Sitting here in Limbo
But I know it won't be long...
Dateline: Flint Lake, IN
Anyway, no doubt as a wee child, with much time on his hands to perceive the world in his own idiosyncratic way... that facility to be able to find humor during some of Life's more absurd experiences, has gotten him through many tricky moments over the years -- some, ultimately, more serious than others.
 |
| Hey, where's my espresso? |
WAY COOL! HEY MOM YOU GOTTA CHECK THIS OUT, MY GOGO IS, LIKE, SUPER RED... LIKE DISNEYESQUE TECHNICOLOR!
Disappointed in his mother's lack of similarly exultant reaction -- it wasn't like anyone else in the family was pulling off this trick -- it was only later he would come to understand that two kidneys were, in fact, a bourgeoise indulgence.
Or the time during his college years when his dad found a gum wrapper with weed in it, sent from a friend in Kansas City -- and Dad asked me if he should be worried about this potentially leading to something 'harder' whereby Jerrence laughed when he told his dad no, he needn't worry and besides he couldn't afford anything pricier anyway.
"Other than that, how'd you like the play, Mrs. Lincoln?" his father responded upon hearing these series of unfortunate events.
Now that was funny.
But I digress. The point was, Jerrence couldn't think of a time in his life when he couldn't laugh at all the stupid shit that periodically befell him.
He thought he would need to draw upon that now.
In the world in which Notre Dame football inhabits, things are rarely mirthful. Football is serious business. This year in particular, things had turned... dodgey.
Exceedingly high expectations were not being met. Margin for error had essentially evaporated.
If things didn't break right for ND, finding something funny was gonna be a major challenge.
But Jerrence thought he was ultimately up for it. It was, after all, just a football game.
Quote of the Month
"Never, never, never give up."
Winston Churchill
Jerrence wished he felt more optimistic about Saturday night. He wished Lou Holtz was game planning against this Miami team.
But he's not and Lou isn't.
But that doesn't mean anyone was throwing in the towel. What though the odds be great or small*, right?
*Speaking of odds, for the life of me, I can't understand how we're 5.5 pt. favorites.
Word of the Week
Used in a sentence paragraph: Jerrence found the first week of November to be weirdly cosmic.
One couldn't swing the proverbial dead cat without hitting a political story -- with some pundit only too willing to tell you what the profound implications of any result would be.
It all seemed very... binary... very 'zero sum' game to Jerrence, no compromise, no middle ground for anyone.
And incredibly analogous to Notre Dame football. Saturday night was going to be a hotly contested affair, with emotions running exceedingly high. Jerrence anticipated bad behavior on both sides of game, probably involving both fans and players.
What seemed undeniable to him, whether it was fair (or accurate), was from the Notre Dame side of things, the outcome would represent a stark referendum on the current state of the ND program.
The hot takes would be scorching.
Win and ND Nation breathes a collective sigh of relief, at least for next few weeks. Freeman would still be god-like, 'rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat', recruiting would likely see a material bump and the season's lofty expectations would be, more or less, back on track.
Lose and, well... Jerrence didn't want to contemplate how ugly it was going to get amongst the fan base.
Used in a sentence paragraph: Jerrence found the first week of November to be weirdly cosmic.
One couldn't swing the proverbial dead cat without hitting a political story -- with some pundit only too willing to tell you what the profound implications of any result would be.
It all seemed very... binary... very 'zero sum' game to Jerrence, no compromise, no middle ground for anyone.
And incredibly analogous to Notre Dame football. Saturday night was going to be a hotly contested affair, with emotions running exceedingly high. Jerrence anticipated bad behavior on both sides of game, probably involving both fans and players.
The hot takes would be scorching.
Win and ND Nation breathes a collective sigh of relief, at least for next few weeks. Freeman would still be god-like, 'rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat', recruiting would likely see a material bump and the season's lofty expectations would be, more or less, back on track.
Lose and, well... Jerrence didn't want to contemplate how ugly it was going to get amongst the fan base.
October Thoughts
This is our last danceThis is ourselves...Under pressure.
I have zero interest in opining about the Navy game. There is only one topic that matters at this point: Saturday night, ND Stadium.
–- Legacy. See Sampson article below. Given the expectations for this year, losing to the only two 'quality' teams on the schedule would be catastrophic and likely grounds (by some) for revising how one looks at the Freeman Era. I'm not a fan of over-the-top hyperbole but... this is the type of game that gets embedded in history, good or bad.
-- Attrition. I love football and yet as a fan, I hate that it's inevitably, largely a game of attrition.
Stay healthy and one has a puncher's chance of big success.
Get hurt at key positions -- like, say, DT / MLB / CB / FS -- and things look very different.
And not 'good different.'
PS I have no sympathy for the Canes' loss of Toney.
–- Playoffs. Say what you will about the political nature of the CFP committee -- and one can say a lot as some of the rankings look just flat out ("have you actually watched Indiana play this year?!") ridiculous -- but they've made it pretty clear what the stakes are for ND this week.
This is our last dance
This is ourselves...
Under pressure.
I have zero interest in opining about the Navy game. There is only one topic that matters at this point: Saturday night, ND Stadium.
–- Legacy. See Sampson article below. Given the expectations for this year, losing to the only two 'quality' teams on the schedule would be catastrophic and likely grounds (by some) for revising how one looks at the Freeman Era. I'm not a fan of over-the-top hyperbole but... this is the type of game that gets embedded in history, good or bad.
-- Attrition. I love football and yet as a fan, I hate that it's inevitably, largely a game of attrition.
Stay healthy and one has a puncher's chance of big success.
Get hurt at key positions -- like, say, DT / MLB / CB / FS -- and things look very different.
And not 'good different.'
PS I have no sympathy for the Canes' loss of Toney.
–- Playoffs. Say what you will about the political nature of the CFP committee -- and one can say a lot as some of the rankings look just flat out ("have you actually watched Indiana play this year?!") ridiculous -- but they've made it pretty clear what the stakes are for ND this week.
Buddy's Buddy
Another tough week to identify a bud for Buddy, if one were to merely limit the scope to Notre Dame football.
It becomes especially difficult when it's the Navy game.
First of all, it's a game where ND is supposed to crush. Where's the honor in citing exemplary play (or sportsmanship) against an opponent you're already supposed to dominate?
And who happens to (allegedly) play, shall we say, dishonorably?
That's a tough ask.
So one must broaden the concentric circle to find another candidate.
Luckily this week gifted us with an immediate star candidate... how about a basketball loving priest who rises to the highest position in the Catholic Church?
And with Chicago roots!
... and who's unafraid to both do his civic duty (voting!) while staying true to his collegiate Villanova background?
Pope Leo, you rock.
Even if you were on the wrong side of the basketball ledger... um, twice last weekend, you're still infallible in my book.
Even if you were on the wrong side of the basketball ledger... um, twice last weekend, you're still infallible in my book.
RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)
At the risk of repeating myself -- at our ages, there's no risk to that happening, only certainty -- I am not interested in looking back on the Navy game for meaningful insights.
Of which I don't believe there are (m)any.
And I don't think Mr. Sampson does either!
Accordingly, herewith (one of) his thoughts re the upcoming biggest game of the 2026 season....
-----------------------------
The Miami game may be the biggest of Marcus Freeman’s career.
That might sound strange considering Freeman has coached in a national championship game. But when Notre Dame went on that run through the CFP two years ago, the program spent December and January betting house money. Knocking off Indiana in the first on-campus CFP game marked one of the best home environments in the past 25 years. Beating Georgia and Penn State back-to-back represented the program’s first and second major bowl wins since Lou Holtz was coach. A win over Ohio State in the title game would have meant Freeman got a statue outside Notre Dame Stadium.
It's 'put up or shut up' time...
But after missing the CFP last year as a result of quixotic early-season coaching decisions against Miami and Texas A&M, followed by the bowl opt-out and the “Leave no doubt” tour, Freeman stuck the program’s metaphorical neck out last winter.
He doubled down on defensive coordinator Chris Ash. He loaded up in the transfer portal and invested heavily in high school recruiting.
A loss to Miami this weekend, following a defeat at BYU as a double-digit favorite Oct. 17, could leave Notre Dame wondering what the point is.
But there is still a clean path for the CFP: beat Miami. The Irish would likely host a first-round game if they won out, closing with Boston College, SMU and Syracuse. But lose to the Hurricanes, and this Irish season would be an almost certain failure, barring a strange recipe of other results breaking Notre Dame’s way.
When Yurachek dinged Notre Dame for the lack of a signature win, his message was clear. Either beat Miami, or Notre Dame will twist in the wind during the season’s final month.
Source: The AthleticNovember 4, 2026
The Miami game may be the biggest of Marcus Freeman’s career.
That might sound strange considering Freeman has coached in a national championship game. But when Notre Dame went on that run through the CFP two years ago, the program spent December and January betting house money. Knocking off Indiana in the first on-campus CFP game marked one of the best home environments in the past 25 years. Beating Georgia and Penn State back-to-back represented the program’s first and second major bowl wins since Lou Holtz was coach. A win over Ohio State in the title game would have meant Freeman got a statue outside Notre Dame Stadium.
 |
| It's 'put up or shut up' time... |
He doubled down on defensive coordinator Chris Ash. He loaded up in the transfer portal and invested heavily in high school recruiting.
A loss to Miami this weekend, following a defeat at BYU as a double-digit favorite Oct. 17, could leave Notre Dame wondering what the point is.
But there is still a clean path for the CFP: beat Miami. The Irish would likely host a first-round game if they won out, closing with Boston College, SMU and Syracuse. But lose to the Hurricanes, and this Irish season would be an almost certain failure, barring a strange recipe of other results breaking Notre Dame’s way.
When Yurachek dinged Notre Dame for the lack of a signature win, his message was clear. Either beat Miami, or Notre Dame will twist in the wind during the season’s final month.
Cocktail of the Week
Feeling nostalgic.
Big game. High stakes. We've been here before.
And with a close friend, The Dim One, coming into town. A mate with which Jerrence has shared a lot of history, including that formative year as fellow Senior Bar bartenders.
An experience where, if memory serves (and it often doesn't), the staff would end each work night with a communal hoisting of a gin gimlet before setting off on our merry way, usually to get into more trouble.
Will we do that this weekend? We'll see.
Probably not.
This is, after all, a colleague that often had trouble staying on his feet when liquor was involved -- even while he was working.
RICHARD'S GIMME-LET
Does your family fail to appreciate how special you are? Have you defamed or killed any of them to get what you deserve? Then this drink, mixed in honor of the chronically misunderstood Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is for you.
In Henry VI, Part 3, Richard scores big for his clan, the Yorks, in the ongoing Wars of the Roses. But at the start of the sequel, Richard III, no one cares about any of that. Sure, they all remember his martyr of a dead little brother, Rutland. And everyone's basking in the beams of his newly crowned oldest brother, King Edward. But do they remember one lousy thing Richard ever did?
Hump? What hump?
Noooooo.
He's just an uneven-legged hunchback with a withered arm and no girlfriend.
What's an undervalued son to do but take down some relatives to get his turn in the Big Chair? Richard spreads a rumor that Edward's a bastard; gets his other brother, George, murdered; and puts a hit out on his little prince nephews just to be safe.
And then he gets to be King Richard!
Too bad his mother's the only one left to celebrate the big moment. Which she does by crashing his royal procession, announcing he was a monster-baby born "to make the earth my hell," and hitting him with a death curse.
At the end of the play, Richard finds himself alone, unloved, and horseless on the Bosworth battlefield, about to be killed by God's gift to England, the future King Henry VII.
Face it, Dick, you're a middle child with shoe lifts. This was never going to go your way.
-- 2 oz. gin
-- ½ oz. simple syrup
-- 1 oz. fresh lime juice
-- Very thin crosswise slice of habañero pepper
-----------------------------
Shake the gin, simple syrup, and lime juice with ice and strain into a martini glass.
Drop in a vicious bite of pepper. And in the spirit of Richard's power-grabbing... gimme that drink!
Source: Shakespeare, Not StirredBy Caroline Bicks, PhD and Michelle Ephraim, PhD
RICHARD'S GIMME-LET
Does your family fail to appreciate how special you are? Have you defamed or killed any of them to get what you deserve? Then this drink, mixed in honor of the chronically misunderstood Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is for you.
In Henry VI, Part 3, Richard scores big for his clan, the Yorks, in the ongoing Wars of the Roses. But at the start of the sequel, Richard III, no one cares about any of that. Sure, they all remember his martyr of a dead little brother, Rutland. And everyone's basking in the beams of his newly crowned oldest brother, King Edward. But do they remember one lousy thing Richard ever did?
 |
| Hump? What hump? |
He's just an uneven-legged hunchback with a withered arm and no girlfriend.
What's an undervalued son to do but take down some relatives to get his turn in the Big Chair? Richard spreads a rumor that Edward's a bastard; gets his other brother, George, murdered; and puts a hit out on his little prince nephews just to be safe.
And then he gets to be King Richard!
Too bad his mother's the only one left to celebrate the big moment. Which she does by crashing his royal procession, announcing he was a monster-baby born "to make the earth my hell," and hitting him with a death curse.
At the end of the play, Richard finds himself alone, unloved, and horseless on the Bosworth battlefield, about to be killed by God's gift to England, the future King Henry VII.
Face it, Dick, you're a middle child with shoe lifts. This was never going to go your way.
-- 2 oz. gin
-- ½ oz. simple syrup
-- 1 oz. fresh lime juice
-- Very thin crosswise slice of habañero pepper
Shake the gin, simple syrup, and lime juice with ice and strain into a martini glass.
Drop in a vicious bite of pepper. And in the spirit of Richard's power-grabbing... gimme that drink!
Schedule 2026
September 6 Wisconsin W @Lambeau Field 12 Rice W 19 Michigan State W26 @Purdue W
October 3 @North Carolina W10 Stanford W Alumni Hall reunion weekend 17 @BYU L 24 BYE 31 @Navy W
November
7 Miami There Will Be Blood14 Boston College 21 SMU 28 @Syracuse December
TBD
Wager 2026
And it would all seem to come down to this week...
Reminder: Please check below to see if I got your prediction correct --- or if i missed it entirely!
Wins
ND Equivalence
Domer
12
Peaky Blinders
Tommy fookin' Shelby.
The biggest badass in all of England -- a "take no fookin' prisoners" kind of guy.
And what I aspire for my 15-0 Notre Dame team this year.
JERRENCE
Kevin C.
The Dim One
John L.
Jim S.
John P.
Dave M.
Blair
Daryl
JP
Peter B.
Ted C.
Bob J.
Jim B.
Pat B.
Bob S.
Tim S.
KevinM.
Bryan G.
Bryan G
11
Oppenheimer
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
Not exactly 'Play Like A Champion' but I'd embrace it as a 2026 mantra.
Perhaps not a perfect movie but damn good - and Cillian was the ultimate winner.
Just how I'd see an 11-1 team (that still wins the natty) turning out.
Matt L.
Gutsch
Tim C.
Ungie
Jim T.
Kevin M.
Bill B.
Kyle W.
Jerry P.
Mike B.
Mike G.
Mike C.
Greg R.
Randy R.
Tim S.
Garrett
Alex S.
Tom F.
Alvin
10
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
An underrated, great film about The Troubles in Ireland -- unique in it's family-oriented frame of reference.
Hardly anyone (I know) has seen it, which is a small tragedy.
Has some of the most realistic British torture-of-the-Irish-rebels scenes... which would probably approximate how ND Nation would view a 10 win season.
Brian W.
Brian M.
9
28 Days Later
Danny Boyle redefines the zombie movie genre.
Clever and stomach turning -- and probably something you only want to see once.
Just like a 9 win ND team.
And it would all seem to come down to this week...
Reminder: Please check below to see if I got your prediction correct --- or if i missed it entirely!
Wins | ND Equivalence | Domer |
12  Peaky Blinders | Tommy fookin' Shelby. The biggest badass in all of England -- a "take no fookin' prisoners" kind of guy. And what I aspire for my 15-0 Notre Dame team this year. |
|
11  Oppenheimer | "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Not exactly 'Play Like A Champion' but I'd embrace it as a 2026 mantra. Perhaps not a perfect movie but damn good - and Cillian was the ultimate winner. Just how I'd see an 11-1 team (that still wins the natty) turning out. | Matt L. Gutsch Tim C. Ungie Jim T. Kevin M. Bill B. Kyle W. Jerry P. Mike B. Mike G. Mike C. Greg R. Randy R. Tim S. Garrett Alex S. Tom F. Alvin |
10  The Wind That Shakes The Barley | An underrated, great film about The Troubles in Ireland -- unique in it's family-oriented frame of reference. Hardly anyone (I know) has seen it, which is a small tragedy. Has some of the most realistic British torture-of-the-Irish-rebels scenes... which would probably approximate how ND Nation would view a 10 win season. | Brian W. Brian M. |
9  28 Days Later | Danny Boyle redefines the zombie movie genre. Clever and stomach turning -- and probably something you only want to see once. Just like a 9 win ND team. | |
Sports Imitating Art
 |
| The Pampered Idiot, by Leonardo Alenza y Nieto, 1807-45 |
Schadenfreude of the Week
A lot of this football season doesn't seem to make sense.
Typically -- and with an eye toward the playoff picture -- one could reasonably say 'only 2-4 teams, tops, have a realistic chance to win the natty.'
This year? Who the heck knows. And with injuries (e.g., ND's, Julian Sayin, Malachi Toney), things get even more complicated.
Does that leave room for sympathy in those cases? OF COURSE NOT.
This week's winner...
Ohio State. Ohio State vs. USC -- the very definition of conflicted feelings. God, why can't You have them both lose?!
But, since one has great confidence that the Trojans will screw it up (they do play at Indiana this week), let's raise our glass to Ohio State who made USC's defense look good.
Which is NOT easy to do.
PS Boy, do the Buckeyes seem to have a QB problem.
Terry's Tools
I said I wasn't going to talk about the Navy game.
I lied.
There is (was) one tiny reoccurring issue with playing the Midshipmen -- something that has been voiced repeatedly over the years... and yet when one wins handily, as ND often does, it appears unseemly to voice it... especially when one is talking about young men whose career path involves potentially lying down their lives in defense of our country.
That said...
1) Navy. Why does ND always come out of this game with lower leg injuries? When we seem to have no great concerns when playing everyone else on the schedule? Perhaps describing it as 'dirty' play is not accurate -- it's not like there's an over abundance of penalties being called. But does Navy coach borderline questionable tactics?
Their use of cut blocks is pretty common knowledge and there was much whispering about Notre Dame players knees / ankles getting twisted in the scrums.
I dunno. But the adage, "where there's smoke, there's fire" would seem to apply.
And with ND having had three defensive starters hurt (coincidence, I'm not so sure) before the biggest game of the year, with CFP implications hanging in the balance... consider me, now, part of that group who think it's worth asking the question 'have we not paid our WW II debt,' and is the series worth keeping...
I love tradition as much as the next man but... at what expense?
I said I wasn't going to talk about the Navy game.
I lied.
There is (was) one tiny reoccurring issue with playing the Midshipmen -- something that has been voiced repeatedly over the years... and yet when one wins handily, as ND often does, it appears unseemly to voice it... especially when one is talking about young men whose career path involves potentially lying down their lives in defense of our country.
That said...
1) Navy. Why does ND always come out of this game with lower leg injuries? When we seem to have no great concerns when playing everyone else on the schedule? Perhaps describing it as 'dirty' play is not accurate -- it's not like there's an over abundance of penalties being called. But does Navy coach borderline questionable tactics?
I dunno. But the adage, "where there's smoke, there's fire" would seem to apply.
And with ND having had three defensive starters hurt (coincidence, I'm not so sure) before the biggest game of the year, with CFP implications hanging in the balance... consider me, now, part of that group who think it's worth asking the question 'have we not paid our WW II debt,' and is the series worth keeping...
I love tradition as much as the next man but... at what expense?
Name of the Week
What if you had what you considered the perfect name for your newborn?
It's lyrical, fun and works well with your surname.
You are sooo happy.
But then someone comes along and says, what if we could improve on your choice -- take it to 11, so to speak.
I give you...
Delicious Orie
Mr. Orie is a British former professional boxer who as an amateur won gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 European Games.
Now 29 years old not even sure what he's doing, professionally. Probably still boxing, getting beat up, working on a big time CTE issue later in life...
But what if... he changed his name to... Delicious OREO?!
Jackpot! The human advertisement! (Mondelez legal counsel would lose their sh*t.)
But the mind reels at the sponsorship opportunities.
But the mind reels at the sponsorship opportunities.
Trivia
Q. Which song was voted #1 of all time by Rolling Stone magazine?
A) Hey Jude (The Beatles)
B) God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)C) Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)D) Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones)E) Hotel California (The Eagles)
Answer to last month's trivia question: Blondi (the dog) was the animal inspiration for Blondie.
One way or another, I'm gonna get ya...
Q. Which song was voted #1 of all time by Rolling Stone magazine?
One way or another, I'm gonna get ya...
Final Thought
49 years ago today... Operation KIS (Keg In Stadium). Never to be repeated.
*Thank you, Mark, for the reminder.
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