Sports Caffeine

Iowa Star Conference Preview (Girls)

2011-11-08T18:51:00.001-06:00

It’s November, the first Winter Storm Watch of the approaching winter has been posted, and high school basketball is right around the corner. Here’s a sneak preview at the top three girls’ teams in the North and South Divisions of the Iowa Star Girls Conference. Boys’ preview coming at a later date. Enjoy!

Iowa Star South:

1. North Tama—North Tama returns 3 starters from a 20-4 squad a year ago, including 6’2” senior center Kailey Kladivo. Kladivo led the team with 19.2 points per game, 13.8 rebounds per game and 1.2 blocks per game last season. Other returning starters are Allison Zobel (9.3 ppg, 3.2 rebounds/game, 4.1 assists/game and 2 steals/game) and Aryn Isenhower (1.8 ppg, 3.2 rebounds/game, 2.5 assists/game, 2.1 steals/game). Sydney Fehr (5.7 ppg) and Nicole Schlichting (4.9 rpg) should round out the starting line-up for a powerful Redhawks squad that could be rated in the top 10.

2. Colo-Nesco—The Royals return 7 of their 9 top scorers from a 16-7 squad a year ago, led by shooting guard Madison Eley and senior forward Jessica Johnson. Eley led the team with 12.3 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.8 assists. Johnson averaged 9.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3 steals a year ago. Other key returnees/starters are Caitlyn Riese (6.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.0 bpg), Haley Stoeffler (6.0 ppg, 1.3 spg), Dana Baker (3.3 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg), Erica Babinat (3.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 spg) and Madison Farren (1.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg). The Royals will be the deepest, most experienced team in the league and will challenge the Redhawks for the South Division title and should make a deep run in the post-season tourney.

3. Don Bosco—A deep collection of juniors return to a Don Bosco team that finished 11-11 a year ago. Four of five starters return and 7 of the teams top 8 scorers, led by junior Melissa Ament (10.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg). She will be joined by fellow juniors Brittany Hickson (9.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Karli Welter (4.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.7 apg) and Cate Paulsen (7.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg). Other key returnees are juniors Kyndal Gardner (3.9 ppg) and Olivia Rigdon (2.0 ppg) and sophomore Kaitlyn McGarvey (1.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Look for Don Bosco to make great strides this season and potentially be a top 10 or 20 team next year with all of those seniors.

Iowa Star North:

1. Tripoli—Tripoli finished 23-2 last year and returns its top two leading scorers: Megan Gilbert and Bailey Kirchoff. Gilbert averaged 16.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 blocks per game last season. Kirchoff averaged 10.7 points, 3.4 steals and 1.7 assists while connecting for 32 3-pointers. They will be joined by Ashlen Damm (3.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.5 spg), Hannah Gienau (2.3 ppg), Sara Hoppenworth (2.4 ppg) and Jenna Capper (1.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg). Tripoli will miss the scoring of three senior starters from a year ago that all averaged over 9 points per game.

2. Clarksville—Clarksville returns every player from a team that finished 12-11 last season. Like Don Bosco, they are led by a solid group of juniors including Hannah Poppe (12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Megan Backer (10.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 spg), Kayla Mennenga (9.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 56 3-pointers), Kimberly Wedeking (3.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 spg), senior Carissa Kelm (3.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.7 spg) and sophomore Emily Mennenga (5.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg). Like Don Bosco, look for Clarksville to make major strides this season and be a strong force to reckon with next year.

3. Northeast Hamilton—Coach Brandon Frohwein lost one of the best players in the league from last year’s 17-7 squad in Kalli Richardson (20.8 ppg), but returns two starters including senior Kayla Fonken (5.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.9 bpg, 1.5 spg) and junior Jennifer Willems, the teams leader in assists a year ago (3.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.0 apg). Molly Greenfield will be counted on to give the team a third scorer as she averaged 4 points per game and 2.7 rebounds last year. Other experience returning includes Jennifer Jeffers and Sara Elm.

Hope Springs Eternal

2011-04-16T19:06:00.007-05:00

Iowa State quarterback Jerome Tiller threw the prettiest ball he’s thrown in three years on the opening play from scrimmage in today’s annual spring game—a 30 yard tight spiraled strike to Darius Reynolds into a stiff wind. Highly touted junior college transfer Steele Jantz threw an equally impressive touchdown strike later in the first half. Jantz’ throw was into a stiff wind too. The defense returns 9 of 11 starters from a unit that surprised most college football experts a year ago. A new 13-year television deal between Fox and the Big 12 was inked this past week, meaning nearly every Cyclone football game will be televised beginning in 2012. The deal, according to Big 12 officials is the most lucrative television contract in all of sports. Yes, hope springs eternal in Cyclone country this April, still four months away from another college football season.

It was a windy, cold day at Jack Trice Stadium, but that didn’t stop thousands of Cyclone fans from venturing out to see who the new quarterback might be this fall, or what all the hype is about a slew of exciting running backs—maybe the best depth and combination of running backs the school has ever had when it’s all said and done.

It appears as though Jerome Tiller (12-18; 174 yards; 2 TD’s) and Steele Jantz remain in a close competition at the QB spot. Jantz threw for 113 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown pass from Jantz was a gorgeous 50-yard touch pass to his junior college teammate Aaron Horne. Of all the players that impressed me the most today, it was Horne who had 8 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. Horne, will join three returning starters from last years receiving corps—Darius Reynolds, Darius Darks and Josh Lenz to give the Cyclones a potent, experienced passing game. The biggest question that remains though, is who will be leading that passing attack?

Whether it’s Jantz, Tiller, or even freshman Jared Barnett who looked great as a scrambler but not so much as a passer, one thing is for certain—it’s April, there’s a lot of talent returning from a team that nearly made a bowl game last year, there’s the new TV deal, we get the Hawks at home this year, and yes—hope springs eternal.

Falling In Love With…Soccer???

2011-04-11T20:18:00.002-05:00

I used to hate soccer. Despised it, actually. The whole “minivan” and “coffee addict-soccer mom” stigmas overshadowed the thoughts that soccer was actually a real sport. That, and the fact that so many matches ended with such low scores and I really had no reason to watch it gave me little reason to think otherwise. It just never seemed as exciting as the big television sports of baseball, basketball and football.

As a sports fan, I’d always dreamed of cheering for my children someday when they played sports. Until recently, there hadn’t been anything to get too excited about (the tee-ball games and soccer games ages five through nine are mostly fun and exercise more than anything). But a year and a half ago, it finally began to get exciting. My oldest boy, Sawyer (now 12), was in a Youth Soccer League that included 6 other central Iowa teams: Gilbert, Nevada, Indianola, Knoxville, Urbandale and Altoona. He was finally at the age where they started to keep score and keep track of team records. The games actually meant something.

After losing the first game that year, the boys improved leaps and bounds every week. Other than a tie with a tough Knoxville team on the road, the Ballard boys didn’t lose another contest all season. With a record of 5-1-1, the Division title came down to the final game of the season—a rematch with Gilbert, the only team we had lost to. The boys won that contest to finish 6-1-1, and for the first time in my life, I was really excited about soccer.

Last season wasn’t quite as successful, with several of the boys from the previous year’s team graduating up to the next age level. There was talent, but they lacked experience and cohesiveness. This year though, the excitement is back. The boys have started the season 2-0, looking very impressive after a 10-1 victory on Sunday. It’s been really fun to watch a core group of kids stick together and mature into a cohesive unit this early into the season. It’s becoming obvious that if this group and the group ahead of them sticks together through high school that they could accomplish some really great things.

It’s amazing what happens to your interests in life when your kids are involved. The Ballard high school squad is currently ranked #9 in boys’ soccer. My son’s Youth 12 team plays a tough Perry squad this coming Sunday and I can’t wait to see how we do. Our little “right defender” is playing some good soccer with a great bunch of kids right now and for the first time in my life I can honestly say, “I’m loving soccer.”

THIS is daytime drama!

2011-03-17T13:21:00.008-05:00

It always cracks me up this time of year when the NCAA Tournaments take over daytime television for a whole two days. A WHOLE TWO DAYS. Every year, CBS has to scroll across the bottom of the screen that the normal daytime soap operas won’t be airing, much to the chagrin of millions of soap opera junkies.

But CBS has it all wrong.

The NCAA Tournaments ARE daytime drama—the best kind imaginable! I mean seriously, if this was the kind of daytime drama that was on 365 days of the year, think of how many more stay-at-home dads there would be!

Instead of home-wreckers, there are bracket-busters. Instead of people cheating on their spouses or significant others, there’s millions of employees cheating their bosses out of time worked by watching the games while they should be working. Instead of extra-marital affairs and catfights, there are coaches playing against their former schools or alma maters or mentors. There is cliffhanger after cliffhanger as fans sit on the edge of their seats to see how their brackets and favorite teams will play out.

Will Oakland beat Texas? Can Duke successfully defend its national championship? Can Belmont be this year’s Cinderella? Will Kansas’ Bill Self have to face his former team (Illinois) in the second round? How will two completely different styles of play with Kentucky versus Princeton unravel? Which high-seed will be upset first? Can a guy named “Jimmer” single-handedly lead BYU to the Final Four?

Forget the Bold and the Beautiful. This is daytime drama at its finest!

7 bracket-buster teams to watch

2011-03-14T20:18:00.008-05:00

(Seeds in parentheses)

Washington (7)—Any team that has a player named Isaiah Thomas (16.7 ppg) has to be good, right? If you watched the Pac 10 final last weekend, you saw the mojo he brings to that Huskies team—a team that reached the Sweet 16 last season. Look for Washington to upset North Carolina and advance all the way to the Elite 8.

Kentucky (4)—A real head scratcher with the Wildcats slated as a 4 seed, while Florida (whom they destroyed on Sunday) is a 2 seed. KU has the talent—freshmen Brandon Knight (17 ppg) and Terrence Jones (17 ppg) are future NBA stars—and the athleticism to knock off Ohio State and make it all the way to the championship game.

Utah St. (12)—The pairing of Utah State and Kansas State may prove to be one of the most critical selections in your brackets. Kansas State has the potential to make a Final 4 run. Or, they could go down in the first round to a Utah State team that has won 30 games and has been to the NCAA Tournament three years in a row and start 4seniors. If Utah State wins, look for the Aggies to make a Sweet 16 run.

Belmont (13)—Staying in the Southeast region, the pairing of Belmont against Wisconsin is an intriguing one. Belmont is one of the highest scoring teams in the nation and plays ten players consistently. The Bruins lead the nation in scoring margin and rank #11 in points per game. Could it be a Utah State/Belmont match up to advance to the Sweet 16?

Oakland (13)—Similar to the Utah State/Kansas State pairing, this first round game could be a real bracket-buster. Texas has the talent to make a Final 4 run. Or they could lose (I’m predicting it) to Oakland in the first round. Oakland played a difficult schedule (at West Virginia, at Purdue, at Illinois, Michigan State, at Michigan, at Ohio State, and Tennessee) and isn’t going to be afraid of the Longhorns in the first round. They have good inside/outside balance with Keith Benson (18 ppg) and Reggie Hamilton (17.4 ppg). Look for Oakland to be a potential Cinderella team and advance to the Sweet 16.

Old Dominion (9)—The Monarchs are one of the best defensive teams in the nation and have a solid post player in Frank Hassell and advanced to the second round of last year’s tournament. Look for ODU to knock off Butler in the first round and give Pitt all they can handle in the second.

Richmond—(12)—Everyone who closely follows the NCAA Tournament knows that a 12 seed always beats a 5 seed. The Spiders are your absolute lock to do that this year, beating Vanderbilt. Mark it down. Richmond has wins over Purdue and Temple and is one of the best shooting teams in college basketball. Justin Harper, a 6-10 junior, averages 18 points and 7 rebounds, shoots 48 % from three-point distance and 80% from the free-throw line.

Royals Run Comes To End

2011-02-26T21:49:00.003-06:00

Sometimes, it’s the luck of the draw. And, sometimes, that draw stinks.

I don’t care what anyone says, that was a state tournament game tonight. The events at Wells Fargo Arena in 2 weeks are just a formality. Besides, Wells Fargo Arena’s got nothing on the Roundhouse.

Lynnville-Sully beat Colo-Nesco, 52-35, and they will probably go on to win the state championship. They are that good. They beat two top ten teams to get there (and why there were 3 top 10 teams in one region is beyond me, but that’s a whole other conversation), and they’ve got it all—2 good inside players over 6’5, and two really good guards, including one of the best in the state—Chase Cullen, a junior.

But this column’s not about Lynnville-Sully, its about a Colo-Nesco team that has given its community one heck of a ride. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end for this group of seniors. Back-to-back 20 win seasons, 3 substate appearances in 4 years, and a top 10 ranking are all things that cannot be taken away. The wins on the road this year against North Tama, Tripoli and Don Bosco were some of the most fun basketball games I’ve ever been to.

It hurts right now. Bad. But you’ve got to focus on the amazing things that have been accomplished in the last few years. Things to be proud of.

Royals Date With Roundhouse Is Set

2011-02-24T21:19:00.001-06:00

The Royals beat Coon Rapids-Bayard, 47-32, to advance to the substate game on Saturday night at the Roundhouse in Marshalltown at 6:30 pm. The opponent will be Lynnville-Sully (22-2).

Colo-Nesco led by double-digits most of the night. The lead fell to 8 midway through the fourth quarter, and a Coon Rapids-Bayard three-pointer that went in and out made things a little uncomfortable. That would have cut the lead to five, but the Royals stayed tough and battled out the victory.

The Royals used their size to dominate the defensive glass, limiting Coon Rapids-Bayard to few second-chance opportunities. Thirty-two points is a season low offensively for Coon Rapids-Bayard, who made the state tournament last year. Brandon Eley led the way with 22 points (unofficially).

Too Close For Comfort; Royal Boys Win By 2

2011-02-22T20:52:00.001-06:00

The Royals led by 12 at the end of the third quarter, then survived a flurry of three-pointers by East Greene in the final forty-five seconds (three of them) to hang on for a two-point win, 55-53.

East Greene was a good shooting team with five senior starters that proved their 18-4 record was no fluke. Colo-Nesco started the game strong, leading 15-9 at the end of the first quarter. East Greene grabbed their first lead of the game at the 6:45 mark in the second quarter, and the lead changed hands eight times before half time, with the Royals leading 29-27.

Colo-Nesco outscored East Greene 16-6 in the third quarter and led by 9 points with 45 seconds to play. A free throw by Bryan Angell gave the Royals a 5-point lead with 9 seconds left, but East Greene hit a shot from nearly half court that pulled them within 2 with 2 seconds left. Brandon Eley successfully passed the ball in bounds, the clock expired, and the Royals survived and advanced.

Brandon Eley led the way with 31 points. The Royals play Thursday night in Story City at 7 pm.

Royal Girls Bow Out To Lynnville-Sully

2011-02-19T07:22:00.001-06:00

The Colo-Nesco girls’ basketball season came to an end Friday night, falling to a veteran, ninth-ranked Lynnville-Sully team, 39-28.

While the girls didn’t literally take a bow at the end of the game (obviously), they certainly could have. Their season was a magnificent production—something to be proud of. Who knew, coming off a 4-19 record a year ago, that this team would be so successful so quickly? Certainly not this writer/fan.

I told coach Cafferty after the game that it was truly a pleasure to cover the team over the course of the season, and I meant it. It was an honor. Cafferty mentioned how blessed he was to be able to coach this bunch of girls, and I can say the same about writing for them. They’ve got great heart and determination and team chemistry. I’ve been so amazed at how well they have jelled together over the last 3 months, each girl discovering her role as coaches Cafferty and Hendrick shuttled them in waves onto the court, consistently playing 10 different players. With their full-court pressure defense and three-point shooting, they really were fun to watch.

The team finished 16-7 and won 11 of its last 13 games. Like any great performance, you hate to see it end. But with 7 of the team’s top 10 players returning next season, including the top five scorers, stick around—the encore could be special.

February Frenzy!

2011-02-13T16:12:00.008-06:00

College basketball has its own term for tournament time (March Madness), so why doesn’t high school? “February Frenzied” is exactly the way many Royals fans may feel (hope to feel) in the next two weeks as the school could potentially play as many as 7 games in the next 13 days.

It all starts Tuesday in Colo as the girls play their second-round game against Meskwaki (9-12), a team the Royals beat twice in the regular season by a combined total of 43 points. If the Royals win that game, that would set a Friday match up against Lynnville-Sully (17-4) or Montezuma (14-8) at 7 pm in Newton. A win in Newton would result in a sub-state game in Grinnell on Monday, February 21.

The boys begin their post season on Thursday, also in Colo, against either Paton-Churdan (2-18) or Madrid (4-16). Should the Royals continue to win, they could play as many as 3 games in 5 days the following week, culminating in a sub-state game at the Roundhouse in Marshalltown on Saturday, February 26.

It’s time to “Drink the Kool-Aid.”

By Andrew Gogerty

Another close win by Royal boys takes its toll on coaches/fans

2011-02-05T08:26:00.003-06:00

If you see Royals coach Pat Wynja walking around with a cane and gray hair next week, there’s a reason why: Back-to-back nights of boys’ basketball barn-burners are taking their toll on Royals fans and coaches. “I feel like I’ve aged 20 years tonight,” said Coach Wynja. That was his post-game comment after Thursday nights two-point win at Don Bosco (a game that more than likely clinched a share of the conference title). But there was no rest for the weary, as the Royals were back in action 24 hours later against Woodward Academy (7-8), a team that had won four of its last five, and had wins earlier in the season against Ogden (16-3) and Grandview Park Baptist (14-6). Woodward Academy is the fourth-highest scoring team in the state (all classes) at 70.6 points per game.

It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t easy, but the Royals squeaked out another close one in the end, 70-64, in a game that (for the second night in a row) wasn’t decided until the final seconds. To give you an idea of how tight the contest was, the score was tied at the end of the first quarter and the end of the third quarter, and the Royals led by only two at halftime. Foul trouble plagued the Royals as both Brandon Eley and Austin Larsen sat with four fouls for much of the second half. The Royals trailed by 5 points with under three minutes to play, before Ethan Jamison scored six critical points in a row to bring the Royals within a point. A pair of free throws finally gave the Royals a two-point lead with 38 seconds left, and free throws proved the difference in the end—the final 7 points for Colo-Nesco all came from the free throw line.

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams wrap up their regular season Tuesday night in Colo against Dunkerton. The game time has been moved up to 5:30 pm, and it’s probably a good thing--old people need to get to bed early!

Royal Boys Win at #5 Don Bosco; Girls Improve to 13-6

2011-02-04T06:16:00.004-06:00

When you beat the #5 team in the state by 2 points on their home court, every basket, rebound, block, steal and assist matters. The Royal boys trailed by as many as 8 points in the first half, battled back to lead by as many as 7 in the second half, then hung on for a 50-48 victory that was decided in the games final seconds. Austin Larsen hit some clutch free throws in the final minute and Don Bosco had a last second three-point shot that fell just short as time expired. Brandon Eley led the way with 20 points and Weston Neuendorf had one of his best games of the season with 11, including a big three-pointer that gave the Royals their largest lead of the night, 31-24, early in the third quarter.

The girls hit SEVEN three-pointers to win easily, 55-38. Madison Eley led the way with 22 points, including her 4 three-pointers. The girls are 12-3 in conference play, with one conference game left before tournament action begins next Thursday.

Royals fans and players hoping for a date with the Roundhouse

2011-02-02T19:14:00.003-06:00

“The Roundhouse was incredible. Back then it was IT. When you got to play in Marshalltown, that was a big deal…You felt like you had accomplished something if you were playing in Marshalltown.”
~Ed Vaske (Excerpt from Royal Reign)

Royals fans and players have their sights set on one of the most iconic basketball arenas in Iowa—the Roundhouse in Marshalltown, site of the 2011 sub state boys final. To get there, the Colo-Nesco boys must win three games. It all starts on February 17 at 7pm in Colo against the winner of Madrid (3-14) or Paton-Churdan (1-15).

With a first round win, the Royals would most likely face a stiff second-round opponent--East Greene (14-3). East Greene’s three losses this season have been to Exira EHK (40-37), Ankeny Christian Academy (54-44) and Woodward Granger (47-46). The second round contest is scheduled for February 22 at 7 pm, site to be determined.

A third round opponent would likely come from a mix of Ankeny Christian Academy (13-5), Glidden-Ralston (9-7) or Coon Rapids-Bayard (8-7). The third round game is scheduled to be played in Story City on February 24 at 7 pm. Ankeny Christian, Glidden-Ralston, East Greene and Paton-Churdan all hail from the Rolling Hills Conference and are very familiar with each other. Coon Rapids-Bayard’s losses have all come to teams with strong records and/or teams in class 2a, and they are one of two teams in the bracket that made the boys state tournaments last season (Ankeny Christian is the other). Ankeny Christian returned just 3 letter winners from last year’s team, but did return its leading scorer: AIB-bound Tim Olejniczak.

The sub state pairing is set for Saturday, February 26th at the Roundhouse in Marshalltown, and would be the culmination of a busy week of basketball—the third game in five days. The Roundhouse is my favorite high school basketball venue in the state of Iowa. Here’s an excerpt from Royal Reign to get you in the mood:

“The Roundhouse, which opened in 1965, is the biggest high school basketball venue in the state of Iowa with a seating capacity of 5,000. The building is a rarity by Iowa high school gym standards. There are seemingly hundreds of small, vertical, rectangular shaped, multicolored windows that makes the building look like a glowing jewel at night. The court is 94' long, and is entirely surrounded by bleachers. These aren’t just any old bleachers; these are the scariest bleachers man has ever created. Tall, shaky, and full of child-eating gaps between the walkways, they are scary even for the bravest of folk. One could probably fill an entire gymnasium with the lot of coats, purses, shoes, popcorn, candy and small children that have dropped through these gaps over the years. Walking up to The Roundhouse on a chilly evening moments before a big game is enough to make spectators’ stomachs do somersaults in anticipation. Of course, having a stomach full of Zeno’s pizza right before a big game is probably never a good idea, but how can one resist?”

The likely opponent at sub state would most likely be North Tama (14-3) or Lynnville-Sully (14-2). The Royals are plenty familiar with North Tama, having split the conference series during the regular season. Lynnville-Sully, ironically, would be the same team Nesco defeated in 1984 to advance to its first-ever state tournament. Can you name the location of that game in 1984? You guessed it. The Roundhouse.

No-namers Lead Fantasy Football Teams to League Titles in 2010

2011-02-01T19:25:00.001-06:00

Didn’t win your fantasy football league this year? Thought you drafted really well back in August? Don’t worry. 99 percent of us finished the same way. The problem with your team (most likely) was not your drafting ability; it was your success or failure in picking up the right free agents. ESPN recently listed its All-Fantasy Team for 2010, and 3 of the 8 players on the first team were undrafted on average in ESPN Fantasy Leagues last season: Michael Vick (at the uber-important QB position), Brandon Lloyd at wide receiver and Sebastian Janikowski at kicker. Four more players were not drafted until the late fourth round (Arian Foster), sixth round (Dwayne Bowe, Jason Witten) and eleventh round (Pittsburgh defense). Amazingly, of the 16 players on ESPN’s first and second All-Fantasy Teams, only 3 players were drafted in the first round on average—Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers and Chris Johnson. So, the moral of the story is, if you don’t draft well next year, don’t worry…just make sure you do a good job picking up the scraps off the waiver wire!

Here’s a look at ESPN’s All Fantasy Teams:
1st Team:
QB—Michael Vick
RB—Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson
WR—Brandon Lloyd, Dwayne Bowe
TE—Jason Witten
K—Sebastian Janikowski
DEF—Pittsburgh

2nd Team:
QB—Aaron Rodgers
RB—Peyton Hillis, Chris Johnson
WR—Roddy White, Greg Jennings
TE—Antonio Gates
K—David Akers
DEF—NE Patriots

Hall of Famers to Highlight Friday Night in Colo

2011-01-27T14:48:00.007-06:00

Call it basketball's version of "Homecoming." Since I played basketball in high school and not football, I always wondered why the football team got to have one extra special night every year during homecoming, and the basketball team didn't. I guess that's the way every school does it and probably always has. That's why I think it's extra neat that Colo-Nesco has implemented its "Hall of Fame" night during the basketball season the last two years. It's a chance to recognize special achievements by Royal alums and also a good excuse to get back to Colo and watch a high school basketball game. And what better time to do it? The Colo-Nesco boys are 14-2, while the girls are 11-6--which would place the tandem as one of the best boys/girls combos of the last twenty years.

On Friday night, January 28, the school will induct four members into its Hall of Fame--Myndie Berka, Doug Riese, Missy Miller and Luke Nessa. Berka led the lady Royals to their first-ever state tournament appearance in 1989 and starred as a pitcher for the Iowa State University Cyclones softball team in college. Riese was an all-state football player who accepted a full-ride football scholarship to UNI and was also a key member of the 1990 boys state championship basketball team. Miller was selected as Miss Iowa Basketball in 1992, the award given to the best female basketball player in the state of Iowa. She scored 3,783 points in her career and helped lead her team to four consecutive state tournaments. She is also an Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Hall-of-Famer. Nessa was a star track and field athlete that high-jumped at the University of Iowa.

It's true--it may not be that perfect autumn night, with a full harvest moon as the backdrop to the Friday night football lights, wandering the sidelines in a sweatshirt while sipping a cup of hot chocalate--but it's still Colo-Nesco, it's still a chance to connect with some old friendly faces, and it's still a chance to celebrate and reminisce. And hey--everyone knows Colo-Nesco is a basketball school, not football! :) See you in Colo Friday night!

C-N Girls Regional Pairings

2011-01-23T12:56:00.004-06:00

The Colo-Nesco girls are having a terrific season. Four of the top five scorers are freshmen and sophomores, but despite the teams youth, the Royals are 10-6. It's hard to believe that only four games remain in the regular season. The girls finish at Meskwaki, at home against GMG, at Don Bosco, and at home against Dunkerton before the post-season begins on Thursday February 10 at Colo. Out of the 16 teams in Colo-Nesco's Regional, only 2 teams have more wins than the Royals: Montezuma and Lynville-Sully. Here's a look at the Regional pairings.

Springville (6-9) vs. Belle Plaine (7-9)
Central City (10-5) vs. Lisbon (9-6)
Waterloo Christian (0-16) vs. Janesville (8-8)
Don Bosco (8-7) vs. Cedar Falls NU (7-9)
GMG (2-11 vs. Meskwaki (6-9)
Madrid (1-13) vs. Colo-Nesco (10-6)
HLV (3-11) vs. Montezuma (11-5)
BGM (4-9) vs. Lynville-Sully (13-2)

A closer look at the top 5 teams in the Region:
Lynville-Sully: Currently rated #6 in girls class 1A. 50.7 ppg; 45-148 3 pointers; 28 blocks; 190 steals; 19.0 point difference per game. 2 losses were to North Mahaska(13-1) 34-22 and Iowa Valley (11-3) 41-40. Top 3 scorers are Brianna James 12.7, Tara Van Rees 10.9, Danielle Samson 8.9

Lisbon: 48.4 ppg; 33-153 3 pointers; 56 blocks; 279 steals; 8.9 point difference per game. 6 losses were to Lone Tree, Bellevue Marquette, Prince of Peace, North Linn, East Central adn Wilton. Top 3 scorers are Melissa Alger 11.9, Kady Light 9.4, Emily Svatosch 6.3

Colo-Nesco: 47.3 ppg; 46-198 3 pointers; 53 blocks; 269 steals; 9.1 point difference per game. 6 losses were to West Marshall, East Marshall, #2 Tripoli, Nevada, #11 North Tama twice. Top 3 scorers are Madison Eley 11.0, Jessica Johnson 8.6, Caitlyn Riese 7.1

Montezuma: 45.9 ppg; 48-128 3 pointers; 37 blocks; 194 steals; 10.6 point difference per game. 5 losses were to Lynnville Sully (twice), North Mahaska, Eddysville-Blakesburg, and Keota. Top 3 scorers are Brittany Bryan 17.4, Emily Long 11.2, Courtney Latcham 5.0

Central City: 41.1 ppg; 36-125 3 pointers; 57 blocks; 142 steals; 1.5 point difference per game. 5 losses were to Maquoketa Valley (twice)(#9 in 2a), Edgewood Colesburg, Monticello (#8 in 2a), and North Linn. Top 3 scorers are Tanya Hendrickson 12.1, Meghan Simmons 12.1, Rachel Enabnit 7.5

Boys Basketball District Groupings

2011-01-10T18:22:00.009-06:00

There are 138 schools in Class 1a boys basketball in the state of Iowa. Only 8 will make it to the state tournament. On Monday, the groupings for each district came out. Here is the grouping for the Colo-Nesco boys:

Colo-Nesco 10-1
Royals average 56.2 ppg; give up 36.0; 189 assists (#1 in 1a); 67 Blocks (#2 in 1a); 169 steals (#3 in 1a); 31-117 three pointers; 45.6 % FG; average margin victory is 20.1; one loss was to Don Bosco

East Greene 9-1
Hawks average 60.1 ppg; give up 42.7; 140 assists; 27 blocks; 74 steals; 30-91 three pointers; 47.5% FG; average margin of victory is 17.4; one loss was to Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton (40-37) who is currently rated in the top 10 in class 1a.

Ankeny Christian 8-3
Eagles average 57.1 ppg; give up 46.6 ppg; 115 assists; 17 blocks; 168 steals; 53-239three pointers; 37.9% FG; average margin of victory is 10.5; three losses were to Exira Elk-Horn Kimballton (66-51), East Greene (60-48) and Grand View Park Baptist (72-57). A matchup against the Eagles would pit two future college teammates against each other--Tim Olejniczak (25 ppg) against Brandon Eley--both of whom will be playing for AIB next year.

Coon Rapids Bayard 7-3
Crusaders average 48.7 ppg; give up 47.2 ppg; 121 assists; 10 blocks; 73 steals; 52-146 three pointers; 40.4% FG; average margin of victory is 1.5; three losses were to Des Moines Christian (50-42), Guthrie Center (56-48) and Panorama (69-44). Coon Rapids handed Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton its only loss of the year, 40-38.

Glidden Ralston 5-5
Van Meter 3-7
Madrid 2-7
Paton Churdan 1-9
SE Webster 1-11

Colo-Nesco is in district 12. Assuming the winner of District 12 will play the winner of District 11 to advance to the state tournament, the best schools on that side of the bracket are North Tama and Lynville Sully--both rated in the top 10 of the latest AP rankings.

4 Things to Be Excited About As a Broncos Fan

2011-01-03T09:28:00.003-06:00

The Denver Broncos just finished the 2010-2011 season with a 4-12 record. And no, the four wins aren’t what I’m referring to in the title of this article as things to be excited about. Or are they? Maybe, with 4 wins, the Broncos have officially hit rock bottom. It’s the lowest win-total since John Elway was drafted in 1982 and the second lowest of my lifetime. But what it did, was force the Broncos organization to make some much-needed changes. As a Denver fan, here are four things that make this disaster of a season something to be excited about:

1. #2 Draft Pick: With four wins, the Broncos secured the second pick in the draft, allowing them to finally draft a franchise player on the defensive side of the ball--an area left barren by former coach Josh McDaniels. The Broncos will most likely draft shutdown corner Patrick Peterson from LSU.

2. The return of John Elway—Elway is expected to be named Vice President of Football Operations this week. If “the greatest football player ever” is half as good in the front office as he was wearing #7 for the Broncos, better days are on the way.

3. The hiring of a new head coach—Will it be Jim Harbaugh? Jeff Fisher? John Gruden? Bill Cowher, maybe? Three things are for certain: Josh McDaniels set the franchise back 4-5 years with his horrible personnel decisions; Elway is already evaluating Harbaugh at Monday night’s Orange Bowl; Any of the aforementioned coaches would be terrific hires. I can’t remember an off-season with so many good coaches available.

4. Tim Tebow—Yes, he still has his critics—lots of them. But Tebow’s will to win and compete at the highest level showed during the Broncos’ last few games. And Tebow showed that he CAN run at the pro level. Tebow ran for 94 yards and a touchdown in yesterday’s loss to San Diego. He also threw for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Critics will point to his 16 of 36 completion rate and inability to throw the deep-ball, but hey, Michael Vick had the same criticism in his early years in Atlanta. I say, give the kid the ball next year and build the offense around him. Find some athletic playmakers like Philly has done, and see what he can do. For the season, he completed 41 of 82 passes for 654 yards, with 5 TD’s and 3 Int’s. He ran the ball 43 times for 227 yards (5.3 avg) and 6 TD’s. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Adam Robinson spits in the face of Hawkeye Nation

2011-01-01T08:57:00.007-06:00

(Please welcome guest blogger, Arrend Jelsma. Arrend lives in Florida with his wife Nicole and newborn baby girl, Claire. Arrend is my cousin and is a passionate sports fan just like myself. Unlike myself, Arrend is a HUGE Hawkeye fan, and should add some balance to the Sports Caffeine site! Welcome Arrend!)

By Arrend Jelsma

It was February 1, 2008 when Adam Robinson first visited Iowa City with dreams of playing for the black and gold. Not highly recruited out of Lincoln High School in Des Moines IA, the 2 star recruit didn’t know if Iowa would call his name or if he would be overlooked and maybe have to settle at the “Sister School” Iowa State. In May he got the offer and his chance at stardom in Iowa City.

No one thought he would see the field as quickly as he did, but a rash of injuries gave him an opportunity and he capitalized. Racking up nearly 1800 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2 seasons, Robinson filled a key role in the Iowa running game. While Robinson was never accused of being a speed burner, his versatility and constant motor enabled him to place the team on his shoulders. I still remember the Saturday in Ann Arbor where he made a crucial shoe string catch and willed our team to victory over the “Maze and Blue”. Adam Robinson was a on his way to becoming an Iowa homegrown legend until it all came unraveled…

December 27, 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Iowa State Patrol, Robinson was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for not having front license plates. Police say a trooper detected a marijuana odor from the vehicle, and then found marijuana after a search. Robinson, with rumors flying that he was involved in the D.J.K. drug ring, couldn’t help himself from hanging with the wrong crowd while his team was out in Arizona getting ready for a talented Mizzou team. (Heck Robinson and D.J.K. IS the wrong crowd and who knows how long they have been under the radar.)

With how far A-Rob had come to becoming the starter at Iowa, how could he just spit in the face of Kirk Ferentz and the rest of Hawkeye Nation? The team had been through more turmoil than any team I can remember and he selfishly got into trouble the night before the bowl game. While I hate to lose A-rob’s talent, he has to be removed from the team.

With Robinson potentially being off the team permanently, all 3 of the top young running backs (Wegher and Hampton being the others) to begin the season may now be off the team before next year. When you think about the talent that all 3 of these guys had you would think it could be the end of the powerful Hawkeye running game. But in the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!”

When Marcus Coker was trying to pick a school he could go pretty much anywhere he wanted as a 4 star recruit. He saw the stardom that Shonn Greene achieved shortly after getting off of the furniture truck and imagined what he could accomplish running behind the Hogmalies that Kirk Ferentz recruits year after year, and chose Iowa.

Coker's size and speed remind me a lot of ex-Iowa running back Nick Bell. On Monday, ESPN Classic replayed the 1991 Rose Bowl where Iowa faced Washington and it was neat to look back at the talent of Bell and compare him to Coker. Little did I know how true the comparison was and that Tuesday night I would get to see the birth of a new super-star. Coker rattled off over 200 yards and set an all-time Iowa bowl rushing record as he led the underdog Hawks to a victory over the #12 ranked Missouri Tigers. I truly feel that with Coker and the incoming 6-4, 240 pound 4 star Rodney Coe coming in, we are going to see an Iowa backfield that will rival the John Clay and Dontee Ball backfield at Wisconsin. So no reason to be worried Hawkeye fans we have many more glory years to come!

Nebraska Limps into the Big 10

2011-01-01T08:48:00.003-06:00

T.E.A.M. Effort Sparks Royal Boys To Win Over Nevada

2010-12-20T21:25:00.014-06:00

Thompson
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It wasn't a perfect performance, but there were times during tonight's game against Nevada when you saw just how great this Royals team can be. Especially when players like Nathan Thompson, Bryan Angell, Anthony Lawson and Brandyn Niemeyer play as well as they did during key stretches of the ball game. All four players made important plays and baskets to help the Royals to a 10-point win at home against their Highway 30 rivals. Three of those four players came off the Colo-Nesco bench. Angell, Lawson and Niemeyer combined for 5 three-pointers; an aspect of the Royals' offense that has been sorely missing. The Royals improved to 8-1, with another game in Colo scheduled for Tuesday evening. It will be a special night for Brandon Eley, who will be honored for scoring his 1,000th career point. It's also Brandon's birthday, and he will be signing his letter to play college basketball at 3 pm.

Royal Boys Win In Double Overtime!

2010-12-18T07:11:00.006-06:00

The two hour drive to Tripoli Friday evening was worth every second.

Each possession in the boys basketball game was also worth every second as
the Colo-Nesco boys won in double overtime, 65-56.

You'll have to read complete coverage in next Thursday's Nevada Journal
article, but to sum it up, there we're 19 lead changes in the fourth
quarter and overtimes and 4 Royals scored in double figures after a
lack-luster start offensively. And, there was a miracle three-pointer by Tripoli at the buzzer in the first OT to tie it (and miracle is no exaggeration) and send it to a 2nd OT.

The Royals finally pulled away in the second OT to win it. Brandon Eley
led the way with 21 points, but I'd have to say the most valuable players
in this one were Garrett Eley and Austin Larsen. Filling in for injured
Weston Neuendorf, Garrett had 10 points; many of those at critical moments
in the game. Larsen had 15 points, making big plays and big free throws
when needed most. Ethan Jamison's 10 points in the second half and
overtimes were equally critical. And Brandon Niemeyer's three-pointer off
the bench late in the fourth quarter gave Colo-Nesco its first lead of the
second half. That was a huge play. Brian Angell rounded out the scoring
with 6 points.

Both boys and girls teams play today, Saturday, in Colo against Collins
Maxwell-Baxter.

Like Father, Like Son

2010-12-16T17:28:00.016-06:00

As I was reading/critiquing this weeks Nevada Journal article I wrote, entitled “Royals roll to 4-0,” I had a major déjà vu moment.

When I was looking at the stats Brandon Eley put up in the game against Meskwaki last week, I remembered writing about his dad, Dwight, in my Royal Reign book, and seeing similar stats in a game in his senior season.

Just how similar is almost eerie. In case you missed it, Brandon scored 31 points on 15-19 shooting last Tuesday against Meskwaki. He also nearly had a triple-double with 18 rebounds and 9 assists. The Royals put up 76 points against Meskwaki. Nearly 26 years ago to the date, his dad Dwight scored 31 points on 13-17 shooting in a 74-52 victory over Radcliffe. Oddly enough, Dwight’s teammate, Ed Vaske DID put up a triple double in that very same game with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. That 1985 team started the season 12-0. Their first loss came at the hands of Northeast Hamilton, 63-52. Northeast Hamilton is currently rated in this year’s top ten in class 1a.

Weird stuff, huh?
Kinda makes me want to go see Fred Fredregill for some Mama’s Pizza and follow it up with a doughnut for dessert at the old Reece’s gas station for old times sake!

Showdown Week! Royal Boys and Girls Set To Face Top-Rated Teams

2010-12-11T12:53:00.002-06:00

After a great start to the season, the Colo-Nesco boys and girls are set for big match ups the week of December 12th.

On Tuesday, the Colo-Nesco boys--ranked #5 in the latest Iowa Sports Connection poll, take on #2 Don Bosco in Colo. Colo-Nesco is off to a 5-0 start after three straight blowout victories this week. The Royals won games against East Marshall, Meskwaki Settlement and GMG, Garwin by an average of 37 points. Don Bosco is 3-0 after victories over GMG, Garwin (65-25), Waterloo Christian (39-24) and Meskwaki Settlement (55-37). Don Bosco was 23-2 last season and returned 4 of their top 6 scorers, led by Nate Springer’s 13 points per game. The Dons like the three-point shot: Eric Nie made 57 three-pointers last season, and Nick Rosauer made 37.

On Friday, the Colo-Nesco girls face #1 ranked Tripoli on the road. Colo-Nesco evened its record to 3-3 after a 44-37 victory over GMG, at Garwin Friday night. With the win, the Royal girls have won back-to-back games for the first time since February 2009. Tripoli finished 18-5 last season and lost only one starter from that squad. Megan Gilbert and Erica Ollendieck are the leading returnees; both averaged over 11 points and 6 rebounds in 2009-2010.

Highlights from this past week’s games include Brandon Eley’s near triple double for the boys and Jessica Johnson’s double-double for the girls. Eley had 31 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists in a win over Meskwaki Settlement. Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the girls’ win over Meskwaki.

Barnburner!! Royal Boys Win Last Second Thriller

2010-12-04T07:25:00.003-06:00

The Royals were on the road to play North Tama, state football champions last month, so they knew it could be a physical game. As expected, the game's intensity was as hot as a burning barn, with two of the Royals best players getting into foul trouble, but the Royal boys came out on top in the end, 49-48. The lead changed hands 6 times in the fourth quarter and was tied once. I have to save play-by-play and in-depth coverage for the Nevada Journal article, but essentially, it was a Brandon Eley lay-in with 7 seconds left that gave the Royals the 1-point victory. North Tama had 2 chances at the buzzer, but couldn't make them fall, and the large crowd that made the long road trip to Traer went bananas!

Several players really stepped up for the Royals. I thought Ethan Jamison's play inside was huge, especially with Neuendorf in foul trouble and with the size and athleticism of North Tama. Jamison took several charges and had 15 rebounds (unofficially). Also, some less experienced players came off the bench and gave really valuable minutes--Garrett Eley and Nathan Thompson, specifically--who gave the Royals some real timely defense and rebounds. Their physical play off the bench may have been the difference in this game.

In the girls game, the Colo-Nesco girls played a great first half, leading 23-19 at the break against a good North Tama squad, but couldn't stop the inside play of the Redhawks in the second half, losing 44-32.

Royal Boys and Girls Open New Conference Victoriously

2010-12-01T17:25:00.002-06:00

Although they were accomplished in two distinctively different ways, both the Colo-Nesco boys’ and girls’ basketball teams came away with victories Tuesday night vs. Waterloo Christian. The girls had a record-breaking defensive performance—both as a school and in Coach Cafferty’s 25-year career, holding the Waterloo Christian team to just one basket the entire night. The other 4 Regents points came off of free throws. The final score was 68-6. The boys’ game was much tighter than expected, thanks in part to some shooting that was as cold as the single digit wind-chills in Colo that evening. Despite the difficult shooting effort, the boys held on for a 41-36 victory. You can view complete coverage on both games in next Thursday’s edition of the Nevada Journal. The boys and girls look to keep up their winning ways this Friday at North Tama. The North Tama girls are 2-0; the boys are 1-0.

Lights, Camera, High School Hoops ACTION!!

2010-11-26T09:43:00.002-06:00

The high school basketball season kicks into full gear next week with the Royals boys’ and girls’ teams set to play a pair of games. Both squads get their first taste of the Iowa Star Conference, which the school joined this season after a long run in the Heart of Iowa Conference. The girls are 0-1 after a 48-34 loss to West Marshall last Friday; the boys are 0-0. Here’s a quick look at the competition they will be facing this week:

Tuesday, November 30—Home vs. Waterloo Christian
Girls—This should be an excellent chance for the Colo-Nesco girls to get their first victory; Waterloo Christian was 0-20 last season, shooting just 15% as a team. Their leading returning scorer is Emily Wynthein, who averaged 2.7 points per game as a freshman.

Boys—The Regents boys’ team was 9-13 last year and return three starters and five letter winners. A solid junior class is led by 5’8” Lucas Segerstrom (9.2 PPG), 5’8” Chris Doering (6.6 PPG), 5’7” Peter Bernstrom (5.5 PPG) and 6’2” Ryan Wynthein (4.1 PPG). Segerstrom canned 47 three-pointers last season.

Friday, December 3—Away vs. North Tama
Girls—The Redhawks girls’ team is 1-0 after a 45-37 victory over Belle Plaine to start their season. They finished 10-13 last year. The Royals will have to contend with a solid inside game led by 6’2” junior Kailey Kladivo. Kladivo scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the game vs. Belle Plaine. She averaged 11.5 points and 9.2 rebounds as a sophomore last season. 5’10” senior Amanda Howard is another returning starter in the frontcourt and 5’9” junior Nicole Schlichting had 10 rebounds in the Redhawks first game. The guards are led by sophomore Allison Zobel, who had 15 points, 6 assists and 4 steals in the win over Belle Plaine.

Boys—Several key players on this years North Tama basketball squad are fresh off a state football championship. North Tama defeated Madrid 43-34 in the Class A state championship game earlier this month. 4 of their star basketball players were just named 1st Team and 2nd Team All-State in Class A football, so the Royals are sure to get a good test from a solid squad of athletes on Friday night. Four starters return from last year’s team that finished 13-10. Brendon Boerm, the Iowa Sports Connection’s Class A Player of the Year in football, averaged 15.5 points last season and returns as the teams leading scorer. Lucas Hefty, a first team All-State selection at wide receiver, returns as the team’s second leading scorer from last year, averaging 14.8 points. At 6’4”, he and 6’4” Mitchell Boerm, and 6’3” Tyler Cizek will be a load to handle for the Royals. Hefty and Cizek led the team in rebounds last season. Cade Isenhower, a first team All-State linebacker, was the team’s third leading scorer last year at 9.1 points per game. He was also the teams leading three-point shooter, making 34 treys.

HOIBERG/CYCLONES START WITH A WIN

2010-11-13T07:50:00.003-06:00

Christmas tunes and warnings of a potential winter storm rang over the radio airwaves on my 15-minute commute to Hilton Coliseum. The frigid walk across the endless span of parking lot was filled with excitement and anticipation in the wake of a new season. And Fred Hoiberg once again graced the hardwood floors as an Iowa State Cyclone. It was the perfect night for basketball.

Even without a huge amount of pomp and circumstance, I've never seen so many photos taken of a coach before a game as there were with Hoiberg. You would have thought the late, great John Wooden had come back to life and was standing courtside. Nearly every poster, t-shirt, and promotion in the area is plastered with Hoiberg’s name or picture. Yes, it was the dawn of a new era for ISU men’s basketball, and despite the alarmingly early date for hoops, I wasn't about to miss it.

It was evident from the very start that Hoiberg is going to let them run and gun. The game started with two straight three-point baskets by senior Jamie Vanderbeken, and the first four shot attempts for the Cyclones were all three-pointers. In fact, 7 of the first 9 made baskets were treys as ISU jumped to an early 25-10 lead. The first half was a two-man show, with Diante Garrett and Vanderbeken accounting for all 35 points. Garrett had 15 at the break and Vanderbeken had 20 as the Cyclones took a 35-20 lead into the locker room. The team was 8-16 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Northern Arizona’s defensive focus on Vanderbeken and Garrett in the second half allowed some other Cyclones to shine. The half began with a 5-0 run with a quick bucket from freshman Melvin Ejim (who’s going to be really good), and another three-pointer by Scott Christopherson. Ejim and Jake Anderson (a transfer from Northern Illinois) both had a big second half as the Cyclones ran away from Northern Arizona, 78-64. Anderson was a three-year starter at Northern Illinois, and should have a big impact for Iowa State in his only season of eligibility. He ranks 18th in career scoring for the Huskies.

Four players finished in double digit scoring for the Cyclones—Vanderbeken (23), Garrett (19), Anderson (15) and Ejim (10). Iowa State made 11 three-point baskets in 23 attempts for the night.

20 Teams to Watch in Boys Basketball Class 1A

2010-11-10T21:25:00.003-06:00

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again. Christmas decorations are popping up in towns across central Iowa. Fred Hoiberg begins his career as the Cyclones new Head Coach this Friday night with ISU’s first game of the season. The state football playoffs are winding down, and basketball practices are beginning. Here is a look at who I feel will be the top 20 teams in boys’ Class 1A this season.

Ranked In Order By Wins From Last Season

Lynnville Sully (25-3)-- The Hawks return 2 starters and 3 of their top 5 scorers from a state tournament team that finished 25-3 last season. Chase Cullen is the top returning scorer. He led the team with 13.3 points per game last year as a sophomore, while making 42 of 100 three point tries. Logan Vos returns as the teams leading rebounder from 09-10. The 6’5” senior averaged nearly 10 rebounds per game and 7 points per game. The Hawks ranked in the top 10 in three pointers, rebounds, assists, and blocks in class 1a last season.

Don Bosco (23-2)—A fellow member of the Iowa Star Conference (the conference Colo-Nesco is a new member of), the Dons will prove a good test for the Royals. Don Bosco returns 3 starters from a team that finished 23-2 last year. Nate Springer is their leading returning scorer at 13 points per game. Senior Eric Nie connected on 57 three pointers, placing him in the top 10 in Class 1a in that category.

Calamus Wheatland (22-6)—The Warriors lost All-State forward and leading scorer Ryan Powers to graduation, but two starters return from last years State Runner-Up squad, led by senior Drew Jacobi at 10.5 points per game. Brian Kruse, now a senior, was the team’s third leading scorer a year ago. 6’5” Sophomore Jake Jannsen looks to see an increased role and is a player to watch. He averaged nearly 4 points per game as a freshman reserve last season.

Iowa Mennonite (22-3)—My preseason #1, Iowa Mennonite finished 22-3 last season. The school returns 4 starters, led by sophomore Chance Miller at 11.5 points per game. The other three starters each averaged between 7 and 10 points per game on a team that shares the ball as well as any in the state. Three players return that had at least 80 assists each and Iowa Mennonite rated #2 in the state in total assists. Iowa Mennonite was the third best three-point shooting team in class 1a last year. Three players return that made at least 30 three pointers.

North East Hamilton(22-2)—Another member of the Iowa Star Conference, the Trojans finished 22-2 last year. They return 3 starters, led by Clay Herreld (a junior) at 15.3 points per game. Fellow junior Marcus Mechaelsen averaged over 13 points a game last season, giving the Trojans one of the most potent one-two punches in Class 1a.

St. Mary’s Storm Lake (22-1)—The Panthers will probably be rated in the top 5 when the preseason rankings are released. They finished 22-1 last season and return 3 starters and 4 of their top 5 scorers. Senior Connor Richardson and juniors Nathan Lenhart and Andy Drey lead a balanced attack at around 10 points per game, each.

Colo-Nesco (20-3)—The Royals return 4 of their top 6 players from last year, led by one of the premier players in Class 1a--Brandon Eley. Eley, the reigning Ames Tribune’s Mid Iowa Boys Player of the Year, averaged 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals a game last season for the 20-3 Royals. He’s joined by backcourt mate Austin Larsen (106 assists), and a frontcourt anchored by Weston Neuendorf (7.2 points per game), and Ethan Jamison (91 rebounds). The Royals will have to find someone to fill the role of three-point specialist Travis Guy, who graduated as the teams leading three-point shooter.

Prince of Peace (20-3)—The Irish, a prep school from Clinton, return 2 starters from a 20-3 team. Derek Witt is the leading returning scorer and rebounder. He averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds as a junior. 6’6” Center Seth Hinrichs and point guard Eric Sikkema are both seniors that averaged around 5 points per game last season.

Treynor (19-4)—The Cardinals return three of their top four scorers from a 19-4 team. Cole Rath (a senior), and Chris Zimmerman (a junior) averaged over 10 points per game. Seniors Jordan Lammert and Tyler Woods both averaged 6 per game and should provide a balanced scoring attack for the veteran team. The Cardinals are a great rebounding team and return their top four rebounders from last year, with three of them grabbing over 100 each for the season.

Holy Trinity Catholic (19-5)—Holy Trinity finished 19-5 last season and returns 2 starters—Ben Rector and Zach Bartlett. Josh Fullenkamp also played a significant role, averaging 5 points and grabbing 101 rebounds on the season.

Bishop-Garrigan (18-8)—A state tournament qualifier a year ago (18-8), the Golden Bears have to replace three starters. Austin Vaske is the star player. He averaged 11.7 points and made 38 three-pointers as a sophomore starter last season.

St. Albert Council Bluffs (18-5)—The Falcons return 4 of their top 6 players from last years state tournament team that finished 18-5. They are led by Steve O’Neill at 15.3 points per game. He made 56 three-pointers last season as a junior.

Iowa Christian (17-5)—The Trail Blazers return 9 of their top 10 players from last year’s 17-5 squad. They will have to replace leading scorer Keaton Schut who averaged 17.5 points per game. This is a very experienced team—all 9 of those top 10 returning are seniors, and 7 of them saw considerable playing time last season.

Coon Rapids-Bayard (16-10)—A state tournament qualifier last year, the Crusaders return 3 starters from a 16-10 team. Jacob Esdohr returns as the leading scorer from that team. He averaged nearly 15 points per game. Gage Reis is the teams best outside shooter. He made 40 three pointers a year ago as a sophomore. The Crusaders are small—the tallest returning player is 6’ tall.

Mt. Ayr (16-8)—The Raiders lost leading scorer Malcom Mercer, but return every other player from last year’s team that won 16 games. 6 returnees each averaged between 4 and nearly 10 points per game, led by Matt Sobotka’s 9.4 points.

Murray (16-7)—The Mustangs may be one of the most exciting teams in Class 1a this season. Last seasons sensational freshmen pair of Austin Halls and Cody Scroggie return as maybe the most dynamic duo of all the small schools. Halls averaged an amazing 26.5 points (1st in the state in 1a) per game as a freshman, while canning 63 three pointers (5th in the state in 1a), dishing out 153 assists(3rd in the state in 1a), and making 106 steals (3rd in the state in 1a). He also hit 75 percent of his free throw tries. Scroggie averaged 12.7 points as a freshman and connected on 42 three pointers. Watch out for the Mustangs!

Woodbury Central (16-6)—The Wildcats return 4 starters, led by star James Wright (17 pts and 9 rebounds per game), and Grady Gallagher (12 points, 53 three pointers). They finished 16-6 last season.

Newman Catholic, Mason City (15-9)—The Knights return 2 starters from a team that finished 15-9 last season. Senior Drew Verstegen returns as the teams leading scorer at 17.6 points per game. He chipped in 32 three pointers as part of that average last year. Oh yeah, and add 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, and 3.2 steals per game to go with that, leading the team in every category but assists.

Boyer Valley—The Bulldogs (15-7) return three starters, led by Kyle Brosamle who led the team in scoring (16 ppg) and rebounding (117 rebounds). He and fellow senior Adam Hadden combined for 78 three pointers last season and both shoot over 75 % from the charity stripe.

Remsen-Union (13-9)—The Rockets return all five starters and their key reserve player from last year’s 13-9 squad. They graduated only one player from last year, and he only averaged 2 points per game. Three players average over 13 points per game in a balanced scoring attack, led by Kraig Alesch (13.8 ppg). 4 players made at least 10 three-pointers last season. They’re big too—Alesch is 6’4”; and starting center Alex Hansen is 6’6”.

Ok—now that you’ve seen them, I’m sure you’re dying to know my top ten. I’m a little hesitant to do this, but I am interested to see how it compares with other top ten lists that will come out after mine. And this is the first time I’ve ever done this with high school. Here it is:

1. Iowa Mennonite
2. Lynnville-Sully
3. St. Albert, Council Bluffs
4. St. Mary’s Storm Lake
5. Calamus-Wheatland
6. Colo-Nesco
7. Coon Rapids-Bayard
8. Iowa Christian
9. Murray
10. Remsen-Union

Sports Casserole

2010-10-26T21:18:00.004-05:00

Brett Favre: Will somebody put this guy out of his misery, please? I can’t take him anymore. Watching him hobble around on Sunday night, throwing interception after interception, and ruining his team’s chance to win was downright painful. It has always been about Brett, and it’s more glaring than ever this year. The media’s perception that the Vikings wouldn’t be as good a team without him is ludicrous. Right now, he’s a detriment to his team and he needs to go. Problem is, until someone decapitates him, he’s not going. For Brett, its not about the good of the team, it’s all about Brett and his consecutive games started streak, and feeding an ego the size of all 10,000 Minnesota lakes combined.

Adrian Clayborn: “Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!” Those, of course, are the famous words of Tom Hanks in the movie about women playing baseball in A League of Their Own. And—pay attention now Adrian--if there’s no crying in baseball, there should certainly be no crying in football, which is exactly what happened during the post-game locker room interviews with the star defensive end for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Maybe that Hawkeye defense isn’t quite as “tough” as everyone thinks it is.

Kansas City Royals:Can you believe it? Can you believe the Kansas City Royals once won a World Series title? That World Series title just happens to be 25 years old this year. The Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games, and finished 91-71 in the regular season. All 5 starters won at least 10 games. Bret Saberhagen won the Cy Young Award with a 20-6 record and a 2.87 ERA. How many players can you name from that team? Here’s a look at their 1985 starting lineup just to take you back:
C-Jim Sundberg
1b-Steve Balboni
2b-Frank White
3b-George Brett
SS-Onix Concepcion
OF-Willie Wilson
OF-Lonnie Smith
OF-Darryl Motley
DH-Hal McCrae
SP-Bret Saberhagen
SP-Bud Black
SP-Charlie Leibrandt
SP-Mark Gubicza
SP-Danny Jackson
Closer-Dan Quisenberry

NBA Season Opener:Watching the Miami Heat’s season opener go up in smoke tonight was almost as much fun as watching the Yankees nearly get swept in this years ALCS. At one point in the first half, the Boston Celtics were up by 19 points. Miami had just 30 points at half time. The Heat’s offensive total of 80 points was 5 fewer than the LEAST amount of points the Cavs scored in last years playoffs to the Celtics! On the flip side, Boston’s high profile free agent, Shaquille O’Neal, looks like he’s been eating cheeseburgers all summer—for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! And, the OVER-RATED! chants by Celtics fans at the end of the game were awesome!

Role Reversal

2010-10-23T19:24:00.004-05:00

Forgive me if I’m giddy. It’s not a normal Saturday in the state of Iowa. In fact, it’s a complete role reversal, for one day anyway. Iowa, playing on its home turf found just about every way possible to lose a game. Iowa State, playing at perennial power Texas, did the unthinkable—they won against the Longhorns for the first time ever, this after back-to-back rear-end kicking’s against Oklahoma and Utah. Seriously, who saw this coming? If you had told 100 people on Friday that one team in the state would win and one would lose on Saturday, 99 would have picked Iowa as the winner.

For the Cyclones, this is the second straight season a Paul Rhoads led squad has won on the road against a top 25 team. I don’t know if that has ever happened in back-to-back seasons in ISU history, and for Rhoads to do it the way he has in both of those victories is down right amazing. Last year, it was with a backup quarterback and a backup running back on the road in Lincoln. This year, it was at the end of a merciless three-game stretch, a game most people chalked up as a loss well before the season even started. Texas was rated in the top 5 in many preseason polls.

Hawkeye fans, we’re familiar with your pain. A missed extra point, a blocked field goal, a fake-punt, and a mismanaged clock in the final 65 seconds—all can be pointed to as the difference in a 31-30 loss. Heartbreaking isn’t it? Been there, done that as a Cyclone fan about 5 million times in the last 10 years. But for one night, the Iowa State Cyclones are the talk of the college football world. And for one night, I’m really going to enjoy it.

1st Quarter Sanity Check

2010-09-28T21:55:00.003-05:00

Apparently, the Iowa State football team spent too much time in Hilton Coliseum last winter. An offense that was promised to be vastly improved, more resembles that of Coach McDermott’s recent basketball squad (an outfit led by NBA pick Craig Brackins that was supposed to score loads of points)…and we all know how that turned out.

We’ve already hit the quarter pole of the college football season, and it’s clear (based on my preseason predictions), that my sanity was not all there. Shocking, I know. But seriously, I didn’t think I’d be that far off the mark! With that said, here’s a more “educated” analysis of those predictions based on the first 4 games:

1. Iowa State will finish in the top 10 in the nation in total offense—Honestly, this is the one that frustrates (and surprises) me the most. I really thought that year two would begin to produce results similar to what Offensive Coordinator Tom Herman accomplished at Rice. But it just hasn’t. The offensive line was supposed to be better than this—much better, but it hasn’t. Austin Arnaud was supposed to be much better than he has—but he hasn’t been either. My prediction was so far off on this that Iowa State is currently in danger of finishing in the bottom 10 in the nation. They rank 106th of 120 FBS teams through 4 games. Ouch.
2. Austin Arnaud or Alexander Robinson will be a Heisman candidate late into the season—Well, you can bet your life savings this prediction is not coming true. Iowa State’s best player so far this year has not been an offensive player. Surprisingly, it’s been sophomore linebacker A.J. Klein, who ranks 22nd nationally with 41 total tackles. He also has 2 interception returns for touchdowns. Last I checked, not too many defensive players have won the Heisman. Who would have guessed?
3. Iowa State will beat Iowa—To quote a line from Naked Gun 2 ½: "Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hurts."
4. Iowa State will finish with more wins than Iowa—See Quote from #3.
5. Paul Rhoades will be a leading candidate for the Penn State job in the off-season—I still think Rhoades is a great coach, but the Penn State job is certainly far-fetched at this point. It would take a miraculous finish with wins over Nebraska and either Oklahoma or Texas to make that kind of an argument.

Well, there’s still plenty of football left to be played, and plenty of great possibilities for the Hawkeyes and Cyclones. But so far, it looks like my predictions were merely pipe dreams, something we Cyclone fans have become all too familiar with.

Post-Game Thoughts On ISU vs. Iowa

2010-09-14T21:59:00.005-05:00

Now that the anger has subsided and the smoke has cleared from the debacle in Iowa City on Saturday, I think I can give some rational thoughts to the massacre also known as “The Iowa/Iowa State Game.” I ended up getting some free tickets for the event and made the trek into enemy territory with much trepidation—partially out of fear I may get beat up wearing Cyclones gear, and partially because I know how miserable it is to be around 7 Hawkeye fans, not to mention 70,000. So, here we go.

1. Are the Hawkeyes that good? I think the answer is “yes.” I was very close to the Hawkeye sideline, right behind their bench, and I have to say—I’ve never seen a team that BIG. I just could not believe the size of their offensive and defensive line. I’ve also never seen a team dominate both lines of scrimmage as much as Iowa did. They are experienced and talented at EVERY position. They are a senior-laden, confident team, and they know how to win. I told my brother after the game that I think Iowa can beat anybody, and I really believe that.
2. Is Iowa State really that bad? I think the answer is “no.” The Hawkeyes size, the crowd, and the first two Hawkeye possessions of the game set the tone. ISU was clearly intimidated, clearly not on the same talent level as Iowa—but as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I don’t think many teams in the country are on the same level as Iowa this year.
3. Why didn’t ISU try something different? To just go man-on-man, with no trick defensive schemes or blitz packages against that Iowa offense was flat out ludicrous. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over with the same result. I think our Defensive Coordinator lost his mind on Saturday. And I think the Iowa defense probably made our Offensive Coordinator lose his too.
4. I wish I didn’t hate the Hawkeyes so much. It should be such an easy team to love. It’s my home state. I respect and admire Coach Ferentz—I think he’s the best coach in the country and he runs a clean program. The stadium is spectacular. The crowd is electric. The team is good. It really is a great game-day experience…but I just can’t do it. Even with my memories of rooting for them when I was a kid, back in the Chuck Long and Ronnie Harmon days, there’s simply too many years of bitterness built up after all the chidings of arrogant Hawkeye fans to ever root for them. Maybe I just take this rivalry too seriously. After all, many Hawkeye fans think the rivalry with Nebraska next year will overtake the rivalry with Iowa State. If that’s the case, all I have to say is: Go Nebraska!!

5 Cyclone Predictions That Will Prove I’ve Officially Lost My Mind

2010-08-19T17:50:00.004-05:00

OK, so I don’t completely believe these will all happen, but I do believe they are a possibility. So, before you reserve me a room at the state mental institution, just know that I’m only half insane. Iowa State’s season begins 2 weeks from tonight under the lights at Jack Trice. Enjoy…and pass me some more red Kool-Aid, please.

1. Iowa State will finish in the top 10 in the nation in total offense—This would be a quantum leap considering they finished 73rd last season. But last season was the first year under Paul Rhoades and Offensive Coordinator Tom Herman. Look for vast improvements from senior QB Austin Arnaud, a talented and experienced offensive line, and a deep and gifted set of running backs and receivers. Herman’s offense at Rice finished #8 nationally in his last season as their coordinator in 2008, so he’s proven he can get a team there.

2. Austin Arnaud or Alexander Robinson will be a Heisman candidate late into the season—Can Arnaud throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000? It’s a possibility. He ran for nearly 700 last season and threw for nearly 3,000 the year before. Coaches say he’s the most improved player on the team by far. He had to learn three different systems his first three seasons, so given the opportunity to finally feel confident and comfortable in an offense, who says he can’t put up those numbers? Could Alexander Robinson rush for 1,500 and receive for 1,000? A-Rob rushed for 1,200 yards last season and wasn’t even healthy for much of the year. He also had nearly 300 receiving yards. Give him a healthy, full season and those numbers are not out of the realm of possibility.

3. Iowa State will beat Iowa—They’ll have plenty of motivation after a tumultuous summer has left many wondering just how many Cy-Hawk series are left with all the conference re-alignment. You know Paul Rhodes is itching for his first victory against the Hawks. Oh, and there’s also those Adrian Clayborne comments that have surely been posted on the Cyclone bulletin boards for the last few months saying that the Hawkeyes are the only team in the state that is relevant.

4. Iowa State will finish with more wins than Iowa—Yeah, yeah. This is the prediction that will really get me thrown into the loony bin. Iowa is a Top 10 team in the pre-season polls. But remember just how close the Hawks were to losing against UNI, Indiana, Penn State, Michigan, and Michigan State. Even the game against Minnesota was close most of the way. That’s 6 wins that could have been losses. I’m predicting ISU wins against Northern Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, UNI, Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri with losses against Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. That puts ISU at 9-3. Iowa will lose against Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa State, and one other road team to finish 8-4.

5. Paul Rhoades will be a leading candidate for the Penn State job in the off-season—A 9-3 record would make Rhodes a leading candidate for nearly every job. Joe Paterno is clearly in his last days as Coach of the Nittany Lions. Rhoades’ former role at Pittsburgh and related recruiting ties to that area would make him a perfect candidate.

Sports Caffeine/Royal Reign/Pennant Publishing Update

2010-08-17T19:07:00.001-05:00

To the four or five people that are possibly tuning in to my blog still, I’ve missed you lately. Ok, maybe it’s down to 1 or 2 now. It’s been a busy summer, chaotic actually, and I sorely miss writing a regular blog. But the fall sports season is upon us and I couldn’t be happier about that. Not only is there a lot more to write about during the football and basketball season, but also the really exciting news is I am ankle-deep into research for my next big project. I can’t say too much about it yet as some of the details are still being worked out, but I plan to have it completed by next fall, with a publish date of January 2012. It will either be a book of its own, or part of a bigger collection in conjunction with another organization. That’s the part I’m unsure about yet. Regardless, the next 12 months are going to be crazy busy to say the least, with lots of time at the library and in front of my computer. I can’t wait to tell you more, but until then—enjoy the rest of your summer…and bring on college football!

Will the 2010 Hawkeyes Be Better than the 1985 Hawks?

2010-07-20T20:20:00.002-05:00

2010 marks the 25-year anniversary of one of the greatest teams in Iowa Hawkeye football history. While several Iowa teams have finished higher in the final AP polls than the ’85 squad (they finished #10; 10-2), none were ever ranked as highly as Iowa was during a 5-week glory run during the 1985 season. From September 5, 1985 through November 2nd, Hawkeye fans lived the dream as the nations #1 team. That stretch included the legendary match up with #2 Michigan, a game the Hawkeyes won on a last second field goal that sent Iowa fans into delirium. The dream ended on November 2nd with a 22-13 loss to #8 rated Ohio State. Iowa finished the regular season with a 10-1 record and a spot in the Rose Bowl where they were surprisingly thrashed by UCLA.

The days of “New Coke” and “Farm Aid” are long behind us, but Hawkeye fans are hoping for a trip down memory lane to recapture those feelings as the nations #1 team. Can it be done? Iowa is coming off one of its best seasons ever after an 11-2 finish, an Orange Bowl victory, and a #7 finish in the final polls. The Hawkeyes return a majority of their starters on both offense and defense and play a schedule conducive to another glory-run. But is this team as good as their anniversary counterparts? Here’s a breakdown position by position of the starters from the 1985 team and the projected starters from the 2010 team and my final analysis to answer that question:

Position: 1985 vs. 2010
QB: Chuck Long vs. Ricki Stanzi
RB: Ronnie Harmon vs. A. Robinson, Wegher, Hampton
FB: David Hudson vs. Brett Morse
WR: Bill Happel, Scott Helverson, Robert Smith vs. DJK, Marvin McNutt, Keenan Davis
TE: Mike Flagg vs. Alan Reisner
OL: Mike Haight, Tom Humphrey, Mark Sindlinger, Bob Kratch, Dave Croston
Vs. James Vandervelde, Adam Gettis, Marcus Zusevics, Riley Reiff, Josh Koeppel
DL: Richard Pryor, Hap Peterson, Jon Vrieze, George Millett, Jeff Drost
Vs. Christian Ballard, Adrian Clayborne, Broderick Binns, Karl Klug
LB: Larry Station, George Davis vs. Tyler Nielsen, Jeremiah Hunter, Jeff Tarpinian
DB: Ken Sims, Nate Creer, Devon Mitchell, Jay Norvell
Vs. Shaun Prater, Micah Hyde, Tyler Sash, Brett Greenwood

Analysis:
QB: Advantage 1985—Chuck Long; Heisman Runner-Up
RB: Advantage 1985—Ronnie Harmon; 1100 yards rushing/ 700 yards receiving!!
WR: Advantage 2010—Think what Long could have done with the 2010 group!
TE: Advantage 1985—Mike Flagg—3 time All Big 10 Pick
OL: Advantage 1985—Mike Haight was the Big 10 Lineman of the Year; Croston and Kratch were All Big 10 the following year.
DL: Advantage 2010—Ballard, Clayborne, Binns and Klug may be the best line in school history
LB: Advantage 1985—Larry Station—All time leading tackler in Iowa history; 2-time First Team All America. Enough said.
DB: Advantage Tie—Devon Mitchell and Jay Norvell were both Honorable Mention All-America selections in 1985. The depth of Prater, Sash and Greenwood evens the field.

Final Tally-- The 1985 team wins the category battle 5-2 with one tie. There’s a reason this team was rated #1 for 5 straight weeks. If this years Hawks want to stake their claim as the greatest team in Iowa history, they’ll have to climb to the top of the polls at some point—a proposition that many Hawkeye fans think is entirely realistic. There’s only one way to find out, and it all begins on Saturday, September 4th at 12:05 pm.

Loveable Losers

2010-07-02T21:30:00.002-05:00

Well…Losers for sure.
It’s been over 100 years now since the Chicago Cubs last won a World Series title. The way the organization is going right now, it may be 100 more. The North Siders have now lost 10 of their last 14 games and are 11 ½ games out of first place. Their overall record is 34-46. To make matters worse, they have the third highest payroll in all of baseball, trailing only the Yankees and Red Sox. Chicago’s payroll is 146 million. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ is 35 million. Pittsburgh is 9-3 against the Cubs this year, just to rub a little salt in the wounds of those that bleed Cubby Blue. When you take a closer look at the salaries that make up the bulk of that 146 million, it’s enough to make Cubs fans get sick to their stomach. Take a look at these numbers:

1. Alfonso Soriano—19 million
2. Carlos Zambrano—18.8 million
3. Aramis Ramirez—17 million
4. Kosuke Fukudome—14 million
5. Derek Lee—13 million

Soriano’s contract may be the worst in all of Major League Baseball. Carlos Zambrano isn’t even active right now due to his anger-management issues. Aramis Ramirez is batting .180. Derek Lee is hitting .231. Fukudome just .265. The average age of those five players is 33 years old. After the meltdowns of Milton Bradley last year and Carlos Zambrano this year, it’s evident the clubhouse is a wreck. It’s a tradition whenever the Cubs win that a white flag with a “W” on it is flown over Wrigley Field. These days, the only white flags flying over Wrigley are the ones the fans are waving in surrender.

In Midst of Conference Chaos, Hoiberg Quietly Having a Very Successful Summer

2010-06-17T21:08:00.002-05:00

It’s safe to say ISU Basketball Coach Fred Hoiberg hasn’t been too distracted by all the conference realignment garbage. Hoiberg has quietly put together a very impressive nucleus to the beginnings of a successful long-term basketball program in his first few months at the helm. The Mayor has landed two very highly regarded transfer players in Chris Babb and Anthony Booker, a solid junior-recruit from the state of Texas named Anthony Odunsi, and polished it all off with a phenomenal coaching hire in Charlotte’s Bobby Lutz. Here’s a closer look at each:

--Chris Babb: Babb is a 6’5” shooting guard who started 23 games as a sophomore last season for Penn State. He averaged 9 points per game, was third on the team in assists, and made 69 three-point baskets.

--Anthony Booker: Booker is a 6’8” power forward who’s transferring from Southern Illinois. Booker averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds as a sophomore. He was a Rivals Top 50 player in high school and was recruited by Kansas.

--Anthony Odunsi: Odunsi will be a high school senior at Fort Bend, Texas in 2010-11. He is a 6’3” point guard who averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists a game as a junior. Odunsi had offers from Vanderbilt, Stanford, and Arkansas.

--Assistant Coach Bobby Lutz: One of the biggest criticisms of the Hoiberg coaching hire was his lack of head coaching experience. Critics claimed he would need to hire a veteran, experienced coach to be his assistant. Mission accomplished! Bobby Lutz comes from the Charlotte 49ers of the Atlantic 10 Conference where he won a school-record 218 games and guided the school to 5 NCAA Tournament appearances and 3 NIT’s in 10 years. Not only did Hoiberg find an experienced coach, he found an experienced HEAD COACH who had a ton of success in a very good Division 1 basketball conference with the likes of Xavier, Temple and Richmond. Lutz should also help with recruiting from the east coast. This was an absolute gem of a hire by Iowa State; a real diamond in the rough.

Worshipping Bevo: Longhorns Save The Big 12

2010-06-14T19:42:00.006-05:00

"Bevo"--TEXAS LONGHORNS MASCOT

In India, cows are so sacred that even their dung is considered “an efficacious disinfectant” (Hinduism.about.com). Politicians strengthen their political campaigns by endorsing cow protection laws. Cattle are considered religiously divine because of their ability to provide milk that keeps infants alive. As of Monday, June 14, 2010, football and basketball fans of schools like Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri may also think cows are holy. Well, Longhorns anyway.

Facing the very real prospect of being left homeless from an athletic conference standpoint, The University of Texas Longhorns saved the day for the members of the teetering Big 12 Conference by turning down an offer from the Pac 10. And for that, this Iowa State Cyclone fan is eternally grateful. So what if our wagons are hitched to Texas? So what if the Longhorns are calling all the shots--they have been ever since the Big 12 started. They’re the “cash cow.” That’s how it works in business and that’s life. Besides, for schools like Iowa State, hitching the wagons to Texas just resulted in a financial windfall. According to the new proposed television contract, Iowa State will receive a guaranteed $17 million in TV revenue. In 2007, ISU made just over $7 million. Keeping the Big 12 in tact means keeping teams like Iowa State relevant nationally, which means easier recruiting, easier ticket sales, easier promotion. In fact, Texas may not have only saved the Big 12; they may have saved the entire infrastructure of college athletics. Had Texas joined the Pac-10, the formation of 4 “Super Conferences” would have been well under way, completely changing the landscape of college football and basketball as we know it.

The same article about Hinduism referenced earlier noted, “In India, the cow is believed to be a symbol of the earth - because it gives so much yet asks nothing in return.” It’s safe to say that Texas isn’t exactly “asking nothing in return.” In fact some might say they are as greedy an institution as there is in college athletics, that the Longhorns are the reason this whole mess started. The University of Texas can’t help it that its athletic programs are so dominant. Just like an elite athlete like LeBron James and Alex Rodriguez can demand a lot of money because they’ve earned the right to, the Longhorns have similarly played their hand. Many sports fans across the nation might consider Texas a closer rival to Satan than divinity, but to the smaller members of the Big 12, like it or not, we bow down.

The Worst Call In Officiating History?

2010-06-02T21:06:00.004-05:00

Call him the new poster child for Southwest Airlines’ “Wanna Get Away?” Ad campaign. Major League Baseball Umpire Jim Joyce will probably “wanna get away” permanently after perhaps the worst call in sports history during the Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians game Wednesday night. Detroit’s Armando Galarraga had a perfect game (no hits, no walks) going into the 9th inning. Just how rare is a perfect game in Major League Baseball? Since 1880, it’s only happened 20 times. Amazingly, two of those have come this season, one last week by Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay. It was about to happen for the second time in less than a week when Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson mad a miraculous, over-the-shoulder catch, sending Detroit fans into a frenzy with one out in the 9th. Galarraga then induced an easy ground out for out number two. Then, with fans on their feet, Cleveland’s Jason Donald hit a ground ball that forced Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera to range toward his right, and make a quick throw to first where Tigers pitcher Galarraga clearly had the runner beat by a full step. Only problem was, first base umpire Jim Joyce didn’t see it that way, calling the runner safe, destroying what should have been a history-making night.

I found an old article on espn.com that listed the top ten worst calls in officiating history according to their writers. Here’s the list:

1. Denkinger calls Royals' Orta safe at first
2. Colorado's fifth down
3. Soviets get extra time in 1972 Olympic hoops
4. Jeffrey Maier assists Jeter home run
5. Brett Hull's skate in the crease
6. Maradona's "Hand of God"
7. Thanksgiving Day coin flip flap
8. Mike Renfro ruled out of bounds
9. Eric Gregg's wide strike zone
10. Charles White's TD and fumble in 1979 Rose Bowl

Based on this list, and what I know about sports history, I think one could easily make the case that Joyce’s blown call with two outs in the ninth inning of a perfect game may top that list. Something that’s only happened 20 times in 130 years shouldn’t have been denied on a play like that. Granted, it was close, but you have to give the benefit of the doubt to the man on the verge of history in that case. It’s a call Joyce (and Galarraga) will have to live with the rest of their lives, much like the Bill Buckner between-the-legs error and umpire Tim McClelland and George Brett’s pine tar incident. If I’m Joyce, I’m grabbing the first flight out of town and taking a month-long hiatus, cause it’s gonna be a bumpy ride for a while!

Basketball Dominates Royals Sports Highlights of 2009-2010

2010-05-25T20:16:00.002-05:00

Another school year has come and gone. Thoughts of cool, autumn nights with the football lights shining down and the sight of combines in the background seem like they were just yesterday. The tremendous basketball season was such a fun ride but, like all fun rides, ended too soon. Spring and graduation came and went as quick as the dandelions popped up in my yard. Before we know it, it will be mid-August and we’ll be doing it all over again.

Although I wasn’t involved in much of the Royals athletic scene this year besides basketball, I did some research and formulated what I think are the top 10 sports highlights of the school year. Forgive me if I missed something obvious, and have fun reminiscing.

#10—Homecoming Victory over Lynville-Sully
“[Travis] Guy rushed for 95 yards and three scores and he also completed 5 of 10 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Ethan Jamison scored on an 80-yard run, Bryan Angell hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass, Eley totaled 42 yards rushing and receiving and Tyler Erickson rushed for 44 yards for the Royals.”—Ames Tribune

#9—Young Talent on Girls Basketball Team Provides Plenty of Optimism for Future
Despite their 4-19 record, the girls showed marked progress toward the end of the year. The top two performers were a sophomore and freshman in Jessica Johnson (All Conference Honorable Mention) and Madison Eley (2nd Team All Conference). Johnson averaged 7 points per game and Eley averaged 10 points per game. Four others who saw significant playing time will be back next year—Makayla Klonglan, Alyssa Speake, Michelle Van Loon and Erica Babinat.

#8—Double OT Victory over North Polk Boys Basketball On Brandon Eley’s Birthday
“There is no better birthday present Colo-Nesco’s Brandon Eley could have received than the one he gave himself when the Royal boys’ basketball team took on North Polk Dec. 21 in Alleman.

Eley struggled for most of the night in a defensive battle between two of the top Heart of Iowa Conference Small School Division teams. But the birthday boy came through in a big way during crunch time, hitting three clutch shots, including the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second overtime, to give his team a huge 57-56 victory.”—Ames Tribune

#7—Football All District Team: Weston Neuendorf: 1st Team OL; Adam Good: 1st Team LB; Travis Guy: 1st Team DB

#6—Cross Country State Qualifiers: Shelby Dailey and Sean Dulaney

#5—State Track Qualifiers: Sarah Hansen—long jump (broke school record); Shelby Dailey—3000 meter; Brandon Eley—110 high hurdles

#4—Brandon Eley named Ames Tribune Mid Iowa Boys Basketball Player of the Year for 2nd Straight Year

#3—Brandon Eley named to 1st Team All-State Boys Basketball

#2—Hall of Fame Night vs. Roland Story Basketball
“Our biggest highlight of the year had to be the night they inducted the 1990 championship team into the Hall of Pride,” Wynja said. “Our kids played their hearts out to make everyone there proud to be a Royal. It was a special night, and one I won’t ever forget.”—Ames Tribune

#1—Boys Basketball Team Finishes 20-3; HOIC Small-Conference Champs; Break School Record for Most Victories in Regular Season

Wizards Get #1 Pick. Does It Even Matter?

2010-05-18T21:42:00.004-05:00

The NBA held its annual “lottery” for the upcoming draft Tuesday night, with Washington grabbing the #1 pick. Some are questioning whether the NBA’s current system of assigning a certain number of ping-pong balls to teams based on their record, and using a lottery style selection is the best way to see who gets the top pick. In the NFL, the worst team automatically gets the #1 spot. Ditto for Major League Baseball. But if the last 25 years are any indication, getting the #1 pick rarely guarantees championships in the NBA. Since 1985, only 4 players that were drafted number one eventually captured titles (David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal, Glenn Robinson, Tim Duncan), and only two of those four were with their original team—Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Not only does having the top pick not guarantee success for your team, it doesn’t even mean that player will attain elite status. Of the past 5 NBA drafts, only one player (Derrick Rose) has made an NBA All-Star Game. In the past 25 years, 15 of those top picks have played in 2 All Star Games or less. Of course, not all #1 picks have been busts; here’s a list of my top 10 number one picks in the last 25 years:

1. Shaquille O’Neal (1992)—Orlando Magic—4 NBA Titles; 15 Time All Star; 1 MVP
2. Tim Duncan (1997)—San Antonio Spurs—4 NBA Titles; 12 Time All Star; 2 MVP’s
3. David Robinson (1987)—San Antonio Spurs—2 NBA Titles; 10 Time All Star; 1 MVP
4. LeBron James (2003)—Cleveland Cavaliers—6 Time All Star; 2 MVP’s
5. Allen Iverson (1996)—Philadelphia 76ers—11 Time All Star; 1 MVP
6. Dwight Howard (2004)—Orlando Magic—4 Time All Star
7. Patrick Ewing (1985)—New York Knicks—11 Time All Star
8. Yao Ming (2002)—Houston Rockets—7 Time All Star
9. Derrick Rose (2008)—Chicago Bulls—1 Time All Star
10. Chris Webber (1993)—Golden State—5 Time All Star

And my top five #1 busts in the last 25 years:

1. Michael Olowokandi (1998)—Los Angeles Clippers
2. Kwame Brown (2001)—Washington Wizards
3. Greg Oden (2007)—Portland Trail Blazers
4. Pervis Ellison (1989)—Sacramento Kings
5. Andrew Bogut (2006)—Milwaukee Bucks

Here’s the rest of the list by year that don’t fall into either category:

1. Brad Daugherty (1986)—Cleveland Cavaliers—5 Time All Star
2. Danny Manning (1988)—Los Angeles Clippers—2 Time All Star
3. Derrick Coleman (1990)—New Jersey Nets—1 Time All Star
4. Larry Johnson (1991)—Charlotte Hornets—2 Time All Star
5. Glenn Robinson (1994)—Milwaukee Bucks—1 NBA Title; 2 Time All Star
6. Joe Smith (1995)—Golden State
7. Elton Brand (1999)—Chicago Bulls—2 Time All Star
8. Kenyon Martin (2000)—New Jersey Nets—1 Time All Star
9. Andrea Bargnani (2006)—Toronto Raptors
10. Blake Griffin (2009)—Los Angeles Clippers

A Sports Tribute To Moms

2010-05-08T20:15:00.004-05:00

“My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.”
-- Michael Jordan

My parents are my backbone. Still are. They're the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.
--Kobe Bryant

Our Mother’s Day schedule is a replica of the life of a mom: crazy. We will begin our day by rising early for breakfast, getting kids and ourselves ready for the 8:30 a.m. church service, and finish our morning worship activities by teaching the College and Career Sunday School class at 9:30. As part of our ministry to our church’s college students (a class of 25-30 wonderful young people), we provide a weekly breakfast item along with juice and coffee, most of which my wife usually prepares. From there, we will have lunch with her parents at a restaurant in Ankeny, with (hopefully) just enough time to spare to arrive for our oldest sons soccer game in Greenfield, a mere 83 miles from home. I know this doesn’t sound like much of a relaxing day for my wife, but such is the life of a mom, especially one who has children in sports. It’s a life of sacrifice and selflessness. And seriously, without moms, would there even be sports? Could Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, or LeBron James have turned into the best basketball players in the world without their moms? Who would have taken them to countless basketball practices, camps and games? Who would have washed their jerseys and sweaty socks and underwear 4 or 5 times a week? Who would have organized their schedules, making sure they were where they were supposed to be 24/7? Who would have scheduled their doctor’s appointments and prepared them nutritious meals and made sure they put their hats and gloves on when it was cold? Who would have consoled them after tough losses, cheered them on at nearly every game, and encouraged them not to give up? Who would’ve provided snacks and drinks, participated in fund-raisers, and encouraged their children to work hard, maintain a positive attitude, and have good sportsmanship? In most cases, it’s Mom. Recently, a study was done to find the monetary value of the job of a mother. It was found that all the things moms do was worth about $145,000 a year. But we all know you cannot place a monetary value on the role of a mother. A mother is priceless. I wish to say a big thank you to my wife, my mom, and every mom out there-- sports mom or non-sports mom. Thanks for all you do. You really are priceless. Happy Mothers Day!

Andrew Gogerty

Hoiberg!!! Hoiberg???

2010-04-27T21:35:00.004-05:00

Fred Hoiberg is Ames, Iowa’s All-American boy, its beloved hero who’s never done wrong. He’s a former “Mr. Basketball” winner and State Champion at Ames High who decided to be loyal to his hometown and play his college ball at ISU. He’s the kind of good-looking, hard working, high character, Midwestern kid that most parents dream their boys will be one day. Everyone, it seems, loves Fred Hoiberg…until now.

Just one day after Coach Greg McDermott announced his resignation to accept the Creighton job, ISU Athletic Director Jamie Pollard made his move. And it’s a move that, surprisingly, is drawing the ire of many Cyclone fans. After all, this is “THE MAYOR” we’re talking about, right? The one every Cyclone fan loves? One look at the message boards on CycloneFanatic.com tells a different story. It’s a mixed reaction, seemingly split right down the middle, 50/50. Some think Pollard moved too quickly. Some are disappointed he didn’t hire former Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie, a guy with a great track record on the court, but some serious character flaws off it. Some can’t believe Iowa State would hire a guy with no coaching experience. Others are elated that one of the Cyclones’ beloved is coming home to lead the program. It’s a move that has some people saying, “Hoiberg!!!” and others saying “Hoiberg???”

I stand somewhere in the middle. When I found out yesterday that Coach McDermott was leaving, I was ecstatic. It could not have been a more perfect scenario. A good guy lands on his feet at a good place, and we get rid of a coach that was clearly not working out for our program. And it was really the only possible way a change could be made based on the financial situation at Iowa State. There was finally a reason to be excited about Iowa State basketball again. The slate was being wiped clean. The Hoiberg announcement kind of hit me out of left field. At first, I was really excited to hear that we have such a great guy coming back to Ames to lead our beloved Cyclones. He’s got a great reputation across the country and some NBA ties that should help on the recruiting trail. But at the same time, his critics are right—he doesn’t have any coaching experience at the collegiate level. Outside of being an All Big 8 player at Iowa State, he doesn’t have any collegiate experience period. So there are certainly some question marks about this hasty hire by Jamie Pollard--question marks that will be answered pretty quickly by the players he retains and recruits, and the results on the court next season.

This isn’t a slam-dunk hire by Pollard. I think it’s a decision he felt would be much more warmly received. And, I must say, I’m a little surprised myself at the reactions on the message boards to Ames’ All-American boy. All in all, if you look at the state of the basketball program today vs. one week ago, I think there is plenty of reason for Cyclone fans to be optimistic. Let’s face it; there was no hope with Coach McDermott. At least Hoiberg restores some flair and optimism for the future of Hilton Magic and ISU basketball. But starting soon, Fred Hoiberg is no longer “The Mayor.” Soon, he becomes Coach Hoiberg, Coach of the Iowa State Cyclones. And that’s a whole new ballgame.

Grayer Brings Some Magic Back To ISU Basketball Program

2010-04-24T21:46:00.004-05:00

It was a day I’ll never forget. I was in the sixth grade and all the other kids were in school while I went with my mom to get my braces tightened. For those of you who have ever had braces, you know that getting them tightened is no picnic. But missing out on class to do so helped alleviate the pain a little bit. That, and knowing whenever I had to get this done, Mom would always take me to the old Donutland on Lincolnway in Ames afterwards. And it was on one of those occasions that it happened: My hero at the time, Jeff Grayer, walked in the door while we were sitting, eating donuts. I had a quick conversation with Mom, and knowing I didn’t have much time, grabbed a pen and the first piece of paper we could find in her purse and ran to the counter where he was ordering and asked him for his autograph. I was the happiest kid in Ames, Iowa that day and I still have the memento—one of my strongest reminders of what Hilton Magic used to be like.

There haven’t been many happy days in Cyclone basketball country lately, but the hiring of Jeff Grayer as an Assistant to Coach McDermott offers a ray of sunshine in the middle of the storm clouds that have been hovering over Hilton Coliseum the last few months. Grayer is ISU’s all-time scoring leader and is one of my two favorite Cyclone players ever along with the late Barry Stevens. Grayer brings some recruiting connections and credibility, but perhaps most important, he brings back good memories of Iowa State basketball to a fan base that is in desperate need of them. Now, if only he could still suit up!

Thoughts on ISU Spring Game

2010-04-17T21:56:00.006-05:00

After a tumultuous basketball season, a gorgeous spring day and football were exactly what the doctor ordered for weary Cyclone fans. A good crowd was on hand in Ames Saturday as the Cyclones scrimmaged in front of roughly 10,000 people, including my 8-year-old son and myself. Other than the football-like September weather, and not visiting campus to be tortured by the men’s basketball team, here were the things I liked best about the spring game:

1. I loved the pace—This was the pace we were all expecting to see from the offense last year. It looks like the extra bowl practices last year and year #2 of this new offense is really starting to click. Arnaud is finally getting it, and so are the receivers. This offense has the ability to be dynamic and exciting. Last year, we saw a lot of growing pains. I think this year will be much different.
2. Jerome Tiller—Mark my words: There will be a QB controversy some time this year. Tiller looked sensational, running and throwing. He’s got more zip on his throws than Arnaud does, is more mobile, and I thought he moved the offense much more fluidly than Arnaud did in the scrimmage.
3. The backup running backs—There appears to be some good depth behind Alexander Robinson this year. Freshman Jeff Woody of SE Polk is a change-of-pace back who can get some tough yards. Red shirt freshman James White was very impressive, showing a little Daren Sproles-like ability. White is listed at 5’8”, but he looks like he’s closer to 4 feet tall out on the field. White showed some elusiveness and broke a nice 50-yard run.
4. The crowd—The entire lower section on the east side of the stadium was full. You could sense that ISU fans were clamoring for something positive to think about amid all the troubles with the basketball program. Undoubtedly, the demise of the basketball team should help football even more as people shift some of their support away from hoops over to the gridiron.
5. David Sims—The senior had some HUGE hits and should be set up for a spectacular senior campaign. Sims was the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year last Year in the Big 12.
6. Kelechi Osemele—The junior offensive lineman LOOKS like a future NFL player. My son and I were sitting in the front row, and he certainly passes the eye test—all 6’5, 327 lbs. He was a 2nd team All Big 12 performer last year as a sophomore.
7. WR depth—There are 5 legitimate receivers on this team. Sedrick Johnson was one of the highest rated recruits ever at Iowa State. He’s a junior now—look for him to finally put it all together. Darius Darks set the ISU freshman receiving record. He’s also a junior now. Darius Reynolds was off to a great start before a season ending injury in the fourth game last year. He’s also a junior. Jake Williams had 400 yards and 5 scores last year. He’s a senior. And the receiver I was most impressed with in the spring game was freshman Donnie Jennert, a 6’6 red shirt from Florida. He’s a big target and caught nearly everything that was thrown to him.

The End of the 2009-2010 Basketball Season Leaves Plenty of Promise for The Next

2010-04-12T20:16:00.008-05:00

Hard to believe the high school basketball season ended nearly a month ago with Ames High hoisting the 4A trophy for the second straight year. If you love high school hoops as much as I do, the start of the 2010-11 season is less than 8 months away. Let the countdown begin.

As a resident of the Ballard school district and a graduate of Colo-Nesco, I am fortunate to be able to root directly for two of the areas premier basketball players and teams. One player happens to be the reigning Ames Tribune Mid Iowa Girls Player of the Year: Taylor Greenfield of Ballard. The other happens to be the reigning Ames Tribune Mid Iowa Boys Player of the Year: Brandon Eley of Colo-Nesco. So I get the best of both worlds. Greenfield was selected to the 2010 team as part of the Ames Tribune special that was published on April 9, 2010. The following is an excerpt from that article:

{Greenfield averaged 19.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals this season to be named The Tribune’s Mid-Iowa girls basketball player of the year. She also ranked second on the team with 2.7 assists per game.

“There’s not anything on the basketball floor that she can’t do,” Ballard coach Merle Olberding said. “Anywhere we put her, it’s a tough matchup for our opponent.”
That versatility has led to Greenfield being recruited by some of the biggest names in women’s basketball.

Greenfield said she is most interested in Iowa State, Stanford and Duke, and she wants to schedule visits to Texas, Tennessee and Connecticut, the two-time defending national champion.}

Eley was selected for the second consecutive year as part of the Ames Tribune special that was published on Sunday, April 11, 2010. The following is an excerpt from that article:

{ “He lives for the game; he loves it, and that’s probably what makes him a good player,” Colo-Nesco coach Pat Wynja said.

Eley averaged 19 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, leading the conference in each category. His 4.4 steals were second-best in the conference, and his 1.64 blocks per game were just behind teammate Michael Warren.}

The Royal boys finished 20-3, losing a stunner to Grandview Park Baptist in the second round of tourney action. The Ballard girls finished 23-2, losing in the State Tournament semi-finals to eventual champion Sioux City Bishop Heelan. Colo-Nesco returns 5 of their top 7 players next season, including 4 starters. Ballard returns all but 2 players next year, and 7 of their 8 leading scorers from 09-10.

With all of the issues surrounding the basketball programs at Iowa and Iowa State (can it get any worse?), it would be easy for a central Iowan to be discouraged about the prospects of the 2010-2011 hoops season. But as a fan of two great high school programs with plenty of promise, I can’t wait.

The Allure of The Underdog

2010-04-05T22:57:00.006-05:00

I'm a lifelong Duke fan. Well, almost. I started rooting for Duke back in the Johnny Dawkins days of the mid 1980's, becoming a die-hard Dukie when they knocked off the presumably unbeatable Runnin Rebels of UNLV to win their first title in 1991. My home in Zearing where I grew up may still bear the marks in the ceiling where I nearly jumped through it after Christian Laettner's miracle shot against Kentucky in 1992.

But tonight? Tonight, I was a Butler fan. There's nothing I love more than a great underdog story. Hoosiers, The Rookie, The Blind Side--all some of my favorite all-time movies. And Butler definitely fit the mold. It really was David against Goliath. Duke, with all its tradition and Final 4 appearances and titles. Butler, having never even been there before. The game itself had all the makings of a storybook ending. A remarkable game, back and forth, with the underdog having the chance to win on a miracle shot at the buzzer. That shot was supposed to go in. Can you imagine if it would have? It may have been the most remarkable moment in college basketball history. I wanted that shot to go in, I truly did--Duke fan and all. It just goes to show: We all love an underdog. Congrats to Butler on an AMAZING season.

"The Hug": Cool? Or Creepy?

2010-04-04T16:23:00.006-05:00

In case you missed it Saturday night, The Final 4 produced one of the most unforgettable and uncomfortable moments in sports I’ve ever seen. It happened late in the Duke/West Virginia game, with Duke leading by double digits and West Virginia trying to mount a comeback. Mountaineers star Da’Sean Butler drove to the basket and had his knee buckle (turns out it was an ACL tear) on a questionable no-foul call against Duke. The minutes that followed were some of the most agonizing since Lawrence Taylor snapped Joe Theismann’s leg in two twenty-five years ago on Monday Night Football.

It’s never pleasant to watch someone in pain, and you knew the way Butler was acting, he was enduring a lot of it. Knowing he was a senior and that we were witnessing his final collegiate moments made it all the worse. And then, Coach Bob Huggins, “Huggy Bear” as he’s nicknamed, came to his side in a scene that will never be forgotten. It was a scene that will become as big a part of Huggins’ legacy as his 600-plus career coaching victories. It was a scene that has been dubbed by most people as “touching.” I can certainly understand that view, but watching it live, I actually felt it was a little creepy. Huggins was a little too close for comfort, a little too motherly—like a mom caressing a child. This is a 22-year old man who is set to make millions of dollars playing in the NBA next year. I just wanted to shout through the TV screen to leave the man alone and let the team doctors get him off the court. At one point, I thought Huggins was actually going to kiss Butler on the lips! One has to wonder if Butler wanted him that close or if he wanted to just be left alone and escorted off the court as quickly as possible.

One can’t deny that it was a touching gesture from coach to player—as long as it was genuine and not for show. Clark Kellogg, CBS Analyst, described it as a “powerful” scene. Re-watching the clip, I can certainly see how some people thought it was a really cool thing Huggins did. So…cool? Or creepy? I’ll let you be the judge.

Cyclone Fans Rooting Hard For UNI Against Spartans

2010-03-23T22:06:00.011-05:00

The similarities are eerie. On Friday, the UNI Panthers face the Michigan State Spartans in their biggest game in school history. Nearly 10 years ago to the day, the Iowa State Cyclones also faced Michigan State in its biggest game in school history. The Panthers are trying to advance to the Elite 8. The Cyclones were playing in the 2000 Elite 8 with a spot in the Final 4 at stake. The Cyclones had only 4 losses entering its game against the Spartans. The Panthers also have just 4 losses entering its contest. Iowa State was the Big 12 regular season AND tournament champions in 2000. UNI won both its regular season and conference championships this year. Iowa State’s #2 seed was its highest seed ever in the NCAA Tournament. UNI’s #9 seed is its highest seed ever. ISU’s Marcus Fizer was the Big 12 Player of The Year. UNI has this years Missouri Valley Conference Player of The Year in Adam Koch. When the Cyclones faced Michigan State in 2000, the Spartans were led by an All-American point guard by the name of Mateen Cleaves. When the Panthers take the court on Friday night, the Spartans will…not be led by an All-American point guard. Kalin Lucas, Michigan State’s preseason All-American candidate, is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The question is, will that injury prove to be the difference for or against the Panthers? UNI is, suddenly, expected by many to win that game—a position no one would have ever dreamt the Panthers would be in during the Sweet 16 round of the tourney. A week ago, the nation had no idea who Ali Forokhmanesh was. Now, he’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated. And everyone knows about the curse of SI. Last week, UNI was flying under the radar against a more talented Kansas team, but also a school that has a knack for losing to underdogs in the tournament. This week, UNI is on everyone’s radar as they again face a more talented team in Michigan State…and potentially the best college basketball coach in America, who’s had nearly a week to prepare. Undoubtedly, the Spartans have taken notice of the overnight national love affair with the Panthers. You can bet that Coach Izzo reminds them of it daily. You can also bet that Coach Izzo reminds them that no one thinks they can win without their star point guard—all the more reason the Spartans will give the Panthers everything they’ve got.

Ten years have passed since Michigan State dashed the dreams of Iowa State fans the night of March 25, 2000. The Cyclones led by 9 points with 5 minutes to go, before Cleaves and Mo Peterson took the Spartans on a 25-5 run to end the game. They went on to win the National Championship. On Friday, the UNI Panthers can avenge that loss for the state of Iowa, advance to their own Elite 8, potentially the Final 4, and—just like Michigan State in 2000--the National Ch….ok, let’s not get too carried away.

The Panthers beat the Cyclones early this season on ISU's home court, but you better believe that Friday night, Cyclone fans (and Hawkeye and Bulldog fans for that matter) will all be rooting for the purple and gold.

The Biggest Win in Iowa Collegiate History

2010-03-20T20:34:00.009-05:00

Confession time. Before tonight, how many casual basketball fans in the state of Iowa knew the name Ali Forokhmanesh? Well, after UNI’s improbable, shock-the-world win against #1 Kansas, that will change forever. Yes, Ali Forokhmanesh is a name that will live among sports legends in the state of Iowa...and the state of Kansas, I’m guessing. Kind of like Bucky Dent in Red Sox Nation. Kansas wasn’t just a #1 seed, they were THE #1 seed, and the top rated team in the country! I know my sports history in the state of Iowa pretty well, and I can’t think of another win in Iowa collegiate history that even comes close to this one. The Iowa Hawkeyes win over Michigan which featured the #1 and #2 college football teams in America in 1985 was pretty big, but it was #1 against #2--it was supposed to be close. And this is the NCAA Tournament—one of the biggest stages in all of collegiate sports. The University of Iowa basketball team had a pretty big win of its own too back in 1980 when Steve Waite had a three point play against Georgetown that catapulted the Hawks into the Final 4. But I still think this one is bigger. Kansas was favored to win the National Championship; UNI was not even on the national radar screen. They sure are now. Here are some final thoughts about UNI’s monster upset over Kansas:

1.How much did Jordan Eglseder improve his NBA draft stock tonight? He was phenomenal.
2.How far can UNI go? They just knocked off #1, so anything’s possible now, right? I think they match up better against Maryland than Michigan State, so hope for a Terps win over Sparty. An Elite 8 match up would most likely be against Ohio State. My prediction is UNI to the Elite 8, then bowing out in a close game against the Buckeyes.
3.The Panthers get to play their next round(s) in St. Louis—the same place they played, and won, the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. This could prove to be a huge advantage for UNI—they’re familiar with the area, they’ve been successful there, and they should draw a good pro-Panther crowd.
4.How much pressure will this win put on Gary Barta at the University of Iowa to hire Panthers Coach Ben Jacobson? A Lot!! There’s no doubt Jacobson’s a good coach, but is he too similar in style to Lickliter and McDermott? The feeling here is "yes," but that win over the nation’s #1 team puts Barta in a precarious situation—definitely one to watch in the next week or two.

Eley Named Des Moines Register 3rd Team All State

2010-03-14T21:27:00.007-05:00

BRANDON ELEY
19 Points Per Game
7.5 Rebounds Per Game
5.1 Assists Per Game
4.4 Steals Per Game
1.7 Blocks Per Game

CONGRATULATIONS BRANDON!

NCAA Tourney Breakdown

2010-03-14T20:41:00.003-05:00

I’ll say it right up front--I think the committee did a horrible job with these brackets. On Saturday, I wrote down my Final 4 teams, not knowing who was going to be set up where. They were Kansas, Ohio State, Georgetown and Kentucky. Now, three of those teams are all in the same bracket (the Midwest). Temple and Wisconsin were two of my dark horses. They’re set up to play each other in the second round. St. Mary ‘s and Richmond were two of my Cinderella possibilities. They meet in the first round. Meanwhile, two of the brackets—West and South—are really weak, especially the West.

Final 4 candidates by region:
--Midwest: Kansas, Georgetown, Ohio State
--West: Syracuse. Kansas State is the #2 seed—they’re not Final 4 material. Neither is the #3 seed Pitt.
--South: Duke, Baylor, Notre Dame (This may be the region a surprise Final 4 team comes from. I’m not sold on #2 seed Villanova.
--East: Kentucky, Wisconsin, West Virginia

My upset specials:
First Round: UNI over UNLV; Murray St. over Vanderbilt; Louisville over Cal; St. Mary’s over Richmond; Missouri over Clemson

Who plays the role of Cinderella?
Murray State—I pick them to advance to the Sweet 16.
St. Mary’s—I pick them to advance to the Sweet 16 also.
Baylor—I pick them to advance to the Elite 8.

Bracket Busters:
The hardest region to pick is the South. I think it’s wide open with Baylor, Notre Dame, Richmond, St. Mary’s, and Villanova all as Elite 8 candidates.
This is one of those regions that will separate the contenders from the pretenders in office pools. I think the winner of Baylor and Notre Dame meets Duke
in the Elite 8. The Richmond/St. Mary’s contest is the hardest game of the entire first round for me to pick. I think the winner upsets Villanova in the Second round.

Who’s my Final 4?
If you want to win your pool, you have to take some risks. Logic would tell me to pick Kansas over Kentucky, with Syracuse and Duke rounding out the Final 4. But picking all the #1 seeds is just flat-out boring. I LOVE this Ohio State team—and I’m not a Big 10 fan. They remind me so much of the Kansas team led by Danny Manning back in 1988. They have that “it” factor and the nations best player in Evan Turner. I choose the Buckeyes to cut down the nets in a Championship match up against Duke. Duke has great guard play, and plenty of size and depth in the frontcourt. My other Final 4 picks are Syracuse in the West and West Virginia in the East.

Office Pool Prep 101; Part 4

2010-03-11T17:44:00.003-06:00

We start to separate the men from the boys here in these last two segments. Seeds 4,5 and 6 break us into the top 25 teams.

6 seeds—UNI, Wake Forest, Texas A&M, Tennessee
--The big question everyone around here wants to know is, “How far can the Panthers go?” They have the lofty record (28-4) and are Missouri Valley Conference regular and tournament season champs, have good inside-outside play and the #2 rated scoring defense nationally. But their biggest wins are against Old Dominion, Iowa State, and some of the other Missouri Valley elite—which isn’t saying much. I think UNI can make a Sweet 16 run, and with some luck, MAYBE an Elite 8. Wake Forest has lost four of its last 5 (wrong time of year to do that), but has wins against Gonzaga, Xavier and Maryland. See how they do in the ACC Tourney, then gauge them from there. They are 4-0 in Overtime games. Texas A&M is 22-8. All losses are to tourney teams except one. They have good senior leadership and good guard play. Tennessee is 23-7 with wins over Memphis, Kansas and Kentucky. They also have 4 losses by ten or more points, so be careful with the Volunteers. They’re a prime candidate to be upset in the first round.

5 seeds—Temple, Butler, Texas, Wisconsin
--Temple, Butler and Wisconsin all fit well together here. They are all slow tempo teams that play solid defense and are hard to prepare for. Wisconsin and Temple both rank in the top 10 in scoring defense nationally. Temple has wins against Virginia Tech, Villanova and Xavier, and finished 14-2 in a very good Atlantic 10 conference. Watch out for them. Wisconsin defeated Maryland and Duke in back-to-back games this year, and also defeated Marquette, Ohio State and Purdue. I really like this Badgers team—they could be a Final 4 surprise. I’m not sold on Butler (maybe it’s the Lickliter thing?)—their best wins are against an Evan Turner-less Ohio State team and Xavier. Texas is a mess (6-8 since January 18th).

4 seeds—Michigan State, Pitt, BYU, Gonzaga
--Before the season began, the Spartans were one of my Final 4 favorites. Then they hit a rough patch when Kalin Lucas got hurt. They’ve got the pieces to make a title run if they start hitting on all cylinders. See how they do in the Big 10 tourney, then make the call. Pitt is tough to figure. They play in the nations best conference and have wins over Syracuse, West Virginia and Villanova. On the flip side, they lost to Indiana and have four losses by 10 points or more. I don’t trust them. BYU is 28-4, they have good guards led by Jimmer Fredette (20 ppg), and go 9 players deep. Two of their four losses are to Steve Alford’s New Mexico team. Their best wins are against UNLV and UTEP, and haven’t played a great schedule. This may be the most difficult team to gauge in the field of 65. I’d play it safe and not pencil them in past the Sweet 16. Gonzaga defeated Wisconsin and Memphis this year, but also lost to San Francisco and Loyola Marymount. Not enough quality wins here to impress me too much. I think they’re another candidate for an early exit.

As we start to separate the men from the boys with these seeds, I like UNI, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, with a possible deep run by Temple. Be careful with Tennessee, Pitt and Texas.

Seeds 1 through 3 are the cream of the crop. The National Champion comes from this group most of the time.

Kansas—The most talented team in the tournament. They have it all—a great floor leader in Sherron Collins, good inside play with Cole Aldrich and Marcus Morris, and great depth. The Jayhawks rank fourth nationally in scoring; eleventh in rebounding margin; and second in margin of victory.

Purdue—The loss of Robbie Hummel is crushing. Don’t bet on the Boilermakers beyond the Sweet 16.

Kentucky—As talented as Kansas, but not as experienced. Watch out though, we’ve seen teams full of diaper dandies go deep in recent tournaments—see Memphis, Syracuse, etc…

Syracuse—The match up zone they play is deadly come tournament time. Teams don’t have enough time to prepare for that different style of play. Throw in five guys that average double digits, size and depth, and Player of The Year Candidate Wesley Johnson, and you have a legit title contender.

Villanova—Great guard play, led by Scottie Reynolds, and a top ten ranking for most of the year in the Big East. But, Nova has been shaky lately, losing 5 of their last 7. Careful with the Cats. They are 3-5 against the top 25.

West Virginia—This team is scary good in a scary good conference. Three of their six losses were by a total of 6 points. Da’Sean Butler is one of the best players in college basketball. They played the #1 toughest schedule in America this year according to the Sagarin poll.

Duke—Duke has three solid scorers—Scheyer, Singler, and Nolan Smith all average over 17 points per game. They also have good depth with their big men—something they have lacked in recent seasons. Duke is #18 in scoring offense nationally, #18 in rebounding margin, and #3 in margin of victory.

Kansas State—2 of the Wildcats 6 losses are in overtime. 2 others are by less than 6 points. Pullen and Clemente are as good a guard combo as any.

Vanderbilt—They won’t be a top 3 seed and could be a one-and-done. Not impressed with the Commodores, although they did beat Tennessee twice and played Kentucky to within two points.

New Mexico—They’re coached by Steve Alford. Enough said.

Georgetown—I like this team a lot, but like Ohio State, they’re not very deep. And they’re 4-4 in their last 8 games. The Hoyas played the #2 toughest schedule according to the Sagarin Poll.

Ohio State—Since January 12th, OSU has lost just two games by a total of 9 points. Both of those losses were to top ten teams. If they can keep all 5 guys on the floor and out of foul trouble, OSU may be a Final 4 team, maybe a dark-horse National Title contender with National Player of The Year favorite Evan Turner.

Stay tuned for all my selections after Selection Sunday. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Office Pool Prep 101; Part 3

2010-03-08T20:39:00.002-06:00

This segment focuses on the always-hard-to-pick 7,8,9 seeds. Flip a coin. And don’t bank on them winning more than one game.

9 seeds—UTEP, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Oklahoma State
--I don't like any of these teams in the tournament. UTEP is 24-5, but has no marquee wins, and most of their out-of-conference games against anyone of significance were a loss. They are 0-2 against top 50 teams. Virginia Tech is 23-7, and their biggest wins are against Clemson and Wake Forest. Louisville is 20-11, but has only won 3 straight games once since January 1. They did manage to somehow hand Syracuse two of their three losses. Go figure. Oklahoma State is 21-9 with wins against Kansas State, Texas A and M, Baylor and Kansas. But they too have not been able to put a winning streak of more than three games together since January 1. They also have 6 losses by double digits. They have one and done written all over them.

8 seeds—UNLV, Baylor, Clemson, Florida State
--UNLV is 23-7 with some nice wins against Pitt, Louisville, Arizona and BYU. They go 9 deep, but are very young—no seniors of significance. Baylor is a team to watch out for. They are 24-6 and none of their losses were by more than 7 points. They’re my “All Name Team.” Baylor’s top 3 scorers are named LaceDarius, Tweety, and Ekpe. Clemson is 21-8 with wins over Butler, Maryland and Florida State. They don’t have any losses to “bad” teams. Clemson has just one go-to guy though—Trevor Booker. Florida State is 22-8 with wins over Marquette, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. They suffered big losses at Florida, at Ohio State, and at Duke, and are 0-6 against the top 25. They are dominated by underclassmen. Watch out for FSU in the next couple years.

7 seeds—Xavier, Maryland, Missouri, Richmond
--All seven of Xavier’s losses came to opponents that will make the NCAA Tournament, although they are 2-6 against the top 25. They beat Florida, Richmond and Dayton. They have great guard play, led by Jordan Crawford. Maryland has won 7 straight and 9 of last 10. They are peaking at just the right time. The Terps are led by a solid group of seniors, that includes leading scorer Greivis Vasquez. They have one of the best freshmen in the nation in forward Jordan Williams. Missouri is 22-8. 4 of their losses are by 5 points or less. Their best wins are against Old Dominion, Kansas State and Texas. Richmond is 23-7 with wins over Mississippi State, Missouri, Old Dominion, Florida, Temple and Dayton.

In summary, I really don’t like many of these 7,8,9 teams. The best of the bunch are Baylor and Maryland. Maryland is the team I would choose to do some damage.

Cyclones Win Over #5 K-State An Insult

2010-03-06T20:47:00.003-06:00

Are you kidding me? Now they decide to show up? This is like the bride and groom showing up late for their own wedding reception, hours after all the guests gave up and went home. This is like when everyone leaves the game early because their team is getting blown out, only to find out when they get to the car that there was a miraculous comeback. This is like your high school kid getting F’s on all his math tests over the course of a semester, and then acing the final exam. This is the kind of stuff that makes you throw your hands up in the air and say, “I give up.”

The Iowa State Cyclones just defeated #5 Kansas State. On the road. In overtime. Why am I not jumping up and down for joy? Because this was exactly the kind of win that should have locked up an NCAA Tournament birth, or a top 25 ranking, or a top 3 finish in the Big 12, something BIG! But instead, it means nothing. NOTHING! Three months ago, if you would have told me that Iowa State was going to finish their regular season by knocking off the #5 team in the country on the road, what would I have thought? I would have thought that ISU was finishing off a magnificent season, maybe contending for a Big 12 championship, certainly ranked in the top 25, maybe the top 15. It would have been the magical ending to a magical season--three months ago. Now, I’m just flat out mad. Mad that this win means nothing. Mad that this team didn’t live up to expectations all year long. Mad that I was so excited for this season, only to be frustrated for most of it, only to finally see they really did have the talent to knock off a top 10 team…on the road no less. But don’t be mistaken—the Cyclones did everything they could to screw this one up too. Diante Garrett’s foul on a three point attempt with ten seconds left and the Clones leading by four was priceless. That’s what we have come to expect from our Cyclones this year. And normally, that bonehead move would have been the difference between a victory and a loss.

Congratulations to Coach McDermott for finally getting a win against a top 25 team. Congrats to Craig Brackins and company for shocking the basketball world tonight. Congratulations for beating the dirtiest program in college hoops since Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV. Only question is—“What took you so long?” The only thing that can nullify this victory is an improbable, miraculous run through the Big 12 Tournament to somehow make the field of 64. Shame on you if you fool me once. Shame on me if you fool me twice.

Office Pool Prep 101; Part 2

2010-03-05T19:23:00.002-06:00

This segment focuses on seeds 10, 11, and 12. Again, these are based on Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology predictions on February 22nd.

12 seeds—St. Mary’s, Cornell, Siena, Dayton
--I would disregard Siena. They don’t have any big wins and most of their losses are by 10 points or more. Same thing with Cornell, although they did play well at Kansas, losing only by 5, and they are one of the most dangerous three-point shooting teams in college basketball, ranking third with over 9 made per game. Dayton is a team to keep an eye on if they get in. With a 19-10 record, they probably need a couple more wins, but the Atlantic 10 conference is one of the most under-rated in the country this year. All of Dayton’s losses are against good teams and most of them were within 4 or 5 points. They beat Georgia Tech, Old Dominion and Xavier and they go 10 deep. The team I like the best out of this group is St. Mary’s, a potential Cinderella. They are 24-5, with 3 of their losses coming against top 15 teams. St. Mary’s is the 13th highest scoring team in Division 1, and rank #14 in three-pointers made per game. They have 5 players that average double figures in scoring, led by 6’11” senior center Omar Samhan, who averages 21 points and 11 rebounds. So far, if I had to pick one Cinderella, the St. Mary’s Gaels are my choice.

11 seeds—Rhode Island, Old Dominion, Florida, Marquette
--Rhode Island is 20-7 with wins against Oklahoma State and Dayton. Florida is on the bubble at 20-10, but has quality wins against Michigan State and Tennessee. They have balanced scoring with 5 players that average double figures, but they are quite young yet. Old Dominion doesn’t have a big win. Marquette is the best of the bunch and a sleeper to watch out for. They are 20-9 in college basketball’s best conference. They have wins against Xavier, Georgetown and UConn, and three of their last four wins were all in overtime, all on the road. 3 other losses were by a combined 5 points to Villanova and West Virginia, both top 10 teams. Watch out for Lazar Hayward, Jimmy Butler, and the Marquette Golden Eagles.

10 seeds—Georgia Tech, Cal, Illinois, UAB
--Illinois is on the bubble (18-12). I’m really not impressed with them or Georgia Tech (19-10), who plays in an overrated ACC Conference. GT has lost 4of last 6. UAB is 23-5 with two of their losses against Kentucky and UTEP, both top 25 teams. Their best win is against Butler, but I’m not sold on them. The team I like the most out of this group is Cal. They began the year with a lot of injuries, but everyone is healthy now. They are 20-9, with three of those losses against top 10 teams. They have great guard-play and senior leadership—two big things that lead to success in the tourney. Their top four scorers are all seniors, led by Jerome Randle’s 19 ppg. Even though the Pac 10 is way down this year, I think Cal is a real sleeper team.

In summary, the teams I like seeded 10-12 are: St. Mary’s, Marquette, and Cal. Next segment, I’ll review the 7,8,9 seeds.

US/Canada Hockey As Good As The Super Bowl

2010-02-28T19:51:00.002-06:00

Riveting. The Gold Medal match between the United States and Canada’s Men’s Hockey Teams was off the charts. I don’t watch a lot of hockey, but give me one of those match ups every year right along side the Super Bowl please. You have to love the non-stop back and forth action, sans timeouts and commercials every 5 minutes like so many of the other sports. It was 3 ½ hours of hold-onto-your-seats excitement. Canada trotted out its team of NHL All-Stars against our roster of NHL No-Names. It may not have been the underdog battle of the US vs. Russia 1980, but it was close. Here are some of the players on Canada’s roster:
--Joe Thornton—1st overall pick 1997 NHL draft; 6 time NHL All Star
--Jonathan Toews—3rd overall pick 2006; 2009 NHL All Star; Team Captain
Chicago Blackhawks
--Sidney Crosby—Arguably the best player in the NHL, and arguably the best
player since “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky.
--Martin Brodeur—Perhaps the greatest goalie in the history of the NHL. NHL’s all-time wins and shutouts leader. A 10 time All Star.
--Scott Niedermayer—6 time NHL All Star
--Chris Pronger—2nd overall pick 1993 NHL draft; 5 time All Star
--Brendan Morrow—Captain of the Dallas Stars
--Dany Heatley—2nd overall pick 2000 NHL draft; 5 time All Star
--Roberto Luongo—4 time NHL All Star
--Patrick Marleau—2nd overall pick 1997 NHL draft
--Rick Nash—1st overall pick 2002 NHL draft

If you look at the league leaders for the NHL this year, it’s dominated by Canadians. Sidney Crosby is #3 in total points. Joe Thornton is #5 in total points. Patrick Marleau is #3 in goals. Dany Heatley is #6 in the league in goals. Rick Nash is #11 in goals made. Canada was loaded! That the United States was able to take this team to an overtime, sudden death finish in the Gold Medal game after already beating them in an earlier round was just short of miraculous.

One of the most exciting sporting events I’ve ever attended was a Minnesota Gophers hockey game on the Gophers home ice in Minneapolis. They have their own ice arena that would be the equivalent to basketball’s Hilton Coliseum. I was attending Bethel College at the time in Minneapolis, and some friends invited me to go along. It was amazing! The atmosphere was every bit as exciting as a big home game at Hilton, and their fans are just as serious about hockey as Cyclone fans are (or used to be) about basketball. If you are a sports fan and have never attended a Gophers hockey game, put it on your bucket list of things you must do in your lifetime.

The hockey world probably gained a few extra fans on Sunday. If you watched this years Super Bowl, you have to admit this game was every bit as exciting. I had forgotten how much fun hockey was to watch since that trip to the Gophers game many years ago. Now I remember.

“Office Pool Prep 101”

2010-02-25T22:24:00.005-06:00

March Madness is upon us. Just like a test in high school or college, you always do better if you don’t wait until the last minute to study. So, for the next several weeks leading up to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, I’ll help you study up so you can enter your office pool with the utmost confidence.

Since a 16 seed has never defeated a 1 seed, we won’t waste our time with those. This segment, we’ll focus on the 13, 14, and 15 seeds. These teams and seeds are based on Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology” predictions as of February 22.

15 Seeds—Morgan State, Coastal Carolina, UC Santa Barbara, North Texas
--Not much to consider here. I wouldn’t choose any of these teams to pull an upset. A 15 seed has only defeated a 2 seed four times (and yes, Iowa State getting beat by Hampton was one of those four). The only team I would pay any attention to in this group is Morgan State. They are 21-9, have a high scoring senior guard—Reggie Holmes (21 ppg), and many of their losses have been to good teams—Louisville (90-81); Minnesota (94-64); Baylor (79-63). They beat Arkansas 97-94.

14 Seeds—Sam Houston, Weber St., College of Charleston, Oakland
--A 14 seed has beaten a 3 seed fifteen times since 1986. There are some teams with decent RPI’s in this group—Oakland (67), Weber State (70), and Sam Houston (76)—but I still don’t see quality wins out of this group. The only exception would be College of Charleston with a three-point win over North Carolina. College of Charleston also has 4 guys who average double figures, and a solid guard court led by Andrew Goudelock, so they are a team to watch out for. Sam Houston is a high-scoring team that only lost to Kentucky by 10 points, 102-92. Oakland doesn’t have a big-name win, but 5 of their losses have come at Wisconsin, at Kansas, at Memphis, at Michigan St, and at Syracuse, so they are battle-tested.

13 Seeds—Kent State, Northeastern, Murray State, Utah State
--A group to watch with some potential gems. Utah State is 22-6, with an RPI of 35. They are one of only three teams to have beaten #11 BYU this season, winning by 10. Murray State is 26-4 and has five (nearly six) guys that average double digits in scoring. They don’t have a big-name win, but anytime you can get that consistent scoring from six guys, you will always be dangerous. Kent State is 21-8 with an RPI of 49. They also have balanced scoring, with four players averaging double figures. They have good guards and two of their losses were at Xavier and at Pitt. Look for one of these three teams to pull a first-round upset.

All said, I see four teams out of this group to watch out for: College of Charleston, Kent state, Murray State and Utah State. If I had to pick a Cinderella out of the bunch, I would go with either Murray State or Utah State. Next segment, we'll look at seeds 10, 11, and 12.

Royals Lose In Final Seconds

2010-02-23T21:19:00.001-06:00

I don’t know what to write. I really don’t. I fell in love with this team, and they took me and many others on a three-month joy ride, making an otherwise horrific winter enjoyable. The boys left it all on the court tonight; they played their hearts out. It was one of those nights where everything the opponent did went right for them. They played nearly flawless. Everything went in the basket. Everything for the Royals went in and out. This is why it stinks to play a team three times in a season—they figure things out. To Coach Wynja and the team, the last year has been one of the most enjoyable of my life. You brought so much excitement to the Colo-Nesco basketball community and created so many great memories for all of us. To the two seniors, I’m sorry it had to end this way. You helped your team finish 20-3 and that’s something to be proud of. To the rest of the team that will be back next year, keep your heads held high and use the feelings you have right now as motivation for next season. It can’t get here soon enough.

Here We Go!

2010-02-21T17:42:00.003-06:00

Focus. Take two deep breaths—big inhale, long exhale. Relax. Repeat as necessary.

It’s gonna be that kind of week for basketball fans in central Iowa. If you’re like me, you’re probably nervous, excited, exhausted, and ripe with anticipation all at once. The Colo-Nesco boys need to win 3 games in 5 days to advance to the Boys State Tournaments. Up first is Grand View Park Baptist on Tuesday night, a team the Royals have beaten twice this season. You can’t take anything for granted this time of year—it’s one and done—but assuming a victory, Colo-Nesco would then face the winner of Ankeny Christian and Madrid on Thursday night in Ankeny. Ankeny Christian is rated #10 in Class 1A. Their only loss of the season was to Iowa Christian, the team Madrid just beat by 16 points. A win Thursday would place the Royals into the sub state game for the third consecutive year. They say the third time is a charm. Lets hope that’s true this week. The likely opponent looks to be Lamoni, with a record of 18-2.

In girls’ action, the Ballard Bombers are gunning for their fifth consecutive state tournament appearance. Ballard is the defending State Champion and faces Pella on Tuesday night in Saydel. The Bombers are 21-1 and rated #5 in 3A. Their only loss of the season was a 6-point defeat to the #1 team in Class 4A: Linn Mar. Pella is rated #14, and Ballard beat them by 16 points in the first game of the season.

Good luck to all, and hopefully next Sunday I’ll be blogging about State Tournament Previews!

One Down, Three To Go

2010-02-18T21:28:00.005-06:00

It was a Brandon Eley dunk that seemed to shake the rust (and the rim) off the Royals in the first leg of their 4-stage journey towards Wells Fargo Arena. After trailing much of the first quarter, Eley’s rim-rocker gave the Royals a 14-11 lead and they never looked back, winning 69-29. Colo-Nesco went on a 16-2 run in the second quarter to take a 34-18 lead into the locker room. The second half defense was again phenomenal as the Royals allowed just 11 second-half points to the Blue Devils of Martensdale St Mary’s. Kudos to Bryan Angel who gave the team a big spark off the bench with 10 points, and to a great crowd on-hand tonight to cheer on the hometown team. The Royals play Grand View Park Baptist Tuesday at 7 pm in Colo. In the rest of the district, Madrid beat Iowa Christian 58-42 and Ankeny Christian beat Woodward Granger 64-45.

Scoring: Eley (24), Neuendorf (13), Angel (10), Guy (8), Larsen (6), Jamison (4), Lawson (2), Thompson (2)

Craigslist

2010-02-18T05:34:00.005-06:00

For Sale: Looking to sell a 6 foot 10 inch power forward. 230 lbs; 22 years old; From Palmdale, CA. Averaged about 20 points and 10 rebounds last year. Has gone backwards this year, but hey, we all have bumps in the road every now and then.
--Location-Ames, IA
--It’s not ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thud. That’s the sound of Craig Brackins' NBA stock officially hitting rock bottom. The box score itself doesn’t look terrible—14 points and 7 rebounds—but the shots Brackins was chucking up against Oklahoma State Wednesday night brought flashbacks of my 8-year olds Parks and Rec games. Brackins was 3-17 shooting, looking nothing like the NBA prospect he’s tabbed to be. He consistently tries to do too much on his own, and right now, he’s a detriment to both himself and the team. The way Brackins is playing, it looks like he’ll be back for a fourth year. Only question is—Do we want him?
(I’ll answer that at the end of the season)

The Face of ISU Athletics

2010-02-16T20:24:00.005-06:00

Quick. Who is the best basketball coach in Iowa State University history? How many of you said Johnny Orr? Larry Eustachy maybe? I bet there were a few Tim Floyd answers out there too. The answer is one of the most under-rated, under-appreciated people in this state’s sports history—Cyclone Women’s Coach Bill Fennelly.

It’s true, Johnny Orr brought “Hilton Magic” to Ames from 1981 through 1994, elevating the Cyclone men’s basketball program from irrelevant to national relevance. He won 218 games and took ISU to 6 NCAA Tournament appearances. His winning percentage at Iowa State was .522.

Tim Floyd had a magnificent run of his own from 1995 through 1998, compiling a 81-49 record (.623) and advancing to 3 NCAA Tournaments before bolting for the NBA's Chicago Bulls.

Larry Eustachy won two Big 12 Conference championships, advanced to 2 NCAA Tournaments, and won 101 games during his tenure from 1999-2003. He guided the Cyclones to the Elite 8 and won 63 percent of his games while at Iowa State before his infamous termination.

And then there’s ISU Women’s Coach Bill Fennelly. Is he the most under-appreciated coach in this state’s history? That could be debated. Certainly it’s not because he’s disliked. He’s one of the most likeable public figures in Iowa. But he’s the coach of a women’s basketball team, a team that even though they’ve been the most successful program (Men’s and Women’s) in this state over the past 15 years, they don’t get the publicity they deserve because…it’s women’s basketball, and traditionally, women’s basketball doesn’t sell. Traditionally.

But if Fennelly keeps his women’s program going the way it is, and the Cyclones and Hawkeyes men’s programs continue at their wretched pace, tradition may go out the window--quickly. Fennelly is about to eclipse the 500-win plateau. He is 324-145 at Iowa State in his 14 seasons. Prior to his arrival, the ISU women’s program had only won 237 games in its history! At ISU, Fennelly has racked up 9 20-win seasons, 2 Big 12 Championships, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, 4 trips to the Sweet 16, and 2 trips to the Elite 8. He is a 3-time finalist for the Naismith Coach of The Year Award. Perhaps most impressively, the Iowa State women have consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally in attendance. The year before Fennelly arrived, ISU averaged 733 people per game. Now, they average over 9,000 per game and ranked third last year in attendance finishing behind Tennessee and UConn—two women’s basketball powerhouses.

It’s time to appreciate Bill Fennelly for what he is—the best basketball coach in Iowa State University history, maybe in Iowa collegiate history period, and certainly—the current face of ISU. Now, can I trade in the rest of my men's tickets for women's please?

HISTORY MAKERS!

2010-02-12T21:59:00.006-06:00

With a 55-41 victory at Nevada Friday evening, the Colo-Nesco boys’ team broke the school record for most wins during the regular season with 19 (19-2). The previous marks were held in 1988-89 and 1989-90, when both teams finished the regular season with 18-2 marks. (In case you’re referencing Royal Reign, I accidentally put some of the post-season wins into the regular season record in 1989). After leading by only two points after the first period and three points at half-time, the Royals used a solid third quarter to pull away from the Cubs (4-14). Travis Guy scored 7 of his 17 points during a 13-3 run to start the third quarter. The defense came alive as well, allowing only 16 second-half points to Nevada.

Three years ago, when I began researching and writing the initial pages of Royal Reign, I had no idea who Coach Wynja, Brandon Eley, Travis Guy, Michael Warren, Austin Larsen, Weston Neuendorf, Ethan Jamison, ANY of the players on the current boys Colo-Nesco basketball team were. They had no idea who I was. I was out to write a history book, mostly about teams from 20-plus years ago. In fact, the boys team was coming off an 11-12 season; the girls off a 17-7 year. The book was mostly about these current players parents! The fact that the 2010 Colo-Nesco boys have just written their own piece of history is really cool. Congrats to Coach Wynja, the student body, and all the players and fans. But before we get too excited, the Royal boys have only conquered one mountain. The bigger mountains, the more significant peaks, lie directly ahead (thus the picture of a basketball hoop among mountains). Starting on Thursday, the Royals begin the trek toward State Tournament Mountain, a place the boys’ program has not been for 20 years. It’s been a great season—a record breaking season; but hopefully the best is yet to come.

Leading Scorers: Eley (20); Guy (17); Neuendorf (8); Larsen (8); Warren (2).

Valentines Tribute

2010-02-10T20:05:00.006-06:00

“The Team That Won My Heart”
Celebrating the 25-Year Anniversary of My Favorite Sports Team of All-Time

Maybe Iowa State University should cancel the rest of the Cyclone Men’s regular season in 2010 and show re-runs on the big screen from 25 years ago. I’m dead serious; it would be so much more exciting. 1985 was a pivotal year for the Cyclones--much like this year, except in a positive direction. Barry Stevens, Jeff Grayer, and Jeff Hornacek led the team to just its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and first under Head Coach Johnny Orr. ISU finished 21-13, but it seemed more like a 30-win season. Stevens, a senior, led the team with 21.7 points per game. Grayer, a freshman, averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds. Hornacek averaged 12.5 points. All three later played in the NBA. The team was deep with Gary Thompkins at the point guard spot, Ron Virgil, Ron Harris, Sam Hill, and even a young Lafester Rhodes on the bench.

Grayer and Stevens were nicknamed “The Flintstones” due to the fact they were both heralded recruits from Flint, Michigan. The Cyclones upset 10th ranked Kansas twice that year, and I can remember watching the Cyclones pre-game show with Pete Taylor like it was the Super Bowl. The Saturday noon tip-offs at Hilton Coliseum on Channel 5 were must-see TV, short shorts and all. Grayer ended his career as the Cyclones #1 all-time leading scorer. Barry Stevens is #2. Stevens died, unexpectedly in 2007. Here is an excerpt of a Des Moines Register Article by Randy Peterson and Jon Naughton on 2/21/07:
"Unbelievable," said Hallihan, an assistant to coach Johnny Orr during Stevens' Cyclone career. "When I got the call from the basketball office, I couldn't believe it." "Barry and Ron Harris are the two guys that turned the Iowa State program around," Hallihan said. Stevens came to Iowa State from Flint, Mich. Harris came from Chicago Heights, Ill. "Without those two guys, Iowa State might be a ... I don't know ... a whatever," Hallihan said. "They made a commitment to come out here to Ames and play, and the rest followed."

“In 1985, Stevens scored 47 points against Morgan State — the second-most points in a game by an Iowa State player. Stevens' career scoring mark placed him No. 1 in Cyclone history at the time, passing the then record of 1,752 set by Hercle Ivy. Fans loved Stevens' outside shot and breakaway dunks. "The thing I remember was him setting up deep in the corner, almost behind the basket," Hoiberg said. "That's when I really started following Iowa State basketball." Hoiberg wasn’t alone. If only I had a time machine.

Favorite Super Bowl Memories

2010-02-06T18:40:00.004-06:00

Why am I not excited about this year’s Super Bowl? If only the Vikings wouldn’t have thrown and fumbled the NFC Championship away. I can’t stand the Colts (not a Manning fan, and too many Hawkeye players on their team) and I’m pretty impartial to the Saints, even though I’m rooting for them. I’m not going to give you a bunch of analysis or a lengthy preview of Sunday’s Colts vs. Saints match up--you can get that kind of stuff anywhere. So here’s a list of some of my favorite all-time Super Bowl memories instead:

First Super Bowl Memory—-I may be dating myself a little here (not as much as some of you out there), but my first Super Bowl memory was the 1983 contest between the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins. In fact, that Redskins team was my first NFL love. And how could it not be? Watching a team with an offensive line called the “Hogs” and their pig-snout wearing fans, along with quarterback Joe Theismann, bruising running back John Riggins, Art Monk, and Dexter Manley were more than enough to win over the heart of a 7 year-old. They even had a wide receiver named Charlie Brown! Could it get any better than that? I remember getting a pair of Washington Redskins gloves for Christmas that next December--those big vinyl, astronaut looking kind. Man, those were cool. The Redskins beat the Dolphins, 27-17, and had one of the greatest seasons ever the following year, but were unable to repeat as champions, losing to Marcus Allen and the Raiders.

Favorite QB Match Up—1985; Joe Montana vs. Dan Marino—I was your typical bandwagon jumper at this stage of my life. By 1985, Dan Marino had won my heart, and I was sporting one of those sweet teal and orange Dolphins jerseys. It was one of my all-time favorite pieces of clothing. Miami had that great receiving duo of Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, but no running game to go with it. Joe Montana and the 49ers had a good running game with Roger Craig who scored three times as they annihilated Miami. By the way, the 49ers have some of the worst uniforms of any team in any league.

Best Super Bowl Team of My Lifetime—1986 Chicago Bears. I hate to admit it now, but the ’85 Bears were one of my favorite teams of all-time. Told you I was a bandwagon jumper. Isn’t it amazing that one of the greatest teams ever only went to one Super Bowl? Jim McMahon, Walter Payton (Loved Him!), Willie Gault, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Wilber Marshall, Jay Hilgenberg—what an incredible list of superstars that team had. And SO many different personalities. That’s what made this team really fun. And who can forget the Super Bowl Shuffle?

And that’s when it all changed for me. After the Bears’ championship excitement wore off and Walter Payton’s career began to fade, I set my allegiances to one team and one team alone: The Denver Broncos. The reason? John Elway—still my favorite athlete of all-time. There was NO ONE better in clutch situations than #7. There was no one more fearless, more confident, and more fun to watch than him. Never will be. I had to endure three humiliating Super Bowl defeats in 1987, 1988, and 1990, but that just made Denver’s Back-To-Back titles in 1998 and 1999 all the sweeter. Elway retired after that 1999 win, going out on top, and the Super Bowl has never been the same for me since. It’s still fun, but not what it used to be.

If you really want to know who’s going to win this year’s big game, I pick the Colts, 35-28, as Peyton Manning secures his status as one of the greatest ever. Ugh. Anybody have any 80’s Super Bowls on VHS I could borrow? And send some Doritos and Throw-Back Pepsi with it.

Secretaries of Defense

2010-02-05T21:55:00.004-06:00

Maybe President Obama should add the Royal Guard to his military arsenal. After all, no one is defending like the Royals these days. Colo-Nesco held its second opponent of the season under 30 points Friday night with a 56-27 victory over Gilbert. The Royals improved to 18-2 and have now held 9 consecutive opponents under 50 points. Since their last defeat nearly a month ago, the Royals have held opponents to an average of 38.6 points per game.

The quick hands and feet, hustle, and shot-blocking ability of the Royals continue to give teams fits offensively. Gilbert’s only lead was 3-0, before Colo-Nesco went on an 8-0 run. The half-time score was 26-15, and the defense clamped down even tighter in the second, allowing just 12 second-half points to the frustrated Tigers. I’d like to give you an accurate box score, but the Royals' hands weren’t the only pesky hands in the building. I had my daughter along for this one, and her energy nearly matched that of the Royals, causing me to lose track of one of the scores. (Speaking of mistaken box scores, the six assists in the Jefferson-Scranton game should have been credited to Austin Larsen). Here’s what I got: Eley (25), Guy (10), Larsen (6), Neuendorf (5), Jamison (4), Warren (2), Angel (2), and Michael Warren had somewhere close to a million blocked shots. The Royals finish out the regular season next week with games against Meskwaki (Seriously, how did that get on the schedule? I could have some amazing creativity with that blog!) and Nevada.

And another note: Thanks to Shane George for helping me with my new Sports Caffeine logo! He’s the best.

Correction: According to the Ames Trib. this morning, Brandon Eley had 23 points, and Ethan Jamison had 8 points. Hopefully this is official!

Royals Get Big Win; Tourney Brackets Set

2010-02-03T18:11:00.004-06:00

The Royals victory against Jefferson-Scranton Tuesday night not only kept them in the hunt for the most regular season wins in school history, it also gave them the #1 seed in their district heading into tournament play. Colo-Nesco won 51-41 behind a big night from Travis Guy (20 points), Michael Warren (10 points and 4 blocks) and Ethan Jamison and Austin Larsen-who contributed with great rebounding and playmaking. It takes an entire team effort to make a state tournament run, and the Royals proved they could still win against good competition without a big scoring night from Brandon Eley.

The District pairings came out today, with Colo-Nesco receiving a first round game at home against the winner of Martensdale St. Mary’s (3-13) and Twin Cedars, Bussey (3-15). That game will be played Thursday, February 18th at 7 pm in Colo. Assuming a win, the Royals would then face the winner of Melcher-Dallas (9-7) and Grand View Park Baptist (8-11) on Tuesday, February 23rd at a site to be determined. The District Championship will be held on Thursday, February 25th at 7 pm in Ankeny. The opponent will come from a group of Ankeny Christian (15-1; #2 seed), Woodward-Granger (3-11), Iowa Christian (12-1; #3 seed), and Madrid (11-5). The sub state game will be held on Saturday, February 27th at West Des Moines Valley against a likely opponent of either Lamoni (16-2) or Murray (11-6). (Note: Melcher-Dallas, CN’s potential second round opponent, handed Lamoni one of their two losses earlier in the season).

The Coolest Plane Ride EVER

2010-02-01T21:14:00.003-06:00

Although it happened over three years ago, I didn’t have a writing outlet at the time. So I’ll tell the story now.

I’ve taken many a plane ride over the course of my 34 years, but none were as unique as this one. (Well, okay, the time I sat right behind adult movie-star Ron Jeremy may have been a bit unique, but not in a good way. And the only reason I knew his identity was because some of my co-workers explained to me who he was and what all the commotion was about. Anyway, that was an interesting experience in its own right. The guy fell asleep, and while he slept with his mouth wide open, nearly EVERY passenger on the plane took the opportunity to walk past and snap a photo with his or her camera-phone! But I digress).

As I was aboard my American Airlines flight to Orlando this past week, my mind raced back to my last trip to Florida three years ago for my brothers wedding at Sanibel Island near Fort Myers. The whole family was with, including my daughter who was just 1-½ years old. It was her first experience on an airplane and it was not pleasant—for any of us. In fact, if the story I’m about to tell hadn’t happened, it would have been one of the most miserable three hours of my life. She screamed for about half the flight, especially on take-off and landing, probably due to the tubes that had just been put in her ears shortly before our trip. Since there were five of us, I was in a seat directly across the aisle from the rest of my family, seated next to an older couple who was nicely dressed and friendly looking. They noticed my Red Sox attire and began to strike up a conversation with me, telling me they were from Boston. Surprised by my enthusiasm for the Red Sox and my knowledge of the team as a Midwesterner, we began talking as though we were lifelong friends. By that time, my daughter had calmed down, and the couple had taken such a liking to her, that she was sitting on their laps while they read books to her! It wasn’t long into the conversation that I found out that the couple I was speaking with was none other than Mr. And Mrs. Ed Brickley. Now that name probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but Ed Brickley was the public address announcer for THE Boston Red Sox from 1997-2002. By the end of the plane ride, Mr. Brickley had given me his business card, wrote his personal cell-phone number on the back, and told me to call him for a personal tour of Fenway Park the next time I was there! His title at the time of our visit was “Legends Suite Host” and his role was to entertain famous guests to the ballpark inside the Legends Suite.

Although I haven’t been back to Fenway since, and I don’t even know if Mr. Brickley is still there, that plane ride three years ago--screaming toddler and all--was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I think the Lord just knew that day that I needed something a little extra special to get me through that flight…And that’s how the story of an airplane ride fits onto a sports blog.

Royals Take Aim At History

2010-01-31T13:59:00.004-06:00

With 4 games remaining in the regular season, the Colo-Nesco boys' basketball team has a shot at school history. The most wins by a boys team during the regular season is 18 (1989, 1990). With a record of 16-2, the boys need to win three of their final four games to eclipse that mark.

After a 44-39 victory over North Polk Friday night, the Royals have just one home game remaining. The win wrapped up the Heart of Iowa Conference Small Division title for Colo-Nesco, who now prepares for one of the toughest match ups of the season as they go on the road to face Jefferson-Scranton (11-3). J-S is led by 6'7" senior center Nolan Muench who averages 12.8 points per game. The Rams beat Roland-Story twice this season by a combined total of 13 points, and their three losses are to Carroll (#1 team in 3A), Carroll-Kuemper and Bondurant-Farrar.

The Royals final three games of the season are at home against Gilbert, and on the road against Meskwaki and Nevada. At 16-2, the Royals are just on the verge of the class 1A top ten. Their 16 wins is tied for second in the state of Iowa (all schools). So, pollsters, how come no love for the Royals?

Think You’ve Seen The Last of Brett Favre? Think Again.

2010-01-25T21:02:00.005-06:00

So Brett Favre says his return next season is “highly unlikely.” Yeah right. If you think for one second that Favre is going to let the lasting image of his legacy be an interception that may have cost his team a trip to the Super Bowl, think again. No matter how much you dislike the constant waffling back and forth about retirement, no matter how much you want him to go away, it’s not happening. Consider the following: Favre threw for 4200 yards this season--the third highest total of his career. He threw 33 touchdowns--his highest total since 1997. The 7 interceptions he threw were the lowest total of his career. He had the second highest number of completions of his career with 363, and his highest completion percentage of his entire career (68.4%). All at age 40.

Do Vikings fans want him back? I guess the logical answer to that question would be “Is there anyone better?” Sports teams all have windows of opportunity that only stay open for so long. It seems like the Vikings window of opportunity is right now and Vikings fans understand that. An unscientific survey on the St. Paul Pioneer Press website shows a majority of Vikings fans DO want Favre to return. He clearly has the respect and confidence of his teammates, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else leading the team better next year than #4 did this year; although there are already rumors the team will pursue Eagles QB Donovan McNabb as his replacement.

Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian was questioned about Favre's status. He replied, “It’s still early. Way too early. Brett is liable to change his mind five, 10 times down the road.” Favre owes it to this franchise to make a decision early and stick to it. But this is Brett Favre we’re talking about, and no matter how many times he says he’s retiring in the next few months, don’t believe him. He’s coming back.

A Special Night In Colo

2010-01-24T13:37:00.014-06:00

Trying to come up with the words to describe last night's game in Colo is not coming easily to me today. Maybe it's writer's block. Maybe it's the fact that I'm exhausted from yesterday, preparing for my son's 8th birthday party today, trying to get ready for a big presentation tomorrow at work, and trying to get ready for a 4-day work trip to Florida--which means I'm going to miss the next 2 Royals games.

So, here's just a few random thoughts:

1. The Royal boys played awesome last night, improving to 14-2 with a convincing win over Roland-Story.

2. I haven't talked much about the Royal girls this year, but I want to encourage them too. I think they have improved greatly over the course of the season, they're young, and they're well-coached. The wins will come.

3. About the events of the evening, I will say this to everyone: I think it was one of the most special nights that gym has ever seen. Dwight and Kristi Eley, Randy Stoeffler, Jon Cutler, the booster board, everyone behind the scenes, the current team, the administration, and the Royal Reign teams were the ones who made it special. Like I told some of the 1990 players--they were the ones that wrote the story, I was just the one that was crazy enough to make it into a book. And it wouldn't have been near as fun without that great win by the boys. It set the tone.

4. Dan Wright of the Ames Tribune wrote a good piece about the events last night. I can't get the link to work, but you can view it at the Ames Tribune.com website.

Royals Defense Snows GVPB; Prepares For White Out

2010-01-22T22:26:00.002-06:00

Just 24 hours before the “White Out,” the Colo-Nesco defense once again held an opponent under 45 points. The Royals improved to 13-2 with a 55-39 victory on Friday evening over Grand View Park Baptist.

Now the Royals can turn their focus to Saturday night’s rematch with Roland-Story; a game the school has designated as a “White Out” when all fans are to wear white. The White Out has been made famous by the Penn State football program. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Penn State first tried the White Out during the 2004 season, when Purdue came to town with Heisman Trophy candidate Kyle Orton at quarterback. Orton struggled, and Purdue was held a couple of hundred yards below its average in total offense…the White Out reached it zenith when Penn State knocked off Ohio State (2005) at home, 17-10, before a frenzied, white-wearing crowd. The stadium was rocking – literally.” (Sam Ross Jr., October 13, 2006)

Now, the Royals hope their own stadium will be rocking—literally, on a night when the school will induct it’s first-ever Hall of Fame class with the 1990 boys state champion team.

Scoring vs. GVPB: Eley (25); Warren (13); Neuendorf (8); Larsen (5); Guy (4)

Lucca(fer) Staiger

2010-01-20T21:28:00.006-06:00

Lucifer n: the devil; Satan

There’s a famous phrase in a movie that Iowa is known for which says, “Is this heaven?” Kevin Costner replies, “No. It’s Iowa.” ISU Coach Greg McDermott might beg to differ right about now. And Lucca Staiger is the latest demon to haunt his teetering program.

Lucca Staiger—the 6’5” shooting guard from Germany—decided on Tuesday that he was quitting the team, putting the already thin Cyclones (just 7 scholarship players active now) in a precarious situation. I thought all day about this, and here’s what I’ve concluded.

1. We may actually be a better team (this season anyway) without him—While Lucca had one of the prettiest three-point strokes I’ve ever seen, that’s ALL he had. He couldn’t guard, couldn’t drive to the basket, couldn’t even MOVE to the basket. I pulled more than one hair out this season watching him camp out on the wing. Scott Christopherson is a much more well-rounded player, and I think the offense (and the defense) could actually improve without Staiger.

2. Other than point #1, there’s really nothing else positive to say about this mess. Lucca knew what this team was up against, and making a decision to quit in the middle of it all is just about the biggest pansy move I’ve ever seen. Staiger says it’s about the money, and that his chances to play pro ball may not be there in 7 weeks when the season is over. He may be right about the last part, because the way he’s been playing, he may have worn out all his supposed value by the end of the year. YOU CAN’T QUIT YOUR TEAM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON!

3. How much at fault is McDermott? This is the question I’ve been troubled with all day. We may never know the answer. What we do know is, ultimately, Coach McDermott is responsible for recruiting, coaching, and winning. One of the biggest parts of recruiting, is not only to get good players, but players that will have good chemistry with each other and fit into the overall style of the program. That’s where I have a problem with Coach McD. He’s recruited good players, but not ones that are a good fit for his system or mesh into a cohesive unit. The other problem I see is there seems to be some kind of a disconnect between coach and players. There’s an undeniable pattern with Wesley Johnson, Chris Colvin, Brackins to some extent, and now Staiger.

And point #3 is where I finish. The question is, where does Iowa State finish? What does Jamie Pollard do? I had this discussion with a friend today that said he believes McDermott is “in over his head.” I hate to say it, but he may be right.

Iowa State basketball doesn't feel very heavenly at the moment. In fact, it's getting rather hot here in Cyclone country.

Royals Kick Off Special Week With a Win

2010-01-20T17:27:00.002-06:00

The 2009-2010 edition of Colo-Nesco boys’ basketball is walking on hallowed ground. With a win over South Hamilton Tuesday night, the Royals improved to 12-2, the school's best record since (ready for this?)-- The 1990 State Champion squad. How fitting is it, then, that the 1990 State Champion team will be honored at this coming Saturday’s game against Roland-Story? That’s right, it’s been a full 20 years since the glory run of Brian Wildeboer, Brad Miller & Co. It’s set to be a special night in Colo as the current Royals look for revenge against the Norsemen who handed CN it’s second loss of the season in a tough-fought battle in Story City last week. The ceremonies will also honor the 1989-1992 Colo-Nesco girls’ squads who went a combined 103-9 and advanced to four straight state tournaments.

The Royal boys got their 12th win last night at South Hamilton, 52-36, behind another solid defensive effort; a defensive effort the 1990 team would have been proud of. 1990 State Champion Coach Doyle Miller’s motto was: “Defense Wins Championships.” This year’s team has held 10 opponents under 45 points, a feat the championship team was only able to accomplish 8 times. The big difference between the 1990 team and this one though is offensive firepower. The 1990 team scored 80 points or more 13 times. This years Royals have accomplished that feat just once. Getting it done on offense for the Royals against South Hamilton were: Eley (19); Guy (8); Larsen (7); Jamison (6); Warren (4); Neuendorf (4); Angell (2); Lawson (2).

As the school gets set to honor the team(s) that set the gold standard, the 2010 squad looks to establish a legacy of it’s own. Calling all Royals fans—Let’s get out Saturday night and support this team retro-style--the way the 1990 team was with a packed gym, and enough electricity to run the local power plant.

High School Tourney Preview

2010-01-17T21:07:00.009-06:00

Believe it or not, the high school basketball tournaments are just about a month away. That means spring is just around the corner! What a fun time of year. Now that everyone has played at least half their schedule, we have a pretty good feel for who the contenders are in Districts 11 and 12. Here’s a breakdown of Colo-Nesco’s district and their opposing district to get to the state tournaments in March. All stats are through Friday, January 15, not including Friday night’s games.

Record; Off/Def PPG; Opponents W/L Record District 11
Ankeny Christian 9-0; 70/39; 31-51
Colo-Nesco 10-2; 57/44; 51-75
Iowa Christian Ac. 7-1; 67/47; 24-51
Madrid 6-2; 46/42; 33-45
Melcher-Dallas 6-3; 63/52; 34-55

District 12
Lamoni 8-1; 73/54; 35-37
Murray 7-2; 67/51; 25-56
Mt. Ayr 6-4; 61/56; 50-35
Orient-Macksburg 4-2; 54/45; 18-24

Colo-Nesco—Led by junior Brandon Eley, who averages 19 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals per game. Senior Travis Guy averages 11 points, and shoots 43 % from three-point distance. Michael Warren is one of the states leading shot-blockers with 47. The Royals best win is against West Marshall (8-2). West Marshall is now rated #8 in class 2A. The Royals won that game, 60-57. The Royals two losses are to PCM (8-3), and Roland-Story (6-4). Both losses were by double digits; both teams are 2A schools.

Ankeny Christian—Led by junior 5’11 point guard Tim Olejniczak (pronounced Olen-chak), who averages 23 points per game and is a deadly three-point shooter (nearly 50% on the season: 32-75). Have two seniors who also average double digits and have good size—6’5” Jay Snyder (14 ppg) and 6’4” Jason Cameron (12 ppg). Their best wins are against Elk Horn (6-1) and Iowa Christian Academy (7-1), and Orient-Macksburg (4-2). They beat Elk Horn Kimballton 59-49, Iowa Christian 59-52, and O-M 53-46.

Iowa Christian—Led by senior 6’4” small forward Keaton Schut, who averages 19 ppg. Also get double digit scoring from 6’1” junior Colton Barton (10 ppg), and 9 points per game from 6’5” center Andrew Klenk. Their best win is against Orient-Macksburg (4-2), who they defeated 67-53. Their one loss is to Ankeny Christian.

Madrid—Led by junior 6’6” center Mike Sievers, who averages 16 points per game. Also get 14 points per game from senior guard TJ Van Dyke. Madrid’s best win is against West Central (5-5). Their two losses are to Panorama (7-3) and Guthrie Center (8-2). They lost to Panorama 49-42, and to Guthrie Center 43-37.

Melcher-Dallas—Led by senior Clint Wetterling, who averages 19 points per game, and makes 55 % of his shot attempts. Also get 14 points per game from senior Matt Maxfield and 11 points per game from junior Robert Bingham. Jake Waddle averages 8 rebounds per game. Their best win is against Lamoni (8-1), who they defeated 84-69. Their three losses are to Iowa Christian (77-49), Moulton-Udell (81-73), and Chariton (69-51). Moulton-Udell is 5-3, and Chariton is 4-4 and is a 3A school.

Lamoni—Led by senior 6’7” center Sterling Sherman, who averages 16 points/ 14 rebounds/ 3 blocks per game. Have 3 other players who all average double figures: 5’11” senior Alex Carr (17 ppg); 5’11” Cordell Towers (11 ppg); 6’4” junior Tyler Seymour (10 ppg). Their best wins are against Murray (7-2), and Mount Ayr (6-4). They beat Murray 65-56, and Mount Ayr 67-64. Their one loss is to Melcher-Dallas.

Mount Ayr—Led by Malcolm Mercer who averages 15 points per game. 4 others average at least 7 points per game. Their best win is against Murray (7-2) who they defeated 79-60. Their four losses are to Bedford (10-0), Nodaway (7-2), Lamoni (8-1), and I-35 (5-2). Bedford is rated #3 in class 1A. They lost to Bedford by 19 points, Nodaway by one point, Lamoni by 4 points, and I-35 by 15.

Murray—Led by freshman sensation Austin Halls. Halls is a 6’ guard who is averaging 25 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists per game. He is joined by fellow freshman Cody Scroggie, a 5’10” guard who is averaging 15 points per game. The duo has made 50 of 133 three pointers on the year also. Murray doesn’t have a win over a team with a winning record. They lost to Mount Ayr by 19 points, and Lamoni by 9.

Orient-Macksburg—Led by junior Michael Kaufman who averages 19 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Kyle Thompson chips in with 11 points per game. They also have not defeated a team with a winning record. Their two losses are to Ankeny Christian Academy and Elk Horn Kimballton.

Weekend Sports Watch

2010-01-16T11:11:00.009-06:00

This weekend we will find out:

1. Which Hawkeye will make the biggest difference? Will it be Nate Kaeding for the Chargers, or Shonn Greene for the Jets? Both former Hawkeyes could be difference makers for their respective teams as they face each other for the right to advance to the AFC title game. Prediction: This one will be all Nate Kaeding and the San Diego Chargers. Kaeding won't have to worry about his post-season jinx as the Chargers roll.

2. If the Colts management are genius' or idiots--The decision to bench starters the last couple weeks of the regular season with an undefeated season on the line has drawn the criticism of just about everyone. We'll find out this weekend if it was the right decision. Prediction: Peyton Manning is one of the greatest QB's of all time. But even the best parts get rusty if you don't keep them well oiled. The Colts starters haven't played meaningfull minutes in nearly a month. Rusty Colts vs. Runnin' Ravens equals Baltimore victory.

3. What's better? "Home Field Advantage" or "Hottest Team in The League"? I can't wait for this one. The Minnesota Vikings--with the advantage of one of the noisiest stadiums in the league, Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre at the healm, the leagues best RB in Adrian Peterson, and the leagues most exciting defensive player in Jared Allen--take on the hottest team in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have won three straight, including a win over then-unbeaten New Orleans. The defense has posted two straight shutouts, and Tony Romo looks like he's finally figured out that there's more to life than Jessica Simpson. Prediction: The dome will be rockin, and the Brett Favre acquisition will prove to be the biggest move in pro sports this year as the Vikings advance to the NFC title game.

4. Will this be Kurt Warner's last game? Rumors abound that Warner will retire after this season. Question is, will the end of the Cardinals' season be this weekend, or later? If you enjoyed last weekends offensive explosion between Arizona and Green Bay, then just wait until this matchup between Arizona and the NFL's league-leading offense of the New Orleans Saints. Prediction: Warners career continues for another week. Just like the Colts, the Saints are rusty. The Cardinals will return to the NFC title game against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis next weekend.

5. Will ISU's recovery continue? The Cyclone men have lost 16 straight Big 12 road games. Tonights contest at Nebraska HAS to result in the end of that streak if the Cyclones want any chance at a tournament bid. Prediction: The Huskers are 12-5, are deep, but don't have any superstars. The one common opponent the two teams have played this year is St. Louis. The Cyclones beat St. Louis 65-54. The Huskers lost to them, 69-55. Look for a solid Cyclone victory tonight as the recovery continues.

Cyclones Condition Improves From Critical to Stable

2010-01-13T23:23:00.000-06:00

For a program that was on life support, a more than respectable performance against the nations #1 team was just what the doctor ordered. In fact, for one half, it seemed like all was well again in Cyclone Nation. A wildly entertaining first half had Hilton Coliseum rocking like the good old days as the Cyclones carried a 44-42 lead into the locker room. But we knew the Clones were probably in trouble, having played about as well as they could possibly play in the first half, and only leading by 2. Like the words of a famous Bon Jovi song, they were only half-way there, and yes, they were living on a prayer--mostly to the tune of six first half 3-pointers.

The Longhorns came out in the second half and proved why they are the #1 team in the nation, going on a 10-0 run to start the half. They did it with a trapping, full court defense that ISU couldn’t figure out, and when they did, the lethal damage had already been done. It could have gotten ugly at that point as it looked like Texas was going to run the Cyclones right out of the gym. But Iowa State showed determination, heart, and hustle and did everything they could to keep the game within striking distance. Every time it looked like they were going to cut the lead to five or less, the Longhorns had an answer. In the end, it was a 90-83 loss, but it was a loss that, in some strange way, felt better than the two-point win against North Dakota State last Saturday. Texas is just on another level, a Final-Four level. They could play this game ten times, and 7 points is probably as close as ISU would ever get. Maybe, just maybe, this team is on the road to recovery.

Sports Smorgasbord

2010-01-12T22:01:00.007-06:00

The Critical Nature of The ISU/Texas Game
They say everything is bigger in Texas. The Cyclones are about to find out just how much bigger as 6’10”, 290 pound center Dexter Pittman (pictured) and the #1 Texas Longhorns visit Hilton Coliseum Wednesday night. Texas (15-0) is coming off a 103-point outburst against Colorado last Saturday. Rumor has it that there are serious issues going on behind the scenes in the ISU locker room. Chris Colvin (ISU’s star freshman recruit) was suspended indefinitely for walking out of a closed-door meeting after the Duke loss last week. Apparently there have been other “tweets” and conversations about dissension in the ranks. As McDermott appears dangerously close to losing this team, this game becomes critical not only for the direction of the rest of this season, but possibly his career.

Colo-Nesco
How do you know you have basketball fever? I guess when you can’t make it to a Royals game (home late from kid’s basketball practice) and pace the house like a caged lion, wondering how the game is going. That’s what happened Tuesday night as the Royals faced Bondurant-Farrar. I just found out the Royals squeaked out a close one: 40-37. Great win. Royals improve to 10-2. Wish I could tell you more.

Lane Kiffin to USC: Maybe Al Davis Was Right?
You’ll never hear those words out of my mouth again, but hear me out on this one. I think Al Davis (Owner of the Oakland Raiders) is just about the worst owner in all of sports. But after the news that Lane Kiffin (a former coach for the Raiders that Davis both hired and fired) bolted to USC after just one season at Tennessee, you have to wonder if he was right with his comments about him. According to an article by Beth Rucker of Rivals.com, Davis said that Kiffin was “a liar who brought disgrace on the Raiders.” I’m guessing there are about 6 million Volunteer fans that would echo that statement tonight. Kiffin was the flashy new-hire in Knoxville last year who brought in a great recruiting class and had seemingly restored some of the luster to the Tennessee football program. Along the way, he also incurred some NCAA violations, so he should be a PERFECT fit for USC in Southern California. Kiffin better hurry--you don't want to mess with a bunch of ticked off Smoky-Mountain men with muskets and bloodhounds chasing you after you've disgraced their football program!

Alabama/Texas BCS Title Game
It really was too bad that Texas QB Colt McCoy got hurt in this game. It would have been interesting to see what the outcome might have been with him in there for the whole thing. At the same time, Texas blew two golden opportunities early to put the Tide behind the 8-ball. Two red-zone opportunities, two field goals. Six points instead of fourteen, then Coach Mack Brown makes a BONEHEAD move to shovel-pass right before half time, and before you can blink, the Longhorns are down 18. I like Texas and Alabama so much that I shut the TV off and went to bed at half time after that. Seriously, Mack Brown’s wife could coach Texas to a National Championship game. It’s TEXAS for crying out loud! Where they give babies footballs instead of pacifiers, and half the nations five-star recruits practically beg to play for the Longhorns.

Royals Bid For 10th Straight Falls Short

2010-01-11T22:07:00.003-06:00

Ahhh….My first blogging dilemma. Is it professional to criticize high school officiating in this new realm of blogging, tweeting, and texting? On November 10, NBA star Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic was fined $15,000 for using his personal blog to criticize officials. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is so well known for his public disaffection for referees that he now makes matching contributions to charities for his fines by the NBA. Since 2000, he’s been fined over 1.5 million dollars for criticizing officials!

Well, I don’t think there are any rules in the Iowa High School Athletic Association about publicly denouncing referees, but I don’t want to be the one to set the precedent. Let’s just say it was a tough night in Story City. The Royal boys (9-2) fell by the score of 57-45 to the Jekyll and Hyde Norsemen (5-4). The Norsemen have been up and down all year, losing to Grand View Park Baptist (a team the Royals beat by 19), but beating Nevada by 34 and Bondurant-Farrar by 2. Half of Roland-Story’s games had been decided by 2 points before tonight, winning two and losing two. Tonight, it was the inside/out combination of Skaar and Rathmacher that proved to be too much for the Royals. Roland-Story led the entire game, and the Royals couldn’t find a second scorer or buy an outside basket. After trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, the Royals went on a 10-0 run to end the half, trailing 26-22 at the break. They pulled within two by the end of the third, 35-33, and we had a barnburner on our hands. Colo-Nesco pulled within one, 39-38, before the Norse went on another run. Trailing by 5 with 1:29 to go, a questionable foul was called on Brandon Eley fouling him out of the game. The wheels fell off after that as the Norse hit seemingly every free throw they had (and they had a lot of them).

No rest for the weary. Bondurant-Farrar comes to town Tuesday night as the Royals play their third game in four days.

Scoring: Eley (25); Neuendorf (8); Guy (4); Larsen (4); Jamison (2); Warren (2).

Basketball Saturday

2010-01-09T22:19:00.003-06:00

I committed the better part of the day on Saturday to attending basketball games. I was able to take my daughter to the Iowa State/North Dakota State game Saturday afternoon, fully expecting to leave the game midway through the second half with no doubts about the outcome. After all, my daughter is only 4 years old, and popcorn and ice cream can only keep her attention for so long. Only problem was, the Cyclones decided they weren’t going to play defense, or rebound, or run an offense. Again. The game wasn’t decided until the final seconds, with NDSU missing a three-point basket that would have won the game. Final score, 73-71, ISU.

You can read my rant about the Duke performance in my last blog, and then you can apply the exact same principles to this game. Only problem is, North Dakota State isn’t exactly Duke. Not even close. NDSU is 5-10, with losses against teams named Utah Valley, IUPUI and Southern Utah. The Cyclones have now given up at least 18 offensive rebounds the last three games in a row. Sure, one of those was the Duke game, but the other two were Houston and NDSU. Craig Brackins may be the worst defender in the Big 12. Good thing they don’t play defense in the NBA. As for the offense, I was sitting in front of two older ladies who carried conversation as though they didn’t know a lot about basketball. At one point, they commented, “Why does everyone stand around on offense?” Enough said.

After the game was over, I drove to Colo--to see a REAL basketball team. The Colo-Nesco boys improved to 9-1 with a convincing 60-24 win over East Marshall. The Royals performance was a breath of fresh air with stifling defense, great rebounding, good movement on offense, and great teamwork. The first half was the Travis Guy show, as he hit his first 4 consecutive three-point attempts. He had 12 points in the first half. The second half was the Brandon Eley show. Eley scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half, mostly off turnovers and fast breaks. Bondurant-Farrar comes to town on Tuesday with a 5-2 record.

Royals Scoring: Eley—24; Guy—12; Neuendorf—6; Warren—4; Jamison—4; Larsen—4; Angel—2; Thompson—2; Lawson—2.

Performance Against Duke An Embarassment

2010-01-07T16:58:00.003-06:00

Performance Against Duke An Embarrassment

Ten thoughts about the 21 point loss to Duke:

1. Craig Brackins is NOT ready for the NBA--too soft, doesn't attack basket, doesn't rebound.
2. Our offensive strategy is worse than a junior high team--I'll get to this at the end.
3. Nobody hustles
4. Nobody rebounds—It’s not for lack of size: Hamilton—6’11; Brackins—6’10; Gilstrap—6’6. Even our guards are big! Staiger—6’5; Garrett—6’4
5. There’s no discipline
6. There’s no help defense
7. There’s no heart
8. Why did Wesley Johnson leave, again? Perhaps the only thing worse than watching the Cyclones get crushed last night was watching Wesley Johnson lead #7 Syracuse to victory in the game televised right before it. The announcers were gushing over Johnson and his talent. Not to mention his 18 points and ability to score from anywhere on the court.
9. We haven’t beaten a top 25 team in McDermott’s tenure and it doesn’t look like we’re anywhere close to being able to
10. There’s no adjustments being made by the coaching staff during games

I don’t like to publicly ridicule coaches on message boards/blogs, but I’ve seen enough. I’m a season-ticket holder, and last night’s performance was just an extension of every other game I’ve seen this year. So many of those problems listed above are related to coaching: hustling, lack of heart, rebounding, discipline on offense and defense, lack of adjustments being made during games, and especially our offensive strategy. I can maybe count on one hand the number of times during a game that this team actually runs an offensive set. There’s absolutely no movement, no teamwork, very few screens, and very few cuts. It’s pathetic. When Brackins has the ball, the other four players stand and watch, literally. Maybe the answer to thought #8 lies in everything I’ve just complained about. Maybe, by the end of the season, McDermott can get this figured out? By then, it's another lost season.

Sports Smorgasbord

2010-01-06T17:03:00.008-06:00

Too many choices to blog about this week, so I'll give you a good variety:

1. Iowa Football--As a Cyclone fan, watching last nights Orange Bowl was downright scary. I'll give the Hawks credit in this one; they dominated that game. I've been skeptical all season long with their unconvincing wins against teams like UNI, Arkansas State and Indiana. But last night, there was no doubt--this defense is as nasty as they come, and the scary part (as a 'Clone fan) is that most of that defense (and offense) will be back next year. Boy, do I hope Adrian Clayborn changes his mind and decides to go pro! On the flip side, that was a PERFECT match-up for the Hawks. Georgia Tech is too one-dimensional, and that one dimension played right into the hands of that tenacious run-stopping Iowa defense.

2. Iowa State Basketball--In the next 30 days, we'll find out if the Cyclone Men's basketball team is good enough to make the tournament. It all begins tonight with a clash against the 12-1 Duke Blue Devils, rated #5 in the nation. Next Wednesday the Cyclones face #2 Texas, and ten days later: #1 Kansas. Doesn't get much more difficult than that. The way I see it, ISU needs to get at least one win out of those 3 games in order to make the NCAA Tournament. Two wins against three of the nations top ten could be the makings of a special season.

3. Mike Leach and Texas Tech--I'm not a Texas Tech football fan, but this story is one everyone is talking about. What Mike Leach did was stupid; plain and simple. You can't lock anyone (especially someone who's suffering from a concussion AND whose dad is a national television analyst) into a "closet" or "shed" in the year 2010 and expect it to go unnoticed. 50 years ago, maybe, but not today. Whether it was a fire-able offense or not is not so plain and simple. Both the "shed" and "closet" were quite large, and the player was in no threat of any kind of danger. From all accounts, Adam James is a spoiled, rich, son of a former NFL running back, who thinks the world should serve him everything on a silver platter. After all the complaining (allegedly) his father and ESPN analyst, Craig James did to Coach Leach to try to get his son playing time, you can't blame Leach for WANTING to give James his college discipline version of a "timeout" by putting him in those places. But wanting to do something like that and actually DOING something like that is what got him in trouble. In my mind, it all comes down to money. Leach was in the first year of a huge contract that Texas Tech decided they didn't want to pay, and this was their "out." Consider this: Texas Tech Athletic Director Gerald Myers is the same AD who HIRED Bob Knight to coach the Red Raider basketball team back in 2001. Talk about a double standard.

4. Colo Nesco Basketball--There was no sluggishness to be found on this basketball team after a long holiday break. The Royals crushed Collins-Maxwell Baxter on Tuesday night, 82-34, behind a season high 27 points from Travis Guy, 20 from Brandon Eley, and 10 points/7 assists/6 rebounds/6 steals from Austin Larsen who had his best game of the season. After a busy holiday schedule, I'm excited to get back and watch the upstart Royals.

Big 4 Mens Basketball Players Of The Decade

2009-12-29T17:19:00.006-06:00

The decade started out with so much promise. Iowa State made the Elite 8 where they were edged out by eventual National Champion Michigan State. Don't even get me started on that one. Larry Eustachy was the AP Coach of The Year. The Cyclones finished 32-5, rated #3 in the Coaches Poll. They were Big 12 regular season AND tournament champions. It looked like ISU was a school on the rise nationally. Then Marcus Fizer decided to go pro, Hampton pulled one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, Eustachy decided to party like it was 1999, and it was all down-hill from there. At least for the Cyclones.

The Hawkeyes began the decade with a new coach: Steve Alford. Remember all the hoopla surrounding the former Hoosier legend? It certainly didn't diminish after his first game as the Hawkeyes Coach--they beat #1 UConn in Madison Square Garden. It was a roller coaster ride after that which included NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2005, the Pierre Pierce debacle, and an embarrassing loss to Northwestern State in the first round of the 2006 tourney which would be the straw that broke the back on the Alford era.

The UNI Panthers, remarkably, have been the state's most consistently successful men's basketball program of the 90's. After making the field of 64 just once in the 1990's, UNI advanced four times in the 2000's: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009.

As for Drake, who can forget their remarkable run in 2008 with one-year-wonder Coach Keno Davis? The Bulldogs finished 28-5, Davis was National Coach of The Year, and Drake made a decade of bad basketball all worthwhile during that magical 5-month span.

It certainly was an interesting decade of college basketball for the state of Iowa. Putting together an All-Decade Team for this group was no easy task, but here it goes. Let me know what you think by posting your thoughts.

1st Team:
C---Craig Brackins--ISU--2007,2008,2009: 16.1 PPG; 7.4 RPG
PF--Reggie Evans--Iowa--2001,2002 : 15.2 PPG; 11.5 RPG
SF--Marcus Fizer--ISU--2000: 22.8 PPG; 7.7 RPG
SG--Josh Young--Drake--2007,2008,2009: 13.8 PPG; 3 RPG; 1 SPG; 218 3-pointers
PG--Jamaal Tinsley--ISU--2000,2001: 12.6 PPG; 4.4 RPG; 2.5 SPG; 6.0 APG

2nd Team:
C---Grant Stout--UNI--2005,2006,2007: 11.8 PPG; 8.4 RPG; 2.1 BPG
PF--Greg Brunner--Iowa--2003,2004,2005,2006: 11.9 PPG; 7.8 RPG
SF--Luke Recker--Iowa--2001,2002: 17.6 PPG; 3.6 RPG; 2.5 APG
SG--Curtis Stinson--ISU--2004,2005,2006: 17.5 PPG; 5.5 RPG; 4.7 APG
PG--Jeff Horner--Iowa--2003,2004,2005,2006: 12.2 PPG; 4.6 RPG; 4.9 APG; 262 3's

3rd Team:
C---Jackson Vroman--ISU--2003,2004: 13.2 PPG; 9.4 RPG
PF--Eric Coleman--UNI--2005,2006,2007,2008: 11.8 PPG; 7.7 RPG
SF--Wesley Johnson--ISU--2007,2008: 12.3 PPG; 5.8 RPG
SG--Adam Haluska--Iowa--2003,2005,2006,2007: 14.4 PPG; 4.1 RPG; 252 3-pointers
PG--Ben Jacobson--UNI--2003,2004,2005,2006: 14.2 PPG; 2.5 APG; 203 3-pointers

Honorable Mention:
C--Jordan Egleseder--UNI--7'1" center averaging 11 ppg and 7.8 rpg this year
C--Jared Homan--ISU--'02-'05: averaged 12.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 2.1 bpg in 04/05
PF--Jonathan Cox--Drake--'06-'09: averaged 12.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg in 08/09
SF--Klayton Korver--Drake--'04-'08: averaged 9.2 ppg; 241 career 3-pointers
SF--Tyler Smith--Iowa--averaged 14.8 ppg and 4.9 rpg in 1 season at Iowa
SG--Jake Sullivan--ISU--'01-'04: averaged 14.7 ppg for career and made 270 3-pointers
PG--Will Blalock--ISU--'04-06: averaged 11.6 ppg and 4.9 apg over 3 years
PG--Dean Oliver--Iowa--'00-'01: averaged 14.2 ppg and 4.5 apg in 00/01

Others Considered-- Jiri Hubalek(ISU), Rashon Clark(ISU), David Gruber(UNI), Eric Crawford(UNI), Adam Koch(UNI), Luke McDonald (Drake), Greg Danielson(UNI), Lonnie Randolph(Drake), Ajay Calvin(Drake), Adam Emmenecker(Drake)

Royals Storm Into Break With A 7-1 Record

2009-12-22T19:27:00.001-06:00

While a winter storm stood on the states doorsteps, the Colo-Nesco boys had ice in their veins with a 57-56 double overtime victory at North Polk (3-3). These are the kinds of victories that begin to define a team, and a season. The Royals are now 7-1 as they head into the long Christmas break, with plenty of momentum for the stretch run before tournament time.

Despite foul trouble to two of the teams top players (Neuendorf and Guy both fouled out), and an illness to the teams starting center, Michael Warren, the Royals were able to claw their way to a victory behind a brilliant performance from junior guard Brandon Eley. Eley, playing on his birthday, scored a game-high 17 points, including the game-winning 3-point basket. The Royals also got key performances from Ethan Jamison (12 points), Bryan Angel (7 points), and Austin Larsen (6 points) in the last-second thriller.

Colo-Nesco remains in first place in the HOIC small-division with a 5-1 conference mark. The only loss of the season was to Prairie City Monroe (6-1). Some key January matchups to watch include a showdown with Bondurant-Farrar (4-2) on January 12 in Colo, and a rematch with North Polk on January 29th in Colo. Saturday, January 23rd is a big night as well with the induction of the 1990 State Champion team into the Colo-Nesco Hall of Pride.

Beyond The Box Score: A Closer Look At Colo-Nesco Basketball and The Heart of Iowa Conference Boys Basketball

2009-12-19T17:46:00.011-06:00

Conference Standings

Small Division                                Overall     Conference Avg./Def Avg.

1. Colo-Nesco                                    5-1          3-1                 56.5           45.6

2. Ogden                                            4-2           3-0                 62.3           59.5

3. Grandview Park Baptist                  2-3           1-3                 56.8           58.8

4. Colfax Mingo                                  1-3           0-3                 48.0          56.0

5. South Hamilton                               0-5         0-5                    38.2           48.6

Large Division

1. Prairie City Monroe                       5-1           4-0                   62.6          46.6

2. Bondurant Farrar                           4-1           3-1                   66.6          59.2

3. Jefferson Scranton                         3-1         3-0                   49.5          42.7

4. North Polk                                    3-1           3-0                   48.2          44.2

5. Nevada                                         2-2           2-2                   58.2          61.2

6. Roland Story                                 1-3           1-3                   39.2          45.2

7. Collins Maxwell Baxter                  0-5           0-4                   51.4          61.6

8. Gilbert                                           0-2           0-2                   35.0          50.0

Top 10 Statistical Leaders

Scoring—Small Division

Reed Mells Jr Grandview Park Baptist 22.2

Brandon Eley Jr Colo-Nesco 18.3

Jesse Monthei Sr South Hamilton 15.4

Dylan Berkey Jr Colfax-Mingo 13.3

Tyler Baumhover Jr Ogden 13.2

Byron Klauenberg Soph Ogden 12.0

Gabe Summerhays Soph Ogden 11.7

Caleb Garrigan Jr Grandview Park Baptist 11.6

Travis Guy Sr Colo-Nesco 10.5

Mitch Tomlonovic Jr. Colfax-Mingo 8.5

Scoring—Large Division

Ryley Pruismann Sr Bondurant-Farrar 20.8

Scott Bruxvoort Soph PCM, Monroe 15.5

Chris Norton Sr Bondurant-Farrar 15.2

Dylan Hansen Sr Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 13.6

Eric Lande Sr North Polk 13.0

Nolan Muench Sr Jefferson-Scranton 12.8

Rand Hazelton Sr PCM, Monroe 12.7

Andrew Broderick Soph Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 12.4

Brook Thompson Fr. Nevada 12.0

Josh Fosenburg Jr PCM, Monroe 11.3

Rebounding—Small Division

Player                                                  Total Rebounds Rebounds/Game

Travis Guy Sr Colo-Nesco                   47                      7.8

Brandon Eley Jr Colo-Nesco                46                      7.7

Byron Klauenberg Soph Ogden           41                      6.8

Tyler Baumhover Jr Ogden                   34                      5.7

Michael Wilson Sr Colfax-Mingo          33                      8.3

Adam Adreon Soph Ogden                  31                      5.2

Micah Westrum Jr Grandview Park Baptist 30                6.0

Cody Good Fr Ogden                          25                      4.2

John Shelley Sr Colfax-Mingo               24                      6.0

Wes Safford Sr Grandview Park Baptist 24                     4.8

Rebounding—Large Division

Player                                              Total Rebounds     Rebounds/Game

Scott Bruxvoort Soph PCM, Monroe   48                          8.0

Jacob Rathmacher Jr Roland-Story       38                          9.5

Andrew Broderick Soph Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 35           7.0

Jordan Van Roekel Soph PCM, Monroe 34                       5.7

Ryley Pruismann Sr Bondurant-Farrar   31                          6.2

Ryan Young Sr Nevada                        30                          7.5

Ross Van Allen Sr. Nevada                  30                          7.5

Josh Fosenburg Jr PCM, Monroe         27                          4.5

Freddy Koke Sr Bondurant-Farrar       27                          5.4

Dustin Ackerman Jr Jefferson-Scranton 27                         6.8

Assists—Small Division

Player                                           Assists

Gabe Summerhays Ogden             39

Brandon Eley Colo-Nesco            36

Cody Good Ogden                       36

Austin Larsen Colo-Nesco            28

Jesse Monthei South Hamilton       21

Travis Guy Colo-Nesco                15

Adam Adreon Ogden                    15

Reed Mells Grandview Park Baptist 15

Byron Klauenberg Ogden              10

Assists—Large Division

Player                                       Assists

Brook Thompson Nevada           23

Nick George Bondurant-Farrar   23

Chris Norton Bondurant-Farrar   21

Hutch Burns PCM, Monroe        18

Dylan Hansen Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 14

Rand Hazelton PCM, Monroe     13

Ryan Olson North Polk               12

Jacob Rathmacher Roland-Story 11

Josh Fosenburg PCM, Monroe    10

Max Herzberg Nevada                10

Steals—Small Division

Player                                                 Steals

Reed Mells Grandview Park Baptist    28

Brandon Eley Colo-Nesco                  23

Cody Good Ogden                             19

Gabe Summerhays Ogden                   13

Austin Larsen Colo-Nesco                  12

Adam Adreon Ogden                          10

Jesse Monthei South Hamilton              9

Bryan Angel Colo-Nesco                     8

Dylan Berkey Colfax-Mingo                 8

Travis Guy Colo-Nesco                       7

Steals—Large Division

Player                                                 Steals

Ethan Schmidt Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 16

Andrew Broderick Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 14

Josh Fosenburg PCM, Monroe            13

Ryley Pruismann Bondurant-Farrar       13

Logan Hamm Bondurant-Farrar          11

Chris Norton Bondurant-Farrar           10

Scott Bruxvoort PCM, Monroe           10

Dylan Hansen Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 10

Cody Schmitz Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 9

Marcus Schmidt Collins-Maxwell/Baxter 9

Blocks—Small Division

Player/School/Blocks

Michael Warren Colo-Nesco 27

Brandon Eley Colo-Nesco 10

Adam Adreon Ogden 8

Caleb Garrigan Grandview Park Baptist 6

Jayson Shepherd South Hamilton 4

Micah Westrum Grandview Park Baptist 4

Josh Turner Ogden 3

Byron Klauenberg Ogden 2

Michael Wilson Colfax-Mingo 2

Ethan Jamison Colo-Nesco 2

Blocks—Large Division

Player/School/Blocks

Freddy Koke Bondurant-Farrar 13

Dustin Ackerman Jefferson-Scranton 11

Jordan Van Roekel PCM, Monroe 6

Josh Fosenburg PCM, Monroe 5

Nolan Muench Jefferson-Scranton 5

Scott Bruxvoort PCM, Monroe 4

Ross Van Allen Nevada 4

Eric Lande North Polk 4

Matt Swanson Roland-Story 3

Jacob Ostrem Roland-Story 3