Hlas Column on Jake Kelly Departing Hawkeyes Basketball Program

Oh dear. Oh no. Oh brother.

Pick your reaction or reactions, Hawkeye basketball fans. They all fit. When your best player is transferring out — and you could argue this is the third-straight year it’s happening if you were a Tony Freeman fan — you have a program that’s running on ice.

For the rest of this post, go to the Hlog’s new home at the URL listed above. (It’s http://hlog.iowa.com) Thanks for bookmarking it and using it in the future.

Minnesota Football Coach Tim Brewster is FIRED UP!

Hey Coach Brewster, the Hlog just gave you a free plug

First and foremost, the Hlog got wind of Minnesota football coach Tim Brewster’s Twitter feed and Web site from our friends at http://www.blackheartgoldpants.com

Now, those gentlemen occasionally work a bit blue and once in a great while step over the line with a toe or two. OK, they do so every day, with all 10 toes in a synchronized stomp on what some prudes commonly call “good taste.”

Ames and Iowa City are the Lands of Milk and Honey, Hope and Dreams

Ames - No ghost (down)town for business

If you’re like me, you run from news stories that use the word “unemployment.” How many times can you hear or see the wordit, even if you’re one of the lucky ones to still be employed?

Well, here’s some good news:

Two of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the lowest unemployment rates in January were Ames and Iowa City, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

Larry Eustachy Compares Himself to AIG – But Makes an Un-AIG Move

Larry Eustachy, trying to earn his salary

It hasn’t been an altogether-successful ride for Larry Eustachy as the men’s basketball coach at Southern Mississippi, but the folks in Hattiesburg can’t say Eustachy is tone-deaf.

 

While Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun defiantly said “Not a dime back” when asked if he’d peel off any of the king’s ransom of a salary he makes to give it back to his cash-strapped state, Eustachy is refusing a $25,000 bonus owed to him because of an attendance incentive in his contract.

Vote for Your “Favorite” Recession Photo

(AP photo)

This is 1/35th of what I think is an amazing collection of recession-related photos from around the world.

They were recently posted on the Boston Globe’s site, www.boston.com. Most of the photos were shot within the last month.

Photo No. 30 hurts me, a newspaper guy since I was three months old, as much as any. I’m guessing you can find a couple (or 35) that get to you.

Share your thoughts about any or all of the photos in the comments box. In fact, share your thoughts about anything.

Kurt Looby is Tearing Up the NBA D-League

Kurt Looby didn't lack for hustle at Iowa (AP photo)

Frankly, I never pictured Kurt Looby as an NBA prospect when he played at Iowa. I didn’t even picture him as an NBA D-League prospect.

Well, Looby is playing his way toward a roster spot on somebody’s NBA summer league team, and he’s doing it in the D-League.

POLL on Brent Metcalf’s Post-Match Actions

The YouTube videos are on the post immediately below this one.

Iowa’s Brent Metcalf Doesn’t Surrender NCAA Title Without One Last Shot

Look, I got this from YouTube. If Disney or whoever owns ESPN these days says it can’t be used, strike it from YouTube. Do not sue the Hlog, Corporate Monolith.

That said, this is from the end of the NCAA Wrestling Championships’ 149-pound final, won by North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell over Iowa’s Brent Metcalf, a 2008 national-titlist who had owned a 69-match winning streak.

Former Hawkeye WR Clinton Solomon Has Huge Night Friday

Clinton Solomon in a happy Hawkeye moment

Clinton Solomon had three touchdown catches Friday night, and seven receptions overall for 146 yards.

Alas, the ex-Iowa Hawkeye wide receiver’s Wichita Wild lost 41-36 to the Omaha Beef in Omaha in the season-opener for both.

The league? Indoor Football League. Seems like a sensible enough name.

A Tornado May Have Helped Ex-Hawkeye at “Pro Day”

Matt Bowen

Matt Bowen played seven years in the National Football League after having a distinguished career at safety for the University of Iowa.

His career may have been jump-started by a tornado in Iowa City, if you can believe that.