The Gloria & Glenda Show

We're Gloria & Glenda -- Ron Maly's editors -- and today we've decided to put together a few "this and that" items in his column space. In other words, we're putting in a guest appearance. You see, Ron has been traveling a lot, and needed some cheering up from his grandchildren, as well as his editors, after viewing the flood damage in his hometown of Cedar Rapids over the weekend. Ron's stuff [his writing, we mean] hasbeen appearing in so many different places that even we can't keep track of it. At least he signs his name to everything he writes, which is something not all guys around the area do...

We noticed that Ron wrote on one of his sites that he's wondering if Milwaukee is "still in the league"...We assume he means the the National League...Ron, we think, was poking fun at the Brewers and their fans...The Brewers have been acting like they know something about winning the Central Division championship. Players on the Brew Crew [snappy name, huh?] got so full of themselves during a recent series sweep of the Cardinals that they were taking off their jerseys in the outfield when the games ended. They must've thought they were Brandi Chastain, who tore off her soccer jersey at the 1999 World Cup...Well, Brandi Chastain the Brewers ain't...Hell, maybe Brandi can even play baseball better than the Brew Crew...

By the way, the photograph that accompanies this guest column isn't either Gloria or Glenda, even though Gloria thinks the image looks a little bit like her on Fridays. The photo actually is of Brandi Chastain...We editors guess the Brew Crew players thought they were going to prove how good they are in a four-game series against the Cubs at Miller Park this week...Well, so far the Cubs are up, 3-0, in the series, heading into a matinee game today...Ron thinks the Cubs are showing the Brewers who's boss, if there was still some doubt...

Ron also was reading about how Erin Jordan of the paper got off her dead ass and wrote that the University of Iowa will have to pay the $250,000 for an out-of-state law firm's investigation of problems at the school...Ron thinks it would be a good idea if the university's lawyers would find a way for Mike Gartner to pay the bill...After all, Ron reasons, Gartner has been overcharging people at his No-Name Ballfield for years--so he has plenty of money to pay lawyers who are charging $375 an hour...We're just lowly editors, but we know absolutely nothing will come out of this investigation...Alfredo Parrish wins all of these things doesn't he?...We're just glad the taxpayers don't have to pay the bill...

Ron also wrote on one of his sites that he likes to listen to the announcers on the Brewers' telecasts more than he likes to listen to Len Kasper on the Cubs' telecasts...And The Man noticed that W.E. Moranville said in her Datebook Diner food review that she's glad she's not "The Grumpy Gourmet" of days long gone by at the paper...As far as we editors are concerned, Moranville should wish she's "The Grumpy Gourmet." Ron says her writing can't hold a candle, or even a peanut butter sandwich, to Mossman's writing...We're suggesting that Moranville should be put out to pasture, or wherever-the-hell overmatched food critics are farmed out...

Ron has been taking it kind of easy on ex-Cardinal-and-now-Cub centerfielder Jim Edmonds this summer. But now he wonders if Edmonds has outworn his welcome and should be sent home, or to an assisted living center..."Holy Raul Ibanez! There's gotta be a better outfielder than Edmonds, isn't there?" Ron told us...Well, kids, that's it from us. We don't normally write stuff for Ron's column, but we figured we'd help him out today. After all, Ron is getting ready for football press days, and he'll need all the strength he can get to handle all the bullshit he'll be hearing at those things...We think Ron might hold the Division I record for press day appearances. When he began going, teams were still playing single-platoon football...Maybe you're wondering if the players wore helmets then. Ron says they were, but Michigan's were made of leather.

--Gloria & Glenda,
Your Guest Columnists

Bittersweet

Cedar Rapids, Ia. -- I was in my hometown the other day for a couple of reasons.

First, to see the damage the recent flooding did to the homes that formerly belonged to my family and my wife's family.

Also to attend the family reunion that's held at Dan Koehn's place [his backyard pool is shown in the photo at the lower left] at this time every summer.

You already know that the reunion was a lot more fun than having to look at the damaged houses on the southwest side of town, as well as the mess that remains on The Avenue [pictured at the top] -- 16th Avenue, where places like Pohlena's Meat Market and Sykora's Bakery may never recover.

The Avenue was all but deserted late on this Sunday morning. The place that's been called such things as the Czech Village, Bohemie Town and the Lower End -- where people with names like Sedlacek, Stritezky and Kopecky lived and shopped -- was never exactly a beehive of activity on Sundays, but things were definitely downbeat when my son drove his van down the street slowly on this morning.

A few elderly people were sitting on benches. A few younger people rode bicycles through the area, stopping to take pictures.

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The drive past the houses was bittersweet.

All of us could see what had happened, and it made us sick.

But we could also see that the people were rebuilding and remodeling.

There's hope at 717 2nd Street, 178 17th Avenue and 410 5th Avenue. The people of Cedar Rapids have never been of the give-up variety before, and they won't be that way now.

The house at 717 2nd Street [shown in the photo just above this column] is where my great-grandparents -- the Kubats, who came on a boat to this country from what then was just called Czechoslovakia -- lived for so many years.

It was where my mother spent a lot of time while her mom -- the lady who was "Granny" to us -- worked at Modern Laundry.

It was where I got the scar on the back of my right leg after having a run-in with my tricycle.

It was where my great-grandparents sat next to one another at the breakfast nook and ate off the same plate during every meal.

It was where the little girl who one day would be my mother was injured in the explosion at the nearby Penick & Ford factory.

Ir was where my great-grandmother died on Christmas Eve in 1944.

I think 717 2nd Street will make it.

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The same with 178 17th Avenue [shown in the photo directly above 717 2nd Street].

That was the house where my dad grew up.

It was one block south of The Avenue, and we could all tell that it took a hit from the flood.

I remember being there as a child. It was where my Grandpa was told by my Grandmother's doctor to make sure she ate lots of vegetables.

Grandma had severe high blood pressure and maybe Type II diabetes, even though nobody diagnosed the diabetes in those days.

Grandpa followed the doctor's orders and planted a garden, so Grandma would have her vegetables.

The story didn't have a happy ending. Grandma died at 44.

The rest of Grandpa's 20 years weren't happy.

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The house at 410 5th Avenue [above the photo of the house at 178 17th Avenue] is where my wife grew up.

There are expert bakers of kolaches in the area now. Katie Koehn -- who would be my future mother-in-law -- was the best of her day.

Maxine walked to Trinity Lutheran School, then to Roosevelt High School from the house at 410 5th Avenue.

In later years, I drove my 1937 Ford V-8 to 410 5th Avenue many, many times. Then the 1940 Chevy. Later, the 1953 Chevy.

I made the trip from 637 18th Avenue, where I grew up, to 410 5th Avenue, countless times by foot, too.

At all hours of the day and night.

Things were simpler then, I guess.

Finally, in May, 1958, I took Henry and Katie's daughter to Minnesota, then later to West Des Moines.

Now we get back to Cedar Rapids one day a year -- to the reunion -- with our kids and grandchildren.

I think 410 5th Avenue is going to be all right, too.

At least I hope so.

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Our house at 637 18th Avenue -- the place I spent the first 22 years of my life -- is having no problems.

It's on what's always been called Young's Hill. When you live on a hill, the flood waters can't bother you.

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Meanwhile, the rebuilding goes on.

Steve Bruzek, a relative of ours, has his Cedar Rapids Sheet Metal buildings [one of which is pictured at the lower right] in much better shape than they were a few weeks ago.

But it's going to cost thousands of dollars to fix the place where his dad, Stuart, and Stuart's dad, Jack Bruzek, earned their living.

I'm wishing Steve well.

Tony Whiteside Hits a Home Run In His Pinch-Hitting Role

Bearing a remarkable resemblance to his pioneer dad, Larry Whiteside, the late baseball writer for the Boston Globe and other newspapers--including the Des Moines Register--Tony Whiteside proudly accepted the J.G. Taylor Spink Award on behalf of his father at yesterday's Hall of Fame ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.

So wrote the Globe in today's editions:

Larry Whiteside, who died in 2007 at the age of 69 of complications of Parkinson's Disease, was a 1959 graduate of Drake, and worked parttime in the Des Moines Register sports department from 1957-1959.

"Those of us who witnessed the expression on dad's face as he raced off to Fenway or the zeal of which he spoke about sports and journalism knew one thing: that Larry Whiteside was a man who truly loved what he did," said Tony.

The Spink Award is presented annually for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.

Tony Whiteside is shown in the Getty Images photo yesterday.

Larry Whiteside's career spanned 45 years, 31 of them at the Globe. He's known for starting the "Black List," a database of qualified African-American journalists which started in 1971 with nine names and grew to more than 90. The list helped sports editors from major newspapers find qualified African-American writers to hire.

Whiteside became the first African-American to qualify for Hall of Fame voting in 1980 when he had put 10 years of service time as a baseball writer for a major newspaper. He started his career at the Kansas City Kansan in 1959 after graduating from Drake University. "Sides" also spent many years at the Milwaukee Journal.

Whiteside began covering the Red Sox for the Globe in 1973 and later became the paper's national baseball writer.

"My father began his career in the late 1950s," said Tony, "a time when systematic racial segregation and low expectations for African-Americans were still deeply woven into the social fabric. But he overcame the odds and he enjoyed great success over his career. And he did so with dignity and great self-respect. And we are very proud that he chose to be a mentor and foster the progress of many African-American journalists."

But he fostered the growth of more than just African-American journalists. He was an egoless reporter who offered a helping hand to all young reporters.

"Indeed, my father's legacy is a message of hope and courage and the vision of that legacy is a dynamic and healthy respect for the diversity and the ambitions of others," said Tony. "But while it's tempting to view my father's career strictly through the prism of race, he didn't see things that way. He was a hard-working journalist and a baseball man above all else."

The younger Whiteside began his speech by saying he had big shoes to fill.

Master of ceremonies George Grande told him, "Tony, you fill those shoes just fine. Pop's up there watching, and he's proud."

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John Bohnenkamp, sports editor of the Burlington Hawk Eye, responded to Mark Robinson's e-mail about not being able to find the results of a high school state tournament baseball game online:

Ron:

Tell Mark Robinson that there was a story from the Burlington- Marshalltown game on our Web site Saturday morning. We covered the game (actually broke deadline to get the game in) and had a story with photos.

Our Web site updates with our stories at 11 a.m. each day.

If he has any questions, he can send me an e-mail.

JB

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Outstanding job, as usual, John. Thanks for the e-mail. I'll see you at Iowa's football press day].

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Ron Maly sounds off on the Board of Regents and reporting of that inept group on his twitter site.

Drake Grad Larry Whiteside, Who Was At the Register From 1957-1959, Joins Writers' Wing Of Hall Of Fame--But the Paper Doesn't Know About Him

Bud Appleby of Des Moines e-mailed me to say, "One of those being honored at the baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies today is Larry Whiteside. He was once apparently a stringer for the Des Moines Register when he was a student at Drake.

"I don't think the Register has ever mentioned him."

Whiteside [who is pictured] left the Register in 1959 -- the year I went to work in the sports department there. He was gone from the newsroom before I got there in August of that year.

"Hell, the Register doesn't even know who Larry Whiteside is," I told Appleby, a retired writer and editor at the paper.

If it's not a bicycle ride, a Saturday morning farmers' market or 18 Hawkeye football players who are in trouble with the police, the paper either doesn't know anything about it or doesn't care anything about it.

The important thing is that Whiteside, who died June 15, 2007 of complications of Parkinson's Disease, is being added to the writers' wing of baseball's Hall of Fame today in Cooperstown, N.Y. He's the first African-American beat writer to receive the J. G. Taylor Spink Award.

On June 16, 2007, the Boston Globe wrote that "Larry Whiteside broke both barriers and stories as a baseball writer for the Globe.

"Whiteside, who died at 69 at Kindred Hospital-Boston in Brighton after a lengthy illness, was hired by the Globe in 1973 and quickly became the only African-American reporter covering a major league baseball team on a daily basis for a major metropolitan newspaper.

"He was also the first African-American beat writer in the Globe sports department, teaming with Peter Gammons to cover the Red Sox in the 1970s, when the Globe had both morning and evening editions.

"But Whiteside, known to friends and colleagues as 'Sides,' never wanted to be the story. He only wanted to report it.

"'The press box was whiter than the game at that time," said Art Davidson of the MetroWest Daily News. "At dinner after games, he'd be the only black guy, but it wasn't a big deal. He was just Sides.'

"'We were great competitors, and we had a lot of fun talking baseball," said former Boston Herald Red Sox beat writer Joe Giuliotti. 'He was paid to be a baseball writer for the Boston Globe, and that's what he did and he did it very well.'

"Whiteside worked for the Globe from 1973 to 2004 and for much of that time covered the Red Sox. He wrote stories about some of the most memorable moments in Red Sox history, from Bucky Dent's home run in the 1978 American League East playoff game to Roger Clemens'second 20-strikeout game in 1996.

"As the Red Sox beat writer in 1986, he authored the game story on the team's heart-wrenching and ignominious collapse in game 6 of the World Series against the New York Mets.

"He wrote of that fateful Saturday night at Shea Stadium: 'The Miracle Mets have returned to Shea Stadium. And the demons of 68 years' worth of failure will haunt the Red Sox for at least another day.'

"Whiteside, who was born in Chicago, was hired at the Globe a year before Boston became embroiled in a racial firestorm over public school integration. Dave Smith, the Globe sports editor at the time, said that while Whiteside was a champion of African-American journalists, he never harped on race while working in Boston.

"'Frankly, it wasn't his way," said Smith. "He was low-key when it came to racial issues. He obviously realized his position at that time. It was groundbreaking, so to speak, and he knew what responsibilities he had and handled them well.

"'He was a real advocate for African-Americans in journalism and a leader, but he did it in Larry's way, which was somewhat low-key," Smith said. "He was a very good person and I would have hired him again."

"Garry D. Howard, assistant managing editor/sports for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, called Whiteside a godfather and role model for many of today's African-American sports journalists, just as baseball Hall of Fame honoree Sam Lacy was that figure for Whiteside.

"'Larry was that bridge for us," said Howard. "He was the bridge for this generation. He helped father this whole generation. I think you could trace it back to Larry and then to a Sam Lacy.

"'When you say pioneer, you have to put that next to his name, not just as a writer, but as a mentor to a whole generation of African-American sports journalists that turned out to be pretty good and that he was very proud of.'"

"Whiteside graduated from Drake in 1959. He began his sportswriting career in college, writing for the Des Moines Register from 1957-59. He got his first fulltime job at the Kansas City Kansan in 1959. Four years later, he joined the staff of the Milwaukee Journal, where he covered Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and Warren Spahn with the Braves before the franchise moved to Atlanta, following the 1965 season.

"When baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1970 with the Brewers, the former Seattle Pilots, Whiteside was assigned to cover the team, which was owned by Bud Selig. Whiteside and Selig, now the commissioner of baseball, struck up a friendship that lasted well after Whiteside left Milwaukee.

"Selig so admired Whiteside and his work that he tried to hire him for a position in the Brewers' public relations department in 1972.

"Larry Whiteside and I literally started in baseball together," Selig said. "I am truly saddened by the news of his passing as he was an extraordinary person. He was one of the finest journalists and finest friends that you could have. I will certainly miss him. I extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.'

"The Boston chapter of the baseball Writers Association of America approved Whiteside's nomination for the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, the writers association's highest award."

Congratulations, Larry.

Scott Pierce On the Record

To Scott Pierce, the numbers just don't add up:

"I just counted up the number of female softball coaches at this year's state tournament. Out of the 32 teams....6 have female coaches. At the state girls basketball tournament, that number is usually 1 or 0.

"Now, in basketball, I can understand finding qualified men to coach the girls. But considering the death of men's fast-pitch softball in this country, I think we can do
better.

"On the record."

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I've got just the guy who can maybe answer all of your questions, Scott. Try Mike Dick, the new guy running the show at the Girls Union, He says he's making $115,000 a year, so I'd say that's enough to be able to count to 32].

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WHY NOT A WOMAN?

Sam from Shueyville, not his real name, didn't have his trigger tripped when the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union hired someone named Mike Dick as its new executive director:

"I am not impressed with the Iowa Girls Union's new hire. I thought their list of finalists was very weak. It would be nice, if someday the Iowa Girls Union was led by someone other than a male. It would be nice, as well, to see a woman coaching a team at the girls state basketball tournament."

Sam from Shueyville

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Why and foul up the old boys' club that's been around for so long?]

Here Come the Cardinals' Fans

This is a challenging time -- for the Chicago Cubs and for me.

The St. Louis Cardinals' fans have come out from under the bridges where they live:

Ron:

You're going to have to put me on the payroll to be the director of Official Cardinal Rebuttals. Since I'm a former radio person, I do work cheap, can be overworked, and take plenty of abuse.

I disagree with R.H.'s assessment of Tony's press conference Thursday night. Tony did not rip or melt down that night. He did Wednesday night. And Tony [pictured at the left] is usually flippant after losses. He was short with his answers, and just had the attitude he did not want to be there. Can you blame him? When you ask Tony, "how are you?", he answers "ask me again at 10:00."

While not a defender of Tony (and I'll get to that later), I think he does challenge
stupid questions. For this, I somewhat applaud him. If you're going to cover one of the 3 premier franchises in all of baseball (and I can back that up if you need me to) in a top-25 market, you should be able to ask intelligent questions. And when you don't, the person being interviewed should challenge you. One of the best at it was Rick Pitino, whom I covered during my 6 years living in Lexington. How often have you heard a reporter start a question with "everybody is saying..."? Rick would ask you to define "everybody." And he wouldn't let you off the hook until you told him who you meant by "everybody." Most of the time, "everybody" either existed in the reporter's mind or was a compilation of reporters sitting together in the press box.


I do like the way Tony defends his players. Sure, he knows the bullpen is his weakness. But if he goes into a press conference and starts blaming the bullpen for the loss, what good does that do? The talent in the bullpen isn't there. You only do that kind of thing if someone is not living up to what they can do. Ryan Franklin is NOT a closer. Jason Isringhausen's career is basically over. To rip guys like that publicly won't make them pitch better. And all you've done is divide your team. Name a player that Tony lost and went on to another organization and thrived. By lost, I mean the player did not want to play for Tony again---like Scott Rolen. You're hard pressed to think of one.

Like I said, I am not a defender of Tony's. His record of winning at 3 different places indicate he's better than most doing it today. But I think this year he has totally mismanaged his bullpen. He's got some talented Triple A pitchers that are afraid of making mistakes at the big league level because the I-55 shuttle to Memphis is idling in the parking lot. Ryan Franklin and Jason Isringhausen have gotten away with more mistakes than the youngsters are allowed to make. And his playing of Chris Duncan is nepotism---pure and simple.

I think the pitcher hitting 8th is dumb. Rule of thumb in baseball is to hit your worst hitter last. And I wish the Cardinals would run more. I think Tony is wrong when insisting they need an impact bat. They need some impact pitchers.

Drake football is less than 5 weeks away.

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Thanks for your rebuttal, Scott. But I'm sure you're just as frustrated this morning as fans of the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers are. All three National League Central teams lost yesterday and last night. None of us should forget, though, that there are still two months of regular-season baseball to play. A lot can still happen--and, no doubt, will happen. By the way, Scott Pierce's mention that Drake football is just around the corner is in reference to the fact he is the Bulldogs' play-by-play radio announcer. I'm anxious to see how Chris Creighton [pictured at the right] will do in his first season as Drake's coach].

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Mark Robinson of Iowa City is another Cardinals fan who has some things on his mind:

Ron,

Your recent posts about the Cardinals and especially Tony La Loser, well, got me all riled up.

You see, Ron, we diehard Cardinals fans don't like La Tony as well. We believe that the Cards won the World Series recently in spite of him.

Cubs fans, and I do despise the Cubs more than life itself, are just preaching to the choir when they dump on The Squire, La Genius.

So, have fun with it. You're not telling us anything we don't know. For sure.

Mark Robinson
Iowa City

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: At least this isn't a completely negative weekend for Mark Robinson. His Marshalltown Bobcats outlasted Burlington, 10-9, in the semifinal round of the class 4-A state high school baseball tournament, and play unbeaten Johnston [39-0] for the championship tonight].

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More from Mark Robinson:

"Who will face Johnston in the 4A state championship baseball game?

There were no online mentions of the the results of the Marshalltown-Burlington game late last night. Not even from the offiicial Iowa High School Athletic Association. Not from channel 8, WHO, Burlington, Marshalltown....nowhere.

It appears that everyone has gone to bed. The Marshalltown game began at 8. Four hours later, there is no news.

None.

Well, I can't say I enjoy the way we folks have been driven to websites for "up to date" info.

Take care, Ron.

[RON MALY'S COMMEENTS: Marshalltown's 10-9 victory over Burlington didn't end until after midnight, Mark. Evidently, that cut into the drinking time of the people managing the online information].

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Several things have Ron Maly pissed off already today, and not just the way the Cubs are playing. Read what he writes on his twitter site.

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Ron Maly writes on twitter that the jokes can start anytime about the name of the new guy who's running the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

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And one more thing....the Cleveland Indians are trading Casey Blake of Indianola to the Dodgers. Read it on twitter.

'LaRussa's Behavior Would Make Lute Olson Look Like a Choir Boy'

I've written plenty about Tony LaRussa, the St. Louis Cardinals' manager [as well as the Chicago White Sox and Oakland A's manager].

I can't believe LaRussa's sometimes-juvenile attitude, and neither can R.H. of Des Moines, who sent me this e-mail:

Ron,

"I would offer my unbiased observation and opinion on the UI administration's handling of this latest "f-up," but I have happy news to talk about today. It's on 'The Genius' formerly known as Tony LaRussa. After the hated Redbirds blow another ninth inning lead and get swept by Milwaukee Thursday night, LaRussa walks into the press room for the postgame presser, and starts ripping reporters for questioning the continuing troubles of the bullpen. This is the second night in a row that he's melted down and resorted to being flippant.

"LaRussa's behavior and candor last night would make Lute Olson look like a choir boy. Well, not exactly a choir boy, but somewhere in the range of an egomaniac and a pentulant spoiled brat. The usually-soft St. Louis media is right to ask on why the bullpen looked like the downstate version of the Cubs' bullpen from the past. Apparently, 'The Jerk' would rather admonish the press than dress down his bullpen for being as inept as the UI administration.

"He is the main reason why I hate, and I mean, really hate, that team in St. Louis. A great baseball city should not put up with arrogance like that, but they enable 'The Jerk' to do whatever the hell he wants. To their credit, Chicago fans are never afraid to voice their opinions and the team has to hear it every day. If the teams stink, the fans will say it.

"Here's hoping that the boat that 'The Jerk' is on continues to sink to the bottom of the N.L. Central. What a classless bunch of bums and whiners.

"By the way, I think I have an idea for a book that Jimmy Breslin could do. The title is called "The School That Couldn't Interpret a Policy Correctly." If your administrators clearly show that they have no idea on how to interpret a piece of policy that they wrote up themselves, and expect the athletic department to dispense that information, then the Board of Regents should hire monkeys to run the school."

R.H.
Des Moines

[EON MALY'S COMMENTS: Great stuff, R. H. I continue to wonder why LaRussa [pictured at the right; that's Lute Olson at the left] stays in baseball if the people around him [players, sportswriters and umpires] bother him so much. The guy is 64 years of age, and could be enjoying the good life in the bay area of California. He could be having a glass of wine or two whenever he wants, and the only time he'd have to think about baseball would be if and when he turned on his 60-inch HD television. But, of course, you and I know he wouldn't be turning his TV onto a baseball game anyway. He'd be watching a dog show -- which sometimes is what a St. Louis game turns into. After managing the Chicago White Sox and Oakland A's before going to St. Louis, you'd think LaRussa would have learned how to deal with reporters in postgame press conferences. But obviously he hasn't. I, too, watched LaRussa's performance after the Cardinals' losses to Milwaukee, and I couldn't believe how childish the guy still was. It's not like St. Louis is out of the National League Central race. The Cardinals are four games out of first place. I guess all we can figure is that LaRussa is never going to grow up.]

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SAMARDZIJA TURNING IN HIS NO-NAME BALLTEAM UNIFORM

I still have a gut feeling that the Chicago Cubs are feeding all of us a line of crap about Kerry Wood's real injury. Wood and the Cubs say he has a blister that won't heal on his pitching hand, but I think there's more to it; I think the guy has another shoulder or elbow ailment. Whatever, I'm saying on my twitter site that the Cubs are calling up Jeff Samardzija from No-Name Ballteam to replace Wood on the pitching staff. Wood, naturally, is going to the disabled list -- a place he's been for more than half of his career.

That Empty Feeling

This defies imagination. In some of the dumbest newspapering I've ever seen, the clowns who edit the Datebook supplement in the Des Moines Register today ran yet another photograph of an empty restaurant. The eatery, called Miyabi 9, may or may not provide diners good food. I'll find that out if and when I ever eat there; I won't be relying on a Datebook review. All I know is that, in today's story on the restaurant, a picture [at the right] that showed no one sitting in the restaurant is one of the strangest editorial decisions in the history of the paper. No wonder circulation continues to plummet.

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There also was nothing n today's paper about the Cubs' 10-6 victory late last night over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix. But I'll take care of all of you on that. Reed Johnson's grand-slam homer provided the Cubs with a 10-6 victory that kept them a game ahead of CC Sabathia and the surging Milwaukee Brewers. Just when I thought the Cubs' offense had disappeared for the rest of the summer, something good finally happened in the desert.

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The paper sure gave us a lot of garbage on that bicycle ride, though. Blockbuster stuff. Pulitzer Prize material.

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Make sure you click on the twitter link at the right under "more maly." There might be something there that interests you.

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By the way, Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz -- as expected -- went on defense today in Chicago. Read it on my twitter site listed above under "more maly."

No Confidence

Sorry, I have no confidence whatever that the Board of Regents will get anything done by reopening a sexual assault investigation involving football players at the University of Iowa. Please tell me the last time the jackoffs on the Board of Regents did anything that made sense.

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Meanwhile, I hope Sally Mason [pictured at the right] is making sure her resume up to date. It's always wise for a university president to keep her options open, especially when she's in over her head in her present job.

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Alfonso Soriano got an infield single for No-Name Ballteam last night in a rehab game at Tucson, so, naturally, people running the Chicago Cubs think he's ready to play for them again. I'll tell you this, if Soriano [who hasn't been able to play for more than a month because of a broken bone in his left hand] can rescue the Cubs' hopeless offense, elephants can fly.

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It's over for ex-Hawkeye Tim Dwight. He told the Cedar Rapids Gazette that chances aren't good he'll be playing for an NFL team in 2008. Eleven seasons are enough for the little guy. We've got to keep him in one piece. His alma mater may need him to coach the football team one of these years.

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I was watching a TV station late last night and saw St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa [pictured at the left] bark at a reporter's question about his team's relief pitching. LaRussa is old enough to collect Social Security checks but -- like so many other people managing sports teams -- displays a distinct lack of maturity. For a reporter to have to put up with LaRussa's childish behavior is ridiculous.

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The strange thing is that the reporters who cover the Cardinals are basically homers -- meaning they're fans of the team who are generally afraid to ask LaRussa or the players anything of a controversial nature. So one guy asks the manager a question he doesn't like, and he rips into him on national TV. Horrible.

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The Green Bay Packers are trying to find out what they get in return if they trade quarterback Brett Favre. Rumor has it that one NFL team offered them a football from 1948. It needs air, though. But, of course, so does Favre.

When Paul Delger Asked If I Thought the Cubs Would Fold, I Said Lou Piniella Wouldn't Allow It To Happen. I Was Wrong. They're Collapsing

Paul Delger called yesterday from Kanawha to talk about baseball, basketball, football and various other things.

While on the subject of baseball, Paul [pictured at the lower right] said, "Do you think the Cubs are going to fold, Ron?"

"No," I said confidently. "Lou Piniella won't let them fold."

Now I'm not so sure.

Delger's question about whether the Cubs will go into one of their all-too-familiar collapses came about 10 hours before the Milwaukee Brewers won in 10 innings at St. Louis, 6-3, and and 13 hours before Piniella's first-place team lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, 2-0.

So now the Cubs, who have spent millions and millions of dollars to buy a team that couldn't score a run against a 44-year-old pitcher and two relievers in Phoenix, are two games ahead of both Milwaukee and St. Louis.

The Cubs played no better against the Diamondbacks last night than they performed while getting swept by the same team in the National League playoffs last season. How a team with the likes of Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto and other grossly overpaid players in the lineup can be beaten by a middle-aged lefthander named Randy Johnson is beyond me.

Something tells me the Cubs thought the season was over when the first half ended and they had eight players on the All-Star team. Jim Hendry, their general manager, even got them a pitcher named Rich Harden who has Cy Young-type stuff.

Harden gave up one hit last night--and it was a home run by a guy who'd never before hit a home run in any major league game.

I've changed what I told Paul Delger.

I think the Cubs are folding.

I'll make Paul's day by telling him that. He's a Cardinals fan, and I'm sure he doesn't feel all that well today because his team lost to Milwaukee.

Enjoy it, Paul.

*

The photo at the top of this column is of Alberta Hansen [center] of West Des Moines and her son and daughter. Alberta's children hosted a very nice 75th birthday party for her at St. Peters Lutheran Church in Grimes. Maybe Alberta can tell me why the Cubs can't hit.

*

IT'S NOT AN OFFICIAL SEASON UNLESS KERRY WOOD IS HURT

Nothing ever changes with Kerry Wood.

He used to be a starting pitcher and now he's a reliever -- the guy who comes into the game in the ninth inning to supposedly save the game.

Wood is threatening to set the all-time major league record for trips to the disabled list.

In the past, he's had shoulder injuries, arm injuries, elbow injuries and, I'm fairly certain, head injuries.

You could count on it every season that he'd be assigned on a rehab assignment to No-Name Ballteam, which plays its games at No-Name Ballfield in Des Moines.

He was in our town so many times that they were thinking of naming the training room after him.

Now he's got a blister on one of his fingers. The blister supposedly kept him from pitching in the All-Star game.

They talked about how Wood might be placed on the disabled list because of the blister, but now he has some new ointment from a snake oil salesman in Arizona.

Miraculously, he might miss the trip to the disabled list.

Wow.

*

HOLTZMAN COULDN'T BELIEVE LUTE OLSON'S ATTITUDE

Jerry Holtzman has gone to the big press box in the sky at 81 years of age.

He died Saturday and it was reported in papers across America today.

That's how the journalism business is going these days.

Among Holtzman's employers were the Chicago Tribune and major league baseball.

He wrote a half-dozen books, one of which was "No Cheering In the Press Box."

Holtzman's specialty was baseball writing, but his paper occasionally sent him to cover other sports.

A number of years ago, he and I both were assigned to an Iowa-Purdue basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind.

After the game, Lute Olson -- then the Hawkeyes' coach -- was railing on about how he'd been mistreated by a sportswriter [probably me].

Holtman couldn't believe it.

"Does he always act that way?" Holtzman asked me following the press conference.

"Most of the time," I said.

"Well, then, rip him!" Holtzman said.

"He gets ripped often," I said.

*

'THE PACKERS WANT TO MOVE ON'

I asked Rev. David P. Mumm [pictured at the lower left], a former Iowan, for his opinions on the Brett Favre mess in Green Bay. Here's his response:

Hi Ron,

"You asked for my thoughts on the Brett Favre situation. My take can be summed up in one cliche, 'It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.' Brett Favre is a great QB in a west-coast style of offense. I'm not sure what the Mike McCarthy wants to do with offense. My guess is, he wants to move in a direction that Favre is not comfortable moving. It would seem to me changing styles would be nearly impossible for a QB who has, for seventeen years, worked in the west-coast style. The Packers want to move on. They are a young team with a young coach who has his own ways of doing things, and is not willing to be slowed down by the ways of past administrations. In the NFL you have to move quickly or move on. McCarthy does not have the luxury of waiting a year or two more before implementing his ideas. From what I've heard, I think Aaron Rogers will be a very good quarterback, provided he stays healthy.

"I can understand the Packers' unwillingness to release Favre to another team. Even though he does not fit the Packers' current plans, he still is one of the best QBs in the business. He has the skills needed, skills that could easily come back to bite the Packers, if he is playing somewhere else. The unfortunate part of the whole story is the sensationalizing done by ESPN, FOX and other media outlets. Personnel matters should not be aired in the public media. Both Favre and the Packer organization are guilty of poor judgment in this area.

"On to a more pleasant subject. You mention that you want to hear the fans when Edmonds hits the home run that puts the Cubs into the playoffs and leaves the Cardinals in second place. There is a problem with your take on that matter. From what I'm seeing, the Cubs and Cardinals may very well be battling for the wild-card behind the Brewers, complete with C.C. Sabathia, and now the addition of Ray Durham.

"Sabathia has not had a bad start since the trade (3-0 .188 ERA, 1 home run. .677 slugging pct.); Ben Sheets is no slouch (10-3 2.88 era), Manny Parra as the No. 3 starter (9-2 3.68 ERA), makes for a strong rotation. Even the No. 4 starter, Seth McClung (5-5 4.16 ERA) has been a very positive player. Then add the offensive side of the picture -- Ryan Braun (24 home runs, .292 average), Prince Fielder (20 dingers, .275 average), 7 of 8 starters have more than 10 home runs on the season (Braun, Hart, Fielder, Hardy, Weeks, Hall and Branyan). Six of eight starters have the kind of speed needed to steal bases (Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy each have 14, Braun has 9.) This is a team that quietly is doing very impressive things. The next four games in St. Louis will be very interesting, especially when one considers that next week the Cubs are in Milwaukee. The schedule looks like both St. Louis and the Cubs will have to face Sabathia, Sheets, and Parra. McClung [started last night in the Brewers' 6-3 victory].

It's fun to see the Cubs, Brewers and Cards all playing well. I think it will make for a very interesting balance of the season."


David P. Mumm, M.Div.
Senior Pastor
Concordia Lutheran Church
Machesney Park, IL 61115
Office Phone: 815-633-4983

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: It's too bad Favre can't just slip into retirement. He'd be everyone's favorite if he became an NFL [or even collegiate football] advisor -- a guy who offered his expertise to young quarterbacks who are thirsting for his knowledge. Now he's coming across as an ego-driven old guy who wants to prove himself over and over. I think he's setting the modern-day record for retiring, then unretiring. Pretty sad stuff. And the Brewers look like they're headed to the World Series to me].

*

'PAUL FROM PERRY' SENDS A MESSAGE

Paul from Perry, which I don't think is his real name, sant this e-mail:

Ron,

"This is from Paul from Perry.

"Nothing "so-called" about the informal process. See:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~our/opmanual/ii/10.htm, specifically, section
10.7. A complainant has a right to the assistance of an advocate in any proceeding, including informal, but is not required to accept that assistance. Reading this section, it certainly appears to me that it applies to the athletic department, and that the athletic director is an "academic or administrative officer" who can receive a complaint.

"Whether the victim and her family were 'sold' on making it an informal complaint is rather subjective, and IMHO, hard to prove one way or the other. 'Selling' could include reminding the victim that the informal process could be less traumatic for her, not require reliving the incident
in court, etc.

"As far as 'keeping it quiet,' it is instructive to look at the "Student Athlete Code of Conduct", available at hawkeyesports.com:
"VI. Records and Privacy

"'Records of misconduct and actions taken will be maintained in your education record within the Office of the Associate Athletics Director for Student Services and Compliance. These records are subject to state and federal privacy protection, as well as University policies regarding
confidentiality.

"'Notification to the public regarding your eligibility for intercollegiate competition shall be limited to your name and eligibility status, public information, andinformation that is not part of your education record subject to the privacy protections noted above.'

"Sounds to me that the AD followed exactly that procedure by 'keeping it quiet.' Any written records developed concerning the investigation,*including letters received from the victim's family,' would be subject to this privacy provision.

"It appears to me that the university, including the athletic department, kept this quiet BECAUSE IT IS REQUIRED TO DO SO. That would seem to me to preclude notifying the Board of Regents and the Governor at that stage of the investigation. I read nothing in any of the policies that authorizes release of confidential student records to the University's political overseers simply because the news media is making a fuss of the story. That may very well explain why the mother's first letter was not released to the Regents last fall. I'm willing to give the appropriate officials the opportunity to make that case before looking for tar and feathers.

"As far as the claims of the victim not knowing where to turn, please refer to http://student-services.uiowa.edu/students/policies/5.php#sectionF , particularly the first sentence of the last paragraph:

"'Each year, a copy of this policy is mailed to every student and employee, along with the Code of Student Life, the Sexual Harassment Policy, the Violence Policy, and the Campus Security Statement..."

"EVERY STUDENT receives, EVERY YEAR, a packet of material telling him/her EXACTLY what resources are available, to deal with situations of this type. The information includes contact information for the Rape Victim's Advocacy Program, as well as the UI Police, the Iowa City and Coralville PD's, and the Johnson County Sheriff. The victim may not have been given the information the week of the incident, BUT SHE HAD BEEN GIVEN THE INFORMATION.

"What the mother may have done is make it extremely difficult for the county attorney's office to get a conviction. Certainly, she has given a sharp lawyer like Alfredo Parrish all he needs to get a change of venue. The question becomes, where inIowa can the accused receive a fair trial? Maybe up around Sioux Center or Le Mars? Certainly, the jury pools in the Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Des Moines, and probably Quad Cities television markets have been irreparably tainted by all the publicity. If Alfredo doesn't go for the change of venue, he's not worth all the money he's going to charge. Find twelve impartial jurors in Johnson County? Not a chance.

"Finally, would somebody please explain to me what possible advantage it would have been to Barta and Ferentz to try to keep this hushed under the table? Eventually, these things always become public somehow--remember that we have people in the news media who get paid to find these things, and sooner or later the secret would be out. The AD did act swiftly and decisively by removing Everson and Satterfield from the team--the greatest punishment it could render--and only stated publicly that the two were no longer team members, without stating why, IIRC. This happened long before the letter became public, so I can hardly see how someone can argue that the AD was trying to keep this under wraps, and only took action when the media forced its hand. Exerting undue pressure on the victim, IMHO, also goes against everything that Barta and KFz stand for. I simply cannot see how keeping this quiet, any more than required by law or rules, benefits the UI or its athletic department."

'Death Of the Local Radio Station'

Scott Pierce touches several bases with this e-mail:

Ron:

"Couldn't disagree more with your reference that Jim Edmonds is hated by Cardinal fans. We gave him two standing ovations before he took his first rip as a Cub in Busch Stadium. You've got to retract that.

"Hindsight being 20/20, here's where Edmonds went wrong in San Diego. Granted, he was not healthy. But Edmonds does not have the power he used to. His home run in Houston was in that cheap Crawford Box. Wrigley is a great setup for him. He just need to hit the ball 370 feet or so and it's a home run. But in a big place like San Diego, Edmonds' home runs are flyouts.

"One of these days I'm going to write in detail for you the death of the local radio
station. Your constant updates on the death of the local newspaper are great. But the local radio station is in need of the same priest.

"It became apparent to me when the floods hit Des Moines and only WHO was there to give it expanded coverage. And even then, they had to dip into WHO-TV audio to fill some of the time. Then Van Harden opened up the phone lines (agghhhhhhhh!!!!) to hear from listeners. 'Betty in Des Moines, what's happening where you're at?' 'Well, Van, the streets are flooded.' NO KIDDING!!!!

"Currently, the state high school softball and baseball tournaments are under way and not one local station is giving it any coverage. Why? Because it costs money to acquire a phone line and bring in a minimum wage board operator. And for the state softball tournament, you have to drive all the way to Ft. Dodge and use 90 minutes of long-distance phone time.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. I could choke your space limitations if I go on. I constantly tell my friend Bob Dyer, "it's one of the 10,000 reasons I sell promotional products now." Search your memory bank and write down the names of the some of the radio all-stars, still working in Des Moines, that no longer work full-time in that field.


Larry Morgan
Dick Youngs
Polly Carver-Kimm
Pam Dixon
J.C. Walker

"That's my list and it only took me 20 seconds. And I did not include any of the people I worked with at The Jock because I didn't want to sound biased. But our station did some tremendous things. And if I were starting a radio station, I would make some calls to those people.

"Also, consider our transmitter was in Osceola -- not near Osceola -- IN Osceola, and we had to have the dumbest man on the planet as an owner. I worked for 8 different ownership groups in my radio career and Jim McBride, without a doubt, was the dumbest owner I ever witnessed. It's not even a close second.

"One of these days, I'm going to write a book about my days in radio. But it will have to be in the fiction section. No one will believe these stories to be true. Especially the day the f-word made it on the air of "The Baptist Hour". I'll leave you with that one."

"On the record."

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Scott, I've been getting into lively "discussions" -- including with my own brother -- about the Cardinals and the Cubs most of my life. If you ask me, the worst possible thing that could happen to a St. Louis fan this season would be for Jim Edmonds [pictured at the left] to hit the game-winning home run on the day the Cubs win the National League Central over the second-place Cardinals. I think St. Louis fans -- a few of them anyway -- might like Edmonds as long as he hits anywhere from .170 to .220 for the Cubs. I thought the funniest thing that took place when Edmonds and the Cubs played a recent series in St. Louis was when Bernie Miklasz, who masquerades as a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, wrote that Cardinal fans were being "too nice" to Edmonds after he was released by San Diego and signed by Chicago. After reading some of the stuff Miklasz writes, I'd suggest Lee Enterprises, the company that owns his paper, farm Bernie out to the Quad City Times in Davenport, another Lee paper. Thanks for your thoughts, Scott, on the radio situation in Des Moines. I guess when they bring back the old days in newspapering and radio in Des Moines, we'll both be happy].

*

'PERHAPS THESE YOUNG PLAYERS DO NOT RESPECT KIRK FERENTZ'

Mark Robinson of Iowa City sends more on coach Kirk Ferentz and the ongoing problems in the Iowa football program:

"Hi, Ron,

"I love the new look and the sidebar [on your blog].

"It occurred to me that perhaps these young players do not respect Kirk.

"Hayden Fry not only earned it, but demanded it.

"There is something strange about this, alleged rape and running from the police. And the shit that has been going on for quite a while.

"Oh, and no one ever came forward with info on Brad Banks' BMW SUV, which he admitted to driving as a senior at Iowa. And we know he was born to a hard-working sugar farmer in Florida who did not have much money.

"Some fans want to hang me from a tree, but I think our treasured midwestern naivete are blinding us from what is happening at the U of I.

"Take care, Ron."

Mark Robinson

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: That "midwestern naivete" you refer to, Mark, goes something like this: "We don't care what kind of car the quarterback drives on Saturday night as long as he wins the game for us on Saturday afternoon."]

*

WHERE A NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY PRINTS THE NEWS

The Rev. David P. Mumm, pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church in Machesney Park, IL, responds to my comments about how the Des Moines Register failed to have the results of baseball's All-Star game in the paper the next morning:

"Hi Ron,

"I, too, stayed up to watch the entire All-Star game. I was very impressed with the quality of the defense by all except Dan Uggla.

"You mentioned that the DSM Register did not have the score in the morning paper after the game. The Rockford Register-Star, page 1 at the top was the All-Star game logo and the words "AL Wins 4-3" with a direction to turn to pages 1 and 3 of the sports section. Almost the entire page 1 was an article about the game, as well as a large article on page 3. As is the case every day, four pages were devoted to local sports, and four to national sports, with four devoted to whichever car dealers wanted to purchase the page.

"Hope all is going well for you and your family."

David P. Mumm, M.Div.
Senior Pastor
Concordia Lutheran Church
Machesney Park, IL 61115
Office Phone: 815-633-4983

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Pastor Mumm was formerly at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Des Moines, and has always followed sports closely. One of these days, I'll have to find out how he feels about the Brett Favre mess in Green Bay. I earlier told the pastor that I thought the Rockford paper was formerly owned by the Gannett Co., the same as the Des Moines Register. That's true. However, now the Rockford paper is owned by GateHouse Media. That's no doubt the reason Rockford didn't worry about early deadlines and got the All-Star game in the paper the next day, and the Gannett-owned Register didn't. It's my guess that was the first time in history the results of an All-Star game weren't in the Register the morning after the game. It was horrible newspapering].

After the Arrest Of Hawkeye-To-Be Reiff, Longtime Fan Mark Robinson Feels Football Coach Kirk Ferentz Should Resign

There's no bigger Hawkeye sports fan than Mark Robinson of Iowa City.

But recent months haven't been good ones for Robinson and his favorite collegiate athletic teams.

Now, after what happened this weekend, Robinson [pictured at the left] feels Hawkeye football coach Kirk Ferentz [pictured at the right] should resign.

Here's Mark's e-mail:

Ron,

"I am of the opinion, after this recent arrest of an Iowa football player-to-be, that Kirk Ferentz should resign.

"Kirk has run a dirty program for the last year-and-a-half.

"I do not want want Ohio State or Florida State litter running around here. And that is what Kirk is giving us. Can I use this word? Bullshit. This guy is making millions and I think we should dump him.

"Now.

"Ferentz has to go. As much as he has done for the Iowa program, Please get rid of this guy."

Mark Robinson
Iowa City

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Mark Robinson was born in 1955 and says he's been a Hawkeye fan all of his life. His present frustration centers around the arrest early Saturday by Iowa City police of Riley Thomas Reiff, a 19-year-old freshman-to-be on Iowa's football team. Rachel Gallegos of the Iowa City Press-Citizen wrote that Reiff, "a recruit from South Dakota, was arrested after allegedly leading eight Iowa City police officers on a 20-minute foot chase. Reiff, 19, of Parkston, S.D., faces the charges of public intoxication and interference with official acts. According to a police complaint, officers responded to 10 S. Clinton St. at 2:45 a.m. Saturday because Reiff was said to be acting strangely in the alley. An officer approached him and attempted to speak with him to see if there was a problem, trying to convince Reiff not to run. Reiff ran into Pita Pit, knocking several trays onto the floor in the kitchen. Officers told Reiff several times to stop, but he refused. After eight officers followed Reiff for 20 minutes, Reiff was apprehended. Reiff refused a blood-alcohol test. Reiff, a defensive end, was the first player to commit to Iowa's recruiting class of 2008 in April, 2007. He changed his commitment to Nebraska in October, 2007, but came back to the Hawkeyes in December, 2007. The 6-6, 250-pounder was the South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, made first team all-state defensive end as a sophomore and junior and first team all-state tight end as a senior. Seventeen University of Iowa football players have had legal trouble since 2007. 'Kirk and his staff have worked extremely hard throughout the summer setting a tone and laying expectations,' athletic director Gary Barta said in a statement. 'This makes Riley's actions even more disturbing. It's simply not acceptable. I don't yet have the details on the situation, but Riley and the other young freshman coming into our program have to understand the responsibilites that come with being a Hawkeye. We'll deal with it in accordance with the Student Athlete Code of Conduct. But again, I can't express enough how discouraged I am. I'm confindent with all the steps that have been taken by the staff this year, but this is not a sign of what we'll see this season.'" Obviously, Iowa's program has been out of control recently, and it's difficult to believe Reiff has further embarrassed Ferentz and Iowa's athletic administration. I'm glad the Press-Citizen covered the Reiff situation well. I searched several sections of my Des Moines Register this morning, but couldn't find the Reiff story. If I somehow missed it, I'm sure one of the two dozen or so Register newsroom people who are in regular contact with me will tell me where it was located. If the Register missed the story, I can understand. The folks there were too busy getting the Press-Citizen story about the alleged victim of a sexual assault onto page 1 this morning].

Historic Event: Soriano In a No-Name Ballteam Uniform

It's all in your imagination if you think outfielder Alfonso Soriano hasn't played for the Chicago Cubs since the summer of 1908.

Actually, he's been on the disabled list since June 12 because of a broken bone in his left hand.

But rumor has it that Soriano [who is pictured] and Cubs fans are starting to see light at the end of the long tunnel.

I mean -- and, again, this is just rumor -- our old pal Fonzy [that's what Cubs TV commentator Bob Brenly calls Alfonso] -- could be in a uniform that has "No-Name" written across the front Tuesday and Wednesday.

No-Name Ballteam is the Cubs' Triple-A farm club in Des Moines. For the uninitiated, No-Name Ballteam plays its games at No-Name Ballfield, which is supposed to be called Sec Taylor Stadium.

However, as I've mentioned many times before, the ballfield and baseball fans in Des Moines are victims of a greedy owner.

Anyway, Jim Hendry, general manager of the big Cubs -- the team that plays its games at Wrigley Field in Chicago -- told reporters yesterday that Soriano could do some rehab work for No-Name Ballteam when the No-Names play at Tucson in the upcoming week.

Then Hendry and the others hope Fonzy is ready to play Thursday night for the Cubs in a home game against the Florida Marlins.

Believe me, the Chicagos need him.

The way they hit -- or didn't hit -- last night in a 2-1 loss at Houston, you'd have thought they were the Astros.

The only point they got was provided by Jim Edmonds, who hit a home run.

Hey, Jim Edmonds is supposed to be a St. Louis Cardinal. Now the fans in St. Louis don't like him, and the fans in Chicago don't like him.

But they do like Fonzy. Most of the time. When he's not letting ground-balls slip under his glove. In Chicago anyway.

"My hand feels great," Fonzy told mlb.com after taking batting practice in Houston.

Soriano took 15-20 swings without incident.

"I think a few games, to get some at-bats, will be all," Soriano said. "We'll see how it goes."

Fonzy has missed 41 of Chicago's 96 games. The Cubs have a 15-15 record since he's been out of the lineup.

Not good.

"We've struggled with this injury bug the first half [of the season]," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "[Soriano] is only a few days away from probably going out for a rehab unless there's a setback."

I doubted Fonzy would do any rehabbing with No-Name Ballteam. Again it's just rumor, but I'd heard that Fonzy reads everything I write, and when he found out that the owner of the team was charging people $5 to park and $6 or so for beer he placed a note on the clubhouse bulletin board in Chicago that said, "Shove it, Mike."

And he wasn't talking about Mike Fontenot, the Cubs second baseman who he once thought was the batboy.

When Fonzy said he wanted to look out for the little guy, he sure as hell didn't mean the owner. He meant the fans of No-Name Ballteam, who have been getting gypped for years by the owner's high prices.

Fonzy said the fact No-Name Ballteam has some games in Tucson made it easier for him to do a Triple-A rehab.

I guess he always wanted a uniform that said "No-Name" on the front so he could sell it on eBay in a year or so.

After all, I think Fonzy is only making $136 million or something.

Alex Karras Revisited

Life would sure be dull without my good friend Alex Karras.

Karras is the former Hawkeye football player who, 31 years ago, told me, "I hate going to school. I liked some of the people at the University of Iowa, but I didn't go to class very often. I guess I'm about 25 years away from getting my degree. Not 25 semester hours -- 25 years. I don't regret not having a degree. I think it's silly to push people to go to college."

I was talking to Karras on the phone when he told me that.

I was writing a story about him for the the Des Moines Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

Obviously, researching and cranking out the the Alex Karras installment turned into a fun project for me.

Alex Karras was always a story waiting to be told.

I mean, when I asked Karras [pictured at the right] about his football coach at Iowa, this is is what he said:

""There is nothing I liked about Forest Evashevski. How could I begin talking about a man I totally disliked?"

Evashevski coached at Iowa from 1952-1960 and was later the athletic there.

When I was doing research for my book, "Tales from the Iowa Sidelines," Randy Duncan of Des Moines -- who was on Hawkeye teams with Karras, said Alex "hated Evashevski and still does. I think Karras hated Evy for a lot of reasons. Evy was on everybody's back, and he was on Karras' back bigtime.

"Karras was a great football player, but he didn't like offense and, in those days, you had to go both ways. So he didn't block anybody. What he wanted to do was chase down quarterbacks....Alex has no good memories of Iowa...."

Another ex-Hawkeye I interviewed for the book was Bill Reichardt of Des Moines.

Reichardt said, "Evashevski was a bully. Karras had a mind of his own."

Karras was at Iowa during some of the time I was there, He lettered as a Hawkeye player in 1956 and 1957.

Another quote attributed to Karras is this one:

"I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there for two terms -- Truman's and Eisenhower's."

Karras played on a Rose Bowl championship team, but told me he didn't enjoy it.

"I didn't like the 1957 Rose Bowl game we won from Oregon State," he said. "I played all right in it, but we didn't have any fun. I had eight tickets and planned to sell them so I could buy a suit. Don Dobrino [a teammate] supposedly had a guy who was going to buy all of our tickets. Don gave 'em to somebody in a bowling alley, but he turned out to be a thief and we lost everything."

The reason I'm bringing Karras' name up today is because he was mentioned in Sports Illustrated recently.

They write about almost as often as I do.

"Recently, out of the blue," the magazine said, Karras "placed a call to Evashevski, 90 now, to apologize for all the ruckus he inspired. "'I couldn't take it anymore,' Karras says. 'I had to call him.'

"Evashevski was flabbergasted. What did he expect? It's the same old story, Karras says. 'Everybody's out of step but me.'"

In addition to being a very good collegiate and professional football player, Karras also was a professional wrestler [shown at the left in another photo that accompanied my 1977 story on him] and an actor. And, while in the National League, he was suspended for betting on games.

He told me the suspension was "a bullshit rap," but my boss at the time wouldn't let me use the word "bullshit" in the Sunday paper.

The paper was bigger and better in those days, and the boss was a good guy -- even if he didn't think "bullshit" belonged in the paper on Sunday.

Here's the story I did on Karras that appeared April 3, 1977:

RON MALY
Register Staff Writer

First of all, keep in mind that Alex Karras is not a phony. He did not come into the world with a sugar coating.

Alex is 41 now, an age when maybe he could start mellowing a bit. Surely he could go around softening some of those barbs he enjoys hurling.

But, if anything, the newest member of The Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame is zinging 'em in even harder these days. Let's tune in on him for a while out there in Hollywood Hills, Calif.:

"I hated going to school. I liked some of the people at the University of Iowa, but I didn't go to class very often. I guess I'm about 25 years away from getting my degree. Not 25 semester hours -- 25 years. I don't regret not having a degree. I think it's silly to push people to go to college."

"There is nothing I liked about Forest Evashevski (his football coach at Iowa). How could I begin talking about a man I totally disliked?"

"I didn't like the 1957 Rose Bowl game we won from Oregon State. Oh, I played all right in it, but we didn't have any fun. I had eight tickets and planned to sell them so I could buy a suit. Don Dobrino (a teammate) supposedly had a guy who was going to buy all our tickets. Don gave 'em to somebody in a bowling alley, but he turned out to be a thief and we lost everything."

"I don't like Pete Rozelle (commissioner of the National Football League). I don't talk to him. I don't know if he likes that or not. I don't think he cares. He suspended me for one season (1963) for betting on games, and that was a bull (bleep) rap."

"I like pro football, but it's not as much fun as when I played. It's stereotyped. It's a television project. That passing game -- the kind where you could throw a 65-yard touchdown bomb -- has been killed. I get tired of watching a halfback run for two yards."

"It's ridiculous for Iowa to try to compete with Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten. Those schools have alumni groups that can get them anything they want. Bob Commings, who was my roommate at Iowa, is the best coach Iowa can get, but he's bucking a very big dynasty in the conference."

THAT'S LOVEABLE old, tell-it-like-it-is Alex. The big guy who was an all-American at Iowa has gone a bit Hollywood on us now. He acts, he writes, he produces, he has an agent, he has a manager, he wears a mustache, he wears his hair in an afro.

Generally, Alex George Karras likes life in 1977.

"I'm getting ready to appear in a television special," he said. "It's called Mad Bull Korkus, the story of a greek pro wrestler's life. He falls in love. It's a wonderful story."

Now that's progress. Karras has gone from decking a horse with a right cross in "Blazing Saddles" to playing himself on the screen.

"Yep, I was a pro wrestler in real life from 1958 through '62," he commented. "Pinkie George of Des Moines signed me to my contract."

The reason Karras qualifies to be in the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame is because he came out of the polluted air of Gary, Ind., to play football for Iowa in the 1950s.

And, yes, they were generally unhappy years for the tackle who always seemed to have a personality clash with Evashevski, his coach.

"Evashevski was good for college football at the time," Karras said, "and he had some good assistants -- guys like Bump Elliott, Jerry Burns and Archie Kodros.

"But I would have enjoyed football more if it hadn't been for Evy. He recruited me personally. He came into my brother's home in Gary and flew me to Spencer, Ia., where I stayed for 1 1/2 months."

Why Spencer?

"They figured nobody would know where the hell Spencer was," Karras explained. "A lot of other schools -- Notre Dame, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and others -- were trying to recruit me, and I guess that's why Evashevski took me to Spencer. I did a lot of fishing up there and nobody found me."

Asked if he felt his recruitment was handled legally, Karras says now: "Legal? I don't know anything that's legal anymore."

Finally, Karras got to Iowa City as a freshman in 1954. But he couldn't adjust to life in college and recalls going back to Gary many times.

"I've been going home to Gary all my life," he says. "I spent many hours on the road to Gary when I was at Iowa.

"It was hard for me to adjust to a world outside of Gary for a long time. My mother urged me to go to school, and so did others."

KARRAS WAS not exactly the Robert Redford of the Iowa campus. He didn't have many girl friends.

"I was a backward guy, very shy," he said. "I couldn't handle the social aspects of a campus. I never hung around much. Bobby Commings was probably my best friend at Iowa."

Still, there were some eventful days in Iowa City for the 6-foot 2-inch, 235-pounder. Although he failed to letter as a sophomore, he was a major factor in Iowa's Big Ten championship season in 1956.

"I guess the day we won the conference title by beating Ohio State, 6-0, is my fondest memory," he commented. "I never thought we'd lost that game because we'd come a long way and were at a peak that afternoon.

"But my most satisfying game was the 48-8 win we had over Notre Dame the next week. The Karrases ahve always had a rivalry with Notre Dame. The school was just 60 miles down the road from our home and we wanted to beat 'em at anything."

Iowa climaxed that 9-1 season by ripping Oregon State, 35-19, in the Rose Bowl. Karras was an all-American that season and the following year.

"We didn't have to play very well in the Rose Bowl game because Oregon State wasn't very good," said Karras.

"The game was an extension of a long, long year. It was total football in Pasadena. We had no parties and were kept away from everything."

In 1957, Karras' final season, Iowa had a 7-1-1 record and Alex was given the Outland Award as the nation's outstanding linemen.

He began a 12-year pro career in 1958 with the Detroit Lions, who chose him in the first round of the college draft.

There are few fond memories about that stage of his life, either.

"I made a collect call to the Lions after they drafted me," Alex recalls, "and they wouldn't accept it."

Karras was many times an all-star as a pro. He is probably best remembered for the manner in which he would roar in like a mad bull and try to tear off the quarterback's head.

"I was a little different than most guys at my position," Alex said. "I wasn't as big (he played at 245). The guys now don't play the lateral game I did. I'd run around the opposition, not through them.

"Linemen today weigh 290 and can lift houses. They play a different game, but they're damn good."

Karras still has no admiration for the Detroit organization. "They don't seem to want to win very much," he said. "They should show the customers a winning team once in a while.

"But every year they come out stumbling. It'a a bad organization."

KARRAS SAID he wanted to be an actor as long as he can remember, and appeared in his first film -- "Paper Lion" -- in 1968.

"I've been in nine films so far," he commented. "But the one that was the turning point in my acting career was Babe, when I played George Zaharias. That put me into the heavy acting I like."

The reviews were good for Babe, but Karras is probably best known to television viewers for his role on Monday Night Football.

"I'm the bridge between Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford," he said. "I'm there to have a little fun. I'm going into my fourth year next fall."

Karras describes Cosell as being a "very sweet man ... an interesting guy I like to be around three hours a week."

There was a time, several years ago in a speech made in Des Moines, that Karras said Gifford reminded him of Lawrence Welk. "His straight style bores me," he said.

But that was before Karras replaced Don Meredith as part of the Monday night team. Alex now says of Gifford: "He's the best play-by-play announcer on TV today. He has to be if he's going to survive Cosell and me."

ALTHOUGH HE is certainly no pro football red-hot, Karras said he sees "nothing that's going to pass the game up in this country.

"I just wish they'd open up the game more," he added. Instead of being exciting, pro football has become a status symbol for people. It's a social function for people with money.

"I wish the guys carrying lunch buckets could go to the games, but they can't afford to."

Karras thinks college football is more interesting now than it was when he played. He likes platoon football because "more kids can go to school on scholarships and the game is wide open."

Alex, whose marriage to the former JoAnn Jurgenson of Clinton has broken up, has lived in Hollywood Hills for 1 1/2 years.

"I live in a little house," he said. "I have one car."

Alex works as much as he can. He produced a film last year for the ABC Children's Classic and likes doing that sort of thing -- children's films and producing.

He has a book coming out in November about his life. It's called "Big Boys Cry, Too."

"I'm planning a vacation next summer," he said, "when my kids come out to California from Michigan. My oldest is 17, my youngest 4.

"Four of the kids are boys. My oldest son plays football and basketball, and one of the other kids plays basketball."

Karras has cut his weight to 220 by eating more vegetables and less meat. "I didn't need the weight anymore," he said.

Alex doesn't know when he'll see the next Iowa football game coached by his old roomie.

"The last time I saw Iowa play was against Michigan a few years ago," he said.

"Iowa lost."

Hawkeyes Will Go 8-4, Cyclones 4-8

Reporters who cover Big 12 Conference football games are picking Iowa State to finish in the same place most other people think the Cyclones will wind up in the standings -- last in the North Division.

I guess it's hard to argue that Gene Chizik's team will be able to do any better.

I know I'm not applying for Orange Bowl credentials yet.

I'm picking Iowa State to go 4-8 overall this season in Chizik's second year as coach.

Then there's Iowa....

I told a guy yesterday that I've decided the Hawkeyes will rebound from last season's 6-6 debacle, and go 8-4 in 2008.

Now I'm trying to figure out the eight teams the Hawkeyes will beat.

I've been consulting with Rocky the orangutan [pictured at the right, courtesy of the Great Ape Trust Of Iowa] about all of this.

I knew Rocky would be a big help in my preseason prognostications. He always has answers lots of others don't.

All I know for sure is that I feel better about Iowa's chances in 2008 because Western Michigan isn't on the schedule.

A ridiculous 28-19 loss to that team in the 2007 finale kept the Hawkeyes from going to a bowl game.

Right now, I'm saying Iowa will beat Maine, Florida International, Iowa State, Northwestern, Indiana, Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue.

Sorry, Bo [he's the Iowa City guy to whom I made the prediction], I see Iowa losing to Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Illinois and Minnesota.

*

Now back to Iowa State.

I figure the Cyclones will win their first two games -- both at home -- over South Dakota State and Kent State. Then they'll lose at Iowa and UNLV, and to Kansas at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.

They'll win at Baylor, lose to Nebraska, beat Texas A&M, and lose at Oklahoma State and Colorado, and to Missouri and at Kansas State.

Iowa State tied Nebraska for the worst records in the North last season. The Cyclones somehow beat Kansas State and Colorado, and wound up 3-9 overall.

"The Cyclones surprised me last year as they were the least-talented team in the Big 12," Phil Steele wrote in his College Football Preview magazine. "This year's squad has 14 returning starters and will be stronger in Chizik's second season, but with 25 out of 52 lettermen lost it looks like a rebuilding year."

Missouri, which went 12-2 overall in 2007, is heavily favored to win the North title in 2008. The Tigers received all 51 first-place votes in the reporters' poll.

Kansas is expected to finish second, followed by Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas State and Iowa State.

Oklahoma received 49 first-place votes and is a heavy favorite to win the South title. Texas, picked to finish second, got the other two first-place votes.

Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Baylor followed.

*

By the way, rather surprisingly, Steele thinks Iowa will tie Michigan and Illinois for fourth place in the Big Ten.

"The Hawks do not have overwhelming talent at the skill positions, but do have my No. 4-rated offensive line and No. 4-rated defensive line plus much improved special teams," he writes. "They also do not face Ohio State or Michigan in Big Ten play, giving them the best schedule of the middle-rung teams."


*

I've read several stories in the paper about Ed Boesen, the 43-year-old Des Moines flower guy who died the other day in Davenport.

Every time I read another of the stories, I'm left with more questions than answers.

No wonder newspaper circulation keeps dropping.

Maybe somebody can get to the bottom of all this one of these days.

At least before the price of the paper rises from 50 cents to 75 cents.

*

Somebody named Michael G. Kane has been named publisher of the Indianapolis Star, succeeding the ousted Barbara Henry.

The only reason that's news around here is that Henry once was publisher of the Des Moines Register. She didn't do any better here than she did in Indianapolis.

Not doing her any favors in either place was Dennis Ryerson, her editor. Ryerson will likely be on his way out of Indianapolis now that Kane -- who has been the publisher of the Rochester [N.Y.] Democrat and Chronicle -- has been hired.

*

Chicago Cubs outfielder Jim Edmonds, 38, married Allison Jayne Raski, 28, yesterday in Clayton, Mo.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that both participants were casually dressed. Edmonds wore a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. The paper said Raski sported a "nice-sized diamond ring."

Edmonds, a former St. Louis Cardinal, and Raski didn't hurry into the marriage. They already have a young son, Landon.

Now I'll be interested to see if Edmonds can hit more than .230 in the second half of the season.

You Came To the Right Place To Read About the All-Star Game

When it was over, I looked at my clock and it said 12:45 a.m.

My clock runs a little fast.

Actually, baseball's All-Star game ended at 1:37 a.m. today, New York time.

That meant 12:37 a.m., our time.

In what turned into a newspaper's horror show, the American League slipped past the National League, 4-3, this morning in the final All-Star game played at the present version of Yankee Stadium.

The American League stretched its unbeaten streak in the All-Star game to a dozen games.

*

If you subscribe to the Des Moines Register, you won't find the score in today's paper.

Indeed, an unidentified copy editor in the sports department wrote a one-paragraph story on page 1, telling you to read about the game on your computer.

That's how it goes these days.

Don't look for news in your newspaper. Look for it on your computer.

"At press time early this morning, the American League and National League All-Stars were in the 14th inning...." the paper told us.

I know. I was watching.

Tell me something I didn't know.

*

I hate to say this again, but not having the result of the All-Star game wouldn't have happened in the old days.

The editor in the old days -- and the publisher, too -- would've made sure the score got in the paper.

They'd have held the city edition until the game was over.

Those days are gone.

Forever.

And circulation keeps sinking.

*

You wanted news of the All-Star game in your paper. You got a story on a wrestler.

*

Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins scored the winning run [shown in the Star-Ledger photo] in the 15th inning on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young.

There weren't many fans left in the stadium when the game ended.

I don't blame the people who left.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be hanging around anywhere in New York at 1;37 a.m.

*

Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins played second base for the National League during part of the game.

He made three errors, struck out three times and hit into a double play.

"The only thing I'm pissed about is that we lost," Uggla told reporters afterward.

That's the spirit.

*

The Chicago Cubs dominated the National League roster.

All of them played, with the exception of Alfonso Soriano and Kerry Wood, both of whom were injured.

Wood is always injured, so that shouldn't surprise anyone.

At least none of the Cubs embarrassed themselves like Florida's Dan Uggla.

Pitcher Carlos Zambrano threw a breaking ball over the head of Manny Ramirez in the fourth inning.

It was meant to be a playful thing.

I think.

With Zambrano, you never know.

*

The game lasted so long that even Carlos Marmol of the Cubs even got into it.

He didn't hit anyone or walk six players in the same inning, so I'd consider his appearance a success.

*

Yogi Berra was among the past All-Stars honored.

Play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and commentator Tim McCarver interviewed Berra in the TV booth.

I wasn't listening all that carefully, but I don't think Yogi knew what Buck's first name was.

I'm pretty sure he kept calling him Jack.

Jack Buck was Joe Buck's father.

I'm 45 percent certain Yogi knew his own name, though.

*

When the game wouldn't end and both teams were running out of players, one of the announcers asked if maybe the old All-Stars, who were honored as part of the pregame festivities, could play.

"Have you got Steve Carlton's cell phone number?" somebody asked.

*

J. D. Drew of the Boston Red Sox was named the game's most valuable player.

He was given the honor because he hit a two-run homer that just tied the game in the seventh inning.

Repeat. The home run didn't win the game, it tied the game.

*

Basically, it was a bush league crowd.

The fans kept booing everyone from the Red Sox.

Lou Gehrig wouldn't have thought much of that.

Of course, Lou Gehrig had class.

*

All right, so it's back to the regular season.

When the Cubs win the National League pennant, they'll have to start the World Series in the American League park.

That's because the American League won the All-Star game.

No problem.

The Cubs will win the Series in five games.

Berryman & the Ames Police

Veteran radio play-by-play announcer Scott Pierce weighs in on some current events in this message to me:

Ron:

"Nice vacation pictures. I'll send you mine someday from Ackworth.

"A couple of thoughts....I am a member of the Des Moines Kiwanis Club. John Gregory spoke to our club about two months ago and was asked about Jason Berryman. He talked about how Berryman was a great person and how the Ames police had it in for him. I just squirrel stuff like that away. And as John Wayne said in Rio Bravo, 'We'll remember you said that.'

"Baseball......you want to know the difference between the Chicago Cubs and teams like the Twins and Royals? It's not the ability to trade for Rich Harden. The Twins and Royals can do that. But if someone like Jason Marquis or Ted Lilly goes bust, the franchise is crippled for the life of such a contract. The margin for error is so much different.

"And I wouldn't trust Billy Beane when trading a pitcher as far as he could throw me. Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder all lost significant MPH once they left Oakland. Mulder was damaged goods. I realize Dan Haren has done well with Arizona, but the track record of pitchers traded by Billy Beane is not good."

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Scott Pierce is a busy guy. He's Drake's football and women's basketball announcer, and he may even work some games in the NFL and NHL. The way he's got Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane figured out, Pierce may also be doing some play-by-play in major league baseball parks. The busy schedule is no doubt why he doesn't have the pictures developed yet from one of his vacations in Ackworth. I know I'm looking forward to seeing oceanside shots of him there. A guy who evidently won't be getting much beach time in Ackworth or anywhere else is Jason Berryman, the former Iowa State and Iowa Barnstormers football player whose favorite off-the-field activity is participating in $4 holdups. That's his former coach, the Barnstormers' John Gregory, pictured at the left].

*

'THE EXECUTIONER WAS WAITING'

Jay Christensen, a native of Fort Dodge, is a veteran newspaperman who has gotten some very bad news.

He's out of a job.

Well, at least one of his jobs.

Christensen alerted me today in an e-mail titled "It's Over" about what's happened.

He wrote this on his popular website, "The Wizard Of Odds:"

The Man Behind the Curtain

"Today, a personal note. I've been doing this site for nearly three years under the name 'The Wiz.' My anonymity ends today.

"Monday at 1:52 p.m., I received a message on my cell phone. The caller I.D. was 'blocked,' and my instincts told me this was not a good thing. It was after all Black Monday, a day of 150 or more editorial layoffs at the Los Angeles Times where I have worked in Sports for nearly two decades.

"The message was from Melissa McCoy of the Times: 'I need to talk with you.'

"The executioner was waiting.

"About 30 minutes later, I learned that 'my position' had been eliminated.

"'I'm sorry I couldn't do this face-to-face ... these are trying economic times ... you'll be receiving a packet in the mail,' she said, apparently reading from a prepared statement.

"I asked when I could clean out my desk. Arrangements were made and now, like it or not, I'm moving forward.

"Journalism is a career I have cherished since my first newspaper job at 16. The downward spiral of the newspaper business has helped me prepare for this day. But it still feels like my best friend just died.

"I've kept this site under wraps from all except a handful of confidants. I've spoken of the site publicly only on Sports Byline, the weekly radio show in which I participate.

"But, hey, the Wiz is now a free agent. Anyone have a lead on a good gig? Here are my details:

Current Endeavors

The Wiz of Odds.com
Proprietor of the Internet's No. 1 college football blog.

Los Angeles Times
An 18-year veteran of the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper.

Sports Byline USA Radio Network
Contributor to "Sports Overnight America, Saturday Edition."

The Details

The Wiz of Odds.com
"A College Football Site for Winners" was launched in August 2005 and offers insight and opinion into issues that may not be fully covered by mainstream media. The site offers a daily aggregate of the news and serves as a springboard for college football writers and broadcasters nationwide. With an expected 3 million visitors in 2008, the site has earned mention in nearly every major newspaper and has found a permanent link on blogs of the New York Times, Orlando Sentinel and San Jose Mercury News, among others. Its influence in the blogosphere is equally impressive, with linkage on sites such as Deadspin, SI on Campus and the Huffington Post.

Los Angeles Times
Writing, editing, layout, design and photography at one of the nation's premier newspapers. Currently editing and rewriting stories for the sports department. In six years as a News Editor (design and layout responsibilities), the sports section won five top-10 awards for best daily and Sunday sections from the Associated Press Sports Editors. Also served as the Suburban Sports Editor, overseeing coverage of the South Bay, Westside, San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach and Southeast zones.

Sports Byline USA and other radio work
Contributor and former co-host of "Sports Overnight America, Saturday Edition." The San Francisco-based network is heard nationwide through affiliates and worldwide over the Internet and American Forces Network. Guest appearances include Fox Sports Radio, Public Radio International, 850 The Buzz in Raleigh, 690 The Sports Animal in Birmingham, Rivals Radio and 1430 The Buzz in Tulsa.

Previous
Los Angeles Herald Examiner, September 1986-November 1989
Sacramento Union, April 1986-August 1986
Colorado Springs Sun, December 1984-March 1986
The Daily Iowan, June 1981-May 1983
The Messenger, Fort Dodge, Iowa, September 1976-August 1980

Contact
JayChristensen@mac.com

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I was very sorry to hear that Jay Christensen was one of the latest talented newspeople to get caught in journalism's horrible costcutting. It's hard to believe these things are happening at places like the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Just yesterday, the Times' publisher was ousted and the Tribune's editor resigned -- undoubtedly under pressure. Christensen and most others in the newspaper business got into it because they were hard-working, dedicated people who thought they were in profession that would last forever. I'd like to say the situation will get bet better, but I know it won't. It'll get worse. No one in the newspaper business is safe these days. Good luck in your future endeavors, Jay. The Wizard Of Odds is an outstanding website, and I read it every day].

Fighting Back

In the aftermath of all the horrible flooding this summer in Cedar Rapids, Eric Oliver sent this message to me:

Hi, Ron,

"I hope this e-mail finds you well. The magic of Young's Hill continues in the summer of 2008.

"Fortunately. my entire family was spared from the flood (Olivers always live on hills, with the exception of my sister Lynn's husband's business): Dlouhy Auto located on 6th Street and 2nd Avenue SW. With the help of many people, especially many of the parents of teammates on my nephews' youth baseball team, the place will be as good as new very soon.

"Here is where the Young's Hill mojo comes in. Former Iowa State baseball standout Curt Woods is my nephew Kyle's (age 12) baseball coach. His wife is Karen (Charipar) Woods, daughter of Ken Charipar. After the first baseball game post-flood a lady named Diane Stortz from the Denver area in Colorado walked up to my brother-in-law Marc Dlouhy and handed him a check for $2,000 to help with the cleanup and restoration of his business. She explained that she was from Cedar Rapids and wanted to help the community in some way and her sister Karen explained to her that a very nice and deserving family from Curt's baseball team could really use some assistance. She went on to explain that she was a proponent of catholic education and appreciated that Marc and my sister also felt strongly about raising their children in a catholic school environment. As you can imagine my brother-in-law's chin about hit the ground.

"My sister asked me to help her write a thank-you note and I immediately recognized the name of Thomas and Diane Stortz to be the daughter and son in law of Kenny Charipar. So, 60 years after the Boys of Summer won the 1948 state baseball championship, the daughter of one member of that team presented the daughter of a teammate a very generous check and I don't believe either of them realized the connection until I brought it to my sister's attention while we were collaborating on the thank-you note.

"Sixty years is an awfully long amount of time to pass and still have a coincidence like this occur. And I don't have to tell you, Ron, the Charipar family is one of the kindest and most caring families I have ever known.

"Sincerely,"

Eric Oliver
Cedar Rapids

PS--Hayes Field was flooded, as well.

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Nice story, Eric. Young's Hill in the southwest section of Cedar Rapids is where I grew up, and where older members of Eric Oliver's family grew up. Eric Oliver is the man who provided me with so much valuable information when I wrote the column a year or so ago about the death of Chuck Fulton, a childhood friend of mine. I knew Kenny, Norval, aka "Nippy," Wayne and Lloyd Oliver [Eric's father] when I was a kid and all of us were attending Lincoln Elementary School on Young's Hill. I'm glad things are looking up in Cedar Rapids in the wake of everything that took place [pictured] there this summer. The city will come back, mark my word. It's always been a town made up determined people who know the meaning of hard work].

*

BILLY PACKER OUT, CLARK KELLOGG IN AT CBS-TV

Well, we won't have Billy Packer to kick around anymore as a CBS-TV basketball analyst. After 28 years, Packer has been given the heave-ho by the network and will be replaced by Clark Kellogg. Few viewers will miss the 68-year-old Packer. I know I won't.

Classic Screw-Ups: Jason Berryman, Register's Price Hike

R. H. of Des Moines writes about Jason Berryman, the football player who has never been able to get his act together:

Ron,

"I am happy that your family had a fun and pleasant vacation. I know one person who should go on a vacation, permanantly, and that is one Jason Berryman.

"Berryman got picked up on a charge of possession of marijuana and driving without a license early Friday.

"Being given a second chance means making the most of it, but it's clear to all of us that he will never get it in the game of life. From lying in the face of Andy Fales, to John Gregory kicking him off the team, he has catapulted himself to the top of the list: the biggest screw-up in Iowa history. The term 'screw-up' is a milder term that the one I really want to use, but there are young kids who might be reading your blog.

"I'm very happy for Mike Woodley and Grand View has themselves a terrific coach. You have mentioned all of his stops and his accomplishments, to which says a lot about his credentials.

"Mike, if I remember correctly, played splitback for East Waterloo in 1971 and 1972, during the back-end of the Trojans' six-year undefeated streak, which lasted from 1966 through 1972. A good number of my uncles, who were wrestlers, attended East with Mike.

"It's ironic that I bring up 1972, because it ties football with the Olympics, coming up in a few weeks. Dan Gable won a goal medal in wrestling and a day later, on Sept. 6, East Sioux City beat East Waterloo, 7-6, at venerable Sloane Wallace Stadium. A missed extra point early in the game was the deciding factor.

"Finally, count me in as another Cubs fan who agrees with the trade to get Rich Harden. Now, if Lou can find a way to jettison Ted Lilly or Jason Marquis, the better off the Northsiders are!

"Best,"

R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: R. H., thanks for your thoughts. On June 26, I wrote that Berryman is a bum. It's really too bad the guy can't see the light. He had a chance to turn things around, but couldn't do it. But at least I'm happy for Jason Marquis. The guy who's been in Lou Piniella's doghouse for two seasons pitched well today against San Francisco -- allowing no runs and three hits through seven innings in the Cubs' 3-1 victory -- but didn't get the victory. Maybe Jim Hendry can trade Marquis so he can get a centerfielder who can replace Jim Edmonds, who isn't going to help the Cubs in the second half of the season].

*

THE RUMOR: IT'LL COST MORE TO BUY THE REGISTER

Speaking of screw-ups, the Gannett Blog, a website that contains information [some of it true] about the goings-on at newspapers in the chain, has some information today that says the Des Moines Register will be one of 20 Gannett papers that will be raising the price of daily papers from 50 cents to 75 cents in a month.

That signals trouble, my friends.

The last thing the Register needs is more circulation losses, but you can be sure a price increase will bring just that.

Stay tuned. Or at least be prepared to start reading your paper on the Internet, where it's free.

*

7-YEAR-OLD BOY HIT BY FOUL BALL IS IN MEDICALLY-INDUCED COMA

Here's an update on the young boy who was struck in the head by a foul ball hit by the Chicago Cubs' Ted Lilly the other day at Wrigley Field:

The Chicago Sun-Times reported today that 7-year-old Dominic DiAngi "couldn't wait to go to his first Cubs game Thursday. And for the first two innings, he was having a blast.

"Then, a foul ball off the bat of Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly struck Dominic in the head and fractured his skull.

"The Frankfort boy was taken to Children's Memorial Hospital, where he was put into a medically-induced coma because he wasn't breathing properly on his own. Still, his doctors say he may go home Monday or Tuesday, after the swelling in his brain has gone down, Dominic's father, Peter DiAngi, said.

"Dominic was sitting with his father and older brother in a lower-level seat off third base. Peter DiAngi had been sitting in Dominic's seat, but the two switched places shortly before the boy was struck.

"'The ball was coming right at him, and I thought it was going to go over his head, but apparently he might have stood up at the wrong time,' Peter said. "As soon as it happened, I just turned around and said, 'Oh, my God,' and scooped him up.'

DiAngi tried to administer CPR to his unconscious son while running with him to the concourse, where he was helped by Cubs staff and paramedics. Dominic's breathing was thready and his eyes had rolled back in his head, DiAngi said.

"'I was panicking because I just knew that this was not a good sign,' he said. "I thought somehow it had been my fault.'

"Now, Peter and his wife are waiting to see what, if any, long-term effects the head injury will have on Dominic.

"'This is a kid who just lives, eats and breathes baseball," Peter said. "He just wanted to make sure he got to his first big league game. It was supposed to be a great day for him.'

"Cubs spokesman Peter Chase wished Dominic 'a speedy recovery' and said: 'We look forward to welcoming him back to Wrigley Field as soon as he is ready.'

"Lilly was concerned after Thursday's game when told by reporters that a child had been injured. 'Did it hit a kid -- that foul ball? Oh. I didn't even notice that. I wasn't sure where it was,' Lilly said. 'Hopefully, he's OK.'

"Lilly couldn't be reached for comment Friday, but a team spokesman said the pitcher asked for a phone number for the boy and his family and planned to get in touch.

"Dominic did end up getting a keepsake from the game: the ball that hit him. A man sitting a few rows behind Dominic found the ball and offered it to his father.

"'Dominic won't let go of the ball,' his dad said. 'He's holding on to that ball right now.'"

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I don't know why Lilly couldn't be reached for comment yesterday. The Cubs played San Francisco in the afternoon, and Lilly should have been in uniform. As far as I know, pitchers who are paid $8 million a season are required to suit up for all 162 games a team plays.]

*

A PITIFUL STORY

The Brett Favre saga is very, very sad. It's too bad he doesn't just go away.

*

WAKE ME UP WHEN THIS IS OVER

Sorry, but I can't get very excited about Olympic cycling -- whether it's being done by someone who attended an Iowa high school and college or not.

Any reporter is kidding himself when he thinks readers want to read about stuff like that.

That's not going to fly even if it's handled as a "Postcards From the Olympic Cycling Finals" item.

I know a few things about non-news like that. After all, I once was assigned to cover a national horseshoe pitching tournament at the State Fairgrounds.

"You're the only guy in the department who can make that story sing," the boss said. "Besides, Bert McGrane is on vacation."

I knew it wasn't worth making the trip out there, and obviously so did the boss. I guess you could say I took one for the team that weekend.

In this era of declining newspaper circulation, Iowans don't want to get much past the pre-Olympics exploits of Shawn Johnson, the West Des Moines gymnast who has become the newest version of "America's Little Sweetheart."

Actually, when the Olympics are over, Johnson will be "America's Little Sweetheart that Everyone Forgot About."

For some unknown reason, a reporter thinks he needs to justify the filing of his Gannett News Service expense account at the Olympics by finding someone from the state who is in an event that nobody except the athlete's family and friends care about.

Wake me up when the Olympic cycling is over. It's going to take more than that to sell papers when the price goes up to a ridiculous 75 cents a copy.

Rag-Armed, Rag-Hearted

Ted Lilly is someone who fits in well with a couple thousand other rag-armed pitchers the Chicago Cubs have had in the past 100 years.

Lilly is a grossly overpaid lefthander who throws the baseball just well enough so that the opposing team can hit it from Wrigley Field to Canada.

Yesterday, Lilly [pictured at the left] lasted 2 2/3 innings in the Cubs' 12-7 loss to Cincinnati. He gave up six hits--two of them home runs.

I think I could've hit some of the junk he served up to the Reds.

Lilly was the losing pitcher, and he now has a fat 4.68 earned-run average.

For that, he is being paid $8 million by the Cubs this season.

Atrocious.

If he wasn't a major league pitcher, he'd be driving a bread truck.

The fact that Lilly, at 32 years of age, is a journeyman baseball player isn't the important thing to me today.

I'm more interested in something that happened in his brief appearance in yesterday's game.

Like a lot of other major league pitchers, Lilly is an awful batter. That's all right because the Cubs aren't paying him $8 million to hit home runs, or even singles.

But, because he's such a bad hitter, strange things sometimes happen to him when he's at the plate.

Yesterday, he swung late at a pitch -- which is normal for him -- and a scary thing happened. The Cubs always have capacity crowds for their home games, and Thursday was no exception.

Lilly's foul ball flew into the crowd and struck a child who was sitting 20 rows behind the Cubs' dugout.

I was watching the game on TV, and immediately knew something was wrong when Lilly, the umpire and some of Cincinnati's players looked into the stands.

I think Dick Pole, Cincinnati's pitching coach, even woke up long enough to wonder what was going on.

The TV cameras didn't show viewers anything about what was taking place.

There was a maddening silence.

Then Len Kasper, the Cubs' play-by-play announcer, said the ball had hit a child, and that he hoped the youngster would be all right.

Bob Brenly, the TV commentator who is a former major league manager, mentioned something about players always being concerned about foul balls that fly into the seats

The Associated Press reported that the child was carried out of the stands and was taken to a hospital. He "appeared to be OK," the story said.

I hope that's the case.

I know those things can happen at any baseball game, whether it's in the major leagues or at the Little League park.

Fans are urged to always be alert at any ballpark. Still, there's nothing quite like seeing a foul ball streaming toward the grandstand where fans -- some young, some old, some half-drunk -- are sitting.

What bothered me about yesterday's incident was what Lilly said after the game.

He told reporters he was unaware the youngster had been hit by the foul ball he hit.

Come on.

There were several maddening minutes when players were looking into the stands after the ball hit the kid.

After the game, Lilly should have said something like, "I feel very sorry for that young man, and I'm going to make sure he gets an autographed glove, baseball and bat. He's a true Cub fan and he can be my guest at any of our games in the future."

That, of course, is what Babe Ruth would have done.

But they don't make 'em like Babe Ruth anymore, even though they make $8 million a year.

*

Bothered by the foul ball incident all afternoon, I quit watching that Cubs debacle after eight innings. It's a good thing the Farmers' Market and "Music in the Junction" [pictured at the right] was being held a few hours later in downtown West Des Moines. That improved my spirits. It was a great place to have Polly's birthday party.

*

This is for the benefit of Roger Ziemann: Dick Dietl's e-mail address is redwriter@comcast.net

*

I'm very glad both Iowa and Iowa State are going to get new basketball practice courts. I know there are plenty of smartasses around who wonder how Johnny Orr, Tim Floyd, Larry Eustachy, Lute Olson and Tom Davis managed to have winning programs without those fancy practice floors, but I'm also confident this will lead to countless Final Four appearances for both teams in the future.

Lost & Found

You know me -- a guy always trying to get people on the same wave length.

After returning from a six-day family [all 14 of us] vacation to California, I received this e-mail from Roger Ziemann:

"Hi,

"Enjoy your blogs.

"I was wondering if the Dick Dietl you wrote about last fall was the same Dick Dietl who was an English teacher in Minnesota before switching to be a newspaperman.

"I had a Dick Dietl as a teacher in 1960, who then went on to be a sportswriter. Over the years, I lost track of him.

"If you have time someday, could you let me know?

Thanks for your continued good work."

Roger Ziemann

*

Dick Dietl is a former sports information director at Northern Iowa and Drake, and also was the athletic director at West Texas State when that university was in the Missouri Valley Conference.

I got to know Dietl well when he was at Drake, and I regarded him as one of the best sports publicity folks in the nation. He was at the top of his game when he was in Des Moines.

Dick has had some health problems in recent years, but is still writing. He moved back to Cedar Falls to be near some of his children, but now has returned to Oregon.

When I forwarded Ziemann's e-mail to Dietl, Dick wrote:

Ron, Roger Ziemann has a great memory bank. I am guilty of all the things he said about me. Please contact him and let him know he is right on the money. Anyone who knows both you and I can't be all bad.

"I do not recall Roger from when I was in Fairmont, MN, but I'd be happy to visit with him.

"Think of that. I made an impression on someone. Amazing. I thought all I did there was raise the beer sales in Fairmont...."

I contacted Ziemann today and told him how to get hold of Dietl by e-mail and phone.

*

Bud Appleby writes:

"Sounds like they are celebrating in Indianapolis. Henry and Ryerson were together in Great Falls, Des Moines and Indianapolis. Does this mean he is the next to go?"

Appleby is referring to Barbara Henry and Dennis Ryerson. Henry has been dumped as the publisher of the Indianapolis Star by the Gannett Co., and people in the publishing business feel Ryerson, who creates a journalism cesspool wherever he is, will be canned, too.

Ryerson has followed Henry around the country, and now is the editor at Indianapolis. There are millions of people around the nation who hope Appleby is right about Gannett wanting to pull the plug on Ryerson at the newspaper.

*

I can't figure out why anyone is again questioning the sanity of Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, who just traded for pitcher Rich Harden of the Oakland A's.

Just because Harden has a history of being injured almost as often as the Cubs' Kerry Wood and former Cub Mark Prior, I think it's a sound deal for Chicago.

Even if Harden goes on the disabled list two or three more times this season.

I mean, forget that Harden always seems to have arm, shoulder and elbow problems.

Maybe even problems in his head.

There's a rumor afloat that Harden declined to pitch late last season when his team was out of the race.

I prefer to look at the bright side.

Look at it this way: The Cubs have finally gotten rid of Matt Murton, the outfielder who wasn't going anywhere as long as Lou Piniella is Chicago's manager, and the presence of Harden helps keep Jason Marquis out of the long-range pitching rotation.

Every time Marquis is on the mound, bad things happen. The only thing that would've made the Cubs-A's deal better would have been if Marquis was part of it.

*

By the way, I'm glad Eric Patterson is gone from the Cubs' system, too. The last time I saw him play on TV, he butchered up a play so badly that I thought Alfonso Soriano had suited up again.

*

Cubs manager Lou Piniella told Chicago reporters that he's going to approach Soriano [who has a broken bone in his left hand, and is shown in the Getty Images photo at the top] about doing a minor league rehab assignment.

That could mean he'd play a game or two for No-Name team here. Then Soriano would report to the Cubs for their July 21-23 series in Phoenix.

Ideally, Soriano would play for No-Name team in a home series against Nashville on July 18-20.

No one knows, of course, if Soriano would agree to a rehab assignment. A player doesn't have to do it. I mean, not everyone is like Kerry Wood, who has spent so much time at No-Name Ballfield recovering from injuries that he almost pitched a tent outside of the place.

I guess I'm betting Soriano will decline the invitation to play in Des Moines. He'll say, "That town ain't big enough for me,"

*

I'm eager to see what kind of football team Mike Woodley [pictured at the lower right] puts on the field when Grand View College plays its first game ever Aug. 30.

The Vikings open their season against Briar Cliff at Williams Stadium, then play at Simpson on Sept. 6. Other teams on the schedule are Midland Lutheran, St. Francis, Iowa Wesleyan, Kentucky Wesleyan, Southwest Baptist, Marian of Indianapolis, Waldorf and Peru State.

If anybody can put together a football program, it's Woodley. He has spent 26 of his 31 seasons coaching in Iowa. He was a graduate assistant at Iowa, assistant at East Waterloo East High School, head coach at Osage High School, head coach at St. Ambrose University, head coach at Valley High School in West Des Moines and was a 9-year assistant at Iowa State. He has spent the past four years as the athletic director and head football coach at Sam Rayburn High School in Houston, TX.

Woodley was the first assistant coach hired by Dan McCarney when Mac got the Iowa State coaching job.

Woodley's four sons are involved in coaching. Joe is one of Mike's assistants at Grand View, Brian is the head football coach at Johnston High School, Matthew is an assistant basketball coach at Washington State University, and Andy is the head basketball coach at City High in Iowa City.

Grand View's schedule:

Aug. 30--Briar Cliff, 1 p.m.
Sept. 6--at Simpson, 1 p.m.
Sept. 13--Midland Lutheran, 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 20--at St. Francis (Joliet, Ill.}, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27--at Iowa Wesleyan, 6 p.m.
Oct. 4--Kentucky Wesleyan (homecoming), 1 p.m.
Oct. 11--at Southwest Baptist (Bolivar, Mo.), 1 p.m.
Oct. 18--at Marian (Indianapolis, Ind.), 1 p.m.
Nov. 1--Waldorf, 1 p.m.
Nov. 8--at Peru State (Peru, Neb.), 1 p.m.

*

Maybe I'm dreaming, but I think it'd be good if Grand View someday got its program to the point where it could play Drake in football on a regular basis.

*

Mark Robinson of Iowa City writes:

"Your subhead, {Take a look at Ron Maly's photo on one of California's beaches, and you'll see that not all water is ugly} takes me back a few years.

"My recollection of California beaches is that the water is so cold it is almost unbearable. Also, I went to the beaches 10 times when I lived there and, during the summer, I saw the sun only once. The marine layer was so thick and the temperature on Independence day at Ventura was 61 degrees.

"The warmest day was on Dec. 7 when it was 87 degrees during a Santa Ana wind episode.

"Thanks for sharing, Ron. Let's meet up for a PTL night.

"Best regards,"

Mark Robinson

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I let my kids and grandchildren enjoy the beaches during the six-day journey to Disneyland and other parts of southern California that helped us celebrate our 50th anniversary. Over the years, I've tested the water in plenty of places around the world. This one was for the kids. We all had a great time, and Mickey Mouse mentioned that he hadn't seen me since the day I introduced him to Hayden Fry when Iowa's football players visited Disneyland prior to the Jan. 1, 1982 Rose Bowl game against Washington. Mickey said he's sure like to meet Kirk Ferentz, and I said that if he could find Kirk a new offensive coordinator maybe it'll happen one of these years, The PTL idea sounds great, Mark].

*

Happy Birthday, Polly.

Betrayal

A number of my friends from both inside and outside of the newspaper business urged me to read a book titled "David and Liz -- Dancing Through Love."

It's not what you might think. Just because the words love and dancing are in the title, there are plenty of things in the book that are neither graceful nor lovable.

It's a paperback written by Dave and Elizabeth Kruidenier with Beverly Rivera Davis that gives a reader some insight into the newspaper business when people actually thought it had a future.

I mean, when Dave Kruidenier was at the top of his game, circulation and advertising weren't at all-time lows at the Des Moines Register like they are now, readers weren't invited continually to read the paper on their computers and eager young journalism students weren't being told that newspapers are dead.

Davis wrote the 347-page book after interviewing Dave Kruidenier and his wife, Liz.

The late Dave Kruidenier [pictured at the left] was the big boss at the Register during some of the time I worked there. Indeed, I was onboard when Time magazine, in 1984, called it one of the best 10 newspapers in America.

I didn't see much of Dave, and neither did most of the other reporters and middle editors who worked in the newsroom on the fourth floor of the paper at 8th & Locust. I probably would have had more conversations with Kruidenier had I made better use of the elevators. But, in those days, I usually walked up and down the stairs and forgot the elevators. Dave rode the elevators.

However, whenever I did have occasion to talk with Kruidenier, we got along very well.

After I gave the introductory speech for new members of the Register & Tribune's 20-Year Club in 1979, Kruidenier greeted me warmly, told me how much he liked my comments and mentioned that he thought the double-breasted navy blue blazer, white shirt with French cuffs, blue-and-red striped tie and gray slacks I was wearing that Sunday afternoon gave the program a professional look.

More than anything, he liked the shoes I was wearing.

"Are those Johnston & Murphy?" he asked.

"You're close," I told him.

"Nice," he said.

I thanked Kruidenier, told him he was dressed well, too, and mentioned that I thought he was doing a great job of running the paper. I figured that was the least a stockholder joining the 20-Year Club could tell the big boss.

On the "About the Authors" page at the end of the book, Kruidenier is called the "former CEO and president of Cowles Media Company, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper publisher, and philanthropist."

Dave Kruidenier never really left the building, even after the Register was sold, but the paper has never been the same since he had to cease running the show.

The book says Dave's wife, Elizabeth Woodwell Stuart Kruidenier "is an attorney, civil rights activist, and philanthropist."

Beverly Rivera Davis "is a native Iowan and longtime friend of the Kruideniers. Educated at the State University of New York, she is a former television reporter andand producer, talk show host and wire journalist. Currently, she is a freelance writer and U.S. political correspondent for PROFIL, an Austrian weekly newsmagazine."

The book, published by iUniverse, has a price on the back cover of $24.95. I am indebted to my good friend, Bob Downing, who loaned me his autographed copy so I could read it.

In the book's foreword, Beverly Rivera Davis writes, "David and Liz Kruidenier with this book was their last and best gift to me. When David died before all these pages were completed, our city lost its most generous philanthropist and I lost a dear friend and best mentor....

"We first met in the mid-70s. Already in their fifties, David and Liz were at the height of their beauty and power; known as scions of society and seriously accomplished professionals...."

*

I was particularly interested in chapter 23 of the book, which is titled "Betrayal."

The betrayal part is in reference to Mike Gartner, aka Michael Gartner, a power-hungry little asshole who many people regard as the most hated man in the state of Iowa. At one point or another, Gartner -- who has always had an advanced case of "little man's disease" and is a poster child for the ailment -- finds a way of getting under the skin of virtually everyone he meets.

On page 272 of the book, Dave Kruidenier writes, "I considered Michael a friend and more than that, I'd grown to love him as the son I never had. It was the worst time in my life."

Kruidenier starts the "Betrayal" chapter, "A meeting with two powerful men in Des Moines on November 2, 1984, would set the stage for every fear fantasy of mine to come true. I would be betrayed by the Cowles family, colleagues, and, worst of all, Michael Gartner. My life would never be the same after David Belin and Dick Levitt walked through my office door. I thought they were raising money for some community project. Instead of wanting money, they offered me $112 million.

"Belin had been a member of the Warren Commission and was probably the brightest legal mind in the state. Levitt was a banker in Minneapolis who had lived in Des Moines for years. We weren't close friends, but we knew one another well, often attending many of the same social functions in town and supporting similar causes. When Belin entered my office, he seemed unusually somber and nervous, and I took some small pleasure in that because he was normally so brash and self-possessed to the point of arrogance.

"Adjusting his bow tie and clearing his throat, Belin proceeded to drop the bomb, 'Dick and I have an offer to buy the Register & Tribune.'

"I was speechless for a few seconds...did I hear him correctly?

"I replayed his words in my head, and then shot back, 'The Company isn't for sale.' Like the good lawyer he was, Belin ignored my comment and continued, 'Yes, we know that's been your position, but I think you may change your mind when you hear who's making the offer and the buyout price of $100 per share, approximately three times the current value of the paper, for a total purchase price of $112 million.'

"I don't care who wants to buy it. The company isn't for sale,' I repeated, and then Belin delivered the coup de grace that left me stunned in disbelief.

"It's a fine offer being made by a partnership including Michael Gartner, Gary Gerlach, Dow Jones & Company, Dick and me. If you'd like to continue working at the company, you're more than welcome. Just tell us what position you'd like, and it's done.'

"Belin continued talking, but did I hear right?

"Did he say Michael?

"His name kept ringing in my ears. Michael?

"Michael was a part of this?

"My voice rose, and I said more emphatically, 'This Company is not for sale.'

"Undeterred, Belin continued, 'By making this deal, you can secure the integrity of the paper because Michael will stay on, and Dow Jones has agreed to keep the Register operating as it has for the past 80 years, as an independent newspaper. Our offer stands until November 20.

"I stood up and said coldly, 'I've heard what you have to say, and I'll take the proposal to the Voting Trust. This meeting is over.'

*

"As they left, Belin handed me an envelope with their offer, and I accepted it. Belin held out his hand for me to shake, but I refused. This was an unsolicited, unfriendly offer, and they knew it. With all that I'd done to grow the company in the past 15 years--at a tremendous cost to myself and the family--I wasn't going to shake David Belin or Dick Levitt's hand, not then or ever.

"My knees felt like rubber as I slowly walked back to my desk and sat down. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. My hands shook while reading the letter confirming all that they'd just told me. I dropped the letter. The nightmare was real, and what had just happened wasn't a fragment of my imagination. I was in shock, and I couldn't stop repeating his name over and over--Michael, Michael, Michael.

"How could he have been a party to this scheme to destroy the paper we both loved so much? How could he have betrayed me and the trust I placed in him? There were people I had to call--the other members of the Voting Trust--and there were immediate decisions I had to make about Michael's and Gary's status at the company, but I did neither. I first had to think and try to make sense of all that had led up to this precise moment....

"After I became chairman of Cowles Media in Minneapolis, I resurrected my earlier plan to merge the two companies. Even with my cousin gone from the Minneapolis paper, there was a sensitive dilemma for me to overcome to make the merger a reality--Michael Gartner.

"The Minneapolis team didn't like Michael's brashness, and Michael worried about his future. He wasn't fond of the Minneapolis editorial and management team, either. He didn't have much respect for them and thought a merger would lower the journalism quality at the Register and Des Moines would become the poor stepsister to Minneapolis. He also didn't want to report to Minneapolis and lose the independence he valued and needed to do his job.

"Sometimes, Michael was his own worst enemy. It wasn't hard to see his talent, but his flaws were more difficult to detect. He was insecure, overly ambitious, and also displayed some immaturity. His tremendous energy wasn't always under good control, but he was productive and brilliant. That's a tough combination...."

*

Kruidenier said the offer to buy the Register -- "especially how it was made -- threw me completely off track because I considered [Gartner] a friend, and more than that, I'd grown to love him as the son I never had. After the merger, the increased price of his stock would have made him a wealthy man in addition to his more powerful position. I was still battled that he could have misjudged by reaction to their offer, and worse, how the offer was made.

"I snapped out of my stupor and placed a call to Luther Hill and Morley Ballantine. I asked them to meet at my house on Sunday to discuss what had just transpired, and they agreed. On Sunday, we voted to take their offer to the full board of directors.

"Before I left the building on Friday, I called Michael and [Gerlach] and asked them to come to my office on Saturday and explain their actions. The next day, they arrived with sheepish faces. Michael said the proposal was their effort to protect the company and not for personal gain. With the financial resources of Dow Jones--with its flagship, The Wall Street Journal--and Dick Levitt, the Register could continue to operate independently but the debt would be diminished and the paper would retaiin its high journalistic standard.

"When I asked Michael why he sent David Belin and Dick Levitt rather than coming directly to me with their proposal, he said, 'I thought they would make the offer more professional.'

"I told them, 'I regretted the offer, and I particularly regretted the manner in which it was made.'

"I went on to tell them that they were trying to buy the paper from under me. Michael apologized for their approach but told me that he and Gary shared the same goals and principles they had learned from me. It was almost more than I could bear. I told them that the company wasn't for sale, and I placed them on paid leave of absence. As long as I was running the paper, they would never step foot in the building again....

"In December, Valerie Monson wrote a story characterizing the staff at the Register as 'a palace revolt.' Their editor and the company's legal counsel's bid to buy the paper--and their subsequent departure--stunned the staff and company managers....

"The paper was on the sale block now, and the offers were coming in at a furious pace. Our stock had been trading at $33 to $36 per share and jumped to $92 to $95 a share after news of the first offer. Then, it moved to over $100 a share as the weeks ticked by. Gannett offered the highest bid with an offer of $165 million for the Register and two weeklies, one in Independence, Iowa, and another in Indianola, Iowa, and it was over.

"On July 1, 1985, the Register was sold to Gannett. The day they took over the paper, Gannett's CEO, Al Neuharth, promised 'to help make the Register an even better newspaper.' Time would prove Mr. Neuharth's promise empty, indeed.

"Why had it happened? What had I missed? I'd sold or rather lost the family jewels, and it's the last thing I wanted to do. It was too soon to reflect on the whys and why nots. I was proud that I'd made an extraordinarily good deal for the stockholders--and my family members--but heartbroken over losing the paper and the bright star that had made the Register one of the ten best newspapers in America, according to Time magazine in 1984...."

*

A few other things....

In a way, Dave Kruidenier had nobody to blame but himself for being betrayed by Mike Gartner.

There were dozens of qualified people around the country when Kruidenier and others at the Register were looking for someone to steady the ship, but they made the mistake of hiring Gartner.

It came during a time when there was plenty of unrest in the Register's newsroom. The National Newspaper Guild tried to organize the middle editors, reporters and photographers [something that's not in Kruidenier's book], and there were two spirited votes -- neither of which won.

Too bad Kruidenier backed the wrong horse.

*

Of former Register columnist Don Kaul, Kruidenier wrote, "He was an awful news reporter, but a great columnist whose favorite topic of ridicule was the sacrosanct--and wildly popular--Iowa girls state basketball tournament. In spite of his crusty bravado and natural inclination to poke fun at everyone and everything, he needed lots of elbow room and tender care."

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: One day, Leighton Housh, my boss at the time in the sports department, called me at home and asked if I'd come to the office and write a commentary supporting the girls tournament because Kaul had upset so many readers with what he wrote].

*

Of Diane Graham, whose jobs at the Register included being a very ordinary managing editor, Kruidenier wrote: "I was once awakened at 2 o'clock in the morning by the telephone ringing. It was Diane, asking me a slew of questions about the sale of the Register and wanting a quote. I was pissed off at the time but begrudgingly proud of her. Good journalists aren't intimidated by power or position--even if you're writing their checks!"

[RON MALY'S COMMENT]: I can't imagine Diane Graham calling anyone at 2 o'clock in the morning, especially the boss. Furthermore, I can't even imagine Diane Graham being awake at 2 o'clock in the morning. She was rarely awake at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. I wonder if the caller was someone impersonating Graham].

*

Kruidenier wrote, "My nephew, Charlie 'Buzz' Edwards, [became the Register's first publisher after Gannett bought the paper]. After some years, Charlie quit, too. It was an incredibly tense job where the profit motive and mediocre journalism was the order of the day."

*

Although "David and Liz -- Dancing Through Love" has been out a while, I don't think there's been a word about it in the Des Moines Register. That might seem strange but, hell, maybe it isn't. Lots of dumb things happen at that place now. The op-ed and business pages print story after story about books, and here's one written by a guy who for many years was the biggest name at the paper, and a prominent Des Moines lawyer, and it's stiffed by the Register. I guess "Biz Buzz" has been on a two-year smoke-break.

*

I don't think City View has written anything about the book, either. Of course, the weekly throwaway is owned by Gartner, who takes potshots regularly at the Register and people who work at the Register in his paper. But, in a typical gutless, chickenshit style, he doesn't sign his name to those attacks. Kind of like him sending a sneaky little note to one of his two or three friends at the Register -- another activity in which he has expertise.

*

Kruidenier writes in the book, "Our house was party central....I often wrote my favorite black Nehru jacket with black bell-bottom pants, and Liz preferred some flower-child gauzy dress. She looked smashing....Don Lubbers, the president of Central College in Pella, and his attractive wife, Eunice, were regulars at our parties. Fortified by too many cocktails, Don jumped into our atrium pool, announced he was 'Don the Baptist,' and offered to baptize any willing guest. Liz didn't jump in, but several of our female guests did, removing their blouses for the ceremony. I took a pass on the baptism...."

*

Dave Kruidenier wrote, "[In 1994], my vision was getting progressively worse, and I finally made an appointment to see my ophthalmologist, Dr. Christopher Blodi. Along with blurred vision, I had been seeing tiny dark spots floating in my field of vision for about four years before I told the doctor about it. It was an ominous sign, and it didn't take Dr. Blodi but a few minutes before he gave me the worst news of my life.

"'David, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but you've got wet macular degeneration. New blood vessels grow and leak into the pupil. There isn't a cure. We can treat it for a while--keep it from spreding with laser surgery--but eventually, the condition causes blindness.'

"I felt as if I'd just received a death sentence and started to cry. I couldn't help the tears from falling. He kept talking but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Liz took my hand and held it tightly. I walked out of his office and asked Liz to drive home. I was unable to talk. All I could do was obsess about all that I'd miss....

"In a little over a year, Dr. Blodi told me what I already knew. I was legally blind. I still had some peripheral vision but not enough to drive or read or see the fact in front of me.

"A recent study by the Iowa Commission for the Blind echoed my sentiments exactly. 'People would rather be dead than blind.'"

*

More than a few people who worked with Mike Gartner in the newsroom at the Des Moines Register regarded him as a strange little cartoon character of a guy who was always trying to convince himself and others that he was in charge.

You already know by Kruidenier's book that most things Gartner did were for his own benefit.

This isn't something that was going to have a bearing on the journalism world, but it's a typical Gartner decision.

I thought our sports department was getting a huge break when Bob Commings was coaching Iowa's football team from 1974-1978.

Jim Zabel, who then was the sports director at WHO-TV and WHO-Radio in Des Moines, invited one or two of us to participate in the filming of the "Bob Commings/University of Iowa TV Football Show" that was taped on Sunday mornings at the TV station downtown and shown across the state later that day.

We were able to talk with Commings off the air and ask him questions on the air about things pertaining to the previous day's Hawkeye game and about issues surrounding the university's football program.

Then one day, Gartner posted a memo on the bulletin board in the newsroom that said the paper's sportswriters could no longer be a part of the TV show.

Some people in the newsroom joked that Gartner was jealous that no one asked him to be on the show, so he told his sportswriters they couldn't be on it either.

It was a ridiculous thing for him to do. A bush league and grandstand move all the way.

Most newspaper editors would give anything to have their writers participate in a Big Ten coach's TV show.

What Gartner did -- dropping the project after several weeks -- was an embarrassment to himself, his newspaper, the paper's sportswriters, Bob Commings, Jim Zabel and the University of Iowa's football program.

*

Yet at another time, Gartner had a small TV studio built in the Register newsroom.

No one knew why.

For a while, he had people reading the news -- and maybe he even wore a David Brinkley mask so he could have his own show. But it was the kind of station that people needed a tin can and a fishing line to get on their TV screens. The project was dumped quickly.

I could see why.

It was a joke.

Once I had an idea for a sports segment. Damn good idea, too.

"Sounds great," said the guy who had been put in charge of the operation. "Can you sell some advertising for it, too?"

*

Actually, I've tried very hard to wipe any thought of Gartner out of my mind.

A couple of years ago, an eager-beaver reporter from the Iowa City Press-Citizen contacted me twice, asking me if I'd e-mail him things I recalled about Gartner.

"I'm having memory problems -- both short-term and long-term," I told the reporter. "I've forgotten who Gartner is."

*

That worked for a while.

Then Gartner kept pissing off more and more people.

It was difficult to forget the pint-sized sleazebag.

He's been buried under more no-confidence votes than Jimmy Hoffa.

And now, here he is getting hammered in Dave and Liz Kruidenier's book.

Livin' the California Dream

Gary Garner, Randy Brown Lead Basketball Seminar

It's hot and humid out there this afternoon, so let's think about basketball and see if that helps us cool off. This press release was sent to me today:

A basketball coaching enhancement seminar will be held on Aug. 1, 2, and 3 at Grand View College in Des Moines. This first annual seminar will be led by current Iowa Energy assistant coach Gary Garner and former Iowa State assistant coach Randy Brown. [Garner is a former head coach at Drake, and Brown is a former assistant at Drake]. The seminar format includes four hours of on-floor and classroom instruction each day. Highlights of the seminar include; 12 hours of teaching and demonstration, 62-skill checklist, offense and defensive concepts, coaching binder, materials and resources, hands-on approach, individual skill development plan, and certificate of completion. The seminar is open to all parents, youth directors, youth coaches, high school and college men’s and women’s basketball coaches of all levels. The cost is $150. For registration and more information, e-mail rb@coachrb.com or call 515-450-1966.