Just The FAQs: The Case of the Sideline Slapping

The only thing more entertaining than watching Michigan State melt down during the Notre Dame game has been watching them melt down after it. First, MSU guards the 50 from a potential flag-planting. Then, a Detroit radio host delivers the mother of all incoherent, gibbering rants. Now: a second-quarter sideline melee has everyone's dander up.

What, exactly, happened?

Drew Stanton scrambled towards the sideline and was hit late by ND safety Chinedum Ndukwe. Because Michigan State is gangsta like that several players voyaged into the Notre Dame sideline, attempting to look tough and Shark-like. A Notre Dame assistant coach (or potentially a manager) grabbed MSU WR Matt Trannon's facemask, touching off a donnybrook rated at 0.05 Palmetto, the Clemson-South Carolina brawl being the gold standard in this category.

At some point after the game, Charlie Weis claimed he had been slapped by a Michigan State player. MSU, still trying to focus on anything but their galactic choke job, has been having a hissy fit ever since.

Can we see this thing for ourselves?

Sure! The best shot of the fracas from Weis' perspective comes right at the end of the clip.

The verdict?

While the clip is somewhat incomplete it contains most of the melee in question. Weis was nowhere near the action and had only two Spartan players anywhere near him, neither of whom so much as glanced at him, let alone deliver the thunderous slap he probably deserves. John L Smith said ""I'm not going to contend that anybody is lying, but you take a look at the film," when asked about it, but I'll say it: if Weis said he was slapped, he's lying. He's denied that, but that's just what a LYING LIAR would do, wouldn't he?

Also, you can clearly see that some lunatic ND assistant (not player, as the announcers incorrectly declare despite the player in question being a huge, black offensive lineman and the arm in question being a tiny, white one) grabbed Trannon's facemask and yanked it from behind, touching off the fracas (how many synonyms for "fight" can I pack into this post? Stay tuned!).

Still, none of this would have happened if Trannon didn't decide that he was going to be gangsta and stand in the middle of the ND sideline, acting tough. He wasn't there to help his quarterback out -- otherwise he would have helped him stand up -- he was there to instigate.

Most importantly: one team has moved on while the other seems totally focused on it instead of the rest of the season. As Kirk Herbstreit said, that's why you're Michigan State.