OT: Tim Brewster Loses ANOTHER Assistant Coach

This is getting straight up comical.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_11672333

MEN'S BB: Anthony Tucker Talks About Future Plans, Staying Focused

Rob Howe has the story HERE.
Scott Dochterman also writes about it HERE.

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats

VS.
GAME INFO: Sat., Feb. 7th, 2009 - 5:05 PM CST - Carver Hawkeye Arena
IOWA: 12-11 (2-8); POM: 87; RPI: 98 / NORTHWESTERN: 13-7 (4-5); POM: 62; RPI: 58

TV COVERAGE: BTN - Wayne Larrivee and Shon Morris will call the action.
RADIO: Links
GAME NOTES: HERE
LINE - Iowa is a 2 point favorite at home.

LIVE GAME BLOGS:
GazetteOnline
BlackHeartGoldPants

Iowa has lost 7 out of their last 8 games and Tate remains questionable for this one. Iowa is coming off a loss to the previously winless in the Big Ten Indiana Hoosiers.

Iowa remains in a huge shooting slump, however they did put up 40 points in the second half of the last game. The problems remain the same, low possessions, shooting poorly. It doesn't take much to realize why Iowa is losing games. In fact, Iowa averages just over 58 possessions a game (worst in the nation). Northwestern does a fantastic job of holding onto the ball, they are 4th in the nation in A/TO.

Iowa is 10-2 at home, Northwestern is 2-5 on the road.

Iowa will need to contain Craig Moore. Kevin Coble will get his, Moore will the Hawkeye killer today.

Pomeroy gives Iowa a 54% chance to win the game.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 67
Northwestern - 66
Overtime.

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Illinois Fighting Ilini

VS.
GAME INFO: Sun., Feb. 1st, 2009 - 1:05 PM CST - Assembly Hall, Champaign, IL
IOWA: 12-9 (2-6); POM: 83; RPI: 88 / #19 ILLINOIS: 17-4 (5-3); POM: 24; RPI: 18

TV COVERAGE: BTN - pure awesomeness as Roy Marble and Kendall Gill are announcing this one!
RADIO: Links
GAME NOTES: HERE
LINE - Iowa is a 12 point underdog on the road.

Iowa has lost 5 out of their last 6 games and Tate is likely out, so things do not look good for the Hawks in this one. Although the W/Ls haven't looked good, you can definitely see that Iowa is steadily improving.

Iowa has been in a shooting slump the last few games, but they still rank fairly high nationally for 3 pt% (26th), 2 pt% (43rd) and FT% (21st). The problem lies in the fact that Iowa has a very limited number of possession in a game, which can be attributed to their horrible rebounding (worst in the Big Ten).

Even though Illinois score fewer points than in a high school girls' basketball, the Hawkeyes are going to be up against it today and I think Illinois' bigs are going to have a heyday against Iowa's big boys. Tisdale has made big strides in his sophomore campaign, and Iowa really doesn't have anyone to match up with him. Mike Davis should own the boards today. Being at home is going to give Illinois the help they need (11-1 at home so far this year). Illinois is the best passing team in the Big Ten, and they rank 4th in the nation in assists per game (over 18 a contest).

Iowa hasn't won a Big Ten road game yet, and I don't see one happening today.

Pomeroy gives Iowa a 13% chance to win the game.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 57
Illinois - 66

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Michigan State Spartans

I've been a busy guy lately and have been getting behind on my previews/predictions. My apologies on that. This will be a short and sweet one.

Tate is questionable.

Students get in free and first 200 in Carver get free pizza.

Iowa has a nice little streak going on vs. MSU at home.

Carver should have the best crowd of the year for this ESPN matchup.

I think Iowa plays well, but loses. MSU is just that good.

IOWA - 56
MICHIGAN STATE - 63

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Wisconsin Badgers

It's the LOST Season 5 premiere tonight, so I will be DVRing the game, then watching it late tonight. Hopefully Iowa can get this one. If you check out Hawkeyenation.com, you'll see that I put a bet out there when Iowa was 11-4 that Iowa would not fall to 11-11 this year... if they did I'd shave my head and wear Cyclone gear for a month. That bet is looking AWFUL right now.

LIVEBLOG WITH MOREHOUSE OVER ON THE GAZETTE PAGE: http://marcmwm.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/liveblogging-from-carver-hawkeye-tonight/

It's Bring a Buddy day at Carver, buy one ticket get one friend free... or something like that.

Anthony Tucker is going to miss the rest of the year due to academics... just another huge blow to this team.

Jeff Peterson is still playing with a broken wrist.

Jake Kelly still has broken fingers, wrist, and possibly his crossover.

Jarryd Cole still getting over his knee surgery.

Cyrus Tate is likely going to be out, as well. So expect David Brooks to start in his place.
Who's David Brooks? This guy.




So with all that said, we'll likely see JR Angle tonight. W00T W0oT!
And you know what that means.

This isn't a typical preview/prediction because I have things going on right now, but I am going to go with Iowa in the emotional win.

IOWA - 69
WISCONSIN -65

DON'T FORGET TO LIVEBLOG WITH MOREHOUSE OVER ON THE GAZETTE PAGE: http://marcmwm.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/liveblogging-from-carver-hawkeye-tonight/

MEN'S BB: R.I.P. Chris Street

Sixteen years ago seems like yesterday.


(2/2/1972 - 1/19/1993)

You are still missed, Chris.

MEN'S BB: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Purdue Boilermakers

VS.
GAME INFO: Sun., Jan. 18th, 2009 - 11:05 AM CST - Mackey Arena; West La Fayette, IN
IOWA: 11-6 (1-3); POM: 68; RPI: 73 / #19 PURDUE: 13-4 (2-2); POM: 20; RPI: 51

TV COVERAGE: BTN
RADIO: Links
GAME NOTES: HERE
LINE - Iowa is a 13 point underdog at home.

UPDATE: Dolph and Bobby report that David Palmer will get his first start as an Iowa Hawkeye.

Kramer and Hummel are back in the lineup for Purdue, which only helps their case in this one. Apparently, Robbie's butt is all better. Iowa lost both games last year to Purdue (by 5 points at home, by 1 point on the road). Anyone that watched either of those games would have to admit that Iowa had its chances to win either of them. Arguably, Iowa is better this year and Purdue has lost a step... arguably.

As Pat Harty writes, Iowa has been working on their offense this past week. No one can argue that Iowa's D hasn't been good thus far, however their offense (when the treys aren't falling) is abysmal. It's even worse without Cyrus Tate isn't on the court... much worse.

Iowa will be without Cyrus Tate for an extended period of time, including this one. Tate had practiced earlier in the week, but Scott Dochterman just posted that Tate is out for awhile.

One has to wonder why Iowa doesn't take time to throw on a press every once and a while. The Hawkeyes long guards can definitely cause a ruckus in the backcourt. Sure, pressing has never been a staple for Lickliter's past teams, but teams and individuals have to adapt to stay ahead of the curve. Minnesota's guards made Wisconsin look silly a few nights ago when they slapped on the press, which ultimately ended up allowing the Gophers to win the game. I'm just saying... Coach needs to give it a look, especially if Iowa starts falling behind teams early. Draining threes is a great way to get back into ballgames, but when they aren't falling (as was the case the past few contests) Iowa can't get back into games.

IOWA'S POINT DISTRIBUTION (via KenPom.com)
41.3% - 3 ptrs (4th highest in the nation)
39.3% - 2 ptrs (340th in the nation, 5th worst in the nation)
19.4% - FTs (210th in the nation)

Pretty obvious stats there. Iowa doesn't get to the line very often, and live and die by the three. Information we already knew. Iowa continues to have the 2nd slowest tempo in the nation - 343rd overall. This, too, isn't overpowering news, as this sort of tempo was expected.

Pomeroy gives Iowa a 13% chance to win the game.

KEYS TO THE GAME FOR IOWA:
1.) Shoot Well from the Outside. Without Tate, Iowa had better hit its outside shots.
2.) Effective Dribble Drives. No silly turnovers while hitting the lane; Iowa needs to attack Purdue to free up their shooters and hopefully gets a couple easy buckets.
3.) Limit Calasan. Yes, Purdue has Kramer, Moore, Johnson and Hummel, but last year, Calasan killed Iowa. He definitely causes matchup problems for Iowa.
4.) Mix it Up. I don't even know what this key is... I just want to see something different on the court. The product right now is pretty stale.
5.) Switching on D Effectively. The last few games, teams have exposed Iowa's D by making the Hawks switch on D, getting their bigs posting up our guards. This can't happen.

PREDICTION:
Iowa - 57
Purdue - 66

FOOTBALL: Official Ed Podolak Statement of Retirement, Barta Comment

http://hawkeyesports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/011409aac.html

UI great Podolak retires from radio position

Weekend commutes to the Midwest took its toll on Hawkeye color analyst

Jan. 14, 2009

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Long-time University of Iowa football color analyst Ed Podolak has decided to retire from Hawkeye football broadcasts. Podolak visited with UI athletics director Gary Barta last weekend, indicating his desire to leave the radio booth. Below are statements from Podolak and Barta:

Ed Podolak statement

I have notified Learfield Sports and the Iowa athletic department of my retirement from Iowa football broadcasts. My multi-year contract with Learfield has expired and I will be 62 years old this year, so it seems like a good time for a younger ex-Hawkeye to fill the spot. I have been wrestling with retirement through last fall since I have relocated my real estate business to northern California. The resulting commute to the Midwest each weekend has been challenging. I wish the Hawkeyes the best and will attend as many games as my schedule allows. It has been a pleasure working with so many great Hawkeyes over the last 27 years. I want to especially thank Jim Zabel and Gary Dolphin for helping to make my football Saturdays even more rewarding. I hope to pen some memoirs in the near future. Go Hawks!!!!

Gary Barta statement

Over the weekend Ed Podolak shared with me his desire to retire as our football color analyst, a position he has held for more than 25 years. He indicated he felt the time was right for him to step aside and devote more time to his business and other personal interests.

It's hard to put into words what Ed has meant to Iowa football, both as a player and a radio personality. His knowledge, insight and wit will be sorely missed when Hawkeye football is on the air. He has the unique ability to talk to Iowa fans in a way they clearly understand. He never hid his passion for the Hawkeyes and for that we'll be eternally grateful. It'll be a challenge to fill the shoes of such a great radio personality, but we'll work hard to find a color analyst who exemplifies the on-air qualities we've become accustomed to with Ed. We thank him for his years of service and wish him good luck and health in his retirement from the radio booth. He'll always be a Hawkeye and we cherish the memories he has left us.

Podolak lettered in football at Iowa from 1966-68 and is 18th on the all-time single-season Hawkeye rushing list with 937 yards on 154 carries with eight touchdowns in 1968 (6.1 yards per carry average). He led Iowa in passing in both 1966 (1,041 yards) and '67 (1,014). He played in the East-West Shrine game, the Hula Bowl and the Tribune All-Star game before being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League. A native of Atlantic, Iowa, Podolak played nine seasons for the Chiefs, rushing for 4,451 yards and 34 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Chief's Hall of Fame in 1989.

FOOTBALL: Eddie Podolak Retires from Learfield Sports

Original graphic by Learfield Communications

WHO TV, channel 13 in Des Moines, made the announcement tonight that Ed Podolak has retired from broadcasting Iowa Football on the radio. Whether this was a force out or Eddie's decision, it is a sad, sad day for the state of Iowa (and all Hawkeye fans).

Recent pictures of Ed made their way through the Internets this past week of Ed tying one on in a hotel bar after the Outback Bowl. Iowa A.D., Gary Barta, stated that he was "deeply disappointed" in Podolak's actions.

Again, I'm not sure if Ed was asked to resign or if he left on his own. We do know that Ed has apologized for his actions and said that he was going to take last weekend to think about what needed to happen. This might have been what he thought had to happen.

Regardless of the basis behind his retirement, one thing is for certain... Iowa Football broadcasts will never be the same. The person chosen to take Ed's place as the color man for Iowa Football will have huge shoes to fill. HUGE shoes to fill. Eddie has been on the radio since I can remember what Iowa Football was. It's a sad, sad day, Hawk fans.

UPDATE: Great article from Morehouse on this subject - HERE