Cyclone Alert, North Goes South, Fake Dan Beebe Lives

(Zach)

-Less than 24 hours to the big game in Ames.  I'm curious as to why people, even in Ames, seem convinced that the 2005 Longhorns are coming to ISU tomorrow.  Was a big win over a bad UCLA team really that important?  Was nobody watching when an average BYU team blew the game in a 17-16 Texas win at DKR?  Yes Texas is better than last year's 5-7, but it's Texas.  Improving on 5-7 for that program should be as easy as getting out of bed is for any of us.

-Captain Obvious Alert: Iowa State can't get off to another terrible start.  Texas does have the firepower to bury them.  But I think the Cyclones will come out strong.

-Am I being a bit of a homer here when picking a game in which one team has only ONE win ever against another?  Maybe.  But I think ISU has a bit of magic at Jack Trice, and with tough roadies at Baylor and Mizzou looming, this is (stop me if you've heard this before) a must win.  Gimme ISU 34-33.

-Couple of upsets and fantastic finishes in high school ball.  ADM rallying from 17 down to beat Carlisle in our big game was (according to a few in the newsroom) one of the best "big games" we've ever featured.  Marshalltown and record setting QB Blake Gimbel were stymied by visiting Waukee 50-28.  And how about Dowling, minus stud wideout Amara Darboh, knocking off undefeated Ankeny?

-I feel really bad for the kids at North High School.  Lincoln beat the Polar Bears 86-28.  The situation there (and at Hoover) is difficult, and I just don't know how (or if) you can turn it around. 

-There was a thought that the Tampa Bay Rays would be drained after such a tough and emotional climb back into the playoffs.  Drain this: Rays hammer the Rangers in Game 1 9-0.  As my own favorite team showed me in 2007, I'd rather be the team that has to play each game like it's life or death for a month and then go into the playoffs quickly rather than be the team that has had things locked up for a week or more.  Let the adrenaline carry you.

-Touching moment when the son of the fan who died earlier this season at a Rangers game threw out the first pitch to Josh Hamilton. 

-I love David Stern's timing.  Right as baseball has its greatest night in years, it "leaks" that Stern may threaten to cancel the season.  Hey Dave, go right ahead.  NBA is irrelevant until the playoffs.

-Fake Dan Beebe is back to tweeting about life on the unemployment line.  Kind of disappointed.  His rant was the equivalent of hitting a game winning half court shot at the buzzer.  Coming back now is like him trying to hit from full court.