Keeping Up With Who Won & Who Lost

The results are in.

They went pretty much the way I predicted.

Well, almost anyway.

In football, Iowa State made stew out of the Jackrabbits, aka South Dakota State, 44-17, and -- after a stumbling start -- Drake got past the Peacocks, aka Upper Iowa, 17-13.

In baseball, the Cubs rode a grand-slam by their money man, third baseman Aramis Ramirez, to a 6-4 victory over the Phillies.

And, oh, yes, in the meeting room, it was decided that Robert Paxton didn't need to show up for work anymore at Iowa Central Community College.

The only thing that caused me raise my eyebrows about the Paxton deal was that he's getting $400,000 to leave, apparently so he won't sue the school over wrongful termination or something.

*

I spent last night flipping the TV channels and the radio stations to get a fix on the important things going on in the big games.

For a while, I thought the Cubs were in over their heads against Philadelphia. Cole Hamels was pitching for the Phillies, and for some reason the Cubs have problems with lefthanders who throw strikes and changeups.

They made Hamels look like Cy Young.

Once Hamels left the game, the Cubs were all right.

Even little Mike Fontenot hit a home run off a Phillies relief pitcher who threw batting-practice tosses and might find himself in Class A instead of Wrigley Field by game-time today.

But the big blast was the 4-run homer by Ramirez, a guy who looks like he's going at half-speed most of the time, but knows a lot about hitting the ball out of the park at what the network guys call crunch time.

Ramirez says he's been hitting important homers since he was a minor leaguer. I've seen enough of him to say he's probably right.

So the Cubs are giving no hint that they're going into a late-season collapse as they zero in on the National League Central division title.

They're better than either Milwaukee or St. Louis. Consequently, they should make it to the playoffs.

It's what they do when they get there that I worry about.

You probably remember what happened in the first round of last year's playoffs. I think the Arizona batboy could have struck them out in the series that ended almost before it began.

*

I think athletic director Jamie Pollard did the right thing in scheduling South Dakota State as Iowa State's opening football opponent.

The Cyclones probably aren't good enough yet to be starting against a Mid-American Conference team or Maine, like other other teams.

Iowa State needs to win games, and doesn't care who they're against.

I fully expect Grand View to be on a future Cyclone schedule.

I guess Drake a little more trouble with Upper Iowa than I figured. I'm just glad athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb -- who doesn't make many mistakes -- scheduled the Peacocks as Drake's season-opening opponent in Chris Creighton's first season.

Upper Iowa started with a 10-0 lead before Drake figured out what was going on.

Let me just say that it's a good thing the Bulldogs weren't playing one of those Rob Ash-type schedules in which either Northern Iowa or Illinois State was the first opponent.

If you're a Drake fan, that wouldn't have been pretty.

*

Then we come to the Robert Paxton situation.

He was the president at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge -- or was until he was told to take a hike yesterday by the school's board of trustees, who figured $400,000 was enough for him to buy his next 12-pack at the lakes.

Paxton got caught in one of those messes that's showing up more and more around the country these days.

Ask Larry Eustachy.

Paxton's picture [at the top of this column] has previously shown up in the Des Moines Register and other publications. He's shown in a boat July 4 at West Okoboji Lake, holding the spigot of a small beer keg over someone's head.

The paper calls the open-mouthed recipient of the beer "a young woman." I don't know her age but, whatever, it doesn't look good for a 52-year-old college president who should know better.

What I'd like to know is who in the boat took Paxton's picture and decided to send it to the Register?

With friends like that, a college president doesn't need enemies.

When I read about the situation, I was reminded of the mess Eustachy -- who then was Iowa State's basketball coach -- got himself into when he attended a postgame party in Columbia, Mo.

A student with a disposable camera took photos of Eustachy, who was drinking beer, hugging college-age girls, who also were probably drinking beer.

The pictures [one of which is shown at the right] were mailed to the Register, which [naturally] published them.

Eustachy wound up being told he'd no longer be Iowa State's $1-million-a-year coach. He's now at Southern Mississippi and campaigns against drinking when he's not coaching the basketball team.

*

I certainly can see why people get nervous -- or should get nervous -- when someone points a camera or a telephone that can also take pictures at them at a social gathering.

You never know where those pictures will wind up.

In the case of Eustachy and Paxton, in the Des Moines Register newsroom.

Very soon, they appear in the paper that's tossed on your doorstep.

However, evidently nobody took pictures of another college president -- Don Lubbers, then of Central College in Pella -- in Dave Kruidenier's swimming pool a few years ago.

In Kruidenier's book, "David and Liz -- Dancing Through Love," he wrote:

"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...."

Until somebody mails that picture to Tom Witosky at the paper, I can just imagine the scene at Kruidenier's house.

My advice to all college presidents: The next time somebody points a camera at you when you're on a boat or attending a party, have your clothes on be careful about to whom you offer a can of beer.

Either that or stay home.

Meanwhile, I've got important things to do. I'm going back to my scouting report on the Maine Black Bears, who play Saturday in Iowa City.

More On Lolo & Shawn: 'Scott Pierce Said Publicly What a Few Folks Were Afraid To Say, For Fear Of Being Ripped Apart'

R. H. of Des Moines weighs in on the Lolo Jones/Shawn Johnson situation as it relates to the Des Moines media:

"On another subject, I'm still waiting for our local media to recognize Lolo Jones as an Olympian. Granted, her performance was disappointing. But it will be a long time before this area produces another Olympic track athlete. Sure, Shawn Johnson represented us very well. But it's easy to be humble with medals around your neck. Lolo's character was tested. She didn't just pass the test---she aced it.

"It is not my intention to stir the race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, but I can't think of another reason Lolo was slighted by our local media these past several weeks. For as long as I live, I will remember WHO-TV's pre-Olympics special "Iowa's Golden Girl" being about Shawn Johnson. If they mentioned Lolo (and I have to admit I did not watch it), they certainly didn't mention her in the promos or the opening of the show."

Ron,

"I've been listening (and so have everyone else) to Scott Pierce for about a decade now. I have been a fan of his for a long time.

"He nailed it with Mariotti the blowhard and the local coverage with Lolo.

"I'm going to stick with the Lolo angle for the purpose of this e-mail. Scott is the first person who publicly came out and said what a few folks were afraid to say, for fear of being ripped apart: Why the slight against Lolo?

"Was it because she came out of nowhere in the Olympic trials to win the hurdles and qualify for the Beijing Games? Is it because Lolo was in only one race, and Shawn was in several routines? Was it because Lolo lost her race?

"Or is it, as Scott pointed out, is it because Lolo is not Shawn Johnson? I think what Shawn has done was great, but Lolo was a greater story because she has spent a better part of 10 years going from the lanky runner from Roosevelt to an Olympian. Shawn is just getting started. Lolo had to perservere and work harder to realize her dream.

"To second Scott's thoughts was watching WHO-TV's late-night news coverage on the day Johnson winning the gold and Lolo losing her race. Nearly 10-15 minutes was devoted to Shawn (her routine, her parents, the kids from her gym at Boston's, the neighborhood watch party, etc).

"Anyone who ...
-always make it a priority to return home to visit family and friends every year,
-commit to running the Drake Relays every year, even if her sponsors didn't like it,
-to get her sponsors to pony up about $8,000, combined with her Olympic Trial winnings to give to a flood victim,
-and to donate shoes to her high school's track team

"...is a Gold Medalist in my book and is more deserving of media attention, or at least the same coverage that Shawn has received.

"I wonder if fellow gymnast Nastia Liukin still has that frown on her face. She hardly cracked a smile, even when she won gold.

"I look forward to hearing Scott call the Bulldogs-Peacocks tilt on KRNT tonight!"


R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Thanks for your comments, R. H. As usual, you made a lot of sense, and I know there are many people who agree with you. I, too, will be paying attention to Scott Pierce's broadcast of the Bulldogs-Peacocks tilt tonight from the local stadium, aka Johnny Bright Field].

Scott Pierce Says Chicago's Jay Mariotti 'Is In Part What's Wrong With the Newspaper Business.' Also, He Says Lolo Jones Was Slighted By D.M. Media

Veteran radio play-by-play announcer Scott Pierce of Des Moines takes off on ex-Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti, and has some other thoughts on his mind in this e-mail to me:

Ron:

"Through no fault of his own, Jay Mariotti is in part what's wrong with the newspaper business. Too many reporters worry about being included on CNN's and/or Fox's news panel than just doing their job. In sports, they all want to be on First Take, The Sports Reporters, Around The Horn, etc.

"I'll take someone like Rick Hummel from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch any day over some fraud like Ken Rosenthal. Hummel just reports and writes. He's not worried about making a name for himself.

"On another subject, I'm still waiting for our local media to recognize Lolo Jones as an Olympian. Granted, her performance was disappointing. But it will be a long time before this area produces another Olympic track athlete. Sure, Shawn Johnson represented us very well. But it's easy to be humble with medals around your neck. Lolo's character was tested. She didn't just pass the test---she aced it.

"It is not my intention to stir the race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, but I can't think of another reason Lolo was slighted by our local media these past several weeks. For as long as I live, I will remember WHO-TV's pre-Olympics special "Iowa's Golden Girl" being about Shawn Johnson. If they mentioned Lolo (and I have to admit I did not watch it), they certainly didn't mention her in the promos or the opening of the show."

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Over the years, I've met countless sportswriters and sportscasters in press boxes, locker rooms and interview rooms, but the Chicago Sun-Times' Mariotti wasn't one of them. Maybe that's because he rarely traveled with the pack. Mariotti's critics say he didn't have the balls to go to the locker room and interview room so those he attacked could confront him. He had as many enemies in his own newsroom than he had among the athletes, managers and coaches at whom he pointed arrows.

Chris DeLuca, a Sun-Times writer/columnist who is writing in a manner that would suggest he wants to be the guy who replaces Mariotti at the paper, addressed the issue today. Writing from Baltimore, where he was traveling with the White Sox, DeLuca said, "Word of Jay Mariotti's split with the Chicago Sun-Times reached the White Sox' clubhouse minutes after their victory Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, and the reaction could be heard outside.

"Once again, Mariotti should've been there to witness it first-hand. Ozzie Guillen -- the top target of the venom-spewing columnist who called for the Sox to fire their manager this season despite the team being in first place -- said his e-mail inbox had a record number of new arrivals by Wednesday afternoon. It was a steady stream of digital high-fives. "'When people wish the worst on people, you have to be careful because the baseball gods are going to get you,' Guillen said. 'He was not asking just for my job, he was asking for thousands and thousands of peoples' jobs over the years. I'm not going to say I will get the last laugh because I will get fired from this job. But the day I get fired is the day I lose interest in this game. Am I enjoying this? Yes, because he tried to make my life miserable. He did everything in his power to make my life go the wrong way, but he didn't make me miserable because I don't believe him. Maybe if somebody else wrote that stuff about me, then I would put attention on it. And that's what he wanted. He wanted attention. He has to thank me because I gave him a lot of [stuff] to work with. I know I helped him the last four years to make his money, and, obviously, he did not help me at all to make my money.'

"Mariotti spent the better part of his first day divorced from the Sun-Times, acting like a scorned lover. He wants you to believe there was a greater principle involved -- one that somehow loomed larger than his ego. He wants you to believe that newspapers -- specifically the two biggest ones in Chicago -- are dying. Once again, Mariotti was playing fast and loose with the facts. 'It's about time,'' said Sox broadcaster Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson, another favorite target of Mariotti's. 'I know one thing, when he got that [contract] extension three or four months ago, he wouldn't have signed that extension if the things he's saying about the Sun-Times now were true. So he's spinning it again. 'We have some great newspapers in Chicago, and the Sun-Times has some great writers. He tried to give readers the perception that he was in the clubhouse getting all the stuff, that he was in the dugout getting all that stuff, when he was never there.' The Sun-Times was a vibrant, relevant newspaper long before Mariotti arrived 17 years ago. It remains one today. The Sun-Times has built its reputation as being a bulldog covering the city and being the No. 1 source for sports and entertainment coverage...'

I'll accept Scott Pierce's claims that Lolo Jones [pictured at the right] didn't get the recognition she deserved from the Des Moines media. However, I'm not a good source. For a major portion of the time the Olympics were being held, I was traveling. I was unable to see any Des Moines TV stations and the Des Moines Registers that were available to me and others had such early edition times and were so far out of date that they weren't worth the 75 cents that one or two people were spending to buy them].

Columnist Jay Mariotti Quits--Says Newspaper Business Is Dying and 'I Don't Want To Go Down With It.' Also, A Disappointing Crowd for Shawn Johnson

Jay Mariotti, a controversial sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, provided further proof that the newspaper business is dying when he quit his job yesterday.

Mariotti made sure he covered the Olympics in Beijing, China, before telling his bosses he was through.

Mariotti [pictured at the right] told the Chicago Tribune, his competition, that he decided to quit after it became clear while he was in China that sports journalism has become "entirely a website business. There were not many newspapers there."

He said most of the journalists in China were there covering the Olympics "writing for websites."

Mariotti is clearly the No. 1 sports columnist in Chicago. He beats anything the Tribune has.

Yet, in his 17 years, he has battled publicly with fellow Sun-Times writers and columnists, managers and coaches.

His critics say he rarely goes to locker rooms or interview rooms because he wants to avoid confrontations with those he attacks in print.

Mariotti didn't specify what his next job will be, but said he'll continue as a panelist on the ESPN show "Around the Horn."

He said he "is talking with a lot of websites" and added that the future of his business "sadly is not in newspapers.

"I'm a competitor and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete," he said. "Everyone is hanging on for dear life at both papers. I think probably the days of high-stakes competition in Chicago are over.

"To see what has happened in this business, I don't want to go down with it."

He said he "is talking with a lot of websites" and added that the future of his business "sadly is not in newspapers."

*

Nobody else has written it, so I guess it's up to me to do it.

I was disappointed in the turnout for America's Sweetheart last night at Wells Fargo Arena.

There were more people there than show up for games played by the local hockey team, and about the same as turn out in Des Moines when Iowa State's basketball team has a game at Wells Fargo.

But the crowd should have been a lot bigger for Our Little Girl.

They called the gathering 7,000 in a building that seats more than 16,000.

Like I said, disappointing.

You'd think there would've been a full house just because the free welcome-home party for Shawn Johnson gave people a chance to see the inside of the arena.

There must've been something on TV that people didn't want to miss.

*

Barack Obama, a guy who's been in the news lately, said this to ESPN:

"You go to Wrigley Field, you have a beer, beautiful people up there. People aren't watching the game. It's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball. South side."

Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee [pictured at the left] told the Chicago Tribune that he hadn't heard of Obama's interview, but said the comment doesn't surprise him.

"I mean, he's right," Lee said with a grin. "I think most of the fans there are just there to enjoy the experience, and, uh, drink beer. I mean, is that not true?"

Lee said he wasn't implying that all Cubs fans are simply there to party and look beautiful.

"I think we have great fans and they love baseball," he said. "But if you go to Wrigley, it's kind of an experience. I think a lot of our fans are tourists, and they're in town on summer vacation and they just want to check out Wrigley."

*

Des Moines is obviously another place where the newspaper business is tough.

Layoffs, buyouts, declining circulation...you name it, it's happening in our town.

Now get a load of what's going on in Louisville, Ky., where former Register reporter and managing editor Arnie Garson is the publisher.

The Gannett Blog says, "If a Courier-Journal carrier skips you, or someone steals your paper, or if it gets wet, and you call for a replacement, "it's not gonna happen," the 'Ville Voice says. "There will be no re-delivery of missed papers on weekdays."

The paper eliminated the customer service because its circulation department was especially hard-hit in the recent round of layoffs, the blog says. The paper laid of 15 of its 1,100 employees.

The blog quotes Garson in a memo he sent to the staff: 'This is a step other newspapers have taken to help reduce costs with minimal impact. Saturday and Sunday redelivery continues.'"

When the guy who delivers my Register forgets me occasionally, I call the paper's general number, and I get a recording. I'm directed to the circulation department, where I talk to another recording in, maybe, Mexico City or Shanghai.

Eventually, I get a paper. Some guy in bib overalls, who's probably laid off from a job at a gas station, drives to my house and throws the paper onto my porch.

Garson gets no points with me for his latest move. But, hell, I didn't expect anything better.

*

I've been around enough dugouts and clubhouses to know the mentality of baseball.

I see how players and managers are constantly spitting and throwing paper cups, candy wrappers and who knows what else -- maybe even toilet paper and used condoms -- on the floor of the dugout.

As evidence, I urge you to look at the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout in a photo taken during last night's game by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch [at the top of this column].

I'd like to say the Cardinals are the only team that acts like it's playing in a cesspool, but that's not true.

Most players treat all dugouts that way.

I wonder if that's how they act at home, too.

I guess it'd be asking too much for management to put a waste basket or two in the dugout.

They probably wouldn't use 'em anyway.

*

I received a nice e-mail from my friend George Wine of Coralville after he read the story about my son, Mark, in yesterday's Marshalltown Times-Republican:

"Ron -- Thanks for sending this along and hi to Mark. Egad, I hope we're making progress. We've been over there for more than five years, spent a trillion dollars and tens of thousands of innocent people have needlessly died. And 99 percent of us have sat on our ass while Mark and others were over there fighting. What an awful mistake this was.

"See you at Kinnick Saturday...GW."

From Today's Marshalltown Times-Republican

Fighter pilot: Tide is turning in Iraq

Speaker says there is a difference between 2005 and recent trip

By KEN BLACK, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
POSTED: August 26, 2008

Saying he believes the tide has been turned in Iraq, a fighter pilot with the Iowa Air National Guard gave his impressions on the five-year-old conflict in the Middle East to the Noon Lion's Club Monday.

Col. Mark "Bo" Maly said there is a difference between 2005 and his most recent trip to Iraq.

"There has been some success in what's happened over there with the way the war has progressed," he said.

Although the workload of fighter pilots is just as heavy as it was before, the jobs tend to be a little less dangerous.

"The threat is fairly permissive as far as surface-to-air missiles and arms fire," he said.

Fighter pilots are still flying every day, perhaps as long as seven hours, providing overwatch support for troops on the ground or looking for improvised explosive devices.

Despite the improved conditions in the country, Maly noted it still does not make the goodbyes at home any easier.

"Saying goodbye ... is one of the hardest things we do before we deploy," he said.

Still, looking at the progress the country has made over the past several years does bring a sense of satisfaction to what United States' servicemen are doing, according to Maly.

But while the U.S. has made efforts to help stabilize the country by working on the electrical grid, providing additional security, and building or rebuilding schools and hospitals, Maly believes most of the change has taken place as a result of the Iraqi people. Perhaps, he said, they have simply grown tired of the simple things in life the rest of the world takes for granted - reliable electricity, clean water and a safe environment.

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Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com

*

T-R PHOTO BY KEN BLACK

Col. Mark Maly speaks about the Iowa Air National Guard to the Noon Lions Club in Marshalltown Monday. Maly believes the country has made tremendous progress toward peace and stability in the past several years

*

[RON MALY'S COMMENT: The entire Maly family is very proud of Mark amd everyone else serving in the U.S. Armed Forces].

I'm Betting This Des Moines Girl Can Still Kick Up Her Heels -- At 82, Cloris Leachman Will Be Dancing With the Stars

Des Moines' own Cloris Leachman will be kicking up her heels -- well, I'm betting she can still kick 'em up -- on "Dancing With the Stars" when the ABC-TV show airs again in the upcoming season.

Leachman, 82, will team with Mark Alexander "Corky" Ballas, a retired competitive ballroom dancer who owns several Latin dance championships.

Leachman will be the oldest competitor to appear on "Dancing With the Stars," which is heading into its seventh season Sept. 22.

USA Today said Cloris signed on after getting medical approval from several doctors —- largely to get in shape.

"I don't have anything to prove," the nine-time Emmy winner said. "I haven't danced in 60 years. I want to get my muscles back. They're noodles. I need the exercise. This is the most pleasant way to do it."

The way I look at it, Leachman -- the daughter of a family that owned a lumber yard in Des Moines -- likely displayed quite a few moves in her days at Roosevelt High School and later at Northwestern University.

I figure she won't embarrass herself or anyone else in "Dancing With the Stars."

I was on hand at the Des Moines Playhouse last November when Leachman made what most of us figured was a surprise appearance onstage.

Here's what I wrote:

Sometimes a busy schedule has a way of paying off.

We weren't able to attend "Tuesdays With Morrie" at the the Des Moines Playhouse on our scheduled night this week, but we were able to trade in our tickets for Friday night's performance instead.

Talk about getting lucky.

Everyone in the building received a bonus before and during the play.

Des Moines native Cloris Leachman, the Academy Award-winning actress, put in a surprise [to me anyway] on-stage performance.

Dressed in a million-dollar dress -- well, I'm sure it really didn't cost a million, but on Leachman it looked like a million bucks -- she had fun with the audience for several minutes after being introduced by Playhouse executive director John Viars.

I'm certain Leachman's performance was tied in with the the appearance of Mishler, 83, in his outstanding role as Morrie Schwartz in "Tuesdays With Morrie" -- which is in its final few performances at the Playhouse.

Mishler made his Playhouse debut in 1942 with Leachman in "Ah, Wilderness!"

The acting careers of Mishler and Leachman took opposite routes after that.

Leachman went to Hollywood, Mishler stayed in community theater.

Leachman was born April 20, 1926 in Des Moines, and began performing at 7 years of age. She worked at the Drake Children's Theater, and -- as a teen-ager -- appeared on three local radio shows. She attended Roosevelt High School and Northwestern University.

She won the 1971 best supporting actress award for her performance as Ruth Popper in "The Last Picture Show."

Andy & The Armory

I was out of town last week when people around here learned of the death of Glen Anderson.

But I want to thank Mike Swan of El Dorado, Kan., for giving me the details and helping me recall the days when the man we called "Andy" was Iowa State's basketball coach.

Swan is the mass communications lead instructor and sports media adviser at Butler Community College in El Dorado.

In an e-mail to me, Mike wrote:

"Ron, with the passing of Glen Anderson at 79, I wanted to share some things with you. I have included an article of yours from the 1960s about the Armory with some quotes from Andy. It hangs on the wall in my basement office.

"I am an Ames native who went to Iowa State and graduated in 1979 in journalism. I then finished a master's degree in the same field in 1998, writing a thesis on the history of The Iowa State Daily [coverage of Anderson's teams is in there].

"I attended Anderson's ISU basketball camp as an eighth-grader and I remember he called my home to make sure I was coming. The camp was big, but not as huge as today's versions, and I cannot tell you the impact that call had on me. I loved the game but did not make my high school team.

"However, the camp was a tremendously positive experience and helped us improve. After the coach called me, I telephoned a friend and told him I would inform him if any more big-time college coaches contacted me.

"I have fond memories of Coach Anderson."

Here's the Des Moines Register story of mine of nearly 40 years ago that Swan sent:

I.S.U. Armory: Beautiful, or Mad House?

By Ron Maly
Register Staff Writer

AMES, IA. -- Chalk up another one for the Armory. Chalk it up, that is, if you can find room in the tattered pages of history that tell the story of the old place.

Iowa State won a basketball game and Aaron Jenkins thought he won a boxing match Saturday against Nebraska. The basketball game went into overtime, but Jenkins' unscheduled fisticuffs with Jim Brooks were cut short before any damaging blows were struck.

It was business as usual. People come into the Armory expecting anything -- and usually get a little of everything. Whatever the case, no one ever goes away saying he didn't get just a bit excited.

The 99-93 victory was Iowa State's sixth at home this season. The Cyclones have lost only to Drake and Kansas State in the Armory while compiling a 9-9 record overall.

A lot of people thought Drake Coach Maury John was being facetious last month when he said "they might as well put 20 points on the board right now for Iowa State. The Armory is worth that much."

There were, however, some who knew John wasn't being facetious. They were the coaches who also have brought teams here to play.

To the opposition, the Armory is too small, too old, too cramped, too noisy and -- more often than not -- too heart-breaking.

To Iowa State, the Armory is beautiful.

It has 7,000 seats -- and they're at just about any angle you care to mention. Watch a game from press row and you don't see bodies. You see heads.

First a guy risks getting a nosebleed in one of those high-up seats, then he risks heart failure in another maddening finish that has become a way of life here.

What is it about the outdated arena that turns extraordinary opponents into ordinary ones? What is it that inflates Iowa State with some sort of magic strength?

"The Armory probably works both ways," said Arnie Gaarde, who has seen its charms as both a player and coach. He captained the 1955-56 Cyclones and is now an assistant to Glen Anderson.

"The crowd is right on top of everyone and it has an effect on both teams," Gaarde continued. "We crawled back to within 10 points in our game with Kansas and the crowd got with us.

"It gave us a big lift and, at the same time, it probably caused Kansas to do some things it didn't want to do."

The Cyclones, in one of the gigantic shocks of the season, won that game, 78-72, in two overtimes. It came just a week after Kansas had beaten Iowa State, 94-61, at Lawrence.

"It's the enthusiasm," said Anderson. "It's bound to help our players. I can't say if we have the biggest home-court advantage in the Big Eight, but we certainly have one of the best.

"Nebraska isn't bad, you know. Over there people are practically sitting on the court. Their feet are about this far (Andy had his fingers spread apart by two inches) from the floor."

Anderson mentioned enthusiasm, and certainly the Armory has that. The acoustics being what they are, a crowd of 10 could holler and sound like 1,000. Voices bounce off the walls and ceiling very well.

The band not only makes music, but makes noise. It has its own cheers. Large banners decorated -- well anything is a decoration in the Armory -- the walls Saturday, none of them complimentary to Nebraska.

Iowa State students threatened to go on strike last week, but they probably would have crossed picket lines to get into Saturday's game.

School spirit isn't supposed to be "in" anymore, but the word apparently hasn't gotten here yet. The old Armory roof almost blew off a couple of times during the wild matinee performance.

It won't be long before the roof can blow away and hardly anyone will know the difference. In case you haven't heard, the Armory's days as an intercollegiate basketball facility are numbered.

Three more games this season and a dozen or so next year, then it's goodbye. Iowa State's new 14,000-seat coliseum is scheduled to go into use for the 1970-71 season.

"The new place will probably hurt our home-court advantage," Anderson commented, "but it should help our recruiting.

"You should see the Armory he we're trying to convince a player he should attend Iowa State during the spring. The bleachers are down, it's dirty and dusty in there and there really isn't too much you can tell a kid.

"So what we do is show him a picture of the new coliseum."

Wonder what it's like to watch a game without a nosebleed?

*

The victory over Kansas by Glen Anderson and his Cyclones that I wrote about in the story came on Jan. 13,1969.

Iowa State finished the 1968-69 season with a 14-12 overall record and was 8-6 in the old Big Eight Conference.

Andy didn't know it at the time -- at least I don't think he knew it -- but the clock was ticking on him.

He lasted only two more seasons as the Cyclones' coach. His 1969-70 team had records of 12-14 and 5-9, and his final Iowa State team in 1970-71 slid to 5-21 and 2-12.

Hilton Coliseum didn't open in time for the 1970-71 season as planned, but it was ready for 1971-72. Clay Stapleton, the football coach-turned-athletic director, didn't want Anderson as the coach in the new building.

Anderson was a very nice man, but the best of his 12 seasons was the 15-9 record he had in his break-in year of 1959-60.

Iowa State was just as difficult a place to coach in those days as it is now, and Stapleton thought the university needed someone other than Glen Anderson to be the coach when Hilton Coliseum opened.

I was talking with Stapleton one day in his office during Anderson's sad final season.

All of a sudden, he said, "They tell me Maury John at Drake is a very good coach."

"Yes, he is," I answered.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I'll bet Stapleton had already made contact with John about becoming Anderson's successor.

John took his final three Drake teams to the NCAA tournament, and his 1968-69 squad finished third in the Final Four at Louisville, Ky.

John, the best coach Drake ever had, clearly had the Bulldogs' program in an elite status.

Unfortunately, John didn't live long enough to get the Iowa State program built to where he wanted it.

His first two Cyclone teams went 12-14 and 16-10. He soon became ill with cancer and couldn't finish the 1973-74 season, which ended at 15-11 with assistants coaching the team. John died soon thereafter.

*

I covered numerous basketball games and wrestling meets in the Armory [which is pictured], and enjoyed being there every time.

I covered an NCAA wrestling tournament there, and Dan Gable was still competing for the Cyclones at the time.

"Harold Nichols had it rolling in the Armory," Mike Swan told me of the longtime Cyclone wrestling coach. "You wrote about 'ghosts' one time regarding Drake's 1969 basketball team. Sometimes when I go back to Ames, I pop into the Armory and you can hear the 'ghosts' of ISU athletic teams of the past.

"I've been on quite a nostalgia kick recently, I guess because I'm getting older and I get to see my kids go through some things I did. We are quite settled here [in El Dorado], 20 minutes from Wichita.

"My wife is a former Young Iowa Journalist of the Year when she worked at the Iowa City Press-Citizen."

*

Thanks for the memories, Mike.

Etc.

The week that's still going on at twitter:

The partial lost a battle with a BLT just before I headed to Okoboji. Obviously, I didn't smile much while I was there

I said I broke out all but 3 of my top teeth. He was worried. I need to clarify things. They weren't my real teeth. It was a partial plate

When Kenny Fuson and I were e-mailing each other the other day about his exit from the paper, I mentioned I had to take timeout to go get my teeth fixed

They depended on newsside columnist John Carlson to write it. Shame on the sports staffers

The paper's sports staff didn't exactly pounce on the latest Ferentz story [next item]

http://tinyurl.com/6btxdr

If he doesn't, I'm instructing him to go back to his home under the bridge

We're meeting Mr. and Mrs. Alive In Clive today for lunch. The mister will have everything figured out

Cy Young is back on the phone. He tells me the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano [pictured at the left] can forget the award until 2009. Mr. Flaky is just too inconsistent

I once interviewed U.S. Olympic wrestler Steve Mocco. Let's put it this way: He's a different kind of guy

Speaking of the U.S. softball loss, I'm wondering how it happened. Lousy coaching, I guess

I hear that the U.S. women who lost in the last Olympics softball game cried a lot afterward. They'd have cried if they would have won, too

Bud Appleby refers me to what he calls a good column on Lolo Jones [pictured above] at http://bleacherreport.com/

Excuse me. I'm pouring another cup of coffee before I look around for the riveting Postcards from Beijing

More from Cy Young as Jason Marquis prepares to pitch today for the Cubs. 'Who the hell is Jason Marquis?' Cy asks

Cy Young is on the phone. The D-Backs' Brandon Webb has already won 19 games. Give him the trophy

Speaking of football schedules, I'm glad Drake doesn't play UNI, Illinois State or Missouri State. Sandy Hatfield Clubb is a smart lady

No wonder Kansas is always good in basketball. The Jayhawks started practice yesterday. Like they say, it's a long season

If you ask me, trading a conference game at home for less than a million is called robbing your own fans--something Gartner knows all about

Maybe Des Moines should offer the Cyclones $900,000 to play Drake or Grand View in a game at Wells Fargo Arena

It'd be the same as Iowa giving up a game at Kinnick Stadium against Illinois so it could pocket less than a million in, say, Chicago

Here's what I say: It's hard for me to believe Iowa State would give up a Big 12 home game for less than $1 million in K.C.

Upon closer review, the Cyclones get $850,000 in 2009 and $950,000 in 2010

The headline says $1.8 million, but that's apparently for TWO Cyclone-Kansas State games, not just one

I'm a little confused by the story in the paper about how much money Iowa State is getting for its football game in K.C., but give me time

Last call from Arthur Miller, the missing prof, was to the Cedar Rapids Gazette: http://iowaindependent.com/

If I ever make it with my family to the Holy Land, I'd want it to be with Dr. Paul Meier as the tour guide: www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot

And check out what I say about the blockbuster stuff in today's paper at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

Make sure you see the squirrel-and-the-dog picture at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

They don't need to worry. Gannett's clock is ticking on Hollingsworth. Undoubtedly even more on editor Washburn

Online comments in the paper often refer to how "hot" publisher Laura Hollingsworth is. The laid-off people have a different idea

Just when you think the Cubs have it all figured out, the last-place Reds beat 'em 2-1 on a 3-hitter. They can't allow that stuff to happen

It was good to resume the sportswriters' weekly lunches today. Beijing was discussed heavily. So was the Hawkeye football team. Gartner, too

I used to work with a guy named Elmo. He talked about wanting to "blow up" things he didn't like. Wonder how he'd feel about No-Name Ballfield.

You'd think the little asshole would have better things to do with his time. Like turning profits at No-Name Ballfield over to flood victims

I've been out of touch. I wonder if Mike Gartner has been trying to sell any more murals or paintings in Iowa City

I'm sure glad there was a Postcard from Beijing in today's paper. Absolutely riveting stuff st www at wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

After all these years, Ron Maly is still searching for answers at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot

Print the Cubs' playoff tickets. Chicago wins tonight, Milwaukee and St. Louis lose. It won't be long now

Cub Reporter

Rev. David P. Mumm [pictured at the left], formerly of Des Moines, sent this e-mail:

Hi Ron,

I thought you might enjoy this:

Cub Reporter

The newspaper editor was instructing the cub reporter in important details of his calling.

"Never state as a fact anything you are not absolutely sure about," said the editor. "To avoid putting the paper in the position of stating something which it may not be able to prove, you should always use the words 'alleged,' 'claimed,' 'reputed,' 'rumored,' and so on, unless you know positively that everything is true as stated.

The cub was sent out to get society items, and soon thereafter the following paragraph appeared in the society column:

"It is rumored that a bridge party was given yesterday by a number of reputed ladies. Mrs. Smith, it is said, was hostess. The guests, it is alleged, with the exception of Mrs. Brown, who says that she comes from Illinois, were all local people. Mrs. Smith claims to be the wife of Alexander Smith, who is rumored to be doing a thriving business in town."

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


*

Someone who isn't a cub reporter is the talented John Carlson, the veteran Des Moines Register columnist.

I heard from another guy in the newspaper business who relayed a rumor that Carlson was considering taking a buyout like Ken Fuson and Jerry Perkins did at the Register.

The paper has been ordered by the parent Gannett Co. to whittle its staff by 12 or 13 people. Fuson, an outstanding feature writer, and farm editor Perkins made it easier for management by offering to take buyouts.

The rumor I heard is that Carlson considered doing it, too, but later changed his mind.

I'll check with John the next time I see him.

I'm glad he decided to stay, and I hope he is, too.

*

Still no mention in Biz Buzz about the departures of Fuson, Perkins, Jane Norman and the rest of the Register newsroom people.

The departures made the online national journalism news, but evidently mum's the word in the Register on who's leaving, and why.

Shame on the paper.

Terrible reporting and terrible customer relations.

*

Speaking of terrible, how ridiculous is it that the so-called restaurant reviews in the Register's Datebook supplement don't include some sort of rating?

To simply say that it was the reviewer's preliminary visit, so that's why there's no rating, doesn't cut it with me.

It's a no-guts way to review something.

Then again, what should we expect in this era when most newspaper people are running scared?

One day a reporter can be rewriting press releases, the next day she's out on the street.

Ask Jane Norman about that.

*

More blockbuster stuff on today's sports pages.

Postcards from Beijing by Bryce Miller continues to be riveting reading.

I figure those people spending 75 cents a day for the paper can't wait to pick up their papers and see that sort of clever writing every morning.

*

I mentioned Dr. Paul Meier [pictured at the right] in one of my columns recently. He's the 78-year-old marvel of a guy who spoke all of last week at the Lutheran family camp at Okoboji.

Meier is the professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, and is a second vice-president of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.

He's also a prolific author.

He has written historical fiction and non-fiction booka, and he also writes children's books. Indeed, he was working on a book during the week he was at Okoboji.

His historical fiction include the No. 1 national best-seller in religious fiction, "A Skeleton in God’s Closet."

*

My friend George Wine of Coralville has more on his mind than Iowa's football team these days.

He sent along a bunch of great squirrel-and-dog photos -- one of which is printed at the top of this column. Someone probably sent them to him.

I like squirrels and I like little dogs, so I really like the pictures George sent.

For a while, it got my mind off the crap going on at the paper these days.

More Than a Half-Century Later, I'm Still Looking for Some Answers

I'll admit it, I don't know a heck of a lot about the sport of gymnastics.

Even though I've observed gymnasts for more than a half-century, I still don't know what makes them tick.

The only reason I saw a few gymnastics meets was because -- in my working days -- one of my bosses, Leighton Housh, considered me Mr. Versatility, figuring I could write intelligently about anything.

One year, Housh sent me to an NCAA men's gymnastics meet at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. All I know is, I was glad a guy named Dan Even of the Associated Press was there, too.

Even was the AP sports editor in the Des Moines bureau at the time, and he also was assigned to the NCAA meet.

Even knew a lot more about the sport than I knew. When it got to the next-to-last day, it was every reporter's job to determine which gym squad would have the team title wrapped up.

I depended on Even to figure that out.

In those days, just like now, I regarded gymnasts as superb athletes who had tremendous upper-body strength.

Most of the men gymnasts were about 5 feet tall and most of the women were 4 feet tall. The men weighed about 99 pounds and the women weighed 49 pounds.

I think their diet consisted of lettuce, carrots and an occasional vitamin pill. Nothing else.

All of their weight was muscle.

I also remember when a guy named Sam Bailie, a gymnast at the University of Iowa in the 1950s, used to do backflips across the field while leading the Hawkeye football teams out of their locker room.

I think that must have helped Forest Evashevski's Iowa teams win Big Ten championships.

When it came down to picking the teams' most valuable players, I figure it came down to a close vote between Randy Duncan, Alex Karras and Sam Bailie.

And I'm guessing Sam Bailie is still doing backflips somewhere today.

I also used to talk to a guy named Ed Gagnier, who was Iowa State's gymnastics coach. In my ongoing desire to find out what gymnasts were made of, I tried to pick his brain whenever possible.

What amazed me was that Gagnier -- in middle-age -- once turned backflips while coming onto the Hilton Coliseum floor at halftime of a Cyclone basketball game.

Gagnier was patient with me. He listened carefully to my questions about gymnastics, and answered them in simple terms.

I figure Gagnier is still turning backflips, too. At least I hope so, and I hope it's not in the big gym in the sky.

Anyway, now that I've established I know little or nothing about what a gymnast is made of, let me get to Shawn Johnson.

Shawn [shown in the AP photo], of course, is the 1-pound 1-ounce gymnast from West Des Moines who went to the Olympics in Beijing, China, intending to win enough gold medals so she'd be on the front of Wheaties boxes into the 22nd century.

It made no difference that Shawn weighs only 1-pound 1-ounce.

All 17 ounces are muscle.

Strong muscle.

Smiling muscle.

I've been calling Shawn Johnson "America's Darling" for the last 10 days or so, when I was trying to get the news on her Olympics exploits while staying at a church camp in Okoboji.

News was sketchy at The Lakes.

There were only two televisions in the multi-apartment house where we stayed. Just one of them worked.

The Des Moines Register was sold in a vending machine at the campground, but it was a first edition, which meant it was published two weeks earlier.

Well, what do you expect for 75 cents these days -- miracles?

USA Today had a vending machine there, but there were no papers in it until about 2 p.m.

Like I said, news was sketchy. I should have remembered that the parent Gannett Co. is laying off people at the Register, and probably USA Today. The newsroom people losing their jobs are the most-experienced and highest-paid.

Veterans like Ken Fuson, Jerry Perkins and Jane Norman already know they'll be headed out the door at 8th & Locust downtown. At least Fuson says hels leaving because he wants to try something different. The unproductive Norman was told to take a hike from the Register's Washington Bureau.

Occasionally at The Lakes, I saw a publication called the Okobojian, which I think specialized in selling used cars and telling readers about upcoming farm auctions.

As far as I know, the Okobojian didn't have anything in it about Shawn Johnson. A '92 Dodge pickup truck maybe, but not America's Sweetheart.

For a while, I've got to admit that I was wondering if Shawn Johnson was just a bit overrated when she kept winning those silver medals at Beijing.

I hadn't read all the reams of newspaper copy that were written about the Little Darling leading up to the Olympics, but I noticed enough to figure that nothing -- certainly not some wisp of a thing from Romania or another wisp of a thing from China or even a teammate named Nastia Liukin -- could keep her from hording lots of gold in Beijing.

For all I knew, Shawn Johnson's dad was going to have to charter a UPS cargo plane to get all of her gold medals back to the U.S.

I thought all Johnson had to do at the Olympics was show up in one of her cute little tight-fitting red, white and blue outfits and the rest would be history.

When I was in Okoboji, I kept hearing that America's Darling was winning silver medals instead of gold medals, and I suppose I started wondering if she was choking on the big one.

The Register certainly wasn't helping me out. The paper and the parent Gannett Co. are coming across as outfits that are frantically searching for their next nickel, but they managed to send two writers from Des Moines to China.

One was Nancy Stockdale, who had been following Johnson around the U.S. in preparation for the Olympics, and the other was Bryce Miller, the Register's sports editor.

Just one problem. Nobody told either writer to write a column or write commentary or to give their opinions on Johnson and the gymnastics competition.

Either that or neither felt qualified to do it.

They wrote lots of stuff, but I didn't see any Mike Lopresti-type material that told me if Johnson couldn't handle the big one or not.

Lopresti works for Gannett News Service, and he's in the paper here so much that you'd think he ate his peanut butter sandwiches in the lunchroom at 8th & Locust.

The Register uses Lopresti's commentary as game stories at such things as the Super Bowl, World Series and NCAA basketball finals.

Lopresti is full of a lot of things -- opinion being one of them. That's fine, and I enjoy his writing.

But, like I said, there was no Lopresti-type writing in the Register about Shawn Johnson.

We just got a lot of big headlines, big pictures and "Wow, look at us! We're from Iowa and we follow 1-pound 1-ounce Shawn Johnson around the world in her search for gold."

Somebody over there needed to tell us why the hell Johnson kept winning silver medals and not gold medals.

Was she overrated? Could be.

Did she choke? Could be.

Did the officials short-change her? Oh, I knew you'd ask that.

All I can is, the paper spent a lot of money and gave us a lot of oversized headlines without really giving us the full story.

I'm just glad America's Sweetheart finally won a gold medal yesterday in the final women's gymnastics event, even though Liukin had already told reporters that "I got the biggest gold medal of them all [in the all-around]" days earlier.

Now I can get back to the Chicago Cubs.

I'll be having plenty of opinions on them in the next few weeks.

Count on it.

Ken Fuson Says It's His Idea To Leave the Register, Not Management's--Adding, 'I Want To See If I Can Do Something Different'

Ken Fuson didn't get pushed.

It's his idea to leave the Des Moines Register, not his bosses' idea.

I wrote this earlier today:

"Until I hear otherwise, I'm assuming Fuson and Jerry Perkins are leaving voluntarily, and weren't pushed out the door by management.

"But these days in the newspaper business, you never know."

Fuson, the best feature writer in the newsroom, and farm editor Jerry Perkins said they were taking buyouts at the Register. Also among those leaving the paper is Jane Norman of the Washington Bureau, who accepted a buyout.

I was shocked when I heard that Fuson was leaving the Register, and so were plenty of other people.

"This is the sickest bit of newspaper news in a year full of it," a guy I know told me. "When a Ken Fuson walks away before he’s of retirement age -- it’s over."

Here's what Fuson told me about his exit from the Register:

"This is absolutely my decision. I approached them, not the other way around. There was no pressure on me to do this. I also don't think -- knock on wood -- I was about to be laid off.

"This is a personal decision. I've been doing this job for 25 years or more. I'd like to see if I can do something different. Maybe I can't, and if that happens, I'll be begging you to buy me lunch.

"By the way, ending the column was my idea, too. I enjoyed it, but the priority was for me to write stories, and it was beginning to interfere. I know this won't do anything to appease those who want to see more here than there actually is, but it happens to be the truth. As for the future, maybe I'll write a blog. I hear all the cool people are doing it."

Despite disappointing those of us who were fans of his humor column, Fuson has kept his sense of humor through all of this.

"You'll appreciate this," he told me. "I've been telling people that I need to get out of here before the Cubs win the World Series. I can take a lot of things, but not that."

Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship--Newsroom Vets Fuson, Perkins Out At the Register; Also Gone Will Be Washington Bureau's Jane Norman

In a classic case of rats leaving a sinking ship, veteran writers Ken Fuson and Jerry Perkins are bailing out of the Des Moines Register newsroom.

Don't bother sending any more press releases to Jane Norman [pictured at the right] of the Register's Washington Bureau, either.

She's out, too.

Until I hear otherwise, I'm assuming Fuson and Perkins are leaving voluntarily, and weren't pushed out the door by management.

But these days in the newspaper business, you never know.

The Register will be saving a lot of money when it doesn't have to pay the salaries of Fuson and Perkins, two of the highest-paid people in the newsroom.

A few years ago, they said managing editor Diane Graham quit on her own, too.

I didn't believe that for a second of Graham, who basically was a do-nothing administrator.

Indeed, she was never replaced, as far as I know.

Jason Hancock writes in the Iowa Independent that the Register's Washington Bureau is also affected by the job cuts.

"Sources have confirmed that Norman, a member of the paper's Washington Bureau for 20 years, has been laid off and will receive a severance package," Hancock wrote.

The paper's Washington Bureau has been just a skeleton of what it once was when such stalwarts as Clark Mollenhoff, Richard Wilson and Jim Risser made it a real news-reporting bureau.

In recent years, it's been an office where press releases have been rewritten.

Fuson has spent two terms at the Register as mainly a feature writer. His time there was interrupted by a stay at the Baltimore Sun. For a short time, he wrote a weekly humor column for the Register's op-ed page, but it was dumped by editor Carolyn Washburn without explanation.

I thought Washburn, not Fuson's humor column, should have been what was dumped.

Perkins' most recent responsbility has been as the Register's farm editor--a job that's always been very important at a paper in the middle of the nation's agricultural scene.

The departures of Fuson, Perkins and Norman is no doubt part of a bigger picture that is expected to produce 15 job cuts in all at the Register. Like most other Gannett Co. papers, the Register is in a circulation freefall and is shifting its emphasis to an online version.

The hammer on the rest of those affected is expected to fall very soon.

The memo containing the news on Fuson and Perkins was made public by Jim Romenesko on his Poynter journalism website.

The memo was signed by Washburn, the Register's editor, and Randy Brubaker, the managing editor.

It's no surprise to me that either guy wanted to continue working in a newsroom managed by those two people.

Here's the memo:

Memo (dated August 18) to Des Moines Register staff from editor Carolyn Washburn and managing editor Randy Brubaker.

It is with mixed emotions that we announce that Ken Fuson and Jerry Perkins asked for and accepted buyouts from the Register. Jerry’s last day here will be August 29. Ken’s last day will be Sept. 5.

Ken defined storytelling at the Register for much of these last 25 years. His stories sometimes broke our hearts, and always inspired, with stories like The Truth About Bob, the comeback of Sgt. Brent Jurgersen, and his series called "The Devoted" that introduced readers to Iowans who were devoting themselves to helping others. Ken demonstrated that storytelling is wonderful in many forms. We remember his Year of Firsts project, his humor column, the mentoring and coaching and writing role in last year’s prom project, and his short-form caucus notebooks and State Fair blog.

Ken has won, just to name a few, the Register’s own top writing award – the Capaldo Award; the Ernie Pyle Award for Human Interest Writing; Gannett’s 25th anniversary Outstanding Achievement Award for Writing; and Best of ASNE recognizing work over 20 years. Ken has been mentor, coach and trusted first read for many writers – and editors -- at the Register. While we will sorely miss Ken’s unique talent to tell and coach the kind of stories that bind us as Iowans, we respect his wish to make a change.

Jerry has covered the farm crisis, the ethanol boom and other big changes in Iowa agriculture in 25 years with the Register. He has won multiple awards from the National Association of Agricultural Journalists (and served as president of the group), Society of American Business Editors and Writers and other organizations.

For those who don't know Jerry well, he grew up in Des Moines and worked at the Register during college before serving in the Peace Corps in Panama and Nicaragua, running a farm at foster-care facility in New Mexico, and newspapering in Guthrie Center. He started at the Tribune in 1978 and has been the Register's farm editor since 1993. He left the Register for five years to become public affairs director for the Iowa Corn Growers Association. During his time away, he spent seven months in Stavropol, Russia, managing an agribusiness center. We have no doubt Jerry and Peggy will have many great adventures in this next stage of their lives.

Please join us in wishing Ken and Jerry all the best.

Carolyn and Randy

'Uncivil and Boorish Fools'

As you know, it bothers me a lot that today's daily newspapers permit readers to use phony names to attack something that's written online.

Careful checking is done to make sure people who write letters to the editor on the editorial pages are for real. However, far too many online comments are permitted that are written by airheads who call themselves "pissed off in clive" or "hawkeye hater in clarinda."

R. H. of Des Moines continues the discussion with this e-mail:

Ron,

"I agree wholeheartedly with your comment about online comments on the newspaper's website. It's not a surprise on how many kooks and morons can get away with so much idiotic comments that can be posted to a story.

"I am unsure if this was brought to your attention, but those who blog on the Daily's website can actually control what can be posted as comments. We'll take Mr. A (fictional blogger) as an example. Mr. A. is a smart guy and he blogs about topics, like sports, and offers salient and interesting perspectives.

"An idiot reads it, and he logs on to post a comment that has nothing to do with what Mr. A. wrote. The next day, Mr. A. receives a prompt to either accept the comment or deny it, preventing the dumb comment from ever showing up.

"With that in mind, the Daily has a staff that monitors online content that is posted after every story. If Nancy Stockdale and Rick Brown can sort out and block out stupidly-written comments off of their blogs, then the online staff should be able to sort out and keep out the horrible, non-sensical comments that are posted in the comment sections after every major story.

"A great example of how uncivil and boorish these fools are when they log-on and say outlandish stuff is the death of Marvin Pomerantz [pictured]. Love him or hate him, Pomerantz is well-known across the state and not just here in Des Moines. A moron posted a comment asking 'why is this even a story?' Luckily, someone else, with a brain and common sense, explained that Pomerantz's death is a major story because of his position in the business community, his status on the Board of Regents, and he was someone that people knew by mentioning his name.

"The Paper could help themselves by having their online content editors and monitors slam the door on kooks like 'algibson', 'Stan The Man', and others, who spend all of the time online writing crap, for the sake of being noticed and feeding their egos, or what's left of it.

"It goes to show that if you give someone a computer and access to the internet, they'll write about anything slanderous and hurtful as a way to get their kicks.

"Finally, on the topic of preseason polls, all is not lost (hopefully) with Iowa and Iowa State not being ranked. UNI is ranked very high in their 1-AA poll (and no, I'm not calling it the Football Championship Subdivision), Central is 9th and Wartburg is 23rd in the Division III preseason polls. Both teams will square off in Pella on Sept. 23. It will be crucial game in determining who will have the inside track on winning the Iowa Conference football title.

"Best,"

R.H.
Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Let's face it, the people who run today's newspapers don't really know what to do about online names and online conversations. Editors are so interested in getting readers involved with the news that they're permitting all sorts of dumb things online. Back in the days when the Register's sports department had an Opinion Section near the back of the Sunday paper, I always had the feeling that plenty of yo-yos tried hard to get their names into the paper by writing outlandish things. In those days, people were supposed to use their correct names. However, I remember a case when one guy wrote a letter to the sports editor criticizing the page makeup of the Sunday sports section during the football season. The guy then was a young Iowa fan, and he was upset that the account of the Hawkeyes' game was put far "below the fold" on the front page, yet the Iowa State story was at the top of the page. The guy used a phony name and somehow got it past the man who then was the sports editor. Ironically, the guy who wrote the letter now works at the Register, and I assume is an old Iowa fan. So people obviously will try anything to be noticed. These days, I get a charge out of people who continually write online comments whenever there's a story about the Register's publisher. A number of them continue referring to her as the "hot" publisher. Like I say, no wonder newspaper circulation continues in a freefall. Thanks for your insight, R. H.]

Scott Pierce's Take On Drake's New Football Coach

Scott Pierce, Drake's football play-by-play radio announcer, told me he was planning to meet with new Drake football coach Chris Creighton.

"Give me your take on him," I said to Pierce.

So here's what he said:

"My analyst, Chris Parrish, and I had a chance to spend about an hour at practice, sit in on a team meeting, and lunch with Chris Creighton. I am impressed with his teaching style. In the meeting I sat in on, it seemed he had the attention and participation of all involved.

"I like the fact Creighton [pictured] was a success at the Division III ranks. Being in a place where you have to wear lots of hats I think helps when you're coaching non-scholarship players at Drake. The practices seemed well organized and there was no wasted time. You can tell he knows what he is doing.

"The talent pool is a little down this year. They lost a great deal off the o-line, lost a terrific tight end and a couple of wide receivers. Plus losing Scott Phaydavongh to graduation is big, big, big. The schedule works in their favor---no Gateway (or Missouri Valley now) teams on it. In my opinion, if they get any kind of production from the offensive line, they'll be just fine."

No Rankings, No Votes for Iowa, Iowa State In Football Polls

Iowa and Iowa State didn't get a ranking -- or even a vote -- in the first Associated Press college football poll of the upcoming season today.

It's not a shock by any means.

Neither the Hawkeyes nor the Cyclones got a single vote in the coaches' poll a couple of weeks ago either.

As in the coaches' poll, Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the sportswriters' AP poll.

AP Poll

1. Georgia (22) 0-0 1,528
2. Ohio State (21) 0-0 1,506
3. USC (12) 0-0 1,490
4. Oklahoma (4) 0-0 1,444
5. Florida (6) 0-0 1,415
6. Missouri 0-0 1,266
7. LSU 0-0 1,135
8. West Virginia 0-0 1,116
9. Clemson 0-0 1,105
10. Auburn 0-0 968
11. Texas 0-0 966
12. Texas Tech 0-0 786
13. Wisconsin 0-0 771
14. Kansas 0-0 707
15. Arizona State 0-0 631
16. Brigham Young 0-0 590
17. Virginia Tech 0-0 578
18. Tennessee 0-0 509
19. South Florida 0-0 496
20. Illinois 0-0 483
21. Oregon 0-0 366
22. Penn State 0-0 293
23. Wake Forest 0-0 227
24. Alabama 0-0 89
25. Pittsburgh 0-0 85

Others Receiving Votes

South Carolina 84, Fresno State 83, California 59, Utah 53, Cincinnati 44, Florida State 41, Michigan 36, Boston College 32, Rutgers 32, Michigan State 21, Boise State 17, Arkansas 14, North Carolina 14, Connecticut 10, Tulsa 7, UCLA 6, Oregon State 5, Mississippi State 4, Virginia 4, Arizona 3, Nebraska 2, Notre Dame 2, Hawaii 1, Washington 1.

Coaches' Poll

1. Georgia (22) 0-0 1,438
2. USC (14) 0-0 1,430
3. Ohio State (14) 0-0 1,392
4. Oklahoma (3) 0-0 1,329
5. Florida (5) 0-0 1,293
6. LSU (3) 0-0 1,163
7. Missouri 0-0 1,143
8. West Virginia 0-0 1,008
9. Clemson 0-0 999
10. Texas 0-0 979
11. Auburn 0-0 888
12. Wisconsin 0-0 747
13. Kansas 0-0 714
14. Texas Tech 0-0 644
15. Virginia Tech 0-0 568
16. Arizona State 0-0 560
17. Brigham Young 0-0 547
18. Tennessee 0-0 506
19. Illinois 0-0 422
20. Oregon 0-0 399
21. South Florida 0-0 350
22. Penn State 0-0 313
23. Wake Forest 0-0 203
24. Michigan 0-0 112
25. Fresno State 0-0 91

Others Receiving Votes

Alabama 83, South Carolina 64, Utah 60, Rutgers 53, Florida State 53, Boston College 47, California 41, Pittsburgh 34, Boise State 25, Oregon State 23, Nebraska 17, Cincinnati 13, Virginia 12, Connecticut 9, Michigan State 9, Mississippi State 6, Kentucky 5, Notre Dame 5, TCU 5, Maryland 4, Texas A&M 3, UCLA 3, North Carolina 3, Louisville 2, Georgia Tech 2, UCF 2, Tulsa 1, Oklahoma State 1, Arizona 1, Colorado 1.

Shame On KCCI

I've been spending the week in Okoboji, but thank goodness I'm getting plenty of help from my readers.

I heard from Scott Pierce early this morning, and he was upset about something he didn't see on the CBS television station that serves central Iowa.

That could only be KCCI, the channel that leads the world, and most of Mars and Saturn, in ratings. Old channel 8 started finishing No. 1 in the Des Moines market when Russ Van Dyke began drinking milk on the set at 10 p.m., and the station hasn't lost its grip on the rating since.

Someone once told me they could prop up a photograph of Van Dyke on the desk, and KCCI would still lead the central Iowa ratings.

But KCCI didn't win any prizes today with Pierce, an experienced radio announcer who does the play-by-play on Drake football and women's basketball games.

Here's his e-mail:

My dog woke me up just before 5 a.m. for her walk. As I was getting my shoes on, I turned on our local CBS affiliate, KCCI, at 5:03 a.m. and saw NOTHING about Shawn Johnson. The local NBC affiliate, WHO, went 10 minutes strong. They did a story from the block party her numbers were, throwing, talked to neighbors, relatives, etc. At 6 a.m., KCCI did lead with Shawn's silver medal. They took NBC highlights and a post-event interview. But 3 minutes later, they were done with the story.

Here is a pet peeve of mine with media people. News is news is news---whether it aired on your station or not. If CBS carried the Olympics, would KCCI have been at the block party? Sure, they would have. Would WHO then give it 3 minutes and move on? Probably.

I see examples like this with networks, local television outlets, radio stations, and even newspapers [RAGBRAI, the triathlon, etc.] When I was a young, poor, aspiring journalist, I was trained to reflect the public's interest. As my career progressed, I was steered away from what was the right thing to do by a bunch of former salesmen posing as general managers.

On another subject....the Iowa Stars banner is still hanging outside Wells Fargo Arena's southside. It's about a 60-foot-high banner saying "This Is Our House". You
should drive by and get a picture of it sometime.

Finally, I'm meeting with Chris Creighton today. I'll give you a report.

Scott Pierce

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Leaving Shawn Johnson -- otherwise known as America's Sweetheart and the 21st-century version of the 1930's Shirley Temple -- off of the 5 a.m. news on the No. 1 TV station in central Iowa is almost like leaving Tiger Woods off of the Golf Channel and Brett Favre off of ESPN. What a disappointment it had to be to Johnson and her fans when she finished second in her Olympics gymnastics competition. I mean, everybody in the free world expected our little darling to cart the gold out of Beijing. I asked somebody at coffee this morning if Shawn cried when she found out she didn't win the gold medal. The guy thought she did, then quickly added, "Girl gymnasts cry whether they finish in first, second or last place." I don't know what finishing second will do to Shawn's deal with Wheaties [or is it Malt-o-Meal?] and the rest of her big-money deals. All I know is, people were already telling me this morning that the officials gypped her in Beijing. Like the football coaches always say, I won't know until I see the films. Scott, I'm glad you'll be talking to new Drake football coach Chris Creighton. I'll be interested to hear what you think after your conversation].

'Arnie Garson Takes Over At Louisville and Fires 15 People' --- Plus News Of More Bad Things Happening In Gannett Newsrooms

Several readers have pointed me in the direction of the Gannett Blog, which is staying on top of the job cuts at newspapers in the large chain.

It could very well be that some bylines that all of us are familiar with at papers such as the Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen [which both are Gannett papers] could be eliminated.

It was earlier reported that 12 or 13 jobs could be dumped at the Register.

The hammer is falling at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where former Register managing editor and reporter Arnie Garson was recently brought in as publisher. Here's what the Courier-Journal reported today:

"The Courier-Journal will lay off about 15 employees and leave other positions vacant as part of a broader cost-cutting move by the newspaper’s parent, Gannett Co., the newspaper announced today.

"An unspecified number of jobs will be cut at the Courier-Journal by not filling vacant positions. Overall Gannett will eliminate about 1,000 positions, or 3 percent of its total work force.

"Arnold Garson, publisher of the paper, said in a memo to employees that the local layoffs aren’t as deep as those experienced at many other metro newspapers this year.

“'As you all know, the newspaper industry — like many other businesses and industries — is in the midst of a difficult economic time,' Garson wrote, adding that the company doesn’t see the present trend of declining revenues improving anytime soon.

"Layoff notices will be completed by Aug. 27, Garson said, and severance packages will be offered to those who lose their jobs. Severance and continued medical benefits will be based on length of service.

"Garson said in his memo that any future job eliminations will depend on whether revenue continues to decline.

“'We have no choice but to keep expense trends consistent with our revenue trends,'he said.

It's now obvious that Garson was brought in by Gannett to be the hatchetman and lower the boom on the Courier-Journal employees.

"Arnie Garson takes over at Louisville and fires 15 people," is the way Bud Appleby, a retired Des Moines Register writer and editor described the Courier-Journal situation to me.

And, while on the subject of hatchetmen...Just think, somebody named Mike Gartner -- surely you remember him, don't you? -- was once brought in by Gannett to kill the afternoon paper in Louisville.

The rest of the report in the Gannett Blog:

Earlier: A Maryland publisher told employees late Wednesday afternoon that Gannett is eliminating 1,000 newspaper jobs, or about 3 percent of the troubled newspaper division's workforce -- and that about 600 employees are being laid off, a Gannett Blog reader says.

The reader provided a copy of a memo that Daily Times publisher Rick Jensen e-mailed about 4 p.m. today at the paper in Salisbury. "Across Gannett’s Community Publishing division, about 1,000 positions will be eliminated -- about 3 percent of the workforce,'' the memo says. "Of the 1,000 positions, about 600 employees will be laid off."

Jensen would be the first Gannett executive to publicly confirm recent speculation that GCI is cutting jobs across the company -- and the first executive to disclose details of such cuts. A broad downsizing would come as the nation's top newspaper publisher reels from its surprisingly weak second-quarter earnings. That report sent Gannett shares plunging to new lows, further raising investor pressure on CEO Craig Dubow and his senior team.

I've asked chief Gannett flak Tara Connell for comment. I've e-mailed Jensen, and Daily Times Executive Editor Greg Bassett as well. Moments ago, Bassett e-mailed this reply, saying only: "Jim Hopkins is in my in box? All the way from Europe? I must be big time! Cheers!"

The memo does not say whether every one of the newspaper division's 84 papers will reduce employment by 3 percent -- or whether the rates might instead vary by business within what's now called the U.S. Community Publishing division. The memo also doesn't give a timetable for these division-wide cuts.

Several GCI papers have already made recent job cuts, but at a higher rate: 5%. The division's dailies do not include USA Today, suggesting that any further reductions at Gannett's flagship could be on top of the 1,000 jobs eliminated. U.S. Community Publishing employs up to 32,800 -- the lion's share of GCI's 46,000 employees.

Jensen disclosed the broad downsizing in a memo that tells his own paper's 275 workers that some of them will lose their jobs as soon as next week, the e-mail provided to me says.

"We're being faced with another difficult round of position reductions because of the continuing decline in economic conditions,'' the memo says. "Gannett has set payroll expense reduction targets for us and all other newspapers in the U.S. Community Publishing division, necessitating the reduction in positions. The targets were set based on our financial performance and previous reductions."

The memo continues: "Our position reduction plan is now at Corporate for review. We expect to receive final approval by Monday, and affected employees will be notified by next Thursday."

The memo also says "affected employees will be offered a severance package. Benefits include one week of pay for each year of service (52 week maximum); minimum two-week severance benefit; medical benefits will continue for the length of the severance period."

Can anyone confirm -- and add details? Have any other publishers cited the 1,000 jobs/600 layoffs figures in recent memos? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.

And So Forth

The day they let readers sign in with phony names was the day the comments became a joke

Newspapers have nobody to blame but themselves for their problems with horrible online comments from readers

Piniella faces a tough decision. Bench him or let him figure out what's wrong by still playing

Tough deal for the Cubs' Fukudome. The guy has quit hitting. Not a good thing when you're trying to win a National League division championship and pennant

5 a.m. at Iowa's Great Lakes is an interesting, peaceful experience. Even when it's drizzling. It's October-like weather

"The way you can solve that is by not reading anything she writes," I told him. I hope he followed my suggestion

Another newspaper guy and I were in the Kinnick Stadium press box. "I can't stand what Basu writes," he said to me

I noticed in the paper that Rekha Basu was unhappy about something again. It reminded me of a conversation I had in Iowa City

The Cubs' 6-2 victory last night over St. Louis should keep the Cardinals' fans quiet for a while. At least I hope so

I almost forgot to write about Dick Stockton, the Fox announcer for the Cubs-Cards game yesterday. He's one of the worst. Maybe THE worst

NBC-TV paid $894 million to get rights to Olympic coverage. Now viewers are getting lots of stuff that's on tape delay. A horrible decision

I know the collegiate football season is getting closer when I hear from Al Schallau: www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

I see Edwards is a lying SOB, too. He'd have fit right in at the White House

Scott Pierce sent me some more good stuff. Just one problem--he doesn't want it published. Drake is fortunate to have Pierce as an announcer

Alex Rodriguez, who's on everybody else's list, says he'd like to be on Rielle's, too

There are a couple of new lists out: Who was doing it with Rielle Hunter and who wasn't? The "was" list is a hell of a lot longer

I'll tell you who's really happy with Edwards. Leno & Letterman can make fun of the guy late at night for the next 6 months

Actually, mainstream papers stayed away from Edwards story until ABC-TV went after it. Shame on the papers

By the way, don't snicker at the National Enquirer. The scandal sheet is on target more often than critics would have you believe

Need more evidence on why newspapers are in trouble? National Enquirer broke the Edwards sex story in Oct, 2007. The mainstream press ignored it

Speaking of Edwards, it looks like Rielle Hunter wasn't too choosy about who she was doing it with. How many other guys are in on this deal?

I guess John Edwards won't be showing up at the State Fair this year

'It Is All Right To 'Play With Pain,' Not All Right To 'Play Injured'

My good friend Al Schallau [pictured at the right], a longtime fan of the football programs at Iowa and Southern California, writes to me about an injury to USC quarterback Mark Sanchez [pictured at the left]:

Ron,

"Please see the attached story concerning an injury to USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. I sure hope Pete Carroll does NOT choose to play him in an injured condition. It pisses me off bigtime when I see any college football player trying to play full-speed when he is obviously injured. It is all right to 'play with pain.' But it is not all right to 'play injured.'

"I am still mad that in last year's Stanford game, Coach Carroll chose to play John David Booty in the second half even after he suffered a fractured finger on his throwing hand. Predictably, Booty was terrible and threw four interceptions. And Stanford came back with a big second half rally and upset USC. That loss prevented the Trojans from playing for the national championship.

"For the Iowa Hawkeyes, I wanted to turn off the TV set last year when Kirk Ferentz chose to play first-string linebacker Mike Klinkenborg when he had a broken bone in his wrist and was equipped with a cast on his hand and wrist. He was terrible, and Western Michigan took full advantage of him in beating the Hawkeyes in the last game of the season.

"It was so annoying that Coach Ferentz was thus saying to the world, 'I think Klinkenborg can play better with one good hand than his backup linebacker can play with two good hands.' That is terrible, and should never happen in college football.

"Best,"

Al Schallau

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: The Daily Breeze story to which Schallau refers says Sanchez dislocated his left kneecap before practice and will be sidelined for an unknown amount of time, which means he might miss the season opener against Virginia on Aug. 30. Sanchez hurt himself when he landed awkwardly while throwing a pass before practice to linebacker Clay Matthews. There were initial fears he tore knee ligaments, but an MRI showed no damage, Sanchez said. "It could be a lot worse," Sanchez said. "This is the best-case scenario. They didn't give me a time frame. It could be a short period or a long period. Hopefully it's the shorter period." Asked he would play against Virginia, Sanchez said, "I hope so. We'll see." Officially, USC lists Sanchez as day-to-day. Sophomore Mitch Mustain, a transfer from Arkansas, and freshman Aaron Corp will split practice time. Mustain was ahead of Corp in the competition to be Sanchez's backup before Sanchez got hurt. I agree with Schallau that athletes should not have to play while wearing casts or are forced to compete while putting painkillers into their bodies. It may seem like a cool thing to do at the time, but wait until those injured athletes reach 40, 50, 60 and older ages -- then watch them hobble around with the assistance of walkers and canes. Good hearing from you, Al, and I'll count on you to send me regular e-mail dispatches that comment on the collegiate football season].

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Fred from Farragut, not his real name, is a close observer of the sagging newspaper business. Fred tells me in an e-mail:

"I was amused, of course, about Bud Appleby's comment on [new Louisville Courier-Journal publisher] Arnie Garson.

"Garson is 67. Why put him in Louisville now? Sixty-seven is a time when Gannett is moving people out and, in fact, anyone on the top rung has to leave at 65. [I suspect] Gannett is going to dump Louisville. Garson has a nice vacation place at Okoboji. near his place now in South Dakota.

"The key will be if Garson only rents a place in Louisville. Register editor Carolyn Washburn has made it known to her staff that 12-13 newsroom folks are going to be laued off. Company-wide, Gannett is looking to lay off as many as 2,300 jobs--5 percent of the total workforce."

Fred from Farragut

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: In an earlier column, I printed Bud Appleby's comment that Garson, when he was managing editor at the Des Moines Register, "united the newsroom because everybody hated him." I wrote at the time that I thought it was unusual for the 67-year-old Garson to be moved into the publisher job at Louisville. People who usually get jobs like that at Gannett papers these days are 37-year-old women].

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I wrote on my twitter site that Scott Pierce e-mailed with some more great thoughts and observations. But he wanted to share them only with me, not my readers. I pointed out that Drake is fortunate to have a radio announcer like Pierce for its football and women's basketball programs.

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I'll see you at the lake. Or at least you'll be seeing me there. As Uncle Otto used to always say, I'll be checking my e-mail.

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A friend writes to me concerning memos on the Olympics:

"Sorry. Someone else will have to keep you posted. I'll spend more time watching Night Court re-runs at 6 a.m. than I will watching the Olympics."

Giving the Nod To Evashevski

Nobody knows more about football at the University of Iowa than my good friend George Wine.

George, a fellow member of the Wall of Fame in the Kinnick Stadium press box at Iowa City [pictured at the right], spent 25 years as Iowa's sports information director and co-authored a book with Hayden Fry, a former highly-successful Hawkeye coach.

Wine still attends most of Iowa's home football games. During the season, he writes a weekly column for Hawkeyesports.com, the a university website.

He starts the 2008 season with comparisons of a few of the very best football coaches the Hawkeyes have had. It's good reading:

A detailed and comprehensive biography of Coach Kirk Ferentz in the Iowa football media guide tells us "The Hawkeyes put together the greatest run in school history" under Kirk in 2002-03-04.

Well, maybe and maybe not. Let's take a close look at that. There are four highly successful three-year eras that jump out of the Iowa record book. Here are the highlights of each.

In 1920-21-22 under Howard Jones, Iowa's record was 19-2, a winning percentage of 90.5. The 1921 and 1922 teams were both undefeated (7-0) and won outright Big Ten championships.

Those two perfect campaigns -- plus three wins to end the 1920 season and three to begin 1923 -- gave Iowa 20 straight victories, a school record that has never been threatened.

Signature wins were against Notre Dame in 1921 and at Yale the following year. Notre Dame had not lost a game in three seasons and was the beast of college football. Yale was king of the Ivy League, then considered the best league in the country.

In 1956-57-58 under Forest Evashevski, Iowa's record was 24-3-2, a winning percentage of 86.2. Each of those teams lost only one game. The Hawkeyes won outright Big Ten championships in 1956 and 1958.

The 1958 team was crowned the national champion by the Football Writers of America. The Associated Press ranked Iowa No. 2 in both 1956 and 1958, and No. 6 in 1957.

Adding luster to this era were two smashing victories in the Rose Bowl. Iowa cruised past Oregon State 35-19 on Jan. 1, 1957, and two years later dazzled California 38-12.

Signature wins were against Minnesota and Ohio State in 1956, and Michigan in 1958. Iowa scored consecutive shutouts in beating the Gophers and Buckeyes, two teams that were also challenging for the Big Ten title. The Hawkeyes ended a 34-year winless string against Michigan by routing the Wolverines 37-14 at Ann Arbor.

In 1985-86-87 under Hayden Fry, Iowa's record was 29-8, a winning percentage of 78.4. The Hawkeyes were outright Big Ten champions in 1985 and ranked No. 1 in the nation at mid-season. They lost to UCLA in the Rose Bowl and finished with a No. 10 ranking.

Iowa tied for third in the Big Ten in 1986 and tied for second the next season. The Hawkeyes ranked No. 16 nationally both years. The 1985 team was the first at Iowa to win 10 games and the 1987 club duplicated that feat.

Signature wins were against Michigan State and Michigan in 1985 and Ohio State in 1987. Iowa beat the Spartans and Wolverines in the final seconds at Kinnick Stadium, and did the same to the Buckeyes at Columbus.

The 1986 and 1987 teams both won late, come-from-behind victories in the Holiday Bowl, beating San Diego State 39-38 and Wyoming 20-19, respectively.

In 2002-03-04 under Kirk Ferentz, Iowa's record was 31-7, a winning percentage of 81.6. Iowa won a school record 11 games and the outright Big Ten championship in 2002. It won 10 games in each of the next two seasons and shared the Big Ten title in 2004.

The Hawkeyes played January bowl games in Florida and were ranked No. 8 by the Associated Press in each of those seasons. After losing to Southern Cal in the 2003 Orange Bowl, they upset Florida 37-17 in the 2004 Outback Bowl, then beat LSU 30-25 in the 2005 Capital One Bowl with an unforgettable 56-yard touchdown pass on the game's final play.

Signature regular-season wins were against Michigan in 2002 and Ohio State in 2004. In punishing the Wolverines 34-9 (at Ann Arbor) and the Buckeyes 33-7, Iowa recorded the biggest margins of victory in both series.

So which coach gets your vote for producing the best three-year era in Iowa football?

Is it Ferentz, who won the most games overall (31), as well as the most Big Ten games (20), and had three teams ranked in the Top 10?

Or is it Jones, who had two perfect seasons, as well as the best winning percentage in all games (90.5) and Big Ten games (83.3), and had two outright Big Ten champions?

Or is it Evashevski, who also had two outright Big Ten titles, plus three teams ranked No. 6 or better (one a national champion) and two resounding Rose Bowl victories?

Or is it Fry, who had 29 overall victories, an outright Big Ten champion, and three teams ranked No. 16 or better?

I give the nod to Evashevski. A national championship and two Rose Bowl triumphs tilt the scale in his favor. But that does not diminish the great accomplishments of the other three.

Jones, Evashevski and Fry are all in the College Football Hall of Fame. Ferentz is likely to join them there someday.

*

In the photo at the top of this column, former Iowa football coaches [left to right] Forest Evashevski, Jerry Burns and Hayden Fry pose with present coach Kirk Ferentz [far right] at a get-together in Iowa City.

My Emotions Are Definitely Mixed

This may be the first time in about 39 years that I figure I won't make it to at least one day of the State Fair.

I'm heading to Okoboji for a week or so and, before that, I've some business to do with my Vizio HD on DirecTV.

The Cubs and Cardinals have a semi-big three-game series at Wrigley Field in Chicago, starting this afternoon, and I can't let anything at the Bill Riley Stage get in the way of that.

So the Fair might have to do without me this time.

It's not that my emotions aren't at least a little mixed.

After all, I've heard rumors that Diane Graham, Dennis Ryerson and Mike Gartner are supposed to be showing up naked [what a grotesque thought that is!] from 1-to-3 p.m. daily at the Iowa State University booth in the Varied Industries Building, so people can throw darts at their asses.

I sure hate missing that.

I made it to the Fair for a few hours on the final Sunday last year, after getting back from Okoboji. That's a possibility again this time.

I'll see.

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Actually, I don't like missing a view of Freight Train, the 1,259-pound pig.

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Say all you want about how finally having a football team at Grand View College is a history-making event.

The really historic part of it is that a Grand View sports story made it to the front page of the Des Moines Register's sports section.

Not once, but twice, in a year.

The first time was when officials of the little college in east Des Moines announced it was going to have a football program [pictured at the right].

The second time was today, when do-everything sportswriter Dan McCool wrote a story headlined Vikings football a reality that appeared at the top of the sports section's front page.

I hope coach Mike Woodley and his players don't get spoiled.

That'll probably be the last time Grand View shows up on the front page -- or any page at all in the paper -- until the school schedules a game against Iowa.

Grand View has had an outstanding basketball program for many years, but you'd never know it by the paper.

The Vikings are lucky to get their scores printed.

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I see that gullible Erin Jordan got sucked into writing another story about Mike Gartner, aka Michael Gartner.

The little asshole wound up on page 1 again by making some dumb comment.

Jordan doesn't realize the little guy says and does things just to get attention.

He's going through life forever trying to be the owner of something or the president of something. [See mention of him elsewhere on this page].

Actually, I've got a better idea on how to raise money for flood recovery at the University of Iowa.

No-Name Ballfield in Des Moines, where Gartner robs people every night, should be sold, so the profits can be turned over to the university.

*

I'm wondering if Erin Jordan is one of those 12 or 13 people from the Register who will soon be told that their jobs have been eliminated.

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Photo at the top of the State Fair courtesy of www.IowaStateFair.com

Scott Pierce Asks: 'Which Will Come First--End Of the Civilized World Or the Iowa Stars' Banner Comes Down Outside Of Wells Fargo Arena?'

It was a day for Scott Pierce to wonder:

Ron:

"Here's a question. Which will come first? The end of the civilized world as we know it, OR the Iowa Stars' banner will come down from the outside of Wells Fargo Arena [see the southside off of 2nd Street]."

I told Pierce I don't get downtown much anymore, and I've been to Wells Fargo Arena just twice -- once for a collegiate basketball doubleheader and once for the State High School boys' basketball tournament.

I paid very little attention to the Stars. So I had to ask Pierce more about the banner. I've heard, though, that the new nickname of the new American Hockey League team in Des Moines is the [pardon me for this!] Iowa Chops.

"It's on the outside of the building...a huge vertical banner saying something about the Iowa Stars and calling their number for tickets," he told me. "It's been up there for many, many, many months. Drive north on 2nd Street and you'll see it."

I won't be hurrying down there. I don't have that much gas in my car.

*

I make the point on my twitter site that quarterback Brett Favre isn't as good as he thought he was.

Actually, he went to the New York Jets for a pretty cheap price.

The Packers traded Favre for a fourth-round draft choice that could be as high as the first round if Favre leads the Jets to the Super Bowl and takes 80 percent of the team's total snaps. The pick becomes a third-rounder if Favre takes 50 percent and a second-rounder if he takes 70 percent and the Jets make the playoffs.

I wonder what Favre's wife, Deanna, thinks about that. She seems to make most of the decisions and comments in the family.

Brett and Deanna are pictured at the top of this column.

I'm sure Deanna will be big in Newark, where the Jets play their games. I'm not so certain about Brett.

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A couple of other things I'm saying on twitter:

It's embarrassing that the Register left a bunch of names off its Iowans-in-the-Olympics list in the supplement published this week.

The sports editor, who's in Beijing covering the Olympics, should be ashamed of himself.

Now the paper is asking for help from readers to find out if others were left off the list. Nothing like citizen journalism, right?

Maybe readers should cover the Olympics for the paper, too.

Arnie Garson Gets a New Job. Bud Appleby Remembers Him From His Years At the Register: 'He United the Newsroom--Everybody Hated Him'

Editor & Publisher says the Gannett Co. has made three executive appointments at its properties in Louisville, Ky., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Reno, Nev.

Arnold Garson is the new president and publisher of the Courier-Journal in Louisville. He succeeds Denise Ivey, named chairman of the paper in June and who plans to retire later this year.

Garson was previously president and publisher of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls and vice president of the West Group of Gannett U.S. Community Publishing. Garson worked as a reporter at the Omaha World-Herald and the Des Moines Register, eventually working his way up to managing editor in Des Moines. He also served as editor of the San Bernardino (Calif.) County Sun.

Replacing Garson at the Argus Leader is Randell Bock, the current executive editor of the paper. Edward S. "Ted" Power becomes group vice president of the West Group and will continue his role as president and publisher of the Reno Gazette-Journal.

["When Arnie was the managing editor of the Register, the only thing he accomplished was to unite the newsroom -- everybody hated him," said Bud Appleby, a former Register reporter and editor.

"There was a dictionary on the Register copy desk in which you could look up the word 'asshole' and find Arnie's picture.]"

Bock worked in the newsroom of the Memphis (Tenn.) Press-Scimitar, The Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal, The Kansas City Star, the San Bernardino County Sun, and The News Journal in Wilmington, Del.

Power was named president and publisher of the Reno Gazette-Journal in 2007. He started his career as a reporter at The Tennessean in Nashville. He also served as group vice president of the Sun Coast Group.

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There's from Editor & Publisher on Garson.

First of all, the guy is 67 years old.

Really, kind of an old goat to still be fighting all the stiff odds in the newspaper business.

I wonder if Gannett is setting him up to fail.

Gannett usually looks for 37-year-old women for publisher jobs, not 67-year-old male has-beens.

Anyway, here's the rest:

Garson acknowledged that American newspapers are facing difficult financial times and that changes inevitably will occur at the Courier-Journal.

But he pledged that the newspaper and its website "will continue to be the primary provider of local and regional news and information in this community."

Garson began his newspaper career as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald.

Before coming to the Argus Leader in 1996, he was editor of the San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sun and managing editor of the Des Moines Register. One of the Register's Pulitzer Prizes during his tenure was for a 1985 series examining the dangers of farming as an occupation. The other, in 1987, was for photography depicting the shattered dreams of American farmers.

Ivey was publisher at the Courier-Journal for 2 1/2 years.

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Garson is pictured, courtesy of the Louisville Courier-Journal]

Brian Brown & a Countdown To the 100th Drake Relays

Register Editor Carolyn Washburn Can Take Her Humor and Shove It: As More Newsroom Layoffs Loom, She Wants To Form a 'Fun Committee'

It's getting more ridiculous at the paper all the time.

I mean, how much longer can Carolyn Washburn last?

Not long, I'd say.

This appears today on the Gannett Blog:

"Regarding a new round of budget cuts, a reader just sent me the following in an e-mail about the Des Moines Register: 'We are facing layoffs in the coming weeks: Editor Carolyn Washburn [left] confirmed it at a staff meeting the other day. And while the number [or names] haven't come out yet, rumors are that they are going to be about 12-13 newsroom employees affected. The interesting part, however, is that just several days after the staff meeting, Washburn sent this e-mail to the whole newsroom:'

"'I'm looking for some of you willing to be members of a new fun committee. OK, you can call yourselves whatever you want. But think popcorns Fridays, and the day the hotdog gun came, and the Perry Beeman/Rodney White band performance. We need more stuff like that. A group who can create a nice celebration for us when we do something huge like launch Metromix. Or win 3 ONA awards. Or to consistently have, and have fun with, BOR. I'd like a group who can spot those opportunities and just throw some fun together, and a group that I can call on when something cool happens who will create some good celebrations and recognitions. If you are willing to help, please let me know.'"

Says my reader: "'People here are not very happy with this!"

Comments:

Anonymous said...

Now that's funny. I think she can be the ringleader of this committee.
8/06/2008 12:18 PM
Anonymous said...

USA Today has popcorn day, too. Must be a fun Gannett thing. Something in the management 101 manual. In lieu of corporate honesty, inspirational editors and meaningful work, feed them popcorn. This is the most transparent company I've ever worked for! And the flagship paper is no escape from this parochial b.s.
8/06/2008 12:21 PM
Anonymous said...

there's nothing wrong with a little fun in the office - esp in difficult times

lets give them a break
8/06/2008 12:27 PM
Anonymous said...

I can think of a few things I'd beat up Carolyn over, but this isn't one of them.

Admittedly the timing wasn't swell vis-a-vis the potential job cuts, but her intent with this idea is honorable. Newsrooms (or newspapers as a whole) don't have to be dreary places to work 24/7.
8/06/2008 12:29 PM
Anonymous said...

Layoff Day will be special fun. Party hats, balloons, punch and pie. Who doesn't like punch and pie?
8/06/2008 12:36 PM
Anonymous said...

"Newsrooms (or newspapers as a whole) don't have to be dreary places to work 24/7"... unless you work for Mark Silverman.
8/06/2008 12:38 PM
Anonymous said...

New publisher named in Louisville: Arnold Garson of Sioux Falls
8/06/2008 12:52 PM
Anonymous said...

I didn't think this was a big deal. So she's trying to add some happy vibes. If anything, that's going against GCI orthodoxy.
8/06/2008 12:57 PM
Anonymous said...

Most Gannett newsroom managers are mediocrities, the kinds of ladder climbers, apple polishers and brown-nosers who succeed in any corporate environment. Setting up a Fun Committee is typical of what passes for serious thought among these overpaid drones.
8/06/2008 1:04 PM
Anonymous said...

Popcorn day has worked wonders for morale here at the Courier-Post - except for that time when there was no popcorn on popcorn day. Whoo-hee, I've never seen such unrest and emotional breakdown as I witnessed that horrible day.

We also have a monthly Gift-Card-Giveaway-For-A-Job-Well-Done Day.

It's sweet.
8/06/2008 1:07 PM
Anonymous said...

This link has been posted a couple of times but has not generated any comments. I could be a smoking gun.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121761989739205497.html?mod=most_viewed_day
8/06/2008 1:41 PM
Mr. Yesterday said...

Instead of treating employees like summer campers (what, nobody has to sing Skinna-ma-Rink if they wear a hat to the lunch room?)why doesn't the so-called management attempt to treat employees as professional adults? "Popcorn Friday"? WTF? Why not "Great lede Monday" where the real writing work is celebrated? Why not have a professional (catered) lunch once a month where the craft of writing or the job of reporting is discussed? I have my own life, thank you, and if I want a hot dog cookout or bobbing for apples I'd rather do it with people I don't work with. But if you want to engage in some non-sophomoric celebration of professional duties, hey, I'm there.
8/06/2008 2:08 PM
Anonymous said...

sensing a lot of anger over what seems to be a well intentioned effort to ease tension -

which, btw, is fundamentally different than professional development (catered lunchs on the craft of writing) or celebrating excellence (Great 'lede' monday) - both of which are important, but seperate efforts
8/06/2008 2:35 PM
Mr. Yesterday said...

It's not an effin' birthday party, it's work. You want to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey or Twister, do it on your own time. Come to work, be upbeat, be a pro and go home. There you can have all the little reindeer games you want. You shouldn't need a silly hat or a "zany" Friday snack to feel appreciated and do your job well.

Grow up.
8/06/2008 2:47 PM
Anonymous said...

I'm guessing the fun committee doesn't have a budget. If Washburn's the editor, then she can buy a couple of bags of cheese popcorn anytime she wants and put them out in the newsroom. Something spontaneous, a surprise, can do wonders for morale. Putting a committee together smacks of the phony inclusion efforts I saw when I was with Gannett (i.e., get the staff to make suggestions and then ignore them). I now work for a company that still holds a company picnic and pays actual bonuses. You should see what that does for morale.
8/06/2008 3:14 PM
Anonymous said...

Good lord a lot of you people are BITTER.

Yes, we're all aware that times are tough but the solution to that is not to constantly WHINE and BITCH and WALLOW in misery. You could dump every Gannett editor at every newspaper and, guess what, layoffs would still be needed in order to keep the company viable.

If you can't do your job without making everyone else around you miserable, do us all a favor and march into the editor's office and volunteer for severance. You'll be happier, trust me.

And, before you ask, I am a mere low-level grunt in one of Gannett's newsrooms.

Flame away ...
8/06/2008 3:27 PM
Anonymous said...

When Washburn was at our paper she would give out monthly newsroom awards. The award for visuals (design and photography) was a small plastic green cricket. Bad thing was that you had to actually give the plastic toy back each month for the next winner to have.
8/06/2008 3:58 PM
Anonymous said...

I can't help but think about "The Office" and Angela's party planning committee. Or the rival party planning committee that had Margueritas. Maybe that's the answer for newsrooms. Alcohol Fridays.
8/06/2008 4:26 PM
Anonymous said...

Once upon a time, there was an editor at a GCI paper who would buy the liquor (and other bevs) for any party anybody threw, as long as everyone in news was invited.

As a editor, not so much. But people loved the guy.
8/06/2008 4:36 PM

And You Think You've Got Problems

However, it looks like Favre will be Tampa Bay's problem next. Favre's wife has supposedly approved the deal [as though I care]. The guy just won't quit. Neither will his wife

The only way the Bears could be screwed up even more is for them to sign Brett Favre and make him their No. 1 quarterback

The Bears' other quarterback option is Rex Grossman. Now that's really sick

Orton, the former Southeast Polk High School and Purdue player, apparently is the lesser of two evils

Speaking of sick, the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback in their first exhibition game tomorrow will be journeyman Kyle Orton [pictured at the left]

Another sad thing is that some other team will no doubt claim Eyre off the waiver wire. Baseball is a sick sport

The sad thing is that Eyre is still owed $1.2 million this season. That's what being a left-handed relief pitcher means.

Somehow I never felt Piniella ever had much respect for Eyre. I know I didn't.

Scott Eyre is no longer a Chicago Cub, which means manager Lou Piniella won't need to call him "Stevie" or "Ire" anymore

No future for Favre in Green Bay. Good for Packers coach Mike McCarthy: http://tinyurl.com/6mshyg

Wood's blister might be the first one that ever took a month to go away. Slow-healer, I guess. And he's still a young guy.

Kerry Wood's blister is healed, and he's pitching again with the Cubs. I'm not sure that's good news

Hollingsworth, Gannett and others don't have good sense. The Register's circulation is in a freefall, so now the price goes up

The Register finally admits it's raising the price from 50 to 75 cents, but the publisher hopes you don't see it: www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

I wonder if CC Sabathia has second thoughts about signing with the Fightin' Brewers: www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

The Cubs aren't the only team that fights in the dugout. I'm watching the Brewers on TV. Manny Parra and Prince Fielder were scuffling.

Glad to have Bob Nandell onboard. Bob was an outstanding photogapher at the paper, and he still takes excellent pictures

An offensive machine they aren't. In a rain-delayed game against Houston, they're scoreless in the 6th inning

I've got my game face on: www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com

They Tried To Keep It a Secret, But Couldn't

There it was -- buried so far back in the paper that it was hugging the Kohl's, Penney's and Fareway ads -- but not quite as inconspicuous near the tire and used car gimmicks as the latest Drake football story.

I mean, the Des Moines Register finally put news of the price increase in the paper today, and the folks who wrote and edited it bent over backwards trying to justify a 75-cent cost.

They even went so far as mentioning the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

I've been telling you for weeks that the price of the paper was going to increase from 50 cents to 75 cents, and the headed-for-layoff-and-buyout clerks who work at 8th & Locust in downtown Des Moines tried to put off telling you about the Gannett Co.-ordered decision until today.

Here's what it said on page 2D in the Business section, below a headline under "Business Watch" and "Around Iowa" that read, "Register increases single-copy price to 75 cents."

Whatever poor summer intern who had to write it said:

"The Des Moines Register will increase single-copy rates to 75 cents from 50 cents Monday-Saturday statewide, beginning Monday. The price increase does not apply to subscribers or Sunday single-copy papers.

"Several papers in Iowa and across the nation--including the Cedar Rapids Gazette, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times -- are priced at 75 cents or more, President and Publisher Laura Hollingsworth said.

"She noted the last daily price change was in 2002. Hollingsworth cited higher operating costs, particularly fuel prices. The Register delivers single copies to 1,019 retail stores and more than 1,150 street vending locations."

Even though the paper tried its best to bury the little story so no one would notice it, word will get out eventually.

Wait'll those smartasses who litter the Register's website with comments about how bad the writing is in the paper, and about the poor management, hear about this.

Now they'll have more to think about than how "hot" Hollingsworth [pictured at the right] is. Every time the publisher's name is mentioned on the website, two out of every three people who comment write about the "hot publisher."

It used to be, when the paper raised its prices, a story would be published on page 1 and it would be written by the publisher or the editor. They would try to justify the increase by mentioning that high newsprint prices were forcing the issue.

This price boost couldn't have been more downplayed unless the story was printed in agate type and put in the Olympics supplement, aka the weekly Hy-Vee ad.

I see the smiling guys who write Biz Buzz evidently didn't want anything to do with the price-increase story. They were too busy writing blockbuster stuff like Marv Pomerantz's birthday.

I mean, that's heavy.

*

I got an e-mail the other day about No-Name Ballfield, where the local pro baseball team plays its home games.

I publish most of the e-mails I receive from readers -- even those written in crayon and Lithuanian -- but I'll just tell you about this one.

I wondered if it was written by Mike Gartner or someone impersonating Gartner because it mentioned the concession prices at the ballfield, without using a dozen obscenities.

Gartner, of course, owns the team and charges ridiculous big-league prices for beer and all other concessions.

I try to avoid the place like a TB ward.

The only thing that left me a bit confused -- but also very happy -- was that the e-mailer called the ballfield Sec Taylor Stadium.

After all, I was on a first-name basis with Sec Taylor many years ago, and I'm not pleased at all that Gartner took Sec's name off the ballfield.

I thought I was the only guy still referring to the venue as No-Name Ballfield or Sec Taylor Stadium.

So now I'll be waiting for more e-mail from that reader so I can find out who he [or she] really is.

*

The Milwaukee Brewers are a baseball team trying to figure who they really are.

In an outstanding show of sportsmanship last night, Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder [shown in the AP photo at the left] attacked teammate and pitcher Manny Parra in the dugout during a 6-3 loss at Cincinnati.

It reminded me a little bit of last season when the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Zambrano threw several punches at then-teammate Michael Barrett.

It took just a few days before Barrett was on his way to San Diego.

It'll be interesting to see what happens at Milwaukee, where Ned Yost is the manager of an out-of-control franchise.

That's what losing four straight to the Cubs can do to a team.

*

I wonder if pitcher CC Sabathia knew what he was getting into when he was traded from Cleveland to Milwaukee a few weeks ago.

The big lefthander still hasn't lost a game for the Brewers, but I wonder if he wishes he'd have been traded to the Cubs.

All I know is, he'd look real good in Cub blue right now. Or next season after his ties are cut with Milwaukee.

I've Got My Game Face On

It's about 100 hot and humid degrees in the shade and probably 200 in the sun today, so that means only one thing -- the Hawkeyes' football season is just around the corner.

That's Hawkeyes as in the University of Iowa.

I mean, the Aug. 30 game against Maine is getting closer by the degree.

It starts at 11:05 a.m. on that last Saturday of August in historic Kinnick Stadium, and I'll be sitting at the sportswriters' level of the press box after making sure the plaques [mine included] in the Wall of Fame display are polished up for another season.

After all, we Wall of Famers are pretty proud of those plaques, and we're also looking for some improvement by the Hawkeyes on the field.

We know there's been some talk that too many of the boys have been getting in trouble with the police, but we're pretty sure Kirk Ferentz and his weightlifting coach will handle that matter.

I'm predicting an 8-4 season -- which, as you know, would be an upgrade over the disappointing 6-6 record that prevented Ferentz and his players from going to a bowl game in 2007.

I'll tell you one thing. We Wall of Famers don't say anything [at least to each other] about a school named Western Michigan.

And we're mighty glad the Broncos from Kalamazoo aren't on this year's schedule.

That's the team that really kept Ferentz and the boys from going to a bowl game.

Western put a 28-19 whuppin' on Iowa in a very drab season finale last November.

I think it's good news that Iowa doesn't have to play either Michigan or Ohio State again this season, so that's why I'm maybe more optimistic than some of the other living Wall of Famers.

Oh, I know Brooksie [that's what a lot of us call Bob Brooks, who has been a sportscaster in Cedar Rapids since the turn of two centuries, the 20th and 21st] is no doubt thinking more in terms of 10-2.

Brooksie has gotten to be quite an optimist in his advanced years. Kind of like Jim Zabel, who predicts a Rose Bowl appearance by Iowa every season.

Zabel might also think Forest Evashevski is still the coach.

I had intended to go to press day today, but as I mentioned in one of yesterday's columns, my driver told me he was under the weather.

That would be Dave Stockdale.

Dave and I have been making a habit of going to Iowa City for press day for several years.

But Dave has been ailing since he and his wife got back from an Alaskan cruise.

Maybe they had a beer with a sick Eskimo couple late in the trip.

The way he felt, Dave probably didn't think it would be a good idea for us to be wandering around Iowa City in 100-degree heat. So we'll get our information on press day in other ways.

I called up the hawkeyefootball.com website early this afternoon on my computer and thought I'd listen to what Ferentz said at his press conference.

There was just one problem. I got a picture, but no sound.

Luckily, I was able to figure out everything Kirk said.

I took a lip-reading course in community education a few years ago, and now I'm very good at knowing what people are saying when I can't hear them.

So, with the my lip-reading talents and with assistance from hawkeyefootball.com, I now know that Ferentz is eager to get started with practice.

"We're anxious to see what we've got," he said [the photo is courtesy of hawkeyefootball.com]. "I think we'll have lots of healthy competition, which is good."

I agree.

That game against Maine can't come any too soon for me.

Here's the Hawkeyes' full regular-season schedule:

8/30/08 vs. Maine TV Iowa City 11:05 AM
9/06/08 vs. Florida International TV Iowa City 11:05 AM
9/13/08 vs. Iowa State TV Iowa City 11:05 AM
9/20/08 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA TBA
9/27/08 vs. Northwestern * Iowa City 11:05 AM
10/04/08 at Michigan State * East Lansing, MI 11:05 AM
10/11/08 at Indiana * Bloomington, IN TBA
10/18/08 vs. Wisconsin * Iowa City TBA
11/01/08 at Illinois * Champaign, IL TBA
11/08/08 vs. Penn State * Iowa City TBA
11/15/08 vs. Purdue * Iowa City TBA
11/22/08 at Minnesota * TV Minneapolis, MN 6:05 PM

* Big Ten game

Is This Sick Or What? I'm Thinking the Packers' Brett Favre Has Been Hit Once Too Often In the Head

The more I look at this Brett Favre [pictured at the top] situation, the more I think the guy was sacked one time too many. Directly on his head

There's no spellcheck or copy editor for twitter. Sometimes a guy needs both. Well, spellcheck anyway

I hope Iowa football fans aren't still pissed off at Pat Harty of the Iowa City Press-Citizen. The guy works hard, and he's usually right on the money

I told John Bohnenkamp of the Burlington Hawk Eye that I'd see him in Iowa City. That'll wait, too. The guy is busy. He even made it to Ames

Good stuff from Morehouse at this site: http://marcmwm.wordpress.com/

I was going to check in today with Mike Hlas and Marc Morehouse about recent goings-on in my old hometown. That'll wait for a while

Chip Caray, Skip's son, isn't witty, either. And he's not as good as Harry or Chip. But he ex-Cub announcer is better than Len Kasper.

Skip Caray was, of course, the son of legendary announcer Harry Caray. I wouldn't call Harry witty, but I really liked listening to him [In a classic 1991 photo, shown are [left to right] Chip, Harry and Skip]

It's not often that I call a play-by-play sports announcer "witty." But that's what Skip Caray, who died at 68 yesterday, was: "Witty"

New Journalism

Paul from Peosta, not his real name, is a longtime collegiate football fan and newspaper reader.

He sent this e-mail to me today:

Ron:

"I know I'm getting old and remain old-fashioned in my judgment of newspapers, but am I blind or did Andrew Logue quote Ben Bruns, sideline analyst for the Cyclone radio network, in three graphs today about Iowa State prospects for this fall. Chizik only got three graphs. I didn't read Keeler. Cyclones must be worse than we thought."

Paul from Peosta

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Paul, that must be the new way of covering press day -- quoting the radio announcer instead of the coach. Either that or Gene Chizik, Iowa State's second-year coach, didn't say anything the reporter thought was meaningful. [Chizik is pictured addressing reporters, courtesy of cyclones.com]. The Register reporters' boss is in China, checking on the air quality in Beijing, so he's not around to provide any leadership or to do any copy editing. Hell, I don't know, Paul, maybe that's the kind of writing the boss ordered out of Ames at press day. Maybe that's what they call "new journalism." We'll see what happens tomorrow at Iowa's press day in Iowa City. Maybe Jim Zabel will get four paragraphs and coach Kirk Ferentz three in the newspaper story].

*

Speaking of Iowa's press day at Iowa City tomorrow, Dave Stockdale and I were planning to be there.

The game plan was for me to ride with Dave in his Mazda Miata. The top might've been down, maybe up. Over the years, we've done it both ways.

But Stockdale has been under the weather since he and his wife, Nancy, returned recently from an Alaskan cruise.

So, considering the temperature might be 99 degrees or higher tomorrow, Dave figured it would be better to stay home and continue healing.

Since I won't be able to go to Iowa City in Dave's Miata, with the top down, I'm canceling out, too.

I've been going to Iowa football press days for more than 40 years, so I think I'll survive without attending this one.

Just remember, I'm predicting an 8-4 season for the Hawkeyes.

Meanwhite, A Message Or Several From Twitter

It's come to my attention that a few of you are having trouble reading the stuff on my twitter site.

I'm having fun on twitter, and I certainly want all of you readers to have fun, too.

It's not that that you should need any type of password or secret handshake to get into my twitter missiles.

So I'm going to do the fair and proper thing and put my latest twitter entries into this column on the regular website.

And, if people continue to have problems getting into twitter, I'll make sure I reprint the twitter stuff here from time to time.

Here's today's material:

I can't imagine those football players wearing pads on the practice field in the afternoon heat tomorrow. Do the interviews indoors less than 5 seconds ago from web

A fantastic Sunday. Cubs win, Brewers, Cardinals lose, I get a great 2-mile walk at 11 p.m. when the heat and humidity are lower. less than 20 seconds ago from web

I've finished thinking about the e-mail regarding the Iowa State football coverage in the paper. It's at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com less than 5 seconds ago from web

Are the Cardinals still in the league? [Sorry, Paul, I had to do that!] less than 5 seconds ago from web

This just in: Gloria & Glenda think Vickie & Ellen are real pros and will do well. Maybe they can save Carolyn's paper, and also her job less than 5 seconds ago from web

Somebody wants to know if Gloria & Glenda are going to have anything to say about Vickie & Ellen. Possibly. But right now they're on break. 6 minutes ago from web

Considering what happened at Wrigley Field and in Atlanta, I wonder if the Cardinals will go ahead and forfeit against the Phillies tonight 13 minutes ago from web

Throw the Brewers' 5-0 loss at Atlanta into the equation and you've got a real nice Sunday for Lou & the boys on his Cubs' team 14 minutes ago from web

Really, this looks like the Cubs' year. Pirates tie it 5-5 in the top of the eighth, Reed Johnson's blast wins it in bottom of the inning 15 minutes ago from web

Nebraska plays its first 5 games at home, doesn't go on the road until Oct. 11. Ridiculous. Huskers are at Iowa State on Oct. 18 43 minutes ago from web

We had breakfast with Bud & George after church. Bud, not a Huskers fan, wonders how they play 8 of 12 football games at home in 2008 about 1 hour ago from web

The NFL commissioner has reinstated Brett Favre. I'm ready for this story to end already. I wish this miserable guy would retire forever about 1 hour ago from web

Excused from any kidding about the paper's pre-Olympics writing is Ken Fuson. I wonder how fast they can get him on a plane to Beijing about 1 hour ago from web

I got an e-mail from a guy about the paper's Iowa State football coverage today. I'll think about that a while before I do anything with it. about 2 hours ago from web

After giving this a little more thought, I guess Biz Buzz will write about the layoffs and leave the hirings to the real part of the paper about 2 hours ago from web

If you want to know the truth, I couldn't wait to get to page 50-P of the paper so I could read Books Blog by Tina Ristau about 2 hours ago from web

I'm being half-serious. I'm glad the paper has discovered the Olympics, and that they know gymnastics is one of the sports there. about 2 hours ago from web

I'm sure coverage of the hired folks had a lot to do with rumors of another dumping of reporters and editors in the newsroom about 2 hours ago from web

Congratulations, Vickie & Ellen, on getting page 1-E coverage for joining the paper's features staff. Nothing, though, on all the layoffs about 2 hours ago from web

Newspaper Loses Circulation, Readers Pay the [75-Cent] Price

You'd never know it by reading the Des Moines Register, but the price of the daily paper is strongly rumored to be rising from 50 cents to 75 cents Aug. 11.

I've had the news in my columns several times.

Yet, there's been no story on the price rise anywhere in the paper.

Even Biz Buzz, which is supposed to be a column that talks about the business scene in central Iowa, has ignored the price increase -- or tried to keep it a secret.

If a TV station was increasing its prices, the paper would be all over it. Not a word, though, about its own product.

Biz Buzz tries to get such blockbuster stuff as everybody's birthday in the paper, but pays no attention to news -- especially when it's negative news about a newspaper that's losing circulation every day and is about to fire or lay off more people in the newsroom [read the column below this one].

Following is an e-mail from Bud Appleby of Des Moines, who writes about what's going on with newspaper vending machines around town:

Ron,

"My neighbor told me he got a Register from a vending machine,and it was 75 cents. He said there was a notice next to the coin slot that it cost 75 cents. He said when he got the paper out of the machine, the prices listed on the top of the page was still 50 cents, but it cost him 75 cents to get it. He said he was going to call and complain.

"He said that machine was at the Country Kitchen restaurant on 86th Street and that it was clearly marked 75 cents.

"I'm guessing that the Register is in the process of changing the machines and doesn't have all of them done yet. I looked at a couple of Register vending machines this morning and the ones I saw are still charging just 50 cents.

"Thank goodness my puppy is trained."

Bud Appleby

*

FLOODING DIDN'T KEEP THE FLYING WIENIE DOWN

Mike Hlas, the outstanding sports columnist at the Cedar Rapids Gazette, noticed that I wrote about the Flying Wienie restaurant in his town.

We drove past the Flying Wienie last Sunday en route to the family reunion in Cedar Rapids, and wondered if the place was open after the city was hit hard by recent flooding.

Here's Hlas's e-mail:

Ron:

"It's been open for several weeks now. Somehow, it pretty much dodged the flood. I ate there a week ago."

The next time I see Mike, I'll have to ask him what his favorite item is on the menu.

Newsroom May Take Another Hit At the Ailing Register

Several readers have forwarded links to Jason Hancock's story in the Iowa Independent that says officials of the Des Moines Register may soon be ordering more newsroom cuts.

I first noticed a link to the story yesterday on the twitter site of Steve Buttry, editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Since then, Jay Christensen and Bud Appleby have forwarded me links to the story, which says the Register "could begin reducing its staff over the coming months."

If that happens, the jobs of more veterans in the newsroom could go down the drain. The Register has already had a number of layoffs and buyouts in recent years.

Those reductions have robbed the newspaper of some valuable, seasoned reporters, editors and photographers. If another round of reductions takes place, people with bylines that you and I are familiar with could be headed into retirement.

Or, heaven help us all, to places like City View or your local shopper that specializes in used cars and garage sales.

I'd hate to have something like that happen to my friends Doug Wells, Randy Peterson, Brian Duffy and/or other longtime staffers.

In his story in the Iowa Independent, Hancock writes, "Several [Register] staffers said they were upset because the paper is sending an editorial writer to Finland and Canada and two reporters to the Olympics while getting ready to cut staff. They think the money would be better spent keeping reporters in Des Moines...."

Linda Lantor Fandel, the paper's deputy editorial page editor, is the staffer headed to Finland and Canada. Either already at the Olympics in Beijing, China, or headed there soon are sports editor Bryce Miller and sportswriter/sports copy editor Nancy Stockdale.

Here's Hancock's story from the Iowa Independent, complete with the headlines:

The Register may cut some editorial staff

Exact numbers and timing of layoffs remain unknown

By Jason Hancock

The Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest newspaper, could begin reducing its staff over the coming months, sources inside the company told the Iowa Independent.

Carolyn Washburn [pictured at the right], The Register’s vice president and editor, told a gathering of editorial employees Thursday afternoon that the paper had done as much as it could to reduce expenses, but that it wasn’t enough. According to several sources at the meeting, Washburn said that in the coming months there would most likely be a reduction in payroll in the editorial department.

Sources say Washburn spoke mostly in generalities and “claimed” she hasn’t made up her mind as to what or when, but it is expected that the layoffs will come soon. When asked by a staff member if buyouts would be offered, a practice that has been used at other papers around the country, she said that decision has not yet been made.

She did, however, mention the success of the 10 community papers and the company’s niche publications, like the weekly Juice, leading those in attendance to believe those publications are safe and the cuts will come from the Register’s newsroom, which at last count had around 200 full-time staffers.

“There is not a lot of positive work being done in the newsroom,” one staff member said. “All the old heads think they are going to be cut (because of high salaries), and all the young bucks think they are going to go.”

Several staffers said they were upset because the paper is sending an editorial writer to Finland and Canada and two reporters to the Olympics while getting ready to cut staff. They think the money would be better spent keeping reporters in Des Moines.

In an interview this afternoon, Susan Patterson Plank [pictured at the left], the paper’s vice president of marketing and digital development, downplayed the newsroom staffs fears and said Thursday’s meeting was scheduled a month ago to discuss projects and priorities for the rest of the year. The topic of layoffs was brought up, she said, but only upon questioning by the staff.

“It’s a question that comes up,” she said. “But we didn’t announce any layoffs. We depend on businesses like retail and real estate that are going through tough times, and so we’re going through some tough times. So we’re certainly evaluating things.”

Plank said like many businesses, The Register cannot rule out future staff reductions, but there are currently no concrete plans to move in that direction.

The discussion did not come as a shock to most of the staff, according to sources who attended the meeting. Last month Gannett Co. Inc., The Register’s parent company, reported a 36-percent plunge in second-quarter profits. The company earned $233 million in the second quarter, compared with $366 million in the same period a year ago. The year-earlier profit was boosted by gains on the sale of several newspapers. Excluding those gains, the decline in earnings was 18 percent.

Gannett does not break down earnings by individual paper, so the financial solvency of The Register is hard to quantify. But the paper’s circulation figures, like those of newspapers around the country, are pointing downward. Circulation has fallen virtually every year since 1994, when The Register’s daily circulation stood at 184,959 and Sunday at 318,542. By 2007, those numbers had fallen to 146,050 daily and 233,229 on Sundays.

In May the paper reduced the width of its pages. In a story explaining the move, Washburn said it was to make the paper “easier to handle” and more readable, however most observers viewed it as a way to cut printing costs.

Several Gannett papers have announced staff reductions recently, including The Honolulu (Hawaii) Advertiser, which announced in mid-July that it is laying off 54 employees – about 9 percent of its workforce – because of a downturn in advertising revenues. The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., announced that it will trim 20 jobs and continue freezing an unspecified number of open positions.

According to a study released last month by the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ), 59 percent of the 259 newspapers participating in their survey had reduced full-time newsroom staff over the past three years, mainly because of financial pressures. Roughly the same number (61 percent) also reported a decrease in their overall newshole — the physical space in the paper available for stories.

PEJ’s 2008 “State of the News Media” report found that since 2000 newspapers had shed 5,500 jobs, or roughly 10 percent of the workforce.

Signs Of the Times

Cedar Rapids, Ia. -- My family's tour the other day of this flood-ravaged city produced plenty of depressing snapshots, but a couple of others that were more upbeat.

My grandchildren got a big charge out of the sign identifying the restaurant they saw close to the place we used to call the "Starch Works."

The Starch Works actually was Penick & Ford, and it was where my paternal grandfather -- Vaclav Maly [Vaclav was Czech for Wesley] -- was a stenciler in the 1940s.

The place is now called Penford Products.

Nearby is a restaurant at 103 8th Avenue SW called the "Flying Wienie."

Everybody wanted to get a picture of the place, and the one I got is at the top of this column.

There wasn't any activity at the Flying Wienie the Sunday morning we were there. For all I know, there was water in the basement. I've never seen many wienies that like flying in floods.

Maybe the Flying Wienie needs a dose of Viagra to get up and running again, and certainly to fly, but I'll let the home office and Obama worry about that.

Taking a look at the Flying Wienie's menu, a customer should be able to leave the place well-fed.

Not only can you get a "Chicago dog topped with mustard, dill spears, onion, tomatoes, relish, sport peppers [whatever they are], celery salt, or have it topped 'your way' for $3.45, you can get a barbecue chicken or teriyaki sandwich whole breast marinated and charbroiled, including fries for $4.25."

Plus a lot more.

Heck, if the Flying Wienie had been near Riverside Park when I was playing baseball there so often as a kid, I wouldn't have needed to go to Lindy's restaurant so frequently for my hamburgers and fries.

An earlier stop in Cedar Rapids was to Novak's Sinclair at 2300 Bowling Street SW for gas. After my son pumped $49.50 worth of unleaded into his Dodge van, I went inside to pay with a credit card.

I immediately spotted a nicely-refurbished old gas pump that was on display.

The pump had "Polly" printed on the front, complete with a green parrot.

I asked the clerk what it was, but another customer -- who said he wanted to put air in his tires, but seemed to have lots of air in his head -- interrupted our conversation and said, "It's a gas pump."

I said, "I know that. I'm just trying to find out the history of the 'Polly' gas."

The clerk didn't know, and neither did the airhead.

So I did some research on the computer when I got home.

On the "sportomotoring.com" website it said, ["The history on Polly gas is hard to find and the few sources give conflicting information. One writer says Polly began as a chain of independently-owned stations selling gasoline in California in the Teens and Twenties. This source says that Polly became a part of Wilshire Oil of Los Angeles during the Depression. Wilshire was founded in 1910, according to two sources, and in 1919, according to another. In any case, Polly stations were a common sight on the west coast from the Twenties through the Fifties before and after the war. Around 1960, Wilshire was bought by Gulf and Polly stations became Gulf stations."

The photo I took of the Polly pump at Novak's Sinclair is at the right.

Now that we've got the Flying Wienie and Polly gas covered, have a great weekend.

*

REGISTER COULD BE CUTTING ITS NEWSROOM STAFF AGAIN

The Des Moines Register may cut its newsroom staff again. That and more on my recent twitter posts:

The Register writer going to Finland and Canada is Linda Lantor Fandel. Nancy Stockdale and sports editor Bryce Miller are headed to the Olympics.half a minute ago from web

Register may cut staff (again), courtesy of Steve Buttry: http://tinyurl.com/6mvpmg 18 minutes ago from web

I think it's 10 days from now that the price of the daily Register rises from 50 cents to 75 cents. I've seen nothing about it in the paper about 2 hours ago from web

Duffy and other newspaper cartoonists should read the following item. It'll ruin your Friday, if not your entire weekend. http://tinyurl.com/5sact6 about 2 hours ago from web

The Hawkeyes and Cyclones are shut out in the coaches' preseason football poll at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com about 4 hours ago from web

Read about the Flying Wienie restaurant and the old Polly gas pump in Cedar Rapids in my column at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com about 5 hours ago from web

Brewers' skipper Ned Yost said he didn't like it that Cubs' fans had a four-day party at Miller Park. Blame yourself, Ned, old boy. about 21 hours ago from web

Manny Ramirez winds up with Dodgers, Ken Griffey with White Sox. I like the Griffey deal, I hope Ramirez falls on his ass. about 22 hours ago from web

Bottom line is that the Cubs cruise, 11-4, to open a 5-game lead over the Brewers. Start printing Chicago World Series tickets anytime now. about 22 hours ago from web

Late-inning highlight: Brewers' Gagne throws pitch behind Edmonds, gets ejected. That's giving lots of respect to old-guy Edmonds. about 22 hours ago from web

So it's Edmonds 5, Milwaukee 0 as the Cubs go for a four-game sweep at Miller Park. That'll drive those Brewer fans to the bar early today. about 24 hours ago from web

Hey, delete what I wrote about Jim Edmonds. He's already got 2 home runs--one a grand-slam--for the Cubs in the first 4 innings today. 02:19 PM July 31, 2008 from web

Make sure you read the guest column authored by Gloria & Glenda -- Ron Maly's editors -- at www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com 09:33 AM July 31, 2008 from web

As night turned into day, I had a baseball question: Is Milwaukee still in the league? 07:28 AM July 31, 2008 from web

Moranville's childish Datebook Diner writing can't hold a candle, or a peanut butter sandwich, to what Mossman did many years ago.. 07:20 AM July 31, 2008 from web

Without naming Josef Mossman, Moranville is critical of the Grumpy Gourmet's approach to food writing. Very foolish by Moranville. 07:17 AM July 31, 2008 from web

Bring back the Grumpy Gourmet. Please. I can't stand W.E. Moranville anymore. 07:15 AM July 31, 2008 from web

Gartner is the poster boy for a lousy Board of Regents, and should be made to use money from his horribly-inflated No-Name Ballpark prices. 07:13 AM July 31, 2008 from web

The price of the probe is a ghastly $250,000. Frankly, I think Iowa should find some way to get Mike Gartner to pay the bill. 07:10 AM July 31, 2008 from web