Elite Passing

One thing not many people have brought up are the passing skills of nearly everyone in the rotation. I can't remember any other team going back to Orr's teams with this many good passers on the team. Certainly a team-first mentality contributes to the players wanting to pass in the first place, but I'm talking about talent/ability here.

Perhaps the most surprising has been Lard who, though in limited minutes, has been making some great passes. Wigg has improved immensely from last year and has made some of the best passes I've seen all year. TH and THT just have a natural ability which was clear from their HS clips.

The free-flowing offense Prohm has installed is a perfect fit for the talents. Next year's recruits also appear to have similar passing skills.

Former B12 member gets nailed ...

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/col...cle_5bda774a-7b2b-54ee-9f19-ae70ed40972b.html

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions brought down the hammer on the University of Missouri for former tutor Yolanda Kumar's admission of academic fraud with Mizzou athletes. The MU football, baseball and softball programs were all sentenced to postseason bans for the upcoming season, on top of scholarship and recruiting limitations and vacated wins and records.

ISU's Missed Opportunities

Let's talk missed opportunities.

Do you remember what ISU did to remember the 95th anniversary of Jack Trice's death this past fall? Yeah, me neither. I do remember Iowa honoring Nile Kinnick with their football uniforms yet again. (It happened in their November game against Northwestern.)

Actually, there was one thing that did happen--Jack got demoted to second banana with his own stadium name. First billing is a big deal, especially in Hollywood, but in the eyes of ISU, Jack is now clearly second fiddle. It could've been so easy. Why not:

Jack Trice Stadium featuring MidAmerican Energy Field

Instead of (dry heaves):

MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium

Perhaps the new football media guide next season will not "randomly" stop at the year 1924 when sharing historical numbers worn by players.

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Speaking of historical numbers, I see incoming recruit Breece Hall was given # 28, the first player to wear this number since the Davis brothers. Of course, Troy was recently elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Ed Bock (# 38).

Remember, ISU is one of the only schools in the ENTIRE COUNTRY that hasn't bothered to retire or honor any football numbers. Will this obvious opportunity fall by the wayside again?

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On Twitter a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned how the influential Louis Vuitton designer used Iowa's Tigerhawk logo among other iconic logos in his show during Paris Fashion Week with rappers Playboy Carti and Offset.

Meanwhile the bugle logo is on clearance at K-Mart.

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Fans went crazy when ISU tipped a tentative toe into pop culture by doing the recent Space Jam-themed "Cyclone Squad" (Toon Squad) hats.

That should be a clue. Why not use a College of Design intern to draw the basketball players as animated characters?

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How many of you know that the current Mr. Olympia titleholder (Classic Physique division) is former football player Breon Ansley, who has dabbled in film and commercials throughout the years?

Famously, Arnold Schwarzenegger was formerly Mr. Olympia.

Why not hire Breon in a series of spoof commercials for ISU recreating Arnold's iconic roles?

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When famed cow bodyguard Jared Homan was traipsing the world playing pro basketball and being with his former Victoria's Secret supermodel girlfriend for many years, ISU should've been supplying him with high-end ISU gear or hiring him to produce a documentary.

Imagine a former ISU star and Victoria's Secret model in a travel series on Netflix or Amazon Prime, subtly marketing ISU. What a goldmine.

Instead, we got Hooray for Ames Water.

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ISU should already be cultivating someone like Jason Momoa (AQUAMAN!) to be a potential celebrity guest picker if ESPN College Gameday comes to Ames next season. Pay him now to come speak to the ISU football team, etc. Partner with Nike to create a WATER CYCLONE uniform.

After all, he grew up near ISU and speaks to animals--just like ISU's vet school. Why not? Bigger ad campaigns have been launched on flimsier premises.

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In sum, THINK BIGGER!

Thoughts?

mred's Big 12 Tournament Generator 2019

Figured it was time to break this thing out again.

1. Iowa State (13 - 5)
Defeated Texas Tech based on head-to-head record.
2. Texas Tech (13 - 5) Lost to Iowa State based on head-to-head record.
3. Kansas State (12 - 6) Defeated Kansas based on record against #1 teams.
4. Kansas (12 - 6) Lost to Kansas State based on record against #1 teams.
5. Baylor (11 - 7)
6. Oklahoma (10 - 8)
7. TCU (7 - 11)
8. Texas (6 - 12)
9. West Virginia (3 - 15) Defeated Oklahoma State based on record against #3 teams.
10. Oklahoma State (3 - 15) Lost to West Virginia based on record against #3 teams.

Probably not how it'll finish, but I'd take this for sure. KU in the 4th place game would be especially hilarious

Talley Up the Win

Lots of great things to be happy about after this win, but probably none bigger than what I saw from Zoran tonight. Hasn't played a minute in most games this season which has to be tough for a senior who was honestly one of the better players on last year's team.

He had great body language and was honed in on defense the entire game. It's rare to have 6'7 guys who can handle and pass as well as he can, and I have a feeling he's going to be a real player for us the rest of the season.

Lots of respect to Zoran Talley for the way he has bought in and handled himself this season.

New build issues with local area builder.

So we just moved into a new construction in the middle of December. Today, while at home with the kiddos, my wife notices some wet spots in the exterior wall/ceiling joints, one of which has started to freeze. The builder sent out a foreman to inspect and he says to my wife, that there is just nothing he can do and that we just have too many people under one roof. He left a hygrometer at the house to measure the humility, which is currently reading in the mid 20 percent. We have not had any condensation on or windows as of yet, even with the extreme cold temps. I'm no contractor/builder, but the Engineer in me says that this is an area that has been poorly insulated and the cold wall is drawing moisture out of the air. There is NO reason that my walls should be getting cold enough to freeze water. Anyone else ever experience this problem? What was the root cause, fix? Was it a new build? Did your builder resolve the issue, or was it a fight?
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2018 Taxes

So I spent a whole hour of time last night beginning my 2018 federal tax return. Having received my wife and I's W2s I was kind of excited as I considered the prospects of a better tax result for our family in 2018. The increased standard deduction (we were close to the new standard amount with itemization in 2017) and rate decreases are cool but the doing away of the person exemptions sucks. Basically from what I can tell so far, my tax situation improves none, and may even be worse than prior years. That is strange to me because I have heard a lot about the good the tax law changes will bring. Still a lot of detail for me to wade through though so hopefully my initial high level view is off.

Disclaimer: I chose off topic to keep this about 2018 tax return filing and how it goes for others but I am well aware this teters on the edge of a political topic.

Grad Transfer WR La'Michael Pettway Visiting (commits 5/6)

He's taking an OV this weekend. Grad transfer WR from Arkansas

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Arkansas graduate transfer receiver La'Michael Pettway confirmed to me that he will visit Iowa State this weekend. The 6-3 athlete officially visited Auburn last weekend. He caught 30 passes for 499 yards and four touchdowns last season with the Razorbacks.

ESPN's Top 25 - Biggest Reasons for Optimism for 2019.

Brief list of the Top 25 Teams for next season, and where their strengths are. They mention Mr. Purdy and our league-best defensive line that returns.

Nothing listed for the Hoklowns. Oh yeah, they are not in the Top 25. Sorry baby brother.

Stay warm, my friends.

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...-football-top-25-team-biggest-reason-optimism

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