Iowa
Repeating a Billy Packer comment got the wrath of Iowa upon me
Al McGuire (left) and Billy Packer jokingly sq. off on the quilt of the 1982 Large Ten-ACC Shootout on the then-5 Seasons Heart in Cedar Rapids. McGuire and Packer had been coaches for the postseson all-star sport that was performed in Cedar Rapids thrice.
If Billy Packer, who died Thursday, was a commentator on a school basketball telecast, it was an enormous sport.
Packer labored 34 Ultimate Fours. He stated what he thought and didn’t appear to fret about it.
A kind of occasions was on a 2001 March Sunday in Chicago when Iowa confronted Indiana within the Large Ten males’s basketball championship sport. Mike Davis was Indiana’s interim coach, and did a pleasant job that season. Former Indiana All-America guard Steve Alford coached Iowa.
Late in Iowa’s 63-61 win, Packer stated Alford and Davis had been enjoying for the Hoosiers’ job. That was fascinating to these of us in Iowa.
Three days later, the Hawkeyes had been in Uniondale, N.Y., the place they’d play (and defeat) Creighton within the first-round of the NCAA tourney. At a press convention the day earlier than the sport, I requested this to Alford at his press convention:
“Steve, nationwide newspapers, nationwide radio reveals have continued speaking about you and linking you to the Indiana job. Ought to these tales die?”
That was a marshmallow served on a tee, if Alford noticed it as a marshmallow served on a tee. He might have stated sure, smiled, and that will have been that. Alford didn’t see it that approach. He received fairly upset about it, really.
“You’re from freakin’ Iowa,” he replied. “Why are you asking me that?
“Ask Billy Packer. Packer says he referred to as me. He didn’t name me on Monday.
“I’m not . … I went by means of this … I’m not desirous about entertaining any questions on Indiana College. They’re in a regional someplace, I don’t know the place they’re at.
“Exit to their web site and ask Indiana individuals about what’s happening at Indiana.
“We’re the Large Ten champions. We’re the College of Iowa. Ask me questions concerning the College of Iowa.”
Melissa Isaacson of the Chicago Tribune didn’t suppose Alford ought to inform the questioners which inquiries to ask, and had a follow-up on the matter.
“What did I simply say?” Alford responded. “Effectively, I’m not saying something. Are there any questions on Iowa? Jiminy Christmas!”
ESPN ran that clip on each SportsCenter the remainder of that day, and SportsCenter was on lots of occasions. Sports activities radio individuals from Chicago and Timbuktu had been phoning my lodge room, and I did a masterful job of not taking their calls. Thank goodness the Web was a sliver of what it’s now. Message boards and social media in Iowa would have devoured me. Alford was simply starting to take Hawkeye basketball to the stratosphere, and I used to be Darth Vader with a fully-charged lightsaber.
Oh, the telephone messages and letters to the editor that waited for me again at Iowa after the Hawkeyes misplaced their second-round sport to Kentucky in Lengthy Island. The gist of it was “Why are you making an attempt to run Steve Alford out of Iowa?”
I’ve at all times insisted that the individuals who write bizarre letters and emails like which can be within the very-minor minority. However the very-major majority who would by no means waste a second doing one thing like that don’t make any noise, so the primary group might be actually loud.
Indiana gave Davis the full-time job, by the best way. Alford ultimately moved on to New Mexico, UCLA, and now Nevada, the place his group is 16-5 this season.
Billy Packer labored video games on CBS for seven extra years. I by no means received to speak to him about that 2001 day in Chicago and what made him say what he stated. However I’ll ceaselessly recognize that when he, Al McGuire and Dick Enberg labored video games collectively on NBC, it was nice tv.
The following time I noticed Alford after that Lengthy Island day that had me contemplating america Federal Witness Safety Program was that September. It was, sarcastically or coincidentally, in Chicago. He sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Recreation” at a Cubs sport at Wrigley Subject.
I went to put in writing a column about it. We met within the press field and he couldn’t have been nicer, laughing about what had occurred months earlier than as if it had been an enormous previous enjoyable time for everyone.
Alford advised me he jokingly requested a Cubs official if he might inform the followers “We’re from freakin’ Iowa.” However as an alternative, he launched himself and Iowa gamers Luke Recker, Ryan Hogan and Jason Smith by saying “The Large Ten champs are at Wrigley right this moment!”
I by no means had something resembling an issue with Alford once more. What was form of humorous to me, although, was the longer he stayed as Iowa’s coach, the extra that readers had been telling me I used to be being too simple on him.
In hindsight, on that 2001 day in Lengthy Island I ought to have requested “That rascal Billy Packer was making mischief for you on CBS the opposite day. Ought to we attempt to get him kicked off tv ceaselessly?”
Which is absurd, in fact. However in 2023, a media panderer or two would possibly dance that pandering dance in the event that they suppose it can curry favor amongst a coach and his or her followers.
I’m unhappy about Billy Packer’s loss of life, as I used to be about Enberg’s and McGuire’s. They placed on a terrific present. That’s what this big-time faculty sports activities is, you already know. It’s a present. In the event you’re on the correct aspect of it, you’ll be able to take it to lots of completely different of locations and preserve creating wealth.
I’d like to see Iowa play Nevada in a first-round NCAA tourney sport this 12 months. Or a second-round or third-round or sixth-round sport. It will be a terrific story, and that’s all I actually ever need out of these things. The trick is to not be in the course of a sizzling story whenever you’re protecting it.
Alford was proper again then, I have to admit 22 years later. I’m from freakin’ Iowa.
The Iowa Hawkeyes lost two players from their football team this week.
Both running back Leshon Williams and wide receiver Kaleb Brown have announced that they will redshirt for the rest of the season and enter the transfer portal at the end of the year.
Despite the two players opting to leave the program, it hasn’t phased head coach Kirk Ferentz. He isn’t worried about the decisions that they made at all.
When asked about Williams and Brown transferring, Ferentz offered a short and brutal quote.
“Not to be callous, but if a player isn’t playing, you don’t lose much.”
Williams had been dealing with an injury throughout the season thus far. Before the injury, he had shown flashes of being a player that could end up making an impact. Unfortunately, those flashes were never able to come to light on the field.
As for Brown, there were big plans for him coming into the season. But, he was suspended for the first game of the year and was never able to earn his role back.
Clearly, Ferentz is not worried about how his team will respond to the news. Basically, he doesn’t think the losses of them will impact the team at all.
Ferentz isn’t necessarily wrong with what he stated. Neither player had a role that will change how the team has been operating. However, it was the way he said it that was a bit out of line.
Regardless of the role that they players had, handling the situation with a bit more grace would have been a better look.
All of that being said, Iowa is not a program that needs to be graceful necessarily. The Hawkeyes want to win football games and neither Williams or Brown was contributing to that goal so far this year.
Looking ahead to the future, we wish the best to both Williams and Brown. Hopefully, they find success in their future endeavors.
The Iowa On3 Massey Ratings top 25 list as of Oct. 8 underwent some changes compared to last week’s rankings. These updates highlight the competitiveness of Iowa high school football, especially when you consider that only three of the top ten teams remain unscathed.
Meanwhile, two teams ranked 11 to 25 swapped spots. Here’s how the state’s top teams fared after the 2024 Iowa high school football season has reached its halfway point.
The On3 Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.
CLICK HERE to watch your high school’s games on NFHS Network now!
After losing to Dowling Catholic, the Tigers have secured victories against ranked teams. Their latest conquest was against 23rd-ranked Waukee Northwest, wherein Drake DeGroote completed three touchdown passes to Zay Robinson. Valley can extend their winning streak to five games against Waterloo West.
The Maroons survived the fierce opposition ushered in by fifth-ranked Ankeny Centennial in a match that needed three overtime periods to be settled. Dowling Catholic showed resilience despite a 21-3 halftime deficit and scoring their first touchdown with six minutes left in the third quarter. Overcoming that test of character should give the Maroons confidence in their upcoming match against Urbandale.
The Dragons are flying again after clinching their third consecutive victory against ranked opponents. This time, they’ve shut out eighth-ranked Southeast Polk, thanks to their defense, ranked fourth in Iowa high school football. After limiting Ankeny, Waukee, and Southeast Polk to 14 points, Johnston should have no problems defeating Urbandale on the road.
The Bulldogs remain undefeated after five games and haven’t allowed 20 points to an opponent since their season opener against sixth-ranked Pleasant Valley. Bettendorf’s latest result was a 33-14 masterpiece over Kennedy, a game practically over by halftime when the Bulldogs established a 27-6 lead. Bettendorf can improve to 6-0 by defeating Davenport Central this week.
The Jaguars could not translate their fantastic start against Dowling Catholic into a victory. Failing to close out the Maroons after three overtimes handed them their second consecutive defeat. However, they remain in the top ten and could bounce back with easier matchups against Roosevelt and Waukee Northwest over the next two weeks.
In their last match, the Spartans surrendered 28 points to Cedar Falls. While that’s a concern, the second-best offense in Iowa high school football scored a season-high 52 points. Pleasant Valley is on a groove, scoring 101 points in their two previous games. In that case, they should have no problems maintaining the momentum against Muscatine.
After starting the season at 1-3, the Hawks have won two consecutive games, beating Iowa City West and Prairie by a combined score of 73-38. However, their schedule gets more challenging as they face 11th-ranked Liberty and top-ranked Valley in their following two assignments.
The Rams’ shutout loss to Johnston halted their winning streak. That result also brings their record against the top ten teams to 2-2. It’s also a total contrast to their 48-3 win over Sioux City East the week before. Southeast Polk should make a better effort in the next two weeks to defeat No. 13 Waukee and second-ranked Dowling Catholic. Those games are perfect for the Rams’ defense to prove why they are Iowa high school football’s top-ranked defense.
The Titans have scored over 50 points in back-to-back games, defeating Jefferson 56-6. The week before, they scored 55 on Glenwood. Lewis Central can keep their hopes for a perfect season intact by defeating Winterset, Norwalk, and Dallas Center-Grimes in their next three games.
The Comets flew to the top ten after a 29-8 victory over Ballard Community. North Polk’s defense has intensified, allowing only 33 points in its last three games. Before that run, they gave up 68 points to Bondurant-Farrar and Carlisle combined. On deck for the Comets are Indianola this week and Boone on the 18th.
11. Liberty
12. Pella
13. Waukee
14. Linn-Mar (+1)
15. West Lyon (-1)
16. Decorah
17. Xavier
18. Iowa City High
19. Cedar Falls
20. Humboldt
21. Grundy Center
22. Williamsburg
23. Waukee Northwest
24. ADM
25. Western Dubuque
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