Remember That Old Line, 'If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It?' Well, Forget It Today

Over the years, I've had plenty of broken lawnmowers.

But I've never been able to fix any of them without outside help, either from my sons or the repair shop.

However, this was the first time I ever felt better after finding out I wouldn't be able to cut the grass.

My backyard was in the process of going to seed because of all the recent rain, so I figured I'd better crank up the Honda mulcher and get it cut.

Everything worked fine for a while.

I made four, maybe five west-to-east swings with the mower.

Then the engine sputtered, just like a lot of my cars.

It died quickly. Again, like a lot of my cars.

I tried to start the old Honda a few times, without success.

I bought the Honda a few years ago because I figured it was made in Japan, and I thought everything manufactured in Japan would last forever.

Shows you what I know.

Frustrated and generally unhappy, too, I went inside the house and turned on the computer.

The last time I'd looked, the Cubs were trailing the Colorado Rockies, a pretty bad baseball team this year, 8-1 in the middle of a game at Wrigley Field.

I figured that was a good reason to start mowing.

But after clicking on ESPN.com, I saw that the Cubs were ahead, 10-9, in the top of the ninth.

I saw a miracle coming.

So I quickly turned on the TV.

At first, it wasn't a good idea.

Kerry Wood, the Cubs' closer, couldn't find home plate with his pitches.

I figured Wood would blow another save.

But then he induced a double play, and finally retired the Rockies without a run.

The Cubs had come back from a 9-1 deficit to win their fifth straight game.

That moved them one game closer to winning their first World Series in 100 years.

A Chicago TV reporter interviewed Jim Edmonds, the new Cubs centerfielder who used to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Edmonds had hit his first home run as a Cub.

The giddy announcer asked, "Do you feel like a Cub now?"

Edmonds didn't seem real happy.

He never does when he's at Wrigley Field [which is pictured at the right].

He said, "A lot of fans in the bleachers think I'm still wearing red."

He meant Cardinal red.

That meant Cub fans haven't exactly taken to Edmonds.

They probably never will.

I know I haven't.

The announcer cut the interview with Edmonds short. He shifted to Mark DeRosa, who hit the winning home run.

DeRosa was much more pleasant.

I think he's auditioning for a TV career.

Now I'm glad the mower didn't start. I would've missed all that.

Later, my son brought his mower over, and I was able to get some of the mowing finished.

It wasn't a Honda. It was a Snapper or something.

Probably made in China.

[NOTE: This is Ron's editor. He gets an "F" in lawnmower reporting today. I checked his son's mower, and it's called an "Easy-Mulch Lawn Boy." Pretty snappy name, huh? But I'm not sure if it's made in China, Korea or the South Pole.]

I'm going to discuss all of this with my Japanese friend Kosuke Fukudome, the next time I see him.

He'd probably be in a good mood. He's the Cubs' rookie rightfielder, and he hit a home run in Friday's game, too.

That was my afternoon.

And If Mark Farley Leaves, You'd Better Go, Too

I'm going to write a little more today about Troy Dannen getting the athletic director job at the University of Northern Iowa.

But I don't plan to spend much time with it because I think university athletic directors should be seen and not heard.

Seen at the booster club gatherings, that is, and not during football and basketball games.

Any good athletic director knows he or she should stay in the shadows.

I mean, can you tell me who the athletic director is at LSU? At Ohio State? At Duke? At Southern California? Half of the people who follow Iowa State's teams might even think Max Urick is still the athletic director. The other half wish he was.

UNI isn't LSU, Ohio State, Duke or USC -- or even Iowa or Iowa State.

This is what being the athletic director at UNI means:

You keep scheduling the Panthers' home football games at 4 p.m. so you can [maybe] continue drawing decent crowds. People in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls are are Iowa fans first and UNI fans second, or maybe third [behind Wartburg].

You keep trying to get Iowa or Iowa State interested in playing an occasional football game against the Panthers -- especially as long as Mark Farley is UNI's coach.

You look for another job if Farley decides to leave.

You say, "What a great idea!" when Jim Walden or Jim Criner say they're thinking of making a coaching comeback at Iowa State. After all, it was partially because of losses to the Panthers that both Walden and Criner were fired in Ames.

You keep a close watch on Ben Jacobson's UNI basketball program, which is sinking quickly. You remind Jacobson that he can't keep getting swept by Drake in both Des Moines and Cedar Falls every season.

Even though the other four finalists seemed much more qualified for the UNI job than alumnus Dannen, you stress that, "It's great to be coming home" and that at least he'll be in his office instead of wearing a striped shirt in Madison, Wis., on the day the Panthers have a big home basketball game.

You tell Dannen [pictured at the right] to go back to the Girls' Union if he's seen refereeing noon league games at the YMCA, with hopes of moving into the college game.

You drop the baseball program as soon as possible.

*

It's finally an official tornado at Parkersburg. Someone woke up in the newsroom at the paper and sent Ken Fuson there.

*

Speaking of Parkersburg, Iowa native Jay Christensen did an outstanding job with his coverage [photo at the left by Iowan Steve Pope of Getty Images] from there for the Los Angeles Times.

6-5 Women's Player Leaves Drake, Transfers To Division II Team

Even though she stood 6 feet 5 inches, it didn't work out at Drake for Claire Janusz.

She's gone.

Gone to Fort Lewis College, a Division II women's basketball team in Durango, Colo.

"She was at Drake last season, but did not play," says Bud Appleby, a Bulldogs women's basketball season ticketholder.

The Durango Herald is pretty excited about Fort Lewis getting Janusz.

"Fort Lewis found a center," it said in the paper. "Skyhawks women's basketball coach Mark Kellogg announced the signing of 6-foot-5 center Claire Janusz.

"'We are excited to have Claire join us," said Kellogg, who led his team to an 18-1 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last season and a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

"'(Janusz) gives us a true center that we have not seen at Fort Lewis in a number of years.'

"Janusz was a redshirt freshman last season at Division I Drake University in Des Moines.

"As a senior at Resurrection High School in Chicago, Janusz averaged 9.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 6.8 blocks per game. She was named to the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times All-Area teams and was named one of the top 50 players in the Greater Chicagoland area by the latter after her senior season.

"As a junior, Janusz led her team to a 22-9 mark and shot better than 60 percent from the floor.

"'Along with her versatility around the basket, Claire adds tremendous size and depth to an already stellar recruiting class,' Kellogg said in the news release. "We look for her to be an immediate impact on the low block both offensively and defensively.'

"Fort Lewis, which finished last season 26-4, a program best, graduated just one player from last year's roster.

"The team returns its leading scorer and the nation's most accurate shooter, Allison Rosel. Four of the team's five starters also return: juniors Laura Haugen, Katie Mackey and Audrey George and senior point guard Erin Kerr.

"'Claire will definitely give us a boost in the future as we look to compete in the NCAA national tournament again, Kellogg said."

Thank You, Jonas Salk

When I was a kid, summertime in Iowa was much more than a couple of Kids' League baseball games every week at Riverside Park in Cedar Rapids, a trip to the Ellis Park swimming pool once in a while and maybe a 16-cent movie at the Paramount, State or Iowa theater.

Every July or August, we always had to worry about polio and whether some of us would wind up in an iron lung or on crutches because of it.

We'd have to check with our doctor or ask our neighbors to see if we should be going to the swimming pool or the movies because everybody thought that's where you got polio.

All of us knew people would probably get crippled if they came down with polio. The Gazette would even publish front page stories several times a week about how many people had come down with the terrible disease.

I looked up the description of polio on the Internet today, and here's what it said:

"Polio [also called poliomyelitis] is a contagious, historically devastating disease that was virtually eliminated from the western hemisphere in the second half of the 20th century. Although polio has plagued humans since ancient times, its most extensive outbreak occurred in the first half of the 1900s before the vaccination, created by Jonas Salk, became widely available in 1955.

"At the height of the polio epidemic in 1952, nearly 60,000 cases with more than 3,000 deaths were reported in the United States alone. However, with widespread vaccination, wild-type polio, or polio occurring through natural infection, was eliminated from the United States by 1979 and the Western hemisphere by 1991."

The reason I'm bringing up polio now is that I noticed a sad story in the Los Angeles Times about a woman who died after spending nearly 60 years in an iron lung because of polio.

[A Times photo showing iron lungs from the 1940s or 1950s is included at the right].

"For the first time in more than half a century, the Odell residence is quiet," the story said. "There are no squeaks and pops from the electric motor that powered an 'iron lung' pumping air in and out of Dianne Odell's body.

"A thunderstorm knocked out the power to her home Wednesday, shutting off the massive metal machine that had helped her breathe for nearly 60 years.

"It was about 3 a.m. when the electricity went out at Odell's home in Jackson, a small Tennessee town about 90 miles northeast of Memphis. An emergency generator did not start, and Odell died as her father and brother-in-law took turns pumping the iron lung manually.

"Dianne Odell, 61, was believed to be the nation's oldest survivor of polio to have spent almost all of her life inside an iron lung.

"She had been confined within the 7-foot-long, 750-pound machine ever since she was paralyzed at the age of 3 by bulbospinal polio. That was in 1950, just a few years before a polio vaccine was discovered.

"Her parents, Freeman and Geneva Odell, were determined to care for her at home, even though her entire body was encased in a cylindrical metal chamber. Only her head extended outside of it.

She lay on her back as the metal lung produced positive and negative pressure that allowed her lungs to expand and contract.

Doctors at the time told Odell's parents she did not have long to live, but she went on to graduate from high school, take college classes -- even write a book from within the sealed, airtight compartment..."

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Here's something else that's sad, although it can't compare with what happened to Dianne Odell.

I'm referring to the story the news organizations are having fun with about US Airways eliminating "free snacks" in coach class on its flights.

I assume free snacks mean those little packages of peanuts and pretzels, although apparently nobody asked the airline about it.

Evidently, first class passengers will still get free peanuts, free alcoholic beverages and free soft drinks, although I guess nobody asked about that either. Free soft drinks will continue to be offered in coach.

Remind me to not book any flights on US Airways anytime soon.

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Speaking of food -- but not the free variety -- I can't figure out why the paper publishes those photographs of empty dining rooms with its restaurant stories in Datebook.

There was another one [shown at the left] today in the story about Django at 210 10th Street. The picture by Doug Wells showed no one in the dining room.

The veteran Wells is one of the best news photographers the paper has, but it's a waste of his time and an insult to his intelligence to have the clown of a Datebook editor assign him to take a picture of a vacant dining room.

Instead of an empty dining room, the paper would be much better off publishing only pictures of the food served by the restaurant.

*

But at least we got treated to this headline the other day:

Dogs on short leash at market

Class stuff about the downtown farmers' market -- far and away the most overrated news event in central Iowa.

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WHO-TV officials said today they're preparing for another Iowa technological first by broadcasting special sights and sounds from this weekend’s Principal golf event in high-definition TV.television.

This marks the first time a local sporting event has been shot and broadcast in HD by a commercial station. The HDTV moments can be seen on channel 13 Friday and Saturday evenings at 6 amd 10 p.m., Sunday night at 5 and 10 p.m. and during Sound-Off with Keith Murphy Sunday night at 10:35 p.m.

“The Principal Charity Classic is a huge community event and we thought the perfect occasion to demonstrate our enhanced technological capabilities,” said WHO general manager Dale R. Woods. “WHO-TV is proud to be the digital leader and show central Iowa viewers what local television news will look like in the near future.”

*

Troy Dannen of the Girls' Union today was named Northern Iowa's new athletic director. I assume Dannen knows what he's doing. I'm not sure if UNI does.

A Signing & Small Victories

Mike Mahon tells me Craig Stanley, a two-time first-team all-conference point guard guard at Collin [TX] Community College, has signed a basketball national letter of intent at Drake.

The 5-11 Stanley ranked seventh nationally in assists this past season, averaging 5.4, while ranking ninth in assist/turnover ratio [2.14].

The Plano, TX, native averaged 11.4 points and 2.3 rebounds this past season while leading Collin to a 21-9 record.

Stanley enjoyed double-doubles of 10 points and 10 assists against Southwestern Christian College and a career-high 23 points and 10 assists against Jacksonville.

Last summer, Stanley got to display his abilities as part of the College Junior Teamthat competed in the 2007 Global Games featuring some of the top college and international players from around the country.

"I liked the academic part of Drake," said Stanley. "I like how the whole school seems to look out for one another. I attended a few classes with some of the players, and I like the relationships they had with the faculty. It was like a family, and that will be important for me being so far away from home."

"Stanley has been a solid point guard for us for two years," said Collin coach Jim Sigona. "There's nothing he's weak at. He can score the ball and is a playmaker. He can get to the basket and create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Sigona, who has served as head coach at Collin College for 20 years, said Stanley's personality makes him outstanding.

"He's an even better person than he is a basketball player. I have nothing but good things to say about Craig. He's a big reason for our success the past few years. Drake is getting an outstanding young man."

Stanley averaged 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a freshman in 2006-07 to help qualify for the NJCAA Region V Tournament. He shot 44.3 percent from the floor, including 36.7 percent from three-point range.

Stanley earned first-team all-District 8-5A honors as a senior at West High School in Plano in 2006 after leading the team in scoring [13.1 average] and assists [3.6]. He also earned honorable mention all-district honors as a junior in 2005.

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Kelly Beaton of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier continued his newspaper's strong coverage of what's been going on in the wake of the tornado that did heavy damage to communities in northeastern Iowa.

Here's his story on Aaron Kampman: [pictured at the right]:

Aaron Kampman heard the news. Then he came running.

After hearing that his grandfather and inlaws were in the line of destruction left by Sunday's tornado --- the second deadliest in the state of Iowa since 1950 --- Kampman and his wife, Linde, jumped in their car and began pounding pavement at 5 a.m. Monday.

Upon arrival to the site of his old high school, Kampman, now a Green Bay Packer, couldn't believe the carnage. The landscape looked a little like the set of "War of the Worlds": Trees all throughout the town of roughly 2,000 residents were snapped like twigs. Grain elevators were mashed and mangled, like tin cans. Insurance companies' catastrophe trucks lined the business district.

Still, after two days of manning a chainsaw and removing trees and rubble, Kampman has a pep-talk for Parkersburg:

"There's so much devastation, you can't look at the big picture," said Kampman, a native of nearby Kesley. "You've got to look at the small victories. That's been (the residents') rallying cry."

After being overjoyed that his extended family was spared from true peril --- Claas Kampman, 71, is stabilizing in a Waterloo hospital after being "injured pretty good" -- Aaron Kampman feels compelled to help others who were far less fortunate in this ravaged area.

"The Packers are going to do something (to fund raise)," said Kampman, a 1998 Aplington-Parkersburg graduate, speaking late Tuesday in a phone interview while traveling to Green Bay.

"This is an opportunity," Kampman added, "to get as much help (from) all the different circles of influence that people like myself have found themselves in."

Few people were probably thinking of sports Tuesday, as SUVs were fork-lifted away for scrap-metal just east of Ed Thomas Field, where Kampman was once a star linebacker. Yet, in the proud football community of Parkersburg, which has produced four NFL players in the last 15 years, lessons learned in sports might just serve as a saving grace in the weeks ahead.

"As a community, this is a tremendous opportunity to draw close," said Kampman, a two-time NFL Pro Bowler. "It's easier to fight back-to-back than on your own.

"The neat thing is, I was driving through town this afternoon," he added, "and I saw some American flags raised in the rubble. And I saw hope. You saw people hugging in the streets and pulling together.

"That's what I'm talking about: Small victories."

Kampman has urged those interested in aiding relief efforts to make a donation at Lincoln Savings Bank in Aplington, by calling (800) 588-7551.

An Editor Writes About Iowa Tragedy

Some wonderful journalistic work can come out of tragedy, and R.H. of Des Moines writes to tell me about what's going on at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in the wake of the tornado that devastated the Parkersburg-New Hartford-Dunkerton areas of northeastern Iowa:

"Ron,

"As a native of Waterloo, 30 minutes east of Parkersburg, it's been difficult for me to put into words or perspective of what the citizens in Parkersburg, New Hartford, and Dunkerton went through Sunday night. It feels like my 'regional' backyard, to put it, was wiped off the map in a matter of minutes.

"I was reading the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier's website late last night and today and something caught my eye that made me proud to be from Waterloo. One of the main stories of the tornado coverage was written by Nancy Raffensperger Newhoff...the Courier's own editor. Earlier on Sunday, Doug and Nancy's son, Drew, graduated from Wartburg, and I can merely assume that once word got to the newsroom in Waterloo that Parkersburg was hit, Nancy went directly to Parkersburg to join up with a team of reporters from the Courier.

"In today's age of media coverage, I don't think I can remember any editor of a major daily in this state who went out to cover a story, without being in the comforts of a corner office. The Courier usually doesn't get a lot of attention across the state, but if I know one thing to be sure, it is this: they care about the regional area around Waterloo and they treat Parkersburg like one of their own.

"For Newhoff to be there and to write up a story speak volumes on how dedicated a daily paper like my Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier is. It would be hard-pressed to expect the editor of the New York Times, Washington Post, or the Dallas Morning News to leave the newsroom and report on a story.

"Here is the link to Nancy's story: http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/05/25/news/top_story/doc483a20f240076826807936.txt

"Best,

R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: R. H. of Des Moines was the first person to make me aware last September that Nancy Raffensperger Newhoff, 50, [pictured at the right] had been named editor of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Newhoff became the first woman in the 148-year history of the newspaper to have the top newsroom job. Nancy is a West Des Moines Valley graduate and the daughter of Gene Raffensperger, a longtime writer and editor at the Des Moines Register. Gene, who is among the retired newspaper people I have lunch with nearly every week, was a former Eastern Iowa News Bureau chief, city editor, sports editor and a guy who was routinely sent to cover the biggest story in the state when he was at the Register. Indeed, if he were working now, the guy we simply call "Raff" would be the pointman in the coverage at Parkersburg, New Hartford and Dunkerton. I join R. H. in praising Nancy for leading the Courier's reporting efforts during this tragedy [shown in the Courier photo at the left]. As R. H. points out, it's unusual for the editor of a daily newspaper to be out in the field, contributing to the Big Story. Most editors stay in the office, getting in everyone else's way. Nancy's husband, Doug Newhoff, is the Courier's sports editor. Gene Raffensperger's father, Leonard, was Iowa's head football coach in 1950 and 1951, and was the longtime coach at East High School in Waterloo. Gene Raffensperger's younger brother, John, is the Kinnick Stadium press box announcer during Hawkeye football games, a former outstanding track coach at City High School in Iowa City and has written a book about athletics at the school. So writing obviously runs in the family].

*

The front-page headline in the paper here says: 'It really is a disaster'

I'm wondering if there was some doubt in anyone's mind that the tornado produced a disaster?

*

The most overused word in the paper here is "deadly."

The people in the newsroom at 8th & Locust have been watching too much cable TV.

Parkersburg Has Shown Its Strength In the Past; It Will Do the Same Again

Horrible. Just horrible.

There's no other way to put it sfter after seeing the pictures [left, from the Associated Press] and considering what happened on this Memorial weekend in the northeastern Iowa community of Parkersburg.

Six people dead. One-third of the town of less than 2,000 destroyed by a tornado.

Just think. Until now, the thing that made Parkersburg famous was its football players.

Indeed, the town has sent four of its big, strapping young guys into the National Football League.

With an enrollment of only 270, Aplington-Parkersburg High School has put four players into the world's best football league.

Their names are Aaron Kampman [pictured at the right], Casey Wiegmann, Jared DeVries and Brad Meester.

Kampman, Wiegmann and DeVries were standouts at Iowa before going to the NFL; Meester played at Northern Iowa.

Kampman is a 6-4, 286-pound defensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers; DeVries is a 6-4, 275-pound defensive end for the Detroit Lions; Wiegman is a 6-2, 288-pound center who has been with Kansas City, the Chicago Bears and New York Jets; Meester is a 6-3, 300-pound offensive guard for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

You can bet all of them are rallying around their hometown today, as is everyone else in our state.

From now on, Memorial Day will have an even more special meaning to the town of Parkersburg.

*

When I was a kid in Cedar Rapids, I remember my maternal grandmother referring to Memorial Day as "Decoration Day."

The silver-haired lady we called Granny is gone now, and I guess people don't call it Decoration Day as much these days.

History tells us that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day as a day of remembrance "for those who have died in our nation's service."

Another thing I recall about my childhood was that the Cedar Rapids Drum & Bugle Corps would march up Sixth Street past Linwood Cemetery on the morning of every Decoration Day.

I knew a little more about the Drum & Bugle Corps than some of the other kids because my neighbor, Billy Neary, marched in the band. I think he played the bugle, but it may have been the drums.

Whatever he played, Billy did it well.

And the Drum & Bugle Corps always performed well. I guess the corps got its start in the 1920s in Cedar Rapids, and was still going strong long afterward.

I don't have many relatives left in Cedar Rapids, but the next time I talk with Miquie, Martha, Emrie or Lucille, I'll ask if there's anything left of the Drum & Bugle Corps other than the memories.

*

I mentioned the other day that, for a former major league manager and a guy who probably wants to hang onto his job as a TV analyst for the Chicago Cubs, Bob Brenly has gotten fairly outspoken when he's at the microphone.

Brenly and play-by-play announcer Len Kasper were talking on WGN-TV about whether Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs' lousy-fielding leftfielder, should be replaced for defensive purposes in the late innings of games.

Soriano dropped a flyball with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning yesterday to help give Pittsburgh a victory over the Cubs. A Little Leaguer should have caught the ball. Soriano blamed the mistake on losing the ball in the sun.

Hwy, when you're making the kind of money Soriano makes, it's never your fault.

Manager Lou Piniella is on record as saying you don't replace superstars for defensive reasons.

Brenly, who managed a World Series championship team when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, said, "The label needs to change. Soriano might be a superstar offensive player, but he is by no means a superstar defender in leftfield."

Don't forget, Soriano signed a $136 million contract prior to last season. It'll be interesting to see who's still with the Cubs in a couple of years -- Soriano or Brenly.

*

Darned weekend help.

I guess people at the paper couldn't believe that Dick Martin of the old "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" TV show, could die.

Whatever, the story of Martin's death was in Sunday's paper, and the same story was in today's paper.

Same headline, too: 'Laugh-In' comedian Martin dies at 86

The only difference was that yesterday's story was on page 14, today's was on page 10.

Regardless, I'm fairly certain Martin is still dead.

If I Were Lou Piniella, I Wouldn't Want To Answer Any Questions About the Cubs Either

Manager Lou Piniella refused to talk with reporters after the Chicago Cubs' 5-4 loss loss last night at Pittsburgh in 14 innings. Based on some of the strategy Piniella employed during the game, I'd keep my interviews to a minimum, too. Even Bob Brenly, a former major league manager who now is the Cubs' TV commentator, is questioning some of the decisions Piniella [pictured at the left] is making these days.

*

The Cubs might as well face it. St. Louis is not going away. The Cardinals won at Los Angeles, 4-0, last night and now are in a virtual first-place tie with Chicago in the National League Central. St. Louis might look like a rag-tag team, but manager Tony LaRussa has his players believing they can win.

*

I'd say it's about time the Cubs sent Jim Edmonds to No-Name Ballpark in Des Moines to work on his swing. So far as a Chicago outfielder, Edmonds hasn't shown he has a swing.

*

Just when I start getting pumped-up about the Barnstormers, they take a nosedive. You've heard the old line, "I wonder how they'll play in Peoria?" In the case of the Barnstormers, not very well. Where's Kurt Warner when the Stormers' faithful need him?

*

The best part of the Cubs' telecast on WGN last night was a repeat of the Budweiser commercial I've seen before. It's the one where a bunch of our uniformed troops are returning home, and are greeted with applause by civilians at an airport. The facial expressions on the male and female military people, as well as the civilians, are priceless. At the end, the beer company's only message is, "Thank you." Great stuff on the Memorial Day weekend.

*

I don't know if I'll be able to control my excitement until Tony Freeman shows up at the Knapp Center with his Southern Illinois basketball team in a couple of years, after sitting out the 2008-2009 season to satisfy NCAA transfer regulations. I imagine there'll be three or four chartered buses filled with Hawkeye fans and Iowa coach Todd Lickliter and his assistants, coming over from Iowa City when Freeman [pictured at the right] is a Saluki. I guess my biggest question is if Tony is good enough to get a starting job in the Missouri Valley Conference?

Joe Torre Didn't Need a Rare Rain Delay At Dodger Stadium To Find Out He Has a Bad Baseball Team

Save me a seat at the graduation party. I'm almost ready.

I'm planning to walk about 25 feet in a few minutes to congratulate the neighbor girl for making it through high school and to wish her good luck when she starts new pre-veterinary classes at Iowa State late in the summer.

This world needs all the good veterinarians it can get, and the neighbor girl will be an outstanding one.

Meanwhile, for those of you who choose to live in the previous century and have to depend on newspapers for your baseball scores, I have a bonus for you.

In a game I wanted neither team to win, the St. Louis Cardinals survived a feeble Los Angeles Dodgers offense and a 65-minute rain delay last night in a 2-1 victory before more than 50,000 spectators who either left the ballpark early or fell asleep in their seats.

I'd been watching the game on the Cardinals' TV network, but had fallen asleep by the time it ended. Evidently, so had Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who hasn't been awake for much of the season.

Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who is a perfect example of how watered-down major league baseball is these days, hit a two-run homer to win the game for St. Louis. Ten years ago, he'd have been in Double-A.

The rain delay was the second this season at the Dodgers' park, which has had 17 rainouts since the place opened in 1962 -- and none since April 17, 2000.

St. Louis is still one game behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, which is the only thing that matters.


*

Hey, it's a good thing Iowa State doesn't need to sell any season tickets to its 2008-2009 basketball games yet. The market would be pretty damn bleak. I'm trying to figure out how coach Greg McDermott can expect anyone to have interest in his team. Players -- good players, bad players and so-so players -- keep bailing out of his program. Pretty soon the only guy left will be the ballboy. If you ask me, McDermott is a lot like mike gartner , whose time with the State Board of Regents has been a joke. Nobody has confidence in either guy.

*

The next time somebody tries to tell you the newspaper business isn't in awful shape, refer him or her to what's happening at the Washington Post.

The Post is a paper that likes to think of itself as one of the world's best. If that's the case, the business is doing even worse than all of us thought.

The Post says more than 100 reporters, editors, photographers, artists and others will take early retirement packages offered by the company as a way to cut costs, reducing the newsroom staff by at least 10 percent.

The paper says, "A number of familiar bylines will leave for good or no longer appear regularly in the paper, including those of military affairs reporter Thomas E. Ricks; feature writers Linton Weeks and Peter Carlson; health reporter Laura Sessions Stepp; science reporter Rick Weiss; the husband-and-wife foreign correspondent team of John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore; critics Stephen Hunter, Desson Thomson and Tim Page; Federal Diary columnist Stephen Barr; Weekend writers Richard Harrington and Eve Zibart; and Metro reporters Sue Anne Pressley Montes and Yolanda Woodlee.

"Political dean David Broder took the package but will remain on contract; his column will continue to appear in the paper. Sports columnist and ESPN announcer Tony Kornheiser also took the offer, but his most recent full-length column in the Post appeared in 2005. Since then, his presence has been largely limited to printed excerpts from his daily Talking Points video, which he planned to continue.

The list includes a number of Pulitzer Prize winners, including Ricks, Broder and Hunter."

Pretty sad stuff.

*

Here's an item you'll never see in Biz Buzz: In some of the strangest staffing I've heard of in years, Dan Johnson evidently will continue covering the Barnstormers for the paper. Johnson, of course, has been and continues to be the paper's horseracing expert. He previews the nation's biggest horse events, but doesn't cover them because, I'm guessing, the bosses tell him the paper can't afford it financially. So Johnson will combine horseracing and Barnstormers coverage. In his spare time, he'll handle another job at which he does very well -- covering women's basketball. To say the paper gets its money's worth out of Johnson is a huge understatement. One of these days he'll no doubt get his reward by being offered an early buyout.

*

The last time I checked the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Jim Ecker was referred to as a sports columnist and not a sports reporter. Looks to me like Ecker has been promoted. If so, good for him because he's a good guy.

*

Dogs kept on short leash at farmers' market

-- Des Moines Register headline

Fukudome Gets Parrot's Vote As Rookie Of the Year; Did Wesley Johnson's Former AAU Coach Prompt His Decision To Transfer from Iowa State?

When Yosuke, the parrot, flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught —- recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.

Yahoo reported that police rescued the African grey parrot from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues.

He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.

"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.

Police, I guess, were really surprised when the parrot asked them a question.

"How did Kosuke Fukudome do today?" the bird wondered. "Did he take one to the gap?"

Fukudome [pictured at the left] is the Chicago Cubs' rightfielder from Japan, and a possible rookie of the year.

[Oh, all right, I made up those last three paragraphs!]

*

I'd say the clock is ticking on Greg McDermott.

*

From R. H. of Des Moines:

"Ron,

"I don't know if McDermott is on borrowed time or not, but the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted this ditty up from the Big 12 coaches' meetings today:


"There was talk about ways to remove AAU coaches, agents, and other influences from the game in response to the O.J. Mayo situation at USC. Iowa State coach Greg McDermott was especially vocal about the subject after losing star player Wesley Johnson this week. It's suspected that Johnson's former AAU coach prompted Johnson's decision to transfer by promising Johnson greener pastures elsewhere.

"It also sparked talk of of making college players stay two or three years before being eligible for the NBA Draft. Actually, Mizzou coach Mike Anderson said he wouldn't mind if college basketball adopted the same rules as college baseball. Players could be drafted out of high school, but if they choose to go to college, they¢d have to stay for at least three years before being eligible for the draft again."

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: It wouldn't surprise me that an AAU coach got his grubby paws into the Wesley Johnson mess. I don't think we've seen or heard the last of this].

*

My advice to McDermott and Iowa State: Release Johnson from his basketball scholarship. He obviously doesn't want to play for the Cyclones, so show some class.

*

And I don't know what's going on with Troy Dannen.

I sure wish somebody would compare his salary as the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union boss and what UNI plans to pay its new athletic director.

You'd never know by anything that's in the paper.

And I mean any paper.

No wonder circulation keeps plummeting.

*

I'm still wondering what Wayne Cooley thinks about all of this.

*

An e-mail from Barry Crist says, "Vote for Jim Zabel for the National Radio Hall of Fame. 'Z' has supported his beloved Hawkeyes for 60 years. Now it's time for all Iowa fans to support his election to the National Radio Hall of Fame:"

https://eballot3.votenet.com/nrhof/register/

*

Dogs kept on short leash at farmers' market

-- Des Moines Register headline, 2008

Clueless

Hey, let me make one thing perfectly clear.

I don't think there's any major difference in the basketball coaching abilities of Greg McDermott and Bill Self that eight or 10 happy, blue-chip players at Iowa State wouldn't solve.

*

Count me among those who thought McDermott was the kind of coach Iowa State needed a few years ago.

Now I'm not so sure.

McDermott is starting to look like a guy who's in over his head.

I wondered a few days ago if it was a case of the rats leaving a sinking ship when one of his assistant coaches quit at Ames so he could take a job on the staff at Texas Christian.

TCU? You've got to be kidding. Going from Iowa State to TCU isn't even a lateral move.

*

When McDermott was at Northern Iowa, he towered over many of the players he coached.

In an arm-wrestling contest over a 12-pack of Leinenkugel, you'd take McDermott.

He was a big, strapping guy who was beating Iowa, Iowa State and Drake.

He took three straight Panther teams to the NCAA tournament, and people naturally felt if he could do it in Cedar Falls he certainly could do it in Iowa City or Ames.

Wayne Morgan was Iowa State's coach then, and McDermott was sticking it to him bigtime.

During the game and after the game.

McDermott and Morgan got into some sort of verbal exchange during a game in Cedar Falls, and the big guy from Cedar Falls told the Iowa State coach to shove it.

UNI liked that kind of stuff.

Iowa did, too.

Iowa fans always like it when somebody tells Iowa State to shove it.

*

But now, like I say, I'm starting to wonder if McDermott would maybe be more comfortable at a place the size of UNI.

Players keep quitting on him, and they keep quitting on the Cyclones.

It's hard enough for Iowa State to compete in the Big 12 without the players showing confidence in McDermott's program.

*

I don't know where Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard is during all of this, but McDermott had better hope he's someplace that doesn't have electricity.

As hard to believe as it seems, the Iowa State sports website on the Internet is where people first learned that Wesley Johnson was calling it quits at Ames.

"Shocked would be the best way to describe my reaction," McDermott was quoted as saying on the site.

If McDermott was shocked, I wonder how he thinks Cyclone fans are feeling.

I imagine they're breathlessly waiting for McDermott's press conference tomorrow. I guess it's going to take that long for him to figure out what to say.

*

I always thought one-on-one get-togethers at the end of the season or the school year between the coach and his players was how expectations and frustrations from both parties were communicated.

But, in Johnson's case, it was a call from Johnson's brother that informed McDermott the kid was leaving.

In the old days, a coach would say, "My player is getting some bad advice."

Now I wonder who's giving the advice.

The coach of Johnson's next team maybe.

*

I guess I began wondering if McDermott had control of his own program early this past season.

That was the night his Cyclones showed up at the Knapp Center in Des Moines to play Drake.

Keno Davis was in charge of the Bulldogs, and he was in his first few weeks as a head coach.

I mean, at any level. Keno didn't even have any experience coaching at the YMCA.

It was no contest. Drake won by 35 points.

McDermott's team was clueless, and so was he.

McDermott seemed just as stunned after that game as he is now that his best scorer has bailed out.

*

R. H. of Des Moines writes more about the St. Louis Cardinals and their manager:

"Ron,

"Mark Robinson's comments on the Cardinals was spot-on. I would like to add one more example of this.

"Why didn't MLB think it was necessary to suspend Yadier Molina after he was ejected from a game early last week? In case no one remembered, Molina was catching and he started complaining about balls and strikes. The umpire threw him out of the game. LaRussa comes out to protest the ejection. While the ump and LaLooser were arguing, Molina decides to show up the ump by taking off his catcher's gear...at home plate! Molina deserved 7 or more games for that, but MLB settled to fine him instead. With no suspension.

"What a gutless move. All because the players' union would have contested and had his suspension reduced to as little as two games, which would have resulted in little or no impact to the team.

"As much as I hate the Cardinals (since I am a Cubs fan), it needs to be pointed out that under LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, the players under them have resorted to whining, complaining, and showing up the umps on any calls that goes against them, like balls and strikes. Albert Pujols could easily be one of the most likeable players in the league, but he has become surly and bitches about anything under the sun. During his stay, closer Steve Kline was one of the most hated Cardinals on that team due to his borderline boorish behavior and his constant antics to show up an ump after not getting a call, or having his pitches go over the wall for a home run.

"St. Louis might be called a great baseball city, but that team sure as hell doesn't display a measure of class or respect. They take on the persona of an arrogant, prickly manager who thinks he's smarter than anyone in baseball.

"To use the quote famously said by character Ron Burgandy in the movie "Anchorman": "you stay classy, St. Louis!"

R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: The Cardinals are making me nervous. I'd feel a whole lot better if they were 15 games behind the Cubs in the standings].

*
____________________________________________________________________________

Dogs kept on short leash at farmers' market

-- Des Moines Register headline in Metro & Iowa section, May 11, 2008

____________________________________________________________________________

Photo of Greg McDermott and Wesley Johnson courtesy of the Internet.

Drake's Phelps Names Ohl, Gibson and Richardson To His Staff

It's not true that Paul Morrison is required to give his approval before a new basketball coach is hired at Drake.

It just seems that way.

"Mark Phelps is the 15th head men's coach since I've been here," Morrison, a 1939 graduate of the university, said today. "That is, if you count Eddie Fields."

Fields coached the last few games of the 1989-90 season after Tom Abatemarco was fired.

Morrison, who is Drake's historian, is the only guy I know in the athletic department who's had a room named after him.

And it was in the Paul Morrison Room at the Knapp Center today where he and and assortment of the city's finest Internet, electronic and print journalists were meeting the new members of Phelps coaching staff.

They dined on turkey, beef and ham sandwiches and chips before going to work.

"I wish them all well," Morrison said of Justin Ohl, Kareem Richardson and Mike Gibson -- who will help Phelps try to keep the winning ways going after the 28-5 record produced in the 2007-2008 season by Keno Davis.

Ohl played for Drake, then was on Tom Davis' and Keno Davis' staffs at the university.

"Justin understands why Drake University and Drake basketball are special," said Phelps, who was named the Bulldogs' coach April 21. "He embodies those qualities we will search for as we recruit young men to Drake. I am impressed with his knowledge, integrity, passion, commitment and talent as a teacher, coach and recruiter."

Said Ohl, a native of Mason City: "I am extremely excited for the opportunity to work with coach Phelps. His character and desire for Drake and our program are evident."

Gibson and Phelps were both on Herb Sendek's staff at Arizona State.

Gibson had a 3.97 grade-point average at Carnegie Mellon University, which also was Sendek's alma mater. Gibson was a graduate assistant on Tom Izzo's staff at Michigan State in 2005-2006.

Richardson is familiar with the Missouri Valley Conference.

He was an assistant at Evansville from 2003-2007 and was on the Indiana State staff from 1999-2002. His most recent job was as the top assistant at Missouri-Kansas City.

*

Sights from the Paul Morrison Room today as Drake basketball coach Mark Phelps introduced his staff: In the top photo, Morrison, Drake's longtime historian, is shown with Phelps, who has been the Bulldogs' coach since April 21. Below that, Mike Gibson [right] is interviewed by Drake radio play-by-play announcer Larry Cotlar; Justin Ohl [center] is a holdover from the Tom Davis and Keno Davis staffs, and Kareem Richardson is interviewed. At the right is Ron Maly with Paul Morrison.

Hoiberg Could Someday Run the Timberwolves' Show

I was traveling all weekend. with the main order of business and pleasure being my granddaughter's confirmation in Minnesota.

While in the state of 10,000 lakes and 10 billion dandelions, I took 30 seconds to read what Charley Walters wrote in the St. Paul Pioneer Press about Fred Hoiberg.

I always figured Hoiberg would someday return to Ames as Iowa State's athletic director or head basketball coach. After all, he's still called The Mayor in Ames. Hoiberg was a basketball standout at Ames High School and for the Cyclones from 1992-1995.

But now Walters writes that Hoiberg [pictured at the left], who had to quit playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves because of heart problems, has become a favorite of team owner Glen Taylor.

"The Timberwolves continue to prepare Hoiberg for the possibility of eventually taking over control of basketball operations," Walters said.

"'We're getting him involved in all parts, and this coming year, we'll get him some more responsibilities,'" owner Taylor added.

[RON MALY'S COMMENT: Count on it that Hoiberg will be a success wherever he winds up. He's always been a winner}.

*

Things continue to disintegrate for God's gift to basketball coaching, the esteemed Lute Olson.

My West Coast Correspondent tells me the Arizona Daily Star reports that "one of the Arizona Wildcats' top incoming recruits wants out, and Lute does not appear willing to let him go.

"Emmanuel Negedu, a top-40 forward in the class of 2008, met with Olaon in Boston yesterday and repeated a desire to be released from his binding letter of intent citing recent changes since he signed, according to his AAU coach.

"According to Negedu's traveling team coach, Mark Adams, Olson did not offer the recruit an immediate release. So if Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood honors Olson's wishes —- Livengood is the only school official authorized to sign a possible release —- Negedu will have to sit out a season and lose a year of eligibility before he can play elsewhere.

"I was always told, and Emmanuel was told when he signed, that if he really wanted a release they would release him," Adams said. "If something came up, and he didn't want to go, they said they'd let him out."

"Negedu signed the letter of intent just 10 days after Olson began a leave of absence Nov. 4. Since the signing, Olson extended his leave to the entire season, all three of Arizona's assistant coaches last season have departed and standout guard Jerryd Bayless left for the NBA draft.

"Three other Arizona players also remain in doubt for next season: Forward Chase Budinger may stay in the NBA draft, guard Nic Wise may transfer, and incoming freshman Brandon Jennings has not yet met NCAA eligibility requirements.

"Negedu, who is from Nigeria, developed a particularly tight bond with Arizona assistant coach Josh Pastner, who left last week to take an assistant coaching job at Memphis.

"The Wildcats may offer a scholarship to Brea-Olinda (Calif.) senior guard Kyle Fogg, who is in town taking an official visit to Arizona. Fogg is one of the best remaining unsigned prospects in the class of 2008.

"Fogg's coach at Brea-Olinda, Bob Terry, said he believes Fogg would accept a scholarship to Arizona if Olson offers one. Fogg is also being recruited by Providence [where former Drake coach Keno Davis is now working], San Francisco, Fresno State, Hawaii, New Orleans and Oregon State...."

[RON MALY'S COMMENT: Iowa could have two or three players who might want to play for Olson -- with emphasis on the word "might."]

*

In the event you missed it, the Iowa Crush women's football team was nipped by the Dallas Diamonds over the weekend, 62-0. Defense seemed to be a problem for the Crush. So was the offense.

Memos To Tony LaLoser, Izzy, Edmonds and the Cubs' Idiot Manager

Some happenings in the National League Central have Mark Robinson's baseball blood boiling:

Hi, Ron,

"I see that newly-acquired centerfielder for the Cubs, Jim Edmonds, left 7 men on base in yesterday's game. That was also the day that Tony LaLoser put Jason Isringhausen on the mound in the eighth inning when the St. Louis Cardinals had a lead over the Pirates. Uh, so long one-run lead. As if we didn't see it coming.

"There are a few things we Cardinals fans know, Ron: Jim Edmonds is toast and Izzy is burnt toast.

"Someone alert Tony LaLoser and that idiot manager of the Cubs. You have got to be kidding me.

"Keep writing,"

Mark Robinson

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: You make some good points, Mark. First of all, I never thought it was a particularly good idea for Cubs general manager Jim Hendry to show interest in signing Edmonds, an outfielder Chicago fans enjoyed hating when he played for St. Louis. To Cubs fans, Edmonds was the poster boy for the big, bad Cardinals. They didn't wait to start booing him when he stepped out of the dugout and jogged to centerfield -- they began booing him when the Cardinals' charter flight took off from St. Louis. I loved it when Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano kept hitting him with baseballs during Chicago-St. Louis games. Frankly, I was sorry Zambrano apologized to Edmonds when he bscame one of his teammates this week. I don't expect Edmonds to be a force with Lou Piniella's Cubs. Indeed, he may become a distraction. It was embarrassing to see San Diego intentionally walk lefthanded-hitting Kosuke Fukudome in yesterday's game so the Padres could pitch to the left-handed hitting Edmonds. And, naturally, Edmonds quickly went down on strikes. Pittsburgh intends to use three southpaws in this weekend's series at Wrigley Field, which means Edmonds will sit in the dugout and Reed Johnson will play. I can't imagine Edmonds being happy for long when he's on the bench. Maybe this whole situation will take care of itself when Edmonds shows he has nothing left in the tank, and the Cubs will pull the plug on him by, say, mid-June. He's not costing them much money, so it would be easy to say adios to him. As for Cardinals relief pitcher Jason Isringhausen [pictured at the left], the guy is showing every sign that he's washed-up, too. I suppose the Cardinals can pull that same trick that other major league teams do by sending Izzy to Triple-A and say he needs to work on "mechanics." They can keep him at Memphis for a few weeks and hope Cardinal fans forget about him. By the way, Mark, you made my whole day be referring to Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa as Tony LaLoser.]

*

In addition to being a standout [well, as far as I'm concerned, she's a standout] 5-4, 130-pound cornerback/wide receiver for the Iowa Crush professional women's football team, Mary Challender has always been a talented reporter for the paper.

Fortunately, she didn't pull any punches in today's story about Bill Cosby, who makes two appearances Saturday at the Civic Center.

Cosby's off-stage life has been anything but outstanding, and Challender mentioned it in her story today. Another person who has written about Cosby is Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a columnist for blacknews.com:

In 1992, a star-studded crowd at the Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame gala awards induction ceremonies chuckled at the one-liners delivered by its principal inductee Bill Cosby. The laughter stopped when Cosby turned serious and accused the mostly white film and TV writers of 'massacring' the black image on screen. Cosby's skewered indictment of the TV and film studio executives seemed ironic. For a decade they had enshrined him as America's most treasured TV Dad. They made Cosby, a black man, the quintessential symbol of all that was good and wholesome in family values conscious America.

"More than a decade after Cosby knocked the execs for butchering the black image, the even more tragic irony is that he has done much to massacre his own image. At last count, thirteen women in court documents have virtually branded Cosby a serial sexual victimizer. They claim that he drugged and/or sexually assaulted them. In interviews, an angry Cosby screamed foul, and claimed that the charges are nothing but a shakedown of a rich, and famous celebrity. Though no criminal charges have been filed against him, Cosby will be tied up in endless civil litigation for years to come to untangle the he said, she said mess."

Kind of makes a guy wonder why a trash act like Cosby was invited to speak at the Civic Center.

*

Back to more pleasant things. I'm assuming Challender still plays for the Iowa Crush football team. The Crush's next home game is at 7:30 p.m. May 24 against the Chicago Force at Valley Stadium.

Press coverage so far has been lousy, so that's why I'm giving the Crush some pub today.

The Crush has lost to the Wisconsin Warriors, 30-7; the Kansas City Tribe, 19-6; the Detroit Demolition, 53-0, and the Kansas City Tribe again, 6-0. The Crush plays Saturday at the Dallas Diamonds, which means Challender will probably have to miss Cosby's appearances at the Civic Center. I'll have to miss them [Cosby's appearances, I mean], too, but I won't be playing in any tackle football games.

*

Lots of layoffs, buyouts and belt-tightening at the paper these days, of course. So that means the survivors have to work harder, and in places they haven't been for a while. Editor Carolyn Washburn [remember, I blame her for everything at the paper] has sportswriter Tom Witosky writing about the Regency Homes mess, sportswriter Dan Johnson is doing his usual tremendous job of covering the horses, but also now is somehow the Barnstormers' reporter, and Brandon Cleaver will soon be on the move. I hear Cleaver will be what's called a "zone" reporter -- which means, I think, that he'll be doing his writing for such important publications as the West Des Moines Register and, hell, maybe even the East Des Moines Register and the Merle Hay Mall Register. "Good," a retired, longtime editor and writer told me. "Now we don't have to worry about Cleaver mistaking Cedar Rapids for Cedar Falls anymore." Several times Cleaver has used a Cedar Rapids dateline on sports stories he wrote about the University of Northern Iowa, whose campus is in Cedar Falls. The shocking thing was that copy editors didn't correct the dateline, which tells me they did sloppy work, too, or maybe didn't know where UNI's campus is either. It remains to be seen what'll happen to the Drake women's basketball beat, which is something Cleaver has been handling. Maybe they'll have the coach call in the scores.

*

I had a nice half-hour visit last night with Felecia Carey of Garden City, Kan. Felecia called to say thanks for the column I wrote about her book "My Jim -- Five Decades Of Coaching." Felecia's late husband, Jim Carey, was a longtime basketball coach after finishing his playing career at Drake. Among his coaching stops were Tama High School and Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls. Felecia wrote the book despite battling colon cancer. She said the disease weakened her, but she was determined to not let it keep her from finishing her writing. She's an amazing lady.

*

Photos courtesy of the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press.

Keno Davis Gone From Drake, and Now His Dad, Tom, Is, Too

Tom Davis, the man who saved the men's basketball program at Drake, is retiring as special assistant to athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb.

It's no surprise to me, and it shouldn't be to you.

There's really no reason for Davis to stay at Drake. He retired as the Bulldogs' basketball coach following the 2006-2007 season, and stuck around for another year after his son, Keno, was named the coach.

Now Keno, whose Drake team had a brilliant 28-5 record in 2007-2008, is the new coach at Providence College.

Obviously, Tom is going to be more interested in the Providence program than the Drake program next season.

It's just a guess, but it won't surprise me to see Tom spend time in Providence, R. I., next winter to watch Keno's team play.

The announcement about Davis leaving Drake's athletic department came today.

"I can't begin to tell you how much fun the last five years have been and to see where the program is today, relative to five years ago, brings a smile to my face," said Davis. "I know a lot of people told me it couldn't be done, but many people at Drake worked hard to prove them wrong.

"It was a great experience and I wish Drake the best in the future."

Said Clubb: "Tom Davis laid the foundation for a winning legacy at Drake and we are eternally grateful for his belief in and vision for Drake men's basketball.

"Drake athletics has been forever touched by his guiding hand and keen insight. He has touched the lives of not only the players he so diligently coached, but also the Drake community and the entire state of Iowa. We are sorry to see him leave."

Drake president David Maxwell said, "I'm immensely grateful to Tom Davis for the role he has played at Drake over the past five years. Beyond his obvious accomplishments in rejuvenating the men's basketball program and laying the foundation for the program's exciting future, [he] has been a valued source of wise counsel, a loyal friend, and a passionate spokesperson for the core values of the university.

"He will always be a cherished member of the Drake family, and we look forward to staying connected with him as he enjoys his retirement."

During a 32-year coaching career, Davis cemented his place among college basketball coaching giants by accumulating 598 victories while enjoying 16, 20-game victory seasons with 11 teams advancing to the NCAA tournament. He was named the Associated Press national coach of the year in 1987 -- an award his son won this year at Drake.

Tom was named Drake's 23rd coach on April 22, 2003. In four seasons, Davis energized the Bulldog program and led Drake to a 17-15 record; including winning the Big Four series [against Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa], Drake Regency Challenge and Sun Bowl tournament. It marked the first winning record at the school in 20 years.

In March, 2007, Davis announced his retirement from college coaching. Keno took over and led the Bulldogs to Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and postseason titles and an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

At Iowa, he led the Hawkeyes to nine NCAA tournaments, including a pair of Sweet 16 appearances as well as an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA. He is the winningest coach at Iowa with a 269-140 record in 13 years [1987-99], while leading teams to nine appearances in the NCAA tournament.

And You Thought the Lou Brock Trade Was Goofy!

I've thought about this situation that brought centerfielder Jim Edmonds to the Chicago Cubs, and I'm calling it the most bizarre development in history involving the Chicagos and the St. Louis Cardinals. I mean, to illustrate how weird it is, fans from neither team like the deal. The guys in my lunch group didn't know anything about it, but that was because the paper was too busy writing about Arizona State dumping its wrestling program instead of telling readers that Jim Edmonds -- yes, the ex-Cardinal all Chicago fans were born to hate -- would soon be a Cub. The paper didn't even carry the story. As you read here the other day, San Diego released Edmonds after he hit a robust .178 this spring, and Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said, "He's a guy we're counting on to help us win our first World Series since 1908." Or words to that effect. Anyway, this showboat at whom the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano loves to throw baseballs is now his teammate. As everyone knows, the "Z" isn't someone you want to piss off. Michael Barrett, his onetime catcher, knows all about that [their punching match a few years ago is pictured]. Carlos, obviously a carefree, forgiving guy, said "no comment" when asked what he thought of Edmonds' signing, but his mood will improve. Once Edmonds, who is costing the Cubs only $280,000 the rest of the season -- pennies in this age of $15-million-a-year contracts -- hits a bases-clearing double to give Zambrano another victory, Carlos will be buying him pitchers of Bud Light or Old Style at the nearest Wrigleyville tap. But let's be truthful about this Edmonds-to-the-Cubs deal. Maybe it'll cause Cub fans to forget the awful 1964 trade that sent Chicago's Lou Brock to St. Louis for washed-up pitchers Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz. Brock suddenly turned into Ty Cobb and made St. Louis champion of the universe. Cub fans haven't forgiven the front office since. At least the Cubs didn't have to give up anything to get Edmonds. Frankly, that's all he's worth right now. And, by all accounts, the guy wants to play in Chicago. I'm going to like the hell out of it watching him run out to centerfield when the Cubs play at St. Louis' Busch Stadium in July. I'm going to like the hell out of it even more if Edmonds cranks a ninth-inning home run to beat the Cardinals. It starts today, folks. Jim Edmonds, who's probably about as washed-up as any soon-to-be-38-year-old-ballplayer can be, will be suiting up for the Cubs this afternoon against San Diego, and hitting against ex-Chicago [twice] pitcher Greg Maddux.

*

Update: The Cubs' website reports that Carlos Zambrano shook hands with Edmonds, and made peace. The two weren't always friends [as I reported above]. On July 19, 2004, when Zambrano's Cubs were playing Edmonds' St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, "Z" was ejected from a game for throwing at the outfielder. Edmonds had watched a home run he hit off Zambrano land on Sheffield Avenue, which prompted the Cubs righthander to yell at Edmonds as he rounded the bases. Scott Rolen homered in the eighth, and Edmonds was next. Zambrano hit him with a pitch. Today, Edmonds put on the Cubs uniform for the first time. He was released last Friday by San Diego, and cleared waivers on Wednesday. Now, he's Zambrano's teammate. "I told him, whatever happened in the past happened in the past, and let's move on," Zambrano said. "I don't have anything against him. That was part of the game. If anyone has to apologize to somebody, it's me. It was part of an immature guy. There are some things I know I can't do, and things I know I can do. Let's move on."

*

Back in my working days, which means back in medieval times when newspapers still hired people to draw cartoons, I kept hearing a story centered around a certain guy who applied for a cartoonist job. Jim Gannon was one of the bosses then -- at least enough of a boss to say yes or no when someone was looking for a job. Some people didn't care much for Gannon, but I didn't mind him. I know I liked him the day he stopped by my desk and saw the black western hat I had sitting on it. "Nice hat," he said. Then he put it on his head. Unfortunately, it fit him. "I got it in Amarillo," I told Gannon. That was the truth, I did get the hat in Amarillo on a basketball trip when Drake played West Texas State. Actually, I think somebody gave me the hat. Maybe it was whatever guy was coaching Drake then. He probably gave me the hat to thank me for all the good stuff I was writing about him. I don't know if Gannon was impressed with the comment or not that I got the hat in Amarillo. I just wanted the guy to know I didn't get the hat at J&R Clothing. Anyway, Jimbo [I used to call him that a lot] had things to do at that time other than admiring and trying on my hat. He had to hire a cartoonist, and one of the candidates for the job -- an affable young guy named Duffy, I think -- did a drawing of Gannon as part of his application. Every boss in a newspaper office is a cartoon character [some more than others], and all of them like to see pictures of themselves, so that guy named Duffy got the job. I've had a certain philosophy since then. I tell kids who are thinking about going into the newspaper business, "When you apply for a job, draw a cartoon of the boss or write a story about how good the boss is." Dave Rasdal [left], a writer/editor at the Cedar Rapids Gazette certainly understands that philosophy. Rasdal writes an online column for the paper. Steve Buttry has been hired as the Gazette's new editor [effective June 1], and dropped by the office for a couple of days this week on his way back home to Virginia. He met Rasdal, and Dave promptly wrote a column about him, headlined, "We Have Met the Boss -- He is One of Us." Buttry certainly noticed the column. Indeed, he posted it on his Twitter site for anyone who knows anything about Twitter to see. I'd say Rasdal's column will guarantee that he's got a job for at least two more weeks. Now I'm going to contact Jim Ecker and suggest he write something flattering about Buttry, too. It doesn't hurt to try. Anyway, here's Rasdal's column:

We Have Met the Boss -- He is One of Us

Whenever you get a new boss, you always wonder what’s coming. Not necessarily because you think he may be a monster or the enemy, but because he’s an unknown.

So Steve Buttry, who becomes Editor of The Gazette in June, stopped by the office Monday to have a look around, say hello and field some questions. He and his wife, Mimi, will be moving from the Reston, Va., area where he’s been training journalists in innovation, leadership, newsroom skills and ethics with the American Press Institute. He’s got 37 years of experience with newspapers beginning with the Evening Sentinel in Shenandoah, Iowa.

Yes, he’s one of us. An Iowan. And a newspaper guy.

Knowing a little bit about Iowa, I asked Steve who influenced him the most while growing up in Shenandoah - The Archie family (owners of that newspaper, Mid-America Publishing and The Iowan magazine at that time), the songbird Everly Brothers who spent some of their youth there or Chuck Offenburger, the saddle shoe wearing native son who became the longtime author of the ”Iowa Boy” column in the Des Moines Register.

Steve said the Archie family wasn’t really involved in the day-to-day operation of the paper while he was there. He said Offenburger helped get him his first job at the Register (Steve was there twice.) He said The Everly Brothers were before his time, although he did see them in concert once in Omaha. So it would be Offenburger. In fact, Chuck’s Web site has a piece written by Steve five years ago about being a newspaper stringer.

The Everly Brothers were before my time, too, overshadowed by The Beatles and the British Invasion.

Steve is 53. I’m 55. So there’s another thing we have in common - the same generation.

Steve is one of us. Welcome.

*

Buttry also says in his Twitter that he and his wife have bought a condo in Cedar Rapids. So that might mean he plans to stay through the summer.

*

I suppose you're still wondering what Twitter is. Well, so am I. But, hell, I can't change my own oil or the furnace filter either. But, on my computer, it says, "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" So there.

I'm In the Garage, Looking For Those 1976 Notes On Norway

Shona Frese sent me an e-mail, wondering if I still had my notes from a 1976 story I wrote about baseball in Norway, Ia. "I believe you are Ron Maly, who wrote an article about baseball in Norway. I have that paper and was told that when you interviewed Jeff Pickart [now deceased] he gave you a lot of information that is not in the article. Would you still have those notes?" Shona wrote. "I am asking because a group of people have gotten together here in Norway to start a baseball museum. We are trying to find out more on the start of baseball in Norway, and thought your notes might help us write a history of Norway baseball. I thank you for your time and for any information that might help us. I will let you know when our museum opens so you can come and visit Norway again!" Shona gave me a couple of phone numbers where I could reach her, so I called. I guess I was surprised there isn't already a baseball museum in Norway because, as far as I'm concerned, that town of 586 in eastern Iowa is almost as important to baseball as Cooperstown, N.Y. There's so much baseball tradition in Norway that there should be a major league game there every year. Not just an exhibition like they play as part of the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown, but a real game. A game that counts in the standings. And not a game involving the Chicago Cubs, who haven't yet proven they're a major league team. Maybe the White Sox against the Twins. I thought there already might be a nice little building in Norway that's called the "Norway Baseball Museum" just like there'a a Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter and a place in Winterset that says John Wayne lived there. Anyway, back to Shona Frese's e-mail and my phone conversation with her. I told her I'd searched my records but, 32 years after I wrote the Norway baseball story, I didn't have my notes. Maybe I never had many notes. I maybe scribbled some things in pencil on a sheet of paper and remembered the rest. I don't know if I was using a tape recorder in those days or not. Probably not. I was thinking about it, and I wonder if I used one of my lines in the story about smalltown baseball. The one that mentions the cars parked along the third base line, where the family is sitting in the 1950 8-cylinder Ford and the dad honks his horn and blinks his lights whenever the home team scores a run. Frankly, I don't remember much about what I wrote about Norway baseball, but I'm glad Shona has the clipping, and I told her she could use anything that's in it to help in the museum project. I don't remember Jeff Pickart, but I'm sorry he's no longer with us. Shona told me Jeff "died in his 90s in the 1990s." He evidently took a lot of Norway baseball lore with him to the big ball diamond in the sky. I know, of course, that they finished a movie about Norway High School baseball last year. It was called "The Final Season," and it supposedly told the story of the 1991 Norway team that was playing for the last time. The school had won 19 state baseball titles, but it was closing because of declining enrollment. Norway had produced major league players such as Hal Trosky, Mike Boddicker and Bruce Kimm -- and certainly their stories would be a huge part of any baseball museum in Norway. I asked Shona Frese about "The Final Season," and she politely said that feelings were mixed about the movie in Norway. One thing that didn't help was that not much, if any, of the movie was filmed in Norway. Cedar Rapids and Solon maybe, but not Norway. That didn't exactly cause people to schedule a parade and a picnic in downtown and rural Norway when the movie was released. Ken Fuson, my favorite humor columnist at the paper, raved about the movie when he went to Cedar Rapids for the premier. Ken has never tried to masquerade as Joan Bunke, but I think he was just trying to be nice to the producers and to Norway by writing positive stuff about the film. Could be the p.r. people gave him some bubbly that night before the film was shown. The movie was torn to shreds by other reviewers who didn't know Norway, Ia., from Finland. Anyway, "The Final Season" didn't stick around very long. Shona Frese told me that a DVD of the film is now available at Sam's Club. The next time I'm in there, I'll see what it costs. Meanwhile, I'm going out to the garage to see if I can find those notes about Jeff Pickart. Shona Frese says she's already got six typewritten pages of stuff for the history of Norway baseball, and I'd like to help her in any way possible.

*

Kurt Kanaskie says he's staying on Ed DeChellis' basketball coaching staff at Penn State. I don't know if that's good news or not -- for Penn State or for Kanaskie. Kurt, of course, is a former Drake coach who never had a winning season. He was the guy replaced by Tom Davis. Since then, he's been a Penn State assistant. Kanaskie was interviewed for the St. Francis coaching job the other day, but now has withdrawn his name from consideration. That was reported by Jeff Rice of centredaily.com. Sometimes you have to wonder when a guy takes his name out of the hat after he's been interviewed. It could be the job wasn't what he thought it was. It could be he was already making more money than the new job paid. It could be he was told he wasn't going to get the job. Anyway, Kanaskie is staying at Penn State. where DeChellis is 57-92 in five seasons. I've seen DeChellis' teams on the Big Ten Network, and I'd say his future isn't exactly promising.

*

For those of you looking for, or at, Greg Shriver's blog on the paper's website -- and evidently nobody was -- he's no longer working for the paper or the website. He and the woman he lives with [who also worked at the paper] took buyouts, and now don't have jobs.

*

Jack Coffman, a longtime reporter and editor at newspapers in Des Moines, St. Paul and Minneapolis, collapsed and died yesterday at 71. His wife, Melinda Voss [also a former Des Moines newspaper reporter] said the cause of death was believed to be a heart attack.

'They Want To Win Right Away Everywhere'

The word is that Tim Welsh was a nice enough guy. He even won seven more games than he lost in his 10 seasons as Providence College's basketball coach. But he certainly wasn't Rick Pitino, Rick Barnes or Pete Gillen. At least he didn't succeed on the court like those former Providence coaches did. Indeed, Welsh's teams lost in the first round of their only two trips to the NCAA tournament, won once in three trips to the NIT and went 1-9 in the Big East tournament. So Welsh was fired and one-year wonder Keno Davis of Drake was hired. After being named national coach of the year after his Bulldogs went 28-5 in 2007-2008, Keno will never be surrounded by the excitement at Providence as he is now. He's regarded as the savior. He's the answer to a university's basketball dreams. He's the million-dollar man -- a coach who will earn a million in each of seven seasons, in fact. With the proper management of that kind of money, he may never have to work another day in his life after the contract runs out. He had Providence right where any coach would want Providence. Desperate, that's where he had the college in Rhode Island. He's enjoying a coaching honeymoon now, and will be for another year or so. But he knows he must win. "Somebody made a comment to me, 'One thing you'll learn is that the fans around here want to win right away,'" Keno told Desmond Conner of courant.com, courtesy of my West Coast Correspondent. "My response was, 'They want to win right away everywhere.'" A couple of other things Keno told Conner: "I was a business major [at Iowa] for about two weeks. Those 7 a.m. micro-economics classes kind of led me down another path, but I guess in my heart I always wanted to be a coach." After all, Conner pointed out, Tom Davis, his dad and a former coach at Iowa and Drake, "just wanted his son to be paid -- maybe a stockbroker or a financial planner." Of his dad's years as the coach at Boston College, Keno said, "You rarely heard my father, win or lose, say to the team in the locker room that it got outworked....We're not going to be outworked here [at Providence]."

*

The Chicago papers are saying the Cubs want to sign centerfielder Jim Edmonds, who was released by San Diego a few days ago. Edmonds, 37, is trying to prove he still has some gas in the tank. I'm not so sure he does. I watched him play for the Cardinals the last few years, and Edmonds [pictured at the left] looked like he should put baseball in his rear-view mirror. Besides, I can't quite imagine a longtime Cardinal being in centerfield for the Cubs--even in a platoon situation. The only good thing is that they say he wants to help the Cubs beat St. Louis in the National League Central. If he can do that, I'm all for the deal. The Cubs can get him cheap -- at the major league minimum of $280,000 a year -- because St. Louis and San Diego are still paying most of his salary. If and when the Cubs get Edmonds, look for good-field, no-hit Felix Pie to be wearing the uniform [again] of No-Name Ballteam in Des Moines.

*

A couple other things that may factor into whether I end up buying Lute Olson's $4.1 million house in Tucson: The annual property taxes are $16,504 and the "association fee" in the area is $200 a month, due quarterly. I'm checking with my lawyer.

Hey, I Know This Kid!

This is a good-news story if I ever saw one.

It's about Cory Simon, an Iowa State student from Winterset.

Cory [pictured] is related to my oldest son [his mother and my son's wife are sisters], and he's a very smart young guy.

I'll let the Iowa State News Service tell the rest:

To say Cory Simon has had a "hand" in the United States space program would be an understatement. As an intern the past two springs and summers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Simon helped develop NASA's Astronaut Interface Device -- a prototype wrist-mounted control panel astronauts will use to interact with robots when humans return to the moon in 2020.

But it was Simon who got "a hand" when he became the first recipient of Iowa State University's Sesquicentennial Learning to Live a Life Leadership Award. An ISU senior computer engineering major from Winterset, Simon received the award during the closing ceremonies of the university's sesquicentennial celebration in the Memorial Union on Saturday.

Simon, who has completed 16 months worth of cooperative education experiences through NASA's Johnson Space Center, was surprised by the award.

"To be the first student to receive this award at Iowa State is such a great honor," said Simon. "It was completely unexpected and such a great way to end the semester."

Among those present at the award ceremony was Iowa State's first astronaut, Clayton Anderson, who was a speaker at the sesquicentennial event. Anderson's presence made the award even more memorable for Simon.

"I was so humbled to be sitting next to Clayton Anderson since he has accomplished so much as an astronaut," he said. "It was an honor to be on the same stage with him."

Simon says his ISU education helped him during his co-ops at the Johnson Space Center. After testing and certifying a new digital video recorder for space shuttles, Simon and two other NASA team member flew to Kennedy Space Center in Florida to help install the new technology on the space shuttle Atlantis. While in Florida, Simon and team members also inspected the wiring on the space shuttle Discovery.

"On my way to inspect the wiring, I got to have the same experience as astronauts have because I walked the same path and used the same elevator to board the space shuttle Discovery," Simon said. "I got to sit vertically in the commander's seat of Discovery. It's definitely the coolest thing I've ever done."

The experience was a rare treat for an intern. But this wasn't just any NASA intern. He was the recipient of the "Going the Extra Mile" award and two co-op awards.
During the internship, Simon learned that he could not only walk where astronauts have walked, but also talk the talk with NASA engineers, too.

"One of the best things I learned at Iowa State was how to communicate," Simon said. "Knowing how to speak the scientific language of engineers enabled me to learn to communicate and ask intelligent questions during my time at NASA."

At Iowa State, Simon's been active in the Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi engineering honor societies, the National Society of Collegiate Leaders, Habitat for Humanity and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. He also is a National Merit Scholar.

His efforts, on and off campus, earned Simon the inaugural Sesquicentennial Learning to Live a Life Leadership Award, which was inspired by former Iowa State student M.J. Riggs. Riggs, an 1883 ISU graduate who was a president of the Alumni Association and a board president of the Memorial Union, is remembered for saying, "We come to college not alone to prepare to make a living, but to learn to live a life."

The award carries with it an annual $3,000 monetary prize. It is being funded by an endowment established by the ISU sesquicentennial committee through proceeds from the sale of the "Tradition and Transformation" sesquicentennial history book, and the "What We Love About Iowa State" lithograph mural and other art commissioned by the Des Moines graphics company Sticks, Inc., for the sesquicentennial.

"The Learning to Live a Life Leadership Award was established to commemorate 150 years in the life of the university and to recognize an undergraduate student whose activities reflect the idea expressed by Mr. Riggs," said Tahira Hira, executive assistant to ISU president Gregory Geoffroy. "Overall, the award is to recognize students who have taken advantage of opportunities at Iowa State to apply his or her knowledge to real life projects and experiences."

"We wanted to recognize outstanding students at this university who have taken the lead to create unique, successful service projects; or have demonstrated impressive leadership through research, or internship opportunities; or have exhibited exemplary leadership in managing or creating national or international projects," said Carole Custer, director of university marketing.

Simon will graduate from Iowa State in December, 2008, and plans to attend graduate school to earn his master's degree in computer engineering. After that, he would like to go back to work for NASA and pursue a second master's degree in systems engineering.

"After my time at the Johnson Space Center, I know I want to work for NASA," said Simon. "I'm hooked."

He is the son of Rod and Jeri Simon of Winterset.

Stunning & Spectacular. Or So I'm Told

One of the members of my Eastern Iowa Correspondents Group has a real estate deal for me. In an e-mail early this morning, he asks if I want to buy a piece of property in Tucson, Ariz. The house is pictured above. "The price is only $4.1 million, and it's Lute Olson's home," the guy says. If it's Olson's home, I'm sure it's got lots of full-length mirrors. Apparently, however, there aren't enough mirrors on the ceiling for his second wife. Lute is the original Mr. Wonderful. If you don't believe it, just ask him. In the event you've forgotten, Olson used to coach basketball at Iowa, and now he's hanging on as the coach at Arizona. After the winter of 2008, my kids have been telling me that maybe it would be a good idea to get a place where all of us can spend January and February next year. So I've checked this joint out. The real estate company's literature says, the home is a "stunning Mediterranean masterpiece located on one of the grandest estate lots in Finisterra. Bordering National Forest with unobstructed city and mountain views, privacy and the most exquisite,resort-style back yard; sparkling pool/spa,waterfall, Ramada and patios. In collaboration with an award-winning/nationally renowned interior designer and custom home builder, Bryan Martinovich, this home has had a floor to ceiling redesign and update that is SPECTACULAR!" Olson is getting divorced, of course, so I can see why he wouldn't want to spend time all by himself in this four-bedroom, five-bath, 7,882-square foot, 20-year-old home. Because Olson is a former Hawkeye coach and because he and I got along so well when he was in Iowa City [we used to have coffee together every Saturday morning at Hy-Vee], I'm sure he'd give me a real good deal on the house. I'll let you know what I decide.

*

I see Time has named Obama the winner. I must have missed something.

*

I've never been a fan of Barbara Walters, and now I dislike her even more. She was whoring around with married U.S. senator Edward Brooke more than 30 years ago, and lately has been talking about it publicly to promote her memoirs. It's one thing to do it; it's another thing to talk about it. Trash, that's what she is. And I'm sure the memoirs are, too.

*

Chicago Cub fans thought they were looking at trash yesterday when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo [pictured at the right] showed up at Wrigley Field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and to sing "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. Fans booed Romo both before and during the game. I've never thought much of Romo either, but I thought he was pretty funny while being interviewed by Cub TV announcers Bob Brenly and Len Kasper. Sunday was the day that a number of major leaguers used pink bats, wore pink wristbands and [like the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano] threatened to wear pink shoes. Zambrano didn't pitch as scheduled, so TV viewers didn't get a chance to see his shoes. The pink stuff was part of baseball's campaign to make people aware of breast cancer. During his interview with Kasper, Romo said, "Why aren't you wearing pink today?" The play-by-play announcer said, "Good question," and never answered it. Then Romo said, "I hear you wear pink every other day!" Again, Kasper -- who, in my opinion, is one of baseball's worst announcers, was speechless.

*

Yesterday's Metro & Iowa section in the paper really got my juices flowing with this headline that ran across the top of the page:

Dogs kept on short leash at market

I mean that's heavyweight stuff.

Now tell me you're still wondering why that place continues to lose circulation.

*

Another reason the paper is in a circulation nosedive is because no one can depend on it.

Being on the front porch, I mean.

I got no paper early this morning, and still don't have one after 9 a.m.

I called the family that delivers it, and got no answer.

I called the paper, and got a recording.

"Because of circulation problems, your paper will be 3 to 4 hours late today," the recording said.

I checked the paper's website, and saw this message:

"We anticipate delivery of the Des Moines Register to be delayed this morning in much of the state due to mechanical issues with the press. We appreciate your patience."

Well, I'm not patient.

But now I've got it figured out. The non-delivery of the paper is another way editors are trying to convince readers to go to the website, where they can read the thing free.

*

Forget the whole thing. On the paper's website, the top two items are photos of prom night and weightlifters. Another slow news day, I guess.

*

Update: It's now 9:33 a.m. The paper just arrived.

*

I lost the two front teeth on my partial over the weekend, so I had to skip Todd Lickliter's Iowa basketball teleconference today because I was at the dentist. I didn't miss much. Hawkeyebasketball.com says the session lasted only 35 minutes. Either Lickliter didn't have much to say or the reporters couldn't think of many questions because they were so consumed by Hawkeye baseball. Thanks to iowa.scout.com, I listened to part of the audio, and heard Lickliter tell several guys that he didn't want to talk about the departed Tony Freeman. He added that he didn't think any other players would be quitting the team. Too bad. I was hoping a few more guys would leave so there would be more scholarships available in the future. The way things look, Lickliter will need them.

*

Drake's Leonard Houston is one of 10 players selected to play for Athletes in Action on its four-game basketball trip to Poland from May 19-26. The team will play the under-20 Polish national team twice on the tour. Athletes in Action has sent teams around the world for more than 25 years. Houston earned second-team all-Missouri Valley Conference recognition this past season as a senior while helping lead Drake to both the Valley regular season and postseason titles.

From Under the Parasol

My grandkids' track meet at Boone was called off today because of rain, so that gave me time to check my mail....

Crystal from Coralville, not her real name, writes:

"What do you think of the Register's new format? It has obviously been done to save newsprint costs, but it has improved the appearance of the paper. Now if we could improve the content and delivery system."

Crystal from Coralville

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Crystal, you're the first person to tell me you like the paper's new format. It makes me wonder if you've maybe been a member of Carolyn Washburn's focus groups -- or if you're Carolyn's second-cousin by marriage. I was talking to Alive In Clive, not his real name, the other day, and he said he was so disappointed in the paper's new format that he was thinking of moving his tent back under one of the downtown Des Moines bridges so he wouldn't have to read it the rest of the summer. Crystal, I know you also subscribe to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, so perhaps you're a bit confused about the appearance of the two papers. Indeed, I think the papers look somewhat alike -- probably because they're both going to be printed, or already are printed, at the same plant in Des Moines. After all, the Gannett Co. owns both of them. Crystal, as for your negative comments about the content and delivery system of the Des Moines paper, I can't do much about those shortcomings. You'll have to take that up in the next focus group meeting you have with Washburn].

*

The Answer Man will have the answers, man. This dispatch was sent to me from Iowa City: "For those of you who have asked to visit with [basketball coach Todd] Lickliter in the past week or so, he will be available via teleconference at 10:15 a.m. Monday to catch up on Iowa basketball events since the conclusion of the 2008 season."

*

Derek from Des Moines, not his real name, writes:

"It's funny you mention Ken Fuson with Steve Buttry. Included in a piece that Buttry wrote for poynter.org, is this segment:

Find the full story. Ken Fuson of the Des Moines Register notes that 'most newspaper stories are endings.' Dig enough to find and tell the full story. Help the ending make sense by presenting it as the climax or resolution of a full story. If you google Buttry with Fuson you get some other mentions of Buttry using Fuson's work as examples in his various seminars/training programs."

Derek from Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Yesterday, I wrote about both Fuson, a Des Moines Register writer who's one of the nation's best, and Buttry, who is the new editor at the Cedar Rapids Gazette. I joked that because Fuson's humor columns in the Register's opinion pages had been dumped by editor Carolyn Washburn, maybe Kenny [pictured at the left] -- a Pulitzer Prize-winner-in-waiting -- should be hired by Buttry at the Gazette. It turns out Buttry is well aware of Fuson's many writing talents].

*

A guy wonders if the fact an Iowa State assistant basketball coach left to go to Texas Christian is the first sign of rats leaving a sinking ship.

Thoughts While Waiting To Start the Mower

I'm not trying to sound like Harlan Miller or anything, but I've got grass to mow, a Cubs-Diamondbacks game to watch on TV and some other things to do. So let's get with this.

In another segment of my Occasional Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Bitching About the Chicago Cubs, I want to make sure you know I have seen the inner workings of that operation several times. I mean, I once was in the Cubs' clubhouse to interview Manny Trillo [pictured at the right], an infielder from Venezuela who had played for the Triple-A team here before landing with the Chicagos. I greeted My Friend Manny while he was reading a letter. I think the letter was from a fan. Manny didn't look up as he read it. For all he knew, I could've been Jim Moackler. I guess it might have been worse. He could have asked me to read the letter to him. Anyway, I recall that Manny gave me a few quotes that seemed to make sense for the story I planned to write. I don't know if it was the same day or not, but I also talked to Rick Reuschel, a Cubs pitcher known as "Big Daddy." I don't know why they called him "Big Daddy." Maybe it was just because he was big. After all, I always try to look on the positive side of things. Rick Reuschel had a brother, Paul Reuschel, who had also been a Cub, and I tried to get him to give me some information about the Brother Act. Both Reuschels were farmers from central Illinois, and I might've wanted to get Rick to talk about the corn crop. I don't recall that I succeeded in getting him to say much about corn or his brother. I also was in Wrigley Field for a season opener when someone named Dave Kingman [pictured at the left] played for them. I heard that he lived on a boat in the off-season, which evidently was a good place for him. Kingman hit a lot of home runs for a lot of big league teams, and I think he hit one that day. I remember sitting in on an interview with him afterward. That was sure fun.

*

Speaking of the Cubs, I hear that relief pitcher Scott Eyre, who has been hurt most of the season and throughout most of his career, will soon be on the team. I'm not sure that's a good thing.

*

I heard from Scott Pierce, the smart radioman, and he weighs in with this e-mail:

Ron:

"I'm going to take a different view about the friendliness of today's professional athlete. While you're right about the access being more limited, I can think of some pretty good reasons. I think the level of venom from fans to athletes is a great deal higher today than in the good old days. You hear some of the language from the fans when you're there? It gets worse it seems every year.

"And I swear that someday [and I hope I'm wrong about this], an athlete is going to get 'popped' because a fan lost money betting on them. When Bill Curry was coaching football at Kentucky, he received a death threat on his office phone one day. They traced the source to a gambler in New Jersey, who took Kentucky and the points. A late Auburn score in a 45-point [or so] blowout did him in.

"A couple of years ago, my then 8-year old son [formerly known as Little Boy Blue], went to his first major league baseball game in St. Louis, otherwise known as God's Country.

"I schooled him on the proper way to approach players for autographs, stressing that he say 'Mister' and 'thank you.' He did just that and got Anthony Reyes' and Adam Wainwright's autographs. Reyes smiled at him. Wainwright said, 'Call me Adam.' My son thinks he and Adam Wainwright are chums now.

"I think there are more Reyes and Wainwright stories out there than there are Barry Bonds stories."

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Nice message, Scott. You made this longtime frustrated follower of the Chicago Cubs so happy that he even kept your reference to St. Louis as "God's Country" in the e-mail!]

*

Mark Robinson of Iowa City forwarded me a story out of the Press-Citizen that says the paper has launched a test version of its new website that is now available to the general public.

"We have test versions of both press-citizen.com and Hawk Central are up and running. We will continue to refine them and correct bugs over the next several days, and we expect the new sites to go live permanently sometime next week," story said.

"The new press-citizen.com is available at http://beta.press-citizen.com and the new Hawk Central is at http://hawkcentral.press-citizen.com"

The new sites, in addition to sporting a new look, offers much more in the way of functionality over our current site, including: The ability to start your own press-citizen.com blog...."

[Editor's Note: There's much more, but it can't get any better than being able to start your own Press-Citizen blog].

"To take full advantage of all the site functions, your first step is to register. Go to http://beta.press-citizen.com and click "Become a member." Once you're signed up, you'll have the ability to blog, participate in forums, comment on stories, upload photos, make friends and message other users."

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I'm pretty excited about all of this. I think I saw the same thing happen at the paper here a while back. That makes sense because both papers are owned by the same company].

*

Come to think of it, the Des Moines and Iowa City papers are starting to look a lot alike. Maybe that's because they're printed at the same place in Des Moines].

*

My West Coast Correspondent tells me I'm on Steve Buttry's Twitter. I have no idea what a Twitter is, or even how it feels to be on one. But I've been getting good reports on Buttry, the Cedar Rapids Gazette's soon-to-be-editor, so I don't think there's anything bad or controversial about either Steve or his Twitter. I'm wishing Buttry well in his new job because I have a very soft spot in my heart for the Gazette and for Cedar Rapids. After all, I was born in Cedar Rapids, I grew up there, I went to work for the Gazette when I was 15 years of age, and I still have relatives in Cedar Rapids who read it. Indeed, they actually subscribe to the paper, and don't just read it at the Hy-Vee deli.

*

I was hoping the more colorful, reader-friendly [hey, that's what Carolyn Washburn said it was!] paper would include the return of Ken Fuson's humor column, I couldn't find it today. Hell, I guess it isn't so colorful and reader-friendly after all. Maybe the Gazette will hire Kenny.

*

And just when I thought it was time for mike gartner to be put to sleep, the little asshole shows up in a couple more newspapers. Thanks for alerting me, Bo. The talented John Carlson obviously was making fun of gartner in the stuff he wrote about him. He slipped the knife into gartner's hide every which way. Making fun of him, of course, is a very easy and very popular thing to do.

*

Baseball cards courtesy of the Internet.

60 Years Later, Nothing Has Changed

I saw my first Chicago Cubs game in 1948. Not on TV because we didn't have a TV yet at our home in Cedar Rapids in 1948. After listening for a couple of years to the Cubs play through the static on WGN-radio in Chicago, I watched them in person in August, 1948. It was a historic time in baseball. Not just because I saw the Cubs play the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field in Chicago, but because Babe Ruth died at the time I was there. Not in Chicago, but somewhere else. I went to Chicago in a car owned by Cliff Stone of Cedar Rapids. Cliff had just one hand; his other hand [the left one] had been amputated fot some reason. In those days, I wasn't comfortable enough to ask a guy why he didn't have his left hand and part of his left arm. I had heard that he was sideswiped by a car earlier in his life, but I don't know if that was true or not. Anyway, it was nice of Cliff Stone to drive me to Chicago. His son, Jack Stone, was about my age, and both Cliff and Jack were huge baseball fans. Jack Stone and John Rock formed a pitcher/catcher battery in Kids' League games at Riverside Park on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids at that time, and with the combination of Stone and Rock you weren't supposed to lose, were you? Anyway, I didn't go to Chicago in Cliff Stone's car just to see the Cubs play. We actually saw the White Sox play Cleveland at old Comiskey Park earlier in the trip. Larry Doby was playing for Cleveland in those days, and Comiskey was full of people the day the Stones and I were there. Most of them were there to see Doby, not the White Sox. On the day the Stones and I were at Wrigley Field, Stan Musial was playing for the Cardinals. St. Louis fans -- one of whom was my brother -- used to call him Stan the Man. But I didn't. I didn't particularly like the Cardinals and, because Musial was the best player on their team, I didn't particularly like him. But I thought it was a nice thing that Musial signed autographs for kids who came around the St. Louis dugout. Something like that wouldn't take place now, of course. Security people would shoo away anyone coming close to a major league team's dugout. They might even kick them out of the ballpark. But the late-1940s were a different time. The only thing that wasn't different was that the Cubs always lost. The reason I'm bringing that up today is because of what happened yesterday. The Cubs lost a game to the lowly Cincinnati Reds, 9-0. The score was bad enough, but the fact the Reds hit seven home runs off three Chicago pitchers was embarrassing. Making it even more embarrassing was the fact rookie first baseman Joey Votto hit three of the homers. Four of the Reds' homers were off Jon Lieber in the same inning. Lieber is from Council Bluffs, Ia., and not that many players from our state make it to the big leagues. I mean, you don't see a Bob Feller every day. Because Lieber is an Iowan, there are some who think we should treat him with a little more kindness. Not me. Lieber is just another bad pitcher -- one of a number of bad pitchers the Cubs have. This is what the Cubs get for spending $130 million on a baseball team. Guys like Lieber, Kerry Wood and the other rag-arms in Chicago suits. Lou Piniella, the manager, is also part of the problem. They're paying him a couple million dollars a year to run that team, and he puts guys like Lieber and outfielder Felix Pie, who can't hit his way out of a Hy-Vee paper sack, into the lineup. The Cincinnati team that beat the Cubs yesterday is managed by Dusty Baker, who maybe is the worst skipper in baseball. Don't look for me to make another trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play anytime soon. Besides, I'm pretty sure Cliff Stone is now in the big ballyard in the sky, so that would make it virtually impossible for him to be able to drive me there.

*

Chicago's hapless Cubs at the top courtesy of Norman Rockwell.

Chuck Offenburger Predicts Steve Buttry Will Be a Good Boss As Editor Of the Cedar Rapids Gazette

There's always a lot of nervousness when a new boss is hired in any office. That certainly is the case in the newspaper business, which is filled with people with all sorts of low self-esteem anyway. Reporters and mid-level editors fear for their jobs whenever a new boss is brought in -- especially now that buyouts, layoffs and early retirements are a big part of the language in a business that doesn't know if it wants to put out a paper on a printing press or a computer. I remember when Geneva Overholser was hired by the paper here. Either that or she was hired by the Gannett Co. and was told to report to the office at 8th & Locust in Des Moines. Like most other new bright-eyed and bushy-tailed editors, when she got to town Geneva gathered people from various departments into small groups so she could get to know them. When she got to the sports department, two or three people were on the verge of wetting their pants because they were so uneasy. But, as Uncle Otto used to say, "Geneva is good people." Right away, she told us, "My philosophy about this newspaper's sports department is, "If it ain't broke, it doesn't need fixing." Or words to that effect. Geneva obviously still believed what Leighton Housh and Sec Taylor had said for years: "We've got the best sports section in America." Then Geneva gave each person a chance to talk. I must've had a bad cup of coffee from the back shop that morning because I said, "We used to say this is the best sports department in the country, but now I'm not sure we're even the best in the state." Silence. Geneva didn't know what to say, so she moved onto somebody else. Maybe Chuck Burdick, who was never happy about anything either -- at least not until his 11 a.m. trip to the Office Lounge. That was at the time the paper was cutting back in its circulation area. I don't think you could get a Register west of Waukee. Maybe not even in Waukee. I think Casey's in Adel sold the Omaha World-Herald. The bosses thought Davenport was something you sat on. Anyway, back to my point. I wrote the other day that the Cedar Rapids Gazette has hired a new editor. His name is Steve Buttry, and one of the places he has worked is the paper in Des Moines. Several people who either work at the Gazette or read the Gazette have contacted me about what kind of guy Buttry [pictured at the right] is. I tell 'em he and I didn't have coffee together every morning -- or any morning, for that matter -- but that I think he's a very good newspaperman. Now, in an e-mail to me, my friend Chuck Offenburger chips in with more on Buttry. Chuck [pictured at the left] was the Register's outstanding "Iowa Boy" columnist, and now still writes excellent stuff online at his offenburger.com website. He knows everything and everybody in the state. Here's what he told me about Buttry:

"Hey Ron...

"To address your speculation, Steve Buttry, newly appointed editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, will be fine toward the Gazette's sports department. After all, he began his newspaper career as a sportswriter, when he was a student at Shenandoah High School in about 1970. I was fresh out of college then, and was working in the role of managing editor of the old Evening Sentinel, and I hired young Buttry to cover the high school sports scene. I could tell immediately he was smarter than I was. And that's proved out through the years as he's been a top reporter and editor at the Des Moines Register, Kansas City papers, Omaha World-Herald and a couple of other stops. As editor in chief at the Gazette, I think he becomes the highest ranking journalist ever to come out of Shenandoah, and the ol' hometown has produced a number of them. I'm predicting our pals in both sports and news at the Gazette will find him to be a good boss, one who really understands and appreciates reporters, photographers, subeditors and the other ground troops in both print and online journalism."

Chuck O.

[MORE FROM RON MALY: I think it was smart for the Gazette to hire Buttry, who certainly should understand the Iowa newspaper market, He'll do as well as anyone in keeping the paper rolling in these tough times. I'm going to enjoy watching his progress].

*

Still on the subject of the Gazette, sometimes things move a little too fast for me these days. I wanted to read what the Cedar Rapids paper had on the athletic director situation at the University of Northern Iowa. On-campus interviews of the five finalists for the job have begun. The first to be interviewed was Barbara Walker, senior associate athletic director at Wake Forest. I wanted to check what the Gazette wrote about Walker and saw that its story was written by Doug Newhoff. It just so happens that Newhoff is the sports editor of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, which I thought was a big competitor of the Gazette in the northeast Iowa circulation area. As far as I know, the Waterloo and Cedar Rapids papers aren't owned by the same companies. When I called up the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier website, I saw no story on the Walker interview. Like I said, sometimes things move too fast for me. I guess I'll have to ask Jim Ecker to explain that one to me. By the way, the more-colorful, more reader-friendly Register [hey, that's what Carolyn Washburn told us!] didn't see fit to send a reporter from its newsroom to Cedar Falls for Walker's interview. It was handled by a correspondent. I guess Dan Johnson was busy with the Barnstormers or Eight Belles' funeral. UNI's on-campus interviews continue this month. Glen Krupicka, deputy athletic director for external affairs [whatever that means] at Northern Illinois, will be in Thursday and Friday. Terry Wanless, athletic director at Sacramento State, will visit May 12-13. Michael Waddell, senior associate athletic director at Cincinnati, will interview May 15-16. Troy Dannen, executive director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, appears May 19-20. Dannen's interview is the one I'm interested in. Hell, if gas wasn't nearly $4 a gallon, I'd drive to Cedar Falls to sit in on that one. I probably wouldn't even spend $4-a-gallon for gas to hear Wayne Cooley speak in Cedar Falls, much less to hear Troy Dannen campaign for another job.

Etc.

Editor Carolyn Washburn writes today that the paper is now more colorful and easier to read. It's now late-morning and I'm still checking on that. If I find that the paper is more colorful and easier to read, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, if you think it's more colorful and easier to read, let me know. Don't forget, we're all in this together.

*

It looks to me like Carolyn Washburn had a new picture taken for the paper. The photographer must've told her to smile. It didn't help.

*

Scott Pierce wrote to me about the death of channel 8 reporter Michelle Parker [pictured]: "I just got done with a quick scan of channel 5's and channel 13's websites," he said. "Channel 5 had a story about it. Channel 13 did not....I hope 'competition' doesn't get carried to this extreme." I thanked Pierce for doing the research, then I asked him how he thinks other TV stations handle situations like that. "I have no idea how the TV business does this," he said. "I just know the 'human' way to do this. Competition be damned. Everybody should do a story on this." I agree.

*

I see editors at the paper took my advice and had veteran horseracing reporter Dan Johnson write about Eight Belles, the horse that was put to sleep after breaking her two front ankles in the Kentucky Derby. Just one problem. The story was 48 hours late. The paper chose not to send Johnson, one of the nation's best horseracing writers, to the Derby -- no doubt because of what it would cost. Actually, just gas for his car. Johnson was relegated to covering the races at Prairie Meadows on Saturday instead of watching the Derby on TV, then writing about it. A smart editor, however, would have taken him off the Prairie Meadows assignment when Eight Belles died, and had him write about the Derby for Sunday's paper.

*

Several people who either work for, or read, the Cedar Rapids Gazette have e-mailed me about the appointment of Steve Buttry as editor of the paper. Buttry used to work at the paper here, and was generally well-respected. I don't know he paid any attention to the sports department, or even knew where it was. I told those inquiring about him that they should be happy Buttry is working for the Gazette. He'll do a better job there than either the editor or the managing editor at the paper here are doing. That's without even knowing if the Gazette will be more colorful and easier to read after Buttry gets there.

*

This just in. A reader wants to know why Carolyn Washburn puts her picture in the paper whenever she writes something. Good question. But I'd rather see publisher Laura Hollingsworth's picture. [Hollingsworth is shown at the left].

*

By the way, in the more colorful, reader-friendly paper today, the "Officers and Department Heads" are listed on page 2, and a few of the bosses are listed at the top of the Opinion page. The name of Randy Brubaker doesn't appear at their place. Brubaker is, or was, the managing editor. I hope he hasn't been transferred to Indianola. Or worse.

*

A prominent story on the paper's website this morning is the one mentioning the burglary of reporter Nigel Duara's home. Of course, that brought all the smart-asses out of the woodwork. "The DSM Reg must not pay its reporters too well. He lives on Pleasant Street," one reader wrote.

*

Another reminder that Chicago Cubs fans spend too much time living in the past: This is the 10th anniversary of the game in which Kerry Wood struck out 20 Houston Astros [yes, in one game], and the Chicago papers are making a big deal out of it. To illustrate how much progress Wood has made, he's now a relief pitcher -- and not a very good one. One of Wood's problems is that he's had to spend far too much time at No-Name Ballfield in Des Moines. That would ruin anyone's life.

*

This just in: It's now 5:20 p.m. and I haven't noticed anything about the paper that's more colorful or people-friendly. I also haven't received any e-mail or phone calls from people who say there's anything different about the paper in terms of color or people-friendliness. Case closed.

A Sickening Sight

I've never been a guy who wanted to hang around the horse track. A couple of trips every four or five years to the $2 window were usually enough for me. As I've written in the past, photographer Bob Modersohn and I used to try to get to the Ak-Sar-Ben track in Omaha once a year. For business purposes only, of course. Bob took great pictures over there, and I did my best to understand the horse scene enough to write a sensible story. Of course, then the track closed, so that ended that. Lately, my luck at the track hasn't been good. The last time I was at Prairie Meadows a horse died -- or was put to death -- after a race. A few years before that, Dave Finch and I were at the Clay County Fair in Spencer for some sort of horse event, and -- again -- one of the horses died. That changed the whole complexion of the story, and I haven't been back to that fair since. Now Finch is dead, too. That brings me to the Kentucky Derby -- an event I usually try to watch on TV if I'm not mowing the lawn or attending one of my grandchildrens' Little League games. My entire family was in town over the weekend for the overwhelming celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary, and one of my sons remembered late in the afternoon that it was about time for the Derby to start. So a lot of us hovered about the high-definition 37-incher and waited for the race. We all picked a horse we thought might win. I made my choice late, and got some nag that couldn't win a race in my backyard. I like the pageantry at the Derby, particularly when the horses are marched into the starting gate and when they sing "My Old Kentucky Home." That's about as good as it gets for me. I usually don't know one horse from another, or even if they're male or female. My sentiments are tied mainly to the horses' names. If there was a horse named Ronaldo, he'd be my favorite, of course. Anyway, I enjoyed Saturday's race for a while. Until that second-place filly named Eight Belles broke both ankles [shown in the AP photo above] at the end. She had to be put to sleep. That made me sick. It was an awful sight. Now I wish I hadn't even watched the race. I don't feel sorry for the owner or the trainer; I feel sorry for the horse. I'm going to have to think twice or three times before I watch another race on the tube.

*

DAN JOHNSON AT PRAIRIE MEADOWS, NOT THE DERBY

Speaking of the Derby, how about this: The paper's Dan Johnson is one of the top two or three horseracing writers in the nation, and the editors had him write stories about the Derby in the days leading up to the race. As usual, Dan wrote great stuff. Then I looked forward to his stories from Louisville. But evidently the editors couldn't come up with enough money to send Johnson there. In the old days, Dan used to drive to Louisville for the race, and some of us thought he was making the trip on his own nickel. That was pretty sad, too. On Saturday, the paper depended on USA Today and Newsday reporters to cover the race, and sent Johnson to Prairie Meadows. Before that, he was covering the Barnstormers. I was starting to wonder if he was the only guy on the payroll. I think I'd have asked Dan to at least write some commentary on the Eight Belles situation after watching the race on TV. Knowing what a gamer Johnson is, I'm sure he'd have done it. Others, though, would have told the editors to shove it. After thinking about it, maybe that's indeed what Johnson did.

*

PLAYER GOING HOME TO ECUADOR, NOT TO DRAKE

Bud Appleby forwarded a story to me from HeraldNews.com about a basketball player who intended to enroll at Drake, and now has changed his mind. The player is Fernando Troya, a center from Bolingbrook [Ill.] High School. Dick Goss writes that "Troya signed a national letter of intent to continue his career at Drake, which is coming off an NCAA tournament appearance. But then coach Keno Davis announced he was leaving to become the coach at Providence. Troya reconsidered and decided to play at the University of San Francisco. Not the one in California, the one in Troya's homeland, Ecuador, which his family left about six years ago. 'Fernando went on a mid-December visit to Drake and was all set to go there,' Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. 'Then Drake went on that run and made the NCAA tournament. We were all excited that he would be part of a program like that. But then coach Davis announced he was leaving, and it threw everyone for a loop. Since then, Fernando decided to go back home to Ecuador.' Troya, who averaged just under 4 points and 4 rebounds for Brost's first Raiders team, scored a 33 on his ACT and speaks English, Spanish and German fluently. In addition, he is '6-7 and skilled,' Brost pointed out. 'You can wee why colleges were interested in him," Brost said. "He made the decision to go back home about three weeks ago. It's been a tough time for him, especially the last three weeks. It's been a whirlwind. I give him and his family a lot of credit.'"
*

KANASKIE WILL BE INTERVIEWED AT ST. FRANCIS

Speaking of Drake, there's a story in AltoonaMirror.com in Pennsylvania that says former Bulldog coach Kurt Kanaskie [pictured at the right] will be interviewed Wednesday for the coaching job at St. Francis [Pa.] University. Kanaskie, who has been an assistant at Penn State, was in a hopeless situation when he compiled a 62-136 record from 1996-2003 as Drake's coach. Kanaskie was a good guy, but it was obvious he was never going to win. I thought there was a danger men's basketball would sink to the Division III, non-scholarship variety until Tom Davis was hired to succeed Kanaskie. However, it doesn't look like the St. Francis job is any more promising than Drake's was when Kanaskie was there. Bobby Jones had an 85-167 record in nine seasons at St. Francis, including 6-23 this past year. St. Francis is located 80 miles east of Pittsburgh. Good luck on this one, Kurt.

*

'IOWA ROSTER IS FILLED WITH MARGINAL PLAYERS'

Mark Robinson of Iowa City writes: "It's been a while since I've called you a cynic, but there you are. Your missive regarding Tony Freeman was soaking in it and I loved every word. Tony is an average player, but the Iowa Hawkeyes' basketball roster is filled to the rim with marginal players and youngsters. I don't know both sides of the story, Ron, but there is no doubt that Tony Freeman is an average player, and the best player on the Iowa team. That is sobering, to say the least. Keep writing, -- Mark Robinson." [Ron Maly's comments: Mark, I'm perfectly willing to blame Steve Alford for all of this. Even when he was coaching at New Mexico, he had a lot to do with Iowa's miserable 2007-2008 season. Despite Todd Lickliter's brilliant coaching, Iowa lost a school-record 19 games. If the offense hadn't been bogged down by Freeman, the Hawkeyes might have challenged for the Big Ten title].

*

DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM THIS EX-ALFORD RECRUIT

Speaking of Hawkeye basketball, TribStatar.com in Terre Haute, Ind., says Indiana State of the Missouri Valley Conference has received a commitment from former Iowa center Josh Crawford. The 6-11, 205-pound Crawford played at Oxnard [Calif.] Junior College last season, averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and 4.5 blocks. Don't expect much from him. The Long Beach, Calif. native originally signed with Iowa and played for the Hawkeyes during the 2006-07 season, Steve Alford's last in Iowa City. Crawford averaged half a point and half a rebound [try do do that sometime!] coming off the bench for the Hawkeyes. In other words, he was a typical Alford recruit. He transferred after Iowa hired Todd Lickliter before the 2007-08 season.

*

SOME OF US SAW THIS IN THE 1970S

As long as Mark Robinson was talking about sobering things, how about this thought: Heading into the 2008-2009 school year, Iowa hasn't had such a pessimistic football/basketball outlook since the Frank Lauterbur/Dick Schultz coaching eras in the early-1970s.

*

STEVE BUTTRY NAMED EDITOR OF CEDAR RAPIDS GAZETTE

The Cedar Rapids Gazette says Steve Buttry [left], "a journalist and educator with strong Iowa ties," is its new editor. Publisher Dave Storey announced the appointment this morning, saying Buttry, 53, would join the company June 10. "I have a longtime affection for Iowans," Buttry said. "I am glad to return to Iowa and look forward to working with the fine staff of the Gazette and serving the people of the Cedar Rapids area. I take seriously the responsibility of leading the news staff and the role we play in the community." Buttry, who graduated from high school in Shenandoah, has worked for the American Press Institute in Reston, Va., the past three years. Before that, he had editor, writing coach and managing editor jobs with the Omaha World-Herald, Des Moines Register, Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Kansas City Star and Times and the Evening Sentinel in Shenandoah. Buttry also has vast experience in digital journalism with the American Press Institute; "thenewstribune.com" in Tacoma, Wash.; "Notrain-nogain.org"; Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.; "Omaha.com"; and "Dmregister.com." Mark Bowden left as the Gazette's editor in December, without saying why. It probably wasn't his decision. It was undoubtedly theirs. [Ron Maly's comments: It sounds like a good move to me by the Gazette. Buttry was well-respected when he worked in Des Moines. When the search for a new Gazette editor began, I suggested either Mike Hlas or Jim Ecker for the job, but neither guy said he was interested. I hope Buttry treats them well].

*

DIFFICULT DAY FOR SPELLCHECK

A reader writes: "Ron, I might have been more impressed with Sam Mellinger's comments about the Internet vs. print media [last week] if he could have bothered to spell Barack Obama's first name correctly." [Ron Maly's comments: As I pointed out to the reader, that was a tough day for spellcheck. The guy who forwarded Mellinger's blog to me misspelled his name].

Think Of the Possibilities

Well, let's try to be positive about this. I mean, look at it this way: Now that Tony Freeman [pictured at the right] has been told he didn't fit into Iowa's basketball future, or even its present, there will be more playing time for John Lickliter. John is the son of Hawkeye coach Todd Lickliter [pictured at the left, watching Freeman play], and he'll be a Hawkeye next season. Right now he's finishing the spring semester at City High School in Iowa City; next fall he'll be attending Iowa without a basketball scholarship. I'm looking for him to be an instant hit with fans, and finally Carver-Hawkeye Arena won't be just half-full for games.

*

It didn't surprise me one bit that Lickliter -- the dad, not the kid -- decided Freeman, a junior, would be better off being some other coach's headache next season. I mean, all he did was lead Iowa in scoring, steals, three-point field goals, and all he did was start every one of the Hawkeyes' 18 Big Ten games.

*

Now that Freeman won't be cluttering up Iowa's games, maybe Lickliter -- again, the old guy -- won't have to hold his head in his hands so much during Iowa's games.

*

Todd Lickliter's idea of a birthday present and a Christmas gift wrapped into one: Tony Freeman quitting the team.

*

More proof that collegiate basketball is a high-pressure, bigtime business: Tony Freeman averaged 13.8 points, but Iowa lost a school-record 19 games in Todd Lickliter's first season. When it came down to who was going to go, it wasn't the coach, it was the leading scorer.

*

Steve Alford, I hope you've got a scholarship available out there at New Mexico for Freeman. He'll fit right into your program.

*

All I know is, once they get that new practice gym at Carver-Hawkeye Arena things will improve. I'm still wondering how Lute Olson and Tom Davis won so many games while fighting for practice time with the women's basketball and volleyball teams.

*

I'm convinced. Tony Freeman was responsible for all 19 of those Hawkeye losses.

*

A reader writes, "Ronnie, I, for one, think Freeman is getting totally screwed IF he was indeed asked to leave! I always thought a coach was supposed to TEACH, not to mention be loyal to your players if they were trying....Give me a break! This is just plain wrong, new coaching staff or not!"

*

Since when did teaching and loyalty have anything to do with collegiate athletics?

*

Things sure aren't what they used to be. Todd Lickliter didn't return reporters' phone calls when his leading scorer quit the team, and Troy Dannen, executive secretary of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, didn't return calls when Northern Iowa listed him among the five finalists for its athletic director job. Hell, Lute Olson always returned phone calls. Indeed, there were a few phone calls I wish The World's Greatest Coach hadn't returned. I got tired of talking to him.

*

Switching from basketball to baseball, Mark Robinson writes, "Marshalltown's Jeff Clement was called up by the Mariners recently. The kid had been tearing up the minors, and the Mariners are sorely needing offense. Keep writing."

*

Message to Mark: I will.

Scott Pierce Says Troy Dannen Has Done a Terrific Job In An Impossible Situation. [He's An Example Of the 'SOB Dumb Enough To Replace the Legend']

Scott Pierce, Drake's football and women's basketball radio announcer, weighs in today on the Troy Dannen situation.

Dannen [pictured at the left], the successor to longtime Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union executive secretary Wayne Cooley [right], is among five finalists for the athletic director job at Northern Iowa.

I was shocked that Dannen would be interested in the job at Cedar Falls. Here's what Pierce thinks:

Ron:

"Check out the Kansas City Star, www.kansascity.com/sports. I think it's Sam Mellinger who posted a blog about how the newspapers getting into blogs is not why he got into sportswriting. I thought it was a good read. [Editor's note: Read it later in this column].

"Regarding Troy Dannen, I don't know Troy all that well. I think he's done a terrific job in an impossible situation. You know the old coaching line: Don't be the SOB who's dumb enough to replace the legend. Be the SOB who replaces the SOB who was dumb enough to replace the legend.

"Along that line, the best line ever was uttered by Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall, who
replaced Adolph Rupp. When asked who should replace John Wooden, he said, "Me. Why ruin two lives?"

"From what I understand, Troy has a desire to someday be a college athletic director. In my opinion, if he doesn't get the job, I don't think that will hurt his credibility with the people he deals with at the IGHSAU. If it's a dream of his, and it's a better job, who can fault him for going after that?"

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I guess if Troy Dannen wants to break into the athletic director business, Northern Iowa is a pretty good place to start. By showing interest in the job, Dannen is demonstrating that being Wayne Cooley's successor isn't necessarily the best way to spend the rest of his working life. When I asked Scott Pierce if there was anyone at the Girls Union who might be a good candidate to replace Dannen if he should leave for UNI, he said, "Lisa Brinkmeyer is one of Troy's lieutenants. I worked with Lisa when she was doing radio sales. I think she's a top-flight person. But it's a good job. I don't think they'll be hurting for candidates." As for Dannen going to UNI, Pierce said, "I do think Troy is a longshot. Making the leap from the IGHSAU to a Division I program [in basketball] with scholarship football is a pretty big leap. But who knows? By the way, wouldn't that be quite a switch -- having a woman in charge of the Girls Union?]

*

Here's what Sam Mellinger wrote in the Kansas City Star about blogs:

On blogs and newspapers and fearing for the future

In the wake of the Costas townhall, (too?) much has been written already about blogs vs. mainstream media, so I'm going against my better judgment here and chiming in.

I am an obvious homer for newspapers. We got four delivered to our house when I was a kid. The day I got my drivers license, I put in my first day of work at a newspaper.

After a year or so, they even started paying me, and except for mowing lawns and one dreadful summer at Walgreen's, every dollar I've ever made (outside a casino) has come from being a journalist. I'm approaching 30, so that's 14 years working at newspapers, which, damn, when it's put like that is almost half my life.

Newspapers and the brilliant people running them have taught me the value in hard work, in honesty, and making deadline.

Some of my best friends have been made through this business. Some of my best memories have been made through work, from the day a high school tennis player big leagued me ("he's not talking today," his coach said) to covering the World Series.

And now I'll stop procrastinating and say what's been on my mind all day: I'm worried about my business. Oh, sure, the financial signs are everywhere, and have been since before I took my first journalism course.

But as my wife would tell you, I'm not much for finances, never wanted in this wonderful business to get rich, and have always been sure that the innovative and creative and tireless minds running newspaper shops would prevail.

I still believe that, but I'm more worried about the beliefs and reason of people in my business than ever before. Last night, Buzz Bissinger -- a Pulitzer Prize winner and first-ballot Hall of Fame journalist and author -- went nuts on Deadspin editor Will Leitch, and if a legend like him is saying stuff like "blogs are dedicated to cruelty," well, hell, the shine is off my optimism.

Leitch and the bloggers he was unfairly forced to represent were blamed, far as I could tell, for all kinds of things that have been around way longer than blogs, a list that includes profanity (even though Bissinger's language would've made Pat Jordan jealous), sexism, racism, broken English, poverty, cancer, and the inevitable downfall of society.

To make his point, Bissinger (who claimed he "never" reads Deadspin) and Costas (who I think I still think is one of the most reasonable people in the business) read a couple lines that ran on Leitch's site and then, at some point in this mess, started quoting comments left by the site's readers.

We've been over why that's unfair, and Bissinger went on to make several other (at best) wrong points about Leitch and Deadspin and blogs and society, but a larger realization has been beating me over the head all day:

Oh. Damn. That's how a lot of people assume much of the mainstream media (and others of a certain generation) feels and thinks about blogs.

And even worse: that is how much of the mainstream media (and others of a certain generation) feels and thinks about blogs.

Maybe it's because I'm young enough that I grew up with video games and cable TV and eventually the internet (thanks Al Gore!) but it drives me crazy to see this stupid divide.

I do believe that far more people in the mainstream media embrace the internet than want to scream at it, but the exceptions to this rule are loud and easy to find.

Leitch, I thought, took the high road both on the show and on his website, but there are plenty of bloggers who see the mainstream media as intentionally dishonest, outdated, stuck-up, and as necessary as a pet rock.

They ignore the essential value of the hard-working beat writers (and others), dispensers of the first line of information about any team, breaking news and telling stories that nobody would otherwise hear.

And on the other side, it's like (some) old-guard newspaper people are afraid of the future, terrified what it means to their own security, and decide to belittle the messenger.

They ignore that these internets ain't going away, that it can put their work in front of more eyes than ever before, and that it makes it easier and more enjoyable to follow sports because it provides a forum for like-minded people to talk.

Look, I understand the frustration of old-guard journalists. I understand the threat of people moving in, the anger when your stuff is lifted without attribution, or your hard work piggy-backed by someone who ends up writing that you're an idiot.

But just because someone writes the c-word on some internet message board doesn't make all blogs a threat to society anymore than Jayson Blair being a total fraud makes all newspapers dishonest.

Someone (I think it was Leitch) made the needed point that the internet is a meritocracy, that if a blog or website continues to put out crap, if it continues to lie and/or make stuff up, its message will die because people will stop listening.

The internet will always have nastiness and sexism and racism and stupidity because it is a reflection of our society.

The internet will also always have endless information and insightful stories and moving opinions and places to argue about the crappy economy and Barrack Obama's chances and Brian Bannister's fastball and everything else people are interested in, because it is a reflection of our society.

And I still believe that the bulk of the most important and impactful journalism being done is being done in the mainstream, particularly in print, and particularly in newspapers.

But I also believe some of the most interesting breakdowns and opnions I read regularly come from online-only publications -- mainstream and otherwise.

I just don't understand why it needs to be us vs. them, no matter which of those sides you would choose.

(And I guess we're back with the longer posts now, huh?)

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Mellinger says he's worried about his business, and he should be. Newspaper editors are driving their employees nuts by making them write blogs for the computer version of the newspaper, conducting ridiculous online chats and appearing on webcams while also trying to do what they were hired to do: Report the news in the paper. Pick up the paper here any morning and you're told to put it down so you can read something else on your computer. And don't tell me papers are going to make, on the Internet, anywhere near the advertising dollars they make from the print product. The best thing about newspapers on the computer is that they're free to readers. The minute they aren't free, I'm gone.]

Jay Davidson Wonders Why Steve Gearhart Isn't On UNI's List

Longtime Drake fan Jay Davidson e-mailed me about the list of finalists for Northern Iowa's athletic director job.

Davidson comments about who's on the list, and also who's not on the list:

"Hi, Ron,

"I, too, was surprised to see Troy Dannen's name among the finalists for the director of athletics job at UNI, and my FIRST thought was, 'I wonder what Mr. Cooley thinks about this.' As I recall, Wayne Cooley, who headed the Girls Union for nearly 50 years before his retirement about five years ago, handpicked Dannen, a longtime employee of the Union, to be his successor. Of course there are other capable people at the IGHSAU who can take the reins if Troy should leave, which I still think is a long shot.

"I am also surprised not to see another UNI alum on UNI's short list. Steve Gearhart, who spent nearly a decade at Drake as ticket manager and athletic development director [not at the same time], has been UNI's associate athletic director for development and administration for several years. Steve is a friend of mine, which may disqualify him, but I fully expected him to be a finalist for the top job in UNI athletics. I don't think either Troy or Steve moonlights as a referee, or works on race cars for that matter. Either of them would be an improvement over Ricky Hartzell in my book. But as a Drake fan I thought more of Hartzell as UNI's AD than I did of him as a 'zebra'. Just as long as they don't EVER let him ref in the Missouri Valley!

"Best,"

Jay Davidson

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Well, Jay, I guess the folks doing the hiring at Northern Iowa pretty much shut the door to anyone already on the staff there. Steve Gearhart [pictured at the right] would seem to me to be a well-qualified candidate, but his name isn't among the five finalists for the athletic director job. Dannen's name continues to be the most curious to me. I'm still wondering if he's unhappy as the Girls Union executive secretary, and what his credibility in the job will be if he doesn't get the UNI position.]

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Here yesterday, gone today. When the paper began its efforts to not be a paper -- I mean when the editors tried to convince people they should read it on their computers -- Chuck Schoffner [pictured at the left] came aboard as a pioneer. Schoffner was the longtime sports editor of the Associated Press in Des Moines but -- like so many folks in the news business these days -- he took early retirement because he didn't like the direction his job was taking. So the paper was quick to bring him aboard as an online sports blogger a couple of years ago, and made a big deal out of it in print at the time. However, then nearly every other sportswriter, as well as all the copygirls and janitors, were told to write online blogs. Consequently, Schoffner began being just another guy among the bloggers. I noticed that Chuck wasn't listed among the bloggers the last time I looked, and asked somebody about it yesterday. I was told that Schoffner and the paper have parted ways. I hope it was his decision and not theirs. "He's got plenty of other things to do," a guy told me. Although there was plenty of fanfare in print when Chuck began as a Register blogger, there wasn't a word about it either in the paper or online when he left. But now you know.

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Here are more interesting developments at the paper, which is always looking for ways to save a penny or two. When buyouts caused the staff of the business page to shrink, veteran reporter and editor Dan Piller was moved into a business reporter job. People who know Piller said he had been state editor. Now another veteran -- a talented man who has been in numerous jobs at the paper -- is filling in as state editor three days a week. He's Dave Witke, whose jobs in the past have included being managing editor and sports editor. Indeed, when he was one of the very best sports editors I ever had, I'd say to him often, "Dave, I hope you stay in this job until I decide to retire." Lots of other people felt the same way. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. One day in the parking lot across the street from our offices, Marc Hansen gave me the bad news. "Witke's out," he said. Witke was run out of the job by Dennis Ryerson, the ruthless editor, and was replaced by Randy Brubaker, who didn't know his ass from left-field. As proof of that, Brubaker now is the managing editor.