Finding some time to make the most of crime

Does every successful team need a criminal element? The Aviva Stadium will be full this afternoon for the Emerald Isle Classic, American college ball’s take on the Premier League’s much-touted ‘39th Game’.

The ranks of Notre Dame will be little light, however, for the season opener with Navy; four players have been suspended by coach Brian Kelly; two for breaking team rules and two for getting arrested in May after confronting police attempting to disperse a house party.

Another absentee will be Notre Dame radio analyst and former player Allen Pinkett, in strife this week for his views on bad boys living down to the Fighting Irish tag. “You can’t have a football team full of choirboys… you need a couple of criminals. I don’t want any mass murderers or rapists. Guys that maybe get caught drinking that are underage, or maybe got arrested because they got in a fight at a bar, or guys that are willing to cuss in public and don’t mind the repercussions of it. That’s the type of criminal I’m talking about.”