Sunday - January 31st, 2010

Hey, it's Hassel, and it's finally my turn to update our new sports blog. Football is over as far as I'm concerned. I didn't watch one lick of the Pro Bowl, and the Super Bowl is the most over-hyped sporting event in the world. I don't mind the 7-hour pregame show, or the 4-minute commercial breaks. The thing I absolutely cannot stand, is the halftime show. It's 35 minutes of pure garbage. That being said, I'll watch the game start-to-finish. Although the Colts have Iowa ties, I'm rooting for the Saints.

I was at the Drake-Creighton game, on Saturday night. It reminded me of the 2008 season. The only difference was, Emmenecker and Korver were wearing headsets and not jerseys. They were guest commentators on the TV broadcast. It was easily the best atmosphere at the Knapp Center in the Mark Phelps era. I think the Dogs can beat anyone at Arch Madness, if they keep shooting the ball like they have been.

Northern Iowa will jump back into the AP Top 25 on Monday afternoon. At 19-2, I think 6 or 7 more wins will be good enough to secure an at-large NCAA tournament bid. Of course, the point will be moot if they win the Valley tournament.

Both Drake and UNI have 8 conference games left. They'll also play respective 'BracketBuster' games later this month. The pairings will be announced on Monday afternoon.

Indianola native, Casey Blake, will present the Indianola school district with a $1 million dollar check, Monday evening. Blake plays for the Dodgers, in Hollywood, but he hasn't forgotten his Iowa roots.

Here's what to watch for, this week:
- UNI can virtually wrap up the Valley with a home win against Wichita on Wednesday. A victory would give them a 3-game lead.
- Drake has road games at Bradley, and at Illinois State.
- Iowa State needs to find a way to win @Baylor and/or home vs. #13 Kansas State. If they lose both, you can say goodbye to post-season tournaments, including the NIT.
- Iowa has a winnable game at home against Illinois on Wednesday.
- National signing day is Wednesday. We'll hear from both Kirk Ferentz, and Paul Rhoads.
- The ISU wrestling program should win its 1000th dual, next sunday, at Arizona St.

I'll be back with more on Monday night.