Notre Dame vs. Boston College

Here we go, quick immediate post ND game post. Boring is the best word to describe this 21-6 Notre Dame win over Boston College. While I am happy that ND won, I am disappointed that they couldn't get more points & put up impressive numbers to help boost themselves in the polls. Which, as the media likes to remind us, is very important for ND in order to have a chance of making it to the championship game. But let's get back to the game first.

Spartacus gifs!

The history between ND & BC has been an interesting one for sure, it's peppered with BC playing spoiler for perfect ND seasons. Many a ND heart has been broken from BC hangover games, therefore one can never overlook BC. I know that many of my fellow ND fans thought that this would be an easy, almost practice like game for the Irish. Yeah, that didn't work out that way.

I was surprised & impressed by BC's QB Rettig.  He has a really good arm on him, makes good decisions & he's surprisingly good in the pocket. His head's up plays in the first quarter certainly made me nervous. I was also very surprised by BC's o-line, they protected Rettig frustratingly well. Thankfully, ND's D was able to successfully adjust & held BC to only 2 FGs the whole game. ND LB Shembo had a really good game, as well as DE Tuitt.

Bye, Boston College.

ND's offense did well, besides two drive killing fumbles from Atkinson & Riddick respectfully, the O drove down the field with relative ease against BC. It was a decent game for Golson. He had some really good throws & runs, but he also made a few decision mistakes, which is to be expected considering his age. I feel like I say this after every game, but every young QB learns on the job. You have to take the mistakes in order for them to grow. I was really happy to see Eifert get so many touches today, considering he hasn't been as visible this year as he was last.

The crowd roars at the sight of Gannicus Eifert.

I was very nervous towards the end of the game. The undefeated stress is strong, I tell you what. Bama lost to Texas A&M, which starts to open the path for ND's championship run. It's questionable whether an undefeated ND could jump undefeated Oregon or undefeated Kansas State. I'm of the belief that ND could jump Kansas State with a win over USC, but who knows? A lot can happen in the next few weeks & I don't believe that both Oregon & Kansas State will be undefeated by the end of the season. For that matter, there's a chance ND won't be undefeated either. ND just has to win & we'll have to continue to worry about NC dream scenarios.

My fav Spartacus ever, too bad it's blurry.

For now, Notre Dame is 10-0. Keep on keeping on. Go Irish!

PITT vs. ND

So, here's my almost immediate (sorry, I had to eat dinner first) post ND game post. Boy howdy, that game nearly did me in. Remember the level of optimism I had in my last post? Yeah, that's the same level of pessimism I had watching the Pitt game. I could see all the dreams for going to another national championship & having a Heisman winner again slip through ND's collective fingers. It made me feel sick to my stomach. But somehow, some way, ND pulled out a victory in triple over time to continue on to 9-0. Luck of the Irish indeed.

It was clear from the start of the game that ND just wasn't playing at the same level they had played all season. Was it because of an Oklahoma hangover from beating a top team on the road & proving yourself to the country? Perhaps they overlooked Pitt? Or maybe it's because a lot of the players came down with the flu this past week? Who knows, either way they just didn't look like 2012 ND, especially the defense. ND's D has been spectacular this year, so to see a 4-4 Pitt just thrash through them at times was very concerning. A lot of sloppy tackles & bad angles by the D definitely had me screaming at my tv like a crazed loon. The offense was no better, after initially marching down the field with ease, ND just couldn't punch it into the endzone. That's when I started yelling at Brian Kelly's playcalling. I also yelled at my tv when Rees kept coming out. Basically, there was a lot of yelling.

I wasn't down with your shenanigans, ND.

 Honestly, I just wanted to take a nap after the first half of the game. I was just frustrated & tired & worried over ND's play. But I was hopeful that they would come through with their second half adjustments & finally get the ball moving. But you know, that didn't really happen until the 4th quarter, which made me go from feeling sleepy to feeling like I was going to throw up. Thankfully, ND woke up & Golson was on fire, minus a few very bad plays. The defense stiffened & ND fought back from a 14 point deficit (including a 2 pt conversion) to tie the game & send the teams into overtime.

I calmed down a bit at that point, but that didn't last long. First overtime included a FG by each team, not much drama there. Then came the second overtime, where ND marched down the redzone & Cierre Wood fumbled outside of & into the endzone, where Pitt recovered. Enter panic meltdown mode for me. All Pitt needed was a FG to win & they had a sure footed kicker. Pretty much guaranteed, right? I watched the Pitt players start to congratulate & hug one another as my heart sank. They set up the kick & he missed it. HE MISSED IT. Triple overtime. Pitt gets the ball again & ND's D holds to force another FG, which they make this time. ND gets the ball. Golson picks his way through the redzone via a few plays, then runs to the 1 yard line. Here we go, just punch the ball into the endzone & you win the game. Golson takes the ball under center & does just that, TD Notre Dame. Notre Dame wins in triple overtime! 9-0! All dreams of another national championship & another Heisman winner continue.

Agreed, Arthur. Agreed.

I let out the biggest sigh of relief. Did ND get embarrassed? They sure did. Did Pitt outplay ND? They sure did, in the first 3 quarters of the game. Should ND not overlook BC & Wake Forest? You bet your bippy. Hopefully this game lit a fire under ND. They can't take anything for granted. They have to fight to stay where they are & they have to fight to climb higher.

Fight, Fighting Irish. But hey, my team's 9-0!

ND vs OU.

Here's my late review of the Notre Dame vs Oklahoma game. I was doing so well there with two immediate ND post-game reaction posts, but the night game on Halloween Saturday really delayed me.

So, what happened in the game? Oh, I don't know... #3 ND just beat #8 Oklahoma at Oklahoma, no big deal or anything. It's not like no one picked ND to win. It's not like everyone expected OU to put a beatdown on ND & prove to everyone that ND didn't deserve their lofty ranking. Oh wait.

East of Eden gifs, yes!

I fully admit, like I said prior, that I was very nervous for this game. OU just doesn't lose at home. In fact, Stoops had never lost twice at home in a season since he was the HC of OU. Oklahoma is the real deal of college football royalty. I've always like Oklahoma & Texas because just like ND, they are traditional powerhouse programs that helped build present day college football. This demands respect from every college football fan worth their salt. Stoops is an excellent coach. While I know that some of my fellow ND fans are still salty over Stoops' supposed ND job offer rejection 3 years ago, I never held it against him. I also highly doubt that he has ever regretted the decision to stay put in Norman & I also doubt he ever will.

That being said, ND kicked OU's ass. I was a little nervous during OU's first few plays of the game as ND's D tried to settle down & I thanked the heavens for that poor snap by OU's center that slowed the game down & allowed ND's D to adjust. It was a slugfest for most of the game, but ND held their own in a game that no one thought they could win. This is a team that doesn't care if you believe in them, they'll force you to believe in them instead. I let out a huge sigh of relief when Cierre broke out that huge run, that was the moment that I knew ND's O would be able to chug along.

This is basically how I watch people who hate ND watch ND.

What about Golson though? He played one hell of a game. It looks like ND is finally finding their offense. This is why it was so important stick with Golson through his tough moments. He's a young QB & young QBs need to take their lumps & learn from them in order to become great QBs. It's a process that requires a lot of patience. Luckily for ND, they have Rees as a back up QB that can be inserted right into the offense without missing a beat. Yes, internet, I finally stopped being nervous every time Rees has trotted out on the field. Progress.

How did ND's defense get so good? I find myself wondering that often. Also, give Manti Te'o the Heisman already. He has had such a fantastic season. I am so proud to have him represent my favorite team. He'll completely humiliate you & then he'll pray for you. HeisManti.

Because who doesn't love James Dean?

 It's really looking like ND will roll into the USC game 11-0. Their next three games are versus some real bottom feeders, but they definitely can't overlook them. Especially Boston College, in a classic "if we don't learn from our past we're doomed to repeat our mistakes" scenario. Beat SC, go to the championships. Let's get this.

(Yeah, the ND optimistic side is really trying to bust out over here. Meanwhile my realistic side is battling to keep me cautious.)

Go Irish!

BYU vs. ND

Yay, second immediate ND reaction post in a row! Whew, big sigh of relief over here. ND pulled out a close win in a battle game against BYU. They are now 7-0 & still in the conversation. ND's fate is in their own hands & if they manage to win all of their games then they WILL be in the National Championship game. But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Game of Thrones gif post? Yeah!

I didn't expect ND to come out this flat & sloppy for the game. The stupid & rather unnecessary personal fouls were really driving me crazy. But I'll give it to BYU, they really played a good game against ND. Their QB is really good & made me miss the mobility of Golson. BYU's little cupcake passes were really torching ND for a bit there. I was definitely getting nervous & yelling at my tv a bit too much.

Sometimes ND frustrates me, ok?

Thankfully ND really came through in the second half. The o-line, especially, did a very good job at imposing their will on BYU & eventually wearing them down in the 4th. Riddick had a fantastic game, so did Cierre, with both RBs reaching over 100 yards today. I was, as always, nervous about Rees playing. I think anyone that has watched ND during 2010-2011 gets nervous when Rees plays. But it was a good idea to protect Golson after his concussion last week.  We definitely need Golson in full form next week.

The D really stepped up. It's so strange to have a great defensive after years of having D problems. KLM, Nix & Te'o had really good games again. I was really happy for Spond as well. He has really stepped up this season. I'm glad for that Te'o's that ND beat BYU. Manti has received a lot of heat from that school ever since he picked ND over them. It's as if they believe that because of his religion he was bond to them. It's not like the guy has the freedom to choose whatever school/team that best fit him or anything.

We'd be rollin'.

ND heads to Norman next week to play Oklahoma in primetime. Boy howdy, I have been scared of this game since last year. OU is OU & playing them at home is nearly impossible. This will be ND's biggest test of the season. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect. I don't know how ND will fair against OU, but that game will for sure tell everyone if ND is truly back. Win that game & silence everyone.

It's just a gold helmet, that's all.

Go Irish!

Stanford vs. Notre Dame

What was that? I'm still in a state of shock over how ND won that game. I'm also still coming down from the adrenaline rush, holy moly. Once I calmed down a little from my excitement, I thought to myself, "I really need to listen to Eye of the Tiger. Haha, I don't know why. It just feels like an Eye of the Tiger moment. Now, you do the same.

Perfect for this moment, right?

Let's get to this immediate game reaction post. Stanford vs. Notre Dame was a hard fought battle kind of game. A lot of turnovers, a lot of dropped passes & a lot of poor passes were plentiful for both teams. It was also full of hard fought runs & great defensive stands. Basically, it's the game that I expected to happen today, especially considering it was raining for the entire game. Like I said a few weeks ago, I love football in the rain. I love the grit of it. Football is rain & mud, when you can tell how good a player is by how filthy his jersey is. But I digress, back to the game.

I would be lying if I said I didn't worry about ND. It was definitely a stressful game to watch. I was really doubting Kelly at the end of the 4th when it was clear ND was going for the tie with a FG instead of trying to punch it in for a TD at the end to win it. I also got really scared when Golson was knocked out of the game & Rees came in. I was really nervous about playing Stanford in OT. Basically I was a bundle of nerves, that's what I'm trying to tell you. But ND fought with all they had the entire game.

ND had the first possession in OT & scored a TD. Then Stanford came back & eventually marches to the 1 yard line. 3rd down & they ran it up the gut, ND stopped them, 4th down. Do or die, game on the line. Stanford runs again, ND stops again. Game over! ND WINS! The ND players are euphoric against a rain soaked background & the ND students start to rush the field. Hold on, the refs are going to review it. Both teams go back to the sidelines & the fans are pushed back into the stands. NBC replays the final play over & over again. Apparently the Stanford player was initially stopped short of the goal line, but he kept churning his legs & twisting. At some point he reached over & it looked like he was able to get his hand & the ball in the endzone, but by doing this he also fumbled into the endzone. The question is if he maintained control of the ball before he broke the line, at least that's what Mayock kept asking. Meanwhile, I kept shouting at my tv about when the ref blew the whistle to stop said play. If the play was already blown dead then it wouldn't matter how much the guy churned & twisted.

& this seals it. His elbow was down before the goal line. This gif was sure made fast.

After it seemed like 30 mins, the ref finally came out & I held my breath the whole way through. He stated that there was no foul on the field for excessive celebration because ND had thought the game was over at that point. I was sitting there like, "there was an excessive celebration flag?". Then he said the call on the field stands & the game is over. ND WINS! For real this time.

Does any of this make any sense? Sorry, I'm still so excited & I'm writing this rather rushed. But hey hey, ND 6-0! BCS tomorrow. & I'm outta here. Have a good weekend, internet!

Halloween: Xena's Chakram Tutorial

This is a DIY Xena's Chakram Halloween post, I'm pretty excited about it.  This was one of the reasons why I wanted to start a blog in the first place.

Hello, Lucy Flawless.

 I was Xena for Halloween 2 years ago (yay!Xena!) & I was able to find her costume pretty easily. I tried it on at Party City & then bought it for $30 cheaper on Amazon. This is the one I bought, but it was cheaper 2 years ago, figures. I think it's a really great costume & it's pretty good quality too, especially considering it's a basic pre-packaged one.

Pretty badass, aye?

 & that's my costume in all it's full accessorized glory. The cape & the arm bands were included with the dress.The sword is just a cheapo one I found at Party City & look, it's still in stock! It's a good deal considering the how big it is & the fact that it comes with a sheath. I wore black leather over the knee boots with this, but forgot to take a picture of them.

Now let's get to the gritty here. Once I had the costume, I needed Xena weapons in order to properly represent her. Yeah, I'm that kind of Halloween person. I like to research my characters & have fun with it for a reasonable price. While I'm in awe of cosplay people & their incredible skills, I just don't have the funds to create the costumes they do. Maybe one day, but not today. In order to be Xena you have to have a chakram, right? That circular throwing thingy is her trademark weapon. But two years ago I couldn't find a Xena chakram for sale online, therefore I had to make my own. So I did what I always do when I need to get crafty, I searched online for a tutorial. Much to my dismay, I couldn't find any picture/video tutorials on how to make a chakram. I was on my own. Wild west frontier on my own.

This was my goal.

First I went searching for pictures of Xena's actual chakrams, so I could have a design plan. Then I went searching for plain metal chakrams & I was able to find one on Amazon, but it cost too much. Considering I didn't need an actual working weapon & I wanted to make this as cheaply as I possibly could, I decided to use what I already had in abundance at home: aluminum foil & cardboard. The only thing I bought for my homemade chakram was gold paint.


Materials:

• Cardboard boxes
• Aluminum foil
• Gold paint, I used this one in Glorious Gold
• Drawing compass
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Pen
• Scissors
• Box cutter
• Elmer's Glue
• Black permanent marker

& here's what I was able to come up with.

My next step was to create a template. Initially I thought it would be a grand idea to trace pots & pans in order to get perfect circles, until I tried it & couldn't trace pots & pans for the life of me. So, I rustled through my office supplies & found my old drawing compass from elementary school. Hey look teachers, I actually used math in real life! Ha. I made an outer circle & then an inner circle. Easy enough. Then I needed to figure out the chakram design. It's basically a series of 18 equal sized rectangles, 9 gold & 9 silver. They need to be equal or else it will be very obvious. In order to find the exact needed length of the outer lines of the rectangles I figured out the circumference of the outer circle & divide it by 18. Then I found the circumference of the inner circle & divided it by 18 in order to find out the exact needed length for the bottom rectangle length. More real life math! Disclaimer: math was always my worst subject, so I'm sure there is probably an easier or more precise way to figure out how to do this, but this was the only way I could think of. Please don't laugh at me, mathematicians.

Once I had the measurements I needed, I went at it with my trusty ruler & compass & made all the rectangles. I measured out the outer & inner (or top & bottom) rectangle lines with a ruler & then drew them with my handy compass. Then I drew the side rectangle lines straight with a ruler. Finally I used a pen cap & traced a small circle in every other rectangle to complete the design. Template complete.

It's like the cardboard Olympics.

I cut out my template & gathered a couple cardboard boxes I had laying around. Three layers of cardboard were the perfect amount of thickness needed so I used the template to trace out three cardboard chakrams & cut them out carefully. I used a box cutter & scissors. Then I glued the three cardboard chakrams together with standard Elmer's glue, piled on a few heavy text books on top of them to press them together & left it out overnight to dry.

The back was pretty wrinkly, but what can you do. No one sees the back anyway.

The next step was to wrap the cardboard in aluminum foil. I had to wrestle with it a bit to get it to work (the inner circle was a challenge), but I eventually figured it out & Elmer glued the aluminum foil to the cardboard chakram. Again, I piled on a few heavy text books & let it dry overnight.

Hello, first coat of paint.

Now time for the design fun, or the design, "do or die, is this going to work or will it be a complete disaster?" fear part of the project. I didn't take a picture of this step, but I cut out the gold rectangles part of my paper template laid it on the aluminum chakram. I then fearfully drew out the design with a black pen, using my compass & ruler again, to make sure I had perfect lines.

Time to paint. Again, I used this paint from Joann's in Glorious Gold to carefully paint the gold design. I painted 3 layers & let it sit out to dry for a few hours in between each layer.

Whoomp, there it is.

Finally, I outlined the gold design with a black permanent marker. & yes, I did use a compass and a ruler with the black permanent marker. Perfect, perfect. Have to be perfect. I free handed the little circles though, I got lazy at that point. & done. Whew. I was really pleased & proud with how it turned out. It was actually really fun to make it too.

I must admit that I really love this thing & I wish I could carry it with me always.

 I attached the chakram to my costume using one of those Velcro thingys (technical term) that come with laptop cords in order to keep them neatly bundled. I just looped it through a couple of my belt holes & then looped it around to my chakram in order to hold it into place.

Not only is it functional, but it's fun! You try whipping out a sword attached to your back & not feel like a boss.

 I also used two other Velcro laptop cord thingys to secure my sword to my back & be like Xena. That way the sword could easily slide into place & be held by the Velcro loops & I wouldn't be forced to carry a sword around in my hands all night. The back of the sword sheath has holes, so I looped one of the Velcro thingys through them & then over the left shoulder strap of my costume, securing the Velcro. Then I sewed the back of the second Velcro strap into the back of my belt near the right side of my waist, making it so the sword would be attached diagonally across my back, just like Xena! I told you I'm one of those Halloween people.

 & that was it! Thanks for sticking with me through this long picture post.

Miami vs. Notre Dame

Time for my late in the week ND recap. I say this with a lot of caution, but I'm a little excited about this team. I'm a little scared about this team too, so scared that I'm scared that admitting that I'm a little excited is going to unleash some kind of evil purple smoke, Once Upon a Time curse on ND. ...or reinvigorate that curse back on to ND, whatever way you look at it.

Let's make this an Evil Queen gif post, ok? Ok.

That Miami vs. ND game did not go the way I thought it would. I admit that I haven't really paid much attention to Miami this season. I don't really pay that much attention to them at all. In fact, whenever the ESPN talking heads drivel on about how ND is irrelevant, I always use Miami as an example of a truly irrelevant team. Let me explain. I understand the force that Miami became years ago & I understand their importance to college football. I also understand their NFL factory. All of that demands respect, but no one talks about Miami when they're not good. No one goes to Miami games when they're not good. Their football seasons usually start off pretty strong which generates some media excitement, but once it's clear that they are not fielding a national contending team that season it goes silent. Silent. No one talks about them. That's true irrelevancy. Compare that with ND's recent past, where regardless of how poorly the Irish have played, the media has never shut up about them. Even ND's woeful 3-9 2007 season caused a media frenzy. ND was the most talked about 3-9 football team in history. That is not irrelevancy. You're not irrelevant when people spend hours talking about how irrelevant you are, year after year. You are irrelevant when no one even mentions you. My biggest fear as a ND fan is becoming Miami's brand of irrelevant. When no on talks about you, then you are truly over.

Serving you up some vintage Disney realness.

 
Now, I'm not saying Miami is over. I'm sure that they will be fine, given the talent-rich land of Florida football recruits. Rumors are definitely circling about the sanctions that the NCAA will hit them (via they're own bounty system paid for by a large booster) with once the season is over. If you haven't, definitely check out the investigative reporting article done by Yahoo Sports on the Miami scandal, it's a really good read. I'm really loving the fact Yahoo Sports actually investigates & brings to light sport scandals. It's refreshing compared to other sport "journalism" outlets. But I digress.

Because this one is cool, that's why.

Back to the game. What was that? I feel like Miami just quit. They hit a bunch of bad luck, early dropped TD passes, questionable/bad calls, etc. & then they just seemed to lie down. I'm certainly not complaining, but it was pretty strange. Believe you me, I know ND isn't perfect. There's still a lot of problems. Unlike many of my fellow ND fans, I do not believe ND is a championship contending team this year. I do believe that they will still lose a few games this year. I do not think we are Bama & I shudder to think of what would happen if ND ended up playing Bama in a bowl game. However, I have no complaints about the ND team that showed up to play Miami. I lied, I'm still wondering when we're going to return a punt, but besides that I was a pretty happy & relaxed fan during that game. The Irish are 5-0 & are ranked #7 in the country, so how much can I really complain? But I'm still trying to keep my hopeful excitement down. It's more of a fearful excitement right now.

I see you not having a care to give, Evil Queen.

Please don't lose.