Murphy's Law

Did you see Leonard Houston nearly hit his head on the rim at Butler? It was unreal. The human pogo stick provided the best highlight in a game full of them. Drake proved it's for real.

The Bulldogs won at Hinkle Fieldhouse and dropped six spots behind Butler. That makes about as much sense as Flavor Flav.

Did you see Chris Hassel get flat run over at Hinkle Fieldhouse? Happened on national TV. Fortunately, Chris' hair never moved. We call it the tidal wave. Big wave up front, and enough gel to make Pat Riley insecure.

I watched the game at Legends on Court Avenue, and it was awesome. Standing room only, people decked out in blue, loud cheers for Drake. It's just hard to believe it's happened.

Did you catch Adam Emmenecker on SoundOFF? I hope so, but if not, I urge you to watch the video back on the whotv.com sports page. He's a reason this team has an approval rating Barack Obama would kill for. Emmenecker walked-on at Drake, has four majors and two minors, and should win MVC player of the year.

I'm not sure I can add much to the Hawkeye arrests story. It's beyond embarrassing. I know several hardcore Hawk fans---I'm sure you do too---who can't even spin this nonsense. 14 players arrested in a year, and that doesn't even count the two who were suspended and then left school for unnamed reasons. The number could grow. I'm sure no one is more frustrated than Kirk Ferentz.

What a shock. Sounds like they're coming after Roger Clemens for perjury. After watching him try to keep his story straight, while throwing several people close to him under the bus, including his wife, I'd say he issued a challenge. Seriously, is there anybody out there who really believes Clemens? I know he's just one of many cheaters, but I think his ego kept him from doing the smart thing. We're happy to forgive, but you have to own up.

Great news that we now have ESPN radio in Des Moines. 1700, The Champ, will broadcast ESPN 24/7. There are no daily local shows yet, that I know of, so KXNO should continue its strong ratings. Cotlar and Company, The Jon Miller Show, and Marty and Miller all do well, in part, because they stress local. However, sports fans win when we have more options. Just as you wouldn't want just one local TV station (though, we'd like to be it), more than one sports talk radio station is a big plus. (Remember when there were three? KXNO was the last one standing.)

Happy Birthday, Shawn Terrell. Shawn turned 30, and in an effort to hang on to his 20's, held his birthday gathering at the downtown Liar's Club. Now this is the new hot spot for those who want to see and be seen. I'm sure I would have loved it 20 years ago. It took me 20 minutes to get a beer (not exaggerating) and 15 minutes to use the bathroom. I did enjoy that trip because Andy refused to let a woman use the men's room unless she was willing to use a urinal. We did have a good time despite the overcrowding, and the music was great. I think they felt sorry for us old folks and played a lot of 80's tunes.

Want to bring out the passion in people? Ask how they feel about smoking in public places. As I write this, Andy is about to give his opinion on our 10 p.m. news---and if you've watched Andy for any length of time, you know what side he's on---but the e-mails have been non-stop, and the issue threatened to take over SoundOFF Sunday night. Personally, I can't wait to pick a place for eating, drinking, or being entertained without giving thought to breathing second-hand smoke and stinking up the house with my clothes. My mother is a lung cancer survivor so I'm not capable of objectivity on this argument.

I saw U23D with my little guys, Colin and Cade. I probably would not have gone if I knew kids had to pay full price, actually more than full price, $8 at Cobblestone. Between the3D projector and Buddy Holly glasses, I'm sure theaters take on additional overhead. Anyway, the 3D technology is finally worth seeing. There are times when it appears Bono or the Edge are leaning out over you in your seat. It's a cool movie to experience for anyone, and a must for U2 fans. It's rated G, and the kids enjoyed it too. Never too young for exposure to classic music. B for U23D, unless you're Jon Miller reading this, then it's A. My highlight, no surprise, "Where the Streets Have No Name".

I love the space program, especially the old Apollo days, so I enjoyed In the Shadow of the Moon. It's a documentary about fulfilling Kennedy's challenge of walking on the moon by the end of sixties. Of course, we did it, which goes to show the value of goal-setting, among other things. There are many rare film clips of the moon and the Astronauts walking on it. Fascinating, and still hard to believe (the movie even addresses the conspiracy theories). B

The Academy Awards show was dreadfully dull. Maybe it was the writer's strike being settled so late, because not even Jon Stewart seemed to have much of a pulse.

Enjoy My Dad is Better than your Dad.