Texas Tech was thought of as the good guys by most until the Brendan Sorsby saga.

Not anymore. Derek Duke writes about the end of an era in the conference in this week's Big 12 Buzz. https://cyclonefanatic.com/2026/06/big-12-buzz-the-end-of-an-era/

Voting is open for the Cyclone Fanatic Fast Food Elite 8.


How to vote:
To select the favorite (eatery seeded highest), choose the Heart emoji.
To select the underdog, choose the Rainbow emoji.
No other emojis will be counted.

Deadline to vote: Now through Monday at 10 PM

Heard this morning that Twisted Vine is closing its doors on July 5th. We were just there last Saturday. I remembered they started out of St. Charles, moved to West Des Moines just south of Valley West Mall and to its current location south of Fong’s (the old Peace Tree Brewery.

David Carr takes on James Geeen in a best 2 out of 3 series this afternoon to make the world team. Finals start at 1pm. Carr is a solid favorite, but expect low scoring matches. Green is a savvy freestyler who is a bit past his prime, but has made multiple world world teams and has multiple medals. I’m looking for Carr to find a way to get to his offense which has been a struggle lately.

What will year 2 look like for Toure and Batemon? Will there be a sophomore slump? Let's take a look at. Read more.

Jake Brend reflects on what he's learned and experienced in his one year at Cyclone Fanatic. Presented by Wyffles Hybrids in the Northwest Bank Studios. Login to view embedded media

Jake Brend, Ben Hutchens and Rob Gray put a bow on the Brendan Sorsby saga and what it means for the future of college athletics. The fellas get into some hoops, previewing the NBA Draft for Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson before spinning the wheel and landing on Lafester Rhodes. Presented by Kelderman Manufacturing in the Northwest Bank Studios. Login to view embedded media

Iowa State football players trade the gridiron for the gym at a Des Moines youth clinic. From D-line drills to playing catch with current Cyclones, athletes like Zaimir Hawk and Jaylen Raynor took part in Monday's football clinic hosted by T-Mobile.

My niece owns 160 acres of farmland in North Dakota. She received an offer to sell from a farmer that owns some adjacent land. She currently rents the farmland to a relative who is very unethical and a PIA to deal with. The rental agreement, which expires December 1st, has a provision allowing the renter to match (or better) the offer. The farmer making the original offer needs the sale to happen before December 1st.

I don't have the specific language regarding the matching offer, but I assume she can sell the land to whoever she wants.

What are her options? Are there any circumstances where she has to sell to the relative?

My wife and I are going on a Viking cruise from Switzerland to Amsterdam this September. Just wondering if anyone else has done one and what to expect.

Apple is crushing it right now and this upcoming series looks fantastic.

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As we head into the summer travel season today's OTN theme will be loosely based on that.

This week we are looking for songs with titles and/or lyrics containing any form of the words: Visit, Visitor, Guest or Host/Hostess.

Last week's OTN was on the topic of Trouble, and can be found here:

https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/threads/on-that-note-t-r-o-u-b-l-e.299013/page-3#post-10388389

Your hosts for OTN are @cyclones500, @CycloneRulzzz and me.

For over 70 years Steak de Burgo has been known as an Iowa dish. It always surprises me when I go out of town and they don't have it. It's so good. Find out more here.

Chris Williams and Brent Blum discuss Brendan Sorsby parting ways with Texas Tech. What does that mean for the rest of the Big 12? Preseason magazines are a thing of the past. Touching on offseason men’s hoops, football, and more. Presented by Mechdyne.

We are losing our two best facilitators in Jefferson and Tamin each averaging nearly 5 assists a game. Who do you think at the end of the season will lead the team in assists?

In the running:
Toure - 2.3apg
Jaquan Johnson - 3.6apg
Ryan Prather - 3.6apg

Freshman:
Yusef Gray Jr. - 1.8apg (2023-24 season, injured 2025, not sure his stats this year)
Christian Wiggins - 4.4apg

Could one of the forwards lead? Probably not, I think Jefferson was an anomaly and would be quite a jump in production for any of them. I'd be surprised to see any of the freshman come in and immediately facilitate the offense but its happened twice in TJ's reign (Hunter and Lipsey). My guess will be Prather will lead all players. If he can put it together on the defensive side I think his toolset could be deadly as the guy we run an offense through. Lead the nation assist to turnover ratio last year at 4.4 (Monte's average was 4.65).

On the pro sports business side of things...

Pretty big sports news in the DFW area over the past couple of weeks, as both the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars have announced they will be leaving the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas when their respective leases end in 2031.

The interesting thing is where they are both going. The Mavs are moving to north Dallas to build a new arena and entertainment district at the site of the vacant Valley View Mall. The Stars are moving to Plano to build a new arena and entertainment district at the site of the dying Shops at Willow Bend mall.

There have been a number of interviews on TV with the GMs of both clubs. The Mavs GM is more subtle, while the Stars GM is pretty blunt, but the primary reason given by both for leaving is that the teams want to control and make money from the entertainment venues and amenities around the arenas. That seems to be the current paradigm for new sports arenas. The Stars are going to Plano, because that is reported to be where the majority of the season ticket holders are located.

The poor 25-year old AAC seems to be doomed in this new paradigm. The city of Dallas owns the arena, but Victory Park and the other properties around the AAC are owned by a few other big developers, and neither the Mavs nor Stars could grab enough land or make deals to bring in the revenue they wanted from the surroudning area. It will be interesting to see what happens to the AAC.

Jack Kohnen's commitment over the weekend gives Iowa State the No. 1 recruiting class in the country as of June 16. Jake Brend scouts the third commit of T.J. Otzelberger's 2027 class and how he fits at Iowa State. Presented by Whiskey River in the Northwest Bank Studios. Login to view embedded media

Before any more critical destruction of T Juco Tech, "we surrender".

Guess the Alamo is not in Lubbock.

Common sense prevails with Brendan Sorsby entering the NFL Supplemental Draft. With that, Texas Tech's reputation is damaged forever and they only have themselves to blame. Jake Brend reacts. Presented by Fareway Meat & Grocery in the Northwest Bank Studios. Login to view embedded media

Jimmy Rogers and Iowa State Football continue to roll on the 2027 recruiting trail, this time picking up a commitment from 2027 3-star EDGE DJ Williams.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Clay-Chalkville High School prep just returned from a weekend official visit to Ames.

I don't own any Roku stuff, but should be interesting to see what happens to the Roku end of things. The acquisition will be completed in the first half of 2027.

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Iowa State picks up a commitment from three-star 2027 cornerback Ke'Sean Williams.

The 6-foot-1, 170 pound corner has 22 offers, including Arkansas, Louisville, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Wisconsin, among others.
https://cyclonefanatic.com/2026/06/2027-cb-kesean-williams-commits-to-iowa-state/

They are back to it.

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