomore forward a riana p aul turned in a great performance against the Thunder, recording a double-double with 18 points and 20 rebounds. h owever, p aul is studying abroad this semester and will be unavailable for the rest of the season. i n her
place, freshman forward e leni s hea has begun to make an impact, scoring 12 and 16 points, respectively, in her last two games.
h enley said she has been impressed with the overall talent in this year’s sevenplayer freshman class. “ w e have a very young team this season, and, over time, every single player has improved from
“We have a very young team this season, and, over time, every single player has improved from where we started back in October.”
Jennifer Henley Belles coach
where we started back in o ctober,” she said.
c oming off a 50-47 win over o livet, Trine will come out fighting for its first home win since d ec. 21. s ince that date, Trine has won only three of its eight games. Trine has struggled against s aint m ary’s in the recent past, losing two of the last three meetings with the b elles.
The b elles will head to a ngola, i nd., to face Trine tonight at 6 p.m.
Contact Cole Schietinger at cschieti@nd.edu
SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer
Senior forward Jack Cooley looks to the basket during Notre Dame’s 63-47 loss to Georgetown at the Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 21. The Irish play Villanova at home tonight.
nd wOMen’s swIMMInG
sMC BasKeTBall
paid a dverT isemen T
nugent’s first career tally came after 64 games of waiting, and on a night his father and former i rish standout, k evin s r., was in the building to watch and celebrate.
b ut the timing was even more fortuitous for notre d ame (16-10-0-0, 12-6-0-0 ccha ), as it proved to be a spark for the team when it needed it most. nugent’s goal broke a 2-2 tie in the second and proved to be the gamewinner, as the i rish won 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak.
“That had a lot to do with the rest of the game and how we finished,” Tynan said. “he stepped up, and we all saw that and responded.”
a nd, while nugent was instrumental in breaking the team out of its losing skid, he was also a key factor in keeping them going during it. i rish coach Jeff Jackson noted that his team didn’t get down or divisive among themselves after losing six of seven games and credited nugent’s locker room presence as part of what kept the team together during a rough patch.
“ you can’t be too serious all the time,” nugent said. “ you’ve got to keep it light. w hen you’re losing, the only way you’re going to get out of it is to stay positive … we’ve had the attitude of having fun first, and that has led to success on the ice.”
e ven with the win, the i rish have still lost six of their last eight games and have a tough series ahead of them at o hio s tate this weekend. b ut, instead of trying to reverse their fortunes, they will enter into Friday’s game riding a onegame winning streak, a bit of momentum nugent hopes can keep them rolling.
“ you hope that this is something we can build on,” he said. “ we’ve been sticking with our gameplan, we’ve just needed a couple bounces. a nd once you start getting bounces, they all start coming.”
Contact Jack Hefferon at wheffero@nd.edu
LILY KANG | The Observer
Senior winger Kevin Nugent chases the puck during Notre Dame’s 5-4 loss to Alaska at the Compton Family Ice Arena. Nugent scored his first collegiate goal during Notre Dame’s next series during a 5-2 home win over Ferris State on Jan. 26.
program. s o we’re, again, i think the best way i could say is that Jack and i are in lockstep in how we want to continue to build this program. s o i feel really good about that.”
Former notre d ame coach
c harlie weis signed a 10-year contract extension in his first year with the i rish. s warbrick recently extended both women’s basketball coach muffet mc g raw and men’s basketball coach m ike b rey’s contracts.
s urgeries force j ackson, Fox out
s enior cornerback b ennett
Jackson and fifth-year candidate d an Fox both underwent postseason shoulder surgeries that will keep them out of spring practice. Jackson’s procedure repaired a torn labrum, and k elly said Fox had a similar surgery.
Jackson started all 13 games for the i rish and racked up 65 tackles and four interceptions. Fox is expected back in the fall for a fifth season after totaling 63 tackles and a sack.
k elly said he expects senior safety a ustin c ollinsworth, who missed the entire 2012 season after sustaining a shoulder injury, to return to action in the spring. Junior
center m att hegarty and senior cornerback l o wood have also progressed in their recoveries, k elly said.
s enior offensive tackle Tate n ichols may not recover and may not play again, k elly said. n ichols was sidelined with a leg injury and may be eligible for a medical hardship.
Junior offensive lineman b rad c arrico and senior running back c ameron r oberson were given medical hardships last semester.
a numbers game
k elly said the possible fifthand sixth-year players have not been decided.
“o nce we finish up our numbers in recruiting, then we start to talk about our fifth year guys,” he said. “They’re all, as we’ve had in the past, they’ll continue to train because they’re in school anyway. Then we’ll let them know what our decision is as we talk to the university relative to granting that additional year.”
p otential fifth-year players include left tackle Zack m artin, left guard c hris watt and linebackers c arlo c alabrese and Fox.
g raduate student safety Jamoris s laughter missed most of last season after he tore his a chilles’ tendon and has applied for a sixth year of
eligibility.
“ we’re still in the process of an appeal for an additional season of competition. we’re hopeful we’ll hear something before the conclusion of recruiting,” k elly said. “it’s one of those things that everybody wants to know. i know i want to know. The media wants to know. c ertainly Jamoris wants to know. b ut we just don’t have an answer
at this point.”
r eplacing Te’o, Cave
The i rish will have to fill glaring holes next season after the departures of a lla merican linebacker m anti Te’o and center b raxston c ave.
k elly said c alabrese, Fox and sophomore Jarrett g race are in the discussion to replace Te’o. s enior k endall
moore is also in the mix, k elly said. The i rish have received a commitment from m ichael d eeb, a three-star middle linebacker from p lantation, Fla.
k elly said hegarty, junior n ick m artin and sophomore m ark h arrell will all get looks for the center position.
Contact Matthew DeFranks at mdefrank@nd.edu
SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer
Fifth-year linebacker candidate Carlo Calabrese, center, looks to stop the Alabama offense during Notre Dame’s 42-14 loss in the BCS National Championship Game at Sun Life Stadium on Jan. 7.
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: sara gilbert, 38; heather graham, 43; oprah winfrey, 59; Tom selleck, 68.
Happy Birthday: look at your partnerships and consider what you can do to improve connections with peers, relatives and your lover. decipher what it is you want and make a concerted effort to reach your goals in all aspects of life. change will help you expand your dreams, hopes and wishes for the future. don’t limit what you can accomplish. your numbers are 7, 11, 18, 25, 32, 34, 46.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): stay alert. someone may try to manipulate you if you aren’t careful. know your boundaries and stick to a practical plan. assisting people or causes is fine, but not if it’s going to stand in the way of personal or professional progress.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): you can waste time or make things happen. arguing or trying to get help when it’s clear you should be working on your own will be your downfall. preparation will be your best friend.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): share your thoughts and follow through with your plans. letting emotional matters stand in your way will turn out to be costly. it’s important to develop your own style or way of doing things.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): you’ll have a good look at the possibility that is just ahead of you, and there will be no time to waste if you want to take advantage of what’s to come. don’t hem and haw when you should be decisive and confident.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): an opportunity to make a professional move or to raise your standard of living or reputation is apparent. Jump at any chance you get to travel or to get involved in something quite different from what you’ve done in the past.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): you can stabilize your position within relationships that are important to you. don’t exaggerate when honesty will be your ticket to a better future. love is in the stars and socializing will bring you closer to someone you think is special.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): you’ll know exactly what to say in order to get what you want. networking will prove to be beneficial as you meet people who have connections you can use to get ahead. include someone you hold dear to your heart in your plans.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): avoid complications involving your domestic situation. you cannot win if you are stubborn and refuse to compromise. don’t intentionally lead someone in the wrong direction. love and romance are in the stars.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): avoid complications involving your domestic situation. you cannot win if you are stubborn and refuse to compromise. you can share your thoughts, but don’t intentionally lead someone in the wrong direction. love and romance are in the stars.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): make a financial move that will help you accumulate more money. an investment that is solid but unique will allow you to make a professional move. love is highlighted, and spending time with someone special will make your day.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):keep your thoughts a secret if you feel it will cause a problem with someone you love and respect. you are best to put more time and effort into your surroundings. comfort coupled with convenience and functionality should be your goal.
PISCES (Feb. 19- March 20): not everything will be plain and simple. you’ll have to dig deep to find out what is actually going on with peers and colleagues. you are best to secure your financial position any way you can. excess will be the enemy. stick close to home.
Birthday Baby: you are particular, thoughtful and intelligent. you are creative and patient.
juMBle | david hoyT and JeFF knurek work a rea
HIGHly PunlIKely | chrisTopher brucker
lOwer yOur exPeCTaTIOns | lenny rago & paTrick cross
Observer apologizes for the absence of
sudOKu | The mepham group
kelly discusses eagles interview, 2013 personnel
Irish coach Brian Kelly addresses the media in the Notre Dame Stadium press box during Media Day on Aug. 16.
Irish to face red-hot Villanova
By MIKE MONACO sports writer
at a time during which the irish are attempting to get hot again, they’ll have to do so against a team that is currently sizzling.
notre dame (16-4, 4-3 big east) will square off with redhot v illanova on wednesday night at p urcell pavilion. The w ildcats (13-7, 4-3) are coming off home wins against thenno. 3 syracuse and then-no. 5 l ouisville in their past two games.
v illanova started the season 11-4 before losing three consecutive games to syracuse, p ittsburgh and p rovidence. but the w ildcats recovered emphatically by downing l ouisville 73-64 on Jan. 22 and then besting the orange 75-71 in overtime saturday.
The irish, meanwhile, busted out of the gates to a 14-1 start this season. yet notre dame, which has since fallen from the top-25 rankings, lost three of its next four games, including a pair of tilts at p urcell pavilion.
By MATTHEW DeFRANKS a ssociate s ports e ditor
The p hiladelphia e agles came calling, and b rian k elly answered — but that’s all it was.
For the first time since notre d ame’s 42-14 loss to a labama in the bcs national c hampionship g ame, the i rish coach addressed the media regarding his interest in the n F l
“i will tell you that the discussion was more about intrigue on my part,” k elly said.
“i had obviously always been in the college game, really did not have a good grasp of the n F l set up. s o for me, my head said let’s be more informed as it relates to the n F l , but my heart is in college football and with notre d ame.”
k elly said he wanted to learn more about the n F l but ultimately found the college game more attractive.
“b ecause we’re going to win again next year, and there are probably going to be teams that have an interest in coaching in the n F l , and i want to
be able to tell them definitively that i want to coach in college,” k elly said.
k elly said the e agles’ opening was not a distraction in the lead-up to the championship game.
“i wasn’t even certain i was going to interview,” he said. “it wasn’t even on my radar. s o there was never any consideration. it wasn’t an option. i think i even said that it wasn’t an option for me because i wasn’t even thinking about it, and hadn’t decided that that was the direction i was going to go.”
k elly said the e agles reached out via d irector of a thletics Jack s warbrick either the day of or the day after former coach a ndy r eid’s firing. k elly’s agent then set up a meeting with the e agles in nashville — where k elly accepted the a F ca c oach of the year award — the day after the national title game.
“i f there was anything that i would have done differently, it would have been to close that timeline relative to my interview and coming out with a
statement,” k elly said. “i was on vacation with my wife, we were away, we weren’t watching T v, but i should have been more sensitive to the fact that there was a time period going on and released a statement much sooner.”
a s the recruiting cycle winds down and k elly closes in on a top-five class, the possible coaching change could have been a problem, but k elly downplayed the issue.
“ s o i think the recruits, i tell them up front that i ’m committed to notre d ame, flattered that the n F l would want me to be one of their coaches, but it’s just not what i want to do,” he said. “i want to be a college football coach.”
Kelly talks extension i n light of notre d ame’s first 12-win season in nearly 25 years, s warbrick and k elly have been discussing a contract extension since d ec. 6. “ we both want the same thing,” k elly said. “That is the long term consistency of the
nugent breaks through
The i rish rebounded saturday to defeat south Florida 73-65 despite the absence of graduate student guard scott martin, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury. i n martin’s stead, senior forward Tom k night made his first start of the season and propelled notre dame with a career-high 17 points and seven rebounds. irish coach m ike brey said after the game that notre dame was confident in k night despite his inexperience in a starting role.
“we injected him into the lineup off the bench playing key minutes last year and he was really good for us down the stretch,” said brey of the dixfield, maine, native. “he was really good for us in the first-round game of the ncaa tournament against Xavier. we were down and he made some plays to get us back in it. a nd the other four guys are very confident in him because he’s a senior and he’s been in our
By JACK HEFFERON s ports w riter
s enior winger k evin nugent is known in the i rish locker room as a grinder, a penalty killer and a consummate team player — a guy who hustles on the ice and keeps things light off of it. b ut, after three years of hard work, he’ll now be known in another role: goal scorer.
i n the second period of
s aturday’s game against Ferris s tate, nugent came down the boards at the end of a shift, made a quick move inside to his forehand and threw a puck in at goal. The shot zoomed just inside the top right corner of the net, and the next thing nugent saw was six-foot-four junior defenseman s tephen Johns jumping on top of him. Junior center T.J. Tynan picked up the puck for nugent almost
before it landed, and soon all four of the other skaters were celebrating on top of the senior.
“i was just going to take a shot and get off the ice, and it happened to go in,” nugent said. “it was a pretty awesome feeling to see my teammates being happy for me … i’m glad it wasn’t a garbage goal.”
Men’s BasKeTBall
HOCKey
SARAH O’CONNOR | The Observer
SUZANNA PRATT | The Observer
Senior winger Kevin Nugent skates during Notre Dame’s 3-1 loss to Ferris State at the Compton Family Ice Arena on Jan. 25. His scored his first collegiate goal the next night in a 5-2 win over the Bulldogs.
