I can see clearly now | by Pat

The big rumor today is that all Notre Dame home games on NBC this upcoming season will be broadcast in high definition. ccfond on ndnation had the scoop. Ever since news broke of NBC getting the rights to the NFL Sunday Night game starting in 2006, many Irish fans had voiced their speculations and hopes that Hi-Def programming would be coming to ND Stadium shortly thereafter. Now, it appears the timetable has been pushed up for the Irish. Perhaps NBC is going to use the ND broadcasts as a technological testing ground for their NFL production. Or maybe they just finally decided to put some money into the broadcast. Either way, it's good news for Irish fans (with HDTV).

Adding a bit more credibility to the rumor is confirmation coming on avsforum.com from an engineer who is reportedly working on the NBC/ND/Hi-Def production. For those who speak their language, the HD broadcasts will be in the 16:9 ratio and will include 5.1 sound. If you spent your time in high school shoving the AV Club into lockers and aren't sure what I just wrote, it means that the game will be shown in a widescreen format (so we can see where the secondary is lining up before the snap) and in full surround sound (so the dulcet tones of Pat Hayden and Tom Hammond will surround and envelop you).

Speaking of Tom Hammond and rumors, NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol has stated that Hammond is "at the top for just about any list that I could put together" when it comes to filling the play-by-play position for the NFL Sunday Night game on NBC. If Hammond makes the move to the NFL game, it calls into question if he would be available to do the Notre Dame games as well. Still, that move, if it happens, is a season off so it's not likely any announcements will be made soon about who will be up in the booth for ND games in 2006.

As for other enhancements to the ND on NBC broadcast, no word yet on if the "wailing guitar Victory March intro"^TM has been introduced to a deep, dark, watery grave, but we can only hope.