NFL (Un)Lockout, Martensdale Survives, Iceborg vs. Hazzle Dazzle

(Chris & Zach-We're trying this combo platter version of the blog since Chris forgot to hit send before leaving and IceBorg wanted to get a word in, his comments are in italics.)

The NFL lockout is over. Quite Frankly, I'm completely NFL-ed out. I don't want to hear anything about the NFL for a few weeks. If ESPN, and other media outlets, wouldn't have made this a nightly story for the past 4 months, we wouldn't have noticed a difference. The only thing we're missing is the Hall of Fame Game, which is pointless anyway.

I concur.  Anyone with half a brain knew the NFL wouldn't cancel the season.  Too much money in the preseason, much less regular season, to lose.  But lets be real here, if it wasn't the lockout, Ed Werder or Rachel Nichols would have done daily updates camped out on Brett Favre's lawn all summer....oh wait, there's already rumors he's coming back again?  DANG IT!!!!

A bunch of former Hawks and Cyclones will get picked up by NFL teams, Tuesday. We'll see more signings than usual since the rosters have been expanded to 90 players. Even Brad Banks is confident he'll get a shot in training camp.

Brad might but he won't last long.  All due respect, he was way to up and down for AFL to stick in the NFL.  Practice squad if he's lucky.  But what about DJK?
 
Shawn Johnson is letting her frustrations be known. Today she tweeted this: "The fact that people are comparing my scores between these classics & the 08 Olympics is amusing 2 me. Learn the sport." I like the fact that she's showing some fire. You don't have to put a smile on your face 24/7. She's motivated, and she wants to prove her doubters wrong. 

I would rather spend a week in jail than a week on RAGBRAI.

I'm a heavy set guy who played defensive line.  How do you think I feel about RAGBRAI?  And you're complaining?  

Martensdale St. Mary's is still alive --- barely. The teams' 85th consecutive victory was one of the hardest to come by. English Valleys, which had won 9 games all season, took a tie game into the bottom-of-the-7th, when the Blue Devils finally broke through for a 2-1 win. After the game, the players admitted they may have been overlooking their opponent.

We came REAL close to what would have been one of the biggest upsets in Iowa prep history.  Martensdale tied the game in the fourth, but only because a two out error by the English Valleys pitcher kept the inning alive.  The Blue Devils made some uncharacteristic mistakes, and if they play that way against Coon Rapids-Bayard the streak will end.

You do have to appreciate the streak though after a game like this.  I know there are critics who think this is a cheat and sham, but Martensdale has probably won plenty of games like this in the streak.  Today proved that even the best teams have bad days or run into a hot opponent.  It says quite a bit that they can win when that happens.

One other note, in the Coon Rapids game the Crusaders scored 12 runs in the 7th against Preston after the game was tied at 1.  Preston lost, by my count, five or six balls in the sun.  I was at a distance, but I don't think I saw any Preston players wearing sunglasses.  Makes sense, not like you would need them at 4 PM in the afternoon right?  Memo to high school coaches-if you play during the day, run by the dollar store and tell your players to take a page from ZZ Top-"go get yourself some cheap sunglasses". 

The Rangers lead the Twins 18-1, in the 5th inning. Stick a fork in the Twinkies --- they're done.

The Twins are always done.  Even if they make the playoffs they just get swept by the Yankees.  Sorry Emily Carlson.

Vegas has set the over/under for total wins for Iowa and ISU. I thought Iowa would be at 7, and ISU would be at 4...but I was wrong. The Hawks' over/under is 8, and the Clones' is 3. I'd be very surprised if ISU doesn't win 4 games.

The Big 12 Media Days have begun, in Dallas, and Iowa State is picked near the bottom of the Big 12. Only one team was picked below ISU --- Kansas. And Kansas is really, really bad. I've seen Iowa picked anywhere from third to fifth in the Legends Division of the Big Ten. No one thinks the Hawks will finish ahead of Nebraska, or Michigan State. Personally, I think Nebraska is overrated. They'll have a tough time adjusting to the Big Ten, especially with the toughest schedule in the conference on tap.

The thing that amazes me is about all the Nebraska hype is that people seem to think this is 1995.  People look at Nebraska's tradition and think they'll own the Big Ten.  Problem is Nebraska hasn't been Nebraska for about a decade (basically since they lost a national title game they had no business being in back in 2001).

Curb Your Enthusiasm is the best comedy on TV when it's right. Sunday night was one of those nights. Larry David is my hero, but the best character on the show might be Marty Funkhouser.

Entourage used to be pretty funny. Now, it's turned into a drama. The first episode of the final season wasn't bad, but I thought Vince's house burning to the ground was a bit much.

To quote Homer Simpson in one of my favorite shows: "What in the hell are you talking about?"