Week 7: Georgia On My Mind

Whoa-whoa, Georgia

Georgia

No peace, no peace I find

Just an old, sweet song...

Dateline:  Chicago, IL

Saturday night, Jerrence found himself in a Lincoln Avenue bar, waiting for good friend and confidant, Raymond Volk, Esq., to walk in.  They were attending a T-Bone Burnett show at The Old Town School of Folk Music and it was his favorite music venue in the city.

"...there are still those who only play for the love of the game." 

Moreover, there was a Half Acre IPA in front of him, the Notre Dame game was winding down on one TV, Michigan was showing themselves to be more inept on offense than even the September version of ND on another screen, and Alabama was sh*tting the bed against Tennessee on a third.

This is freaking GREAT, Jerrence thought. 

And all it once it reminded him how much he truly loved bars. And not your trendy, fern-laded establishments with $18 a pop craft cocktails.  No, his preference remained the ones with dark and warm wooded walls, weathered bartenders who've heard stories that would blow your hair back and fellow patrons engaging in personal, convivial banter.  Chicago was loaded with them.  And though he never really had a neighborhood pub that he frequented while living in London, Jerrence was experiencing the same vibe:  total comfort.

Unlike how Notre Dame football games made him feel this season.  He reflected that perhaps the source of this tranquility just might've been driven by not having watched the 2nd half of the Georgia Tech game -- he spent that time driving into the city -- and therefore avoiding the frustration / stress that the 1st half always seems to elicit.

Quote of the Week

Unlike most of ND Nation, Jerrence has never entirely hated Geno.  Clearly, he and Muffett have (had) a history where the Connecticut - Notre Dame rivalry got really heated, when both teams were pretty easily the two best in the country.  And yes, it was always delicious when Notre Dame beat those teams of his. UConn almost never lost and when they did, it was usually only to ND -- and one loved seeing them brought down a peg.

But I always respected how he seemingly never brooked any divas on a team that was invariably loaded with exceptional talent. And now, at age 70, clearly in the "I don't give two f*cks" stage of his career, he's just saying what everybody already is witnessing -- the death of the amateur athlete.

Good for you, Geno.  Even if you know you're not going to be around for any solution that ultimately gets enacted.  It's nice for someone to say this out loud.

Word of the Week

Okay Used in a sentence paragraph:  Jerrence turned on the TV with anticipation running high.   This game was very important for the Irish. Playing against a very credible opponent, far away from the (usually) friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium, Ga. Tech represented a true test.

So why did things immediately look... off?  Not right.  Uncomfortable even?

Oh yeah, it was those f*cking white pants.   

Jerrence had thought he'd been quite overt to the football gods (and therefore presumably, Notre Dame leadership -- didn't they have a direct link?) on this issue.  

Had his cri de coeur not been clear?!  Jerrence thought himself fairly progressive regarding the evolution of the sport...  was willing, historically, to give a philosophical 'hall pass' on the wacky Shamrock Series uni's, recognizing perhaps those fashion choices were more about throwing the school's young athletes a bone. You know, kids being kids.

But this was different. This was a straight up, mid-season game and Jerrence wondered, "Win or lose, why can't we at least LOOK like a Notre Dame team?"  

And he reeled at even the thought of what Stephanie Cummings would say.  The fashion statement condemnation would be brutal.

Game 7 Thoughts  

All you need is Love...

Ironic that one is feeling we are (I am) hitting the dog days of football analysis, where I begin to bore myself even as the midwestern autumn weather is at its most spectacular.  Should be inspirational and yet, not.

So take the following with that in mind...

1.  Jeremiyah.  Jadarian Price is really, really good and Aneyas Williams already is looking like a stud -- as is the other freshman RB, Kedren Young -- but not getting the ball in Love's hands 15-20x a game should be considered criminal malpractice.

2.  Riley.   This feels like a broken record but he is getting better as a passer.  Perhaps not on the deep throws 😱 but the short, 10-15 yard stuff looks pretty good.  I'm beggin you, coach Denbrock, be content with the 10 play, five minute TD drive philosophy.

3. LB's.   I love these kids, as you'll see in the Buddy's Buddy section but... one observation that probably has a lot of relevance for the upcoming game... is that offenses that use a lot of motion give them a lot of trouble.  

Which is to say, other than "I've likely seen it all" Jack Kiser, the Bowen - KVA - Ausberry triumvirate are super aggressive (and extremely quick) but perhaps prone to over-commitment?  

They're clearly getting better every week but the Navy 'O' is a unique animal... 

4.  Bad form?  Beauty -- or poor sportsmanship -- is often in the eye of the beholder.  And ND's running the fake punts and FG's has gotten advocates on both sides of the argument.  Personally speaking, when the score is only 24-7 and one's offense is as inconsistent as ND's, it didn't seem like an egregious attempt to run up the score.   

That said, one wonders why one chose to reveal the trick plays in a game that appeared largely in hand.  Might've that been held for a more opportune surprise later in the season?

5.  Freeman.  Life doesn't typically afford people a lot of second chances. For Freeman, with Notre Dame is on the verge of re- entering the national conversation after checking out against Northern Illinois, it would seem he's getting a great (and highly visible) shot at redemption. Is he (and the team) able to take care of business?  Say what you will about Navy's grittiness, attention to detail and assignment-sure discipline, there's still a wide disparity in talent.  ND simply shouldn't lose. 

In sum, if one wishes to responsibly manage one's blood pressure, Notre Dame's game management can be distilled down to the viewer embracing these expectations of how the team engages their opponents:

Let's just hope the Q1 somnambulance doesn't catch up with them.  Navy is probably not the team you want to fall behind by too much.

          

One final thought...

Indiana U.  Apropos of nothing, the Hoosiers might be the best football team in the state. 

Buddy's Buddy

It's probably worth getting back to recognizing the 'on the field' performances, yes?

And yet, there's always the possible establishment of a Buddy curse -- ala the Sports Illustrated cover which always seemed to portend someone going down after making it on their front page.

And with so many ND players showing great promise, trending upward, suggesting a high profile breakout -- who can forget Benjamin Morrison's 96 yd pick 6 vs. Clemson as a freshman?  

And while there hasn't been anything that dramatic by a newbie yet, one doesn't want to get too far over of their skis in anointing someone The Next Big Thing.

Ah, screw it.  

At least for this past game, let's hear it for the pride of NW Indiana, Drayk Bowen.  

MLB isn't necessarily a position where one can prove one's exceptionalism via stats alone but last Saturday in Atlanta, Bowen -- who's started every game this year as a true sophomore -- was a physical presence all over the field as he registered nine tackles in just 30 plays, while also breaking up a pass. 

It'll be interesting to see to what extent he's used vs. Navy, a team where experience having seen their offense before is a major asset.  

But the kid is showing himself to be really good. 

RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)

Believe it or not, when I mine (read steal from) Mr. Sampson's fortnightly Mailbag column, I attempt to identify questions that I perceive to make you, dear reader, smarter... more well informed... possibly even more popular at the cocktail parties you attend, offering you bon mots to toss around while swilling your favorite northern California varietal... pithy, esoteric insights that suggest an erudition most of you, candidly, do not actually possess.

But hey, dare to dream.

This week, I found most of the questions, well, stupid.  Simplistic.  Beneath my audience's acumen, such as it is.  Except for one that seems to be an ongoing thorn in the side of ND Nation.

Why does Notre Dame consistently fail to recruit a wide receiver coach who can recruit wide receivers? — Joseph L.

It’s too soon to render a verdict on Mike Brown considering he’s in his first cycle with Notre Dame, although the early returns deserve a side eye.

Notre Dame’s staff would have told you a year ago that this year’s wide receiver board was not promising in the numbers of fits, other than Derek Meadows. Notre Dame needed to close the deal on the elite prospect from Bishop Gorman, and it failed — for now — to finish that deal. Of course, you know who else wanted to land a 6-foot-5 wideout with good grades and unlimited upside? Everybody else in college football.

The problem for Notre Dame is less the recruiter and more the product. The Irish don’t have a compelling pitch for big-time wideouts, and that’s only become worse since Marcus Freeman became the head coach. Freeman talks about being an “offensive line and defensive line driven program” because that plays to his vision of Notre Dame football. It’s the most sustainable way for a school in the Midwest to win a lot of games. You’ve probably noticed that when Notre Dame is great, it’s winning on the lines of scrimmage first. What happens at wideout is a sidebar. The last time Notre Dame went to the CFP, its top receivers were Ben Skowronek and Javon McKinley.

Brown’s recruiting pitch for Notre Dame is coming to a school where freshman receivers rarely play (other than in desperation) and the leading wideout has 26 catches for 317 yards and one touchdown. Last year, the leading wideout (Rico Flores) had 27 catches for 392 yards and one touchdown. And in Freeman’s first year, that WR1 (Lorenzo Styles) stat line was 30 catches for 340 yards and one touchdown.

That adds up to 83 catches for 1,049 yards and three touchdowns in two-and-a-half seasons. Last year, Malik Nabers put up 89 catches for 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns at LSU … which is where Meadows committed.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock can build a pass-heavy offense that features its wide receivers. He did last year. But it hasn’t happened this year with Riley Leonard. That probably keeps Notre Dame in the portal to add wideout talent, which will be on Brown to figure out. This year’s portal imports have been middling as a group. Yes, high school recruiting has been a heavy lift 10 months into the job for Brown. But it’s too soon to make a final assessment.

Source: The Athletic

October 24, 2024

Cocktail of the Month

Let's keep this week's offering very straightforward.

ND played in Georgia.

Jerrence likes Literature.

Ergo, Georgia + Literature = ___.

Did I lose anyone?

Flannery O'Connor's Coca-Cola Plus

1925-1964

In her too-short 39 years on earth, Flannery O'Connor made an indelible mark on American literature.  

Though she published only two novels and 19 stories before she died from complications related to lupus, O'Connor is largely regarded as the master of the short story form; she cemented a memorable reputation as an enthusiastic proponent of Catholicism, the ironic voice of the rural South, and an eccentric, darkly comic figure who once gifted her mother a mule and was known to enjoy a Coca-Cola mixed with coffee.  

*  2 oz.  coffee, room temperature or cooler

*  1 1/2 oz. spiced rum

*  2 oz. Coca-Cola

*  lemon wedge for garnishing

-------------------

Combine coffee and rum in a collins glass.  Add ice.  Top with Coca-Cola and garnish with the lemon wedge.

Source:  How To Drink Like A Writer

Writing by Margaret Kaplan

Schedule 2024

August

31                @Texas A&M               W

September 

7                  Northern Illinois          L                                                    

14                @Purdue                       W                         

21                Miami (OH)                  W             

28                Louisville                      W

October  

                                                                                                     

12                Stanford                         W

19                @Georgia Tech             W    

26                Navy

November 

 9                Florida State                               Night game - accepting couch viewing bookings

16               Virginia     

23               @Army  (Yankee Stadium)       McSorley's anyone?                        

30              @USC                                     

December

20             1st round playoff game at ND Stadium -- see you there. 

Wager 2024

Seven down, five to go. 

The weather crashes down

What's lost cannot be found

The night is closing

But it's not too late...

Wins	Director - ND Equivalence	Domer
12 Christopher Nolan	The Nick Saban of the film world - Nolan is Mr. Swing For The Fences Big Idea Guy, even if every effort isn't always a home run. But they are undeniably ... epic. Just like a 12-0 season.	Kevin C,  Lini Matt L., Brian M. Jay, John L. Ray, Blair John P.
11 Martin McDonagh	Hello, he's Irish!   Solidly predictable for always being really, really good.  And as  his reputation has been burnished, the star talent in his cast has followed. Sound familiar?	Jerrence, Daryl Jim S, Tim C. Jerry C,  Mike C. Greg R., Bob S. George, Raz, Ted, Bob J. Peter, Tim S., Dave M
10 David Fincher	Pretty much a stud in both film and TV formats. Always interesting, albeit with palpably dark undertones... one is never sure how the story is going to end up.  Much like a 10 win season will feel like.	Pat B, Mike B. Bill, Jim B. Sloane, Alex Phillip, Randy Mike G., Jerry P Gutsch, Mark Jim T., Brian W
9 Yorgos Lanthimos	Do I always understand what's going on his films?  Nope. But the ride is pretty enjoyable even when you don't know where you're going or even how you got there. Ultimately, you might end up appreciating it more than you thought at the time.	Alvin, Garrett
8 Richard Linklater	Perhaps the product of recency bias - I quite liked 'Hit Man' - Linklater's films fall for this blogger  into the "nice-fun-I see an interesting insight" category.  They just don't feel especially memorable. Like we'd view an 8 win season.
7 Wes Anderson	When does quirky/idiosyncratic become tiresome? When you feel like you're watching - again - an inside joke that you're not included in. Anderson attracts an an all-star cast that no longer seems to add up to the sum of their parts. In a word, disappointing.
6 Lars Von Trier	Uncomfortable. Unpleasant.  Disturbing. Often off the rails, his films might be 'art' but it's tough to call it many people's definition of entertainment.

Schadenfreude of the Week.

I love it when someone... 

...Anyone 

In this case, the media... 

...does my job for me.  

------------------------------------

Okay, a couple comments...

1)  One journalist wrote that Illinois honored the 100th anniversary of Red Grange's six TD game vs. Michigan.  And the Wolverines reciprocated by showcasing a 1924 era passing attack.   😎

2) This is quickly becoming a nightmare first season for Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.  First, he lost to Vanderbilt.  Now he's on the wrong end of the Tide's earliest 2nd loss since Nick Saban's first season, in 2007.  

For those of us keeping score, that's 17 years.

Ouch.

Terry's Tools.

The few, the proud...

Not a great week for tool-worthy behavioral recognition.

But perhaps I wasn't paying attention.  Probably because I kept returning to the thought of wishing I could be there the next time Lini ordered an Arnold Palmer.

And envisioning that the server would be a woman -- who'd just smirk at him... with an "in your dreams" expression on her face.

Texas fans / Officiating / Texas Jumbotron .   Take your pick as who you want to call out as the biggest tools. (Option D, "All of the Above," is an acceptable answer.) 

A summary from last week's latest 'game of the year':

1.  Texas intercepts a Georgia pass.

2.  Texas gets called for PI, negating the INT.  

3.  Texas Stadium Jumbotron replays the turnover, clearly showing it was a bad call.

4.  Texas fans channel their Philadephian and start throwing stuff (mostly water bottles) on the field.

  * Eagles fans watcH the game and seeing not one projectile aimed at a ref, think, "Amateurs."

5.  Game gets stopped.  

6.  Lo and behold, the play gets reversed.

Postscript:  Not only does Texas still get waxed in the game, they get fined $250k for the unruliness.

Chicken-gate.    Rarely does one update this section but these are special circumstances -- recall last week's chicken bullying debacle? Well, Mean Girls, guess what...

You used to laugh about

How you used to dish it out

But hey, who's laughing now?

The sheriff is back in town.  And the new chick has some serious protection. 

And while you're at it, girls -- you've been here for, what, five months?  Time to start putting out.

Defarge.  Bodyguard AND therapist. 

Name of the Month

To be honest, I had to go on to the Rice University football website to make sure this athlete's name was really true.

Apparently, yes. 

Bravi to parents with a keen vocabulary-based sense of humor.  Or someone else down the line who saw the linguistic opportunity. (His full first name is, in fact, Mohammed.)

And FWIW, he's an All Conference academic kid -- at a school that takes it seriously (or at least, more seriously than most.) 

You go, Moh!

Moh Bility

Final Thought

Navy - color me nervous, that is, more nervous than this game usually makes me as, apparently, they've discover the forward pass.

Week 6: Baby's On Fire

The boys are back in town...

Dateline:  Davenport, IA

Visiting the matriarch with one's brothers, back in Davenport, IA -- once considered the Hub of the Midwest by, well, actually nobody -- is always a nostalgic experience that triggers a wide spectrum of emotions.

"Trigger" being the operative word.

On one hand, there's the sibling bond of shared past experiences -- some of which being less positive, if no less formative, than others.  (For those of you at the tailgate who were regaled with some of those stories, let me tell you that playing 'Rodeo Round Up' is far less enjoyable when one's role is that of the object to be brought down and roped.)

If only child therapy didn't have such a stigma in the 1960's.

But I digress.

Nostalgia.  That's the point here -- remembering happy times past.  Take for example Mom, her short-term memory pretty much gone yet still only too happy to revel in how she used to tie a clothes line to little Timmy when he played outside with his fellow toddler miscreants, as if he were a feral animal that one is trying to domesticate but just don't quite fully trust yet...

Cruel and inhuman, you cry?  Where was Child Protective Services, you ask!

First, this was the 1950's.  A different era.  (I'm pretty sure mom cocktailed through all her pregnancies.)

Second, mom grew up on a farm -- you did what you had to do to get the job done.  

And third, have you met Tim?

Back to nostalgia... one couldn't but help to recall similar warm emotions watching ND dismantle Stanford.  Wasn't that like it always used to be?  Wasn't that level of assured superiority a given, a part of our college tuition, baked in along with our student tickets?

Oh to return to those days.

Quote of the Week

"Well, let's not start sucking each other's dicks quite yet...."

The Wolf

     "Pulp Fiction"

I hate to be all Mr. Glass Half Empty but with the season halfway completed, it would seem safe to safe that this ND team has not yet earned our trust.  So while Saturday's effort was pretty impressive (save that first series on both sides of the ball) we know ND can play down to anybody.  

Which is to say, lose to anyone.  Thus, talk to me after the Ga. Tech - Navy - FSU stretch.  If we go 3-0... 

Until then, taking it one game at a time. 

Word of the Week.

Okay Used in a sentence paragraph: When Jerrence got home from the game, having bailed at the end of the 3rd quarter with a 42-7 Notre Dame lead and increasingly dark skies, portending a severe weather experience... 

... he had a chance to consider the roller coaster ride that was the first six games of ND's season:  exuberance coming out of the initial A&M game, immediately followed by the dystopian bitch slap of the NIU performance, then dominating Purdue but taking a while to get going against another MAC team... on and on.

Each week seemed to bring a completely different, and seemingly weirdly random variable -- Cracker Jack boxes had less surprises in them.

And yet, with the Bye week and (a possibly understandable) shaky 1st Quarter, the Stanford game felt like a fitting and hopefully) optimistic coda to the close of the season's first half.

Cause for optimism, no?

The question that rolled around in Jerrence's head was this:  was the Stanford performance a re-set to the post-A&M vibe like a cruel Groundhog's Day experience where one gets their hopes up, only to be crushed -- or a more legitimate, positive turning point?

If the team could stop resembling a M*A*S*H unit, Jerrence liked their chances for the latter. 

Game 6 Thoughts  

Looking for a certain ratio...

Someone must have left it underneath the carpet!

We are the 801... 

Much has been written, of late, about the relationship between Denbrock and Leonard.  

Was Leonard the QB that the former expected?   And (or) was Denbrock calling a game plan that the latter was never comfortable - or unable - executing.

Six games into the season, it looks like they're finally getting on the same page.  

Can I get a huzzah?!

Other blinding glimpses of the obvious...

1.  Slow starts .  The way game started was not fun. I was not sitting there thinking, gee isn't this great.  On 'O', dropped passes, critical penalties putting ND way behind the chains, shanked punt.  Ugh. On 'D', a half step behind on every play that first series.  Wake the f*ck up! 

Yes, they ultimately righted the ship but waiting until the 2nd quarter for the team to get it in gear does not feel like a recipe for success.  And it strikes me this is not a team built to come from behind.

For me, something to watch for in the 2nd half of the year.

2.  D-line shows up.   Better late than never, right?  And with the team's DE's dropping like flies, t couldn't at a better time.

It would appear Cross III is finally healthy.  (Not sure what Mills' excuse is (was).

Nonetheless, long may it last.  

And given Ga. Tech's commitment to running the ball, we're gonna need a second helping of this performance.

3. Tailgate.   We don't need no stinkin' Supreme Court Justices!  

We've got Clan Corrigan! 

As well as having Hudson, OH's favorite M.D., Bob Spittler! (One man's opinion: there ought be a TV show about him and his wacky family.  

I'm thinking "dramedy" -- during the daytime, Dr. Bob would solve serious cases enriching the lives of the common folk in his community (think Marcus Welby, M.D. Meets Dr. House except without the latter's wretched attitude and the Vicodin addiction). 

But at night he'd go home to a chaotic household involving a variety of unexpected quirky characters ("Bob, Corrigan just showed up at the front door, did you invite him?") and hijinx would invariably ensue as our protagonist sips his adult beverage while his superhuman wife makes everything right.

Probably an Apple+ vehicle.

And Jerry Perez, the Class of '79's true Renaissance Man:  marketer extraordinaire, raconteur (who else among us can say they elected to say 'no thanks' to Robert Downey, Jr.'s invitation to party back in his I'm Completely Off The Rails late 1980's days), hugely underrated screenwriter and master mixologist!  Peter may own the Bloody Mary territory but Jerry's got pretty much every other craft cocktail covered...

And of course, we had the required Dillon Tool representative, Tom Feifar! (I think there actually may be a rule that there should always be a Tool at every tailgate.  Which I happen to think -- and I can't believe I'm saying this -- is a wise, if counter intuitive, idea.)

4.  Coaching.  You might have noticed, as I did, that Jadarian Price started the game and was in for several plays before being spelled by Jaremyah Love. The latter clearly being the better RB.  

So why?  It would seem the result of good coaching.  Price had a bad fumble against Louisville and was immediately exiled to the bench. (For the record, not an uncommon move by a coaching staff.)

But in order to not let the kid go into the tank, attitudinally, for the season, they get him back on the horse immediately in the next game. We still believe in you, they seem to be saying.

And the faith gets repaid.  Well played, coaches McCullough and Freeman.

Next man up...

5.  "Ben, We Hardly Knedw Ye."  Well, that's not exactly true - we knew very well, and appreciated very much, Ben Morrison.  

His season ending hip injury (kinda odd we've heard exactly ZERO as to how / when it occurred) puts a major strain on the CB depth as well as the odds for competing against the other playoff teams, should ND make it that far.

But I continue to re-post the newbies that have shown they can MUST now play at this level:

                           
                            Freshmen                                                Sophomores

                            K.  Viliamu-Asa                                      Drayk Bowen

                            Bryce Young                                           Jaiden Ausberry

                            Leonard Moore                                      Adon Shuler

                            Anthonie Knapp                                    Jaden Greathouse

                            Aneyas Williams                                    Christian Grey    

                            Kennedy Urlacher                                 Jerimiyah Love

                            Loghan Thomas                                     Cooper Flanagan

                                                                                               

But there ain't a lot behind those guys.

6.  ROI.  Not to put too mercenary of a spin on it but with six games worth of 'data points' collected so far this season and the pervasive influence of money now in the college game -- hello, Death of the Amateur Athlete -- it's fair to speculate as to how ND is viewing their transfer portal investments...

They'd probably say, 'satisfactory' and that there's still a lot of season left to play (and they wouldn't be incorrect) but it seems reasonable to throw out a few mid-term grades:

-- R. Leonard            C        Below average passing, above average running.  Net, average.
-- B. Collins               B-      He was the only guy catching things in Sept., now less so.
-- K. Mitchell            C        Too generous?  But when your QB can't throw or find you...
-- J. Harrison            I        Wasn't he brought in for his KR expertise?
-- J. Clark                  A       By all accounts has far exceeded expectations. Hugely valuable.
-- R. Heard               C-       Don't know what was expected but so far, kind of a cypher.
-- RJ Oben                F        When you're about to get passed on the depth chart by a freshman... 

On balance, without knowing the $ amounts involved (presumably not obscene) the return so far is not terrible, but not a Scott Malpass-esque return either.   

But then again, I wonder how Ohio St. is feeling about their (reported) $10 - 20M transfer portal investment. 

Buddy's Buddy

Once again, there seemed to be any number of truly viable candidates for The Buddy -- and that's without even taking the actual football game into consideration (sorry, Riley, this would've been a week where you genuinely deserved consideration).

But no, this week's candidates are all non-football folks;

1)  Stayer tailgate leaders.  Recognizing this past week might be the last party in really nice weather - and it was spectacular - gotta give it up the hosts.  It's easy to take consistent excellence for granted -- still doesn't mean we shouldn't remind ourselves how special it is.  Thank you (as always), Jay / Bob / Jerry / Tim / Jim / Peter.

2) Kay Corrigan.  We put mom through the wringer this past week, making her stay up later than she'd wanted -- forgetting that, oh yeah you're 99 maybe you're not quite the party girl you used to be, but she hung tough and we were all the better for it.  Thanks, mom - hang in there, we've got that 100th b-day party in the works...

3) New Orleans Saints.  There's a team (and a city) that knows a little something about dealing with natural disasters that devastate entire communities... so it wasn't wholly surprising (yet still nonetheless impressive) when seeing the alert below.  

Bravo, NOLA.

But this week's winner here is one Jim Sullivan.  

Who, you ask?  Jim is class of '77 and a longtime Chicago friend of a few of us Quaker Oats alums from the 1980's (incl. Jerry Perez, Jim Thompson).

La tee dah, you say.  Well, handle this coleslaw:  he and I share a membership in a very select, quietly secretive society, albeit not as powerful as, say, The Freemasons or Skull & Bones:  

The One Kidney Club

The significant difference being that while one of us (Jerrence) was genetically drafted into the organization, Jim's membership was voluntary:  by donating a kidney to his Notre Dame roommate.

Think about that.  Your roommate, 40 years on, is now in tough shape -- needs a kidney.  Would you give him one of yours?  You probably think you might.  Jim actually did.  

And remember, it's not like giving blood - i.e., popping down to the medical center for 30 minutes and getting juice and a cookie afterwards.

Now tell me he's not a charter member of Buddy's Buddies.

Plus, he's also just a phenomenal guy.  That alone would get him short-listed.

RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)

This being the halfway point in the season for the Irish, it would seem that everyone is pausing, processing, taking stock of what they've witnessed and are offering thoughts as to what may lay in store for the rest of schedule.

Mr.  Sampson is no different.

On the advice of counsel, I'll limit my repurposing of Pete's thoughts to a single topic. All the while trying to remain balanced, attitudinally... neither yet a Pollyanna or a negative Nelly.   

There'll be time for that in November...

Five (necessary) second-half risers

1. Bryce Young: There’s a need at DE. There’s Pro Football Hall of Fame DNA waiting to fill it in the son of Bryant Young. “We knew he was a special player when he first got here, but he is developing faster, probably, than we all thought,” Freeman said. “Physically ahead of most people his age. He plays the game with an effort that is uncommon at times.” Notre Dame has tried to be measured with Young through six games. Now it’s time to go for it.

2. Leonard Moore: When Christian Gray missed the Louisville game with shoulder soreness, Moore got his first start and finished one off the defensive team lead in snaps played with 76. It’s hard to see him coming off the field from here with Morrison done. Collins compared Moore to former Clemson teammate Nate Wiggins, a 1st round pick of the Baltimore Ravens. The biggest reason Jaden Mickey is no longer on the roster might be how much the staff likes Moore.

3. Riley Leonard: One great game doesn’t mean Leonard will start ripping them off week after week. But, it at least means there’s more in the QB’s bag than what he showed in September. “I loved the confidence that he played with on Saturday,” Denbrock said. “I thought he let himself be the player that he can be. Hopefully, maybe, we’ve kind of broken through a little bit and we’re ready to bust this thing loose.”

4. Billy Schrauth: The junior might be the most physically gifted of Notre Dame’s O-linemen, even if he’s still developing. For the Irish to keep the run game going and win in short-yardage against better teams, it needs Schrauth back from the ankle sprain suffered at Purdue. After five weeks to heal, can Schrauth get back into the lineup? Per PFF, Schrauth is the best of Notre Dame’s opening day starters on the line.

5. Mitchell Evans: Evans has been a shell of himself in the pass game since coming back from the ACL injury suffered almost exactly a year ago. That’s not a criticism as much as an acknowledgement the TE just needed the full year to recover. If Evans can flash the ability he showed in dominating Duke and Ohio State last season, it could take the offense to another level.

Source: The Athletic

October 16, 2024

Cocktail of the Month

Hanging with your siblings, people you have known for almost 70 years, is rarely revelatory.  There's just too much shared history and if one sees / speaks with them even periodically, nothing much surprises. 

Though I'd imagine the Bundy, Dahmer, Kaczynski families would beg to differ. 

And yet, when my brother Mike made me a martini (with two blue cheese olives) last week, I thought, "Wow!  Surprise!  That bad boy sure is tasty!"  I also thought, does my liver really need yet another cocktail in its portfolio?
 

Why not!  Jerrence's journey to true Renaissance Manhood continues!

Editor's note:  the masses will know this author by his book, "Charlotte's Web" (I think it was on the Accounting dept.'s Arts & Letter required reading syllabus).  English majors will know him for the writing style guide noted below. 

E.B. White's Martini

1899-1985

Children's author, essayist and Pulitzer Prize winner E. B. White is still the authority on The Elements of Style.  

Though his take on a martini lacks the austerity and dry bite of the classic version, his idiosyncratic recipe is still smooth, unfussy and perfectly clear - just like the prose he championed.

*  2 oz.  gin

*  1 1/2 tspns. apricot brandy

*  1 1/2 tspns. dry vermouth 

*  1 1/2 tspns. lime juice

*  1 1/2 tspns. honey

-------------------

In a cocktail mixing glass, stir together apricot brandy, vermouth, lime juice and honey.  Add ice and gin, stir, and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Source:  How To Drink Like A Writer

Writing by Margaret Kaplan

Schedule 2024

August

31                @Texas A&M               W

September 

7                  Northern Illinois          L                                                    

14                @Purdue                       W                         

21                Miami (OH)                  W             

28                Louisville                      W

October  

                                                                                                     

12                Stanford                         W

19                @Georgia Tech                 

26                Navy

November 

 9                Florida State                               Night game - accepting couch viewing bookings

16               Virginia     

23               @Army  (Yankee Stadium)       McSorley's anyone?                        

30              @USC                                     

December

20             1st round playoff game at ND Stadium -- see you there. 

Wager 2024

Six down, six to go.  Anything remains possible.

Wins	Director - ND Equivalence	Domer
12 Christopher Nolan	The Nick Saban of the film world - Nolan is Mr. Swing For The Fences Big Idea Guy, even if every effort isn't always a home run. But they are undeniably ... epic. Just like a 12-0 season.	Kevin C,  Lini Matt L., Brian M. Jay, John L. Ray, Blair John P.
11 Martin McDonagh	Hello, he's Irish!   Solidly predictable for always being really, really good.  And as  his reputation has been burnished, the star talent in his cast has followed. Sound familiar?	Jerrence, Daryl Jim S, Tim C. Jerry C,  Mike C. Greg R., Bob S. George, Raz, Ted, Bob J. Peter, Tim S., Dave M
10 David Fincher	Pretty much a stud in both film and TV formats. Always interesting, albeit with palpably dark undertones... one is never sure how the story is going to end up.  Much like a 10 win season will feel like.	Pat B, Mike B. Bill, Jim B. Sloane, Alex Phillip, Randy Mike G., Jerry P Gutsch, Mark Jim T., Brian W
9 Yorgos Lanthimos	Do I always understand what's going on his films?  Nope. But the ride is pretty enjoyable even when you don't know where you're going or even how you got there. Ultimately, you might end up appreciating it more than you thought at the time.	Alvin, Garrett
8 Richard Linklater	Perhaps the product of recency bias - I quite liked 'Hit Man' - Linklater's films fall for this blogger  into the "nice-fun-I see an interesting insight" category.  They just don't feel especially memorable. Like we'd view an 8 win season.
7 Wes Anderson	When does quirky/idiosyncratic become tiresome? When you feel like you're watching - again - an inside joke that you're not included in. Anderson attracts an an all-star cast that no longer seems to add up to the sum of their parts. In a word, disappointing.
6 Lars Von Trier	Uncomfortable. Unpleasant.  Disturbing. Often off the rails, his films might be 'art' but it's tough to call it many people's definition of entertainment.

Schadenfreude of the Week.

With the benefit of the bye week and therefore, two weeks of games to mine for nominees, it's allowed one to ponder the question that's been on this blogger's mind for quite some time: could one actually overdose on pure, undiluted schadenfreude -- the kind of lab-created, military grade euphoria that should never make it to the street?

Answer:  it was close. But with a roll call that saw USC, Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Missouri all go down... whoa.  

Never was the expression, "Moderation in everything, including moderation" more relevant.  

------------------------------------

This fortnight's honor roll:

USC.  I swear, this never gets old.  

How ya like the Big 10 now, Lincoln?!

And I think we're now waaaaay past the point of an end-of-season victory over the Trojans doing much for ND's BCS playoff resume.

So what!  Fight Lose On, SC!

Fun fact:  Coach Riley has now lost his last five games against top 5 teams.  He is 0-3 against AP Top 10 opponents and 4-9 against ranked teams during his time at USC.    The Trojans last win over a Top 5 opponent came in the 2017 Rose Bowl against Penn St.

Ohio State.  Nice clock awareness, Will Howard.   And couldn't happen a nicer guy bigger douche than Ryan Day.  

BTW, you won't convince me that once Dan Lanning admitted to the press about his clever - and not without some risk - use of the 12th man penalty, that Day wasn't on the phone to the NCAA whining, "no fair!"

Michigan.   The 2024 Wolverines appear to be a thoroughly average team, trending toward an 8-4'ish record.  Amazing what happens to one's performance when you don't know what the opponents' plays are ahead of time. 

Their mediocrity doesn't make their loss to Washington any less sweet.  And the fact that their QB play makes ours look competent... 

Alabama.  A loss like this -- to Vandy! -- sending practically the entire U.S.A. into talking-in-tongues ecstacy... simply cannot go uncommented upon.   

And giving up 40 points to a team that loss to Georgia St.  -- not UGA -- Georgia St...  call it icing on the cake.

Conventional wisdom suggests that you never want to be the guy that follows a legend... and yet there's always someone who'll take it, no matter how consistent history is regarding the subsequent lack of success.  

Hubris or stupidity, coach DeBoer? 

And a quick look at your schedule over the next month:

• @ Tennessee
• Missouri
• @ LSU

Hmmm.  That sound you hear is the tightening of sphincters across the state.  

Roll Tide, indeed. 

J-E-T Jets!    I speak for all of Packer Nation who've seen the "Aaron Rodgers Plays GM" movie before, when I say with all sincerity:  Jets fans, hope for the best, expect something less.  

Stay classy, A-A-Ron

Terry's Tools.

The few, the proud...

It's always troubling when one finds insidious toolness under your own roof, or in this case, in one's own backyard. 

One asks oneself, what could I have done differently?

And when the answer doesn't provide any satisfaction, the recriminations begin, like "...you brought this Evil into our house!"

Not pretty.  No wonder Defarge buggered off to France last week.  

Mean Girls.   I hate bullies, whether they come in the form of the homo sapien species or gallus gallus domesticus...

Context:  For many years, Defarge has kept chickens and if one visited Maison du Jerrencé you could be treated to fresh eggs as a part of her breakfast casserole.  

Unfortunately, those chickens periodically get exposed to attack -- requiring the purchase of new, baby chicks, which take several months to grow and become egg layers (i.e., productive members of society).

As it turns out, a couple roosters ended up in her latest procurement -- such is the difficulty of determining gender when acquiring the newbies.

OK, here's the plan:  we peck the sh*t out of the new kid... 

Recently, Defarge traded out a rooster for a grown chicken (yes, there is a market for that) -- subsequently enabling us to learn the origin of the expression "pecking order."  

Which is to say, it seems chickens have a similar, almost Darwinian social hierarchy to that of middle school girls -- and are just as nasty.   

You don't want to be the new kid in school.

So the new chicken hides, perched up high in a variety of different places in the coop, still laying her egg almost daily -- while the three bitches downstairs run the lunch room like Italian mafia family heads.  

 And it's pissing me off.  As champion of the downtrodden, I wonder if the mafia dons will change their attitude when I nominate one of 'em for Chick-fil-a Employee of the Month.

If you catch my drift.

Could you please stop being so mean?

Kirby Smart.    This past weekend, Kirby Smart goes Modified Woody Hayes and shoves an opposing player (Mississsippi St.'s QB no less) and... gets a full pass by the media.  

He didn't stumble, mind you - the kid was fully right in front of him with coach Smart moving at the lad with some pace... 90% of the world's WR's put less aggression into their blocks than Kirby did.

Yet the reaction:  "No big deal.  Much ado about nothing. A nothing burger."

Huh.  We already know Kirby will never be leading any Driver's Ed classes but surely his sideline behavior should've elicited some kind of reaction -- a penalty?  At least a warning?

Given that the Bulldogs seem to be coming down, at least a little bit, off their elite ground, one wonders if the reaction would've been different if / when they're not winning so consistently...

NCAA.   Perhaps y'all saw this coming out of the Oregon - Ohio St game... 

Just not a big fan of any rule being amended mid-season, in large part surely because a blue blood program complains about it after they lose.  

"Mr. Baker, we have coach Day on Line 1 and he's whining more than usual..."

Coach Day, you got a free play out of it.  (Which you didn't take advantage of.)  Can we recognize that there was some risk for Oregon doing this?

Weenies to the very end.

USC.   I understand that you might be looking under all the school's couch cushions for money, given the number of law suits I think you're involved in (or have already lost)...  but, geez, have some pride.  

Name of the Month

As one might fairly surmise, I'm in love with words.  Sometimes it's an unhealthy, possibly toxic relationship -- my ability, nay proclivity, to abuse the English language is no doubt prosecutable somewhere.

England and Germany, for sure.  The Deep South, probably not. 

And that same fascination extends to names as well -- and while meaning no disrespect, I continually find myself wondering, "Where did that name come from?  How'd they come up with that?  That's an interesting, if unexpected, extension of that word..." 

So when I saw the name of this week's recipient, the name's etymology immediately came to mind.  

And realizing it could go in any number of directions, like was mom a Francophile?  Was dad really into condiments?

Dijon Lee

Editor's note:  see the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 stars under the kid's name?  Apparently he is no joke, football-wise, and we should probably expect to get used to seeing the lad's name a lot over the next few years.  

Pass the Grey Poupon and Roll Tide!

Final Thought

College football is a violent sport played by athletes who are still kids.  kids who have families, families that love their children.  

I wish more people would remember than before getting unhinged over a kid whiffing on a tackle, dropping a ball, missing a kick.