Murphy's Law

It's Shawn...

Iowa and Iowa State continue "one-upping" attempts to see which basketball program can become more of an embarrassment.  The latest... two more Cyclones announce they will transfer, including Justin Hamilton.  The number of McDermott-recruited players that have transferred out of the program the last four years is startling.  I haven't kept a running total, but it's at least a dozen, and that's probably being generous.

I left work Thursday night believing that by Friday afternoon something woud break regarding Todd Lickliter's future at Iowa.  That didn't happen, but I still believe Lickliter is finished as the Hawkeyes' head coach.  At the end of last season, an Iowa player told me that most of the players on Iowa's team didn't believe in Lickliter's system, or his vision for Iowa basketball.  I sense that hasn't changed over the last 12 months.

Ames and Southeast Polk meet in the 4A title game Saturday night.  I was in Altoona when the Little Cyclones beat the horns off the Rams in the regular season.  I expect Ames to run away with the game again Saturday night... but I also expected Linn-Mar to easily handle SE Polk in the semifinals on Friday.  So proceed with caution.  Rams Head Coach BJ Windhorst said the controversy surrounding suspended starter Tony Sandquist has galvanized his team.  Sandquist's suspension ended Friday, so he will be able to play in the championship game.  It will be interesting to see if that changes the dynamic.

Finally, for those of you who may have missed it, Pearl Jam annouced its U.S. tour schedule on Thursday.  If you have the means, I highly recommend checking them out.  They are so choice.

Shawn