The Charlie Weis era officially ended on Monday, and once again Notre Dame is searching for the right man to lead them back to prominence. Things started off so promisingly for Weis. He took a bunch of players that had underachieved under Ty Willingham and made them stars. Losses in back to back BCS bowls were tough to take but the Irish were once again in the discussion of upper echelon teams. Then the last three seasons happened, and once again the Irish are back to being mediocre. Their talent on offense is amazing but Weis apparently ignored the defensive side of the ball when recruiting, as the Irish couldn’t stop anyone. Seeing how the season played out, the shutout of Nevada to open the season completely mystifies me.

I think the Irish should have Brian Kelly as their number one choice. Kelly has done a nice job rebuilding other programs, and the biggest reason I am for him is he has won at places he is not supposed to win. Due to their high academic standards, many people believe the Irish can’t compete with the big conferences. I don’t think that has to be the case and I think a guy like Kelly, an up and coming coach, can be the one to right the ship. I don’t know if a national title is realistic but competing for BCS bowl berths every season is a reasonable goal for Notre Dame. They have blown their last three coaching hires, Irish fans are hoping that this fourth time will finally bring some luck.

NFL

New York Jets (5-6) at Toronto Bills (4-7), NFL Network, 8:20 PM ET. Each team goes into this game with slim playoff hopes, the loser will walk out with none.

College Football

#16 Oregon State (8-3, 6-2) at #7 Oregon (9-2, 7-1), ESPN, 9:00 PM ET. A Rose Bowl berth is on the line in the Civil War.

NBA

Boston Celtics (14-4) at San Antonio Spurs (9-6), TNT, 8:00 PM ET.

Miami Heat (10-7) at Denver Nuggets (13-5), TNT, 10:30 PM ET.

Houston Rockets (10-8) at Golden State Warriors (6-11), 10:30 PM ET.

College Basketball

USC (2-2) at #2 Texas (5-0), ESPN2, 9:00 PM ET.  It’s the basketball version of the Rose Bowl rematch!

#10 Washington (5-0) at Texas Tech (7-0), ESPN2, 7:00 PM ET. The Huskies should be on upset alert!

NHL

Montreal Canadiens (12-13-2, 26 pts) at Buffalo Sabres (15-7-2, 32 pts), 7:00 PM ET

Vancouver Canucks (15-12, 30 pts) at Philadelphia Flyers (13-10-1, 27 pts), 7:00 PM ET

Florida Panthers (11-12-4, 26 pts) at Washington Capitals (16-5-6, 38 pts), 7:00 PM ET

New York Islanders (10-10-7, 27 pts) at Atlanta Thrashers (14-7-3, 31 pts), 7:00 PM ET

Toronto Maple Leafs (7-12-7, 21 pts) at Columbus Blue Jackets (13-9-5, 31 pts), 7:00 PM ET

Edmonton Oilers (10-13-4, 24 pts) at Detroit Red Wings (13-9-4, 30 pts), 7:30 PM ET

Colorado Avalanche (15-8-6, 36 pts) at Pittsburgh Penguins (19-9, 38 pts), 7:30 PM ET

Anaheim Ducks (10-12-4, 24 pts) at Dallas Stars (12-8-7, 31 pts), 8:30 PM ET

Calgary Flames (17-6-3, 37 pts) at Phoenix Bankrupts (15-11-1, 31 pts), 9:30 PM ET

Ottawa Senators (13-8-4, 30 pts) at Los Angeles Kings (16-10-2, 34 pts), TSN, 10:30 PM ET

St. Louis Blues (10-10-5, 25 pts) at San Jose Sharks (19-6-4, 42 pts), 10:30 PM ET

Popularity: 1% [?]