McIlroaring, ISU's Rolls Royce

(Zach)

Rory McIlroy will probably play professional golf for about another 30 years and win several majors.  But I'd put money on him NEVER playing that well again in a major tournament (or maybe any other tournament).  -16 at the US Open is the definition of being in the zone.

It was a nearly flawless performance from a guy who had been very flawed at previous majors.  The Masters this year.  The British Open and PGA Championship last year.  And that's the scary part now.  He was close before, and now he seems to have learned from his past mistakes, and he's only 22.

I keep hearing the claim that he is the next Tiger Woods.  For his sake I kinda hope not.  Hopefully he has a little more maturity and control of his personal life as his fame grows (IE not hooking up with every Perkins waitress he meets in every city).  Tiger's life and game has gone to hell in big part because of it.  He'll always be one of the great golfers in history, but I believe he was on track to be THE greatest, and I think that window is fast shutting.  On second thought, McIlroy's performance and arrival may have slammed it shut.  It's going to be a lot tougher for Tiger to win majors when he returns.

Spent some time at the Capital City League.  From the stands to the floor it definetly has an Iowa State feel.  High profile transfers Royce White (Minnesota), Korie Lucious (Michigan State) and Will Clyburn (Utah) are all on the floor.  White will be eligible to play next season while Lucious and Clyburn have to wait till 2012-13.  White looks like he's 30 and plays like a man amongst boys.

I'll call my shot here-ISU will be in the NCAA Tournament in 2013.  These three bring a type of athleticism and talent on the floor that will be a game changer in Ames.  The only problem?  Making sure they all STAY together till then.  White's had a history of problems, though I think the fact he appears to have been a model citizen last season when he sat out bodes well.  Lucious had a big falling out at MSU.  White told me a year sitting out can go fast.  I hope so. 

Oh I know!  Our parents weren't brother and sister before they married!

I'm glad to see this Nebraska-Iowa rivalry is catching on.  This is already more serious than they treated their previous rival in name only Colorado.  But seriously Nebraska fan, come up with something better for the shirts.  You just wasted your first two comebacks for when Iowa beats you this fall.

I heard that rumors of the Yankees being interested in Carlos Zambrano were squashed.  Five bucks says Carlos started those rumors. 

With all the conference realignment in college sports we've been treated to a bevy of lame new logos and themes.  "Legends" and "Leaders" divisions from the Big Ten still takes the stupid cake, but we may have a challenger courtesy my Alma Mater's conference.  The Mountain West had a nice run as non-BCS buster for a while, but with BYU, Utah and TCU all headed out, they figured it was time for a new look.

Kind of subpar in my opinion.  Really subpar when it turns out they bastardized it off the British TV series "Doctor Who".

You know your conference is irrelevant when it pays millions of dollars only to get ripped off by a rip off.

Spring (Football) Fever, Out Of The Woods, & What Is A Ke$ha?

(Zach)

Next Saturday both Iowa and Iowa State will hold their spring football scrimmage/practice/whatever they want to call it to make it not sound like a game.  Spoke with the Hawkeye football players for the second time today and new starting quarterback James Vandenberg for the first time.  He seems like a calm enough cat, but then again who doesn't in spring football?  He got thrown into some tough spots as a freshman in 2009 (IE starting at Ohio State), so you'd think he won't go in as wide-eyed.

It's natural to focus on QB but I'm guessing the success of this offense will hinge on whether or not the Marcus Coker we saw in the Insight Bowl is the Marcus Coker we're going to see this season. 

I really hope Paul Rhoads succeeds, and STAYS, in Ames.  It's hard not to get fired up listening to the guy speak, and that's just in his press conferences.  But it's going to be even more of an uphill battle in the Big 12-that's actually-10 now that they have to play the entire southern half of the league every year.



Speaking of conference realignment, with the release of the Big Ten future schedules, there is some talk of whether or not the Iowa-Iowa State football series will continue (Hawkeye Nation had an article on it recently:  http://www.hawkeyenation.com/football/end-of-cyhawk).  Essentially, it all comes down to the logistics of getting another home game, revenue sharing, and a bunch of crap no football fan really cares about.

Just play the game.  I don't care what side of the fence you're on, it is a showcase for the whole state of Iowa, and what exactly is the alternative?  Kinda doubt ISU or Iowa is going to fill that hole in their schedule with a big name opponent on a regular basis.  So guess what we're stuck with?  Instead of Cy-Hawk, we get even more of teams like Kent State, Northern Illinois, and Tennessee Tech.  Goody!

Unfortunately, with all the conference shuffling, rivalries seem to be a dying thing.  No more Nebraska-OU.  The "Holy War" between Utah and Brigham Young may be a thing of the past in two more years.  When I worked in North Dakota the two major state schools stopped playing each other when they were separated by classification and then conference.  In most of those cases there is really bad blood or strained relations between the schools and their administrations.  Iowa and ISU seem to be above that.

And, perhaps most importantly, what would we do with RVTV?  It would be a little cold to be in an RV in November for an Iowa-Nebraska or ISU-Missouri game.

We'll warm up for the spring games with the I-Cubs home opener a week from tonight.  Emphasis on the warm hopefully.  The cold and gloomy weather sure makes it seem like football season.




If they can't score, all I ask is that they fight

Too bad the Des Moines Buccaneers just missed out on the USHL playoffs.  They've won five of their last seven and seem to be playing some of their best hockey of the season.  At least that's what I hear because I literally haven't seen it.  I've been to three periods in two games this year, and the Bucs were outscored 5-0 while I was there.  After I left Des Moines outscored their opponents 12-1. 

Tiger Woods was Tiger Woods again on Friday, which leaves us with a question that seemed impossible a few years ago.  Can he finish?  It's easy to point to his personal life leading to the decline, but this actually started before the stuff hit the fan (or the Escalade hit the fire hydrant in his case).  Go back to the 2009 PGA Championship which was just up the road at Hazeltine.  After leading for 54 holes, Woods lost to YE Yang on the final day, the first time he'd ever blown a lead on the final day.  Over the last few years he's shown the field that he is vulnerable and, even worse, he seems to believe he's human on a Sunday.  Whatever happens this week it's going to be quite the show.

I'm pretty eclectic in my music.  AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, Miles Davis, you name it.  I'd like to think I'll give just about any music a try.  That is unless I hear the same crappy stuff on every station. 

Enter something called Ke$ha.  Her latest "hit" single is titled "F*** Him, He's a DJ".  Talk about deep.  A group of high school girls at the mall talking about their favorite lip gloss would probably be more creative and sound the same.  If you're a fan of Kesha (her "music" is so bad I am dropping the $ sign), you do realize you're probably listening to Avril Lavigne singing hip-hop that's lip-synced by some random blonde girl right?

I'd pay $ to never hear her on the radio again