If there was one thing I loved about Weis, it was that he demanded that his players respected everyone, managers included. The day prior, the locker room was apparently quite a mess. Now, we usually have to clean up a few towels on the floor and some tape in the showers, but on this day is was so awful that Weis got rather pissed when he saw it.

So the next day, he came up to the locker room window that we worked at and handed down an edict: “When the guys come in, don’t give them any towels.”

I thought for sure that he was joking, but he was dead serious. The towel bin remained locked and in the back. The look on the players’ faces were absolutely priceless. Some refused to shower in the locker room and others were convinced that if they showered we’d give them a towel anyways.

Now, the window that we work at in the locker room (at this time, the Gug wasn’t in place, this was in the stadium), is right in front of the offensive linemen. Now there was no way in hell those guys were going home without a shower, so they decided to come up with a rather inventive way to dry off.

I’m not exactly sure what words give the proper justice to 300+ men running around naked with arms extended like airplane wings, but I’m sure everyone has a good mental image right now. Even Weis got a good laugh of watching his players struggle without a basic essential like towels.

Even though I have an awful image forever burned into my head, the message was clearly received. When we walked through the locker room for cleanup, there wasn’t any trash left around for us to clean up. Easiest locker room duty ever.

The Roundup

This week on Law & Order: Roll Tide – Kristen Saban has given her response to the assault and battery charges filled last week.

Dear Crazy Paterno defenders, shut the hell up. Seriously.

Andy Staples decided to run a NCAA draft. Quite and interesting concept that will never happen, but there is a whole lot of Irish in his picks.

Welcome back, Johnelle. We missed you.

The NBA comes to South Bend. Who cares if it’s preseason. This is huge.

I think One Foot Down wants a job at Adidas. They are redesigning more uniforms. This time, a look at the Shamrock Series.

Vomit.

If it’s in the game, it’s in the game. EDSBS runs the most accurate simulation ever.

Poot is a pre-season champion. He won the first edition of Subway Domer’s Twitter reindeer games. Game on this season, buddy.

The Beer

This week, we had a reader submission that had to be shared. Via Undunt:

I’m a daily reader, here and there poster (handle: undnut) on the site. Thank you for all the hard work you put in to maintain the best ND football blog on the internet. You guys do incredible work.

The reason for this note, however, isn’t actually football. It’s beer. And Ireland. Last summer my wife and I honeymooned in Ireland with a company called Vagabond Tours. We were lucky enough to have a phenomenal tour guide that possessed an incredible knowledge about the country, including all the best pubs. As we got to know her, she talked eagerly about her plan to one day start her own tour company focusing on the microbreweries of Ireland. While everyone thinks of Guinness (and to a lesser extent Harp and Smithwicks) when the subject of Irish beer comes up, Ireland is actually in the midst of a microbrewery explosion. (Akin to what we experienced in America the past 10-20 years.)

Anyway, since our visit last August, Mia (the tour guide) has realized her dream and started Brewery Hops of Ireland. I thought, perhaps, it might make good fodder some week for the beer-related segment of the Friday Rundown. Also, it’s quite timely with the team opening in Dublin.

You can learn all about Mia’s company and the tours at http://www.breweryhopsofireland.com/.

So if you are lucky enough to be heading to Ireland in a couple of months, be sure to check this out as it sounds unbelievably awesome.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Can’t Unsee” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

This week, we dive into the art of the trick play.

Weis made a point to have at least one trick play up his sleeve every week. Some were simple and were just more complex versions of a play-fake that you’d likely see and not think it was actually a trick play. Others, however, were true gimmick plays that were so off the wall that no one would see them coming.

My favorite of these plays was never actually executed during a game, but was practiced during Tennessee week. The play was “OH SHIT! Screen Right”–no that isn’t a typo.

Many of us know Weis loved the screen, but this one was a particular stroke of genius that was also unbelievably hilarious in both its simplicity and execution.

The Irish would line up with Anthony Fasano to the left. After the snap, Fasano would run a drag route across the line; however, once he got to the center, he would intentionally trip himself, fall down, and yell “OH SHIT!!!”

The defenders would then ignore Fasano while two offensive linemen crept up right in front of him. Once those linemen were in position, Fasano would pop up and receive an easy pass from Quinn. At this point, the defense that completely ignored him now had to find a way around two big uglies and Fasano barreling down their throats.

Sadly, the Irish never had a need to run this play against Tennessee and quickly tossed the play the following week. However, for all the talk that Weis had about a “decided schematic advantage”, this play would definitely qualify.

I won’t lie, if Kansas somehow pulls this out of their hat, I will have a small celebration in honor of this play actually seeing the light of day.

The Roundup

Need an excuse to go to Vegas? The undefeated Mike Lee will be fighting on August 4th at the Texas Station Casino. Should you not be able to make it out to Sin City, the fight will be televised on Telefutura. Now, being Mexican and from Texas, this fight screams all kinds of good mojo for me. Also, if you’ve never watched a sporting broadcast in Spanish, you should–knowing the language is not a prerequisite to enjoying it.

Les Miles finds his way into the Roundup yet again. This time, he is angered by his own mascot finding a QB that is far better than the disaster he fielded last season.

So, Notre Dame isn’t the only school with an embarrassing video. Just ignore the video-that-shall-not-be-named and revel in the fact that there are far worse things that other schools have published on YouTube.

Johnelle might need a few bucks. Seriously.

Law & Order: The Isaiah Crowell Special. First, he melts our hearts by showing his commitment to Georgia with a baby bulldog. Then he’s caught packing heat and runs to the FCS.

One Foot Down finds a way to make me sad about the Lou Holtz Era. Couldn’t we just skip this particular trip down memory lane?

When I was a manager, I had to memorize this and more. Subway Domer has all your freshman roster assignments–study up.

The Beer

This week will be the first week that I recommend a beer that I have not yet tasted. Thanks to the magic of Twitter, @okerland suggested that, based on the heels of last week, I examine Sam Adams Porch Rocker.

While discussing the beer, the Sam Adams Twitter account chimed in as well:

@okerland @HLS_NDtex Technically it’s a radler, a German style beer which takes a Helles style brew and blends with fresh lemon juice.

— Samuel Adams Beer (@SamuelAdamsBeer) July 2, 2012

Another American themed beer that tastes like lemonade on the heels of the 4th? I’m all in.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Best Trick Play Ever” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.