 |
| Little Lini shopping on his 1st Black Friday... |
For the record, most of you are Year of the Rooster born. (Which, if our 801 housemate, CJ Lick, were around, would almost certainly lead to any number of cock jokes.)
But I digress.
Suffice to say, this new direction lead to a heightened level of pre-game enlightenment driven by a new regime:
- strict Homeopathic Asian diet via Kung Pao Chicken, Moo Shu Pork, Pot Stickers and a steady stream of Tsing Tao.
- Study of Ninja Tactics, including but not limited to infiltration, camouflage and the strategic use of black pajamas as anytime fashion statement.- optimizing my Feng Shui through the strategic manipulation of the pillows to afford easier remote control management.
- Kabuki theatre insight as realized thru the Tao of Hello Kitty
- Lisa as geisha. Alas, this proved to be something of a tactical overreach... met with an emphatic, blunt rejection. (I'm paraphrasing here but it was something to the effect of "Are you high? Go away immediately...")
Followed by a swift exile to the back bedroom to watch the game.
Nonetheless, the combined result of all this was a powerful pre-game calm, zen-like state. Whatever was to happen was ordained by Fate.
Song of the Week
This win was a long time in coming. And with it came unbridled exultation and energy! Not very zen-like. To hell with the Gregorians - sissies! Get that sushi rubbish out of here - fetch me a slab of meat with my victory mead! Kabuki?! I'm ready for some slam dancing... And who better to feed that beast than one of the great, never-got-the-credit-they-deserve LA punkers, Mike Ness (grandson of famous Al Capone nemesis Elliott Ness*) and his band, Social Distortion. The angels indeed sang Saturday night... we've already spent our time in hell, now's our time. Time to vent!
At least for the next 45 days.
Sometimes I try so hard to understand the
things you do
Who am I to question you when it all comes
down
When the angels sing
Stand up strong, feel the pain
When the angels sing.
Love and death don't mean a thing
Til the angels sing
There's gotta be a heaven, ‘cause I've
already done my time in hell
And a little baby's born, when it all comes
down.
* Not even remotely true. I totally made this up.
Word of the Week
DENOUEMENT
> de·noue·ment noun \ˌ dā-ˌnü-ˈmäⁿ, dā-ˈnü-ˌ\
Hey guys - sound pretentious AND
condescending all at the same time
with this word… it’s French!
Perfect for use with
your USC colleagues!
|
: the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work
: the outcome of a complex sequence of events
Origin of DENOUEMENT
> French dénouement, literally, untying, from Middle French
desnouement, from desnouer to untie, from Old French desnoer, from des- de- +
noer to tie, from Latin nodare, from nodus knot — more at node
> First Known Use: 1705
Used in a sentence… Notre
Dame’s defeat of USC proved to be a fitting, and dramatic, regular season denouement
for a season that defied all expectations.
Random Observations Of The Game
* Nice intro. Especially liked the brief glimpse of the original green jersey game. And when we rolled out that giant trojan rabbit.
* USC Song girls looking... spectacular.
* Brent and Herbie on the call again. And knowing what I know now, somewhere some poor guy is being designated 'pardner' and has already taken his first step toward an ER visit for alcohol poisoning...
* Quick cut to Lane. Looking his typically affable self, he doesn't appear to be entirely aware of the circumstances he finds himself in. Hmmm.
1st Quarter
* Riddick for 12. Nice start.
* 75 yds later, most of it looking pretty easy. ND 3-0.
* USC 1st drive and... running really well. Until they stopped. How odd.
* Brent & Kirk don't seem to understand the 'lose your helmet, leave the game for a play' rule. They're babbling about Kelly managing his QB's and my mind begins to wander...
* 75 yds later, most of it looking pretty easy. ND 3-0.
* USC 1st drive and... running really well. Until they stopped. How odd.
* Brent & Kirk don't seem to understand the 'lose your helmet, leave the game for a play' rule. They're babbling about Kelly managing his QB's and my mind begins to wander...
 |
| When you hear Brent say, "Kirk, my man" you'll take out the Big Ten commissioner..." |
How easy it would be, one supposes...
...to turn the dulcet tones of Brent's voice
into a Manchurian Candidate-like trigger.
But I digress. Again.
* Theo scores! ND 10-0. For pretty conservative play calling, not bad.
* Wittek has quite an arm. And Lee is really fast.
* I'd be very bummed if I were Lane that the NFL's spot-of-foul is not the pass interference rule of law in college.
2nd Quarter
* Wittek-to-Woods, TD. Eek - kinda surgical. ND 10-7.
* Gotta say, GAIII does not look like the same KR this year.
* Screen pass! By ND! Wuh?!
* Another steady drive, another red zone flame out. ND, 13-7.
* Flash to Monte Kiffin. He looks asleep.
* Silas Redd, barely even touched. ND defense looking pretty ordinary.
* Is anyone else concerned that we're getting no pressure with our normal rush?
* One of our best plays all year - the opponent's botched snap - occurs and its ND 13-10.
* Lane just can't help himself - has gotta go deep again. INT, Russell. Nice coverage
* Brindza, FG! From 52 yds! ND, 16-10.
* Gotta say, GAIII does not look like the same KR this year.
* Screen pass! By ND! Wuh?!
* Another steady drive, another red zone flame out. ND, 13-7.
* Flash to Monte Kiffin. He looks asleep.
* Silas Redd, barely even touched. ND defense looking pretty ordinary.
* Is anyone else concerned that we're getting no pressure with our normal rush?
* One of our best plays all year - the opponent's botched snap - occurs and its ND 13-10.
* Lane just can't help himself - has gotta go deep again. INT, Russell. Nice coverage
* Brindza, FG! From 52 yds! ND, 16-10.
3rd Quarter
 |
| Brindza?! Son of beetch. Sheeet. |
* And... a Brindza pull. Almost predictable. Very disappointing.
* Offense seems to have lost it's mojo.
* USC, 3rd and 1. Louis!
* And... Davonte Neal with another savvy decision that costs us almost 20 yds.
* Much needed drive. ND 19-10. Leaving A LOT of points on the field.
* Despite the obvious tension, Brent's voice - what is he talking about?! - has me wandering to my personal construct of Dante's Inferno and the Nine Circles of Hell. Worlds, for me, of nothing but...
II. PEOPLE WHO BREAK INTO SONG
SPONTANEOUSLY IN PUBLIC
III. TWILIGHT FILMS
IV. BRENT MUSBERGER TELECASTS
V. REALITY TV*
VI. ANN ARBOR, POST-ND LOSS
VII. BRETT EASTON ELLIS BOOKS
VIII. DRIVERS WHO DON'T GRASP THAT THE
PASSING LANE IS FOR GOING FAST
IX. SKIP BAYLESS
*except Survivor which is totally awesome.
4th Quarter
* Lane calls a confidence building TO, no TD regardless. ND 19-13.
* We need a drive.
* GAIII! T-H-E-O! Inside the 10 - wow, that was fast...
* And... another Red Zone disappointment. Still, critical FG. ND 22-13.
* Marqise Lee! This is feeling like an awful 2005 deja vu...
* Brent finally gets one right: goal-line stand for the ages.
* Despite some odd (to me) final clock management, game over. Time now to watch all the ESPN post-game love*.
*Of course they love us, we're not a cash cow for them, we're a cash whale.
Summary Thoughts
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* Lane really is not very clever.
* Kelly plays to win, and with a defense that affords it, achieving victory in the most risk averse fashion possible.
* I just don't think that level of 'play it safe' is going to cut it on January 7th.
* As worried as I was upfront, Special Teams played really tough - especially punt/kick return coverage.
* It may be a small point but if we're not going to seriously attempt to return a punt, I'd put Goodman back there for the bowl game. Neal just scares me with his decision making.
* Everett's final regular season stats. Not 'Johnny Football' but then again, Texas A&M isn't 12-0.
* I just don't think that level of 'play it safe' is going to cut it on January 7th.
* As worried as I was upfront, Special Teams played really tough - especially punt/kick return coverage.
* It may be a small point but if we're not going to seriously attempt to return a punt, I'd put Goodman back there for the bowl game. Neal just scares me with his decision making.
* Everett's final regular season stats. Not 'Johnny Football' but then again, Texas A&M isn't 12-0.
Year I Passing % Yds. TD INT QBR
E. Golson 166 – 282 58.9 2135 11 5 131.8
J. Clausen 138 - 245 56.3 1254 7 6 103.9
B. Quinn 157 - 332 47.3 1831 9 15 93.5
R. Powlus 119 – 222 53.6 1729 19 9 139.2
* It kinda bugs me that Te'o is highly unlikely to win the Heisman - no one seems to remember the mediocre games Manziel put up against LSU and Florida - but on balance, I'd take the 'natty' over the Heisman...
* Georgia or Alabama - who do we want? Already I've heard it both ways: ya don't want to give Saban a month to prepare... Georgia's far more athletic on 'D', way better pass attack. So what. We'll play the hand that's dealt us, just like we have all year.
* Another fun fact: 33 out of 51 ND athletes likely to play on the 7th had SEC scholarship offers. Just sayin'...
* Another fun fact: 33 out of 51 ND athletes likely to play on the 7th had SEC scholarship offers. Just sayin'...
* Are we a team of destiny? Why not?
* We're one of the last two standing... why not us?
Auteur Terrence Malick's pastoral 1978 art film has much in common with the ND football program circa 2012: originally perceived as flawed, took a mind-numbingly long time to finish and ultimately celebrated as one of the most acclaimed films of its era.
Overwhelming. Just like our Irish.
I hope.
Buddy's buddy
 |
| Celebrity west coast presenters, Murphy & Seamus Flaherty |
But this week's shout out was almost predictable in the 1st Quarter:
For as much (deserved) publicity as Te'o gets, if you ever want to see an example of The Brian Kelly underrated 'Right Kind of Guy', Theo could be the poster boy.
 |
| Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Tool |
You might've thought, "Ter, this is the happiest college football occasion you've experienced in decades... surely you're filled with love and forgiveness for all of God's creatures, no matter how bereft of Ethics, Morals or Character they might have..."
And you would be wrong. Let's start with...
2. Urban Meyer. Things you learn with watching rivalry games: coach Meyer demonstrating a profound grasp of geography - he apparently refuses to say their name - referencing tOSU's arch-rivals only as 'that team up north'. What are we, 6 yrs. old and reading Harry Potter, Urban? They Who Must Not Be Named! Or is the multi-syllabic nature of the name 'Michigan' too daunting for your team?
3. Charlie Weis. Knowing of his prodigious ego, this season must've been terribly hard on Big Chuck. Watching all his recruits finally play to their potential and restore glory to his alma mater. The same institution who kicked him to the curb and ignored his schematic advantage. He could've taken the high road and just stayed away from the topic... but when the topic was teed up (by local Kansas reporters), he just couldn't resist taking the bait - saying, in effect, "I don't want to intrude on their big moment.." but by ensuring the press knew Manti & Co. were his recruits, kinda did.
Speaking of tools, past and present, it bears pointing out that both Colin Cowherd and Rick Reilly have been extraordinarily complimentary about the ND season of late. One of the things that many of you know about me - I loathe the Notre Dame 'everyone's a hater' persecution complex. And forever, I've been a big Reilly fan - he's a terrific writer. The fact is, he wrote a fairly lazy article back in August and now he's owning up that he was wrong. Have a listen - apparently he's even headed to campus tomorrow to fulfill his promise to polish Notre Dame helmets. (I sure hope that isn't a euphemism.)
Schadenfreude Winner.
Week 12 - old faves:
1. USC. It just never gets old. One can only hope you truly are stuck with Lane for two more years.
2. Florida. What, you thought you had to lose to receive this recognition? How about having your nose pressed up against the BCS championship window... but no one will let you in. Boo freakin' hoo.
3. FSU. You're kinda like my personal, east coast USC, imbued with this Florida-based sense of football entitlement without actually having done anything of genuine substance in this century. And like USC, you were considered a favorite preseason #1 prediction of the pundits. Oops.
 |
| "How ya like them apples, SEC?!" |
3. FSU. You're kinda like my personal, east coast USC, imbued with this Florida-based sense of football entitlement without actually having done anything of genuine substance in this century. And like USC, you were considered a favorite preseason #1 prediction of the pundits. Oops.
Recruiting Carousel
2012 Schedule.
Wager 2012.
Thank you, team, for putting more distance between you and any prognostications from this group.
Wouldn't want any 'woulda, coulda, shoulda' hand-ringing. No predictor's remorse. We were all wrong, happily so, by several standard deviations.
A check for $800 went out this morning to The Breezy Point Disaster Fund. Thanks again, JP, for the recommendation.
Final Thought - USC Post-game
Again, I don't think he's gonna win. But if ever there was a year to recognize athletic excellence and character...
 |
| "Have fun storming the West Coast, boys..." |
On the road again.
As soon as you finish winning your school's biggest game in 20+ yrs., what's your reward? You get to wake up the next day and start flying around the country, pandering to a bunch of self-absorbed 18 yr. olds who think they're the greatest thing since the forward pass.
The good news is that this time you don't have to answer a bunch of awkward questions about the status of the head coach... (The bad news is that's one less betting opportunity I get to organize.)
Even better, there's talk of USC's class imploding as even 18 yr. olds can recognize institutional idiocy if confronted with it on a grand enough stage.
Sadly, if ever there was a year to want to take 30 guys, this would be it - it looks like any number of elite athletes are gonna get turned away. 3-4 to watch, based on priority need and likelihood of committing, all (apparently) total studs:
As soon as you finish winning your school's biggest game in 20+ yrs., what's your reward? You get to wake up the next day and start flying around the country, pandering to a bunch of self-absorbed 18 yr. olds who think they're the greatest thing since the forward pass.
The good news is that this time you don't have to answer a bunch of awkward questions about the status of the head coach... (The bad news is that's one less betting opportunity I get to organize.)
Even better, there's talk of USC's class imploding as even 18 yr. olds can recognize institutional idiocy if confronted with it on a grand enough stage.
Sadly, if ever there was a year to want to take 30 guys, this would be it - it looks like any number of elite athletes are gonna get turned away. 3-4 to watch, based on priority need and likelihood of committing, all (apparently) total studs:
- Max Redfield, S, California
- Al-Quadin Muhammed, DE, New Jersey
- Tarean Folston, RB, Florida
- Greg Bryant, RB, Florida
For once, it should be a fun run up to Signing Day.
September
|
October
|
November
|
1 @Navy (Dublin) W
8 PURDUE W
15 @MSU W
22 MICHIGAN W
29
|
6 MIAMI (Soldier Field)* W
13 STANFORD W
20 BYU W
27 @Oklahoma W
|
3 PITT W
10 @BC W
17 WAKE FOREST W
24 @USC W
|
*Linipalooza III
Wager 2012.
Thank you, team, for putting more distance between you and any prognostications from this group.
Wouldn't want any 'woulda, coulda, shoulda' hand-ringing. No predictor's remorse. We were all wrong, happily so, by several standard deviations.A check for $800 went out this morning to The Breezy Point Disaster Fund. Thanks again, JP, for the recommendation.
Wins | ND-Scorsese connection | Contestant’s prediction | Pay-out | |
12
|  |
Hugo
Sweet, compelling mystery that shows the virtues of faith and resilience. Everyone walks away happy and pleasantly surprised. | ||
11
| ||||
10
|
$267
| |||
9
|  |
Goodfellas
Awesome film about fulfilling one’s potential and realizing your dreams… even if it is becoming a gangster. (Q. Does ending in Witness Protection qualify as a happy ending?) |
$160
| |
8
|
$115
| |||
7
|
$90
| |||
6
|  |
The Departed
A terrific story about two Boston Irishmen’s different destinies set from childhood. So very close to a happy ending. And yet, so far.
|
$160
| |
5
|
$267
| |||
4
| ||||
3
|  |
Taxi Driver
Mentally unstable Viet Nam vet w. wildly unrealistic delusions of heroism. He’s a total loser, albeit an incredibly dangerous one. Sadly everybody knows it (incl. Rick Reilly) but him.
| ||
2
| ||||
1
| ||||
0
|
I know most of you have seen one of these already but I came across an extended version. Pretty cool. A couple observations: a) love Kelly's direction at the end 'to act with class', b) never heard an Our Father said so emphatically and c) could someone please tell Joe Theismann his ND ship has sailed?
Final Thought - II Again, I don't think he's gonna win. But if ever there was a year to recognize athletic excellence and character...
This would be the year. And this would be the guy.
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