The sunlight plays upon my window pane
I wake up to a world that's still the same
My father said to be strong
That a good man could never do wrong
In a dream I had last night in America...
Dateline: Flint Lake, IN
Being able to sing really well would be among the few fantasies that Jerrence could actually share outside of the client-privileged confidentiality afforded to one's therapist and legal counsel...
...and one could do a lot worse than being blessed with a voice like Los Lobos' David Hidalgo. (For those interested in such things, if you ever get a chance to see them play, do so. A Ravinia evening with them, Los Lonely Boys and Alejandro Escoveda was one of the highlights of my trips to that venue. (Thank you, Rayhead.)
Listening to their songs' stories, one can't help to be cognizant that they've grown up in a country very different than what I experienced. Being poor and hispanic in East L.A., you're not writing a lot of love songs.
No way!
Way!
Allow me to summarize a few high points:
1) A charismatic grifter who believed "the bigger the lie, the better" builds the Indiana Klan membership to the largest in the country.
* One man's opinion: Outside of Football Recruiting, one should never aspire to be known as "The Alabama of The North" in anything.
Yet, that is exactly how Indiana was known by 1925.
2) This book was not about the Klan membership in the South but rather the way it metastasized across mid-America... from Pennsylvania to Colorado (and actually the west coast), embedding itself in every single level of government (incl. Congress and White House sympathizers) -- driven by a core belief in eugenics yet packaged as a "return to American values" -- gee, where have I heard that before -- grounded in hate and violence toward Blacks, Jews, Catholics and virtually all immigrants, especially those swarthy southern Europeans.
Net, if you were a Corrigan in Illinois or a Castellini in southern Ohio, you were probably super nervous if you received an invitation for a 'business casual' party in some remote rural section of your town.
Bad idea, Mr. Grand Dragon.
Led by ND Four Horsemen QB Harry Stuhldreher, the student body's subsequent Klan whupping was probably not the first example of 'f*ck around and find out' involving Notre Dame but it may be one of the most important.
So. As we enter Football Season 2025, the takeaway is this: don't underestimate the Irish, lest you risk getting your ass, bigoted or otherwise, handed to you.
Quote of the Month
"One of us!
One of us!
One of us!"
...hasn't thought, "Bitch got what was coming to her."
That final, chilling mantra also strikes me as the perfect coda for any ND recruiting pitch.
If I was ND's Recruiting Coordinator (and we're all be thankful I'm not), I'd be showing this movie to those 5-star recruits on their Official Visits and with that "one of us" chorus now indelibly seared into their heads as the lights of the viewing room go up, saying...
"Choose hard!"
"Ready to sign up?!"
"WHO'S WITH ME?!"
Okay, perhaps not.
Word of the Month
The music was, by and lrge, outstanding -- created by rockers who still had an undeniable passion for their craft despite being well north of their 50th year.
It was just that the optics of the performances were a little... risible.
There was a base player who looked like a Poor Man's Meat Loaf.
The lead guitarist, rocking inappropriately long hair and the obligatory tattoo sleeves -- was juxtaposed against his band mates, with their receding hairlines, all who could've passed for your tax accountant or a team member in your bowling league.
And finally, the front men -- with their spastic Joe Cocker-meets-Mick Jagger preening that 40 years ago was merely idiosyncratic -- now looking a little, well, sad.
And yes, one of the groups was on their 4th drummer -- disappointing only in n that none of the prior percussionists had been lost due to spontaneous combustion.
Who knew that back in 1984, "This Is Spinal Tap" actually was been a documentary?!
So remember when those doors swing open
And all the drinks are passed around
When half the party moves into the bathroom,
Hold me down...
Back to the music... there was one song that evoked a time long ago, post-college, when a few of the Grace Hall crowd migrated to a house in Glenview, IL.
I think I attended only one party there. Oh boy. That was sufficient.
July Thoughts
And I know that it's just my obsession
Makes me scurry like a rat in a maze
And I know it's becoming an addiction
I need it now, right now, right now...
All I want is everything.
Okay, coach Freeman, expectations have officially been raised.
---------------
Suffice to say while some off-seasons are more eventful than others, this one feels like a pretty interesting one -- both personally and on a more macro front:
1. So unless you live under rock...
...you should be aware that Our Man Gruley has published yet another page turner -- a great beach read! -- and with a reference to perhaps the world's most dubious law firm.
Instead of wasting your time on meaningless blog drivel, run - don't walk - to pick this bad boy up.
All the cool kids are reading it.
2. Kay Corrigan turns 100 years young -- and is still claiming Chardonnay to be "The Elixir of Life."
I can't wait for her Wellness Exam next month when the doctor asks her about her wine consumption:
"Once a week, Kay?"
"No, once a day."
"Oh, okay..."
3. Defarge discovers Mahjong, and brags about now knowing more members at Sand Creek CC than Jerrence does in 11 years.
(Yes, but the club's ENTIRE bar staff knows me -- so who's the real winner?)
4. The Cubs might be... good?
5. The Tigers ARE good! And the Lions too.
What is going on in Detroit?!
 |
| Davis-Fitzgerald-Finley |
6. ND is recruiting like the Holtz-Cerrato days!
ND Recruiting is definitely on a heater. And one of the more fascinating sidebars is this: while ND gets regularly recognized as "Tight End U" and "O-line U", when are they goind to start being known as "NFL Alumni U"?
Just riffing top-of-mind (and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few)... you've got the sons of:
- Howard Cross
- Jerome Bettis (HOF)
- Bryant Young (HOF)
- Larry Fitzgerald (HOF)
- Plexico Burress
- Thomas Davis
- Ryan Clark
- Jermichael Finley
Just sayin'... what school has done more?
And it's telling that the fathers of these commitments aren't just NFL journeymen, they were extremely successful. Yet (from what I've read) all have embedded in their kids an understanding that football isn't forever despite that success.
Hmmm. Pretty cool. And isn't Jason Witten's son the #1 ranked 2027 LB in the country? Come on down!
 |
| Sign of the Apocalypse |
...which means The Bag Man's job security is still safe, he just wears a polo with a corporate logo on it.
Deloitte is supposed to play a key role in all of this by operating the "NIL Go" clearinghouse, a platform designed to review NIL deals for college athletes.
Good luck w that, Deloitte.
(Fun fact: Deloitte recently shared data that 70% of past NIL payments from boosters and collectives would have been denied under the current scrutiny.)
And now that POTUS has inserted himself, what possibly could go wrong?
Buddy's Buddy
There's a scene in "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" where after robbing a train, another train pulls up, doors open and out fly a bunch of lawmen on horseback -- Pinkerton operatives, it turns out -- and begin to chase our protagonists down.
Relentlessly.
Not knowing who they are, at one point Butch (or Sundance, I don't remember who) turns to the other and says, "Who are these guys?!"
The same could be said for our latest off-season, Buddy:
Carter Auman.
Who? Good question.
Strictly speaking, he's a 25 year old ND grad who's, historically, been laboring in the football office, seemingly doing admin stuff. Honestly, I have no idea what he actually did.
Not the point.
Yes, Mike Mickens was important to the DB's commitments. And Al Washington to the D-linemen. And Mike Denbrock / Mike Brown for the WR's. (And can give we coach Gino a little love for his recent QB commit?) But in virtually every case -- and we're talking ~12 different recruits -- all of them cited Carter as a primary driver for their feeling confident with choosing ND.
Dude!
Honorable Mention: Jerome Powell.
RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)
If one has read even a little bit about ND's off season, you'd be hard pressed to find a whole lot of things to be concerned about.
Yes, we'll have a new, inexperienced QB. The WR's, beyond Greathouse and Faison are relatively unproven insofar as those w. experience are transfers in a new system. And we've had to replace a DC that was arguably as good as anyone in the country last year and that side will have some significant D-line productivity to replace, but otherwise what?
So other than 'kids doing stupid kid stuff' (looking at you, Charles Jagusah), what is there to wonder about? For this blogger, one of the sneakier questions might be, what does Year 2 of the Denbrock offense look like -- at LSU he had Jayden Daniels running that offense. Now he's got two unproven QB's pulling the trigger...
-----------------------------------
Third-and-three … what’s the play call this year? In that same vein, what were some of the most predictable yet successful situational plays (ex: Riley Leonard zone read inside three yards) you remember from your time on the beat? — Jonathan G.
This is one of the biggest questions facing Mike Denbrock in training camp. And I’m not sure he has the answer quite yet. That’s fine, by the way. It’s still July.
My hunch is Notre Dame should be efficient in the short passing game in that kind of set, perhaps with CJ Carr in empty and Jeremiyah Love split out. In theory, that gives Carr a clean look at the field and puts Love into a mismatch with a linebacker or reserve defensive back. Eli Raridon would be a tough cover for any linebacker. Malachi Fields should give you a back shoulder/jump ball option if the matchup is right. There’s the threat of jet sweeps with Love or Jaden Greathouse. Basically, you’ve got a ton of options but need the quarterback to pick the right one.
Does any of that feel as reliable as running Leonard on third-and-short? Absolutely not. He was close to automatic. And if he got stopped, he had at least turned 3rd-and-3 into 4th-and-1. Just run Leonard again and move the chains.
Leonard finished last season with 30 third- or fourth-down conversions with his legs. Jaden Greathouse was the only other player on the team to hit double figures with 13 (six of those came against Penn State and Ohio State).
Source: The Athletic
July 25, 2025
Cocktail of the Month
Ah, Summertime. For those of us who don't live in FL, TX or (southern) CA, this period we northerners call 'Summer' represents a meaningful transition period between winter hibernation and hurricane football season... where one can invest a material amount of time getting outdoors and doing all sorts of fun stuff, like golf and hiking and boating...
...and cocktailing.
And what screams "Yippee, it's Summer!" more than the classic martini?
And what screams "Beam me up, Scotty!" more than 007's preferred high octane, gin+vodka variation, the Vesper...
Ian Fleming's
Vesper Martini
1908-1964
He really only commits one faux pas: ordering his martinis shaken, not stirred. Shaking the martini upsets the aromatic quality of the liquor -- studies have even shown that agitating the delicate spirits might result in the significant loss of gin's prized botanical flavor.
Besides, shaking welcomes the addition of ice chips into the drink, needlessly complicating the smooth and clean sip of a proper martini.
Fleming created the Vesper for his protagonist. Like 007 himself, this martini variation is strong, timeless, creative and classic. If, like, Bond, you have important business to conduct after hours, limit yourself to one Vesper (YEAH, RIGHT) and make it count: "I never have more than one to be blarge and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, especially when they taste bad."
"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet...
Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a
measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add
a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"
Casino Royale, 1953
3 oz. gin (Gordon's Dry)
1 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc
Lemon peel for garnishing
In a large mixing glass filled with ice, combine gin, vodka and Lillet. Stir until sufficiently chilled. Strain into a deep champagne goblet. Garnish with the lemon peel.
Source: How To Drink Like A Writer
Writing by Margaret Kaplan
Schedule 2025
The upcoming 2025 schedule draweth ever nigh...
August
31 @Miami Anyone have the poor judgement courage to go get abused at this game?
September
13 Texas A&M First Stayer tailgate of the '25 season!
20 Purdue Corrigan brother reunion!
27 @Arkansas Soooiiieeee!
October
4 Boise St.
11 NC State
18 USC "Lincoln, We Hardly Knew Ye" (wussy)
November
1 @BC
9 Navy
16 @Pitt
23 Syracuse
29 @Stanford
December
19-20 PLAYOFF GAME!
Wager 2025
We don't know where we're going
But the season's right for knowing
I want you to join together with the band
 |
| Anyone seen my contact lenses? |
Larry Corrigan always gravitated to my friends who he could tell had a little mischief in them, fairly suspicious of anyone too 'Eddie Haskell-esque' -- no doubt the result of a misspent youth in Ottawa, IL pool halls...
For example, he'd say, fondly, "That Mark Ungashick, he's quite a character!"
That's one way of describing him, dad.
So this year's Wager template involves Jerrence's All-Time Favorite Characters from Cinema: some good, some bad, always interesting.
Wins | ND Equivalence | Domer |
12  The Joker | "Do I really look like a guy with a plan?" ----- Ledger's Joker is mercurial, charismatic and a complete psychopath. Utterly unforgettable. Just as a Notre Dame undefeated, on-their-way-to-a-national championship-season would be. | |
11  Otto | "Don't call me stupid!" ----- Ex-CIA operative Otto lives at the intersection of dangerous and moronic. An 'Otto season' for ND would be a rollercoaster -- a lot of fun with youth at some key positions, and likely more than it's fair share of 'that wasn't very clever' moments. | |
10  | "That's a bingo!" ----- Jew hunter Landa -- equal parts chillingly pathological and pragmatic, this character would probably represent a 10-win regular season that might make you sick to your stomach but ultimately pretty satisfied. | Jerrence |
9  RP McMurphy | "I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science." ----- What's the residual emotion from Cuckoo's Nest? Sadness. RP, a guy who sees things clearly but can't get out of his own way. When it doesn't end well, one is left thinking what could've been. Like a 9-win season.
| |
8  | "I don't know who I am. Or where I'm going. None of it." ------ An apt summary of an 8-win ND season. A lot of difficult questions ultimately unanswered. Still, the Bourne trilogy rocks and JB is The Man. | |
7  | "I'm thinking I'm back..." ----- For many, ND winning only 7 games would be akin to someone shooting their dog -- and requiring appropriate payback. And like with John Wick, rationale requiring very few words of explanation. | |
6  | "Are you not entertained!" ------Probably not, if ND only won six games... but that's not the point here: it probably says a lot about me that the final ranked character is the most moral, selfless one of the bunch. | |
Life Sports Imitating Art.
 |
Dance with Death, by Hieronymus Hess, 1841, |
Schadenfreude of the Week.
As you, dear reader, are no doubt aware, we're digging deep this time of year to find outcomes that both disappoint (the victim) while making Jerrence's heart swell with the belief of karmic retribution.
Plus I'm trying to become a better person, an admittedly task of Sisyphean proportions (that Defarge would bet the house against), so we're swimming upstream attitudinally...
Still, never say 'never.'
Penn State. While no games have actually been played since January, it's hard not to see the Nittany Lions as having taken a huge 'L' in June recruiting... the metaphorical equivalent of Marcus Freeman stuffing James Franklin in a locker (ah, high school, the good ole days)...
Beyond ND taking 3-4 (I lost count) of PSU's priorirty recruits in a three day period, there was also the case of 4-star QB Peyton Falzone, a Pennsylvania kid who has worked with Penn State staff multiple times and has visited then a total of 14 times... he flipped his pledge to the Auburn Tigers after being a lifelong Nittany Lions fan and 6th ranked athlete in the state.
Bummer.
PS And thank you, coach Franklin, for doubling down this week at the Big 10's media day, in reiterating your belief that 'everyone should be in a conference.'
Hmmm, here's a thought: spend a little more time on trying to win a game against a ranked team and less time on shifting conference alignments.
Terry's Tools.
 |
| The few, the proud... |
Unlike Life within the philospher Forrest Gump's metaphor, Tools are not like a box of chocolates.
99 out of 100 times you know exactly what you're gonna get when dealing with these clowns.
Very few surprises.
Just crushing disappointment with a modicum of bewilderment that led to these people turning out as dysfunctional as they are.
-------------------------------------------------
1) Charles Jagusah. File this under "This is why we can't have nice things."
While still recognizing that, especially in football, injuries happen... and at the risk of losing my woke liberal card... I'm not hugging young Charles and saying, "Hey, we all make mistakes when we're young..."
F*ck that. I'm upset.
Driving a UTV with the boys isn't a hanging offense. Driving it recklessly enough to flip it and fracture your humerus (kinda important for an O-lineman) is.
What a colossal dumb ass thing to do.
And after missing almost all of last year with an injury, I'm not in an especially empathetic -- or forgiving -- mood. You're surely making serious NIL money, Charles, ostensibly to be a stud-caliber starter on a team with legitimate national championship aspirations and their two toughest games in September -- and you're screwing around?
To quote the philosopher Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does."
Oh and I never liked playing against your high school even 50 years ago.
 |
| "Andy, you got some esplainin' to do!" |
2) Kiss Cam couple. I first realized the world was too damn small back in 1998 when I got off a plane in Shanghai -- my first trip there -- and ran, almost immediately, into a close Chicago friend, Sue Wellington.
Subsequently, such international 'crossing of paths' like that occurred more than once to both Defarge and myself, leading to the running joke that neither of us could ever have an affair --- anywhere -- as we'd inevitably run into somebody who knew us.
And that was before the ubiquity of cell phone cameras that now guarantees there's no such thing as anyone having a private moment.
One might've thought that any 21st century sentient being would therefore be cognizant of that reality, especially at, say, a Coldplay concert.
And yet, apparently that insight is still not in the ken of some CEO's and SVP's of HR.
But even by that standard, going full Keith Moon on your Oakmont CC locker at this year's U.S. Open... well, that's... raising the bar.
Turns out Oakmont leadership was not amused -- barring Clark from the property after he damaged its 121-year-old locker room upon missing the cut last month.
Two words for ya, Wyndham: anger management. Seek help.
Oh, and very nice turnaround performance at last week's at British Open.
No doubt, Wyndham, your good behavior was spurred on, at least in part, by the knowledge of just how unforgiving -- even cruel -- the UK press can be about those individuals who they perceive to be transgressors.
Especially when it comes to their beloved golf.
While not alone in his condemnation of this strategy, he has been relentless in criticizing ND's QB coach for waiting so long to hand out any scholarship offers to the Class of '27 kids -- and then only two.
Well, one of those two, Teddy Jarrard, looking like he could end up being ranked as highly as his class's #2 ranked QB, just committed to ND. Over the in-state Georgia program and Ohio State, among others.
This surely won't shut Mikey up -- one should prepare for a slew of Deuce Knight references and 'why don't we have a fallback QB recruited' -- over the next 18 months -- but for the time being, his silence is bliss.
5) Big 10 Media week -- "Murders Row."
A. Tony Pettiti. The Big Ten commissioner who wants four automatic qualifiers for his conference, setting the stage for what he seems to think would be riveting play-in games for a couple of his conference's 6-3 teams.
One can already see the networks salivating over those match ups.
The Athletics' Stewart Mandel put it best:
He wants Playoff berths determined by conference standings, like they are in the NFL. Unlike the NFL, the conference standings in college football would only encompass 2/3 or 3/4 of a team’s season, which renders a week 1 Ohio State-Texas showdown comparable to a Colts - Bengals preseason game.
Mostly he wants those 4 guaranteed berths, so that the Big Ten can stage its play-in weekend before the Playoff: #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5. So if you’re 6th-place Iowa, you can lose to Iowa St., Ohio St. and two 5-7 teams and you’re still in the CFP race into December.
Like a 7-9 NFC East team playing for a wild-card berth.
B. Nico Iamaleava, the QB who left Tennessee for UCLA after holding out for more NIL money (whereby the school cut him loose): "I don't speak on money matters. I'm just here for ball and school."
Yeah, right.
C. Lincoln Riley. This week's winner of Jerrence's "Talking out of both sides of my mouth award" goes to coach Riley -- for opining that he'd like to preserve the ND-USC rivalry ("It's one of the reasons I cam to USC")...
...but not at the expense of jeopardizing SC having the easiest path to the CFB playoffs (see point 5A).
So, we'll put you down on the record as a hard 'no' for the rivalry extension then, eh coach?
6) Because It's Florida...
Name of the Week
Young.Good looking.
Personable.
Talented.
Danish.
 |
| Not to be confused w his twin brother Nicolai... |
Like Rasmus Højgaard, the 24 yr old who is presently ranked 76th in the world, a recent Top 20 finisher in The British Open and a likely European Ryder Cup team member for September's match.
Go Raz, go!
Trivia!
A) Gimme Shelter
B) Paint It Black
C) Sympathy For The Devil
D) Under My Thumb
------
Final Thoughts
I look at this Larsen comic and often think, "I could totally see some of my classmates doing this..."
