Stickmin Issue #1

So, what does boredom at a job with access to MS Paint get you? A comic series. I created a MS Paint comic using stick figures called "Stickmin" many moons ago at work and I shared with many of my fellow employees. Seriously, I did this shit like 4 years ago. I felt I should share it with everyone. This is not some grand project I want to work on, nor is it some continuous series; just something you can take a look at if your bored. This is in no way a thing that took many hours to create or much effort. Just something fun and stupid I am sharing for your enjoyment. Below is Issue #1 of 3 that I made.

Mad props to Alex Jowski that found this and sent it to me.

WARNING: Pixelated MS Paint Can Violence =) 

ND Football: Week 4

Notre Dame hasn't opened a season 4-0 since 2002; a decade ago. Last night's victory was ugly and sloppy, but a victory nonetheless. After losing 3 straight to Michigan, ND breaks the UM curse with a win under the lights in South Bend. It was a chest grasping experience from start to end, lets break down what I saw from the game and what it means for the Irish for the rest of the season.

Six. I'm liking this number right now. It's the amount of turnovers the ND defense forced Saturday night. The defense had 5 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery(5 turnovers came from Michigan QB Denard Robinson; 4 INT 1 FR). Along with these turnovers, the front seven kept Robinson in check getting 3 sacks and completely keeping the star player, which some say is the best offensive player in college football, in check and contained. Denard Robinson as burned the Irish for almost 1000 total yards the two years prior to ND's victory yesterday. After last night's defeat, the Wolverine QB said it was the worst game of his career. Notre Dame's defense came in full throttle in the red zone forcing the Wolverines to only 2 field goals, and for the second week in a row, not giving up any touchdowns. And how about Manti Te'o? 8 tackles and 2 interceptions. This guy is playing inspired football. The future first round draft pick maybe on his way to having the best season of his career. Some are even saying that he may be a Heisman hopeful; but I will personally just take it one game at a time.

Manti Te'o celebrates his second INT of the game

Now, the biggest question coming into this game was the Irish secondary and how they would handle a better passing team. Robinson got some good passes off but the young secondary still played pretty tight. Of course, getting the other 3 interceptions isn't bad either, and I would like to note that two of those picks were made by freshmen. All in all, I think they did better than expected, not stellar, but above average. I felt the defensive line kept good enough pressure on Robinson to force him to make bad decisions, the line backers played great out in space, especially Irish LB Danny Spond, who had a great game. But the bottom line was this: Denard Robinson did not break a long one off for a game winning touchdown, he didn't lead a drive for a game winning touchdown, he didn't torch ND in any way. Mission accomplished. The defense is playing outstanding. The offense on the other hand, well...

Manti Te'o and Zeke Matta hustle to the INT

Everett Golson was pulled in the second quarter after throwing his second interception. His first was on his first pass of the game when he under threw a receiver(these were ND's only turnovers of the game). Tommy Rees came in and lead a TD drive to put the Irish up 10-0 at halftime. The running game didn't really get it together until the fourth quarter(which, to be honest, is a great time to get something done on the ground). The offensive line is not playing up to their skill as far as run blocking goes. They're just not opening holes like they should be. The wide receivers on the other hand, played great. TJ Jones had a spectacular catch during the only TD drive of the game, catching a pass inside the 10 while being interfered with. And when they needed it most, the best TE in the country, Tyler Eifert, got his first catch in two games on a 3^rd and four late in the 4^th quarter to keep the last drive of the game alive. He took the catch for 38 yards. Offense has played on adequate. After Rees came in, they had no turnovers, protecting the ball well. But when your defense plays as good as they have been playing, then your offense can be pretty stale(I mean, just look at when the Ravens and the Bucs won their last Super Bowls. Great defenses, average offenses). Theo Riddick was ND's leading rusher and his final carry for a first down with only a minute and some change left in the game sealed the Irish victory, 13-6.

Tommy Rees runs for the only TD of the game

Notre Dame has a bye week now. I'm hoping they focus on getting the offense clicking. Irish coach Brian Kelly once again insured that Everett Golson is the starting QB but they are completely confident in Tommy Rees if they need him to come in. Golson is probably the future of ND and he needs as much experience as possible. Also, that O-Line needs some work. They have an extra week to prepare for their next game which will be at Soldier Field(10/06/12) to take on an old rival, the Miami Hurricanes. Another prime time game. In closing, lets look at a couple of things: Notre Dame is now ranked #10 in the AP rankings/#11 in the Coaches poll. In all of ND's game so far this season, Notre Dame has never trailed in a game. They have either always led or were tied, but they have never fallen behind in a game. That's some pretty good stuff. Next, the renewed rivalry against the Hurricanes(the ol' Catholics Vs. Convicts). The last time these two teams met was in the bowl game of Brian Kelly's first season. A Sun Bowl victory over the Canes, 33-17. Until then,

GO IRISH! BEAT CANES!!

ND Football 2012: Michigan Week

I'm so hyped for the game this Saturday against Michigan! Lets get pumped! Here are some videos to expand the hype for this week from the Notre Dame Athletics YouTube Page and und.com!

Enjoy and get hyped:

GO IRISH!

ND Football Week 3

For those of you that don't know or don't follow sports, ND won last Saturday's road match up with, then, #10 Michigan State. It was a big win for the team and a crucial step in building confidence considering the Irish take on the country's toughest schedule. The game was on ABC in my area and lets go over some ND's impressive victory.

The biggest story of the night was Notre Dame's defense. Holy shit, did they look good. They held MSU's Hesiman hopeful, LeVeon Bell, to only 77 rushing yards and no touchdowns. Accompanied with 4 sacks, the Spartans only manage about 50 total yards rushing for the whole game. Star Irish LB, Manti Te'O, was playing with a heavy heart on Saturday night after losing his grandmother and girlfriend earlier that week. But you would not have noticed it effecting him as the senior made 12 Tackles, 2 for loss and had a fumble recovery. As for the Irish defensive line, they abused and harassed MSU QB Andrew Maxwell and kept him off balance the entire game. The ND front seven proved that they were one of the nation's elite, but what about the secondary? Jamoris Slaughter, starting Safety, left the game with an injury(which was later found out to be an achilles injury, ending him for the season). It didn't matter. The corners and safeties stepped up and played a really good game.

Stephon Tuitt sacks Andrew Maxwell forcing a fumble

One corner that stuck out to be was CB #22 Elijah Shumate. This kid had an awesome game; at least 3 pass break ups. I was really impressed considering Shumate is just a freshman and he seems to be playing at a high level. This gives me a lot of hope for the ND future. Shumate along with fellow freshman, CB #6 Kevarie Russell, are seeming to be very formidable at the cornerback position. Now, I know they are only freshmen, but they are talented and can only get better.

Shumate is the future of the ND secondary

The Irish offense wasn't spectacular, but they made big plays when they needed to and ran the ball when they had too. Everett Golson wasn't a stat master in this game, 14/32 178 Yards 1 TD 1 Rush TD, but NO TURNOVERS. In fact, ND did not turn the ball over the entire game, having only 2 turnovers in the first 3 games(last year at the 3 game mark, ND had 10). But Golson made things work with his arm and his legs. The only TD pass of the game was a 36 yard chuck to John Goodman who made a spectacular one arm catch while being interfered with. This put ND up 7-0. Then, he had a 6 yard TD run pushing ND ahead 14-0. I like what I see from Golson. And it is not TD plays, it is his decision making. When he ran for the score, he was looking to pass first. He is always looking down field FIRST. Most dual threat quarterbacks tend to trust more in their running ability than passing; this does not look like the case for Everett. Also, when he doesn't see an open wide out and he can't run, HE THROWS THE BALL AWAY. You have no idea how comforting it is to see an ND quarterback make smart decisions. Golson doesn't force it, he doesn't take the sack; a smart football player.

Everett Golson is now 3-0 as a starter; so far, so good

ND was up 14-3 in the 4^th quarter where they started a drive at their own 4 yard line. With the help of Cierre Wood(who is back from suspension) the Irish drove down the field and chewed up the clock capping the drive with a Brindza field goal, which pretty much was the end of the game right there. The Irish got the ball back and Kyle Brindza landed another field goal which were the last points of the night. Irish win, at East Lansing, against their rival Michigan State, a top 10 team, 20-3. A great, and as coach Brian Kelly has said, “signature” victory for the golden domers.

So what does this mean? Are the Irish back as the elite? LETS JUST STOP THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW. ND fans everywhere have a habit of setting everything up as a disappointment. Lets do what the team is doing and take it one game at a time. ND has a brutal schedule, and it is looking even tougher considering Stanford beat the Trojans on Saturday. It's a good win but the season is not over yet. My expectations are moderate this year considering how many young players are in the Irish line up and the competition we must play. A victory on the road against the Spartans is an EXCELLENT start. But we shall see what the season has in store. An interesting stat, ND has not trailed in any game so far this season. Next up, another rivalry, one of biggest in college football and one of my favorites. At 7:30pm EST, this Saturday on NBC, Meeeeeeeeechigan comes calling to South Bend. That's right, the Fighting Irish versus the Wolverines. Can we avenge our 4^th quarter break down from last year and shut down Denard Robinson? Well, we fucking better! Until next time,

GO IRISH! BEAT WOLVERINES!!

  

ND Football 2012: Weeks 1 & 2

College Football is back and I am super psyched that football is back! For the Fighting Irish, they are celebrating 125 Years of ND Football! Notre Dame has gotten off to a 2-0 start beating Navy(in Dublin, Ireland) and Purdue(at home). I was going to keep up with this but I got a sidetracked by other stuff. So now, it is catch up time! Here's a quick overview of the first game:

Vs. Navy(09/01/12)

• Everett Golson, the red shirt freshman QB, made his first start. He threw for about 180 yards and 1 touchdown(1 INT)
• Notre Dame rushed for almost 300 yards total against the Midshipmen(including a 56 yard touchdown run by sophomore, George Atkinson III)
• Notre Dame's defense held Navy, the top rushing team from last year, to about 160 yards rushing
• Stephon Tuitt, sophomore defensive lineman, had a 77 yard fumble return for a touchdown(ND forced 4 turnovers)
• ND rolled to a 50-10 victory

#7 Stephon Tuitt looks like a beast this year

Last Saturday pit the Irish against their in state rival, the Purdue Boilermakers. And man, was it tough. Purdue was way better than I thought they would be. The interior line for the Boilermakers, headed by defensive tackle Kawann Short, an obvious potential first round draft pick, was amazing and held the Irish to only 52 rushing yards the whole game. In fact, the entire Purdue defense looked really good and some are saying that they can make a run for the Big 10 Championship. The Purdue defense got 5 sacks and forced 1 turnover(fumble). The Purdue offense, on the other hand, wasn't really all that impressive. Constantly switching quarterbacks(Caleb TerBush and Rob Marve) who had some success but not enough to lead an offense. Purdue didn't run the ball well either, only getting 90 rushing yards. If this team had a high quality QB, then I would expect them to make a run to a BCS game.

Kawann Short will probably be a first rounder in the next NFL Draft

As for the Irish, Golson made his second start and did not play poorly. He was 21/31 for 289 yards and a TD(No INTs). Not bad for a guy making his second start. The great defensive play held ND to low running stats and the team was plagued with injury throughout the whole game(S Jamoris Slaughter, DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, TE Tyler Eifert, WR Davaris Daniels, OLB Ishaq Williams, K Nick Tausch) all huge contributors to this year's team. The game was tied 7-7 at halftime, as the Irish had a slow start, but then came out in the third quarter and put up 10 points(3 yard TD pass from Golson to TJ Jones and a 30 yard Field Goal by Kyle Brindza). Things were looking up until the best tight end in College Football, Tyler Eifert, had to leave the game with a minor concussion. The offense began to low at this point, almost looking as if they were giving up and just trying to sneak away with a win.

#5 Everett Golson is now 2-0 as a starting QB

Towards the end of the game, Golson took a hit and fumbled the ball and then Purdue tied it up 17-17 on their next offensive possession as a tired ND defense was being left on the field too much due to lack of development on offense. But on the Irish defensive side, Bennett Jackson got 2 interceptions and Stephon Tuitt got 2 sacks. The defense actually did really well considering the lack of production the offense had due to the injuries So, it was down to one final drive. But Golson did not head out to lead the offense; it was Junior Tommy Rees, last year's starting QB. Rees spent a 1 game suspension(making him not available for the Navy game) for assaulting a police officer back in May...while intoxicated. So it was no surprise that when the ND fans saw Rees jogging on to the field for the final drive, they showered him with boos. I mean A LOT of boos. But Rees shook it off, made some good reads, and got the Irish down the field. With 7 seconds left, Kyle Brindza made the game winning 27 yard field goal and Notre Dame prevailed 20-17.

Obviously, injuries are a big deal and can harm your team(just ask Arkansas) but I give a lot of credit to the Purdue defense. They played really well and were very impressive. But I give just as much credit to Notre Dame for being able to win with all the key injuries they experienced through this game. THAT was reall impressive. It's been a few years since we had a good ND/Purdue game, so this one was fun to watch. My feeling on the team so far is still unknown; I felt the same way after the Navy game. We're going to find out this Saturday as the Irish make a trip to East Lansing to take on #10 Michigan State. ND coach Brian Kelly was adamant that, even though Tommy Rees lead the game winning drive, Everett Golson will still be the starting QB. So we shall see how he does on the road for the first time.

Oh, and lets view ND's toughest challenges for the rest of the year as they stand now:

09/15/12 @ #10 Michigan State

09/22/12 #17 Michigan

10/06/12 Miami(at Soldier Field)

10/13/12 #21 Stanford

10/20/12 #25 BYU

10/27/12 @ #5 Oklahoma

11/24/12 @ #2 USC

6 teams ranked in the Top 25. 3 in the Top 10, and all those Top 10 match ups are on the road. Also, Michigan State, Michigan and Miami are all prime time games in a row. Notre Dame has this year's toughest schedule. It's going to be interesting.

Until then,

Go, IRISH! Beat, Spartans!