Charlie Weis Doesn't Want To Hear About Rebuilding

Yesterday was the first day of practice for the Fighting Irish, and Jimmy Clausen was in uniform and throwing without his arm falling off. That's a good sign.

Of course, Weis won't let anybody know who his starting quarterback will be until about 5 minutes before the Irish kick off their season with Georgia Tech. He'll tell you that it's a strategic ploy to keep Tech from knowing who to prepare for, but it's mostly because he has absolutely no idea who his quarterback will be.

In fact, there are a lot of questions like this surrounding the Irish, but don't mention the word rebuilding around coach Weis.

...any suggestion of tempered expectations was met with mildly ill-tempered responses Monday, including Irish coach Charlie Weis' assertion that God should "strike me dead" if he dared utter the word "rebuilding."

"That's exactly what you would think coach Weis would be all about," senior safety Tom Zbikowski said. "That's why he's here. There are no rebuilding years. There's getting new guys and having the same goals we always have."

I hate to break it to coach Weis and Zbikowski, but this is going to be a rebuilding year. I don't really care what you want to call it-how about non-BCS year?-but the fact is the Irish have a tough road to hoe.

I already told you in yesterday's preview how the Irish have to replace their starting quarterback, running back, and top two receivers from last season. And all these new starters are going to have to figure each other out while playing teams like Georgia Tech, Penn State, and Michigan in the first few weeks.

It might now be an actual "rebuilding" year in South Bend, but it's going to be a long one.

Tom Zbikowski is Kicking Ass For The Kids

Tom Zbikowski isn't just the strong safety for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

In his free time he likes to punch people in the face repeatedly.

You may remember last summer when Zbikowski made his professional debut at Madison Square Garden against Robert Bell. It's not a big deal if you don't remember; after all, the fight only lasted 49 seconds.

Well, now that Tommy Z has decided to stay at Notre Dame for his senior season and doesn't have to prepare for life in the NFL, he's decided he'd like to beat the hell out of somebody else. Some of us would just go to a bar and pick a fight with some random dude, but that's not Zbikowski's style.

This time he's going to be fighting in South Bend so that the Irish fans can see him up close and personal. He'll also be donating any money to Charlie Weis' stomach defense fund foundation, Hannah & Friends, along with the Make-A-Wish and Cystic Fibrosis Foundations.

''Man, I'm pumped up about this,'' Zbikowski said of fighting in South Bend. ''Most of my teammates will be there. And the Notre Dame fans will get a chance to see me fight. ''I'm not trying to go in there and just knock somebody out. I want to show off my actual skills.''

Zbikowski began training for the fight last Tuesday in South Bend.

''Football conditioning is much different than [for] boxing, so I thought I'd be gassed. But I actually felt pretty good,'' he said. ''It took me two to three weeks to get ready for the fight in New York, so I know what to expect.''

Zbikowski will be fighting against a boxer named Kevin Murphy, a Chicago native who, last I checked, does not play wide receiver for LSU. So I like Tommy's chances.