Sport: Lo, the Poor Irishmen

Professionally, the saddest men in sports are U.S. football coaches, and among them none can match Notre Dame's tearful Frank Leahy. Each fall, his gloomy Gaelic laments hang over South Bend, Ind. like a thick and salty fog. This year, Notre Dame, with 20 battle-tested regulars on hand, looked its strongest since 1949, was ranked as the nation's No. 1 team in preseason polls. But Leahy was miserable. "I'll be amazed," he moaned, "if we make a first down all season." Last week, at Norman, Okla., Notre Dame's rangy Irishmen (including such steady workers...