Yes, this also means closing the book on the Eddie Vanderdoes situation.

While we may not know the lasting effects this may have on the National Letter of Intent, there is nothing more that will come of this situation. Keith Arnold over at Inside the Irish has the best account of the entire saga and, unless he is somehow able to change UCLA’s mind on his Freedom of Information Act petition, we won’t find anything more out. Vaderdoes is fully within the UCLA fold and they would be crazy to go on the record and add fuel to the fire.

Even Joe Davidson of the SacBee won’t get anything out of him at this point. In his latest on the situation, even Davidson, who has had an inside line to the family got nothing:

Vanderdoes, who enrolled at UCLA after it was announced he would not play at Notre Dame, did not return The Bee’s calls. His father said Vanderdoes was moving into his dorm in Los Angeles and preparing for the start football camp this weekend in San Bernardino.

Vanderdoes is more worried about starting his college football career. He has better things to worry about than rehashing a situation that is closed (and closed in his favor at that).

Likewise, we as Notre Dame fans have better things to worry about. Remember Aaron Lynch? Remember how quickly his departure became a non-factor even though losing him sucked?

What if Lynch went on the record now and scorched the earth by going off on Notre Dame, would you really care? If somehow it does, I suggest you re-check your priorities as a ND fan.

What’s done is done. If something else happens to come to light, it won’t really move the needle much anymore. It isn’t bringing Eddie back to South Bend and I’d much prefer to worry about Notre Dame trying to make a national title appearance once agian.

The Roundup

Speaking of offseason insanity, Johnny Football-mania has reached critical mass. He now finds himself the subject of two cover stories. One for Sports Illustrated (no free link for this one) and one for ESPN the magazine. God help this kid if his season goes in the tank.

The Carlos Hyde saga is also at an end. No charges will be filed, but Meyer has benched him for three games.

Kiffykins, the gift that keeps on giving. In a change from their usual policy, the media is now banned from Southern Cal practices. I know it’s standard operating procedure for most teams, but seeing any heat come Kiffin’s way warms my heart.

EA’s lawyers could be working overtime. With the O’Bannon case is still outstanding, EA got smacked with a loss in another case allowing ex-NCAA atheletes to sue the video game publisher.

Oregon has built a Death Star. Seriously.

Forgive me while I bring the room down. This should put our offseason worries in perspective: two young men gone way too soon.

And now, your moment of zen. Because after that last story, something like this is definitely needed:

.@EricLeGrand52's #52 will be the first jersey retired in 144 years of #RFootball. #bELieve pic.twitter.com/IrroZQsnNP

— Rutgers Football (@RFootball) July 30, 2013

The Beer

One of our Loyal Readers, Kevin Burke is also moving on this week. Except what he is moving on is much bigger than an offseason or college football as a whole.

Kevin has just finished his tour of Afghanistan and will be coming back stateside. Upon hearing this, I told him this week’s beer selection was completely in his hands.

His choice is his favorite beer, Blue Moon.

So have one to celebrate the impending end of the offseason, for Kevin, for our troops, and for AMERICA!

Welcome back home, Kevin!

The post Friday Roundup: The “Moving On” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

I’ve tried to keep most of the Jerry Sandusky news out of previous Roundups, save for major developments. Not because I wish to avoid the situation, but because it has just dominated the offseason news cycle and there wasn’t much for me to add besides additional disgust.

But then the Freeh report came out today. If you can stomach it, you can read it in full, but if you just want the highlights, those are available as well. Although Joe Pa and his family tried to plead ignorance, and many Penn Staters vehemently defended him, despite all logic, Freeh blew that all out of the water today. While there is certainly plenty of blame to go around, Freeh hit the nail on the head when he said the “Penn State Way” greatly contributed to the problem.

Make no mistake, the “Penn State Way” is Joe Pa’s way. He is Penn state. Their identities are intertwined like no other school that I can think of. Reading the Freeh report simply drives this home: janitors, the athletic director, university, and board of trustees all knew that Joe was the man in charge.

Yesterday, Bruce Feldman pointed out that this was the inevitable result of treating a football coach like a king, but the more I think about it, the more my mind boggles. A man with so much supposed integrity should’ve forced Sandusky’s retirement and banishment from campus, and with his power, he could do it without the public being the wiser if he so desired. However, he choose to ignore the warning signs in 1998.

And perhaps you could logically forgive him for that. After all, the police did investigate and determined that there was no crime committed. But then another coach comes and reports yet another case of abuse three years later. Again, Joe Pa passed the problem along instead of swinging his weight around to put an end to it.

Remember, this is man that created a culture in which $400 in illegal benefits given to one of his players was enough to permanently ban someone from campus, yet multiple reports of sexual abuse by the same person wasn’t cause enough for him to bother anyone on the weekend. Furthermore, the higher-ups that did executed said ban felt that Sandusky should be treated in a more “humane” manner and not report anything to police.

It just doesn’t add up.

Yet the Paterno family wants everyone to believe that Joe Pa was simply duped by Sandusky. Somehow he still creates blind loyalty that the student center refused to televise the unveiling of the Freeh report.

I truly feel sorry for all those affiliated with Penn State. Not just those that have such blind faith in Paterno, but more so those that were truly betrayed by a school they love. Everyone bought into the “Penn State way” and was completely duped. The man they trusted and lauded for his integrity has now helped bring a scandal upon them that makes the Pony Express look like child’s play. It’s a betrayal that simply has no equal in college sports.

Anyways, enough of that, back to your regularly scheduled Roundup.

The Roundup

Law & Order: ROLL TIDE! Saban’s daughter may just be a little bit unhinged.

Michigan made a music video. I had no idea that ND doing the Freekbass video was setting some kind of absurd bar for everyone else in college football. But anyways, here are two Skunkbears being very serious about their music, complete with Denard Robinson on a longboard.

We weren’t the only ones running a NCAA ’13 season simulation. Although this one doesn’t have such a bright outcome for the Irish.

Adidas–what the hell? I’m not even sure what in the hell you did to Texas A&M’s jerseys.

Smart Football creates more must read material. This is just a fantastic write-up on the history of the “Air Raid” offense.

Bruce Feldman files another column into “must read” territory. Before he eviscerated Joe Pa, he took a look at yet more NCAA insanity.

ND Hockey embraces the great outdoors. Football won’t be the only sport to play at Solider Field.

Recruiting is quite the complex science. Keith Arnold does a fantastic job in breaking down Kelly’s approach.

If you weren’t chillin’ at the Nokia ESPY pre-party, you missed out. Sounds like it was a blast considering that everyone under the sun attended.

Speaking of the ESPYs, there was a can’t miss moment. Eric LeGrand delivers a simply amazing speech. Warning: tears are practically inevitable.

The Beer

I was at a bar with a good beer selection recently and just started drinking random beers that I’ve never had the pleasure of drinking. This particular night had a clear winner: The Victory Golden Monkey.

Both the name and the 9.5% ABV immediately caught my attention, but the taste sold me: a bit of banana and citrus with a nice bitter finish that balances everything out rather well.

Unlike most of my recent beer experiments, this brew isn’t located in Texas, but Pennsylvania.

Yes…somehow I managed to come full circle in this Roundup without even trying.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Please Excuse the Rant” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.