Hoover's Hellboy, Wing Dings, Seed Addiction

• Hellboy raised hell Monday in Tampa. Des Moines' Jeremy Hellickson made his Major League debut against the Twins, and Hellickson dominated. The Hoover alum picks up the win as the Rays beat the Twins, 4-2. Hellickson belongs in The Show, but he's headed back to Durham. The Rays have so much pitching, they can afford to wait longer on a guy who's ready RIGHT NOW.
• Hellickson's parents drove from Des Moines to Tampa. That's a haul that would give the Bandit pause. I talked to Steve Hellickson. He's bursting with pride---naturally---and said the drive was well worth it.
• Hellickson's friends and family packed the new Buffalo Wild Wings in Des Moines to watch on TV. I don't think any of them were part of that crowd ten days ago that camped out to try and win free wings for a year. No one should love wings that much.
• Cyclone star David Sims changed his plea to "guilty". If he stays out of trouble for 18 months, it'll be like it never happened. If he's smart, and I hope he is, he'll take zero chances.
• The job of a sales staff is to---duh---sell. The Miami Heat sold out season tickets, so the Heat fired the entire sales staff. Don't need a sales staff if there's nothing to sell, I guess. Thanks for taking your talents to South Beach, LeBron.
• A-Rod, please, go back to the 'roids for a week so I don't have to keep reading about you being stuck on 599.
• Alright, I'm into Mad Men. Can't wait to see who Don Draper sexually harasses next.
• I saw Sorcerer's Apprentice over the weekend. The kids liked it. I just tried to remember when Nicolas Cage made movies I enjoyed. "Put the bunny down".
• Had a lot of fun at the Iowa Speedway over the weekend, save for Friday's night drive through the fog of death. Saturday, we were invited to the owner's luxury box, and though we couldn't have been treated better, I'd rather watch any live sporting event from the stands. It's more real, it's more fun. The box is like watching the tube.
• I can't wait to see "The Other Guys". It looks like something I'll love, and Andy will think is stupid.
• High school football season starts two weeks from Friday. How is that possible.
• I'm addicted to David's ranch flavored sunflower seeds. I really have a problem. People are starting to talk.
• I like most of what I heard from Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. Jim Delany is the Godfather, so whatever he says is going to happen. Nine conference games intead of eight is good for fans, a championship game will make the Big Ten more relevant, though the regular season less relevant, and the Big Ten brand is strong enough to not change the name, even if it remains an oxymoron. The next big news item is division alignment. I'm still hoping for geography, but many Hawk fans want Penn State with Iowa. I get that, though I wonder what happens after JoePa and Ferentz leave.
• Expectations have never been higher for Hawkeye football. I can't help but think Iowa's bound to disappoint, but I hope I'm wrong. It's more fun for us when the local teams win, and win big. Everyone's happier.
• Nice effort, Cubs. Way to show all the visiting Iowa media a good time at Wrigley. Losing to the Brewers 18 to 1 could be the new low point.
• I need to go buy some seeds.