The Chess Mind

2008 record to date: 4-1.

Next week's victim: North Carolina.

All together now:

The Cardinal is going down!

ND's record for the year: 3-1.

Next week's victim: Stanford.

Once more, with feeling:

In just two hours, Notre Dame will take on and dismantle their in-state rivals from Purdue. For a pre-game show, have a look here. To further whet your appetite, we have a great historic moment in the rivalry (complete with cheesy 70s sports music):



And of course, there's nothing like the Notre Dame victory march to get one in the proper mood:

Next victim: Purdon't.

ND year-to-date: 2-0

Next victim: Michigan State (road game).

Two down, ten to go.

2008 Record: 1-0.

Next victim: Michigan.

Some schools started their college football season last week, but the team that will win this year's national championship - Notre Dame, in case anyone was wondering - starts theirs today. They'll defeat San Diego State starting in about two hours (3:30 p.m. ET), at Notre Dame Stadium (on NBC), and to get into the proper mood you can watch a video preview here.

Go Irish!

See for yourself.

Nothing to see here; let's move along.

Next victim: Washington State (Saturday at 6:40 p.m. ET).

(Just when you thought it was safe to read this blog until late August...)

It's time to root for the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish, but now for their men's basketball team as they begin play in the NCAA tournament later today. They're ranked #15 in the nation and are a #5 seed in the East regional. First victim: George Mason University, tonight at 9:50 p.m. ET on national TV (in the US).

Was there ever any doubt? Not exactly the greatest year in ND history, but generally speaking things got better as the season went on. On now to bigger and better things next year.

Woohoo! Two down, one to go. Next victim: Stanford.

Right here. The last time these teams played was in the great year of 1966, when Notre Dame won one of their national championships, the Informant first game out, Petrosian defeated Spassky to maintain the world championship, Star Trek began, and probably some other good things happened then too. Anyway, getting back to football, ND thrashed Duck* 64-0 back in 1966. (Quick highlights here and here.) An exact repeat is perhaps a tad unlikely, but Notre Dame should use this game, and next week's win over Stanford, to prepare for the 2008 season. Finally, no pre-game show is really complete without a pep talk, and here's one from former ND head coach Lou Holtz.

The game starts shortly - go Irish!

* Go here, and look for the second "Duck".

Ay ay ay. Next stop: PDuke.

This week, the Notre Dame football team takes on the U.S. Air Force. The game starts in 25 minutes or so, but you can still catch some pre-game material here and especially here.

I'm sure that despite the few minor glitches the Fighting Irish have suffered this year, they'll find a way to win this game. What could possibly go worng?

The hits just keep on coming! Anyway, it's hard to begrudge them the win, both because it's a service academy and because after 43 years of misery, they deserve a break.

Besides, we'll beat them by 30 in a year or two!

Notre Dame's 2007 campaign probably hasn't been its greatest ever, though I suspect its results have brought great joy to many fans around the country (excluding UCLA fans). Still, there's always Navy, a team ND has managed to defeat 43 times in a row. Can ND start boosting their confidence for next year against their perennial victims from Annapolis? Can they finally get some offensive production against one of the worst defenses in the country?

Of course they can! So, Irish Nation, here are some pregame videos to watch. First, for in-depth coverage there's the ND.com practice report; next, for a wistful look back at last year's highlights, there's this video. (Ah, to have an offense again! We'll be back...)

The game starts at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Goodbye, monkey (on back)! The offense isn't brilliant, but the defense has been and is good enough that if they're given any chance at all, the games can be a fight. Hopefully this will give "us" the confidence we need to be competent the rest of the way. We'll need it, as next week the (hated, loathed, abhorrent) Boston College team comes to town.