2010 Year In Review, Family Edition

My 2010 year in review for our family has been posted at http://www.offthecrossbarblog.com/2010-year-in-review/.

A Small Appology

When we were getting ready to send out Christmas cards it was decided to include our blog addresses with some of them so that our family and friends could keep up with us throughout the year. At that time this was my blog and the address was included with the cards. Well that has since changed. A few days after sending the cards I registered my own domain to use for my blog. From now on you can read it at http://www.offthecrossbarblog.com. I will post any updates on Twitter and Facebook. If you don't follow me on either of those sites you can check the blog occasionally as I probably won't post on a set schedule. I apologize to all of you who received the address to this blog. Please remember to check out http://www.offthecrossbarblog.com at the beginning of 2011 for my year in review!

My 2010 Wish List

My friend Matt at Wide Right (http://wideright3.blogspot.com) did a post outlining what he is asking Santa for this year. It got me thinking about my own wish list. Thankfully I’ve been pretty good this year so here it is:

• The Hawkeyes to not blow a 4^th quarter lead in the Insight Bowl. I don’t care much if Iowa loses as long as they don’t blow a late lead again.
• A vacation anywhere of my choosing to be used in 2011.
• My daughters to do well in school.
• Advance my career in some way.
• My car to survive another year.
• Have competitive fantasy NASCAR and NFL teams (my NBA team is doing very well).
• To attend at least one professional sporting event (not including I Cubs).
• Enough contact lenses to last me all year.
• Bunk beds for the girls (at least we already have that one).
• Make it through 3 or 4 5k races.
• New golf clubs and bag.
• More fishing trips and equipment.
• More opportunities to meet new people and make more friends.
• Continued good health and prosperity for my family and friends.

This is the season of giving; if you are in the position to give please give with a loving heart. Everything you are able to give to others is a blessing, even if it has no monetary value. I wish you all a Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you may celebrate, and a Happy New Year. Here’s to a great 2011!

Be sure to check back on January 1, 2011 for a 2010 year in review.

Any Given Saturday vs Any Given Sunday

A few Sundays ago I was sitting on my couch doing what I enjoy on a Sunday afternoon: watching some Green Bay Packers football. A short time after I started to watch I realized that I am starting to enjoy the NFL more than college football. There was a time when this was true but lately I have enjoyed college football more. Fantasy football kind of killed my interest in the NFL since I had to pay more attention to other teams, some of which I don't like, than Green Bay. This year is different. I haven't cared that much about the other teams and have been able to focus on enjoying the games.

I realize that both the NFL and NCAA football are about the money. The difference is that the NFL players are about the money while the NCAA itself and the conferences are about the money. Sure the NFL as a whole brings in billions of dollars every year but they have revenue sharing in place so all teams get an equal cut. The NCAA doesn't have a universal revenue sharing plan in place and never will have one. It is getting to a point in the college game where the conferences, and NCAA, care about money and power. Schools are changing conferences to better themselves financially (see Nebraska, Colorado, TCU). TCU is also moving from a conference that doesn't have an automatic BCS bowl game bid to a conference that does have an automatic bid but, in my eyes, shouldn't (Big East). While I am a fan of the Big 10 it's evident that they want money and power. Expansion was a huge topic of discussion and they went out and brought in Nebraska, who has a very large and loyal fan base who will spend money. Nebraska will also help the conference gain advertising money for the Big Ten Network. This also comes into play during games, in my eyes. Every conference wants as many bowl-eligible teams as possible and the more in the BCS the better. When it becomes apparent that a team is on track to the BCS the conference will do what it can to get them there so that they are in line for more money. This is where the conference can help with outcomes of certain games. The conferences employ the game officials, thus they can tell the officials what to do. I realize this isn't always the case but I can see it happening. Look at how many times a team gets robbed of a win due to some missed or bad calls by the officials (I'm looking at the zebras from the Ohio St vs Iowa game this year). One thought I had was for the NCAA to employ the officials, as the NFL does, and have them travel and get paid by the conference they are officiating for on that Saturday. I decided that wasn't a viable option since the NCAA could still sway them certain directions. Watch the Big 12 title game this weekend. With Nebraska leaving for the Big 10 after this year I wouldn't be surprised to see Oklahoma benefit from some very controversial calls.

Another thing I don't like about the NCAA are the recruiting rules and how they aren't applied consistently. Recently Auburn quarterback Cam Newton has been investigated into his father asking potential colleges for money during his son's recruitment. This is an obvious violation. On Tuesday Auburn ruled Newton ineligible for the SEC championship game this weekend, but they promptly asked the NCAA for reinstatement. How does that work? You suspend him and then ask for him to be able to play? Well the NCAA obliged saying Newton was eligible to play stating while is dad DID ask Mississippi State for a large sum of money there is no way, right now, to tell that Newton knew it was going on. That seems a little fishy to me. I have very little doubt in my mind that Newton would still be ineligible if Auburn wasn't in the BCS title hunt or if another BCS school was right behind them instead of non-BCS TCU. The NCAA knows it will make a lot more money from Auburn playing in the BCS title game against Oregon than it would if TCU played against Oregon due to the size of Auburn's fan base compared to TCU's. I don't find it fair to any of Auburn's future opponents (South Carolina and who ever they play in a bowl game), TCU, or anyone who played Auburn this year if the NCAA is going to wait and rule on the investigation after the season. All this does is robs schools of potential wins. What if there was a 5-7 team that lost to Auburn during the season? They could have played in a bowl if they would have beat Auburn. That sucks for them.

The last thing I don't care for in the college game are players giving up (not leaving) on their teams during the season. You can ask them all you want and they will say they didn't quit mid-season but you can tell by their performance that they aren't playing as hard as they have in the past. I see this especially with seniors once they know they will miss their goals for the season. College is finite, you're there for a few years and then done, there is no more. NFL is finite too but it's more than 3 to 5 years for the most part, and there is no set time for you to be done. Yeah a contract may be ending but that usually makes players better so that they can get a good deal. I only remember a few players in the NFL that give up (see Moss, Randy and Haynesworth, Albert for recent examples) but the vast majority don't give up. Even when the team is out of the playoff picture they are usually fighting until the 60th minute of week 17. The only exception is when they are trying to get a top draft pick, which is over rated in my opinion due to the insane contracts but that's a different story.

What Has Happened?

The last two weeks have been very hard to put into words. Two very beatable teams (Indiana and Northwestern) with one fairly embarrassing loss and a drop-the-ball win. A 7-3 (4-2) record that could, and probably should, be 6-4 (3-3). These games came after Iowa destroyed Michigan State, who was ranked #5 at the time. How can you beat the #5 team in the country pretty handily and then stumble against Indiana and Northwestern?

I'm starting to wonder if the Iowa coaching staff is starting to out-coach themselves. This football team has the most cumulative talent I have ever seen, yet they are 7-3 and have a very good chance at 7-5 (yes I am saying a loss to Minnesota is possible with the way things are going right now). Do I think 7-5 is likely? Not at all; I'm actually thinking it will be 8-4 (5-3) as I can't see Iowa beating Ohio State this weekend.

It's hard to say if the players aren't getting themselves motivated for these games that they "should" win (this shouldn't be hard) or if the coaches aren't preparing them to play. From what I have seen is that the coaches are not putting the team in a position to succeed. The offensive game plans have looked horrible, almost non-existent. The defense has looked tired and not motivated. There seems to be a huge lack of killer instinct, both from the coaches and the players. The special teams, even Ryan Donahue, have struggled all season long.

When one facet of the team is struggling it's easier to figure out the solution. When every facet is struggling it can be much more difficult. The past two weeks it has seemed as though Iowa's coaches did not want to show Ohio State anything on tape. The problem with that is we are 10 games into the season, what isn't already on tape? Now Ohio State can see where the weaknesses lie and how to destroy Iowa. Conservative play is fine, to an extent. You cannot be overly conservative and get your team out of a rhythm. Then again the Iowa offense didn't seem to have a rhythm in either of the games.

The defense has also been questionable recently. In the Wisconsin and Michigan State games the defense changed looks a lot, from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Against Indiana and Northwestern? Forget about it. What was especially troubling against Northwestern was the defensive alignment against a quarter back who is known for running. Typically you would leave at least one defender to spy on the QB. Instead Iowa rushed it's 4 linemen and dropped the remaining 7 into pass coverage. All Northwestern had to do was run all five receivers straight down the field and Persa could pick up 10-15 yards on the ground, and even run out of bounds. I'm no math expert but usually when 5 players are in the pattern you shouldn't need 7 to cover them. You can afford to leave someone to spy, especially with the zone defense that Iowa runs.

Last year Iowa won the close games because the team never had to go into protect-the-lead-conservative mode. This year Iowa is losing the close games because they are going into the protect-the-lead-conservative mode and is not able to come out of it when the game is on the line. Coming from behind forced them to be a little more aggressive and that is how you win football games.

Every year I get to a point when I think it's nice the season is almost over. This year I hadn't thought that, until now. I'm glad the last home game is this Saturday. I want Iowa to win but I'll be furious is if they come out on fire like they did against Michigan State.

He's The Boss

Late in the spring I caught wind of a special event coming to the Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines on November 13. Realizing what it was I checked the Hawkeye's football schedule and was relieved when it was an away game (not touching that at all). Buddy Valastro, of TLC's The Cake Boss, was starting a tour around the US and was going to be in Des Moines! Molly and I really enjoyed watching his show, and we do miss it now that we don't have the satellite dish. I thought it would be a great anniversary and birthday gift to get her tickets. It also coincided with the release of his first book "Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia" so, of course, I had to get that too. Molly is the decorator of the family so I knew this would be an amazing night for her.

I got on Ticketmaster's website the very minute the pre-sale started and was able to score two tickets in the second row of the center-floor section right on the aisle. When I gave her the tickets I said she had to go and she could choose anyone else to go with her, and I wouldn't feel bad if she didn't take me. Well she did choose me, and I had a great time.

The show started with Buddy entering from the back of the auditorium. Since I had seen a promo video for his tour I knew about that and had Molly sit in the aisle seat. When he came walking down the aisle Molly was able to give him a high-5. That made her night right there. After giving an introduction Buddy started asking for any women who decorated or baked to come on stage. Molly was yelling and clapping and finally I told her to stand up. When she stood up Buddy pointed right at her! She was the first person picked! She didn't know what to do and I told her to get up there. He had 4 women on stage competing in a cupcake decorating contest. Molly had the pressure of decorating a cupcake with the best in the business looking over her shoulder and making jokes, all in front of 1,200+ people. Molly's didn't win the audience vote but I thought it was the best by far; she even had a lot of comments on it after the show.

After that Buddy had a few more contests with men and one with kids. He told stories of his family and how the bakery was turned over to his family and how the TV show got started. After the stories he decorated a cake while taking questions from the audience. At one point he took the un-decorated cupcakes and threw them into the audience. One of them fell on the floor and I yelled "5 second rule" to which he chuckled and threw it to me. I now call it the "5 second rule cupcake".

After the show he made his way to the art gallery to pose for pictures and sign autographs. We waited in line for around an hour but we got to him. Unfortunately the battery on my cell phone died so we were without a camera. Luckily a person in front of us offered us her camera and she will be emailing it to us soon. We posed for the picture and he signed our book and Molly's ticket. He even said to Molly "I hope this book inspires you" which she will keep in her mind forever.

The show itself was amazing and Buddy is an amazing person with all that he has done. The night couldn't have gone any better!

Marriage Rarity

This sort of weekend is rare when you are a married man with 2 young kids. Yes, I am all alone at home this weekend! Molly and the girls are heading to Minneapolis, MN to visit one of Molly's friends. We have all been looking forward to this weekend since the initial planning took place.

For me it's a weekend of "what do I want to do?" Of course I will be watching the Iowa game on TV tomorrow (luckily Green Bay doesn't play until Sunday night so that should free up time on Sunday afternoon), and I have to watch the day care tonight. Aside from those two things it's up in the air. I will probably spend some time learning some web development and I'll do some de-cluttering around the house. I also have a few things to do to the car if the weather is nice enough. Other than that I have nothing planned, not even food.

This trip is huge for Molly as she has never been out of the state on her own. Every trip she's taken she has gone with someone else. This time it's just her an the girls. It goes without saying that she will also be driving in a different state and bigger city on her own (she got to drive through Nebraska during our family vacation last year). She has been fairly nervous about this trip from all of the doubt in her mind and coming from others. I have said that she will be fine. We have a GPS and access to Google Maps and cell phones so she shouldn't have problems. I have already heard that they are in Minnesota so the tough part is still to come.

I know Sunday will be here before I know it and I'll look around and wonder where the time went. I'm not quite as excited to have the house to myself as I am for Molly to have this opportunity to help build some self-confidence. After this weekend I may be giving up the driver's seat a little more often on trips.

Painful Lessons

I was hoping to have this posted about a week ago but life caught up with me and it's a little later than I had hoped.

Early last week the National Football League decided to fine and suspend players for what accounts to too hard of a hit. There were already rules in place for hits to the head and hitting defenseless players, but they were only penalties on the field. Now the team will be penalized and the player will be penalized as well. I was anxious to see how the games would turn out this past weekend and no problems with the new rules have been publicized. Maybe this got it through the players' head that safety is key to their well-being.

At first it may sound like the NFL is trying to keep the offensive players safe and penalizing the defensive players who are paid to make the huge hit. In reality it's not protecting just the offensive player but also the defensive player. Using incorrect tackling form could hurt the defender more than the ball carrier. You are taught at a young age to see what you are tackling, this is done by keeping your head up. I also remember being told to put your head between the body and the arm so that your head doesn't make contact with anything.

I realize that players are ultimately responsible for their play on the field. However, coaches should share in some of the blame for the unnecessary hard hits that have been instilled in the game over the last few years. I realize that these guys are professionals and they shouldn't need to be taught the basics but when they think their body is a missile maybe some revisiting of fundamentals is in order. Maybe the coaches should also be penalized, outside of a game, if their team has repeat offenses of hard tackling. If they can't get their players to understand the safety they should be punished too. In the end the coaches are responsible for the players and what the team does. It's a team game and that should not be forgotten.

Another aspect to the issue with big hits are the highlight films. You will never, ever see the replay of a text-book tackle more than once (and that's only because it's rare enough that the announcers break it down). However you will see a big hit over and over, not just during the game but on the highlight shows later in the day and it will pop-up all over the place in the weeks and months down the road. Can the media be punished? In reality they can't, but it would help if they stopped showing the replays over and over.

There will still be big hits in the NFL for as long as they allow tackling. The players need to realize there is a safe way to deliver the big hits, and they will be just as effective as before. The only difference is they won't be risking their health and the health of their opponent. It may be nice to be able to walk to your car in 2010 but in 2030 you may not be able to.

Progression vs Regression

First things first: I have decided to stop doing my post-game analysis of Hawkeye football games. To tell the truth I enjoy doing it but sometimes I don't get a chance until late in the week and by then the focus is on the upcoming opponent. I will say that I am not surprised at how Iowa's defense shut down Michigan QB/RB Denard Robinson. Sure Denard got over 100 yards rushing but his longest run was 12 yards. He was also knocked out of the game midway through the 3rd quarter (I did predict he wouldn't make it to the 4th). This game pretty much knocked him out of ABC/ESPN's Heisman contenders list (which he shouldn't have been on anyway).

As I watched the game last weekend I realized that Ricky Stanzi has been the starting QB for Iowa for 2+ seasons and he has gotten better with each season. This may seem like a simple thing but it has been the exact opposite for the last few years at Iowa. With Drew Tate and Jake Christensen it seemed as though the QBs actually regressed. Tate's best year came in his first year as a starter. The same could be said of Christensen (although his first year as a starter ended at 6-6 with no bowl game), but he lost his job to Stanzi in his 2nd year of starting. Fans were blaming the coaches for this, mainly offensive coordinator and QB coach Ken O'Keefe. Please realize that I'm not a big fan of how Coach O'Keefe has called plays in the past but his play calling has gotten a lot better since 2007. Before, his plays were too predictable and the calls wouldn't get to the huddle very quickly. Both of those have changed and the offense has improved because of it.

Back to the QB situation. In 2008 Stanzi took over after a few games and never looked back, causing Christensen to transfer to Eastern Illinois where he did start in 2009 and played fairly well. Stanzi led Iowa to a huge upset of #3 Penn St in Iowa City and seemed to have a ton of confidence in his own ability. In 2009 he got even better (outside of the interceptions) and only lost 1 game that he started (although he was injured and didn't finish). If he was going to follow the trend 2010 would be his worst.

Surprisingly enough it has been even better than 2009 was. He has thrown 1 interception, and that wasn't really his fault (the WR dropped a pass that was caught by a defender). He has made some very good decisions and has actually checked-off his primary receivers and is not staring them down either. So why can Stanzi progress while the previous two QBs regressed? It has to be the coaches right? No. Stanzi has progressed because of who he is and who he doesn't have around him. Stanzi is a film junkie. He will stay in the football complex long hours watching film so that he knows what to expect. Marc Morehouse asked him about his class load at this week's media day. Right now Stanzi is in 2 classes. That provides him with even more time to study film.

I'm sure that Tate and Christensen studied film but what they had around them affected them in a negative way. Tate was the step-son of a successful Texas high school football coach. His step-dad was always trying to help him out rather that letting him rely on the offensive coaches to help him with the offense.

Christensen is the son of a former NFL back-up QB, Jeff Christensen. There always seemed to be some disconnect between Jake and the coaches as Jeff seemed to be making a lot of decisions for his son. Instead of having Jake work with the team and watch film over the summer, Jeff set him up with some of his former NFL QB buddies to work on his mechanics. This took Jake away from the bonding time with teammates and affected the chemistry.

Are these concrete reasons as to why Tate and Christensen regressed? No, just my opinion. If you think about it it does make sense. Tate and Christensen had father figures who "knew" more than Iowa's coaches and they regressed. Stanzi is his own man and is listening to the coaches and he is progressing. Stanzi is coach-able, Tate and Christensen were not.

Money Talks

A couple of weeks ago I was talking sports with a couple of gentlemen and the topic of MLB coverage came up. This time of year is bad for MLB coverage (mainly speaking of ESPN) since football season is in full-bloom. I attributed this to the fact that ESPN spends a lot more money on football (both college and NFL) than it does on MLB. It even spends more on NASCAR coverage than it does on MLB!

If you view any ESPN coverage MLB usually takes a backseat. Looking at ESPN's website this morning shows where their priorities are. Sure the main banner is a preview of the MLB playoffs that start today, but you will also see the scores of the pre-season NBA games. Yes, pre-season. There are also links to articles regarding some of those games, such as Lebron carrying the Miami Heat as Dewayne Wade got injured. Didn't NBA practice just start?

I realize that sports are a big business now and that communications contracts (TV and radio) are huge investments but do we really need to know the NBA pre-season outcomes? I will admit that I am not a fan of the NBA but I feel the exact same way about the NFL pre-season. It's like Allen Iverson once said "we talkin' about practice man, practice. Not a game, practice."

I have a feeling that the big headline today will be Randy Moss traded from New England to Minnesota and how that will impact the NFL. Oh, and since we have 30 seconds left, the MLB playoffs start today.

The Nighttime Is The Right Time

In the history of Kinnick Stadium there have now been 5 true night games (kick off is after 6:00 pm). I have now attended 4 of them (Ohio State in 2006, Syracuse in 2007, Michigan in 2009, Penn State in 2010). Leading up to the Penn St game I started to wonder why night games seem to have a more lively crowd.

ScoutzFiction and I touched on the subject as we were exiting Interstate 80 in Iowa City. His thinking is that it goes back to the performing arts and being on a stage with spot lights on you. This may very well be part of it. In the middle centuries the performing arts were huge, almost on the same level as athletics are today. The superstars were the actors and they were always in the light (this is where the term "limelight" came from). Maybe it has evolved within us that the ultimate stage is under artificial lights. Hmmm

I did buy into that a little bit. The example I always think of goes back to the spring of 1997, my freshman year of high school. My first track meet ran into the night time. I was scheduled to run the 4x800 relay, which occurred in the daytime, and the junior varsity 4x100 relay, which occurred after the sun went down and the lights came on. I remember feeling a lot more excited for the 4x100 and not just because I spent the previous two years chasing records as a sprinter.

To me, the artificial lights made the track look different. Things stood out a little more since the light was a lot more focused. I think this is where the added excitement comes from. As I ran I remember only seeing the track in front of me, where I could see a lot more when the sun was out. I think this helps the athletes focus a little more on the field. As for the crowd the lighting helps direct the focus onto the field also.

Another thing that could factor in is the anticipation. For a night game there are 8 hours of other games before the kick. The anticipation builds while the scores start rolling in and everyone is ready to see the team take the field. 11:00 am games are nice in that there is still some day left when you get home, but the anticipation hasn't been able to build as much.

I'm sure that some high-salaried scientists could do a human study and find out exactly why the excitement is higher for night games but I'm more interested in what real fans think. So what says you?

Earn Your Stripes

There's something about sporting events under the lights that feels different than during the daytime (full discussion will come later this week). This weekend was no different with a 7:00 pm kick off inside of Kinnick Stadium. I didn't think the atmosphere was as electric as some of the recent night games but maybe that was just me. The opponent was Penn St, who had won twice in nine games against Iowa since Kirk Ferentz took over as head coach. I had no doubt in my mind that Iowa would win this game. The betting line was set at Iowa +7.5 and I predicted the final to be 28-10 (I should have put some money down). I was a little off with the final being 24-3 Iowa.

First I must say that the black and gold "stripes" looked amazing. I'm glad that the fans responded to the call and made it work. One thing I was kind of disappointed by were the pompoms that were handed out. The gold sections got gold pompoms and the black sections had black pompoms. This made the pompoms almost invisible; what should have been done was put black in the gold sections and gold in the black sections for some contrast. Regardless Kinnick looked better than I've ever seen.

This was another game where nothing was really learned about Iowa's team, and maybe that's one reason they didn't climb higher in the polls this week. They could have kept the offensive play book open and run up the score (I don't think Penn St could stop the offense) but that didn't happen. Instead the Iowa coaches wanted Penn St, and a true freshman QB, to beat Iowa in Iowa City. Normally I'm not fond of that technique but Iowa has a good enough team that it won't happen. One thing that was learned is that James Morris can come in and play middle linebacker with the first team defense and be just as effective as anyone else. Morris looked ready to play and take over the role as a starter next year.

One thing I didn't like so much was seeing Adam Robinson in so much. Sure he only had 28 carries but he could have been spelled a little bit by one of the freshman backups. The wear and tear on the body may not be evident this week, or in two weeks at Michigan (thanks to the bye week) but it could come into play later in the year, such as against Ohio St. We need the freshmen to see some Big 10 competition so that they are ready to go if something catastrophic happens.

The last thing I learned was that the Arizona game really was a anomaly for this Iowa team. The offensive line has looked very good all year except that one game. Special teams have been decent in all but the one game. Even Joe Paterno said Iowa losing to Arizona was a fluke. I know that a loss is still a loss and that we can't go back and undo the game (this isn't Minnesota where 55-0 in 2008 never really happened) but I can say that Iowa may still be one of the best teams in the country. Even Alabama beat Penn St 24-3 (at Alabama) in week 2. Just saying....

Friday Night Prediction

Yes Iowa played Ball St last weekend. As for my recap: Iowa played Ball St. Nothing big other than a good showing by Iowa in a 45-0 win.

This week opens Big Ten play with Iowa hosting Penn St under the lights at Kinnick Stadium. This will be the 4th true night game that I've been to at Kinnick and each time has been amazing. The game itself should be close as Iowa and Penn St always have good battles. Penn St has a true freshman quarterback for the first time since Joe Paterno took over as head coach. Sure they have gone into Alabama, which I'm sure is hostile, but this is Big Ten play under the lights at the very close confines of Kinnick Stadium. The crowd is almost right on the playing field and the noise level on the field is second to none (yes I know how it is since I sit in the 3rd row). If I don't have a voice on Sunday it will be a good thing.

I don't see Iowa struggling too much in this game. Penn St isn't what it was the past two seasons. They still have some of the same players but they have also lost a lot of talent to graduation. On the flip-side Iowa seems to have as much, if not more, talent than last year's team.

This is also the first ever "spirit night" to help celebrate Homecoming Week. Fans sitting in even numbered sections are to wear gold and fans in the odd sections, and students, will be in black. Word on Twitter is that pompoms of the section's color will be on every seat to help with the effect. Boise St pulled it off last week so I know Iowa should have no problem with it. I even went out and bought a gold hoodie today so that I'll be safe.

Night games also means lots of tailgating. I hope everyone is safe and smart with their tailgating and no one gets hurt, either before, during, and after the game. My cousin works in the University of Iowa Hospital ER and said that it was really busy after the Michigan game (also a night game) last year. Hopefully this doesn't happen again. Yes I will partake in a few beers but I won't be going overboard on my drinking, I hope others do the same.

Final prediction: Iowa 28 Penn St 10

Go Hawks!

Desert Swarmed

If the 2009 Iowa football season was "special" the 2010 season could be deemed "un-special". Kirk Ferentz prides himself on building teams with strong offensive and defensive lines and amazing special teams. Iowa's special teams struggled with kickoff coverage against Iowa St and the special teams struggled again at Arizona.

I was sitting at the south Des Moines Bennigans on Saturday night waiting for the Iowa game to start. Clemson and Auburn couldn't figure out who wanted to win their game so they wanted to play a little extra. Thankfully Auburn made their FG and Clemson missed theirs. Then came the epic ESPN failure of not switching to the game that was in progress. Instead they interviewed Auburn coaches and players. Oh wait, I forgot that ESPN loves the SEC. I have no idea if they would have interviewed Clemson people if Clemson won but I doubt they would have.

As the Iowa game was going on, but not televised, I was checking my Twitter feed and I saw that Iowa went 3-and-out (with a missed pass that would have been a touch down) and then had a punt blocked and recovered by Arizona at the Iowa 8. Soon enough it was 7-0 Arizona. A short time later my feed blew up with a Rick Stanzi pick-6. Looking at the replay Marvin McNutt tipped a pass and it went right to an Arizona defender. McNutt should have come up with the catch; if your hands are on the ball it's catchable. Just like that Arizona had scored 14 points before Auburn and Clemson could score 3, combined.

Iowa was able to start coming back with some offense and put the ball in the endzone just to be deflated by an Arizona kick return TD. Arizona added 2 field goals and led 27-7 at half. During halftime I switched chairs at the table hoping some good luck would finally come to the Hawks.

Iowa started to get it going in the 2nd half, thanks in part to Arizona self-destructing with penalties. After a bad punt and an Arizona personal foul Iowa was able to put another 7 on the board, putting the score at 27-14. It stayed that way until the 4th quarter. Iowa capitalized off a muffed punt and got the ball back on the Arizona 18. Stanzi hit McNutt on a beautiful fly route for the TD, 27-21. The three or four of us left at Bennigan's started celebrating and we agreed something good was about to happen. Two plays into Arizona's drive, Broderick Binns intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards for an Iowa TD (PAT was blocked) to tie the score at 27. This had us celebrating even more, so much to the point that the words "I think one of the high-fives hurt my wrist" were said.

Sadly Iowa couldn't muster any 2009 magic this time as Arizona marched down the field for the game-winning TD with just under 4 minutes left. Iowa got the ball back and then quickly gave up 4 sacks in 4 plays and Arizona pretty much ran out the clock. Iowa had one shot left with 3 seconds to go but didn't make it. Final score 34-27 Arizona.

A blocked punt, kick return for a TD, blocked PAT. Not too good on special teams. At least Iowa recovered a muffed punt and made Arizona pay. There were a lot of problems in other areas for Iowa too. The receivers were dropping passes, the defense left a lot of holes in their zone, the offensive line was porous, and the defensive line didn't get much pressure (this may have been by design for containment but it's hard to say). On top of that, Jewell Hampton hurt his left knee and was unable to return; an MRI was done on Sunday and the results aren't known right now.

After that performance I'm glad that Ball St comes to Iowa City this weekend rather than Iowa starting Big 10 play. The national championship may be a lost cause now but the Rose Bowl is still in play.

On a side note, there was also a radio show being broadcast from Bennigans during part of the game. The Saturday Night Sports Special on 98.3 WOW FM was on location. I have been in contact with the show's hosts, the Des Monies Sports Freaks (Joseph Earp and Blake DeRouchey), on Twitter and we were able to meet in person. If you are into sports you should really check out their work.

And So It Begins

The 2010 Iowa football season is out of the gates and the Hawkeyes look like a team ready to build on their 2009 success. The off season was shorter than normal as the Hawks played later in January than they normally would yet it seemed like the season wasn't coming soon. Thankfully the 2010 season didn't start as rough as 2009 did. A 30 point win over Eastern Illinois is a great way to start the season. Even better that there were no injuries during the game except for Ricky Stanzi's knee scare. Part of me thinks the injury was somewhat staged so that the Hawks could have some experience with the QB going down and the backup coming in. Whether or not it was planned Iowa didn't miss a beat with James Vandenberg taking over. Adam Robinson got to handle the full load of carries, as Jewell Hampton was suspended and Brandon Wegher is taking some time off for personal reasons, and did a very good job with over 100 yards. Paki O'Meara, who I've said is a great special teams player, got some carries in garbage time but also made the special teams play of the game by blocking a punt and returning it for a touch down. The Iowa defense was stellar except for one drive. EIU faked a punt and gained close to 40 yards on the play. They then finished the drive in the end zone. Over half of EIU's total yards came on that one drive. The defense was without Broderick Binns and Shaun Prater; with them in the lineup I doubt EIU would have scored.

This weekend it was the annual battle against Iowa State. It was another good start for the offense as Iowa scored 35 unanswered points (equating to a 70-0 run over the last 2 years). Robinson ran the ball extremely well (over 150 yards) and Jewell Hampton made his return from an ACL tear and looked faster than ever. He even had over 80 yards. The passing game was on fire as well as Ricky Stanzi had tons of time in the pocket and was able to hit his receivers in stride on almost every pass. Iowa State looked very unprepared; their coaching staff needs to step it up a notch in every aspect of the game, especially tackling. The Cyclone defense was trying to arm tackle and wrap-up way too high. You won't win at any level if you can't tackle! Speaking of defense, Iowa's defensive line seemed to be in the backfield all day long. The very first offensive play for ISU was a run in which Adrian Clayborn demolished Alexander Robinson in the backfield. Iowa St had the ball for 3 plays in the first quarter and gained 3 yards. The only way they got offense was through the air and a lot of it came after the first string Iowa defense was off the field (yet ISU's first string offense played the whole game). There were three straight drives in the 3rd quarter for Iowa State that looked good but ended with interceptions; none by Tyler Sash oddly enough, although he did make a great play by breaking up a deep pass. Another thing that stood out to me was the hard hitting done by Iowa on both sides of the ball. The defense was delivering punishing hit after punishing hit and even the offense got in on the act. Hampton and Robinson were running over defenders for extra yards; the offensive line was plowing defenders over; even the wide receivers were doing a great job of blocking. On Friday I predicted the score would be 38-9 Iowa, with ISU getting a TD in garbage time against the 3rd string defense but miss the extra point. I wasn't too far off at 35-7, even got the garbage TD called.

I'm really looking forward to the game this coming weekend at Arizona. I need to find a place to watch since we recently dumped the dish to save some cash. This will be the first real test for the 2010 team and it could really prove that Iowa are contenders not only for the Big 10 championship but also the national championship.

Another game coming up that I'm looking forward to is the Penn St game. There is a really cool promotion going on dealing with the colors of clothes the fans attending the game should wear. More on that in a couple of weeks!

DIVISIONS?!?!?!?!? (cue Jim Mora)

In June I ran a prediction of the possible Big 10 divisions if Nebraska were to join the conference, which did happen. Turns out I was off a little bit. I had Michigan and Michigan St in the same division but with Ohio St and Penn St rather than with Iowa and Nebraska, which they are. I really don't like how Michigan and Ohio St were separated but will still get to play each other to end the regular season. I don't think Michigan will be a sure-thing to enter the conference championship out of the "west" division (Iowa and Nebraska will prove to be good competition) but I also don't see why they should potentially play Ohio St in back-to-back games. To me the final game should be against a division rival (such as Iowa and Nebraska will be). I also am not too happy that Wisconsin and Iowa won't be playing every year. I'm not a Wisconsin fan at all but the game is always competitive and is usually a fun time. The "west" division should have included Wisconsin rather than Michigan or Michigan St. I'm also not too thrilled about the new "rivalry game" with Purdue. Seriously? They're not even close to being a rival of Iowa. Too bad that Nebraska got Penn St because PSU is the closest thing to a rival Iowa has from the other division. Maybe the Big 10 powers don't want Iowa to ruin another great PSU season.

Ok, I'm done with my "I don't like" rants. On to the stuff I'm looking forward to. Iowa won't play Illinois for a few more years. Will Ron Zook be coaching the next time we play? I doubt it. I'm also very thrilled that Iowa will close the season against Nebraska in 2011 and 2012. I'm bummed that we have to go to Lincoln in 2011 but that only means a possible road trip for me. I do like the conference championship game that will be in place. No more 2002 scenarios (I'm still convinced that Iowa would have beat Ohio St that year). The championship game adds a little more drama to the season. Last year's final week didn't mean much as far as the conference championship race since it was decided after Ohio St squeaked past Iowa the week before.

Of course the one thing I'm looking forward to more than anything else is THIS SATURDAY! College football finally returns to Iowa City! Looking ahead to 2011 is fun but we still have to get through 2010 first. I'm looking forward to the 2+ hour drive to Iowa City early Saturday morning. I'm ready to break out the tail gaiting supplies and have a good time before heading to Kinnick and watching some football. Hopefully this year's opener won't be as nerve racking as last year's. I don't want to see the starters after halftime (if you know what I mean).

Maybe the teams in the "east" division, other than Purdue, are thankful they won't be playing Iowa every year....

Fantasy Time

Yesterday I had a conversation on Twitter regarding fantasy football. It spawned a blog entry that I follow pretty closely (dsmsportsfreaks.com). Today's entry was how men have become obsessed with fantasy football.

It's true that men are obsessive creatures. Most of us love our sports. We love sports so much that we fantasize that we can still play them. One of the intriguing aspects of sports is also running the team and getting the best players on your team. That is the basis for fantasy football. As a teenager I liked basketball more than football (which has since changed). I would spend hours playing NBA Live 96 on my SNES. It was during this time that I realized I could make some trades and end up with a roster full of the best players. A few years later I started playing Madden NFL on my computer and did the same thing. Then I found out that you could create your own team of real-life players and get points based on how well they do.

I started out my fantasy sports career by playing in an NBA league on ESPN.com. I then ventured into fantasy baseball and NASCAR, but I sucked horribly at both (I still do NASCAR and still suck). Once there was an opening in the fantasy football league at work I jumped all over it. The difference between my NFL league and all of the others was that the NFL league was a group of co-workers who saw each other every day, where the others were online and I didn't know who I was competing with. The best part was the trash-talking that was going on. It wasn't mean-spirited at all. We had a lot of fun with it until the league got too big (24 teams total, 3-8 team leagues) and people started to bicker. At that point I had left that particular Hy-Vee and was working at a different store. I decided to start my own league, based on the same rules and points system, at the new store and had tons of fun with it.

At the height of my career I was in 3 leagues. One season (I believe it was 2006) I brought home the championship in 2 of the 3 leagues. That was a great feeling. A few years later I decided that I wasn't having any fun with it and was going to give it up. By then I still had 3 teams but all of them were in online leagues where I only knew a few of the other guys and none of us worked together anymore so the fun was gone. I called it quits and wasn't going to look back. That's when my former favorite players took over my body; I pulled a Favre.

About a year ago a co-worker decided to set up a 12-team league with other co-workers. I had only done 8 and 10 team leagues so I was up for the challenge. I decided to start up again and enjoyed it. My team started out terrible and finished fairly strong. It was a good first got at a 12-team league. We have the league again this year and I know better what to do. I was content with only having 1 team until the talk on Twitter yesterday got me revved up even more. One of the people I follow threw out an open invitation to join a league and I jumped at it. I think 2 is a good number of leagues right now, much better than the 7 (maybe more his year) that a friend of mine is in.

I'm back in the game at full-strength. Some of the strategy has changed over the past few years and I was afraid that the game had passed me by. I have been able to make the necessary adjustments this year and am ready to get The Corporation back to the top. After all, The Corporation has been building fantasy sports dynasties since 2000.

Some Odds-n-ends

The end of summer vacation is coming up very quickly. My oldest daughter will be starting kindergarten while my youngest is still a year away from pre-school. The beginning of the school year also signals cooler temps (in theory of course) and football season (we know how much I enjoy that). This summer has flown by for us as we have had something going on pretty much every weekend. Let's tie up some loose ends before getting down to business in a few weeks.

I've seen enough precipitation in the last 12 months to last me a lifetime. Here's hoping we dry out so that I don't have to mow the yard as often.

I can't believe that football season is only a few weeks away.

Even though Iowa struggled with UNI last year you had to know something special was going to happen when there are 2 blocked field goals to win the game.

It was nice to have our first family vacation to Colorado and spend some time at Rocky Mountain National Park, and to visit my sister-in-law and niece in Kansas City and go to Oceans of Fun while there (though a thunderstorm cut our time at the park short). I don't think we've done that much traveling in one year.

I really wish I could play golf more often. On second thought it may also give me a heart attack with the way I play sometimes.

The state fair started this week. I don't have any desire to go other that to get the new Hawkeye football poster, which I have people get for me anyway. Maybe we'll take the kids in a few years.

A few years ago I was in 3 fantasy football leagues. I then decided not to play any more. This year marks the 2nd year in a league at work. Tonight is our draft and I have no strategy in place, again.

Today is also my mom's birthday. Happy 5#th birthday Mom!

I don't get too excited about the NBA anymore and the whole LeBron fiasco lowered that excitement even more.

I am getting more excited about Iowa's men's basketball team that will take the floor in 2011-2012.

We are doing a garden for the first time. So far we have 5 developed pumpkins and some cucumbers. Not bad for only having those two vegetables sprout.

The plan for next year is to have a pumpkin patch, strawberry patch, and swimming pool in the back yard.

My sister is getting married in less than 2 weeks and I'm doing the ceremony. Time to get cracking!

I will have another (3rd) niece or a first nephew near the end of January.

My daughters are acting 10 years older than they are (and they are 5 and 3).

My Expansion Thoughts

I know some people are pretty burned out about the subject but it's time I let my opinion be known. The Big 10 has revealed that they are looking to expand within the next 4 or 5 years, mainly affecting football, which is what I will be touching on. This timeline has seemed to have been moved up with the reports that the Pac 10 was going to take 4-6, if not all 12, teams from the Big 12. Rumors have swirled about Nebraska joining the Big 10 for a while and now it seems more like a fact. There have been reports today that the Nebraska regents have agreed to join the Big 10. This would put the Big 10 at 12 teams (Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Northwestern). That would be enough teams to form two six team divisions and open the door for a conference football championship game. This championship game is what the expansion is all about. It will provide additional revenue for the conference (and the schools) and it will give the Big 10 more media exposure later into the year. The lack of exposure has hurt the Big 10's perception over the years and their bowl record hasn't been the greatest either. Let's say the Big 10 stops at 12 teams, the breakdown could look like this:
Eastern Division: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue
Western Division: Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern

The schedule would still follow the current guideline of four non-conference games and seven conference games. Each team would play the other teams from its division and two teams from the other division every year. This should provide ample opportunities to avoid ties within the division. The two division winners would then meet in the championship game with the winner getting the conference championship.

Now let's say the conference decides to expand to 16 teams (I don't see how 14 teams would work very well). The Big 10 has been going after Notre Dame for years and may finally land them if they want to expand past Nebraska (again assuming Nebraska is joining the conference). This will put the conference at 13 teams, needing three more to get to 16. Getting to 13 teams is the easy part, getting the next three may be difficult. No one knows for sure who else the Big 10 is looking at. Rutgers, Missouri, Georgia Tech, and Pitt all seem to be mentioned. Iowa State is making a push to be included so that they aren't left out of a BCS conference if the Big 12 implodes. The Big 10 seems to want to push more to the east and a little bit south east, explaining Rutgers (New York City area) and Georgia Tech (Atlanta). Missouri and Iowa State fit geographically but they wouldn't be great at generating additional revenue. For now I'm going to predict that Missouri, Rutgers, and Pitt are the final three schools added. My prediction for a 16 team conference breakdown would be 2 divisions, each with 2 subdivisions.
East Division:
East: Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Indiana
North: Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana
West Division:
South: Illinois, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Missouri
West: Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota

I know the North subdivision is loaded but I lined these up to help preserve rivalries. The schedule would still be four non-conference and seven conference games. The teams would still play the other teams in its subdivision and then one team from each other subdivision, putting them at six conference games. The seventh game would be between a team from the other subdivision in your division, based on record. For example, East #1 would play North #1 and South #4 would play West #4. The top teams in each subdivision would be playing for their division's spot in the conference championship. In essence this would give Big 10 schools a playoff into bowl season. Yes this could lead to multiple meetings between teams but that could still happen with only a championship game and it wouldn't be very likely.

Of course the actual expansion won't happen for a couple more years since the schedules are already out. It will give some time for build up between the schools that will become new rivals and the first season will be explosive. Now we need September 4 to get here soon so that we can once again see some football.

A New Beginning

On Sunday my Twitter feed was full of tweets that Iowa had found its new men's basketball coach: Fran McCaffery. Yes, I was one of the many who had to look him up to find out who exactly he was. It seems like the Iowa athletic department is trying to find another Kirk Ferentz type coach, someone not well known by the fan base but will come in and do the job. Coach McCaffery has the background of turning college basketball programs around, but he hasn't coached at the level that Iowa plays in. The Big Ten is a little (fine, a lot) different than the MAAC, where Sienna plays. As you can see I was a little skeptical when I found out who he was.

Monday morning was the traditional introduction news conference. As I watched and listened the more I liked. Coach McCaffery had some former players in attendance and he wants them to be part of the program in some way, even as an assistant coach perhaps. The program has been missing this greatly in the past decade. There was a disconnect between the Dr Tom years to the current situation. Another thing that really impressed me was Coach McCaffery's desire to adapt to the situation. He isn't planning on implementing one system and sticking with it. Instead he wants to inventory what he has for players and build around that. Even in games he will adapt, something not seen at Iowa in decades (even Dr Tom would stick with the press when it wasn't working). Coach McCaffery wants to play different offenses and defenses to keep the opponents off-balance. He wants to run the floor and make good decisions. Most of all he wants the players to play with passion, as he will coach with passion, and to have fun. Best way to have fun is to win, of course, but he also needs to make it fun in a loss.

What I am most impressed about is his relationships with the players. He opens his home to the players and connects with them, and their families, on a personal level. Anyone who has gone away to college knows that homesickness does come into play and it's nice to have someone who wants to be a family away from your family. I also think that this is why he has become to be known as an excellent recruiter. He will be able to sell the program to the recruits. I am also impressed with his desire to contact the current class of recruits and keep them on board.

This is an exciting time for Iowa Basketball. The last three (losing) seasons have been rough; to an extent the Alford years were rough too. Coach McCaffery provides us with some summer optimism as we prepare to see the team hit the court. Hopefully next winter I won't be thinking "how long until football starts?"

Edit: Right after I posted this I received a tweet for http://www.letsbemadagain.com/ from well known Hawkeye basketball blogger Storminspank. This is an example of the renewed commitment in the Iowa Basketball program. Check it out (requires Flash 10).