The Illini might not have a mascot anymore, but . . .

. . . they do have a bowl victory! Congrats to our Big Ten brethren whose 38-14 pounding of a Big 12 team with a better record feels like deja vu for some reason.


(okay we didn't pound them, but they were a Big 12 team with a better record) 8^)

Finally, my first entry for the Lady Hawkeyes who visit here.

Strictly going by self-portraits - who is the writer you enjoy more?


Pat Harty











Or me?

How will the BOWL victory affect recruiting?

Hard to tell really. In theory it will help us hold on to the guys who already verballed.

The real prizes we want to keep are:

Coe. (He saw a big back reel off over 200 yards and win MVP in a bowl game. That has to lock him in.)

McCall (see above, tho there are question marks swirling all around him.)

Blythe (thank God he grew up a Hawkeye.)

Hamilton (Reisner's acrobatics to seal the game didn't hurt. But what is more important is that he finished third in receptions with 42 for 460 yards. That's the stat Hamilton will like the most.)

Walsh (I'm sure he didn't mind hearing the announcers repeatedly mention how Iowa's O-line was impressing with their ability to create holes for the RB.)

RUDOCK: He's the top prize Iowa has to hang on to. Why? In his high school championship game he went up against Phillip Ely, the-4star QB heading to Alabama. Everyone agrees Rudock schooled him and is the better prospect.

Now Miami wants him as their QB. Lets look at what Rudock has to look at for comparisons sake.

Miami plays a weak 7-5 team in their bowl game, Iowa played a ranked 10-2 team. Miami can still lose their bowl game, Iowa can't. Stanzi passed for over 3000 yards with 25TDs to 6 INT accumulating a passer rating of 157.6. Harris passed for 1756 yards with 14 TD to 12 INTs accumulating a passer rating of 119.3. Miami has coaching instability, Iowa doesn't. Iowa currently has a top 25 class. Miami isn't even in the TOP 50.

Rudock keeps getting knocked from the know-nothing crowd because he is surrounded by talent. Well, Joe Montana had Taylor, Clark, Rathman, Roger Craig and Jerry Rice. I guess that means he wasn't special. WRONG!

Rudock is coming to Iowa cuz the Hawkeyes are going to more BCS Bowls in the future.

The reason I'm lackadaisical about McCall's verbal to the Hawks

No doubt he is a steal. And by adding him the Hawks are helped and the Spartans take a hit. But . . . the kid reminds me of Nate Guillory. Very talented and very flaky. I hope he gets to show his talent at Iowa. But if he flakes at the last moment and then becomes a cancer for another team I won't be surprised.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

What the hell was that?! Did we win? Let me check my numerology chart. It appears at first blush that the number 27 is 3 digits better than the number 24.

Let me say up front, Iowa was lucky to be paired with a 10-2 opponent ranked 12th in the nation. And by "LUCKY" I mean Iowa needed a chance to regain its self-respect thru a victory against a ranked opponent. Missouri played a whale of a game and that helps Iowa shake the 2010 curse which pronounced Iowa incapable of beating a top tier opponent who was on their game.

How did Iowa win? That's complicated.

Why did Iowa win? That's easy. Missouri's a bunch of racists and God hates them.

Let's return to "How did Iowa win?"

Simple: They never quit. Nor did Mizzou.

So who get's the credit? I'm sorry, but it's not KF. For all the beatings they have endured, KOK and Norm get the credit.

Norm held them to 24 points. Not bad.

KOK gave us his best impression of a trick play, and by God it worked! That's right. In the Pantheon of KF conservatism; when your opponent stacks the box, a pass to the TE is considered a trick play. It's the closest we'll ever come to a Hayden Fry "exotic" under KF so we might as well enjoy it considering it won us the game.

What do YOU think won us the game? Coker's record setting day? Hyde's Superman impersonation? The replay booth? Greenwood's INT to end the first half? A-Rob screwing up and taking himself out of the game? The GOLDEN foot of Meyer that Norm covets?

THE BEST OF TIMES: Iowa took an early 17-3 lead

THE WORST OF TIMES: Proving again in 2010 we aren't comfortable with a lead.

THE BEST OF TIMES: 3 straight bowl wins!

THE WORST OF TIMES: Starting the season ranked 9th and then pissing 5 games down our leg.

THE BEST OF TIMES: Reisner flipping into the end zone.

THE WORST OF TIMES: Classy Kirk refusing to tack on a TD at the end of the game.

THE BEST OF TIMES: Coker.

THE WORST OF TIMES: Stanzi.


A WIN AGAINST A MIZZOU TEAM THAT COWARDLY BACKED OUT OF A 4 GAME CONTRACT IN 2005: Surely, the BEST of times!

Hawkeye running backs, where art thou!

What were the odds back in August that all 3 guys would be stupid enough to make themselves unwanted in Hawkeyeland?

O$U has had a problem for a long time.

So, last night during the bowl game most of you heard the news. Brent and Kirk didn't go into detail, but the bright ones among you KNEW it didn't end with tattoos. OSU has a long history of getting slapped on the hand by the NCAA. The truth is OSU cannot beat the SEC in bowl games, but they can compete with them in rule-breaking. Years ago Troy Smith's 500$ hand-shake was just the tip of a very sleazy ice-berg, but just like with Reggie Bush, the NCAA couldn't compel people to talk, so the underbelly of the Buckeyes remains hidden. Let's not forget that Ohio State has been hit with major sanctions in the last decade. They just came off probation in 2009. There is a culture of entitlement at OSU, and until that culture changes, the OSU atheltic department and school administration will turn a blind eye to bad behavior within it's revenue-generating sports programs.

Iowa's Trophy Game history

Heartland Trophy Series with Wisconsin: Iowa leads 4-3

Cy-Hawk Trophy series with Iowa State: Iowa leads 23-11

Floyd of Rosedale series with Minnesota: Minnesota leads 40-34-2

My favorite song: TWO OUTA THREE AIN'T BAD

Congrats to Stanzi - Clayborn - Ballard and Klug

The first three are playing in the senior bowl and Karl is playing in the east-west shrine game. You guys were all great Hawks and Hawkdom looks forward to watching you in the NFL.

Congrats to the number 1 team in the land

And congrats to the number 1 player on that team. Mr. Rudock, you have single-handedly redeemed the name JAKE!

Welcome aboard Rodney Coe and Jacob Hillyer

You've both earned the coveted "Hawk Spot" 5 star rating.

Now you may be asking yourself, "is this ranking more prestigious than those from ESPN, MaxPreps and all the other recruiting services?"

The answer of course is YES! If you want to RC and JH, you can print out this web page and then cut out the 5-star-circle and glue it to your letter-man's jacket. Very stylish and the ladies love it.

BTW, I'm glad I held off congratulating McCall. He definitely won't be getting a 5 star rating if he pledges to Iowa.

It's called a Win/Win situation

I've never heard of this happening before in major college recruiting, not in all of my 30 years of evaluating high school talent, but Notre Dame has already lost three top 100 commitments from the class of 2011 and the Irish may be on the brink of losing a fourth, defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt of Monroe, Ga.

(from the same article)

Iowa continued to recruit McCall even after he committed to Michigan State. Thornridge coach Mike Morrissey has close ties to Iowa. After visiting the Iowa campus this weekend, he committed to Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.


And let's throw this in for a win/win/win!

Although he's a little under two months from officially signing his paperwork, Coe says he feels like he's already part of the Hawkeye program. "After meeting everyone on my visit and feeling comfortable there like I do, I kind of feel like I'm already there. It just feels right. I also need to go somewhere that will help me to get where I want to be and that's to the next level."

Coe calls Illinois his second choice, but felt uneasy about the coaching situation in Champaign. "I love Illinois and have really thought about them a lot, but I just don't know with all the coaching problems they've seemed to have had. I wasn't even sure if Coach (Ron) Zook would be there for awhile. With Kansas, the staff there is just getting there and really new. I just feel a lot more comfortable with Iowa."

Congrats to the Lady Hawks

10-1 and ranked 15th in the nation! Any chance you gals can tutor the men's team?

First true road win of the season. Congrats . . .

to the Men's basketball team. The sports car pictured here and Saturday night's victory are equally impressive. That's about as effusive as I get when we edge out Drake.

Another award for Hayden (the legend) Fry

The definition of a legend is a man who's reputation grows stronger with each passing year. That sums up John Hayden Fry. The Hawks would be looking up at Indiana without him. Congrats on your induction into the Rose Bowl Hall-of-Fame Admiral Fry.

I have an apology to make

To the readers who've posted a comment and wondered where my lame reply was . . . I finally got around to responding to most of you, so please take a moment to revisit your past comments and enjoy the wit that drove Douglas C. Kenney to suicide.

The AmeRickanzi versus Matt Perrault

To the left you see a picture of Stanzi's future wife. Below that you see a picture of Matt's current wife. Who wins?

First day of the bowl season

Here's my in-depth review:

6 teams in weak conferences played in 3 bowls and all the games were blow-outs. Am I a word-smith? Damn straight!

More Good News for the Hawks

Maryland has decided to fire Ralph Friedgen. Iowa is going toe to toe with the Terrapins for some recruits. Stability is working in Iowa's favor.

I worked my magic on Scout.

LOL

Or maybe they watched his final high school game. The day after I publish THIS, Rudock goes from 37th best QB to 28th.

Scout/Rivals/ESPN, keep revising his profile until he has 4 stars next to his name.

Alakazam!

The Chronicles of Rudock

"It's the talent around him that makes him great."

"He only has 3 stars next to his name."

"Well, the Florida schools aren't after him."

The above are examples of quotes from the uninformed. First off, if his team-mates can make him look better, why can't the reverse be true?! In fact, I think the latter is more likely than the former.

According to Scout:
*** Rudock = 37th best QB
**** Roberson = 12th best Safety
**** Hart = 9th best Tackle
**** Greene = 23rd best WR
*** Dorsett = 45th best WR
** DuVernois = unranked Punter
*** Hankerson = 107 best OLB
** Joseph = unranked DB

As you can see, among the St. Thomas players headed for FBS schools Rudock is NOT the weak link. He's the heart and soul of his National-Championship Caliber Team. Iowa has possibly gotten themselves the best QB of the KF era!

CONGRATS to Jake for a great season and a great high school career!

Jim Delany is reconsidering some things and Brick Tamland offers his reaction

J.D. is paying the price for being too clever.

Remember last summer when Jim was deciding how to divide up the league? Many implored him to "keep it simple stupid". Geography provided an easy answer. But Jim wouldn't listen. So now he doesn't have the option of east/west. He doesn't even have the option Brick suggested, "midwest/mideast". Jim, I have some advice for you, STOP OVER-THINKING EVERYTHING! Since you seem to struggle with that, I'll help you.

The new divisional names should be: Chuck Norris/Bruce Lee

Mr. Delany, you can send a thank you in the form of a $10,000 payment via paypal. E-mail it to: LeadersnLegendsrLame@Brickmail.com

What do Christmas and Bowl games have in common?

SWAG!


Let's take a look at the goodies this season.

New Mexico Bowl (BYU vs. UTEP)

Gift Suite, Oakley Fuel Cell Sunglasses, Oakley beanie, New Era cap, Oakley Panel backpack, pen with box, Christmas ornament

uDrove Humanitarian (Northern Illinois vs Fresno State)
Sony gift suite, New Era Skull cap, waterproof breathable parka, winter gloves, hand warmers, Ogio Fugitive backpack, Big Game souvenier football

R+L Carriers New Orleans (Ohio vs Troy)
Apple iPod Touch, Balfour ring

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg (Louisville vs. Southern Mississippi)
Microsoft XBOX 360 4GB, Oakley Fuel Cell sunglasses, Oakley Panel backpack, Mini-helmet

MAACO Las Vegas (Utah vs. Boise State)
Gift Suite

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia (San Diego State vs. Navy)
Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, hooded sweatshirt, cap

Sheraton Hawaii (Hawaii vs. Tulsa)
Kicker EB141 earbuds, Oakley Fuel Cell sunglasses, Pro Athletics custom shorts, commemorative t-shirt, golf shirt, visor, Oakley Surf backpack, beach towels, calendar

Little Caesars (Florida International vs Toledo)
Gift suite, Timely Watch Co., leather duffle bag, commemorative football

AdvoCare V100 Independence (Georgia Tech vs. Air Force)
Gift suite, Timely Watch Co., New Era hat, souvenir hat,

Champs Sports (West Virginia vs North Carolina State)
$420 shopping free at local Best Buy*, Timely Watch Co.

Insight Bowl (Missouri vs Iowa)
Sony Gift Suite, Tourneau watch, cap, Ogio Cooper backpack

Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman (Maryland vs. East Carolina)
Sony Dash, Altec Lansing inMotion portable speaker, Beanie, cap, duffel bag, tailgate blanket

Texas Bowl (Illinois vs Baylor)
Apple iPod Touch, Fossil watch, t-shirt, backpack, belt buckle

Valero Alamo (Arizona vs Oklahoma State)
Microsoft XBOX 360 with Kinect, $20 GameStop gift card, Kicker 541 headphones, Apple iPod Shuffle

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces (Army vs. SMU)
Sony Gift Suite, Timely Watch Co., Ogio All Terrain duffel bag, commemorative football

New Era Pinstripe (Kansas St. vs. Syracuse)
would not disclose^₁

Franklin American Mortgage Music City (North Carolina vs Tennessee)
Skullcandy headphones, Apple iPod Shuffle, iTunes gift card, Fossil watch, Majestic fleece, Port & Co. long sleeve t-shirt, Ogio Newt backpack

Bridgepoint Education Holiday (Washington vs Nebraska)
Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, hooded sweatshirt, cap

Meineke Car Care (Clemson vs South Florida)
would not disclose²

Hyundai Sun (Miami (FL) vs Notre Dame)
Gift Suite, Timely Watch Co., Majestic fleece pullover, Top of the World Cap, Ogio Politan backpack, Helen of Troy hair dryer, souvenir coin

AutoZone Liberty (UCF vs. Georgia)
Apple iPod Nano 6th generation 8 GB, Fossil watch, Nike training shoes, Nike sport sandals, Nike sunglasses, Nike Air Jordan backpack, commemorative football

Chick-fil-A (Florida State vs South Carolina)
$250 Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, Russell Athletic knit cap, Russell Athletic travel bag, commemorative football, Chick-fil-A gift card

TicketCity (Northwestern vs Texas Tech)
Gift suite, Timely Watch Co.

Outback (Florida vs Penn State)
$150 Best Buy gift card, Fossil watch, cap, Jostens ring, $25 Outback Steakhouse gift certificate

Capital One (Alabama vs Michigan State)
$420 shopping spree at local Best Buy*, Timely Watch Co.

Gator Bowl (Mississippi State vs Michigan)
Fossil watch, Oakley sunglasses, Leather duffle bag, Jostens ring, commemorative football

Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO (Wisconsin vs TCU)
Gift suite, Fossil watch, Oakley cap, Oakley Bugeye backpack

Tostitos Fiesta (Oklahoma vs UConn)
Gift suite, Fossil watch, cap, Ogio Cooper backpack

Discover Orange (Stanford vs Virginia Tech)
Gift suite, Tourneau watch, New Era cap

Allstate Sugar (Ohio State vs Arkansas)
Sleek Audio custom earphones, gift suite, Reactor Meltdown watch, New Era cap

GoDaddy.com (Middle Tennessee vs Miami (OH))
Nikon S70 touchscreen camera package, Timely Watch Co., leather luggage bag, commemorative football

AT&T Cotton (Texas A&M vs. LSU)
would not disclose³

BBVA Compass Bowl (Pittsburgh vs Kentucky)
Oakley Blade II watch, Oakley Fuel Cell sunglasses, Oakley Surf backpack, Big Game souvenir football

Kraft Fight Hunger (Boston College vs. Nevada)
Sony noise-canceling headphones, Fossil watch, cap, Ogio backpack, $100 Levi's gift certificate

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game (Auburn vs Oregon)
Gift Suite, Fossil watch, cap, Ogio Cooper backpack

* To be spent during team's official store visit. Balance not used that day will be forfeited
¹- New bowl game, no prior gift list
² - gift list last year included a choice of Bose gift packages or iPod Touch, speakers and a $20 gift card, Fossil Watch, Ogio duffel bag, commemorative Richard Petty Driving Experience photo
³- Gifts last year included a 32-inch Vizio LCD HDTV and a watch
Gift suites are set up as private events in which game participants and often bowl VIPs, are given an order form and allowed to select a gift or gifts up to a value predetermined by each specific bowl, not to exceed the NCAA limit of $500 per person.

So what do the coaching changes mean?

Let's start off by remembering who is no longer here.

Bill Stewart was forced out at West Virginia (and oddly he is supposed to train his successor Dana Holgorsen)

Urban Meyer retires at Florida (and to think, he's almost half the age of JoePa. Did playing Chris Rainey affect Urban's health? After the way Urban's Gators cheated out a victory against Iowa, I'm glad to see Florida lose Meyer)

Dan Hawkins is fired at Colorado (he earned that just by starting his Division II son at QB)

Tim Brewster fired at Minnesota (hint: Tim, complaining about Brett Bielema running up the score made you look like a bigger loser than your record)

Randy Shannon fired at Miami (remember how you treated Steven Wesley? How does it feel?)

Robbie Caldwell is no longer a Commodore (Lionel Richie said he couldn't carry a tune)

Bill Lynch fired at Indiana (how the hell did Kirk ever lose to this goofball?)

Dave Wannstedt fired at Pittsburgh (don't forget to take your porn mustache with you)

So how does this affect Iowa?

Coaches who poaches are Cockroaches, unless they are HAWKEYES. Then it's all good!

When BCS conf. schools close a door on a coach, it opens a window for Kirk to make a poaching move. (not to mention Ferentz usually can leverage the "possibility" of him being poached for a cool extra mil$)

Here are some of the moves we KNOW about. I'm certain there are just as many that we DON'T know about.

Kenny Farrow (TX) From Colorado verbal to Iowa?

Lafayette Pitts (PA) From Pitt verbal to Iowa?

Mika'il McCall (IL) From Michigan State verbal to Iowa?

Raymon Taylor (MI) From Indiana verbal to Iowa?

Jeremiah Hendy (MD) From Maryland verbal to Iowa?

Carl Williams (FL) From Illinois verbal to Iowa?

Lastly, should we FIRE the idiot who made our clever graphic but doesn't know the difference between MORALE and MORAL?!

Pipedreams 0 - Pipelines 9

Okay, Kirk's gonna win a national title next year and you're gonna marry a Playmate of the Year who will give you a Hemi Hawkeye Charger for Christmas. That's a pipe-dream, it ain't happenin.

On the other hand, you may be wishing that Iowa continue existing pipelines and establish new ones. That my friend, is a reasonable expectation. Let's take a look at how Kirk plans to turn expectations into reality.


PIPELINE SCHOOLS
Armwood (FL)
Current Hawk: Lance Tillison
Future Hawk? - Josh Grady?

Glenville (OH)
Current Hawkeyes: Lebron Daniel, Bruce Davis, William Lowe
Future Hawkeyes? - Cardale Jones, Andre Sturdivant, Malik Moore

Iowa City (all inclusive)
Current Hawkeyes: AJ Derby, John Chelf, Zach Derby, Ben Evans, James Ferentz, Josh Koeppel, Daniel Murray
Future Hawkeyes? - Andrew McNulty, Jack Verducci

St. Rita (IL)
Current: Martin Hopkins, Ryan Donahue
Future? - Tim Gorski

DeMatha Catholic (MD)
Current: Marcus Coker
Future? - D. Cooper, Cyrus K.

Iowa Western Community College
Current: Dan Heiar
Future? - Sam Maresh, Antonio Marshall, Jalen Singleton, Andrew Brown, Cody Dickson, Matt Waters

Millard North (NE)
Current: Jeff Tarpinian
Future? - Cole Fisher, Damond Parker, Devin Bass, Ryan Wheeler

Webster Groves (MO)
Current: Adrian Clayborn
Future? - Jason Meehan

Warren Central (IN)
Current: Jewel Hampton (okay, so I'm cheating a little)
Future? - CJ Williams

Yes, I've seen the depth chart for the shootout in Arizona

GUESS WHICH GROUP WE ARE!

Dan (his last name is pronounced Higher, really) Heiar is - vvvvvv

A nice pick-up.

Let me explain why this 2 star (Scout - 3 star Rivals) has put me in the Holiday spirit. That ole O-line coach we call Captain Kirk knows a thing or two about O-line recruits.

A little refresher course. In 2005 Iowa had the top O-line class in the nation. Eubanks/Richardson/Doering all had 4 or 5 stars next to their name. Kuempel/Calloway/Yanda all had 2 or 3 stars next to their name.

Guess which guys got drafted into the NFL? Yep, Calloway and Yanda.

D.H. has 2 or 3 stars depending on which recruiting service you read. But more meaningful than that is the fact that he has several FBS offers, including a pair of offers from BCS conference schools (Utah/Michigan State) currently slated for Bowl games. And best of all, he has KF's seal of approval.

Gentlemen, we are now at Def-Con Three

Recall the bombers!

For now, the press conference reassures us that Iowa will in fact field a team of scholarship players in Arizona, rather than the water-boys and walk-ons we assumed just 24 hours ago.

Hey Jim, first you fail to split the conf. using geography. Now this . . .

The design team behind the new logos delivered a pant-load of ^^^^^ And how pissed off are the Hoosiers and Golden Gophers knowing that the name B-10 now refers to the ten conference teams not named Indiana or Minnesota!

Updating my wish list

In light of recent changes (Ahem, Wegher/Hampton/???) I am making some minor changes to my football recruiting wish list.

I see Iowa signing 25 kids in February. In addition to this number I see at least one walk-on getting a scholarship and 1 prep accepting a gray-shirt offer.

Meyer = scholarship
Alex Carr = gray shirt

Regular scholarship guys:
Chance Early - CA
Rodney Coe - IL
Raymon Taylor - MI
Jeremiah Hendy - MD
Dan Heiar (Juco) - IA
D. Cooper - MD
Q. Jefferson - PA
E. Price - PA
Tamani Carter -OH
Jason Meehan - MO

Rudock update

St. Thomas Aquinas (14-0)

Road to state: Became the first Broward County team to complete three straight undefeated regular seasons, then earned playoff victories against Coconut Creek (59-0), Cooper City (49-7), Boyd Anderson (47-6) and Bradenton Manatee (31-7).

Past state appearances: The Raiders are making their 13th appearance in the state championship and playing for a sixth title. Their last championship came in 2008.

Coach: George Smith (356-66 in 34 seasons)

Offense: The Raiders have multiple weapons, but have an especially effective passing game with Iowa-bound quarterback Jake Rudock completing 143 of 218 attempts for 2,536 yards with 34 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Wide receiver Phillip Dorsett, a Miami commit, has 43 catches for 846 yards and Rashad Greene, an FSU commit, has 37 catches for 795 yards. Running back Jamal Wilson has 112 carries for 779 yards.

Defense/special teams: Senior linebacker Cole Champion has 62 solo tackles, including 15.5 for loss while fellow linebacker Kenneth Hankerson has 46 solo stops. Tyler Drake leads the team with eight sacks and James Lagamma and Nolan Bieck share kicking duties. Bieck is 46 of 46 on PATs and is 3 of 5 on field goals, while Lagamma is 38 of 39 on PATs with six made field goals, including a long of 43 yards.

Key to victory: The Raiders need to continue their balanced attack which has allowed them to outscore opponents 635-97. Meanwhile, they need to find a way to contain Wilder, who is a force on both sides of the ball. ""We were trying to go back in history to see if we've ever played a guy with the dynamics [Wilder] brings to his team. He doesn't leave the field and he's probably the best guy we've ever played against," Smith said. "He does so many things for them. He's truly a tremendous football player. He's big, he's strong and he's got great speed and great mobility."

Misc.: The Raiders won back-to-back Class 5A state titles in 2007 and 2008 and finished the 2008 season ranked the nation's top high school football team in all the major national polls. Rudock has broken several St. Thomas records this season, including the single-game passing mark when he threw for 311 yards in a 42-28 victory over Camden County.

Which Walk-On has earned himself a scholarship

this season?

The Contenders:

Wyatt Seuss
Jason White
James Hurt
Zach Derby
Cole Heissel
Thomas Nardo
Terrance Pryor
Nick Nielsen
Tom Donatell
Michael Meyer


And in my guesstimation the winner is:

Meyer!

If there is one thing Oregon has proved

by playing in Back-to-Back BCS Bowl games which include a national championship; they know nothing about recruiting excellent high-school talent! Hope you enjoy all those lame BCS games Mr. French and Mr. Ebert and Mr. Wegher!













Gotcha! Wegher isn't going there. Feel better? Didn't think so.

Hey Walk-Ons, man did you pick the right program last summer!

Remember all those cyber-debates back before August . . .

Over who was better between Wegher - Hampton - A-Rob?

It turns out the answer was (pure) COKER!

Honestly, who knew?!

This should sober you up

Ron Zook, Illinois: $1,508,500 total compensation (university and non-university); $52,650 maximum bonus

Bill Lynch, Indiana*: $650,000 total compensation; $450,000 maximum bonus

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: $3,781,000 total compensation; $1,750,000 maximum bonus

Rich Rodriguez, Michigan: $2,525,280 total compensation; $300,000 maximum bonus

Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: $1,796,700 total compensation; $660,000 maximum bonus

Tim Brewster, Minnesota*: $808,000 total compensation, $1,050,000 maximum bonus

Jim Tressel, Ohio State: $3,888,389 total compensation, $450,000 maximum bonus

Joe Paterno, Penn State: $1,109,977 total compensation; maximum bonus not available

Danny Hope, Purdue: $900,000 total compensation; $637,250 maximum bonus

Bret Bielema, Wisconsin: $1,781,759 total compensation; $350,000 maximum bonus

And a few others

Jerry Kill^, Northern Illinois: $347,812 total compensation; $205,000 maximum bonus

Bo Pelini, Nebraska: $2,100,000 total compensation; $550,000 maximum bonus

Les Miles, LSU: $3,905,000 total compensation; $400,000 maximum bonus

Chris Petersen, Boise State: $1,494,053 total compensation; $145,000 maximum bonus

Al Golden, Temple: $513,867 total compensation; maximum bonus not available

Mack Brown, Texas: $5,161,500 total compensation; $850,000 maximum bonus

My football recruiting wish list

I say we take 10 more kids. 9 regular scholarships and 1 gray shirt.

Chance Early
Rodney Coe
Raymon Taylor
C.K.
Dan Heiar (Juco)
D. Cooper
Q. Jefferson
E. Price
D. Kirby
A. Williams

Where will Wegher land?

I'm gonna say Iowa State or Missouri. If he goes to Oregon I'll shit a chocolate squirrel. ;^)

A message to any Hawkeye condoning recreational drug use.

Your idiocy must be a result of your drug intake.

I wasn't going to mention Christian French

In fact I've defended him in the past.

But his thug-wanna-be act at the unnecessary press conference took some of the sting out of his defection to Oregon.

Mr. French, Iowa wanted you because of your combination of measurables and character. Now it's clear that Iowa should've given your scholarship to Ebert (D'oh!). And for those of you who think that's stupid because Ebert will play on the D-line and French won't, I've got 3 words for you: STONE HANDS!

You're probably wondering why I haven't posted

some stuff about Hawkeye basketball.

5-5 with a loss to Iowa State tonight . . . and we don't have a prayer once B-10 play starts.

Consider yourself informed now.

DJK will be wearing new insignia on game day

CRACKHAWK PRIDE!

CATCH THE FEVER!

Merry Christmas Ebert(owski)

Hawk fans, if you're wondering who left those damaged puppies under your Christmas tree last night, it was the Fegrinch.

He screwed the pooch on French (avalanche of fans already declared him a "bust")
He screwed the pooch on Ebertowski
He screwed the pooch with Ebert
He screwed the pooch with Bobek
He screwed the pooch with Melvin Gordon
He screwed the pooch at Arizona
He screwed the pooch at Northwestern
He murdered the pooch at Minnesota


The good news is the Fegrinch had nothing to do with DJK.

Merry M************ Christmas!!!!

Iowa's struggles are not a lack of player-talent.

Phil Steele agrees with the Big Ten's take on Iowa's abundance of talent.

Steele's ALL BIG TEN HAWKEYES (1st team - 3rd team)

Clayborn
Sash
McNutt
DJK
Klug
Prater
Donahue
Robinson
Reisner
Vandervelde
Sandeman
Hunter

Steele's ALL BIG TEN BADGERS (1st team - 3rd team)

Brinkley
White
Taylor
Gilreath
Fenelus
Carimi
Moffitt
Kendricks
Tolzien
Watt

Does Wisconsin have a better coach than Iowa?

First, let's start with a statement from the Internet that is detached from reality: In reality, Iowa can't recruit players to run a really high-powered offensive system.

Iowa has the 49th best scoring offense.

Wisky has the 4th best scoring offense.

Here's the official All Big Ten team.

WISCONSIN PLAYERS:

Tolzein - 2nd team
Moffit - 1st team
Carimi - 1st team
JJ Watt - 1st team
Henry - 2nd team
Clay - 2nd team
White - 2nd team
Fenelus - 1st team

Honorable Mention: Montee Ball, Peter Konz, Blake Sorensen, Mike Taylor, Ricky Wagner, Philip Welch, Kevin Zeitler.


IOWA PLAYERS:

Iowa had a 3rd year starting QB with the second highest passer rating in the conference.
DJK garnered 1st team All-Conference awards
Clayborn: 1st team all conference.
Marvin McNutt: 2nd team all conference.
Riley Reiff: 2nd team all conference.
Allen Reisner: 2nd team all conference.
Karl Klug: 2nd team all conference.
J. Hunter: 2nd team all conference.
S. Prater: 1st team all conference.
T. Sash: 1st team all conference.
B. Greenwood: 2nd team all conference.
J. Vandervelde: 2nd team all conference.

Honorable Mention: Christian Ballard, Mike Daniels, Micah Hyde, Adam Robinson, Ryan Donahue.


WISCONSIN does not have better players than Iowa. Which leaves us with the stark reality that they have better coaches, including a better head coach.

Rudock to play in state-title rematch!

It's been a pleasure watching this kid develop this fall.

A season ago, Bradenton Manatee ended the Raiders reign as defending state and national champions. Now, the two will meet again—this time at St. Thomas—after Manatee clinched its own regional title with a 35-32 victory over Palm Bay Bayside.

What's up with Chance Early

Here's an assessment: He is over six foot but is not very thick. He does a great job of getting open and beating the coverage. Tends to catch the ball too close to the body, but he holds onto the ball. His lack of size does not let him bounce off of tackles. He does not have a lot of speed, he gets extra yards by not hesitating once he catches the ball. Seems to get up for big plays around the end zone.
Of Austin Vincent!

A.V. basically has the same measurables as Chance but isn't a starter on his team. Save the crap about how a second stringer in Texas is better than a first stringer everywhere else. Yes, there is excellent talent in front of him, but it's excellent talent he couldn't beat out. I'm not saying he is a bad football player. I'm saying Chance would seem worthy of an offer if A.V. is.

Game Wrap-Up

Player of the Game: DJK.

Play of the Game: DJK's 88 yard return for a TD.

Player of the Season: Stanzi.

Coach of the Season: Since Norm was sidelined, the answer is NONE.

Under-Appreciated player of the season: DJK.

Surprise player of the season: Meyer.

Series Record: Minny leads 60-42.

Game summation: Iowa played flat and KF's game plan seemed to be: Let's see if we can keep the score close and hope we get lucky in the 4th quarter against the worst team in the conference.

Yeah, I haven't posted since last Saturday. Gosh . . .

I wonder why?

I wanted to wait until my outrage had subsided. Bad news, it hasn't subsided. My favorite quote from a movie I saw long ago: "You haven't hit rock-bottom if you can say you've hit rock-bottom."

Let's start with something that can't be argued. One person bares the ultimate responsibility in regards to the team's record: The Head Coach. It's not a coincidence that athletic directors don't fire scholarship players but do fire head coaches. A coaches responsibility is to recruit and train players AND to develop a game plan that results in their opponent scoring fewer points when the clock expires. Coaches are judged primarily on Wins and Losses. All other considerations are a distant second.

You can blame the athletes.
You can blame the assistant coaches.
You can blame refs.
You can blame weather.
You can blame bad luck.
You can blame field conditions.
You can blame anything and everything.

But there is one driving reason KF is paid ten times that of his nearest assistant coach. There is one reason KF is paid and the athletes get a pittance. There is one reason KF is paid more than any other state employee. There is one reason KF is called HEAD COACH. His name is on the program. He has the final say so regarding the evaluation of his assistants. He has the final say so as to which players will contribute and in what capacity.

Losing to Wisky and Ohio State is forgivable. Losing to Minnesota and Northwestern is not.

Iowa had the second best scoring Defense in the conference.
Iowa had a 3rd year starting QB with the second highest passer rating in the conference.
DJK garnered 1st team All-Conference awards
Clayborn: 1st team all conference.
Marvin McNutt: 2nd team all conference.
Riley Reiff: 2nd team all conference.
Allen Reisner: 2nd team all conference.
Karl Klug: 2nd team all conference.
J. Hunter: 2nd team all conference.
S. Prater: 1st team all conference.
T. Sash: 1st team all conference.
B. Greenwood: 2nd team all conference.
J. Vandervelde: 2nd team all conference.

Honorable Mention: Christian Ballard, Mike Daniels, Micah Hyde, Adam Robinson, Ryan Donahue.

THE HAWKEYES ARE NOT A TEAM THAT LACKS HEART NOR TALENT. They are a team with a Head Coach who has elite contract-negotiation skills and sub-par 4th quarter management skills.