Swofford gives ND ultimatum??

[businesslawyer]

I love Geno, but he's wrong.

Using his analogy, Notre Dame was up front about their insistence on seeing other people from the start. The Big East is in love and wants exclusivity. But Notre Dame isn't going to agree to that, and was up front from the beginning about that. Don't blame anyone but yourself for thinking you could make a girl fall in love when all she keeps telling you she only wants to date and have fun. ND isn't joining, and they aren't the reason the Big East collapsed. Blaming the collapse on their lack of a commitment to Big East football, when they have made it very clear they were never committed to Big East football, is intellectually dishonest and borderline pathetic.

Of course, as you know, people "blame" the girl in that situation all the time. heck of a lot easier than blaming yourself.

 

[freescooter]

Well, I'm not sure that I agree entirely with you guys. What Geno said was that they had the power to do save the Big East, whcih they did and still do, but chose not to use it. That they have been clear about their position doesn't mean that it might not be in everyone's interest for it to change. And it doesn't mean that people might not be upset that they won't consider a change given that the Big East has been their all-sports but football home for 25 years. That isn't necessarily intellectually dishonest to suggest that it is in everyone's best interest that someone's position change due to changing facts on the ground, so to speak. and for the most part his comments are about the future. He didn't say that it is ND's fault that the Big East is going through this mess. Rather, that ND could, if it chose to do so, solve the current problem.

 

[Carl Spackler]

And supposedly Geno is getting in on the action...

jacobscourant Jeff Jacobs

Oh boy, Geno Auriemma called out Notre Dame for never joining Big East in football.
Geno: "For a lot of us it's a huge problem ... how long are we going to date before we decide this ain't working....I'm not happy about it.

Geno: "That's not the opinion of UConn, Big East, my president, my AD. That's just Geno Auriemma's opinion. I'm pissed about it."

Geno on ND; "One school holds the future of our league in the palm of their hand and they're not really that concerned about it."

More Geno on ND: "If you have the ability to put a whole bunch of schools at ease and have the Catholic mentality to serve and help ..."

HA! Good for Geno. Love those italians.

Perhaps we should send Geno back to Italy for a while and consult with the Vatican on the whole Notre Dame and Big East issue.

I bet if Pope Benedict were to call up Father Jenkins on the telephone with Geno pulling the Mario Puzo strings in the background...hmmm

 

[The Funster]

Immobiliare, anyone

 

[freescooter]

It is an argument over Doing wha tis best for Notre Dame vs. doing what is best for the larger community, the Big East. While Geno may not have expressed it exactly those terms, tha tis what he was expressing. His reference to the "Catholic mentality" was a reference to the view expressed not only in Catholocism, but in most organized religions that there is a responsibility that goes beyond just "what is best for me." We can go into a fairly detailed discussion of social organization and its place in Catholic social teaching, and I suspect Geno has been schooled, at least at some fundamental level, on those teachings, but none of that fits into a sound bite. One could make the argument, as Geno does, that Notre Dame should do what is best for the conference even if that is not the ideal solution for Notre Dame. And the other side of the coin is that the Big East has done what was best for Notre Dame for the past 15 years, but in a changing environment, that is no longer in the league's best interest, so it is time for both parties to revisit the arrangement.