Lets talk about irony in sports. I am not talking about irony like Sheryl Crow did either. Her type is rain on your wedding day. That isn’t ironic, that is a sign! That means run! Besides, a wise man once said " a man doesn’t realize what true happiness is until he gets married, unfortunately by then it is too late!

Sports irony happens all the time. Sometimes it can be more of poetic justice than irony.

The Motor City/State- It’s ironic in Michigan, the auto capitol of the world, the head football coach of the football team had a last name of Carr, then tried to replace him with a coach named Les Miles! 

 The Cashman- It’s ironic that the New York Yankees, the "Evil Empire", MLB’s richest franchise, has a GM with the last name of Cashman. Brian Cashman is the GM with the highest payroll in all of sports! Cashman has signed players to their highest contracts to come to New York. Although, if the Yankees are such a great organization, why do they have to pay so much more for players than other teams do? In 2007 the Yankees had 5 of the top 10 paid player salaries and had the top three in Giambi, Rodriguez, and Jeter.

The Magic Johnson- It’s ironic that a handsome, successful, charismatic, basketball player with a great rack of chicklets for a smile named "Magic Johnson" would get HIV? It would be like a guy named #### Hertz or a woman named Sharon Cox getting it. Too bad he didn’t cover his "Magic Johnson" before he contracted HIV. He helped raise awareness for the disease, unfortunately he had to have it to do it. I guess the cure for AIDS is money because he has had HIV for 16 years now. OK, so maybe it would be more ironic if this happened to a guy named Jimmy Hatt instead, but someone had to point it out.

New York, New York, Buffalo- It’s ironic that there are three teams in the NFL that represent the state of New York but only one of them actually plays in the state of New York. The two teams bearing the state and or city name of New York play in New Jersey at the Meadowlands and the Buffalo Bills actually play in Buffalo, New York.

Saturday’s Balls- Isn’t it ironic that Peyton Manning is constantly licking his hands to get a better grip on balls but does it before and after each snap. Maybe Jeff Saturday just has something special going on down there.....or those are the balls he is trying to get a better grip on. Maybe that isn’t ironic, just nasty, sorry for that.

College Lighting- In October of 2006 a college football game featuring the Kent State University "Golden Flashes" was temporarily delayed by lightning.

Gruden’s Grudge Match- In 2002 the head coach of the Oakland Raiders John Gruden was traded to Tampa Bay for a ton of draft picks. Owner Al Davis felt the move was great because he felt that Gruden could not win the "Big One". Ironically in his first year as the Bucs head coach he won the Super Bowl against who?....................the Raiders

  Michigan won at home versus Central Michigan to start 2-0 and will head into Notre Dame setting up a battle of unbeaten teams.  Michigan as of today (9/9/6) is ranked 10th and Notre Dame 4th.  Both will likely climb slightly in the polls as well.  This is a game between the two winningest programs in the country (mich #1 and ND #2).  Michigan is also the only team to have a winning record against the Fighting Irish.

  The hype machine however has overrated Michigan once again.  Last season the Wolverines were 7-5.  For Michigan that was a horrible season in which almost every game came down to the final play.  They lost more of them than they won though.  As a Michigan fan I see this happen every year.  They start with a high ranking, lose a couple and finish in the top 15.  The entire ranking system is a joke though.  Playoffs would be those most anticipated and exciting thing to happen to college football, and the NCAA is missing out on a lot of money and the fans are missing out on some more great college football.

  I truly believe that the only reason they even have the ranking system is MONEY!  The higher the ranked teams, the better money the get from advertising.  This also gets them more coverage as well.  The hype this game will get won't be what Texas vs. Ohio State and it shouldn't.  But the main thing with these two teams is the longevity of success they have had.

  The game should be a good one though.  Both teams have veteran quarterbacks and teams.  Defense will be dominate and the turnover battle made be the deciding factor.  Notre Dame at home is tough to beat and they are also looking to make it two in a row over Michigan after getting smashed 38-0 two years ago.

  Fan IQ (join here) has a poll set up to see who can predict the outcome of this storied rivalry.  Do you think you know who is going to win, have more yards, and win the turnover battle?  Lets see what you got, click this link (if you are a member) and make all your predictions! GO BLUE!