Scattershot Thoughts for October 30th

• I wish every Saturday could be like October 24th. I've never seen our state in a better mood. No one should doubt the power of football for positive community spirit.
• Hawkeye fans shouldn't waste time being angry at this TV talking head or that sports talk radio host. Just enjoy the ride. The BCS, flawed as it, almost always sorts itself out.
• Paul Rhoads emotional, raw, real locker room speech to his team generated more positive publicity for Iowa State in one week than the entire two year Gene Chizik era.
• Loved hearing stories from Cyclone and Hawkeye fans about how nervous they were in the final minute last week, and how they celebrated when the clock hit zeroes.
• Lot of debate who deserves national coach of the year more (if the vote took place now): Rhoads or Kirk Ferentz? The right answer is Ferentz. If Iowa State had won at Arrowhead and at Kansas, you could make the case for Rhoads, but since the Cyclones didn't, you can't logically go against a coach who overcame numerous key injuries and led his team to wins at Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State (not to mention, Iowa State).
• I apologize to all the State Fair goers who cast their kernel for Iowa as the state team to win the most games. I thought the answer would be UNI. Right now, I thought wrong.
• How can the Big 12 have a TV contract this bad?! Iowa State has already had three games not televised. It's not 1985.
• Tim McClelland is MLB's best umpire, and a first class guy. Yes, he missed a call or two, the other 99.99% he got right. We just don't see those on an endless loop. Human error is unavoidable in baseball.
• I like the Yankees in 7.
• I haven't seen the Des Moines Bucs this year, though I'm looking forward to it. Are they looking any better?
• My son was home from school with the flu and wanted to watch the latest Indiana Jones movie again. Boy, it sucks even more on a second viewing. The first hour is so promising, fueled in part by nostalgia, but once it turns to aliens and spaceships and too many special effects, it loses its way, and can't even recover with a nice ending.
• Upset of the movie year: the rave reviews for Michael Jackson's, "This Is It".
• My wife wants to see Paranormal Activity. One of our photojournalists, Travis Jungling, tells me it scared the living crap out of him. He's no Hassel either. He's a man's man.
• I'm reading "Blind Side" because Jenny wants to see the movie with Sandra Bullock. When you're wife wants to see a sports movie, you celebrate. The book, so far, is terrific.
• New TV shows I've added to the DVR: The Middle, Community, Parks & Recreation (greatly improved, and needed to be), The Good Wife, NCIS LA, Glee (sue me) and Trauma (but not for much longer). What am I missing?
• Let me know if you hear anything about Brett Favre this weekend.
• Andy and I enter the weekend without a costume decision for Halloween SoundOFF. Once you've been Basedow, it's all downhill.
• New SoundOFF feature starts this week: "Ask Gary Dolphin". Mail your questions on any subject to soundoff@whotv.com Dolph will answer them weekly. Well, I think it's Dolph. Maybe not.