Week 9 Picks

New Mexico State vs. Ohio State
Prediction: I think non-conference games in week nine are silly. Ohio State wins this one with strong QB play by Pryor, 40-10

Indiana vs. Iowa
Prediction: Hawkeye running back Adam Robinson is out and the Hawkeyes are 17.5 point favorites. I'm going with the Hawkeyes to keep their streak going, but I don't think they will cover the spread. Iowa wins it, 24-13

Purdue vs. Wisconsin
Prediction: Purdue really seems to be finding its stride this year, but Camp Randall is definitely a tough spot for them to play. That being said, I like the Boilermakers in this game. QB Joey Elliott, RB Ralph Bolden, and WR Aaron Valentin will all have solid games and a Carson Wiggs field goal will be the difference. Boiler Up, 27-24

Michigan at Illinois
Prediction: The only thing that is worse than the swine flu is the Fighting Illness. Michigan wins it and Juice will throw at least two picks and get sacked four times. Wolverines win it, 36-10.

Penn State vs. Northwestern
Prediction: The Lions are simply have more talent than the Wildcats. Daryll Clark will have a big game and the Nittany Lions will roll, 24-9.

Michigan State vs. Minnesota
Prediction: An Eric Decker-less Gopher team is definitely going to struggle the final four weeks of the season. Michigan State needs this one to rebound from that heart-breaking loss to the Hawkeyes last weekend. I think that Sparty will do just that, winning this game 28-10

Vincent Response

Professor John Vincent’s study “Equitable Media Coverage of Female and Male Athletes: Is there a solution?” discusses the many inequalities in the representation of male and female athletics.

Vincent notes that many female athletes receive the coverage that they do because of socially constructed sex and gender role stereotypes. A prime example of this is Anna Kournikova and Danica Patrick. These two female athletes are often portrayed in the media because of the way they look as opposed to how good of an athlete they are.

Going along with the socially constructed roles, Vincent also notes that females that play in what are considered to be more “gender appropriate sports” receive more media coverage as opposed to girls that play sports that are considered to be more aggressive and masculine.

Vincent talks not only about sports, but also about the field of sports journalism. He discusses how there are very few female sports reporters, as well. I think that the field has also been socially constructed, specifically on television. Most female sports journalists are “sideline reporters” as opposed to broadcasters or commentators. Very few women have yet to bridge the gap and move from the sidelines up to the press box.

The problem facing women’s athletics is its lack of tradition in the history of sports in the United States. Male dominated sports have been around so much longer than female sports that it is difficult for women’s sports and female athletes to establish themselves in our extremely socially constructed society.

The problem is even when an extremely talented female athlete comes around, society still fails to market that person to the fullest extent. An example of this is Candace Parker. She is probably the best female basketball player of our time, yet I don’t see her very often in advertisements.

It’s not that I feel that females are lesser athletes than men, it’s that male sports are more popular to the masses and have more tradition. The media needs to show what the people want in order to be successful, continue to make money, and gain readership.

Trojan hoopsters hope to build on lack of experience

The best way to describe Iowa City West’s women’s basketball team is with two words - short and inexperienced.

Two things that could definitely hold the squad back if they hope to compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference and make another deep run in the state tournament.

The team finished 16-6 last season and made a postseason run to the sub-state final, losing to Ankeny. But the core of that team has since graduated.

The Trojans lose about 60 percent of their scoring from last year, including top-two scorers Emma Kittle Krieger and Madison Sadecky.

Although team captains have yet to be decided, all indications point to seniors Kristin Fomon, Reed Mackenzie, and Courtney Fritz to be called upon to lead the Trojans.

The trio combined for only 14.6 points per game last season, less than Kittle Krieger’s 15.3 individual effort last season.

West head coach B.J. Mayer said he hopes sophomore Tatum Klein will also make an impact and anchor the team on the defensive end.

The major pitfall will be the team’s lack of height.

“It’s definitely one of our weaknesses,” Mayer said. “We will probably rely more on the three-point shot this year.”

The Trojans plan to implement a new offense this season, switching to a more up-tempo style.
On defense, the team will look to use a lot of trapping and pressing, while at the same time, using a combination of zone and man-to-man.

“We want to try to wear teams down,” Mayer said. “We also want to cause a lot of chaos on defense.”

With Linn-Mar, Cedar Rapids-Kennedy, and Iowa City High returning most of their top players from last year, the Trojans will need to get off to a solid start and continue to gain experience as the season progresses.

West opens up its season on Nov. 24 against Fairfield.

“It is very important to get off to a good start and give our young players some confidence,” Mayer said.

Big Plays from Week 8

Week 8 Picks

Illinois vs. Purdue
Prediction: Boilers get their first win streak of the season, knocking off the Illness 24-20

Indiana vs. Northwestern
Prediction: Hoosiers win in a big game for bowl implications. IU wins 20-17

Minnesota vs. Ohio State
Prediction: Buckeyes get back on track and defeat Eric Decker and the Gophers, 30-14

Penn State vs. Michigan
Prediction: Penn State takes down Forcier and the Wolverines in a close one, 27-24

Iowa vs. Michigan State
Prediction: Hawkeyes win in East Lansing for first time since 1995, but once again, it's going to be a close one. 21-20.

Stay off the Grass!

A brief message to fellow Hawkeye fans: When will you learn?

Once again, in front of the bright lights of ABC’s national audience, thousands of Iowa students poured over the stands and onto to the field to celebrate the 30-28 Homecoming victory over Michigan.

Are you kidding me?

There was absolutely no fathomable reason at all that Iowa fans should have stormed the field.

Let me remind you that the undefeated, then 12^th-ranked Hawkeyes were favored against the unranked Wolverines. But being favored hasn’t stopped fans in the past. I can recall in 2007 when a number of fans stormed historic Kinnick Stadium after a five-point victory against Minnesota.

Great, we won the Floyd of Rosedale, but here’s the catch. Minnesota had one win the entire season!

I understand that it’s exciting that the Hawkeyes are 7-0 for the first time since before most students we’re born and that the game was nationally televised , but if Iowa is going to be taken seriously as the No. 7 team in the country (No. 6 in the BCS) and as a Big Ten title contender, fans need to act like we’ve been here before. Storming the field every time Iowa wins a game is utterly unacceptable.

Storming the field makes our fans and our team look like we don’t compare to the upper-tier teams in the Big Ten and in other major conferences. It gives off the impression that we as fans weren’t expecting the win the game.

Think about how many times fans of USC, Florida, or Texas have stormed the field. Storming the field is meant for teams like Rutgers, Temple, Iowa State (gasp), and Florida International.

Let’s be associated with the former and not the latter.

So here you go Hawkeye fans, here’s the proper field storming etiquette. When you’re thinking about heading down to the turf, revert back to these three rules.

If it doesn’t fall under one of these categories, stay in the stands.

1) If you’re an underdog: Case and point the Penn State game in 2008. It’s fine to storm the field when you’re team is unranked and they knock off the No. 3 team in the country.

2) Last second victories: This one needs a little bit of explaining. This is for game winning plays against teams of equal or greater playing field. No storming the field when it takes an unprecedented play to save us from a major upset – i.e. Northern Iowa (at least we did that one right).

3) Capping off a historic season: In 2002-2003, Iowa went into its final home game with a record of 9-1, competing for a spot in BCS. In the final home game, Iowa defeated Northwestern 62-10, and fans poured onto the field to celebrate with the team that eventually earned a bid to the Orange Bowl. If the Hawkeyes are undefeated or even a one-loss team heading into the final home game (knock on wood), feel free to join Pat Angerer, Ricky Stanzi, and Adrian Clayborn on the turf to celebrate the magnificent season.

If we want to be taken seriously as a year-in, year-out contender and not just a one-hit wonder, keep it in the stands fans, keep it in the stands.

BTOC: Week 7

This was a very interesting week in the Big Ten, we have a new #1 in the BTOC Poll. Of course, it is the Hawkeyes. So here they are 1 through 11

1. Iowa Hawkeyes
2. Penn State Nittany Lions
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Michigan Wolverines
5. Wisconsin Badgers
6. Michigan State Spartans
7. Minnesota Golden Gophers
8. Indiana Hoosiers
9. Northwestern Wildcats
10. Purdue Boilermakers
11. Illinois Fighting Illness (I mean Illini)

Big Plays from Week 7

This is a new weekly segment where I will compile a 60 second video clip of some of my favorite plays from around the Big Ten each week. I'm able to do this thanks to Big Ten Network's video mashup. It's a great feature that they offer on their site.

Time for Week 7 Picks

Another installment of pick'em. Now that I'm in a self-described "Pick'em War" against ESPN Blogger Adam Rittenberg, I'll post his picks for you as well. But first, here's my picks

Deleware State vs. Michigan
Game Time: 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: Should be an easy game for Michigan to get themselves back on track, let's see how Tate Forcier plays after being roughed up by the Hawkeyes (and after being yelled at a lot by Rich Rod).
Prediction: Wolverines roll 38-10
Rittenberg's Pick: Michigan

Iowa vs. Wisconsin
Game Time: 11 a.m. on ESPN
What to watch for: It's the battle for the Heartland Trophy. The Hawkeyes hit the road for the next two weeks to see if they can continue their undefeated season.
Prediction: Stanzi plays better, Hawkeyes win in a close one, 24-21
Rittenberg's Pick: Wisconsin

Northwestern vs. Michigan State
Game Time: 11 a.m. on ESPN2
What to watch for: Michigan State's QB play and how the Sparty defense plays against the Mike Kafka offense.
Prediction: In a slight upset, I'll take the Wildcats, 27-24
Rittenberg's Pick: Michigan State

Ohio State vs. Purdue
Game Time: 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: Let's see if Purdue can even compete in this game
Prediction: Purdue has, what I would say is a 0% chance of winning, and I think I'm being generous. Buckeyes crush the Boilers, 40-7
Rittenberg's Pick: Ohio State

Minnesota vs. Penn State
Game time: 2:30 p.m. on ABC
What to watch for: If the Gophers have any chance, Adam Weber and Eric Decker need to have damn good games.
Prediction: Penn State keeps it going, winning this one 30-13
Rittenberg's Pick: Penn State

Illinois vs. Indiana
Game Time: 6 p.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: Battle of some bottom feeders. Illinois needs to limit the turnovers if they wi this game (Good luck with Juice and Magee at QB).
Prediction: Indiana will pull of the upset in this one, and the Fighting Illness will prepare fireronzook.com. Hoosiers win 17-14
Rittenberg's Pick: Illinois

So as you can see, this is a BIG week for me to either jump ahead of Adam Rittenberg or for him to catch up to me. Only time will tell. Let's just sit back and watch some Big Ten Football

COME TO PENN STATE!!!

I'm sure you've all seen it. But I just had to get this video up on the blog. Everytime there is a mention of Joe Paterno, the first thing I hear is "COOOOMME TO PENN STATE!!!!! If I were a recruit, that's all I would need to sign my letter of intent.

BTOC: Week 6

1. Iowa: 6-0

2. Ohio State: 5-1

3. Penn State: 5-1

4. Wisonsin: 5-1

5. Michigan: 4-2

6. Minnesota: 4-2

7. Michigan State: 3-3

8. Northwestern: 4-2

9. Indiana: 3-3

10. Illinois: 1-4

11. Purdue: 1-5

Big Ten Tweets

Time for some more tweets. Sorry that I haven't been able to blog quite as much lately. Its been a busy time with stories for the Daily Iowan and schoolwork.
But I digress, lets check out some tweets...

Penn State assistant Tom Bradley: "Players took care of business on Saturday.Minnesota brings in a heck of an offense this week.Tough to prepare for.Wow Eric Decker can play!"

Indiana RB Bryan Payton: "I apologize for our performance tonight. We're gonna get things fixed"

Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald: "CATS WIN!! The game ball goes to Northwestern's newly inaugurated President Morton Shapiro! GO CATS!"

Purdue head coach Danny Hope: "Purdue University is now the 87th ranked university in the WORLD, moving up 12 spots from last year. Boiler Up!"

No time for any big analysis, just some quick picks

Sorry all, I'm in Chicago covering the Marathon for the school newspaper so I don't have much time. I just have enough time to give you my picks real quick.

Miami (Oh.) vs. Northwestern
Prediction: Northwestern 30-10

Eastern Ill. vs. Penn St.
Prediction: Penn State 40-7

Michigan St. vs. Illinois
Prediction: Michigan St. 23-14

Purdue vs. Minnesota
Prediction: Minnesota 27-17


Indiana vs. Virginia
Prediction: Indiana 17-14

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
Prediction: UPSET ALERT, WISCONSIN 27-24

Michigan vs. Iowa
Prediction: Iowa 21-17

The BIG Ten Video of the Week

Time for a another new middle of the week feature that I'd like to call the BIG TEN VIDEO OF THE WEEK!

Each week, I'll scour the internet in search of the best, craziest, hilarious, and occasionally insightful videos from the Big Ten within the past week. This one comes from right in my backyard, historic Kinnick Stadium, from last week's game against Arkansas State. I'm not sure what this guy was thinking, but he did get the crowds attention with his dazzling moves.

Taking a look at Frank DeFord's "The Rabbit Hunter"

I know this isn't Big Ten football related, but for my sports writing class we have to take a look at Frank DeFord's 1982 article, "The Rabbit Hunter."
It is a piece about former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight. It is very well written but also very unorganized.

The problem with the piece is that DeFord jumps around way too much, which especially isn't good for a longer article such as this. The article is divided into six sections, here's how I would change them around. In parentheses is the section of the article that DeFord placed it.

I: Rabbits (1)
II: Older People (3)
III: Coaches (2)
IV: Players (5)
V: Women (4)
VI: More Rabbits

I felt that "Older People" needed to be placed higher up because it gave background knowledge about Knight's upbringing, a part of the story that I feel is important to be placed closer to the beginning.

"Coaches" and "Players" tie in together and should follow one another because they discuss his playing career and transition from playing to coaching. That's why I felt that these two sections should not be seperated.

"Women" really was the section that I was completely unsure of where to put. It goes into more detail about Knight's altercation at the Pan-American games, which is something that was already briefly mentioned. Honestly I think that the "Women" section should have been broken up completely and DeFord should move certain sentences and paragraphs and add them to other sections of the story.

All in all, DeFord did a really good job of writing the piece, it just needed to be unscrambled.

10 Big Things about Week 5: Let's call it Juice Williams's swan song...

1. Juice benched: How the so-called mighty have fallen. The Big Ten preseason first-team QB has been benched in favor of junior Eddie Magee. Juice had an interception and a fumble in the loss to the Nittany Lions. I have to admit, I do have a slight bias, being that I am a big Juice hater (Williams that is - not the drink), but its a shame we won't see more of this the rest of the season.

(Photo Credit: ChicagoNow.com)

2. John Clay: The Badger running back makes his second appearance on 10 Big Things. He simply dominated, with 32 carries for 184 yards and three touchdowns in Wisconsin's win over the weekend.

3. Sparty back on track: Michigan State stepped it up when it was most needed with their overtime win against the Wolverines. One thing that is worrisome is the quarterback play, however. Kirk Cousins tossed two interceptions in regulation, which forced head coach Mark Dantonio to play backup Keith Nichol in overtime.

4. Tyler Sash: Honestly, this guy is just an interception machine. Sash picked off another one this past weekend, giving him five on the season. He's tied for first in the NCAA in interceptions and has seven INT's in his last eight games, dating back to last season.

5. Daryll Clark: The Nittany Lion signal-caller was solid this week, bouncing back after their home loss to Iowa. Clark completed 17 of 25 passes for 175 yards and also rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

6. Boiler Butter Fingers: Purdue turned the ball over six times this weekend, five on fumbles and one on an interception. Purdue already has 17 turnovers this year and their -8 turnover margin is dead last in the Big Ten.

7. Marvin McNutt: McNutt had a career day at wide receiver on Saturday. The former Hawkeye third-string quarterback caught four passes for 121 yards and had a pair of touchdowns in the Hawkeye's win over Arkansas State.

8. Terelle Pryor: the Buckeye sophomore threw three touchdowns and ran for another in the Ohio State victory over Indiana

9. Northwestern mounts comeback over Purdue: Northwestern outscored Purdue 24-0 in the last 31 minutes of the game to defeat Purdue 27-21

10. Larry Caper: The Spartan RB had 13 carries for 39 yards, including the 23-yard game winning run in overtime to upset the Wolverines.

Post-Game Tweets from none other than Pat Fitzgerald, among others

Here I am, sitting in the library, contemplating whether I should do American Short Story homework or do a little blogging (Is this even a legitimate question?)

To make a long story short, here I am, and here are some post-game tweets from today and yesterday for y'all.

Pat Fitzgerald:
1)"'Cats win!! It was so great to sing our fight song again! GO CATS!"
2) "'Cats fans - Thank you for all the support! We're back in the office and preparing for Miami! GO CATS!"
3) "BEARS WIN! Another great game by former 'Cat Nick Roach- keep it rolling! GO CATS!"
4) "It's great to see former 'Cats Luis Castillo and Trai Essex playing against each other tonight in the Steelers vs Chargers Game. GO CATS!"

Indiana RB Bryan Payton
1) "Well...That game sucked"

*Tell us how you really feel Bryan...*

PSU Assistant Jay Paterno:
1) "Happy with our performance. A big step back from last weekend. Guys played hard & had fun. Got to see Doc to beat this flu."

2) "After watching the video a 2nd time what Joe says is true: You're never as good as you think you are when you win. I am still happy though."

PSU Assisntant Tom Bradley:
1) "The players really played hard yesterday.We made our mistakes but they stayed after them and tackled well.Our offense took it to them !"

BTOC: Week 5

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1)

2. Iowa Hawkeyes (5-0)

3. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-1)

4. Wisconsin Badgers (5-0)

5. Michigan Wolverines (4-1)

6. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-2)

7. Northwestern Wildcats (3-2)

8. Michigan State Spartans (2-3)

9. Indiana Hoosiers (3-2)

10. Illinois Illini (1-3)

11. Purdue Boilermakers (1-4)

Pre-Game Tweets plus some Big Recruiting News

Time for some pre-game tweets to give you readers some insight into whats going on around the Big Ten...

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema: " Here at the team hotel and the guys were focused in our team meetings. We are excited to be the first Big Ten game in the new stadium...."

Penn State assistant Jay Paterno: "Red Grange scored 6TDs-5 TD runs & 1 TD pass in Oct 1924 at Illinois' Memorial Stadium-In '05 M Rob matched it with 4 TD passes & 2 TD runs

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: "Just wrapped up our pre-game walk-thru. Getting a quick lunch and then heading to West Lafayette to take on the Boilermakers! GO CATS!"

In other news, the Iowa Hawkeyes landed one of the top recruits in the country today.

A.J. Derby (below) of Iowa City High School in Iowa City, IA verbally committed to the Hawkeyes today.

The 6-4, 218-pound QB received offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, and Michigan, among others.

According to Rivals.com, Derby is rated as the 16th best QB in the country and the 174th best overall player in the U.S.

Photo Credit: Rivals.com

Two more games to pick...Could Penn St slip up again?

Penn State vs. Illinois

Game Time: 2:30 p.m. on ABC

What to watch for: Penn State will look to rebound after losing at home last week to the Hawkeyes. Look to see if Juice Williams can do anything at all at QB. His play was absolutely abysmal last week.

Prediction: Doesn't matter whether its Juice or Eddie McGee, the Illini are done. Penn State gets back on track with a road win, 27-10

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Game Time: 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network

What to watch for: Indiana really impressed me last week, despite losing to the Wolverines in a close one. The Hoosiers will have another tough test trying to keep up with the Buckeyes

Prediction: Indiana will keep it close for a half. But the Buckeyes will pull away from this one after halftime. Ohio State wins it 30-14

Week 5 already!? Unbelievable

Its crazy how fast the season has flown by, we're already at week 5. Well here's my picks and predictions for this weeks games.
Lets see if I can continue to beat Adam Rittenberg

Arkansas State vs. Iowa
Game Time: 11 a.m. on ESPN2
What to watch for: Look to see if the Hawks can continue to roll. They've looked extremely impressive after that near slip-up against Northern Iowa. Offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga has been cleared to play after a thyroid condition kept him out for three weeks.
Prediction: On Iowa! Hawkeyes roll 27-7

Michigan vs. Michigan State
Game Time: 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: A loss for Sparty would be absolutely detrimental. I think quarterback play and the turnover battle will be the key to this one.
Prediction: Tate is still a Forcier and the Wolverines remain atop the Big Ten after this one. Sparty's season looks to be coming to a close...Michigan wins 24-13

Northwestern vs. Purdue
Game Time: 11 a.m. on Big Ten Network
What to watch for: Purdue's has been horrific when it comes to penalties. Last week the Boilers committed 13 penalties for 103 yards against Notre Dame.
Prediction: Pat Fitzgerald will have his team fired up and the Wildcats will come away victorious, 24-17

Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
Game Time: 11 a.m. on ESPN
What to watch for: Badger QB Scott Tolzien has played just as good as any other QB in the Big Ten, if not better than any other QB. Look for him to have another good one, but this will be a tougher test for Wisconsin.
Prediction: Wisconsin continues to roll, but this one is going to be really close. Decker and Weber will keep the Gophers in it. Badgers win 17-14

There are your predictions for the early games, I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow with the afternoon and evening game picks.