HLS Welcomes Back Rent Like a Champion!

All of us here at HLS are excited to welcome back Rent Like a Champion as one of our partners in 2013.

FACT: Notre Dame football has yet to lose a game when the RLAC banner flies over HLS. It wasn’t up in January and we all know what happened then.

SCIENCE!

In all seriousness, if you aren’t familiar with the fine work that RLAC does, I feel very sad for your gameday planning and lodging efforts.

Founded and run by Notre Dame alumni, RLAC has been providing gameday rentals in the South Bend area since 2006. Many of their listings are within walking distance to campus and have properties that can accommodate any size party — whether it is a small family outing or a mini-reunion of friends in the double-digits. It’s all the comforts of home away from home…and not at ridiculous price-gouged rates like many hotels in the area.

RLAC has put over $800,000 in the pockets of South Bend homeowners annually. And the best part? It’s tax free. Second best part? There’s no expensive annual fee to list. RLAC gets paid only when you do — it’s a simple, no hassle commission system. To cap it all off, RLAC’s security deposit and mediation services can give you peace of mind that your property will be protected.

I had my first RLAC experience this past season. I couldn’t have asked for a better setup that weekend. I was impressed, my girlfriend was impressed — most importantly my girlfriend’s parents were incredibly impressed.

Now I’m not just saying this because they have an ad running with us. Believe me, not all rental companies are created equal…

In Miami, my family and I rolled the dice on a condo rental with another rental company. The place was great, except for the minor issue of falling through my bed the first time I laid down on it. I discovered that the bed was actually half-repaired with mismatched stilts that weren’t even connected right — all that was missing was some duct tape to complete the half-assed repair attempt.

Now, I understand things happen, but getting a big ‘ol “WELP, TOO BAD” from the rental company the next morning was highly annoying. Even better, once we finally convinced them to help us out, they neglected to tell us they needed the keys to get in. So we get to interrupt our day and head back to the rental office only to not have people there who were supposedly “waiting” for us.

The result: wasted afternoon that pushed dinner plans back which ultimately resulted in missing an event at Hyde Beach that I was supposed to be at (IRT & Subway Domer folks, I still owe y’all a drink).

Needless to say, I was pissed.

The rental company never did anything to compensate us for basically screwing us out of half a day or the night we had to remove the bed frame just so I could sleep on a mattress on the floor. All we got from one of the managers was an admission that their staff dropped the ball. Thanks, I guess?

So trust me, when you start out your gameday planning this fall, be sure to give Rent Like a Champion some serious consideration. Actually, start thinking about RLAC for the Blue/Gold game as there are several great properties still available.

What are you waiting for? Rent Like a Champion Today!

Friday Roundup: The “Camp HLS” Edition

Notre Dame football is still a couple of weeks away from their spring practice officially starting. However, they are now in the middle of “Camp Kelly” — the infamous grueling, yet needed, workouts in preparation for spring football. The success of 2012 is now a distant memory and the time to lay the groundwork for the 2013 campaign begins with Paul Longo’s cracking of the offseason whip.

HLS had quite a successful year in 2012 as well. The launch of our new theme and addition of our new staff, dubbed “HLS 3.0″, drove us to a record-setting year; however, all that it behind us. Like the Irish, it is time for us to get faster and stronger.

With that in mind, our site will undergo “Camp HLS” (because I’m really good at being creative). Unlike our last site upgrade, we aren’t looking to reinvent the wheel and do complete overhaul. In fact, we really don’t want to change much of the 3.0 design at all.

What we do want to do is rebuild or foundation. The theme we’ve been using for the 3.0 design is horribly bloated and we need to cut that fat immediately. Our new theme will have all of the same functionality, but far less resource intensive (meaning fast load times for everyone) and will also be mobile responsive, allowing for easy viewing on any screen resolution, smartphone, or tablet.

In short, we are whipping HLS into shape.

Once that is complete, we will turn our attention to other areas of HLS so we are running on all cylinders before the start of the 2013 season.

But first thing’s first…to this week’s Roundup!

The Roundup

The Gunner Kiel transfer has yet another interesting wrinkle. Check out Brian Kelly’s quote at the bottom of this article regarding competition and transferring. Oh my.

Gunner Kiel wasn’t the only one to see his ND career come to an end. Sadly, Tate Nichols is officially done.

Fox Sports will have a new sports channel. And this year’s Notre Dame/Stanford game will be one of the featured college football games.

I’m pretty sure helmets aren’t supposed to look like this. Somehow the guy wearing this helmet doesn’t have his brain scrambled.

The NCAA continues to amaze. The Miami case just continues to have more strange revelations. This time, that a NCAA official (now no longer with the NCAA) actually wrote a letter on behalf of Nevin Shapiro.

More NCAA brilliance: opening the text message floodgates. Not only will the limit of texts that can be sent to a recruits be lifted, but schools could hire people to do only that. I’m sure this will end well.

A Texas Tech booster has a master plan for Kliff Kingsbury’s success. Make him the “GQ coach”. Seriously.

The Beer

This weekend I’m going with Corona. Not because I’m craving it or because I think it’s a fantastic beer (in fact, as I said in my Cinco de Mayo Roundup, I know it’s cheap swill that I happen to enjoy shamelessly), but because I have quite a lot of it in my fridge after some of my friends deposited a bunch on my birthday weekend.

There are some weekends in which you just need to drink all the booze. Considering that I’ve been in a babysitter/chaperone role these past two weekends, I think I’m due for such a weekend.

Also, I need to prepare my liver for next weekend’s St. Pattrick’s Day festivities. It’s woefully out of shape. We’ll just call this weekend “Camp Booze” (again, because I’m the most creative person ever).

WWKD: What Would Katie Do?

Sorry Tex, unscheduled rant coming…

Excuse me, WHAT THE HELL IS KATIE COURIC DOING? The whole world should be calling her out for the BS she displayed yesterday. Not gonna? Okay then, I will. Thanks Katie, for getting me back into RANT MODE.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually thought 95% of her interview was decent. It wasn’t soft, she asked some tough questions, but those questions deserved to and needed to be asked. For her to look at all professional, and to give Manti a chance to answer them.

But then Katie went too far. Katie went off the ledge. Katie went bat-shit-CRAZY when she started talking about how she would’ve handled the situation. How SHE would’ve done it differently. How SHE would’ve done it RIGHT.

GIVE ME AN EFFING BREAK. Let’s break this down for a second.

First, and most importantly, Katie is about as far as possible from being Manti Teo. She’s an old, white, washed-up reporter, and she’s a she. Manti is a young, male, Morman, Samoan/Hawaiian wrecking ball of a linebacker that attended a Catholic school and played D1 Football. THIS IS A DIFFERENT FREAKING WORLD WOMAN! I mean, there are a ton of things closer to Manti than you…

So that’s point one. You have no idea what you’d do if you were him. BECAUSE YOU ARE LITERALLY NOTHING LIKE HIM.

But, Daytime TV Talk Show hosts spin BS all the time. So, moving on, the second biggest problem with her ‘advice’ was that she used the complete timeline of information to inform how she’d have reacted and behaved. Guess what Katie, when this was all going down MANTI DIDN’T KNOW EVERYTHING YOU KNOW NOW YOU SILLY WOMAN! You can’t just take all of this data that you now have at your disposal and assume that, MONTHS AGO, Manti had the same information. Of COURSE he’d have behaved differently if he’d known it was all a hoax you twit. That tells us absolutely nothing.

Sooooo, since she’s so perfectly able to rip apart past situations, let’s find out What Would Katie Do (WWKD):

If she’s Steven Spielberg, SHE would never put Jar Jar Binks in the prequels. #WWKD

If she were Brian Kelly, SHE would’ve never called that pass play against Tulsa. #WWKD

If she were the Jets Organization, SHE would’ve never taken Tebow. #WWKD

The rest of the interview, like I said, was fair. But this was so far over the line. It was pompous, full of righteous indignation that Teo didn’t at all deserve, and disgusting from an ‘adult’. I never cared about Katie Couric. Wasn’t ever on my radar. Now she officially sucks.

And for all the ‘haters’ who may comment saying ‘yeah Manti still lied’ or ‘I’m an idiot listen to my stupid point that’s irrelevant’ I am not saying any of this exonerates Manti. He didn’t do everything perfectly and he is paying DEARLY. But that’s not the point. The point is that Katie Couric had the chance to be a journalist. To get a story and to dig deep. She started off down that path. But then, at some point, she decided to switch to being a moron. That’s the point. KATIE COURIC, you’re on the HLS WatchList. You don’t want to be there. I’ll see you on Twitter. Loser.

ND-Bama Preview by HLS’ Newest Loyal…

…Daughter!

LISA LISA AKA @4LeafCloverGirl!

That’s right folks, Lisa has officially joined the HLS crew as the first Loyal Daughter on Staff. She’ll be bringing to HLS her immense talents as demonstrated on Twitter, and in her past writing at respected outlets such as UHND and No Coast Bias. We’re super excited about her joining the team, and I can’t wait for the analysts to talk about my amazing recruiting skills. This is a 5-Star Recruit folks, a game-changer!

Without further ado, here is Lisa’s BCS Championship Preview for your reading pleasure. Welcome, Lisa!

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Coffee in hand I greet the new year and sit down to write my final Notre Dame football preview of the year, Notre Dame vs. Alabama.

Notre Dame football, with a 12-0 season, once again returns to college football relevance and heads to the national title game for the first time in 24 years. But does a young and inexperienced team like Notre Dame have what it takes to beat a battle-tested defending national title team like Alabama? Alabama has been in this national spotlight before and knows exactly what it takes to win the big game.

Many comparisons have been made between this year’s Notre Dame squad and the 1988 ND team which was the last to bring the crystal football home to South Bend. In 1988 the undefeated ND squad beat West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl to bring home the national title. This year’s team will attempt to match that same feat.

There is something magical about a coach’s third year at Notre Dame. Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz all won national titles during their third year as a head coach at Notre Dame. Brian Kelly, in his third season at ND will attempt to join this storied list of national championship winning coaches.

“The tradition of Alabama and Notre Dame brings special attention to it, but we’re just trying to be the best team on Monday, Jan. 7,” Kelly, the AP coach of the year and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award winner, told the media.
“All of that tradition, what’s happened in the past, is not going to help us Jan. 7, but we do respect the traditions.”

The fact that Notre Dame has made it to the national title game this year is quite a surprise, even to the Notre Dame faithful. Many alumni and fans didn’t think this day would come again anytime soon after suffering through rough patches with coaches Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis. Coach Brian Kelly didn’t have the most magical of starts either, losing games on controversial calls, with defeats at the hands of Tulsa and South Florida being at the top of that list.

Does the Irish defense have what it takes to stop Alabama and their “SEC speed”?

“Well, that’s who we are,” said Kelly, whose team won six times by nine or fewer points. “It’s been our defense all year. Our offense is able to manage enough points.”

When the Irish defense takes the field on Jan. 7 keep your eyes on Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te’o. He will be a significant factor in Notre Dame’s ability to stop Alabama’s running game. The senior linebacker has had seven interceptions and 103 tackles this year, and has proved to be the heart and soul of this Irish squad.

“We’re going to fight,” Te’o said after the USC win. “That’s our name. It doesn’t matter where we are.”

Te’o will have plenty of help from his fellow teammates, on a defense that is loaded with leaders and playmakers. Stephon Tuitt had 12 sacks and 13 tackles for loss, Prince Shembo had 7 1/2 sacks and 10 1/2 tackles for loss and senior captain Kapron Lewis-Moore contributed six sacks and 8 1/2 tackles for loss.

Notre Dame’s defense led the country this season with 10.3 points allowed per game and was ranked sixth nationally in the FBS with 288.1 yards. With the 303-pound Tuitt and 326-pound nose tackle Louis Nix up front, the Irish may be one of the few teams with a defensive line that can match up with the powerful Alabama offensive line anchored by All-American center Barrett Jones.

Alabama’s (12-1) national title hopes were also hanging in the balance earlier this season after being upset 29-24 by then-No. 15 ranked Texas A&M on Nov. 10. The timely losses by Kansas State and Oregon, though, pushed the Crimson Tide into the No. 2 spot in the BCS rankings on Nov. 18.

They held the No. 2 spot by winning their last three games including having to come from behind to beat Georgia 32-28 in the SEC championship game on Dec. 1. With the Tide down by 11, the Irish faithful almost saw Georgia take Alabama’s place in the national title game but the Crimson Tide proved once again that their veteran leadership knows how to win the big games.

As decisive and powerful as the Irish have been on defense, Alabama has been equally as tough if not better. Alabama was ranked second this season behind Notre Dame with 10.7 points allowed per game and ranked first with 246.0 yards per contest. The Crimson Tide staunch defense recorded 34 sacks, 81 tackles for loss and 17 interceptions.

While the Alabama – Notre Dame matchup could prove to be a low scoring game given the defensive prowess of these teams, Alabama’s offense definitely has an experience advantage over the Notre Dame offense lead by a red shirt freshman quarterback Everett Golson.

Alabama’s 38.5 points per game ranks them 15th in the FBS. Led by sophomore tight end Corey McCarron (26 touchdowns, three interceptions, 173.1 passer rating) and with a ground attack that boasts two 1,000-yard rushers in junior running back Eddie Lacy and freshman running back T.J. Yeldon, the Irish defense will need to be nearly perfect the slow down the Tide offense. The two Alabama backs ran for 27 TDs. The Tide had 10 400 yards games and topped 500 yards four times. The Crimson Tide had an impressive 512 yards against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship contest, rushing for a season-high 350 yards.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, has a very young offensive unit lead by freshman quarterback Everett Golson. Golson has done an impressive job this season of running the Notre Dame offense despite his lack of experience. The red shirt freshman threw for 2,135 yards and 11 scores with only five interceptions (131.8 rating) while also rushing for 305 yards and five touchdowns. Notre Dame’s run-heavy offense was led this year by senior running backs Theo Riddick (880 yards rushing) and Cierre Wood (740). Their veteran experience helped push Notre Dame to the 11th spot in the nation in time of possession at 32 minutes, 34 seconds per game. The Irish averaged 202.5 rushing yards per game.

The Fighting Irish and the Crimson tide have each won eight AP national titles, more than any other college football programs. As college football fans await the meeting of these two storied teams they can only hope the game brings the drama that came the last time they met for a championship. In 1973 a Parseghian-led Irish squad met a Bear Bryant-led Crimson Tide and Notre Dame hung on to beat Alabama by a score of 24-23 in the 1973 Sugar Bowl to win the AP title.

The Irish and the Tide have met six times, five of which have been won by Notre Dame. The last meeting came in 1987, when the Irish rolled the Tide 37-6.

Here come the Irish …

Cheers!

[special thanks to No Coast Bias for allowing the re-print of the article]

Stop and Smell the Roses

No, this isn’t a call for everyone to stop campaigning for Notre Dame and their BCS Championship chances and enjoy the undefeated season (keep that going!).

Rather, we would like to bring your attention to a new partner to HLS: The Bouqs.

Run by Notre Dame alumni, The Bouqs manages to make ordering flowers a simple affair, and, even better, make you look more thoughtful without even trying.

Firstly, every Bouq comes at a flat price. There are no charges for vases, cards, shipping, or anything else. This gets rid of the awful practice of someone hooking you in at a cheap price only to watch the final order end up being twice the advertised price.

Secondly, the Bouqs offers subscription services. These come in three different flavors: Never Forget, Just Because, and Regular Blooms.

Never Forget allows you to schedule flowers to arrive for special events like birthdays and anniversaries, meaning you’ll never have that “oh crap, I forgot” moment ever again. Even better, you’ll get an email notification a week before, just to make sure you aren’t super forgetful and forget said special occasion altogether.

Just Because will make you look thoughtful without even trying. Just tell the Bouqs how often you’d like to surprise that special someone with flowers and they’ll pick a random day to do it. Once again, you’ll receive an email to make sure you aren’t surprised as well! Enjoy looking thoughtful without even trying!

The Regular Blooms are the classic subscription service. Pick how often you’d like to have fresh flowers and they’ll arrive regularly.

All subscription packages use the same flat pricing model, but have an added bonus of taking 10% off your order. It makes your life easier, and you save money — couldn’t be simpler.

Finally, being Notre Dame alumni and being Loyal Readers themselves, the Bouqs want to pass anadditional discount to you as well! Simply use the code “HerLoyalSons” and enjoy 10% off whatever you order!

Plus using this code will also get HLS a small referral fee as well.

To recap:

• Flat, no-BS pricing on flowers
• Free shipping — flowers come straight from the fields to you
• Subscriptions to make your life easier and your special someone happier
• Save even more money by using “HerLoyalSons” at checkout
• Support a Notre Dame alumni-run business
• Support HLS

So before the craziness of Black Friday is upon us and you have to start worrying about Christmas shopping, be sure to get your flower needs in order for the rest of the year and beyond at the Bouqs!