The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

Mike’d Up: The ‘wild’ wild card race and the resurgence of Notre Dame

Miked+Up%3A+The+wild+wild+card+race+and+the+resurgence+of+Notre+Dame

By Michael Kelley ’14, Mick Kowaleski ’14 and Ben Brown ’14

Baseball’s regular season is winding down and as it reaches its final days, there are several hot story lines heading into the postseason.

Kowaleski: How can you not pick the AL East race? Seriously? Maybe I’m biased because my insides are lined with pinstripes, but even if you hate the Yankees, the upstart Orioles and the Bombers trading punches for an entire month has been nothing short of titillating. As of this writing, the Yankees own a 2-game lead over the O’s, having barely kept Baltimore at bay as each have refused to go away. The Yankees have won eight of their last ten, while Baltimore has won seven of their last ten.

While the Tigers and the Chicago White Sox are also currently locked up even in the Central, I just don’t see how the Orioles, who have been the laughingstock of the AL East for 14 straight years, are not the subject of America’s affections right now. Even if they don’t capture the East, it’s likely that they will make the playoffs. And BuckShowalter’s group has captured even my heart.

 

Baseball enthusiast Ben Brown ’14 will be guest writing this week for Michael Kelley ’14.

Brown: I thought the second wild card spots would dilute the elite pool of teams, but now I can’t believe it took this long to implement! And the AL race is competitive too! The four main wild card contenders — the A’s, Orioles, Angels, and Rays — all have better records than the AL Central division leading White Sox and Tigers.

I feel bad for the Rangers who own the AL’s best record. For their hard work all season, they get the dubious reward of facing the winner of the wild card one-game playoff. For their second-best record, the Yankees get the defensively shaky Tigers or the White Sox, who are plagued by an inconsistent bullpen. The system is flawed since wild card winners can pose greater challenges than division winners. Perhaps there should be reseeding?
Should they get into the playoffs, the Angels would make a hellish opponent in a five game series. Cy Young Award candidate Jered Weaver and midseason acquisition Zach Greinke form a heavenly 1-2 pitching punch. Will they win the pennant? Hey, it could happen.

 

After years of insignificance, Notre Dame has been grabbing headlines of late. Is this a return to prominence for such a proud program?

Kowaleski: It’s been a busy month or so for ND. Not long after Rick Reilly wrote a scathing article about how Notre Dame “relegated itself to insignificance,” Notre Dame has made a furious run towards garnering national attention. I have to admit, I’m one of the many fans frustrated with the seemingly unearned publicity Notre Dame has. Despite not having won a championship since 1988, Notre Dame remains the only college team with an exclusive TV contract with a major network (NBC). They also stubbornly remain one of the only independent football teams in the NCAA.

However, the Irish have been grabbing headlines, not only for their move to the ACC in all sports except football, but also for their play on the field. Undefeated thus far, Brian Kelly’s gang convincingly defeated two top-notch programs in Michigan State and Michigan, and also field a top-five Heisman candidate in linebacker Manti Te’o. In my opinion, Notre Dame still won’t finish the season undefeated. There are too many incredibly tough games remaining—for instance, this Saturday against the U, then No. 8 Stanford, BYU, at No. 16 Oklahoma, and then a potentially enormous season finale at No. 13 USC.

However, Brian Kelly has surpassed expectations by finally meeting them, and I have to admit Notre Dame is finally deservedly back in the national spotlight where it belongs.

 

Kelley: You’re right… for now. Notre Dame is 4-0 for the first time in a decade and in the top ten for the first time since 2006. So it appears that the Fighting Irish are on track to return to their glory days. But with more than half of the season to play and quarterback issues still looming, this dream ride could come to a sudden halt very quickly.

But veering away from this season and looking into the future, I find ND’s move to the ACC particularly interesting and also damaging. Even though their football team remains independent, they are still required to play five ACC opponents each year, and as we know, the ACC is far from a powerhouse football conference. Thus, their strength of schedule and overall brand will suffer from the move. Just this week, ND opted out of the historic Michigan series for at least three years. That’s bad news for all college football fans.

But yes, I agree that ND is on the right track on the road back to prominence. Long term though, their prestige and level of competition will suffer from the conference switch, limiting the program’s potential to return to its glory days.

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