Scattershot Thoughts for September 15th

• I don't think Iowa State's as bad as the Cyclones looked Saturday, and Iowa's not quite that good. But make no mistake, Iowa ended all discussion about who's better. That was an old fashioned butt-whupping. I picked Iowa, but not by 32.
• Worst part about Iowa State being thumped? Not getting to watch a frustrated Andy Fales press the Jack Trice Stadium "play" button for Sweet Caroline. (I've noticed Iowa State only plays the American classic when the Cyclones are winning, tied, or on a roll. It hasn't been played much the past few years.)
• Austen Arnaud is a good guy who had a terrible game. If he doesn't greatly improve his accuracy and reads in the Spread, Iowa State won't win more than two games.
• As Ricky Stanzi goes, so goes Iowa. He and Arnaud had a "who can suck less" competition going in the first quarter, but Stanzi won in a landslide. Against good BCS teams, he can't start as slowly as he did against UNI and Iowa State. If he does, Iowa will lose.
• Kirk Ferentz won't be able to keep true Freshman Brandon Wegher out of the line-up for long. Electric.
• Paul Rhoads does not want to talk about the road losing streak. Okay. But everyone else will talk about it until it ends.
• This just in: The road losing streak will end Saturday at Kent State.
• The best quarterback in Iowa this season is UNI's Pat Grace. He's our Tim Tebow.
• I ate my first Smashburger this week. Mmm. Good. We still need a Steak-N-Shake around here, but Smashburger will do for now.
• The first Jay Leno Show was better than I expected. Jay looked relaxed and the show hit the ground running. That's not easy. The temptation when you start a new program is to try and jam too much entertainment into one show, and come off like you're trying way too hard. Jay is not edgy, but he's familiar and comfortable. I think that will appeal to a lot of people looking to laugh and relax before bed. One thing's for sure, NBC can't do any worse from 9 to 10 than it's done the past five years. We know. Our newscasts have had to pick the ratings up off the floor, and climb way up the ladder.
• Kanye West will never live down that idiotic interruption. People forgive most law-breaking before they do self-centered rudeness. Props to Beyonce for showing how to be a big star and still have class. I will give credit to Kanye for what appears to be a sincere apology to Taylor Swift and the rest of the offended world.
• I'm surprised Kanye doesn't play tennis. What in the world was Serena Williams thinking?! Even mild-mannered Roger Federer acted like a complete bully this week. As USA Today asked, "What Happened to Civility?"
• The Patriots should never go back to their old uniforms. The AFL throwbacks were sweeeeet. Bills, Chargers, even the Raiders--- they all looked better Monday night, or am I just being nostalgic?
• Thanks to all who made RVTV fun---especially the people of Grinnell, Ft. Dodge, Carroll, Ames, Iowa State University, Wilson Auto, Bob & Jo's RV in Guthrie Center, our photojournalists, sales associates, and whoever sent several cases of NOS sugar free energy drink. It kept us going on little sleep.
• The passing of Patrick Swayze saddens me. What other classically trained ballet dancer could pull off being a tough guy bouncer (or "cooler")? Road House is my all time favorite guilty pleasure movie. Of course, it's nonsense, but it's never boring. RIP Patrick. Long live Dalton.