For those of you who don’t get the reference, ‘The Farm’ is the nickname for Stanford University’s home football field.  And that’s where we’ll go to get back in the win column after last night’s backdoor cover loss in the Boise State/Nevada game.  Seriously, is there a more thankless job in sports than Notre Dame head coach?  You’ve got a hierarchical, religious oriented administration always nosing in on the athletic program, one of the highest profile teams in the country meaning that you can forget about a ‘rebuilding’ season or two, and a completely unrealistic level of expectations.  But with Charlie Weis all but certain to be cleaning out his office next month, someone will eventually take the gig.  For now, the Golden Domers have another game left on their schedule:

NOTRE DAME AT STANFORD

This week the one game to watch will be on Monday night with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots taking on the undefeated New Orleans Saints and MVP candidate Drew Brees. Starting any offensive players in this game on either team is a good idea, but there will be some other players to look at before starting any of your Saints or Pats.

Start ‘Em

Quarterback

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Last season the Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan took the NFL by storm as he led his team to the playoffs with wide receiver Roddy White and running back Michael Turner at his disposal.

This season Matt Ryan has another offensive weapon at his disposal with future hall of fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, this week against the Tampa Bay Bucs expect these two to have a big day against a struggling Bucs defense.

Strikeforce experienced an onslaught of buzz and media attention after their tremendous event in Chicago, when Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers did battle. It’s a tough act to follow. But their next event has the potential to be just as exciting.

Cung Le is back and taking on Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith, a fighter that always puts on exciting brawls. I’m calling it now: this will be one of the finalists for fight of the year.

Strikeforce will also unify the lightweight championship when Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson fight for the title.  Thomson is finally healthy enough to defend his title against the interim champ, Melendez. “El Nino” has won 2 straight since losing to Thomson in June of 2008.

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler, Matt “The Law” Lindland and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal round out the main card. Lindland will battle Jacare in a fight that will be both fighters’ Strikeforce debuts. Here’s the video preview:

Since its Thanksgiving weekend here in the US there will be plenty of sports action for everyone not stupid enough fortunate enough not to be out shopping.  Personally, I’ve never understood the ‘Black Friday’ concept which is why I’ve spent most of my Thanksgivings at a casino, sportsbook, the track or a strip club.  Are there actually people in America so devoid of worthwhile things to do in their lives that they’re willing to *stand in line* waiting for a Wal Mart to open at midnight just so they can save $100 on a TV?  Apparently so, which is a sad statement on our society.  Now, I’m not one of these ‘anti-consumerist’ types and I realize that many people are just sick of their families and bored and want to get out and do *something* but why not do something worthwhile?  Even if Wal Mart sells out of their promo TVs there will be plenty of deals to be found later if that’s what you’re into.  An important component of happiness in life is to avoid meaningless activities that cause stress.  Avoiding a 1979 Cincinnati Who concert scenario at Wal Mart sure ranks on my list of stress inducing activities that can easily be avoided.