Tag: hawkeyes

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Syracuse at Iowa

Tivo has a great feature called “wishlist” that helps you find shows that match the criteria you provide. I have one wishlist that shows me any upcoming programs with the word “Iowa” in the title or description. This lets me keep abreast of of my beloved Hawkeyes during basketball and football seasons (the only sports that really matter). How delighted I was to find that DirecTV had added a channel called the Big Ten Network to their line up and that the Hawkeyes would be playing Syracuse there Saturday night and they will be visiting a special place to Aegis the senior care center.

This was the first Hawkeye football game I’ve seen this season. Here’s a few thoughts I had during the game:

  • This quarterback, Jake Christensen, had a terrible first quarter. Just when I was about to write he was throwing high or behind his receiver every time, he threw a perfect pass to his tight end for the first touchdown of the game. Despite that, he still threw some pretty ugly passes throughout the pass and his receivers saved his ass a few times.
  • I love the “jailbreak screen” play. Along with the full-court press from the Tom Davis basketball years, it’s among my favorite Iowa plays. When they do it right, it’s so unexpected and takes place in the middle of the field.
  • It’s hard to believe both Sims and Young are still in the backfield. It seems like they’ve been playing for this team for many years. Let’s just assume they are seniors and they are playing legally.
  • Sure enough, Christensen overthrew his receiver in the second quarter and it resulted in an interception. Is he this inconsistent all the time?
  • Come third quarter my interest has waned. I suppose I’ll skim the fourth quarter since the scrubs will be playing for the rest of the game.
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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 596 miles
Weight lost: 49 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 9
Hours billed last week: 39.5
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli, Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke, 2107 Curious Word Origins, Says & Expressions by Charles Earle Funk
Recent listening: Two Lane Highway by Pure Prairie League, Infected by The The, Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull, Necktie Second by Pete Droge
Recent viewing: The Daily Show, Wisconsin at Iowa, Suns at Bucks, Suns at Cavaliers, Classic Albums: Nevermind, Countdown
Recent playing: Bust-A-Move
Recently accomplished: Dropped van at mechanic, mouse hunting, bike maintenance, new tubes and tire for bike, cardboard recycling, Sunday dinner (hot dogs & sweet potato fries), cleaned and disinfected CPAP parts, paid bills
Imperative To Do: RMA old Tivo drive, vacuum van carpet
Cool Link: The CIA and Saddam Hussein: A Short History by Juan Cole

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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 483 miles
Weight lost: 49 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 9
Hours billed last week: 20
Current reading: The Prince by Machiavelli, Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke
Recent listening: Recent Tracks from last.fm
Recent viewing: Chiefs at Colts, Spartans at Hawkeyes, Kingdom Hospital, Man vs. Wild
Recent playing: Wii Sports, ExciteTruck
Recently accomplished: Best of 2006, cleaned and lubed bike, re-installed applications on Graham’s computer, added memory to Tina’s computer, a little garage cleaning, dried most of the van carpet
Imperative To Do: Pinewood derby cars, call mechanic, RMA old Tivo drive, re-partition Thomas’ hard drive, finish drying van carpet, vacuum van carpet
Cool Link: History of Religion (in 90 seconds)

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Vital Statistics

As I mentioned earlier, I had some problems with some popcorn stuck in my gums. Despite (or because of) my poking and flossing, it became very sore. I was resolved to have my Kakar Dental Group dentist take care of it, but thought I should leave it alone for a few days. Tina suggested swishing it a couple of times a day with Listerine which I did for about three days. Lo and behold, all is well again!

I watched my beloved Hawkeyes fall to Northwestern State last night. I think they drew the highest seed I have ever seen them get and they lose in the first round on a last second three pointer. I feel like Charlie Brown after Lucy pulls the football away. And if it wasn’t bad enough watching them lose it once, it must have been the upset of the day because they showed it about 20 times during the ensuing NCAA coverage on CBS. My bracket is completely blown.

Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: A friend of Paul’s was in the “College of ‘Pataphysics”, which was a sort of joke organization for intellectuals, mostly concerned about drinking. Paul is proud that his mention of ‘pataphysics in “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the only one of it’s kind.
Recent listening: My I’m Large, Somebody’s Miracle, Da Vinci’s Notebook
Recent viewing: March Madness, Suns vs. Clippers, Heat vs. Celtics, Conviction, Medium
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Truck maintenance (motor mount may be broken), called Kent and my mom, paid bills
Imperative To Do: Start taxes, retrieve Ryno mail, get truck fixed
Cool link: Battlestar Galactica Blog




Rob’s CD Collection – I will never catch up.

I found the White Album and several others without much effort. See any you recognize? (Hint: Click for a larger version.)

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Hawkeyes got screwed

Although Iowa made some crucial mistakes in the Outback Bowl today (i.e. blocked punt and fake punt), the officials seemed to have it in for them. To wit:

  • On third down, the Gators’ drive stalls two yards short of a first down when an official calls them for “helmet to helmet contact.” Replays showed the call was wrong but they don’t review it. The drive is kept alive and eventually the Gators score a touchdown just before halftime.
  • During a Hawkeye drive in the second half, an Iowa receiver is called for a face mask. Offensive face mask? Replays showed the receiver getting pulled down to the ground by his face mask by the defender. Both of the receiver’s arms are stretched out perpendicular from his side.
  • On another drive during the second half, an Iowa receiver makes a great catch for a first down but is shoved out of bounds before his feet touch the ground. The play is ruled an incomplete pass and the drive dies.
  • With less than two minutes left, Iowa scores a field goal to get the game within 7. Everybody is set for an onside kick, which is delivered perfectly. Iowa recovers but officials rule that one Iowa player was offsides. Replays show no one offside.

It hasn’t been a good year for the Big 10 in bowl games. Aside from the bizarre ending, I seem to recall that Michigan had two crucial calls incorrectly go against them, too. Let the conspiracy theories begin!