the BGS wire | by Pat

A quick roundup of various ND-related items that came across the BGS wire in the past few weeks...

• Former fullback/defensive end Nate Schiccatano is transfering to Temple to finish off his final season of eligibilty. Nate is taking advantage of the new NCAA rule that allows players who have already graduated to transfer to another college and play football right away. Calling him a "transfer" is a bit odd since he did graduate and wasn't invited back for a 5th year, but the good news is he gets to play right away at Temple and I wish him all the best.

I suspect that in the coming years we'll see a few more ND players take this option. Will we ever see a player from another smaller school, a defensive tackle perhaps, transfer into ND for his final year of eligibility? I'm still not sold on this rule because I just don't trust many coaches to have their players' best interests in mind, but so far it seems to be going ok.

• Speaking of transfers, Notre Dame just picked one up in the form of Northwestern offensive lineman Thomas Bemenderfer. Thomas, who is from the South Bend area and had an older brother who was a walk-on, will have to sit out a year before suiting up for the football team. I imagine he'll be a walk-on initially, but with no offensive lineman in the junior and sophomore classes, every little bit of depth helps. The 6-5, 280-pound Bemenderfer didn't play last year as a freshman, so he should have three years of eligibility left after sitting out his transfer year.

• Renewed interest in the program is hitting all parts of South Bend, including the airport. Last year parking was tight at the airport for private planes in for the ND/USC game (those poor unfortunate souls) and with big expectations for the upcoming Penn State and Michigan games, the South Bend airport decided to expand the parking.

"We've already [received] a large number of requests for hotel reservations and rental cars from people who are our regular clients," Heiter told the South Bend Tribune for a story published Saturday. "We're expecting at least 225 airplanes this year for the opening game, but we're planning for 300."

Schalliol said the airport's expanded apron, expected to cost more than $715,000, will be 1,600 feet long and 200 feet wide and provide space for about 100 planes.

• Coach Weis recently joined previous ND coaches Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian for a Kickoff for Charity event that raised an estimated $1 million. Regis (who else?) emceed the $1000 a plate event that helped to raise money for the three pet charities of the three coaches; Hannah and Friends, The Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation, and The Lou Holtz Foundation. Check out the first link for a video news story on the event.

• It was noted in the Boston Globe recently that Coach Weis is following in the grand tradition of Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, and various other ND coaches and co-authoring a book.

Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis will coauthor a book, ``No Excuses," with nfl.com writer Vic Carucci, according to Publishers Lunch, an industry electronic newsletter. The book will include stories of his days as a Patriots assistant under Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.

I'm sure Carucci did most of the heavy lifting on this so don't fret that Weis was pounding away at Microsoft Word rather than trying to figure out a better pass rush. The book is already listed on amazon.com, but no release day yet.

• Finally, offered without comment.

[BC coach Tom] O'Brien said Boston College might struggle to develop a natural rival in the ACC because the school is located so much farther north than the rest of the teams in the league. "It's something we've always fought," he said. "Ever since Holy Cross dropped football, Boston College hasn't had a rival. Our school thinks it's Notre Dame, but they won't play us anymore."

*sigh*