SB Nation User Blog: YouCanPutYourEddsInIt

WTF? - Aplington-Parkersburg coach Ed Thomas shot to death

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:09:21 -0000

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.

Spotted: HFMR and KOK at Linn County Courthouse

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:26:59 -0000

The long fight is over. Their relationship is like that of Paula Abdul and Chester Cheetah (that's who that was, wasn't it?) in the "Opposites Attract" video. But Iowa's taken two steps forward, two steps back, and now A GIANT LEAP forward, and HFMR and KOK can finally make this combustible kind of love they have FOREVER! And legally.

KOK and HFMR - Best friends 4ever from HFM Ride on Vimeo.

//(Seriously - kudos to the State of Iowa and its constitution.)

It may look weird at first, but I think Kirk's pressers absolutely need more stormtroopers. Look...

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:50:18 -0000

It may look weird at first, but I think Kirk's pressers absolutely need more stormtroopers. Look how kickass Thad Mata looks with 'em flanking him yesterday.

So who (realistically) is on your coaching wishlist?

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:36:19 -0000

Don't mind that I'm a Hawkeye fan - I'm not here to troll. The Chizik fiasco has me feeling bad for the ISU fans, and I obviously have more than a curious interrest in whom ISU replaces him with.

Who's realistically got a shot at the job? And who's right for the job? I see a few categories that the candidates could fall in:

Recently fired head coaches:

Ty Willingham (He recruits good student-athletes. While Washington was a flame-out, Stanford and Notre Dame still look good on resume, especially given that Weis has only been successful with Ty's recruits.)
Tommy Tuberville (It would be ironic, karmic, and one helluva talk-radio wundertopic.)
Phillip Fulmer (Ties to the South and East recruiting hotbeds)

Coaches looking for a comeback

Uncle Glen Mason (He knows how to recruit in the midwest, and how to re-build. He also knows second-half and second-half of the season collapses. As an Iowa fan, this hire would be very fun for me.)
Dan McCarney (As Chizik showed, you could do worse. But seriously, he's coaching a team that is playing for a National Champinship, and now has ties to recruiting hot-bed Florida. Mac in 2008 is a huge upgrade to Mac in 2005.)

Current hot names:

Turner Gill (A return to the Big 12. Minority candidate. Plus, from all accounts, he's so darned likeable.)
Skip Holtz (Not sure if ISU is an upgrade from Easter Carolina.)

That's a start. There are names to add to those categories, and there are other categories that y'all can fill in for me, such as Former ISU Assistants/Players, etc. Whom am I missing, and whom will get the job?

The Prodigal Bielema returns

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:19:26 -0000

OK, not really returns, but close...

But he did put Iowa at #20 in the final coach's poll, the highest ranking Iowa received. Joe Tiller followed suit, too.

Final USA Today Coach's Poll

And with the news that the Cap 1 would have taken Iowa had they cracked the top 25, I think we all have FIU coach Mark Cristobal to blame for not getting to sleep in on New Year's Day (the dickwad left us off his list.)

And way to help out the Big Ten teams, RichRod.

Remember forever how good 8-4 feels.

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:58:02 -0000

I went into this season hopeful - hopeful that Iowa would be better than 6-6 like the previous two years. I allowed myself to fantasize that with the weak schedule, Iowa had a chance at playing for a National Championship. 2002-2004 had given us a taste of what was possible, and I held on to hope, beyond evidence to the contrary (RB, QB, LB, KOK and secondary situation) that this team could surprise everybody.

I read and posted here and elsewhere that 8-4 would be OK (it would be an improvement) but that the record will be better. I held strong to my convictions even after the Iowa State game, and blamed weather and little brother syndrome on the poor offensive showing.

Then I watched @Pitt and finally succumbed to all of the negativity and reality I'd been ignoring. Doubt crept in. Maybe Kirk is lost, afraid to fire a friend, outmatched and outcoached playing an outdated style of football. And thankfully after the jNW loss I was out of town at a bachelor party, unable to see the horror and allowed to wipe my tear-soaked cheeks on the supple bosom of a stripper.

You all know the emotional roller-coaster which has been the 2008 season thus far, and damned if I don't believe you all agree with me that 8-4 feels pretty freaking great right now. 8-4 was actually pretty fun. 8-4 and bullying the neighbor states and taking their trophies lets me hold my head up high in the office. 8-4 and being "The Team Nobody Wants To Face" rocks.

I don't ever again want to get full of myself as an Iowa fan and feel like 8-4 isn't good enough. Yes, there will be years where expectations are high, and maybe a National Championship is something we can allow ourselves to think about. But that won't be EVERY year. And saying so isn't like accepting mediocrity. I don't want to be like tOSU or Nebraska fans. I want to be an IOWA fan, and right now I'm 8-4 proud.

Thank you Shonn Greene, Kirk KOK, and Norm Parker for reminding me of this. With special thanks to Time Brewster.

I need my gambling recommendations!

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:09:04 -0000

jebushchrist? Where are you? I need to know how to bet this week.

I need your infinite wisdom to horribly miss on 50% of your "sure things." I made money last year going against your advice (after learning a hard lesson the first week).

If heeding the BHGP advice on gambling is a fool's folly, then I'm a fool. Just like drinking hard at 6 am before a game makes you a fool. And wearing black and gold striped overalls makes you a fool. And being pitied by Mr. T makes you a fool.

Since I am all of these things, and I supect 50% of BHGP readers are all of these things, then , please, please, give us fools our gambling advice!

At least we're not...Wisconsin?

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:28:07 -0000

It bothered me last year that Lane Smith was not suspended from the Badgers for his actions. I think if he were at Iowa he would have sat out the year, not the 5 road games. And it really pisses me off now that U Iowa is the national media go-to for off-the-field troubles, while other programs are getting a free pass for looking the other way on their players' transgressions.

Lance Smith Article

What the hell were Bielema and Alvarez thinking when they made this policy for Smith? I know what they were thinking - let's win some freaking football games.

"When you're put on a pedestal like that, you hear a lot of things and you see a lot of things and you think it's OK"

YouCanPutYourEddsInIt — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:27:21 -0000

I'm no Gopher lover, and I sure as hell am no Dominic Jones lover. In light of the sexual assault incident involving two (or more) Iowa football athletes, however, this recent article about Jones seems to carry relevance.

If you don't recall, Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl - while she was unconscious, and after she had had sexual relations with other football team members - in an incident eerily echoing that at Iowa.

It seems that as despicable we may find the situation and Jones himself, at least he appears to be taking the right approach to his life following it. He's actually got a lesson to share with other athletes.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/26011539.html?location_refer=Homepage:highlightModules:3

I only hope that something as positive can come of the Iowa situation.