Sunday, December 02, 2007

Scattershot thoughts:

-Bad news for Iowa State football: Bo Pelini can't be worse than Bill Callahan. You really have to work at being mediocre with all the advantages that program has in Lincoln.

-I really like what I see from UNI's Mark Farley. He choked up when talking about the fan support, and feeling like he let those fans down. He didn't. UNI gave us something to feel good about this football season.

-I think Michigan had real interest in Kirk Ferentz, but we'll never know what really happened. One thing is certain: people in other places appreciate what Ferentz has done at Iowa more than some people who live right here. It's not an easy place to win big.

-Among the big-name coaches who went 6-6 this year: Spurrier, Saban, Ferentz. It happens.

-Keeping Cael Sanderson at Iowa State is Jamie Pollard's best proven move to date. It's remarkable what Cael's done already. A win at #1 Minnesota? He's for real, and so are the Cyclones.

-It's going to be a long season for Todd Lickliter. He can coach, and I think he's a good man, but he just flat out doesn't have much to work with. In the end, it's mostly about talent. It's no coincidence the best basketball team in our state the past twenty years had 3 future NBA players. (2000 Iowa State Cyclones, and yes, I'm counting the author, Paul Shirley.)

-I can't belive Central played playoff football in the snow, ice, and sleet. Props to the fans who sat in the stands for that one. It had to be miserable. The outcome didn't help. Great season for the Dutch, who play for love of the game.

-The Heisman Trophy should go to the nation's outstanding college football player. Not the offensive MVP on the best team (see Jason White), or the guy with the eye-popping stats (see Andre Ware). It frustrates me no defensive player has any chance. I voted for Tim Tebow this season. I don't think he'll be the best pro, but I do think he was the best college football player this year. I have Darren McFadden a close second.

-Is the NFL MVP Tom Brady, Brett Favre, or maybe Randy Moss? Moss is the main reason Brady is playing video game football. I'd still vote for Tom. Without a great quarterback, Moss disappears.

-I'm not used to the Des Moines Register's new Web site yet. I miss the old one.

-Have you been to this place "Pump it Up"? It's like kids' paradise. The energy in that place could power the cars of an entire NBA team. Brilliant idea, well run and fun, so of course it work$.

-Saw "Enchanted". Loved most of it, though the ridiculous dragon bit at the end nearly ruined it for me. Still, I'll give it a B. Amy Adams is brilliant, and Dr. McDreamy does a nice job, though Patrick Dempsey careered out in Can't Buy Me Love. Love that silly movie.

-Did I just see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in a commercial? Is nothing sacred?

Stay warm,
Keith

11 comments:

travis said...

Nothing new/more to say about Andy???
I am having a hard time adjusting to the new DMR look, as well. They got alot of negative feedback on it and stuck with it...
Thanks for your great work and dedication to the viewers/readers!
Blessings on you and your holiday season.
Travis in KC

Anonymous said...

This has nothing to do with your blog or sports, but I'm sure you heard about those girls that messed up people's Christmas displays in Pleasantville right? Those biznitches need to be put in jail for the maximum penalty of 5 years, teach them a lesson. They apologized, but I really don't think they are sorry, I mean, if they were really sorry, they would have stopped at destroying one display, not many.


Gary

Anonymous said...

Warning! Rant about to start!

Another UI athlete is in trouble with the law. I think it's about time to adopt a zero tolerance policy for these kids on scholarships(at all schools, NCAA wide). You screw up once and you're going home, bye bye scholarship, bye bye education,and possibly bye bye pro career. I'm sure there are others just waiting to play that would obey the law and the team's/university's rules.

It's time that these kids understand that their actions could have serious consequences.

End of Rant!

Anonymous said...

HOLD UP! Eveyone needs to relax when dishin' out the judgement on these kids - Wether it's high school chics we're talkin about or a scholorship athlete. I'm sure if you think back to high school you can think of a time when you or someone you knew busted up some stuff for the heck of it. It IS wrong to do, but 5 years in jail? C'mon. And for Bohol getting drunk and falling asleep in the men's restroom inside his dorm. SO WHAT. He was probably just locked out of his dorm room, and decided to sleep of his drunkedness in the least public place he could find. Remember these are kids. And kids will make mistakes. Let's just hope they don't soon start making adult mistakes - Like war and religous persecution and racial hate acts.

-Wise Man on the Corner with an Honest Opinion

Anonymous said...

It is a privilege to have a athletic scholarship and "kids" are being "paid" in some respects to play college athletics. There is a policy in place to make sure rules are being followed. If they can't follow the rules they should lose their scholarship and it can go to a hard working non-athlete that is following the rules. Obviously that will never happen, but the athlete can figure out a way to pay for college the old fashion way. I think athletes dedicate an enourmous amount of time to their sport, so it is hard to believe they have to time to get in trouble, but they are held to a higher standard because they chose to play sports in college. It comes with the territory...like it or not.

Anonymous said...

Bohol is a sophomore, so if I do the math right, he's no more than 20yrs old. That means he is under the legal drinking age. He was also passed-out drunk during the season he is supposed to be playing. Now, I was no angel when I was in college, but I was paying for my education and was not a high profile student.

These "kids" are old enough to know right from wrong. If they are told going in that they lose everything if they go astray, then I wouldn't feel any remorse in giving them the boot.

As for adults mistakes, war, religious persecution and racial hate acts... read the history of the world. Those are not just adult mistakes. You don't have to go very far back to find racial hate acts commited by kids, think Jena 6.

Anonymous said...

Oops, I just read that he is 21. So, it was legal, just stupid.

Anonymous said...

hey murph, great job as usual, however you CAN'T compare ferentz to saban or spurrier. your comparing SEC to Big Ten, which of course there is no comparison. and no one talk about OSU, just picture last year all over again!!! if ferentz was coaching in the SEC and had the past seasons he had his butt would be out of there!!

Anonymous said...

HOLD UP! Eveyone needs to relax when dishin' out the judgement on these kids - Wether it's high school chics we're talkin about or a scholorship athlete. I'm sure if you think back to high school you can think of a time when you or someone you knew busted up some stuff for the heck of it. It IS wrong to do, but 5 years in jail? C'mon. And for Bohol getting drunk and falling asleep in the men's restroom inside his dorm. SO WHAT. He was probably just locked out of his dorm room, and decided to sleep of his drunkedness in the least public place he could find. Remember these are kids. And kids will make mistakes. Let's just hope they don't soon start making adult mistakes - Like war and religous persecution and racial hate acts.


No, I never did anything like this when I was in high school, nor did any of my classmates. We had something called respect for other peole and moral values. There is a certain level of respect for people that you have to maintain when growing up. Okay, 5 years in jail may be too harsh. They may get the point with 3 years though. Either way, they aren't going to learn if they don't get punished for it. Kids don't learn now days. They get a slap on the wrist and that's all. Then, they would brag about how they got away with doing such and such. It's sickening.


Gary

Anonymous said...

Because in the good ol' days kids would have got 5 years for destroying Christmas decorations. And probably about 3 years for TPing the night before homecoming. And maybe only a modest 2 years for hiting a baseball through a window.

-Unlearned Highschooler

Anonymous said...

just a mistake by the young hawkeye player thats all. we all make mistakes