Its time to hit them where it hurts the most. In a move familiar to Notre Dame and their fans, NBC decided to renew their contract with the Fighting Irish for another 5 years till 2015.

Much like how Weis was given a 10-year $30 to $40 million contract just 7 games into his coaching career at Notre Dame. But after 3 seasons, he won 1 more game than ex-coach Willingham did at Notre Dame. Willingham got the boot and Weis got a contract extension fat enough to match his weight. And did I mention that Willingham is African American?

So the NBC contract extension did not come as a surprise to anyone even after a dismal season where they would have struggled to beat a quality high school football team. Notre Dame fans are well used to being awarded or awarding mediocrity and dismal performance. But hey, Weis did almost beat top ranked USC at Notre Dame behind the offensive attack led by Tom Brady (who was recruited by Willingham by the way). Wait, didn’t Jim Harbaugh actually win their game against USC and as a much bigger underdog? And he’s still waiting on his 10 year contract extension.

Sugar coat it as much as you want Irish fans, but your administration and your athletics program is racist and hypocritical. Weis has 1 more win than Willingham by this point in both coaches’ career, but Willingham got the pink slip, and Weis was rewarded with a 10 year, multi-million dollar contract after his 7th game. Weis a better recruiter? Last I checked, he was rewarded with the hefty contract extension after winning the games Notre Dame should have won with Brady Quinn and a team chalk full of Willingham’s recruits. There’s simply no defense of Notre Dame when it came to Willingham’s firing when the administration did the exact opposite for Charlie Weis under the exact same circumstances.

For NBC to continue their relationship with this Irish administration and its fan base that tolerates such injustices makes them an accomplice to the crime. They are also the reason why Notre Dame has still not joined a conference, and continues to propogate the myth that the Irish is still a big television draw. Why should they if they are reaping the same benefits that 11-member conferences are receiving?

So we hereby declare an all out boycott on NBC and its network affiliates. We’re not talking about boycotting Irish games, plenty enough people did that last year when ratings for Irish games plummeted lower than George W. Bush’s approval rating to an all-time Nielsen low of 1.9. Yet, NBC found it convieniently necessary to extend their contract with the Irish till 2015. Did I mention that Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC sports has a son AND a daughter currently enrolled at Notre Dame in addition to his eldest son who is a graduate?

The contract extension must have been the sole result of the popularity of the Irish on television. Suuurre. Favorable acceptance for your kids into Notre Dame must have had nothing to do with your decision.

So starting today, I hereby refuse to watch NBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports, Access Hollywood and its shows until Ken Schanzer gets the point or the pink slip. I urge everyone else to do the same. It shouldn’t be too hard, the only show even remotely worth watching on the network currently is The Office. And even The Office can be easily sacrificed for the greater good.

NBC’s self-defeating tendency to promote crappy programing like Irish football has made my crusade all that easier. As of today, NBC sits last among the major 4 networks of CBS, ABC and Fox this season with a 5.0 season rating. NBC occupies a total of 1 spot of the top 20 primetime shows this week compared to CBS’s 12, ABC’s 3, and Fox’s 4.

That 1 show being Deal or No Deal. When your network’s most popular show consists of people screaming “Deal” or “No Deal” at briefcases propped up by women bused in from the local Hooters, a feat a chimp can be trained to do using conditioning, there’s no wonder they would continue to think Notre Dame is quality television.

Do remember this is the same network involved with controversial Don Imus scandal, the same network that broadcasted the video (despite a common sense of moral decency that should have compelled the network to keep the video off the air) sent by the Virginia Tech shooter and the very same NBC that initially refused to broadcast an advertising spot thanking the troops for their sacrifice. Their broadcasting track record just keeps getting better.

You would think a network sitting last among its peers would actually want better shows and programming. Their contract extension with Notre Dame clearly suggests otherwise. Maybe like Notre Dame, they too are in a ‘rebuilding’ year.

Am I bitter about this new 5 year extension between these two ailing entities desperate for a defibrillator? You bet I am. I am bitter that I have to watch the BCS reserve a spot for an Irish team that has not won a bowl game in 9 straight tries. (A sign of being awarded bowl games that are undeserved? Probably.) I am sick of having to hear about Charlie Weis and his genius coaching when he hasn’t beaten anyone beyond those Notre Dame was expected to.

Ken Schanzer you have been warned. This boycott can be extended to NBC’s sponsors. Do you think Herpecin-L can pay you for advertising spots if I stop ordering my weekly pallets? A storm is brewing and its coming for you.

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