SkyWriting: Go Ramblers Edition | by Pat

A few quick hitters for your perusal.

• ESPN has a nice read on ND's interhall football league, explaining the history and appeal of one of ND's best tradition while following the playoff exploits of the best hall left on campus after the closing of Flanner Hall.

• Also worth a read is Eric Hansen's mini "where is he now" catch-up with Zibby. As random women pay for his dinner and ask for his autograph, Zibby talked to Hansen about Charlie being the right man for the job, his up and down times at ND, and punching players from Duke. He also showed why he was one of Charlie's favorites with this impromptu prank during the interview.

He suddenly spots Charlie Weis across the crowded hotel lobby, hobbling toward the elevator with autograph-seekers blocking his way.

"Watch this," Tom Zbikowski says as he pulls his baseball cap over his eyes and sprints over to behind where the Notre Dame head football coach is standing.

In a high-pitched mumble, Zbikowski reaches around from behind Weis, tells him that he was his all-time faaaavvvorite coach and wonders aloud if he'd sign something for him.

The former ND All-America safety hands Weis a parking ticket.

A befuddled Weis turns to face his secret admirer, breaks out laughing and wraps his arms around the player who, if he wasn't the face of Notre Dame football during Weis' first three seasons in South Bend, then surely he was the heart.

• Google has hosted some fantastic old photographs from LIFE Magazine. Here's a link using "Notre Dame football" as a keyword search, but try out your own search ideas and see what you find. Already you can find great shots of Ara at a fieldhouse pep rally, a farewell student rally for Coach Leahy, a view from the pressbox, priests smoking stogies and rooting for ND, and a visual represtation of some recent BGS gameday threads. Only about 20% of all the LIFE photos are up now, so keep checking back over the next few months as more and more photos are added.

• One last addition. I know nearly all ND fans are ready to move on from the Navy game, but Mike over at the consistently excellent Navy blog The Birddog just posted his take on the ND defense versus Navy offense battle. His knowledge of the option offense is a great read for anyone interested in the Xs and Os part of the game. There are also some diagrammed video breakdowns from the game that highlight intended blocking responsibilities versus what actually happened in the game. His conclusions that Navy shot itself in the foot more often than ND actually made a fantastic play is also food for thought as we move on to Syracuse.