NCAA Endzone

Continuing a tradition that began last year, the Mississippi State Bulldogs will kick off the 2007 football season on Thursday night with an ESPN televised game against the LSU Tigers on Aug. 30, the Southeastern Conference confirmed.

Mississippi State opened at home on Thursday night last season against South Carolina, a game the Gamecocks won, 15-0.

“Opening the season against LSU on national television provides terrific exposure for our university and our football program,” MSU coach Sylvester Croom said in a statement released by the school. “The best thing about the move is that it keeps our players focused throughout the spring and summer on LSU.”

The change, which came at the initiation of ESPN, is the product of months of work between MSU, LSU, Auburn and Tulane.

Mississippi State’s new schedule has the Bulldogs playing at Tulane on Sept. 8 and at Auburn on Sept. 15, according to www.clarionledger.com.

A university release said the school’s football schedule is still not complete and that changes are expected.

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Despite the potential risks, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis decided to have gastric bypass surgery because he was afraid he would one day “drop dead” if he didn’t lose weight.

Weis, who suffered life-threatening complications and nearly died after the June 2002 surgery, testified Wednesday in his medical malpractice case against two surgeons that he has struggled with his weight all his life.

“I’ve probably been on every diet known to mankind,” he said in response to questions from his lawyer, Michael Mone.

Weis, whose father died of a heart attack at 56, said he worried he wouldn’t be able to see his two children grow up or reach his goal of becoming a head coach.

Weis claims in his suit that Massachusetts General Hospital physicians Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin acted negligently by failing to recognize life-threatening internal bleeding and infection two days after the surgery.

Defense lawyers have said the doctors cared for Weis properly and that he experienced one of the known complications of the surgery.

Weis spent more than a month in the hospital after the surgery, lost feeling in his feet, and has had mobility problems since the surgery. He still needs a golf cart to get around practice at Notre Dame, and standing for up to five hours straight during games causes him severe foot pain.

Weis, the former offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, decided to have the surgery shortly after the Patriots’ February 2002 Super Bowl victory over the St. Louis Rams.

William J. Dailey Jr., a lawyer for the doctors, suggested under cross examination of Weis that the surgery was successful because it helped Weis achieve his stated goals: He lost nearly 90 pounds and landed his dream job at Notre Dame.

Weis said he was so secretive about his decision to have the surgery that he didn’t tell his wife until about two weeks before the operation. The only member of the Patriots he confided in besides the team doctor was quarterback Tom Brady.

Weis is seeking unspecified damages.

Mississippi State, LSU, Charlie Weis