Tuesday Tunes: It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Yeah, I know it's Wednesday. A day late and a dollar short seems to be my life story these days...at least until I start my new job tomorrow. Hooray! Back to the music. As promised, I plan to use the holiday season to explore the wonderful world of holiday music...beginning with Andy Williams's "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year." If you're not familiar with this classic tune (because, presumably, you've been living under a rock), enjoy this refresher (complete with festive light bonus).

Obviously, it's a catchy tune with a simple, happy message. Like no other time of the year, the holiday season seems to bring out the best in people. We relax. We appreciate the blessings in our lives. We spend time with our families and friends. We don't worry so much about being slaves to our jobs. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, in my opinion. Adding to the general merriment are the cheerful light and decoration displays. The doldrums of impending winter (at least for those of us who live in areas with four seasons of climate change) are transformed for a few weeks into an uplifting respite for the mind, body, and soul. I love to indulge in the joy of the season, and "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" is an exemplary way to revel in it. Have a listen, and be joyful.

Fight Song Friday: Stanford Week

Notre Dame closes the regular season tomorrow with a West Coast matchup against Stanford. The Cardinal is a much improved and dangerous team this year, and since the game will be played on Stanford's home field, I expect the Irish to have their hands full. Unless the Notre Dame administration surprises the college football world entirely by retaining Coach Weis, this will likely be Charlie's last game as the Irish head coach. Perhaps the boys can send him out with a win. Perhaps not. We will only know after they play the game.

Interestingly, there is some chatter about the possibility of Stanford's coach being recruited to coach Notre Dame beginning next year. I don't know how much stock I put in such rumors, especially considering Harbaugh is a Michigan graduate, and Michigan may also be in the market for a new football coach. The off season will certainly be exciting...

That's enough for today, as the family is celebrating Thanksgiving a day late. Time for turkey!

Tuesday Tunes: Holiday Preview

Next to college football season, my favorite time of year is the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Those precious few weeks are filled with food, family, and fun. They are also filled with warm, catchy, feel-good music that only surfaces during this special time of year. Interestingly, most people have rules for when holiday music is "allowed." Personally, I think the day after Thanksgiving is fair game for breaking out the holiday tunes, and I intend to do exactly that. Typically, I can find a radio station that dedicates all of the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to holiday music, and for a few weeks my car becomes a joyful transport in which I sing along to my favorite classics and emerge happier than when I embarked on my drive. I'll use the next few Tuesday Tunes to examine some of the season's best music (in my opinion), but I must wait until it's "allowed." Until next week...

Fight Song Friday: Connecticut Week

My apologies for missing my Tuesday Tunes entry this week. Food poisoning has a way of incapacitating you such that even a simple blog entry seems insurmountable. Rather than try to make up for lost time, I'll simply move on to my Friday staple and give a preview of the Notre Dame-UConn game scheduled for Saturday. Much like the Pittsburgh matchup last week, this game would not normally incite anxiety or second thought, but this year's promising beginning has fizzled into an uncertain ending, and the Irish team better come prepared or they might be in for another loss.

The Connecticut Huskies have played some good football this year, despite their 5-loss record. According to the UConn Athletics Website, the Huskies have lost those 5 games by a combined 15 points...not exactly devastating, blowout losses. When the UConn team plays at Notre Dame Stadium, they will likely be playing in front of the biggest live football crowd in Connecticut school history. Add to those notes the fact that the UConn players continue to play in honor of their fallen teammate, who was killed in a stabbing earlier this season. All factors combined give UConn plenty of motivation and emotional edge for the game against the Irish.

Obviously, the Irish team has plenty to play for as well (not the least of which is job security for the head coach), so hopefully they show up for a full 4 quarters. If they do, it will be an evenly matched game which may again come down to the wire. May the best team win. Go Irish!

Fight Song Friday: Pittsburgh Week

The University of Pittsburgh football team is good this year. Tough, reliable, high-scoring. Good. The University of Notre Dame football team is suspect (at best) this year. Resilient, yes. Consistent, no. You never know which Notre Dame team is going to show up on any given Saturday, and you have even less of an idea which Irish coaching scheme is going to emerge. Will the players demonstrate a week's worth of solid preparation for the opponent, or will they miss their assignments and fail to execute? Will the coaches make adjustments throughout the game and keep pressure on the opposing team, or will they follow a scripted game plan regardless of the on-field results?

I can't remember being truly worried about a Notre Dame-Pitt matchup in recent history, but I'm worried about this one. While I want to believe that the Irish team has learned and grown this season, I don't have enough evidence to give me confidence that they truly know how to win when it counts. Playing a strong Pittsburgh team (at Pitt's home stadium) will be a true test for a wobbly Irish squad. If they can pull off a solid victory, the Irish have a chance at saving the season from dismal failure. If they lose by multiple touchdowns, they might need to start saying their goodbyes to Coach Weis. If the result is something closer and more vague entirely, the fate of the Irish is anyone's guess.

I know what I am hoping to see tomorrow night...I just don't know if the team will be on the same page. Here's hoping. Go Irish.