The Big Game – Creighton v. Illinois State

St. Louis – With everything on the line for Illinois State they came to play. And the odds were not in their favor. After yesterday’s

huge upset  of #14 ranked Witchita State Shockers in the final seconds they had to bring their A game again against the

#23 Ranked Creighton Bluejays. In the opening minutes it was a back and forth game. ISU was 2 – 3 early from behind the arc.

It looked like it was going to be a three point slugfest. But Gregory Echenique made a great second effort early in the paint to

break the 3 point back and forth game. Creighton was leading by as much as 11 in the first while ISU was having the case of

laying the brickwork for a Creighton win. But during a TV timeout Tim Jankivich said the right things to his team and they

came out firing. They finished the half with a great run and capped it off with a 3 with 6.9 seconds left and carried a 31-30

lead into the break.

In the second half, Creighton’s Doug McDermott opened up the scoring with a 3 and gave CU the lead. After a few back and forth

baskets, Brown took it to the rack with a huge dunk and ended up with a really BS techinical foul. The refs were the story of this

game. There was absolutly no consitancy with the calls and it really hurt ISU in the long run.Nic Moore hit a Valley Logo three

early in the second half that lit a fire in the redbird fans and helped  ISU to their biggest lead in the second half but it was only

6 with  9:53. The Bluejays fought back and it only took them a minute and a half to tie it back up with 8:16 left. And the teams

swapped buckets and the lead for either team was never more than 3. With 16 seconds left Grant Gibbs stepped to the line for

Creighton and sucked the life right out of the Redbirds fans here at Scottrade and  around the country. He hit both and Creighton

took a 30 second Time Out. With the ball Illinois State handed it to Nic Moore and he didn’t miss. He ran the floor and made the

tying layup. And Tim Jankivich took a timeout. Creighton’s Gregory Echenique had a layup to win it and he missed. The game

went to Overtime.

In overtime, Grant Gibbs opened the scoring for Creighton with a 3. Creighton never looked back and their biggest lead was 9

on a nice dish from Gregory Echenique to Josh Jones for a dunk. Illinois State got a 3 from Jackie Carmichael with 37 seconds left.

Once Creighton inbounded the ball all Illinois State could do was foul and that sealed their fate. Creighton’s Antoine Young hit

4 of 5 free throws down the stretch. Illinois State was within 3 on a 3 from Jon Ekey but it was not enough and the Redbirds fell

to the #23 ranked Creighton Bluejays 83-79 in Overtime. For now Tim Jankivich will have to think of what could have been. The

Valley could have had 3 teams in the Big Dance. But the refs had to make sure that didn’t happen.

JOHNNY B GOOD

Moran Leads Panthers to a 78-63 Victory Over Illinois State

By:  Colonel Sanders

Johnny Moran has had an interesting 4 years at UNI.  He had struggled to score until tonight.  Read more here

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU THREEEEEEE

ANTHONY JAMES Sinks Crazy Buzzer Beater in a 65-62 Victory

By: J.T. the Nutt

His name.  ANTHONY JAMES.  You should follow him on twitter. 

You should follow the link here to read about the crazy bananas game.

You should follow me on twitter @jtthenutt

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

UNI Turns It on in The Second Half of a 83-68 Road Win Over Drake

By: J.T. the Nutt

UNI and Drake played an amazingly close first half.  Then the second half happened.  Read more here

REBUILDING YEAR?  MORE LIKE RELOADING YEAR

UNI Improves to 9-1 Beating the Panthers of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

By: J.T. the Nutt

It's been a crazy couple weeks up in the Cedar Valley.  UNI football in the FCS playoffs, opening round of the NCAA Vollleyball Tournament in the McLeod Center, and the Men's Basketball team taking on ISU, Iowa, and others in a hot start to the season.  Sadly, it was a bitter end for the football team last night in Montana on ESPN.  They  never showed up after scoring an early TD.  So it would be understandable that the crowd that showed up for basketball was a less than enthusiastic for today's game agianst UW-Milwaukee.  Been a ton to watch and the buzz from the Iowa win was taken away by Fran being the driving force to end the Big Four Title and also the craptastic peformance on ESPN last night.

More on that and of course video here

FRAN GETS MAD AGAIN

The Panthers Pummel the Hawks 80-60

By:  J.T. the Nutt

That was my view for most of the game.  Though the cheerleaders prevented me from seeing a majority of the action, the atmosphere at McLeod told the story.  That may have been the most amped up the McLeod Center has ever been. Then again I was near the band, in front of the students, and behind the Hawkeye Cheer Squad.  The tension started early and never stopped.  It peaked when Hawkeye Coach Fran McCaffery was thrown out of the game after a couple Technical and then bumping John Higgins.  Higgins has few fans, much like Ed Hightwower, but he certainly won over the McLeod Center crowd.  Hawk fans may cry foul but Fran was in his ear all night.  He was screaming like crazy.  That just fueled the student section even more.  As Fran's team made mistakes and didn't get calls on the court, Fran lost his cool.  The refs finally had enough and gave him the T.  He did not heed the warning and when he went after Higgins like he was going to grab him or worse, Higgins sent him to the locker room. Fran did not pull a Bobby Valentine and come back with some horrible mustache.  His team responded, by getting more technicals and what was a close game became a 10 point lead for the Panthers.

Ironically, the Hawks started the game with a 10-0 run before UNI had an 8-0 run.  It was a back and forth game all the way until Fran got mad again.  Really mad.  He even hit some chalk that ended up hitting a little kid courtside. Fran was not well liked in the Cedar Valley before tonight.  He has had some bad luck at the McLeod, even with Sienna.  But now, it's going to be hell.  The fact a poor kid was hit by something that Fran did, even accidentally, is unacceptable.  Act like a grown man.  Even Jim Les would be embarassed.

As far as the game itself.  This Panther team is for real.  They have the poise and confidence of a veteran team despite the fact that many of these guys are just getting their collegent feet wet and the veterans have completely new roles.  Chip Rank 3-3 from long distance, ANTHONY JAMES had 18 points, Seth Tuttle had 12 points and 7 boards, Jake Koch had 13 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks.  Even Deon Mitchell tried to steal the ball went to the ground out of bounds and landed in front of Jacobson who clapped his hands with as much as emotion as you well ever seen from Coach Jake who was fired up to see the hustle from his freshman.  Oh and the Panthers were almost perfect from the line, 29-33.  Moran, Koch, James, Rank ,and Sonnen hit all their free throws.  In fact, Rank had the rare 4 point play after being fould on a 3.  It was that kind of night for the Panthers.  For a team that has had very vanilla stat sheets in the past (like their football counterparts) the stats sheets have a lot of crooked letters lately.  Everyone is contributing.

This is a Panthers State.  The male cheerleader may have yelled back about wrestling but that's all the Hawks got.  Lost to ISU in football in a truly great grame and then lost to UNI in a laugher.  The bigger schools may hate to hear this but UNI is the best basketball team in the state once again.  The Jacobson system isn't for everybody but it's found a great home at UNI.  The players buy in from day one and it shows.  This team can only get better.  That's scary.  And I like it.  

Video will appear below when Youtube allows it.

PANTHERS TERRORIZE TERRIERS

UNI Wins the Weirdest Game Ever

By:  J.T. the Nutt

The play is on SportsCenter as I write this. Turning Point of the Night.  Yes, a play in a UNI football game just made it to SportsCenter.  The play was that weird.  So was the game.  For the second game in a row, UNI was absolutely destroyed on the stat sheet but still one. They are like Tim Tebow but actually can throw a spiral.

Read more here

Shooting, Steals, Success

UNI Downs Colorado State 83-77

By:  J.T. the Nutt

UNI is rolling.  The final score didn't show it but UNI was up by as much as 19 in the second half.  They finished shooting 60% from the field led by 28 points from Anthony James.  The stingy defense led to 9 steals for the Panthers which let them a few fast breaks, which is alien to UNI basketball.  The defense had Colorado State baffled for most of the game but their 3 point shooters got them close in the final minutes when foul trouble led the Panthers to call the dogs off a bit.  Still, the final result was an impressive W.

Austin Pehl came in a played great.  He got 2 steals, 4 points, and a great block in his 8 minutes.  He picked up "fouls" quickly though in a game with 40 fouls, everyone got their share.  It frustrated the crowd and a very very bizarre final minute of the game with Colorado State getting a timeout even though they didn't have one.  Stil, the Panthers remained poised, sunk their free throws, didn't foul on defense and won.

Anthony James is out of his shooting funk.  28 pts on 11-18 shooting, 3-5 deep, 2 assists and 8 boards to lead the Panthers.  Seth Tuttle looked impressive again going 6-6 from the field to go with 2 steals, a board, and a block.  Deon Mitchell had 12 points and 5 assists and looks a lot like that guy Kwadzo Ahelegbe.  Chip Rank looked solid with 10 points and 2 boards until he got into foul trouble. 

All in all it was a team effort once again.  The team is playing with poise and confidence that is rare for such a young team.  You never know who is going to come in and perform.  Everyone plays great defense, this is the Jacobson system after all, but offensively it can be any number of guys who will step up.  It's a long season and barely started but UNI's depth is helping already and will be priceless going forward.  The Valley may be back and UNI is going to be a part of it.  Hopefully more than ONE bid this year.  Creighton is the darling right now but UNI is the workhorse that nobody wants to face.

Pics and videos here

PANTHER YOUNG GUNS TAKE AMES AND MAKE THEIR MARK

Panthers Survive Cyclones 69-62

By:  J.T. The Nutt

Hi, my name is Seth Tuttle and you should read about me and Matt Morrison here

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 9

Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCAIMER 1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 
DISCLAIMER 2:  We are incorrect more often than we are correct.

    As I’m sure the various blogs and message boards are filled with emotional responses to one of the most embarrassing Hawk losses in years, I decided to bring a cold, detached analysis to the table.   Both of our frequent readers know that I am often quite critical of the coaching staff, usually for horrible in-game decision making.  And while I could fill paragraphs with such examples from Saturday (to quote Andy’s text, somebody needs to tell our coaches that points at the end of the first half count too), I’d like to spend some time taking a larger view of the last few years of Iowa football.   And I’d like to focus specifically on the following question: Has Iowa performed below, at, or above expectations since 2006?  

    First of all, I need to clarify what I mean by meeting expectations.   The definition I will be using fits nicely with the overall theme of this column, which of course is gambling.   There is no better way to examine which team ‘should’ win a given game than by using point spreads.   Lines take every important factor into consideration; relative strength of the teams involved, home field advantage, injuries, etc.   As I had a snow day from school today (someone please remind me why I live in New England), I decided to use the genius website www.goldsheet.com, which contains archived point spreads, to investigate whether Iowa has been winning at a rate at which they ‘should’ be winning.  

    First of all, let’s drop some raw data.   Since the beginning of 2006 Iowa’s record is 45-27.   But obviously this isn’t enough information on which to base our analysis.   For example, if Alabama was 45-27 over the same time period that would be viewed as a huge disappointment, as the Tide is favored to win nearly every time they play, and usually by double figures.  On the other hand, if Indiana was 45-27 since 2006 that would be quite impressive, as they pretty much always have the worst talent in the conference and as a result are usually getting a lot of points week in and week out.   So what other information do we need?   This is where point spreads come into play.   It turns out that of the 72 games Iowa has played over the time period in question the Hawks have been favorites in 48, exactly two-thirds of the time.   If we look a bit more closely, we see that Iowa has actually been favored by 7 or more points in 37 of these games.   

   Cynics might argue that Iowa’s typically weak non-conference schedule creates a situation in which they should win a lot of games (of the 24 non-conference games Iowa has played since 2006 they have been an underdog exactly twice, both times by one point: Pitt in 2008 and Arizona last year).    However, to be fair, perhaps the coaching staff deserves praise for recruiting and coaching up quality players that allow us to consistently field a team that should win on most given Saturdays.  Certainly a mark in favor of the coaches is their ability to consistently churn out NFL talent (however I haven’t quite figured out how so many future NFL players consistently lose to the likes of Iowa State, Northwestern, and Minnesota.)  But I have never criticized the coaches for their recruiting, or the way they run practices.   My criticism has always been based on what happens on Saturdays.   And on the surface, it doesn’t seem like 45-27 is that impressive, considering we have been favored in 48 of those games and we have been favored by a touchdown or more in 37.   

    Obviously the Minnesota bed-shitting sparked this train of thought, and during and after the game I kept thinking how often we as Hawk fans are in this position of trying to explain unfathomable losses.   What follows, I believe, is the most damning trend of all, and in my opinion almost all blame rests directly on the coaching staff (players have changed since 2006, the coaches haven’t).   Since 2006 Iowa has been a ten to twenty point favorite 20 times.   How many games out of 20 should a team lose when favored by between 10 and 20 points?   Two, maybe three?   Iowa has lost 8.   You are

reading that correctly; Iowa has lost 8 games in the last five and a half years as a double digit favorite.   Here is the list:

2011: Minnesota (-15)
2010: Minnesota (-15)
2009: Northwestern (-15)
2008: None (ahh, what a year)
2007: Iowa State (-17), Indiana (-10), Western Michigan (-13)
2006: Indiana (-19), Northwestern (-20)

  It’s not like this is something that happens once in a blue moon.  It’s not like this is something that happened a few years ago but has since got straightened out.   And it’s not like this is something that happens to other comparable teams.   For fun, I ran the same analysis for a few random teams whose records are roughly comparable to Iowa since 2006: Arkansas (record over same time period: 48-25), Clemson (47-28), Michigan State (43-29), and South Carolina (44-29).   Their combined record in games in which they were favored by between 10 and 20 points is 42-7 (with four of those losses coming from perennially schizophrenic Clemson).  To reiterate, these four teams have played almost two and a half times as many such games as Iowa, and among them have suffered fewer defeats.   I’m guessing that if you pick any four random teams with roughly the same record as Iowa from 2006-2011 you would find similar results, and I would be shocked if any team in the country had a winning percentage in such games as low as Iowa’s 60%.  

Now consider that Kirk Ferentz was extended last year through the 2020 season and makes $3,800,000 a year (making him the fifth highest paid coach in the country).  The concept of value has been a recurring theme this season, and not even the most mindless Ferentz suck-up could argue that Iowa is getting its money’s worth.   But most of the blame for the huge contract and lengthy extension (given during a season in which the team basically gave up) must go to the administration who offered it.   And I’m not saying that Ferentz should be fired for all of the aforementioned crushing losses, or the consistent troubles his players have with the law, or the drug house controversy from last year, or the health issues some players suffered during off-season workouts; I’m sure these things happen all the time at big-time programs (except for the frequency of crushing losses and quite possibly all of the other things I just mentioned).   But is there even any discussion about these issues; among the press, assistant coaches, advisors, anyone?   Does anyone even try to hold the head coach accountable?   Does anyone stand up at a press conference during which he gives a ridiculously illogical defense of an indefensible decision like sitting on the ball at the end of regulation in the Iowa State game and say, “That is nonsense.  During the course of a game the coach’s job is to put his players in the best position to win, and you and your staff consistently do exactly the opposite.”  Does anyone sit him down and say, “You know, your offense moved the ball at will in the first half against Minnesota, and yet with over a minute left you, once again, decided against trying to score points.   Those points would have been helpful at the end of the game; maybe in the future you should just see what happens when you throw in that situation.”   Or…oh, I just realized that I’m breaking my earlier promise to not go down this road.   My computer is telling me that I just crossed 1300 words, and I could probably keep going for another 13,000; so I’ll stop this train and let you decide whether or not Iowa has met expectations and whether we as fans should be satisfied with the state of the program.   You can probably guess on which side I come down. 

Thankfully, even though Iowa’s season seems to be headed towards at best the Motor City Bowl (if that is even still a thing), there is still gambling to keep us interested.   And things are getting very interesting; a 23.8 unit swing will tend to do that.   With great delight, I give the current tally.

1. Andy:  (Overall: 12-12-0, -0.6 units; last week 0-3-0, -8.8 units)
2.  Mike:  (Overall: 12-12-0, -2.7 units; last week 3-0-0, +15.0 units)
3.  Jason:  (Overall: 9-15-0, -22.2 units; last week 1-2-0, -3.6 units)

On the surface it would seem to be a two man race, but don’t forget the parlay option!  Jason could easily parlay his way back to respectability, so we won’t count him out yet.   As a result of my clean sheet, my winners come first.

MIKE’S PICKS:  Brimming with confidence following my 15 unit week; however the slate looks pretty tight this week.  

Navy -6.5 vs. Troy (3 units):  This is why I love betting on the service academies.  Navy is riding a 6 game losing streak and is coming off a thrashing at the hands of Notre Dame.   Normal teams might give up in this situation, but I’m guessing the Midshipmen come out angry and play with a lot of pride.  Plus, their schedule has been brutal, and it will be a nice break to face the Trojans.   Troy has 2 wins on the year, both at home, by 3 points, against the sixth and seventh worst teams in CFB according to Jeff Sagarin (UAB and Middle Tennessee).   Navy racks up about 5 bills on the ground and rolls.  

Maryland +3 vs. Virginia (3 units):  This is a hard bet to submit, but once again, it is a must play based on value alone.   Maryland has looked like a wreck lately (they lost to B.C. at home last weekend), and it’s possible that they gave up on their season after losing a big lead to Clemson a few weeks ago.   But new coach Randy Edsall seems like a guy that will absolutely not tolerate that type of attitude, so I expect them to play with some purpose this Saturday.   Three weeks ago Virginia had a huge win against GTU, and then promptly lost by 14 at home against NC State the following week (one of my value picks two weeks ago).    Similar situation this week; the ‘Hoos are coming off a huge televised road win (at Miami FL), and are now road favorites.   When was the last time Virginia was a road favorite?   I’m guessing that they do not prosper in that role.

South Carolina +5 at Arkansas (3 units):   South Carolina kind of fell off the radar after star RB Marcus Lattimore (great name, reminds me of the crazy dude from ‘The Program’) suffered a season-ending injury, but they’ve been quietly dominant defensively in their last 5 games.   Against SEC foes, they have given up 3, 16, 3, 12, and 3 points, for an average of 7.4 points allowed per game in conference play.   Arkansas has gotten pretty lucky in their last two wins; what would this line be if they lost even one of those games?   Plus, purely anecdotal evidence shows that teams that are originally favored by 5 or 5.5 points often lose straight up.   I have no data to support this by the way. 

I should also mention that there are about 20 trends that point to Iowa covering this weekend, but after reading the above did you really expect me to include them as one of my picks?   Honestly, I have no clue what will happen this weekend; I wouldn’t be surprised by a close game or a blowout either way.   The only thing that will surprise me is if we have the ball with less than two minutes left in the first half and actually try to score.  

JASON’S PICKS:  College football is my favorite of all sports to watch and to follow, but after the debacle last weekend that was Iowa’s second consecutive loss to Minnesota in Minneapolis in as many years, I am struggling to get myself back into the game this weekend.  Living in Minneapolis, I am not sure if there is anything more irritating to me than listening to fans of what was thought to be the sorriest B10 team in many years talk sh*t as I walked out of and away from TCF Stadium – it took every ounce of my will, combined with the massive amount of embarrassment for the Hawks performance, for me to restrain myself.  Subsequently, I have had to hear about the game this week from other Gopher fans that are colleagues, clients and acquaintances.  I am still in RAGE mode!  Here’s to hoping the Hawks can pull their head out and get something done this weekend against Denard and the Wolverines, besides allow him to put him 500+ yards.  Likewise, hopefully I can pull my head out for this week’s picks: 

Oklahoma -13.5 vs. Texas A&M (3 units):  How they lost to TTU, I have no idea, but I think this team is focused, pissed and ready to roll towards the big showdown with Okie St which just may determine one of the BCS championship participants.  I like the Sooners to run it up on Texas A&M in this one.

Missouri +2.5 @ Baylor (3 units):  RG3 is solid, but the Bears defense is definitely not.  A high scoring affair that will have the Tigers coming out on top as Baylor’s downward spiral continues.

Nebraska -17.5 vs. Northwestern (3 units): Maybe I am jumping on this bandwagon a little late (just the betting bandwagon of course), but the Huskers D looks solid and this team can score points, especially against a porous defense like NW’s.  Nebby continues to roll.

Gimme 1 unit on the parlay as well.  Hopefully Iowa can pull out a big win this weekend (the only way I would touch that game is to bet against Iowa to ensure a victory).   Watch for those onside kicks or fake punts!

ANDY’S PICKS:  Holy hell.  So let's recap what happened last week: First off Iowa goes ahead and loses outright to Minnesota for the second year in a row.  That alone would be enough to call the week an utter disaster for any Hawkeye fan.  I also suffered my first 0-3 week of the season and blew what had begun to look like a nearly insurmountable lead in our friendly little competition here.  And on top of that, I ate some bad sushi about 10 days ago and have been living in or very near to my bathroom for the past 9 consecutive days.  Worst. Week. Ever?  Here's looking to better times ahead:     

Stanford -20.5 @ Oregon St. (3 units):  Stanford is really good.  Oregon St. is not.

Texas Tech +14 @ Texas.  (3 units):  I like the value here with the Raiders clearly overlooking Iowa State last week.
 
South Carolina +5 @ Arkansas (1 unit):  Big fan of Marcus Lattimore*, he is definitely one of the top 5 backs in the land, and the Cocks have the humungoid afleetes all over their D-Line to disrupt the passing game in this one.  

*Editor’s note:  Andy’s being sick for the better part of two weeks obviously caused him to forget that Lattimore is out for the year; for my part I did remind him of this and give him the opportunity to change his pick, which he declined.  

Very interesting week of football ahead of us; if the Hawks show some pride then a win over Michigan is certainly feasible, but if they let the Minnesota loss crush their spirit it could get ugly early.   Aside from that, it’s always a treat to have a #1 vs. #2 game during primetime.   Enjoy the games, and hopefully next week we’ll be talking about how the Hawks still control their own destiny in whatever stupidly named division in which they reside.  

Thoughts From The Week: November 6 Edition

Well, it looks as if the demise of the Iowa football program has been put on hold for the time being...until their next loss anyway...way to show come sack and come out fighting Hawkeyes! Bring on Sparty!

Iowa State found out just how hard it is being the hunted instead of the hunter this weekend against a terrible Kansas Jayhawks squad...not so easy, is it boys!?!? And since I do root for the Cyclones when they're not playing Iowa, keep it up and get bowl eligible!

Hey Nebraska...welcome to OUR world! Northwestern's a pesky little bunch of brainy dudes, ain't they!?!? Oh and while you're at it, your defense might want to turn in their black shirts! By the way, is that the fastest they've ever been given out and taken back???

Missouri made it official...they've spent the past few years getting out of the basement of the Big12 just in time to move into the basement of the SEC...enjoy your impending decline Mizzou! It should come rather quickly...

The Iowa basketball team hit the hardwood for their only exhibition game of the 2011 season against some team I can't remember and will never hear from again...the good news is, no one got hurt...the bad news is, the Hawkeyes still have some things to clean up before the opener!

Theo Epstein announced that Ryne Sandberg isn't a candidate for the vacant Cubs managerial opening, saying that he wants someone with "major league experience"...he then proceeded to throw out some names of guys who haven't managed in the majors while Ryno is a candidate for the same position with the World Champion Cardinals...I'd say Theo's fitting in nicely with how the Cubs do things...

NASCAR driver and noted d-bag, Kyle Busch was held out of this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup race after intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday in the truck series race on Friday night...ending Busch's chances at winning the Cup this season...all I can say to Kyle is...HAHAHAHA ***hole...

I'm already sick of candy corn and I still have half a bag left...

Shane from Marshalltown

Let The Theo Epstein Era BEGIN!

To the joy of Cubs fans in Chicago and around the world, the Theo Epstein Era has begun on the North Side! Can I get a "WOO WOO!" and a "Let's play 2!!!"!?!? The man who helped the once cursed Red Sox to two World Series titles is bringing his act to Wrigley Field and even though past success isn't a guarantee of future success, it is an indicator of a good game plan and the ability to pull it off! Although Theo won't be the General Manager (that job went to another one of Theo's former colleagues, Jed Hoyer, who left the Padres to rejoin Epstein in Chicago), instead opting to become the team's President of Baseball Operations. Even though most of us don't know exactly what that is since we usually only hear about the GMs in baseball, it's a big step up the ladder, giving Epstein the reigns to the entire baseball side of the Chicago Cubs organization. It's going to allow Theo to work a master plan to bring the Cubs back and not just be "the guy who brings in free agents". Not a bad gig for a guy who still hasn't hit 40! I'm 42 and still enjoy the occasional video game or two and Theo's got an outside chance of breaking two of the longest curses in baseball in the Red Sox and Cubs before he hits 40? I blame my parents! Sure, it's not their fault, but hey, it's 2011! Who the hell says I have to actually take responsibility for anything, right!?!? But I digress...

Epstein's first order of business has been to assess the organization. Tom Ricketts must have given Theo a good vision of where he wants the organization to be in the future or Theo wouldn't have jumped into the stagnant waters of the Cubs 103 year (and counting) drought. He brought in "his guys" in Hoyer (GM), Randy Bush (assistant GM) and Jason McCloud (Scouting Director) and let Manager Mike Quade go after one season at the helm. Make no mistake, Mike Quade is a good baseball man and an even better man (by all accounts), but Theo has to bring in his own guys to not only break the cycle but to make things run smoothly because everyone will have the same vision for the franchise as he does. As for who Theo plans on bringing in as the manager? That's...another story...

When it comes to the list of candidates who have popped up for the job of manager there's one glaring omission, Hall of Famer and Cubs legend, Ryne Sandberg, who not only graced Cubs fans with his bat and glove while becoming one the game's all-time greats at 2nd base, but also decided he wanted to become a major league and Cubs manager and busted his butt in the minors for the past 5 seasons to work towards that goal, winning 2 minor league Manager of the Year Awards in the Cubs organization and leading his Phillies AAA affiliate to their best record ever after leaving the Iowa Cubs after being passed over in favor of Mike Quade last year. Theo has said he wants a manager "with major league experience" and Ryno has none of that as a manager or even a coach, but he did spend a long and illustrious career in the Big Leagues, but I guess that doesn't count, except on the South Side!?!? So while Sandberg can't even get an interview with the team he dreamed of managing, the World Series Champion and hated rival, St. Louis Cardinals have made him a candidate for their open manager's spot after Tony LaRussa decided to go out a winner and retire following the World Series. This just wreaks of another bone headed move by a cursed franchise! Or does it?

I sincerely hope that Sandberg isn't being considered for his own good. Sure, Theo could hire him right now and guarantee that the fans would have the patience to wait through a total rebuild. Or it could go the other way and put him in the position of having to fire a legend and one of the most popular sports icons in Chicago's storied history of professional sports. Maybe and hopefully, Theo has Ryno on his radar when he thinks Ryne, and Theo's version Cubs are ready for greatness and ready to end "The Curse of the Billy Goat". One can only hope, because it would be a storybook ending if it all came together like that someday down the road.

The mantra of Cubs fans has always been "Wait til next year!", but we're going to have to be patient this time around folks. This isn't going to take a fistful of dollars getting thrown in someone's direction to get the Cubs to rise above "lovable losers" and "occasional contenders" status. It's going to take a major overhaul. Theo has shown in the very recent past that he's a damn good mechanic and now we have to sit in the waiting area, drink some stale coffee and wait til he comes through the service department door wiping the grease off of his hands to tell us "It runs like new again!". So give him the keys and let him get started...we're going to be here awhile.

Shane from Marshalltown

PANTHERS MARCH OFF THE PENGUINS

Youngstown State Doobee Doobee Doomed at the Dome

By: J.T. the Nutt

The #6 rated  Northern Iowa Panthers got banged up in a loss to NDSU last week.  It was gutcheck time at home against Youngstown State.  And the Panthers responded...kinda.  It wasn't pretty but it was a big win for Mark Farley and his team.  Read more Here

Two Straight Losses to Minnesota: The Downfall of Iowa Football?

Leave it to the Iowa Hawkeyes to do something that no team in the history of the Big10 should ever do..."lose to the worst team in college football, TWICE!". That's right folks, our Iowa Hawkeyes pulled off a miracle on Saturday by losing...AGAIN...to the Minnesota Golden Goophers! HALLELUJAH! HALLELU...ok, enough of that! My voice can't pull it off even if I put my junk in a vice! Hmm...come to think of it, that's exactly how I felt on Saturday, thanks to Captain Kirk and his once proud football team! Holy crap, just thinking about this game again makes me need some Advil...

Let me start off by saying that Iowa had NO right and NO reason to lose to Minnesota, last year OR this year! But last year was different. You could almost understand it after the Hawkeyes folded up their tents and called it a season after the nut punch of a loss to Wisconsin. But this year was "different"! These Hawks were younger! These Hawks were hungrier! And these Hawks wanted that damn pig back where it belongs! So...what happened??? Let's take a look...

Iowa could've easily won this game if not for a few miscues that come down to execution and coaching. A Lou Groza Award Semi-Finalist missed 2 FGs that were in his range, but not "gimmes" per say. Quarterback James Vandenburg has apparently never seen a corner blitz before and got crushed and lost the ball in the red-zone. The Iowa coaching staff was the only group of people wearing black and gold on saturday who weren't worried about a possible onside kick and to top it all off, running back Marcus Coker rushed for 252 yards on Saturday and was nowhere near the Iowa backfield despite decent field position and nearly 3 minutes of game time left as the Hawkeyes came out throwing to some guys NOT named, "Marvin McNutt" for four straight plays! People wonder why McNutt disappears in crunch time!?!? It's because, despite being a former QB, he can't throw the ball to himself! Feel free to allow the play to develop, JVB! But, I digress...and finally, the Iowa defense, which has become much maligned over the past 2 seasons, collapsed again in the 4th quarter to complete the Gophers' comeback. Weee...as fun as that breakdown was, the fun is just starting!

You see, Iowa's problems on defense didn't start this season, nor did they start last season when Norm started having troubles due to his diabetes. Hell, they didn't even start when more teams started using running quarterbacks! (and yes, I know Iowa has struggled with them...most teams do, that's why highschools and colleges use them!) The problem started when Iowa started getting consistent and good! The coaching staff fell in love with the "cover 2 zone, rush four and don't blitz, bend but don't break" philosophy and they taught it well and it worked well...that is, until teams figured it out! Just like the wishbone, the run and shoot, the 46 defense and the wildcat formation, teams adapt over time after seeing the same thing over and over and over again!

Look, I'm not some ex-jock or ex-coach...Norm Parker has forgotten more football in the last 8 minutes than I'll ever know in my lifetime, but I do know that after 13 seasons of seeing the same things, teams have finally learned how to exploit the Iowa defense. From the line trying to go 4 vs 5-6 on nearly every snap, to the linebackers covering wide receivers in all situations, to the secondary playing back so they don't give up the big play, teams have learned how to shred it all up! Is Iowa's defensive line down after losing 3 players to the NFL? Absolutely! Is the linebacking corp beat up? Of course! Are there 2 new safeties on the field this season? Yup! But as we saw last year, when Iowa had NFL caliber players all over the defensive side of the ball, it doesn't seem to matter who Iowa has on the field, it's just not working anymore!

I know a lot of irate fans are calling for heads to roll, from Ken O'Keefe and Norm Parker to Kirk Ferentz himself, but it's not going to happen and it doesn't need to, because the Iowa football program doesn't need a coaching change or two...it needs a coaching philosophy change or two...or three...or...you get my point. And this staff, as stubborn as it is, is capable of doing it. We've seen them do it in the past, on both sides of the ball. You can have your cover 2 zone as a base, but don't be afraid to mix it up some! Throw another cornerback in there on 3rd and long instead of having your linebackers one on one with the other team's best wideout! Play some tight, kick your ass at the line of scrimmage coverage every now and again so it takes the quarterback longer to get the ball out of his hand! Blitz from every angle imaginable and from every position imaginable every so often! Your "bend but don't break" is bending AND breaking now...and if you don't give opposing offenses, who have caught your act for years, a few different looks to think AND worry about, you're going to get left behind and become the next...well...MINNESOTA...and the glorified prevent defense that you needed when you were outmanned the first few seasons isn't going to cut it anymore!

I know this staff is stubborn and I know Kirk Ferentz would snort and scoff at this if he ever read it, but come on Kirk! You're supposed to be a "Bill Belichick disciple"! Act like one! Belichick didn't win 3 Super Bowls by standing pat and doing the exact same thing every year! He evolved with his team and personnel...and unlike some of the more rabid "what have you done for me lately"s in the fanbase, I believe Kirk Ferentz and his staff can...and eventually will, do the same! As Hayden would say,"You gotta scratch where it itches!"...I have faith that Kirk and Co. will do just that...and may God help us all if I'm wrong...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: October 30 Edition

Hey Iowa...good programs don't lose to the worst team in college football, EVER! There is not one good reason why that bronze pig should spend more than one year per decade in the great white nort'! The Iowa coaches need to get their heads out of their asses and mix up the defense every now and then! 13 years of the cover 2 "bend but don't break" has turned into "bend AND break" and it needs an overhaul!

We all knew there'd probably be a let down effect on Texas Tech's side after their big win at Oklahoma last week, but you can't chalk up a nice swift 41-7 butt kicking just to that...the Clones played great on both sides of the ball and it paid off with a well deserved beatdown! Way to go Clones!

As a Cubs fan I am sworn to hate the St. Louis Cardinals, but after watching their gutsy comeback in Game 6 of the World Series and seeing how they finished it off in Game 7 to win their 11th World Series title in 18 tries...all I can say is, enjoy! You earned it...and you deserved it!

A special shout out to the Pittsburgh Steelers who beat the New England Patriots 25-17 on Sunday...thank you for saving the weekend of this 2 time fan of the Black and Gold! It's always nice to see Tom Brady get his ass handed to him...he's always received way too much credit for being a "good guy" than he deserves...if he's ever rubbed your team's face in it after a touchdown pass, you know what I mean...

The Denver Broncos picked a winner when they drafted Tim Tebow last year...but after seeing the Lions beat down the Broncos 45-10, maybe Denver should've picked a QB in that draft instead...

Tony Stewart took the checkered flag at Martinsville on Sunday...don't look now, but with 3 races left the chase seems to actually be getting interesting! On a sidenote: Chad Knaus is an idiot...nice job telling the world you may have cheated during last weekend's race...

Shane From Marshalltown

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 8
Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCLAIMER 1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 

DISCLAIMER 2:  We are incorrect more often than we are correct.

 A combination of a busy work week, not much going on with Iowa (horrible opponents last week and this week) and poor prognosticating by yours truly have caused me to procrastinate my writing duties, and for that, I apologize.   And even though this intro will be short and sweet, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the pleasure I take in watching Marvin McNutt play the position of wide receiver.   When I started teaching my toddler how to catch last year, I always told him to ‘grab the ball with your hands’; whenever I say these words I picture Marvin in the end-zone, effortlessly snatching the ball out of the air at its highest point, usually in heavy traffic.   Big ups to MM for his record setting career, and let’s hope he keeps the TD’s coming against the tougher opponents that remain on the schedule.  

 To recap last week’s action, we made picks, some of them won, some lost, the details aren’t important. 

1.  Andy:  (Overall: 12-9-0, +8.2 units; last week 2-1-0, +4.7 units)

2.  Mike:  (Overall: 9-12-0, -17.7 units; last week 1-2-0, -4.6 units)

3.  Jason:  (Overall: 8-13-0, -18.6 units; last week 1-2-0, -2.6 units)

I’m getting very tired of saying this: Andy fared best, he fires first. 

ANDY’S PICKS:

Iowa -15 @ Minnesota (3 units): How these Gopher lines continue to be so low is amazing to me.  Iowa's D is a bit banged up right now, but they should be able to score at will, even on the road.  Hopefully this is the week where Vandenberg steps up his game when away from the friendly confines of Kinnick. 

Penn St. -5.5 vs. Illinois (3 units):  Funny how the Illini aren't nearly as good as first glace after they started having to play games on the road against better competition.  I think PSU's D smothers them in Happy Valley in this one. 

Clemson -3.5 @ Georgia Tech (2 units):  Still can't get enough of wagering on Clemson--have they failed to cover once yet this year?  Pretty hard not to when it seems they put up 50+ in every game. 

JASON’S PICKS:  Not feeling any jamming this week, maybe that is a good thing.

Utah -5 vs. Oregon St. (3 units): Neither team is good but I like Utah to get it together and pound the Beavers.

Texas Tech -14.5 vs. Iowa St. (3 units):  Classic letdown game here for the Raiders so they will probably get off to a slow start, but I think they do enough in the 2nd half to cover against the Clowns.

California -5 @ UCLA (3 units):  The Bruins are terrible and they know their coach isn’t gonna be around for long regardless of what they do.  I like the Bears to take it to ‘em.

Wouldn’t be fun if I didn’t try to parlay my way back to the black – gimme 1 unit.  If I was forced to bet the Hawks this weekend I would take them, we need a win on the road. Go Hawks!

MIKE’S PICKS:  Still struggling and very frustrated with my performance.   The pattern continues; when I make plays based solely on value and situation they tend to do well (N.C. State last week), but when I make picks based on my perceived strengths and weaknesses of the teams involved I tend to get my ass kicked (e.g. Missouri and Notre Dame last week).   If I were smart I would accept that I know relatively nothing about college football and rely only on situational analysis for my picks, but…

Georgia -3 vs. Florida (3 units):  Florida is coming off ugly losses to LSU (who makes everyone look ugly) and Auburn, so the only possible reason for such a short line is the expected return of Florida QB John Brantley.   But he has barely practiced since his injury, and even though Florida has him slated as the starter this weekend I’m not sure he’ll take all the snaps, and his replacements represent a severe drop-off.  Could another reason for the short line be the fact that Georgia has lost 18 out of the last 21 in this series?  Possibly, but that’s a dumb reason, as many of the players involved in this game weren’t even alive when the streak began.  

North Carolina -7 vs. Wake Forest (3 units):   Talent-wise, this isn’t even close, and UNC has NFL players up and down the roster, and Wake Forest is Wake Forest.   There is value in this line, as UNC is coming off a public beating at the hands of the juggernaut that is Clemson, and while beating Duke by 1 isn’t exactly impressive, Wake is quietly having a pretty good season.   This game should resemble the Wake/Virginia Tech game from two weeks ago, where VTU methodically stomped a mudhole.  

Now comes the point where I put my money where my mouth is with regard to this whole value angle I have been blathering about all season.   Those who bet value far better than I often talk about a specific trend that always yields value; fade a home favorite coming off a straight up road win as an underdog, as they are simultaneously overvalued and due for a huge letdown.   Well, there is a game this week that fits that recipe to a T.   I’m throwing up a little in my mouth as I type this, but…

Iowa State +14.5 at Texas Tech (3 units):   Texas Tech is coming off a gigantic road win as a 29 point dog, and they play a home game against winless in the conference ISU.   If that isn’t enough, they play arch-rival Texas next week.   ISU, on the other hand, must win this game if they have any hope of a bowl game; after Kansas next week they finish with three top ten opponents in Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Kansas State.   You can’t know how hard it is to pull the trigger on this pick, but if I truly believe in this system then this is a pick I have to make.   Sigh. 

No choice but to add the parlay option as well; got to hope that ISU scores a garbage TD in the last minute to turn a 21 point loss into a miracle cover.   Fingers crossed. 

Let’s hope the Hawks get out of Minneapolis injury free, and start preparing for the Michigan invasion of the following two weeks.   Let’s get it! 

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 7
Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCLAIMER 1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 

DISCLAIMER 2:  We are incorrect more often than we are correct.
 Pretty good weekend all around; the Sons battled back to respectability by chalking up a total of 6.1 units, and the Hawks got the Northwestern monkey off their backs.   After the hot mess that was the PSU game I suppose we should be happy with a 41 point offensive output, but it certainly needs to be taken with a grain of salt as the Wildcat D is the worst in the conference.  And with Indiana and Minnesota in the next two weeks, the Hawks are a shocking upset away from being 3-1 in conference and most likely at least tied for the division lead heading into back-to-back home games against the Michigan schools.  Amazing how nicely our schedule sets up; hopefully we can keep improving the next two weeks in low leverage situations and peak at just the right time.   As strange as it sounds, we actually control our own destiny; who would have thought that possible after the PSU game?  
 It’s finally a pleasure to discuss the tally.   We all had a solid week; luckily for Andy Western Michigan crapped themselves in the second half and my parlay just missed (by 29 points).   I can tell he’s sweating though; no lead is safe with the parlay option in play!

1.  Andy:  (Overall: 10-8-0, +3.5 units; last week 2-1-0, +1.7 units)

2.  Mike:  (Overall: 8-10-0, -13.1 units; last week 2-1-0, +1.7 units)

3.  Jason:  (Overall: 7-11-0, -16.0 units; last week 2-1-0, +2.7 units)

 Hopefully readers held off on giving Jason’s picks the Costanza treatment, as he actually fared best; as a result he fires first. 

JASON’S PICKS:  Time to make a move now….although I find that I seem to like all the road favorites this week:
Oklahoma St. -7 @ Missouri (5 unit JAM):  Weeden, Blackmon and company have impressed as much as anyone this year and the Tigers are not nearly as good as they have been in prior years.  I don’t think this one is close, as indicated by my use of a JAM SANDWICH.

Wisconsin -7.5 @ Michigan St. (3 units):   A good test for the Badge but I think they overpower the Spartans by the time it is done.  Sparty’s D is tough but it won’t be able to withstand getting pounded by Montee Ball for four quarters.

Illinois -4 @ Purdue (3 units):  I don’t think the Illini are as bad as they looked last week against the Buckeyes and Purdue’s talent is far from what Illinois saw last week.  Potential upset here, but I think Illinois finds a way to get it done with their big play ability.
Just for fun, give me a 1 unit parlay on these hot picks.  I also like USC +8.5 and if I was forced to bet the Iowa game, I would be taking Indiana and the 23.5 points.  Best of luck this weekend.   ANDY’S PICKS:  Without further ado, my dear dedicated readers, I hereby give you Lenny's Locks of the Week (starting to get a little cocky!)

JAM Sandwich Special: Nebraska -24.5 at Minnesota (5 units): Really surprised that this line is so low; my first thought was that it would be around 35.  For the record, Minnesota is--by all accounts--the worst Big 10 team since the bile that the Northwestern Wildcats used to consistently excrete in the 80's.

Okie State -7 @ Mizzou (3 units): Don't really care if Mizzou beat Iowa State by 80 last week, this Cowboy team is dialed in and proved their road toughness last week at Texas. 

Maryland +17.5 @ Florida St. (3 units): This seems like a lot of points to me, and a bit too much respect for a Seminole team that hasn't lived up to the hype this year...as well as a Maryland team that gave Clemson all they could handle last week. 

MIKE’S PICKS:  Oooh, I love the parlay option we have mixed in this year.   Last week my first two games came in, which left me a Western Michigan cover away from a long-awaited return to the black.   Things were looking good in the first half as the Broncos took a 15-7 lead, but the next two hours were an absolute horror show as they proceeded to give up roughly 800 rushing yards to NIU en route to a 29 point loss.  Even though I lost, with the extra units on the line a random MAC game became my most exciting game of the week, and yes, I have a huge problem.   I will definitely be pissing away an extra unit a week on the parlay option, but dammit, it’s going to be a rush!

 On to the picks.   Usually lines get quite sharp this time of year, but there are actually several opportunities on this card.   Without further ado…

Missouri +7 vs. Oklahoma State (3 units):  Missouri has three losses; in OT at Arizona State, at Kansas State, and by 10 at Oklahoma.   These teams have a combined two losses (both by ASU, at Illinois and at Oregon).   My point is that Missouri is very good for a three loss team.   Okie State is coming off a publicized win against a big name team, and they are definitely explosive, but make no mistake, Missouri is better than anyone they have beat so far.   This game is eerily similar to the Mizzou/Oklahoma game last year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers win straight up.  In fact, there is probably a money-line wager in my future.

North Carolina State +5.5 at Virginia (3 units):  Value, value, value.   Virginia is coming off their biggest win in years, and is both overvalued and due for a letdown.   Let’s not forget that the Cavs got creamed at home by Southern Miss and barely beat freaking Idaho at home.   They shouldn’t be giving 5.5 to anyone, let alone a conference foe.  A good credo for betting dogs is not to bet them unless you think they can win straight up.   I expect the Pack to win straight up.   (Bonus points to me for working the word ‘credo’ into the discussion)

Notre Dame -8.5 vs. USC (3 units):  Trust me, I never, ever bet on Notre Dame; in fact I often bet against them due to hatred alone, which often ends up costing me money.   But I must grudgingly admit that they are probably a top ten team; their 0-2 start was a complete anomaly as everything that could have possibly gone wrong did (10 turnovers in two games).  And sure, USC is 5-1, but remember, they only beat Minnesota by two at home, and in their only true road test got rolled by Arizona State.   This is the definition of a sucker line; on the surface you think, wow, USC is getting 8.5; but when ND is up 24-7 at half it will make a lot more sense.  
 Looks like my thoughts on Missouri/Okie State differ greatly from those of my competitors; based on last year’s results I am very comfortable with this.  Last week’s 6-3 total from the Sons is a sign of things to come; fade us at your peril, tail us to your profit! 

THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

UNI Men's Basketball Season Opener

By: J.T. the Nutt

How do you get over losing your QB in a loss to North Dakota State in football?  You have an exhibition with a much hyped basketball team.  Find it here

                                                            Thoughts From The Week: October 16 Edition

I wonder if Northwestern losing to Iowa caused a meltdown by their fanbase and a call for their coach and offensive coordinator to be fired because they're too conservative and they shouldn't be losing to Iowa because of past success and they aren't supposed to have to rebuild every now and then...and someone has to be making too much money for the results they're getting, right!?!?

I know it's Iowa's philosophy to be patient on defense and make the other team have to take small chunks of yardage and go on long, disciplined, sustained drives to score, but would it kill anyone to actually jump in front of a Northwestern receiver once in a while when that's exactly what their offensive philosophy is???

I'd like to take this time to apologize to the Big12 Conference for any hate mail and negative comments I may have thrown their way after finding out that the Iowa State - Missouri game would not be televised...and thank you for looking out for our best interest as college football fans...we owe you one!

Thoughts and prayers to the family of Indy Car driver, Dan Wheldon, who lost his life today at the age of 33 after a horrific crash in Las Vegas...I've never understood how you can have race cars going that fast with no protection over the drivers' heads...

The NBA lockout could cost us a season that no one cares about...just get it over with before the playoffs start and no one'll even notice you had one! It'll be like a WNBA season! Except no one even notices their playoffs...come to think of it, has their season even started or ended yet? Is it even still around? Holy crap...now I'm actually contemplating looking that up...ok, the urge passed without incident...

Shane From Marshalltown

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 6
Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCLAIMER 1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 

DISCLAIMER 2:  We are incorrect more often than we are correct.

 First of all, a giant “my bad” from me to our readers for failing to submit a column last week.   A perfect storm of a Friday trip back to Iowa, alcohol, no internet connection where I was staying, alcohol, growing apathy about all things related to college football, and alcohol contributed to the lapse.   I actually wrote my part of the column during my layover in Milwaukee, so here is a quick outline of probably the stupidest thing every written.

 1)  I spent a couple of hundred words explaining how if the Hawks came out in their much rumored no-huddle, pass heavy offense, there was no possible way we would lose to Penn State.  I even went on to explain how due to the fact that our offense would be so prolific the rest of the season, betting the over on Iowa games would probably be profitable for several weeks until Vegas caught on. 

 2)  As the below tally shows, my picks were horrendous.   Not only did they all lose, but they all lost by about 20 miles.   The Iowa game was the closest I came to covering, as I rode my value idea to such gems as Eastern Michigan (got 21, lost by 38), and Bowling Green (getting 11, lost by 24).   I am a giant idiot, and have absolutely no confidence going forward.   This must be how Andy and Jason felt last year.   (For the record, Jason’s picks last week were Iowa, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma.  Andy didn’t submit his until Saturday evening thus he was restricted to late games; his picks were UCLA, BYU, and San Diego State).

 As mentioned above I traveled back to Iowa to watch the games with friends from back home (Jason and Andy included), and of course we talked about the game for several angry hours Saturday afternoon and evening.   I’m tired of it.  I was wrong about this team.   In retrospect, it was ridiculous to think we were going to come out and dominate; we’ve played 2 good quarters against BCS competition all year (1st vs. ISU, 4th vs. Pitt).   In 9 of the 12 quarters we’ve played against BCS competition (2nd-4th vs. ISU, 1st half vs. Pitt, entire game vs. PSU), we’ve scored a grand total of 20 points.   Once again, 20 points in 9 quarters.   So, yeah, we’re not very good.  

 The tally is getting really ugly; Andy is the only one with his head above water.   Jason and I probably need to use our parlay option every week from here on out in an attempt to catch up.  

 
1.  Andy:  (Overall: 8-7-0, +1.8 units; last week 1-2-0, -1.2 units)

2.  Mike:  (Overall: 6-9-0, -14.8 units; last week 0-3-0, -9.9 units)

3.  Jason:  (Overall: 5-10-0, -18.7 units; last week 2-1-0, -1.5 units)

 Andy was least bad last week, so he’s up first.

ANDY’S PICKS: So I justly took a little heat last week for holding off on my picks until the night games and then only taking 1 unit each.  I would like to let my legions of Dedicated Readers know that It's all part of a master plan...yes, even the "losing all 3 games" part.  This week I break out the artillery and go for the jugular.  (Editor’s note:  Andy’s BYU bet actually came in, so he was 1-2 last week as opposed to 0-3)

Clemson -7.5 @ Maryland (3 units):  Dance with you brought ya!  Loves me some Tigers this year. 

Oklahoma -35 @ Kansas (3 units): Oklahoma is very, very good and Bob Stoops knows how to blow lesser teams out of the water.  What I wouldn't give for him to be Iowa's coach. 

Okie St. -7 @ Texas (2 units): I'm a bit nervous about giving up a full TD on the road vs. the Horns, but the other bet I was considering was Stanford, and Wazzou is actually 4-1 ATS this year and only lost to the Cardinal by 10 last year, so....yeah.  I've been riding the Clemson and Okie St. train all year to this point, and I see no reason to stop now.  

JASON’S PICKS:  More of the same…..this chasing isn’t working……yet.

Cincinnati -16 vs. Louisville (3 units):  Cincy is too talented for the Cards, especially at home.

Michigan St -2.5 vs. Michigan (3 units):  Denard puts up more numbers but his mistakes catch-up with him this game, in no small part due to Sparty’s defense.

Oklahoma St. -7 @ Texas (3 units):   Inexperienced QB play for the ‘Horns and a potent OSU offense spell a second consecutive loss for Texas at the hands of an Oklahoma school.

Best of luck this weekend.   Hopefully the Hawks live up to the expectations of the experts this week.

MIKE’S PICKS:  My tone in the introduction was a bit dejected, and for that I apologize; nobody wants to hear that.   The only way to make up almost 17 units on Andy is to make a huge run, which starts now.

Michigan State -2 vs. Michigan (3 units):   I’m still not a believer in Michigan.  Yes, they are 6-0; however the first five of those games were at home, and even though their 42-24 win at Northwestern last week looks good on paper, they were actually down 24-14 at half.   Shoelace put up over 450 yards of offense, but he also had 3 picks, and Northwestern has the worst defense in the conference.  Sparty has had a week off, and has a pretty good defense.   Doubters can point to their 31-13 loss to Notre Dame as evidence that their impressive defensive stats (3rd in points allowed) are a result of weak competition, but ND only put up 275 total yards and benefited from two long returns.   I see this playing out like last year’s game, where MSU forced Denard to pass, turned him over, and won handily. 

Navy +3.5 at Rutgers (3 units):  Classic value game; last week Navy got crushed at home by Southern Miss, while Rutgers beat Pitt by 24 (Hawk fans, it’s safe to stop hanging our hat on the Pitt win; they aren’t good).   Weird that with all of this the line is so short; which makes me think Navy is going to win outright.  

Western Michigan -1.5 at Northern Illinois (3 units):  Learned my lesson betting against WMU last week; seemed like they were due for a letdown but they absolutely trashed Bowling Green.   Their only losses are the lightning game at Michigan and a 3 point loss at Illinois.   NIU, on the other hand, has lost to Kansas and Central Michigan.   This seems like a gift.  

By my math a clean slate plus the parlay option will be good for a cool 15 units, bringing my head above water in one fell swoop.   Let’s get it!

Thoughts From The Week: October 9 Edition

Usually after a "tough to figure out loss" I spend my time trying to pull the "Jihadic Wing of Hawkeye Nation" in off of the ledge...but after reading some of the message board posts this weekend, I think I'll just push them off instead...

Al Davis may have become a caricature of himself over the past decade or so, but he was a pioneer and a legend in NFL. Thank you for all you did for the league, Mr. Davis...just rest in peace, baby...you will be missed!

Tiger Woods was minding his own business on the 7th green at Corde Valle, Sunday when some guy tried to toss his hotdog in Tiger's face...insert your own jokes here folks...ok, maybe "insert" isn't a good word to use in regards to weiners and Tiger Woods...

Thanks to Fran McCaffery and Iowa Football 2011, I haven't been this excited to see Hawkeye Basketball in YEARS!

Hey Murph and Andy (this would be a great name for a radio show, by the way)...don't forget that "Candy Corn" season is in FULL swing! Get'cha some today and ENJOY, boys!

I saw great effort from the Clones on Saturday night versus Baylor, but I also saw the same ol' Clones on Saturday night versus Baylor...so much for this year being "different"...it's going to take a little longer than Cyclone fans had hoped...

Cyclone fans always try to use it against Hawkeye fans that most of them didn't go to Iowa...but just remember this, Clone fans...most Iowa fans became Iowa fans because of the journies Evy and Hayden Fry took us on...you'd be wise not to think ill of that when you want that same journey from Paul Rhoads! (not to mention, most major universities not named "Iowa State" get most of their fanbase from their states and not university alums...get over it, you dimwits!)

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: October 2 Edition

We all knew that Iowa State couldn't beat Texas if the Cyclones continued their trend of first half miscues. The most disappointing thing is that they're the type of mistakes that should be easy to correct, especially coming off of a bye week! I'm starting to think that these are the "real" Cyclones and they may still be heading towards a 4 win season...I hope I'm wrong...

Anyone got a shovel I can borrow? I need to bury the Steelers...

This past week gave us the best week of baseball I can remember (without the Cubs being involved)...it's just too bad the Rays couldn't have somehow knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs alongside the RedSox...ok, something's wrong here...the thought of that kind of turned me on for a sec...Jessica Alba, Lolo Jones...Jessica Alba, Lolo Jones...

Last weekend's Mayweather vs Ortiz bout ended in controversy as Floyd Mayweather caught Ortiz with a vicious right and left as Ortiz tried to "hug it out" again after he headbutt Mayweather in the mouth...Mayweather may have won and sure, it was cheap knockout, but it was legal AND it was also cheap of Ortiz to headbutt him for no reason! All I know is, Mayweather now has only 2 viable options...give a talented and hungry Ortiz a rematch...or finally step into the ring against Manny Paquiao! Too bad the latter won't happen due to Floyd's apparent need to lay eggs and peck the ground all day...

You know...when the Hawkeyes came back from 21 down in just over 1 quarter to knock off Pitt, I thought "What are the odds of THAT happening???"...well, after seeing the Bills do it to New England and Detroit do it to Dallas and pretty much everyone doing it to Texas A&M and the Vikings, I'd say the odds are "pretty damn good!"...

I like almonds...peanuts are a "given"...and cashews are pretty darn good too, but seriously, F you, walnuts! And take your buddy pecans with you too! BLECH! Nasty sh*t...ACK!

Oh, one last thought before I go! Thanks to everyone who came out to visit me at Marshalltown's Oktemberfest celebration last weekend! You know, "The celebration that moved October ahead of September because 'Septoberfest' was just too stupid of a name"!?!? I really thought it would be a down year for visitors to the "Shane From Marshalltown" booth since it was smack dab in between "Green Card on a Stick" and the "INS is Your Friend" booths, but it was a record year as you all still found me! Thanks again!

Shane From Marshalltown

UNI BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY 2011

By:  J.T. the Nutt

Click HERE for audio of UNI Media Day version 2011

SYCAMORES SACKED

Panthers Break the Backs of the Trees

By:  J.T. the Nutt

UNI is ranked #2 in the nation.  Today, the offense didn't look like a top 25 team but the defense looked like the best in the nation.  Boothby had two huge sacks and along with LJ Fort, they channeled their inner Beast Mode to keep the Trees of Indiana State down.  The biggest play of the game may have been the injury to Shakir Bell, the Sycamore running back that had 145 yards at HALFTIME.  Highly touted before the game and highly respected after the game.  David Johnson is good, damn goot.  Bell is amazing.  ,He might not be the biggest guy on the field but he runs as hard as anyone I've seen in person.  Considering the success UNI has had stopping the run, it's more amazing what kind of numbers he put up.

It seems like every year that UNI has a game where the offense coughs and sputters.  It also seems like the sellouts at the UNI-Dome have led to losses, notably the game against SIU two years ago that derailed the season for the Cats and Pat Grace.  THe offense never showed a lot of consistency but did enough and had just enough plays to win.  They were stopped for the first time all year on a 4th and goal play.  Their red zone had been 100% before that, the best in the nation.  Farley has said time and time again that this may not be the most talented team he has ever had but they have the maturity to win.  The passing game was decent but not what UNI football is used to.  Tirrell Rennie continues to run like an FCS Michael VIck in his ability to somehow slip past guys and gain extra yardage to get the first or more.  He is a special talent that should never have had to leave the south but we're glad he's all the way up here in Cedar Falls.

UNI may not be the prettiest team but they know how to win.  They are fast, strong, and hit you hard.  It's the reputation that gave them the #2 ranking but it's there tenacity that has kept them there.  Once again the best football team in the state is in the 319 area code.  But this time, it's the UNI Panthers carrying the load for the rest of the state.

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 4
Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCLAIMER 1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 

DISCLAIMER 2:  We are incorrect more often than we are correct. 

 Last week I stated that I was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the Hawks’ prospects this year, and while a convincing win over ULM should not be grounds for clearing one’s calendar for a January bowl appearance, I am willing to cautiously remove the caution from my optimism.   It does seem like the obvious is finally apparent to the coaching staff, and I feel more confident that we will actually try to get the ball to our best players in future games.   Plus, all indications are that we will be using more hurry-up going forward, which should keep opposing defenses on their heels.   As I said last week, we should be able to score against every remaining team on the schedule.   Stopping them from scoring is another question. 

 The bye week is the perfect time to look forward, so I’d like to investigate the remaining schedule by trying to predict the spreads of each future game.    As a baseline, I will use Jeff Sagarin’s power rankings (you can find them at www.usatoday.com).   A pretty easy formula for comparing two teams is to simply subtract their power ratings, and then add in about a field goal (specifically, 3.08 points, which slightly adjusts from week to week) to the home team.   Now as a disclaimer, this early in the season all teams are not yet ‘connected’, which means that pre-season rankings still factor into current rankings (which explains, for example, why Penn State has a relatively high power ranking even though they kind of suck).   Iowa’s current power ranking is 77.54, so each computation will consist of the difference between this number and our opponent’s current ranking, with 3.08 added to the home team.   That will give us a starting point, and we can go from there.   (I will round the final values to the nearest half point)

Oct. 8 at Penn State: PSU 81.88 – Iowa 77.54 + 3.08; predicted line: PSU -7.5
Oct. 15 vs. Northwestern: Iowa 77.54 – Northwestern 64.99 + 3.08; predicted line: Iowa -15.5
Oct. 22 vs. Indiana: Iowa 77.54 – Indiana 61.15 + 3.08; predicted line: Iowa -19.5
Oct. 29 at Minnesota: Iowa 77.54 – Minnesota 63.22 – 3.08; predicted line: Iowa -17.5
Nov. 5 vs. Michigan: Michigan 83.28 – Iowa 77.54 +3.08; predicted line: Michigan -2.5
Nov. 12 vs. Michigan State: MSU 81.07 – Iowa 77.54 + 3.08; predicted line: MSU -0.5
Nov. 19 at Purdue: Iowa 77.54 – Purdue 68.98 – 3.08; predicted line: Iowa -5.5
Nov. 25 at Nebraska: Nebraska 83.65 – Iowa 77.54 – 3.08; predicted line: Nebraska -9

 A few things stand out.  First of all, we have a really easy schedule.   After Penn State we have 4 out of 5 at home, with the only road game at Minnesota (they lost to New Mexico State and a North Dakota school, by the way).   The PSU game is huge; win, and we have a very good chance of starting 4-0 in conference play heading into consecutive home games against the Michigan schools.  

 Secondly, even though the Sagarin ratings have us as more than a touchdown dog at PSU and Nebraska, does anyone believe that those lines are realistic?   If we are getting more than a touchdown at PSU I will be emptying my account on the Hawks, and Nebraska looks far less scary every week.   The point is that no team on the schedule is unbeatable.   The counterpoint is that we lost to Iowa State, so that means we can pretty much lose to any team left on the schedule.   But if we’ve truly adjusted our offensive philosophy the offensive ineptitude of the four quarters against ISU and the first three quarters against Pitt seems unlikely to be repeated.   Reason for excitement!  

 Now to the tally.   Andy continues to impress; the month he spent at my school for handicapping over the off season is paying dividends.   I still maintain my SDSU bet was a good one even though they lost by 21; they were inside Michigan territory 10 freaking times and scored a grand total of 7 points.  Most frustrating non-Iowa game I have watched in a long time.   As for Jason, he is sullying the good name of the Sons and is quickly approaching Costanza territory.   As he is pretty much already eliminated from contention, Andy I and are rooting for him to turn it around. 

1.  Andy:  (Overall: 5-4-0, +2.3 units; last week 2-1-0, +1.8 units)
2.  Mike:  (Overall: 5-4-0, -3.5 units; last week 2-1-0, +1.7 units)
3.  Jason:  (Overall: 2-7-0, -12.6 units; last week 0-3-0, -7.7 units)

 As Andy still reigns, he leads off.

ANDY’S PICKS: 

Clemson +7 at Va Tech (2 units):  This seems like a lot of points to me for what I expect to be a tightly-contested matchup. 

Ohio St. -3 vs. Mich St. (3 units): This Spartan team is very banged up across the O-Line and they are not the same team as last year.  Granted, OSU isn't either, and their showing in Miami was far from impressive, but I like them to cover this spread at home. 

Texas Tech -6.5 at Kansas (2 units): It ain't basketball season just yet!

MIKE’S PICKS: 

The search for value continues, but there are a couple of non-value games that are just too good to pass up this week.

Alabama -4 at Florida (3 units):  This line has been moving in Florida’s favor all week.  Why?   Are we suddenly buying into Florida after they rolled Kentucky last week?   The same Kentucky that barely beat Western Kentucky and Central Michigan and also lost at home to a bad Louisville team?   Not quite enough evidence for me to believe they are going to play Alabama close. 

Virginia Tech -7 vs. Clemson (2 units):  Here is a value pick; it’s about time for Clemson to come down to earth.   They looked great in home wins against Auburn and Florida State, but a night game in Blacksburg is a far different animal.   Dynamic freshman QB Tajh Boyd and electric WR Sammy Watkins (also a freshman) might be the most exciting tandem in the country, but you couldn’t pick a more difficult environment for their first road game as collegians.  

Fresno State -4 vs. Ole Miss (2 units):  Horrible spot for the Rebels.   Traveling across country for a game that starts at 9:15 their time, against a team who definitely has more motivation (revenge from last year, and the opportunity to beat an SEC foe).   In addition, Ole Miss has one of the worst offenses in the country, and Fresno isn’t that bad (hung with Nebraska in Lincoln for most of the game).   As a side note, if your nickname is the Rebels, it had better be a shout-out to the group that blew up the Death Star, and not a reference to a group of people who fought their countrymen for the right to own slaves.   Not cool, Mississippi.  

JASON’S PICKS: 

No exposition as Jason is traveling out of the country this week.   Take them as you will.

Baylor +3.5 @ Kansas State (3 units):  RG3 runs wild on yet another opponent in a good road test for the Bears
Ohio St -3 vs. Michigan St (3 units): The ‘Shoe is a tough place to play, B. Miller’s athleticism will pose problems for Sparty and I don’t think MSU is as good as the hype they received in the preseason.

Army -8 vs. Tulane (2 units): How can you go against those that protect our country, even if you have to lay a few points?

Enjoy the bye week and hopefully double up! 

Thoughts From The Week: September 25 Edition

Mediacom and Century Link tried like hell to kill my love of the internet, but after 3 weeks without it, it'll be great to finally get to e-mail SoundOFF again and I can't wait til 10:35pm SHARP! Wait...the NFL season has started...AH CRAP! See you boys at midnight...

Just when we thought the Hawks would never "open it up a little more" they shocked the world and used the pass to open up the run against Louisiana Monroe...and just in case some of you were wondering what that odd looking formation was, it's called a "3 wide receiver set"...now write it down 8 times while saying it out loud so you don't forget about it! (Sorry, I should clarify that the last part of that was for the Iowa coaches)...

I think I've finally figured out the University of Iowa's Basketball slogan "Let's Be Mad Again"! Fran and company are going to make us all start caring and going to games again...while paying $3.49 a gallon for gas! It's brilliant marketing! I'm pissed off already!

Michael Vick got hurt again, for the second straight week, in the Eagles 29-16 loss to the Giants...dogs everywhere are wagging their tails just little bit more tonight...

I've gotta give it up to the St. Louis Cardinals...hmm, for some reason I feel like a Cubs pitcher right now...that's weird...

Shane From Marshalltown

Rennie Runs Wild in a Panther Route

The Panthers Leave No Doubt in a 38-10 Route

By:  J.T. the Nutt

#2 in the Nation?  Really?  Do the Panthers deserve such a high ranking already?  Oh baby, you better believe they do.  After a 38-10

beatdown over Western Illinois.  Read more here

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 3
Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCLAIMER 1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 

DISCLAIMER 2:  We are incorrect more often than we are correct. 

 If you read last week’s column you probably gathered that I was a bit upset with the outcome of the Iowa/ISU game.   I am embarrassed to admit the following, but when friends of ours invited us to go apple picking last weekend (we each have 2 and a half year old sons; trust me, I wouldn’t go near an apple orchard without a small child in tow), I actually agreed, and didn’t even care that I would be missing the Iowa/Pitt game (I do love me some DVR).   I had no expectations about the game; we were favored by 3, but I was so disillusioned with the coaching staff that even though I was pretty sure we were the better team no outcome would have surprised me.

So after maintaining phone and text silence all afternoon, I sat down to watch the game.   As the first 40 minutes or so unfolded I wasn’t even surprised; our offense was about as threatening as a youth flag football team, and even though our defense played well for the most part, we got killed by innovative offensive plays from the opponent.   Down 24-3 I almost started writing this week’s column on the spot, although with the number of High Life’s I had consumed it would not have been pretty. 

Of course the greatest comeback in Iowa history immediately followed.   It is not hyperbole to say that this game saved the season; if we had started 1-2 in three games in which we were favored, including a crushing loss to our hated in-state rival and a woodshed beating at home against a team quarterbacked by Tino Sunseri (he isn’t good), there wouldn’t have been much to look forward to for the next ten weeks.   But now, we are 2-1, and hopefully the coaching staff FINALLY realizes that our passing game is an asset that should actually be utilized.   I really like Marcus Coker, but he is averaging less than 4 yards a carry against average to below average defensive teams.   Of course, the main reason his output is so minimal is that opposing teams know exactly what plays we are going to run, and since the only situation in which we even consider changing our game plan is when faced with a 21 point deficit with 20 minutes to play, we aren’t really hard to defend.   Hopefully this changes going forward, but even though it seems like common sense to make use of your best players, with this staff it doesn’t always work out that way. 

As it did last year, the schedule sets up really nicely for us the rest of the way.   With the offensive weapons we have (JVB doesn’t even need to be that accurate, our receiving trio catches ANYTHING in the vicinity!), we should be able to score plenty of points against every remaining team on the schedule.   Of course we should have been able to score more than 20 points against Indiana and Northwestern last year, and we all know how that turned out.   It’s an overused phrase, but I’m cautiously optimistic going forward; if the coaches actually face reality and realize that our offense is most dangerous when using all of our weapons, there is no opponent remaining that we can’t beat.

Unfortunately, I need to recap last week’s action.   Jason and I are floundering a bit, and only Andy has his head above water. 
 
1.  Andy:  (Overall: 3-3-0, +0.5 units; last week 1-2-0, -0.2 units)
2.  Jason:  (Overall: 2-4-0, -4.9 units; last week 1-2-0, -1.4 units)
3.  Mike:  (Overall: 3-3-0, -5.2 units; last week 1-2-0, -4.6 units)

Savor the top of the heap Andrew, as it ends here.  

ANDY’S PICKS:  I should have remembered that Colbert was being sarcastic with the whole "feel it from the gut" thing.  (And incidentally, if any of our dedicated readers haven't yet seen Colbert's speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner, do yourself a favor and watch it now).

Clemson -3 vs. Florida St. (2 units): I caught some of the Tigers' game last week and they looked very impressive from what I saw.  I like this game as an inevitable emotional letdown from FSU after being sky-high to play OU last week....plus it's in Death Valley. 

Okie St. +4.5 at Texas A&M (2 units):  I rode the Cowboys last week and am gonna hop on again this week.  I like this team's offensive potency. 

Notre Dame -6.5 at Pitt (2 units):  I hate to say it, but I think the Irish are quite a bit better than their record.  What sort of frame of mind will the Panthers be in after a devastating 4th quarter meltdown last week?  I like laying the 6.5 here. 

JASON’S PICKS:  Well, for once at least I had my highest units allocated to a winning pick last weekend; the problem is I slipped slightly further into the red overall, as I didn’t exactly pick all the right games to count for my three picks, dammit.  Baby steps.  I am short on time this week, so let’s get right to it (although not much jumped out at me this week):
Illinois -12 vs. Western Michigan (3 units):  Cannot believe I am picking a Ron Zook coached team to a) win a game and b) cover a spread.  Illinois looks like they might have a decent team this year and I think the Illini and Scheelhaase run away with this one for the Zooker.

Oregon St -4 vs. UCLA (2 units):  The Beavers have been a mess so far this year but I think UCLA is a bigger mess.  Corvallis is a tough place to play and OSU takes advantage.

Mississippi St -19.5 vs. La Tech (2 units):  After battles with Auburn and LSU the past two weeks, I think the Bulldogs take their frustration out on La Tech with a big win to get them back on track.  The combo of Relf and Ballard is solid.

Other opportunities I considered were Okie St +4.5 @ TA&M (always a tough place to play but I like Gundy’s team and he’s A MAN), and Alabama -12 vs. Arkansas (a likely blowout in my opinion).  Best of luck this weekend. 

MIKE’S PICKS:  I’m not used to being in last place in this little competition, and it doesn’t sit well.   It’s time to make a few strategic adjustments.   The splits in my 3-3 overall record are striking; when I try to pick sides based on strengths and weaknesses of the teams involved, I’m 0-3.  However, my ‘value’ picks are 3-0.  So this week it’s value and situational picks all the way.  

Western Michigan +12 at Illinois (2 units):  Illinois is coming off a big win against a ranked opponent, and now plays a MAC team before starting Big Ten play.   Obvious letdown/look ahead situation for the Illini.   Also, Western Michigan is actually pretty good; their 34-10 opening loss to Michigan was very misleading as UM scored two defensive touchdowns and WMU moved the ball at will in the first half.  (Note: This line opened at WMU +13.5, and in my first draft of the column I bought the hook up to +14 and had it as a 3 unit play.   As of now, the line has dropped to +12, so it’s only fair that I use this line for our little competition, especially as Jason has the other side.)

Arizona State -2.5 vs. USC (3 units):  Teams coming off tough losses usually react in one of two ways.  Either they regroup and take out their anger on their next opponent, or as a result of leaving everything on the field in a losing effort they don’t have much to give the following week.    I think ASU comes out strong, due in large part to the revenge factor they have in playing USC.   In case you don’t recall, here is what happened in last year’s matchup in the Coliseum:
6:59 remaining:  ASU scores to take a 33-29 lead.  USC blocks the PAT and returns it for 2 points, closing the gap to 33-31. 
3:06 remaining: USC kicks a field goal to take a 34-33 lead.
1:34 remaining: ASU misses a 41 yard field goal.   Final: USC 34, ASU 33.  

I’m guessing the Devils are a bit pissed about that outcome.  

San Diego State +10.5 at Michigan (3 units):  I promised myself I would give 3 value picks this week, and I was all set to take Wyoming +23.5 vs. Nebraska.  Then that line dropped like a rock down to +21, and this line actually increased from +8 to +10.5!  Technically, however, any play against Michigan can be defined as a value play, as they are always overvalued.  I won all of my jams last year at their expense, and the only reason I’m not jamming the Aztecs is the fact that they are traveling east for a 12:00 EST start.   But SDSU has an excellent running back in Ronnie Hillman and a solid QB in Ryan Lindley, and Michigan’s defense is still far from stout.  In addition, the ‘Tecs have the motivation factor in their favor.   This actually happened:  When Brady Hoke (Michigan’s current and SDSU’s former coach) took the Michigan job last winter, instead of doing the stand-up thing and telling his players in person, he informed them he was leaving by TEXT MESSAGE!  Slight motivation factor for the Aztecs, wouldn’t you say?  

Other value picks to look into include the aforementioned Cowboys of Wyoming, Pitt (undervalued due to the Iowa loss, while ND is overvalued after their win against MSU), and UCLA (undervalued due to their big loss vs. Texas).  Let’s get it! 

Advice You Should NOT Take: Season 2, Week 2
Presented by the Sons of Ron Bash

DISCLAIMER #1: This column is only intended for individuals who are at least 21 years of age and who plan on being in the state of Nevada this weekend. 

DISCLAIMER #2: We are incorrect more often than we are correct. 

 The Sons of Ron Bash officially welcome you back to the college football season!    Computer issues forced us to postpone the initial column of the year (Jason was the only one to turn his picks in before my computer crashed, and he actually went 2-1 for a total of +1.8 units.  Let’s consider that his preseason; as last year’s results show he desperately needed the extra practice).  Before we jump into this week’s action, let’s briefly recap last season’s tally.  

 To put it mildly, the regular season was brutal for the Sons (to avoid humiliating my fellow cappers I will leave it to the curious reader to check the archives for our actual regular season records).   However, all of the Sons bounced back in a big way during bowl season, as we went a combined 10-3-3 for a cool 42.1 units (highlighted by Andy’s impressive 3-0-1 record for 22 units).   No doubt we will carry that momentum from nine months ago into this season, so those looking to fade us by using the Costanza Theory, beware! 

 We will be using the same format as last year with one addition; the ‘parlay option’.   A parlay is an example of an ‘exotic’ bet that books use to entice gamblers into making longshot bets whose payoffs are less than their odds of hitting.  For example, suppose I bet one unit this week on a three team parlay with Iowa, Michigan, and South Carolina.   The only way I win the bet is if all three of my teams cover; in that case I win six units (three team parlays pay 6:1 odds; however if you flipped a coin to pick your winners you’ll only hit all three correct 1 out of 8 times).  Any other outcome results in a loss of the one unit I originally wagered.    So each week each of us will have a ‘parlay option’ of compiling our three wagers together in a parlay for 1-3 units.  At the very least this will give Jason and Andy a way to chase when I am ahead by 30 units halfway through the season.

 All right, let’s get to the action.   As I eked out a 35.1 unit win during last year’s competition, I’ll fire first.

MIKE’S PICKS:  During my summer vacation I read Moneyball by Michael Lewis (for those interested yes, 2004 did call and ask for its conversation topic back).   The book chronicles the novel approach Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane implemented in building his roster.   Lewis was curious how a team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball could consistently outperform richer teams (remember, the A’s were actually really good in the early 2000’s).  Turns out Beane was a lot smarter than his fellow GM’s.   He was the first to use advanced metrics like on-base percentage in evaluating players, and as a result he was able to see value where others could not.   Beane was smart enough to realize that the conventional wisdom at that time was completely wrong and that scouting was tremendously inefficient, and he was able to use this realization to build an excellent team on a shoestring budget.  

System inefficiencies are not limited to baseball, and the theme of exploiting conventional wisdom also plays a large role in Lewis’s The Big Short, which examined the housing and Wall Street meltdowns of the late 2000’s. The main subjects of the book are a few individuals who were smart enough to realize, for example, that giving someone who makes $35,000 a year a loan for a $700,000 house isn’t such a great idea.   Of course now this seems like common sense, but at the time everyone was doing it!   Again, conventional wisdom (this time the conventional wisdom of lenders and Wall Street) was completely wrong, and those individuals who were smart enough to realize it ended up making an absolute fortune betting against it.  

This concludes the book report portion of the column, thanks for indulging me.   There is a point to all of this however, and that is the fact that inefficiencies exist in betting lines as well.   Let me illustrate the idea with a quick example involving the Wisconsin/Oregon State game this week in Madison.   The current line is Wisconsin by 20.5, and I believe the line came out earlier in the week a couple of points lower (Wisky by 17 or 18 if I recall correctly).   Now let me begin by saying that it is certainly possible that Wisconsin will blow the doors off the Beavs, but let’s look at the situation a bit more closely: 

 Wisconsin crushed UNLV on national TV last week.   The general public was most likely impressed. 

 Oregon State lost, at home, to FCS Sacramento State.   The general public most likely thinks that Oregon State is terrible. 
 Now, Vegas knows all of this.   The line moving from 17 or 18 to 20.5 in the span of a couple of days implies that nobody in the universe is playing Oregon State.   And who can blame them; they just lost to Sacramento State!   But the question for bettors is the following: What is the true differential between these teams?   Isn’t it possible that the 20.5 spread is not a true indication of the difference between these teams (even with home field accounted for), but rather reflects the general public overreacting to what they saw last week?   If this is the case, then there is (gulp) value to be had on Oregon State.   In fact, if you check the Sagarin power ratings (which admittedly are a bit shaky this early in the season), Wisconsin should be favored by about 10.5, even accounting for home field.  

 Again, we see a possible example of value to be had in going against conventional wisdom.   It is a mistake to overreact to any one particular game.   It is an easy mistake to make, and one I have made many times in the past, but this year I am going to pay attention to situations like Wisconsin/OSU.   The hardest part about implementing a betting strategy based exclusively on value is that it takes HUGE balls to commit to it; because by its very nature you will be betting your hard earned money on teams that looked terrible in their previous game.   But Billy Beane and the guys who bet against Wall Street made it work, so it’s worth looking into. 
 Before I get to my official picks, here are some other contenders for a ‘value’ pick.

 Ball State +20.5 at South Florida:  USF is overvalued due to their win at Notre Dame.   If you look closely at that game, USF was extremely lucky to win; they were outgained by a 2:1 margin and ND had several crushing turnovers in the red zone.   As much as it pains me to say, if those two teams play 10 times in South Bend Notre Dame wins 8 or 9.  

 Auburn + 6.5 vs. Mississippi State:  Same situation as Wisconsin/Oregon State; Mississippi State looked very impressive in their first game on national TV, and Auburn got ridiculously lucky to beat Utah State.   Who in their right mind would bet on Auburn in this spot?   That mentality inflates the line toward MSU.  

 Army +9.5 vs. San Diego State:  Army got woodshedded at NIU last week, and SDSU seemed to cover almost every week last year.   Perhaps more importantly, SDSU has to fly 3000 miles to play a game that begins a noon Eastern time, which of course is 9 a.m. Pacific.   What time do you suppose their wake-up call is?   Terrible spot for the Aztecs.  

 Just one more word before the official picks; value isn’t everything.   Injuries, spot/situation, let-downs and “look ahead” games are other important factors to keep in mind when making picks.   These are things I’ve always looked at in the past, now I’m adding value to the list.

Auburn +7 (hook) vs. Mississippi State (2 units):   I’m starting off a bit tentatively with the ‘value’ picks, but in addition to the factors I mentioned above, this could be a huge look ahead game for Mississippi State, as they host LSU next Thursday for what is arguably the biggest game in their history (although admittedly, I don’t know much Mississippi State history).   I’m also guessing that Auburn will be a bit more ready for an SEC foe than an opponent from whatever conference Utah State is in.  

Hawaii +7 (hook) at Washington (3 units):  Washington narrowly escaped Eastern Washington 30-27 at home last week.   EWU is the defending FCS champ, so on the surface such a narrow victory against an FCS school isn’t cause for alarm.   But look at the stats: EWU had 30 first downs to Washington’s 14, and EWU had 504 total yards (473 passing) to U-Dub’s 250.   But EWU had 4 turnovers, which ended up costing them the game.   Last I checked Hawaii can pass a bit.   This is actually kind of a ‘reverse value’ game; the line started at UW -3, and there was probably some value on the Huskies at that number due to reasons explained above.   But laying 7?   No way.  

Virginia Tech/East Carolina over ? (3 units):  I’ve been eagerly awaiting this total all week, and it’s not even posted yet!    Hey sportsbook.com; I’ve got readers to educate over here!    So here’s what I’ll do; if this total is 63 or below I will be jamming the over for 3 units.  If the posted total is over 63, I’ll make the following play instead:

Army +10 (hook) vs. San Diego State (1 unit):  This pick horrifies me, and if this value thing blows up in my face I’m not sure I’ll have the patience to ride it out all season.   But I couldn’t pull the trigger on Iowa -6 or South Carolina -3 (as horrifying as it is to bet against Army, betting on Steven Garcia is far worse), so I’ll put my money where my mouth is with regards to the value strategy.   I’m sure we all hope this works out, as this took me about 2 hours to write (big-ups to my son James for napping the whole time) and probably took roughly the same amount of time to read.  

ANDY’S PICKS:  So nice to be back and in full swing for the best time of the year!  Without further ado:

Iowa -6 at Iowa St. (3 units): I really like the Hawks to cover in this game.  I didn't watch the ISU game last week, but their new QB was apparently pretty shaky (3 int's) and I think Iowa's O-Line should dominate.  Oh, and by the way, the Hawks' top 2 WR's and TE's are possibly the best collection of talent that they've had at those positions in many, many years.  Combine that with the fact that Ed Podolak said that you have to go back to Chuck Long to find an Iowa QB with the skill set that Vandenberg has, and I expect big things from the passing game this year.  Should be an easy cover here. 

Alabama -10 at Penn St. (2 units):  Unfortunately, I think Bama covers this spread.  Their recruiting and talent level has been in the stratosphere in recent years, and they are stacked all across the board again this year, especially their defense, and the safeties in particular.  I personally think Trent Richardson is the best RB in the nation too, and will show that this year. 

Michigan +3 vs. Notre Dame (2 units):  This line certainly appears to make little sense after the Irish lost at home to South Florida last weekend.  If you're a Michigan fan, you hate to see that first game called without your starters being able to get some more live action in under a first-year coach, but you have to like the combination of Denard Robinson, home field advantage, and the points here. 

JASON’S PICKS:  The time is once again upon us, the best time of the year!  A solid weekend to open the season, even though some computer issues deprived the public of my picks.  Let’s hope the trend continues in week 2.  A quick rundown of my plays for this weekend:

Iowa -6 at Iowa State (3 units):  Always a little hesitancy with the in state rivalry game, but Iowa’s O-line will take this game over to pave the way for Coker to rumble for a large game.  Steele Jantz has possibly the best name in college football this season, but that won’t help him when Mike Daniels brings the HEAT!
Utah +8.5 at USC (2 units):  I don’t think USC is good, I don’t like them and I especially don’t like Lane Kiffin.  I believe this is a good wager, not just a hatred-fueled vendetta against Lane.  Go Utes!
Michigan +3 vs. Notre Dame  (2 units):  I liked this line a lot more before the Irish decided to put Rees in at QB.  However, I still think Notre Dame’s defense is suspect and similar to the defense Michigan faced in week 1.  These games are always crazy, but I think Michigan pulls one out in the first night game at the Large House.
Best of luck this weekend. 

So Jason and Andy agree on two picks; take that as you will.   I just realized that I wrote about 1000 words earlier without mentioning the Hawks at all!   The 2000’s made me quite nervous about any Iowa/ISU tilt, even when are the obviously superior side, and it was hard to take anything from the victory over Tennessee Tech.   That said, we obviously have a lot more talent than the Clowns, and I’m sure Marcus is looking to atone for a subpar performance last Saturday.   The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that betting the over of 43.5 is cash money, but I’m too tired of writing to change one of my picks.   Hawks 34-17.  
Good luck to all, and fade us at your peril!  

Those in Jack Trice Stadium had years taken off their lives in an amazing, exciting, intense game.  Sadly, you HAD to be in Jack Trice

to actually SEE the game.  No TV for a game like this is sad.  Drake is on TV but this game isn't?  Please.  Read more here

ANOTHER PERFECT START TO A PERFECT SEASON?

UNI Faces Iowa State in a "Glorified Scrimmage"

By:  J.T. the Nutt

UNI is going to win.  They MAY even go undefeated.  The last time they beat ISU they were on route to perfection until Joe Flacco.

Here is why it will happen again.

Thoughts From The Week: July 31 Edition

Last week I boldly told the NFL not to bother us with "maybes" anymore and to shut up until they ended the lockout and BAM! the

very next day, "Lockout: OVER"! If anyone would like to show their appreciation by sending a little cold, hard cash my way,

feel free...since my plan to tell Powerball to just shut up until they let me know I won, didn't work...

I love how my Cardinals are kicking the ever lovin' crap out the lowly Chicago Cubs this weekend! Sorry, I was just trying

 that on for size to see how the other half lives...Oh crap, Old Spice, go to commercial...I think I'm gonna go throw up...

If I die and come back as underwear, I hope I'm boxer shorts and not a thong so I don't have to deal with assholes all the time...

Paul Menard won the Brickyard 400 this weekend at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning his first career Sprint Cup win...

his father was so proud that he announced that Menard's would be building a new store in Marshalltown...ok, so maybe that's

not exactly how it went down, but the important thing is Marshalltown is getting a new Menard's!

The Des Moines Menace are the playoffs...I think that's for soccer...I dunno...

Martensdale-St. Mary's won their national record 87th straight baseball game while capturing the 1-A State Title for the second

year in a row on saturday...87 in a row is impressive, but it doesn't even come close to my current streak of getting shot down by

women, which stands at a whopping 116 in a row...

Iowa and Nebraska are going to play something called the "Heroes Game" when they hook up in Lincoln on Black Friday...it sure

didn't take Nebraska long to get sucked into the crappy marketing ideas of the Big10 Conference...Cooter Ray and Doug LaBowner

should've voted "NO" when that one came across their desks/tv trays...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: July 24 Edition

After nearly 2 weeks without cable and internet service following "Windstorm 2011" on July 11th, I came to realize 2 things,

 1. Marshalltown has A LOT of freakin' trees! and 2. Mediacom sucks...thanks for nothin'...

Some Australian named "Cadel Evans" won the Tour de France this weekend, which totally surprised everyone...not because

 he's the first Aussie to do so, but because no one realized that the Tour de France was going on...

Rumor has it that the Philadelphia Eagles may be interested in luring Brett Favre out of retirement for this upcoming season to

backup Michael Vick ...apparently they're "luring" him with picture messages of their hottest female employees...by the way,

did they ever close those peepholes to the cheerleaders' showers?

The Cubs pulled off their first sweep of the season today, beating the Astros 5-4 at Wrigley Field...gosh, it's only July 24th and

they've already swept someone??? I smell a second half surge! Oh wait...that's "feet"...where in the hell is that coming from?

Shawn Johnson returned to competitive gymnastics this weekend in the Covergirl Classic in Chicago, finishing 20th overall...it was

her first competition since the 2008 Olympics and she probably didn't perform up to her standards or expectations...but make no

 mistake, this was about "getting back into it" more than "winning it" and it must be rough to be in a sport that considers you old

before your sophomore year in college...

The NFL lockout may have ended this weekend...or it may not have...or maybe it will this week...or not...here's an idea, d-bags...

let me know when you're playing again and stop wasting my time with the bullcrap...

Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar were inducted today into the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York...Bert should've

been inducted years ago just based on the coolest nickname ever given by Chris Berman, Bert "Be home" Blyleven...as for Alomar,

he's now the member of 2 halls...Baseball's and the International Spitting Federation's...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: July 10 Edition

Let's see, Derek Jeter became the first Yankee to get to 3,000 career hits while also becoming the first person to get #3,000 on a

 homerun while going 5-5 during the game AND he's nailing Minka Kelly!?!? Do you guys ever get the feeling that Derek Jeter poops

gold nuggets?

Albert Pujols came back from a broken bone in his wrist about 3 weeks ahead of schedule and has apparently "always been a fast

healer"...hey!?!? Hasn't everyone who's ever been nailed for roiding up claimed that they "only did it to come back from injury faster"???

Interesting...

Cubs 3rd baseman, Aramis Ramirez has apparently turned down the opportunity to represent the Cubs and the National League

in the All-Star game because he wants the 3 days off to spend some time with his family in the Dominican Republic...I guess the

3 months he took off in April, May and June just weren't enough...

The reason I don't watch soccer is because I find it boring and also because there are never any "action packed, exciting endings"...

I'd like to now send out a special "thank you" to the U.S. Women's team for ruining this take after their amazing win over Brazil in the

quarter finals of the Women's World Cup...

As a Steelers fan I absolutely hate the Baltimore Crows, but despite my hate I can appreciate a good sense of humor...so here's a link

to one of Baltimore QB Joe Flacco's wedding pictures..

. http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/editorial_image/ad/ada94e5aca90339ee7d3e7ed7025341b/joe_flacco_makes_his_wife_play_center_in_a_wedding_photo.jpg

For those of you who have been wondering "Which dill pickle flavored potato chip is the best?", here's my 2 cents worth...

Old Dutch Dill Pickle Chips are FANTASTIC with a delicious, authentic real dill pickle flavor to them...meanwhile, Lay's

 Dill Pickle Chips taste like a pickle crapped in your mouth...

Due to the Independence Day holiday last week (aka "3 day drunken weekend"), I was unable to e-mail SoundOFF last Sunday night...

so even though it's a week late, welcome back Keith! I'm glad to know your mom's surgery went well and I'll keep her in my thoughts

and

prayers...also, if you need the list of all of the crap Fales and Hassel pulled while you were gone, just let me know...it was too big of

an attachment to send with "thoughts"...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: June 19 Edition

 
Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open in such a dominating fashion that he's now being compared to Tiger Woods...but until he starts

nailing every skank between Perkin's and the porn industry, I'll reserve judgement...
 
Congratulations to South Boston's, Bobby McCarthy...and the rest'a yas Bruins fans! The only bad thing about his guest spots

on Murph and Andy is that they ended with Boston's win...it was entertaining radio, to say the least! Way to go, kid!
 
After Boston's Game 7 win in Vancouver to end The Stanley Cup, thousands of supposed Canuck fans rioted in the streets...as it

turns out the riots had nothing to do with the game and were actually a part of Vancouver's popular "VEISHEA" celebration...
 
Dirk Nowitzki's championship parade version of "We Are The Champions" may have sounded like the monster in

"Young Frankenstein", but it also made me realize that maybe I ain't so bad after all!Idol, here I come!!!
 
Watching the Cubs and Yankees playing in Wrigley Field reminds me of why MLB needs interleague play...it's because

we'd all be dead before they ever met in a World Series again...
 
Happy Father's Day, Dad and to all of the other dad's out there as well...especially to the first timers, like Andy Fales...I hope

 it's the first of many! Keith, Wolfgang...I hope you guys had a great one too!
 
Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: June 12 Edition

The Cubs jumped on the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 in the first inning on Sunday and quickly proclaimed the game as "over",

checking out of the remaining 8 innings of play...apparently no one in the Phillies dugout got the memo, however and they

promptly came back and beat the Cubs 4-3...did anyone think to ask the Phillies organization where they're keeping Ryne

Sandberg before leaving town?

Jeff Gordon won Sunday's race at Pocono, snapping a 66 race winless streak and tying Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for

3rd place on NASCAR's all-time wins list with 84 in the process...after the race Gordon was seen jumping around and screaming

like a school girl...and it only got worse when he realized he had won...

I was really hoping that the NBA Finals would be over with before I had to send this e-mail into SoundOFF, but it doesn't look like that's

going to happen so I'll just quote the great Chris Hassel as the great Bob Costas...LeBron James is a douche`.

..(Disclaimer: Sorry, Wolfgang!)

With all of the Ohio State cheating going on, can we just go ahead and give them to the SEC in exchange for Auburn or Alabama?

Sure, they both cheat too, but at least they've both shown they can beat the SEC in football...

Listening to KXnO during the Canucks' and Bruins' chase for the Stanley Cup has me doing something I never thought I'd EVER do!

Thanks to Bobby McCarthy, I'm now outwardly rooting for a Boston sports team! Damn you, Bobby McCahthy,

Mahk and the rest'a yas!

Hey, did you guys know they make a bacon flavored vodka!?!? It spelled "Bakon" on the label and it's fantastic in a Bloody Mary!

Give it a try! If you don't like it...you never saw this! (Jedi mind trick)...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: June 5 Edition

After watching the Cubs blow another game on their way to losing 8 of their last 9, including back to back sweeps at the hands

of the Astros and Cardinals, I've come to realize that there's only one thing that sucks about being a Cubs fan and that

"one thing" is...the Cubs...

Former Steelers and Giants receiver, Plaxico Burress is scheduled to be released from prison on Monday. Normally the guards

would give someone in his situation a customary "We'll keep your cell open for ya!"...but based on Plex's love of shooting himself,

no one expects him to make it back alive, so they didn't even bother...

Rafael Nadal took down Roger Federer in the French Open this weekend. It was Nadal's record tying, 6th French Open title...

as good as this guy is on dry dusty terrain, can we put him on the ground in Libya?

Brad Keselowski held off Dale Earhardt Jr. to win this week's Sprint Cup race at the Kansas Speedway...Keselowski was

 confident he would win once he recognized it who was behind him...

I think I've figured out why "Chicken of The Sea" calls itself that...have you ever tried canned chicken???

This past school year was my first experience living with a foreign exchange student and she is leaving Monday morning to begin

her journey back to Germany. So I just want to say, Charlyn, we love you and thank you for being a great person and for making

our lives better for having known you. You've been an awesome "big sister" to Savannah and a great friend to all of us! Good luck

in everything you do. You haven't even left yet and we miss you already...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: May 22 Edition

The Des Moines Menace gave out vuvuzela horns to the first 300 fans to enter Valley Stadium for their game this past week..

.the rest of their fans who stayed home because of the vuvuzela give away were treated to "peace" and "quiet"...

46 year old Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins beat Jean Pascal for the WBC Light Heavyweight Title last night in Montreal,

becoming the oldest fighter to ever win a boxing title, surpassing George "The Grill" Foreman's previous record of 45...I don't know

if Bernard has any kids or not, but if he does, their dad could definitely beat up my dad...

The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox wore throwback uniforms for their game on Saturday...the Cubs wore their 1918 throwbacks, commemorating their last trip to Boston during the 1918 World Series and after watching Boston commit 3 errors in the 8th, I

 assume the Sox were wearing their 1986 "Bill Buckners"...

Shackleford edged out Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom by half a length at the Preakness this weekend, once again

dashing the hopes of there being a "Triple Crown" winner and rendering the third leg of the event meaningless at whatever that race

is called, at wherever it's held...you know the one I'm talking about though...

The Drake Bulldogs won their football game in Africa with a 17-7 victory over an all-star team from Mexico, in the first ever "Global

Kilimanjaro Bowl" held in Tanzania...the win moved Drake's record to 1-0 on foreign soil and they are now contemplating a move to

 join a Mexican collegiate conference, because "That was an all-star team and we owned their asses!" said freshman,

QB Nick Enis...

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. became the first "Nationwide only" driver to win a Nationwide event since March, when he crossed the

finish line ahead of Carl Edwards in the John Deere Dealers 250 held at the Iowa Speedway in Newton...that fact led me to a

couple of thoughts...

1. I'm really not in favor of Sprint Cup drivers poaching paydays in the Nationwide events, but I love that some big name drivers

show up for the races here...

and

2. How long til Iowa gets a Sprint Cup race of its own? Or do we not have enough empty seats for NASCAR's liking, compared

to the other tracks?

Congratulations to WHOtv and KXnO radio's own, Keith Murphy! Keith picked up the award as Iowa's "Sportscaster of The Year"

by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in Salisbury, North Carolina last week and even though

there were only about 6 or 7 other contenders, it's still well deserved! Way to go Murph!

Finally, the WWE lost one of its most colorful wrestlers from its "glory days" when "The Macho Man" Randy Savage died in a

single car accident this past week near his home in Florida. He was 58...this one's for you, Macho Man....Ohhhh yeeah! Rest in peace.

Shane From Marshalltown

*Any quotes from Drake freshman QB Nick Enis are purely fictional...unless someone else is currently in Tanzania and can

confirm them for me...

A CENTURY OF SUCK

The Cubs Are The CUBS Again

By: J.T. the Nutt

Life for a Cubs fan has been a rough one.  A lot of time, money, and more invested for very little if any pay-off whatsoever.  Not too

 long ago the Cubs won 97 games and were far and away the best team in the NL, if not all of baseball.  They had it all including

 a former hated rival, Jim Edmonds (and boy was he HATED), that Jim Hendry took a flier on and ended up strking gold.  After some

horrible coaching decisions by Pinella and then the Cubs forgetting how to catch a ball in the next game, they were done in 3 games.

  Instead of putting the spark plug, Reed Johnson in, he sat on the bench.  Reminded me that I always wanted Girardi.  He's won World

Series by the way.  Then Jim Hendry went Jabba the Hendry and got rid of the foundation of the team.  Kerry Wood was let go and

 fan-favorite and Mr. Everything Mark DeRosa was traded to the Indians where the team sucked.  The Cubs sucked too and have

sucked ever since.  Not really even sniffing the playoffs since then.  Instead of merely adding a few peices, Hendry hit the "RESET"

button.  And lost all of his saved game data.  Nooooooooo!!!  He's gotta do all those damn License Tests on Gran Turismo again.

New ownership is finally re-doing things at Wrigley.  They updated the bathrooms so you actually feel like you are a fan and not

answering nature's call in a prison-esque bathroom.  They also got better food.  Connie's Pizza is the worst pizza in the world. 

I've had my fair share of greasy pizza sold to those looking to sober up late at night but holy crap, that stuff was absolutely terrible. 

Actually for a great field, the food was crappy period.  AT & T Park's food run's laps around Wrigley in terms of food and even wind. 

 Then again you're comparing San Francisco money to the Bleacher Bums.  And screw Peter Gammons by the way.  You

may look like Andrew Jackson but you're love of the Red Sox has tainted your view of things.  Wrigley isn't glamorous but it's

 still one of the best ballpark's in America.  Period.

Anyway, back to the team.  The Rickets are willing to spend to make a contender.  Sadly Hendry has left them with some big

contracts they can't move for guys that are good like Fukudome, underachieving in Soriano, or who-knows-what-we-will-get-this-time

in the volcano knowns as Carlos Zambrano.  Hendry did bring back Wood who got hurt and Reed Johnson who's only hitting over

.350 and providing weekly web gems.  The Cubs fans got some false hope with the Yankee's series but soon fell back to their old

ways against the White Sox in the trailer park known as US Cellular.  Verizon smokes US Cellular by the way.  The Cubs can and

 most likely will lose 100 games this year.  A few years removed from almost winning 100.  Hendry needs to go.  Too many of these

contracts haven't paid off

Mike Quade was not well recieved as the choice over Sandberg.  He has had dealt with nothing but injuries, bloated salaries,

and an unforgiving media that never gave him a chance.  He has handled it with class and dignity.  He has lost half his roster to

injuries.  Starters Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells within the first month of the season.  Then lost Soto, Johnson, Baker, Byrd,

Wood, Soriano, and Darwin Barney.  The Cubs moved up DJ LeMahieu instead of Bobby Scales who has paid his dues and performed

 pretty well when he got called up last year.  Writers in Chicago want Quade out.  I'm not in that camp.  Sandberg will have nothing

 to do with the team ever again.  Quade may not be the most exciting man on the planet but he's done a decent job with a less than

decent squad. 

The Cubs are not going to make the playoffs and for the first time in 15 years, I'm not making a trek to Wrigley.  It's going to be

odd to not deal with Chicago traffic but the team isn't worth the drive or hundreds of dollars spent on a weekend there.  I love Chicago

and always have a blast but the price tag for a day at Wrigley is hefty.  I paid it 10 times when they won 97 games.  It was worth

it then.  the ballpark was constantly buzzing and it was a "playoff atmosphere" everyday.  There is a lot of work cut-out to return to

that.  First step, get a new GM.  Hendry is not who we thought he was.

+ 1 - 1 +/- 1 =  WINNING!

Jacobson Stays, Green Leaves, Oliviera Joins

By:  J.T. the Nutt

Jacobson is leaving.  Oh wait no he's not.  Assistant Coach Kyle Green ie leaving.  And UNI gets a big man to play next year. 

 Wasn't this supposed to be a quiet offseason?  Apparently not.  Read more here in the Nutthouse.

Wolfgang's Droppings

with J.T. the Nutt, Fish, Shane from Marshalltown, Michael, and Kyle

Podcast you want to hear, with information that you need to know, from

the Hawks to the Cubs to UFC to the Panthers

(Check it out Here)

Thoughts From The Week: May 15 Edition

Zach Johnson finished tied for 12th at the The Players Championship this weekend after carding a 66 (-6) final round...not bad

considering he was right around the 100th place mark after a first round 74...way to go Zach!

It looks like Iowa State has another basketball commit from a high school player named Georges Niang, a 6'7" forward...apparently

no one informed Niang that he must first play for another school and then transfer to Iowa State...

Rumor has it that Trey Stross was arrested following a fight over the weekend in Iowa City. IC police confirmed the arrest but noted

that they quickly released Stross once they realized that he's no longer a player for the Hawkeyes and that he had, in fact, graduated

 last year...arresting officer Jack Milford was quoted as saying "It ruined our weekend when we found out"...

Today's Cubs vs Giants game got rained out, which really made me mad...kinda like the Cubs do when their games DON'T get

rained out...

I hate starting this e-mail so late in the evening...I never know where the cut-off line is...so let it be known that tonight, May15th,

 2011...I am checking 9:27pm off of my list...

I'm going to say about this e-mail what I've said to countless women over the years, "I'm sorry it's so short"...

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: May 1 Edition

I was at Champp's Saturday night watching UFC 129 and just as I was about to eat a chicken wing, Randy Couture ate Lyoto

"The Dragon" Machida's right foot...At least Couture got to walk out of the octagon without growing a second a head! Mark Hominick

 wasn't quite so lucky, thanks to Jose Aldo...

I was glad to see Hawkeye safety, Tyler Sash get drafted by the Giants in the 6th round of the NFL draft...for a while there

 I was wondering if he had left school early to lay around the house all day...

Cam Newton was the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, going to the Carolina Panthers...he seemed visibly shaken when

his agent informed him that he didn't get to pick which team he gets to play for, but his attitude rebounded when he found out

 he will still get to ask for "lots 'n lots of money"...

I didn't e-mail SoundOFF last weekend due to a busy weekend of family Easter doings and moving, but if I had, I would've given

Keith and Andy mad props for their interview with the ever elusive (except to the Iowa City PD), Derrell Johnson-Koulianos...job

well done guys! That was the best interview I've heard in a very long time! In case anyone missed it, you can find it here:
http://www.kxno.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=murphnandy&selected_podcast=Full%2520DJK%2520Interview%25204-22-11%25202.mp3

You ever wonder how raisins were invented? I mean, were a couple of dudes sitting around eating grapes "back in the day",

when one of them found a dried up, gnarly, funky, shriveled up one and dared his buddy to eat it?

I know that Augusta National is included in the new "Tiger Woods '12", but until it includes porn stars, Perkins waitresses and

a trophy wife swinging a 6 iron, I ain't buyin' it...

Iowa State is going to unleash a new scoreboard that's twice the size of the one at Kinnick Stadium...rumor has it that they will

name their monster, "The Kraken"...and I still haven't seen any artist's renderings of a flattened Jacobsen Building, after the "Jack

Trice Wind Tunnel" claims its largest victim...

I just finished watching the Cubs lose to the Diamondbacks today and I really think that someone should tell the them that it's not

against the rules of baseball to score after a leadoff double...

Speaking of "raisins"...if I were going to be a dried up fruit, I'd want to be a "date" and if that was already called, I guess I'd

 choose "Richard Simmons"...

Shoutout to Wolfgang and his crew for the invite and the hospitality at Champp's on Saturday night...we had a great time and

it was awesome meeting you all...thanks for the invite, brother!

Shane From Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: April 17 Edition

The Big12 signed a HUGE money deal with FOX that will get everybody in the league paid...well, we THINK that's how it's going to

be...since no one can actually talk about "the deal"! For all we know that could be a split of 50% for Texas and 50% for

everyone else...

By the time Iowa City and the University of Iowa get done ruining the game day atmosphere around Kinnick Stadium, Iowa State

should be ready to bowl in Jack Trice Stadium to hold all of their new fans...

Ahhh spring...it's that wonderful time of the year when the grass turns greener, the birds come back and the temperature starts

to rise...it's that awesome time when baseball begins while the NHL and NBA playoffs arrive and it's also that time when we all wonder

 why Iowa doesn't play a "Spring Game" and we start tallying up Iowa and Iowa State off-season arrest totals...it's that time of year

when Cubs fans start looking ahead to next season and we get bombarded with "NFL lockout" talk...and hmm...it's also the time

when tornadoes decide to destroy everything from the midwest to the southeast...you know what, f*ck you spring...

If you missed this weekend's "Aaron's 499" NASCAR race at Talladega, you may have missed the greatest finish in NASCAR

Sprint Cup history! Even watching the replays, I found myself saying "WOW!"...You can check out the last few laps here...ENJOY! http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/nascar/Sprint_Cup_Final_Laps/24935106

Hey Keith, Andy, Chris and Zac/Zach? (Aw screw it, "New Guy")...apparently the University of Iowa is an "Equal Opportunity"

parking ticket issuer! Check out the very last question Michael Smith asks Adrian Clayborn in this interview and get a load of

AC's answer... http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6362245&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Do you guys know what sucks more than moving? NOTHING! Ok, maybe the Cubs...MAYBE...

The L.A. Lakers lost Game 1 of their first round matchup with the New Orleans Hornets...and somewhere out there,

Wolfgang just peed himself a little bit...

Why do the Iowa Hawkeyes bother copyrighting/trademarking their "Tiger Hawk" logo but do nothing to ensure that Nike and

 other producers of Iowa "gear" use Iowa's shade of gold/yellow? Tighten it up Iowa! I'm tired of bright yellow on officially licensed

 apparel...

Why did God give chickens feathers when we're just gonna pluck them off anyway?

Shane from Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: April 10 Edition

Someone named "Charl Schwartzel" won The Masters Tournament today in "Tiger Woods" fashion by birdying the last 4 holes to

 blow past a throng of golfers within a couple of shots of the lead...Tiger Woods tried to "himself" the field as well, but he realized

on the back 9 that it's 2011 and immediately stopped making shots...

By the way, has anyone seen Rory McIlroy? Last I saw of him he was still trying to hack his way out of Augusta...THE COURSE

IS THAT WAY, RORY! Tough final few holes, but this stud's going to be around for a very, VERY long time, so get used to hearing

 his name on Sundays...

Week 2 of the baseball season is upon us and after dropping 2 of 3 to the Brewers, including today's "Kerry Wood" game, I'm

calling the "time of death"...shut'er down people...let's go home...

It's tornado season here in the great midwest and it's never too early to level a town, I guess...thoughts and prayers to those who

lost everything they own in Mapleton, Iowa...and mad props for paying attention and avoiding an even worse disaster by heeding

the warnings and watching the weather updates!

Another week of the NBA has me believing wholeheartedly that the Los Angeles Lakers now suck and that the Miami Heat are the

 greatest team ever...(Just flip-flop this take next week if I don't put it in my thoughts on Sunday)...

I watched the Samsung Mobile 500, at the Texas Motor Speedway last night and I was really pulling for Tony Stewart's strategy

 to pay off (pushing his car to 58 laps between pit stops to see if he could make it the final 58 laps without one)...that is until one

 of the announcers (DW, I believe it was) mentioned that Tony just needed to make sure he didn't get caught speeding on pit row

...which Tony immediately did upon entering it...nice job, slick...I mean, "Smoke"...

Wes Washpun verbally committed to play basketball for Tennessee today, causing the "Chicken Little" faction of Hawkeye Nation

to head for the cliffs and causing me to issue this statement: DON'T STOP THEM! These same people would have complained that Iowa's "not getting good enough talent" had he committed to the Hawkeyes...LET THEM JUMP!

Shane from Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: April 3rd Edition

Let's see...MLB's "opening weekend" just ended and the Chicago Cubs have already lost 2 out of 3 games at Wrigley Field to

the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates and Carlos Marmol has already blown a save...Yep, that should just about wrap up the 2011 season!

 Thanks for comin', folks! (On the bright side, us Cub fans have PLENTY of time to practice our "AL-BERT! AL-BERT!" chant)...

I am going to miss listening to Ron Santo doing color commentary to Pat Hughes' play by play during Cubs radio broadcasts, for

the rest of my life...but 3 games in, I'm liking the hire of Keith Moreland as Pat's new partner. He knows his stuff and he's not trying

to fill Ron's shoes...not to mention, he's damn good at the job! Welcome back to Wrigley Field, Keith...

To all of the crybabies out there who were complaining about Butler and VCU making it to the Final 4, shut the hell up! If you only

want to see the big name schools battling it out for a title, stick to watching conference tournaments or the NCAA Women's Final

 4 and let the rest of us enjoy the beauty of the "Big Dance"...

I love chocolate and I REALLY love lasagna, but I'll NEVER put chocolate on lasagna...

Kevin Harvick won his second straight NASCAR race on Sunday by winning the Goody's 500 at Martinsville, after he passed Dale

Earnhardt Jr. with just 4 laps to go. Immediately following his 2nd Place finish Jr. was quoted as saying "Shoot, that's close

enough for me!"...he then proceeded to take a victory lap and spray his confused crew with champagne as his winless streak

reached 99 races in a row...

The Wichita State Shockers won the NIT by beating Alabama 66-57 in Madison Square Garden sometime this past week,

which is fitting...since I was shocked to find out the NIT had even begun, let alone ended already...

Wrestlemania 27 is tonight and while I'm not going to watch it, I do get a kick out of those who mock wrestling fans as stupid

because wrestling is "fake"...hey uber geniuses, so is everything else you see on television, excluding the news and sporting

events and INcluding most of the mind numbingly stupid "reality" shows this country can't get enough of...

Phil Mickelson won this weekend's Houston Open in of all places, Houston, Texas...looks like he's poised to make another Krispy

Kreme run after The Masters again this year...I'll take a creme filled glazed puck of sugar, Phil...WAIT!?!? What the hell, make

it TWO creme filled glazed pucks of sugar!

Shane from Marshalltown

Thoughts From The Week: March 27 Edition

I only fill out one set of brackets for the NCAA Tournament each season and this year it finally hit me as to why! It's so I can

do my part to save the planet by only having to throw away one sheet of freaking paper every year! Wait...does throwing it out

the window in disgust, like some kind of "bad bracket confetti" cancel out the good in that?

Watching the Arizona Wildcats play this past weekend had me wanting to pack my bags and head west! That is until I came

to the realization that the announcers were saying "MoMo Jones" and not "Lo Lo Jones"...son of a...

Harrison Barnes' season came to an end today as North Carolina fell to John Calipari and his merry band of "hmm...I wonder what

 sanctions he'll leave behind after THIS stop" Kentucky Wildcats sent them packing and I can honestly say that I don't care if he

stays OR goes since his "win/win" situation doesn't effect Iowa or Iowa State...but holy crap, I sure wish it did!

Are NCAA teams contractually obligated to only play games that come down to the last shot when Gus Johnson is doing the play

by play...or does it just seem like it?

As you all know, Ben Roethlisberger is getting married and I guess the bride to be is starting to get "cold feet" because every time

 "Big Ben" goes to the restroom, she's afraid he's cheating on her...

Today's NASCAR race at Fontana California was won by the "Jimmy Johns" 29 car of Kevin Harvick...or as I like to call him,"Thank

 God it wasn't that d-bag Kyle Busch!"...

Dear whoever invented lasagna,

Thank you VERY much! And...I love you...even if you're a guy...and probably dead by now...

Shane from Marshalltown

LUCAS O'REAR - FROM MUTTON CHOPS TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES

An Interview With One Of UNI's Most Famous Baseball (and Basketball) Player

By: J.T. the Nutt

Lucas O'Rear was a fan favorite from day one.  Even before the mutton chops, Lucas did the dirty work and always seemed to find a

 way go grab a loose ball.  He was the enforcer, in hockey terms.  He seldom showed up on the stat line...until he wasn't in the stat

sheet.  UNI was one game away from first place in the Valley when he went down after winning 8 straight games.  The Panthers would

drop 7 of their next 8 and dreams of going back to the Big Dance would be long gone.  It may have been a year or two before people

truly appreciated what the kid did before had he not gotten hurt.  Instead, a glaring weakness was exposed and a great player was

appreciated while he was still on campus even if he couldn't play.  It may have been the end of a great career at UNI but a new

one awaits. 

Lucas came to UNI to play baseball as well.  He could have left once UNI got rid of baseball.  Good for UNI, good for America but

maybe not their bracket.  Kansas was one of the schools he thought of going to.  (Let that sink in for a second.)  So more the

reason that the Sweet Sixteen run may never have happened without Lucas and his underappreciated efforts.  He started the last

 game of UNI baseball and will be the last UNI baseball player ever drafted.  Yet it will be the screens he set not the strikes he threw

that will be remembered.  It will go along with the famous mutton chops and Kenny Powers look.

I got a chance to catch up with Lucas in St. Louis.  As with almost everyone involved with the University of Northern Iowa he was

more than happy to talk about his career and his school.  While the University of Iowa is writing parking tickets for the media that

helps keep the Hawks in the spotlight, UNI is grateful for the attention.  In the face of the NCAA sanctions and violations (east coast

 I am looking in your direction), it's great to see a kid and program who do it the right way.  Lucas could have left and people would

have understood.  But he stayed and thank goodness he did.  Click below to hear his thoughts on a great career and what awaits

in the future.

Thoughts From The Week: March 20 Edition

I'd like to take this opportunity to personally thank ESPN and its "Big East Propaganda Campaign" for personally ruining my

brackets! Apparently years of "programming" got to me and caused me to create a bracket that I will be ashamed of for years

 to come...

Danica Patrick hasn't proven that she can win consistently on the race track yet, but after catching her cry baby act this past

 weekend she has proven that women, can indeed, be "douche bags"...
Sidenote: When Danica finished 4th in the Nationwide race a couple of weeks ago, I incorrectly stated that it "tied for the best

 finish by a woman" in a NASCAR sponsored event...I was wrong! (thanks for the crappy info ESPN!) It wasn't a tie...she owns

 "best finish ever" all by herself. However, I wasn't wrong about Jeff Gordon being a girl...so the point was moot, Robin!

After seeing Purdue's 18 point loss to Virginia Commonwealth today, I think it's painfully obvious that Fran McCaffery should be

 fired and all of Hawkeye Nation should be embarrassed that Iowa only beat them by 2 a couple of weeks ago...

In case you've all missed it, the NFL is in a "lock out"...I know! Caught me by surprise too! Why don't they ever talk about these

things in the media?

I feel bad for Iowa State fans this weekend...they can't give Iowa crap for "sucking" because they couldn't win their 4th straight

NCAA Wrestling Championship without acknowledging the coach who turned his back on his alma mater to win it...

Shane from Marshalltown

BEUNOS (PAPA) DIA MUSTANGS, BEUNOS NOCHES PANTHERS

SMU Forward Papa Dia Has Double-Double in First Half to End Panthers Season

By:  J.T. the Nutt

What a difference a year makes but the result is still the same.  UNI loses their last game and three seniors leave with a sour

taste in their mouth.  Last year it was Adam Koch, Jordan Eglsedr, and Ali Farokhmanesh and this year it was Kwadzo Ahelegbe,

 Lucas O'Rear, and Kerwin Dunham.  Two of the best senior classes of all time.  Fans were lucky to see the last three at home for

 two more games this year.  They had hoped for a few more games and CIT Championship but it just wasn't going to happen tonight. 

 Papa Dia brought an awesome name and double-double within the first half for the Mustangs.  UNI has not had the ability to come

back from deep holes but they always make it interesting.  It was a great game with a sad end.  Just like the senior class. 

Read more here

FAROKHMANESHED

UNI Basketball One Year After the Kansas Upset

By:  J.T. "the" Nutt

It was almost a year ago that the world had yet to meet Ali Farokhmanesh.  You filled out your bracket and had Kansas all the way. 

 It was easy, they were Kansas.  But the Fighting Jakes had other ideas.  I was blessed to be down there myself.  Best sports

 moment of my life.  Based on a Rivals article on Yahoo where they caught up with Ali (here),  I decided to repost the interview

I did via the telephone from Switzerland.  That can be found in the here Nutthouse.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2011 Football Pre-Preview

Projected Starters

Offense

QB: James Vandenberg
RB: Marcus Coker
FB: Brad Rodgers
WR: Marvin McNutt
WR: Keenan Davis
TE: C.J. Fiedorowicz
OL: James Ferentz, Riley Reiff, Adam Gettis, Nolan MacMillan, Markus Zusevics

Defense

DL: Mike Daniels, Broderick Binn, Louis Trinca-Pasat, Joe Forgy,
LB: James Morris, Bruce Davis, and Tyler Nielsen
DB: Micah Hyde, Shaun Prater, Jordan Bernstine, Greg Castillio

Special Teams:
PR: Micah Hyde
KR: Keenan Davis, Micah Hyde
K: Michael Meyers
P: Eric Guthrie

Iowa’s 2011 Football Schedule

It’s January and football is almost over, only one thing to do….START talking about next year. Who wants to? ME! ME! ME! ME! And ME! (maybe Wolfgang too). 2010 Hawk Football = We are never talking about it again. In roughly 9 months a new (hopefully drug free team) will make their way onto the turf at Kinnick for the first time. Here is how I think things will go, as of right now.

September

3rd:     Tennessee Tech - Iowa wins by a sizable margin, 31-10.

10th:   @ ISU – Iowa State will return a large portion of their defensive backfield, but only one defensive lineman which will prove costly vs. the Hawks and they won’t be able to stop the power rush game. The ISU offense loses, well all of its offense it seems, Arnaud, Robinson, and Franklin are all gone, along with 2 starting lineman and a pair of senior wr’s.  Iowa’s defense should have no problem stopping ISU and winning the game 20-6.
 
17th:   Pittsburgh – This game is still etched into my mind from a couple of years ago, because it feels like this is one of those games that everyone started to see this program turn the corner and Shonn Greene started to emerge as a beast. Pitt is coming off an 8-5 season and has a lot of that talent coming back, but with a new coach you never know what to expect. Iowa wins a close one, 24-21.

24th:   Louisiana-Monroe – Tiny let down, but Iowa wins 28-17.

September Wrap-Up: As you can see I have Iowa starting off 4-0, mainly due to a soft schedule. The first third of the year should give Iowa sometime to mesh and work the kinks out before heading into Big Ten play.

October

1st:   Bye

8th:   @ Penn State – Iowa has won 3 straight vs. the Lions and will try to continue that streak in Happy Valley in 211. Iowa’s defense continues to shock people with great corner and linebacker play, while the offensive line continues to let Coker roll. Penn State jumps to an early 10-0 lead, but Iowa gets rid of the road jitters and wins 21-13.

15th:   Northwestern - Here we go again. Persa is back along with many other skill players who beat Iowa in 2010. Northwestern loses 4 on defense and 3 on offense which is not enough to allow Iowa to take this one. Iowa loses a close one 21-16.

22   Indiana – Indiana loses the one person that always seemed to be able to beat Iowa or come close, Ben Chappell. Vandenberg finds his stride in this one against a young secondary and LB core. Iowa wins 24-14.

29   @ Minnesota – Revenge. Floyd. Terrible. Those are the three reasons that Iowa will beat Minnesota, badly. Iowa hates losing to the “Gophs”, Floyd doesn’t like snow and lakes, and Minnesota is just plan terrible. Minnesota should have a hard time climbing out of the cellar again this year with 4 OL leaving along with their QB, Weber. They do however return 9 Def. starters, but that won’t be enough to slow down the Hawks. Good guys win 41-17.

October Wrap-Up: Iowa moves to 7-1 heading into November. Many of you will think that I am crazy, but the meat of Iowa’s schedule is in the last third of the season. Iowa should have a more cohesive team than in 2010, because off field distractions should be limited due to the conduct of last year’s team. With two months in the books and things going well Iowa looks to avoid the pitfall of last year and have some success in November.

November

5th:     Michigan – This one is tough. No one really knows what is going to happen with any/all the players at Michigan. Will Robinson stay or go? Will they keep the same style of offense? No one really knows the real answers to these questions. If Robinson stays and they go to more of a pro-style offense, which everyone is predicting, than that will favor Iowa and give them the upper hand in this game. Iowa wins 17-10.

12th:   Michigan State – WOW. If you are a Spartan fan you have this one circled. The Hawks all but made the Spartans there…well you know….last year at Kinnick and made a miraculous comeback the year before. Michigan State brings a lot back on offense, but loses over half of their defense. With that being said, I still feel Iowa drops this one 21-17, because Michigan State will just want it more and will have come off of an easy week vs. Minnesota. 

19th:   @ Purdue – This will be a much better game than many anticipate. Purdue returns 9 Defense starters including 7 juniors. Their offense returns 8 starters, including Marve (QB). I don’t think that Iowa will be able to score against an improved Purdue defense, but I do think that Iowa can stop their offense as well. I think Iowa finds a way to win 21-20 in West Lafayette.

26   @ Nebraska – Iowa vs. Nebraska, how long has this needed to happen? I think that Nebraska draws first blood in this renewed series and beats Iowa 35-14, on the legs of Taylor Martinez.

Iowa ends November with a 9-3 record and heads to the Cap One or Outback Bowl.