Barnstormer Brad, Bad Week for Iowa, Bad Day for ISU, F---!

• Good move by the Barnstormers signing former Hawkeye quarterback Brad Banks. The 30-year-old Banks---can he be 30?---should be a good fit in the Arena League. Barnstormers better hope so... they don't want to cut an Iowa fan-favorite.
• I just learned how to say rhabdomyolysis, and I'm already sick of it. I have rhabdo fatigue, just as you do, but that's not to say the local media overdid the story. They did not. 13 Hawkeye football players hospitalized for several days at the same time is an important story by any measure. Thankfully, the U of I now says all 13 are out of hospital, but we still have more questions than answers.
• Kirk Ferentz and Gary Barta said all the right things in their statements Sunday night. Much criticism could have been avoided had they done that days sooner, especially if the leaders had done it at a news conference, as was needed.
• Any talk of Ferentz not caring about his players is just plain silly. Ferentz's reputation for caring deeply was formed over more than a decade, not one week of shaky PR decisions.
• Andy Fales warned Cyclone fans for weeks their basketball team had too little depth and talent to keep up the surprise and promise of the early season once ISU entered Big 12 play. Andy was right. Iowa State now has the same number of conference wins as Iowa. Fred Hoiberg and his players have learned some tough lessons at crunch time. It will serve them well in the future. You have to learn to win, especially close games.
• I don't care about BracketBuster games any more than other games. It's a nice gimmick for ESPN, but the games bust no brackets. Or make any.
• Iowa looked the best I've seen the Hawks in a while for one half at Michigan. The second half was a disaster. Guard the 3!
• The Twins Winter Caravan was postponed by winter. It will stop here next week. Hopefully.
• No one should be surprised when Iowa wins a wrestling match. I don't care what the rankings are.
• Iowa State's rare Monday-double is one to forget: suspensions in both top sports on the same day.
• Allegiant Air's new open seating policy is a disaster. It creates a miserable free-for-all that everyone dreads, including the staff. Enough with the add-on fees.
• The King's Speech is fantastic entertainment. It's a PG movie except for two scenes that play the F-bomb for laughs in the most memorable way since Steve Martin walked up to the rental car counter in Planes, Trains & Automobiles---a tirade that earned that movie an R too, and was well worth it.
• Time for the Pro Bowl to go away. Or let them play in flags or lingerie.