This evening started much the same as any other. I cooked a delicious meal for my family, helped my children brush their teeth, and then herded the youngsters up to bed for storytime. Tonight's selection, by one Mr. Roger Hargreaves, was "Mr. Tickle", a parable about, um...molestation? In any event, it was a solid if unspectacular selection by my 4 year old (the 2 year old is partial to Faulkner). After getting the boys into bed and taking my post at the chair in the next room, I broke into some of this week's comic books (yeah, I read comics, wanna fight about it?!?). About fifteen minutes into nerding out, the steady patter of rain against the roof became a racket reminiscent of Beirut circa 1982. Startled beyond belief, my children scurried into my arms as we watched the most intense hail storm in memory from the ledge of our upstairs window.

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When I came home from work today, I found that I'd received an unexpected early Christmas gift in the mail; a "thank you" note from OMHR's ticket office for our purchase of 30-odd seats to the laugh-fest that was the Iowa/Purdue football game. Our pleasant, if not entirely reliable, ticket agent wrote me the following:

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It's  the morning after and I haven't had much more than 9 hours of sleep over the last 72 hours...but I'm feeling good.  I'm feeling more than good, in fact, as I cannot be any more pleased with the experiences of this past weekend.  Admittedly, as of a few weeks ago I had some reservations about the trip.  By "reservations" I mean I was flightier than usual, not sleeping and more or less completely panicking.  I had fears about everything from attendance (our bus probably accounted for 10% of Ross-Ade) to payments to behavior to completely ridiculous things like having the bus break down or not show up or some other such nonsense.  By the time I reached the Menard's parking lot yesterday morning those fears quickly began to subside.  

You were respectful.  You were courteous of myself and of one another.  You were fun.  In short, you were everything I recognize as being at the core of Hawkeye fandom.  I cannot overstate this enough; it was an honor and privilege to put this together and as I have had a little time to reflect on it, I believe I would do this again in a heartbeat.  Really.

I had the pleasure of getting to spend a little time with just about everyone from the group whether on the bus, at the tailgate or at the game and I must say I walked away impressed with what a diverse group of personalities are drawn to this site.  Again, you were all far cooler and nicer than I could have ever imagined and I feel slightly guilty for ever having harbored doubts.

To those I met at the game, I'm sorry I couldn't have spent more time chatting.  There will be other chances in the near future, of this I'm sure.

To those that didn't/couldn't make the trip this time...you missed out!  Sure, the weather sucked and the game gave 67% of those who viewed it eye cancer and the train-based fetish of Ross-Ade crossed over from quaint to creepy at times, but it was a blast.  This is mostly because Purdue's hilarious ineptitude outdistanced Iowa's slightly less-hilarious ineptitude but even more so because it was just a really fun group of Hawk fans.  Well, that and our mock "Boiler Up!" chant was way more mean-spirited fun than it should have been.

One final special thanks to Adam (BHGP's Sally Mason);  I was excited and surprised that you took the time away from your group of HMB friends to come over and introduce yourself.  I was dumbfounded when you took me over to meet the current crop of HMB 'tones and found that I'm somehow remembered for 1 year of band 13 years after the fact.  But the kicker for me was when I came to say "bye" before leaving the stadium and realized I had barged up just as you all were about to start singing the Alma Mater.  There was no hesitation on your part to pull me into the line and have me join in with people a generation younger than myself singing a song I haven't sung in over a decade.  I still remember every word (although my pitch wasn't particularly wonderful at that point) and that minute and a half brought back a flood of memories and emotions.  As I walked back up the stairs and onto the concourse to rejoin the rest of our group I realized I had tears in my eyes.  I have tears in my eyes now thinking about it.  Thanks for that.  Sincerely. And don't ever take this time in your life for granted, you can't yet fully appreciate how truly special it is.  

Not from yesterday, but much like Waldo, you'll find "Sally" in this video if you look for him

Sorry for the rambling nature of the post but at this point I'm slightly incoherent.  You're amazing folks and I just wanted to thank you all so much for a great time.  The end.

Now for those of you left gagging at how sappy this post is and are left needing something slightly less corny, here's a Thomas Kinkade painting

Hey, did you know there are farms in Iowa!?!

/ABC'd

With just over a week to go, things are starting to come together for BHGP's courageous mission deep into the heart of our fiercest enemy's territory.  Tickets are go.  The bus is a go.  The tailgate...well, that's still a work in progress.  Right now we have plans that look to be as organized as this:

 

Granted, we're not Michigan State fans, so the behavior (and ability to pronounce "climactic") should be significantly better.  Still, we need to get going on this thing.

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OK, I understand this is going to happen fast but I don't have a lot of choice in the matter.  Remember the soccer jerseys I've been talking about for months?  Well, we have exactly three days to move on them.  That means I need to know who wants one (or any).   This will sound strange but if you want one, regardless of quantity, simply respond "yes" in this thread.

I understand there are a million more questions and concerns but for myriad reasons I cannot go into that right now.  Again, I'm looking for nothing more than a one-word response.  After that I'm going to use my magic powers to make this happen.  The same goes for answering questions: not in this thread.

Sorry for the hurried nature of this whole thing but I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off (or Purdue Pete with a hammer up his ass).  Go Hawks! 

 

EDIT: OK, I'm not going to lie, these jerseys are awesome.  How awesome?  100,000,000,000-hot-dog-awesome. /Izzard'd

(BUMP.  Speak now or forever hold your peace. -- RB)

Wait, what?  An open thread for a coach bus?  Yes, deal with it.  This will serve as an on-going conversation for the next FIVE DAYS at which point I'm going to have to pull the trigger and make a choice on busing service down to West Lafayette.  

The low-ball offer I've received is for up to 47 people, which shouldn't be an issue because we're almost certain to have less, at the going rate of just under $1000.  That works out to about $40 per person if we only ended up with 25 or so people which should be more than worth it considering the cost of a full tank of gas and the trade off of being able to sleep/drink/play games/circle jerk/whatever there and back.  Obviously, if we can get more people to go on the bus that could end up being a steal for us i.e. if you know folks departing for the game from Chicago and think they'd be interested please get their information to me soon.

Here's where I need participation from you folks.

 

1. How much is too much?  Like I've said, I feel fairly confident in my ability to land a coach that will cost at most $40 per person.  If you are willing to spend more/cannot spend that much, let me know.
2. What time do we want to depart?  Obviously, this one is a bit up in the air as the game time is still TBA.  Right now I'm operating off of the assumption that it will likely be an 11AM CST start.  The approximate travel time from downtown Chicago (specific location still has not been decided upon) to W. Lafayette is a little less than two and a half hours.  If it was imperative that we do some sort of tailgating before the game we would need a pretty early departure time: 7AM would be safe.  Yes, that's early.  If we just wanted to be there in time for the game we could leave at 8 and still feel pretty good about getting there in time for kickoff.  Which brings me to my next subject
3. Tailgating.  Before or after?  If it's a later kickoff then obviously we'll be looking at a pre-game gate.  However, if it's an early kick I'm kind of in favor of drinking/snacking on the way up and then doing the grilling and whatnot after the game for a few hours.  There is also the option of forgoing the tailgating altogether (which would be sad for at least a few BHGPers I know who will be in attendance but not traveling from Chicago) and getting back to the city early in favor of a Bacchanalian celebration at one of the city's many watering holes.  While I'm not certain I could reserve a room on a Saturday night without prohibitive cost, we could certainly agree on a specific meeting place.

 

A few bits of housekeeping.  I've received many requests/inquiries regarding the now infamous soccer jerseys.  Patience, I'll have something up in a bit but this thread isn't the place for that.  Secondly and most important: the planning is getting a bit stressful at this point.  With that in mind, PLEASE DO NOT CLOG THIS THREAD WITH COMMENTS ABOUT HOW YOU'D LOVE TO BE THERE BUT CAN'T, FUNNY GIF'S/PICS, STORIES ABOUT YOUR KIDS, MOM JOKES, CIVIL WAR GAMES OR ANY OTHER SUCH NONSENSE.  In the interest of making an informed and timely decision I need to cut through the fat and get information of value.  Thank you for indulging me.

(BUMP.  There may or may not be Official BHGP Presence -- i.e., me, PV, AJ, Jebus, HFMR, SMA, Horace, etc. -- here (I'm still trying to sort out my schedule), but I've met many of the Chicago-area BHGPers and they're good peeps and this should be a good time.  jNW was last year, even with the game being such a farce.  It's also a helluva deal for an away game and, hey, you can cross "attend a football game in West Lafayette" off your bucket list.  What, that wasn't on there?  For shame.  Oh, and it's OUR MOST HATED RIVAL, for god's sake.  -- RB)

Four weeks into the season and we think we're starting to figure out who the 2011 Iowa Hawkeyes are.  We think this could be one of the more explosive passing offenses we've seen come out of Iowa City since, at the very least, 2004.  We think we may have seen Kirk Ferentz turn a corner in his coaching philosophy.  We think this defense is pretty average.  Which also means we think this season could be an absolute white-knuckler, or in other words, a pretty typical Iowa Hawkeye football season (just dressed in different garb).

For those of us who have been able to watch other games around the conference we also have likely come to the conclusion that there's one really good team (who we aren't scheduled to play), a handful of pretty good teams and a shit-smeared tire fire at the bottom of the league (Hello, Minnesota.  Hello, Indiana).  By virtue of a winning record, OMHR is not technically part of that train-wreck (see what I did there) but any of us who have watched the Boilers this season have not seen a lot of progress on the field and, if anything, there's been regression on the sidelines.  

(H/T, as always, to commenter The Final Gun.) 

So what exactly am I getting at?

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Much to this poster's relief, the Purdue ticket office has allowed me to reserve a block of tickets without having to put down any sort of deposit.  This is great news from the logistical perspective since it means we won't have to deal with the messy business of figuring out how to get money from one place to another and then actually distributing tickets on game-day (ask Ross how much fun this is).  

What it does mean, though, is that I will need to forward an email blast with a promotional code attached for the game.  I would prefer not to put it out in public because I need to have so solid way to track how many tickets are being sold and to whom.  Sooooooo, this is what I need:

If you want to come to the game (and please, only serious interest here) please send an email to my public account with the approximate number of tickets you want and both your real name and BHGP handle.  If you have friends who want in but aren't on the site that's OK too, just have them email me themselves.  Obviously, since you'll be buying the tickets yourself you can get however may you'd like but it will help me determine whether I need to expand or contract the block I've reserved.  Once I've gotten everyone's email I'll send out a mass email (read your subject lines carefully so you're not deleting suspected spam) with the details.  If we can sell over 50 tickets it would actually drop the price to only $34, which is nice because online fees will be about $6.  Cut-off needs to be no later than Sep. 17 as there's a shitload of other planning that is going into this.  I thank you all for your cooperation and patience.  I'm really looking forward to this and go Hawks!

Sooooo, while it's been expressed around these parts that the Official 2011 Black Heart Gold Pants Roadtrip should be Minnesota (and I could hardly blame you), I am attempting to put together an unofficial roadie for our first official rivalry game against Purdue on November 19 (we've always hated them, you know).

 

First off, I need to gauge interest because game rates fluctuate depending on tickets purchased.  We must have at least 25 takers in order to receive the most basic benefits (block seating, parking, discounts).  If we can get 50 tickets sold then we're only looking at a rate of $40 per ticket, which isn't too shabby.  Please reply in the comments section or email me directly with interest.

Second order of business, where to stay.  Having been to Purdue multiple times I can say that the people of West Lafayette are extremely courteous and friendly.  This is because the town itself is such a smoking crater of humanity that if they were anything but there wouldn't be a single redeeming factor in it's favor.  As a result, my vote is to choose Chicago as a jumping-off point and driving down and back (only about 2 hours either way) that day.  This is where the choice could get contentious.  Do we:

1. Drive down independently and try to meet up down there (parking is included with the 50-ticket rate), thereby limiting/increasing the risk associated with tailgating or
2. Charter a coach bus(es) so we can drink it up on the way down and back without risk and have the benefit of centralized gathering.

I personally favor the second option although majority rule will carry the day.  Again, the sooner I could get a feel for either of these options the better as chartering a bus will take a little effort and a sizable deposit.  The other benefit I see for the day-trip option (as opposed to spending the night in W. Lafayette) is that many of us actually live in/near Chicago or have friends with whom we could stay thereby significantly decreasing the cost of the trip.  
Special bonus: if there's enough interest, I'm designing a special BHGP soccer jersey for the occasion to be personalized with the handle of your choice.  Admit it, seeing a bright gold, ringer jersey with the text "O'Chicken" on the back is too cool for words.
Please rec the post so we can keep this alive for a bit.  Thanks!

Over at SBN's excellent University of Michigan blog, Maize N Brew, we have undertaken a fun summer project.  Essentially, our aim is to come up with our "Ultimate Brewery Portfolio".   In other words, if you had your own brewery, which beers would you pick as the definitive representation of what you're all about; do you stick close to home and pick Texan brews as the line-up for your roster or do you see the strengths of others by doing things like bowing to the superiority of California's hop-headedness and choose Sierra Nevada's Torpedo IPA as the representative of that category?  

We've had a great deal of participation from the Midwest, West Coast & even The South, but the Lone Star State's absence has left a void.  With folks mentioning Shiner, Live Oak & even St. Arnold's, it's been weird not having any Texans to speak for themselves on the matter.  

Please note that the original post is somewhat confusing; the initial rules laid out will apply to a select group of panelists or "owners" who will be "drafting" a beer for each category.  All we're looking for from you fine folks is your Top 10 Desert Island Beers.  What couldn't you live without?  Do you like to mix it up or do you want 10 different stouts?   We look forward to seeing you over there and happy drinking!  

Oh, and any rec's for this fanpost would be appreciated as it will keep it live until the final tally is taken in a few short days.  Thanks & Hook 'Em! 

It may be a Michigan site, but I'm no Wolverine.  Over at Maize n Brew I happen to be the resident beer writer mostly by virtue of a)loving beer and b)knowing the moderator.  We have undertaken a little project we're calling the Ultimate Brewery Portfolio Re-Draught, inspired by SBN's Conference Re-Draft.  The premise is simple enough but for further details please head on over and check out the thread.  I count the state of Michigan (along with Wisconsin) as one of my two favorite brewing states and it would be a damned shame for the folks from Ann Arbor to get the only say in as to what is ultimately included in our final draft board.  So if you don't mind taking the time, chime in with your "Top 10's" and join the discussion with folks from (seriously) all over the country.  The draft/draught begins next Friday, hope to see you before then!  

Sooooo, I've been known to do this thing over at MaizeNBrew from time to time.  It's about beer and sometimes learning and then about beer again.  As the summer has officially reached it's now yearly post-Big-Ten-blowing-shit-up phase we're looking for some entertainment.  This is where I'd ask you, the sworn enemies of my Iowa Hawkeyes (you've always been Our Most Hated Rival!), to pitch in and give us a hand with our little project.  If you'd be so kind, come on over and take a look and, if you feel so moved, please participate.  Just for fun, one of this site's mods (to be determined) will end up participating in the official draft to begin next week.  The original post itself will be strictly for the lists of the commenters.  Any questions you may have about the project can be directed here at this FanPost or to my email directly.  Thanks again and have fun!

Click here for the story!

Sooooo, I've been known to do this thing over at MaizeNBrew from time to time.  It's about beer and sometimes learning and then about beer again.  As the summer has officially reached it's now yearly post-Big-Ten-blowing-shit-up phase we're looking for some entertainment.  This is where I'd ask you fine folks (both of you) to pitch in and give us a hand with our little project.  If you'd be so kind, come on over and take a look and, if you feel so moved, please participate.  As a fun OTE bonus, your very own Ms. Lee will be representing NU (suck it, UN-L) in our little draft.  The post itself will be strictly for the lists of the commenters.  Any questions you may have about the project can be directed here at this FanPost or to my email directly.  Thanks again and have fun!

Click here for the story!

Sooooo, I've been known to do this thing over at MaizeNBrew from time to time.  It's about beer and sometimes learning and then about beer again.  As the summer has officially reached it's now yearly post-Big-Ten-blowing-shit-up phase we're looking for some entertainment.  This is where I'd ask you, the newest members of our inbred slap-fest esteemed conference to pitch in and give us a hand with our little project.  If you'd be so kind, come on over and take a look and, if you feel so moved, please participate.  The post itself will be strictly for the lists of the commenters.  Any questions you may have about the project can be directed here at this FanPost or to my email directly.  Thanks again and have fun!

Click here for the story!

Sooooo, I've been known to do this thing over at MaizeNBrew from time to time.  It's about beer and sometimes learning and then about beer again.  As the summer has officially reached it's now yearly post-Big-Ten-blowing-shit-up phase we're looking for some entertainment.  This is where I'd ask you fine folks (and by that, I mean roughly three of you, the rest are scoundrels) to pitch in and give us a hand with our little project.  If you'd be so kind, come on over and take a look and, if you feel so moved, please participate.  The post itself will be strictly for the lists of the commenters.  Any questions you may have about the project can be directed here at this FanPost or to my email directly.  Thanks again and have fun; PA has a great wealth of beer and beer-lovers so this should be right in your collective wheelhouse!  Oh, and Frank, you can just talk shit about me on this page if you don't want to click through to the link.

Click here for the story!

Sooooo, I've been known to do this thing over at MaizeNBrew from time to time.  It's about beer and sometimes learning and then about beer again.  As the summer has officially reached it's now yearly post-Big-Ten-blowing-shit-up phase we're looking for some entertainment.  This is where I'd ask you fine folks (and by that, I mean roughly three of you, the rest are scoundrels) to pitch in and give us a hand with our little project.  If you'd be so kind, come on over and take a look and, if you feel so moved, please participate.  The post itself will be strictly for the lists of the commenters.  Any questions you may have about the project can be directed here at this FanPost or to my email directly.  Thanks again and have fun!

Click here for the story!

SBN's Conference Redraft is a fascinating exercise in  gauging perceived value and desirability of programs familiar to all fans of college sports thing to do because, hey, it's hot outside.  This got us thinking, as uninspiring as a lifetime of watching our team find conference-mates in the likes of Pitt, Oklahoma State, Cal and Memphis, it could be worse. We could be stuck with a lifetime of drinking Iron ("Ahrn") City, Leinie's Red and Crazy Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer.  So we at Maize n Brew have undertaken a truly important project, The Ultimate Brewery Portfolio Re-Draft!  This will tell us a great many important things, such as: which craft beers could we simply not do without; what breweries are most-loved; and, which of us are actually decent people. Because, after all:

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Hey, way to go with that pick of UNC-Ashville to win it all.  Since you're clearly the creative type, let's put that imagination to further good use; according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota's starting shadow of his father center, Ralph Sampson III, is writing a novel.  Will it be a story of struggling to live up to expectations?  A journey of self-determination?  A stranger-in-a-strange-land yarn?

 It's about this guy who is extremely talented, does all the right things, is an NBA star, but then gets away from his grounding and faith and starts losing everything in his life. In the end, he realizes what he had and what he lost, accepts it, then commits himself to getting back to the way he was growing up.

As one member of the commentariat quipped, "Oh, it's just his father's biography".  In any event, the working title is yet to be determined, so it's up to you, the clever degenerates of BHGP, to pick the name of Mr. Sampson's book.  All entries should be placed in the comments section below and will be picked through a process weighing humor against the relevance of the title to the subject (or in other words, HFMR will figure out which one would make the funniest photoshop and we'll go with that).  Like the Bracket Contest, the winner will receive a shirt.  Unlike that contest, the shirt will simply be one of Ross' shirts.  Good luck!

After this week's new Big Ten Divisional names were met with Hoover-esque approval ratings, Jim Delany has surprised some observers by admitting the league may have been out of touch with what Big Ten fans had desired from said branding.  The Chicago Tribune's always-reliable Teddy Greenstein (except for on matters involving expansion; "League officials say Bryn Mawr College is being considered for admission") has followed up Delany's Thursday night WGN Radio interview with confirmation that widespread displeasure with the names has forced the powers that be to seriously consider scrapping them altogether.  

If true, this would be a major victory for fans whose voices are clearly being heard by their commissioner (remember when The Game was going to be in early October?) and for sports fans in general who would have otherwise been forced to remember who was a "Legend" and who was a "Leader" in addition to already having to remember who is in the ACC's Atlantic and Coastal divisions or remembering if there are even teams left in the WAC anymore.  

Market researchers said curling my eyebrows upward make me look "authoritative" 

So keep your fingers crossed, folks, and hope that reason wins out on this one.  While you're at it, send them more complaints about that new logo...

From everyone's favorite "reporter", Teddy Greenstein (OK, he's actually really good but got played like everyone else in Expansionpalooza), Jim Delany is...wait for it...surprised by the amount of negative backlash from the "Legends" and "Leaders" division names, and scrapping the names altogether is now under consideration.  Sources also say now that Nebraska may not be a good fit because they didn't win the Big XII in their final season with that league, that a sample size of nearly 20 years may not be large enough to see if this whole Penn State thing is working out and Minnesota will be going back to playing their games in the Metrodome now that it is, in fact, an outdoor venue.

The end of the article contains the real kicker; Delany didn't think the divisional names of "Stars" and "Stripes" were appropriate because

 conference officials felt those names represented America, not the Big Ten.

Because the Big Ten is not representative of America how?