Cidsports!

[Verbal]

So he thinks Greg Garmon is going to score 3 TDs, the Hawks will win by 3 scores, and Carl Davis is going to record 3 sacks.

Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and, you know, disagree with every single one of those predictions.

OTOH, I think 3 could be (1) the margin of victory for Iowa, (2) the number of turnovers Iowa commits, (3) the down on which Iowa again shows an infuriating inability to stop anyone, (4) the number of sacks surrendered by Tobin, and (5) the average number of beers I consume per quarter to avoid becoming completely enraged.

You forgot the number of times Iowa will punt from the opponent's 35 yard line.

On third and three.

With 3 seconds left in the half.

 

[FrodoTBaggin]

I don't like your attitudes, gentlemen.

 

[AZmessDAWG]

I know. Makes you just so mad, huh?

 

[Jayhawki]

We shall see. 14 is a great Iowa # and Kirk's 14th season is 2012, so I hope 14 is a great season for Iowa...

WTF is he talking about? Kingsbury? I love me some CK (game worn jersey in my possession) but that doesn't seem llike cid.

14-0 season, perhaps?

 

[Whatever]

How 'bout Northern Iowa and Northern Illinois in recent season openers. In 2009 and again in 2012, with Wisconsin and Iowa! The Gazette is right: Disaster Averted! What was the headline, after Iowa's season opener in 2009.

Here and now: Iowa 18, Northern Illinois 17; #11 Wisconsin 26, UNI 21
In 2009, the opponents were flipped: #22 Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16; Wisconsin 28, Northern Illinois 20

Iowa won both games in Chicago in 2007, the last time we played NIU in Soldier and Northwestern in Evanston back when Jake C. was at QB.

The goal this season for Iowa is to play Wisconsin or the Leaders champ. Iowa beat Bret Bielema in 2009 by the score 20-10 in Madison. Iowa finished strong in 2009, despite near miss to UNI, while Wisconsin went 10-3 in 2009, with loss to Iowa likely costing them a BCS bowl.

8-4 will not likely cut it. I actually saw a preseason prediction of Iowa and all teams with Iowa finishing 8-4 with losses to NIU, @ MSU, @ NW and @ Michigan. Iowa is supposed to beat Nebrantska, who was projected to lose their opener like Iowa.

RB Damon Bullock may be the top RB ISU and Iowa opponents face in the OOC. He was certainly better than anyone on the field at Soldier and may be better than anyone who played on the field on Jack Trice.

Iowa and Iowa State are likely not ready for prime time players as they meet in the Cy-Hawk game this Saturday at Kinnick. Not sure we should place Illinois or Purdue there either for simply beating Western Michigan and Eastern Kentucky. None of them are Top 25 yet. Iowa State, Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin all hit the road this week. We get ISU; while Arizona State, Notre Dame and Oregon State, respectfully host the other Big Ten teams. We will likely see Wisconsin advancing to 2-0 and with either Iowa or ISU (first win since 2002)?

Iowa will make or break this September. I agree with Kirk Ferentz that Iowa should be good football team in 2012 and favorable schedule should help in the development. First hurdle is down and next one beat Iowa in 3ot last year 42-45.

Game On will be my motto for the Iowa Football as we live in Wayne's World today. RNC from Tampa is done, up this week is the DNC in Charlotte and the kick off of NFL '12.

On Iowa!

 

[castichawk24]

Great post.

 

[Shawneemicks]

It makes me dizzy reading that.

 

[AZmessDAWG]

wow

 

[Nigeria]

That's amazing.

 

[YugoslavianMountainHound]

OMG, you can't make this up.

There was a post on how QB recruit Nik Shimonek did:

"Went 23-35 with two TDs and two picks and 254 yards. Also had 67 yards rushing and a TD on 13 attempts. His team was crushed though 70-22."


Cid replies:

"He won't play immediately. Chuck Long's high school team ran wishbone right?"

 

[Gushawk]

I suspect this kid isn't the future at QB.

 

[MikeyJoe]

I suspect this kid isn't the future at QB.

Shimonek is clearly the shitty "we need a QB in every class" guy.

We're not USC. Tough to bring in a decent QB every year. Hopefully Beatherd (sp?) is okay.

 

[Gushawk]

The kid from my home town who just committed to KSU better not turn out better than this Greg Davis contribution to Iowa recruiting.

 

[Hawk4Life94]

The kid from my home town who just committed to KSU better not turn out better than this Greg Davis contribution to Iowa recruiting.

The MePo kid is a stud.

Better than Vandy out of HS in my opinion....

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I still think he would take a late iowa offer

 

[douglasbader]

Chopsy!!!!!!

My thoughts over the last few days - EXTREMELY LONG Reply
I have been trying to sit and organize my thoughts all week.




I have been reading all week about how IOWA isn't playing the "best players" and that the talent is terrible, and we don't have D1 athletes on the field, and Nico Law is Ronnie Lott part 2, and Percy Harvin is sitting on the bench in the form of Tevaun Smith and Flemming.


Let me say this, I was SO MAD SATURDAY! It was the worst possible way to end one of the worst weeks of my life. I love coaching football, and I love the game more than a 30 year old man probably should. I love IOWA far more than a 30 year old man should. But professionally I am in sales.


I used to work for one of the best sales forces in the country and have recently purchased my own business. And I liken what is happening to Iowa football right now, to what happened to a lot of sales organizations, when the economy started to take a dive. I am considering a few mediocre recruiting classes and massive amounts of attrition in Iowa's football program to be equal to the economic downturn.


I am no economist, and don't want this to become an economy discussion, but strategically in my sales position at my previous company we had to change how we approached things in order to sustain. There are short term and long term objectives that had to be met.


The product I used to sell was a highly advanced and sophisticated product that a majority of the consumers respected. But when funding went away, my company had to adjust marketing and pricing strategy. We had to meet short term goals. We had to sell at a volume that kept our production resources moving in the necessary fashion in order to keep jobs. One way we did that was to select markets that were already developmental and less profitable markets and discount more heavily, while keeping areas that had historically larger profit margin's we kept the profitability high and were concerned less with volume. All the while maintaining a heavy investment in Research in Development, as those products give a company long term sustainability, but at this time make no sense to actively market and sell because the cost to make them is far more than the ability to make a profit, these R and D expenses hurt short term, but pay off long term.


Iowa football is currently in this adjustment period of strategy. We had/have a catastrophic need for volume at the Running Back position. It is for this reason that Hill (prior to injury), Garmon, and Malloy are seeing the field this year. Iowa accepted a lack of profitability/productivity for the need of developing volume at the RB. While the Return on carries this season may be low for these freshman backs, it is necessary for short term sustainability that they see action, on special teams, and in the offense.


Now to the receiver side, Iowa doesn't have great receivers, KD and KMM have shown to be "profitable" players dating back to last year. Mind you KMM is just a sophomore. They aren't great, but they are stable proven commodities, and CJ is perhaps has the most Return on Investment potential as any player. We are deep at the TE position. Shumpert has shown he can get open, but he has to catch the ball cleanly, his success will open up a lot of aspects as I feel he is our only true deep threat at this time.


What I am trying to say here, is we can "make money" off of the receiver position if they start "closing" sales and catching the ball. To unleash Tevaun Smith and Flemming into the marketplace now, would be rolling out products that while are Developed and customer ready, aren't at a place where we can manufacture them at a price that would allow us to make money. By sitting those guys, is making an investment in the future at a position that current players in those roles SHOULD be adequate to have a 7+ win season.


Before people get on my a** about being happy with a 7 win season, I am not. It's not good; maybe it is what this current team is capable of.


Kirk has build a sustainable model, and his choices to redshirt offensive players, I believe, is intended to allow for the program to get maximum output from some young skill players at the receiver position.


As for Nico, we have no evidence to prove he's better. I have spent the better part of the last 7 years of my life focusing on defensive back play. It's a position I have coached, and never played. I have talked to Phil Parker for hours about fundamentals and philosophies. I've been fortunate to talk to Mark Stoops about his philosophies as well, and many other coaches on the topic. Tommy D hasn't played poorly at all, he's not a freak athletically, but let's be honest. Nico is a great athlete, you can see it, and he's a thunder stick. He boosted his internet superhero status majorly by de-helmeting someone at an open practice, but there is no corroborating evidence to support that he is a better player on September 13th, 2012 than Tom Donnatell. Do we all forget how GREAT #13 was on special teams last year? And coming in the Dime package? #13 is underrated and undervalued, which in my opinion could be the Wikipedia Definition on a University of Iowa Safety.


Do NOT misinterpret me. #21 is going to be dynamic player, and the best thing he can do to help that, is to make a few more plays on special teams. Create a turnover on a Kickoff, or a punt. And he HAS to be ready, as he is one play away. Safeties get hurt a lot; you have to be 2 or 3 deep at that position.





In closing, I feel this COULD be the philosophy here. I hope I made sense. I just hope we win Saturday in an impressive fashion so some of the folks on here can take a deep breath and maybe climb out of their bomb shelters. Iowa isn't a I am a giant douche championship caliber team this year, and that sucks. But no sense in letting that destroy the next 3 months. I know the guys running onto that field on Saturday will be playing until the final horn. I hope the fans take the same opportunity to cheer until they hear the final gun.


That last part was catchy, someone should write that in a song

 

[douglasbader]

Lol at Chopsy. Not only does he massively inflate his past athletic history, he has taken to MASSIVELY inflating his work history as well.

Get a grip on your boy, AZmess.

 

[bigazzturkeylegs]

I know the guys running onto that field on Saturday will be playing until the final horn. I hope the fans take the same opportunity to cheer until they hear the final gun.

Bring it in!

 

[Hawk4Life94]

Hey guys, Chopsy has spoken to Phil Parker....at length.

 

[Jimmie Dimmick]

hopefully someone told him to stfu

 

[Lime]

that might be the worst merging of coachspeak and businessspeak buzzwords in the history of mankind.

 

[Kerky]

hopefully someone told him to stfu

Exactly. It would have been perfect for the 1st response after his post was Just STFU already

 

[AZmessDAWG]

Lol at Chopsy. Not only does he massively inflate his past athletic history, he has taken to MASSIVELY inflating his work history as well.

Get a grip on your boy, AZmess.

I abstain from commenting.

 

[Gushawk]

Now that's how you ramble, motherfuckers. I'd hate to see the tour de force he'd have unleashed if he hadn't spent all week collecting his thoughts.

 

[AZmessDAWG]

.

No, as one poster so eloquently put it earlier this week.....they are there to entertain us!


If Ferentz and his staff aren't performing then we fans have the right to raise hell. If a player is under-performing, then criticism is necessary because obviously it's not being heard from the coaches.

We pay the money we work hard for in order to watch them win games and win games well. Not to look consistently mistake-prone, bland, and unimaginative. That money feeds the machine. Without it, they wouldn't have a program. We could just stop going to games and Iowa football would cease or at least make a change until we did have a winning program that we could be proud of once more. We deserve it as fans. They are our entertainment. That's why they play the game.

Or so says the poster who's thoughts I paraphrased....

The players shouldn't be worrying about what we have to say anyways. Otherwise they're clearly not focusing on the game. But of course perhaps it's necessary since the coaches do such a poor job of motivating our players to perform each week. Our criticisms are fair and free speech. They don't like it then they shouldn't be playing football. It's a game they play for our entertainment after all.

We can also criticize the coaching staff because they're paid employees. We must associate them with everyday workplace individuals because working at Wells Fargo is exactly the same as coaching football. Same concepts. You don't do your job, you should get punished or fired. Ultimately, any players that under-perform is a direct result of poor coaching...except for the quarterback and any player that makes enough glaring mistakes that he is deemed beyond saving (example Greg Castillo). No coach good or bad can save them. If the quarterback looks bad to us then he needs to be sat so we can see if the backup can do any better. And if the coaches refuse to do that then they need to be held accountable, so in that sense we actually do hold both player and coach accountable for their actions or lack thereof....even though I want to reiterate that ultimately the blame falls on the coaches for not getting the most out of our players, particularly the QB....particularly the starting QB.

And as for Ferentz's salary, it's not that we care what he makes, but we do. He gets paid $3.875 million because the fans want to see Iowa win 9-10+ games more often and results aren't coming. However, we'd still be upset with him even if he wasn't getting paid that much, because his coaching flaws would still be inherent, so what he makes doesn't really matter....although it does matter because he's getting paid NOT to make those mistakes....but it doesn't matter what he gets paid because we don't contribute to his salary, although it a roundabout way it does because if we don't show up and support the program to help raise expectations then he doesn't get paid that much, although that was the A.D. and ultimately the school president's decision to sign off on it, so really there's no point to complain about the salary, but there is....you get what I'm saying?

So when James makes a quip about the fans and the media writing them off, he should consider why he's playing the game.....for our entertainment. And there is a lot riding on it, so they better be doing their best week in and week out to get it right, and when they don't, then we earn the right to complain as fans who pay for said entertainment.


Deal with it.

 

[Monster]

Good grief. People are fucking stupid.

 

[Whatever]

Dallas Clark...Mark Weisman

They play different positons, but I was talking to a vendor today and we had to pause and talk a little Hawkeye football. The players that reminds me most of Mark Weisman, thought they play different positions is Dallas Clark.

The passion, the walk-on status and the love of the game that may or may not be the same, but clearly both Clark and Weisman at Iowa, have brought their lunch bails and made plays.

I hope Iowa makes a run the next 3 years, with Weisman and his teammates. The run with Clark and his teammates was a very nice one.

 

[howler]

Dallas Clark...Mark Weisman

They play different positons, but I was talking to a vendor today and we had to pause and talk a little Hawkeye football. The players that reminds me most of Mark Weisman, thought they play different positions is Dallas Clark.

The passion, the walk-on status and the love of the game that may or may not be the same, but clearly both Clark and Weisman at Iowa, have brought their lunch bails and made plays.

I hope Iowa makes a run the next 3 years, with Weisman and his teammates. The run with Clark and his teammates was a very nice one.

Some of CID's stuff can be ok; this isn't one of them.

 

[Revolver]

Dallas Clark...Mark Weisman

They play different positons, but I was talking to a vendor today and we had to pause and talk a little Hawkeye football. The players that reminds me most of Mark Weisman, thought they play different positions is Dallas Clark.

The passion, the walk-on status and the love of the game that may or may not be the same, but clearly both Clark and Weisman at Iowa, have brought their lunch bails and made plays.

I hope Iowa makes a run the next 3 years, with Weisman and his teammates. The run with Clark and his teammates was a very nice one.

Some of CID's stuff can be ok; this isn't one of them.

I'll bet you all the contents in your "lunch bail" you can't show me one of his "ok" posts.

 

[Monster]

Dallas Clark...Mark Weisman

They play different positons, but I was talking to a vendor today and we had to pause and talk a little Hawkeye football. The players that reminds me most of Mark Weisman, thought they play different positions is Dallas Clark.

The passion, the walk-on status and the love of the game that may or may not be the same, but clearly both Clark and Weisman at Iowa, have brought their lunch bails and made plays.

I hope Iowa makes a run the next 3 years, with Weisman and his teammates. The run with Clark and his teammates was a very nice one.

Some of CID's stuff can be ok; this isn't one of them.

OK?

 

[Southsidehawk]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

 

[Hawk4Life94]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

AZ and L Wade's love child.

 

[bigazzturkeylegs]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

He's the other guy in this picture with Monster and Mr. Hawk.

 

[Hawk4Life94]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

He's the other guy in this picture with Monster and Mr. Hawk.

It saddens me that those went out of style.

 

[douglasbader]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

AZmess' cousin.

 

[AZmessDAWG]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

AZmess' cousin.

Someone please ban doug. Posting personal information is fucking bullshit.

 

[Hawk4Life94]

Who is this Chopsy that everyone speaks of?

AZ and L Wade's love child.

I apologize for revealing this personal info AZ.

The world probably didn't know you two were lovers.

 

[howler]

On Garmon:

Needs to follow wrestling and get lower at the correct times, like a soccer player would at certain points on the field. He is young and likely #2 moving forward.

 

[Gushawk]

If only he was good at soccer and wrestling, he'd be good at football too

 

[douglasbader]

the_hermanator

HR All-American
Post #2017
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My favorite part of the game Saturday was..... Reply
watching our guys jump up and down on the sideline before OT. I couldn't believe my eyes!!!! When was the last time we had players like that having fun? And one of them was Ray Hamilton. It was almost like Ray felt he could make a mistake and still have fun. That is a big change from what I have seen from players over the last few years. It was almost as if Ray didn't feel he was in the doghouse, but was forgiven and wanted to make another play.

This was all throughout the game. I loved it when on kickoff coverage, the defense would take the field and be slapping the hell out of the guys who just covered the kick and stopped them. It was like guys were feeding off each other and fired up to play. The support of each other was amazing compared to what we have seen the last couple of years.

We seemed to play that game with so much more enthusiasm and joy as a whole. Nobody seemed to be 100% business with no smiles. Guys seemed to be serious, but still having fun.

I said it the other day, but will say it again. That was the most fun I had watching an Iowa Football game in a long, long time. Guys were having fun out on the field.

 

[YugoslavianMountainHound]

Since this is sort of an omnibus for stupid stuff posted at TOS today's posting of the summary of KF press conference had two jaw dropping moments.

Two bullets in the original post:
1. "Asked if Weisman playing will be a medical decision or a coaching decision, Ferentz said he's cleared to play, it's just a matter of how effective he can be."
2. "Asked about what happened to Damon Bullock last week Ferentz said ..."

Post A: "FWIW - John Miller tweeting that Weisman has been cleared to play."
Post B: "How come no one has asked Kirk about Bullock?"

Total thread is less than 10 posts.

 

[HiawathaHawk]

Not cid but incredible. This was in response to a thread about Fran's son possibly going to CR Xavier for high school.

Note to Iowalaker. There is NOT a institutional bond between Catholic HS and elementary schools for the most part. Most students who attend Catholic grade schools are enrolled in parochial schools, while the majority of Catholic HS are operated by religious orders like the Jesuits, Benedictines, etc--hence the obvious link of a school named Xavier.

Iowa City-Coralville-North Liberty (spread over the Iowa City and Clear-Creek Amana school districts) share four Catholic parishes (St Mary's, St Patrick's, Thomas More, St Wenceslaus). and originally St Mary's (German) and St Patricks (Irish) had their own K-12 parochial parish schools with a bitter athletic rivalry at times ( St Wenceslaus was/still is a largely Czech parish and children from the parish did--and still do--attend Iowa City public schools). In the late 1950s the Davenport Diocese forced the closing of both parish schools in a very unpopular move, one strongly resisted by German & Czech Catholics locally who correctly understood the diocesen intervention as nothing more that a brutal and transparent move by the very Irish hierarchy to force other Catholics to pay the costs of a newer, larger, upscaled Irish parochial school (and calling it Regina didn't fool anybody). When Regina opened the Irish kids from St Patricks made the move to Regina, and the German Catholic kids initially enrolled largely in Iowa City public schools--and University High in few numbers, and while the tension & hostirlity eased with time & now parishioners at St Marys & Thomas Moore now largely send their kids to an expanded Regina campus, the immediate impact was to cause the Iowa City School board to expand enrollment & crowd the brand new NE Junior High, begin construction of new public elementary schools, and especially (further pushed by the U's decison to close U High) to plan the new major public West High.

The Dubuque diocese tried pretty much the same tactic with Catholic HS students in CR, creating the new Regis HS in the same era. But the growth of Marion & CR itself to the NW along with continued lack of strong support for Regis among the predominent Czech population, as well as the strong academic reputation of public HS like Washington serving the area of growth, created the opportunity and interest of the Jesuits in bringing a highly-demanding prestigious HS in the Catholic newcomer Xavier.

So as an Order-operated Catholic secondary school, Xavier has NO direct institutional relationship to any of the Catholic primary schools inCR, Marion, or for the matter, Iowa Ctiy of anywhere in Eastern Iowa within what parents consider a reasonable commuting distance (getting public school busing from other school districts is not going to happen).

Iowa is also somewhat unusual (though not unique) in that Catholic schools participate in state public high school competitions--so theorectically, the Iowa State High School Athletic Association (or, more importantly at a higher level the Iowa State Department of Public Instruction) could hinder the McCaffrey family plans (apparently to have Mom drive twice-a-day the 60 mile round trip to Xavier). But any ISHSA action would apply to many other, most much smaller Catholic schools around the state, and even the dulles-minded bureaucrats don't want to open that can or worms.

My guess is that if the McCaffrey boys are good enough to start & star for West High, the little wife probably can look forward comfortably to sleeping in late school mornings while the family saves alot of $5 a gallon gas purches.

FOOTNOTE: The summary above of the impact of the Catholic hierarchy to move parochial schools to a distance three miles from IC Downtown, coupled with moronic decisions of the IC School Board. thelong-standing cretinism of the IC City Council and the inept administrators it consistently hires, GO A VERY, VERY LONG WAY TO EXPLAINING THE COSTLY STUPIDITY OF THE LOCAL RULING ELITE (I.E. DEVELOPERS, REALTORS, MULTI-GENERATION LOCAL BUSINESS FAMILES) IN THEIR PERSISTENT EFFORTS TO TURN THE U OF IOWA DOGTOWN BACK INTO A "DOWNTOWN".

I first moved to Iowa City as a Hawkeye freshman 65 years ago I about 5 or 6 years younger than other U of Iowa students, on a campus that had expanded from about 4000 students pre-war toover 12,000 (3/4 of them WW2 veterans on the GI Bill)
Otherwise Iowa City with a population slightly over 25,000 non-students was a decling rail & industrial town, peopled by blue-collar Catholic Democrats, with average income below the state mean (in sharp contrast to today's undergrads from Naperville & other upscale suburbs & neighborshoods, the average income of famillies of U of Iowa students was ALSO BELOW the mean--which normally would have created a vast gult between the Greeks & the Dorms, except that the U provided much more lavish facilities--even maid service--than the frats were you had to fix your own breakfast & lunch, and share the janitorial/maintenance work..so it was no more expensive to live the Greek party life.

THAT Iowa City, WW2 to the Korean War (and the draft) had a prosperous and busy Down Town, with 5 movie theatres, bowling alley, five major department stores (Wards, Sears, Penneys, Younkers, Armstrongs), a half-dozen thriving retail book stores, Western Auto, three hardware stores, three drug stores, two big soda fountains plus a couple of ice cream stores,
four men's clothiers, five women's shops, four family shoe stores, two womens shoe shores, a kid's store, two appliance stores, two auto shops, a daily newsaper, telephone company, post office, four hotels, bus depot, and two big records stores. ALL OF THEM NO GONE...except one upscale women's shoe store hanging on

And it is NOT TRUE that this transpired because of the awful influx of bars, alcohol & the students who pastronize them and drink the beverages. Yes, there is a VAST CHANGE in the kind of places with liquor licenses since then---mostly because there WERE NO liquor licenses then, only a license to sell cold piss (.932 beer) until midnte. Iowa's great governor, former Hawkeye football player & over-the-road truck driver..but most a drunk--Harold Hughes brought a reluctant Iowa into the 20th Century when it was 60% over. Out went the socialistic state liquor stores & an end to monooly of wine and premium beers; in came liquor-by-the drink- Sunday hours, 2 AM closings, AND MOST OF ALL, the urbane quality bistros, restuaraunts, clubs, live entertainment establishments, fine ethnic foods, quality bakeries, and the high quality of life that is only possible when restaurants, taverns, clubs have the essential liquor license that allows them to operate profitably.

There was no dearth of bars & large clubs in the Downtown Iowa City of that era: indeed, the ratio of bar capacity to the number of U of Iowa students then was higher than it is now---or at any time in the interm. Many are still around--the Airliner, the Hawk's Nest (different name), Mike's (different site new name), Donnellys (smaller now), Joes, George's Buffer, etc...and the mammoth bars & clubs are long gone: like Don's Central Tap (now a 2nd hand book store) with its three floors of a quarter block building, with a fire marshal's capacity of over a thousand; the Amvets (open to all students, best live music venue between Chicago & Kansas City, with room enough for 500 or 500 to drink & dance), and the Mayflower Club (private club, not a U dorm then) with name bands every weekend--just like the Main Ballroom of the Student Union with major dances every Friday & Saturday--Les Brown, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Harry James, JATP, Ella....}. And the best thing about the Mayflower, the Union, the Amvets was that while they didn't sell alcohol they sold cheap setups, and you mixed from your own flasks at a great savings (the one positive thing about the Republican's socialist liquor monopoly is that
they apparently felt it morally necessary to sell the booze at wholesaler's prices).

LAST, CRITICAL NOTE: In all this reverie I've saved for last mention and emphasis the ONE MOST IMPERATIVE CRITICALLY ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE.

CHILDREN. Downtown Iowa City circa 1950 was over-run with kids, kids everywhere, kids pouring out of the nine schools within quick walk to the soda fountains, movies, ice cream stores, etc and an easy after-school pickup by parents who had no trouble finally a place to park the car IF they drove instead of walked--and since parking was free in the days before meters and hideous parking ramps that now occupy the space where the stores once were no reason to drive or take the trolley to shop in Cedar Rapids.

But it wasn't just moving the schools & the children who attend them three miles from down towm. The Iowa City Council had to make the disaster far worse: in the 1960s the greedy morons who have run this city since the Great Depression grabbed the federal funding available from LBJ's Great Society. Elsewhere it was Urban Renewal; in Iowa City it Student Removal--getting rid of as many of the college kids who lived above storefronts downtown as possible--but also using that money & local taxes & tax gimmicks to destroy what historicall had been the heart of Irish Iowa City: the entire area from Dubuque Street east to Governor, and South of Burlington Stree to the old railway yards. Took down whole blocks in some cases, but many even in the more eastern areas. And truly significant is that these were almost large family homes--four, five or more bedrooms (many of them renting rooms to students, thus thousands more students were displaced...to find homes in other neighborhoods closer to campus, UNTIL the Great Scam of the Greed Crowd is realized in the building of dozens of multi-nonrelated units in warehouse-type apartment buildings.

None of this has mattered to the school board, the city council, the administrative hacks. At this very moment, the Ruling Elite here is planning to bus poor * minority children FIVE miles to a school they built when there weren't even a dozen houses within walking distance. And the "liberal" electorate of Iowa City continues to put & keep the Greed Crowd in power, and passively alllows this kind of racism and socio-economic class dicrimination to go unchecked.

And doubt what would be done instantaneously if the people on Summit Avenue & its counterparts had to watch their kids bused five miles? or had to spend grocery money to get to the kid's school in an emergency, or had to sell the second car to pay taxi fare so the kids could take part in after school extra-cirricular sports, music, activities'

Beyond the most fertile imagination is the response of this Ruling Elite if they were ever required to walk ten miles in order to see one of the kids act in a school play?

This is where we are, amd where we will stay of necessity for years to come--for many long years before there will be demographics and the markets necessary before a Downtown Iowa City" to make it feasible for department stores, etc to survive. It won't happen--it CAN'T happen--until Mark Moen's dream of an urbane, upscale, gay-friendly, literate & intellectually oriented academic-professional--technicians adult residencia base lives in Moen's costly highrises (and even that may not develop as rich Chicago bankers send thei5 kids from Hinsdale, Naperville, New Trier to an upscaling U of Iowa in even greater numbers--and buy or lease Moen's pricey combos for a place for the princess daughter to live for four or five years while she is a student...who like most students will still probably be spending her money in the same kind of Dogtown bars, clubs, restaurants as her counterparts patronage now.

Which leaves after all this with the question that the Trendy Upscale neighborhoods of Lincoln Park, etc in Chicago are still trying to answer:

Once there are toddlers outgrowing the strollers, will these affluent condo-livers remain--or will they move to a house with a lawn and a neighborhood park where mom doesn't have to come along with her concealed automatic weapon

ITS ABOUT CHILDREN. KIDS.

 

[YugoslavianMountainHound]

Stunning work today:

Minnesota 1960s and earlier was Nebrantska at a high level for Football. Nebrantska benefited greatly from Iowa's decline in the 1950s, as well from the decline of schools like Minnesota.

Minnesota is a sleeping giant, but it also is simply an odd state.

The North Stars and even earlier the Lakers all game from Minnesota, so can they ever completely wake up and get the momentum they once enjoyed?

Minnesota has some good sports stories over the years. The play of Tony Dungy is one of my fond memories of the Gophers in the 1970s.

 

[HiawathaHawk]

Wow

 

[L. Wade Childress]

stream of consciousness

 

[douglasbader]

2013-14 is going to be an interesting fourth season for Fran McCaffery & Company?

1) Roy D Marble needs to step up as a senior, hopefully can pull it altogether all season long, unlike his junior season.

2) Is Aaron White going to be Iowa's #2 guy as a junior? Will he develop the mid-range to 3 point shot consistently that Iowa and White need?

Iowa loses Eric May for 2013-14, like Matt Gatens the year before and J Cole the year before that. It will be interesting to see who steps up in leadership in 2013-14.

Who will make a bigger impact next season, as a newcomer for Fran?

Jarrod Uthoff or Peter Jok?

Uthoff hasn't played, since 2010-11 season, as a high school senior. How long will it take to get the rust off and adjust to the college game?

As Kirk Speraw says about Jok, "he's got to make the transition as everybody does from high school to the collegiate level, not only the Division l level but to the Big Ten level. That will be an adjustment for him, and it will take some time."

How much time will Uthoff and Jok need?

Of course sophomores Adam Woodbury and Mike Gesell will be a year older and hopefully a year stronger? A senior, junior, three sohomores and freshman to raise a lot of excitement for Iowa Basketball in 2013-14.

But, Fran will have a complete roster and more and more of his own players will be in key roles for Iowa.

Seniors Mel Basabe and Zach McCabe will hopefully step up like J. Cole, Gatens and May did as seniors under McCaffery & staff.

Juniors Gabe Olesani and Josh Ogelsby should hopefully be more complete players after two seasons in the system. They have great potential to play key roles for McCaffery & Company.

Iowa has a redshirt freshman in the post, Pat Ingram may be back and D. Stokes should get some minutes in mop up.

This should be Fran's best team though still projected #6 behind Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin in the Big Ten pecking order.

And, football will hopefully provide for some good weekends for Iowa Basketball for recruiting visits.

On Iowa!

 

[CamelTones]

He wrote a lot and didnt say anything that isn't obvious about the basketball team.

 

[Jimmie Dimmick]

I think Iowa has the tools to finish 4th.

Basabe, Marble and Mcabe will be stronger than any Sr trio as Iowa has ever had.

Gesell and Woody have the potential to be the best soph combo Iowa had ever had.

Its a good time to be a Hawkeye.

 

[roseboundhawk]

^I'll have what he's having

 

[douglasbader]

I think Iowa has the tools to finish 4th.

Basabe, Marble and Mcabe will be stronger than any Sr trio as Iowa has ever had.

Gesell and Woody have the potential to be the best soph combo Iowa had ever had.

Its a good time to be a Hawkeye.

I hope Cid wrote this and not Jimmie so I don't have to remind him of Roy Marble, B.J. Armstrong, and Ed Horton.