Bury the hatchet job: I'm here to praise Navy and classy Charlie

First, Weis gave his mourning running back, Robert Hughes -- a deep reserve, it should be noted -- a crack at the game's first touchdown. On second-and-goal from the 3, Hughes got his only carry of the day and powered in for a touchdown. The ball was hurried into the locker room. Hughes walked back to the sideline where he was mobbed by teammates. Fabulous moment.

Second, in the immediate moments after the game ended and the Midshipmen were celebrating in a corner of the stadium with the 500 Navy students and band members who made the trip, Weis led his players to the rear of that celebration as a sign of respect for the service academy. The Irish stood silently until the Navy band finished its fight song, then turned and walked to the locker room. Another fabulous moment.

Most of the other moments belonged to Navy.

There was Shun White, the sprinter on the Navy track team, consistently beating the Irish defense to the corner. There was fullback Eric Kettani, a bruising junior who has NFL measurables if he's still able to play football after his armed service is finished, battering the heart of the Notre Dame defense.

There was spunky quarterback Kaipo-Noa Hiwahiwa Akahi Kaheaku-Enhada -- called Kaipo by the stadium announcer -- running the triple option with a magician's sleight-of-hand and a boxer's moxie. When the crowd of 80,795 got loud, Kaipo flapped his arms and urged them to get louder. Before one fourth-quarter drive, Kaipo was so fired up that he left his huddle and walked over to the Notre Dame defense, bobbing his head and slapping palms with Notre Dame defenders.

There was Navy safety Ram Vela atoning for a missed sack with 6½ minutes left -- a whiff that came on fourth down and probably would have sealed a 28-21 Navy win -- by literally flying over a Notre Dame blocker to sack Sharpley in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.

There was Navy kicker Joey Bullen atoning for a missed extra point and a missed field goal in regulation by drilling the 32-yarder in double overtime.

And there was the sight of Navy players collapsing all over the field after Notre Dame's final 2-point attempt fell short. That allowed the Navy sideline to rush the field for the second time, this time for good. Seconds earlier Navy's Blake Carter had knocked down Sharpley's 2-point conversion -- only to get whistled for the most bogus, home-cooked, crowd-intimidated pass interference call you could ever hope (not) to see. Given a second chance at tying the score at 46, Notre Dame's running play was stopped behind the line of scrimmage, and Navy defenders fell to their knees while their teammates came pouring off the sideline and onto the field.

At midfield, Navy's coach told Weis how impressed he was with some of Weis' gutsy calls on fourth down. Afterward, Paul Johnson told the media he was happy he'd "never have to answer another question again about the streak."

Questions could be worse. Police are still looking for Tony Hughes' murderer. And the U.S. government is still trying to find a way out of Iraq before Kettani, Kaipo and another wave of Navy graduates have to go there.