Bibguy

RIPs

2009-06-28T13:27:00.005-06:00

Wow, what a terrible week for celebrity deaths. Therefore, I have come out of retirement for this (not so) special occasion. Let's get started, as there's A LOT of ground to cover...

Ed McMahon died on June 23, 2009. Has there ever been a better 2nd banana? It was pretty sad watching Ed go through his financial problems the past year or two. I did enjoy his Cash4Gold commercial that aired during the Super Bowl this year, but again, it was kind of desperate. RIP Ed! Let's all raise our glasses and give a him a big ol' "HEY OH!"

(On a side note, I meet w/ claimants on a regular basis wearing this same kind of neck brace after extremely minor rear end collisions that leave no damage on either vehicle. Weird)

Farrah Fawcett died on June 25, 2009. I was a little young to fully appreciate Ms. Fawcett. However, I did hear of a man in his late 30s this week who flogged the dolphin for the first time to Farrah's infamous poster, which is pictured above. How nice.

She had a courageous public battle w/ anal cancer, and her death was inevitable. If she wanted a lot of publicity after her death, she picked the wrong day to die. Because also dying on June 25, 2009 was....

I was shocked and sad when I heard the King of Pop had died suddenly. Say what you want, but he's undoubtedly one of the greatest performers of all time. Dude could dance, and his glitter socks were dope. He definitely had his share of issues in his personal life, but I hope in the long run he's remembered for his music.

The first cassette tape I ever bought was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album. I think 2-3 other people bought it, too.

I even drew a picture of MJ when I was a youngster.

I was such a Michael Jackson fan in my younger days that I pouted until my grandma bought me a Make Your Own Glitter Glove kit at Children's Palace. It consisted of a plain white canvas glove, some crappy glue, and naturally, some glitter. Let's just say it wasn't quite as easy as the instructions made it sound, so I walked around for a few days with a mostly white glove with a few globs of glitter here and there. What a priceless memory.

RIP to the King of Pop. Let's all raise our glasses and give him a big 'HEE HEE!'.

...and Billy Mays was found dead today in his home in Tampa, FL. BUT THERE'S MORE!!!

I have become a big fan of Billy Mays and his ridiculous over-the-top approach on his commercials. I love his jet black beard and the passion he brings to the products he's pimping. I have even started talking like Billy Mays around the house when I want/need Mrs. Bibguy to pay attention to me. She really enjoys it, and NEVER rolls her eyes. However, it works... BUT I'M STILL NOT DONE!!!

I've also enjoyed his reality show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel. Guess it won't be the same anymore. BUT WAIT, THERE'S STILL MORE!!!

RIP to Billy Mays, the king of all pitchmen. Let's raise our glasses and give him a big LOUD Billy Mays' style sales pitch for Oxy Clean.

RIP

2009-03-14T13:49:00.002-06:00

Former WWE wrestler Andrew "Test" Martin was found dead in his Tampa, FL home yesterday. He was 33. No foul play is suspected. Hmmm, I wonder what could've contributed to his death? Let's see....

* Rampant steroid abuse
* Wrestling/being on the road over 300 days a year
* Cocaine/Heroin abuse
* Heavy alcohol abuse
* Years of cocaine abuse
* Rampant use of pain killers, due to wrestling/being on the road over 300 days a year
* Years of cocaine abuse...oh wait, I already said that...twice. Hmm.
* Rampant steroid abuse...oh wait, I already said that...twice. Hmm.

At least Vince McMahon doesn't feel any guilt over all these ex-pro wrestlers' premature deaths. I mean, afterall, he's a billionaire because of them, and they're dead.

That's fair...right???

RIP

2009-02-28T23:37:00.001-06:00

Good day, Paul.

10 Random Thoughts

2009-01-17T16:41:00.002-06:00

1. Although it's frustrating at times, I am firmly behind Todd Lickliter, and I still believe he will do great things at the University of Iowa. There are signs of progress, but I feel the program is still a year or two away from being back to respectability. I maintain that Iowa will struggle, both in and out of the Big 10, with no inside presence.

2. Plaza Jalisco is the best Mexican joint in the area. We went there last night, and it was packed. The food is fresh (unlike many area Mexican joints), and they even throw in a free little dessert. The staff is friendly. Try it if you haven't already.

3. Being a parent has been the biggest challenge of my life, and at the same time, the most rewarding experience of my life.

4. Milton Bradley was recently signed by the Chicago Cubs. This is the same guy who tore his ACL while arguing with an umpire, and attempted to confront a KC Royals after a game because he was watching the game from the clubhouse and didn't like what the guy had to say about him. He's also his 7th team since 2000, so he's not exactly a uniter in the clubhouse. I'm sure he'll be terrific for team chemistry...

5. It snows a lot in the winter. Snow on the roads leads to auto accidents. Auto accidents leads to a lot of work for the Bibguy. The Bibguy has been crazy busy lately. He hopes the snow stops one day, and people learn to cope with driving on the snow. He realizes the former will happen, while the latter will never take place.

6. The Bibguy is a better guitar player than you. Not being cocky - just being honest. If you don't believe me, I challenge you to a duel. With guitars - not swords or guns.

7. I think Shonn Greene will be drafted lower than most people expect. And I think he'll be a steal in the 3rd-4th round, which I think is where he'll go. The NFL likes to ignore game film, and likes to focus on how fast a guy runs the 40 yard dash in shorts. I wouldn't be surprised if, given the right situation, he's a starter in the NFL from day one.

8. I'm excited for some decent weather so I can smoke something in my smoker. On a side note, I'm glad smoking has been banned from public establishments.

9. The Bibguy has watched about 30 seconds of NBA basketball this winter, which is more than a lot of people I know. I was a HUGE NBA fan growing up, but have lost almost all interest in pro basketball. Part of the reason is 'trimming branches' as I get older and have more responsibilities, part of the reason is no more MJ, and I think the style of play is complete garbage. Maybe someday I'd start watching again if Iowa players got drafted more than, you know, once every 10 years or so...

10. I have completely wasted 5-10 minutes of your life reading my meaningless, sporadic blog. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Bibguy Hearts Coaching Meltdowns

2008-12-16T12:15:00.005-06:00

Only two things could bring me out of my brief blogging sabbatical - a dead pro wrestler or a coach melting down right before our eyes.

Thanks to this guy for pointing out Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim (pronounced BO-HEEM)'s meltdown last night after a devastating 72-69 loss to the Cleveland State Vikings on a 60-foot shot at the buzzer.

Here is the video. Please sit back and enjoy, and I'll give my thoughts following the video...

My thoughts...

1. Jim's head must itch in the first 5 seconds or so. He must have lice. Might want to have that checked, buddy.
2. His expression at the 0:07 mark is classic. It says "I just lost to Cleveland F'n State, and I'm Jim F'N Boheem. Can't we get a mic that works?"
3. At the 0:15 mark, Jim is trying his best to be patient, but one can see the meltdown coming.
4. At 0:23, his patience is about as thin as his hair He makes a plea for the sound guy to "either turn this down or off, either one. I don't care what you do."
5. After #4, if I was the sound guy and listened to Boheem tell me that he "doesn't care" what I did, I would've cranked it up so it made feedback that rivaled that noise that was played in the Metrodome after Iowa beat the Gophers in 2002. The kind of noise that might make a frustrated coach bitch slap the microphone and then try to break its neck.
6. Look! MY exact scenario happened after the 0:23 mark. WAY TO GO SOUND GUY!
7. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how Boheem goes on nonchalantly after he assaulted the microphone, and then snapped its neck. WHAT DID THE MIC EVER DO TO YOU, BOHEEM?

All in all, a nice coaching meltdown. I would rank it behind Kevin Borseth, Dan Hawkins, Mike Gundy, Dennis Green, and Jim Mora, but nonetheless, it's still a good one.

NO WAI!

2008-09-23T17:44:00.003-06:00

Former American Idol Clay Aiken has come out of the closet. Yes, Clay is gay.

In other news this evening: the earth is round, dinosaurs are extinct, a man landed on the moon, and Ron Zook is a jackass.

The next thing you know, someone will tell me Liberace, Boy George, Jim McGreevey, Freddie Mercury, and Lance Bass are gay...

Soccer = Bibguy's Life

2008-09-17T11:08:00.001-06:00

As many of you know, I'm not a fan of soccer. However, I have uncovered evidence to prove that I played soccer in my younger years. Not only did I play soccer, I played soccer at THE IOWA GAMES, and I was on the astroturf at the Iowa State Cyclones football stadium. I even SCORED A GOAL in the Iowa Games, although that isn't mentioned in this blurb.

My God, I'm being remembered for something that I did 20 years ago. That's it - I'm officially old. I'm gonna wrap up this post and go drink some rat poison. Cheers!

RIP

2008-07-22T12:22:00.002-06:00

Dear Estelle Getty,

Thank you for being a friend. You've traveled down the road and back again.
Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant.

In addition, if you threw a party and invited everyone you knew,
you would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say
'Thank you for being a friend'.

Sincerely,
Bibguy

P.S. You were great in Mask.

Brisket on the WSM...

2008-07-06T10:41:00.003-06:00

I decided to try a brisket on the WSM for the first time this weekend. It turned out great!

The brisket weighed a little over 10 lbs before being trimmed, and a little under 10 lbs after being trimmed.

I put the brisket on the cooker at about 10 pm on July 4th, and used a combination of pecan, apple, and hickory chunks. I used the Minion method to light the WSM.

I was expecting the cook to take 10-15 hours, but much to my surprise I awoke at at 5 am (7 hrs after I put it on) and the internal temp was 185. So I got up and checked the temp in several spots, and sure enough, it was ready.

I wrapped it in foil, placed it in a cooler, and went back to bed. I woke up again around 8 am, and the internal temp was right at 140, so I started slicing. The brisket was very moist, and the bark had a great flavor.

I separated the point from the flat before wrapping in foil, and put the point back on the WSM for another 4-5 hours in an attempt to get some delicious burnt ends and pulled brisket.

I was kind of leery about smoking a brisket, as I was afraid it would come out too dry. However, with careful monitoring of the internal temp of the smoker & the meat, it all came out delicious!

Here are some pics from the cook:

Rubbed & ready to go

Inside of the brisket after the first few slices

Sliced brisket - lunch & dinner for a week!

Burnt ends & delicious pulled brisket - uber yummy sandwiches

Since it finished quicker than I expected, it made a great breakfast

...and a great lunch, too!

This makes me very, very sad...

2008-06-14T20:19:00.003-06:00

At least there's Wig & Pen East, right? And Wig & Pen Ankeny, right?

Not the same. Not the same, at all.

Hopefully they can survive this massive flood, and we can all enjoy their delicious Flying Tomato again in the not too distant future.

Carlos Guillen Had Hemorrhoids; Missed Game Action

2008-06-02T15:38:00.004-06:00

Detroit Tigers utility man Carlos Guillen had an unfortunate case of hemorrhoids last week, which caused him to miss some games.

Jim Leyland, the old school manager of the Tigers who used to smoke in the dugout when he managed the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced Guillen's condition to the media. Guillen appreciated that he told everyone that his asshole hurts, and that his manager didn't make something up like "he tweaked a hammy" or "he layed in the tanning bed too long" or "he cut himself opening a CD" or "he was throwing away some watermelons".

Guillen declined to comment on his severe condition for this story, and only asked, "Why is an asshole like you asking me about my asshole?" The author had no comment.

As always, the Bibguy has prepared a quick diagram for your review, just in case you ever wanted to know about the phenomenon known as the hemorrhoid (go ahead and disregard that 'MedicineNet, Inc. copyright...I'm not sure how that got on there...I drew this, DAMMIT!) :

...and here's a picture of a real hemorrhoid, in case you wondered what they look like:

If you have any questions, make sure to let me know.

More WSM..

2008-06-01T14:25:00.008-06:00

I guess my blog has turned back into Bibguy's BBQ page. Wow, that has a catchy ring to it. Maybe you'll see a competitive cooking team or restaurant by that name in the future. Or maybe (let's make that probably) not.

So anyway, WSM Smoke Day IV was a success! I cooked 2 pork butts, which weighed approximately 8 lbs. I fired up the cooker using the Minion method, and used a mix of oak, apple, and hickory wood.

I put the butts on the cooker at 11:30 pm, and they cooked low & slow until 3:30 pm the next day. Yes, they cooked for 16 hours, and they were delicious. The rub provided a great flavor, and the meat had a killer smoke ring. As you'll see in the pics below, the bones pulled clean from the meat. This was my first overnight cook, and the weather was perfect (upper 40s-low 50s, no wind).

I went to bed at about 1:00 am when the temperature in the cooker was at about 250, and I woke up around 6 am and it was at 219. I hit an internal temperature in the meat of 160 in about 3-4 hours, and the target internal temperature was 190. Then, it took 10 hours to get from 160 to 185. This is when the collagen was turning to gelatin, which makes the favorful BBQ that we all love!

Anyway, we fed eight people, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. No one left hungry - that was for sure...

Here are some pics:

Rubbed and ready to go on the cooker.

The butts are ready to turn over at the 12 hour point, after being basted with apple juice, of course.

A mere 16 hrs after they went on, they're ready to come off!

Before being pulled, the butts were wrapped in foil and placed in a cooler for about 90 minutes to let the juices in the meat redistribute.

Here's how the bones looked when pulled from the butts:

...and we ended up with A LOT of delicious pulled pork!

Just in case you're wondering, the pork butt is not from the rear of a pig, but it's from the pig's shoulder. The term "pork butt" dates back to the American Revolution era. Pork shoulders were packed in barrels as food for the sailors. At the time, barrels of many sorts were referred to as "butts". The term stuck, and pork shoulder became known as pork butt, despite its having nothing to do with the posterior of the pig.

Horse Racing is Corrupt?!?

2008-05-28T19:35:00.002-06:00

I am a horse racing fan. However, it is definitely one of, if not the most, corrupt sport on the planet. Betting scandals, steroids, buzzers, jockey-owner-trainer collusion, jockey weight problems, drugs, etc.

Here is an example of why people can't deny that the sport of kings has its share of issues.

http://www.prairiemeadows.com/racing/video/index.php Click on this link, then select May 26, then select the 4th race.

This race is from Monday's card at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, IA. Watch the race, and keep an eye on the 3 horse - Spring Training. Watch what the jockey does right at the finish line. If you don't want to watch the whole race, skip to about the 1:35 mark, when they're just hitting the top of the stretch.

To answer your question, no, it's not normal for a jockey to pull a horse up less than 1/16th of a mile from the finish line. Especially when they have a 1 1/2 length lead, and are going to, you know, WIN THE RACE! This smells incredibly fishy, and the stewards at the Meadows agree with me.

The jockey should be suspended. A lot of people bet a lot of money on these races, and jockeys shouldn't be standing up and pulling back on the reigns with all of their might right at the wire. I've watched a lot of races in my time, and the horse didn't appear to be acting like he was going to toss the jockey or in any manner out of the ordinary.

After watching this, I'm not going to watch another horse race.....until next Friday night, when there's allegedly a bachelor party going on out there. Or unless I decide to tune in to HRTV or TVG for a few races. A man has to have standards!

Ok, I've gotta go...the 10th race is on at Churchill Downs on HRTV.

RIP

2008-05-26T12:49:00.002-06:00

Former Cubs pitcher Geremi Gonzalez was struck and killed by lighting yesterday in Venezuela.

Gonzalez, who was known as Jeremi when he played in Chicago, was great for the Cubs in his rookie season of 1997, when he won 11 games. The next year, he developed arm problems and was never the same.

He later returned to the big leagues, and pitched for Tampa Bay, Boston, Milwaukee, and the New York Mets.

Trivia question: Who was pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when Sammy Sosa broke his bat and cork spilled all over the infield at Wrigley Field in 2003? That's right...Geremi Gonzalez.

More WSM

2008-05-21T15:45:00.005-06:00

Cooked a spiral sliced 1/2 ham last weekend on the good ole' WSM. Used some apple wood chunks, and it cooked for about 4 hours. It is some quality smoked ham!

Next: Pork Butts on WSM Smoke Day!

BRITU

2008-05-17T07:58:00.008-06:00

Last weekend, I cooked the Best Ribs in the Universe on the WSM.

Once again, the smoker (and the operator of the smoker) churned out some top notch BBQ! They were spicy*, moist, and the meat fell from the bone. They were delicious!

Here's how the cook went:

1. Rubbed and ready to go

2. Lookin' good on the WSM

3. Ready to come off (after 4-5 hours of low & slow cookin')!

4. Brushed with a BBQ sauce/honey mixture, and ready to serve!

5. Mmmmm!

Today, I'm going to try a ham on the ole' cooker.

* - For possibly the first time EVER, someone thought a food item was spicy, while I shrugged my shoulders and said 'it's not that bad'. The rub for these ribs has cayenne and chili powder, which gives them an amazing flavor. Mrs. Bibguy thought they were TOO spicy (but still managed to enjoy them), while I enjoyed every last bite. I KNEW THIS DAY WOULD COME! I'd like to thank all the people that helped me get to this day.

Shocking!

2008-05-10T13:25:00.002-06:00

Click on the bird.

1st Smoke

2008-05-08T15:49:00.003-06:00

I popped the cherry on the WSM last Thursday, and cooked 2 beer can chickens.

Let me just say...IT..WAS...DEE-LIDDILY-ICIOUS!

Here are some pics (and I take no responsibility for watering mouths):

Next: Ribs.....

Neapolitan

2008-04-22T19:49:00.003-06:00

Mrs. Bibguy stopped at the store to pick up a few things this evening, and she brought home some of the following ice cream:

Neapolitan ice cream is great - if you can't make up your mind between vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, you can have them all at once. Or, if you're very careful, you can get only 1 flavor, or 2 flavors. Pure genius!

I'm telling you, it's the small things in the life that make one happy, and when the Bibguy has Neapolitan ice cream, he is happy...

A Few Things...

2008-04-21T15:54:00.002-06:00

1) Soon, I will be the proud owner of a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker/Smoker. I can already taste the smoked chicken, ham, beef, turkey, weasel, pug, etc. Mmmmm...

2) I got bit by a horse yesterday. Seriously. I, however, am not complaining, for I am a man...

3) I have been assigned the role of AGBA at this guy's wedding. Quite an honor. His blog sucks now, by the way...

Matsui Has Anal Fissure; Out 4-5 Days

2008-03-12T14:36:00.003-06:00

Continuing on the theme of odd baseball injuries, Houston Astros 2nd baseman Kaz Matsui has an anal fissure, and is expected to miss 4-5 days.

Once again, how long did it take for Matsui to go into his manager's office and say (in Japanese), "My asshole hurts..I'm gonna need a few days off."

Butt, at least he signed with the ASStros in the offseason. Mu-ahahahahaha!

Again, I've drawn up a quick diagram if you don't understand the phenomenon of anal fissures.

I'm glad I could help you understand such serious medical issues as fissures and testicle torsions...

Pie Twists Testicle; Out 5 Days

2008-03-10T15:51:00.002-06:00

Chicago Cubs center fielder Felix Pie could miss up to 5 days with a twisted testicle

I'm sure Lou Piniella was VERY sympathetic to Felix's plight. How long do you think it took for Felix to gather up the courage to march into the skipper's office and say, "Skip, one of my balls hurts...I'm gonna need a few days off."

Personally, I'd rather have a torn ACL, broken arm, and concussion - all at the same time - rather than a twisted nut.

In case you don't understand how a testicle gets twisted, I have prepared a quick diagram for your review:

Understand now? Good...

Get well soon, Felix!

People Know Me

2008-03-04T17:34:00.004-06:00

Not only am I the owner of many leather-bound books, and not only does my home smell of rich mahogany, but according to my Alma Mater, I have a "successful career".

I know, I know...I'm kind of a big deal.

You Des Moines folks might see WHO-TV anchor Br*oke B*uma on the list. When was the last time YOUR NAME was on the same list as a 3rd-tier local celebrity? Hmmmm?

Down further on the same page, you'll see a reference to KCUI (broadcasting at 10 watts of power), one time home of The Will Larson Show. Damn, those were good times...

Any chance I can go back to college to live with my friends without going to class, get drunk every weekend, and still get a paycheck from my "successful career"?

No? Damn. Guess I'll go to work tomorrow.

_____________________________________________________________

In other news, this guy got a haircut. Only one thing would make it better, and here it is:

Dude grows one hell of a 'stache.

Have I Mentioned That I Love Coaching Meltdowns?

2008-03-01T04:36:00.004-06:00

Michigan women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth has joined a very elite, and very exclusive club: the Coaches' Epic Meltdown Society, or CEMS for short.

You know...like Mike Gundy, Jim Mora Sr., Dennis Green, John L. Smith, Dan Hawkins, etc.

Here is the latest piece of art:

My Thoughts:

LOVE the entrance. He wins 'Best Entrance' in the coaching meltdown category.
After watching this, I only have one question: Was he upset that his team didn't get any offensive rebounds?
'Damn' and 'doggone' must be his 2 most favoritist words
His line about 'watch 48 more hours of videotape...gain another 1o pounds...THAT'S how you get ready for Sunday!' is CLASSIC. It wins in the 'Most Bizarre Comment During Meltdown' category.
Dude does realize that this is women's basketball, right? I like his passion and fire, but he does realize that this is women's basketball, right?
At the 2:23 mark, he CLEARLY realizes he's just acted like a horse's ass, and I'm guessing he's trying to think of a way to get Emmett Brown's phone number so he can go back a few minutes in time. The Flux Capacitor rules.
Finally, he reacts this way after having probably 20-30 minutes to think about what he was going to say. Too bad he didn't have his presser immediately after the game. He probably would've ended up naked, clawed his eyes out, and then ran through the Michigan banner behind him while laughing maniacally and scratching his armpits like a gorilla.

Now, most importantly, what do YOU think about this latest meltdown?

RIP

2008-02-26T16:44:00.005-06:00

Omar is dead. Shot by a 10 year old. Figures.

Michael K. Williams is NOT dead.

The Wire only has 1 more episode left. For that, I am sad.

_____________________________________________________________________

In other news, no University of Iowa football players were arrested today! YIPPEE!

Also, this just in, there is a new member of C*ty B*yz, Inc. Here he is:

It pays to take your loose change to the bank once every 5 years or so...

P.S. Wouldn't D*minique D*uglas be proud?

No Sex Allowed

2008-01-24T19:16:00.001-06:00

This audition on American Idol cracked me up. It even made me guffaw. Enjoy the musical stylings of Milo Turk:

My favorite parts:
1) Milo's leopard vest and porn stache. If only he had a Hulk Hogan-esque horseshoe mullet...
2) The opening line is my favorite part: "I'm sittin' around, mindin' my biz" CLASSIC!
3) I love the stomping and arm motions while he's "singing"
4) Milo's "WOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" with his left-arm windmill arm motion at the end of the 1st verse.
5) Nice use of Oedipus Rex. I suppose not much else rhymes with sex. What else could he have used? My name is Lex? When I get hookers I pay with checks? My favorite phonebook has a name of Dex?
6) I LOVE the warbly tone to his voice.
7) Nice of The Dawg to join in on the chorus.
8) I know a lot of guys have a big problem when their girlfriend comes over and wants sex. Most guys, when asked to make love by their lady friend, say 'I don't want to be part of your crowd' and 'get out of town'. Especially when they're just mindin' their biz. yyyyyeah....
9) Dude is NOT 39. Gimme a break. Maybe 49.
10) WHY COULDN'T WE HEAR THE PERVERTED 3RD VERSE?!?

A Few Things....

2008-01-13T15:44:00.000-06:00

Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina had a sick, insidious, ridiculous dunk over a guy that stands 7'7" and weighs 360 lbs. Imagine him dunking over someone with Manute Bol's height, and Bastion Booger's weight. Here's a video of the dunk:

Watch the giant after Hansbrough (who is 6'9", 245 lbs and looks like a midget next to Kenny George) throws down the dunk. It cracks me up how he puts his head down as he heads down the court. You know he's thinking to himself, "Oh great, this will be on random idiot's blogs all around the world." Funny stuff.

2. The Kansas City Royals and Toronto Bluejays have seen the light, and they will be wearing powder blue jerseys during the 2008 baseball season. I LOVE powder blue jerseys, especially powder blue pullover jerseys.

Big ups to the Bluejays for going with the COMPLETE powder blue uniform.

3. The Wire is the best show on TV.

That is all.

Rabbit Ears

2007-12-04T17:09:00.000-06:00

As my loyal readers already know, we had D*sh Network installed on November 26.

It has been great thus far. I like their HD package, and the picture is better than we ever had with M*diacom. The only problem we've had is when there was an inch of ice on the dish last weekend. Strangely enough, we lost reception for a while...until I poured a couple pitchers of hot water on the dish. That cleared it right up.

Anyway, the one thing that I really missed from our days with M*diacom were the local channels in HD. I was doing some research for a nice outdoor antenna we could install to hopefully pick up the locals in HD.

During M*diacom's dispute with Sinclair last winter, I got a free pair of cheap rabbit ears. We're talking $9.99 at Wal-Mart rabbit ears. I figured I'd give them a shot before I bought another antenna...and boy am I glad I did!

I plugged that bad boy into the back of our receiver, and it picked up 15 local channels, including several in crystal clear high definition! I am happy now...

Moral of the story - try cheap rabbit ears before spending a lot of money on some fancy antenna. It worked well for us...

RIP

2007-11-30T19:12:00.000-06:00

Evel Knievel has died at age 69. I am too young too have seen any of Evel's stunts in the 60s and 70s, but I've seen plenty of video footage of his stunts and heard a lot of interviews with him.

My favorite Evel Knievel moment came from an interview on the Jim Rome show.

Rome asked Evel about his 1974 Snake River Canyon jump, and asked how he could do a jump like that when he knew he had a 50-50 chance of surviving.

Evel's classic response was: "DO YOU KNOW WHO THE HELL I AM?!?"

Dude also admitted on the Jim Rome Show that he owned a diamond-encrusted cane that doubled as a flask for Wild Turkey. Who can't admire that???

Evel Knievel lived to be 69 years old, which is probably about 2-3 times as long as he should've lived after some of the stunts he pulled.

Everyone take a pull from a diamond-encrusted cane in his memory...

Iowa - Western Michigan prediction

2007-11-16T17:02:00.001-06:00

Iowa wraps up the regular season tomorrow against the Western Michigan Broncos from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Last time the Broncos came to Kinnick Stadium, they left town with a win. That was in 2000, and lead to an EPIC meltdown by this guy. Actually, was that seat cushion ever seen again? I wondered what happened to that thing. If I still had it, I would have you autograph it and put it on my wall. I digress.

Tomorrow is Senior Day, and as I outlined last year, Iowa has been pretty successful (6 wins, 2 losses) on Senior Day during the Kirk Ferentz era. This year should be no exception.

Seniors like Albert Young, Damian Sims, Mike Klinkenborg, Mike Humpal, Tom Busch, Kenny Iwebema, Bryan Mattison, etc. will have the team ready to go. Those guys have been model citizens since they stepped foot on campus, and this year's off-the-field problems make me appreciate guys like these even more.

Look for Albert Young to get enough yardage to get over 1,000 for the season. AY had a monster Sophomore season when he led the Big 10 in rushing. He battled injuries last year, but is still over 3,000 yards for his career. Only 2 other guys (Sedrick Shaw & Ladell Betts) have done that at Iowa, so Albert is in pretty elite company. He is a great ambassador the the University of Iowa, and I'm really hoping he can finish this season with a bang.

My prediction:

Iowa - 24
WMU - 14

Iowa is just not built to blow teams out this year (except for Syracuse). WMU runs the spread offense, so they will be able to move the ball. In the end, I'm betting Iowa wins fairly comfortably, but I'm anticipating that it will be closer than most people expect.

A win tomorrow probably gets Iowa into the Insight or Champs Sports Bowl. We'll see how things shake out after tomorrow's games.

_________________________________________________________________

Final score:

Iowa - 19
WESTERN Michigan - 28

Wow. I guess this game kind of summed up the up-and-down season that was the 2007 version of the Iowa Hawkeyes. They were good at times, they were mediocre at times, and they were pretty bad at times. They end the regular season with records of 6-6 overall, and 4-4 in the Big 11. Pretty mediocre overall, eh?

We'll see what happens with the bowl situation. Iowa is bowl eligible, but certainly doesn't deserve a bowl bid at this point.

Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist Mike Hlas put it best when he wrote: "This program and its fan base don't need any false complacency, any overwhelming feelings of adequacy." A bowl game would do just that for many fans. Iowa needs to stay home for the holidays, work on recruiting, and work on getting better. Bowl practices are overrated, in my opinion, so that's no big loss.

However, if they miracle their way into a bowl, I will be watching, for I love the Hawks, win or lose.

I also want a new patch on my bibs. Guess I can quit searching for that Insight Bowl patch. Maybe I can get a Las Vegas Bowl or Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl patch.

I Heart Hayden...

2007-11-15T21:30:00.000-06:00

and now my little Bibgal hearts Hayden, too.

Coming soon....

2007-11-14T16:58:00.001-06:00

....to a Bibguy house near you...

November 26th, to be exact.

M*diacom can suck it.

It will be amazing to watch the Big Ten Network, NFL Network, HBO in the bedroom AND downstairs, and be able to DVR* shows on ALL THREE televisions.

We will get more, and it's all approximately the same price we were paying for M*diacom.

Why didn't I switch sooner???

* - Sadly, it appears that Dish Network doesn't carry RTN. Therefore, I will no longer be able to hang out with Reno Raines and Bobby Sixkiller at 11 pm each weeknight. Guess I'll have to take care of the baby now, or something. Luckily, there are DVDs available. SEE YOU SOON BOBBY!

Iowa - Minnesota prediction

2007-11-08T22:41:00.001-06:00

Iowa (5-5, 3-4) hosts the Minnesota Golden Gophers this weekend in the battle for Floyd of Rosedale.

The Hawkeyes have won 3 of their last 4 games, while Minnesota has lost 8 in a row, and is 1-9 overall. The Gophers only victory was a 6 point victory over Miami (OH) in week 2.

Minnesota is not a good football team, folks. Statistically, their defense is the WORST out of 119 FBS teams. Their defense is giving up 548 yards per game (320 rushing, 228 passing), and they've allowed 45 touchdowns on the season. In Big 10 play, the Gophers have allowed 45 points to Purdue, 30 to Ohio State, 40 to Indiana, 49 to Northwestern, 34 to Michigan, and 44 to Illinois. Illinois rushed for 448 yards in their game last week. Do you now believe me that their defense is not very good?

Needless to say, Iowa has played better the last few weeks. If they come out ready to play in the 1st half (unlike the last 2 weeks), this game shouldn't be close. AY & Damian Sims will both see plenty of action, and I think both of them will get into the endzone. Jake Christensen looked much better during the 2nd half last week. Northwestern's defense is weak, but they look like the Steel Curtain compared to Minnesota. Iowa should be able to put up points.

The Hawkeyes also need a few more wins to put themselves in position to go bowling for sure. Two more wins, and I think the Hawks will be playing in late December in Orlando or Phoenix. One more win and I think the Hawks will be playing in Fort Worth, or possibly Detroit. Who would've believed we'd be talking about bowl games a month ago?

My prediction:

Iowa - 34
Minnesota - 17

Iowa will bring home the bacon, and Floyd will come home to Iowa City. Iowa's trophy case is empty right now, so Floyd needs to come home, and I think he will stay in Iowa City when the Gophers leave town.

__________________________________________________________________

UPDATE 11/11/07 9:30 am

Final Score -

Iowa - 21
Minnesota - 16

FLOYD IS HOME!

Well, a win's a win, especially this season. The first half - Iowa lookd great! The second half - GUH! However, a win over Minnesota is a good win in this guy's book any day of the week. For the record, I do not like Minnesota. Minnesota is the Bibguy's most disliked rival (yes, even more than Iowa State).

This puts Iowa at 6-5 overall, and 4-4 in the Big 10. After the Indiana debacle earlier this season, I really thought 0-8 in the Big 10 was a possibility. So, with that in mind, 4-4 is definitely an accomplishment, especially after the 2-6 finish in 2006.

One more win will just about guarantee a Big 10-affiliated bowl bid. Lose this weekend, and I'm guessing they still get a bowl bid, but it'll probably be the 'Name A Bowl That Happens Before Xmas And Doesn't Have Any Conference Ties' Bowl. However, even that would be ok with most Iowa fans after how the season started...

Western Michigan comes to Iowa City next Saturday. Should be a win. Should be a lot of canteen treats consumed. Should be a lot of turkey legs consumed. Might be Tigerhawk cookies.

RIP

2007-11-04T16:42:00.000-06:00

The Fabulous Moolah died last Friday.

Somehow, I doubt steroids were involved in the death of an 84 year old woman.

Bet you can't do it...

2007-11-03T04:02:00.000-06:00

I DARE YOU to watch this video and not laugh...

If you watch this 100 times you will still laugh

Add to My Profile | More Videos

If you don't laugh at that, you need some SERIOUS help!

Dentist-Schmentist

2007-11-02T14:07:00.000-06:00

So I went to the dentist today for the first time since approximately August 2002. For those keeping score at home, that is over 5 years.

I had been hassled by my spouse and mother for, oh, approximately 5 years. They thought my teeth were going to fall out, or my mouth was going to be full of cavities.

So, I went to G*ntle D*ntal today for a cleaning.

How many cavities did I have, you ask?

ZERO!

How many of my teeth are going to fall out, you ask?

ZERO!

So...I went 5 years with no dentist appointments, and all I had was a little excess plaque?!? BFD!

For the record, I'm going back in 6 months on 5/5/08. I'm not busy that day.

I'm now going to be a model citizen when it comes to the dentist.

This guy needs to go to the dentist. I saw a cavity in one of his teeth at the last tailgate, then it was floating in his drink. Or was that some hamburger residue? I'm betting it was a little-tiny-black-hole-of-a-cavity.

Iowa - Northwestern prediction

2007-11-01T20:38:00.001-06:00

Iowa travels to Evanston, IL this weekend to take on the Northwestern Wildcats.

In 2005, Iowa had a 24-7 lead at the half, and then ended up losing the game in the last 2 minutes of the game, with the final being 28-27. I was at that game, and bumped into legendary Cubs fan Ronnie Woo Woo in the stands....see:

Anyway, the Hawkeyes have yet to put together 2 solid weeks in a row this season. They have also struggled on the road, losing by an average of almost 2 touchdowns away from Kinnick Stadium.

Northwestern is a lot like Iowa State in the sense that they are not the Wildcats and Cyclones of the Hayden Fry era (i.e. easy wins). Iowa needs to win to improve their chances for a bowl game, but the Wildcats are also playing for bowl eligibility. This a big rivalry game for Northwestern...they LOVE beating Iowa. They also gave the Hawks a woodshed beating last season in Iowa City, and the 21-7 final score was deceivingly close. It was total domination by the 'Cats.

Northwestern's defense is weak, but it was also weak in 2005 & 2006, and Iowa lost both of those games. They also run the spread offense, which Iowa has had trouble defending in the past (seems like I've said that before).

Albert Young needs to have at least 25 touches on Saturday if Iowa hopes to have any chance for a victory. The Hawks need to grind it out on the ground, and keep Northwestern's offense (and therefore, Iowa's defense) on the sidelines. I can't see Iowa winning if AY doesn't have at least 25 touches.

My prediction:

Iowa - 17
NW - 34

I just don't think Iowa will pull out a victory on the road. They have been inconsistent all season, and as I said before, have not put together 2 solid performances back-to-back. They have also struggled against Northwestern the past 2 years.

Hopefully I'm wrong, and this will be a repeat of Iowa's trip to Evanston in 2001, when the Hawks' won 59-16. It could happen, but unfortunately,I just don't see them winning this week.

In any case, GO HAWKS!

____________________________________________

UPDATE 11/4/07 9:30 am

Final score:

Iowa - 28
NW - 17

I'm happy to report that I was wrong. In the first quarter, it looked like Iowa was well on their way to getting blown out, but, for the second week in a row, they came out looking like a completely different team in the 2nd half, and won their 2nd game in the row.

Iowa's defense gave up 196 yards and 14 points in the 1st quarter, and it looked like it was going to get ugly. After that, Norm Parker called one of his most aggressive game plans that I can recall. They ran some 4-3, some 3-4, some nickel, some dime, and brought blitzes off the edge and up the middle. They blitzed linebackers, safeties, and even brought a corner blitz. This aggressive game plan eventually lead to 3 interceptions.

Harold Dalton put a lick on C.J. Bacher on a blitz, and the Wildcats QB wasn't the same the rest of the game. Adrian Clayborn and Christian Ballard showed great speed off the edge, and I'm wondering why they weren't playing more earlier this year. Mike Humpal and Mike Klinkenborg were playing on one leg and with one hand, respectively, and both had great games. Both could've easily sat out, but it has to motivate some of the younger guys to see Seniors battling through injuries and giving it their all.

I feel that Iowa's best defensive game was the win over Northwestern in 2000, followed closely by the win over Texas Tech in the 2001 Alamo Bowl. I would rate this 3rd in terms of overall defensive play calling and execution.

Anyhow, Iowa returns home for 2 games to finish the season against Minnesota and Western Michigan. Both are definitely winnable games, but the Hawks will need to bring it both weeks. This team is not built to just 'show up' and win. Hell, the 2002 team couldn't just show up and win.

Floyd of Rosedale (pictured below) is on the line next, and I have a feeling he'll be staying in Iowa City this season. I'll have my Iowa-Minnesota prediction later in the week.

All in all, it was a good week for college football. Iowa, Iowa State, and UNI all won on the same day for the first time in a while.

Meanwhile, Nebraska gave up 76 points to Kansas (not in basketball), and Notre Dame lost to the University of The Navy for the first time in 44 years.

Like I said, it was a good week...

A Few Things...

2007-10-25T20:57:00.001-06:00

Read this article....

"Wow", was the only reaction I could muster after reading the piece. And the $64,000 question: "what's the crime?"

_____________________

Miami Dolphins LB Channing Crowder had the following to say about their upcoming game against the NY Giants in London, England:

"I couldn't find London on a map if they didn't have the names of the countries. I swear to God. I don't know what nothing is. I know Italy looks like a boot. I learned that. I know London Fletcher. We did a football camp together. So I know him. That's the closest thing I know to London. He's black, so I'm sure he's not from London. I'm sure that's a coincidental name."

After these comments, he was reminded that Dolphins receiver Marvin Allen (pictured below) is from London. That's when Crowder asked, "He's from London?" He then went on to proclaim, "I don't want to say he didn't look the part because that's a stereotype, but he didn't look the part. I heard him talk, and I thought he had a recorder and was just mouthing."

Crowder also wanted a translator according to a report from the Palm Beach Post. He swears he didn't know that they spoke English in England.

Wow....just wow. The education must be GREAT at the University of Florida. This guy makes Ms. South Carolina, and her rambling "The Iraq, such as, therefore" speech, look like a genius.

Of course, this is the same guy said the Florida was a better team than Iowa AFTER the Gators got spanked 37-17 by the Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl in January 2004.

What a genius...

Iowa - Michigan State prediction

2007-10-25T14:37:00.001-06:00

Iowa plays Michigan State this weekend in Iowa City.

It's a shame that MSU decided to can John L. "Tom Izzo in Cowboy Boots" Smith last season. Due to their knee-jerk reaction, we will, unfortunately, never again experience any moments like these:

Can you honestly imagine Kirk Ferentz ever doing anything like Smith did in either of those videos? Despite the lack of success this season, I am glad we have the guy we do as the head coach.

Three Michigan State players were charged on Wednesday with unarmed robbery in the parking lot of a store. They are all 3 being charged with felony robbery charges, and 1 of them was charged with misdemeanor assault & battery. However, coach Mark Dantonio said all the players (including 2 defensive starters) will remain on the team and "retain the opportunity to play." In other words, SirDarean Adams (nice name) will be starting at LB, and T.J. Williams will be starting at CB on Saturday. Or, they might face a stiff punishment of sitting out the opening drive of the game, or possibly the real attention-grabber of sitting out the entire 1st quarter. THAT'LL TEACH 'EM!

I'll say it again....would Kirk Ferentz let players facing these kind of charges play? HELL NO. Again, I'm glad he's at the helm, despite the lack of wins this season. At least he has some character, and doesn't place all of his eggs in the 'win at all cost' basket. With his salary, he could easily do that, but he continues to show some character with incidents like Douglas/Bowman, Huntrods, Dana Brown, Bennie Sapp, Ryan Loftin (remember him? I wonder if he's on Kirk's Christmas card list?), Jon Beutjer ("The Feutjer"), etc.

On to the game....

Michigan State has actually lost all three meetings in historic Kinnick Stadium during the Kirk Ferentz era. In 2000, Iowa broke a long Big 10 losing streak, beating them 21-16, despite over 200 yards rushing by T.J. Duckett. In 2002, Iowa beat Sparty 44-16, and in 2004, the Hawkeyes won by a final of 38-16. In fact, a little bit of research shows that the Spartans have not won in Iowa City since 1989. On the contrary, Iowa has not won in East Lansing since 1995. Sedrick Shaw had an average game that day, and only rushed for 200+ yards. He was ok.

So, the moral of the story is that this series has been dominated by the home team in the past 20 years or so. Will that hold true this year? I, for one, certainly hope so...

My picks to click continue to be non-existent, so I'm just going to hope that Iowa wins the game, and a few guys make a few plays to help the team win the ballgame. I hope they give 110% and take it one play at a time. Feel free to insert any additional cliches in the Comments section.

My prediction:

Iowa - 17
MSU - 16

I don't know why I'm picking Iowa to win again, but I just have a gut feeling. True, I had a gut feeling against Purdue, and that turned out SO well. The difference is this game is at home, and the history of the series shows that the home team generally wins.

We'll see what happens....GO HAWKS!

_______________________________________________________

UPDATE 10/28/07 2:40 PM

Final score:

Iowa - 34
MSU - 27 2 ot

Well, the home team won again in this series. No surprise, based on my history lesson that is outlined above.

Albert Young was THE MAN yesterday. Dude was a man on a mission. BIG PROPS to James Cleveland for some great downfield blocking on AY's TD in the north endzone (which happened right in front of our seats). The OL also blocked very well yesterday against a pretty good Spartan defense. The passing game was, well...ummm...Paul Chaney Jr. scored a TD in overtime.

Also, for the record, recently charged MSU LB SirDarean Adams didn't make the trip to Iowa City, and CB T.J. Williams only played on special teams.

Next week Iowa travels to Evanston, IL to play Northwestern. Definitely a winnable game. I'll have my prediction later this week.

A Must Read....

2007-10-21T12:51:00.000-06:00

NFL buffoons leaving terrible legacy

I couldn't agree with Jason Whitlock any more...

Iowa - Purdue prediction

2007-10-19T16:31:00.001-06:00

Iowa (3-4, 1-3) travels to lovely, scenic, and sometimes tropical West Lafayette, IN to play the Purdue Boilermakers (5-2, 1-2) tomorrow.

Purdue runs the vaunted spread offense, which Iowa has struggled with the past few years. Pretty much the same defense (minus Edmond Miles, Marcus Paschal, and Miguel Merrick) held this Purdue offense to 17 points last season, in what was Iowa's last Big 10 win prior to last weekend's victory over the Zooker. They ran a lot of nickel and dime packages, and Adam Shada even returned a pick 98 yards for a touchdown. To win this game, Iowa will obviously have to slow down Purdue's passing attack, and generate some pressure on Boilermaker QB Curtis Painter.

Purdue is coming off consecutive losses to Ohio State (23-7) and Michigan (48-21). Purdue gave up more than 180 yards rushing to both teams, and from what I've seen, their defensive line is pretty soft. Iowa SHOULD be able to run the ball, if the offensive line controls the line of scrimmage as they did last week.

Last week's win over Illinois was a season saver, in my opinion. If Brett Greenwood doesn't pick off that pass at the end of the game at the goal line and Illinois scores instead, I question if the Hawks would win another game all season. Now, they have a little confidence, and I think they have a chance to win every game the rest of the way...

My picks to click:

Offense - Albert Young / Damian Sims. I'm hoping we see a steady diet of AY/DS, and the OL pounding Purdue's defensive line. These are 2 quality Senior running backs, and the Hawks need to feed them the ball and establish the tone of the game early.

Defense - A.J. Edds. Edds is a kid from Indiana, and I look for him to have a big game.

My prediction:

Iowa - 20
Purdue - 17

No guts, no glory - I'm picking Iowa to win on the road. The Iowa/Purdue series has been very entertaining since 2002, and I believe tomorrow's game will be a good one, as well. Look for Jake Christensen to manage the game well, Iowa to run the ball down Purdue's throat, Iowa to get a few turnovers and continue to win the turnover margin, and win the game in the 4th quarter.

Oh yeah, lastly, and most importantly, Purdue's coach looks like that guy from Cocoon, Quaker Oats commercials, and the Liberty Medical diabetes testing supplies spokesman:

_________________________________________________________________

UPDATE 10/21/07 10:35 am

I'm going to make this short and sweet: Iowa is not a good football team. In fact, they may just be a BAD football team. In other words, they suck.

It's now mid-October, and they still can't move the ball. Youth and inexperience are fine excuses in September, but we're more than half way through the schedule, and this team still struggles to complete a pass, pick up a blitz, run the ball consistently, not make stupid penalties, etc. Those are not good things, folks.

We'll see how the rest of the season goes. If they continue to struggle to score TDs (2 in 3 games), they could easily lose all 4 remaining games.

And that, my friends, is heartbreaking...

Iowa - Illinois prediction

2007-10-11T12:19:00.001-06:00

The reeling Iowa Hawkeyes are in action again this weekend's against the 18th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini.

I have a few things that may (and I stress MAY) lead to a Hawkeye victory:

This is the classic "trap" game for Illinois. They are coming off a big win against then-5th-ranked Wisconsin, and after Iowa, they host Michigan in a primetime affair. They MAY be looking past the hapless Hawkeyes.

2. Most importantly, THIS GUY coaches Illinois:

The Gobbledy Zooker is one hell of a recruiter, but his coaching record leaves something to be desired. He also pronounced his new job as ILLINOISE when he was hired, and had to read the lyrics while singing 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' this summer at Wrigley Field. What a goof!

Mrs. Bibguy and THE Bibguy stayed in the same hotel as the Fighting Illini last season in Champaign, and Ron Zook literally stayed in the room right next to ours. I tried to get a picture with the Zooker, but couldn't get close enough. The best I could do was to get a picture with Zook's security guard, Mike Cooper:

Here are some other highlights from our stay with the Illini:

10:00 SNACK?!? That will lead to love-handles!
6:45 WAKE-UP CALL?!? We were in the parking lot at 6! WHERE'S THE DEDICATION?!?

Mrs. Bibguy looks THRILLED! This may surprise you, but I'd "had a few" (I also stole that sign, for the record)

Oh yeah, back to the game. Pretty sad when we're in mid-season and I'd rather talk about past road trips then the game this weekend...

I watched a little of the replay of Illinois-Wisconsin. I think Iowa's defense is going to have a tough time containing Illinois' spread option offense. Juice Williams, Rashard Mendenhall, and Arrelious Benn are top-notch athletes, and they can run like the wind. I predict the Illini will rush for 300+ yards against Iowa this weekend. As I've said before, I hope I'm wrong...

I'm not even going to explain my Picks to Click this week, as all of my picks (save 1-2) have been disastrous. I'll go with Damian Sims on offense, and Jacody Coleman on defense. (I am high on Coleman, for the record...he's young and will make mistakes, but he can hit and he brings great emotion to the field. That's something this team needs BADLY).

My prediction:

Iowa - 14
Illinois - 24

...and that is being generous. Much like with Indiana, I hate to admit that Illinois is better than Iowa this season, but that appears to be the case. If Iowa can't stop the spread option attack, then it will be a LONG day. Iowa HAS to move the ball , and quit going 3-and-out every series, or it will be a LONG day. The Bibguy had better lay off the Apple Pie and/or Liquid Samoas this weekend, or it will be a LONG day.

Sadly, I think the Zooker and the Fighting Illini will ski out of Iowa City with an easy victory...

Look at those guns! How much do you think this guy can bench? 400 lbs?

____________________________________________________________________

UPDATE 10/15/07 @ 1:35 pm

Well, the Hawks won a game! Can you believe it!

I'll go back to my 2 factors that I thought could possibly lead to an Iowa victory:

This is the classic "trap" game for Illinois. They are coming off a big win against then-5th-ranked Wisconsin, and after Iowa, they host Michigan in a primetime affair. They MAY be looking past the hapless Hawkeyes.

I think this was a factor. Illinois looked flat, but a lot of that had to do with Iowa. The Hawkeyes dominated both lines of scrimmage, which was nice to see again. College teams ALWAYS fall for these trap games, so this was no shock to me...

2. Most importantly, THIS GUY coaches Illinois:

This was the biggest factor of the game, in my opinion. The Gobbledy Zooker accepted a few questionable penalties that led to either an Iowa score or a big Iowa first down. In fact, I don't know that I've seen a more poorly coached game in Kinnick Stadium for many years. WE ALL THANK YOU, MR. ZOOKER, FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!

This was a nice win for the Hawkeyes. They moved the ball effectively, and the defense shut down the spread option, which I honestly didn't think they could. We'll see what the rest of the season brings, but this could be a turning point...

Jacody Coleman kind of reminds me of a young version of Bob Sanders out there. Kind of an "unguided missile", if you will. I'm not saying he'll be anywhere near the player that Sanders was/is, but it's kind of amusing just focusing on Coleman. He clearly is lacking on his pass coverage, as Brian Gattas replaced him on any obvious passing situation. However, he did a great job against the run, and was laying some people out. He'll stick his head in there and isn't afraid to hit. Maybe that's why he has a flat face...

Just to wrap up the Illinois game, here are a few more pictures of the Zooker. See you next year, Ronald!

Iowa - Penn State prediction

2007-10-03T19:45:00.001-06:00

Iowa and Penn State both come into this weekend with 0-2 records in the Big 10, and both teams are having trouble offensively.

Anthony Morelli was an all-world recruit a few years ago, and has been decent throughout his career. However, he has struggled at times this year, as has the entire Nittany Lions' offensive unit. Sound familiar? Kind of like Jake Christensen and the Iowa offense?

Here is a comparison of the 2 teams' offenses to this point in the season:

Iowa - 12 TDs, 336 total yards per game, 203.5 pass yards per game, 132.4 rush yards per game

Penn State - 19 TDs, 386.8 total yards per game, 222.6 pass yards per game, 164.2 rush yards per game

Now here are the 2 teams' defensive stats:

Iowa - 7 TDs allowed, 267.4 total yards allowed per game, 182 pass yards allowed per game, 85.4 rush yards allowed per game

Penn State - 7 TDs allowed, 265 total yards allowed per game, 178 pass yards allowed per game, 87 rush yards allowed per game

Is it just me, or do the 2 teams nearly mirror one another to this point in the season? This means it could be another 6-4 game like the Iowa/PSU game in 2004. (For the record, I'll take a 6-4 win over a 31-30 loss anyday. There's no such thing as an "ugly" win).

My picks to click...

Offense - Albert Young. The senior RB needs to have a big game, and hopefully he will keep the pile moving and keep Iowa's defense on the sideline. Albert lacks breakaway speed, but he is the complete package at RB (run, catch, block). Look for Young to have 75-100 yards, and hopefully more than 100.

Defense - See Wisconsin game. The front seven needs to come up large again. Penn State is not a team that is going to use a spread formation, so this is a good matchup for the Hawkeyes. The front seven needs to shut down the run, and put some pressure on Morelli. If he's pressured, he will throw interceptions, as you can see by his 3 picks against the Fighting Zookers last week.

I truly believe that Iowa will bounce back this week, if for no other reason than Penn State is a tradional Big 10 offensive football team, and they don't do anything wacky or zany like putting 5 receivers on the field at the same time.

I think the key number for Penn State is 107,282. Can a young and inexperienced Iowa team play well in front of this many fans? I hope so, but it will be a challenge...

History shows that Iowa has had success out in Happy Valley. 2004, 2002, 2000, 1996 were all victories, and have provided many classic memories for Iowa fans (Hinkel's diving catch in the back of the endzone, Dwight's punt return, the aforementioned 6-4 offensive shootout a few days after Kirk Ferentz's dad passed away, the double OT win in 2002 that propelled the Hawks to 8-0 in the Big 10, Ryan Hansen's game-winning interception in OT for Iowa's first road win in A LONG TIME in 2000, etc)

In the end, I think Penn State's home field advantage will be too much. Once again, I think this will be a close, defensive-minded football game. Unfortunately, I don't think the Hawks will come away victorious, and they'll sink to 0-3 in the Big 10. I hope they prove me wrong. The Bibguy would be very, VERY happy if they did...

My prediction:

Iowa - 7
Penn State - 9

_________________________________________________________

Final score -

Iowa - 7
Penn State - 27

I don't know what I can say, other than Iowa is just not a very good football team right now.

They'd better get things figured out fast, or the ole' Zooker and the Illini are going to have their way with the Hawks this weekend.

Much like Indiana, just a year ago who would've thought Iowa fans would be worried about a game against Ron Zook and Illinois?

Iowa vs. Indiana prediction

2007-09-27T15:08:00.001-06:00

The Iowa Hawkeyes (2-2, 0-1) finally return home this weekend. I don't remember the last time Iowa started with 3 of its first 4 games away from Kinnick Stadium. Maybe 1988? In any case, it'll be nice to have a home game - for the players and, more importantly, for the Bibguy.

As I stated in my Wisconsin wrap up, this game has me worried. I'd actually be more worried if Iowa had won last weekend. This is the classic sandwich game, between Wisconsin & Penn State. With Ohio State & Michigan off the schedule, Wisconsin & Penn State are the two games with the highest profile.

This is definitely a 'crossroads' game for the Hawkeyes. They certainly don't want to start the Big 10 0-2 with a game in Happy Valley on the horizon. 1-1 would be much better, and would give the Hawks some confidence going to PA.

Indiana runs the infamous spread offense, which Iowa has had trouble with in the past. James Hardy has caught 20 passes for 307 yards and 4 TDs in his last 2 matchups with Iowa. Those numbers are ridiculous; they're sick! Most receivers don't have those stats in a career, let alone in 2 games against 1 team.

Needless to say, the key to beating Indiana will be to shut down Hardy, and contain QB Kellen Lewis, who played lights out against the Hawks last season. Lewis has great scrambling ability, and can throw, too. Iowa did well containing Tyler Donovan last week, but Lewis is an entirely different kind of monster. Contain Lewis and Hardy, and the Hawks win comfortably. Don't, and I really think we will all be disappointed come Saturday evening...

My picks to click....

Offense: Paul Chaney. Chaney saw his first action against the Badgers, and acted like he belonged out there. He showed good hands and good speed, and had Jake Christensen not over-thrown him on the last play, we may be talking about Iowa being 1-0 instead of 0-1. Look for Chaney to see plenty of action this week. I'm predicting a bubble screen for a touchdown to Chaney.

Defense: Adam Shada. Shada looked foolish trying to defend James Hardy last season. True, the front 4 got NO PRESSURE on the QB last season against the Hoosiers, but Shada was clearly overwhelmed. He has played well this year, and I'm hoping he can step up and meet the challenge of containing Hardy this year. Look for Shada to get a pick and help turn Lewis inside when he runs.

My prediction...

Iowa - 24
Indiana - 20

If Indiana scores 30 points, I can't see Iowa winning this game. Keep Indiana under 30, and I think there's a good chance the Hawks will be victorious.

Who would've thought 2 years ago that fans would be worried about a match up with the Indiana Hoosiers? Is that a good thing for Indiana, or has Iowa fallen back to the middle of the pack in the Big 10? I think the truth lies somewhere in between. This is an important game for the Hawks - let's hope they're up the challenge.

__________________________________________________________________

UPDATE: 9/30/07 @ 8:30 am

Final score:

Iowa - 20
Indiana - 38

Here are a few quotes from my preview:

"...this game has me worried."
"This is definitely a 'crossroads' game for the Hawkeyes. They certainly don't want to start the Big 10 0-2 with a game in Happy Valley on the horizon."
"James Hardy has caught 20 passes for 307 yards and 4 TDs in his last 2 matchups with Iowa."
"Contain Lewis and Hardy, and the Hawks win comfortably. Don't, and I really think we will all be disappointed come Saturday evening..."
"If Indiana scores 30 points, I can't see Iowa winning this game."

Well, the I guess this game had me worried for good reason. In a crossroads game, Iowa came out flat and was clearly over-matched by the freaking Indiana Hoosiers. It was a stunningly poor and uninspired performance by the once-mighty Iowa Hawkeyes.

Oh, yeah, James Hardy now has 24 catches for 420 yards and 5 TDs in 3 games against Iowa. The guy is a good player (and probably a 1st day draft pick, if not 1st round), but those numbers are just ridiculous. The fact that Iowa could never figure out how to stop, or even contain, him is puzzling.

Clearly the Hawks didn't contain Kellen Lewis and/or Hardy, and I was right that we were all disappointed after the game.

Indiana got their 30 points, which I predicted would end in an Iowa defeat. (I don't like being right about this stuff, trust me....)

I had the final score as Indiana 31 - Iowa 21 when I was writing my prediction, but I couldn't bring myself to believe the fact that Indiana could manhandle Iowa, and has surpassed Iowa as a program. Well, that's exactly what happened. Take away an Iowa interception in the endzone and a fluke TD at the end of the 1st half, and the score would've been much worse. Indiana clearly had the better athletes and game plan, and earned only their 2nd road victory in Big 10 play since 2002.

It looks like this could be a long season, Iowa fans. It pains me greatly to say this, but I honestly think they have a chance of going 0-8 in the Big 10. My how the mighty have fallen. There is a glaring lack of talent and play making ability on both sides of the ball. After 4 straight January 1 bowls, one would've thought the recruiting would've been better, but clearly it hasn't been...

The Hawks have now lost 7 consecutive Big 10 contests. That includes losses to Indiana (twice), Northwestern (at home), and Minnesota. In terms of the Big 10 hierarchy, I would put Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan State ahead of Iowa, and Iowa's not much ahead of Minnesota and Northwestern. Both of those teams beat Iowa last season, and could easily beat them again this year. Iowa had firmly established itself as the 3rd-4th best program in the Big 10 only 2-3 years ago, and now are in the bottom 2-3. My how the mighty have fallen... (didn't I say that already?)

The sad thing is that I don't think there's any "quick fix". The program has spiralled out of control, and they just look out-manned out there right now. I still have confidence in Kirk Ferentz, but some questions need to be answered, and some changes need to be made. What are those changes, you ask? I don't think anyone, including Ferentz, has the answer to that question right now...

My picks to click were non-existent. Chaney had an opportunity to take a bubble screen for a TD, but dropped the pass. Adam Shada was, well, Adam Shada.

I'll post my prediction for Penn State later this week.

P.S. Do any Iowa fans want to apologize to Drew Tate for calling for his head, and wanting to see Jake Christensen in there last year? As I said to several people sitting around me in the stands at Kinnick last season - Tate was one of the best we've ever seen at Iowa. Jake might be good someday, but right now he doesn't hold a candle to Drew Tate. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, Tate wasn't the entire problem last year...

Have I ever mentioned...

2007-09-24T21:47:00.000-06:00

that I LOVE coach meltdowns? Here is another classic, courtesy of Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, a man who is 40, and is not a kid.

Gundy has now joined my list of favorite coaches, which includes Dennis Green, Dan Hawkins, and Jim Mora, Sr.

P.S. How great is the courtesy ovation he gets at the end? You know the other beat writers just clapped in hopes that Gundy looked back and saw them supporting him, so he wouldn't yell at them next week. Classic stuff...

P.S.S. How great is the girl standing against the wall? You know she's biting her lip so she doesn't bust out laughing. The beat writer in the blue shirt that is shown when Gundy leaves the room was also biting his lip, as he had to wipe the smile away from his mouth. Epic!

P.S.S.S. What does 'bedowngrades' mean?

Iowa - Wisconsin prediction

2007-09-21T15:47:00.001-06:00

Iowa is now 2-1, 0-0 after last week's loss to Iowa State. This week, they open Big Ten play by traveling to Madison, WI to take on the 7th (USA Today) / 9th (AP) ranked Wisconsin Badgers.

This will be a tough game for the Hawkeyes. Tyler Donovan started at QB last season at Iowa, and did some damage with his running ability. He also made some key throws when he needed to. P.J. Hill is clearly a load, but he really didn't hurt the Hawks too badly last year.

Wisconsin is a team with which Iowa matches up well. They don't run a spread offense, and they play the "classic" Big 10 style of football. They don't really do anything fancy on offense and/or defense, much like Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, etc. I'll be surprised if they don't run at least a few plays out of a spread formation, but for the most part I look for the Badgers to line up and play smash mouth football. They have a big OL, but I think Iowa's D will be up for the challenge.

My picks to click....

Offense - Andy Brodell. This guy looked like an All-American in the Alamo Bowl against a very fast & athletic Texas Longhorns secondary. However, he has been very inconsistent and/or non-existent thus far this season. Iowa lacks much speed and playmaking ability on offense, but this is one guy that has the speed to take it to the house on any play. Look for some bubble screens and quick hitters to Brodell, and look for him to break one this week.

Defense - The entire front seven. The DL HAS to get get pressure on Donovan, and they can't let him escape like Bret Meyer did last week. They have to be ready to stop the run, and as I said before, P.J. Hill is a load. If the front seven can stop the run, then I think the Hawks will have a real chance at winning this game, if the offense can get anything going.

My prediction. Much like Northern Illinois and Iowa State, I think this will be a close game into the 4th quarter. Wisconsin will have the home field advantage, and Camp Randall is a great place to watch a football game. Sadly, I just don't think the Hawks will come out on top. I definitely hope I'm wrong....

My prediction:

Iowa - 14
Wisconsin - 23

____________________________________________

UPDATE 9/25/07 @ 5:00 pm

Final score:

Iowa - 13
Wisconsin - 17

Once again, I correctly predicted that this game would be close into the 4th quarter. I also correctly predicted that Iowa would come out on the short end of the stick.

As I anticipated, for the most part Wisconsin lined up and played smash mouth football. For the most part, Iowa's defense was superb. If every team just lined up and tried to run, Iowa would win a lot of games. However, more and more teams are going to a spread offense, and we all know the Hawks struggle with the spread.

I was pleased with the following things:
1) Iowa brought a few blitzes at opportune times, and Klinkenborg forced a fumble on a blitz in the 1st quarter.
2) Iowa seemed to regain some of their 'Bullies of the Big Ten' identity. Mitch King is the best player in the program, IMO, and he continues to play at a top level. Jayme Murphy is a beast on special teams. He's lucky he's still able to walk after that hit to start the 2nd half. Jacody Coleman, Mike Klinkenborg, Mike Humpal, and A.J. Edds looked GOOD against the run. I was impressed with Coleman for the few plays that he got in. He really looked like he belonged out there, and wasn't intimidated by the Grateful Red.
3) DJK made a FANTASTIC catch. If he keeps this up, people on the internet might start thinking he has some potential.
4) The turnover margin continues to be a + for Iowa. If this continues, they'll be alright in the long run.

I was not pleased with the following things:
1) Andy Brodell, Tony Moeaki, and Julian Vandervelde all went down with injuries. This whole 'Next Man In' thing is getting old...
2) The offense line couldn't pick up a blitz if their lives depended on it. Terrible blitz recognition by the OL. Just terrible.
3) Iowa couldn't run the ball, because Wisconsin was putting 8-9 guys in the box every play. Iowa couldn't pass the ball because they have an indecisive, young QB (who is improving) who had no time to throw the ball due to...see #2.
4) After winning every close game in 2004, Iowa has now lost 7 in a row that are decided by 5 points or less.

This week, James Hardy comes to town to play the Iowa Hawkeyes. I'm not sure if his teammates will show up or not, because he's dominated the Hawks the last 2 years on his own. I'll say this Hawkeye fans - this game scares me...A LOT.

I'll have my prediction later this week...

Iowa - Iowa State prediction

2007-09-12T18:50:00.000-06:00

The Hawkeyes are now 2-0, 0-0 after last weekend's 35-0 dismantling of the Syracuse Orangemen under the lights at Kinnick Stadium. Definitely an impressive victory, but let's face it - Syracuse is not a good football team, and that's putting it nicely.

This weekend they travel to the hellhole that is Ames, IA, which has not been kind to the Hawks in the past 10 years. Iowa lost in Ames in 1999, 2001, and 2005 since Kirk Ferentz became the head coach in December 1998. The only time they've won since Kirk took over was 2003. That means they're 1-3 in Ames since 1998. Not good, folks....not good.

ISU is 0-2, and they're coming off two embarassing losses at home to Kent State and Northern Iowa. Gene Chizik is going through the same things Ferentz went through when he came to Iowa (implementing a system, and learning to win using said system). On paper, this game appears to be a laugher, and I hope it is. However, Iowa State always gets up for this game, and I don't think this year will be any exception.

My picks to click:

Offense - Tom Busch. The Human Battering Ram seems like he's been around for 10 years. He's been through the good times (2004, 1/2 of 2005) and the bad times (1/2 of 2005, 2006) with Iowa, and he knows what this rivalry is all about. He's a senior, and I'm looking for him to make a big impact on Saturday. I look for him to provide solid leadership to the myriad of true and redshirt freshmen that are playing in this game for the first time. As always, he'll throw a few crunching blocks, but I also look for him to score a TD on a play-action pass near the goal line. The guy doesn't get nearly enough credit for the job he does, and I really think he'll come up big on Saturday.

Defense - Mike Klinkenborg. As you all know, Mike is a great story. He's a 4.0 student, and played with great heart and courage last year in the Iowa-ISU game after the sudden death of his father. Klink is a born-and-bread Iowa kid, and he certainly knows the meaning of this game. On top of all the off the field stuff, he's a pretty damn good football player. He's not flashy, and just does his job - very well. Look for Mike to have double-digit tackles and, like Busch, show the young players what this rivalry is all about.

My prediction:

Iowa - 21
Iowa State - 17

I vowed that I would never pick Iowa to win in Ames ever again when I left the 23-3 debacle in 2005. However, ISU is struggling and Iowa has built some confidence in the last 2 weeks. This game will be close into the 4th quarter, but I really believe Iowa will win a close one in the end.

______________________________________________________________

UPDATE: 9/18/07 @ 10:20 pm

Final score -

Iowa 13
ISU 15

My picks to click - Tom Busch was MIA, and has been for the entire season. Mike Klinkenborg shouldn't be covering receivers split out wide. That is all I have to say about that.

I can honestly say that it's not all that surprising to me that Iowa lost to Iowa State. Just look at the series history since 1997. In 1997, Iowa beat Iowa State 63-20 in Tim Dwight & Tavian Banks' senior year. Ever since, it's been a close game, or Iowa State has blown out the Hawks. I correctly predicted that this game would be close into the 4th quarter, even as some people scoffed. However and unfortunately, I was wrong on who won the game.

This loss is not the end of the world. In 2002, Iowa lost to ISU at home, then went on to go 11-1, share the Big 10 title, and went to the Orange Bowl. In 2004, Iowa started 2-2 after a debacle at Arizona State and a loss at Michigan, and finished 10-2, shared the Big 10 title, and won the Capital One Bowl. I'm not saying Iowa is going to run the table, win the Big 10, or go to a prestigious bowl game, but the season is not over by any means.

I will post my predictions for the Wisconsin game later in the week.

Iowa - Syracuse Prediction

2007-09-06T19:18:00.000-06:00

Iowa sits at 1-0, 0-0 going into this Saturday night's contest with the visiting Syracuse Orangemen.

Syracuse looked putrid in their game with Washington last Friday night. Their offensive and defensive lines looked bad, and their linebackers looked slow. Their QB looked decent, and they have a few decent receivers. However, they didn't look like a good football team.

However, I thought the same thing last season, and Iowa barely squeaked out a victory in double-overtime after stopping Syracuse 48,212 times on the goal line to end the game.

I have a feeling this game will not be very close. Not a total blowout, but a nice, solid victory.

My picks to click.....

Offense: Albert Young/Damian Sims. For the first time since 2005, the Hawks had 2 RBs with over 100 yards a piece last weekend against NIU. I'm predicting that both backs will go over the century mark again this week, and I think both of them will find the endzone. Look for Sims to break a TD run of 50+ yards.

Defense: Mitch King. The guy looked like the second coming of Matt Roth last week. He brought great energy and intensity, and was very disruptive for the NIU offense. When healthy, I think King is the best player in the program. Look for him to make a few tackles for losses, and score a few QB sacks.

Hopefully the wide receivers will catch the ball better this week. Hopefully Iowa builds a comfortable lead so Arvell Nelson can get some time at QB, so message board fans can start calling for NELSON! every time Jake Christensen throws an incompletion. Hopefully DJK breaks a few long returns/catches for TDs, so the message board fans can start the 'DJK for Heisman' campaign. Hopefully Clint Huntrods has stopped urinating in public.

Anyway, my final prediction....

Iowa - 31
Syracuse - 14

GO HAWKS!

_____________________________________________

Update: 9/9/07 2:02 pm

Final score:

Iowa - 35
Syracuse - 0

Man, did the defense look good last night, or what? The DL has really been playing well so far this season. The passing game also improved last night, with only a few drops instead of 8.

Syracuse sold out to stop the run, consistently putting 8 guys in the box, and sometimes 9. So, my 'Pick to Click' tandem of Young/Sims did not got as many yards as I expected. They did, however, both get into the endzone.

Jake Christensen stepped up and had a good game. He showed that if I defense is going to go all out to stop the run, that he has the ability to burn a defense. Tony Moeaki finally showed flashes of his potential we've been hearing about for the past 2 years. If he stays healthy, he could arguably be one of the best TEs Iowa's ever had.

Mitch King also had a good game, but was constantly facing double-teams. Bryan Mattison had a monster game - 3 sacks, and also played at TE on offense for 1 play near the goal line. Big ups to Kenny Iwebema for blocking 2 kicks. Also, true freshman Christian Ballard looked like a man amongst boys when he was in there. Reminds me of Jonathan Babineaux. Hopefully he doesn't kill dogs, though.

Next week,the Hawks travel to scenic Ames, IA to play the Cyclones. I'll have my prediction later in the week....

Iowa vs. Northern Illinois - prediction

2007-09-01T11:56:00.000-06:00

The Hawkeyes open the season today against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Soldier Field in Chicago. Approximately 40,000 Hawkeye fans are expected to be in attendance. Sadly, I am not one of them, for we have a newborn and they don't really travel too well... :)

I don't think this game will be a laugher like many on the message boards expect. The Huskies played the Hawks tough last season, and Iowa only preserved the victory with a late touchdown, winning 24-14.

I'm anxious to see if 12 true freshman actually see any time today. If you'd told me 2 months ago that a Kirk Ferentz-coached team would play a dozen true freshman, I would've laughed hysterically. After last season, if true freshman can help, then by all means - PLAY THEM! Especially on special teams...

My 'Picks to Click': I will choose one on offense, and one on defense....

Offense: Jake Christensen. The main thing I want to see from Jake is a WIN. While 300 yards & 5 TDs would be nice, I'd rather let him get his feet wet, and just come out with a victory. I'd also like to see some signs of leadership from the new QB. Ferentz has said his demeanor is somewhere in the middle of Drew Tate and Brad Banks, so we'll see. I anticipate Jake having a big day today.

Defense: A.J. Edds. At the open practice a few weeks ago, Edds was the most impressive, in my opinion. The guys plays physical, shows good speed, and appears to have good instincts. He saw some limited minutes last season, and played well. He played very well at Michgan. I look for A.J. to have double-digit tackles, and possibly a pick. Hopefully a Pick 6.

My final prediction:

Iowa - 28
NIU - 17

I really think this game is going to be a dogfight (too soon?) for at least a half (possibly a 10-10 tie, or a 14-10 Iowa lead). Again, I hope I'm wrong. However, in the end, the Hawks will come out on top. That would make the Hawks 1-0 going into the home opener next weekend, against Syracuse (who looked TERRIBLE against Washington last night, by the way)

____________________________________________________________

UPDATE - 9/2/07 - 9:27 am

Final score:

Iowa 16
NIU 3

Well, a win's a win. The Hawkeyes looked good at times, and, let's see how I can put this gently....they have a few things to clean up. The good news is that the mistakes they made can be corrected, in my opinion.

I was very happy to see this team take on an identity (running the ball/hard nosed defense), and get back to Hawkeye football. Right or wrong, the entire team's identity last season was tied to the on-the-field antics of #5. Like I said, it was nice to get back to Hawkeye football...

They had 2 100 yard rushers (AY & Sims looked GOOD!), and the defense played very well. There was some hitting going on, too. Mitch King was all over the field, Jayme Murphy had a great hit on kickoff coverage, and Jordan Bernstine had a great hit on punt coverage (even though it was WAY early). Stuff like that sets the tone and sends a message to the other team. That was missing last season...

As for my 'Picks to Click'....

Jake Christensen: Didn't have the greatest game. It was obvious he was jittery at the start (opening game, playing in his home town, in a pro stadium, his first start when he knew he wasn't going to be replaced the next week, etc.) However, I was impressed with how he settled down and managed the game in the 2nd quarter, after a rough start. Also, his receivers dropped 6-7 easily-catchable passes, which would've made his numbers better had they, you know, CAUGHT THE FREAKING BALL! I also liked the fact that he didn't get rattled when things were going poorly, and kept his cool. He will get better. In the end, he met my goal of WINNING.

A.J. Edds: He played a solid game. He was in great position most of the time in pass coverage, and played well against the run. The personal foul call against him was BS, as he clearly left his feet while the QB was still in bounds. What's he supposed to do? Stop and let the QB cut back and go around him? I don't think so... He showed great speed, and he is going to be one hell of a SAM linebacker (I'm holding off on making an obvious comparison). He finished with 7 tackles, and Mike Humpal ended up being the LB with a pick, not my man A.J.

The Good: The OL looked good after a rough start. It remains to be seen if that was due to Iowa's talent up front, or NIU's lack of talent up front. Probably a little of both. The DL was dominant. Charles Godfrey looked like a legitimate pro prospect, with 2 picks and great run support. Super Bowl champions Bob Sanders and Dallas Clark were on the sideline - that's NEVER a bad thing. Also, there were very few penalties, and it appears that the Hawks came away injury free... Finally, Iowa won the turnover battle 3-0, and after watching replays of the fumble caused by Mike Klinkenborg, it could've been 4-0. That is a definite improvement from last season, when Iowa was 111th in the nation in turnover margin.

The Bad: Iowa needs to work on catching passes consistently (that means you Andy Brodell & Tony Moeaki), making PATs and field goals (hello Austin Signor), knowing who's on the field goal team (that means you, Kyle Calloway), and just relax and play football. All of this can, and hopefully will, be corrected...

I really think things will get ugly next week for Syracuse in the home opener under the lights. Things may also get ugly in the parking lot at the Bibguy tailgate in the home opener under the lights. I'll post my predictions later in the week.

Greed vs. Greed

2007-08-30T12:17:00.001-06:00

The Big Ten Network launches tonight. Of course, only people with DirecTV or some piddly local cable provider will get to see it...

I am amazed at the arrogance of the Big Ten, and how they are being so demanding with an upstart network. I am also amazed at how clueless Mediacom and other major cable providers are, and how they claim they're looking out for the best interest of their customers, when in reality, they could care less about their customers...

This column sums up my feelings about both sides. Just replace every reference to Comcast with Mediacom...

One quote I love from this column:

" Are you with the guys trying to make money? Or are you with the guys trying to make money?"

How very true...and how very sad...

Random Job Musings

2007-08-23T21:35:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the return of Bibguy's Random Job Musings!

So I got a claim this week involving a horse, a horse's penis ERRRR sheath, a woman, a woman touching the horse's penis, and a horse kicking said woman.

Apparently, this woman was trying to clean a horse's pecker. Naturally, the horse was like "HEY! Why are you touching my junk?!?", and kicked the woman in the leg. Who wouldn't do the same thing if someone suddenly started cleaning their tallywhacker with no warning?

Unfortunately, the horse declined a recorded statement with his version of the accident. He also declined a photo request of the sheath in question. The investigation continues.

How much....

2007-08-21T06:56:00.000-06:00

...would you pay for one of these right about now?

I'm sure Nike and local retailers are VERY pleased with young Dominique's actions. Not to mention Hawkeye fans....

Artistic Masterpieces

2007-08-13T17:08:00.000-06:00

I apologize to my ones of readers for the lack of blogs lately. I have been busy with my other blog lately. That blog is www.babyadelle.com. If you don't have the password and want it, let me know. Now, on to the good stuff...

My grandma has been moved into a nursing home, and my mom has been cleaning out her house recently. She came across some drawings that I did between 1983 and 1985. They are some true relics...

Apparently, I had 5 major interests in the mid-80s: the Chicago Cubs, the Iowa Hawkeyes, Super Friends, Scooby Doo, and rock music. Here are some examples of artwork from this guy as a 7-8 year old.

Chicago Cubs (Bob Dernier, Ron "The Penguin" Cey, Leon "Cokehead" Durham, Ryne Sandberg, Rick Sutcliffe (check the size of Sutty's rosin bag), and Jody Davis, King of the Home Run Bat :

Iowa Hawkeyes: (pre-eBay thief Brad Lohaus, Al "Laurensen" Lorenzen, a very short Jeff Moe, a very large right handed Chuck Long, and for some reason, Todd Berkenpas)

Super Friends (Aquaman, Batman & Robin, Hawkman, Apache Chief, Superman)

Scooby Doo: (a non-stoned Shaggy, Velma looking very lesbian-ish, Fred w/ his queer scarf, Daphne w/ a LOT of lipstick, and a ferocious-looking Scooby Doo)

Rock Music (David Lee Roth w/ chick, Bruce Springsteen, Dee Snyder/Twisted Sister):

...and the most disturbing of all the drawings I did....

...a black, glitter-glove wearing, Thriller-era Wacko Jacko. Hey, I was young, gimme a break!

Random Thoughts

2007-07-18T19:01:00.001-06:00

1) Last weekend, the Cubs played the Houston Astros, who have this guy on their roster:

....and every time his name was mentioned, I thought of this character:

...and every time I thought of her, I would say "Loretta" aloud in the Cleveland voice. Kind of like when he said her name in the hardware store when the Spooner St gang was feuding over the clam trophy. You know...when they had the "Peter", "Lois", "Bonnie", "Joe", "Cleveland", eh hem "Loretta" exchange. Yes, I'm a freak.

2) Most commonly used response this week by Mr. & Mrs. Bibguy: "Any day now." For the record, that's still the case. At least until Monday. Then the entire world changes (for the better) in the Bibguy household!

3) Also, for the record, yes - we know the gender and have a name picked out. And no, we won't tell you the name or gender. Also, for those betting types out there, yes, there will be a baby blog.

4) Our crazy neighbors are still here, the POD is still there, and the flowers she planted in an effort to spruce up the place are as dead as all get out. I'm guessing their place will sit there for sale for a year-and-a-half. Don't worry, the longer they live there, the better my eventual blog post about those crazy bastards will be....

5) That is all. Again, if you have to ask, the answer is "ANY FREAKING DAY NOW!"

Mas Barbacoa, Menos Muertos

2007-07-13T15:55:00.000-06:00

Have I mentioned that I enjoy Beer Can Chicken?

RIP

2007-06-25T16:50:00.000-06:00

Chris Benoit was found dead today in his home. His wife and son were also found dead.

This is not a good situation, because it's either going to be a triple murder or a murder-suicide.

Apparently, "The Crippler" didn't perform at last night's Pay-Per View, and had to return home to deal with a family emergency.

Stories like this make the entire "Vince McMahon was killed in a car explosion" even more ridiculous.

UPDATE: Fuck Chris Benoit. He was a murderer and a child killer. As a soon to be father, I can't even begin to imagine what would possess anyone to kill their own child.

RIP to his wife & son, and my thoughts & prayers go to anyone who was affected by this senseless tragedy.

I give WWE credit for removing any tributes from their website, and I give Vince McMahon credit for apologizing for last night's tribute. I can only assume that they didn't know all of the details last night, because once it became apparent that Benoit killed his family & himself, they took everything down.

Chris Benoit can burn in hell, for all I'm concerned.

RIP

2007-06-24T13:25:00.000-06:00

Rod Beck has died at age 38.

He was an instrumental part of the Cubs' playoff run in 1998, when he saved 51 games.

My favorite Rod Beck memory comes from when he played in Des Moines for the Iowa Cubs.

The guy lived in his RV beyond the right field wall at Sec Taylor Stadium, and would drink beer and talk baseball with fans after the games.

RIP to "The Shooter" who is definitely gone way too soon.

Check This Out...

2007-06-23T16:01:00.000-06:00

I wanted to see my fingerstyle technique, so I decided to take a few short videos.

Luckily for you, I decided to post them here, too....sit back, and enjoy. :)

This is a song called 'Fingerdance' by Billy McLaughlin.

This is a song called 'Into the Light' by Billy McLaughlin. My camera apparently only records for 3 minutes, so I was cut off towards the end of the song. However, you'll get the idea.

Let me know what you think in the Comments section. (unless you think I suck..) ;-)

A Few Things....

2007-06-23T06:52:00.000-06:00

1) You'll notice the very attractive POD in front of our neighbor's house. REAL nice.

The only thing that makes this ok is that little FOR SALE sign in front of the POD.

THE CRAZY PEOPLE ARE MOVING! They've allegedly bought a house, but that news comes from a neighbor, since we don't talk to the nutbags.

If I write too much, I have a feeling I will jinx the sale of the house, so I will save my full entry for when they actually leave.

And believe me, that's a post you won't want to miss!

2) Go ahead and call me Nostradamus, for I wrote this back on June 2:

"My prediction: we will be referring to Michael Barrett as ex-Cubs catcher by the All-Star break, or the end of the season at the latest. Maybe before the All-Star break."

Michael Barrett was traded to the San Diego Padres (a.k.a. Whale's Vagina Fathers) on June 20, 2007. Of course, a feral pig could have predicted Mr. Barrett's demise with the Cubs, but that's ok...

3) In my Terry Hoeppner RIP post, this was the last sentence that I wrote:

"Hopefully, it doesn't happen again soon..."

Now, I may, or may not, have nearly added "...unless it's Ron Zook" to that sentence.

Then I figured that would be tasteless, and I deleted it. But, it's kind of funny in a sick, demented, twisted, and evil way.

I Heart the Zooker! We are BFF!

RIP

2007-06-19T20:16:00.000-06:00

Indiana University football coach Terry Hoeppner died today from complications of a brain tumor. He was 59.

That's 2 Big 10 coaches that have died in the past 2 years, as Northwestern's Randy Walker died last summer.

Hopefully, it doesn't happen again soon...

RIP

2007-06-16T07:53:00.001-06:00

WWE Hall of Famer 'Sensational' Sherri Martel has passed away. She was only 49 years old. This might be shocking, but no cause of death has been determined.

Hmmm....I wonder if her death had anything to do with any of the following:

* Rampant steroid abuse
* Wrestling/being on the road over 300 days a year
* Cocaine/Heroin abuse
* Heavy alcohol abuse
* Years of cocaine abuse
* Rampant use of pain killers, due to wrestling/being on the road over 300 days a year
* Years of cocaine abuse...oh wait, I already said that...twice. Hmm.

At least Vince McMahon doesn't feel any guilt over all these ex-pro wrestlers' premature deaths. I mean, afterall, he's a billionaire because of them, and they're dead.

That's fair...right???

Belmont Stakes

2007-06-09T10:37:00.000-06:00

My picks for today's Belmont Stakes (even though I won't really be making any bets, unfortunately)...

Win - Curlin
Place - Rags to Riches
Show - CP West

It'll be interesting to see how a filly (Rags to Riches) does against the boys in a Triple Crown race.

Of course, if I were betting, I'd also do a $1 exacta box with Curlin and all the longshots (Imawildandcrazyguy, Tiago, CP West, and Slew's Tizzy). Since I'm not really betting, I'm sure this will happen. We shall see...

Professional Photographer

2007-06-07T16:29:00.001-06:00

See my professional weather photography here.

You'll notice I took it through the screen. That's because I wanted everyone to know I felt imprisoned as the wall cloud lowered.

Either that, or I was taking pictures through my closed screen door, and was ready to run into our storage closet under the stairs if that cloud started coming our way.

I'll let you decide....

Delicious, Part 5

2007-06-03T08:10:00.000-06:00

I was all set to grill some spareribs yesterday, and then it started raining. And kept raining. Then rained harder. Then rained cats & dogs (not Rudy, thankfully).

So, I went to plan B, and decided to cook them in the oven. I already had the meat trimmed and ready to go, and made some homemade BBQ sauce, so I didn't want to wait to cook these bad boys.

They turned out to be very good, despite not being able to use my new cast iron smoker box with a mix of mesquite and apple wood chips. Oh well, that'll come later.

Anyway, I cooked the ribs in the oven for about 2-2 1/2 hours, and basted them about every 10-15 minutes in the last hour with the homemade sauce. They were wrapped in foil (meat side up) for the first hour and a 1/4, then uncovered for the rest of the time.

The sauce gave the ribs great flavor, and the meat fell off the bones. They were delicious.

Now if they just would've had a little smokey flavor....damn the rain!

BACK UP THE TRUCK!

2007-06-02T08:22:00.000-06:00

Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett got in a fight in the Cubs' dugout yesterday.

After 25+ years as a fan of the Cubs, I am ready to turn into Randy Quaid's character from Major League II. I am going to turn my hat inside out, put tape across the Cubs logo on my shirt, start heckling the players, and be pessimistic about everything.

I mean, seriously. This is pretty ridiculous. All offseason I listened to delusional folks say that this was the Cubs year. Yeah, I've NEVER heard that one before. "They spent $300 million this offseason, and they got Lou Piniella!", people would say. My response to all of them was, "Yeah, and who's going to pitch? You still have to have guys who can, you know, get guys out."

Never did I think that Carlos Zambrano, a legitimate Cy Young contender the past few seasons, would fit into the category. The guy had won 59 games over the past 4 seasons, struck out 768 guys over that same time span, and pitched 861.0 innings. On top of that, the guy is entering his CONTRACT YEAR, WHERE HE COULD EARN MILLIONS BY, YOU KNOW, PITCHING WELL! (sorry, lost it just like Lou Piniella there...)

Unlike also-rans like Bret Boone and Adrian Beltre, who had MONSTER contract years, only to revert to, well, Bret Boone and Adrian Beltre after cashing in, Big Z has been a disaster this season. Much like Drew Tate, his 'fiery' attitude is great when he's winning, but it wears a little thin when he can't get guys out and is punching his cather in the dugout. I've said for years that if the guy could keep his temper in check and tone down his emotions on the field, he would win a Cy Young award. However, he just can't do it....dude's a hot head.

Don't get me started with Michael Barrett. In the past week, Barrett has been picked off second base by the opposing catcher (that takes talent!), made a bad throw that more than likely cost the Cubs a win, and played all-around stupid baseball. And that was before yesterday...

Yesterday, he couldn't even catch a fastball. Then, after missing the fastball, he threw the ball towards the left field stands (I think he was aiming for 3rd base?), which allowed another run to score. I can't say I blame Zambrano for being upset, but I don't think a fight in the dugout in front of a national audience was necessary.

Oh, and let's not forget this incident from Barrett's past...

After the debaclish fight, Lou Piniella gave the following quote in his post-game press conference: ""I only have so many players that I can play. You know? And it's about time some of them start playing like major leaguers! Or, get somebody else in here that can catch the damn ball or run the bases properly! All right? That's all I can say!"

Hmmm, I wonder who he was talking about???

My prediction: we will be referring to Michael Barrett as ex-Cubs catcher by the All-Star break, or the end of the season at the latest. Maybe before the All-Star break.

As for Big Z, I won't cry if he leaves at the end of the season. Especially if his ERA remains at it's current level - 5.62. Of course, he needs to go to the American League so he doesn't start a bean ball war with the Cubs.

Amazing

2007-05-29T14:48:00.000-06:00

In late 1998, I went to visit Mrs. Bibguy (before she was officially Mrs. Bibguy) for a weekend in Pella. We ran into some friends of hers, who mentioned that there was a great guitarist playing that night in Central Hall. "Virtuoso", they said. "I've heard that before", I thought.

So, we file in to Central Hall for the show that night, and I prepared for this "virtuoso". The guy started playing, and honestly, I've never looked at or listened to music the same since. It was a life-changing moment in my musical life, and my life in general, I guess.

"The guy" is Billy McLaughlin, and he is the best live guitarist and musician I have ever seen or heard in my life. Think of the greatest guitar player you can think of, and I will put Billy up against any of them.

The thing that makes Billy special is the fact that he plays with two-hands on the fret board, so it sounds like there are 2 guitars playing at once. Also amazing is the fact that he primarily uses an acoustic guitar, with no distortion, and only a slight chorus effect running through his sound system. A lot of good players can get away with mistakes on an electric guitar because it's hidden by the distortion and other effects. Billy is pretty much playing bare bones, and I've never heard him make any mistakes. Oh yeah, he does it all with his eyes closed the entire time. It is truly amazing.

As if the guy could be any more amazing, in 2001 he was diagnosed with Focal Dystonia, an incurable neuromuscular disorder that caused his left hand (and primary "lead" hand) to be unable to relax naturally and would also cause spasms in the hand while he was playing. Kind of like Parkinson's shakes. From all that I've read about the condition, it is typically a career-ender for a musician.

However, Billy learned to play left-handed. This may not sound too complex, but as they say on a video on his website, it's not like walking backwards down the street or driving a British automobile, it's like learning how to speak every word in reverse - phonetically. Maybe you have to be a guitar player to truly admire this feat, but it is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

I just got a copy of Billy's latest CD, which is a live recording of his comeback show, and his debut as a left-handed guitarist. I've used this word several times already, and I'm going to use it again - it is incredible. Unbelievable, and incredible.

I urge you to find some Billy McLaughlin CDs (which are very rare, and therefore, very valuable) and enjoy them. Even better, if you ever have the chance to see him live (he is from Minnesota and primarily plays around the Twin Cities), DO IT! You will not regret it.

He truly is a viruoso.

Delicious, part 4

2007-05-28T15:01:00.001-06:00

Made Roadside Chicken for myself, Mrs. Bibguy, Mrs. Bibguy's brother & sister-in-law, and our 2 nieces for lunch today.

I had to watch this very closely, as there were a lot of flare-ups since the sauce was applied every 5 minutes or so. However, I just kept a trusty water bottle near the grill, and, in the end, it was kind of fun chasing the flames!

Anyway, the chicken was delicious. I used some apple wood chips, which added a nice flavor to the meat. I would highly recommend this recipe for anyone who likes BBQ chicken.

Preakness

2007-05-18T23:41:00.001-06:00

My bets for tomorrow's Preakness Stakes:

$1 trifecta box - Street Sense, Curlin over
Xchanger, Circular Quay, King of the Roxy, Flying First Class, Hard Spun over
Street Sense, Curlin

$1 trifecta box - Street Sense, Curlin over
Street Sense, Curlin over
Xchanger, Circular Quay, King of the Roxy, Flying First Class, Hard Spun

$1 trifecta box - Xchanger, Circular Quay, King of the Roxy, Flying First Class, Hard Spun over
Street Sense, Curlin over
Street Sense, Curlin

$2 WPS - Circular Quay

...and my longshot wagers....

$1 exacta box - Mint Slewlep (31-1), Xchanger (14-1), King of the Roxy (17-1), Flying First Class (14-1), C P West (17-1)

$4 show - Xchanger

If the last of my trifecta bets comes in, or if my longshot exacta box somehow happens, I will make some pretty serious jack.

If my first two trifecta boxes comes in, I'll do ok.

If none of my bets come in, I'll be out $60.

We'll find out tomorrow...

Go Cubs Go

2007-05-18T15:40:00.000-06:00

Why did Angel Pagan start the season with the Iowa Cubs again?

I mean, all he's done since being called up is bat .455, hit 2 homers, and drive in 5 runs in 8 games.

Not to mention the fact he brings a switch hitting bat, speed, pretty good defense, and energy to the diamond, and it's even a little more puzzling.

For years the Cubs have played washed-up, over-paid, mediocre veterans over young, promising, talented prospects.

Granted, I am not in the clubhouse everyday. I'm sure the veterans bring some great leadership, but everyone can clearly see where the veterans' leadership has got the Cubs in the past, ohhh, 100 years or so.

Watching youngsters like Pagan, Matt Murton, Felix Pie, Ryan Theriot, and Rich Hill makes me think that the Cubs might just have a decent future. Mix those guys with established stars like Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramas Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano, and Ryan Dempster (ROTFLMAO! RYAN DEMPSTER A STAR! Sorry, I couldn't resist), and it gets me a little more excited.

However, the Cubs will continue to play Jacque Jones, Cliff Floyd, Cesar Izturis, Wade Miller, Candy Maldonado, Eric Yelding, Augie Ojeda, Lenny Harris, Jose Macias, Neifi Perez, Paul Bako, Joe Kmak, Troy O'Leary, Earl Cunningham, Ty Griffin, Bobby Hill, Kelly Mann, Brooks Kieschnick, Kal Daniels, Doug Jones, Dave Smith, Danny Jackson, Delino DeShields, Darren Lewis, Lance Dickson, Mark Prior, Kerry Wood (who would've ever thought those 2 would end up on this list?), Jessie Hollins, Todd Van Poppel (remember when his rookie cards were collector's items?), Julio Zuleta, Matt Stairs, Mike Brumley, Paul Noce, Rolando Roomes, Brant Brown, and Jeff Pico. Oh, and Hector Villanueva, too.

Can't forget big Hector!

Delicious, Part 3

2007-05-17T13:39:00.000-06:00

This just in....the Bibguy grilled again last night!

That's right....despite challenging 30 mph wind gusts, I fired up the ole' grill and decided to throw a pizza on the Zagrill.

I threw some mesquite wood chips below the pizza rack, and man, it was delicious!

If you enjoy Bob's Your Uncle or The Airliner-style pizza, then you'd enjoy the pizza like we had last night. The crust was nice and crisp, and had a great smokey flavor.

At one point, my neighbor came outside and said he thought he smelled fire since it was so windy. I then had to explain that what he was smelling was the sweet smell of mesquite wood chips that were adding some great flavor by the second. He was impressed that I was grilling, even though it was very windy.

What's next on the grilling agenda? Stayed tuned.

P.S. I guess at this point my blog has transitioned from a RIP page for random pseudo-celebrities to a blog for pictures of my grilled goods. COMPELLING, I know.... Maybe I'll mix in another version of 'Random Job Musings' at some point. We'll see...

Delicious, Part 2

2007-05-15T20:11:00.000-06:00

What are you having for dinner tonight?

After looking at the picture above, I'm guessing you're going to want some kabobs, like the ones the Bibguys had last night. They were mighty delicious!

Is there anything better than grilled pineapple and/or green peppers? The answer to that is 'yes', of course, but the grill certainly enhances the flavors of both items. Meat is pretty good, too.

P.S. Yes, I'm going through a phase where I'm taking pictures of things that I grill. So sue me! :)

Delicious!

2007-05-10T15:06:00.000-06:00

Last week, the Bibguy decided to try some Beer Butt Chickens on the grill. And boy was it a good thing he did!

One of the birds was rubbed with some mesquite seasoning, and the other was rubbed with some lemon/garlic seasoning. Of course, a can of beer was shoved up into each bird, which provided excellent moisture throughout the cooking, and the meat was not dry at all. I threw some mesquite wood chips in a pan on the grill and let them start smoking, then cooked the birds for about 2-2 1/2 hours over indirect heat. They were very tasty!

If you've never tried this, and you enjoy grilling and/or cooking outdoors - TRY IT! It's well worth it, and is not really that difficult.

VERY Disturbing

2007-05-06T17:39:00.000-06:00

Mrs. Bibguy and I were back in the 515 (i.e. the DSM) this weekend for her baby shower. Of course, during her shower, I went to the local horse track and watched/bet on the Kentucky Derby. (I had $10 on Curlin to show, and had a $2 WPS on Hard Spun, so I did okay. I also had Street Sense in an exacta box, but sadly, didn't have Hard Spun included on that ticket. Damn.)

Anyway, Mrs. Bibguy also did some pregnant modeling for her little brother's fiancee, who is an aspiring photographer. The photo shoot was free, and was for her portfolio, so she said what the heck. So, we went to get the photos taken (at Professor Bellows at Adventureland, for the record), and is...was...lovely.

What's the point of this post?, you're probably asking yourself at this point. Well here it is...

We're walking back to our cars, and walked by a little security booth, which was being manned by a couple 60-something white males. Of course, they were in their bright yellow Adventureland polos w/ ridiculous name tags, and were wearing the trademark A-land white pants. Gotta love white pants.

Mrs. Bibguy's Little Brother's Fiancee was carrying her camera, and there was a dialogue which went a little something like this....

Weird "guard": I sure coulda used that camera a few minutes ago!

...silence...we wonder if we should respond....guy was kind of weird...much like a cat, curiosity got the best of us, so we decided to talk to him....

MBLBF: Why's that?
Weird "guard": There was just two boys running around naked!

Bibguy: **eyes as wide as saucers, trying to move everyone along QUICKLY***

Weird "guard": I mean, they was STARK NAKED!

Mrs. Bibguy: How old were they?

Weird "guard": Ohhh, I suppose they was teenagers. ** followed by perverted laugh **

Bibguy: ** eyes now wider than saucers, now sprinting away **

So, I figure the guy wanted them for one of two reasons

A) To give to the police as evidence of indecent exposure
2) To upload to his computer, so he could punch his clown over and over.

If I were a betting man...oh wait, I just bet on the Derby. I'm betting it was the latter.

So, if you see some creep in a yellow A-land polo shirt with white pants eating cookies and drinking lemonade with Chris Hansen on Dateline NBC in the near future, don't be shocked.

I Couldn't Do It....

2007-05-03T21:35:00.000-06:00

I swore that I was not going to be the type of parent that talked about their kid ad nauseam, and shoved pictures in everyone's face to show how cute they are.

However, after now seeing a few ultrasounds, I have changed my mind. I will, from this moment on, be "that guy." If there's something wrong with being a proud parent and bragging about our kid, then sue me... :)

Tonight on the ultrasound (which will be a DVD in a week or so), we saw a yawn, a few smiles, and saw the baby sucking on their toes/fingers (which is a good thing, according to the tech). Uber cute! Ultrasounds are really quite amazing, especially the 4D views.

I mean, look at these images, and try not to go "Ohhh...Ahhh". I'll bet you can't do it. I couldn't, but then again, I'm kind of biased...

(look at that little nose! and those little lips!)

(that's a little foot right below baby's mouth)

What A Wonderful World

2007-05-01T16:12:00.000-06:00

In case you don't follow local news, central Iowa farmer R*dney He*mstra shot and killed fellow central Iowa farmer T*m Ly*n back in January 2003.

Not only did Rod shoot and kill Tom in the middle of a gravel road, he proceeded to tie Tom up to the back of his truck with some wire, dragged Tom's body behind his truck over a mile, threw the body in \a cistern in one of his fields, threw some hay on top of Tom to hide his body, hid the rifle he used to kill Tom, burned the clothes he was wearing at the time the shooting took place, and then proceeded to go to his son's high school basketball game later the same day that he killed a man, and acted like nothing was wrong.

Rod also gave a taped confession to police, where he was sobbing and admitted to shooting a "defenseless man".

Why did he shoot him, you ask? Well, of course, because Tom was being mean to him and "lunged" at him. This all transpired over a piece of farm land that Tom wanted that Rod swooped in and bought at the last minute. Tom also kept some of his cattle on a piece of land that Rod had purchased, and Rod turned off the water in that field so the cows could not get a drink. What a guy.

Anyway, Rod was convicted of 1st degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, and also had a $11.5 million wrongful death civil lawsuit slapped on his lap. He was sent to federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison, and was there until 2006.

In 2006, The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that H*emstra was entitled to a new trial. The decision overturned a portion of Iowa's "felony-murder rule." In Iowa, a defendant could now be found guilty of first-degree murder in one of two ways - either by committing a deliberate, willful and premeditated killing or by killing someone inadvertently while committing a forcible felony. The court ruled that "willful injury" could not be considered such a felony for the purpose of the felony-murder rule.

Based on this, Rod was granted a new trial, which was moved to Red Oak, IA (Montgomery county). Mrs. Bibguy and I were in Red Oak last June for a wedding, and let's just say it's a different world in southwest Iowa. Some REAL interesting folks down there, let me tell you.

Rod's attorney's main argument was that Tom Ly*n had a terrible temper, and Rod felt threatened. Rod has admitted that he feels no remorse for killing Tom, and has gone so far as to say that it was Tom's fault that Rod shot him in cold blood, then hooked his body up....if you want the rest again, see paragraph 2.

Yesterday, the jury came back with a verdict of......Voluntary Manslaughter. He faces up to 10 years in prison, but that will almost certainly be cut in half immediately, and with time served, he will be out of prison by 2009. It's possible that he could be out of prison by the end of 2007.

I'm extremely proud of our judicial system today. I guess that if someone yells at me when I'm meeting with them for work, I can just shoot them and say they lunged at me. I will then spend 2-3 years in prison, then get released, and I can go about my business like nothing ever happened.

My old college roommate is from the same town where this all happened. He said yesterday that the town was outraged at the slap on the wrist that Rod got. They should be outraged.

I feel bad for the Ly*n family. They've lost their husband/father, thought they had his killer put away for life after going through all the stress of one trial, and thought they were going to get some money from his killer through the civil judgment they won. Then, they have to go through another trial 3 years later, and it turns out that instead of life in prison their husband/father's killer might be out in a couple months and will be free to return to farming. Oh yeah, Rod also hasn't paid them a dime for the civil lawsuit, and never will. Apparently, he's transferred all of his land into other people's name and sold off all his farm equipment shortly after he was convicted the first time.

In conclusion, I truly believe that there is something wrong with our judicial system when this guy is going to be walking the streets again soon, while Tom is 6 feet under and his family is left to wonder why. I don't think Rod is a danger to commit another murder, but his actions after shooting Tom and his taped confession should be enough to keep him in jail for the rest of his life.

Also, I am a believer in the old 'what goes around, comes around' theory. Rod is by all appearances and accounts a terrible person, and I really believe that he'll get what's coming...one way or another, sooner or later.

I Heart Homers

2007-04-21T11:31:00.000-06:00

For some strange reason, I decided to watch a few minutes of the Chicago White Sox vs. the Detroit Tigers this afternoon. And, man alive, am I ever glad that I did!

Here's the scenario: White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras gets himself into a jam, and the Tigers have the bases loaded. Tigers shortshop Carlos Guillen steps to the plate, and Contreras throws a fastball right down the middle. Guillen swings and hits a Roy Hobbs-like, majestic, moon shot and it's apparent that it will be a long home run as soon as the ball leaves the bat. The crack of the bat resonated throughout the entire ball park. It was that beautiful.

So, how did White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson call this prodigious home run, you ask?
If you know ole' Hawk (not this guy), you can probably guess how it went. However, for those that don't know, it went a little something like this....

** CRACK OFF THE BAT, BASEBALL HEADED TO THE MOON **
...silence...crickets chirping...**RIGHT FIELDER BARELY MOVES, DETROIT CROWD GOES WILD **
...silence...more crickets...**BALL ENTERS STANDS, FANS FIGHT FOR THE BALL**
Hawk Harrelson: more silence, and then he finally speaks in a very dejected tone, and simply says, "Four-nothing."

I LOVE homer announcers. Don't get me wrong, Hawk Harrelson drives me nuts, but I love it when people are that passionate and don't even try to hide their feelings. That's probably due to the fact I grew up listening to the All-Homer radio color guy team of Ron Santo, Ed Podolak, and Bobby Hansen.

I only wish Hawk Harrelson would have been there to call some of the more famous sports moments in history. They would have gone something like this...

"Fly ball. Over the fence. Number 62.", when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' record, and while Mark was still willing to talk about the past
Instead of Al Michaels' famous "Do you believe in miracles?" after the US defeated the heavily favored Russians in hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, Hawk would have said, "Chalk one up for the GOOD GUYS! You can put it on the USA's booooooooooard....YYYYYYYYYYYYYES!"
Assuming Hawk was cheering for Joe Frazier when he fought George Foreman in 1973, he would have said, "1-0 Bad Guys" followed by crickets chirping and deafening silence after Foreman knocked Frazier to the mat, instead of Howard Cosell's frenzied and famous call of "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!"

We need more homer announcers. Not only do they get under the skin of ANYONE who doesn't cheer for the team for which they're announcing, but they produce classic sound clip after classic sound clip.

That is all.

So Long, Tyler

2007-04-20T20:39:00.000-06:00

Tyler Smith is officially leaving the University of Iowa.

Apparently, he wants to go to the University of Tennesee to play for the Volunteers and coach Bruce Pearl, who are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance.

Ironic, because Smith originally signed with Tennessee out of high school, but then asked out of his Letter of Intent when then-coach Buzz Peterson was fired. Pearl wouldn't let him out of his commitment, so **allegedly** Smith's dad told Tyler to go elsewhere. Got a little messy beween the Smith's and Pearl.

Tyler then spent a year at a prep school, and then decided to come to Iowa, primarily because of former assistant coach, Craig "Noodles" Neal, and despite the fact that his father has lung cancer. His girlfriend also gave birth to his baby after he signed with Iowa.

Fast forward a year, after Smith had a successful freshman season at Iowa which saw him make the Big Ten All-Freshman team, and 3rd team All Big-10, an impressive feat for a freshman.

After the season, Steve Alford finally and thankfully caved in to the pressure and decided to leave, and took his old buddy "Noodles" with him to New Mexico.

Now, all of a sudden, Smith has decided to leave Iowa to play closer to home, and so he can be closer to his dad. And he wants to play for a coach (Pearl) that he and his family battled with after Tyler finished high school. Seems odd to me.

Now, loyal readers, I ask you....

If Steve Alford stayed at Iowa, would Tyler be looking to be closer to his dad?

I mean, he knew that his dad was sick when he committed to Iowa. I honestly hope he's not just using his father's illness as an excuse to leave and go to a better program, but it just smells kind of fishy to me.

Apparently, Iowa released Smith from his scholarship - with a few restrictions that the Athletic Department will not reveal. I'm guessing Gary Barta said, "Sure, you can transfer....just not within the Big 10...and, oh yeah, don't even think about going to New Mexico, either, because that's not happening." If what I suspect is true, then I commend Mr. Barta.

It sounds as though Smith is going to pursue a hardship waiver for immediate eligibility due his dad's health. If he's eligible right away and ends up at Tennessee, they will be scary-good next year. Iowa, on the other hand, will be lucky to average 40 points a game next season. If the Hawks finish .500 or above, Todd Lickliter should immediately be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In the end, I wish Tyler Smith the best of luck in the future, and hopefully he can spend some quality time with his family, especially his dad and his young child. He was a great Hawkeye for a year. I wish he would have stayed longer, but the program is bigger than one player (right?!?).
In all honesty, he was probably only going to stay another year at the most, so this was inevitable - it was just a matter of when.