NBC Renews Notre Dame Contract For 8 More Years, Cancels 'Bionic Woman'

Despite sagging ratings, the departure of many beloved characters, and a marked downward trend in its plotlines over the last few seasons, NBC announced today that they are renewing the Notre Dame Show through 2015. I'm not going to sit here and defend the worthiness of last year's 3-9 Notre Dame team over television behemoths like "My Dad is Better than Your Dad", "Clash of the Choirs", and "Quarterlife" that didn't make it off the NBC chopping block, but hey, that's business for you.

A disturbing sidenote for Irish fans is that the contract stipulates that between 2011 and 2015, NBC will carry eight Irish home games a year. As a result, the Irish will have to play 7 games in Notre Dame stadium plus one more quote-unquote "neutral site game" a year against a body bag team willing to take a payout to play what financially works out to be a Notre Dame home game. Any hope that this cheeseball scheduling would disappear with the launching of Athletic Director Kevin White has been dashed, as it is now a contractual necessity.

At the end of the deal, Notre Dame will have been on NBC for 25 years, longer than "Seinfeld" and "Cheers" combined.

Bionic Woman'

LONDON - MAY 18: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) Actresses Mischa Barton (L) and Michelle Ryan arrive at the Britain's Best 2008 awards at London Television Studios on May 18, 2008 in London, England. The award ceremony honours outstanding Britons in categories including business, art, television, music, film, sport and fashion. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

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LONDON - MAY 18: (UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS OUT) Actress Michelle Ryan arrives at the Britain's Best 2008 awards at London Television Studios on May 18, 2008 in London, England. The award ceremony honours outstanding Britons in categories including business, art, television, music, film, sport and fashion. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

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LONDON - MAY 12: Actress Michelle Ryan attends the World Premiere of 'Sex And The City' held at the Odeon Leicester Square on May 12, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

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MILAN, ITALY - MAY 11: Actress Michelle Ryan attends the press conference for "Bionic Woman" during the 2008 Telefilm Festival at Cinema Apollo May 11, 2008 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

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