Seems Luther College grads are pretty well represented on this here blog.  Out of curiosity and for my own personal pleasure, chek in on the comments if you are a grad.

I suppose townies (natives) of Decorah, or guys who banged a Tau Delt or ABY can check in, too (this latter category probably includes 90% of Iowans).

As for myself, I'm the worst kind of alumnus - the kind that's actually a native, an alum, and a former employee.  And I'm not ashamed to say that I miss the simple place.

I'm no big Chris Spielman lover (though of all the ESPN/ABC announcers he's the most entertaining). I'm no Ohio State lover.  But the story on Stefanie Spielman and her 12 year bout with breast cancer is pretty damn touching.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4672569

Continue reading this post »

[Bumped, but let's let Mr. Harty decide if DJK's actually With The Program first, sir. He's the expert.--OPS]

Let’s look at how he’s doing with the potential chase for the all time receiving record oft-talked about in the offseason.

Post Michigan game, he now sits at 1,322 career receiving yards, 949 yards behind Tim Dwight’s career Iowa record of 2,271.  Assuming Iowa makes a bowl game this year and next, and assuming DJK fights off injuries, that leaves 20 games left in his Iowa career.  He would need to average only 47.45 yards/game to surpass Dwight on the all time list.

Post Michigan, he has 93 career receptions, 64 receptions behind Kevin Kasper’s career record of  157 receptions.  Using the same assumptions, DJK would need to average 3.2 receptions/game in order to lead Iowa all time in receptions.

I for one am excited to see that DJK is healthy and back “with the Program.”  I hope he gets a jump start on reaching these career achievements this week at Wisconsin.

Here's an updated list, per the American Football Coaches Association, of FBS and FCS schools with an open date and in need of an opponent in 2010.  Whom would y'all like to see slotted into Ball State's place for Iowa?  And what's the realistic option?

(note: Minnesota and Pittsburgh have that date open as well, but since we already play them in 2010...)

FBS opponents:

Colorado State University
2010: 1 home/1 away, 9/11, 9/25, 10/2

University of North Texas
Open Dates
2010: (2 home - 1 away) 9/11, 9/18, 9/25

Marshall University
Open Dates
2010: 9/11, 9/18, 9/25 two home or one home/one away

FCS opponents:

University of California, Davis
Open Dates
2010: Sept 25, Oct 16

University of South Dakota
Open Dates
2010: Sept. 18, Sept. 25, Nov. 20

University of North Dakota
Open Dates
2010 - Sept. 25, Oct. 16, Nov. 13, Nov. 20 - Need 2 home and 1 away - Will consider both home and home as well as cash guarantees.

Colorado State and North Texas would be a great replacement in my opinion.  Plus the Hayden Fry/North Texas connection is juicy.

But realistically, this looks like a UND game.

Living in Minnesota and being married to a Gopher fan, I have the annual chore of accompanying her and her family to the Minnesota State Fair.  Which isn't so bad, given the plethora of Big Fat Bacons, deep fried cheese curds, and anything on a stick hat you could imagine.

I visited the U of M building where in past years they proudly displayed the various trophies they possess from the previous year's victories.  This year it was pretty freaking empty, though they did have a constant loop of highlights from the Florida Atlantic and Indiana games playing.

They were also giving out these magnets:

via img268.imageshack.us

See that in the middle?  It's an exclamation point, dead center of a gibberish Brewster GO FIGHT WIN sentence.

I'm guessing they asked Brew to come up with the word selections for the magnet.  Or maybe the person who Twitters for him is responsible?

Ohio State blogger (reporter?) has ranked the coaches in the Big Ten and I think you may be surprised by who sits in the middle of the road at number 6.  Captain Kirk

"6. Kirk Ferentz - Once the darling of the conference, Ferentz is under fire. 7-5, 6-7 and 6-6, before putting up a 9-4 last year to shooed away the vultures for the time being. Off the field incidents are piling up. Still recruiting well enough but not like he was 3-4 years ago."

Yes, Tim Brewster and Pat Fitzgerald are ranked higher than Ferentz.  I expect to see a tweet about it soon...

The Gazette recently linked to State employee salary information, and Jamie Pollard makes more than Barta. I understand that Pollard has been in his position longer (have not google-stalked to confirm this, though), but does this sound fishy to anybody else?

Pollard's Salary info: $364,000.00, plus $13,666.63 travel stipend

Barta's Salary info:  $343,720.08, plus $14,719.67 travel stipend.

I think the travel stipend number is the smoking gun on why Iowa State athletics lag behind U of Iowa.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090624/NEWS/706249946/1001/NEWS

Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas was shot multiple times this morning at the school’s weight room and died a short time later at a hospital, officials have confirmed.

Thomas was shot at point blank range, including once in the head, according to the school's business manager Pat Gosch. No one else was injured in the incident.

The family of Ed Thomas released a statement through Covenenant Medical Center in Waterloo:

"The family of Ed Thomas would like the media to know that Ed passed away shortly after arriving at Covenant Medical Center," the statement read.

Sports secretary Sue Muller said Thomas was supervising the early-morning weightlifting in Parkersburg when the shooting happened around 8 a.m. About 50 students were present at the time.

Thomas was life-flighted to Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Muller said.

An adult male believed to be the gunman was arrested after the incident was taken to the Butler County Jail in Allison. When asked if the man was a parent of a student, Butler County spokeswoman Holly Fokkena said, "not that I'm aware of, no."

"We do want to articulate, because I'm sure there are a lot of concerned parents, that no students were hurt or injured in this incident," said Jessica Lown, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Counselors are on scene for students, including several who witnessed the shooting.

Thomas has coached football for 37 years and has a career record of 292-84. He has led the Falcons to 19 state playoff appearances and two state titles, in 1993 and 2001.