Madden 2010 (yes 2010), Stanzi Cover Manzi, No Tweeting

• The weather early Monday was NUTS. I ignored the good advice of one of our producers, Lisa Felton, and drove home around 12:30 a.m.  High winds, horizontal rain, constant lightning, flash flooding... this one had it all. I was looking around for a flying cow.
• Nebraska fans, we're kidding. Don't tell.
• That didn't take long. Bryan Bulaga competing for starting spot on Packers O-line.
• Ricky Stanzi is on the regional cover of Sports Illustrated's Big Ten preview. Since only Iowa stores get this cover, it doesn't qualify for jinx consideration. The jinx is silly anyway.
• Boise State's football players are not allowed to tweet during the season. Some will see this as censorship, but when you're on a team, you follow rules. Kind of like when you're in your parents' house; their house, their rules. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kirk Ferentz go to the no tweeting rule, though I hope he doesn't.
• I wish DJK would join twitter. He's the best interview in the state right now. (By the way, my twitter name is now Murph_13.)
• If you're on twitter, I recommend following Zachlopedia. Zach Spears plays on the offensive line at Iowa State, and he was our intern at SoundOff and on the Murph & Andy Show. He's bright, funny, and unpredictable. Well, he is in person. He's just starting on twitter, so we'll see if he keeps it real.
• We're apparently ready for some football. The lackluster Bengals vs. Cowboys Hall of Fame game was the highest rated preseason clash in six years.
• Preseason games are the worst part of the NFL. They just don't matter to anyone except the coaches and fringe players. In 2008, the Lions went undefeated in the preseason. Regular season record: 0-16.
• As I type, it's thundering. You've got to be kidding.
• Greatest NFL player of the past 25 years? To me, it's Jerry Rice.
• Will Tiger Woods win another major? I think he will, and more than one, but he'll never be dominant the way he once was. He's past his prime, and lost his swagger. He'll get his game back, but never his aura of invincibility.
• It's time for Madden 2011, or as my kids call it, Madden 2010. "See kids, it's 2010, just like the year it is now! Plus, none of that annoying shrink wrap. It's ready to play!"
• There's plenty of passion in Indianola where the school board is voting whether Indianola leaves the CIML. Many in Indianola are tired of being the smallest school in the CIML. They'd like to join the Little Hawkeye conference where the Indians would be, by far, the largest school. The rub is that would make Indianola the bully, because the Indians are tired of being bullied.
• A lightning bolt just knocked out all power for 5 minutes. When will this end?
• Jeff Van Gundy is predicting the Heat will win more than 72 games, and could win more than 33 in a row, both records. Drug test Van Gundy stat.
• Loved Will Ferrell's The Other Guys. Absolutely ridiculous, but I laughed hard several times. That's worth 7 bucks.
• And now, two Pirates announcers who momentarily lose their minds, and all perspective: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10740021&c_id=pit&topic_id=8877442