Iron Man should take over the world.

-Iron Man rocks. This is a terrific movie with surprising depth. Robert Downey Jr. is absolutely perfect in this story of redemption, and Downey's own trials and tribulations add layers and laughs. Gwyneth Paltrow brings intelligence and really high heels to what could have been a thankless role. Even if you don't love superhero movies, you might like Iron Man. It's that good. The grade is A.


-Staying with superheroes, I just saw My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Who is the target audience for this movie? The heroics are cartoon silly, while the sex for laughs is completely inappropriate for kids who might like the other stuff. Don't they spend millions on test-marketing and focus groups?


-Congrats to KGGO's Lou Sipolt for ending his dryspell at the races. Lou won in the, what else, 95 truck Friday night at the Fairgrounds. Does he look happy to you?














-I can't remember a coach asking his returning leading scorer "if he ever thought about tranferring", but if Tony Freeman was truthful with the Register, Todd Lickliter feels that strongly about players doing it his way. I don't think anyone looks too good or too bad in all this. I respect Lickliter for going with "team" over talent, but it's unfortunate Freeman can't finish his career where he started it. Seems like something could have been worked out, but Lickliter feels he already gave it a season and didn't get through.

-The Wonderdogs aren't done yet. Klayton Korver, Adam Emmenecker, and Leonard Houston back together again! They're out to make money and help schools raise money with the "Elite 3 Tour" (not exactly the modest name you'd expect from this trio, but maybe it was someone else's idea). They'll add Jason Bauer and Mike O'Neil and play Friday 7 p.m. at Des Moines Christian, Saturday 7 p.m. at Van Meter, and Sunday 6 p.m. at Southeast Polk. Tickets are $5 with the schools and trio splitting the proceeds. Go to the.elite.three@gmail.com if you're interested in booking the Bulldogs.

-The Kentucky Derby (in HD) had me jumping up and down, and then thoroughly bummed. No race should end in death. (See 2001 Daytona 500.)

-How much do you think Roger Clemens wishes he could jump into his DeLorean and travel back in time to 2006, and stay retired?

-Renaming the franchise formerly known as the Iowa Stars has set off a wildfire of e-mails and phone calls on SoundOff. We think we know several of the names being considered, and you can bet the management and ownership will check our online poll, so please vote.

I don't believe "Des Moines" has any chance, so count on "Iowa". With that in mind, I like "Iowa Chops". You've got your karate chop, your tomahawk chop, and of course, the world famous Iowa pork chop. It's unique, it's catchy, and I think you'd sell merchandise beyond our borders.

Andy likes "Corndogs", which is also uniquely Iowa. The others we think are under consideration include:

>Dukes (after John Wayne). Terrible.
>Strykers. Not bad, but doesn't really mean anything.
>Hammers. Okay, but again, not memorable.
>Dragoons. Suggested by the Register's Tom Witosky. Clever, with double meaning. The Dragoon Trail, as well as "Goons" for short. A name many fans will love, and a few will hate.
>Thunder. The early choice by the franchise, but not a done deal. I don't mind it. Andy hates it.
>Storm. Nearly the same as Thunder, and we have the Simpson Storm nearby.

-Congratulations to our Chris Hassel. He won a bunch of IBNA awards for his play-by-play work on the radio. (After much discussion, we're allowing this self-serving "congratulations" since we technically aren't patting him on the back for something he did here.)

-Speaking of radio, Andy and I subbed for Ken Miller and teamed up with Marty Tirrell Friday. We had fun, and mostly stayed out of trouble.

-Ending on a sad note, I'm sure by now you've heard and read how sweet and thoughtful the late Michelle Parker was. It's all true. All of us who knew her have a heavy heart this week, and send our condolences to all Michelle's friends and family, including her extended family at KCCI. We will miss her.

Keith