Poodle Time | by Jay

At about 4 or 5 months of age, puppies enter a period some experts call the "puppy crazies," the "zooms," or puppy "FRAPS".

FRAP stands for Frenetic Random Activity Period, a wild time in the pup's life when for no apparent reason he'll run like a demon possessed, through the house, over the furniture. He'll zoom back and forth, growling at imaginary beasts that exist only in his fuzzy little madpup head.

From the USC Scout.com site:

The main subject for the Monday Morning Quarterback meeting was to review the game against Arizona last Saturday. But, just like the team on Saturday, people seemed to be distracted by N.D. and the obvious attraction of that contest. Coach Pete Carroll was upbeat and on point for a full house luncheon crowd. But, for the first time this year, there was more conversation about the coming game than the last one.

Pete was positive about our performance against Arizona while at the same time; he talked about areas where we need work. The crowd wanted to hear a little Notre Dame week pep talk and, if you didn’t know it, Pete can talk a little smack with the best of them. Bulletin board type stuff. But you won't hear it from me. Before Pete arrived, they announced again that he was not to be quoted so I’ll continue to use Newspaper quotes when they reflect what he said today.

So a couple of days ago Petey says the game's no bigger than any other:

And don't expect Carroll to make a big deal out of the "greatest intersectional rivalry" in the country. "For the fans and media it's fun, but it has no bearing at all," Carroll said.

And yesterday he demands to be taken off the record for some trash talk with the booster club.

Treating this "like any other game"? Not on your life.