The IceBorg Bloggeth: Barnstormers Banks On It, Bad Baseball In Every Direction

(Zach)

Hello blogland!  As I've been here for nearly a month, I suppose it's time to add my nuggets of sports insight to Murphy's Law.  Second to getting my first parking ticket from the University of Iowa parking enforcement staff, writing my first blog really makes me feel like one of the team.

He also leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

While it was great to see Brad Banks back in Iowa, you at first had to wonder if his signing with the Barnstormers was more about PR than PT (playing time).  Whoops.  Brad did everything but fly the team plane in their 76-69 win over San Jose, and he's pretty much had to all season.  The Barnstormers have scored 22 touchdowns in three games (19 passing, three rushing).  Guess who's scored all 22?

As one who is looking forward to going to his first Hawkeye and Cyclone football games next fall (my folks could never afford a ticket when the IceBorg was just a little ice block), the Barnstormers wet the appetite for football.  All due respect to James Vandenberg at UI and Jerome Tiller/Steele Jantz at ISU, but if one of them doesn't play at least half as well as a Banks under center, 7-8 wins might be the best we can hope for.

Don't know and haven't spoken to Peter Jok yet, nor am I completely familiar with the Roosevelt coaching spat.  I'm not a big fan of open enrollment that allows kids to transfer anywhere without penalty, but since virtually every state has it, it's not going away, and kids have a right to be happy at their school.  I just hope they aren't emulating the LeBron James' and Carmelo Anthony's of the world and trying to just win a championship.  I was fortunate enough to play for a state championship team in high school and, while it is a great thing and memory I cherish to this day, it wasn't and shouldn't be the ONLY thing that defines high school.

Last night Chris picked Butler to beat Connecticut in the national title game.  Ditto on that from me.  Most pundits are too caught up in the Kemba Walker lovefest to see straight.  UConn may have the best player, but I think Butler consistently puts out the better and more fundamentally sound team. 

Speaking of Butler, last I heard Todd Lickliter was up for the head coaching job at something called Florida Gulf Coast university.  You know your stock is pretty low when even a school out in the ocean won't hire you.

So the UConn women actually lost in the NCAA Tournament?  So much for women's hoops being predictable.  Good for the sport overall, but probably bad for ESPN.  Right or wrong, dynasty's get better ratings, and a Stanford-UConn rematch would have drawn more casual interest than Notre Dame-Texas A&M.

Laugh now.  Come Rocktober I'll be enjoying playoff baseball

The guys here have given me some good natured ribbing about me being a Colorado Rockies fan.  Judging by the start of the season, if you're the casual fan looking for a team that has chance to play in October, best look west to the Rocks, because the options to the south, east and north aren't too good right now.



The best teams within earshot are probably the White Sox and Twins.  Then again, with Boston and New York out east, winning the AL Central is kind of like being the third party candidate in the presidential election.  The White Sox have a killer lineup, but if their pitching can't stay healthy their toast.  And when you're the second team in the second city it's kind of hard to get pumped about them.

The Twins will probably do what the Twins always do.  Win 87-95 games, get swept by the Yankees in the ALDS.

Did somebody drink Jobu's rum in the Cardinal clubhouse?  Pujols' contract, Wainright's season-ending injury, and now Matt Holliday's appendix decides to burst?  They need to get either a live chicken or a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to end this hex. 

It is very bad to drink Jobu's rum.  Very bad.

The Kansas City Royals are 3-1 and have some nice young players.  That said, they're still the Kansas City Royals.  Book them for about 90-100 losses and wake me if they aren't ten games out of first at the All Star break. 

And then we come to the worst-the Cubbies.  It's no secret they are rebuilding after the Sweet Lou version of this team fell out of their 2007-2008 contending status earlier than expected.  The 2011 Cubs pursuit of a World Series would be like me going on a date with a super model.  On looks and talent alone, we don't have enough to go all the way.  So what do you?  Emphasize the details.  I can't buy the nice new car yet (Albert Pujols), so get a cheap rental and hope it doesn't crap out (Carlos Pena).  Go all out on a nice dinner even if you're overspending (Matt Garza trade).  Pull out that old suit and hope the holes in it don't get any bigger (Alfonso Soriano).  Basically, go all out and if she has low standards (or the NL Central really sucks), you might get lucky. 



Will the Cubs switching to Geico save them money on Pujols when their rental craps out?