Everything, anything and nothing

Caucus at Waverly-Shell Rock High School

2012-01-05T08:18:00.000-06:00

About 450 Republicans from the Waverly area gathered at Waverly-Shell Rock High School to caucus for their preference for their party's nomination for president to face President Barack Obama.

Overall, the county went with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 31 votes, while statewide, Romney outlasted former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by a scant eight votes, the smallest margin in U.S. presidential primary history.

Cedar Falls girls 51, Dubuque Senior 32

2011-12-10T15:05:00.001-06:00

The Cedar Falls girls' basketball team improved to 5-2 on the season after defeating Dubuque Senior on Dec. 9, 51-32. Kaz Brown scored 16 points to lead the Tigers, while Imonee Qualls added 15. Katie Sommer led the Rams with 8.

Recent activity/Growing a Lotus

2011-12-08T11:46:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I sat down and actually blogged about things personally, so here it goes:

During the week of Thanksgiving, I had a session with Mary, the owner of Field of Yoga, and I wanted to do that session around John Friend's Growing a Lotus course. She came up with a syllabus that combined his course with the teachings of Lilias Folan. From Folan's workings, Mary decided to add some elements that would help with my hip opening beyond what Friend teaches. She used a couple of terms that I forgot, but basically it allows the hip joints to heat up first, then be opened.

As a quick summary, this sequence involves a move called chakravakasana, which is moving from cat/cow pose (all fours with a back arch) into child's pose, or balasana. Many yoga classes has this move as a warm-up, only with this sequence, my knees are displaced, one is about a couple inches behind the other, and the movement is in an arc on the side of the knee that is in back. After about six reps, I hold about halfway back for six breaths and repeat on the other side.

After that, I do a bowing low lunge, with uttanasana (standing forward bend) after each side's set. Then I do a sequence where I start in prayer chair pose, revolved chair, revolved side angle in prayer position and revolved triangle on each side. Next I do a sequence of three-legged down dog (tri pada adho mukha svanasana) with a straight leg, then bending the leg, arching my back over the base leg, then Vasisthasana (side plank) with the top foot on the base leg like in tree pose (Vrksasana). Mary wants me to try to incorporate a "cradle-baby" variation, where I take the top foot and cradle it in front of me to open the hip more, however after three breaths in the tree variation, my bottom arm starts to shake. I guess I need to build up strength in my arms. That's the main reason I cannot do a handstand (Adho Muhka Vrksasana).

After that sequence, I do a headstand (Sirshasana) and shoulder stand (Salamba Sarvangasana), followed by a backbend, either cobra (bhujangasana), bow (dhanurasana) or locust (salabhasana), and then go to seated hip openers. Mary didn't include that in my sequence, but I feel I need Sirshasana and Salamba Sarvangasana to complete my practice, and between Vasi (as Mary likes to call it) and the seated postures was the best spot I can think of putting it. Before I do those sequences, I go into an easy cross-legged position and do some isometric exercise, where I press down on the knees with my hands as the knees press up. I do that a total of four times, twice with the left shin in front, twice with the right.

I have two seated sequences. First includes variations of pigeon (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana). First, I stretch forward with the front leg at a wide angle and foot flexed, and then I twist my upper body toward the bent knee, and I try to grasp by back foot with the opposite hand. Once in a while, I feel a cramp in the hamstrings when I bend up that back leg. After that, I swing the back leg around to the front and do what Mary calls a "bird wing" stretch, where I put the bent leg's ankle atop my straight thigh above the knee, keeping the foot flexed and knee pointing outward. I then bend over and grasp the extended foot and bend as forward as I can. The focus is to help the bent knee move out and down to open the hip. I can get that knee just below the top of the straight leg on each side. I repeat this sequence on the other side, and then I do what is called "double pigeon" or "fire log" (Angistambhasana), where the shins are parallel to each other where the feet are as close to the knees as possible, one atop the other. Then it's a forward bend. I try to do that twice with each leg atop the other, so a total of four times.

After that sequence, I do a sequence that includes "cradle baby" and "through the needle" stretches. I start by bending one knee vertically and the other across the thigh in a pigeon-like formation and leaning on my hands behind me. After six breaths, I grasp my foot with the opposite arm, in the crook of the elbow, straighten the other leg, and hug the leg into my chest, as if I'm holding a baby. Then I lean back as far as I can, working my back to the floor and my bent leg toward the chest as much as I can, keeping the other leg straight. I can almost get straight with my right leg held, but I'm a bit less with my left. Next, I move the held foot to its opposite hip joint for a lying tree pose in half-lotus, trying to work my knee as far to the floor as possible without hurting it. The bottom of each leg can just about break the plane of the top of the opposite one. After that, I do the "through the needle" stretch, where I put the bent leg back atop the opposite thigh and then grab the back of that thigh through the bent leg and pull toward my chest as much as possible. With my legs in the same position, I do a twisting variation, where I swing my legs so the foot of the bent leg is resting on the floor on its opposite side. After that, it's what is called Brigid's Cross, where I extend the leg that was bent over the opposite thigh and then twist so that leg is underneath me and I lie on my front with arms outstretched. After a few breaths, I get up, straddle my legs and bend forward between them. Then it's corpse (Savasana) and a short meditation.

I think I'm making some progress, as I mentioned in a few places. One thing where I see progress is in Angistambhasana. When I started the sequence with Mary, I could only comfortably put my feet to mid-shin. The last two days, I can now get them to my knees. I also feel that in pigeon, my groin is getting really close to the floor, maybe about an inch or less. My left knee, which I injured in May 2010 when I tried to force a lotus, isn't hurting as much when I do any bent-to-the-side poses. However, I feel I'm still a ways away from getting into full Padmasana.

Then Mary asked me why I feel so strongly about being able to do Padmasana. I had to think for a second. First, I told her about how I read that Padmasana was found by ancient yogis to be the best cross-legged seat for meditation. As the feet are atop the thighs, the legs are locked in position, which helps calm the mind and body for meditation. Also, I said it would allow me to be able to do some more advanced variations of some asanas. Not just headstand in lotus or shoulder stand in lotus, but also other asanas that need open hips, like full twist pose (Purna Matsyendrasana).

Mary told me I should really think about this, and even journal my feelings. The more I do this, the more I feel I should be able to do it. Other than openness of my hips, I do think another obstacle to doing Padmasana is the thickness of my thighs. It's not that they're muscular, because there is a bit of muscle there, but there's quite a bit of subcutaneous fat in there. If I can just reduce the size of my thighs, Padmasana might not be too far behind.

Today, I met with my psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Conditt, and the journaling came up. I was trying to figure out whether to do it here or have a notebook. I mentioned Jill's blog, so I figured since I can post on here and maybe some people who know about this thing might give me some relevant feedback. Dr. Conditt said I might also get some bozos who also give me crap. I figured I could delete the bad comments.

Anyway, Mary is going to start some new classes after the first of the year, including one called "Bootless Camp." My year away from regular classes is about to end, so I'll have to talk with her about this. Maybe during my next private session we'll discuss this, or we can meet sometime outside of the studio. I feel I know what I need to do, plus I did well when her teacher, Karina Ayn Mirsky, was in town last month, so I think I can get back into regular classes.

Well, as always, I'll keep plugging.

A real-life Hamburglar

2011-11-23T18:27:00.001-06:00

I don't know if many of you have heard of this yet, but there was a real-life Hamburglar that broke into, of all places, a McDonald's. Overnight Saturday into early Sunday, Whitley Teslow, a Wartburg College student, had a little bit of a late-night food craving after having a few drinks in the downtown Cedar Falls bars, so he went to the Micky-D's on First Street. However, that location closes at midnight, so when he went to the drive thru window, no one answered.

Allegedly, Teslow broke the forward drive-thru window and climbed into the restaurant. He fired up the grill and frier and cooked himself a burger, some fries and had a drink. He's even shown pumping ketchup in one shot. After he was finished, he left through the same window he broke to get in. Odd thing is, there was another McDonald's location two miles away near the intersection of Main Street and University Avenue that is open 24 hours.

Teslow now faces third-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief and fifth-degree theft. The most serious charge, burglary, carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and $7,500 fine. I guess this will turn out to be a truly unhappy meal.

Bettendorf 35, Cedar Falls 7

2011-11-12T00:15:00.001-06:00

The No. 6 Cedar Falls football team ended its season in the Class 4A semifinals Friday night, Nov. 11, with a 35-7 loss to Bettendorf in the UNI-Dome.

Barkley Hill ran for 65 yards before being knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a left-leg injury. Ike Boettker, who was sidelined for three weeks with a back injury, returned to the line-up and threw for a touchdown to James Harrington.
The Tigers end the season with an 11-2 record. Bettendorf will face top-ranked West Des Moines Valley next Friday in the Class 4A title game.

Janesville beats Bellevue Marquette in 5 sets

2011-11-02T22:16:00.001-05:00

The Janesville volleyball team will return to the Class 1A state volleyball tournament after defeating Bellevue Marquette in five sets, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24, 20-25, 15-9, at West Delaware High School.

The Wildcats had 20 kills by Kendyl Sorge, followed by 10 from Shelby Shnurstein and Natalie Brace. They will face Trinity Catholic of Fort Madison in the first round of the state tournament Nov. 9 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Cedar Falls 21, Iowa City High 7

2011-11-01T22:32:00.003-05:00

The sixth-ranked Cedar Falls football team reversed its fortunes Monday night against No. 9 Iowa City High in winning the second round of the Class 4A football playoffs, 21-7, in the UNI-Dome.

After giving up two touchdowns in the first minute of last year's quarterfinal game at Bates Field in Iowa City, the Tigers were able to keep the Little Hawks out of the end zone until very late. City High was 1-for-5 on fourth-down conversions, while Barkley Hill paced the Tigers' rushing attack, gaining 149 yards and scored two touchdowns. Brayden Longnecker added a six-yard score to break the ice.

The Tigers will play Friday night at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids in the quarterfinals against Cedar Rapids Washington, a 28-26 upset winner over eastern-half top seed Linn-Mar in Marion.

CVYSA Dyno-Mites, Select academies end fall session

2011-10-28T21:04:00.000-05:00

The Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association held the final practices for the fall session for the Dyno-MItes U6 and CV Select U7-8 academies on Oct. 16.

The Dyno-Mites held their usual activities, while the CV Select Academy held a round-robin 4-on-4 soccer tournament.

Author's Note: The wind was howling out of the northwest at about 40 miles per hour that afternoon, and into the camera's microphone. The interview with Dyno-Mites director Kathy Bering could not be heard, so a transcription of a simultaneous audio recording was used for the subtitles.

Iowa City West 21, No. 1 Cedar Falls 10

2011-10-24T14:09:00.000-05:00

The Iowa City West football team handed top-ranked (Radio Iowa and Des Moines Register) Cedar Falls its first loss of the season Friday, Oct. 21, 21-10, to win the Valley Division of the Mississippi Valley Conference in the UNI-Dome.

Cedar Falls dropped from a No. 2 seed in the eastern half of Class 4A to a No. 4 seed to face Muscatine in the first round of the playoffs Wednesday in the UNI-Dome at approximately 8:45 p.m.

I, however, will be covering the Waverly-Shell Rock-Webster City Class 3A first-round game Wednesday night.

ABC show, local fair board hold fund-raiser

2011-10-07T18:16:00.001-05:00

The design crew of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" -- Ty Pennington, Paul DiMeo, Tracy Hutson, Sabrina Soto and Jeff Dye -- along with Larson Construction of Independence, the National Cattle Congress and rocker Bret Michaels helped raise a large amount of money for the Audrey Gibbs family of West Union Thursday night, Oct. 6, 2011, with a community event on the NCC grounds.
There was an auction and raffle that raised the bulk of the money, while the audience was entertained by an exhibition truck pull, lawnmower races and demolition derby. Pennington told the crowd how Gibbs would be surprised by the support they have given the family, and Michaels also told of his personal connection to the Gibbses.

No. 1 Cedar Falls 55, Dubuque Wahlert 21

2011-10-03T20:41:00.003-05:00

The top-ranked Cedar Falls football team won its homecoming game Friday, Sept. 30, over Dubuque Wahlert, 55-21, in the UNI-Dome.

Barkley Hill had four rushing touchdowns, while James Harrington had two scores, one on a 71-yard punt return and the other on a 16-yard pass from Ike Boettger. Shawn Hagarty (29-yard interception return) and Ben Challgren (23-yard catch) also scored touchdowns.

Cedar Falls High School homecoming coronation

2011-10-03T14:15:00.003-05:00

Cedar Falls High School crowned Elizabeth Kosmicki and Brady Cervetti as the homecoming queen and king for 2011 on Sept. 29 in the Clair C. Stanard Auditorium. Kosmicki's reaction was one of stunned disbelief, while Cervetti was cool about his win.

Do It for Don 5K raises $6,200

2011-09-19T13:35:00.001-05:00

More than 100 runners, walkers and other supporters helped raise more than $6,200 in the Do It for Don 5K run to benefit C.F. High girls' cross country coach Don Williams at Birdsall Park Sunday.

The runners braved the rain to run the boys' cross country course, with proceeds from free-will donations helping to pay Williams' medical bills after his Aug. 31 bicycling accident.

Cedar Falls 42, C.R. Jefferson 6

2011-09-18T20:15:00.000-05:00

The Cedar Falls football team continued in its dominace Friday night, Sept. 16, with a 42-6 victory over Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
Barkley Hill had five touchdowns, Jacob Fagersten had a 36-yard field goal, and the Tiger defense recorded two safeties in the victory to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Rich Engel Classic

2011-09-18T12:03:00.001-05:00

The Cedar Falls boys' cross country team won the annual Rich Engel Classic it hosted Thursday, Sept. 15 at Birdsall Park in Cedar Falls.
The Tiger girls were runners up in their competition behind Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The individual winners were runners from Waverly-Shell Rock -- Anna Holidman in the girls' race and Daniel Huff in the boys' run.

UNI sweeps Iowa State in volleyball

2011-09-17T19:47:00.002-05:00

The 15th-ranked UNI volleyball team swept No. 12 Iowa State, 26-24, 25-16, 25-18, in front of a school record volleyball crowd of 6,490 in the MacLeod Center Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Camera on the fritz

2011-06-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted a personal message on this blog that has nothing to do with work. Of course, I put some of my more interesting stories and highlight videos on here so that more people can see them outside of Northeast Iowa or those who would happen to visit the Community Media Group websites.

Anyway, here's what's going on...

About a month ago, I was trying to cover the girls' soccer match between Cedar Falls and Iowa City West on a Tuesday night. For that reason, I brought my Canon Digital Rebel XT still camera and my JVC Everio video camera with me to the Vinton Newspapers office, so that I can go straight to the match in Waterloo from work. (The Cedar Valley Soccer Complex, where C.F. High plays its home soccer matches, is officially in Waterloo, just less than a mile from the southeastern Cedar Falls city limit next to a John Deere plant.) The weather was fairly warm (OK, it was pretty hot, reaching about 90 degrees in early May), so the heat in my car could have affected things. Bottom line was, my camera couldn't power up. Sometimes when it did, the display on the back of the camera would say "Err 99."

Anyway, I get home, put the battery in the charger, and the next day, I check it out. It worked. I just chalked it up to an undercharged battery. It was working OK for a while until about two weeks ago. After taking some pictures at Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High on their last day of school, I went to cover a baseball game at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo between Independence and St. Ansgar. This time, the autofocus wouldn't take. Later, I tried it at home, and it was working. The following Tuesday night, I went to Independence to cover a girls' soccer regional semifinal between the Mustangs and Decorah, and it still couldn't auto focus. In both situations, I went with the manual focus. I later cleaned off the leads to the lens on the camera body with a tissue. It started focussing normally, so I was able to get shots of C.F. vs. Mason City girls' soccer last Wednesday night and Columbus vs. Clear Lake at Denver Friday.

Sunday night, though, I was making sure the camera would power up after charging the battery all weekend. It didn't do anything. I tried it again early Monday, and the same thing. I texted Pat, our sports editor, and he said I could borrow a spare camera he had (a Canon EOS 20D) that he usually lets his father use until I can get mine fixed. I used it for Monday night's girls' soccer between Columbus and Denver and last night's softball doubleheader between C.F. and West High.

Today, I took it to Porter's Camera Warehouse Outlet store to see if it indeed was a battery issue or if there's something worse. Well, a clerk tried charging a new battery, and even though the new battery was 50% charged, the camera still didn't read it. So now, it's being sent to a Canon service center. Right now, it's going to cost me about $260 including tax. Hopefully they can fix it without it costing much more, or else a new camera might be in the works. That can be in the neighborhood -- body only -- of $500 to $600 for a camera similar to mine.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. At least with the loaner, I can do my job.

Cedar Falls 2, Mason City 0 in girls' soccer

2011-06-05T23:26:00.000-05:00

BY ERIC VANSICKLE -- The Cedar Falls girls' soccer team advanced to the Class 3A regional soccer finals against Ankeny, played Monday, June 6, with a 2-0 victory June 1 over Mason City at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex in Waterloo. Allie Wirth scored a goal and had an assist on the other, scored by Justine Powell.

French freestylers visit Cedar Falls

2011-05-19T23:52:00.001-05:00

USA Mat Club hosts exhibition dual with France’s best 16, 17 year olds

By Eric VanSickle

CEDAR FALLS – Some wrestling fans don’t think May is prime for a wrestling dual, but members of Cedar Falls’ USA Mat Club hosted an exhibition with some very special visitors May 3.

The club hosted the French Cadet National Freestyle Team in the C.F. High gymnasium for a series of 17 matches in front of a few dozen supporters. The unofficial team scoring had the USA Mat Club winning, 42-33.

The semi-informal exhibition paired the male wrestlers with those close in weight, while the four female wrestlers – Iowa City West's Jasmine Bailey and C.F.'s Cassey Herkelman and France’s Julie Sabatie and Manon Calliaud – wrestled two matches, switching opponents. All of the French boys had two matches, with Alexis Malezieux having three.

The French team is making a tour of the U.S., participating in USA Wrestling-sanctioned freestyle tournaments and a few exhibition duals. This trip was postponed from last year, when the volcano in Iceland prevented intercontinental travel between Europe and North America.

Ibrahim Selloum, the French team coach, said the tour has gone very well so far and he, the other coaches and wrestlers are enjoying their stay.

“We’ve had very good training and competitions,” Selloum said. “With (USA Mat Club director and C.F. head wrestling coach Wil Kelly), we’ve had very good contact.”

For most of the French kids, it’s their first visit to the U.S. Selloum said one wrestler participated in a tournament two years ago in Chicago.

He added the wrestlers themselves like America.

“Their way of life is very good,” Selloum said. “The competition… we can fight (wrestle) with the guys with other good guys, and afterwards, we can speak with them with civility.”

Freestyle wrestling is somewhat similar to what wrestling fans see during the high school season, but with some glaring differences. The most noticeable difference is the scoring and the match structure.

In FILA (International Wrestling Federation) rules, matches are best-of-three, two-minute periods. When a wrestler wins two periods, he or she wins that match, unless a pin fall is scored. Like folkstyle wrestling, a pin is an instant win, no matter the current score or what happened in prior periods.

Also, when a wrestler amasses a 6-point lead in either period, that period is over and the wrestler is given the victory for that period. It’d be similar to a technical fall in folkstyle, but the match continues if it’s the first period won.

There are also three officials in FILA-sanctioned matches – the referee, mat judge and mat chairman. They can award anywhere from 1 to 5 points for certain moves either wrestler performs, and two of the three must agree to the score.

For example, the referee would hold up two fingers for one wrestler when he exposes the back of his opponent. The mat judge can either agree by holding up the same colored paddle with a “2” or a different score, or the white paddle for no score. If they disagree, the mat chairman would break the tie by either awarding the score the referee suggested or the one from the mat judge.

During the meet, the USA Mat Club’s two girls each earned splits, both beating Calliaud – Herkelman by pall in 1 minute, 35 seconds, and Bailey pinned her in 20 seconds – but Sabatie won both of her matches by decision – 4-0 and 3-0 over Bailey and in three periods over Herkelman, 3-0 in the final period.

Selloum said his staff and wrestlers have scouted and game planned for Herkelman, the first Iowa girl to qualify for and advance in the traditional state tournament back in February, after seeing her in a pair of tournaments over the weekend.

“I’ve seen her wrestling men, and then see her wrestling against French girls,” he said. “We studied her video, how she wrestled. We analyzed that she lifted her left leg (when making a move).”

Kelly noted Sabatie is one of the best cadet girls’ wrestlers in Europe, winning a pair of medals in continental competitions.

“It’s a real opportunity for her to compete against (some of the best),” he said.

Club coach Zhang Fan appreciated how Sabatie and Calliaud faced Herkelman.

“Cassey is always facing tough talent,” Zhang said. “This French girl today did a very good job.”

C.F. junior 189-pounder Zach Rahnvardi also had a split on the evening. He beat Quenton Milliere, 2-1 and 5-1, but France’s Jordan Noblet earned an 8-0, 6-0 win later.

Other victories by USA Mat Club members included Dan Kelly, Sam Dagit, Max Thompsen, Christian Miller, David Langley and Jack Hathaway.

Selloum said the USA Mat Club wrestlers performed well against his squad.

“I’m surprised with the level of the talent,” he said. “Cassey is a very good wrestler.”

Wil Kelly said the experience the local wrestlers had against the French is invaluable.

“It’s a great experience for our guys to get an opportunity to compete internationally, but have it here locally without leaving the state,” Kelly said. “That’s always a great opportunity.”

He added the differences in styles between FILA freestyle and IHSAA folkstyle gave the local wrestlers a great learning experience.

“These other guys (from France), they’ve been training freestyle all year long,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to train between two or three different styles. There’s definitely an adjustment for our kids. I think they did well.”

Zhang said the locals did a very good job against the French visitors.

“These kids have made great progress, and have challenged the (French national) team,” Zhang said.

USA Mat Club (C.F.) 42, France 33

Alexis Malezieux (FRA) win over Brendan Alexander (IA) 9-1, 6-0
Julie Sabatie (FRA) win over Jasmine Bailey (IA) 4-0, 3-0
Cassey Herkelman (IA) win over Manon Calliaud (FRA) Fall 1:35
Dan Kelly (IA) win over Adama Sow (FRA) 7-2, 7-0
Stephane Heyer (FRA) win over Clark Doyle (IA) 4-1, 7-0
Sam Dagit (IA) win over Achille Reggiani (FRA) 3-0, 3-2
Jordan Noblet (FRA) win over Ty Robertson (IA) 7-0, 6-0
Zach Rahnavardi (IA) win over Quentin Milliere (FRA) 2-1, 5-1
Alexis Malezieuex (FRA) win over Cody Lange (IA) 8-0, 8-0
Julie Sabatie (FRA) win over Cassey Herkelman (IA) 0-4, 3-1, 3-0
Jasmine Bailey (IA) win over Manon Caillux (FRA) fall :20
Max Thompsen (IA) win over Adama Sow (FRA) 8-2, 4-1
Stephane Heyer (FRA) win over Dylan McGlauflin (IA) 4-4, 3-2
Christian Miller (IA) win over Achille Reggiani (FRA) 7-1, 6-3
Jordan Noblet (FRA) win over Zach Rahnavardi (IA) 8-0, 6-0
David Langley (IA) win over Quentin Milliere (FRA) fall 1:10
Jack Hathaway (IA) win over Alexis Malezieux (FRA) injury def

Independence 5, NU High (Cedar Falls) 1

2011-05-19T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tori Zasadny scored two goals and had three assists in the No. 10-rated (Class 2A) Independence/East Buchanan girls' soccer team beat NU High (Cedar Falls), 5-1, at the University of Northern Iowa club fields Thursday night.

Cedar Falls 13, Waterloo East 0

2011-04-28T16:18:00.002-05:00

The Cedar Falls boys' soccer team had 11 different players score in a 13-0 dominating victory over Waterloo East.

Tigers win Cole Collinge Relays

2011-04-22T18:09:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/embed/hnGRU4Y23nk?fs=1</a>" frameborder="0" width="480" allowfullscreen="">
The Cole Collinge Relays were held at George Hauser Field at Cedar Falls High School. The host Tigers outlasted Waverly-Shell Rock for the team title, 126-107, by winning three of the final four events (distance medley, 4-by-100 and 4-by-400). Both C.F. and the Go-Hawks won six events.

New working arrangement

2011-04-18T19:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm all done (for the most part) as interim editor of the Independence Bulletin Journal. They've found someone else, Ben Frotscher, to be the full-time editor, however our publisher, Deb Weigel, and managing editor, Anelia Dimitrova, have given me another opportunity. I'm back to being assistant editor of Hawkeye Racing News, and that means I'm back to traveling to Vinton four times a week. But also, I'm on the payroll for sports for both the Cedar Falls Times and the Bulletin Journal.

It's about time I'm employed full-time with benefits and all in the journalism game after six or seven years after leaving the Britt News-Tribune and Forest City Summit. I've been with the Times as correspondent since 2008, so I've paid my dues. It's time for me to take this and run with it.

Update on Cassy Herkelman

2011-02-20T21:54:00.000-06:00

At the suggestion of my friend Jill Lavender (jills-thrills.blogspot.com), I'll give my views on here about the Iowa state wrestling championship that ended yesterday.

The above video, made by the Cedar Rapids ABC affiliate KCRG, talks about the match Thursday between Cassy Herkelman, the girl I featured in late November for the Cedar Falls Times, of Cedar Falls and Linn-Mar's Joel Northrup.
Northrup decided, due to his religious make-up, he could not find it in his conscience to wrestle a girl. However, the other 13 boys in the Class 3A 112-pound division had no qualms with wrestling a girl (there are 16 wrestlers who qualify, two of them in Class 3A at 112 were girls, Cassy and Ottumwa's Megan Black).
Because Northrup decided to default, not only was Cassy the first girl to qualify for state (Black qualified about an hour later), but she's the first to advance to the quarterfinals. Of course, she lost Friday to Matt Victor of Indianola in the quarters, 5-1, and then Jordan Jones of Des Moines North/Hoover pinned her in 1 minute, 21 seconds.
I wrote in my column in the Independence Bulletin Journal that appeared in yesterday's edition that I thought Northrup should have faced her, because if it were me, gender doesn't matter. It's another wrestler.
However, Northrup issued a statement that said the following:
"Wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."
He's right ont he last part, though. Iowa doesn't have a separate division for girls in high school wrestling. If a girl wants to wrestler interscholastically in Iowa, they must wrestle boys, unless she happens to draw a girl in either a dual meet or tournament.
In my feature, the Herkelmans told me only three other boys refused to face her. Northrup had two opportunities to face her: once in a dual meet in Cedar Rapids, which he did not participate, and Thursday.
It's sad, really. This girl's accomplishments of making one of the most prestigious tournaments around has been tempered by someone who refused to wrestle her.

Another opportunity

2010-12-31T18:36:00.000-06:00

Well, I have another job opportunity within Community Media Group. Anelia Dimitrova, the regional editor for Northeast Iowa (based with Waverly Newspapers/Cedar Falls Times) called me Wednesday morning letting me know that the editor position at the Independence Bulletin-Journal is opening up, and she wants me to take the helm for at least the next three months.

The editor currently, Mike Hohenbrink, is leaving in the next couple weeks, so Anelia needed me to start there Monday, so I can get shown the ropes. I told this to Mark Roussell, the Witham Auto Centers Cedar Falls sales manager, and he understood. While I was at the Waterloo lot, Mark and Tim Godfrey, the general manager for all three lots, discussed it, and Tim figured he'd try to get me to stay. If I were one to be into sales, I would stay, but I'm a journalist. I had to take this opportunity and give my two weeks (I'll still do three mornings a week for the next two) so they can find my replacement.

Anyway, from my understanding, Anelia wants me aboard instead of having their correspondent take over because I have design skills. Of course, I also have many years of experience in different kinds of writing and photography, so that goes for me. Plus, Anelia, as she said time and again, has been looking out for something to give me a more permanent position within the company. The question is only my best fit.

I'm interim because the publisher, Deb Weigel, figured we'd also have a nationwide search in case I or they don't feel it's my fit or something like that. Plus, at the start of April, Hawkeye Racing News resumes weekly publications. I'm still going to be able to do Cedar Falls-area sports, as the correspondent does most of the evening meetings and such.

So, we'll see how things go. Until then, everyone have a Happy 2011!

C.F. sweeps boy/girl doubleheader from Waterloo East

2010-12-19T21:33:00.000-06:00

Cedar Falls swept a boy/girl doubleheader Friday night.

Battle of Waterloo

2010-12-19T18:55:00.000-06:00

Waverly-Shell Rock was second, Denver-Tripoli third in the championship bracket Saturday, while Cedar Falls was runners-up in Bracket 4.

No. 3 Linn-Mar 57, Cedar Falls 11

2010-12-15T23:04:00.000-06:00

Cedar Falls was dominated by Kiah Stokes. 'Nuff said.

Former Hawkeye visits Cedar Falls

2010-12-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

When Linn-Mar played the Cedar Falls girls' basketball team Tuesday night, Greg Stokes came to the gym to watch his daughter, Kiah, dominate the Tigers in the Lions' 57-11 win. I spoke with the elder Stokes about Kiah and the Hawkeyes.

33rd Boys' Marcussen Invitational

2010-12-15T19:46:00.000-06:00

Cedar Falls swimmers break four meet records en route to winning its own Marcussen Invitational over West Des Moines Valley and Muscatine.

Herkelman wrestles the boys, boundaries

2010-12-11T17:49:00.000-06:00

Cassy Herkelman tries to turn Lucas Brockman of West High during their match Thursday. Herkelman would eventually get her first pin of her varsity career, improving her record to 3-2. (photo by Eric VanSickle/Cedar Falls Times)

C.F. 112-pounder one of few girls to wrestle varsity in Iowa

(Note: This article was published in the Dec. 11, 2010, edition of the Cedar Falls Times. I am the author.)

CEDAR FALLS – She is a current national champion, and is ranked eighth nationally in her division among all girls.

This season, she’s testing her mettle against boys at the high school varsity level.

No, it’s not East High volleyball player Haley Eckerman or West High standout athlete Jadyn Spencer. Cedar Falls freshman 112-pound wrestler Cassy Herkelman is trying to show that athletes are athletes, no matter how they’re built.

Herkelman has a 3-2 record. She defeated Iowa City High’s Alex Lemus, 7-2, and Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Cody Hensel in a 9-0 major decision last week in a double duel at City High before dropping her two matches at the Keith Young Invitational last weekend. After receiving a bye in Thursday's first duel against Cedar Rapids Xavier, she pinned Waterloo West's Lucas Brockman, who jumped up from 103 pounds, in the meet's nightcap.

Previously, she won the 105-pound girls’ middle-school championship in April at the USGWA Open National Championships on the strength of a 3-0 decision over Shelby Hall of Ohio. She also won the Iowa girls’ middle school 105-pound championship in March with a 9-0 victory over Iowa City’s Jasmine Bailey.

Herkelman is one of three girls across the state who are wrestling at the varsity level. Talia Goodale of Osage also competes at 112 pounds, and has a 3-2 record, while Megan Black of Ottumwa has a 5-2 record at 119 pounds. There also was a girl on the Urbandale team two years ago who weighed in at the state dual tournament, according to Alan Beste with the IHSAA.

Wrestling was a family passion on Herkleman’s father, Bill’s side of the family.

“My grandma really said I should, so I did,” she said. “She just said one day, when my sisters and I were messing around, that I should, and I decided I wanted to (wrestle).”

When she made the commitment to wrestle, she joined the Cedar Falls Kids’ Wrestling Club in second grade, Bill recalled, and then also joined the West High Kids’ Wrestling Club later.

Initially, there wasn’t many concerns of Cassy taking on the other boys, Bill said.

“We didn’t see that until she was in ninth grade,” he said.

At that point, three boys refused to wrestle Cassy, only because she was a girl.

“It just makes me feel like it’s their fault,” she said. “They can’t get away from facing a girl in the middle of the high school season.”

She added that as more people see her on the mat, the more wrestling fans support her in her endeavor.

Cassy said going from the middle/junior high level to high school varsity has been different, but she’s starting to get used to it.

“It changes a lot once the meets start going,” she said. “I’m used to (the rigors of the sport) because I’ve been doing it for a while.”

C.F. coach Wil Kelly said the Tigers are happy to have Cassy in the room.

“She’s had a tremendous amount of success at the kids’ level,” Kelly said. “She works really hard, just as hard as our older kids. She’s a talented young girl.”

Kelly said when one puts Cassy’s talent together with hard work, she will be successful.

In recent years, the media has focused on the struggles the average girl has in regards to weight. Usually, this is in regards to the ideal of beauty, perpetuated by fashion models on the runway and in magazines like Vogue or Cosmopolitan.

However, Cassy has to struggle with weight so that she can “make weight” and compete in her ideal weight class. If she’s a pound or two more than 112 pounds, she’d have to wrestle at 119 or not at all.

“It’s hard to get down there,” she said about making weight. “Once you’re at your weight, you have to maintain it.”

Bill said whenever he sees his daughter on the mat, he feels pride more than worrying about how she does.

“It’s just because she’s competing, always being active and pushing herself to be better,” he said.

The elder Herkelman wrestled for four years, at the 138, 152, 160 and 171 weight classes. He also qualified for state his senior year.

Bill doesn’t try to push his daughter too much, and leaves everything up to Cassy as to how many or which tournaments to participate.

“There was one year when we went to probably 40 tournaments in one year, when she was younger,” he said. “After that year, we just let her decide if she wanted to go, she’d wrestle. If not, then we’d stay home.

“She’s always wanted to go to tournaments. Sometimes, we’d go to two in a weekend. We’ve slowed it down to one a weekend.”

Beste said no girl has qualified for the traditional state tournament. Bill Herkelman said whether Cassy becomes the first – or even joins Black and Goodale – to qualify depends on how well the Tigers do with her.

“It all depends on how much they help her and push her,” he said. “The coaching staff here at Cedar Falls has been good.”

The Herkelmans go to national tournaments each March and April, and Bill said they plan to enter Cassy in the USA Wrestling Freestyle Nationals in Fargo, N.D., in July. He said his daughter has the potential to be a national champion at 105 or 112 pounds throughout her high school career.

Kelly would like to see Cassy do more freestyle matches, as that is what women do at the international level.

“That’s something I’m trying to push her into a little bit,” Kelly said. “She does have a little bit of experience in that. For women, to go on to the next level, it’s about freestyle wrestling.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunities for women’s freestyle wrestling. It’s a pretty neat opportunity for us to have a young girl who so talented as she.”

As far as being a member of Team USA for the Olympics in either 2012 (if eligible) in London or 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Bill said Cassy’s result in Fargo would determine her future in freestyle.

“I think her drive is there,” he said. “Her abilities are there. She’s got some good coaches in Wil and the other coaches here at Cedar Falls.”

Being an Olympian is one of Cassy’s goals.

“Every match, I get closer to it,” she said.

Cassy Herkelman tries to finish a take-down against Mason City's Andres Gonzalez in the consolation quarterfinals during Saturday's Keith Young Invitational. (photo by Eric VanSickle/Cedar Falls Times)

Waterloo East 80, NU High 78, OT

2010-12-08T15:03:00.000-06:00

Half-court shots all around. Not only did a guy hit a half-courter for free burritos, someone actually hits a half-court buzzer-beater to send this game into OT.

Keith Young Invititational

2010-12-07T19:31:00.000-06:00

Defending national champion Apple Valley (Minn.) outlasted Waverly-Shell Rock for the Keith Young Invitational team title. The Eagles and Go-Hawks each crowned five individual champions.

Half-court shot made for free burritos

2010-12-07T15:18:00.000-06:00

Ryan Riester hit a half-court shot during halftime of the Waterloo East-NU High boys' basketball game last night to win free burritos for a year at Panchero's.

Metro girls' basketball jamboree

2010-11-26T16:35:00.000-06:00

Area girls' basketball teams participated in a jamboree Monday night, which is like a dress rehearsal before the season officially began. The girls played a half of basketball.

India in Iowa attendees dance to "Jai Ho"

2010-11-19T18:04:00.000-06:00

If you liked the film "Slumdog Millionaire," you'd like to see about 40 or 50 people dancing like the stars fo the film during the end credits, to the song "Jai Ho."

Nathan Phelps talks about Indian dance

2010-11-19T17:36:00.000-06:00

Indian dance expert Nathan Phelps demonstrates his art at India in Iowa II last Saturday.

India in Iowa II at Field of Yoga

2010-11-19T15:58:00.000-06:00

Field of Yoga hosted India in Iowa II last Saturday night, Nov. 13, with performances by Kirtan Path of Minneapolis and local Indian dance expert Nathan Phelps. Food also was served, provided by Taste of India from Cedar Rapids.

No. 1 Lenox 39, Tripoli 18

2010-11-15T23:11:00.000-06:00

Tripoli came into last Thursday's eight-player semi-final in the UNI-Dome on a roll, beating three ranked teams in the Panthers' previous four games. However, top-ranked Lenox was too tough in the second half, prevailing in a 39-18 victory. Tripoli ends the season 11-2 in its first season in eight-player football.

No. 2 Iowa City High 49, No. 3 Cedar Falls 28

2010-11-07T12:29:00.000-06:00

Iowa City High scored two touchdowns in the first 29 seconds of the game, and Cedar Falls just couldn't recover enough, as the Little Hawks beat the Tigers, 49-28, in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Decorah 31, No. 8 Waverly-Shell Rock 7

2010-11-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

The weather was a lot nicer last night in Decorah than it was last Wednesday night in Webster City, but the result was worse for the Go-Hawks.

On a personal side note, Cedar Falls beat Muscatine in the UNI-Dome, 42-21, and the Tigers will next go to Iowa City High's Bates Field to take on the Little Hawks in the Class 4A quarter-finals. It's going to be a great game with two of the best teams in Class 4A going toe to toe. I expect a lot of offense. That's where my next assignment will be after tonight's volleyball match in Marshalltown.

How much am I worth?

2010-10-30T19:39:00.002-05:00

HumanForSale.com - I am for sale!
I just wish I had $2.24 million!

No. 8 Waverly-Shell Rock 37, No. 9 Webster City 6

2010-10-28T15:45:00.000-05:00

It was a dark and windy night, but the Waverly-Shell Rock Go-Hawks won the Class 3A first round football playoff game last night against Webster City, 37-6.

Tigers qualify for state cross country

2010-10-23T23:23:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls's teams qualify to state cross country, the boys won the district meet, the girls were runners up to West Des Moines Dowling.

NU High 3, Northeast Hamilton 1

2010-10-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

NU beat Northeast Hamilton to face North Tama in Tuesday's Class 1A regional quarterfinal Tuesday.

Columbus 3, North Linn 0

2010-10-23T14:09:00.000-05:00

Columbus Catholic of Waterloo downed North Linn, 3-0, during the first round of the Class 2A regionals.

Cedar Falls wins MVC Super Meet

2010-10-22T21:23:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls won the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on the strength of a first, third and fifth finish in the 100 backstroke.

NU middle school rebuilding football program

2010-10-22T18:03:00.000-05:00

After NU High School of Cedar Falls (which is housed at Malcolm Price Laboratory School on the University of Northern Iowa campus) had to drop its varsity football program and send its upperclass players to Cedar Falls High for football, the middle school program is tasked to help rebuild the program from scratch when it eventually returns to the varsity ranks by 2012.

Tripoli 40, Janesville 32

2010-10-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

Tripoli earned a playoff bid in eight-man state playoffs with the victory, with Tyler Lenox scoring five touchdowns, mostly on long runs.

No. 3 Cedar Falls 63, Dubuque Senior 17

2010-10-16T18:36:00.000-05:00

The Tigers scored early and often against Dubuque Senior in their 63-17 win Thursday night.

No. 7 C.R. Xavier 3, No. 12 Cedar Falls 2

2010-10-15T23:46:00.000-05:00

Xavier survives a come-from-behind effort from Cedar Falls, winning 15-12 in the final set. Xavier won the first two sets, 26-24 and 25-19, but C.F. won the next two, 25-22 and 25-21.

No. 3 Cedar Falls 49, Waterloo West 12

2010-10-10T20:04:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls downed West High despite not having the services of running back Barkley Hill, 49-12. Seven different Tigers scored in the game.

Have to change my wardrobe

2010-10-09T23:37:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone:

It had some to my attention that there are some things that I need to change when I go to my yoga classes at Field of Yoga here in Cedar Falls. Mary McInnis Meyer, owner and lead teacher, told me four or five things that I need to either change or keep mindful of because she had been losing a few clients probably because of my actions. Some have to do with my personality (keep my voice at a low level; don't be curt with new students when they forget to take off their shoes when they enter the practice area; try not to help other students in poses, because that's what Mary, Carissa, Maggie and Katie are there for; and be aware that the yoga studio is more like a living thing than just a room), but one has to do with what I've been wearing.

You see, I am one who likes to wear form-fitting exercise wear, preferably unitards or wrestling-style singlets, when I either do yoga, work out at the gym or go on my rollerblades. During Mary's call yesterday afternoon (on her way up to Minneapolis to visit an ashtanga yoga studio there), she told me some of the students (mainly older women) were unfomfortable seeing the spandex stretch over my butt when I bend.

Anyway, I'm going to have to go with more yoga-specific clothing, starting with the Yoga Path class I attended this morning. I do have a few pair of bike shorts and running tights, but I'm wondering what else is out there that is more appropriate for yoga for men. I wear a 34 waist right now (about a men's medium, though once I lose a few more pounds, I'd be able to take a small) and have a 32 inseam and wear a large shirt, which might actually can go down to medium.

I looked at lululemon athletica's website, as I'm connected with them on Facebook, and saw they have leggings for men, but at $88 EACH! That's way too much! Mary's going to be sending me some links to some stores that would include some men's yoga wear.

But here's the thing, I don't want to get baggy clothing just because it's labeled as "yoga wear." I hate baggy stuff when I'm working out. My unitards are perfect for me because they move with me, wick the sweat away from my body, and I don't have to worry about cuffs catching or moving up my legs or being constricted by a waistband. However, I need to be mindful of everyone else, Mary suggested.

Anyone out there know of good yoga wear stores or brands that are form fitting (ideally having some amount of Lycra or spandex, whether based on cotton or spandex) that don't cost a lot of money? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment with some suggestions. That would be much appreciated!

32nd Girls' Marcussen Invitational

2010-10-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

Waukesha (Wis.) South won the Marcussen Invite by three over host Cedar Falls.

No. 9 Cedar Falls 3, West High 1

2010-10-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls defeated Waterloo West, three sets to one, Tuesday night.

Sumner-Fredericksburg 28, Monticello 7

2010-10-04T23:31:00.000-05:00

Sumner-Fredericksburg won, 28-7, over Monticello in its homecoming game Friday night.

Eckerman 2000th kill

2010-10-02T00:31:00.000-05:00

Waterloo East middle blocker Haley Eckerman recorded her 2,000th kill earlier this season, and received recognition for it Tuesday prior to the Trojans' match with Cedar Falls.

No. 13 Cedar Falls 3, No. 7 Waterloo East 2

2010-10-02T00:29:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls outlasted Waterloo East in a five-set match Tuesday night, taking the final set, 15-13.

Metro cross country

2010-10-02T00:27:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls won both the boys' and the girls' metro cross country championships Thursday evening.

No. 2 Cedar Falls 28, No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier 7

2010-09-25T21:25:00.000-05:00

C.F. passed its test against Cedar Rapids Xavier, 28-7.

Denver 3, NU High 0

2010-09-23T21:51:00.000-05:00

Denver (Iowa) High School downed NU High, 25-13, 25-14, 25-19, Tuesday night at Nielsen Fieldhouse.

No. 8 Linn-Mar 45, Waterloo West 0

2010-09-19T00:15:00.000-05:00

West High had some good things going early, but an interception and five touchdowns by Linn-Mar's Jer Garman led to a 45-0 Lion win over the Wahawks.

Rich Engel Classic

2010-09-17T18:26:00.000-05:00

Cedar Falls High hosted the Rich Engel Classic, named after the long-time track and cross country coach.

No. 2 Cedar Falls 45, Cedar Rapids Prairie 7

2010-09-11T21:25:00.000-05:00

I wonder why they used this shot of "Tony the Tiger" as the preview shot?

Cedar Falls sweeps girls' swimming tri

2010-09-10T17:41:00.000-05:00

Coverage from last night's girls' swim meet between Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Xavier and Iowa City High.

C.R. Xaiver upsets No. 3 Waterloo East in five sets

2010-09-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

This match happened Tuesday night. Again, my VO was a bit rough. It was a great match, but Xavier won in five sets. All-State superstar HaleyEckerman (No. 10 in black) had 37 kills.

Cedar Falls 37, Waterloo East 0

2010-09-05T18:59:00.000-05:00

Radio Iowa has the Tigers at No. 5 in the state, but the AP has them at No. 2.

New video I made

2010-08-29T22:09:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that I've been starting to do some video of the games I'm covering for the Cedar Falls Times and the other Northeast Iowa newspapers in Community Media Group. Here is the first one I did from Friday night's game between Class 4A opponents Dubuque Hempstead and No. 5 Cedar Falls...

Our editor, Anelia Dimitrova, was so impressed at how I did this, she's going to talk to the CMG ownership about expanding my job as the regional video sports correspondent. I'm wondering how that's going to pay me...

History stolen

2010-06-03T15:23:00.001-05:00

Last night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was just one out away from pitching the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball history and third in the last month. However, when Cleveland's Jason Donald grounded to first baseman Miguel Cabrera, and Galarraga covered first base, umpire Jim Joyce made the second-worst call in baseball history. Although Galarraga had the ball and his foot on first base a good half-step ahead of Donald's, Joyce called Donald "safe," and the perfect game and no-hitter both were spoiled.

For those who don't know baseball terminology: a no-hitter simply means that a pitcher allows no hits by the opposing team, while the other team might have base runners by way of walks or errors. Whereas a perfect game is where a pitcher gets all 27 outs recorded without allowing a single base runner (nine innings in a game, three outs per inning equals 27).

Already this season, Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics and Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies recorded perfect games, the first time two pitchers recorded the second-most-rare feat (only an unassisted triple play is more rare) in the same season since 1880, when the perfect game became an official statistic. Never has there been three perfect games in a season.

To some, Galarraga has thrown a 28-out perfect game and were calling for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to reverse Joyce's call to "out" and award the perfect game. Just within the last hour of when I'm writing this, Selig released a statement saying he would not reverse the call.

And he shouldn't.

Because safe/out is a judgment call in baseball, though there are rulebook entries on how a batter or runner is safe or out, it isn't subject to protests or replay reviews. In fact, the only time a play is reviewed by replay is whether a ball is a home run or not. However, those people are now clammoring for replay to be expanded for obvious safe/out calls.

Still, the play was called incorrectly, and I applaud Joyce for admitting after the fact that he was wrong (usually umpires stick with their call even when proven wrong by replay) and appologized to Galarraga in the Tiger clubhouse after the game.

Talking with reporters in the umpires' room after the game, Joyce said, "It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the [stuff] out of it."

Damn right you did! The only worse call in baseball was during gave five of the 1985 World Series. Dom Denkinger, who by the way lives in Waterloo, botched what would have been the final out of the game that would have clinched the championship for the St. Louis Cardinals. As a result, the Kansas City Royals remained in that game, eventually forced game seven and won.

The main difference between the two calls is that Denkinger's gaffe helped decide the championship, while Joyce's was simply the 27th out of a regular-season perfect game and had very little impact on the final outcome.

Although the call was aggregious last night, I think the worst thing that can be done to Joyce is a fine or suspension, and the call was rightly upheld, or at least not changed after the fact. It only opens up a big can of worms that baseball can't afford to open.

Personal updates

2010-05-03T14:31:00.002-05:00

New look, new job

Hey folks, it’s been a while since I had any time to really update this blog, but there has been a few changes in my life recently that I need to let you guys know about.

Those of you who have seen my thumbnail on your pages showing me as a follower probably might notice something different, as indicated by the first picture above. I’ve slimmed down A LOT! You also notice on the second, I’m in a yoga pose, Virabhadrasana II, or Warrior II. Well, since the first of the year, I’ve been taking classes at Field of Yoga and been practicing at home, a total of about five or six times a week. Since adding my yoga practice, I’ve dropped 27 pounds to just a shade under 200 pounds. My face has slimmed down to what you see above, and I’m now at a 32-inch waistline. I do have some more that I can do to really be at a “healthy weight,” but it’s a good bit of progress.

Also, I have a major announcement to make: I’m no longer delivering pizzas at Pizza Hut. I’m now going to be the assistant editor of Hawkeye Racing News, which I’m starting training tomorrow morning. It’s currently produced in Vinton, but as part of my hire, Anelia Dimitrova is going to move my duties up to Waverly, making it easier for me to do the job without much disruption. I’m still going to be working at Witham Auto Center for the time being, and I’ll continue doing work for Community Media Group’s Northeast Iowa newspapers, so I’ll be raking in the dough. (I estimate I’ll be making about $30,000 a year combined.)

Unfortunately, I never mentioned in my last few posts that I’ve broken up with Jenny Wahl. It was mainly because my job commitments kept me away from her, and she wanted me to make sure I was where I wanted to be. I do believe we’ve moved on from each other.

There may be another possibility out there now. Last Saturday, my Facebook page received a message for a friend request from one Yvette Wynn. I first asked who she was before I accepted the request, and she told me she found me through a group called “Spandex Fetish” and sent all the guys requests. I was the first (and only, since she deleted it later due to virus concerns) to respond. I showed her the photo above right as well as another of me in the same unitard, and she went gaga over me! She said I was sexy! Of course, I also showed those pictures to Jill and to the guy from whom I bought the unitard, and they agreed. I never thought I was that sexy. I consider myself just an average guy who lost 56 pounds in 3½ years or so.

Anyway, Yvette wants us to get together sometime. The problem is that she lives in West Hollywood, Calif., and I’m here in Cedar Falls, Iowa. That means one of us is going to have to either drive a couple of days or fly to see the other. Of course, those who had read my previous Yahoo! 360° blog know of my problems with “girls” who I meet on the Internet who are not from around here. I’ve encouraged Yvette to get a webcam, so I know that she is who she says she is, and so we can see each other in real time. I do have some pictures she scanned in and shared with me, but I’m going to keep them to myself for the time being.

BCS possiblity for Iowa

2009-11-28T21:03:00.003-06:00

The college football regular season is almost over, with championship games in the Big XII, Atlantic Coast, Southeast, Mid-American and Conference USA conferences along with a few other games of importance (Oregon-Oregon State for the Pacific-10 conference crown, Cincinnati-Pittsburgh for the Big East title, neither a "championship game," just ended up to be that way), the Iowa Hawkeye football team is waiting at home to see where they will go this holiday season.

With a 10-2 record, 6-2 in the Big Ten Conference with losses to Northwestern and Ohio State but wins at Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State, the debate rages on whether Iowa deserves to earn an at-large bid into the Bowl Championship Series pre-championship games. With the loss at Ohio State, Iowa cannot get an automatic bid. Of course, had they won out, they could've been just on the outside looking in at the Citi BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7, but would've been assured of a Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi berth at the least.

Instead, they have to wait to see where they'll end up in the final BCS rankings next Sunday, and which bowl will invite them. Pundits put the Hawks in one of two bowl games depending on both the result of the Big XII championship and the opinion of the bowl committees: the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl or the Capital One Bowl.

Here's the reason why they're considered for the Fiesta Bowl: Iowa has been known to have its fans travel well to the bowl games they've been invited. Also, tens of thousands of Iowa natives/residents/graduates currently live or winter in the Phoenix area, so the local tickets will sell out.

However, many pundits are arguing that Penn State will be the better choice in the BCS, going to the FedEx Orange Bowl to face the ACC champion, either Georgia Tech or Clemson. For one, PSU has one of the largest alumni associations in the nation, and another, they have Joe Paterno, which would be a major draw for a TV audience.

I don't think TV ratings will be much of a factor for the Fiesta or Orange bowls to choose between Iowa and Penn State, and this is the reason why: Bowl committees want the teams that will provide the biggest economic impact for their communities -- in other words, more tickets sold, more money spent in the local stores, restaurants and hotels, and more bang for the buck to bring the teams there.

As I mentioned, the Fiesta Bowl will benefit from the number of Iowans and University of Iowa gradutates living or wintering or having retired in the Phoenix area. On top of that, about 50,000 Iowans will travel from the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Quad City airports or come by car or RV from places like Iowa City, Ottumwa, Dubuque, Cedar Falls and every small town in between to follow the Hawkeyes for the game. When the Hawks were selected by the Orange Bowl committee to replace Miami (Florida) for the January 2003 game (when the Hurricanes faced the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl when it was the NCG before the extra game was enacted), 50,000-plus Hawkeye fans filled what is now called Land Shark Stadium when Iowa faced USC.

Of course, the Trojans trounced the Hawkeyes that night, but that's because Kirk Ferentz and company weren't as prepared for that game.

Anyway, for the Iowa-to-the-Fiesta scenario to work, Texas must beat Nebraska next Saturday in the Dr. Pepper Big XII Championship Game. Otherwise, if Nebraska wins, Nebraska will go to the Fiesta Bowl as the Bix XII champion (the Fiesta has a tie-in with the Big XII champion). The Longhorns would then get one of the at-large bids, likely to either the Orange or Nokia Sugar bowls. In that scenario, the Sugar would get the only replacement pick for the winner of the SEC Championship Game, either Florida or Alabama, who would go to the NCG in Pasadena Jan. 7. Everyone expects the Sugar Bowl to take the loser of that game, citing the conference's tie-in with the bowl. The Orange Bowl would have the next choice, which likely would be Texas in that situation to face the Clemson-Georgia Tech winner. Next would be the Fiesta Bowl. That would be an interesting choice there for an opponent for Nebraska. Do they take a 10-2 Iowa team, a 10-2 Penn State team, an undefeated Texas Christian team (which would have an automatic bid due to being at least No. 4 in the final BCS standings despite not being in an automatic-qualifying conference, being in the Mountain West Conference), the Big East champion or an undefeated Boise State (who wouldn't be an automatic qualifier because it would be lower-ranked than either TCU or Cincinnati, coming from the Western Athletic Conference)? I would think they would have to take either Cincinnati (or Pitt if the Panthers win) or TCU. The remaining team would go to the Sugar Bowl.

If all that happens, Iowa would go to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando against likely LSU. Of course, the last time Iowa and LSU met in that game, Iowa won with a last-second touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Colin Sandeman.

However, here's what I believe will happen if the most-likely scenario happens:

BCS Championship: Texas vs. SEC champion

Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon/Oregon State winner

Fiesta Bowl: Iowa vs. Boise State

Orange Bowl: ACC champion vs. Cincinnati

Sugar Bowl: SEC runner-up vs. TCU

Capital One Bowl: Penn State vs. LSU

We'll find it all out next Sunday.

Good bye Cavalier, hello Malibu

2009-10-30T15:30:00.004-05:00

Well, I have a little bit of bad news. The 2002 Cavalier I have been driving since 2006 has logged its last mile. It didn't keel over. I got in a fender bender one week ago tonight.

I was en route to a football game between Waterloo West and Dubuque Wahlert when going up Waterloo Road toward University Avenue, passing East 18th Street and Rainbow Drive and near the Family Video store, some young lady (just turned 18) decided to turn around where you really shouldn't. Anyway, I didn't see her in time, tried to brake and swerve around her, but my left-front corner smashed into her right-rear. I got cited for failure to stop, but the car was drivable to my destination and back.

So, I called Progressive to report the accident. Saturday, a claims rep named Sarah called me to discuss the damage before I went to work. I told her how it happened and described what was damaged. The corner of the bumper had a six-inch indention, the headlight and turn signal were smashed, the corner of the hood around the headlight was folded under, the fender was crumpled around the impact site, and the wheelwell slightly rubbed against the tire. I used my dad's Chevy HHR for the weekend, and then took the car to the body shop Monday. I had a rental of a 2009 PT Cruiser while I waited for the Cavalier to be fixed... Or so I thought.

Sarah called me while I was at Walmart Tuesday afternoon. She told me the car was unrepairable because the adjuster estimated the damages to be greater than the value. I had a choice between taking $3,006.87 and they take the car off my hands, or I keep the car and take $2,372.93, both figures after the $500 deductible. After talking with my dad, with Charlie Lipley at First Security State Bank (who held the note on my car until Tuesday, when I paid it off) and with Mark Roussell, the sales manager at Witham Auto in Cedar Falls (and my boss there), I came to conclusion to take the $3,000 and change and then used that money to make a downpayment on any car I chose on the lot.

I chose a 2005 Chevy Malibu. I've driven it a few times while going from the C.F. lot to the other two lots before, and I thought it was going to be a car I would consider trading my Cavalier for when I was ready. I guess fate said I was ready NOW!

So, Wednesday, I start the process by having Mark do the deal on an employee price, then business manager Andy started to do the loan paperwork on it. Later, I went to the local Progressive branch to get the check, but they also asked me to go to First Security to give them an envelope for them to send my title to Progressive. Yesterday, I was told that Dad needed to co-sign on this loan, too, due to the tight credit market. After I had a shortened day at work (due to rain), I went to the body shop to clean out the Cavalier and take off the plates. Later that afternoon, I returned the rental, and then Dad and I went to the lot to finish the paperwork.

I just hope this one will last me quite a while.

Going to work a third job

2009-07-31T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tuesday afternoon, I interviewed with a manager of Witham Auto Center in Cedar Falls for a pair of possible job opportunities. One was for the position I applied through Cumulus Jobs for - auto sales - but the other is something that came up and the guy matched me up for with what was in my resume - Website production.

Anyway, I get there about 20 minutes early, as it's always a good practice to do. I introduced myself to the receptionist, and was directed to the service waiting room while Mark, the guy I was meeting, finished with a customer. About 30 minutes later, he finally caught up with me and went into his office.

First thing he asked me was why I thought I could sell cars. I gave him my wanting to try something different than pizza delivery or newspaper writing, and I thought I can make it work out. I also mentioned the CARS program, also known as "cash-for-clunkers." I thought that this would be a good time to enter the business, as people are now more likely to try to buy a new, more fuel-efficient car, and I wanted to be a part of it.

However, looking at my resume, Mark thought that the Web coordinator job would be better to my skillset, as I have experience taking photography with my newspaper jobs. He advised me to take a few days to think it over and get back with him.

That night, I visited my girlfriend, Jenny, and this opportunity came up. She thought I should seriously take the job as opposed to auto sales either at Witham's or at Holdiman Motors down the street a couple miles. She said I can take the job, which would be during weekday mornings, still work for Pizza Hut, which I figured I can do Wednesday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, and do correspondent work for the Cedar Falls Times. That convinced me, but I had to make sure it was doable with Andy.

Wednesday morning, I was prepared to talk with Andy about the prospect, except he wasn't there then. Wes, who's being groomed to be assistant manager of the store, switched shifts with Andy, so I had to wait for the next day to tell Andy what was going on. So, I tell Andy that Witham's wants me to work there in the mornings, and that I would need an adjustment to my schedule starting the week of Aug. 10, to what I just mentioned above. He agreed to it. So, I just needed to tell Mark that I'd take the job. I tried to do that when I got home yesterday, but he was out. He called me back today about 11:15, but I couldn't take the call at the time, as I'm not allowed to make or take calls on my cell phone in the store unless it's an emergency or has to do with work.

When I went on my second delivery of the day, to Dan Deery Motors' parts department, I called Mark to let him know I'd take the job and arranged to start Aug. 10 at 9:30 a.m. The girl who's doing the job now would show me how to work the camera and work with me before she leaves to do what she's going to be doing next at mid-month.

From what I've been told, this is a special camera. I cannot use my Canon Digital Rebel XT that I use for my newspaper coverage. What it can do is scan the barcode for the Vehicle Identification Number that you'd see inside the corner of the windshield atop the dashboard on the driver's side. Then the pictures can be matched up with the car, which we'd have to take several for the Website. When they're uploaded, the computer can match the VIN with information on the vehicle we're selling. Once everything is ready, we then upload the pictures and information to the Mudd Group, which handles the production of the site.

As part of the job, I would have to take the pictures of the cars at all three of Witham's locations - Cedar Falls, Waterloo and LaPorte City. Because of that, they will allow me to drive any car on the lot between lots. All three Witham dealerships sell Ford cars and trucks, while the Cedar Falls location also deals with Volkswagen, Waterloo does Kia and LaPorte sells Chevrolets. I'd probably drive more of the Fords and VWs from the Cedar Falls store, as I'll probably be based there.

What I'm thinking about is when I take a few of the cars out for a spin between stores, I'll give you all a review of the vehicles I'd drive, and maybe I can get a few more followers to monetize this blog. That way, I can probably make a few extra bucks.

Speaking of a few extra bucks, last summer, I co-wrote a zentai-based sci-fi story called "The Community" with a guy in the UK. We were hoping to be able to sell the story as a novel, as it was pretty long and involved, but nothing came out of that. Anyway, one of our fellow members of Ayus-Zentai decided to start a zentai picture book at Lulu.com. Rene, my partner in crime on this project, checked out Lulu, and found we would have no up-front costs to produce our book. The book would be available for purchase as either a download or in paperback. As soon as Rene is ready to publicize it, I'll put up a link on here to buy the book. From what I saw, the download is about $8.50 and paperback is about $12.

We're in the midst of doing a sequel to "The Community" called "No Community." I won't give too much away, but it deals with some people who want to separate themselves from the world-wide Community in our first work.

That's about all for now. If there's anything new personally, or if I have reactions from what's going on in the news, I'll post again. Until next time!

Dad's a klutz!

2009-07-23T14:43:00.001-05:00

My father's face marred from a faceplant in the cooler at his job. (My own photo)

Be careful in walk-in coolers!

After I got home from work this afternoon and had my lunch, I went back upstairs to put my plate in the dishwasher. My dad, Bob, was there looking for something to watch on TV after getting up from his nap. Anyway, I turn back from the kitchen and see what you see above: Dad's forehead has a long, thin scratch and a shorter, thicker gash near where his hairline should be.

"What the heck did you do to your face?" I asked.

"I had a little accident last night," he replied.

He explained that he fell over in the walk-in cooler at the Kum & Go on San Marnan Drive in Waterloo. When he fell, he took a face-plant into a few cooler shelves and may have been KO'd for a little while. He was telling my brother, Scot, that he was waiting for someone to look for him after a while. Also, his boss was wanting him to go to the hospital for treatment.

Anyway, he doesn't mind that much about the face. He said he also pulled a leg muscle.

There was a time when he and Scot and my mom, Diana, would kid me for being clumsy with my growing feet (which stopped about at a size 9 1/2), but now he has to take a little bit of ribbing for a while.

Powerless for 55 1/2 hours

2009-07-12T18:34:00.000-05:00

Tree maintenance worker saws a limb partially broken off during a severe thunderstorm/microburst that hit the Cedar Falls-Waterloo area early Friday morning. (photo courtesy Waterloo Courier)

Huge storm disables Cedar Falls; power cut to my house for 55 1/2 hours

Friday morning about 3:45, I got woke up (which usually doesn't happen) by a very powerful thunderstorm. I could hear the thunder and the hail patter my bedroom window. Also, I noticed the power got cut from the storm.

When I got up at 7 a.m., I called Cedar Falls Utilities to report the outage. From what I heard later, about 8,000 customers in Cedar Falls were without power, and another 7,800 across the rest of Black Hawk County. Here is an article from today's Waterloo Courier about the storm:

CEDAR FALLS --- Prioritizing cleanup was a necessity following a veritable avalanche of tree damage from Friday morning's storm.

The Cedar Falls Public Works Department used a familiar plan.

"It's kind of similar to how we do snow removal," said Public Works Director Bruce Sorensen. "Clear the arteries first and then get side streets done as they can."

The intense storm hit about 4 a.m. It toppled trees throughout the Cedar Valley, blocking streets, damaging power lines, crushing cars and damaging homes.

"We estimated 66 mph before the equipment went kaput," said Aubry Wilkins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, referring to wind speeds clocked at the Waterloo airport.

Though the NWS hasn't completed a survey of the damage in Cedar Falls, Wilkins said it is possible the storm produced a downburst over the city.

A downburst is described as a column of cold air descending very quickly during a thunderstorm. As the column reaches the ground, the rushing air produces strong winds.

A microburst would produce damaging winds extending less than 2.5 miles but with speeds in excess of 160 mph. A macroburst is larger but packs a slightly less powerful punch with winds in excess of 134 mph.

A macroburst could last up to 30 minutes, however, according to the National Weather Service.

About 8,000 Cedar Falls Utilities' customers had their power knocked out as utility poles and power lines were downed in the storms. While several hundred homes remained without power Saturday afternoon, nine electric crews --- including crews from municipal utilities in other cities --- will continue working until dark, said CFU spokesperson Betty Zeman.

Up to 500 customers could remain without power overnight, she said. CFU is advising customers to call 268-6999 this morning if their power has not been restored.

Chad Turner took the day off from work at Principal Financial Group Friday. He didn't have much of a choice. A 3-foot diameter Linden tree from his boulevard fell across a car and blocked his driveway on Iowa Street. Up and down the street, the neighborhood worked to clear smaller trees and make the street passable. The big Linden was beyond their capabilities.

The scene in the back yard wasn't much better. Several trees were down, taking down electric service lines to several homes. One of the trees landed on his garage, damaging shingles, siding and a portion of the roof.

"You can see the outside from the inside, and that's not good," Turner said.

After a full day of clean-up efforts, Cedar Falls Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Larry Burman said the department hasn't been called for emergency medical or rescue help. The storm turned thousands of people usually not accustomed to running chain saws and other equipment into lumberjacks, he said. And that can lead to trouble.

"Nobody has fell off a roof or ladder, that's most amazing thing to me. Some of the more dangerous times is days after the storm," Burman said.

The city of Cedar Falls opened the compost site in the 300 block of North Main Street to take tree debris until it is no longer needed. That facility will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. until further notice. The city also will waive fees for yard waste collection pickup Monday.

Street crews were assisted by parks workers as the city worked to make streets passable as soon as possible.

Residents in many neighborhoods kept working on clearing storm damage as additional thunderstorms rolled through Friday morning.

Clark Vanhauen donned a poncho to shed rain as he helped clear debris from his neighbor's home. Vanhauen had a pine tree crash into his house. It damaged an awning, siding and knocked out his electric service connection.

"It's nothing that can't be fixed," Vanhauen said.

Mike Dowd, the next door neighbor, was working with Vanhauen and a friend to load up a trailer to take brush away. He had a tree down in the front yard and two in the back, one which struck his garage. He pointed to the pine tree that struck a glancing blow to Vanhauen's house and noted how it could easily have caused major problems. In the process, he noted a larger tree above his home had a large split. Dowd paid $2,000 to have some trees and brush cleared last year. It appeared another bill may be forthcoming.

Large trees down across the road blocked access up and down Madison Street in the Cedar Heights area. Many of the trees sheared off right at the base. Other trees were uprooted, and some lost major branches that were large enough to appear to be trees unto themselves at first glance.

Dave Mitchell and Jamie Brandt didn't bother with rain gear as they worked at sawing up trees at the home of Mitchell's mother on Sunnyside Circle. In the backyard, about 10 neighbors worked up and down the block helping each other.

"It's quite a group effort," Mitchell said.

More than 15 residents from the Windsor Nursing and Rehab Center had to be moved to the Parkview Nursing and Rehab Center Friday because of roof damage and a power outage at the Cedar Falls facility. Nicole Bateman, a nurse at Windsor, was uncertain when the residents would be able to return. None of the residents were injured.

Crews at the University of Northern Iowa said it will be several days, possibly even weeks, before the extent of damage on campus can be assessed completely.

Winds damaged at least 350 trees on the campus, and of those at least 100 will have to be completely removed, said Paul Meyerman, assistant director of operations planning.

"You go out to one area and say 'Oh crud.' Then you turn a corner, and it just never ends," he said.

The storm also damaged both Latham Hall --- windows were broken and a tree punctured the roof --- and Price Laboratory School, where windows also were broken. Meyerman said the roof has been patched and crews are working to cover the windows to keep from incurring any further damage.

Dean Shoars, director of the physical plant, is hopeful the area near 23rd and College streets can be cleared in time for the College Hill Arts Festival, scheduled for July 17-18.

Insurance adjusters scrambled to get out to help homeowners file claims. Kendall Kramer, a manager with State Farm Insurance, said his company was bringing in help from outside the area to set up a catastrophe center.

Fortunately, my house, near Sartori Hospital, was not damaged, nor were either of our three trees (one in the parking area between the street and sidewalk, another right next to my bedroom and my mother's former bedroom, and the third in the back yard) split or got uprooted. However, I saw thousands of trees all over Cedar Falls damaged by the winds. Many had already been cleared first thing in the morning Friday, but most still straddled the streets well into the evening.

I was supposed to cover the Cedar Falls-Iowa City West baseball game that night, until I called Jack Sole on my way from a delivery to see about the condition of the baseball field at Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex. He told me the first-base dugout was blown down -- made of cement blocks and metal. I didn't know what he meant until I got there last night to cover the Cedar Falls-Ames regional softball game: blocks everywhere, the metal roof lying over some, the water spraying about from the water fountain that was behind the dugout. It was the only major damage from the storm at the complex that I could see. The softball diamond, tennis courts and auxiliary baseball diamond -- used mostly for youth baseball -- were fine by the time I was there.

All the while, my brother, father and I had been sitting in the dark house, when we were home, waiting for the power to be restored. Dad asked me Friday before joining him, Scot, Grandma Smith and my uncle's family for dinner to call the Utilities to see what's going on. I was told they would call a little later and would try to get everyone powered up by the end of the day. Nine p.m. arrived, and nothing. I called again to the Utilities a few times yesterday. When I got home from the softball game at 9:15 p.m. I called to see if I can get an update. The guy on the phone said to check back in an hour, as the power was on across the street to the west, northwest and north. I called at 10:15, no progress. Then I called at 11:30, they went home for the night.

I woked up this morning at 9 a.m. and called again. The lady told me they were back out at 6 a.m. and was taking down names, addresses and phone numbers to inform crews where the power was still out. Then at 10:15, I heard my dog bark at something. I got off my bed to check it out, and lo and behold, Dad's lamp was on next to the couch. WE HAD LIGHTS!!!! Fifty-five and a half hours later, we had electricity!

I hope you all can appreciate what you have now, because when you don't have it, it's tough to make it through the day.

Oh, and if you're looking for firewood, come to Cedar Falls, Iowa. You can have it by the truckload!

2009-07-02T21:42:00.001-05:00

The late former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, after his capture in 2003. (AP File photo)

If this doesn't prove the Iraq war was wrong...

Recently, the National Security Archive and the New York Daily News released reports of declassified FBI interviews of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after his December 2003 capture in Tikrit following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq earlier that year. In the interview, Saddam told FBI interviewers, who were speaking with him in Arabic, that he led the world to believe he still had weapons of mass destruction so that Iran wouldn't think his country was weak.

For 12 years after the first Gulf War in 1991 (a.k.a. Operation Desert Storm), UN inspectors have tried to root out all or any of Saddam's WMDs, but to no avail. Each time the inspectors met resistance, the UN Security Council passed a resolution to order Saddam to reveal the WMDs or else. When he refused, the U.S. military launched air strikes on suspected chemical- or biological-weapon sites, but sometimes ended up to be civilian factories.

And then 9/11 came. The administration of George W. Bush tried to figure out who launched the attack, where four jumbo jets were used as missiles against the World Trade Center and sites within Washington, D.C. The two jets targetting New York found their spots, eventually toppling the Twin Towers. A third slammed into the Pentagon. A fourth may have been heading toward the Capitol building or the White House, but United Flight 93's passengers rebelled against the hijackers and forced it down in a Pennsylvania field.

When it became clear the WMDs were not where the Bush administration said they were, I had big doubts on the Iraq War by the time the 2004 Presidential Election rolled around. I felt Sen. Kerry would have led the country better than Bush, because he was a war hero during Vietnam, whereas Bush allegedly skipped out on his reserve duty. I'm not going to dwell on that election, but let's just say a new term was coined after this debackle: swiftboating.

Now, back to the day's news: The Bush administration persuaded the world that the rationale for invading Iraq in March 2003 was to expose Saddam's lies about WMDs. Well, it now seems he lied about having them, not that he didn't. Quoting the AP article, via Yahoo! News: "The documents also confirm previous reports that Saddam falsely allowed the world to believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction — the main U.S. rationale behind the war — because he feared revealing his weakness to Iran, the hostile neighbor he considered a bigger threat than the U.S."

You see how this all gets centered around the old Iran-Iraq rivalry? The two nations had an eight-year war in the 1980s, and Saddam feared the theocratical regime in Tehran than he did presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton and the younger Bush. He basically played a high-stakes game of poker, and he was bluffing that he had a bunch of aces in the hole, what some of us poker players call "the weapons of mass destruction." He really had a 7-2 off-suit.

Here's another quote from the FBI report through the AP article about the rationale for invading Iraq: "Saddam also stated that the United States used the Sept. 11 terrorist attack as a justification to attack Iraq and said the U.S. had 'lost sight of the cause of 9/11.' He claimed that he denounced the attack in a series of editorials." The cause, according to Saddam: al Qaeda.

Another assertation of the Bush Administration to invade Iraq was because the Iraqi government was in liege with al Qaeda. Saddam said in the FBI interview that he never met the group's leader, Osama bin Laden, and called him a "zealot." The government also never cooperated with al Qaeda.

So there you go, right there in black and white, the rationalles for the Iraq War blown right out of the water. We spent six years going after shadows in Iraq when the real War on Terror front was in Afghanistan. We helped liberate that country in 2002 of the Taliban and al Qaeda, but then took the eyes off the prize when we supposedly have bin Laden cornered somewhere on teh Afghan-Pakistani border.

Now, because of this fool's errand, the Taliban has refortified, taken back several areas of Afghanistan and has worked its way into a few sections of Pakistan. With them, they still harbor al Qaeda and bin Laden.

A friend of mine, Silly Billy, disputes the existence of al Qaeda and bin Laden. He practices Islam, though I don't know of which style, but he does allow his wife Aurora to dress up in fetish outfits (i.e. zentai, latex, bondage, etc.), so he's not a fundamentalist. Still, he told me when we were talking on ICQ a few weeks back that al Qaeda is a myth and bin Laden, a fairy tale. I'd like to tell him that if a fellow Muslim acknowledges bin Laden and al Qaeda exist, then it must be so.

Some news of the day

2009-06-23T13:45:00.001-05:00

Iranian protest shooting victim Neda Agha Soltan, photo via Wikipedia

Could this be the face to launch a revolution?

The last few days, the news media has played up the death of an Iranian woman, who was shot on the streets of Tehran during some protests by opponents of the current Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration and supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi over the weekend. The video of the aftermath of Neda Agha Soltan's shooting has been shown all over YouTube and later broadcast, in brief on the major news networks, including CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. The broadcasters do not show the whole video in detail out of concern for young people who may view the newscasts.

The full video on YouTube does show Neda bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose, and it's pooling around her on the street. Two men try to keep her alive. They're afraid that if they can get her to a hospital, the Republican Guard or the Basij, a para-military, plain-clothed security forces that help Ahmadinejad and the clerical regime keep order. Think of it as a KGB-like group that secretly serve the president and supreme leader to keep the public in line.

Looking at the bio posted on Wikipedia, she was born in 1982, a part-time worker in a travel agency, and was at a street corner with her father when a Basij sniper shot her in the neck. Her last words, apparently, translated to, "I'm burning! I'm burning!"

Mousavi has called for peaceful assemblies to honor Neda and others who have died in the protests since June 12, when the ruling clerical council declared Ahmadinejad the winner on a 2-to-1 margin. However, the regime has been preventing the protests, which I heard on CNN this afternoon, is against Article 27 of the Islamic Republic of Iran's constitution, guaranteeing the rights to protest peacefully.

Thus the bloodshed. Thus Neda. Of course, she has become somewhat a martyr, because her name translates from Persian into "voice" or "calling." Media also report that protesters have been shouting from the rooftops the last two nights, "I am Neda!" rather than "God is Great!"

I hope that the people do rise up and either take the rights they're guaranteed from the oppressive government or topple this regime. But they must do it themselves. Pres. Obama this afternoon said that he supports the people of Iran in the protests, but the U.S. will not get involved.

Ed McMahon, who died this morning. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Good night, Ed!

This morning, we lost a true TV legend with the passing of Ed McMahon. He was 86.

McMahon was best known as being the sidekick to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" for 30 years, as well as serving as an advertising pitchman, most notably for Alpo dog food, Budweiser and American Family Publishers. He also hosted the 1980s talent show "Star Search," basically my generation's "American Idol." He also co-hosted "Bloopers" with Dick Clark, and the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

While on "Tonight," he had several guffaw laughs at what Carson said, with a "Hey-ooooooo!" every once in a while, but he was known most for introducing Carson onto the stage with his trademark "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrre's Johnny!"

He'll always be a legend, and he'll always be remembered.

Chinese county encouraging zentai purchases?

2009-06-16T15:10:00.001-05:00

photo courtsey chinaspike.com

I was checking a few of the sites I follow on Blogger, and found an article linked through Zentailifestyle. The article is from ChinaSpike.com about a county in rural China asking its people and officials to buy zentai suits from a local manufacturer. Of course, it's been pointed otu that ChinaSpike.com is a lot like The Onion, in that the site is full of fake news.

Quoting the article:

"To make up the lost revenue, officials will now be required to purchase one zentai suit for each family member over the age of eighteen from the Gongan Zentai Trading Company. The company is one of the county largest employers with revenues in 2008 of USD 23,998,000. Since the economic downturn sales of the skin-tight suits to the UK, Japan France, USA, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand have dropped by more than 90 percent.

"Local officials working at various government departments will not be asked to choose a particular type of suit, but must accept their duty and meet the specified quotas, according the government website."

The reason the article said they're asking the county officials to buy the suits: It's to make up for money lost from their original idea to buy 230,000 packs a year of local cigarettes.

Just think, a community of people wearing zentai. How quaint that is! Even though this article isn't real, just think of the posibilities.

Why don't we invade Iran, too?

2009-06-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, the government of Iran announced that current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won re-election over three challengers, the closest being former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. However, supporters of the pro-reformist candidate, as well as many from the rest of the world, are crying foul and fraud.

The main issue with the election result was announced within an hour or two after the polls closed rather than days or weeks later with the usual paper ballots. There also were no outside election monitors from the international community watching to make sure the Ahmadinejad government isn't pressuring the electorate to vote for him when they don't want to.

The result of the announced result? Mousavi's supporters started marching the streets calling for a reversal of the election, or at least an investigation of the vote. It seems Iran's supreme ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has listened to the people. He's ordered an investigation on the vote. Of course, the international community is calling for an outside entity to investigate.

The point is here that Iran's rulers may have fixed the election so that their favored candidate, Ahmadinejad, continues to be the figurehead to the rest of the world. Ahmadinejad has been calling for the elimination of Israel, ambitious in getting nuclear weapons, though the Iranians say the nuclear ambitions are for peaceful (i.e. electricity) means, and has been threatening the rest of the world.

Seven years ago, we invaded Afghanistan, Iran's eastern neighbor, to hunt down Osama bin Laden and get an oppressive regime, the Taliban, out of power so that bin Laden's network, al Qaeda, doesn't have a safe haven there. We were initially successful, but the Taliban is strengthening both there and in Pakistan. Two years later, we invated Iraq, Iran's western neighbor and long-time enemy, because its oppressive leader, Saddam Hussein, was 1) an ally of al Qaeda (which he wasn't), 2) obtaining nuclear weapons (he wasn't) and/or 3) still had weapons of mass destruction and was hiding them from UN inspectors (he didn't).

Now that we have a different president, the U.S. has been trying to get into talks with Ahmadinejad and Khamenei about ending the nuclear ambitions of Iran, as well as eliminating its state sponsorship of terrorist groups like Hamas. It seems that Iran has slapped that hand away by fixing this election. Reports were that Mousavi was wanting to better Iran's ties to the West, which has been almost non-existent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution 30 years ago. Of course, that was highlighted by Iranian university students capturing the U.S. embassy there and holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

President Obama has a tough choice now. Does he continue his quest to open relations with Iran's current regime, or does he do what he predecessor, former Pres. George W. Bush, did and invade Iran to get rid of the clerics that really rule the country? Or does he take a middle ground, help encourage a new revolution by Iranians who feel oppressed by the current system?

Whatever Washington, the rest of the world or the UN does for this issue, they'd better do it soon.

Journalistic sensationalism

2009-06-14T15:13:00.000-05:00

Early this morning, my friend Jill Lavender posted an article from The New York Times about the number of actors and actresses in the adult film industry that have contracted HIV, the virus that nine out of 10 times leads to AIDS. You all remember that disease, the one that killed Queen lead singer Freddy Mercury and led to the end of the basketball career of Ervin "Magic" Johnson, all of this happening in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, it seemed the spread of the word to use condoms or not to have sex with people you don't know that well has quelled the AIDS scare, so it's not that much in the news.

However, as Jill posted here, 22 actors have contracted HIV since 2004. Well, that is just a five-year span. And as she explained in her personal comments:

"So 11,000 films x 4 years = 44,000 films divided by 22 infected actors = one infection for every 2,000 films. Or, another way, 22 actors divided by 4 years = 5.5, say 6 infections per year which in a population of 1500 actors = .4% infection rate which in my opinion is quite remarkable, under the circumstances since we are talking about the adult film industry."

Four-tenths of one percent. That's a problem? I can see it being a problem with those four-tenths of one percent were mainstream actors and actresses and been working in the major film and TV industry and can spread the disease all over Hollywood. However, the Times article simply stated the adult film industry is mainly centered in the San Fernando Valley. And as Jill has posted in her past blogs, "sex workers" usually keep within themselves. They would only go outside their circle if they absolutely know if their intended parter is clean. Otherwise, they would use a condom.

Now, my rantings isn't all about Jill's, it's about how the news can become senationalized in today's 24-hour news cycle, where radio stations, TV networks and newspapers with online outlets are trying to find the angle on certain stories that will generate the most eyeballs or eardrums that will either read, watch or listen to their reports.

I am a journalist myself. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Iowa. I have a grand total of seven years of experience doing both general news and sports with five different newspapers, both weekly and daily, though neither having a general circulation of more than 20,000. The Times circulates more than 10 million copies around the world, with countless his on its website every day. I always had a dream to get to a major metropolitan daily, or even get on ESPN's SportsCenter or be the Chicago Cubs play-by-play voice on WGN (and also now Comcast SportsNet Chicago).

Still, the way several stories have been played out over these last few years, it makes me realize my ideals may not mesh with the editorial boards of some of these newspapers or networks. In fact, it made me glad I focus more on sports nowadays, though some sports pages are getting more senational with the obcession on whether Brett Favre will play for the Minnesota Vikings this season or stay retired, how rampant the use of steroids is still in baseball, or the fact Portugese soccer star Cristiano Rinaldo garnered a £80 million ($131 million) transfer fee paid to his current club Manchester United so he can go to Real Madrid next season.

Here's my thing on this: It's OK to report on what's going on with certain people or events. It's also great to uncover what our government is doing, because that's why the Founding Fathers put the First Amendment into the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution when this country started way back when. However, if you must try to scare people with how many people have been infected with AIDS in the last five years or whether the H1N1 ("Swine Flu") virus will become a full-blown pandemic when the Southern Hemisphere goes into winter next week, or even whether Judge Sonia Sotomayor is fit to be a Supreme Court justice just because she thinks a Latina would be better at making decisions than a white man, then that's getting a bit too far.

We journalists have to get back to being the eyes and ears of the public and report what we see and hear to the public, who by buying newspapers and magazines, clicking on links on the Internet, watching us on TV or listening to us on the radio, pay our salaries. It may be directly through newstand sales or subscriptions or indirectly through buying the goods and services our advertisers advertise. We journalists have to be servants of the public, just like those who serve in a democratically-elected government do. The "Fourth Estate" is a key to a robust society like ours.

However, when the media goes too far to sensationalize the stories, people start tuning out or stop reading newspapers, magazines or Internet news sites and instead watch shows like "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" or "The Real Housewives of [insert geographic region here]" or "The Hills." If we lose the news media - and I'm talking all of them, not just the dying newspapers - then we lose the conduit between us and those who represent us.

However, if sensationalism continues to grow, then it should die a horrible, painful death.

Busy last few weeks

2009-06-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

As with any high school sports season, when I have to cover successful programs, I have to expect to see the teams go deep into the post season, and that usually means a busy schedule for me. Especially when there is an overlap in seasons.

Usually, there isn't an overlap in high school seasons, except if we're talking about practices starting when one season is ending. However, the spring season always overlaps into the summer season with regional, district, substate and state play in golf, tennis, track and field, and soccer.

These last couple weeks has been one period where I have been pretty busy, and driving about a lot. Everything started last Monday, Memorial Day. I covered a pair of baseball games in a season-opening tournament at Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo. In the games, Waterloo West beat Cedar Falls, 6-3, and Columbus Catholic downed Waterloo East, 6-2.

I originally was going to cover the boys' soccer substate first-round match between Cedar Falls and East at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex the next night, but Pat Racette, the sports editor for both the Cedar Falls Times and Waverly Newspapers, told me that I didn't need to go. We knew the Tigers would beat the Trojans, as they had earlier in the season. They did.

Last Wednesday, I was to cover a baseball twinbill between NU High (the high school attached to the University of Northern Iowa, part of its laboratory school) and Springville, but it got cancelled due to rain.

Thursday night, I traveled to Fort Dodge for the boys substate soccer semifinal between the Tigers and Fort Dodge. C.F. did win that game, 1-0, but the following picture I think puntuated the deal:

As you can see, four of these guys wore their track uniforms, with the other wearing an old soccer jersey. They also painted their faces, and the guy on the right, Kyle Bernard, wore his football pants. Sometimes, high school kids can be crazy.

Friday, I had nothing, so I took the night off after I was done with my other job at 2 p.m. I then worked Saturday until about 6, went to Jenny's after she got home from her father's birthday celebration, and went to work again Sunday from 11 to 5.

Monday, I went to cover the substate final between C.F. and West. West was ranked No. 11 in the state, but the two teams are bitter rivals. West won the game earlier this season on their home pitch, 2-1. The Tigers got the best of the Wahawks on that night, 2-1, to advance to state. They will play tomorrow at noon at Southeast Polk against top-seeded Ankeny, who was tied for No. 2 in the state with Iowa City West in the final rankings. Here is a picture of the Tigers with their state qualification banner:

Last night, I was thinking about going to cover the C.F.-Mason City girls' regional soccer first round game, but Pat thought the Tigers would beat the Mohawks, and they did, so I instead went to cover a softball doubleheader between C.F. and Dubuque Wahlert. The Tigers swept the double header, 4-3 and 2-1. In the first game, the Tigers were down 3-0 through three, and the same score going into the bottom of the sixth. They rallied behind a Imonee Qualls leadoff single, a catcher's interference call that allowed Meghan Kleitsch to reach first, and a single by Jillian Zaputil to load the bases with one out.

Then Lauren Smith smacked a double to right-center to score Qualls and Kleitsch and put Zaputil on third. Sarah Korte grounded to first to drive in Zaputil and put Smith on third with two gone. During the next at bat, Smith scored on a passed ball to put the Tigers up by their winning margin. That allowed their ace pitcher and Drexel University recruit Shyann Beach to take the win.

In game two, Korte tripled and Cari Collins homered to give the Tigers their winning margin.

Tonight, I went to Coe College in Cedar Rapids to cover the girls' regional soccer semifinal between C.F. and Cedar Rapids Washington. Wash won that game 2-1, but the Tigers tried to get the equalizer in the final minute on two corner kicks. Their best chance went over the cross bar with eight seconds left.

As I said, I'm on my way to the Des Moines area tomorrow for the boys' state soccer first round match. That'll be the only one I'll cover for state, not because we know Ankeny might wipe the field with them, but because we won't have enough room to put in any other game. In fact, we're so out of room, I'm not needed to do anything Friday.

Well, that's it for now. Watch this space for more of my musings.

Get rid of Billo or get rid of FNC

2009-06-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

Those of you who follow the news, like I do, might have heard about the murder of Kansas doctor George Tiller in Wichita. Today, according to The Associated Press, Scott Roeder, 51, has been charged with Tiller's murder in the first degree.

Some might ask why I am talking about Tiller when my headline mentioned Fox News Channel and Bill O'Reilly. Let me explain:

Over the last few years, O'Reilly, on his Fox News Channel show, has been labelling Dr. Tiller "the Baby Killer" because of the fact he was one of the few left in this country who still performs late-term abortions, also known as "partial-birth abortions" because the not-quite-to-term fetus is pulled partway out the birth canal, and then the doctor severs the spinal chord to terminate the pregnancy. It does sound quite barbaric.

The reason O'Reilly lambasted Tiller, along with many people in the "Right-to-Life" Movement, is that he contended Dr. Tiller had performed the abortions without the need for a medical reason, as long as the mother wanting the termination can pay $5,000.

I don't watch O'Reilly, rather I view his main competitor, Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. Olbermann talked about the comments O'Reilly and other FNC "anchors" and "analysts" made about Dr. Tiller. He was appalled about the wordings of the Fox talking heads, and said that those comments may have incited Roeder to go to Tiller's Lutheran church Sunday morning, where Tiller was an usher, and shoot him.

What makes this case so apalling is that Roeder allegedly did this in a church, a place of worship, a place of sanctuary, the place most of the "Right-to-Life" Movement believes God tells them to preserve the unborn. I'm sorry, but being against abortion in any form does not give one license to kill someone who performs the proceedure.

Also, it's naive of O'Reilly and others at Fox News Channel to think their words didn't incite violence. It seems that hate speech is very prevalent on that network, mostly from talking points from either the Republican Party or different conservative groups, like those in the "Right-to-Life" Movement.

News flash, FNC and Mr. O'Reilly! Roe v. Wade is the law of the land because the Supreme Court ruled, using the Equal Protections clause, that a woman has the right to choose what they want to do with their own bodies. And, until her baby/fetus/whatever is born and can live outside the womb without assistance of an incubator, it is still part of the woman. It is hers to do with as she pleases.

You all say that a fetus is a living, breathing, growing being. Well, so is cancer, yet when we apply radiation and chemotherapy on cancerous cells, it's quite alright. I know that's a bad parallel, but some women would think of the embryo as a cancer if she doesn't want to be pregnant.

I am pro-choice. If my girlfriend and I would happen to do it when her birth control isn't working and she conceives, I would want her to make the final decision whether she would bring it to term. It's her body, even though the baby would be mine, too. She spends the nine months with the child, not I. I would also like her to discuss it with me, but if she isn't ready for motherhood, I would defer to her judgment as a nurse and a woman to make the final decision.

But I would not, as a responsible journalist, use inflamitory verbage talking about a doctor that provides abortions, even if I were pro-life. Like it or not, Mr. O'Reilly, some people out there who follow you, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity or any other conservative talk-show host will take your words to heart and think of it as an invitation to do what they want to people who do things to which you're opposed.

I would suggest that you and your ilk tone down the rhetoric, stop the hate speech, and encourage people to instead of confronting those who do the proceedure, get their state and federal representatives to change the law. Unfortunately for you, any anti-abortion law may be struck down because of Roe. And Roe is not going to be overturned anytime in the near future.

So, those of you who see this blog, I encourage you all to contact your local cable operator and ask for the removal of Fox News Channel from their line-up, and tell them it's because the personalities on that channel have indirectly caused the murder of Dr. Tiller. If the cable companies get enough requests, either they'll remove it, or they could advise News Corp. to get rid of Bill O'Reilly.

Hello Blogger/Blogspot!

2009-06-02T14:51:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new blog on this site due to the fact that Yahoo! is shutting down its 360° site. I'm going to try to post whatever moves me to write blogs, whenever I have time to do them.

Let me give you a little background about myself, if you haven't read my old Y360° blogs: I am 36 years old, currently live in the house I grew up in, mainly because I had to help out with the care of my mother. Now, she's in a nursing home in an Alzheimer's unit due to her aphasia being too far advanced for my brother, father and I to effectively care for her. I have a BA in Liberal Arts, majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication, from the University of Iowa, where I graduated December 1995. I currently work as both a Pizza Hut delivery driver and a sports correspondent for the Cedar Falls Times, the latter of which I hope to get back to full-time status. The regional editor of the media group, Anelia Dimitrova, had been trying to get me on full-time with the Cedar Valley Daily Times in Vinton, but the recession hit hard right when I was going to be hired. She's been trying to find a position for me since.

Prior to my current situation, I worked as a reporter for the Cherokee Daily Times, which now is called the Chronicle-Times after a merger with its former competition, a reporter/copy editor for The Messenger in Fort Dodge, reporter for Newspapers of Fayette County, which included at the time the Elgin Echo, Fayette Leader, and Hawkeye Booster, and sportswriter for the Britt News-Tribune and Forest City Summit.

You'd see in my profile, I have a bunch of varied interests. I am a fan of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, and Iowa Hawkeyes. View my profile for the rest of my interests, which I may touch on in the future.

Personally, I am dating a wonderful woman, named Jenny. She's a registered nurse, and works at both St. Luke's Medical Center in Cedar Rapids and Sunnycrest Nursing Home in Dysart, where she lives. We've been going together officially for five months, but we've been virtually together for another three months prior through texts, calls and e-mails. We met through Match.com, and she said it was a fluke that we got together. She just had been laid off at Principal Financial, where she was a case specialist in the health insurance division. She has a dog, named Toto. He's a Cairns Terrior, and bears a striking resemblence to the dog in "The Wizard of Oz." His picture is below:

Excuse the quality of the picture. It was taken on my cell phone, and it doesn't have any good autofocus. He's wearing a John Deere cap and a T-shirt that says: "Squirrels: They aren't just for breakfast anymore." I do have a picture of Jenny, too, but she doesn't want me to publish it or show anyone else.

I guess that's about it in a nutshell for now. My next post will be about something in the news.