Hello, my name is Cliff. I'll be your "if you can't afford an attorney" attorney.

Mustard: Surprise Frittata Edition

So back from a crazy weekend down in Atlanta. Damn good to hit an ND game again. But my oh friggin’ my was there a lot of whining and bitching going on. First off: the game. I think I was the only ND person in Atlanta who didn’t think the Irish were gonna walk right over Tech. Am I the only person who remembered last year when they took out #16 Auburn on opening day or how bout beating #3 Miami late in November? Oh and both of those were on the road. And you know what? Tech is not a bad team this year. Now that said, was it a pretty game for the Irish? Absolutely not. For the first half Quinn couldn’t get settled to save his life and Darius Walker seemed to juke himself away from every open hole. Oh and we can’t kick a field goal. But great play by Quinn to get that TD with no time outs left in the first half. And then came the call…

Sweet mercy crap people, the hit on Quinn did NOT cost Tech the game. Was it questionable? Yeah. But one play does not make a game. And don’t blame the refs for “favoring” Notre Dame. Look at the penalty breakdown: 11 on ND for 80 yards, 5 on Tech for 28. Twice as many penalties for over 3 times as many lost yards and ND was getting all the calls? Hell, 2 of the Irish penalties were called right after the Quinn hit. If your offense can’t score more than one touchdown and a field goal, don’t expect to beat a team which is quite frankly better than you.

And that brings me to my other problem: the Tech fans. I’ve been to just about every type of sporting event under the sun. I’ve seen all kinds of fans. I have no problem whatsoever with the back and forth ribbing between opposing team’s fans. Hell, that’s some of the best part of the game. And sure there’s always some drunk a-hole on both sides that goes too far and you have to expect it. But Tech fans were easily the worst fans I’ve seen and I’m from NY. Yelling obscenities at a 70 something couple wearing ND T-shirts? Legitimately trying to start fights while walking by an ND tailgater? Hell, after one exchange I saw an Notre Dame fan say “good luck with the game and enjoy your afternoon” and give a knuckle bump to a Tech fan who put on a look of disgust saying “Ew, don’t f%$#ing touch me!”. And during the game? Throwing trash on the field after the Quinn hit (when you didn’t know it would lead to anything other than the Irish not having to kick a field goal right away). Throwing trash on the field after the Irish TD? Throwing trash on the field after the game? Real classy people. You don’t have to cheer when things go badly for your team but grow up and try not to embarrass yourselves.

As for the Tech football team: good job. You scared the crap out of most of the ND nation and made sure people aren’t going to dismiss you anymore. The defense was vicious in getting to Quinn. Really if Tech can open up another receiving threat so that Johnson doesn’t get double teamed all the time, they’re gonna be a nasty team for anyone to play.

Changing leagues, the NFL starts up Thursday leading to the big game on Sunday between my Giants and the Colts. Clash of the Titans or Fraternal Ass-kicking? We shall see.

News and Notes:

Special thanks to Crowley for the lodging and setting up the gratuitous drinking over the weekend.

Looking to get rid of some of those crappy CDs you bought impulsively in the musically challenged 90s? Give Lala a try. You can trade away some of the more embarrassing discs in your collection (why did I buy Blink 182’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, why?) for something you may actually want now.

Supposedly Apple will be announcing a new iPod this month. Unfortunately, it will probably end up being a new 8 or16 GB nano.

Things that really annoy me: Celebrity Playlists on iTunes where the “celebrity” puts their own music on it. How obnoxious is this? And you wonder why musicians get pegged as being narcissistic and self serving.

Until next time:

"In the spirit of full client/investigator disclosure, I'm not offering you this beer out of the goodness of my heart."

"You're not?"

"Nope. I'm fulfilling a long-time fantasy of sharing a cold one with my favorite ball players. And after we're done, we're gonna play catch in the parking lot."