January: Daylight Fading

And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe

Maybe this year will be better than the last.

I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself

To hold on to these moments as they pass...

Dateline:  Flint Lake, IN

2025 won't go down in the Corrigan annals as a particularly banner year.

Sports-wise, between the Notre Dame playoff snub, the recent Packers' self-immolation (while having to now listen to Bears fans -- and their coaches -- talk trash after being Green Bay's' bitch for 30 years), and the Marcus Freeman 'interrogation' (his words) of the NFL world, it's been... not great.

And personally speaking, the year was not without a few significant stressors... custody battles, people getting sick, friends dying... 

Suffice to say, we're happy to be turning the page on a new year... Happy New Year everybody! 

Quote of the Week

"No class.  I graduated two years ago."

                          Carson Beck

When the Miami QB was asked if he attended class earlier in the week ahead of Monday night's title game, enhancing the basketball "One and done" model where you only have to stay eligible for your fall semester when you know you're not coming back.

Welcome to college football 2026 and winner of the Cardale Jones "We ain't come to play school" award.

So... unlimited player payrolls, unlimited free agency and apparently, no actual class requirements.  Remind me again, how is this college athletics? 

Word of the Week

Used in a sentence paragraph:  Jerrence has a friend named Tom. Tom hosts shawarma parties, likes old movies with underrated character actors like Ken Curtis, 1960's sitcoms that were genius in their silliness, solving the world's problems from a hot tubs and... Manhattans, usuallly made with rye.  Not necessarily in that order and often many of them at the same time.

As Fate would have it, so does Jerrence.

Which makes for a friendship that Jerrence's liver would probably describe as 'unhealthy,' if not outright toxic.

Does Jerrence listen to his liver? 

Not when Tom's talking. 

And while the two friends sit fairly far apart on a vast number of things politically, as both being students of human nature, dare we say agnotology (and who isn't, these days), they would surely agree the world is getting willfully dumber -- and nowhere is that more readily evident than in the sports world.  

Driven by increasingly dominant media platforms, objective reporting has given way to craven financially self-interested influence of the masses -- who act more like sheep than sentient beings. 

50+ years ago, Woodward and Bernstein coined the phrase, "follow the money."

More true today than ever.

January Thoughts

I'll speak to the masses through the media...

And if you got anything to say to me you can say it with cash.

Welcome to Transfer Portal Season.  Here's what I think I think about any number of topics...

Send in the lawyers... 

1.  Portal.  Until there's some profound changes in college football governance / rules, get used to the sport looking more and more like the NFL.  And specifically, professional free agency -- if NFL free agents only signed 1-year contracts and were therefore eligible to move every year.

Which most of them can't (or don't), making what's going on at the  college level particularly ridiculous.  

The other interesting parallel with the NFL is how often those big money free agent signees don't deliver great ROI. 

Will things change?  Everyone -- except probably the agents -- seems to agree it should... but recognizing how impotent the NCAA is (and who wants to get the government involved (no one)), one shouldn't hold their breath. 

Interesting fun fact:  Almost 4,000 kids at the FBS level declared for the portal this year. 

And over 1,600 are still looking for a landing spot.  Imagine that phone call home to the parents ("Hey mom, you know that scholarship I had, well I opted out and, um, funny thing...")

2. Sugar Daddies.  Oregon has had, basically forever, Phil Knight as their Godfather (look no farther than him for why Dan Lanning can say, credibly, "no, I'm good" whenever big job openings occur).  

It would seem Michigan has Larry Ellison -- or his UM alum wife (which amounts to the same) -- as their go-to NIL cash source.  

And now we see Indiana, perennial doormat of the Big 10, has Mark Cuban getting out the checkbook to keep the Fighting Cignetti's competitive.

Is having a billionaire in your pocket now table stakes to compete at the highest collegiate level?

One wonders, beyond the psychic income generated through good ole school spirit, what are these benefactors getting for their extraordinary largesse?  Unlimited access?  Some level of input into decision-making?

I guess if you can't buy an NFL franchise, you might as well try to acquire a college football program.

3. Transfers.   Who's your favorite portal transfer?  Not surprisingly, for me it's our new kicker, Spencer Porath.  

I would suspect that I was not alone after watching ND play throughout the month of November, knowing that if the team got anywhere inside the opponent's side of the field, it was ALWAYS 4-down territory, virtually all the way to the goal line.

I did not enjoy that feeling. 

So young Mr. Porath's 88% success rate (15-for-17, including 2-for-3 from 50+ yards) last year would seem to augur well for Freeman & Co. having a little more flexibility in their decision making.

They still may be super aggressive. Hopefully, it just won't be because they have no other choice. 

4.  Marcus.   It's difficult to underestimate coach Freeman's ability to present himself well -- witness his analyst gig on the national championship game set.   But his recent very public 'research' into NFL opportunities surely represents an 'end to the innocence' regarding any notion that he was going to be a lifer.

Historically, Notre Dame fans have had a problem accepting the possibility that the head football coach position is no longer a destination job, a final stop.  perish the thought that the position might be a stepping stone to something... better.  Eek!

It'll be fascinating to watch how the fanbase treats him if / when recruiting suffers when the mass media makes this an annual question.  

And God forbid, he doesn't solve his September bad loss problem.

Luckily, ND Nation has always been known for its short memory and patient, level-headed, thorough interrogation whenever adversity occurs.

Upon signing their DL portal transfer... 

5.  Coaches.  With success comes career opportunities, especially within the coaching profession.  And not just for the head coach.  There's this perception, rightly or wrongly, that coaches / GM's / Athletic Directors have an ongoing go-to list in their top righthand drawer for such occasions when that key employee says au revoir.   

Coupled on top of that is the fanbase perception that surely everyone wants to work at Notre Dame...

And yet, it never seems quite that straightforward. 

Which makes the recent assistant coach hires such a pleasant surprise.

Not only does new DL coach, Charlie Partridge, look like a grand slam hire -- he's got a pop culture sensibility too!  I love him!

One should also add that the fact that Mike Mickens is still around is incredible.   Arguably the best DB coach in the country hasn't been poached?!  Long may that last.

"Looks like a clean hit to me..."

6.  Officiating.  Let me see if I've got this straight:  Collectively, there is no clear or consistent interpretation of targeting, roughing the passer, offensive holding or defensive pass interference. 

The refs don't call the games the same in the 4th quarter as they do in the 1st.  

And their remuneration comes from the conferences -- who happen to be hugely rewarded for their teams advancing to the payoffs...

...but other than that, officiating in the college game is unassailable.

Got it.

6.  SEC!  SEC!  I know one is preaching to the choir but... can we please dispense with the myth of this conference's superiority?  And how a win -- OR A LOSS -- to another conference member is sooo much better than anyone else's?  Child, please...

Buddy's Buddy

Consider this month's Buddy award one big F*ck You to Idiot Notre Dame Nation, those clowns that at the slightest hint of program adversity or flaw, immediately launch into Chicken Little mode.

Or worse, get into 1920's lynch mob mode.

Look, while possibly otherwise sounding like a pollyanna, I don't think Notre Dame -- the school or the athletic department -- are without criticism.

I just choose to keep it (mostly) to myself.

And I sure as hell wait for things to play out before proffering any opinion.  And that's because, unlike most of the message board cretins, I KNOW I'm not qualified to think I know better.

So, Mike Martin, come on down.  Quoting Pete Sampson (whom the reader may or may not agree with):

"Turns out, Notre Dame knew what it was doing in the transfer portal despite some early false starts. It was interesting to hear Freeman describe GM Mike Martin as sort of the adult in the room, while the head coach seemed to get sucked into the transfer window panic of Notre Dame missing out on WR Nick Marsh (Indiana) and DL Mateen Ibirogba (Texas Tech). The Irish needed talent infusions at DT and WR. And they were failing to get them.

Until they weren’t.

ND finished with 8 portal pickups. It filled its needs. The group should produce at least 3 starters. Seven of the additions have multiple years of eligibility. 

A source close to Ohio St. said Notre Dame got into a bidding war for WR's Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter … and won them. Does that feel like something a disorganized operation could do?

“I’m an aggressive person. You know that in terms of I want to go a 1000 mph,” Freeman said. “Mike Martin continued to reiterate to me, he said, Marcus, let’s run our race, run our race. He has a lot of experience with free agency from his NFL time, and I trusted him. And again, I didn’t hear, I didn’t read all the noise, but I’m sure, listen, I don’t have to be on Twitter to know what the noise is.”

Notre Dame needed somebody to cut through all that noise. Usually, that’s Freeman. This time, it was probably Martin."

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

So we close the chapter on another football season -- consistently fun, frequently exciting while ultimately, crushingly disappointing.

How could one watch those final teams play and not think, "we could take either one of them."

Fortunately, its a new calendar year and time to look forward. The college football landscape continues to rapidly evolve, often without a lot of formal guardrails (or at least ones that anyone pays attention to) -- and with it Notre Dame's approach as well.

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

Sayeth Mr. Sampson...

The most interesting part of Notre Dame’s portal class is how the university (not the football program, necessarily) let it happen. Undergraduate transfers have been problematic since … forever. And suddenly they’re not, with Freeman lauding vice president for undergrad, exciting uate enrollment Micki Kidder on Wednesday for the assist.

In the past, the football program struggled to get answers on undergraduate transfers — combing transcripts, deciding what credits would count at Notre Dame, etc. 

Even Riley Leonard said much of his academic work at Duke didn’t follow him to Notre Dame because Notre Dame didn’t have his major. He was at Duke! 

When Brandon Joseph transferred from Northwestern four years ago, Notre Dame almost lost him because it couldn’t get a thumbs-up or thumbs-down fast enough.

If Notre Dame continued to operate that way in this condensed two-week portal window, it would have made Freeman’s job brutally difficult. Instead, Notre Dame is approving potential transfers on the front end, essentially getting football an answer before it absolutely needs one.

Like most success stories, this one has multiple authors. But the fact that it’s been written at all is a game-changer for the football program.

Source: The Athletic

January 16, 2026

Cocktail of the Week

Who here has ever read a Brontë novel? 

Okay, for the four of you who answered affirmatively, how many have actually visited the north of England and walked the Yorkshire moors? 

Not exactly a laugh a minute, is it? 

No it is not.  There's a reason Dracula landed in nearby Whitby -- a brooding gothic spectre of a man is going to blend right into those surroundings.   (I suspect, someday I'll have an argument with Defarge and she'll bring up that time I made her walk those hillsides, as if that's an argument winner.)

But I digress.  

If ever one wanted a vibe to describe ND Nation at the end of 2025, I'd suggest you head to York and go north until you've got that "Life is hard, then you die, then they throw dirt in your face, then the worms eat you -- be grateful it happens in that order..." feeling.

WUTHERING FLIGHTS

Wuthering Heights 

 by  Bronte (1847)

Is there a romance more classically gothic than Wuthering Heights?

In Emily Bronte's windswept novel, doomed lovers Heathcliff and Catherine rage against their circumstances, the moors, and each other.  Ghosts may or may not stalk the grounds, and the inhabitants -- and readers — are left haunted. 

Invite some friends to wallow and perhaps play the Kate Bush song of the same name.

 

Together, you can take some small but dark-and-stormy-inspired sweet shots in honor of this dark and stormy relationship.

           

Yield:  4 servings (4 shots)

--  4 oz. dark rum

-- 2 oz. ginger beer

-- 1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

-- 1 oz. simple syrup

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

1.  Gather the dark rum, ginger beer, lime juice, and simple syrup.

2.  In a cocktail shaker, combine the ingredients.

3.  Shake the ingredients in the shaker for about 10 to 15 seconds to ensure that they are thoroughly mixed and chilled.

4.  Strain the mixture into shot glasses.

Source:  The Turn of the Screwdriver

50 Dark & Twisted Literary Cocktails

By Iphigenia Jones

Schedule 2025

August

31                @Miami              L      

September 

                                                  

13                Texas A&M         L                      

20               Purdue                W                   Corrigan brother reunion!                      

27                @Arkansas        W                   Soooiiieeee! 

October  

                                                                                                     

4                 Boise St.              W                    Alumni Hall Reunion weekend, Union Pier MI        

11                NC State              W

18               USC                      W                     "Lincoln, We Hardly Knew Ye" (wussy)                    

November 

 1                 @BC                    W

 9                Navy                    W             

16               @Pitt                    W           

23               Syracuse             W                    Final 2025 regular season tailgate                       

29              @Stanford           W                                                            

December

19-20      PLAYOFF GAME?

Wager 2025

And the winner is... Mike Corrigan.  Congrats, bro! 

Fun fact(s):

• Mike was the only one to pick IU to win it all. 
• Mike is participating in Dry January, proving that while his skills of prognostication are strong, poor judgment in other areas might be a genetic Corrigan flaw.

And a couple observations on the championship game:

• At the end of the day, coaching won that game.  Cignetti is good at it, Cristobal is not.  Miami was (is) undeniably a more talented team.  And undeniably less disciplined.
• If the officials called even a fraction of the defensive penalties -- Miami's DB's could've been called for holding or PI on literally every single play -- not to mention a couple clear roughing the passer infractions... the game probably shouldn't have been that close.
• If Miami had scored -- and won -- how bad would their All America OT have felt for flinching on a 2nd and 1 play that would've ended the game?

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.	Kevin C. John P John L Brian M  JP  Bryan G   Raz  Dave M Tim B.
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.	Gutsch , Sloane Daryl Jim S.  Peter  Tim  Ted Bill Jim B Pat B George Alex,  Garrett Spit the Elder
10 Hans Landa	"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,  Mike C,   Tim C.   Mark U.  Jerry P.  Jerry C.   Mike B. Brian W.  Jim T., Feif Mike G, Bose Jerry W Lini, Randy   Greg Kyle W.
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.	Matt Alvin
8 Jason Bourne	"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 John Wick	"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 Maximus	"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.

Sports Imitating Art

Saint George and the Dragon, by Bernat Martorell, 1434-35

Schadenfreude of the Week

Schadenfreude, at this point, probably looks a lot like sour grapes to the untrained eye.

But who cares.  As the saying goes, the heart wants what it wants.

It also knows what it DOESN'T want.

And Jerrence's heart is saying, "Just say 'no' to anything SEC.  And anything Miami."

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

Your Halloween 2026 costume

1.  Miami.  I'd almost forgotten how much I dislike 'da U.'   Almost.  Then I watched the championship game and it all came flooding back.  The narcissistic South Beach attitude, the look-at-me postering on Every... Single... F*cking... Play -- as if they've never quite grasped the concept of simply Do Your Job. 

And then there's the entitled former players who populate the sidelines, acting like they're on the coaching staff...

Oh and lets get to play the championship game ON OUR HOME FIELD!  It reminds one of the adage, "Born on 3rd base and thinks he hit a triple."

Who didn't love the number of dumbass 3rd down penalties the Canes committed, sustaining IU drives that lead to scores?  

Yes, coach Cristobal, you are one impressive leader of men.

2.   Alabama.  Most of us have been making the argument, from Day 1, that ND's case wasn't necessarily against Miami (though that debate was more rational than the media would like one to believe) but rather against Alabama, now a 4 loss team.  

While it doesn't change anything, sometimes it's just nice to know the universe was correct, even if the CFP Committee and Greg Sankey try to suggest otherwise.

  

3.  Ohio State.   Let's face it, these guys are the new Evil Empire and anytime they get taken down a peg, while possibly introducing a new power player in the Big 10, it's a good day.

4.  SEC.   Hey Commissioner Sankey, your teams were 4-10 this past bowl season. Not sterling.  

And when playing teams outside your own conference, actually 2-7.  

Yeesh.  Yeah, that screams superiority.

"The third best conference in the country..."

Terry's Tools

With the way the Notre Dame season ended, it'd be fair to lash out in a justifiable 'I'm angry at the world' fashion.

But I'm not.  Case in point, Curt Cignetti.  While not in the 'fan zone,' I'm not a hater. What he's done in two years is undeniably impressive and while tragically born without a personality, I don't think he's evil.  

Surprised?  Defarge frequently tells me that I am full of surprises, although when she says it, it usually appears to be more condemnation than compliment.

This may be another of those cases.  Regardless, this week's honor roll asks the question, "Is there really any difference between a national tool and local tool?"

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

Which leads us to... 

1)  Chris Fleeger.  By now, all of you know the 'tempest in the teacup' regarding Marcus Freeman being accused of assaulting a high school wrestling coach.  This is why -- and I'm looking at you, Idiot ND Nation, one should take a breath and let things play out before you run with the first thing you read on-line.

Mr. Fleeger is, in fact, the aforementioned accuser.  "Baseless" would be one way to describe the battery claims against coach Freeman.  

Criminal, targeted fraud. From the police report:

...the matter was thereafter investigated by detectives with the Mishawaka Police Department, who obtained video from the gym and interviewed a number of witnesses, including the Complainant.

During the subsequent interview with detectives, the Complainant reiterated that Mr.

Freeman gave him a “two handed push” which caused him to stumble backwards. He

advised detectives that he immediately recognized Mr. Freeman. He also advised officers

that he believed Mr. Freeman was “rich” and that he planned to hire an attorney.

A review of the video evidence does not support those assertions.

2)  Austin Hough.  Perhaps only Bryan Gruley, he of the 40 year career as reporter / journalist, can fully appreciate what an irresponsibly douchey thing this guy did.  

Mr. Hough is the South Bend Tribune reporter who ran with the story of "Notre Dame football coach charged with assault of high school wrestling coach"... without, um, actually checking the actual facts.

But hey, it got A LOT of clicks and these days, isn't that all that really matters?

3)  MLB  / Los Angeles Dodgers.  One reason that Jerrence has been a fan of the NFL and the Green Bay Packers in particular -- beyond his deeply rooted character flaws -- is the league's historical TV revenue sharing and hard salary cap.  Without it, a publicly owned franchise based in a town of 100,000 could not possibly survive, much less be competitive.

Which brings us to Major League Baseball and Los Angeles.  The Dodgers just signed their newest toy, Kyle Tucker, to a 4 year / $240M deal. Winner of 3 of the last 6 World Series (and finalists in 5 of the last 9), they now have a guaranteed 2026 payroll in excess $2 BILLION!  

That's 66% higher than the next team.  They'll pay a luxury tax of $126M, which is higher than 11 other teams entire payroll.

You can say money doesn't always ensure winning but it as sure as shit improves the odds heavily in your favor.

I'm not so much a keen follower of baseball anymore and this would be reason #1. 

4)  Finebaum.  Gee, Paul, that aged well.

Name of the Week

Maybe I'm just jealous -- after all, I was named after a mediocre Notre Dame football coach.

To be fair to Kay & Larry, they probably took one look at me and said, geez we don't want to put any more... well, any... expectations on this kid, he's gonna have a rough enough road ahead of him as it is.

Let's give him a name that sets the bar appropriately, um, low achievable.   I'd like to think I did not disappoint.

So when I catch wind of a name like this month's nominee -- no self-esteem issues in THAT family -- I just gotta say, rock on!  (And good luck.)

Wonderful "Champ" Monds IV

The 6'3 215 QB from Port St. Lucie, FL was ranked as the #1 QB in the 2028 Rivals300 who has re-classified to be considered a apart of the 2027 class.

Which makes sense as his picture would lead you to believe he's probably close to 30 years old -- tick tock, we're not getting any younger, Wonderful.

One would imagine when he was a talented Little League baseball player (and he probably was), the other parents were surely screaming, "We wanna see that birth certificate!"

And finally, note that he is actually Wonderful IV -- which means there's three prior generations of Wonderfuls, including his father, Wonderful Terrific Monds III. 

I wonder how many mirrors they have in their home...  

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world

Trivia

With the passing of musical giant / Grateful Dead icon, Bob Weir, this week's quizz(es):

Q1.   What was the name of the first band formed by Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia?

A)  Mother Mccree’s Uptown Jug Champions

B)  Bob and Jerry

C)  The Warlocks

D) Grateful Dead

Q2.  Which bands was Bob Weir NOT a part of (besides the Grateful Dead)?

A) Rat Dog

B) Bobby and the Midnites

C)Kingfish

D)Wolf Brothers

E)Ace

F)Bob and Jerry

G) All of the Above

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

(Last blog's answer:  Jethro Tiull's "Living In The Past" was the other song -- besides Dave Brubeck's Take Five, with 5/4 beats to have made the Billboard Top 100. 

Oh, we won't give in

We'll keep living in the past.

I challenge anyone to work that fun fact into your next cocktail party conversation...

Final Thought

The people who can readily be identified by only one name is a decidedly short list.  

-- Madonna

-- Prince

-- Gandhi

For all their merits, the Jerry's of the world can't pull it off -- there's just too damn many of them, they're like a biblical swarm of locusts.

The Dave's and the Mike's can't cut it either.

But there was only one Biv. 

With his irritatingly Cary Grant good looks, the North Shore country club name ("he's called Biv, really?!") and his 24/7 preppy golf attire, worn without the slightest whiff of irony, it was easy to form an inaccurate first impression of the guy.

But he was a total sweetheart and a true original.  

Both goofy, absentminded professor and bona fide serious golf savant, at any party he'd fix your grip, share a war story from the dating app world and still be asleep in the host's comfy living room chair by 10:30pm.

Fare thee well, my friend. 

And Biv, if you're reading this from The Great Beyond, know this:  I've had a ton of golf lessons to address a myriad of persistent swing problems... 

...and no one has ever criticized my grip. 

How I wish, how I wish you were here...