Notre Dame Gender Relations Center strives to promote healthy gender relations among students
By KAYLA MULLEN
n ews w riter
The notre d ame g ender
r elations c enter ( grc ) will celebrate its 10th anniversary this wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the d ooley and s orin r ooms of l aFortune s tudent c enter. The open house will consist of informational activities showcasing the work the grc has done over the past 10 years and a hot chocolate bar, d anielle a ase, a student event coordinator with the grc , said.
“The grc 10th anniversary celebration is not only a celebration of what the grc has accomplished over the last
10 years, but also a way for students to learn more about the history of the grc and suggest ideas for conversations they would like to have in the future,” a ase said. “i n addition to timelines detailing major grc events over the last 10 years, there will be whiteboards available for students to write what the grc and healthy gender relations means to them.
“There will also be a suggestions box for students to submit ideas for potential programs they would like to see in the future.”
p ast events have included
see grc PaGe 5
a lumnae share rwandan experiences
By KATHRYN MARSHALL
n ews w riter
o n m onday evening, s aint m ary’s alumnae l iz p almer ‘13, m alea s chulte ’14 and co-travelers
Jonathan and Tameka b ell shared the lessons they learned from spending two weeks in r wanda this past summer in a presentation titled “ p roject r wanda: a Journey in s olidarity.”
i n the r wandans they met, p almer and s chulte saw strength and faith resonating in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, p almer
said.
i n 1994, over one million Tutsi r wandans were killed in a 100-day period. d uring this genocide, one out of every 10 Tutsi r wandans were killed, p almer said.
“ i n recognition of 20 years post-genocide, m alea and i were driven by s aint m ary’s core values of faith and spirituality, community learning and justice to embark on this mission of solidarity ... simply to hear the stories of the people,” p almer said. “ we
see rwanda PaGe 5
Committee celebrates diversity
By KELLY KONYA
ditor
s aint m ary’s e
w ithin the s aint m ary’s s tudent g overnment a ssociation ( sga ) is the c ouncil of c ommittee c hairs ( ccc ), headed by senior k atie s tare and made up of 18 committee chairs and co-chairs who lead 12 different committees.
s tare said the 12 committees encompass aspects
of the c ollege community such as a lumnae, a thletic, c ommunity, First-year c oncerns, Food s ervices, m arket r esearch and m edia, m ission, s ocial c oncerns, s ophia p rogram, s ustainability and Technology. b ut one of the committees worth spotlighting, having established and accomplished noteworthy goals during the fall semester, is the i nternational
c ommittee, s tare said.
The i nternational c ommittee is spearheaded by co-chair and senior c atherine s ullivan and cochair and sophomore r uby Truong, who is an international student from v ietnam, s ullivan said.
“a s committee chairs, we arrived back on campus a week early than everyone else in a ugust to work on first-year orientation, and
even before that, we did group bonding time where we broke into groups and talked about our goals for the year,” s ullivan said. “Those goals are still posted in the sga office, and we check them off as we go along.”
a long with her co-chair Truong, s ullivan said she established early on in the year that the i nternational
see commiTTee PaGe 4
ND grad founds new bus company
By SELENA PONIO news writer
christopher cali, a 2014 alumnus and current graduate student at notre dame, recently started a company called better cheaper bus llc, which offers affordable transportation for notre dame, saint mary’s and holy cross stu-
dents to both o’hare and midway airports in chicago.
“Final steps with the university are being taken to have the buses use mckenna hall as a departure point,” cali said.
better cheaper bus identifies as a third party transportation
bus PaGe 4
KERI O’MARA | The Observer
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
Saint Mary’s alumna, Malea Schulte ‘14, presents Monday evening on her life-changing experience visiting Rwanda this past summer.
Notre Dame junior guard Michaela Mabrey guards a Connecticut player as Irish coach Muffet McGraw looks on from the
Notre Dame fell to Connecticut, 76-58, on Saturday for its first loss of the season and first loss at Purcell Pavilion since Dec. 5, 2012.
Today’s Staff
News
kelly konya k ayla mullen
peter d urbin Graphics
keri o’mara
Photo m ichael yu Sports
greg hadley a lex carson matthew mckenna Scene
caelin m iltko Viewpoint Tabitha r icketts
Corrections
i n the dec. 8 edition of The observer, the article “Fire department celebrates 135th anniversary” incorrectly stated the month of the 1879 fire on notre dame’s campus. it occurred in april. The observer regrets this error.
Tuesday
Men’s Basketball
Purcell Pavilion
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
The Irish take on Mount St. Mary’s.
Four:7 Catholic Fellowship
Cavanaugh Hall
8:15 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Faith and fellowship.
Wednesday
Hesburgh Library
Renovation Launch
Hesburgh Library
4 p.m. - 6 p.m. “Farewell to the Floor” Open House.
Fall Concert: Collegium Musicum DeBartolo Performing
Arts Center
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Open to all.
Thursday
Mindful Meditation Coleman-Morse Center
5:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Open to students of all faith.
ISI Fellowship Coleman-Morse Center
10 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Interdominational praise and worship.
Friday
President’s Christmas Reception Main Building
2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Open to all University employees.
Mass in the Basilica Basilica of the Sacred Heart
5:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Saturday
Fall MFA Student Reading Series 209 DeBartolo Hall
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Masters students read from their creative works.
Women’s Basketball Purcell Pavilion
1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Irish take on Michigan.
LIN | The Observer
SBPD aims to strengthen trust amongst community
By SAMANTHA ZUBA a ssistant managing e ditor
w hy would you call the police?
it’s an important question that s outh b end p olice c hief r on Teachman and his department face, as they seek to stimulate civic engagement and strengthen relationships between police and the community.
The answer is a simple word, but it expresses a state of confidence difficult to achieve — trust.
“Trust is our goal,” Teachman says. “ it’s our destination.”
d eveloping positive relationships that lead to trust in a community can be challenging when most of the department’s contact with citizens involves responding to crisis and conflict.
“ m ost people don’t engage with us in a positive way, and we need to find ways to amplify those positive or at least non-adversarial contacts because most of our contact is adversarial,” Teachman said. “ we pull you over for a traffic violation. we go to your house and do a drug raid. we go to n otre d ame houses to squelch loud parties.”
That last relationship, at least, has started to change in recent years, Teachman said.
“ b efore i came here, there was a shift in our relationship between this department and the n otre d ame students that live off campus,” Teachman said. “ i ’m told it was rather adversarial, confrontational, not long ago.”
Teachman and other representatives of the department meet with student government officials and campus police to have “conversations about our expectations of each other” in an effort to better interact with students, Teachman said. s trengthening trust remains an ongoing process for the department. w hen people don’t trust the police, they won’t consistently call to report certain crimes. p eople tend to report property crimes because of the insurance incentive to do so, Teachman said.
“The relationship the individual victim has with the police department is almost irrelevant because you have an insurance motivator that requires you to report,” Teachman said. “ you could hate the police. you could hate the chief. … b ut in order to get your insurance premium, you have to file a police report.”
b ut with other crimes, that’s often not the case. i n instances of assault or rape, a victim’s perception of the police matters, particularly when the assault was committed by someone the victim knew, Teachman said.
“ you’re just going to see a male uniform, and he’s going to ask you these very personal questions about your relationship with this guy, and maybe you’ve had intimate relations before, so why is it rape tonight?”
Teachman said. “a nd society’s judging you, and what were you wearing, and what did you do and were you drinking, were you leading this guy on? a nd all that stuff going through your head, why would you call?
“ i f you didn’t believe that the police department was empathetic, professional and competent, why would you call?”
b ecause of this, the department has worked with organizations such as the ywca to improve its response to such incidents, Teachman said.
g un violence also often goes unreported. a fter the department installed s hot s potter, a program that uses an acoustic system to detect gunfire, it discovered that instances of gunshots recorded by s hot s potter often weren’t reported by the public.
Teachman describes four reasons why people wouldn’t report gunfire: recognition (unsure whether they heard a gunshot), redundancy (they think someone else will call), retaliation (they fear retribution for being a “snitch”) and resignation (they are desensitized to gunfire).
i n an effort to combat these problems, the s outh b end p olice d epartment has engaged in “collaborative policing,” efforts to better serve and protect by increasing community involvement.
“There’s never going to be enough money to effectively police a community without community involvement,” Teachman said. “There can never be enough police officers, and we’re never going to arrest our way out of this. The answer is that the community engages in its own public safety program.”
The department has adopted a number of strategies to ignite this kind of community engagement. For example, in schools, the department has sought to increase positive, “nonadversarial contact” by taking time to read with kids or
play sports at recess.
“ w hen kids see the officer who comes to school, whether it’s the police chief or a captain or the officer on that beat, regularly comes to school and engages with them, now when they see that same uniform after school and out of school, it’s not an adversary, but it’s a friend,” Teachman said. “ it’s a supporter. it’s someone who cares about them. we think that translates. That’s why we wear a uniform in the first place.”
a change in departmental practice — the regionalization of beats — has played a key role in the collaborative policing strategy, Teachman said. o fficers are assigned to beats based on geography rather than time of day so that they become familiar with the areas they police. k nowing neighborhoods keeps officers safe and helps residents get to know their police.
“ you get to have a relationship,” Teachman said. “ you’re not just some guy driving by in a squad car with tinted windows, [and] you never get out of the car unless you’re going to arrest somebody or yell at them.”
The crime rate might even seem to increase as people feel more comfortable reporting crimes they wouldn’t have before, Teachman said. b ut so far, the department has seen positive outcomes, including an increase in citizens reporting gunfire. p ublic reporting of gunfire has increased to over 25 percent, more than the national average, Teachman said.
s trengthening trust in a community requires participation from all its parts, and n otre d ame students can contribute as well, according to Teachman.
“ r egardless of your field of study, citizenship requires community engagement,” Teachman said. “There are innumerable opportunities to volunteer here in s outh b end. There are also unlimited possibilities of expanding your study field by using s outh b end as a petri dish, as a laboratory, whether it’s entrepreneurship, whether it’s working with a nonprofit to help with their business model.
“… i f you want to say, ‘ l et me prove my model, let me experiment, let me do some research, let me volunteer,’ lend your expertise and your skill sets to the city, and i think you can find a way to engage.”
Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu
identity p roject addresses issues of human dignity
By BIANCA ALMADA news writer
The i dentity p roject of n otre d ame ( idnd ), a student club that addresses issues of sexuality and human dignity through the lens of c atholic c hurch teaching, is in the midst of planning its annual e dith s tein p roject c onference.
“The e dith s tein p roject c onference is the largest student-run conference in the u nited s tates,” h ailey v rdolyak, club co-vice president and junior, said. “The conference brings together 30 speakers to discuss what the c atholic c hurch can offer to the discussion of issues faced on college campuses, such as the hook-up culture, pornography and other topics regarding human sexuality.”
v rdolyak said past conferences have been attended by more than 300 people, including n otre d ame, s aint m ary’s and h oly c ross students and professors. This year’s conference, to be held Feb. 6-7 in m c k enna h all, will address the theme of “ r adiant i mage: c ultivating a uthentic i dentity in the m odern w orld” and will focus on the central idea of living in g od’s image, according to the idnd website.
The conference’s namesake, e dith s tein, was canonized in 1998 as s t. Teresa b enedicta of the c ross and “fought for the truth and the dignity of women through her writings and frequent letters,” according to the idnd website. w orking as a teacher, nurse and philosopher and eventually as a cloistered c armelite nun, she was martyred at a uschwitz in 1942. The club website states: “ w e look to e dith s tein for inspiration as a model of turning one’s heart to g od and as someone who lived her vocation with the genuine spirit of self-gift.”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the e dith s tein p roject c onference.
“The club was founded in
2004, and the first conference was held in the spring of 2005,” idnd president and senior m ary k ate m artinson said. “The i dentity p roject has hosted an annual conference every spring since its founding.”
a lthough the annual conference serves as the club’s
“The conference brings together 30 speakers to discuss what the Catholic Church can offer to the discussion of issues faced on college campuses, such as the hook-up culture, pornography and other topics regarding human sexuality.”
Hailey Vrdolyak co-vice president
Identity Project of Notre Dame
main event, idnd co-sponsors other campus events that promote the c atholic identity of n otre d ame and help students develop as c atholic leaders, a lexandra d e s anctis, idnd co-vice president and junior, said. The club meets on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. in the m c n eill r oom of l aFortune.
“ we foster fruitful conversation about issues of identity … and healthy relationships,” d e s anctis said. “ we often read articles on these topics and discuss in a group. The meetings are also often used as a time to plan for the conference.”
Contact idnd@nd.edu or visit the club Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/identityND for more information about the club or the conference. Register for the conference online at www3.nd.edu/~idnd/. Registration is free for Notre, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross students.
Contact Bianca Almada at balmada@nd.edu
c ommittee would focus on three major goals.
“o ne of the first goals we worked towards was the d iversity d inners, which bring together different cuisines and groups of international students to celebrate the diversity of our student body,” she said. “ we wanted to have four or five the first year (this school year), which highlight different aspects of the culture that represents s aint m ary’s and also the tricampus community.”
s ullivan said the two d iversity d inners that were held during the fall semester were very successful — more successful than she and Truong had predicted.
“The italian d inner, which took place in s eptember, was the kickoff d iversity d inner event, and then we had the c hinese d iversity d inner in n ovember,” she said. “They both sold out, so to speak, because each dinner is limited to 50 people, and we had some extras sneak in.”
i n the spring semester, s ullivan said the i nternational c ommittee has planned a Tunisian dinner and a v ietnamese dinner.
“ it’s great because all of the food is either cooked by our students, by our faculty or is donated by local restaurants,” she said. “ s o we are also helping local restaurants
in the s outh b end community, alongside our international community.”
a ccording to s ullivan, the committee’s second goal for the year was to help the international students at s aint m ary’s make their way into the bigger community as a whole.
“a t s aint m ary’s, we have that issue that the international students are sort of on their own. e ven at orientation, the international group is separated,” she said. “ we wanted to work on integrating them as best as we could, so the d iversity d inners work towards this goal — in that anyone can come to them, and it also teaches non-international students about other cultures.
“a t the c hinese dinner, we were actually taught about the seven different areas of c hina and the different cuisine that come with each region and why that happened and how that developed. o ne of our Fulbright scholars did the presentation on it, so that was really great.”
The third and final goal of the committee is the i nternational b uddy p rogram, which pairs each new international student with a returning s aint m ary’s student, s ullivan said.
“ b asically, you sign up to be a roommate for an international student and end up rooming with the person,” she said. “This way, the international students can easily
feel apart of the community and have a friend base, which intertwines with our second goal.”
This program will begin during the spring semester or next fall and will be organized under an application process facilitated by the i nternational c ommittee and r esidence h all a ssociation.
“This will majorly help with the rooming situation for international students because oftentimes these students are juniors or seniors who get randomly paired with firstyear students, and it doesn’t work out so well,” s ullivan said. “a nd single [dorms] are a bad idea because they don’t get to practice e nglish or meet anyone.”
Contact Kelly Konya at kkonya01@saintmarys.edu
paid a dverT isemen T
provider with the central goal of making transportation more efficient as well as more affordable to students. cali said the idea came to him when one of his friends experienced frustration with the transportation to midwestern airports.
“my friend, rory dunne, took a trip back home to ireland, and [when he] came back here, [he] had a 5-hour layover using the current transportation service,” cali said.
cali said it was his friend’s personal inconvenience that helped him to conceive the idea of better cheaper bus.
“it was the week before Thanksgiving ... that we started talking about it,” cali said. “Through interviews with students, we got a lot of good feedback to make it more efficient.”
cali said aside from benefitting students, better cheaper bus also benefits the south bend community by donating 20 percent of its profits to the south bend center for the homeless.
“w hen we were thinking about the business, we realized it typically fell around certain holidays,” cali said. “we figured that we talk a lot about social responsibility, and the center came up in our minds really quickly.”
This donation is the reason
behind the business’ slogan, “ride with a cause.” The money donated to the south bend center for the homeless will help to finance holiday dinners during the christmas season.
“starting a business isn’t easy, and we’re learning a ton,” cali said. “we circumvented difficulties by getting the word out early, talking to students and creating a ‘request Time’ button on our website.”
cali said the input of students is crucial to the entire entrepreneurial process and led to the “request Time” button and student interviews. Through student feedback, better cheaper bus could decide when services would assist students the most.
“we’re thinking of running it during christmas ... spring break and at the end of spring semester,” cali said.
better cheaper bus aims to provide a more efficient option for transportation, and cali also hopes to make the students’ experiences more comfortable and enjoyable.
“we’re offering wiFi; we have phone chargers on board and hopefully a dvd player. all the while, you’re donating 20 percent of what you spend to charity,” cali said. “it’s a simple way to give back without necessarily lifting a finger.”
Contact Serena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu
Photo courtesy of Catherine Sullivan
Saint Mary’s international students attend the Chinese Diversity Dinner in November, the second dining event hosted by the International Committee of the Student Government Association.
Photo courtesy of Catherine Sullivan
Sophomore Ngoc Truong (left) and senior Catherine Sullivan, International Committee co-chairs, host the second Diversity Dinner.
distributing t-shirts in the dining halls and in l aFortune s tudent c enter, r egina g esicki, assistant director of educational initiatives at the grc , said. The design included a depiction of a tree, with the branches representing the different topics the grc focuses on and its anniversary year slogan, “g rowing healthy r elationships since 2004,” g esicki said.
“ we’re planning events throughout the 2014-2015 academic year,” g esicki said. “i n the spring semester, we plan to host a panel discussion about the grc ’s … alums and staff who have shaped … its history.”
The g ender r elations c enter opened on a part-time basis in the fall of 2004 and became a full department in the d ivision of s tudent a ffairs in the fall of 2005, g esicki said. heather r akoczy r ussell, the p angborn h all r ector at the time, served as the founding director, g esicki said.
“i n the few years prior to the grc ’s founding, the first female student body president, b rooke norton, and other campus student leaders had called for the creation of a university-sponsored ‘c enter for men and women,’” g esicki said.
The difference between notre d ame’s g ender r elations c enter and other similar centers at other universities lies in the fact that the notre d ame grc focuses on both women and men.
“This breadth is one unique aspect of the grc ,” g esicki
“The GRC designs and implements programs about healthy relationships, gender and sexuality consistent with the Catholic character of the University.”
Regina Gesicki assistant director of educational initiatives GRC
said. “Though loosely modeled on women’s centers at other top 25 universities, the grc was, from the outset, meant to serve as a resource for all students at n otre d ame as they navigate healthy relationships, gender and sexuality within the c atholic character of the university.”
The grc is dedicated to promoting moral formation in order to create a healthy culture at n otre d ame, g esicki said. it seeks to engage the campus in respectful
dialogue and to build a community honoring the human dignity of all students.
“a s an office in the d ivision of s tudent a ffairs, the grc designs and implements programs about healthy relationships, gender and sexuality consistent with the c atholic character of the university,” g esicki said. “ it creates dialogue on campus by collaborating with student groups, other departments at notre d ame and community organizations in s outh b end.”
a ase said she learned about the g ender r elations c enter during freshmen orientation and knew right away she wanted to get involved.
“i think the grc is incredibly important because it facilitates conversations that i believe are necessary to have on campus – ones that help our community become stronger,” a ase said. “The grc puts on programming about topics such as healthy relationships, sexual and gender identity and violence prevention.
“i think educating people on these topics makes the community a healthier and more welcoming place.”
s ome notable milestones in the 10-year history of the grc have included the transition from a part-time to a fulltime staff, g esicki said. b y fall 2010, the grc ’s office space, programming and budget had
all quadrupled from their initial size, g esicki said.
“ we also expanded in ways that allowed us to delve further into the intersectionality of identities, with the hiring of an assistant director for outreach services, a position that included ‘ men & m asculinity’ initiatives in 2012 and assistant director for lgb TQ student concerns in 2013,” g esicki said.
The grc also sponsors various training sessions for students, staff and faculty, g esicki said.
“ we offer support and guidance to students as they seek to answer three important questions: w ho am i ? w ho
am i with others? w ho am i with g od?” g esicki said.
“ we provide opportunities for leadership development through various roles in our student leader program: F ire s tarters, event facilitators and dorm commissioners, as well as student office assistants.
“ we strive to provide varied opportunities for students to learn to develop healthy and safe relationships, while acknowledging and lifting up the inherent dignity of self and other as those created in g od’s likeness.”
Contact Kayla Mullen at kmullen2@nd.edu
were looking to highlight our shared humanity and weave into the fabric of our culture that every single life matters.”
The project began as part two of m alea’s senior composition titled “ s torybank,” which included 26 portraits depicting a cross section of the s aint m ary’s community, s chulte said.
“ o ne of the participants was a woman from r wanda whose story inspired me to journey to her home country with the goal of learning through listening and sharing through art,” s chulte said. before journeying to rwanda, schulte and palmer partnered with people i mproving communities through organizing ( pico ), an international, faith-based, nongovernmental organization committed to stimulating communal growth through organization, schulte said.
“Together we formed a delegation of 20 people, and it included c atholic priests, l utheran priests, writers, storytellers, professors and artists,” s chulte said.
Two members of the delegation were Jonathan b ell, a senior communications advisor to pico - r wanda, and Tameka b ell, a story and
communications trainer for pico ’s international network, s chulte said. w ith pictures taken by Jonathan b ell hanging in the gallery, Tameka b ell shared her experience during the presentation. i n r wanda, she witnessed community building in numerous lives, including when a woman died while giving birth during a long walk to the nearest hospital, she said. a few days after the woman’s death, a much-needed clinic and road was finally completed
as a result of community organizing.
“ w hen one person tells a story to another person, they can change the world,” Tameka b ell said. “That’s really at the center of community organizing.”
a meeting with the vice president of r wanda’s senate inspired the group to share the story of their time in r wanda with others, Tameka b ell said.
“ h e said to us, ‘ w hen you go back to the u nited s tates, would you tell them who we
really are? a sk them not to judge us by the worst day of our life. a sk them to see the whole person, the whole community — the joy and the sorrow and the laughter and the innocence — who we really are,’” Tameka b ell said.
r wandans have worked for reconciliation and forgiveness in the aftermath of the genocide, s chulte said. The g acaca courts facilitated healing by allowing perpetrators a chance to confess and ask for forgiveness, she
said.
“ we witnessed victims and perpetrators working together in harmony,” s chulte said. “ we visited a women’s vegetable cooperative where perpetrators and victims were working together to support themselves. … i t was very clear they worked with a sense of pride and towards the common good.” i n interacting with r wandans, p almer and s chulte initiated conversation with the question, “ h ow do you want to be remembered?” The variety of answers to that question, such as “ i pray,” was life changing, p almer said.
d uring their time in r wanda, s chulte and p almer lived by the saying, “ we don’t wait for road to be built; we build them ourselves,” a quote adopted from p astor John, a friend made in r wanda, p almer said. b oth learned about the world and themselves and how to grasp every moment of life.
“Time is money, and we don’t know how much time we do have, and that’s one thing the r wandans definitely made clear,” p almer said. “a nd yet they live every day to the fullest. i think life is a series of single moments, and we need to grasp that.”
Contact Kathryn Marshall at kmarsh02@saintmarys.edu
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
Christopher Damian, a 2013 Notre Dame graduate, speaks at a GRCsponsored event titled “Gay and Catholic” on Oct. 9.
CAITLYN JORDAN | The Observer
Saint Mary’s alumna, Liz Palmer ‘13, reflects Monday evening in Moreau Center for the Arts on her experiences in Rwanda, which included meeting both victims and perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide.
Originality: The story of Susan
w hat’s up, dec. 9th?
Roni Darling news writer
happy pre finals week to all! we are just 11 days away from the end of the semester, and even fewer remain for those lucky few. as the days until the end of the semester dwindle, i have, like many (most) of us, lost almost all sense of creativity. instead of riddling you with the quintessential “finals survival guide,” i thought it would be nice to acknowledge some events that took place on this day in history. in the lull of my studies i came across a website that lists events in chronological order that took place dec. 9. i apologize for slapping all of you studying for history finals with even more dates. in case some of these events ever happen to show up on trivia, you’re welcome.
1793 — noah webster establishes new york’s 1st daily newspaper, a merican minerva.
1926 — usga legalizes steel shaft golf clubs.
1941 — hitler orders us ships torpedoed.
1953 — general electric announces all communist employees will be fired.
1963 — Frank sinatra Jr. is kidnapped.
1965 — “a charlie brown christmas” premieres.
1967 — Jim morrison arrested on stage for disturbing the peace.
1968 — krne T v channel 12 in merriman, nb (pbs) begins broadcasting.
1968 — nls (a system for which hypertext and the computer mouse were developed) is publicly demonstrated for the first time in san Francisco.
1978 — The first game of women’s pro basketball league ( wbl), chicago hustle vs. milwaukee does.
1983 — united states performs nuclear test at nevada Test site.
1985 — phoenix a rizona, gets 3” of snow (hmm…).
1987 — larry bird ends streak of 59 consecutive free throws.
1988 — new york yankees sign 12-year television contract with msg for $500m 1989 — “les miserables” opens at princess Theatre, melbourne.
1993 — “my Fair lady” opens at virginia Theater nyc for 165 performances.
2005 — “brokeback mountain,” starring heath ledger and Jake gyllenhaal, is released.
2013 — no. 89 jersey (ditka) is retired by the chicago bears.
a lso, a happy 56th birthday to donny osmond!
but wait! There are many other events listed that i did not mention due to my limited word count. if you would like to inquire more about dec. 9 or any other day of the year, you can check out the site, http://www.brainyhistory.com/days for yourself.
Contact Roni Darling at vdarli02@saintmarys.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
be original. it’s the advice susie got from her parents, college counselors and the disney c hannel. This advice stressed susie out, for susie realized she was about as original as a disney c hannel original movie. i f you have yet to see h igh school musical 1, 2 or 3, that is to say susie was not very original.
susie thought she had an original halloween costume, but it turned out that 23.7 percent of the notre dame student body also owned a furry animal onesie and decided to wear it on october the 31st. she thought she had original likes and dislikes until Facebook told her that 24,587 other people also liked guacamole facials. susie thought she was the only one to cheer against the nd football team until she met every m ichigan fan. i f you’re not getting the point yet, susie both tried and failed to be original.
susie would not give up. w henever there was a lull in the conversation, susie tried to make an original insight, such as 1) hey, what if what i see as blue is what you see as red? 2) hey, what if our dreams are reality, and reality is a dream? and 3) hey, can you really bite your finger off as easily as a carrot?
susie offered these profound thoughts and waited for her new acquaintances to gawk at her awesome brainpower. i nstead, they shrugged or nodded, mentioning they had heard that before.
Those shrugs, nods and mentions slit susie’s soul, shedding type-b blood (This is a sneaky way of implying that even her blood was unoriginal. oooh metaphor, it’s so deep and cheesy and wonderful, like a huge bowl of nachos).
susie picked herself up and brushed herself off from these disappointments and decided she needed to come up with some truly original material if anyone was ever going to find her interesting. Then she realized that lots of people pick themselves up and brush themselves off, so she picked herself down and brushed herself on. Then she got to werkk (her original spelling of work).
susie made a list of original things that only she had thought of, but got stuck after “parents are not potatoes.”
she was pretty sure she was the only one who confused her father with m r. potato head as a child. w hen she was babysitting, though, she learned that an unfortunate number of children spend more time with m r. potato head than with their fathers who werkk overtime and likewise confuse their starchy parent with a starchy vegetable.
now susie gave up on her list. she decided instead to observe those around her, find the thing that no one is
doing, and do that thing. Then, and only then, would she be original.
susie saw lots of people walking and talking, so she decided to do neither in the future. she saw babies crawling and making gaga sounds, so she wouldn’t do that either, no matter how tempting it was. she saw a frog hopping, but didn’t see any people hopping, so she penciled in hopping as an option ( she wasn’t sure yet if it was original and didn’t want to jump to any conclusions).
susie saw an old man napping in the park, so she decided to no longer nap. she saw some babies sleeping in their cradles, so she would no longer sleep. she spotted some children playing leapfrog and crossed hopping off of her list.
susie was somewhat limited on her transportation options, as she chose to no longer walk, crawl or hop. i nspired by some birds, she decided she could try flying. she didn’t have wings and couldn’t drink redbull (not original), so she boogied (instead of walking) to the airport. waiting for her flight, she got tired and almost fell asleep, but could not let herself do so, as she remembered the old man napping in the park.
she kept herself awake until her flight arrived and boogied on board. The flight attendant stopped her and told her she was allowed only one carry-on and had two bags under her eyes. susie wanted to slap the aforementioned flight attendant, but had seen other people slap people in movies when they were offended. she had never seen anyone do the macarena when they were insulted, and she was already warmed up from boogieing, so she did the macarena until the flight attendant gave up and let her on board. That is when susie realized how much fun it could be to do what other people didn’t do. other people didn’t like getting weird looks, so susie loved it. other people didn’t like having their sanity questioned, so susie loved it. other people didn’t like getting arrested for causing disturbances, so susie loved it.
doing downward dog in her prison cell (she couldn’t sit because the other prisoners were sitting), susie took a good look at the other inmates and decided none of them looked happy. so, of course, susie had to become the happiest inmate who ever existed. Finally, she was original, and finally, she was truly happy. she just had to forget that she was wearing the same orange uniform as everyone else.
Erin Thomassen is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering. Send her comments or questions about her sanity at ethomass@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
edItorIal cartoon
Erin Thomassen The e xamined l ife
Meet the new deal, same as the old deal
society.
i n a ugust of this year, i traveled deep into rebel territory in c hiapas, m exico, to the jungle compound of “ l a r ealidad” — a major base of operations for the Zapatista a rmy of n ational l iberation. i was welcomed by the masked revolutionaries and invited to stay as long as i liked. They called me “compañero” and asked me to write of their global struggle against neoliberal capitalism, which they call the war a gainst o blivion. Their 20 years of rebellion began on January 1, 1994 — the day the n orth a merican Free Trade a greement went into effect. From union halls in c hicago to rebel villages in c hiapas, the new era of global “free trade” has been denounced as an affront to workers’ rights and human dignity.
This wednesday, p resident o bama clashed with labor unions and their supporters over the proposed Trans-p acific p artnership. e ncompassing 12 countries and some 800 million people, the Trans-p acific p artnership (T pp ) is the na FT a on a larger stage. i ncluding the original na FT a countries — c anada, the united s tates and m exico — plus v ietnam, m alaysia, a ustralia, c hile, b runei, n ew Zealand, s ingapore, p eru and Japan, the T pp promises to rewrite the terms of international trade on a massive scale.
a fter years of secret negotiations between governments and corporations, the proposed treaty has drawn fire for both its content and the process that has produced it. The Trans- p acific p artnership takes the framework of the na FT a , increases the scale and adds provisions even more harmful to the maintenance of a free and fair
letters to the edItor
s igned in d ecember 1992 and effective as of January 1994, the na FT a was promoted as the future of the globalizing economy. p romises came from the leaders of all three countries involved that the agreement would stimulate economic growth while freeing businesses to import and export to mutual gain. r ises in g ross d omestic p roduct ( gdp ) were hailed as proof positive that free trade was working.
unfortunately, you can’t eat gdp h undreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs were lost in the united s tates as business owners moved their factories to m exico. a lthough manufacturing workers in m exico might have been glad for the new work, corn farmers were devastated as heavily subsidized corn from the u nited s tates drove them off their land. i ndividual workers rose or fell with the na FT a , but working people at large took a loss as wages and workplace standards fell.
For all the talk of a new era of free enterprise and a global market thriving with innovation, “free trade” bore more bitter fruit — consolidation. n ew mechanisms for lowering wages, escaping workplace safety regulations and forcing more government subsidies helped the largest conglomerates consume more and more of the international market.
The greatest problem with the na FT a has been the issue of rights. There is “free trade” for the owning class, while the working class is left behind. The na FT a provides for the free flow of capital but not of labor, meaning that when jobs move, workers are not free to follow them. Temporary work visa programs exist, but are limited, regulated in ways capital is not, and put even more power over a worker’s fate in the hands of the boss.
a greements like this serve to assert the supremacy of multinational corporations over the public interest. p rovisions in the na FT a ban member countries from making labor or environmental laws that threaten corporate profits under the agreement’s guarantees and allow corporate interests to sue countries for hundreds of millions of dollars in those cases. The indigenous revolutionaries who welcomed me into their collectivized territory this summer rebelled because the na FT a stripped provisions for land reform and peasants’ rights from the m exican c onstitution with the full complicity of the state. “Free trade” serves only one master, and that is the small class of individuals who own nearly all the world’s capital.
s o enter the Trans- p acific p artnership. we don’t know what it says, and the p resident is asking for “fast track” power to sign it without congressional debate or alteration. From leaked sections, we know it would subject all member states to corporate tribunals with the power to strike down national, state or local laws if they run counter to guarantees made by the treaty to corporations. we know that punitive intellectual property clauses are likely to make the price of vital medicines in the developing world skyrocket. we know that it will lead to a greater consolidation of wealth into a few hands. we know that workers will suffer. s o let’s stand up against the march of neoliberalism and let those in power know that we won’t be fooled again.
Billy McMahon is a senior studying Latin American history and is active in the labor movement. He welcomes all comments at wmcmahon@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
hoops spring eternal
o ne of the most delightful things about basketball is that it has the power and magic to take one’s mind off a s outh b end winter. This season demonstrates that vividly.
c oach m c g raw and the women continue to delight, entertain and inspire us all. we would have loved to have beaten uc onn, but our time will come again.
To c oach b rey, you got some mojo working again for you. a s a ‘70s alum, r ock and p it gym
dear notre dame,
you are Fine.
Farley introduced our new signature event, be Fine, last Thursday. w hile many members of the notre dame community expressed excitement about the event, i am aware of both concerns and negative reactions across campus.
be Fine was not a day to attack makeup or to put any type of importance on physical appearance. be Fine was a day to promote healthy self-image and confidence. it was a celebration of all the unique characteristics that make each and every one of us Fine. our definition of natural beauty is not simply a makeup-free face. natural beauty encompasses so much more. it is the way we laugh or the way we care about others. it is sharing musical talents or feats of athleticism, or even the ability to remain calm and collected in stressful situations. natural beauty is different for everyone, and
rat and hoops freak, i think we can attribute a touch of your early success to the wacky, garish, awesome retro uniforms. s chool bus yellow and script “ i rish,” who knew? k eep channelling that s humate-b rokaw-d antley-d uck-d ice-d wightd igger energy. you have done the impossible again — you’ve made winter in m ichiana entertaining. The only missing ingredient is the theme from “ h ogan’s h eroes.” l ook deep into nd hoops arcana and you will catch the reference. l ook
you are fine
we want to celebrate that and let our inner lights shine. i love make-up. i love trying new products and matching the color of my eyeliner to my outfit. i love showing my irish spirit by wearing gold sparkles on game days. a sk any of my lovely roommates, and they will tell you my morning routine includes 15 minutes of make-up application (while simultaneously drinking my absolutely necessary coffee, of course). make-up had nothing to do with be Fine. refraining from make-up for a day was our way to invite others to bring recognition to the societal expectations placed on the appearance of females and the negative consequences of those expectations. is there a reason interview etiquette advises women to “choose a color that complements your skin tone and hair color?”
(The nd career & Job search guide, 2013-2014). is the photoshopping of images sending the wrong message to young girls? w hen is wearing makeup a choice versus something you feel required to do?
around for an old, ratty p ink p anther costume, too.
b ring on the acc and bring back the energy of the acc (the a thletic and c onvocation c enter). a ll the best,
Tim Boyle c lass of 1977 cedar rapids, iowa dec. 7
we wanted to express an appreciation for beauty beyond appearances. not wearing make-up was a way in which we thought we could bring widespread recognition to the matter at hand. The fact that people are having conversations about be Fine is exciting! our goal was to raise awareness and encourage conversation, and that is what we have done.
if you do have suggestions for the growth of be Fine or other ideas on how to address the issues we hoped to bring awareness to, please let us know. Farley is always looking for ways in which we can serve and love those around us.
Finest wishes,
Billy McMahon blue collar blues
Casey Skevington president Farley hall
winter semester, deceptively named “spring term,” can be a time of stylistic regression. Take the gifts and time christmas break offers to refresh your wardrobe and delay the onset of the daily groutfit. don’t know what to ask for? here are a few tips:
a lterations on your suit
you wear your suit on the most important occasions of your life. as January rolls around, you’ll start having interviews for future positions, presentations in your classes and formals to show off your sartorial class, so you’ll want the suit that makes a difference. even if it’s a hand-me-down, having a suit tailored to fit makes you look on top of your game, even if you’re focusing on containing your nerves. wearing a baggy suit is just as out of style as baggy jeans are, and no one should look like a Zoot suit riot enthusiast.
ties, especially from the tie bar
everyone loves ties; it is scientifically proven. To be on your game, snag a couple slimmer, 2.5-inch-wide ties to go with your newly fitted suit. i never understood why men began to wear wider and wider ties, but thankfully, “mad men” reminded us of the glorious 1960s slim ties.
my personal favorite source is The Tie bar. on their front page they offer personal styling based on your occasion, shirt type and comfort level, and the results are spot-on. if you’re completely lost on what to choose, get an urban stripe, the modern remake of the classic power stripe tie. w hat to avoid unless you really know what you’re doing: the collection of printed, “conversational” ties your dad keeps around for casual Fridays. a ll regular ties are $15 on The Tie bar, with designer collaborations running at $25 apiece.
a tweed blazer
The winter coat of blazers. in the bone-rattling winters of indiana, it can be an extra layer, and in the spring and fall, you can use it to replace a light jacket. The versatility of this piece also amazes: you can throw it on with jeans and a T-shirt, or wear it to a holiday party with the same jeans, a button-down and the tie you snagged off The Tie bar.
w hen browsing colors, avoid the browns, unless you’re trying to be mistaken for someone’s philosophy professor. snag a grey herringbone for a classic or a dark blue as a risk. elbow patches optional.
a fisherman, or any chunky, sweater
if i could choose one article of clothing to wear for the rest of the eternity that is winter, it would be a thick, chunky, knit sweater. be it a Fair isle cardigan or a
cable-knit fisherman sweater, these beauties have the substance and warmth that you want once the chill sets in. Then, as green re-emerges, they can be dug back out to enjoy the woods in style. Just as they blend heat and elegance, a chunky sweater will convey the gruff, outdoorsy man and the creative soul of hemingway all in one. w hen specifically should you wear it? holiday parties, shoveling snow, jetting off ski slopes or cradling a mug of hot chocolate in one hand and a novel in the other.
Joggers you have enough sweatpants emblazoned with the notre dame logo. w hat’s the difference you ask? Joggers are loose near the top, but get tight through the legs. weird, you say? Just think for a moment, why are tightfitting leggings a girl’s go-to? The slim leg portion provides the comfort of sweats cloth with the extra, er, space you might near the waist. plus they look a lot more fashionable, even if you’re still wearing it with a nd hoodie.
socks
everyone needs socks. running out of socks means doing laundry. don’t run out of socks.
Contact Daniel Barabasi at dbaraba1@nd.edu. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
By CAELIN MILTKO
scene writer
Justine marino and the humor a rtists performed at legends on saturday night just before hip hop night was cancelled due to a power outage.
The humor a rtists were on first, performing their improv games for the audience. They started off with “Four corners,” in which four of the performers take prompts in pairs from the audience and rotate when called for a new prompt.
The next game they played was “replay.” Three of the artists performed a scene based on an adjective and noun provided by the audience (“slippery Finland”) and then were asked to replay it using different emotions and then again with a different genre. during the emotions section, we learned “constipation” was an emotion, at least at a humor a rtists’ show.
The highlight of their performance was perhaps the “dating game.” one of the artists leaves the stage while three others are assigned (1) a celebrity, (2) a strange job and (3) a strange habit/belief.
The three contestants were paris hilton, a male
prostitute and a communist. at the end of the game, the first artist was asked to guess who/what the three contestants were (she was spot on with paris hilton, guessed the male prostitute after a few more hints and took a little while with the communist).
The humor a rtists introduced Justine marino as a game of “45-minute monologue” and left the stage for her bit. she was complimentary of her opening act and talked a little bit about her own beginnings in improv before going into the main part of her set. a couple of themes recurred during her monologue. The first was her strong desire to learn either the shmoney dance or the nay-nay dance.
it was kindled by her knowledge that hip hop night was to follow her show, and she wanted one of the audience members to show her how to do it. one of the students in the back claimed to know it (or his friends claimed he did) but there never was an answer on how to perform the shmoney.
one of the best bits of the show was her discussion of the different ways guys and girls get ready for a night out. she imitated guys and girls performing the different stereotypical things they do to get ready and reflected on
how strange the opposites were. perhaps the best bit was her parody of girls talking about a night out the way guys are often depicted to do.
she commented a few times on the oddities of notre dame and specifically parietals. marino asked the audience if we went out, hooked up and then went home alone or if car hook-ups were still a thing at notre dame. This led into a couple of stories from her own experience at an all-girls catholic high school.
her show also included bits about what it means to be basic, what your tour guide at universal studios is actually thinking and how 90s television shows are still relevant today.
The audience for her show was small, and at times, it was clear that her bits would work better with a larger crowd. she tried to engage the audience members, calling out a few members for texting and posing for the camerawoman.
For those who missed it, Justine marino is featured in Jenny mccarthy’s “dirty sexy Funny” on netflix and has a couple videos available online at justinemarino.com.
Contact Caelin Miltko at cmoriari@nd.edu
Daniel Barabasi scene writer
By EMILIE KEFALAS scene writer
i watched “peter pan: live!” primarily to see if my doubts could be assuaged by the opening credits. The first shrill of the orchestra from grumman studios in bethpage, new york led a whimsical rush of musical score lighting up a bird’s eye view of london in miniature, the camera panning seamlessly to the home of the darling family. high expectations had been laid for this production since its first preview, but thankfully, they weren’t too high for the work of a sprinkle of fairy dust. peter pan returned to nbc for the fourth time since 1955, but this time, he brought along additional songs from various revivals, entirely new songs and the restoration of a song that had been cut from the musical before its original broadway premiere in 1954. The original 1954 broadway production starred mary martin as peter, commencing a continued tradition of females cast in the role, and cyril ritchard as captain hook.
The mindset of many tuning in to this year’s nbc live musical broadcast was largely divided on the basis of two elements: known-name casting and the potential to oneup last year’s “The sound of music.” if carrie underwood was the achilles’ heel of nbc’s casting, christopher walken (captain hook) was the same diagnosis on the other foot. The man possesses that coveted gift of subtle, dry humor acting capable of creating relatable characters out of a stereotype. here, unfortunately, he is the stereotype.
as far as villains in children’s literature go, none are quite as classically vile and likable as captain hook. his name is enough to send shivers down the spines of the young and also prompt laughs from adults. establishing and maintaining that equilibrium is demanding enough
before the addition of the “musical” portion. every actor onstage must be a triple threat, but hook needs to be the scene-stealer. walken was a scene-stealer in that audiences were reduced to pushing him along like parents encouraging a baby to walk (“go on, you can do it, come on”). he fell flat on his face for such a recognizable role. no amount of fairy dust could levitate the muscles in his face to form an expression beyond “hey, i’m christopher walken.”
as saturday night live pointed out this weekend, hook should still be able to carry a tune despite having one hand. The overall performance wasn’t walken portraying the notorious captain hook. he was captain hook wearing the skin and acting with the mediocre energy of a seriously miscast walken.
speaking of the dear captain, he is typically portrayed by the same actor as mr. darling, a mind-bending juxtaposition between the story’s dual motifs of imagination and reality. This mr. darling (christian borle) doubles not as hook but as his dim-witted, pirate partner-incrime, mr. smee. smee and hook’s slimy pirate league make for one of the show’s strengths, along with the fancy footwork of peter pan’s lost boys.
at least mr. and mrs. darling (kelli o’hara) were talents pulled from the great w hite way, speaking and singing in sophisticated english accents. The children played pretend with heavily forced tongues bordering on cockney. a ll of the premature plot unfolded predictably yet nostalgically, thanks in part to the tremendous christmas-themed set. The cast was perfect in the molds they knew they had to fill as iconic characters, relishing in their chance to be the next generation’s wendy (Taylor louderman), John (Jake lucas), michael (John a llyn) and, of course, the boy-w ho-never-grew-up (a llison williams).
williams, perhaps known best for her role as marnie michaels on hbo’s “girls” (and for being the daughter of nbc’s “nightly news” host brian williams), shines brightest as peter pan when the focus is not on her limited dancing skills but on the emotion she effectively emits during the broadcast’s quieter moments. her best scenes include her gentle yet heart-tugging number, “w hen i went home,” and her reactions to internal pain, such as the clutching her heart in uncertainty about how to interpret the heartbreak of seeing wendy, her brothers and the lost boys go back to london to grow up, never to return to neverland.
w hatever sins i spotted and nitpicked, they were nearly forgotten by the production’s end scene, a bittersweet reunion between peter and a grown-up wendy (played by a refreshing minnie driver, also the show’s narrator). The emotional weight within these final minutes transcends the miscasting of walken and the half-hearted delivery of lines.
growing up in a physical sense is out of our hands. maturing comes with acceptance of that physical transformation. Time in our world is measured in technical, practical and serious terms. however, neverland knows no such measurements.
it is a mixture of everything peter pan embodies: youth, joy and freedom. we all want to go to neverland, if only to hold those memories which we will have forever, long past our maturity into adulthood. This is the ultimate theme of “peter pan,” and it is exactly what makes the end title a fulfilling conclusion to an otherwise offbeat production. you want to return to neverland despite whatever elements of its setting and people you did not wholly appreciate.
Contact Emilie Kefalas at ekefal01@saintmarys.edu
By JIMMY KEMPER scene writer
it has been a great year for movies, which also means that it has been a great year for movie soundtracks. soundtrack songs are special, not only because of the emotional significance they can convey on their own, but also because of the inseparable ties they construct between the audio and visual realms. it is important to note that in the following list, these are not necessarily the best films of the year, but the best soundtracks. They augmented the films well by creating extra emotional layers. with this in mind, here are my top movie soundtracks of 2014:
#4 — “the Grand budapest hotel”
wes a nderson’s “The grand budapest hotel” is one of the quirkiest films of the year, so naturally it has to have one of the most eclectic and unconventional soundtracks. a lexandre desplat definitely brings his eclectic a-game to this soundtrack, incorporating flamingo guitars, church organs, spooky pianos and a music box interlude among a plethora of other instruments to properly display the relationship between a legendary concierge and his new lobby boy. it also features a russian folk orchestra
and an opening with swiss yodeling, so you know it has to be good.
#3 — “the hunger Games: mockingjay Part 1” lorde has to be feeling like the katniss everdeen of the music world right now. a fter her meteoric rise thanks to smash hit “royals” and the universal praise of her debut lp “pure heroine,” the eighteen-year-old new Zealander is at the forefront of pop music. her latest effort, curating the soundtrack for “The hunger games: mockingjay part 1,” is no exception to her magnificence. enlisting the help of a ridiculous number of artists including chvrches, haim, pusha T, charli Xc X, major lazer, The chemical brothers and like a gazillion others, lorde has mashed together what feels like a “who’s who” of the music scene right now into a ridiculously great mixtape.
#2 — “Gone Girl” director david Fincher has worked with atticus ross and nine inch nails frontman Trent reznor before on “The social network” and “The girl with the dragon Tattoo,” but this is by far the best soundtrack they have put together so far. The “gone girl” soundtrack creates a sense of ambiguity and has a noticeable lack of emotional
cues, creating a rather unnerving experience that is right on point for this film. The songs all seem to have this sense of false optimism that requires digging through the layers to find the chilling depths below. a nd boy does this soundtrack have layers. The amount of effort this power group put into this album is ridiculous and definitely worth a listen.
#1 — “Guardians of the Galaxy”
ooga chaka ooga ooga ooga chaka if the opening to blue swede’s “hooked on a Feeling” doesn’t get you pumped, you’re either dead inside or have been living under a rock for the past 40 years, or at least since the first trailers for “guardians of the galaxy” were released. director James gunn cherry-picked the best songs of the seventies to provide cultural reference points and ground main protagonist starlord and the rest of this ridiculously awesome space opera to earth. The tracks are unique in that they provide an unparalleled level of accessibility through its powerful nostalgia that can register with older audiences and millennials like me who grew up on these songs. a nd on top of all that, the soundtrack is just plain fun.
Contact Jimmy Kemper at jkemper2@nd.edu
Ten bowls no one should miss
Josh Dulany sports writer
The holiday season is here. The turkeys have come and gone; the impending doom of finals is in the air, and it’s beginning to look and sound like christmas.
however, i will be spending my christmas far away from this winter wonderland. in fact, i will be in the sunny and 75-degree weather that ethiopia offers. yet, while ethiopia has no snow, it also has no cable Tv so, although i will have family and food, football will be sorely lacking — especially college football bowl games. yes, you may have heard, there is a college football playoff this year. The committee has laid out its picks, and everyone outside of Texas is content with them. but there are also 32 more bowl games that will take place from dec. 20 to Jan. 4. i will be able to watch exactly zero of these games. i will not see another snap of college football action until the national championship game on Jan. 12. That’s 38 bowl games i’m missing out on. That’s tough to stomach for me. i mean, not all 38 games are going to be great. i am less than heartbroken to miss out on the godaddy bowl showdown between Toledo and arkansas state.
There are still a lot of great matchups though. so, i thought i’d at least write about them for a bit. below are the top 10 bowl games i wish i were able to watch.
10. texas bowl: texas vs. arkansas
is anyone going to score in this game? both teams are brutal in the trenches, and both teams are brutal to watch on offense. arkansas will probably be able to run enough to get by the longhorns, but i would watch to see these old southwestern conference rivals hammer it out.
9. liberty bowl: texas a&m vs. West Virginia
This game would be the polar opposite of the one above, as it’s possible no one will even bother to play defense. This should be a fun track-meet of a contest where both teams chase 50 points.
8. outback bowl: auburn vs. Wisconsin
Two great rushing attacks here. melvin gordon is a heisman finalist, and the auburn high-tempo running game has been the foundation of the Tigers' recent resurgence under gus malzahn.
7. Fiesta bowl: arizona vs. boise state
The broncos return to where their heartwarming romp through the hearts of everyone outside of norman, oklahoma, began. arizona has overachieved all year,
and it would be fun to watch the upstart wildcats square off with everyone’s favorite underdog.
6. alamo bowl: Kansas state vs. ucla
bill snyder’s determined, hardworking bunch against Jim mora’s ucla team that look like worldbeaters one week and then forget how to play football the next. brett hundley is always fun to watch, and Jake waters has been under the radar all year, just like his wildcats.
5. sugar bowl: a labama vs. ohio state
i am less excited about this game than some because i don’t like either team and really just never find it fun to watch both of them play. still, saban and meyer are two of the best ever, and it will be fun to watch the chess match play out between them. however, saban has a few more nFl-bound pieces and isn’t using his thirdstring quarterback. advantage goes to the Tide.
4. orange bowl: mississippi state vs. Georgia tech
Two teams that have exceeded expectations and have thrilling dual-threat quarterbacks. can Tech knock off another sec powerhouse or will dak prescott put a final exclamation point on a fantastic season for the bulldogs?
3. Peach bowl: tcu vs. ole miss
The horned Frogs will be disappointed to have not made the top four, and ole miss knows it was literally an inch — and a laquon Treadwell injury — from a very different season. These are two talented teams, and it should be an electrifying affair.
2. cotton bowl: baylor vs. michigan state
baylor may feel even more snubbed than Tcu, and michigan state will be ruing the big opportunities that it let get away this season. The bears have a chance to send a message about the big 12’s supremacy over the big Ten, and michigan state is looking for a second straight big bowl victory.
1. rose bowl: oregon vs. Florida state
The last two heisman winners. The team that’s looked the most dominant versus the team that has just refused to lose. oregon trying to finally break through against the defending national champions who have won 29 (!) straight games. i can’t believe i’m going to miss it.
Contact Josh Dulany at jdulany@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Texans prepare for Colts after pair of wins
Associated Press
housTon — The houston Texans took care of business against two bad teams.
now they are moving on to face much tougher competition, starting with sunday's trip to indianapolis, a place where they've never won.
coach bill o'brien doesn't have to say anything to his team about its history in indianapolis
"we're well aware that we have not won there," o'brien said.
The colts are in first place in the a Fc south, two games ahead of second-place houston with three games left in the regular season. The Texans have already won five more games than they did in last year's 2-14 season, but are still aiming higher.
o'brien and the Texans don't talk about their possibilities for the postseason because they know there's no way they'll get there if they don't focus on each opponent.
"This game right here is a playoff game," o'brien said. "as far as that's concerned, as far as
our team, this is a big game."
houston lost to the colts 3328 in the first meeting this season after falling behind 24-0 in a disastrous first quarter. The Texans were forced to punt on their first three possessions in that game and the colts recovered an onside kick to build the big lead.
o'brien doesn't like to talk about the past, but he is reminding his team about its struggles in that one.
"The thing that happened in the last indianapolis game cannot happen," o'brien said. "if it does, we have no chance ... we can't get down like that to a really good football team and expect to win, especially on the road."
The Texans have won two games in a row for the first time since the first two weeks of the season and o'brien believes his team has grown since the last game against the colts. houston trailed 13-10 at halftime on sunday before rallying for a 2713 victory over Jacksonville.
"i thought our guys came in at halftime and really had a resolve about them that they
were going to go out and win the game and that they were going to play better over the last half of the game," o'brien said. "i think that has improved over the year."
The Texans could have to face indianapolis without a ndre Johnson after the receiver suffered a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit on sunday. o'brien said Johnson will have to go through the concussion protocol and that he'll be listed day to day this week. if he can't go the Texans could rely more heavily on slot receiver damaris Johnson, who has 250 yards receiving and a touchdown in limited action this season.
"That slot position is a very important position for us," o'brien said. "we certainly want it to be more involved probably than it has been this year."
houston's defense was bolstered by the return of cornerback kareem Jackson, who had missed three games with a knee injury. it's a unit that has been led all season by defensive end J.J. watt, who had another big game on sunday.
Colts acknowledge Wayne’s triceps injury
Associated Press
indianapolis — colts
coach chuck pagano has an explanation for reggie wayne’s recent struggles — the six-time pro bowler has been playing with a torn left triceps. until sunday, indianapolis had only acknowledged wayne had injured his left elbow oct. 19 against cincinnati.
but after beating cleveland 25-24, pagano inadvertently mentioned on sunday’s postgame radio show that wayne had been battling an assortment of injuries including a “torn tri” before stopping in mid-sentence.
“you know what, he battles every week, coming back from the knee, the elbow, a lot of nagging stuff that’s difficult for anybody to deal with,” pagano said monday after acknowledging the two arm injuries were connected.
“There’s something there because we know the player reggie is and how he contributes and how he can make the clutch catch and all those things.” clearly, wayne hasn’t been
100 percent.
since sitting out against pittsburgh on oct. 26, wayne has only 17 receptions for 207 yards and one touchdown in five games. Two of the past three games have been especially difficult.
wayne was targeted eight times sunday and dropped three. he finished with one catch for 5 yards, ending an nFl record streak of 82 consecutive games with three or more receptions, though he did run the key rub route that led to andrew luck’s winning touchdown pass to T.y hilton.
Two weeks earlier, in a win over Jacksonville, luck threw two short passes to wayne in the waning minutes to keep the reception streak alive. after wayne got his third reception, luck started going to his knee. with his contract about to expire, wayne’s declining productivity has led to speculation about the future of a 36-year-old receiver who missed the last nine regular-season games in 2013 with a torn acl in his right knee.
Through the years, wayne has
been the model of consistency. he had seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, topped the 100-catch mark three times in four years and is tied with peyton manning for most games (208) and most wins (141) in franchise history. wayne could break those records if he plays in sunday’s regular season home finale.
indy (9-4) also can clinch its second straight aFc south title with a win over houston (7-6) this weekend.
but pagano isn’t giving away his plans yet.
“we’ll do whatever gives us the best chance to win and obviously, what’s best for the player,” he said.
not disclosing accurate injury information can be a violation of league rules.
late last week, nFl officials said they would “look into” the reasoning behind omitting dallas quarterback Tony romo’s injured ribs from the weekly report. The league has not commented on it since then, and coach Jason garrett said monday he believes it is a “nonissue” and has not heard back from the league.
butler cruises to win after climbing to 15th in ap poll
Associated Press
indianapolis —
r oosevelt Jones scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half, and n o. 15 b utler beat k ennesaw s tate 93-51 on m onday night.
k elan m artin had 17 points and k ellen d unham added 13 for the b ulldogs (8-2), who have won four straight games. Jones finished with
seven rebounds and seven assists.
yonel b rown had 14 points for the o wls (3-7), who have lost three in a row. d elbert l ove and o rlando c oleman each scored 11.
The b ulldogs led by as many as 26 points in the first half. They had an early 10-2 run and took a 32-15 lead when a ustin e therington converted a three-point play
with 10:22 left.
b utler was 16 of 25 from the field in the first half and led 52-27 at the break.
The b ulldogs moved up eight spots in this week’s ap poll from n o. 23. They knocked off in-state rival i ndiana s tate and beat n orthwestern 65-56 last week to land the team’s highest ranking since it was n o. 9 in January 2013.
no. 20 m iami bounces back following first defeat
Associated Press
coral gables , Fla. — a ngel r odriguez scored 17 points and n o. 20 m iami responded from its first loss of the season and routed s avannah s tate 70-39 on m onday night.
The hurricanes (9-1) never trailed and increased an 11-point halftime lead with a 13-2 spurt in the opening 6:39 of the second half. m anu l ecomte’s 3-point play with 13:21 remaining ended the surge and gave m iami its first 20-point lead at 46-25.
The hurricanes had their first 30-point led at 64-33
after s heldon m c c lellan’s two free throws with 2:53 remaining. m iami outscored s avannah s tate 36-16 in the second half.
m c c lellan and l ecomte each finished with 15 points for the hurricanes, who dropped five spots in the rankings following a 68-55 home loss against w isconsin- g reen b ay on s aturday.
r odriguez’s 3-pointer and three free throws in the first 8:20 helped the hurricanes start the game with a 17-4 lead. Tonye Jekiri’s layup with 11:40 remaining in the first half ended the early
surge for m iami.
The hurricanes had their biggest lead of the half at 2710 on m c c lellan’s dunk with 4:46 remaining.
d emarcus b ryant hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Tigers (3-7) outscored the hurricanes 13-3 in the next 3:14. Jamal n orman’s dunk with 1:32 remaining ended the spurt and cut m iami’s lead to 30-23.
b ryant led the Tigers with nine points.
Two free throws each from d eandre b urnett and r odriguez in the final 1:04 gave the hurricanes a 34-23 lead at halftime.
p urdue finishes strong to take down in-state rival
Associated Press
wes T la Faye TT e , i nd. — p urdue dominated the first half monday night, and then pulled away at the end for a 63-43 victory against instate rival ip F w h aving been shocked on s aturday in a 73-70 home loss to north Florida, the b oilermakers (7-2) bounced back with a 35-19 halftime lead against the m astodons (5-3) and finished the game with a 19-6 burst after ip F w crawled within seven.
k endall s tephens and a .J. h ammons led p urdue with
13 points each, and i saac h aas added 10, all in the first half.
a fter leading by as many as 21 during the first half, p urdue allowed ip F w within 44-37 on s teve Forbes’ dunk with 10:28 to play.
d akota m athias countered with a 3-pointer at 9:43, and v ince e dwards added a layup at 9:04 to push the b oilermakers to a more comfortable 49-37.
s tephens’ 3-pointer with 3:07 left essentially iced it, giving p urdue a 58-41 cushion.
p urdue spotted the
m astodons a 3-0 lead, then countered with a 26-5 burst from the 17:49 mark through 8:03 when s tephens capped the run with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc.
ip F w started the game 3 of 22 from the field and finished the opening 20 minutes 7 of 31 (22.6 percent). s ix of those missed shots were blocks by five different b oilermakers. using its superior size to the maximum, p urdue had 18 first-half points in the paint while ip F w had only four. The b oilermakers outrebounded the m astodons 22-17 before intermission.
Jagr nets goal in devils victory
Associated Press
raleigh , n c . — Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist in his 1,500th nhl game, and the n ew Jersey d evils defeated the c arolina h urricanes 2-1 m onday night.
d evils goalie c ory s chneider made 39 saves, including 17 in the third period.
a dam h enrique scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 13.4 seconds remaining in the second period for the d evils, who won for only the second time in eight games.
Jagr’s fifth of the season tied the score with 5:15 left in the second when he took a pass from s cott g omez, who finished with two assists in his fourth game of the season.
c arolina defenseman Justin Faulk opened the
scoring with a second-period goal. c am w ard made 14 saves for the h urricanes.
c arolina registered the first 13 shots on goal in the third and ended up with a 17-1 edge in the period.
The 42-year-old Jagr set up h enrique’s goal, moving the puck around the back of the net and hitting his teammate with a pass.
Jagr has 710 career goals and 1,062 assists.
Faulk’s goal came on the 13th shot of the game for the h urricanes, who failed to score more than twice in any of the five games on their homestand. The defenseman took a pass in the slot from a ndrej n estrasil before firing a shot past s chneider.
n ew Jersey killed off a c arolina power play in the third period when former h urricanes forward Tuomo r uutu was in the penalty box for boarding.
rangers rebound from blown lead
Associated Press
new york ( ap ) — k evin
k lein, bloodied earlier by a high stick that ripped off part of his ear, fired in a slap shot 3:45 into overtime to give the n ew york r angers a 4-3 victory over the p ittsburgh p enguins on m onday night.
k lein, a defenseman showing off his offensive skills recently, scored for the second straight game and for the sixth time this season, a career high. h e rescued the r angers, who blew a 3-1 lead late in the third period when p ittsburgh scored twice in 24 seconds to tie it.
p art of k lein’s left ear was severed and reattached during the game, r angers coach a lain v igneault said.
r ick n ash broke a secondperiod tie with his sixth goal in eight games, and h enrik l undqvist returned to the net with 32 saves for n ew york.
n ash and J.T. m iller scored in the middle period to turn a one-goal deficit into a lead, and k evin h ayes made it 3-1 with 7:02 left in the third.
l undqvist earned his third win in his past five appearances after sitting out n ew york’s 3-2 loss at d etroit on s aturday.
n ick s paling staked p ittsburgh to a 1-0 lead in the first period, and e vgeni m alkin and s teve d ownie scored in rapid succession in
the third. m arc- a ndre Fleury stopped 25 shots for the p enguins, who have dropped two of three overall and two of three to the r angers this season.
m alkin started the comeback with his 15th goal at 15:17, and d ownie tied it with his fourth after r angers defenseman m arc s taal couldn’t handle a bouncing puck. d ownie also assisted on s paling’s goal.
p ittsburgh wore its oldschool, black-and-gold uniforms but fell to 9-2-2 on the road. n ew york has earned a point in eight of the last nine regular-season meetings with the p enguins (5-1-3).
The r angers finished the first period and started the second on the power play, thanks to a 4-minute highsticking penalty on Zach h ill that caused k lein’s cut.
n ew york didn’t take advantage of the long power play, but tallied the tying and go-ahead goals 4:50 apart to take a 2-1 lead.
a fter l undqvist made a save on a short-handed breakaway early in the second, the r angers seemed to gain their legs and energy.
m iller tied it 1-all off a feed from m artin s t. l ouis at 3:50 of the second for his second of the season. n ash put n ew york in front at 8:40 with his 18th goal — the second-most in the nhl
belles suffer first conference loss of season
By DANIEL O’BOYLE sports writer
Trine snapped the b elles’ three-game winning streak by beating s aint m ary’s, 9766, on s aturday.
The b elles (3-4, 1-1 miaa ) took a 15-9 lead only seven minutes into the game, but the Thunder (5-1, 2-0 miaa ) soon closed the gap.
The game remained close for much of the first half, with the lead changing three more times and the teams level with under six minutes remaining
in the half. h owever, Trine pulled away late, establishing a nine-point lead before two free throws in the last minute from junior forward k rista k napke left the b elles behind, 42-35, entering the break.
b elles coach Jennifer h enley said she was impressed by her team’s ability to match the Trine offense early in the game.
“ i n the first half, we kept trading baskets with Trine,” h enley said. “ we kept the game close.”
The Thunder pulled away in the second half, however, scoring nine unanswered points within three minutes of the start of the period.
The b elles managed to close the gap slightly, bringing the game within 11 points, but the Thunder continued to score, and s aint m ary’s didn’t keep up the offensive pace. The Thunder outscored s aint m ary’s 38-18 in just over 10 minutes and eventually ended the game as 31-point victors.
h enley said her team was unable to cope with Trine’s second-half adjustments, letting the Thunder score freely.
“ i n the second half, Trine packed the paint and took away our ability to score inside,” h enley said. “ we continued to struggle on defense and allowed them to attack the paint at the other end very easily.”
h enley added that, although she thought her team could have performed better in the second half, Trine played well and has a lot of talent.
“ we knew Trine was playing well,” said h enley. “They are a completely different team last year with a lot of new faces, including several transfers and a new coach.
“They work hard and don’t turn the ball over very much. i think they will surprise a lot
86
of teams this season.”
s enior forward a riana p aul led the b elles in points with 18, as well as in rebounds, with six. Junior forward e lena s hea added 14 points and 2 blocks.
d espite the loss, the b elles will have many chances to succeed with some minor improvements, h enley said.
“ m y team has a lot of potential — we just have to get everyone on the same page defensively and not be driven so much emotionally by our
offense,” said h enley. “ it’s still pretty early in our season. we have such a great opportunity to compete this weekend as we travel to h ope c ollege. we have to keep our focus as we prepare for finals too.”
s aint m ary’s will play at the h ope c lassic this weekend, starting with a matchup against h ope at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
l ebron, cavs roll in front of royal audience
Hawks, Warriors snag double-digit road wins to continue long winning streaks
Associated Press
new york — l ebron James and the c leveland c avaliers turned a close game into a clinic after britain’s p rince w illiam and his wife, k ate, grabbed courtside seats to watch them, beating the brooklyn nets 110-88 on monday night.
k evin l ove was shooting free throws when the royal couple emerged from a tunnel with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter. perhaps distracted by the loud roar, l ove missed the second, leaving the game tied at 61.
b ut James, putting on a show that few others could, threw some sharp passes to go with his nine points in the period and the c avs cruised from there to their seventh straight victory.
he finished with 18 points after joining kyrie i rving and some nets players in wearing “i c an’t breathe” shirts during warmups.
That would’ve been the story most nights, but he
had to share it with the royals’ arrival during their first visit to new york. They met earlier in the game with nba c ommissioner a dam silver, celebrating a partnership between the royal Foundation and the league to raise awareness about the importance of international wildlife conservation.
The buzz built as officials began gathering near the tunnel at halftime for the couple, and it may have amped up James, who had a quiet first half but took his game to another level in front of w illiam and k ate, a day after saying it was an “honor” to have them watch him play.
James’ biggest statement before then came during the pregame layup line. he and i rving, along with k evin g arnett, d eron w illiams and two other nets, wore warmup shirts in support of the family of e ric g arner, who died July 17 after a police officer placed him in a chokehold when he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
a recording of g arner’s arrest showed him gasping, “i can’t breathe” during the fatal encounter, and thousands have protested a grand jury decision not to indict the officer since the announcement on wednesday.
w illiams had 13 points and 11 assists but shot 3 for 14 for the nets, who played without injured starters brook l opez and Joe Johnson.
l ove had 19 points and 14 rebounds. d ion waiters came off c leveland’s bench for 26 points.
hawks 108, Pacers 92
indianapolis — a l horford scored 25 points, and Jeff Teague added 21 as the a tlanta h awks beat the i ndiana p acers 108-92 on monday night.
kyle k orver added 13 points for a tlanta, which has won eight of its last nine games and seven straight.
The h awks dominated early and never let up as they built a 28-18 first quarter lead. i n building that lead a tlanta
(14-6) shot 5 of 9 beyond the arc.
The lead went to 21 when Teague made a layup and free throw after with 8:25 to play in the third quarter.
c .J. m iles and rodney stuckey each scored 15 points to lead i ndiana (7-14). l uis s cola came off the bench to score 12.
The p acers only lead, 8-7, came at 7:31 in the first quarter.
d em arre c arroll and the h awks came out shooting from long range. a ll five of his first quarter field goal attempts were from 3-point range. They made three. They had 22 points in the paint during the opening half and finished with 48.
i ndiana tried to rally when d amjan r udez made a 3-pointer to start a 10-2 run late in the first half.
b ut, the h awks answered with an 11-4 run, including the final seven points of the half to take a 60-43 lead.
i ndiana had nine first half turnovers which a tlanta
converted into 10 points. The p acers finished with 17 turnovers that the h awks used to score 15 points. p acers coach Frank vogel was called for a technical foul with 7:05 to play. korver coverted the free throws to give a tlanta a 97-79 lead. it vogel’s second of the year.
Warriors 102, t-Wolves 86 minneapolis — stephen c urry overcame a rare off night from long range to post 21 points and seven assists and help the g olden state warriors to their 13th consecutive win with a 102-86 victory over the m innesota Timberwolves. c urry missed six of his seven 3-point attempts, but the top-ranked warriors’ defense forced the short-handed Timberwolves to shoot 36 percent and turn the ball over 19 times to improve to an nbabest 18-2. k lay Thompson added 21 points and the warriors left holding their breath after a ndrew b ogut left with a knee injury early in the first quarter.
CAROLINE GENCO | The Observer Belles sophomore guard Heather Pesigan brings the ball up the court during a 95-68 loss to Calvin on Jan. 15.
CAROLINE GENCO | The Observer Belles sophomore guard Timoney Moyer takes a shot during a 95-68 loss to Calvin on Jan. 15 at Angela Athletic Facility.
m ount s t. m ary’s is the last opponent n otre d ame will play before it starts its acc season with a game against Florida s tate this s aturday. The i rish, however, play three more non-conference games, including a matchup with p urdue at the c rossroads c lassic in i ndianapolis, before resuming acc play against g eorgia Tech on Jan. 3.
b rey said n otre d ame will focus on a few key areas over the course of its remaining nonconference schedule.
“ n ot having slippage defensively, staying on that, keeping that in the forefront,” b rey said of the key to the next few games. “ we’re trying to improve as a defensive rebounding team. i think that’s an area we’re going to always have to look at. w hat forwards are we using off the bench — that could be by committee — and what do we do with another guard?
i think those are things we need to look at here up until c hristmas.”
n otre d ame will try to focus on these areas when it hosts a m ount s t. m ary’s team coming off a 74-65 win over l oyola ( m aryland). The m ountaineers, who have played only one home game this season, have dropped road contests at n o. 3 a rizona, s eton h all and wake Forest.
m ount s t. m ary’s has shot 40.2 percent from the field this season, well behind n otre d ame’s nationally leading mark of 55.8 percent. The m ountaineers have been
Irish senior guard/forward Pat Connaughton takes a jump shot during Notre Dame’s 75-57 win over Farleigh Dickinson at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday night. Connaughton led all scorers with 19 points Saturday, shooting 8-for-13 from the field.
led by graduate student forward k ristijan k rajina, who is first on the team with 9.2 points per game and second with 4.8 rebounds per game. e ven with a conference
opener against the s eminoles looming, the i rish will be careful not to overlook m ount
s t. m ary’s, b rey said.
“ i ’m not as concerned about [a letdown],” b rey said.
“ i think we’ve been kind of a poor team, and who are we to look past anybody?”
n otre d ame aims to extend its winning streak to five games when the i rish meet
a ll-a merican p at Feeney finished close behind in 21.63, competing unattached.
s ophomore e mily c arson, after finishing fifth in the 60-meter dash, posted a 5.81 meter mark in the long jump to win the event.
Freshman distance runner c elena g uerrero also posted a victory in the first meet of her collegiate career with a 5:07.90 time in the mile run.
similarly, on the men’s side, freshman distance runner billy d olan claimed the top spot in the mile at 4:16.53.
s enior keith mesidor won the long jump with a distance of 6.89 meters, and freshman hunter holton won the high jump at 2.00 meters.
i n the weight throw, senior i huoma nwaogwugwu took first place with a distance of 17.34 meters, while morris finished second.
The i rish also claimed the titles in both the men’s and women’s 1,600 meter relays.
Turner — who was named
m ount s t. m ary’s tonight. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at p urcell p avilion.
Contact Brian Hartnett at bhartnet@nd.edu
head coach in July following 39 years with recently-retired Joe p iane at the helm — said this first meet was important for setting a tone for the season.
“i told the team to get the first-race jitters out, and i wanted to see a competitive effort,” he said. “s ometimes a lot of times athletes think, ‘it’s the first meet; we’re not running against any acc or big Ten teams,’ but it’s important to go out there and give 100 percent effort every time.”
The i rish had 46 overall topthree finishes in the 30 events of the meet.
“The effort was definitely there, and the kids were competing hard,” Turner said. “c ompeting hard needs to become a habit … and i’m very pleased with the effort my team gave tonight. This is going to carry them throughout the year.”
The i rish continue their season after winter break with the simmons-harvey i nvitational in a nn a rbor, m ichigan, on Jan. 17.
Contact Andrew Robinson at
KAT ROBINSON | The Observer
Irish senior Jade Barber runs the 60-meter hurdles Friday at the Loftus Sports Center. Barber won both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles at the Blue & Gold Invitational.
W basketball
percent. s he also turned the ball over a game-high seven times.
d espite those numbers, l oyd did collect a game-high 31 points, tying her career best, as well as four steals, also a career high. m c g raw praised l oyd’s performance s aturday.
“ i think Jewell has [that toughness],” m c g raw said.
“ i thought Jewell was the best player on the floor, but we didn’t give her any help at all, and i think we’re capable of more.”
l oyd had 17 of her points come in the first half on 11 shots, but ran into trouble in the second stanza, throwing up 16 shots, half of the team’s field goal attempts in the half, and connecting on just five of them.
b oth l oyd and sophomore guard l indsay a llen faced double and even triple teams throughout the game, as the h uskies (6-1) tried to shut down n otre d ame’s leaders in scoring and assists, respectively.
“[The double teams] affected us a little bit,” a llen said. “ we worked on it a bit in practice … but it definitely slowed us down, which was the point.”
a lthough those double teams left players open, the i rish were unable to capitalize. The problem, m c g raw said, was that younger team members looked to l oyd to carry them down the stretch.
“ i t was us,” m c g raw said when asked about c onnecticut’s defense. “ we looked like a deer in headlights. we made some shots early, and when things are going good, i think that’s the kind of thing a young team, they’re going to roll along with it. b ut when things [went] bad, Jewell was the only one who really wanted the ball.”
a nother issue was n otre d ame’s weakness on the
c onnecticut may have dominated n otre d ame this weekend, but there is plenty of basketball left to be played. w hile some may place great stock in momentum swings and confidenceboosting wins, the i rish are young enough, and muffet mc g raw is a good enough coach to make sure that her team will move on.
boards, where the i rish were out-rebounded 52-34, with the absence of freshman forward b rianna Turner. Turner is out with a right shoulder injury, robbing the i rish of their best post player.
“The game was lost on the boards,” m c g raw said. “ we just went soft. i t was very disappointing.”
i n addition to rebounding and defense, m c g raw said her front court simply did not perform like they should have when presented with shot opportunities.
“They sagged [on defense]. They sagged, daring us to shoot the jumper,” m c g raw said. “a nd that’s something we worked on in practice, but we didn’t look like we did. we froze a lot on offense. w e stopped moving, we stopped screening, we pretty much stopped doing everything.”
The key to fixing these problems is more experience and players stepping up in the locker room, m c g raw said.
“There’s a couple of people who have a little bit of toughness,” m c g raw said.
“ b ut sometimes it’s a quiet toughness. i think l indsay has a quiet competitive spirit, but we need a vocal leader. w e need somebody to be the one to get everyone fired up and ready to go, and Jewell is trying real hard to do that, but she has enough jobs. i ’d like somebody else to do that.”
m c g raw did not offer any suggestions of which player that might be but did say she thought the loss could provide the team with valuable experience down the road.
“ i think, in the long run, this could be good for us,” she said. “ w e can learn a lot from it.”
The i rish have a short turnaround to learn these lessons, as they take on n o.
25 d e p aul on w ednesday in c hicago. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m.
Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu
i n the grand scheme of the 2014-2015 season, one nonconference loss in d ecember will not sink the i rish, just as a win would not have defined them. i f anything, with such a youthful squad, mc g raw is fortunate to now have the chance to examine what went wrong and see how her team responds to adversity.
The other good news on the night is that freshman forward b rianna Turner’s right shoulder injury is not as serious as it could have been. s he is officially listed as day-to-day.
The i rish absolutely need Turner to have any chance against c onnecticut if the two meet again. The huskies won the rebound battle, 52-34, and put up 44 points in the paint, compared to 28 from n otre d ame.
g eno a uriemma’s squad was simply too big and too long for the i rish to contain. a t several points, 5-foot-11 senior guard m adison c able or 5-foot-10 junior guard Jewell l oyd were tasked
with containing reigning ap p layer of the year junior forward b reanna s tewart, who is 6-foot-4. s he had no problem scoring 15 points and collecting nine rebounds. That left sophomore forward Taya r eimer and senior forward m arkisha w right to try to contain senior center k iah s tokes and redshirt sophomore m organ Tuck. They were not up to the task. s tokes grabbed 18 rebounds in 24 minutes and Tuck scored a career-high 25 points.
i f the 6-foot-3 Turner had been healthy, the entire dynamic of the game could have changed. m aybe l oyd would not have to attempt 27 field goals in a desperate comeback attempt. m aybe s tewart, s tokes and Tuck would not have been as dominant inside. m aybe.
Turner’s absence is not a complete excuse for the loss. Junior guard m ichaela m abrey, the best 3-point shooter on the squad, was a ghost on the floor s aturday. s he went 0-for-7 from the field, 0-for-5 from behind the arc and grabbed only one rebound in 29 minutes. The least that can be said for her is that she did not turn the ball over.
i n fact, not a single player in notre d ame’s starting lineup shot better than 36 percent yesterday. They also combined for 16 turnovers.
That’s not good enough to beat c onnecticut, with or without Turner.
b ut the season, like notre d ame, is still young. a nd
while obviously no one on the i rish bench wants to lose, perhaps it’s best that they did.
There’s no shame in losing to c onnecticut, and mc g raw has repeatedly said that a group this young will take its lumps early. m aybe it’s best to simply get the defeat out of the way and remind everyone on the team what it is like to lose. it lowers outside expectations and could give the i rish a chip on their shoulder that mc g raw can call upon later.
u ltimately, nothing was at stake for n otre d ame on s aturday night that hasn’t been before. it has already beaten c onnecticut. it has already gone undefeated through the regular season. it has already defended its home court time and time again.
The i rish had nothing to prove to themselves, to their fans, to the media or to the huskies. s ure, a win would have been nice, but if n otre d ame advances to the Final Four or the ncaa championship again, no one will care about whatever happened in d ecember.
i n recent years, n otre d ame could beat c onnecticut in the regular season but not come tournament time. m aybe this is the year that changes.
Contact Greg Hadley at ghadley@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
WEI LIN | The Observer
Irish sophomore guard Lindsay Allen tries to get around Huskies junior forward Breanna Stewart during Notre Dame’s 76-58 loss to Connecticut on Saturday at Purcell Pavilion.
WEI LIN | The Observer
Irish coach Muffet McGraw looks on during Notre Dame’s 76-58 loss Saturday to Connecticut at Purcell Pavilion.
Happy Birthday: Follow the trends and observe how others respond around you this year, and you will figure out how to maneuver your way through the ups and downs that come your way. gains can be made if you make a move or adjust your current living situation. embrace knowledge and new possibilities, and you will discover talents you never realized you possessed. your numbers are 2, 17, 21, 26, 38, 45, 47.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): it’s full speed ahead. refuse to let an emotional matter blow up, causing you to miss out on an opportunity. experience is the engine for success and will enable you to expand your interests and goals. love is highlighted.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): rely on those you trust and respect. don’t get angry about the suggestions made. listen carefully and you will find a way to use the information you receive in a positive manner. a self-improvement project will bring good results.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): ask for help and fight back if someone is unfair. don’t let an emotional or personal matter stop you from pursuing a position or occupation you desire. a partnership can change the way you live. love is in the stars.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): emotional matters will flare up if you have been inconsistent. don’t let uncertainty about your future stand between you and an opportunity to enhance your professional relationships. Try to understand the background or history of your peers.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): socialize and you will attract enthusiastic people interested in helping you bring about the changes you feel strongly about making. a money deal or contract will face some glitches due to a lack of conformity. do your best to present conservative alternatives.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): your efforts to help a cause will not be in vain, but could be met with opposition. expect someone you live near to offer false information or misinterpret you. changes at home may be worrisome, but in time will prove to be beneficial.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take the initiative and make things happen. you can make a difference if you follow through with your beliefs and make your voice heard. romance will bring positive results in your love life. make positive changes at home.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): get to work and show everyone what you can do. it’s up to you to manipulate your vocational situation to help you market your talent and protect your position. use your experience, quick response and insight to get ahead.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): withhold secret information that someone may be able to use against you. use your knowledge, experience and versatility to improve your personal life. greater emphasis on important relationships will pay off, ensuring positive alterations at home.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): let situations unfold naturally. it is best not to interfere or get in the middle of someone else’s agenda. concentrate on personal concerns and how you best see yourself moving forward. Take care of your own concerns, not someone else’s.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): explore new avenues, meet interesting people and share your views. be a participant and your help and encouragement will be rewarded. an important relationship can be taken to the next level. options for professional advancement are apparent.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): rely on the people you know you can trust. do not share personal information that has the potential to damage your reputation or prospects. connect with someone from your past. youngsters can offer an innocent point of view.
Birthday Baby: you are expressive, caring and direct. you are outgoing and independent.
Jumble | david hoyT and JeFF knurek
sudoKu | The mepham group
hIGhly PunlIKely | chrisTopher brucker
dome nuts | aleXandria wellman
Irish crack top 25
By BRIAN HARTNETT managing e ditor
n o. 25 n otre d ame will play its first game as a ranked team this season when the i rish meet m ount s t. m ary’s tonight at p urcell p avilion.
n otre d ame (8-1) grabbed the last spot in m onday’s ap p oll after winning both of its games last week, a 79-78 overtime victory over thenn o. 19 m ichigan s tate on wednesday and a 75-57 win against Fairleigh d ickinson on s aturday. The i rish sit one spot out of the usa Today c oaches p oll, having the most votes of any team under the “others receiving votes” category.
n otre d ame will enter the game against the m ountaineers (2-4) coming off a hard-fought victory against the k nights on a weekend when several bigconference programs lost in upsets. The i rish shot 50 percent from the field against Fairleigh d ickinson, but they hit only 23.5 percent of attempts from 3-point range.
w ith 3-point shooting stagnant, i rish coach m ike b rey said n otre d ame turned to its defense, which held Fairleigh d ickinson to 37.7 percent shooting from the field.
“ i think defense was the answer for us,” b rey said in his postgame press conference s aturday. “ we weren’t in the best of offensive rhythms.
“The area where we have grown showed up [ s aturday] — offense isn’t going great, and we’re not making shots, but we are able to guard. we are able to go back and be mentally tough enough to still defend.”
i rish senior guard/forward and captain p at c onnaughton said the team’s offensive approach becomes more aggressive when shots behind the arc are not falling.
“ we’re a great shooting team, but there are nights when you’re not on your game, and you’re not going to be shooting the ball particularly well,” he said s aturday. “ you just have to figure out how to positively affect the game in other ways, and i thought we did that by attacking the basket, shooting the free throws, dishing it off
nd Women’s basKetball
ND seeks to improve after setback
Lack of toughness hurt Notre Dame against UConn
By GREG HADLEY
a ssociate sports e ditor
r eflecting on her team’s 76-58 loss to c onnecticut on s aturday, m uffet m c g raw said what disappointed her most was not n o. 5 n otre d ame’s rebounding woes, defensive struggles or poor shooting.
w hat really displeased the i rish coach was the lack of toughness from her squad, as the i rish (8-1) first failed to hold on to a 10-point lead, then came up short in their effort to rally from a 20-point deficit.
“ i don’t think we’re tough enough,” m c g raw said. “ i don’t think we have the mentality of toughness that the last four teams have had.”
The i rish shot just 31.4 percent from the field and made five of 18 3-pointers. Junior guard Jewell l oyd shot 37 percent from the field, down from her season average of 50
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nd tracK and FIeld
Saturday was just one loss on a long road for the Irish
i n some ways, n o. 5 n otre d ame’s 76-58 loss to n o. 2 c onnecticut on s aturday was eerily similar to its national championship loss to the h uskies last season. o nce again, c onnecticut dominated in the paint, as n otre d ame’s top post player was sidelined by injury. o nce again, the i rish guards desperately tried to keep their team in the game, going one-on-one and throwing up dozens of shots. o nce again, at game’s end, i rish fans sat in stunned silence after starting the game with raucous enthusiasm. e ven the score was practically identical, 79-58 in the ncaa championship and 76-58 this weekend.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that this is d ecember, not a pril.
morris, harris break school records
By ANDREW ROBINSON sports writer
The i rish men’s and women’s teams opened their seasons with successful results across the board, capturing first place in 22 of the 30 events and breaking two school records at the b lue & g old i nvitational held at l oftus s ports c enter on Friday.
n otre d ame hosted four men’s programs and five women’s programs for the season’s inaugural meet – the women’s team from n orthern i llinois, and both men’s and women’s squads from b ethel, d etroit m ercy, d e p aul and m arquette.
The event was highlighted by the record-breaking performances of senior thrower e mily m orris and freshman middle distance runner Jessica h arris. m orris crushed the field in the shot put, winning by a margin of 1.07 meters over the nearest competitor. s he surpassed n otre d ame’s previous 15.64-meter record on each of her three throws, with her
second throw being the longest at 16.02 meters.
h arris, at her first meet in an i rish uniform, impressed by pulling away from the field in the 1,000-meter run, coming in at a time of 2:46.47 to finish ahead of her freshman teammate and second-place finisher a shlyn r ambo. h er effort was enough to break the previous school record of 2:48.18.
i rish coach a lan Turner said he was excited about the record-breaking performances so early in the season.
“ i wasn’t expecting that at all,” Turner said. “These were positives from our team going forward in the season.”
s enior Jade b arber was another standout for n otre d ame, taking first place in both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles.
i n the 200-meter race, n otre d ame runners finished in two of the three medal positions. s enior sprinter c hris g iesting finished first with a time of 21.30 seconds, and former i rish standout and
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WEI LIN | The Observer
Irish junior guard Jewell Loyd looks toward the referee after a whistle during Notre Dame’s 76-58 loss to Connecticut on Saturday.
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WEI LIN | The Observer
Irish junior Danielle Aragon, left, and freshman Jessica Harris race side-by-side during the 1,000-meter run Friday.
