SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Charlie Weis wouldn’t blame Notre Dame for firing him.
“If they decide to make a change, I’d have to say I’d have a tough time arguing with that. I’d have a tough time arguing that because 6-5 is not good enough,” the Fighting Irish coach said Sunday. “Especially when you’ve lost five games by a touchdown or less and several three-point games that went right down to the wire.
“My intent is to be here. But if that were the rationale, I mean it would be tough for me to argue with that point.”
Athletic director Jack Swarbrick said again Sunday, after Weis spoke, that he will decide on Weis’ future after Saturday’s game at Stanford.
• The top seven teams in the BCS standings were unchanged from last week, with Florida, Alabama and Texas still in control of their destinies in the national championship race.
• Roger Hughes was fired as the coach at Princeton after 10 seasons (47-52).
• Youngstown State coach Jon Heacock (60-44) said he’s stepping down after nine seasons.
Westwood vaults to the top
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — England’s Lee Westwood became Europe’s No. 1 golfer after winning the Dubai World Championship by six strokes.
Westwood shot an 8-under 64 in the final round to finish at 23-under 265. He earned $1.25 million with the 31st victory of his career to overtake Rory McIlroy on the European Tour’s season-long money list.
• Kristy McPherson shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead at the rain-delayed LPGA Tour Championship in Richmond, Texas, before the second round was suspended because of darkness.
McPherson was 8-under, one shot ahead of Jiyai Shin — the South Korean star who had two holes to play. Lorena Ochoa, dueling with Shin for the player of the year title, was two strokes back in a tie for third with one hole to play.
Players will resume their second rounds this morning. The top 70 and ties will immediately begin the final rounds.
Footnotes.
Reigning four-man bobsled world champion Steven Holcomb won the four-man World Cup event in Lake Placid, N.Y., leading the U.S. to a 1-2 finish for the second straight day. Holcomb finished the two-run race in 1 minute, 49.60 seconds to beat teammate John Napier.
• Sven Kramer broke a track record in the 10,000 meters by 23.19 seconds at a World Cup speedskating meet in Hamar, Norway. Kristina Groves of Canada won the women’s 1,500.
• Former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher met with Mercedes bosses amid speculation the driver may come out of retirement to join the new F1 team.
• Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall will miss at least a month with a sprained ligament in his left knee.
• Rena Kanokogi, who helped bring women’s judo to the Olympic Games, died of leukemia at age 74.
• Jermain Defoe scored five goals to match a Premier League record in Tottenham’s 9-1 rout of Wigan.
