I thought Friday night would be the low point of my sports weekend, as I witnessed Mark Mulder continue his second half implosion, forcing the A’s to win Saturday and Sunday in order to make the playoffs. Notre Dame also had an opportunity to prove to the nation that the BYU debacle was a fluke. So much for that. Crunch time turned into chump time. ND couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities, and Purdue scored at will in the second half, dropping the Irish to 3-2, and the bottom of “others receiving votes.” After watching the ND disaster, Odie and I failed to find a bar in San Francisco that would show the critical A’s game. The solemn faces on the BART told us all we needed to know, as the bullpen blew a solid performance by Barry Zito, and ensuring that I won’t attend a post-season game for yet another year. My sports sanity now lies in the hands of Cal football (ESPN #7, at USC Oct. 11) and the Twins (AL Central champs, ALDS starts at NY Oct. 5).