Dame Coach Lou

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Interesting package Chuck Amato received in the mail recently: a bottle of NyQuil."A friend from North Carolina sent it, so I could sleep at night," the Florida State defensive line coach said.Thing is, Amato is sleeping well -- even though Michigan's offensive line averages 30 more pounds and is three inches taller than Florida State's starting defensive front."I don't have a problem falling asleep this week and my players don't," Amato said. "We might go up there and get killed.

An 0-7 start has prompted Navy coach George Chaump to make some changes. Not in personnel. Not in style of offense. But a change in the way his team approaches a football game.This week, going into what Chaump and his players are calling the "second season" of Navy football, the Midshipmen will undergo a change in preparation as they attempt to shake their season-long slump Saturday against visiting Tulane (2-6).During a team meeting on Monday -- coming off last week's 38-7 loss to Notre Dame -- Chaump and his staff came up with the following changes that are expected to carry through the rest of the season:* No Friday practices.

IRVING, Texas -- Welcome to Jerry's World, a three-ring circus where the Dallas Cowboys are supposed to be the main attraction but are often overshadowed by their flamboyant owner.After a turbulent season featuring drug suspensions, allegations womanizing, disappointing play on the field and owner Jerry Jones' legal battle with the NFL, the Cowboys open the playoffs today against the Minnesota Vikings at Texas Stadium.Jones hopes the players are as good as his lawyers, who recently won a legal victory over the NFL when the league settled its lawsuit over Jones' marketing deals in which he doesn't share the revenue with other teams.

He began the year rated the nation's No. 1 quarterback prospect in SuperPrep's preseason All-America report. And yesterday, against St. Mary's, McDonogh's Bobby Sabelhaus set a state record for career passing yardage.But Sabelhaus, 6 feet 6, 225 pounds, says he would trade some of the honors for an undefeated record, instead of the Eagles' present 6-2 mark.Against Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference foe St. Mary's, Sabelhaus went 14-for-18 for 215 yards, no interceptions and four touchdowns before leaving late in the third quarter of McDonogh's 35-14 win.He has 49 career touchdowns and 5,611 yards, surpassing by 134 yards the state record established by Al Neville of John Carroll in 1969.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- New site, same story. That's the worry facing Navy today when it meets Notre Dame in the Shamrock Classic.For all the hype surrounding the Fighting Irish's invasion of Ireland, the more compelling angle to this game is Navy's bid to end a 32-game losing streak against Notre Dame.Ever since Roger Staubach engineered a 1963 triumph over Notre Dame, the Midshipmen have been regularly beaten and battered by Notre Dame in stadiums across America.Maybe the change of scenery in Ireland will help.

Showtime is running the Julio Cesar Chavez-Hector Camacho fight, staged last Saturday on pay-per-view, tonight at 10 and Sunday at 5:05 p.m. A news conference touting the show was canceled yesterday because Macho became Missing.Despite the huge advantage Chavez built up on the scorecards, it's an interesting fight to watch. So is the prelim, in which champion Victor Cordoba soundly thrashes Michael Nunn, but Nunn gets the decision. Viva, Las Vegas!* The college football menu tomorrow is scrumptious what with Florida State-N.

PHILADELPHIA -- Only 30 minutes separated Notre Dame from another possible national championship bid, or losing to Navy in one of the greatest upsets in modern college football."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Yesterday's game against Navy was expected to be a mere break in Notre Dame's schedule, but the No. 2 Fighting Irish might have left Giants Stadium wondering whether they were really among the country's best teams.Notre Dame (7-1) scored often in yesterday's 52-31 win over Navy (3-5). And it looked impressive in erupting for 42 second-half points. But the Fighting Irish, possibly the new No. 1 after top-ranked Virginia's loss yesterday, had to survive a day when their defense was thoroughly confused by an offense that last week could muster just seven points in a loss to Division I-AA James Madison.

Navy's adjustment to the five-hour time difference in Dublin began last night when the Midshipmen flew to Ireland to face 19th-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday.How well the players adapt to the new schedule -- vis-a-vis the Irish team members, who left Tuesday -- might be an important factor in the outcome."The coaches have gotten us to stay away from caffeine and sugar," said Navy defensive tackle Chad Holzapfel. "We're going on a diet of chicken during lunch and carbohydrates at night. And we're not going to sleep Thursday during the day."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The New Year has an unfamiliar ring for Notre Dame.Sure, the Irish are in a major bowl, but only because of their drawing power in the stands and on TV. Instead of fighting for a national championship, they are unranked at 6-4-1 and still wobbly from their worst season since Lou Holtz began Notre Dame's rebuilding process back in 1986."