Ow my balls

Courtesy of @ndmspaint who whipped this up during our recording.

HLS Rantcap: Notre Dame vs Cincinnati

October 4, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

Quite frankly, having a final season of HLS at least one "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" loss seemed unlikely. Granted, Shane and I didn't expect to go through every possible aggravating story line: bad coaching decisions, QB controversy, stupid turnovers, and screaming at the subset of fans that see their Notre Dame ticket as an investment opportunity. This episode got us so heated that even the Homefield Apparel ad read wasn't spared a rant inclusion. We are red, mad, and nude ...

HLS Podcast: We’re in the Bad Place (Notre Dame/Michigan Post-Game)

October 27, 2019 by Ryan Ritter

I hope everyone gets a chuckle from the cold open. There's definitely not a whole lot of room for any other laughs in this episode after Notre Dame finds themselves absolutely embarrassed in Ann Arbor. Right off the bat, Shane and I deem this loss the worst of the Brian Kelly era. There's no sugar-coating it. This episode is probably less than a pod, but more of an hour-long therapy session on trying to deal with this. So come join us and try to start the healing--or come listen and get ...

HLS Podcast: Notre Dame at Georgia Recap

September 22, 2019 by Ryan Ritter

As we plan to do for all Notre Dame football night games, Shane and I hit Twitch live a few minutes after the final whistle blew in Athens. Kirby Smart tried to let the Irish back into it, but ND ultimately fell short on their final drive, losing 23-17. What went wrong? What went right? Can Notre Dame ever win these kind of games? What does this mean for the rest of the 2019 season? We tackle that and much more off the cuff and raw from the heartbreaking loss, including many questions and ...

Courtesy of @ndmspaint who whipped this up during our recording.

HLS Podcast: Cotton Bowl Recap & HLS Tailgate Interviews

January 2, 2019 by Ryan Ritter

Yes, the Cotton Bowl was awful. Shane and I dive into the mess with a very active chat. However the highlight, in my opinion at least, was absolutely the interviews that I conducted during the HLS tailgate. Jessica Smetana from Sports Illustrated, and former ND O-linemen, and current ESPN personality, Mike Golic Jr. take top billing. However, don't sleep on an ND fan attending his first game, the HLS OGs, NDEddieMac, and some of my fellow Otters. Enjoy! ...

HLS Podcast – SEC: Swiping Elko and Championships

January 5, 2018 by Ryan Ritter

Podcasting is a fun medium; however, when using it to cover a sport that can go zero to stupid at the drop of the hat, things get weird. With no plans to talk about Notre Dame at all in this episode, Shane and I recorded early, blissfully unaware that Mike Elko would hold a job in College Station the following day. So, as sweet summer children, we do nothing but preview the National Championship between Georgia and Alabama (while attempting to crown UCF as CFB's true champion). Through the ...

HLS TV (Episode 14): We Injured Ourselves Filming This Episode

December 1, 2014 by Molly Villari and Ryan Ritter

I'm only slightly joking with the title. Molly's voice was shot and my back has been killing me since Thanksgiving. This Notre Dame injury curse is real y'all, even bloggers are getting hit. However, the show must go on and, despite terrible, terrible Irish losses, we can't quit now. In this episode, we cover all the "fun" hot topics from the ass-kicking in Southern Cal. We talk about Golson's disappointing performance and the QB controversy with Malik Zaire, take a look at the ...

Yep, this pretty much sums it up. (Screen capture from @SuperManTDJesus)

Notre Dame’s “Red Letter Day” Against Southern Cal

November 30, 2014 by Ryan Ritter

We can't lose sight of today. We have to remember where we are after today's loss. It's a red-letter day for our players and coaches alike. Two years ago we were playing for a national championship. Today we got our butts beat. And it wasn't as close as the score. I thought Coach (Sarkisian) was very generous today running the football to keep the score where it was. Having said that, we've got a lot of young players and I'm confident as to where they want to go. We expect to be back in the spot ...

HLS TV (Episode 11): Well…THAT Happened

November 17, 2014 by Molly Villari and Ryan Ritter

I don't really have much to say to lead into this. Molly and I were both beside ourselves with Notre Dame's loss to Northwestern and more or less just vented about it for about 45 minutes. Oh, we also get a surprise return from Molly's dad this episode. No, seriously, it surprised us both and neither of us had any idea it was coming. Poor Molly was the victim of "burn of the year" thanks to her father as well. This weekend was weird. Anyways, the video and audio is below. As a note, ...

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Finding the Bottom

November 16, 2014 by Ryan Ritter

I'm not even sure where exactly to start with the mess that was Notre Dame's loss to Northwestern. Typing "Notre Dame's loss to Northwestern" doesn't even make sense to me. The Irish lost and gave up 43 points to a team that hasn't even cracked 30 all season. Iowa blew these guys out. But here we are in what I consider the worst loss since I walked on to campus in 2003. Oh sure, we've lost to worse teams, but those ND teams were objectively terrible. While this team isn't ...

Notre Dame and Florida State: OPI for the Masses

October 19, 2014 by Ryan Ritter

Yes, this is a post about that play or, more specifically, that penalty. We have two weeks to digest the entire Notre Dame and Florida State epic. That game shouldn't be defined by that one penalty nor do I want it to be. However, I'm mad as hell and can't get that moment out of my head so it's time to vent. Today, Brian Kelly mirrored my feelings perfectly as to why I'm so full of piss and vinegar right now: https://twitter.com/eTruth_Irish/status/523898772971991040 I stand behind ...