Scattershot thoughts from January 26th.

• Craig Brackins 42 points could be the worst thing to happen to Greg McDermott. When you hang 42 on the national champs, on national TV, in front of NBA scouts, and the points come from all angles and distances, it makes a Junior season at Iowa State shakier than it was a week ago. If Brackins leaves, it means McDermott would lose his best player for the third straight year (Taylor, Johnson, Brackins). That wouldn't make it any easier.
• I can't figure Drake out. The Bulldogs looked dazed and confused against UNI. They didn't bother showing up at Missouri State. I wondered if they were done. It certainly appeared that way. Then Drake went to Creighton and thumped everyone's pick to win the Valley. I don't think some of the players have completely let go of Keno's philosophy and fully embraced Phelps' system. Until they do, it will remain hit or miss.
• UNI is for real.
• Anytime a coach wants to show a team playing not to lose, he can just pop in a tape of Iowa at Penn State.
• Why has the President, David Palmer, been buried on Iowa's bench for more than a year?
• Until Learfield and the University of Iowa hire another football commentator, I won't give up on the idea of Ed Podolak somehow returning.
• Kirk Ferentz's friend Scott Pioli fired Herm Edwards which means... Ferentz will be back at Iowa next season.
• The John Stoddard Rally Against Cancer was sold out and raised a record amount of money for the fight of fights. Erin Kiernan helped with that in two ways: 1) Erin did a terrific job hosting the auction. 2) Her husband, Mike, won the bidding for a sweet spa package. I doubt it's for him, though Erin did mention Mike could use a Steve Carell type waxing. "Yoooooooow, Kelly Clarkson!"
• Marv Levy is a nice man. His speech at the rally mixed football anecdotes with his winning battle against prostate cancer. It was perfect. When a reporter asked Levy before the Bills Super Bowl if it was a must win, Levy famously said, "No. World War II was a must win."
• Talk about your brother's keeper. Jay McGwire claims he's looking out for Mark's best interest by selling a book that details all Mark's steroid and HGH use. Jay wants to set the record straight. Uh, Jay... I don't think there are many people wandering around wondering if your brother used 'roids. It's pretty clear. No wonder these guys don't speak.
• It was good to see Garth Brooks back on stage at the Inauguration. I had forgotten how ol' Garth can work a crowd---when he's not Chris Gaines.
• How many players will pick out the number 44 to honor our 44th President? Aim high.
• Andy Fales sparked an avalanche of emails by getting something off his chest: Andy thinks Slipknot's music absolutely sucks. The bands fans, known as Maggots, are not amused. (What's Bugging Andy? in whotv.com video player)
• The Arizona Cardinals have next to no fans. Heck, a pool supply company had to buy the final 10,000 seats at Arizona's first playoff game just to get the game televised locally. The Steelers have fans everywhere, including thousands here in Central Iowa. Still, our SoundOff survey shows far more people say they'll root for the Cardinals Sunday. That's the power of Kurt Warner.
• We had a sleepover this past weekend for my son Cade's 8th birthday. Cade invited 7 friends. Learn from our mistake. 8 is way more than enough when it comes to rambunctious boys at a party. Of the seven guests, six had good manners, five were well-behaved, and one was absolutely WILD. I realize the parents of said kids could be reading this, but each will assume that their kid is not the out of control one, so I think I'm in the clear. In the end, Cade had a great time, and it was all worth it. I'm pretty sure.
• We took the wild bunch to "Hotel for Dogs". Cute movie. Jenny liked it more than Marley & Me because the dogs are still alive when the credits roll.
• I can't say enough about what a good guest Shawn Johnson was on SoundOFF. She was game for anything, and she had a lot of fun. My favorite was Shawn watching video of Andy as Bela Karolyi. Both Shawn and her mom, Teri, thought it was spot-on, and we were all still talking about it after the show. Shawn likes Slipknot, so Andy won her back with the Bela impression. People forget Shawn's only a Junior in high school. I think she handles all the attention really well. It is constant.