Are there specific lyrics to songs where you heard them and thought, “Why?”

Like - in Fugees’ “Ready or Not,” Lauryn Hill says:

“So while you imitating Al Capone,
I'll be Nina Simone and defecating on your microphone.”

I get that it is to mean she and Nina are amazing lyrical talents… but if I were Nina or her family, my first reaction would be “the **** I did.” It is perhaps the most indelicate tribute ever. I am 1000% not all “women’s roles” at all - but it isn’t super ladylike to conjure up an image of squatting over a microphone on stage.

What are some “wtf, why?!” lyrics you have heard? Bonus points for links to the video.

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Give me a little latitude on this one and read the whole post before lynching me.

Suppose someone found a loophole in the Big 12 media agreement and figured out that Iowa State could get out before the next year.

Suppose the Big 10 came to Iowa State and said: "We'll let you in but you need to take a 1/2 share so that Iowa can get a bigger share."

The money would be better for Iowa State, but you would be making your rival that much better.

Would you do it?


The reason I ask is that is exactly what Washington State and Oregon State might be getting asked to do. Their option might be give their rival more money to stay in a watered down Pac 10/12 or be relegated to the Mountain West.

Oh, how the fates of Iowa State and Washington State have changed after the 2019 Alamo Bowl.

Sounds like the punishments are starting to be doled out today, including players. One staff member I know of was given the option to quit or resign.

I'm guessing there will be an announcement by ISU end of day tomorrow.

What T.J. Otzelberger had to say about the possibility of Colorado joining the Big 12:

I'll have 2 Section D tickets and a B1 parking pass for sale for most games. Iowa tix are already committed. CYCLONES ONLY!

How you feeling Big 12?

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So this is the coolest/dumbest thing ever. But thanks to Cyclone Larry getting back on Twitter or whatever Elon calls it now, people are sending in Venmo gifts to We Will @wewillclub

We’ve now received over 100 gifts of $6.90 in last 30 minutes. I realize this is dumb, but would be absolutely awesome if we could make the news because we raised thousands of dollars thanks to CycloneLarry69. Venmo is @wewillclub

Welcome home. No hard feeling for leaving the first time, as long as you apologize

A 10.70 100m may help with that “separation” issue.

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Nice article about when Shannahan knew he had something…

Enjoy.

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Can't say any of this surprises me. The Big Ten is having an offseason thus far.

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My twin daughters celebrate their 21st today and have chosen to go with my wife & me to Cornbread tonight. Just wondering what people have found to be their best food & drink options. BTW, please no "Choose somewhere else to go" responses - my daughters chose this place, so that is a non-negotiable. Thanks in advance!!

Here is my annual, too long hype-train reminder PSA and what I consider to be realistic expectations for the season.

This has nothing to do with Chris or Brent’s Podcasts – their analysis is always very informative and level-headed.

I have said for 17 years on here that there is a perfectly scheduled hype cycle. Doesn’t matter how bad/good the past season was or who we lost/gain, the hype cycle stays the same. It’s inevitable and part of human nature. We all want the best and set our expectations accordingly, sometimes without intention. And it’s not “bad”, it just helps to understand why some are seen as optimistic and some pessimistic at different points in time.

January to March – some pessimistic, some realistic expectations for the upcoming season.
April/May – rumors and rumblings of standout players, transfers in increase expectations a notch.
June – a bit of realism settles in due to lack of in-depth team activities.
July – rumors and statements about position groups, depth, and a few standout players increase expectations 2 notches.
August – hype train hits full speed and expectations increase another 2-3 notches.

Mid-August to season start – sky high expectations rather than a balanced assessment of who we gained/lost, how each player performed last season, how much growth a single player can truly gain in an offseason, etc. Anybody that doesn’t share those expectations gets labeled a pessimist (myself included). Again, this is natural and isn’t “bad”.

Season progresses and people start reaching for pitchforks when their expectations aren’t met. Pessimism, frustration, and anger sets in. Emotions cause chaos, game day threads are unbearable. People that hadn’t bought into the hype train and better predicted realistic expectations work to pick those people up off the floor and brighten their spirits.

I’ve always said – never listen to any hype, especially when stated as broadly as a whole position’s potential. Look at how each game went the prior year to determine where the specific strengths and weaknesses were. Anticipate realistic growth potential and evaluate what the new recruits/transfers bring in – keeping in mind freshmen have large growing pains.

Last year is a great example. We lost a lot of very close games, most in the margins. Knowing that our coaching style is to keep games close, you have to dig into why we lost each of those games. OL blocking, ST, RB injuries, TE injuries and lack of separation, WR lack of separation and route trees, offensive play calling and predictability, etc.

Then you factor in players we lost/gained. We somewhat ignored the Portal so most new talent are true freshmen. A net loss of roughly 2 key defensive players, but in positions we have good depth at. We lost our standout receiver but have some potential young talent in both WR and TE rooms – TE especially. RB we gain health and a few new youngsters with high ceilings. OL missed out on Portal targets so growth, strength, and fundamentals are going to be the difference.

Finally, you must look at coaching. With changes on Offense and Special Teams, there are unknowns. One thing we know for certain is that while the offense will still be fully in the mold of Campbell’s philosophy, the play calling and situational adjustments can only get better. Likewise, a severe lack of development of skill positions and the offensive line has plagued the team for years. We must assume the coaching changes will impact that for the better, but you can only expect so much in one offseason.

Personally, when I look at everything on my scratchpad, I see a year likely in the 5-7 win range. If we win in the margins like our Fiesta Bowl season, it’s conceivable our defense and an improved offense can drag us to 8 wins. I think that is a stretch given the tough schedule, youth we have, and the lost development we’re now making up for. Anything less than 5 wins would be a disaster on the recruiting trail. 5 wins would still hurt a ton. 6 wins is most likely if you consider the tossup games as 50/50. 7 wins if we make some good strides with offensive development (OL, WR, TE) consistency.

No matter what, try to remember to enjoy the season. There will always be ups and downs, try not to overreact to either polar end.

The ISU Alumni Club of Denver is hosting its 34th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament. As a part of this event, they are raising money for a scholarship fund to help students from Colorado that attend Iowa State University. The Silent Auction has some great items for people to bid on virtually from the comfort of home. Some of the items up for bid:
- Tyrese Halliburton - signed jersey
- Homecoming 2023 package with lodging and game tickets
- Piece of Hilton Collesium floor signed by Georges Niang
-Pennant signed by the 2023 Denver Nuggets

And much more!!!



Finally, don't forget that all are welcome to stop by our events or football/basketball game watch parties if visiting Denver throughout the year. With football season less than 6 weeks out, we're excited to be back at our two ISU bars (Society & Tavern Littleton) in the Mile Cy City - more info on our website: denvercyclones.com

The Madden 24 player ratings just dropped. Here are our guys ratings

Breece Hall - 82
David Montgomery - 82
Allen Lazard - 78
Will McDonald - 74
Brock Purdy - 73
AJ Klein - 69
Kene Nwangwu - 69
Xavier Hutchinson - 67
Charlie Kolar - 66
Hakeem Butler - 65
Eyioma Uwazurike - 65
Anthony Johnson - 65
Chase Allen - 63
Jake Hummel - 62

No data on O'Rein Vance, Mike Rose, MJ Anderson, Trevor Downing, Landon Akers, or a few others who may be bumping around in camps or make practice squads right now.

Was it just me or did I see gas prices in Ames spiked up by 20 cents of the day of Ragbrai yesterday? I swear the price of gas was the same as it was in Boone! This seems like price gouging to me.

There's probably no way to keep this out of the cave given some of the politically charged figures involved, but it's a pretty important topic for the future of college sports so I figured I would give it a try. It looks like there are now 2 separate bills that have been introduced in the senate and both are technically bipartisan. Bottom line some kind of legislation in the matter will be passed eventually. I think we all thought it would end up here but now its happening. SIAP.

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Voting is open for the Final Four of the Cyclone Fanatic Comedy Movie Tournament.

In the Sitcom Tourney all 1 seeds made it. Only (1) 1 seed from the this tournament made the Final Four.


How to vote (this will apply to all rounds):

• To select the favorite (the show 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 Friday at 5 PM

Welcome to another edition of “On That Note,” CF’s weekly music series, co-hosted by @MeanDean, @cyclones500 and myself.


This week, we feature part 2 of our annual albums-by-decades series. Post your favorite LPs released in 2003 and/or 2013 or anything from this current year of 2023. Include 3 or 4 sound clips. In addition, we encourage you to expound on why the album is meaningful, such as personal details of your relationship with the record and its music.

Focus is on studio albums. Avoid greatest hits/live LPs/compilations. We’ll allow it, but it should be a definitive element of an artist’s body of work that isn’t otherwise generally available from studio output.

If someone posts an album on your list before you get to it, you still may reference it, but use different song clips.

If you’re more singles-oriented, you may substitute top singles from either of those years.

Last Week: We Are ‘3’ Together: Part 2 of 3

Long story short, the gf and I came across a “vegan” bread recipe.

My question is, what makes regular bread non vegan? I’ve looked up a few recipes and even looked at the ingredients of my store bought bread. Not a single animal product to be found.

So, what’s the difference, or is this just another scam in the food world?

Anyone got any tips or tricks on how to experience RAGBRAI while it's in Des Moines?


For example, I live downtown near the river and want to head to Waterworks Park for the event. Driving is out of the question and that'd be about a 50 min walk there in this heat. I want to bike there but unsure of where I would lock up. Do they typically have a bunch of temporary bike stands they use during RAGBRAI? Is there a location close where I could lock up and walk in? I won't be able to head out until 3-4 PM.

I took a look at the OL/DL position based on the rosters posted on cyclones.com over the past 9 years (2015-2023).

I filtered the data on Linemen with 3+ years of experience (Jr/R-So or Older). This eliminates our largest DL Orange since he is a true Sophomore.

The DL data includes DL/DT but does no include DE.

I thought the data was interesting. We will have some of our largest and most experienced lines in the Campbell era on both sides of the ball. We will see how it goes...