By Jeff Hare
DidYouHareThat.com

Christmas season is upon us.  Everyone is out shopping trying to come up with the perfect gift.  I got to thinking, what would be the ideal present for some of our local sports figures?  Here’s what I came up with.

Stanzi against Michigan/Todd McManus Photo

Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi -An eye exam.  We love you Ricky, as you have led the Hawkeyes to many great wins.  But it seems like you throw a lot of passes to the guys in the opposite color shirts. (15 TD passes, 14 INTs in 2009).

Northern Iowa football coach Mark  Farley-A third chance at a field goal against Iowa.  (The Hawkeyes blocked two UNI field goals in the last 7 second to beat the Panthers 17-16).

Iowa State Athletic Director Jaime Pollard-The ability to forget that three years ago, he turned down new Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly and hired Gene Chizek.  Chizek promptly led the Cyclones to a 4-19 mark in two season and fled to Auburn.  Pollard made up for it, when he hired local boy Paul Rhodes as his replacement as Cyclone coach. 

Iowa State football coach Paul Rhodes-All the sun creme he can handle as he leads the Cyclones to the Insight.com bowl in Phoenix.

Cedar Rapids Kernel General Manager Jack Roeder-A Midwest League schedule that is backloaded with games in July and August, not April and May as has been in previous years.

Lisa Bluder

Iowa womens basketball coach Lisa Bluder-A hospital ward next to her office at Carver Hawkeye.  That way she won’t have to travel far to see her many injured players.

Ex-Iowa State, current Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson.  Moving vans to get him out of Ames.

Iowa State mens basketball coach Greg McDermott-The following letter to be delivered to his office.  “Dear Coach Roy Williams of North Carolina:  I Changed my mind.  I wish to decomit to the Heels and play for my hometown team, the Iowa State Cyclones.  Signed, Harrison Barnes (Barnes. said to be the nations top high school recruit, currently attends Ames High School.)

Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands-Classes in “How to read and write the Russian Language”. (Brands has Russian speaking students interpret Russian wrestling websites for him.  He says he doesn’t trust most English translations.)

(more…)

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The graduation rate for student-athletes who enrolled at the University of Iowa in the fall of the 2002-03 academic year was 70 percent, six percentage points better than the national average and two points better than a year ago, according to data released Wednesday (Nov. 18) by the NCAA.

The graduation rate for Iowa’s nationally ranked football program was 67 percent for the second consecutive year. The national average was 55 percent. 

Both of Iowa’s basketball teams posted graduation rates that were a perfect 100 percent. The national average for men’s basketball was 51 percent; the national average for women’s basketball was 64 percent.

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Lester

Streif

Ronnie Lester, former All-American basketball player at the University of Iowa, has made a $100,000 gift to the UI Foundation to support the Carver-Hawkeye Arena Enhancements Campaign. The assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lester is a member of the committee that is leading the fundraising effort to upgrade the 26-year-old facility.
 
At the request of Lester, the UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will name the training room at the remodeled Carver-Hawkeye Arena in honor of longtime UI athletic trainer John Streif.  Streif, of Iowa City, and Lester, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., have been close friends since Lester’s playing days as an Iowa Hawkeye, beginning in the mid-1970s. 
 
“John Streif has been a terrific friend to me for more than 30 years. He has worked tirelessly to support me and numerous other athletes for over four decades now,” said Lester, a 1981 UI graduate who was a member of the Hawkeye men’s basketball team from 1977 to 1980. “His dedication to the Hawkeyes is legendary, and I’m honored to name the training room for him.
 
“As a member of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena campaign committee, I am pleased to step forward to make this gift,” Lester continued. “Coach Lickliter has the program moving in the right direction, and I want to do my part to help this important project.”
 
The goal of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena Enhancements Campaign is to raise at least $20 million to modernize the current facility, according to UI Director of Athletics Gary Barta. No state funding will be used for the project. 
 
“We are thrilled to receive this gift from Ronnie Lester. He is one of the all-time great basketball players at Iowa,” said Barta. ”It’s always special to see former student-athletes reach back and support the Hawks. On top of his generosity, it is terrific that Ronnie has chosen to honor John Streif. I can’t think of anyone more deserving.”
 
Streif, a 1970 UI graduate, is assistant athletic trainer and travel coordinator for the UI. He has been on the UI athletics staff since 1972 and has received numerous honors, including the David J. Skorton Staff Excellence Award for Public Service, given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the UI and have shown “exceptional imagination and dedication to improving the university community,” in July 2006. (Information provided by University of Iowa Foundation.)

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By Brian Siguenza

Iowa’s game notes for Saturday’s game with Michigan confirm that Kirk Herbstreit will be in Iowa City calling the action with Brent Musburger for ABC. Chris Fowler and Lee Corso, however, will not be with him.

ESPN chose to send College GameDayto the true marquee matchup–No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 LSU in Baton Rouge. Yes, the game does air opposite Iowa-Michigan on CBS, but the Gators and Tigers are undefeated, whereas the Wolverines are unranked and have one loss.

Even without GameDay in town, Saturday is going to be pretty crazy. And those who choose not to heed athletic director Gary Barta’s advice about enjoying the festivities responsibly will be happy to know that they can watch these NFL games while they recover from the world of hurt they’ll be in Sunday:

• Minnesota at St. Louis, noon on KFXA (Channel 28)–The one-game playoff between the Twins and Tigers is going on as I write this. If the Twins win, I would love to see another Twins-Cardinals World Series, being the true Midwesterner that I am. (Announcers: Chris Myers and Charles Davis)
• Pittsburgh at Detroit, noon on KGAN (Channel 2)–Conversely, if the Tigers win, Iowans will have the luxury of watching sports teams from the Detroit area for the next several days. Lions and Tigers and Wolverines, oh my! (Announcers: Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
• New England at Denver, 3:15 p.m. on KGAN (Channel 2)–Which is the bigger surprise, that the Patriots have lost a game or that the Broncos haven’t? (Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)

All information comes from The506.com and is subject to change.

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