In a story officially confirming the renewal of the Army-Notre Dame series, Army athletic director Kevin Anderson took several shots at Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick for going public with his interest in a game between the two institutions to be played at the new Yankee Stadium.Earlier this week, Swarbrick told the New York Times that his university had engaged in exploratory talks with Yankee Stadium officials about playing a game/games at the new facility. Army, in particular, was mentioned as a potential opponent, an opponent very attractive to the Irish given their shared history at old Yankee Stadium.”It would be of great historical significance for us if it would be Army,” Swarbrick was quoted as saying in The Times on May 20. “We would love that. Some of the most significant games in the history of college football involve those two schools and Yankee Stadium.”That public airing of scheduling laundry is not sitting well with Anderson.”He hasn’t talked to me about it. I guess he’s negotiating in the newspaper,” Anderson told the Times Herald-Record.And Anderson wasn’t finished with his mini-diatribe against the Golden Domers.”It’s concerning that Notre Dame’s athletic director would put something like that out without talking to me first to see what’s on my schedule,” Anderson said.”It’s shocking for anybody to be talking about us playing in Yankee Stadium. The other thing is that it’s alarming to learn about this from anybody but the Yankees. If there was going to be a football game and Army was playing in it, wouldn’t a release be going out by the Yankees?”With Swarbrick unavailable for comment, senior associate athletic director John Heisler was charged with attempting to put the toothpaste back into the scheduling tube and defend his boss’ public comments.”What Jack said made people become aware Yankee Stadium is potentially interested in hosting football games,” Heisler said. “Given the history of Army and Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium, there was an interest.”All this is very preliminary. Who knows where it goes at this point? … This just came about. Army doesn’t have to be the team we play. We may play somebody else. I don’t think anybody has the faintest idea whether this comes to fruition. Notre Dame, Army, USC or Texas”.In any event, Anderson did confirm that that Army and Notre Dame had agreed to “several games” which will begin in 2010.Where the game marking the 100th anniversary of Notre Dame’s monumental win over Army in 1913 at the old Bronx ballpark — and if it will involve George Steinbrenner‘s new Palace of Bloated Greed — remains to be seen, however.
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