When Paul Mainieri accepted the job as baseball coach at LSU earlier this week, thus leaving Notre Dame after 12 years, he said he did it for the challenge that the new job offered.

In many respects, I made a similar decision when I decided to join IrishIllustrated.com of the Rivals.com network after nearly 25 years at Blue & Gold Illustrated.

I'm excited about the opportunity to be a part of the IrishIllustrated.com family, which, in my case, is truly an accurate phrase. It's been more than a year since I worked with my old partners in this business—Jack Freeman and Pete Sampson—and now we're teaming up once again.

Simply put, I will play to my strengths. I've spent the last 25 years assessing and analyzing Notre Dame football, probing coaches and players for the answers to the questions that pertain to the Fighting Irish. You will hear my name and my voice in Charlie Weis' press conferences because I am the curious sort. I want to know why he makes the decisions he makes. It is my nature to be the aggressor when it comes to interviewing coaches and athletes, and that will continue for IrishIllustrated.com.

Because of my background in Notre Dame football, some of my work will be put in context with the history of the Fighting Irish. For example, when I study tape of a recruit, you might read comparisons to former Irish players. Why? Because my background in Notre Dame football goes back to the mid-1960s and because Fighting Irish fans like yourselves want a perspective that can be put in comparable terms. So if I say that a quarterback prospect's footwork reminds me of Kevin McDougal's and his release point is comparable to Jarious Jackson's, you'll have an image in your memory bank to make a comparison.

I have no agendas, other than to provide you insight into Notre Dame football and the people who comprise it. I want Notre Dame to win, but that's never stopped me from telling the truth the way I see it. If I criticize Charlie Weis, it won't be because he "yelled at Prister that one time and Prister's trying to get back at him." I will offer criticism if I disagree with one of his decisions, regardless of how well or how poorly he treats me. That is my job.

But you know, I've got to tell you, I didn't disagree with a whole lot of his decisions last year. I found Weis to be an exceptional, intelligent football coach with a wonderful way about him when it comes to his dealings with the media. It's easy as a sportswriter to provide insight when the subject of most of your stories is insightful himself. Weis not only discusses Notre Dame football with the media; he explains it. Thanks to Charlie Weis, it was a good year to write a book about Notre Dame football. (More on that later.)

And the best is yet to come. While many want to debate that Weis hasn't proven anything yet because, after all, Tyrone Willingham won 10 games his year, anyone who observed both regimes up close would know that the two situations are completely different. Weis understands Notre Dame as well as any coach who has been here since Knute Rockne set the ground rules. The 2005 season was no mirage. Notre Dame is back and here to stay under Charlie Weis.

I look forward to returning to the message board scene, but I must admit, I'll be dipping a big toe in before jumping into the pool. I want to talk Notre Dame football with people. I want to discuss football (and sports in general) at a high level. I want to share my experiences of covering Notre Dame football for the last 25 years.

Additionally, I will sometimes compare things that occur in Notre Dame football to some of my own experiences as a former college baseball player with the Irish and as a high school baseball coach at my alma mater, Mishawaka (Ind.) Marian High School. I will spend countless hours studying tape of Irish recruits and provide my assessment, good and bad.

I don't want to debate what my credentials are for saying that a running back is a step slow or doesn't have the necessary tools to be a major college back. I'm not saying that I'm always right (I thought Luke Petitgout would be a bust); I'm saying that I will offer my professional opinion. If you disagree, I'd love to hear why instead of "Prister, you're an idiot…" I may be wrong, but I'm not an idiot.

If I write it, that's my opinion. If you disagree, let's talk about it. It's only sports. It's not like it's something really important like one's faith or family.

A critique of a player, coach or school is not personal. I don't "hate" another school…not even Southern California, Michigan or Penn State. I don't hate other players or coaches, so I will not engage in discussions of that nature.

I'm ready to discuss Notre Dame football, and I hope my contributions to IrishIllustrated.com of Rivals.com add to your enjoyment of the 2006 Notre Dame football season. I've attended and reported on a lot of Notre Dame football games, 241 in a row, as a matter of fact, beginning with Lou Holtz's first in 1986. That doesn't make all of my opinions right. But it does give me a unique perspective that I hope to share and discuss with you in the coming months.

Has there ever been a more exciting time leading up to the start of a Notre Dame football season than the present time? The journey is about to begin again. Let's go on it together and have some fun.