And I’m sure the tension level has ramped up several notches in IA City!!

I don't know about anyone else, but to ME, the XFL is so much better because they DO play in their hometowns. I know that the USFL is attempting to abandon the "Play in Birmingham Only" strategy, but to date, they have not entirely abandoned it. Also, to me, the maturity of the players is superior to those I'm seeing in the USFL (but yes, this could certainly be the weeks prior to now that the XFL has been playing vs the recently restarted USFL. Finally, I certainly like seeing Hakeem Butler and Willie Harvey, JR (and formerly Mike Rose before he was injured) playing well for the St Louis Battlehawks.

Please vote in the poll.

Here's what Tyrese had to say about his decision today in Kansas City.

I need help. The past few years I’ve been logged into my wife’s Facebook account on my phone. Nothing against Facebook, I just didn’t want my own account as all I really used it for was watching kids activities on Facebook live if I was out of town for work or scrolling through marketplace. I’ve decided it’s time to get my own account as lately there are a few groups I’d like to join and I’d rather they have my name on it as opposed to hers.
I tried to create my own (new) account tonight but when I go through the process, enter all my info and hit submit it spins like it’s processing things and then it automatically logs me into my wife’s Facebook account. I’ve deduced that somehow my email or instagram account is linked to hers and I can’t figure out how to remove or unlink them as everything I try doesn’t work. Anyone have any thoughts on what I can do so our accounts aren’t linked? I don’t get it?!?

This movie looks pretty intense. A24 has been knocking em out of the park, so solid chance this is a good movie. Fascinated to see how California and Texas become allies against the US government.

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Elon Musk's proposal for an alternative for California's approved high speed rail:
http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperloop-alpha.pdf


High speed rail: $60 billion to complete, $100 per way SF to LA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail

Magic speed tube: $6 billion to complete, $20 per way SF to LA
Hyperloop - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


JP should budget in a hyperloop from des moines directly into the new SEZ

Figure it’s time to fire back up the wrestling talk after a weeks hiatus.

Couple of really tough duals next Monday with Pitt and Cornell, and Little Rock has some solid tests in their lineup as well.

Pitt throttled Ohio State on Sunday, and Cornell has one of the most complete dual lineups in the country.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this game. UNI is normally a team that gives ISU fits regardless of how good the sisters are. The fact they were short handed and sitting at 1-7 would make you think it might be a mismatch. But…

The first quarter saw UNI get off to a fast start including hitting three treys while the sisters looked lost on offense. You’d almost swear they had reverted back to first week freshmen when in fact it was more about the team speed of UNI bothering us than anything. The typical ISU game plan is feed the ball to Crooks and they tried with zero success. UNI was double and triple teaming her and for some reason the ladies weren’t able to get the ball in and back out to open shooters. But, bit by bit the fought back. UNI maintained a lead throughout the quarter until late when the sisters would tie it up at 16. That’s not a lot of points by either team, but it was a dog fight out there.

I’ll add an editorial opinion here…the officials shouldn’t have received a paycheck tonight. Ok, back to the summary…

The second quarter saw some early back and forth, but slowly the sisters were able to gain an advantage. The predominant reason was defense. They made it tough on UNI. Add to it, the ladies started to settle down and make shots. What was crazy was watching McDermott for UNI seemingly effortlessly make shots. Several threes. UNI hit four in the second and yet, the sisters matched that shot for shot. The big difference was the other shots that were made and getting to the line. ISU made more free throws than UNI shot. By halftime there appeared a breath of separation as the sisters led 42-34.

The beginning of the third was a brick laying contest by both teams. For the first few minutes it didn’t matter what kind of shot was made it clanked off the rim. But then things started to settle down. For the sisters it all began with that salty defense. Getting stops and rebounds led to a very nice transition game and buckets. The sisters also forced turnovers and very successfully converted those to points..something UNI fared very poorly at. What was very fun to watch in this one was the Emily Ryan effect. Not just in the third, but throughout the game. When she comes in, magic happens. More on that later. The third is where everyone started to hit open looks. There was much better ball movement, fewer turnovers (only 4 in the second half) and throughout the quarter the defense stymied UNI. The Panthers went 0-7 from deep and only made 4 of 17 shots. That defense was the primary reason the ladies stretched the lead to 65-48. One side note…this felt like the LONGEST quarter time wise of any game I’ve sat through in a long time. Part of it was the inconsistent calls by the officiating crew. Too many reviews and…I digress. Things were looking solid at this point.

The fourth saw the ladies edge out to a 21 point lead partially due to the Ryan factor and some of the bench players really stepping up. The fourth saw Crooks come to life primarily due to amazing assists from Ryan. You can see her senior experience in everything she does. She helped bring Crooks from a middling 5 points up to another solid double digit game that also included another swished trey. The quarter would see UNI knock the lead down to 13 at one and I was getting nervous. Ryan was on the bench and likely done for the day. But a few players like Joens really stepped up and made some fantastic plays to ice this one down the stretch. Final 87-70

Observations

Folks, this one shouldn’t have been this close. I have to give McDermott credit as she was one of the best players on the court. She's quick and has a silky sweet shot. But she was pretty much all UNI had. So, why shouldn’t it have been this close? The inconsistent officiating cost ISU in so many ways. It’s just unfortunate they can have such a big impact. BUT, sometimes you have to beat 8 and not 5 on the court. That’s exactly what our sisters did tonight.

POG - this one is easy. TEAM. When starters struggled bench players made a huge difference. Every single player made huge contributions whether it was AJ playing defense or Joens being the blue collar worker nabbing boards and getting the dirty work done. Six players were in double figures. Second time that’s happened this year. Someone do the homework and figure out the last time ISU has two games in a single season where that happened.

The Ryan Factor - it was great to see Em back last game. What we saw this game was Ryan 2.0. She looked like the senior all conference player she is. Steals for baskets. Beautiful assists. Sweet shots. Calm and cool.

Crooks - I remember someone posting that guards don’t drive on Audi…they tried tonight and they paid dearly. She was playing physical ball tonight and was doing things we hadn’t seen her normally do from a physicality standpoint. She took some hard knocks and had a few bad calls along the way. She withstood it all. She really shined when Ryan was distributing the ball. It seemed like the two had been playing together for more than parts of two games. Sixteen points and 5 boards along with three fouls (ok, 5 technically..but a couple were pure BS).

Brown - she really struggle out of the gates. She was guarded well and struggled on offense to find any openings. But her defense was stellar and as the game ground on she took advantage of opportunities to collect 11, 12 boards and 7 assists. When she wasn’t scoring she was dishing…many in the second half. She just finds a way to contribute.

Joens - You can tell she was used to playing ball with bigger sisters in the driveway. She is a junkyard dog who knows how to scrap. She does things the “Joens way." Her effort off the bench was outstanding. Key rebounds. Key shots. Put backs off a rebound. Free throws. Sixteen points, 5 boards and 2 very scrappy steals. Yes, I’ll take more.

Natabou - maybe her best overall game. She showed she is being coached. First time I’ve seen her not dribble every time she gets the ball. Starting to just turn and shoot. Fought for some rebounds. Showed some attitude that netted her a flagrant foul. Eleven points and ten boards along with six…yes, six fouls. Note…both of our posts fouled out.

Belanger - hit a couple of nice shots tonight, but kind of disappeared for some stretches. She ended up in double figures, but really struggled to break free much throughout the game. Moved well on defense which made a difference.

AJ - she had the tough job of guarding McDermott for much of the game. She was bounced off of screens…many of which were moving screens…and just kept on going. Handled the ball well and finally hit a nice trey. Stat line doesn’t show it, but this young lady battled tonight.

Diew - as she often is, she can be hot (last game) and cold from the field. Tonight was a cold night. So, instead she grabbed 7 boards and played gutsy defense. She ended up assigned to McDermott with AJ out and did a pretty good job of staying with her and frustrating her shot with those long arms. Yeoman's work.

Bristow - she reminds me of a young thoroughbred horse. You see glimpses of what’s there and other times they look the clumsy colt. She just struggled tonight and it really limited her game in this matchup.

Big stat - the ladies absolutely dominated the boards 49-25. That’s us utter dominance.

The Three - the shots keep falling. Fifty percent from the arc with 11 of 22 going through.

Free throws - sometimes an adventure…the ladies hit one goal of improving to 76% for the game. That’s decent. Not ISU good, but decent.

Assists - this team was struggling with assists through the first half. The second started seeing things happen due to the Ryan Effect. Seventeen for the game on 30 made shots. Of importance…most of the buckets in the second half had assists tied to them.

I told my wife after the game it appeared that the UNI game plan was to make this a dog fight. They rotated players for fresh sets of fouls every chance they could. They had one player who kept them in the game and the officiating benefitted the game plan. It became rough and tumble like a playground game. Several players fouled out. There were multiple flagrants called. The ladies had to find a way to be dogs in a dog fight (they did) and also find ways to be themselves as the moments allowed (they did). In the end it was a seven on one game and the seven walked away victorious,

So, the end of the non-con is here. The team sits and 7-4 and have won 5 of their last 6 with but a close loss to the #3 team in the country the only blemish. Think what this team looked like early on. Young, figuring each other out, trying to develop flow. They are a 100% different team today than they were at the beginning of November. Being freshmen is no longer an excuse, it’s something to be proud of. Next up is Okie State down in red dirt after some well earned rest. It’s exciting. I’m excited anyway…let’s have some fun!

Merry Christmas to you all. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

Iowa State (6-4) vs. UNI (1-7)

Hilton Coliseum– Ames, Iowa

Wednesday, December 20, 2023 – 6:30 p.m. CT


Back in October, UNI was selected by conference coaches, SID’s and media as the MVC Women’s Basketball Preseason Favorite, and they had two players selected to the Preseason All-MVC 1st Team – Juniors Grace Boffeli & Maya McDermott.

The Panthers started the season with a victory of Green Bay on November 6, then got hammered at home by Iowa 94-53 to begin a seven-game losing streak. UNI played in the same Las Vegas tournament as ISU, with two common opponents.

11/24 - Syracuse 71 - UNI 54 VERSUS 11/25 - Syracuse 81 – ISU 69

11/24 – Vanderbilt 68 – ISU 53 VERSUS 11/25 Vanderbilt 68 – UNI 64

While ISU holds a lop-sided advantage in the all-time series, the last time these two teams met, the #7 Cyclones took home a nail-biting, 88-85 victory. That matchup saw both forward Grace Boffeli and guard Maya McDermott score 20+ points with a career-high 26 points coming from Boffeli and 22 coming from McDermott.

Iowa State is ranked No. 56 in the NET rankings. This will be the fifth time this season the Panthers have faced an opponent that is currently ranked in the top 60 and the eighth time an opponent is currently in the top 100. UNI holds the second-best average opponent NET rank in the nation with an average rank of 56. The only team ranked higher than UNI is UConn with an average opponent NET rank of 55. The Panthers also boast the ninth-hardest NET, non-conference strength of schedule. As of December 17, the Panthers have the fourth-hardest strength of schedule per the Massey ratings behind UConn, South Carolina, and Maryland.

I don’t get it we get a 5 star and he’s not good enough to play against Eastern Illinois when we’re 28 points ahead! What the hell TJ? He must be trying to run him off ! He’s probably not a one and done to the NBA but he could be to the portal!

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I wonder by doing this if we would see less and less big 12 teams playing in November tournaments.

Not sure if you guys have heard Chip Kelly's take on college football but here it is. He said what should be done is take the power 5 conferences in football only and put them all together and divide the teams up just like they do in the NFL. You would have a North, South, East, and West divisions with subdivisions in each. Then you would still have your 12 team playoffs. All the other sports, including basketball would stay in the conferences just like they are now. The idea being football drives all college athletics. Football teams would only have to travel 6-8 times a season. They can afford that. Basketball and all other sports would stay in the conference that is close in proximity. Currently sports teams like softball, tennis, soccer, and etc all have to travel multiple times across the country a couple times a week because of the new conferences. He basically is saying keep conferences for all sports except football. Throw all college football together. You would take all funding from television and streaming networks and split them amongst the 64-68 power 5 schools. Football would fund all sports at there institutions like they basically do now. Can you imaging all the finding from all the networks! It would be equal for all teams. I think this is a GREAT idea and it will get some traction!

Might be the quickest I’ve ever seen a thread closed. lol. I love it.

The Pokey Stix thread got me thinking about all the places I miss in Ames that have closed. What are yours?

Off the top of my head:

Gumby's: Pokey Stix and Pepperoni rolls
HomeTeam Pizza: Dirt cheap drunk food, 3 mediums for $10. Plus they had a cheesy commercial shot at Sterling.
Angies: Didn't seem to last long but that was a great after bar spot, always packed, good breakfast.
La Fuente: Margarita Challenge! Solid mexican food, although El Azteca topped it when they came to town.
The Truck Stop: Great food just a little out of the way. Cyclone Slam ftw
Battles: The original location, went downhill a bit once they moved to Welch and owner died.

Elwood Drive: Screw University Boulevard.

I am looking for a new tax prep/planning person in west central Iowa, mostly the Carroll/Denison/Storm Lake area. My old one is more of a lawyer type that pretty much goes through the steps and fills out the forms and send them in. I am looking for that plus some of the planning and year end purchases that may need to be made. I am tired of paying through the nose come tax time. Thanks!

Who wants them?
4 total 1 is in a different section but you’ll probably be able to sit together for this one.
These are for tonight’s game

Section 238 row 12 first to dm

SEC 224

ideally would like this to go to someone who normally couldn't afford to go...

Phenomenal. Great perspective.

Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua kicks off the New Year this week.

Here is the Field:

PLAYER NAMES

Bradley, Keegan

Brehm, Ryan

Burns, Sam

Cantlay, Patrick

Conners, Corey

Finau, Tony

Fitzpatrick, Matt

Harman, Brian

Henley, Russell

Hoge, Tom

Homa, Max

Horschel, Billy

Hovland, Viktor

Hughes, Mackenzie

Im, Sungjae

Kim, Tom

Lee, K.H.

List, Luke

Matsuyama, Hideki

Morikawa, Collin

Mullinax, Trey

Poston, J.T.

Power, Seamus

Rahm, Jon

Ramey, Chad

Reavie, Chez

Schauffele, Xander

Scheffler, Scottie

Scott, Adam

Spaun, J.J.

Spieth, Jordan

Stallings, Scott

Straka, Sepp

Svensson, Adam

Theegala, Sahith

Thomas, Justin

Wise, Aaron

Young, Cameron

Zalatoris, Will

2 tickets to tonight's MBB game vs Eastern Illinois (the team that beat the hawks last year!) - Section 213 row 12.

You don't want to miss this one - first $200 takes them!


Just kidding, they're free - first one to reply here or PM can have them!

Hey guys, I bought tickets through Iowa State (ticketmaster facilitated the transaction), and had a quick question.

I received an email saying "We've Got your tickets", and it shows the section, row, and seats (2) for my Dad and me.

However, when I click on "Manage Tickets", it doesn't show anything. Anyone else come across this? I called Iowa State ticket office and they said to check it in a few days, like maybe Tuesday next week. Would just be nice to have the tickets more available before heading out to TN.

Thank you

I'm looking for a trail cam for my property, I don't hunt but I'd like to see whats running around our acreage checking out our chickens. Any advice on what I should be looking for, trusted brands, best bang for my buck?

2 tix to eastern illinois section 240 row 4 seats 1 and 2 (on the aisle).......$25 takes them. ....also ....

D5 parking pass for the rest of the home mens bball games.......first $100 takes passes.....pick up in ames.......text me at 319 631 3012 to make arrangements........