Matt Ryan may not be as twitter famous as Rex Pflueger, but he does have the IN with the ND drum line. #jealous Some fast facts about Ryan, is a 6-8 freshman from Iona Prep in New York. Though he does have an interesting journey to Purcell Pavilion. Late in his junior year Matt Ryan had hip surgery that sidelined him throughout the AAU summer 2014 season. And kept him tentative on the court during his senior year. Therefore, not giving him as much development and exposure that basketball ...
Notre Dame
Good Fridays w/Padre: Bad Question
Last weekend was that big football game which millions ignore to watch everything else that goes on around it. A lot of defense was played and a quarterback of mature years seemingly concluded his career on a high note. One of the several occurrences that people found more interesting than the game itself was the press conference during which the defeated quarterback was laconic, surly, and dismissive before dismissing himself from the press conference. I’m told this fellow attended no fewer ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: 2025 A.D.
There is a class of third-graders in California that has adopted the University as something of learning partner, teacher’s aide, and mentor. These young lads and lasses call themselves the Notre Dame Class of 2029. I enthusiastically applaud this kind of bold, audacious vision and aspiration; after all, in 1842, I declared a mildewed log cabin on the Midwestern American tundra to be a University. Didn’t go from mission to school to college – never used the word ‘impossible’ – didn’t bother to ...
Offseason Resolutions
So, halfway through January, how are your New Year’s resolutions holding up? Personally, I like resolutions that are easy to keep (e.g., continue with my commitment to procrastinating with everything in life) or just unachieveable/undesirable (e.g., run a marathon). What about our beloved Irish? What is going on in the mind of Brian Kelly - a few weeks removed from the Phoenix-Battle-Fiesta-Frog Bowl and near the finish line for signing day 2016? The loss to Ohio State left many with a ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Burned after Reading
Dear Playoff Selection Cabal Committee: I lodged a complaint with you last year when you began this sinister manipulation of the national treasure that is the venerable college football tradition. You fared somewhat well with your collusory scheme in your first attempt, though I suspect this had more to do with the sort of benighted luck visited upon a broken analogue clock that succeeds in telling accurate time in two minutes out of the 24-hour day. With this year’s shambolic farce, though, ...
Notre Dame Named Defendant in Sordid Lawsuit
You may have missed it over the weekend, but on Friday, the University of Notre Dame got named a defendant in a bizarre sex scandal. The action, styled as John Doe v. University of Notre Dame du Lac, and Jane Roe was filed in St. Joesph County and requests damages for the plaintiff against the defendants jointly for racial discrimination, sexual harassment, tort of outrage, negligence, and breach of contract. From the language of the actual lawsuit, here's what we know: The plaintiff, ...
Counting the Stars: Is Temple to Notre Dame what Notre Dame was to Alabama?
One aspect of Saturday's game against Temple (7-0) that has me intrigued is the superficial similarity it has to Notre Dame's (6-1) National Championship Game against Alabama in 2013. The Temple Owls come into Saturday's game without a loss and College GameDay is comin' to their citayyyyy. They're ranked in the Top Twenty-Five for the first time since 1979. They're a program returned to relevance. And they're running into a buzz saw. For those of you who lived through, and still remember, ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Working Mercy
Pope Pope Pope Pope. Is no one aware that we have a football season underway? Well, certainly not the Pope, since his idea of a football is round, you can’t touch it, and you play with it on a pitch. Yes, for Catholics (and, strangely, also for non-Catholics) a Papal visit is very exciting. It is an element of our religion, of our belief system, to recognize the supremacy of the Pope. But it’s also an important element of faith for both Catholics and many, many others, to recognize the supremacy ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Candid Dates
There’s been a lot of talk in the last few days about the debate among the candidates who want to be President. I was President and I didn’t have to debate anybody for the position – I just had to buy the land, build the buildings, bring in students, burn it down, start over…you know, those sort of things. When I retired, I became Superior General so I could give the President orders. I highly recommend this course of action to those seeking higher office. The only debate I had while I was ...
FWIW: ND Number Nine With a Bullet
Following an opening weekend five days of incredible college football action, your Fighting Irish are up two spots to number nine in the most recent AP poll, the first in-season poll of the season. Ohio State is a consensus number one. 'Bama is in at two, Michigan State is at five, and USC is at eight. Clemson is slotted at twelve, Georgia Tech is at fifteen, and Stanford is at twenty-OH THAT'S RIGHT, they lost to Northwestern. Bad for ND's Strength Of Schedule but good for our Schadenfreude ...