The Chess Mind

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.

We resume with first things first. At 8 p.m. today, Eastern Time (5 p.m. Pacific Time), the Fighting Irish (5-0*) take on UCLA (notable alumni: Marcia Clark [of O.J. trial fame] and Michael Dukakis) in sunny southern Cal.

For your pre-game entertainment, you can see a highlights package of last year's dramatic game here, or go to this page to find lots and lots of preview material.