“What Am I Thankful For?”

What Am I Thankful For?

A Thanksgiving reflection by KRUI Sports Director, Jordan Loperena

11/26/09 – LAKE ZURICH, IL

I am NOT thankful for …

• THE Ohio State University
• The Boise State Broncos, specifically their schedule – if you could call it that
• Gonna throw the remainder of the entire WAC Conference in there as well
• The AP AND The Coaches Polls
• SEC Officiating Crews
• The 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th games of the Iowa Basketball season
• Hilton Coliseum, or let’s just say my upcoming ventures there
• Corey Wootton, well I’ll just stick to one specific play by Corey Wootton
• The Big XII North and their semi-realistic possibility for a BCS Bowl berth
• Every single Michigan State fan that chose to “boo” Colin Sandeman on his way off of the field after being injured in East Lansing.  Say what you want about what exactly they were booing – if Pat Angerer says they were booing Colin Sandeman (which he did) then they were booing Colin Sandeman.

I AM Thankful For …

 

(In Regards to Sports)

• THE University of Iowa
• Every athletic team at The University of Iowa, especially those who do not get the recognition they deserve
• Tom Brands and Iowa Wrestling
• Weekly quotes from Pat Angerer and his best friend, Cash
• This year’s Iowa Football Senior Class
• Coach Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes
• The right arm, heart, and resilience of Ricky Stanzi
• 2 consecutive blocked field goals to secure a victory against UNI
• Finally blowing out the Cyclones at Jack Trice
• Amari Spievey’s touchdown-saving tackle on Arizona RB Nic Grigsby
• A Dominant Performance in what became (Un)Happy Valley
• Striking early and often against Arkansas State
• The homecoming, nighttime atmosphere inside Kinnick Stadium against Michigan
• Iowa’s 2^nd half in Madison
• :02 seconds left, Stanzi à McNutt, :00 seconds left, ballgame! Slaying Sparty at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing
• Tyler Sash’s miraculously improbable pick-six on Halloween against Indiana and the 4^th quarter that followed.
• James Vandenberg’s performance inside the Horseshoe.  Check that, the performance of the Iowa Hawkeyes inside the Horseshoe.
• Shutting out Minnesota … again.

(In Regards to my Life in General)

• My Mom and Dad
• My hometown of Lake Zurich, IL
• Both of my roommates, who through thick and thin have been like brothers to me over the past 3 years
• The “New Me”, which is really the old me, that has been rediscovered this past semester
• My 3 best friends from back home in Lake Zurich, again – like brothers to me
• KRUI General Manager Nathan Gould and our entire board of directors
• Every single member of the KRUI Sports Staff
• The KRUI “From the Cheap Seats” staff
• Every single member at KRUI that helped our Saturday Hawkeye Football PreGame LIVE in front of Kinnick Stadium transform from a dream into reality.
• My in-studio producers (James Thomas, Ben Parsons, and Nick Ertmer) who were voluntarily late to almost, if not all, Iowa Football home games in order to make sure our pregame show ran smoothly up until kickoff.
• Past members of the KRUI Sports Staff including, but not limited to: Will Marchino, Dan Bohall, Dave Jaffe, Dave Johnson, Neal Wiebers, and Scott Porter.
• Winning the Hawkeye Award for Most Outstanding Student Organization Leader of the Year at The University of Iowa, a humbling honor that still doesn’t seem real to me.
• The Daily Iowan staff members responsible for putting together a spotlight feature on me, again another humbling compliment.
• Last, but absolutely furthest from the least: my excessively supportive family and friends

                  – in the past year or so, I have:

                              – lost a grandma

                              – lost an uncle

                              – had 2 aunts fighting cancer

                              – had a close neighbor fighting cancer

                             - had my own scare that, after several tests, turned out to be a harmless bump on my thyroid

 

While there were both tough and fantastic times in the past year, things would not be the way they are without having the wonderful and supportive people that I have in my life …

 

“Tough Times Don’t Last but Tough People Do”

Hawkeyes Win KCRG-TV9 Challenge

By Jessica Smith

Despite the Iowa Women’s Basketball teams injury list increase, the team was able to increase their winning record to 2-0, and nab both most valuable players honors and a championship at the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge on Sunday.

Joining senior JoAnn Hamlin and sophomore Hannah Draxten on the injured list were freshman Gabby Machado who was sidelined with an ankle injury and freshman Theairra Taylor.

Junior Kachine Alexander’s efforts were felt in every aspect of the game. She exhibited another impressive effort on the boards, pulling down 12. She also scored 21 points and had four steals, four assists and two blocks. Alexander was awarded most valuable player honors.

The Hawkeyes defeated the projected favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference, Illinois State, 75-67. Iowa secured their final lead with about three minutes left in the contest following a three-point field goal by sophomore Kamile Wahlin, who joined Alexander on the all- tournament team.

The Redbirds held a 56-51 lead with 6:18 left in the game, but the Hawkeyes were able to hold them scoreless for over five minutes after that.

Iowa’s scoring was well balanced, with four players reaching the double-digit mark. Kelly Krei built on her hot three-point shooting from the exhibition game against Washburn and connected on four from behind the arc in the first period. Krei finished the game with 15 points. Freshman guard Jaime Printy cashed in 16 points for the Hawkeyes, 11 of which game in the second half including a clutch three-pointer, Wahlin ended with 15 points.

“I’m really proud of our players for this win,” Head Coach Lisa Bluder said. “This is a great victory for us. It shows how much character these women have to be able to hold their heads high after what they’ve been through. Losing four players in one week’s time is tough for any team to handle.”

Iowa returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 18, to play Kansas with a 7 p.m. tip.

Despite Adversity, Hawkeyes Get The First One

By Jessica Smith

Head Coach Lisa Bluder has had quite a few unexpected curve balls thrown at her this past week, but she and her team were all over the ones thrown at them this past weekend in the KCRG-TV Hawkeye Challenge inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With every new season comes new faces, but this years’ newcomers are not just sitting back and letting the veterans show them the ropes. Freshman Morgan Johnson, center, and Jamie Printy, guard, made their college basketball debuts in the Hawkeyes starting line up joining junior Kachine Alexander and sophomores Kamile Wahlin and Kelly Krei. The two were replacing senior center JoAnn Hamlin who is out with a blood clot in her right leg and sophomore Hannah Draxten who is out with a back injury.

The Hawkeyes had their fair share of troubles on the first half, but was able to still maintain a 31-26 advantage going into the break. If Johnson was experiencing opening day nerves, you could not notice. The freshman center scored 13 of her 15 points in the opening period.

The team had their fair share of shooting woes, shooting just 35-percent from the field in the first half. The Hawkeyes came out and shot over 40 percent in the second period and about half way through boosted a 24-point lead. Blunders group has Alexander to thank for extra breathing room.

Alexander came out in the second period and scored 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, which tied the tournament record from 1985.

“All the coaches have been telling me, `Just try to get in there and get some rebounds, maybe get a few tips.’ You never know what’s going to happen,” said Alexander.

The Hawkeyes closed the game with a 16-point lead, defeating Santa Clara 67-51.

A Little Carver Charisma

A game-by-game blog from Press Row in Carver-Hawkeye Arena by Jordan Loperena, KRUI Sports Director

 

“Yep … THAT Just Happened”

11/17/09

IOWA CITY, IA – Well folks, for the first time since 1931 … yes, 1931 … the Iowa Hawkeyes have started off a season 0-2. We didn’t drop our first two games to ranked opponents, or even one of them to a team ranked anywhere near the Top 25. They have managed to drop their first two games of the season, at home, to the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners and the Duquesne Dukes.

 

At this point, I can tell you that we will be impressed this season by the play of our freshmen and thus far have not been impressed by the play of those who are supposed to be the leaders of this team.

 

Freshman G/F Eric May has been fairly impressive through the first two games of the season. His numbers may not necessarily tell the story here, but if you have been inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena you have seen the heart, hustle, and determination that this kid brings to the floor. Apart from that, May also has the build of at least a sophomore or junior and you can’t tell he is a freshman just by looking at him or the way he plays.

 

Another freshman that plays to the look of an upperclassman is Guard Cully Payne. While he will be prone to freshman mistakes at the point guard position, he manages the game better than most would expect a freshman to do so. Freshman Forward Brennan Cougill is one that has the look of a freshman. He has the size, but looks like he needs to convert some more of it into muscle. He is a smart player and can throw it home and finish and also has a decent touch for a player of his size from the charity line. Cougill played very well in the 2^nd half against Duquesne, Coach Lickliter mentioned, “He has a great feel for basketball and he cares a lot…I need to get him in more, he’s earned it.”

 

However, if the Iowa Hawkeyes plan on having anything close to a successful season, they are going to need more productivity from their big men and their sharp shooters. Jarryd Cole dominated the boards with 13 rebounds against UTSA on Sunday night but struggled by giving away 4 turnovers. Aaron Fuller has had limited play over the first 2 games and his numbers show for it, putting up only 4 points and 3 rebounds, all offensive, in 10 minutes on Tuesday night.

 

The Hawkeyes have thus far been horrendous from beyond the arc. On Sunday night against UTSA, the Hawkeyes went 5-27 from three point land. They improved on Tuesday night against Duquesne … going 6-27. Depending on the 3-ball as much as the Iowa Hawkeyes and Todd Lickliter’s offense does, this statistic needs to improve drastically. That being said, I wouldn’t put this season away after two games. I wouldn’t put anyone’s season away after two games. However, Iowa needs to stray further away from “moral” victories and start putting up “real” victories. Coach Lickliter mentioned in Sunday night’s postgame press conference that he wanted to start off by talking about some positives, because he was sure there would be some “negative storytelling” from the game. Well, when you drop a home opener, sorry – get dominated for almost all 40 minutes of a home opener, by the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners inside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena when you are the Iowa Hawkeyes – there WILL be some negative storytelling. In the end, this season’s storytelling will not be judged by moral victories, it will be judged by real victories. Wins and Losses. That kind of thing. Iowa needs to build upon their late-game comeback they had before suffering their second loss of the season tonight if they want to turn this thing around. I wouldn’t call it a sense of urgency, but they need to turn things around if they want to start filling Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In the words of Coach Lickliter… “They have a season in front of them … If we fight, we will get better”.

Iowa vs. Washburn Exhibition Game- November 8, 2009

By Jessie Smith

The visiting Washburn team may have sunk the first 2 baskets of the contest, but that was the only lead The Lady Blues ever saw during Sunday’s exhibition contest inside Carver Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes did not find the bottom of the net until sophomore Kamille Wahlin’s layup nearly five minutes into the contest. It did not take nearly as long for Lisa Bluders’s squad to score from that point on. The team shot an impressive 7-9 from behind the arc in the first half, and finished the game 12-19. Wahlin cashed in 4 treys while sophomore Kelly Krei went 3-3. “We want to be able to have everyone on our team maybe with the exception of our 5 shooting 3-point shots, …we feel like we are a more guard oriented team so we need to be able to shoot up lots of threes,” said Coach Bluder. The Hawkeyes played 10 different players during the contest, 4 of which were freshman. Morgan Johnson, freshman, filled in at the center position for the lone senior, JoAnn Hamlin, who did not play. Johnson missed back-to-back shots in the paint early on, but bounced back on both sides of the court and finished with 7 points and 6 blocks. Freshman guard Jaime Printy handled the ball pressure extremely well, and many would agree with Coach Bluder when she said, “she was very mature on the floor-you could not tell she was a freshman. ” Junior guard Kachine Alexander lived up to her new team leader role, and lead the team with 25 points, 16 of which came in the 2^nd period. “It’s a little bit of a different role but it will be okay,” said Alexander in regards to her new role. Behind Alexander’s explosive scoring in the 2^nd half, the team shot better than 50% from field goal range, as well as from the charity strop and from behind the arc. Washburn was able to cut the deficit to 16 points with about 7 minutes left in the game but that was as close as The Lady Blues ever got. Back to back scores by Printy spread the lead, and the team went on to win 88-60. The Hawkeyes open their season next Saturday against Santa Clara in the first round of the 2009 KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge.

Poll Busting: Week 9

By Neal Ternes

So for this week’s poll busting we will take an examination of the AP poll. It is about this time of year we will get some bickering about who should or shouldn’t be in the title discussion from the press so I figure it is only fair to examine what they are thinking. The results are interesting.

1. Florida: I agree
2. Texas: I agree
3. Alabama: I agree
4. Cincinnati: I agree
5. Boise State: Still too high. Someone needs to start voting down BSU for their poor scheduling
6. TCU: A little too high but this is a very solid team
7. Oregon: The win over USC was great, I agree with this
8. Iowa: Who else on this list can claim that their fifth string running back scored five touchdowns last weekend? Give me a break
9. LSU: I agree
10. Georgia Tech: They should be slightly lower, the ACC is proving to be overrated
11. Penn State: They should be higher, the only loss is to a top five team.
12. USC: They beat OSU and Notre Dame, but neither of those teams have been their usual selves this year. This should be lower.
13. Houston: Lower, Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I really like the Cougars but they were nearly upset this week by another Conference USA team.
14. Pittsburgh: should be higher, they are going to be a real challenge for the Bearcats in a few weeks
15. Ohio State: I agree
16. Miami: Should be a little higher
17. Utah: Are you kidding me? Come on people
18. Oklahoma State: I agree with this
19. Notre Dame: I agree with this
20. Oklahoma: Still have no business being ranked
21. Arizona: should actually be a little higher
22. Virginia Tech: No, this is not a ranked team
23. California: I have them a little higher
24. Wisconsin: Badgers blasted Purdue and have only lost to top 15 teams, they should be higher.
25. BYU: ………..Seriously?

As you can see, the top of the poll is pretty solidified. My biggest problem continues to be the amount of love that voters are giving to the non BCS schools. Three unranked BCS teams from the Big East have as good of records as BYU yet none are ranked. South Florida, West Virginia, and Rutgers all have some good wins but apparently the voters just want the cougars in to justify keeping in Oklahoma. The Boise State placement is maddening since they have done absolutely nothing since that win against Oregon. Blowing out a team this week seemed until you realized that team was San Jose State who only has one win on the year. Here are my rankings:

1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Cincinnati
5. Iowa
6. TCU
7. Penn State
8. Oregon
9. LSU
10. Boise State
11. Georgia Tech
12. Pittsburgh
13. Ohio State
14. Miami
15. USC
16. Wisconsin
17. Houston
18. Oklahoma State
19. Arizona
20. South Florida
21. California
22. West Virginia
23. Rutgers
24. Auburn
25. Utah

A Look into the 2009-2010 NBA Season

By Josh Roth

The NBA season is officially under way and there are plenty of great stories to go along with it. Including Shaq joining the Cavs, Vince Carter teaming with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza switching places and much more.

First maybe the most intriguing story is that of the trade that Cleveland and Phoenix made that brought Shaq to the Cavaliers. It will be interesting to see how he fits, if he fits at all. Will he clog the lane instead of being effective in the post? Has he past his prime? How will he mesh with LeBron James? A lot of people seem to like the idea of the two, however, to me it doesn’t seem like a great idea. I do believe that Shaq will clog up the lane and he doesn’t play towards the basket, I don’t think he will be very effective. Plus it may slow down Cleveland’s offense a bit, but it should be interesting to say the least.

What about Vince Carter heading to the Orlando Magic for Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee? Does this really make the Magic better? Is Vince the piece that gives them the title? I am a little skeptical whether this move actually makes them better. I was a huge fan of Courtney Lee and Alston was a big part of their team as well. In order for this to be a good move for the Magic, Vince has to be a bit more unselfish and more of a team player, because I think the piece that they will miss the most will be Hedo Turkaglo who could be that facilitator that every team needs. So Vince or Rashard Lewis will have to play the role of Hedo in order to make it back to the Finals. However, the good news is that Orlando is a very deep team that should help them tremendously for a run at the NBA title.

Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza switched places as well. Ron Artest should be a solid fit for the Lakers, he gives them another veteran with great defensive ability and a solid all around game. He is also very versatile and can play a couple of different positions and can guard most positions. However, the Lakers may miss the athleticism and the upside of Trevor Ariza who should be a great fit in Houston and give them another option or someone to pick up the slack for Yao Ming. He also isn’t too shabby defensively either. Expect to see a lot more of Shannon Brown for the Lakers, who could step up in place of Trevor Ariza.

San Antonio made some huge moves this offseason as well. They added Richard Jefferson and were able to draft DeJuan Blair, which could be the biggest steal, not only of this draft, but drafts in the last couple of years. Jefferson gives them another offensive option, who is a versatile forward and should help in case Parker or Ginobili go down again. Then Blair gives them more size and should flourish under one of the greatest power forwards in the game in Tim Duncan. Watch out for the Spurs, they could be the team to represent the Western Conference and at the very least, give the Lakers a run for their money.

The Pistons also made a couple of interesting acquisitions as well. They picked up both Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. Both of which are solid offense shooters, however the rest of their game is questionable at best. The Pistons have completely lost their identity as a defensive team and these additions do not help them one bit. In this league you have to be able to do both, you can’t just simply be a good shooting team. In my humble opinion I think the Pistons are heading in the wrong direction and should be a poor rebounding and defensive team. Don’t be surprised to see them finish towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Finally, both conferences seem to be getting a lot stronger and the parity in both leagues seems to growing. I think any team, aside from maybe the Milwaukee Bucks, could wind up making the playoffs. Watch out for teams like the Thunder, Raptors, Wizards, etc to potentially enter the playoffs. And look for teams like Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and Portland Trailblazers to be serious conference title contenders. Here is a look at my prediction for this year.

Eastern Conference Prediction

1. Boston Celtics
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Orlando Magic
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Miami Heat
7. Toronto Raptors
8. Washington Wizards
9. Philadelphia 76ers
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Detroit Pistons
12. New York Knicks
13. Charlotte Bobcats
14. New Jersey Nets
15. Milwaukee Bucks

Western Conference Prediction

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Portland Trailblazers
4. Denver Nuggets
5. New Orleans Hornets
6. Houston Rockets
7. Utah Jazz
8. Dallas Mavericks
9. Oklahoma City Thunder
10. Phoenix Suns
11. Golden State Warriors
12. Memphis Grizzlies
13. Los Angeles Clippers
14. Minnesota Timberwolves
15. Sacramento Kings

Awards:

6^th Man: Kirk Hinrich PG Chicago Bulls

Defensive Player: Shane Battier SF Houston Rockets

Rookie of the Year: DeMar DeRozan SG Toronto Raptors

Coach of the Year: Greg Popovich San Antonio Spurs

MVP: LeBron James SF Cleveland Cavaliers

NBA Finals:

Boston Celtics vs. San Antonio Spurs

NBA Finals Winner:

San Antonio Spurs

This year could be a bit more unpredictable, which should make for a very fun and exciting NBA season.

MLB World Series Predictions

By Dave Heffernan

New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies

When first looking at this matchup it may look like the Yankees should absolutely dominate with the payroll that they field, but these teams matchup very evenly on paper. CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte are a formidable one-two-three for any starting rotation. However, Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, and Cole Hamels are just as tough to matchup against. Alex Rodriguez is absolutely dominating this post-season, but so is Ryan Howard. Brad Lidge was horrendous during the regular season, but has been almost lights out in the post-season. Meanwhile, Mariano Rivera is probably the best post-season closer of all time. Both teams are pretty equal defensively and at stealing bases. So who do I like? The team that won it all last year or the franchise that seems to make it to the World Series just about every year? Both teams have been fairly dominant in the first couple rounds of the playoffs albeit the Phillies have appeared to be under just about everyone’s radar. They are not under mine. Phillies in 7.

One Week at a Time: Week 8

- A weekly blog by KRUI Sports Director Jordan Loperena, who covers Iowa Football from the press box at all home and away games.

“?!?! … !!!!”

EAST LANSING, MI – In what was an unbelievable display of resiliency on Saturday night, the Iowa Hawkeyes took down the Michigan State Spartans with a Ricky Stanzi to Marvin McNutt 7 yard touchdown as time expired to preserve an undefeated season and move up to #4 in the BCS rankings. However, I can’t put the anxiety and the emotion charging through every Iowa Hawkeyes’ fan’s body during the final drive, in which Stanzi led the Hawkeyes down the field more efficiently in about a minute and a half then the entire game.

Both teams played outstanding, tough, “Big Ten” football style games. While both defenses stymied most offensive production the entire night, the offenses did their job in not trying to make too much happen and executed tremendous ball security for a game dominated so much by defense. We saw three Iowa Hawkeyes injured and on the ground for an extended period of time. Despite a small handfull of Iowa fans that I was in East Lansing with that had positive overall experiences with Michigan State fans, I can only say that the Michigan State fans got what they deserved after prominently boo’ing Iowa WR Colin Sandeman on his way off the field after a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit, followed by some classless taunting, from Michigan State DB Jeremy Ware. Say what you want, maybe you think they were boo’ing the call, which they were initially. However, after they boo’d the late call, after they boo’d the JumboTron replay, there was a pause. As Sandeman was brought to his feet by the Iowa Training Staff and walked off the field, a flood of boo’s once again rained down at Spartan Stadium to no new announcements and no other replays being shown. That, my friends, is booing an injured player and thus, the kind of classlessness that deserves a loss in the final seconds to disrupt an upset bid. Think I’m crazy? Nah, just ask Iowa MLB Pat Angerer, who told me in postgame interviews that the act by Spartan fans was “classless” as him and several other players, including Iowa safety Tyler Sash also took notice. Sash mentioned that seeing a teammate get hit like that was enough reason to get fired up, let alone hearing the crowd boo him off the field. After the way this game concluded, that’s about as far as I will take my rant.

I can tell you first hand that a fairly comfortable walk down to the sidelines from the press box with Scott Miller of the DI and Bob Brooks with a field goal lead in hand soon turned into an unsettling voyage. Having to be guided through the Michigan State crowd to get down to the field amidst a Kirk Cousins to Brian Linthicum to Blair White hook ‘n later’ play was not anywhere near what I would call a pleasant feeling. Nor was finally getting a comfortable spot on the Michigan State sideline and watching Cousins miraculously avoid heavy Hawkeye pressure and launch a touchdown to White to take the lead with less than 2 minutes left on the clock.

Then it happened. The drive happened. The 3rd and 8 to Stross happened. The needle-threader to DJK happened. The interception happened. Then, the defensive holding happened, negating the interception. First and goal happened, then second, then third. In shades of what seemed like a possible situational deja vu of last year’s nothing and goal debacle at home against Northwestern, there was a certain feeling of desperate hope and promise with an undefeated season on the line. This is a new season. This is a new team. These are your “block 2 consecutive field goal attempts to beat Northern Iowa in the season opener” Iowa Hawkeyes. These are your “block a punt and return it for a touchdown and win at Penn State” Iowa Hawkeyes. These are your “win in Camp Randall after the worst first half all season” Iowa Hawkeyes”. For most of the season, these have been your “NO (expletive) WAY!” Iowa Hawkeyes … and mostly in a good way. Well … Stanzi to McNutt happened. THAT just happened, in the words of Ricky Bobby, and Michigan State was almost nonresponsive in shock as an Iowa Hawkeyes team flooded the field in hysterical joy, with an undefeated season, Big Ten Championship hopes, Rose Bowl hopes, and national title hopes in-tact on their way out of East Lansing.

AFTER THOUGHTS: I want to mention that I had the opportunity of leaving Spartan Stadium directly behind Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins following post-game interviews on Saturday night. While he was clearly hurting from the loss, this young and promising QB left Spartan Stadium with his head held high, but that wasn’t the most impressive thing I saw from him that night. Upon exiting the stadium, the first thing that Kirk Cousins did was put down his bag and sign an autograph for a little girl wearing a Michigan State Spartans jacket. That is the class that these two teams and the entire Big Ten Conference display for the most part as a whole and head coach Mark Dantonio should be proud of his young QB, and the rest of his players.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have moved up to 4th in the BCS Rankings and are 8-0 for the first time in school history.

R.I.P Jasper Howard

By Dan Wallace

Every year there are surprises in college football. Some of these surprises are the ones that take your breath away. For example, not many people believed that Iowa would be 8-0 at this point in the season and #4 in the BCS rankings. The fans, and possibly even the players are probably surprised by what is going on in Iowa City.

But on the other hand, there are surprises make you speechless for a whole other reason. Today was the funeral service for Jasper Howard, a cornerback for the University of Connecticut, who was fatally stabbed to death after a school-sponsored dance on October 18^th. The entire UConn football team made the trip to Miami, Howard’s hometown, for the viewing and funeral after their game against West Virginia University this past Saturday.

What makes this funeral in Miami so much different then from any other funeral is all of the story lines that lay behind the murder. The team traveled to Miami for the funeral after a gut-wrenching defeat against WVU this past week. The WVU fans applauded the entire UConn team as they ran onto the field. UConn played emotional, inspired football as the jersey of Howard hung on the sideline. They was minutes away from winning a game they desperately wanted to win in Howard’s memory before Noel Devine of West Virginia broke a long touchdown run in the final minutes to secure a West Virginia win.

The entire team traveled to Miami, the exact place the Howard wanted to get away from. Howard grew up in a troubled neighborhood in Miami that was riddled with violence and poverty. Howard, the first in his family to go to college, wanted to get away from the violence that occurred where he grew up. He went to UConn to get away from it all, but was sadly and ironically stabbed on UConn’s campus which has been knows as the “quiet corner” of Connecticut.

Howard mentioned in his post game interview (seen here) that you have to play every play like it’s your last, and unfortunately for him, this was the case.

Howard had dreams of making it to the NFL so he could help better the lives of his mother and two sisters, and sadly now those dreams are gone. Howard was doing all the right things to make life a little bit better for the ones he loves, everything that the coaches asked him to do so he could become that NFL player he dreamed of being.

Howard will be dearly missed on and off the football field. For the rest of the year, the football team will play with the burden of losing one of their teammates, and one of their friends. I have never followed UConn football, but from this point on I have two things for you. R.I.P Jasper “Jazz” Howard and Go Huskies!!