Le Mars, Iowa · Thursday, March 18, 2010
[Masthead] Fair ~ 54°F  
A can of Dutch sardines: Packing in the fans for substate basketball (03/08/10)
I really dislike using clichés. I always think the words must exist to better describe a situation rather than relying on some overused phrase that does little to actually portray a specific situation. But I was having a difficult time coming up with the words to illustrate the inordinate number of Dutch basketball fans in attendance at MOC-Floyd Valley for last Saturday's substate game between Unity Christian and Western Christian...
Together we can beat the winter blues (01/28/10)
Around 5:30 on Tuesday evening, I was speed walking up the sidewalk to Gehlen, my face staring at the sidewalk in an attempt to keep the cold wind at bay, and all of the sudden I realized - it's still light out! The days are getting longer, the sun is shining (as of Wednesday afternoon) and February is just around the corner...
Enough already: Instant replay reviews getting out of hand (01/08/10)
Every Sunday night after the 10 o'clock news, the NBC affiliate in Des Moines features a special called 'Sports Sound-off,' which is an hour-long sports commentary program hosted by the station's sportscasters. One of the most popular segments, especially among my classmates during my high school days, is called "What's Bugging Andy?"...
Let's all say 'Merry Christmas' - who cares who we offend (12/07/09)
When did everyone get so caught up in working their tails off not to offend people? That's the question I asked myself the other night as I watched the new Gap holiday commercial during a late night episode of Friends. From the opening line of the 30-second advertisement, which the actors shout in cheerleader-esque excitement, "2-4-6-8, tis the time to liberate!" to the closing line of the chant, I found myself literally yelling at the TV, "Just say, 'Merry Christmas!'"...
True to form, Cincy takes a chance on Johnson (11/19/09)
When we were children, our mothers taught us to mind our manners, say 'please' and 'thank you' and play nicely with others. Those behaviors were supposed to be guiding lights as we entered adolescence and adulthood, aiding us to interact and work well with others...
Shouldn't conference play have postseason implications? (10/15/09)
With all the demands for equal treatment and evidence of socialism we are seeing from our government these days, it should not be a surprise that the Iowa high school playoff system is so quick to offer the same promises of equal treatment for each team in the state...
Tweet, tweet: I found a little bird who knows everything (09/01/09)
Remember the days when you could sit down every morning with a cup of coffee and open your newspaper to find everything you needed to know? Or at least everything you thought you needed to know. That's more of a story than a memory for me and by the time I have children I fear newspapers may be something kids laugh at the way we make fun of our parents for listening to music on eight-tracks or vinyl...
Say it ain't so: Favre breaks already broken hearts (08/19/09)
Hearts were breaking across the country, particularly in Cheesehead Nation, as the announcement came from Minnesota on Tuesday: Brett Favre is back. Of course many Packers fans are still convalescing from the last time Favre was back and wearing a different shade of green...
IGHSAU relinquishes control of high school girls hair styles (07/28/09)
I'd like to congratulate the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Turns out, the IGHSAU is not as completely worthless as I originally had it pegged. In reading the 2009 Volleyball Preseason Memo on the website Monday, I was delighted to read one of the rule adaptations for the upcoming season...
Impact of loss goes beyond Parkersburg, Iowa (07/06/09)
A high school football coach dons the cover of the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, a feat that SI writer Lee Jenkins called unusual. "I don't recall that ever happening," he told Radio Iowa writer Darwin Danielson in an online article dated July 1...
When rivalry rears its friendly head (06/15/09)
When I was in high school, my best friend went to the public school. And I went to the Christian school. A friendship like ours was uncommon. And that's not just because we were so close or any of that mushy high school stuff. It was primarily because of the intense rivalry between our schools...
NFL 'heroes' offer little hope to fans (04/24/09)
The NFL Draft is this weekend. An event Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock says brings hope to fans in ways nothing else can. "Barack Obama doesn't sell hope as effectively as the National Football League. No one does," he wrote in his April 23 column...
Mock drafters: That's football talk for mind readers (04/13/09)
Hindsight is 20/20: Google perfects the 'undo' button (03/27/09)
"Jesse, shut up! I can't concentrate," I shout as I find the "control + z" keys on my computer. Mumbling expletives under my breath, I am relieved to know that someone was smart enough to give me the power to "undo" and "step backwards" as I design the sports pages every night...
Clearly Denver has learned little from NFL history (03/19/09)
For ages, history teachers have proclaimed the reason that we study history is so we are not doomed to repeat it. Clearly that idea never got through to Josh McDaniels. The new Broncos coach is teetering on the edge of being served with a sloppy divorce from starting quarterback Jay Cutler and being left with more of a mess in Denver than before Mike Shannahan got the boot...
Who knew the IHSSA took Visa? (03/12/09)
State basketball wraps up this week as boys teams from four classes battle it out at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Living in Northwest Iowa, it's not practical for someone who accumulated the amount of student loans I did to skip down to Des Moines and back for a couple basketball games...
Patriots make 'pinhead' move in opening days of shopping season (03/02/09)
The crazy shopping season has begun. And I'm not talking about fake-baked, botoxed bimbos shopping for summer beach-wear and colorful flip flops. Friday at 12 a.m. the NFL began its shopping season - free agency. While reading some blogs about the free agency on Thursday, I told Jesse how Matt Cassel might end up playing for a quarterback-lacking squad such as the Chiefs or the Lions. ...
What's the deal with being No. 1? (02/19/09)
February is more than half over. That's hard to believe considering how this usually wretched month has leaned more towards the pleasant side, weather-wise. Well, until Wednesday. Moving on... Before we know it, March will have blown by and it will be April. You know what that means...
Who won the Pro Bowl? Apparently Miami did (02/12/09)
Sunday was an historic day as far as NFL fans are concerned. The Pro Bowl - which has been played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu since 1980 - will change locations and dates next season. I'm sure the professional football fan-base is completely distraught...
Should Michael Phelps' mistake be front page news? (02/05/09)
Reading the news would be a lot less exciting for most people if all we ever reported were good things. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports page first, which records people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures."...
Show me the money - and I'll share it (01/30/09)
With so much excitement looming as the Cardinals prepare for their first NFL championship appearance since 1947, it's hard to remember that the business aspect of the game still looms directly overhead. Because after Sunday's big game, Arizona has to face the ever-present contract negotiations and free agency...
'Close' won't get Philly Lombardi (01/22/09)
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Or so they say. This week, Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb proved that sometimes close does count. In their case, 'close' has been the tandem's job security for the past eight years...
Rankings: Iowa's worst infatuation (01/15/09)
On Friday night, Class 3A No. 1 Sioux City Bishop Heelan lost to Class 4A unranked Sioux City East 85-82 at the CNOS Classic. That same night, about 250 miles southeast, Class 2A No. 2 Pella Christian hosted Class 3A No. 10 Norwalk in a Little Hawkeye Conference battle of perfect records. The home crowd advantage failed to help the unbeaten Eagles as Norwalk walked away with a 60-45 victory...
By Bethany Kroeze
Cowtipping across the cornfields