http://www.philly.com/r?19=960&32=3796&7=-1&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2F John Quinn, 54, is deputy sports editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer and a third generation Subway Alumni. en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:26:05 GMT 2009-11-20T18:26:05Z en-us http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=70631432&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FNotre_Dames_AD_needs_to_find_right_coach_before_replacing_Weis.html OK, Notre Dame fans. Here’s your punch in the face. This is not about Charlie Weis anymore, it is about athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who says he will make a decison on Weis' job status right after the season ends. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:26:05 GMT 3eb30d3198b76a1cbbe01fbf91f53c2a John Quinn 2009-11-20T18:26:05Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=65902217&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FExpect_big_day_for_Clausen_start_considering_Herzlich_for_Heisman.html Jimmy Clausen proved last week that he has the nads to play with the big boys, bringing the Irish to the brink of a tie with USC on the last play of the game. Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:40:34 GMT 753eb08f331d60def2afea9da2e40457 John Quinn 2009-10-24T17:40:34Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=64655197&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FIts_time_for_Irish_to_end_USCs_disrespect.html This is your life, Jimmy Clausen. This is your job, Charlie Weis. Clausen has been harassed and demeaned by USC the past two years. Crushed both in South Bend and Los Angeles. Matt Barkley is his California wannabe, but you would have hardly noticed Clausen coming into this season. The hype, which tried to destroy Clausen in his first two seasons, has anointed Barkley, who is a sure-fire NFL quarterback some day but has accomplished just one fourth-quarter comeback at Ohio State to show for his exalted status. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:04:40 GMT 702646d69388f5bd69a6e52b795ada4d John Quinn 2009-10-17T04:04:40Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=63481472&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FClausen_one_step_closer_to_Heisman_bring_on_USC.html Jimmy Clausen did it again. Drive downfiield, throw the go-ahead touchdown pass in the final minute. Kyle Rudolph, in the end zone, looking like a man against boys. Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:54:17 GMT 5c885a6faea6e41993f254acdc4081d0 John Quinn 2009-10-04T19:54:17Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=62745217&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FClausen_has_his_Montana_moment.html He always had the stats and the hype. He came to Notre Dame with the Southern Cal hair and the Tom Cruise swagger, delivered onto campus on Day One in a limousine that had the Golden Domers seething. Even when he put up staggering numbers the last game last year in Hawaii and the first three games this year, he got no cred. Big numbers in shootout games. Forget that each ball was a laser beam and and half his incompletions were drops. That ended in West Lafayette, Indiana last Saturday, courtesy of Purdue. He turned into Joe Montana, circa Houston in the Cotton Bowl. He became John Elway. Even Tate Fourcier. He drove 72 yards with three minutes left with out his starting halfback and all-World wideout. He hit his Pro Bowl tight end, Kyle Rudolph, with 24 seconds left to win the game, 24-21. He did it with an injured turf toe that had him miss large portions of the game when sophomore QB Dayne Crist did his best Coley O'Brien imitation. And Golden Tate did his best 2008 Golden Tate imitation and didn't drop any balls. Clausen is the fourth-ranked QB in the nation in passing efficiency, ahead of all the big names. He earned his stripes and now must wait for Matt Barkley to come to South Bend to get his due. He may have also saved Charlie Weis' job. I'll give Weis credit fior this one. He hinted before the Hawaii game that the QB job would be open this year. Then Clausen turned Hawaii into lava but Weis may have kept Crist from transferring, and that paid off big time. And Robbie Paris turned into Robin Weber (google Tom Clements, Alabama, and Sugar Bowl). ...(better yet YouTube it) ... Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:51:34 GMT 5b9a1e593d0eaf1b2fb39cb5f5838b9c John Quinn 2009-09-29T23:51:34Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=59803202&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FMark_May_Bite_Me.html Jimmy Clausen has the third best QB rating in the country. He is sixth in the nation in passing yards. He is going to dominate against Michigan State this week, Purdue next week and Washington on Oct. 3. He has yet to throw an interception. Matt Barkley may not even be around on Oct. 17 and Charlie Weis has two weeks to prepare for the Trojans. ESPN's Mark May says Clausen has no chance because he lost to Michigan. Well Notre Dame-Michigan has been the best game of the season and may wind up being one of the five best for the whole year. Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:47:47 GMT ccd01dde87d03d2a3ffc71f786d2b3e8 John Quinn 2009-09-19T01:47:47Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=59547867&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FSon_of_Heidi_.html I was sitting in the front passenger seat of a beat up Toyota Highlander, which was parked in front of a Teamsters Hall in East Norriton, Pa. Inside the hall, during a “Beef and Beer” fundraiser, the once-happy family and friends were watching the Phillies blow yet another ninth-inning loss, this one, 10-9 to the lowly New York Mets. David Wright’s homer rocketed into the left field seats. I, on the other hand, was listening to Armando Allen do his own Rocket-like imitation, scoring the go-ahead touchdown at Michigan late in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame took a 32-31 lead in perhaps the best game of the college football season. As Charlie Weis was contemplating his Boise State-like, Statue of Liberty two-point conversion, ISP play-by-play announcer Don Criqui was returning from commercial. But not on ESPN-Radio 950-AM in Philadelphia. Instead, I heard the following … “We now take you to the Lehigh-Villanova football game …” The Lehigh-Villanova football got that had not yet started … I sprinted the 18 yards to the entrance and headed toward the bar. I asked the bartender ( a Penn State grad) to check his i-Phone every 60 seconds … 34-31 .. four minutes to go … three minutes to go … two minutes to go … one minute to go … He poured some Michelob Ultra to a Teamster, then looked back at the iPhone …38-34 … 10 seconds to go … 38-34 final … 38-34! For a station manager, it is always dangerous to schedule a 7 p.m. start after a 3:30 start. But usually, the 3:30 game goes to conclusion and the 7 p.m. starts picks up already in progress. But ESPN-950 had a contractual agreement to start the Villanova game at 7 and station manager Matt Nahagian said he had no choice but to pull the switch. I am sure the last thing a radio station that is trying to cut into sports talk radio leader WIP’s former grip on the city wants to do is alienate Notre Dame fans, especially since this team and this quarterback are incredibly exciting. The station got e-mails and calls to its hotline and Nahagian certainly knows he made a mistake when the schedule came out. The good news this week is that there will be no conflict with the Penn-Villanova 7 p.m. start. ESPN-950 will not be broadcasting the Michigan State-Notre Dame 3:30 start. The bad news? The game will not be heard anywhere in Philly. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:01:38 GMT 08e384c35eef35af1f81cbfd53858959 John Quinn 2009-09-16T23:01:38Z http://www.philly.com/r?19=961&43=432269&44=57431117&32=3796&7=558397&40=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.philly.com%2Fphilly%2Fblogs%2Fnotre_dame%2FClausen_Will_Win_the_Heisman.html Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:49:49 GMT 1ace0033546e230c013b2210dd6ffcee Blake Miller 2009-09-08T21:49:49Z