Notre Dame to ACC

Wow.

And it appears that they won't even have to cave-in on football.

Credit Where It's Due

 Dusty bringing his lineup card out to the umpire.

I have been rather critical of Dusty Baker's borderline idiotic lineups all season long. I'm not the only one, as Dusty routinely takes any chance he can get to rip the fans and media for discussing his lineups - as if they were handed to him on stone tablets from a burning bush.

So I will happily apologize today as I see that Dusty has seen the light. No longer are Stubbs (OBP .287) and Cozart (OBP .287) hitting #1 and #2. Phillips is back at #1 doing what needs to be done for this team. Furthermore, it looks like Heisey will spell Stubbs in CF, and that puts his bat into the lineup as a solid #2. It seems all is well now that Votto is back. The lineup looks formidable, and the rotation is still chugging along. Granted, we did drop 2 of 3 to a minor league team over the weekend, but you can't win 'em all.

Take A StaND

Does this legally entitle me to kick an usher or senior citizen in the nuts the next time I attend a football game at Notre Dame stadium? God, I'd sure go to more games if it did...

Take A StaND

Blame George For Everything!

No this isn't a recap of the Democratic National Conventions of 2008 and 2012, this is an examination of how one "selfish and thoughtless act" led to a 10 year downward spiral for our beloved University of Notre Dame.

Lou Holtz was a great coach. In 11 seasons at Notre Dame, he restored the glory of the 60's and 70's and erased the pain of the Gerry Faust years. Winning 1 National Title and being on the cusp in 5 other seasons, ND nation was happy. But for whatever reasons, Lou had to move on. His self-selected heir, Bob Davie was OK. That's it. He had a couple of nice 9 win seasons, but he wasn't Lou, and that wasn't good enough. His lack of work after that proves ND made the right choice in letting him go.

Enter George O'Leary. O'Leary had been promoted to head coach at Georgia Tech in the midst of a rapid decline after a National Title in 1990 as D-coordinator. He quickly turned things around. He led the Yellow Jackets to a 52-33 record in 7 seasons and 5 straight bowl games, including a Gator Bowl victory over Davie in 1998. He was NCAA Coach of the Year in 2000, and seemed an excellent choice for Notre Dame. His brand of football seemed a very good fit, and similar to the heyday of Holtz. His success at UCF later proves ND made the right choice in intially hiring him.

Five days after being hired, inaccuracies on his resume were discovered. He lied about a Master's degree from a college he took 2 classes at, and lied about earning 3 letters for varsity football at New Hampshire, when he never even played. 

"Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans. In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatement were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years." 

His swift firing only 5 days later was the first in a cascade of embarrassing events that would lead to 10 miserable years for Notre Dame, which we are now finally turning around.

Notre Dame was forced to scramble to hire a replacement coach. As a result, we had to settle for a quick, splashy solution. They went with Tyrone Willingham. He was moderately successful at an academic university in Stanford. Oh yeah, he was black too. Don't say that though, because that would be racist, right Jason Whitlock? I wish you had died out there in the desert, you fat fuck! Willingham had some initial success running off 8 wins to open the 2002 season, but finished 1-3 with a loss in the Gator Bowl. It was all downhill after that. Willingham proved to be:
     a) Not a very good coach
     b) A lazy recruiter
     c) A confounding speaker in his interviews and statements
     d) A great golfer
His quick firing after 3 years was the right decision, but ND took a TON of heat for it, although I still cannot understand why. If a coach stinks, why are they entitled to 5 years of employment? It's not like we didn't honor his contract, he got paid! Wait, it's just because ND is a bunch of racist white supremacists. Right Whitlock, you prick? Willingham's absolute failure at Washington proves ND made the right choice in letting him go.

So we then proceeded to get even more egg on our face. We openly courted Urban Meyer, only to get left at the alter for Florida. Again, scrambling to find a suitable plan B, we grabbed the best option - Charlie Weis. Weis was everything Willingham wasn't. He was brash, he had success at the highest level in the NFL, and he understood Notre Dame as an alumnus. Unfortunately, the one thing he didn't have was head coaching experience. That would come back to haunt Weis repeatedly in his tenure under the Golden Dome. He had some immediate success, but then showed a knack for shooting himself in the foot. His endless carousel of assistants was hard to keep up with. Switching offensive and defensive schemes year to year was even worse. Weis wasn't even sure what his role was, handing off and then grabbing play calling responsibilities several times. After a huge letdown in 2009 going 6-6, Weis was fired. His inability to decide what he wants was showcased with brief stints in KC, Florida and now Kansas again... proving ND made the right choice in letting him go.

So that brings us to Brian Kelly. The first coach since Lou Holtz that Notre Dame identified, researched and openly sought to hire, who reciprocated that with a desire to coach here. I honestly think that process will pay huge benefits in the future. Kelly is a very good coach. He knows how to run a football program, and he has completely transformed the program in 2 years. The results aren't there yet, but I am confident they are coming. There are no big question marks about Kelly. We know who we have. 2012 will be a tough year with a 1st time starting QB, a very inexperienced secondary and the hardest schedule in the nation. I think 8 or 9 wins are acceptable, and see an outside shot at 10 wins if everything falls just perfectly. Look out in 2013 though!

My point:

The Head Coach is the most important factor for winning in college football.

If you disagree, look at EVERY SINGLE BCS TEAM and try to explain how I am wrong. Talent is definitely important, and that can carry the way for a season or two. I would give Auburn as an example of that. However, winning programs are defined at all levels by their coach. From Nick Saban at Alabama and every other place he coached, to Chris Peterson at Boise State. Good coaches make winners, and players want to play for them.

Notre Dame has been down. It's not because we are "living a lie", or have forsaken our values, or because we are independent. It's not because we can no longer recruit elite athletes. It's because we had a series of bad coaching hires. Notre Dame struck out with Davie, O'Leary, Willingham, Meyer and then Weis. O'Leary, Willingham and Meyer embarrassingly so. I think Kelly was a slam dunk hire, and my optimism is higher than it has been in 10 years. Only a National Title will ultimately prove ND made the right choice in hiring him.

Rick Reilly Writer: RIP

Hey Rick, this is what it looks like to be a PART of something special.

This post is a little bit overdue, but I initially held off on posting a response to the recent Rick Reilly hack job. I wanted to hear others' reactions, and I didn't want to dwell on it too much the week before the season started. I refuse to provide a link to give him even 1 more page hit, so I will summarize his argument and provide my response below.

ND is "living a lie"
Reilly says ND football hasn't won a title since 1988 and has lost 10 of 12 bowl games and 9 of 10 to USC. Is this his criterion for determining a team "living a lie"? Let's take another NCAA team and analyze their results over a 12 year span. If I said they lost 6 of 10 bowls and 11 of 12 to their biggest rival (the 12th being a tie), would you proclaim them dead and worthy of "demotion"? If so, then USC would have been left for dead before Pete Carroll ever arrived. It's so easy to take a sample of any team and show they are down. Even in this period in which we are "living a lie", we still garner front page headlines EVERY time something occurs. Just this past month, we had front page headlines regarding the suspension of a backup QB, alternate uniforms, and an international trip to play in Ireland. By the way, 35,000 US fans traveled to Ireland for the game. The largest ever for a football game and the biggest tourist influx to Ireland EVER! The mere publication of Reilly's article indicates our relevance.

Our BCS deal is unfair
Reilly bemoans the fact that ND has a seat at the BCS table, and even more so that we get a BCS payout even if we don't play in a bowl. Are you kidding me? Guess who else has this same deal? EVERY OTHER TEAM IN A BCS CONFERENCE! They are represented by their conference commissioner, and they get a share of the BCS as a conference member.

Let's talk money. Before the 2006 season, ND would get a full BCS share if they made a BCS bowl. That happened in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl and in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. If they didn't get a BCS bowl, they got nothing. So over the first 8 years of the contract, ND made about $28 million. Then, the contract was changed. ND would get $4.5 million for an appearance or $1.3 if we didn't make it. Where did these numbers come from? $4.5M is the conference share for a 2nd place BCS team. $1.3M is 1/66th share of the pot, given 66 BCS teams. That equals out to LESS THAN the share for each nonparticipating conference team. So 2-10 Ole Miss took home more than ND last year.

Still think we got a sweetheart deal? Try this one on... Over the life of the current BCS contract (2006-now) ND has made $11 million, with 1 appearance in the 2007 Sugar Bowl. Had we had the old deal, we would have easily surpassed that amount with $18 million for that one game alone.So do you think ND asked for the new terms? Obviously, the BCS flexed a little muscle and forced ND to take a paycut.

TV Contract
This issue seems to have gotten the most attention from Mike Golic and the rest of the media. Too bad, because it's pointless and simple. The discussion also clouds the other inane components of Reilly's argument. Every BCS team is on TV every week. Conferences make sure they are televised. Perhaps a fan in LA can't watch FSU play BC, but those games are on regionally. Do you think ND is on all across the country? Think again. We are preempted in many cities in favor of local games, or other programming. How about this? If ND didn't deserve to be on TV, why is EVERY SINGLE AWAY GAME broadcast nationally? I can't remember the last time I couldn't watch one. That fact alone tells you that ND is relevant. If we didn't have a contract with NBC, some other network would happily sign us.  

General Piling on
Here's where I get angry. Why is Notre Dame the national whipping boy? I don't understand the constant piling on by the Reilly's of the world. What did we do to deserve this. We play football. We do well. Since 1988, we had legit runs at a National Title in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 2005. We have also been pretty good in several other years. A few breaks, and we could easily have 2 or 3 more since 1988. Not only that, but we do things the right way. Our graduation rate is the best in the nation almost every year, and almost all of our athletes get a degree. We should be lauded for this, rather than ridiculed.

Of the 11 different BCS era champions, 7 were on probation at some point during the same BCS era. Is that what it takes to win? yet those teams are lauded for their success, while their failures are given a free pass. Has it really come to ND being the "bad guy" for... what, not winning a title or getting on probation.

Reilly relevence
It really just comes down to this. ND is a bit different, because we are independent. A lot of people resent that or hate us for it. Reilly is one of them. However, I consider Reilly nothing more than a glorified blogger pimping hot button article titles to secure page hits, while he hides the fact that he is really just a frustrated writer watching his print medium slip away from relevance. Perhaps it's Reilly who needs to be demoted to writing for Athalon or blogging for Bleacher Report.

Here's the rub. As Reilly fades into oblivion, ND is celebrating our 125th year of football, and all signs point to great things in the near future and another 125 years of football for generations to come.

Curiosity

I will readily admit I am a space junkie. I can't get enough of NASA both past and present. So I watched very closely the results of the recent landing of the Mars Science Laboratory, and it's rover, Curiosity.

On landing day, I watched picture after picture released, and was blown away. However, the good pics were still a few days away. I didn't think anything could be more amazing than the pic above. That was taken from Mars orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It just happened to catch the main chutes deployed as Curiosity floated to the surface!!! Seriously, what are the odds they get this pic? This was followed by beautiful color HD pics of the surrounding environment, and amazing tests of the science equipment. They are targeting a laser for chemical analysis of samples for chrissakes!

This may be the most amazing thing yet. Click the video below to see an HD color video of the ACTUAL LANDING! You see the heat shield fall away and the surface of Mars comes up fast as the lander floats down on a parachute. suddenly, the image stabilizes as the landing rockets fire. You can even see the rocket blast on the surface. Just incredible.

Made in the USA

Man, no comments on Red Dawn? Tough crowd around here. How 'bout this one...

So like most red-blooded American men, I like to take good care of my home and yard. My yardwork has always been simple. I have a Craftsman 22" push mower (not self-propelled), a Black & Decker edger and a string trimmer. Since I bought my 1st house in New Orleans, these three trusty tools have served me well. After a 1 year hiatus in Nashville (that yard was HUGE and we were busy), I dusted off my gear and started taking care of my house in Cincy. Same mower, same edger, same trimmer.

When I started, I knew I was right on the edge of it being manageable. However, I gave it a try and could get the mowing done in about an hour and a half. Not too bad. Edging and trimming took a big back seat though. It just took too long to do it all at once. My neighbors all thought I was crazy, so it became a point of pride that I was one of the few, and more recently THE ONLY, neighbors who actually push mowed his yard.

My pride started to falter though last year. After moving in 3 years ago, I have hit the sweet spot in lawn care. Figuring out the right amount of water, fertilizer, seed etc, I now have a pretty healthy lawn. So now my old pusher had started to choke in the thicker grass and create a LOT of clumping. Ever rake your yard after you mowed? Yeah, it sucks! I started to eyeball riding mowers. I looked at a few, and researched it a lot. However, no move was made, as babies can be expensive.

All that changed when Piper was born. After the 2nd time mowing, Ali had gotten tired of my close to 2 hours mowing and then obligatory dip in the pool to cool off. When Mom and Dad were over one evening, she actually gave me the green light to buy a riding mower!

So without further ado, that's me on my new John Deere x304. I avoided the zero turns because they don't do well on hills. They also take up a ton of garage space. JD has a line of 4-wheel steering mowers which approach zero turn, so that's what I went with.

Was it instant glory? No. My first time mowing, I quickly realized that the beautiful cut was creating a LARGE amount of clippings that piled up in an unsightly way (you can see some in the pic above looking brown). Also, I realized that you don't take your butt off the seat while mowing. It cuts the engine. When that happened, it took me an hour to figure it out and get running again. I quickly bought an add-on mulching kit. Installed it last night. Taking off the deck of a riding mower and installing new blades yourself? Yeah, that's pretty awesome too! Right after, I took it out for a spin to chop up the extra clippings as you see above. Now?

Glorious.

As for the neighbors... You know you've made a good choice when one comes over and asks to mow some of MY LAWN FOR ME! He just wanted to test out the 4-wheel steering.

WOLVERINES!!!!!!!!!!!

Red Dawn. Every guy born in the 70s and 80s loves it. Every guy in that generation also has a contingency plan in the event that a Russian invasion ever does happen. I think the reason that movie worked so well is that when it came out, it seemed possible. 1984 was the height of the Cold War, and nobody knew what crazy Ron and Gorbachev were going to do. The opening text in the titles of that movie still send chills down my spine. Just awesome:

Soviet Union suffers worst wheat harvest in 55 years... 
Labor and food riots in Poland. Soviet troops invade... 
Cuba and Nicaragua reach troop strength goals of 500,000. El Salvador and Honduras fall... 
Greens Party gains control of West German Parliament. Demands withdrawal of nuclear weapons from European soil... 
Mexico plunged into revolution... 
NATO dissolves. 
United States stands alone. 

I knew they were remaking Red Dawn, but after the disastrous film production, I had no hope it would be watchable. First, they chose China as the bad guys. When China got upset, the producers realized that they needed Chinese money, so they changed the bad guys to North Korea - AFTER the film was wrapped. I guess they went in and digitally changed all the uniforms? I'm thinking most Asians can clearly see the difference between someone from Chinese vs. Korean descent. Then, the film got shelved for 3 years.

Now, it's coming out. After watching the trailer above, I admit I am intrigued. I like the "weapon" concept. It has the plausibility factor. I love the visuals. Looks like they moved it to more of an urban setting. I also like that they seem to have taken a lot of key parts from Red Dawn, rather than reinvent everything. If it ain't broke... So, I think I might see this one. I'll wait for a review or two to decide on the theater, but home video for sure.

The End of an Era

6914 Copperglow Ct. - Click Here to Purchase!!!

It's the end of yet another era in Heffernan history. Mom and Dad have finally decided to move out of the family home on Copperglow. Although we have certainly moved around a lot in our family history (Heffernan Family Homes), Copperglow is a bit special. We moved in during the summer of 1990, meaning it's been our family home for 22 years. That's a record. 

I know Mom and Dad are ready for a bit of downsizing, so I know they are looking forward to an exciting new place. Also, none of us have lived at home for years. However, I'm sure everyone is a little bit sad that the time to say goodbye to the old homestead is drawing near. We have more stories about this house than any other, but there is one that I am rather interested in...

JUST FESS UP. ONCE AND FOR ALL, WHO HIT OUR MAILBOX WITH A CAR?

Seriously though, use the comments to post your favorite Copperglow memories. It will surely turn this post into a trip down memory lane. 

I would also like to steal Ian's idea and plan one final memory. When Mom and Dad sell the place, I think it would be awesome to get some of us together and have one final blowout - IN THE CUL DE SAC!!! We came in with a bang, and we should go out with one for our beloved neighbor across the street! Fireworks, lots of parked cars, wiffle ball, loud music. Everything that she's ever called the cops on us for should be included in this party. We should have a month or so to plan before a closing. Check your calendars!

A Year With CrossFit

Prior to the kids being born, I was pretty active on the exercise front. I was playing competitive soccer several times a week, year round. I was running in the mornings and hitting the gym after work. Since the kids burst (literally) onto the scene 5 years ago priorities shifted and my time was a premium. So the working out thing was pretty much dropped. I joined a gym after the boy was born, but broke my elbow in a soccer game a month after joining and that was pretty much that. A little over a year ago I decided that it was time to at least try to recover a modicum of previous fitness level. I knew I couldn't commit to another Gold's Gym type of place because I'd get bored and couldn't motivate. I had heard about this new routine called CrossFit through, of all places, a tv blogger that I follow. It entails varying short workouts at high intensity utilizing functional movements along with Olympic style lifting and gymnastics elements. I was drawn to it by the idea of short, constantly changing workouts as those would, hopefully, keep me interested and work with my schedule. I also liked the fact that the workouts regularly forced you to compete against other people, which drives my competitive nature (although, this does have some negative consequences which I'll discuss later).

I've now been doing CrossFit for 1 year (Steph too!) and have managed to maintain a pretty consistent 3-day/week schedule and wanted to document my thoughts. CrossFit has been referred to as a cult by many, and I can definitely see why. People get into it. Really into it. I've managed to keep an open mind about things. Overall, I really enjoy it, but there are definitely some negatives. Here are my thoughts:

PROS

• Timing: Workouts vary in length from 5 to 30 minutes, with most taking me 10-15 minutes to complete. So I'm able to finish a workout, door-to-door, in an hour. This allows me to attend a 6:30a class every morning without having to get up at an insane hour like dad does for his runs and still be home in time to get the kids ready for school.
• Intensity: Those 10-15 minutes that I spend working out are non-stop hell. Lifting, running, jumping - whatever it is, you go non-stop. So while it's not the greatest if you're focused on cardio, it's a helluva full-body workout and you feel those 10-15 minutes for days.
• Variety: Whenever I would go to the gym gym, I had a pretty varied workout for differing days, but I'd also get really bored with it. I would occasionally try to pull in a couple exercises from Men's Health or some bullshit magazine like that, but I always came back to the same old exercises. With CrossFit, there are definitely movements that are prominently featured, by your day to day workouts are never the same. So it keeps things fresh. Added bonus, they usually schedule things so you don't overwork a single muscle group so you can recover adequately.
• Competition: Almost every workout is either based on number of reps you perform in a given time or how quickly you can complete a fixed number of reps. With class sizes typically between 6-18 you're racing against everyone else. That competitive element pushes me harder than I would ever push myself.
• Camaraderie: At the gym gym I went out of my way to not talk to other people. I would always make sure I used weights where I didn't need a spotter. With CrossFit (and maybe this is just our affiliate) almost everyone seems really cool. People talk and laugh about how shitty an upcoming workout is or a just-finished workout was. The really cool thing is how people pull for you. When people are lagging beyond, folks who have finished will start cheering them on. I did my first muscle up (turn your volume down) a couple weeks back and, after two failed attempts I nailed it. Literally everyone in the gym (about 2 dozen people) dropped what they were doing to come over and give me high fives. Either they had been there before and knew from experience what it felt like to do that the first time or it's something they're working towards and could appreciate it. Either way, it was a great feeling.

CONS

• Competition: I know what you're thinking - dumbass already listed this as a pro! Here's the thing, I'm a competitive person. I hate to lose. At anything. I don't let the girl beat me at Connect Four. So I may, on occasion, attempt to do things that I'm really not ready to do. And that leads to...
• Risk of Injury: I haven't had any serious injuries since starting CrossFit, but I have had a constant series of niggling ones - wrist, left elbow, right elbow, achilles, and, currently, knee. Particularly with the Olympic lifts (and box jumps) technique is very, very important. If you try to go heavy before you have the technique down, you're going to get hurt. If you try to keep up with the 18 year old next to you (my nemesis, Jacob), you're probably going to get hurt. If you listen to the instructors, practice the movements before and/or after the actual workout, and only move up in weight as you're ready, you'll be fine. But the pressure to try to advance too quickly is definitely there.

Whenever I've told people that I've been doing CrossFit I've found that the, much like Notre Dame football, opinions on it mainly sit at opposite ends of the spectrum - people either thing it's the only workout you should do or people thing it's the worst thing you can possibly do. I guess I lean more towards the former. It's definitely not the end-all-be-all. As I said early, if you main focus is cardio, it's probably not the best routine. If you like to workout on your own, at any time, it's probably not going to work for you based on the class-based approach. But if you're looking to stay fit, not get bored, and your time is a premium I definitely recommend checking it out. Most CrossFit affiliates (and they are everywhere) offer 1 or 2 free introductory classes to see if it works for you.

After a year of CrossFit, I certainly feel as physically fit as I have since college. Because there are benchmark workouts that pop up every few months I can also quantitatively gauge my progress. So I know it's working. Maybe I'm not dropping pant sizes like Ted (I still like to eat), but there are definitely exercises and movements I can do now that seemed impossible to me when I started one year ago. For me, right now, it's the ideal workout routine.

Now for some obligatory bragging - I deadlifted 400lbs the other day. Feel free to call me "Muscles".