Another tough weeks of blunders and errors for the lads. Fortunately, they were able to escape with a win, but little do you know that they were only able to do so thanks to a top-secret government time travel program. Unfortunately, there were some externalities in the time-space continuum due to the rearranging of history, but no worries. What's the worst that could happen?
The Berlin Conference marked an interesting inflection point in the international system, marking the moment when the tact and skilled diplomacy that strung together a hundred unprecedented years of peace during the Concert of Europe was unceremoniously tossed aside when it became apparent that there was enormous money to be made scrapping the shopworn ideas of independence, sovereignty, and autonomy and instead yoking the entire planet under brutal colonial rule designed to expropriate wealth off the backs of unpaid, enclosured serfs.
I don't know why the recent spate of conference expansion, defection, and realignment got me thinking about this historical event -- maybe it's all the absinthe we've been chugging at the House Rock Built Studios. We've seen some wild things... like Notre Dame playing somewhat competent football against Michigan State at home. Damn, that's wormwood's freaky. So buckle up your seatbelts, strap on your spiked pith helmets, and enjoy this week's installment. And on a personal note to my high school guidance counselor who said I could never work Otto Von Bismarck, puppets, POGs, and college football into one video: read it and weep.
Thanks for bearing with our spinning otter break. This week's episode is a tad late, but still in under the wire. There's nothing quite like a good old fashioned bottle episode when you're crunched for time. The lads found themselves in a spot of trouble this week when they continued their streak of monstrous unforced errors even after the Michigan game ended, as you can see here. No worries, though. Every time has its hero, and a hero emerges to save the day and teach us all a valuable lesson about crowd-surfing. Enjoy!
Hey coach, name's Mike Floyd. Don't want to impose, but I might have accidentally luanched your car into the lake via catapult.
Please pardon the delay in this week's Stuffing the Passer. Like any good operating system, the House Rock Built is fully equipped with its own wait cursor, the Buffering Otter. Way cooler than a beach ball or hourglass, I say.
At any rate, travel plans have pushed back this week's release, with fightinamish jetting off to Denver (where I filmed this adorable sea creature to your right) and irishoutsider pacing back and forth in his makeshift angrydome until he is deemed fit to re-enter society.
For half a century, Samuel Beckett's immortal classic "Waiting for Godot" has been the quintessential literary allegory for ennui, existential dread, and the unnerving absurdity that haunts our every waking minute as we wait in vain for something that will never come. All good things must come to an end, though, just as Godot's fifty-year reign did last Saturday in the rain-soaked, lightning-ravaged hellscape of South Bend, Indiana. Today, the phrase "waiting for Godot" has officially phased out of existence and been replaced with its more modern neologism, "waiting for the rain delay to end in the ND-USF game in order to watch the Irish flail about insanely and commit a hundred new and exciting forms of football suicide." While it may be a bit more of a mouthful than its predecessor, what it lacks in pith it more than makes up for in total accuracy.
Stuffing the Passer went unintentionally epic this week. Our apologies. Clocking in at five and a half minutes, this gargantuan monstrosity has, like the sucubus of legend, feasted on our life force and drained us of vitality. Do not watch this video, it causes synesthesia. Time moves sideways now. Food tastes like colors and pain feels like a pastel-ish shade of blue.
Enjoy, you beasts. Football is upon us. Let us offer up mighty sacrifices to its wild and unpredictable goat-headed god. Never let it end, your holy goatliness.
You're clearly worthless. But I find you endearing for some reason.
S2E1 - A Beautiful Friendship Season two begins in earnest with a new cast of characters and some eye troubles. Damn you fondue!
S2E2 - A Fireside Chat With Coach Kelly Muppet Brian Kelly tries to rouse the fanbase out of their malaise with a stirring fireside chat. Grab your decoder rings!
S2E3 - Shipping Up to Boston The lads set out for a road trip to Boston after their flight is canceled. Egregious mistakes are made.
S2E4 - Modern Chemistry Coach Kelly tries to curb his anger issues with pharmaceuticals, but flies a bit too close to the sun. My god, it's full of stars!
S2E5 - A Word from Our Sponsors The gang films a commercial for the new Adidas jerseys, asphyxiation ensues. On the plus side, the jerseys are now 100% halal!
S2E6 - Halftime Assessment Halftime is a good time to take stock of your situation, assess your strengths and weaknesses, and make adjustments to your strategy for the decisive frame. Also, it's a good time to vent.
S2E7 - A Day in the Life Nearly every hour of Brian Kelly's day is apparently accounted for doing things that don't quite seem to have anything to do with winning or losing a football game.
S2E8 - Rear Window Muppet Dayne tore his ACL, but fortunately he lives in a pretty exciting neighborhood.
S2E9 - Card Study The gang's hand signals were compromised, so they're switching over to calling plays with cue cards. Unfortunately, there's a steep learning curve. Thank god for the electrical college.
S2E11 - Boiler Room! Remember: A-B-C: Always Be Closing. And, also, SLACT: Sell Like a Champion Today.
S2E12 - ND State of Mind Muppet Dayne Crist has taken it upon himself to do his part for the team and help build up morale with a funktastic groove that is sure to make your bass get freaky.
S2E14 - El Narcocorrido de Brian "El Churro" Kelly The poncho-wearing, gatorskin boot-wearing exploits of Brian Kelly have reached the barrios of Chihuahua, and an inevitable slew of Narcocorridos praising his nefarious exploits have hit the airwaves and filled up the cantinas of la frontera.
S2E15 - Campus Tour The lads have been tasked with giving the new recruits campus tours in the dead of winter. Hilariousness and Proust ensues.
2009
S1E1 - Presser Time! Our first introduction to muppet Charlie Weis and his slightly-concussed pal Jimmy. Who's my quarterback?
S1E2 - Access Hollywood There's a technical snafu with the broadcast of the game. Hijinks ensue. Someone throw a flag!
S1E3 - The Gang Gets Ready for USC Muppet Golden Tate can't stand the excitement for the big game, and reveals his plans to jump in the band again.
S1E4 - Here Comes The Hurt After a tough loss to USC, the gang unwinds in their own special ways. For some, it's cockfighting, for others, it's pop art, and for others, it's Fudgie the Whale.
S1E5 - The Road to San Antonio Airport security nabs muppet Golden and Jimmy with a bag full of wildcats, plutonium, and backup pirate hats.
S1E6 - Halloween Special Muppet Jimmy and Golden show off their elaborate pumpkin carvings. They're nice... I guess.
S1E8 - The Coach Who Stares at Goats Muppet Charlie Weis conducts secret government experiments at a redacted location. The results are... unsuccessful.
S1E9 - Wann-stache'd It happens to the best of us time and again-- someone sneaks up on us and Wann-staches you. Embrace the horror.
S1E10 - A Serious Coach Muppet Charlie Weis appeals to a higher authority to save his job, but Father Hesburgh is busy.
S1E11 - Everyone's Free (to Score Touchdowns) Muppet Charlie Weis gives his valedictory speech to the Fired Coaches Class of 2009. Because everyone's free to score touchdowns, especially me.
S1E13 - Coach Kelly Gets Grilled On their way out, Muppet Jimmy and Golden conduct a thorough interview of the new coach. Tough, but fair.
S1E14 - O Touchdown Tree We conclude our broadcast season with a stirring Christmas special, where muppet Golden teaches us the true meaning of Christmas: touchdowns.
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ND Pages
Notre Dame Videos Torrents to download full games as well as Oldie Olderson's fantastic highlight videos. A must-see.
NDLNA The Notre Dame Latest News Aggregator. A really cool site that sweeps the web for articles on Notre Dame and puts them together in a community to discuss and dig.
Touchdown Jesus Absolutely required reading. Everything you need to know about faith, fandom, and what it means to be a ND fan.
ND Blogs
The Blue-Gray Sky Defunct, but still worthy of the top spot as blog emeritus.
Five Bucks to Friday A comic strip with a hankerin' for Notre Dame football. If being mildly attracted to female cartoon characters is wrong, I suppose I'm just not right.
Every Day Should Be Saturday The House Rock Built's "aspirational peer". Funny as hell dudes who should probably be locked up with their lifetime supply of jean shorts.
Every Day Should Be Lemsday Dapersonnahblog fordacoachOrgeron! Yallbettareaditcuz COACHOPROUDAHEEBLAWG! Rebahfootbahforevah!!
Georgia Sports Blog A Dawg blog about Dawg sports written by (you guessed it) a man named Dawg.
Dawg Sports T. Kyle King serves up an extra large helping of Dawg sports. We are obligated to inform you that he may be a lawyer. Proceed with caution.
Big 10
MGoBlog Ann Arbor's grumpy nextdoor neighbor who won't let you jump his fence to retrieve your baseball.
The M Zone Sure, they're Michigan fans, but this site cracks my shit up. Besides, what divides us is less significant than what unites us: we're brothers-in-arms in the war against the dastardly, plagarizing ESPN network.
Maize & Brew The hardest-drinking college football blog on the internet not named House Rock Built.
Those Other Conferences and Independents
Burnt Orange Nation Comprehensive coverage on our beloved Longhorns and free tutoring for the Wonderlic test.
Bruins Nation Yet another college football team in Los Angeles? Insanity. Excellent blog for those of you who bleed powder blue.
Football Generalia, Snark, and Miscellaneous
Deadspin The shimmering, all-knowing hearbeat of sports blogs. Edgy, punchy, and most likely half-drunk.
Fire Mark May A bizarre insight into the behind-the-scenes world in Bristol, CT.
College Football Resource The big daddy of them all, the nerve center of this twisted college football blogsphere.