Why Is Kirk Ferentz Such A Good Coach?

So, recently the Iowa Hawkeyes played their spring league game. This is the game when fans and coaches get to see a rough preview of what to expect the coming fall. This game got me thinking more and more about football, and how beastly the Iowa Hawkeye football team will be this fall. But this shouldn't come as a surprise. It seems like year after year the Iowa Hawkeyes are good in football. And who should get the credit for all the success? Well, that would have to be head coach, Kirk Ferentz. Sure the players help, but great talent doesn't win ballgames, great coaching does.

Why is Ferentz so good? Well, this is a complex question, but I think there are some answers. He is a great recruiter for one. Year after year he brings in great recruits. Now, I don't mean great recruits as in the most talented guys, I mean great recruits that fit the system and win ballgames. Secondly, he is a disciplined coach. When all these Iowa football players were getting in trouble a couple of years ago, Kirk didn't let it slide, he dealt with it directly. This takes a lot of courage, I think, but it was definitely the right thing to do and made the team better.

Coming into Iowa he might not have seemed like that great of a coach. Sure he assisted Hayden Frye, sure he was a D-1 player, but would he be a good D-1 coach? Well, as it turns out, he isn't a good D-1 coach, he is a great one. And if you don't believe me, believe the various NFL teams who have been interested these past few years in hiring Ferentz as their coach, because of how great of a coach he is. And what does he do time and time again? He turns them down, because he loves it at Iowa and I wouldn't blame him. This is another one of the many reasons I feel Ferentz is a great coach.

"Above: Iowa Football Coach, Kirk Ferentz, http://blogs.creativeloafing.com"

Blackhawks Win Game 1

Well, as you all may know, or probably don't know, the Chicago Blackhawks are playing the San Jose Sharks in the NHL Playoffs. You may be thinking, why would he be writing about hockey? No one except Canadians care about hockey, right? Well, you would be mistaken.

Before this year, I was along with the majority of people. I didn't really get why hockey was that interesting. Because of my belief that hockey was boring, I never really watched any games or payed any attention to hockey. Besides going to the occasional local hockey games at the ice arena, I never really watched any games. But, for some reason, this year I decided to start paying attention to hockey. And I found out that it is very interesting. I have even learned the rules and have formed favorite teams, the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks. So when I learned that my two favorite hockey teams would be facing off in the playoffs, I was excited. It should be a great series between two great teams.

What made me kind of disappointed this year was the fact that the Capitals, with stud player, Alex Ovechkin, lost already. I was really looking forward to seeing him in the playoffs, but I didn't get a chance to with their early exit. Now I guess I'll just have to play with him on NHL 10 for the Xbox360, which is a great game, by the way. It is really realistic and is fun to play. But, that is a topic for later discussion. Now, back to the Blackhawks series.

In the first game the Blackhawks won. I think they are a great team and should be tough to beat. But the Sharks won't go down without a fight. I'm excited to watch this unfold as this should be a very entertaining series.

"Above: Blackhawks logo, http://chicagonow.com"

Why Are All Songs Now Remixed For Dances?

Recently it has occurred to me that songs are being ruined. Not by bad singers, but by bad dance remixes. Instead of the original beats and singing, all songs are now being changed into dance songs with heavy beats and autotuned vocals, more than before. This is just so these songs are easy to dance to for people at various clubs and parties around the country. I, for one, don't like this. I think it ruins the majority of good songs. These songs sound great the way they were made. If they sounded best as a dance mix, they would've been made as a dance mix. But I guess that is just my opinion.

There are some songs that sound good when they are dance-mixified, but the majority of songs don't. Even though I'm not a very good dancer, I still am able to dance to original songs. In fact, I enjoy dancing to them because they sound great. When they are changed into dance mixes, they lose a certain something that comes with an original song. I am kind of curious to what these artists think of their remade songs. Even though they probably just appreciate the fact that clubs are playing their songs, they can't like how they sound.

Maybe it is just the fact that I don't like dance mixes. They all sound pretty similar, in my opinion, and aren't that great to listen to. Besides being easy to dance to, these songs don't have very many pros. But I guess this is just my opinion.

Fantasy Baseball

So, if you didn't know already, I am a big fantasy sports fan. I loved fantasy football in the fall, I loved fantasy basketball in the winter, and now I love fantasy baseball. At first glance you may think it sounds kind of dumb. Especially if you think baseball is a boring sport, so if you are doing fantasy baseball, which is simply in-depth baseball, you will like it even less. But for those of you who actually enjoy the awesome sport of baseball, give fantasy baseball a shot.

It is a lot of fun to play, because, throughout the course of the season, you have to check up on your team and make sure you have the best team you are able to get. I especially like doing different trades, picking up a no name who ends up being your best player, and seeing who are the big busts of the year. This may come across as nerdy to a lot of people, but, for me, I think this is very exciting. Right now I am really disappointed in the play of my first baseman, Carlos Pena. He has started off really slow and is kind of hurting me right now. But I have to hope that he turns it around because he is a main part of my team.

This is the kind of thinking that I like to do in fantasy baseball and makes it very enjoyable. Now all I need is for Carlos Pena to start hitting like he was supposed to so I can win as well.

What Is Wrong With Country Music?

Over the past few years I have heard a lot about how people hate country music. I have even heard people say that they like all kinds of music except county music. Yet, whenever someone has to explain why they don't like it, their answers aren't very concrete. I, for one, think country music is great.

I'll be the first to admit that I used to be in the same boat as a lot of people. I didn't really like country music for some reason, and I guess I never really knew why. But lately I have been listening to more country music and I kind of like it. They are catchy tunes and have meaningful lyrics. Sure it doesn't sound like most of the mainstream stuff on the radio, but that doesn't make it bad. Some of the greatest artists of our generation are country musicians such as: Carrie Underwood, don't laugh because you secretly enjoy her music you're just afraid to admit it, and Toby Keith to name a couple. Along with Carrie Underwood, some other country musicians have managed to get their songs on the mainstream radio stations. The one that comes to mind right away is the group Lady Antebellum with their song "Need You Now". That is a great song in my opinion and shows just how good country music can be.

So next time you turn on your radio to listen to Gangsta Chick Part Three, think about changing the station to country. You never know, you could be surprised and actually like what you hear.

LeBron Lost Already?

As you may know, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. This was extremely surprising to me and the rest of the NBA world, as Cleveland was one of the favorites this year to win the whole thing. So the fact that they didn't even make it to the conference championship is a major blowup.

What makes this early exit even more surprising is the fact that they lost to the Boston Celtics, who were thought to be too old to win another championship. I guess the critics were wrong. Boston is looking great and I wouldn't be surprised if they make it all the way to the NBA Finals. Cleveland, on the other hand, looked terrible that whole series, even when they had a 2-1 series lead. They were playing terrible defense, not very surprising for the NBA, for one. And to make this even worse for the Cavs, they shot bad too. LeBron James looked uncomfortable all series and couldn't get anything going. This was very disappointing because I really wanted the Cavs and LeBron to win it all this year. But, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Let's just say that Cleveland sports teams haven't done the greatest in the playoffs in the last few years, and I guess this year wasn't any different.

Now that the Cavaliers and LeBron James are out of the playoffs, rumors about where he will land if he becomes a free agent have appeared. Some say Chicago, some New York, some New Jersey, and some even think he will stay put. Let me narrow this down to two teams. First of all, there is no way LeBron will leave a championship-contending Cavaliers team for a rebuilding New York Knicks team, so the Knicks are eliminated. Secondly, the New Jersey Nets are not going to get LeBron James, because they are terrible and easily the worst team in the NBA. Who cares if part-owner and rapper Jay-Z is friends with James. This alone will not get him to come to New Jersey. And, the saddest thing is, this is the best argument they can make for James. I think he will come back to Cleveland, in my opinion. They have been doing great as a team, minus the playoffs, and one of these years, I think, they will break through to the NBA Finals.

But for now, all LeBron can do is sit on his 100,000 dollar couch and watch the playoffs at home, because, for the second straight year, they blew it.

"Above: LeBron James, http://lebrownstown.com"

I Love AP Tests

So, last week and this week I'm have been taking three different AP tests, AP Chemistry, AP US History, and AP Language & Composition. They are really boring to take, and I'm dreading the fact that I still have one more to go.

This is the feeling that many students have. "AP tests suck, I'm going to fail, I'd rather be watching baseball (or in the case of McGriddle, watching a carrot dry)". I, also, have some of those same feelings. But, the more that I think about it, the better these AP tests seem.

First of all, sure they are hard, but, of course, they are hard because they are college-level classes. If you don't want to study hard, don't take hard classes. Secondly, people complain about the tests being eighty dollars. Even though this is a lot of money to be paying for a stupid test, it is nothing compared to the money you save in college if you pass these tests by studying hard. I know I may sound like a hippocratic person, as I don't study much, but you can't argue with the logic. If you feel differently, let me know, but I have a feeling you feel the same way I do. So, if you have another test like me, study hard and get that four you really want, even if I'm sitting at the computer typing a blog the night before my last AP Test.

"Above: AP Language & Composition book, http://coverbrowser.com"