Can Iowa win a title? What's wrong with ISU? What's wrong with Righteous Kill?

-It's good to be back home. But I do miss the Doctor Salami sandwiches in Oskaloosa. Good stuff.

-True story: I gained seven pounds during RVTV.

-The best way to watch the Iowa-Iowa State football game had to be in HD. The rain looks the same, but you don't get wet.

I thought it was, for the most part, a rather dull game saved by the fourth quarter fireworks. Iowa was the better team and deserved to win. Iowa, especially Kirk Ferentz, wanted to win in the worst way, and I think the Hawks showed more fire and chemistry than we saw last year. Iowa's defense looks like the real deal up front, Shonn Greene is a man, and Andy Brodell only needs more touches to make more plays.

But... let's not get carried away. Did I really read in several places that Iowa could compete for the Big Ten title? Not the Iowa team I saw. Not even with Iowa's soft schedule. I don't doubt seven wins, but Iowa has trouble at quarterback. Rick Stanzi looked great in two controlled scrimmages, but he was lost against Iowa State's disguised defenses and blitz packages. Jake Christensen has experience and doesn't turn the ball over, but he has an erratic arm and appears to have lost the confidence of many in Iowa City.

Iowa's a better team than last year, and let's not forget they still won six games a season ago, but the Hawkeyes looked better than they are because the competition hasn't been good. If they beat a slightly above average Pitt team, January is possible.

-Iowa State was a big disappointment. I was stunned how undisciplined the Cyclones looked at times. ISU has all kinds of exciting young talent, but it doesn't matter if the team is killing itself with stupid penalties, horrible clock management, and head-scratching play-calls inside the red zone. I did not think I would see a Gene Chizik team look this self-destructive. It gave many a Cyclone fan flashbacks, and not good ones.

We'll know a lot more about Iowa State and Iowa after Saturday.

-Lolo Jones is the best. She gets off a plane in Des Moines, comes to the studio for SoundOff, and takes the time to make every employee at WHO-TV feel like a friend. We put Lolo in our Hall of Fame for three reasons: 1) She's a world champion. 2) She always has time for Iowa. 3) Lolo is a great interview. Insightful, charming, and funny. She could be a motivational speaker.

-How creepy is that body wash commercial where the man in the shower is half horse. Who thought that would help sell product? It makes me want to avoid it.

-Bernard Goldberg's story on HBO's Real Sports showing underage children in India stitching soccer balls for pennies a day was heartbreaking. It was also journalism at its best.

-On the other end of the spectrum, I can't believe I'm still watching America's Got Talent. Especially after the middle weeks when the judges constantly went with the cruel deception of, "I'm very sorry to have inform you that...YOU'RE GOING TO THE NEXT ROUND!" I only fell for it 11 or 12 times.

-The Vikings finally figured out you can't go to the Super Bowl without passing the football. It's too late.

-How bad are the Chiefs? I like the Chiefs, and I can't watch.

-How good was that Eagles-Cowboys game Monday night?! My wife even watched it with me because she feels like she knows the Cowboys after Hard Knocks.

-Erin Kiernan just blogged me out of seeing Righteous Kill. I'll take her advice and watch Heat again.

-As noted in the RVTV blog, we all watched Wedding Crashers the night before the Big Game. If football had a Hoosiers, we might have watched that. Anyway, Vince Vaughn is really funny in Crashers.

-I still can't believe how exciting and scary it is to go 150 miles an hour in a car. If you have the chance to take a few laps at the Iowa Speedway, it's worth the $40, but I guarantee it's much more intense than you expect. You'll walk away with a new respect and appreciation for race car drivers.

-I'll watch the Ryder Cup even without Tiger. Unless something else is on.

-Good to have House back.

-And Entourage.