Bellanca

I really have no idea what armed LEOs are doing arresting a man in the middle of the night for being "publicly intoxicated" in his own lavatory, when he blows less than .08, to boot. I don't get it.

I wasn't around during the Holm case, so forgive some of my astonishment at what happened to this guy. I agree with the commenter to this Hlas story, since he happens to be me, but I am unwilling to drop this for reasons that affect all men in college, outlined below. THESIS: Holm never would have been sent up had he received a jury trial, because normal humans do not convict someone of sexual assault if the witness/third person -- 24 inches away -- says it never happened, and the physical evidence is exculpatory, and the defining logic for the judge was that the accused had more to lose than the accuser. (Under such logic, all accused criminals are automatically convicted.) And he never would have been charged if Pierre Pierce hadn't happened, and created a political and social firestorm: he simply wouldn't have been charged. And, I daresay, he never would have been charged if he had been black, because the specter of false rape charges against black men over the past 200+ years would have had the Johnson County DA running for the Mississippi first, before attempting to ruin a young man against whom NO evidence could be compiled, save that of an erratic, drunk, and angry young woman whose own boyfriend (the sole third-party witness, physically proximate to the supposed assault) disputed her claims. So I realize I am puncturing about eight PC balloons at once here. No need to comment and suggest that we do not speak of such things on a happy sports blog. DISCUSSION: But sexual assault, and we are reaching the point now where it doesn't mean what the words say it means, is the third rail of big time sports. A certain boy scout, physics major and stud hoss Iowa RB may have been run out of town by a certain university president because -- although cleared of any wrongdoing by law enforcement -- he refused to apologize for something that neither he nor the police nor the ostensible victim said happened. This is not a long reach from Holm refusing to accept a get-out-of-jail card because he was supposed to admit he did something that no one ever showed he did. Universities now lose funding from the US Dept. of Ed. if they allow accused men to question or otherwise test the accusations made against them by alleged victims of sexual assault. That is correct: if you are accused, you may not defend yourself properly, if your college or university wishes to retain critical federal funding. Anyone who is the parent of a boy or young man in this environment had best discuss these matters with his or her son. College is a time of great social and sexual experimentation, usually under the influence of this or that intoxicant, and never more so than today. Feminist cant suggests that because rape is a serious crime, a few eggs will be broken (i.e., a few innocents will be destroyed) in order to further social justice. This principle now controls the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars to places like the SUI. I know that I am thrilled that my own son, a competitive freestyle skier (not exactly choir boys, they) has matriculated from his New England university without incident. I started in on him five years ago with suggestions such as this: "Yes means no. No means no. Yes means maybe. No means try me. Don't ever mess around with girls unless they are sober and have been chasing you for at least a couple of weeks." Be careful out there. This case wasn't a case where "No means yes". This wasn't a case of "No really means yes." This was a big case of nothing, unless you were Jordan Holm. PERSONAL ANECDOTE: I was a reporter for the DI who watched James Wendell Hall get sent up for the murder of Sarah Ann Ottens. I was naive and 17 years old; I was shocked at the ease with which the state convicted this guy, and I have never forgotten the cheesy theatrics and bad suit worn by the state prosecutor. After seven years that conviction was thrown out because prosecutor Woodward lied to the court and abused the process that all accused are owed. I am new to the Holm case and have only been reading about it for a couple of days. But I would be stunned if the Johnson County DA would ever retry this case before a jury, and really, that is all we need to know if I am correct. FOR FURTHER REVIEW: For other comments and a fairly lengthy and sensitive blogress' interview with Holm, go here: http://emmawilhelm.com/2010/10/16/wasjusticereallyserved/ and here: http://emmawilhelm.com/2011/01/29/talking-truth-with-jordan-holm/ (She's a Carleton/Smith grad, she's thorough.) For more on how universities may no longer investigate claims of sexual assault by alleged victims, go here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576516232905230642.html Here is a (rough) scan of the Press-Citizen coverage of the Hall case, mostly by Mark Rohner, who was the best hard news reporter at the P-C for a couple of decades. Note how Hall was not arrested until after six months of interviews, obviously accomplishing nothing, and perhaps proving that a DA or assist AG could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. Meardon, Sueppel, Downer and Hayes were the ace law firm back then, and, I believe, did not abandon this client when it would have been convenient: http://newspaperarchive.com/iowa-city-press-citizen/1973-09-20/ In 1993 Hall was convicted of strangling to death Susan Hajek in Cedar Rapids.

"13 years of silence ... You can't be a part-time man of principle ... This way it only saved the reputations of the football team [i.e., the reputation of the university was discarded to protect the football team] -- for another decade [both are wrecked now].

With Leach on the wagon, and on the beach, Dana Holgersen has to be the most refreshingly candid head coach working today. Well, except for the OBC. Here he discusses how he game plans -- and makes clear that if he has the choice between staying up all night staring at tape, or maybe playing a few hands at a convenient casino, it's time for some blackjack. The money quote, however, is just the latest encomium thrown Norm's way. Remember, Holgersen is the most prolific OC of the past 10 years. Quote: "But there have been occasions during his coaching career when good defense simply shut down good offense. He's quick to point out the 2001 Alamo Bowl when he was an assistant at Texas Tech and the Red Raiders played Iowa. Tech had another of those high-powered offenses with Kliff Kingsbury at quarterback. "'They were really good and they've always had a really good defense. And you can turn on their tape right now and it's the same defense it was back in 2001,'' Holgorsen said. "They were just as bland as you can possibly be - 4-3, cover four. And that's all they did every dang snap. And they whipped us.'' "Tech scored one touchdown and lost 19-16 on a last-second field goal." "There's a whole bunch of good defenses out there,'' Holgorsen said. "It's all about what they believe in and what they feel like they can execute.''

For the Times, a remarkably respectful story of midwestern culture, racial integration and strife, football -- all leavened by Sandy Boyd's warm memories. Older BHGP'rs can't help but contrast the bureaucratic fungus that is the current Mason administration and the handful of devoted, smart people who ran the SUI in the 50's and 60's.

Click on the Big Ten row label to open chart. Iowa has the smallest O-Line in the Big Ten, and second-least experienced group of starters.

Nebraska gets two pecks on the cheek and the toughest schedule in the league.

OC Cam Cameron on Yanda. Yanda also was one of the coin-toss captains for the Giant game. So it would seem that he is becoming extremely well-established in Baltimore.

These guys, DiNardo and Griffith, actually know what they're talking about, and they say the weakest, most uncertain element (other than our depth and maybe playcalling) will get it done. In dreams become responsibilities, I guess. What they're saying, in effect, is that this could be one really good club.

Ladell in NOLA.

This is a great piece on the Ryan family and how Buddy et fils have changed football. I thought that this quote from Rob Ryan informs the whole discussion on running QBs and whether or not it's smart in a physical league. "Rex used many of their ideas, mixed with two cornerstone principles. One: Stop the run. "Say what you want about me," says Ryan, "but if I want to, I'll stop your run." Two: Knock the quarterback on his back, for the simple reason best expressed by Rob Ryan (who in 2009 was Eric Mangini's defensive coordinator with the Browns). "The more you hit the quarterback," Rob says, "the better you're going to do.""

Hawks at #6. I don't know, it seems a little high. But I'm from Iowa. My DNA says "Be modest. Expect bad things to happen."

Bellanca discussion of the difference between propensity modeling and stochastic optimization in the comments section.