1. When I hear talking heads insisting that college football and basketball players need to be paid, they talk about the “entertainment dollars” that the players generate. What occurred to me is that I do not go to Notre Dame games to be entertained. I go to movies to be entertained, and to concerts, etc., but not Notre Dame games. I attend ND games to cheer the players on. Period. My job is to be there to support thet team and the school, with strong voice and the occasional obsenity aimed at refs, not to sit back as some passive schlub wanting to be entertained.

2. Tommy’s fourth quarter interception in the end zone was just a going away gift to all of us. It was his unintentional way of saying “it’s still me, folks.” An apt ending for a player we will all remember forever for (i) breaking the streak against USC and (ii) being a reflection on life – imperfect, at times maddening, but bettter than the alternative.