Notre Dame, NBC and the Breeder's Cup

My buddy Brian had an astute observation yesterday about how Notre Dame never seems to play the weekend of the Breeder's Cup. Its as if NBC sets their schedule. You just can't have a schedule confict with the Breeder's Cup

And don't think that the extension of Charlie Weis' contract doesn't also have to do with the upcoming renewal of the NBC / Notre Dame TV contract. Having Weis on board helps with the Notre Dame brand and it helps the Fighting Irish's leverage on getting another big-buck TV contract.

Sometimes it is all about the Benjamins.