Black Heart Gold Pants

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated /s J. Hampton

2009-07-10T16:30:17Z

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated /s J. Hampton

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Gets Counterintuitive

2009-07-10T12:45:22Z

Tony Moeaki, in his natural state

Tony Moeaki Gets Interviewed, Breaks Finger. ESPN.com Big Ten blogger features the Flyin' Hawaiian and the never-ending string of injuries and bad breaks (hur hur) that have limited his production over the past two years. The list of injuries is staggering, both in breadth and depth:

After serving as a reserve in 2005 and 2006, Moeaki has endured a string of injuries that limited his production.

A broken hand and a dislocated elbow cut short his 2007 season four games in. He missed the following spring while recovering from wrist surgery, but hurt his left foot early in preseason camp. Another surgery followed, and Moeaki missed the first two games last fall. But the foot problem led to calf and hamstring problems, which kept Moeaki sidelined, and he also sustained a concussion.

Moeaki sat out practice after a second surgery on his foot.

"It's just been unlucky situations," Moeaki said in April, with crutches laying at his side and a boot on his foot. "None of them have been real serious injuries."

Immediately after saying that, Moeaki tripped over one of the crutches and suffered a sprained shoulder. We joke, but (aside from maybe Dace Richardson) nobody deserves an injury-free season more than Tony Mo. For his sake and ours, let's hope he gets it.

Some Things Never Change. ESPN announced its football broadcast commentator pairings yesterday. The big news (at least according to the WWL) is that Matt Millen will replace Chris Spielman as Sean McDonough's partner on ABC telecasts. Spielman will still call games, just on ESPN with Dave Pasch.

While reading the press release, I had a brief moment of hope. You know, that moment where all the air escapes from your chest, and you just can't believe that the words in front of you are true. It came during this paragraph:

Returning announcer pairings to television’s deepest field of commentators include: Mark Jones and Bob Davie; Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham; Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore; Clay Matvick and David Diaz-Infante; and Charlie Neal and Jay Walker.

That list doesn't include...wait...could it be? Could it really be that we've finally rid ourselves of Pam Ward and Ray Bent

ESPN2 College Football (Saturday afternoon)

Pam Ward

Ray Bentley

Aw, goddamnit.

Lincoln/Douglas Is For Jokers. The Maize n' Brew crew debate the Iowa game. Essentially, the Michigan perspective boils down to (1) we don't know enough about Dick Stanzi, but we're stocking up on bottled water, (2) Michigan has to run the ball effectively between the tackles if they have a chance, (3) Tim Dwight is freaking awesome. I can't disagree with any of those, though I think Dave might be overestimating the size and enthusiasm of our readership:

No. For pure nastiness, situational awareness, and creepiness [Michigan's most difficult road venue is] Kinnick. The students know the game. They drink heavily. There's a certain, as the French say, I don't know what, about Kinnick. It scares me. At night. I said it before: "It's an 8 p.m. start. It's at Kinnick. More importantly, the BHGP will be having their tailgate." Plus, Iowa's the best team we play on the road. That factors into it a tad.

I'd like to think we can single-handedly drive 75,000 fans into mass hysteria, but more likely it's going to be OPS and I shotgunning cans of Schlitz and mowing through bags of Ruffles. Which reminds me, DON'T FORGET ABOUT BLACK HEART GOLD TAILGATE 10/10/09 AGAINST MICHIGAN! BHGP! IT'S FANTASTIC!

Footnotes. Iowa City High quarterback A.J. Derby says he will take official visits to Iowa and Florida, despite holding scholarship offers from half of the BCS. Don't look for a decision soon; he's taking visits during and after his senior season. Xavier forward Jordan Crawford discusses the now-mythical dunk on Lebron. Fifteen minutes after this interview was conducted, Crawford was abducted, thrown into a windowless conversion van, and taken to a gulag for "questioning." What, now our schools are giving out detention slips for impersonating Michael Scott?

25 Years Ago To The Day, Something Magical Happened

2009-07-09T18:00:22Z

No, it's not the 1939 awesomeness from yesterday, but whiile we're waxing nostalgic about historic wins, why not this one from literally over 7 centuries ago? It's Iowa facing San Diego State in the 1986 Holiday Bowl, and the hated Aztecs had just taken a 38-36 lead on the good guys. Cue the other brother Harmon:

By the way, that's absolutely vintage Hayden: collar over the jacket, white pants whenever the hell he feels like wearing them--calendar be damned--and the sharpest set of aviators since the Luftwaffe (what? they were good at airplane-flying. Fine, since the RAF. You happy now?).

Yes, Iowa won the game (sorry for not giving you a spoiler alert, but as we mentioned before, it's been like 50 years), but they weren't done punishing the Aztecs for giving them the scare in the first place. Years later, the Fry Intelligence Agency would install Chuck Long in the SDSU head coaching spot, running the program into the ground in historic fashion. Imagine Long is the young man at the beginning, the boss is the AD, and the chair is football:

Take that, you bastards.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Isn't Breaking Any News

2009-07-09T15:54:16Z

Big Time. I'm On My Way. I'm Making It. In an outside programming note, Oops Pow Surprise sits down with bigtennetwork.com to discuss the BHGP. It's about 60% true, 25% fiction, and 15% abject bullshit. You should read it, and you should be listening to Peter Gabriel while you do that. My favorite part is the completely true story of the origin of our stupid name:

How did you come up with the name for your blog?

Actually, we were just stone cold out of ideas. We had been called The Hawkeye Compulsion back when we were with Blogger. When we signed a contract with SBN, one of the stipulations was you couldn't use nicknames, like Hawkeyes. We spent like five days talking about it and couldn't really think of anything when one of our guys was like what about Black Heart Gold Pants? We were like, actually that sounds pretty terrible, let's do something else. But he was working the closest with SBN and said we were going with it.

Thanks, Jebus! There's also JoePa, the Joe Tiller cream cheese fetish, OPS claiming to regularly read a blog that changed its URL five months ago (sorry about that, Toki), and a cheap shot at our journalistic skills by the BTN (I got your breaking news right here!) (/gestures at crotch) (/loves parentheticals). Seriously, why aren't you reading it? Go read it.

Creepiness, Now in Chart Form! It used to be that blogs named for fight song lyrics were the exclusive property of Ohio State. Then came Michigan State and Northwestern (wait, that's not their fight song?), and now Iowa's gotten in the act. If you want a breakdown of the holes in the depth chart and the current candidates to fill them, take a look at the excellent recruiting breakdown at Fight for Iowa. A couple of points:

It's especially good to see we have approximately 53 tight ends on the roster; like Forest Evashevski said, you can never have enough tight ends.
With five (and, let's face it, probably six) offensive linemen coming off the books at the end of the year, it's slightly disconcerting that we have just one commitment. It's more disconcerting that we only have two other possibilities (and that one of them is being Googlestalked in ways we cannot even imagine).
This sentence: "With the Vandervelde injury and the Calloway suspension, that should help some of the younger guys get meaningful game experience as well." I'm sorry, man, but you're WAY too glass-half-full to be an Iowa fan.

Grappling Is Creepy. Intermat places Iowa's 2009 recruiting class fifth in the nation. Only Minnesota ranked higher in the conference. Cael Sanderson took his rightful place behind Brands, as Penn State finishes sixth primarily on the strength of the coach's All-American sibling. The rest of the Big Ten's big guns came in between ninth and seventeenth. Iowa State is nowhere to be found. In a related story, Jamie Pollard remains inconsolable.

Footnotes. Pat Angerer, A.J. Edds, and Tony Moeaki will attend Big Ten Media Day. Moeaki will walk onstage, rupture his patella tendon, and miss the rest of the season. Morehouse's "Hall of Ferentz" series keeps on rolling. Some of these aren't going to be easy; running back is one, though I can't argue with the rankings. Ohio State moves deck chairs on that Titanic.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Waxes Nostalgic

2009-07-08T16:00:27Z

Just to remind everyone, tips are always appreciated. Email links to me at hawkeyestatebhgp@gmail.com.

Set the Delorean to November 11, 1939. Accelerate to 88 mph. Hop aboard the Wayback Machine: Nile Kinnick and the game that won him the Heisman, from the stadium that would eventually bear his name, in living color:

Late edit: I've received a couple of emails asking for Kinnick's 1939 numbers. Kinnick won the Heisman, Maxwell, and Walter Camp Awards that year. From the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia:

[Kinnick] led the Hawkeyes to a 6-1-1 record by rushing for 5 touchdowns and throwing for 11, drop-kicking 11 extra points and scoring 107 of the team's 130 points. Kinnick played all 60 minutes in 6 of Iowa's 8 games and led the country in kickoff return yardage and tied for the lead in interceptions.

Possibly more impressive than that is this passage, from the Wikipedia entry on the '39 Hawks (describing 6:28-8:00 of the video).

Toward the end of the second quarter, Kinnick made a touchdown saving tackle on a Notre Dame run at the Notre Dame 41 yard line. On the next play, a Notre Dame pass was intercepted by Kinnick at the Iowa 45 yard line, and Kinnick dodged several tacklers to return the ball 20 yards with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.

On the next play, Kinnick fired a pass for Dean in the end zone, but it was intercepted by Steve Sitko at the goal line. Sitko returned the ball for a few yards before being hit hard by Andruska, forcing a fumble. Dean and Evans recovered at the Notre Dame 4 yard line. Rushes by Kinnick and Dean for no gain brought up third down, and Notre Dame called a time out. Kinnick shifted to right halfback on third down and carried the ball over the goal line for the touchdown with forty seconds remaining in the half. Kinnick added the extra point under a heavy rush to give Iowa a 7-0 halftime lead.

So, um, yeah, he was good.

Caring is Creepy. Iowa picked up its ninth verbal commitment for 2010 yesterday in the form of Brandon Scherff, a Denison (IA) offensive lineman (and universal 3-star). Scherff, who turned down offers from pretty much the entire Big XII North, is the first offensive lineman in the class. He comes equipped with the Kirk Ferentz Recruit Starter Kit (multi-sport athlete, squeaky clean background, looks like a small mountain):

As a junior, Scherff lined up at quarterback on offense....Scherff also played tight end some and caught 11 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, Scherff was a defensive lineman, a position he was much better at than quarterback. He had 47 tackles including 1 for loss in the Monarch's 9 games. His efforts landed him Class 3-A Second Team honors by the Iowa Newspaper Association.

In high school, in addition to football, Scherff played basketball. He averaged 10.6 point, 8.0 rebound, 1.1 assists, and 1.0 block per game as a junior. He also has excelled in the shot put and discus. He won the 3A title in shot put as a sophomore before getting beat by incoming freshman Drew Clark in 2008. Scherff is also a pitcher on the Monarchs baseball team.

Scherff is already 6'6", 300 lb., so the move to collegiate offensive tackle will be far focused on technique than it will on size. Call me crazy, but a 17 year old with that kind of girth and the speed and agility to play high school quarterback/tight end could contribute quickly, and in a big way.

Footnotes Someone from Des Moines speculates on the future of Bret Bielema and, in the process, sends Adam Rittenberg the single dumbest email in the history of the world. Smart Football answers that age-old question: Why are NFL offenses so damn boring? LeBron James' video censorship skills are the envy of 1989 Communist China.

Jerry Rice is the absolute G.O.A.T.!! Great to have him in the Twin Cities!! Go Gophers!!

2009-07-08T14:24:31Z

Jerry Rice is the absolute G.O.A.T.!! Great to have him in the Twin Cities!! Go Gophers!!

I... I don't even know what to say. The man is brilliant.

Assume the Position 2009: Linebacker

2009-07-08T04:48:00Z

It's about that time again. For the next three months, BHGP will be previewing this year's Iowa Hawkeyes, position-by-position. Naturally, as the earth revolves around the sun, things will change. Therefore, we're starting with the position where we are most certain, and ending with the position of which we are least certain. To date:

1. Quarterback
2. Offensive Tackle
3. Safety

Tonight: Linebacker

Pat Angerer employs the rarely-used Scorpion Spear "Get Over Here" technique

The three positions covered so far were all quite different than linebacker. Quarterback, the tackles, and the safeties are manned by returning starters with no serious competition from below. While all three starting linebackers return from last year, two have legitimate, somewhat-proven players beneath them (it was three, of course, before this happened). We even have our first serious position battle to discuss. While those other positions have entrenched starters, they do not have nearly the depth of the linebacking corps. What I'm saying is, we have a lot to discuss.

The Starters

MLB: Pat Angerer (#43, 6'1", 235, Senior) - When it's finally written, The Epic Saga of Pat Angerer will be positively Dickensian: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness. It's fairly safe to say that no player on the current Hawkeyes has faced more adversity over the course of his time in Iowa City, and it's painfully obvious that nobody has overcome adversity more effectively.

It was virtually unreported at the time, but Angerer was THISCLOSE to quitting football and leaving Iowa after the 2007 season. He had just faced a neverending string of injuries, illnesses, and bad luck. He moved from the weakside to the middle, then sat on the sideline and fought mono while Jacody Coleman, a true freshman, fought for playing time with Mike Klinkenborg. Any reasonable human would have looked at the depth chart, seen that they were stuck behind a younger player, cut their losses, and went home.

Pat Angerer, it turns out, is not a reasonable human being.

Despite recording just one tackle in his sophomore season (and that being on special teams), Angerer chipped away at Coleman's lead during the spring. Even though he was still officially listed as the backup, Angerer started the spring game and did not go unnoticed. By week 2 of the regular season, he was the starter and never let up. He finished with 107 tackles, 6 TFLs, 1 sack, and 5 interceptions. Angerer is even more important this season, without Kroul and Unusual Punishment anchoring the middle of the line. I would expect a slight uptick solely for that fact, and another all-Big Ten campaign for arguably the best middle linebacker in the conference. Not bad for a guy who just about gave it up.

OLB: A.J. Edds (#49, 6'4", 245, Senior) - Something funny happened in 2008 to the best coverage linebacker in Iowa history: Everybody avoided him. His tackle totals fell 25%, from 80 to 59, while his other statistics remained steady (though he did record the first two sacks of his career). In a list of possible reasons for this slight downtick in production (better play from the front four against the run; opposing offenses focusing on attacking the safeties rather than the linebackers; Angerer sucking the wind out of the room), any actual diminution in effort or ability should be at the very end. The fact is that - especially early - teams avoided Edds like the plague, and for good reason. He is the only linebacker on the team (and the most effective I saw in the conference last season) who can successfully cover most slot receivers in man-to-man (not that it's really necessary in Iowa's defense, but it's there nonetheless) and still shirk blocks from tight ends like they weren't there. A linebacker with Edds' size, agility, and technique should be playing on Sundays. If his production returns to 2007 levels, he just might.

The Steel Cage Match

WLB: Jeremiha Hunter (#42, 6'2", 235, Junior) and Jeff Tarpinian (#33, 6'3", 235, Junior) - One year later, it's the same position battle, only in reverse. Tarpinian, a former high school option quarterback who added about 50 pounds (mostly in hair), entered last fall as the prohibitive favorite to start on the weakside. He then suffered a hamstring injury in August camp and didn't see the field until Northwestern in week 5. By that point, Hunter had established himself as the starter, and the competition was effectively over.

Jeremiha Hunter, a highly-sought recruit from Pennsylvania when he graduated high school in 2006, finished the campaign second on the team in tackles (80), including 5 tackles for loss, and threw in an interception and fumble recovery for good measure. He showed good instincts for a first-time starter (effectively a first-time weakside linebacker; Hunter entered the year with only 10 tackles, all on special teams or as Edds' backup at OLB), and improved as the season progressed. If it weren't for Angerer's miracle season, Hunter would have gotten a lot more publicity.

Instead, he gets to fight for his place on the team. The oft-injured Jeff Tarpinian is back to 100% and is probably sick of playing special teams. Tarp recorded only 17 tackles last year, mostly in garbage time or on kick/punt return defense. If he doesn't win the WLB spot, he might be the prime candidate for a move to middle linebacker, especially given the fact that Angerer is a senior and Hunter will block Tarpinian from the top line unti the day he graduates. He has the love of the coaching staff, who routinely talk up his ability and heart. If they can find him a place to play - a big if - they won't think twice about using him.

Should See the Field

Tyler Nielsen (#45, 6'4", 232, Sophomore) - Nielsen won the job backing up A.J. Edds as a redshirt freshman; given his size and agility, he'll be the heir apparent to the OLB crown, and should be ready to take the throne in 2010. Nielsen spent last year primarily on special teams, recording 12 tackles and impressing the masses at times. There's no denying his ability; one more year of seasoning and we should have a peaceful transition on the strong side.

Troy Johnson (#48, 6'2", 235, Junior) - On the other hand we have Johnson, a redshirt junior without a home. He's technically the co-second string OLB, but has almost certainly been left behind Nielsen's steady rise. He has the build to play in the middle, but he might not have the staff support to supplant Tarpinian, should he make the move over. It's not to say he's a bad linebacker; that pass breakup against Iowa State was crucial, and there were some flashes of brilliance in his limited playing time last year. It's just that he's a victim of depth, the sixth wheel on a depth chart that really only needs five. We nicknamed him Montressor last year; looks like he's still in the wine cellar.

Bruce Davis (#57, 5'11", 230, Sophomore) - You may remember Bruce as the guy who recovered the squib kick to seal the PSU win. Much like Warren Holloway, he's now had his moment.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Checks Its Facebook Account

2009-07-07T13:04:24Z

Good News, Bad News, A Whole Hell of a Lot of News. Medical notes from a busy July day for Iowa football...

Bad news first: Julian Vandervelde had minor surgery recently, on what we don't know:

"We were hopeful that Julian’s injury could be healed through normal rehab, but it became apparent surgical repair was the best path to take. Julian may miss some playing time, but we are optimistic he will return to full strength very early in the season. We’ll take it day by day," said Ferentz.

Speculation over Vandervelde's injury status has continued since the cryptic WOOT WOOT Facebook status update he left on June 18. At that time, Ferentz denied he had undgergone surgery; clearly, things have changed. The "may miss some playing time" part could be the nail in the coffin of the Vandervelde-to-center movement, as it's difficult to imagine Ferentz makes Julian change positions without an August camp to work him out. He's instrumental to the offensive line, though, and will start somewhere if and when he's back to 100%,

Now, the good news (and, oh, is it good):

If Monday provided any indication about the health of the Iowa football team's most important running back, Jewel Hampton delivered it with a skip and a smile.

Hampton jogged up a flight of steps to answer the door of his westside Iowa City house Monday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes' top backup last season to departed all-American Shonn Greene then was asked about a possible knee injury suffered in workouts last week.

"I'm OK," he said.

When the 5-foot-9, 210-pound sophomore-to-be from Indianapolis was asked whether he would play in the fall, Hampton said with a grin, "Don't know yet."

When Hampton bounded up the stairs to his front door, he wore sweatpants and showed no visible sign of a brace or other injury-related precautions.

If there was any chance Hampton's ACL was torn (as was initially rumored), he would almost certainly be in a brace, and would likely be unable to move (let alone run up the stairs of his house) a mere 3-4 days after the injury. This might be just a minor tweak of Hampton's springtime injury blown up into RUNNINGBACKPOCALYPSE by, well, people like us (you have to admit, we tried to limit the rumormongering here). Per reader Stein, even Hampton doesn't know anything yet. As he posted to Facebook:

Q's about my knee stop em cause "IDEK BOUT MY KNEE YET!!"

I'd have to check my Facebook-to-English Dictionary, but I believe that roughly translates to, "Kind gentlemen, please refrain from inquiring about the current medical status of my knee joint, for I have not yet receieved the results of the medical testing I recently underwent. Thank you and good day." So we wait.

Should the worst news come to pass, we might not be in the predicament we think. I posted a comment in an MGoBlog board post on Hampton's injury, and got this response from a Florida-based Michigan fan:

Brinson played for a team where he was basically options number one, two, and three. The QB could run a little bit, but couldn't throw for crap, so the coach called a lot of predictable running plays. The game I went to, the QB made a couple of pass atttempts that were so terrible that the opposing coach pretty much put eight or nine men in the box the rest of the game and almost upset them.

Running backs like carries, but it's really tough to gain a lot of yards when everybody on the field knows you're getting the ball. Despite this, he still managed to get about 175 yards and avoid an upset for his team.

Playing against Brinson may be a case of "be careful what you ask for."

It's essentially confirmation of what we've heard about Brinson for the past year (good kid, hard-nosed runner, put his high school team on his back), but at this point I'll take any comfort I can get.

I've Got My Philosophy. An interesting article yesterday by Andy Hamilton (unquestionably the Press-Citizen's best sportswriter) on a shift in Iowa's recruiting philosophy, away from postseason hoarding and toward early commitments:

While the Hawkeyes haven't gone to the extreme of pursuing junior high stars, Iowa seems to be inching toward the pack of programs that have moved the recruiting calendar forward.

The Hawkeyes already have secured eight commitments to its 2010 class, marking the most ever by July 1 under Ferentz.

"Just because of the way kids have been committing early, we've been a little more aggressive in our approach to recruiting and trying to get some of these guys locked up," [Recruiting Coordinator Eric] Johnson said.

"I don't want to get into specifics because you don't like to give away secrets on what you're doing. But we changed our approach a little bit. It's just like when you evaluate the season on the field, you evaluate the things you do off the field, and coach Ferentz is tremendous in doing that. We've changed some of the stuff we've been doing to try to be more successful from a recruiting standpoint."

As you may remember (and as Hamilton points out), Iowa had just two commits on July 1 last year, and one of those two left for Michigan State before the end of the month. Last year's success surely has something to do with this year's recruiting success, but Iowa has secured more early commits this summer than it ever has, even at the height of the Ferentz era. A number of them have listed the early and ongoing interest from the coaching staff as one of the reasons they decided to commit. Under the old Ferentz "wait until they play their senior year" doctrine, we may well have lost out on those players.

Footnotes Speaking of recruiting, Rivals.com gets an interview with 4-star Ohio offensive lineman Andrew Donnal ($); he likes Iowa. Single-game tickets went on sale yesterday, Get in early to pick up that seat in the 54th row of the north end zone! Jacody Coleman announces he's trasferring to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, which makes all the sense in the world. Beaumont is his hometown, and Lamar wil start playing I-AA football in 2010, for the first time in over 20 years. We wish him the best. Gil Thorp is on Twitter, which might break the internet if it's half as funny as Marty Moon.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Holds Its Breath

2009-07-06T12:54:18Z

Ruh. Roh.

No Comment. Yeah, we know about this. There's no confirmation from the coaching staff, so we're holding out on the story, but the internet sources aren't ones with a history of playing loose with the truth. Morehouse is also getting prepared; that's usually a sign to buy canned goods and head to the basement. Of course, we blame Hinton.

Wherefore art thou, Jacody? Remember the Jacody Coleman redshirt saga? As a refresher, about 2 months ago, backup MLB Jacody Coleman was stuck behind Pat Angerer and prepared to transfer, but instead decided to burn a redshirt season this year and compete for the position after Angerer's graduation in 2010. It was apparently resolved, only, no, it wasn't. Coleman is again transferring to a school closer to his home in Texas.

Losing a player is almost always bad for a program (Thanks, Captain Obvious! -- Ed.), but the Coleman transfer is especially damaging. Angerer hasn't exactly been a picture of perfect health, and there is no ready-made backup at middle linebacker. Our guess would be Troy Johnson moves over from the strong-side (we'd like to see Tyler Nielsen get a look, but he's too perfectly-sized at OLB), or Tarpinian becomes the all-purpose backup at both WLB and MLB.

We were working on two Assume the Position posts over the weekend: running back and linebacker. Needless to say, they are both in embargo for the moment.

Iowa Basketball: Catch The Fever! While UCLA demands its basketball ticket holders donate $500,000 to the university for the right to sit courtside, Iowa is thinking about running a blue light special:

Barta faces sort of a Catch-22 dilemma in that the team needs more fans inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on a regular basis in order to help it get better under coach Todd Lickliter.

But the problem is that many fans won't come to the games on a regular basis until the team gets better.

Unfortunately for Barta, Iowa has combined to lose more games (36) in the past two seasons than during any other two-year stretch in school history....

Barta has to give fans a reason to endure the bad weather and everything else that goes with attending an Iowa basketball game in the winter.

He has to make it cheap enough that many fans won't be able to resist not going, because after all, it's still the Iowa men's basketball team and it's still the Big Ten Conference.

Harty goes on to propose one of the dumbest things I've ever heard: Set a base price of $10 per ticket, only raise the price $1 for every win over 10. The Harty Party, who has apparently never paid money to see a game, doesn't realize that most fans purchase tickets long in advance of the day of the game. You want even more empty seats than last year? Tell people they can buy tickets now for $10, but could pay $15-20 for them in February. Fans (especially out-of-town fans) will buy their tickets now for games they might attend, and if the season goes south, stay home. Prices that low would also kill the market for low-level scalping; the typical single-game ticket holder might stand outside CHA in mid-January to get the $54 face value for his unused seats back, but is unlikely to do the same for $20. Combine the two, and you could see more empty seats than last season.

That's not to say a bargain-basement price doesn't make sense in one context: Ticket packages. Not only would lower ticket package prices increase attendance (package purchasers are local, and are more likely to attend even when the team stinks), but it could alleviate the unintened side effect of last season's decision to lower late-season prices. I know a number of long-time ticket holders who paid $27 per seat, only to watch the seat next to them go for $10 in February. Most of them have looked at the off-season carnage, expect more of the same, and are declining to pick up tickets for next season. Tell them they can buy those seats for $10 and I guarantee they'll change their minds.

Footnotes Iowa State WR Wallace Franklin hit with his third arrest in 15 months and kicked off the team. Cyclone Fanatic (which you may remember from breathlessly-worded punctuation-free posts about every Iowa arrest) doesn't mention it on the front football page and is more preoccupied with who will play running back for us. Tomahawk Nation posts the Vegas over/under season win totals; Iowa is at 8, which is exactly right. We missed this when it happened, but J Leman apparently signed with Carolina. Rock M Nation lampoons the Illini. And readers of my old blog will recognize this topic: The effect of the 2006 internet poker law on the field sizes at the WSOP.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Shoots Bottle Rockets

2009-07-03T15:18:39Z

J Leman? J Leman.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

Roy Marble Commits to Iowa. This Is Not a Repeat From 25 Years Ago

2009-07-02T20:17:53Z

Woo woo woo woo woo woo woo woo woo:

According to both HawkeyeReport.com and HawkeyeNation.com, Roy Marble Jr. has committed to Iowa.

Marble Jr., son of Iowa’s all-time leading scorer Roy Marble, is the second 2010 commitment. Ben Brust of Mundelein, Ill., committed to Iowa on Wednesday.

With this, as with everything, we have Duez Henderson to thank the most.

So, uh... yeah. Is Iowa slowly becoming relevant in basketball again? Holy hell.

In Defense of the Manzi

2009-07-02T15:52:10Z

Who you callin' unproven?

Earlier this week, Matt Hinton a/k/a Dr. Saturday wrote another of his typically interesting posts on the dearth of quarterback talent in the SEC and nationwide. In it, he placed BCS starting quarterbacks into four categories: Proven, Viable, New, and Not Viable. The Big Ten breakdown:

Proven - Darryl Clark, Juice Williams, Terrelle Pryor
Viable - Dick Stanzi, Adam Weber, Dustin Sherer
New - The MSU quarterback shuffle, Mike Kafka, Tate Forcier, Joey Elliott
Not Viable - The Ben Chappell Experience

Hinton knew he was going to catch some heat:

"Not viable" here is reserved for returning starters who were so bad it's inconceivable that they could ever lead a successful offense (see specific assignments for each category here; Ricky Stanzi fans, my e-mail is on the sidebar).

I don't need no stinking email. I gots me a blog, mothafucka.

Let's go to the blind taste test. For your consideration, five Big Ten quarterbacks:

Player	Starts	Record	Rating	Yards	YPA	TD	INT
A	10	8-2	146.50	1311	7.95	12	4
B	7	4-3	120.67	1389	7.27	6	5
C	12	5-7	138.09	3173	8.33	22	16
D	11	8-3	134.85	1956	7.70	14	9
E	13	7-6	126.93	2761	6.73	15	8

Two of those quarterbacks are "proven," and the other three are "viable". Can you sort it out? Yeah, me neither.

I understand Dr. S's need to put together a rating system for the post he was writing, but it's awfully goddamn arbitrary when Player A (Terrelle Pryor) throws for just 131 yards per start, puts up a nearly-identical record as a starter (with a far more talented supporting cast by Rivals/Scout standards, which we all know is gospel), shows no significant advantage in any other category, and still gets a higher ranking than Player D (The Manzi). Even if you throw in rushing yards (which is a little skewed because, you know, these are quarterbacks and they get sacked and stuff) and calculate total offensive output, Stanzi actually outgained Pryor by 34 yards last season (and did this, which Pryor didn't). The only thing Stanzi doesn't have over Pryor is OMG HE'S TERRELLE PRYOR.

STANZI CAN'T WEAR WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY WHAT

That's to say nothing of the fact that Player B (Dustin Sherer) was lumped in with Stanzi and Adam Weber (Player E), despite the fact that he has all of 7 career starts, is behind Stanzi and Weber in every meaningful statistic, and is on a team that limped through the second half of the season, squeaking by a demoralized Minnesota and cupcake Cal Poly at home before being disemboweled by Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl.* If there's a separation to be made, it's between Sherer and the rest of the pack, not between Stanzi and Pryor.

I'm not saying Stanzi is "proven" or that Pryor is "viable"; those are arbitrary terms with plain English definitions that may or may not apply to each player. I'm saying that any distinction between the two - or between Stanzi and Weber, for that matter - is skewed by something other than numbers (in fact, with two full years of relatively consistent performance that is arguably better than both Stanzi and Pryor, Adam Weber might have an even stronger case for "proven" status). If the classification is based on statistical performance, those three belong together, whatever the label might be.

* -- I'm not going to quibble about Player C, Juice Williams, even though we all know that Juice Throws = Illini FAIL, because Juice truly is a proven commodity at this point.

Get it? Juice? Commodity? Well, Mortimer & Randolph approve.

Also He Runs As Fast As A Pneumatic Press

2009-07-01T22:36:16Z

Searching for info on Iowa recruiting prospects, we found one player, one Isaiah Lewis, who does things rather unconventionally, apparently:

This, of course, is precisely where our readership is tasked with coming up with a similar metaphor. We must warn you, though; the more you think about "sneaks up on you like a freight train," the more you realize what a daunting task is in front of you. Best of luck. Winner gets an autographed picture of HFMR's balls.

Degenerate gamblers unite!

2009-07-01T04:07:50Z

Let's face it. It's July. I'm bored. You're bored. Sports is a barren wasteland right now, unless you care passionately about sports where men (and occasionally women) try to hit a ball with a stick (or club or racket). Or if you care about riding bicycles around France or dudes driving around in circles. So why not join me in indulging your inner degenerate gambler and playing Streak for the Cash on ESPN.com? Sure, you may be able to win a little money if you're good at it, but more importantly you'll finally have a reason to give half a crap about that Mercury/Lynx WNBA game or that Nationals-Marlins day game. If you're game, head over here; the group name is "BHGP Streaking Club" and the password is "hawkeye".

BREAKING NEWS: Captain America found, lives in Iowa City.

2009-07-01T00:06:33Z

via www.intermatwrestle.com

Move over, J Leman... there's a new freedom fighter in these parts.

So Marvel is trying to cast the role of Captain America and they're supposedly looking at the predictable types: Hollywood actors (Matthew McConaughey, Mark Valley, Jensen Ackles) and pro wrestlers (John Cena - no, really). But why do that when the right man for the job is sitting right here, underneath their noses? Hell, if they need him to fight Batroc the Leaper, he's already got a highlight tape ready...

In other news... the 09-10 schedule was released a few weeks ago. You can find the whole thing right here, but there are a few highlights:

* 12/06/09 @ Iowa State -- It's lost a little luster with Cael Sanderson's abrupt departure, but it's still the Cyclones and beating them never, ever gets old. Supposedly they aren't going to curtain off part of Hilton to keep out the Iowa fans this time, but there's still five months for the Inconsolable Mr. Pollard to change his mind.

* 1/17/10 OKLAHOMA STATE -- In addition to being arguably Iowa's fiercest rival, Okie State was the last team to beat Iowa in a dual meet, back in 2008 in Carver. The Hawks got some revenge in Stillwater last year, but next year's senior-laden team will certainly want to add a home win over the Pokes to their resume, too. Okie State enjoyed ye olde rebuilding year last year, but they should bring a solid team (and lots of hideous orange) to Carver this year.

* 1/29/10 PENN STATE -- Almost two months after his former school gets whupped by the Hawks, Cael brings his current squad to Carver. I'm sure the Iowa fans will give him an... enthusiastic welcome. Sadly, Metcalf's favorite whipping boy, Bubba Jenkins, is redshirting, sparing himself another beatdown at the hands of ~~Brent~~ Captain America.

* 2/14/10 @ Minnesota -- The other team that can lay claim to being Iowa's fiercest rival. Like Okie State, Minnesota enjoyed something of a down year last year between injuries, redshirts, and general inexperience, but they're too good to be down for too long. Personally, I'll be rooting for a Valentine's Day massacre, much like the last time a major Iowa men's team went up to the Twin Cities...

* 2/19/10 OHIO STATE -- Penn State is likely a year or two away from becoming a major contender under Cael and it's unclear how long it will take Minnesota to fully rebuild; in the meantime, Ohio State may be Iowa's toughest B10 opponent this year. They did finish second in last year's NCAAs, after all, and they have a dynamite coach in Tom Ryan.

* 3/18/10 - 3/20/10 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS -- The quest for Iowa's third-straight national title goes down here, in Omaha. There should be even more Hawkeye fans than usual there, given the close proximity of our neighbors to the west. Barring a spate of injuries, Iowa will likely be favored to get their third straight title, but there will be plenty of challenges to overcome, from both the other teams in contention and the Hawkeyes' own psyches. They were supposed to cakewalk to this year's title, of course, but it took a massive showing in the consolation bracket to gut out the title win, so it would be unwise to start printing those Three-peat shirts just yet.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Loves You, Baby

2009-06-30T15:17:41Z

What the hell are you doing here? NEW WILCO NEW WILCO HOLY HELL YES IT'S NEW WILCO!!!!!!

(Yes, they are the only band that can make me write like Brewster.)

The "Guy Rucker Award for Living as a G" was presented to J.R. Angle at an earlier ceremony Todd Lickliter announced that Jarryd Cole received the Chris Street Award for 2008-09:

Incoming junior forward Jarryd Cole was named recipient of the Chris Street Award for the 2008-09 basketball season.

The Chris Street Award is presented annually to a Hawkeye player, or players, who best exemplify the spirit, enthusiasm and intensity of Chris Street.

"Jarryd was presented this award in the presence of his teammates and coaches before we left for our summer trip," said Coach Todd Lickliter. "Jarryd is appreciative of the honor and understands the significance of receiving this very special award."

Yes, the Chris Street Award is so special to Lickliter that he forgot to mention its recipient until five weeks after he gave it out. More importantly, is it time we start discussing the obvious bromance between Lick and Cole? I know he recovered from an ACL tear and all, but back-to-back captaincies and the Chris Street Award to a guy who averaged 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game? Either Lickliter has a mancrush on his backup center, or Cole has incriminating pictures IT'S THE INTERNET LET'S SPECULATE.

Look away, nothing to see here UI assistant athletic director Fred Mims, who has previously sent us a cease & desist letter (he's the reason why you can't get Stanzi shirts anymore) and is completely incompetent, denies the recent spate of alcohol-related football arrests is a sign of an epidemic:

"It’s not an epidemic in any sense," Mims said. "What we have is we have some people making poor choices."

Since mid-April 2007, 26 Iowa football players have been arrested or issued citations. Twenty of the players had charges or citations related to alcohol or drug use/possession.

Nine players were arrested for public intoxication, five for drunken driving and five were cited for underage possession of alcohol. Two were charged with drug possession. One player was charged for underage possession and public intoxication in another incident....

Mims rattled off a litany of alcohol programs aimed at student-athletes. In 2007-08 all new football players were required to attend an orientation that included high-risk drinking and take an online course on alcohol before arriving on to campus. The department brings in speakers who talk about alcohol and poor choices.

"I don’t know how much more programming one can do," he said. "We have probably one of the more intrusive programs in the country."

Yeah Fred, nothing grabs an 18-year-old football player's attention like an online course on the dangers of alcohol, taken before he hits campus and realizes he can drink for free in any of the 30-some bars within walking distance of his dorm room. What's next, pamphlets?

Look, a vast majority of students at Iowa drink, whether they are of legal age or not. Of that number, a significant percentage get a ticket or a night in jail at some point. It's the ecosystem of Iowa City: The students come to town and spend their parents' money in the bars, walk out of the bars at 2:00, do something stupid in the presence of the 147 cops on patrol, and give more of their parents' money to the city in the form of a possession ticket or public intox fines. When you happen to be the size of a compact car and do something stupid, you stand out to the aforementioned 147 police officers even more. Is there an epidemic of alcohol-related football arrests? Not any more than there's an epidemic of alcohol-related arrests of the student body as a whole. But that's not to say there's not an epidemic.

Caring Is Creepy, Part 1 Captain Kirk picked up a commit from Harlan defensive end Matt Hoch yesterday. Hoch (3* Rivals, 3* Scout, ESPN 150 watch list), who was being pursued by ISU, Kansas State, Mizzou, and Stanford (Suck it, Bowlsby!), is the eighth commit of the spring; in contrast, at this time last year, Iowa had exactly one commitment. He is also the seventh commit to project into the defensive front seven, a high number for a year where Iowa has just 18 scholarships to distribute. Hoch's brother is an offensive lineman for Mizzou.

Caring is Creepy, Part 2 Ben Brust, a 6'2" shooting guard from Chicagoland, visited Iowa City yesterday, and said his decision could come as early as today. Brust has narrowed his choices to Iowa, Northwestern, and Butler, but apparently Iowa has a silver bullet in Cully Payne:

Brust and incoming Iowa freshman Cully Payne are friends from the Chicagoland area. That could aid Iowa’s chances of landing Brust.

"It’s definitely nice having Cully around because I’ve known him for a while," Brust said. "It’s someone I can trust, it’s someone I know is going to tell me the truth and will be around for three years at Iowa, if I choose to come here."

It's hard to get excited about Iowa basketball right now, especially when we're fighting Butler and jNWU for recruits, but at least it's a start. Right? RIGHT?

Footnotes Indiana finishes the renovation of the north end zone of Memorial Stadium; before kickoff, players will emerge from the new tunnel into the north end zone to find that nobody cares about Indiana football...Joe Sports Fan counts down the 7 worst sports movie endings of all time; after reading their logic, I can't disagree with #1...The Inimitable Mr. Swindle (which sounds like the latest Brad Pitt vehicle) gets his ass handed to him at ping pong.

We've always enjoyed the Palestra report in the aftermath of Iowa's 55-0 shellacking of Minnesota. ...

2009-06-29T15:30:34Z

We've always enjoyed the Palestra report in the aftermath of Iowa's 55-0 shellacking of Minnesota. We don't know if it's the melancholy ramblings of Gopher linebacker Steve Davis or the way that the reporter looks like a hostage in the Metrodome, but it's damn near perfect. Still, there was something missing, something that we added over the weekend...

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Moonsaults Off The Top Rope

2009-06-29T12:49:22Z

Go Tell It On The Mountain About one year ago, the Everson/Satterfield coverup allegations went from "smoldering embers" to "towering inferno" when Sally Mason disclosed that a box of related documents (including the infamous letter from the victim's mom) were withheld from investigators pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Of course, the vast majority of the redacted documents had nothing to do with FERPA, which was designed to protect student's grade reports from public disclosure. When grilled about this expansion of FERPA to redact documents not remotely within the law's scope, Mason caved:

The original thinking that federal law known as FERPA, designed to protect student privacy, prevented the letter from being shared with our Board of Regents leadership is just not tenable. There is no excuse for the failure to turn over those letter as part of the investigation that you directed the Board of Regents office to conduct in the wake of the report of the assault.

I will make it clear to all member of my administration that our obligation to maintain the privacy of student records should never be interpreted as preventing us from sharing information that you request in pursuit of your governance responsibilities.

Mason proceeded to can UI general counsel Marc Mills like he was tuna for withholding these documents, and rightfully so; the wholesale concealment of douments on FERPA grounds, just because said documents include a student's name, is incorrect, and any general counsel worth his salary would know it.

The reason we're reopening this can of hell? Apparently Iowa isn't the only one hiding behind FERPA:

The Columbus Dispatch has done some yeoman's work in recent months examining the increasing veil of secrecy placed over the activities of ostensibly public -- and therefore FOIA-vulnerable -- athletic departments. ADs now use FERPA, a law narrowly tailored to prevent the release of student grades and transcripts, to shoot down or bowdlerize public information requests of all varieties.

MGoBrian is right. Marc Mills' argument could very well have been "everybody else is doing it, so why can't we?"

Across the country, many major-college athletic departments keep their NCAA troubles secret behind a thick veil of black ink or Wite-Out.

Alabama.Cincinnati. Florida. Florida State. Ohio State. Oklahoma. Oregon State. Utah. They all censor information in the name of student privacy, invoking a 35-year-old federal law whose author says it has been twisted and misused by the universities.

Former U.S. Sen. James L. Buckley said it's time for Congress to rein in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which he crafted to keep academic records from public view.

A six-month Dispatch investigation found that FERPA, as it's commonly called, is a law with many conflicting interpretations. And that makes it virtually impossible to decipher what is going on inside a $5 billion college-sports world that is funded by fans, donors, alumni, television networks and, at most schools, taxpayers.

Brian goes on to discuss the NCAA's newest method of preventing document disclosure: Keeping documents that would otherwise be available to the public pursuant to a FOIA request on a secured server to prevent pubic disclosure. By keeping them on an NCAA server, the Indianapolis-based Leviathan claims, these documents are the property of the NCAA rather than the schools, and therefore not subject to state public institution disclosure laws. Brian's conclusion is absolutely correct: If the NCAA wants to conduct its business under the same veil of secrecy that the NFL and MLB do, it should be paying the same taxes those leagues do.

RIP, Billy Mays Is it wrong that this means more to me than Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett combined?

Caring Remains Creepy Iowa picked up 2010 recruit #7 over the weekend, in the form of 6'5", 260 lb. Wisconsin defensive end Mike Hardy. He turned down offers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Iowa State. He was also the state discus champion, so he should have no trouble picking up Norm Parker's controversial "spin around with your arm extended and smack the opposing lineman until he's senseless" pass rush technique.

Not Mike Hardy

We knew Mike Hardy was disappointed in his brother's championship match DQ win over CM Punk at last night's pay-per-view, but we never imagined he'd leave the family business to pursue a career in the Big Ten. We're glad to have him, though it remains to be seen how the Twist of Fate will translate to the football field.

As for Wisconsin losing an in-state recruit (which never used to happen), Hardy's defection could be due to the fact that nobody wants to go to their games anymore.

Footnotes David "El Presidente" Palmer will transfer to Northern Kentucky for his senior season. Let's hope he gets a fairer shot than he did here...Phil Steele, he of the VHT, predicts Iowa will play Alabama in the Capital One Bowl. As you know, Phil is always correct, so order your plane tickets now and beat the rush. If you want to start getting prepared, I suggest you start here...Chuck Long is pulling a George Costanza on San Diego State, though, to be fair, it's not really his fault.

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Eulogizes

2009-06-26T15:01:48Z

(Note: INPIYL2I will return to its usual self on Monday -- HS)

RIP, Coach Thomas The horrific, senseless murder of Coach Ed Thomas has dominated the Iowa blogosphere over the last few days. Here, a compilation of the eulogies from friends of the BHGP.

As usual, nobody does it better than Marc Morehouse:

Your high school football coach puts expectations on you that run out after the last time you take off a helmet. Or do they? Your coach’s expectations stay suspended in your life. Don’t try, do. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Morehouse, wake up (film put me in a coma, sorry coach Weitz). It might be simplistic or naive, but your coach’s expectations are still there, at the base, in the work ethic.

Ed Thomas clearly understood this. Something like 90 percent of the male students at Aplington-Parkersburg go out for football, big and small and fast and slow, doesn’t matter. A-P hasn’t been the dynasty it is because 11 kids do all the work every season. Ed Thomas brought everyone in. He was the face of the town after last May’s killer tornado.

He was a "coach," in the highest sense of the word.

In football, the weightroom is the family room. You grow there. You kid, push and cheer each other there.

Wednesday, Ed Thomas was murdered there. A father was taken while tending to 30 members of his family.

Mike Hlas:

Ed Thomas Field. "The Sacred Acre." As much as anywhere in town over the years, it’s the place that has given Parkersburg its sense of community.

Falcon football has been about winning, absolutely. But it’s been about how the things that make people true winners. Wow, was that ever evidenced after the tornado, when the team and its town fought back like state-champions.

"You get beat up, battered," Thomas told the New York Times last fall, "but you get back off the ground."

Thomas, who lost his home in that tornado, spent the last year of his life helping kids and an entire town get back off the ground. He succeeded marvelously.

Then a madman with a gun shot Ed Thomas dead Wednesday morning in a weight room, before several A-P students.

It was a cold-blooded reminder there are much-worse things than tornadoes in this world.

Scott Dochterman, on how Ed Thomas might have singlehandedly saved Parkersburg from death by consolidation (a legitimate concern in small-town Iowa):

Where would that town be today without Ed Thomas? Certainly the school district moves all home football games to Aplington. Maybe the school district decides to build a new high school at another location. It’s not that far-fetched that the school district would have considered combining with another nearby district.

Maybe many in the town decide to move away to other communities, possibly the Cedar Falls-Waterloo area. Instead, Thomas demanded the high school remain in Parkersburg. He picked up debris and glass shrapnel on the football field and demanded the school play its first game following the tornado at the "Sacred Acre."

From cidsports:

Sadly, society saw a lost 24-year old throw his life away, along with the life of a beloved man, who inspired so many that he meet or those who were able to learn from his story in Parkersburg. It is sad that there is so much hatred or anger in the world today.

May we find peace. May our prayers and thoughts remain with those impacted and touched by this tragic day and this tragic event. Ed Thomas was a fine man and much more to those who really knew him.

Hlas also did some digging, and found an interview Thomas gave in 2005, an essay Thomas wrote after last year's tornado, and a New York Times piece on the aftermath of the 2008 storm.

We are now two days removed from the shock of Wednesday morning, and it's still as stunningly sad as it was when we first heard the news. There is nothing I can write to fill the void; any further attempts at summing up the life of a great man just feel like futile attempts to add words to an unspeakable tragedy that needs no more context. It's that old Wittgenstein quote: "Whereof one cannot speak, one must be silent." Godspeed, Coach.

With the death of Ed Thomas, not to mention the events of yesterday, this week has been depressing as hell. So let's wrap things up with a song so staggeringly simple, depressing, and beautiful that the mere anticipation of its performance made Dave Letterman sound like a kindergartner with a speech problem. Come Pick Me Up is, in fact, so plaintively depressing, so brutally honest in its assessment of heartache, that it borders on comical (in an ancient bootleg of Adams' first performance of the song, the crowd actually laughs at the chorus).* In the wake of all of this, maybe what we need more than anything else is a laugh from the bottom of the well.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

* -- It's also the single greatest whiskey drinking song I've ever heard. So if you prefer a stiff Jack Daniels to a laugh, feel free to join me.

The Real Price of Freedom

2009-06-25T16:50:45Z

"Freedom isn't free." That's a line most commonly associated with, in order, military veterans and Team America: World Police. And as long as you equate America's foreign interests with "freedom," that statement holds up well (whose freedom, exactly, we've been fighting for post-WWII is another matter entirely, but let's not get bogged down on that right away).

As you're no doubt aware, Ed Thomas, one of the finest men in the state (either associated with athletics or otherwise) and a most worthy namesake of Ed Thomas Field, was killed when a very disturbed young man--one who probably shouldn't have been on the streets, but for a rather serious clerical error--unloaded his gun into Thomas at point blank range. All of this happened as Thomas was supervising weightlifting for at least a couple dozen of his students. Most saw it happen. And a community still trying to rebuild from tragedy has lost the one man it had come to depend on the most, even before the PF5 tornado flattened half of the town.

All of this is to say, it was one of the most horrific, senseless gun crimes in our country, not matching in scope (but certainly in brutality) the massacres at Virginia Tech or even Columbine.

And it is the real price of freedom in America.

We take many things for granted here. That's not a blanket "Americans are stupid and lazy" statement, it's an unavoidable fact whenever freedoms like ours have been an integral part of society, some of which long outdate our oldest living relatives. White Americans have never had to fight for the right to assemble, and even the vast majority of our black readership was never involved in Selma or the other protests that turned violent at the whims of police. Our country never had to endure a struggle for things the vast majority of the world would kill for, things like stringent building and electrical codes, beer, the FDA, Social Security, the Second Amendment, the rest of the Bill of Rights, free representative democracy, DirecTV, ordering pizza online, even potable running water. We would--probably rightly--laugh at a fifth-generation American adult who every day thanked his lucky stars that he can turn a faucet and drink what comes out. We probably wouldn't do the same to a recent, say, Ugandan refugee. Or Bangladeshi. Whatever; the geography isn't important, the relative poverty is.

So as we take these things for granted, it becomes easier by the day to not consider them, their advantages, and yes, their drawbacks. Take, for example, the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. By itself, it's one of the cornerstones of American democracy and the reason why any country who decided to invade America would immediately regret setting one foot into Texas. It cannot and must not be repealed (or even significantly altered), or all holy hell breaks loose.

Also, take the First Amendment. Free speech (and all of the consequences it carries, good and bad) is essential for any democracy. So is the right to peaceably assemble. This may seem like a middle-school civics lesson, but for an example of what happens in a modern country where those rights aren't guaranteed, we'd like to point you to Iran and the current shitcyclone enveloping the country. Again, this cannot and must not be repealed (or even significantly altered), or all holy hell breaks loose.

Those two fundamental rights of our country, separately, are invaluable and indispensable and two of several reasons America became what it was and perhaps still is: the finest country in the world. The First Amendment, of course, was much more instrumental in this than the Second, though the need for a well-armed militia was much greater when the Bill of Rights was first written.

Put them together, the ability to own a gun and the ability to congregate or otherwise freely go about your life (again, it might sound weird, but this is not a universal right) about town, and there are going to be situations, ones that are so extremely rare that they're still newsworthy every time they happen, where someone who really doesn't deserve it is shot and killed by someone with a mere predilection toward violence. You cannot have the Bill of Rights and not have the possibility for this to happen. Freedom isn't free.

Yes, we have stringent laws against dangerous behavior with guns, to the point that Plaxico Burress got himself in more trouble by hiding his gun in New Jersey than by going Cheddar Bob in New York. State lines and all. But to someone with the intention of shooting another person, punishment is clearly not always an adequate deterrent. Even if the assailant's even considering the resultant prison sentence (if they're caught and convicted), it's a tradeoff many have clearly chosen to take.

We cannot stop gun violence in this country without a domestic Taliban-style crackdown, one that has no plausible chance of success whatsoever. It is the real price we pay for every advantage, the ones we hold dear and the ones we take for granted. The true cruelty of this tradeoff is that unlike our volunteer army, Ed Thomas did not choose to die for freedom. Nor, for that matter, did he die in defense of it, merely because of it.

And too often, especially after 9/11, our choices have been in favor of senses of security over these freedoms, when this is the precise time when our rights need our most vigorous defense. Let it not happen here. Let us mourn Ed Thomas as the truly wonderful, inspirational man he was. And let us not be so cowed into fear by whatever message a troubled Mark Becker wanted to send with a senseless murder that we either lose our rights or our ability and desire to exercise them.