It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Isn't Playing Horseshoes Anymore

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* Coffee's for closers, KF.  Well, at least Ferentz does recognize one of Iowa's fatal flaws in 2010:

"We have to do a better job winning the close games," the Hawkeyes' coach told the record crowd at Thursday's Des Moines County I-Club banquet at the Pzazz Events Center.

....

"What we have to do is find ways to be successful in those close games," Ferentz said. "We have to do a better job of putting ourselves into position to win those games."

Of course, Iowa actually was in position -- leading the game, even -- in four of the five games they lost last year (and it should have been all five, if Mossbrucker's PAT hadn't been blocked in the Arizona game).  The trick is to successfully finish those games.  Last year that meant handing the ball to the defense and praying they could take things to the finish line; it didn't work then and it's even less likely to work next year, with a dramatically rebuilt front seven and a brand new pair of safeties.  The offense is going to need to pick up the slack, which likely means a steady dose of Coker and the (hopefully) bulldozing offensive line.

In other news, Bohnenkamp repeated what has been one of the most pervasive themes of the I-Club circuit: Eric May has been lighting it up this spring.

-- Iowa men's basketball video coordinator Ryan Bowen echoed what head coach Fran McCaffery has been saying in the last few weeks about forward Eric May, who struggled during Big Ten play last season as a sophomore.

"He's probably been our best player in the spring," Bowen said.

It would certainly be nice to see May regain his form; he scored double figures in seven of his first eight games last year, then fell off a cliff* (he scored 30 points total in his last eight games and wasn't really adding a ton elsewhere, either).  Perhaps the impending arrival of Aaron White, Josh Oglesby, and Anthony Hubbard has lit a fire under May's ass.  Either way, anything that gives me an excuse to scream MAYGASM more often next winter is fine by me.

* I assume this was just a figurative cliff, since (a) there are no cliffs in eastern Iowa** and (b) I'm pretty sure we would have heard something about it if it had been a real cliff.
** Yeah, yeah, I know.

* Chicago, Chicago, the Big Ten's kind of town.  The ultimate destination of the Big Ten Championship game is still TBD (though we can't shake the feeling that it's going to be played in that anti-septic bubble in Indianapolis), but Doc thinks there's a good chance that Chicago may wind up being the site for future Big Ten Tournaments in basketball.  Why?  It's all about the money, stupid:

There’s truth in the numbers. Based on per-session average attendance, the United Center’s seven seasons ranked first through seven in the Big Ten Tournament’s 14 years. Only twice has Conseco Fieldhouse averaged more than 18,000 people per session and at no time since 2006 (when Iowa beat Ohio State to win the Big Ten Tournament title).

This is hardly surprising; Chicago is a bit more centrally-located, easier to travel to, and, oh yeah, it's a trip to Chicago versus a trip to Indianapolis.  The other interesting point is that apparently only Indiana gooses attendance when the BTT is in Indianapolis; despite having strong teams the last few years, OMHR does virtually nothing for attendance at the BTT. 

* Yvan eht nioj.  Ed DeChellis, a global force for good?  Are we sure that Ed DeChellis hasn't just been sitting in State College and watching a ton of old Simpsons episodes since the NCAA Tournament ended?  And we thought a coach leaving a Big Ten school for New Mexico was a head-scratcher.  Like Coach Redacted, Easy Ed was likely leaving a year before the posse showed up and forcibly removed him and he's trading in the rigors of the Big Ten for a job in an easier league (no offense to any Patriot League partisans lurking around these parts).  On the other hand, as Hlas reminds us, the Big Ten ain't necessarily all it's cracked up to be, either:

One reason I think Iowa can get into the first-division of the Big Ten sooner than later: The rest of the league.

Granted, after spending the last half-decade in the second-division of Big Ten hoops, I don't think Iowa fans will be too fussed about how they get back into the first-division, so long as it actually happens. 

* But did anyone remember to thank Sir Francis?  So the Kilimanjaro Bowl happened over the weekend and -- good news, Iowans! -- Drake won, 17-7, over the CONADEIP All-Stars from Mexico.  WOO STATE PRIDE.  SUCK IT, MEXICO.  It wasn't exactly easy; CONADERP CONADEIP took a 7-3 lead in the fourth quarter, before two late Drake touchdowns and a comedy of errors from the Mexican team (including two botched field goal snaps and a fumble), helped the Bulldogs escape with a victory.

* Everyone hates the Big East.  So apparently Lindy's, providers of sub-par college football preview magazines for many years, isn't making a Big East-specific preview issue this year.  Big East Coast Bias put on their investigative journalism hats and tried to get to the bottom of things.  The Lindy's rep may be sticking to her "no buys" claim, but we know the real truth: Lindy's is part of a grand conspiracy with EA (breathlessly promoting the ability to strip the Big East of its AQ status in NCAA Football '12) and other media outlets to destroy the Big East.  Black helicopters over Morgantown, y'all.