Settled in Chicago

I moved to Chicago nineteen days ago and have finally gotten settled in and into a sort-of regular work schedule and so I can stop neglecting my personal blog.

I'm working on my bedroom eyes.

The semi-big news is that I now write a weekly sex column for a men’s website.  The column is called Carnal Knowledge.  I get paid to do it and so far I think I’m doing a decent job.  I write under a pseudonym, so please don’t out me if you go read it.  But here are the posts:  Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4.  If you enjoy them, feel free to tell your friends!

Not much else is happening.  Shonn Greene is quietly putting together an awesome season for Iowa.  He’s 3rd in D-I football in rushing yards on only 177 carries (both guys in front of him have 200+).  SHONN GREENE FOR HEISMAN!

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Kirk Ferentz

Here’s a piece I wrote for a different blog awhile back.  I needed a place to post it.

The steely gaze.  The gum-chomping.  The erratic pacing on the sidelines.  He’s Kirk Ferentz and he is a god in Iowa City, Iowa.  Following a rather dismal first two years where we only won 4 games, Ferentz has led the Iowa Hawkeyes to 6 straight bowl games, 4 of which were post-New Year’s Eve.  It’s easy to point to the 2002 season as his crowning achievement, where we went 11-1 and tied with Ohio State for a share of the Big Ten Conference Title.  We had the Heisman runner-up in Brad Banks and an outstanding supporting cast.  However, I think it is Ferentz’s second Big Ten Coach of the Year title that is truly his crown jewel.  2004 was the only season of Iowa football I have been physically present for.  I didn’t go to Iowa for undergrad, only graduate school, and since I started in January of ’04 and graduated in August of ’05, I only got one season.  But it was awesome.

2004 was the season of injuries.  After 5 games, we had lost RBs Albert Young, Marcus Schnoor and Jermelle Lewis to ACL tears.  We were down to our #4 running back, Marques Simmons, for the showdown with Ohio State.  Until Simmons twisted his ankle in the game.  Suddenly, we’d lost 4 RBs in 6 games.  We were down to true freshman Damian Sims and walk-on from Emmetsburg, Iowa Sam Brownlee.  And you know what?  Those guys came in and did just enough to let us keep a passing game going.  We stomped Ohio State, 33-7.  To pile on the growing heap of injured RBs, Kirk Ferentz’s father passed away during the week in between Ohio State and Penn State.  But Kirk and his son Brian, who played center, were there for the Penn State game, which we somehow won by a score of 6-4.  His post-game interview is one of the most heart-rending things I’ve ever seen.  We ended up 9-2 that season, winning our last 7 games in a row.

But that season was not over.  Kirk Ferentz took us down to the Capital One Bowl, in LSU’s backyard.  For Nick Saban’s final game.   We lead almost the entire way, until a last-minute touchdown from freshman QB Jamarcus Russell put LSU up 25-24.  What happened next is stuff of Hawkeye legend.  Drew Tate’s 55-yard touchdown pass to Warren Holloway.  The first and last TD of Holloway’s career.  Hawkeyes win, 30-25.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZxnloEl_j4

What Ferentz did that season is incredible.  At one point, I think a 12 year-old autistic waterboy played RB for us.  It was magical.  It was a Big Ten Coach of the Year title that was fought hard for.  I can’t wait to see what he can do for the next two seasons, as we (miraculously) miss both Ohio State and Michigan.  On Iowa!

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