Other thoughts (in totally stream of conscious fashion):
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Lacrosse. There were reports of a classmate -- he might've even been a 801 St. Louis housemate -- who went mildly unhinged in the ND bookstore over the lack of Fencing merchandise.
And perhaps with some justification. We probably have grown blasè about that program's success - a perennial power spanning 40+ years, with double digit national championships.
And yet, it's hard not to gush over the lacrosse team's success -- even if one still wishes to consider them something of the 'flavor of the month.' Last year's championship was a tribute to focus, resilience and a team peaking at the right time. It's immeasurably harder when you're the sport's alpha with a target on your back from Day 1.
With the toughest schedule in country (won 12 games against teams that finished in the final IL.com top 20, played 13 of 17 games against top 20 opponents), to go 16-1, give every opponent their worst beating and the only team since stats have been kept (1996) to finish first in scoring offense and defense.
Best team of all time? One would certainly think they deserve to be in the conversation.
In any event, providing a really nice vibe heading into the Reunion weekend.
BTW, here's what you get when you watch a lacrosse game -- or frankly, any sport -- with me:
Don't those lacrosse helmets look a lot like the creature's skull from Ridley Scott's "Alien" franchise? Which begs the question -- did the native Indians really invent this sport? I think not.
Not even NBC gives you that kind of incisive, thought provoking commentary. (Though I'm pretty sure Al Brunett does -- which is why I like watching games with him.)
Pete Bevacqua. You had me at 'English major.'
So the new AD does a Q&A for our class and hits a total home run. There's always the danger of one reading too much into it when a new hire "wins the press conference" and then fails to deliver... but it's hard not to believe that the school nailed this hire, a guy uniquely suited for keeping ND competitive during a rapidly changing landscape where media dollars are driving seemingly everything.
Smart, personable and poised (witness his deft defusing of the transgender issue where the questioner had no real interest in an answer).
Now he has yet to face the inevitable grilling from Cincotta about recruiting missteps -- so there is at least one more box for him to tick before we fully anoint him. But damn, great impression so far.
Special shout out to Messrs. Flaherty & Castellini for arranging this - very special for our class to have that level of intimate contact with him.
Writer's Panel. First off, big thanks to several folks who made this happen and allowed me to participate: Barb (who thought up the idea), Jerry Perez (best bud and partner in moderating who developed the set up deck and helped craft the discussion guide) and the three participants (Jeni Joy Madden, Joe Carey and Our Man Gruley) - the fact is, that latter group didn't really know what they were walking into with two aspiring game show hosts firing any level of inane queries at them. True courage.
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Moderators track down famed reclusive author Thomas Pynchon. Have to settle for Gruley. |
And an equally heartfelt thanks to all who attended, especially those where the topic may not have been exactly in their wheelhouse. Speaking for Jerry and myself, we had a ton of fun. And in the spirit of 'no good deed goes unpunished', we're already anticipating a call back five years hence -- though we're not gonna come cheap -- and have already begun workshopping panel topics:
Engineering Major Panel -- "The Mystery of Fluids Mechanics -- Solids Tricky Friend"
- Drawing on the creme de la creme of our class's Engineering brainpower, we have them talk about their keys to success (e.g., counter intuitive study habits) while unlocking the secrets of higher level engineering performance.
- Target panelists: Ungashick, Lindon, Sullivan, Brunett, Marcel
Pre-Professional Major Panel -- "Light Bulbs, Gerbils and Other Unanticipated Extractions"
- Taking a walk down memory lane, we draw upon some of our class's most articulate medical professionals to engage, enchant and amuse us about their most interesting and (HIPAA compliant) cases.
- Target panelists: Drs. Spittler, Brooks, Mackrell and McGuire
- Tools Beer to be provided
Accounting Major Panel -- "The Audit: Necessary Due Diligence or Poor Man's Lobotomy?"
- Having the panelists regale us with anecdotes of their years as entry level Big 8 Firm auditors, we'll delve into their 'tricks of the trade' (like staying awake) and the hijinx they got into as they climb the professional ladder.
- Target panelists: Cincotta, Raymond, Wills, Scanlon
English Major Panel -- "How To Drink Like A Writer"
- Drawing on the rich historical spectrum, we compare and contrast the role of alcohol in driving some of history's great literature across a variety of cultures -- from the Irish (Joyce, Wilde) to the Russians (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky) to the Paris expats (Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald).
- Perez and I might be panelists for this one. Gruley definitely will be.
Speaking of writing, I offer two additional letters for your consideration -- both humorous (one more obvious that the other):
I. John Steinbeck writes to Marilyn Monroe. (Who knew Mr. Grapes of Wrath was this funny?)
II. The Klan writes to the President of Notre Dame. ND Magazine recently wrote an article about the 100 year anniversary of the time Notre Dame students taught the Klu Klux Klan the meaning of the expression 'fuck around in 1925 and find out'. And subsequently, a Klansman took umbrage at the discourteous reception they received upon descending upon South Bend:
Mike Somerville. Remember this name -- the stand up comic who entertained us at the Saturday night Class dinner. Wow, was he good. Bravo, Mr. Castellini for bringing him back (he was good five years ago but majorly better this time).
On occasions like that, the mind reels at what a strong marketer Castellini could've been. Who saw it coming? Not me - after all, this is the guy who decades ago told me he liked Marketing because you could use terms like "insertions" and not get called by HR.
But his understanding of what his target market - in this case, the Class of '79 - likes (wants? needs?) is very underrated.
This is the section where one is reminded how fortunate we were that camera phones weren't around in the late '70s...
Football. "But Jerrence, where's the football content? That's what we pay you the big bucks for..."
As policeman are fond of saying, "Move along - nothing to see here..." when it comes to ND football in the offseason, that's a good thing. An uneventful Spring is a happy Spring. We didn't even get the raft of expected 2nd wave transfer portal defections - what's up with that?!
Probably most notable was post-injury status of our presumptive starting QB, Riley Leonard. For those of you suffering from post-Sam Hartman unfulfilled expectations PTSD (hey, it's a real thing), I throw out this nugget: fully healthy, Leonard had his primary WR's* -- Thomas/ Greathouse / Mitchell / Colzie / Harrison / Beaux Collins (and CJ Carr) -- down to his home in Alabama for 'get on the same page' work. And FWIW, he apparently footed their bills w his NIL $.
Pretty impressive. And not because Hartman was a poor leader (he wasn't) but from the perspective of a senior transfer knowing he only has one year to make it happen and needs his WR group to do their part... it's grounds for optimism, especially when Game 1 in College Station might be the most important of the season.
*recall that Faison had a small lacrosse national championship-chasing conflict.
The theme for this week's Buddy award is toughness.
Grit. Indomitable will.
And an Irish two-fer: Midwest Matriarch Meets Long Island LAX God.
1) Kay Corrigan
2) Pat Kavanaugh
Sharing a birthday - May 25th - with Fr. Ted Hesburgh, mom turned 99 last month. Fairly unsteady on her feet, her hearing ain't great and her short-term memory even worse...
Still she just keeps going -- seemingly fueled by an innovative (and self-designed) Chardonnay & Salad diet.
As she is fond of telling her sons, "Getting old isn't for sissies."
Not when we look at you, mom. Now you just need to keep going through football season when your boys are back in town... and then, to your 100th birthday party next May. We're gonna party like it's 1925.
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Fear and loathing in Philadelphia |
On the other end of the age and athleticism spectrum, we've got Pat Kavanaugh. Go back a year ago to when he played national championship Semi-final and Final games on a hamstring constructed out of rubber bands (with also, as it turns out, a broken shoulder).
Damn.
Too tough.
This year, no such luck for ND's opponents. On a team loaded with talent virtually everywhere, he was the proverbial 'straw that stirs the drink', scoring when necessary and otherwise setting up others behind opponents' goal, looking like Wayne Gretzky passing to Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson.
Almost unfair.
Now a two time National Champion and the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner -- college lacrosse's equivalent of the Hesiman -- the irony is he may not even be the best player from Chaminade HS (hello, have you met Matt Lindon?) or even his family, but I'm pretty sure he does not give two f*cks about either.
RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)
Back in the day, when recruiting seemed a little more straightforward -- when 18 year olds actually had to have a passing understanding of the concept of a commitment -- Messrs. Castellini and Sullivan would crank out annual summary evaluations of the fruits of ND's labors in this area.
Both witty and insightful, often with a dizzying array of charts and graphs, it became something of an offseason highlight -- to be looked forward to, perhaps not on the level of the SI Swimsuit issue but as a healthy break for the word-heavy drivel this blogger cranked out.
Nowadays, recruiting reporting is its own cottage industry and it's almost impossible not to have some level of awareness for who's visiting where, the # of stars attached to their profile and the real-time prognostications of their ultimate landing spots.
Not that it even matters now, with NIL and unfettered transfer freedom. Signing Day has become so devalued with a recruit's ability to change his mind basically the next day. Tough to get too invested in a recruiting win when you know it's a one year 'lets see how this goes' arrangement.
Which is not to say that recruiting still isn't the lifeblood of any program - it's just a little trickier at ND, when one factors in evaluating talent and character...
Despite Marcus Freeman’s strong efforts, Notre Dame is not piling up any more five-star kids than they used to (but they do seem to be improving at the top-100 or top-200 level, along with blue-chip ratio). What specifically is different about the five-star recruits that makes them different than four-star recruits? Namely, what is different that leads to them not signing with Notre Dame? — David C.
There are plenty of reasons behind Notre Dame’s struggle to land five-star prospects, but the biggest issue may simply be scarcity.
During the past four recruiting cycles, the 247Sports Composite included 145 five-star prospects. Notre Dame signed one (Jaylen Sneed) and was seriously involved with a dozen more: Keon Keeley, Peyton Bowen, Justin Scott, Dante Moore, Nicholas Singleton, Sonny Styles, etc. That’s it. The Irish weren’t seriously involved with any of the 28 five-star prospects in the 247Sports Composite this past cycle.
If anything, people overstate how many five-star prospects are out there. Yes, people realize there are roughly 30 per class. But a big chunk of them are annually ticketed to Alabama, Georgia or Ohio State. Those three schools signed 55 (37.9 percent) of the five-star prospects in the past four cycles. Typically, prospects looking at the Tide, Bulldogs or Buckeyes aren’t looking for the same things the Irish push in recruiting. Then there’s the NIL-focused schools like Ole Miss, Colorado, Texas A&M, Oregon, Miami and Tennessee. That group signed 25 five-star prospects in the previous four cycles (17.2 percent of the total). Again, those schools recruit from a different starting point than Notre Dame. When the Irish get involved in a recruiting against those programs, Notre Dame knows the fight doesn’t have much to do with academics or player development.
Combined, those two groups of programs — the NFL factories plus the NIL schools — are removing more than half the five-star prospects from the field before Notre Dame can really get involved. That doesn’t even get to admissions or location, with the majority of five-star prospects choosing to either stay in-state or in-region. Again, that creates a problem for Notre Dame when Indiana produced one five-star prospect in the previous four cycles: receiver Mylan Graham, who signed with Ohio State and Notre Dame could not recruit.
During that same four-year window, Illinois produced three five-star prospects: Scott (Miami), Marquise Lightfoot (Miami) and Luther Burden III (Missouri). Only Scott was a serious recruit for the Irish before he committed to Ohio State and then flipped to Miami at the end. Michigan produced three five-star prospects: Moore (UCLA), Will Johnson (Michigan) and Damon Payne (Alabama). Moore was trending to Notre Dame until he wasn’t, then transferred to Oregon after his freshman year.
For the most part, five-star prospects are making football decisions when it comes to commitments. Notre Dame hasn’t produced first-round picks like some of the other schools in play. It hasn’t won games like those schools either. And while “Choose Hard” attracts plenty of talent, it also repels some, too. If you’re viewed as a future first-round pick (i.e. a three-and-out talent), the idea of coming to Notre Dame and grinding through three years in the classroom might not be the most appealing. For those prospects interested enough to take that on, Notre Dame has to land them. Or at least keep trying.
There will be more Michael Mayer, Kyle Hamilton, Michael Floyd and Jimmy Clausen types of prospects. There just are fewer out there than it may seem.
Source: The Athletic
June 7, 2024
Cocktail of the Month
Being a reunion-inspired blog, one can't help but be nostalgic about 1975-79 era ND sports... and associated cocktails.
Re the former, it was undeniably a Golden Age: a football national championship, a basketball Final Four, a great hockey team and of course, the start of a fencing dynasty.
Beyond tailgaters and keg-in-stadium capers, we had Senior Bar. And a staff tradition of ending the night with a gin gimlets. Perhaps more than one round. Which may have factored into my love of gin to this day -- and the issues I had riding my bicycle back to the off campus homestead and navigating that final sidewalk turn between the hedges.
And the 'Crash' nickname was born.
Raymond Chandler's Gimlet
There is no question that gimlets were Raymond Chandler's favorite drink. The gin cocktail took a star-making in Chandler's penultimate detective novel
The Long Goodbye, where it is mentioned
21 times throughout the pages. Introduced to the private investigator Philip Marlowe by Terry Lennox, the gimlet arrives with an air of authoritative specificity.
"A real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and nothing else," Lennox explains to Marlowe. "It beats martinis hollow."
To make the cocktail palatable for modern drinkers (while rumor has it Rose's Lime Juice used to be made with real sugar, today the concoction smacks of corn syrup), we've altered the ratio and introduced a bit of fresh lime. Hopefully Lennox will forgive the transgression -- or at least forget it by the time the bottle of Beefeater runs dry.
* 1/2 oz. Rose's Lime Juice
* 1/2 oz. lime juice, freshly squeezed
* Lime slice for garnishing
Serves 1.
Combine gin, Rose's Lime Juice, and fresh lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with the lime slice.
Source: How To Drink Like A Writer
Writing by Margaret Kaplan
Schedule 2024
Never too soon to start looking to next year...
August
31 @Texas A&M
September
7 Northern Illinois
14 @Purdue
21 Miami (OH) Alumni Hall gang reunion
28 Louisville
October
12 Stanford The Brothers Corrigan game
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
Also under consideration: renaming this contest The Annual Bob Jank Go Fund Me Drive, given the incidence of his winning this thing...
Wins |
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12
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11
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10
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9 |
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8
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7 |
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6
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5
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4
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Schadenfreude of the Week.
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