Irish fans fire back at team

If losing to an eight-loss team for the first time wasn't chilling enough for Notre Dame, the icing came moments before Syracuse upset the Fighting Irish 24-23 Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

Several Notre Dame players were pelted by snowballs flung by their own fans.

"To throw snowballs at their own team, I didn't think that was a smart thing to do. I guess (they thought) it was funny," Irish defensive tackle Pat Kuntz said after the game.

One Irish player was hit in the helmet, another on the cheek and a police officer scanning the crowd was nailed in the chest. An NBC cameraman was a frequent target, apparently for helping air the debacle on national television.

Irish coach Charlie Weis should review video of the throwers because he might find a quarterback prospect.

Once upon a time, Notre Dame's field was pelted with oranges to celebrate earning a spot in the Orange Bowl.

• UNEMPLOYED -- The nation's unemployment rate continues to escalate, and that doesn't count recently fired coaches.

At least Syracuse short-timer Greg Robinson made a glorious exit by leading the upset of Notre Dame, while Weis was seen getting tips from Robinson on how to write a résumé after the game.

Poor Chuck Long had less than 24 hours to bask in San Diego State's 42-21 upset of UNLV on Saturday night, which ended the bowl hopes of the Rebels and improved the Aztecs' record to 2-10.

The victory apparently wasn't enough to overcome Long's 9-27 record at the school. He was fired Sunday, along with Wyoming's Joe Glenn and Eastern Michigan's Jeff Genyk.

Pink slips weren't limited to college football; the NBA's Washington Wizards made coach Eddie Jordan and top assistant Mike O'Koren disappear.

And autoworkers think their jobs are tenuous.

• MONSTER DEAL -- Monster Worldwide Inc., the parent company for job-search site Monster.com, has signed a multiyear agreement to be the "official career services sponsor of the NFL."

As part of the deal, any coach with a losing record will receive Monster services at a discounted rate.

• RECYCLING -- Kansas State's decision to bring football coach Bill Snyder out of his two-year retirement does little to ease the job market. Snyder, 69, takes over for Ron Prince, who was fired with three games left but finished the season with a 5-7 record. Snyder's five-year contract is for $1.85 million annually. His record at the school from 1989 to 2005 was 136-68-1.

But the school will save on health insurance because at Snyder's age he can use Medicare.

• HIP HIP HOORAY -- Joe Paterno had a memorable weekend.

The 81-year-old Penn State football coach led his team to a 49-18 victory Saturday over Michigan State to give the Nittany Lions a share of the Big 10 championship.

The next day, he got a new hip.

You'd think the coaching legend would have settled for dinner instead of hip replacement surgery to celebrate the season.

He's expected to resume coaching next week.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL