Murphy's Law

Iowa is smart to give Kirk Ferentz another year. He needs it for recruiting, and Ferentz deserves more patience. Some fans don't want to admit just how hard it is to win big at Iowa, and Ferentz had one of the greatest five year runs in school history.

I don't think Ferentz will duplicate the success of the top ten years, not three in a row, but if things break just right, he could get Iowa back to January. Fair warning, it's getting harder, not easier. (See Minnesota and Illinois' latest recruiting classes).

Indiana is doing the right thing: getting rid of that snake, Kelvin Sampson. I know Sampson's not stupid, so he must be arrogant. There's no other way to explain his actions. How could he do the same foolish things again, after nearly not being hired out of concerns for that nonsense in his past at Oklahoma? It's testament to how some people don't change.

I predict we'll hear Steve Alford's name as an IU candidate, from a national sports reporter, by the end of the day Friday. Not much of a prediction, really. It's going to happen.

Adam Haluska traded to the Rockets. Hopefully, he can find some playing time in Houston.

Good bounce back by Adam's little brother, Sean. Sean couldn't hit sand falling off a camel for weeks, but he's hot now.

No matter how much the Iowa women's basketball team wins, people outside the loyal core of fans don't show. The Hawks should make the NCAA tournament, which will help Des Moines' hosting a bunch. If ISU makes a run and gets in too, they'd both end up in Des Moines. Count on it.

The UNI basketball program has slipped since Greg McDermott left. Too soon to tell if Ben Jacobson can get it back to where it was just a few years ago.

The AHL franchise owners for Des Moines need to dump the name Stars before next season. Pick a nickname unique to Des Moines, and use a logo and colors that get people excited. There are next to no Dallas Stars fans in Des Moines, so it never made any sense to try and ride those coattails. These aren't the Cubs we're talking about. Create a brand that remains no matter which NHL franchise provides the players, and most people won't notice when those inevitable changes take place.

More proof women shouldn't use magazine photos for comparison. Check out Danica Patrick in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. I did. As research. For work. Anyway, I've seen Danica up close, and she's cute, but she looks nothing like the spray-tanned, airbrushed figure you see in SI, not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not real.

I watched Andy's recommendation King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters. Since I have little interest in video games, and I've never played Donkey Kong, I kind of dreaded watching it, but 30 minutes in I was hooked. Like most good stories, it makes you openly root for the "hero". I can't believe I'd recommend this too, but I am. My stepsons wanted no part of the movie, and they didn't move for 90 minutes.