Links Galore

A lot has been going on in Hawkeye Land this past week, so let's get caught up.

From the 'thank your chosen deity department,' Ed Podolak is BACK. This is fantastic news, as Eddie is an Iowa Hawkeye through and through and one of the smartest football guys on the air.

Former Hawkeye Paul Burmeister, a draft analyst from the NFL Network (which like 6% of America gets to watch), does an interview for Hawkeye Report about the Hawks draft status.

He thinks Shonn Greene will be off the board sometime in the 2nd Round. This is good for a couple reasons. First and most importantly, I made a bet with my roommate after the Florida International game that Shonn would go in the first two rounds of the draft. My roommate is a Hawkeye pessimist/realist, though he is a big fan. The wager: a 64 ounce container of sweet, green nectar titled Mountain Dew from the local Kum & Go. I literally have never wanted to win a bet so much and waited so long to do so without forgetting about it in my life.

Secondly and less importantly, it bodes well for the school and the program to have star players in the NFL. Running back has never been an area that success as a Hawkeye has translated to stardom in the NFL. The only legit NFL caliber running back is Ladell Betts and he's a back-up, albeit an effective one. Fred Russell declared for the draft early (I know what you're thinking, but he seriously did). I think Greene has pretty decent shot at being a feature back for a team.

Here's a link to a Press-Citizen article about the installation of the new FieldTurf.

Here's a photo gallery of the spring football practice/scrimmage held last Saturday.

Finally, ESPN's Big 10 blogger Adam Rittenberg talked with Coach Ferentz recently and got some spring tidbits.

Most notably, the Hawks have three night games as of now: @ Penn State (possible White Out. Bad for us, good for TV), vs Michigan (Homecoming, haven't played the Wolverines in two years, they sucked last year!!!!!!), and @ Michigan State (blah).

Also of note, remember when the spring two deeps were recently released and DJK was listed behind Colin Sandeman. I didn't think much of it at the time, but Rittenberg also points out that something could be going on.

Here's a quote from Ferentz on the situation from the article:

"He's got to improve just like everybody else," Ferentz said of the man known as DJK. "There's a lot of little things that he can do better. With receivers, when they make plays, it's pretty obvious, but there are a lot of things that go on during the game that go unnoticed by the average person watching. That's a challenge for all the guys."

If you're going to look for any scoop on the Hawks aside from the brilliant work done here at Hawkeye House, read Rittenberg's blog.

Lords of the Realm

The Major League Baseball strike of 1994 was an inevitable and necessary evil.

The strike was inevitable for many reasons: no permanent commissioner, a terrible relationship between the Lords and the players union, and it was simply too late.

It was necessary for one major reason; to get the Lords and players of America’s game back on the same page.

Baseball’s first problem was their lack of leadership during a crucial time. Bud Selig was acting as baseball’s interim commissioner. Blame for the strike shouldn’t be placed solely on Selig, however. Selig was only replacing the man that the real blame should fall on: former Commissioner Fay Vincent.

Fred Kuhlman said Vincent developed “commissioneritis.” Much like “senioritis” affects the ability to complete coursework in timely manner, “commissioneritis” affected the way Vincent operated.

A passage in Lords of the Realm describes just how bad of a commissioner Fay Vincent actually was.

“He accumulated so many grievances that he actually wrote his own list of ‘Bad Things Fay Has Done.’ It included being a labor wimp; being a press hound and compulsive leaker; and being an ineffectual leader.”

Bud Selig did all he could to prevent the ’94 strike (he tirelessly worked the phones calling owners), but in the end it was his title that held him back. He was the interim commissioner, not the permanent commissioner. Although he repeatedly stated that he wasn’t interested in being the full time commissioner (obviously time tells us he actually was), he never took a firm stance on the issues and was afraid to get into the messy politics of baseball.

The Lords and players union also started negotiating far too late. A vital decision for the future of baseball was delayed for too long. Solid business decisions are thought out and rationalized. They aren’t rash and hurried.

When the two sides finally began discussion, the outcome was already a foregone conclusion; there would be no agreement. A baseball stoppage was inevitable.

Could the strike have been avoided? Was it actually inevitable?

If Bud Selig takes a hard stance, do the rest of the owners respect it? What if they started negotiating sooner, do they get a deal done in time? Even if these things happened, the strike was surely to happen. Baseball needed it.

The real reason the ’94 strike was inevitable was the relationship between the owners and players union had deteriorated so far that it was impossible to come to terms of an agreement.
Even when logical and fair arguments were voiced, like luxury tax, the other half wasn’t listening. The owners had tried to short change and reduce players’ salaries and benefits for so long, players were constantly wary of the Lord’s motives. Marvin Miller and the players union had hammered the owners on almost every baseball detail (arbitration, free agency, reserve clause, lockouts, etc.), that the Lords were afraid of what power they would forfeit next.

Their relationship was ruined. Neither side was listening. Neither side was bargaining.

It was a far cry from player/Lord relationship from the early days of baseball. Relationships where owners took care of their players. The Lords then had more than just a monetary investment in their teams. They were their teams.

In those days, owners used to help their players out, usually by any means necessary. Owners helped finance player housing, slipped players cash after a good game, and were much more lenient during the salary negotiation process.

Can you picture George Steinbrenner doing these things for his players?

I can’t either.

Honorary Hayden Fry Mustache Award

When the only comment on Youtube goes like this, "Kyle Massey has a bad ass mustache in this video. ...for sure," you know you're doing something right with your upper lip.

If you or your friends want to be honored with the Hayden Fry Mustache Award, email Hawkeye House your mustache pictures at heyerjoshua@gmail.com

Every Day Should Be Saturday

nom nom nom nom nom nom

With the recent arrests, we're in the lead for something called the "Fulmer Cup" on national blog Every Day Should Be Saturday. Five points for the five charges the three wisemen collected early Monday morning. Hooray for press!

More on Ferentz, Derby, and Christensen

Some excerpts from the Gazette's Scott Dochterman's blog...

"James Ferentz, Tyler Christensen and Zachary Derby were arrested by the University of Iowa Public Safety, for public intoxication around 2 a.m. this morning near Old Capitol Mall. All three were taken to the Johnson County Jail and were released this morning."

So they went downtown on a Sunday night?

“It was very disappointing to learn of the behavior of our three players last night,” Coach Ferentz said in a statement. “Short term, all three will be suspended for the remainder of spring practice and they will be expected to fulfill significant community service obligations the next several weekends. Additional action will be determined at a later point and return to the team will be based on additional criteria.”

I cannot even fathom the hell they will have to go through to return to the team. Especially for James. He was expected to compete for a starting spot, probably center. He can probably start re-thinking that option.

"According to UI police complaints, Christensen, a red-shirt freshman fullback from Belmond, approached an off-duty officer wanting to fight. When on-duty officers arrived, Christensen had slurred speech, red bloodshot eyes and admitted drinking at Iowa City’s Fieldhouse bar but refused to take a blood-alcohol test. Christensen then admitted to UI police he had broken the arms off of a parking gate at the mall’s entrance. UI police then called Iowa City Police, who arrested Christensen for fifth-degree criminal mischief."

Meets the criteria for like a brilliant guy. Wants to fight an off-duty officer, check. Breaking arms off the parking gate, check. Suspension, check.

"Derby, a 19-year-old red-shirt freshman tight end from Iowa City, joined Christensen in wanting to fight an off-duty police officer, according to the complaint. Derby’s blood-alcohol level was .211 before the arrest."

.211? Cripes. These three didn't just head downtown for an underage drink or two. They were out to get hammered drunk. Maybe they thought they couldn't get in trouble Sunday night. They definitely thought wrong.

.211

Seriously!?

According to the Gazette, James Ferentz and two other Hawks were arrested earlier this morning for public intox. This is the second alcohol-related offense for Ferentz before he's even stepped on the field. Is it possible Kirk kicks his own son of the team if he's found guilty? Discuss.

McLink

Ferentz talks Spring Ball on BTN

Interesting note on Clayborn toward the end of the video