Monday, October 13, 2008

Hawkeye Hammer, Cyclone Enigma, plus ET and divorce.

-Nothing, and I mean nothing, heals what ails like winning.

The Iowa Hawkeyes did just what they needed, they beat the snot out of a bad Indiana team. Suddenly, most in Hawkeye Nation feel a lot better. After three winnable losses, Iowa fans needed to just see their Hawks throttle someone, and once Kellen Lewis exited for Indiana, it was on. With or without Lewis, Iowa wins easily, but without him, Indiana is the Big Ten's worst team by far. Maybe even with Lewis.

We'll know a lot more after Saturday. If Iowa is going to make this a season to remember, of any kind, the Hawks must beat Wisconsin at home. Wisconsin is 0-3 in the Big Ten. The Badgers blew it against the worst Michigan team in decades, lost a close game to Ohio State in Madison, and stayed at home for an ugly beat-down by title contender Penn State. Iowa wins, a good bowl game is still possible. Lose, and no bowl is still possible.

-I can't figure Iowa State. I'm one of those guys that buys into what Gene Chizik is doing, but I'm completely puzzled by the contradiction on the field.

Chizik oozes discipline and structure, yet the Cyclones keep making stupid mistakes and self-destructing. Yes, they're very young, but it's too late for that excuse mid-season.

Chizik also appears like an inspiring motivator, yet time and time again, Iowa State comes out flat. I just don't get it.

There is no excusing that embarrassing effort at Baylor. I know Phillip Bates quit (yes, quit). I know the coaches didn't see it coming. I know Bates was well-liked and the news hit some of his teammates hard. It's still Baylor! Bates didn't play a down, and he wouldn't have if he and his dad didn't take their ball and go home.

One thing is for sure. It's always been hard to win in Ames, and it always will be. Chizik deserves more patience and time, but somewhere Dan McCarney is smiling. He knows how hard it was just to get to a minor bowl game, and now suddenly that's doesn't look so bad.

-Most amazing stat I've heard in a while: Since November 2001, only two of the 65 BCS football teams have failed to beat a team inside the AP Top 20 (ranked 19th or higher): Duke and Nebraska. Nebraska! The Huskers are 0-19 against top 19 teams. That is amazing when you consider the resources and tradition in Lincoln. (Thanks to Ryan Lund for this nugget.)

-Lolo Jones is one of my all-time favorite athletes. Heck, she's one of my all-time favorite people. Lolo's energy is contagious. I had the privilege of hanging around Lolo at her surprise visit to Roosevelt High School's pep rally, as well as her homecoming at Jordan Creek Town Center. In both places, she made everyone she possibly could feel special, and she inspired all who listened to get back up when life knocks them down.

People came from all over Iowa to tell Lolo how proud they were of the way she handled heartbreak in Beijing. I don't think a gold medal would have won her as many fans as showing class did.

-Lolo on Friday, Special Olympics Iowa Gold Medal Gala on Saturday. That's a good weekend of putting sports in their proper perspective. The athletes at the Gala were so positive and inspiring, you couldn't help but want to be a better person. My wife was signing up to volunteer for Special Olympics the next day.

-I'm hearing raves by those who went to the Iowa Chops home opener. Better atmosphere, better music, better hockey. That's a great start. Plus, many people tell me the uniqueness of the Chops nickname is growing on them, and they no longer want to check me into the boards. At least not for that.

-Manny Ramirez is the best post-season hitter I've ever seen.

-I'm still not over the Cubs losing without putting up any fight at all. I'm better off than my friends Heather Burnside and Shawn Terrell. I think Heather's in denial, and Shawn was so down for days, his friends worried about him. We should all know better.

-In entertainment ramblings, the recent episode of Entourage with the guys at the Joshua Tree was the low point in the series. It was awful at times.

-I was disappointed in Chris Rock's new HBO special, Kill The Messenger. As you'd expect, some big laughs, but also relentless profanity and borderline misogynistic sexual crudity. I'm not someone offended by swearing or sex, and Rock has made me laugh many times with jokes involving a lot of both, but for me, this was one of his weaker efforts. Then again, how can anyone follow the classic, Bring the Pain.

-Watched ET with my son, Cade, last week. Like all classic movies, it can speak to you differently depending on what point in life you see it. I hadn't watched ET in many years, and I had never realized how much it's about the loneliness of divorce, for both kids and parents. (Spielberg is child of divorce.) Great movie, even now. Hard to believe it was made in 1982. I'll never forget my grandmother going to see it and hating it. Gram's been gone for years now, but we still joke about knowing the one person who hated ET.

-Jethro's is a sweet place to watch a college football game. Andy's wife had to drag him out of there Saturday because we were caught up in the Texas vs. Oklahoma game, and they were late for a fundraiser.

-By the way, Andy now knows who Montgomery Gentry is. We gave away concert tickets on SoundOff, and he said, "Who?". Hundreds of emails later, Andy may not know the songs, but he knows the fans.

-No craving hits me harder than Tasty Taco. When I have to have one, I can't be stopped.

I have to have one.

Keith

14 comments:

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Anonymous said...

LOL at the spam. Looks like your post had their key words in it, Keith.

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Anonymous said...

I agree with every single thing in your blog except for the "borderline misogynistic sexual crudity" part.

I don't know if I agree with that part or not because I have to go look up "misogynistic" in the dictionary.

Keith, I think it is important that you remember that most of your blog audience (me included)are a bunch of ex-dumbjocks that haven't gotten much smarter over time. You need to write to our level. :>)

Anonymous said...

Keith you needed to spell that "massage-a-nistick"...then again, who knows what kind of spam it would have unleashed on us all...

And why would you even need a divorce lawyer in Arizona, with the thousands of square miles of desert to dump the body in??? You'd have to be an idiot not to get away with...holy crap, I...uh...so what's up everyone???

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips on disposing of a body in the desert Shane. Your insights on this blog make the world a safer and better place. Since you are passing tips around for the warm weather areas I will help those in cooler climates. The ultimate escape is an icicle in the eye. No prints because the "murder weapon" will melt away.
----
On to important things - Iowa will beat Wisconsin this weekend, count on it. I stated a few blogs ago that this team was poised for a big run and last week was the start. Iowa did exactly what it needed to do - roll a crappy team. Now they got a little swagger back and Wisconsin is coming in at the best time possible. A 3 game losing streak and a team that is on the verge of packing it in for the rest of the season. Iowa will strike early and Shonn Greene will top 150 yards. He will start to garner some Heisman talk after this Saturday. Count on it.
---
Shawn

Anonymous said...

"Murder weapon" is such an ugly term...I prefer "problem solver" myself...

And how much Kool-Aid did you drink Shawn??? You're setting yourself up for disappointment...I mean, you COULD be right about the Wisconsin game, BUT, would it really surprise anyone if Iowa came out and dropped a big ol' Western Michigan/Northwestern sized dump on the beautiful Kinnick Stadium turf???

Cop investigating Shawn's crime:"Judging by the DNA collected at the crime scene, we're putting out an APB for...Frosty The Snowman...ok, who's laughing!?!? I heard that!!!"

Anonymous said...

Mac is not the only one smiling.

Anonymous said...

another hawkeye in trouble. when will it end?

Anonymous said...

Damn that underaged drinking...screw it, fold up the program...this is unacceptable!!!

Anonymous said...

we night as well just say the hawkeyes dont exist because before we know, everyone on the team will get kicked out due to drinking or theft

Anonymous said...

As for my previous post telling of Iowa getting ready for a big roll and a good bowl game.........

I don't want to say I told all of you but.....HA!!!!!

Shawn

Anonymous said...

"HA!!!!!" is a pretty bold statement with 4 games left, including 2 tough roadies and the best team in the conference coming to Kinnick, but I hope you're right Shawn...I hope you're right...

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