What happens out in the lots, stays out in the lots.

How the Big 12 Could Be the New Big East

The college football landscape is in turmoil as an eight-team conference scrambles to hold on to power and relevance among the new world order. No, I’m not talking about the Big 12 in 2021. I’m talking about the Big East. The Big East Conference – barely one decade ago – was in a similar situation to the eight programs that now remain in the Big 12. The Big East’s story could teach us lessons about what to expect from the university presidents, athletic directors, and television executives who hold power and will be making decisions among the Big 12 landscape. This story will undoubtedly sound familiar. Some schools lucked into upgrading, like Louisville, rocketing up the ranks from Conference USA…
Read More

Re-alignment Realities: What options do B12 schools have?

Week after week, terrible headline after terrible headline, Iowa State fans are bombarded with news of Armageddon in the college football world. Every headline from The Athletic (who does not have a dedicated writer for a single remaining B12 team), CBS (who currently partners only with the SEC in college football through 2023), ESPN (The Mothership of the ongoing/impending CFB attack), or whatever website is getting in on the click parade spells the end of the world for the 8 little worthless schools sitting in the middle of America. But reality is perhaps not what these people and their giant media conglomerate overlords say, and the headline always seems to sting a little more than the actual content inside the…
Read More

Let’s look forward, Nebraska

The future doesn’t have to be bleak for Nebraska. Nebraska is still one of the great brands in the sport, but looking back is not going to fix the problem moving forward.
Read More

Matinee Baseball -Super Bowl Buffet

With the Super Bowl coming up we thought it would be nice to put all our Football podcasts in one spot for you to get you ready for the big game. Matinee Baseball 2.11 : Fall ball – The Waterboy Matinee Baseball 2.10 : Fall ball – All The Right Moves Matinee Baseball 2.09 : Fall ball – The Turkey Bowl Matinee Baseball 2.08 : Fall ball – Remember the Titans Matinee Baseball 2.07 : Fall ball – Necessary Roughness Matinee Baseball 1.18 : Winter Workouts – The Replacements Matinee Baseball 1.16 : Fall ball – The Program Matinee Baseball 1.17 : Fall ball – Little Giants
Read More

Ranking Every Iowa State Football Win in the Matt Campbell Era

I’ve been trying to put my feelings into words about a top-10 Iowa State Cyclone football team and the progress this program has made under coach Matt Campbell, but words have escaped me. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said and with so much happening in the world outside of sports, writing about the greatest era of Iowa State football just hasn’t felt appropriate yet. So instead of trying to contextualize my thoughts on something bigger than wins and losses, I’m going to stick to just wins and losses—actually, just wins. All 35 of them in the Matt Campbell era, to be exact. What better way to celebrate the greatest era of football in school history than…
Read More

Culture Check 2.3: Community

Arnold Woods and Emily Cornell continue on talking about tv shows by chatting about NBC’s Community.
Read More

Old Man’s Strength: 2.03 – Forgiveness

Tim and Chris  talk to Ken Miller The Godfather of DSM sports radio about his and Chris’s unlikely friendship and their history with Marty Tirrell. We hope you enjoy this story of good things come from bad situations.
Read More

Sports & Corks 3.4: Nia Dennis Stan Podcast

Emily and Emily chat about college basketball rumblings and tumblings. They briefly touch on the last weekend of the NFL before the big one. They share many updates about women’s soccer, hockey and gymnastics (because how could they not). They round out your time with them with games of the week, hot takes and wine picks. Also peep this week’s personal plug: Sift + Sprinkle Emily Twitter – https://twitter.com/emily_shaleen Emily Twitter – https://twitter.com/emilproblems Sports & Corks Twitter – https://twitter.com/sportsandcorks The Tailgate Society Twitter – https://twitter.com/tgatesociety You can email Emily and Emily at sportsandcorks@gmail.com
Read More

Old Man’s Strength: 2.01 Silver Linings

Tim Johnson and Chris Shipley are just a couple of old dudes who came together to talk about the way it used to be and the way it has to be now. They laugh, get mad, cuss and talk about how to handle adversity with careers and family and how to come out on top. Try to find the silver lining! Listen as Tim and Chris talk about Chris’s cancer journey, how he let his faith take the lead.
Read More

Matinee Baseball: 4.06 Kingpin

Ted Flint, Jake Vos and Shawn Fensterman share some drinks and talk about 1996’s Kingpin. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6EKoSvoUbxFjdtMI0pidL1?si=7aaa88285d5a412b
Read More

F1: Hungarian GP Takeaways

The Formula One season is a long grind, and this week the teams arrived at the Hungaroring for the final race before the summer break. Everyone hoped to capture some momentum to carry into the home stretch. Some unpredictable weather shuffled the leaders in every practice session, making it difficult to tell who would have the advantage on Sunday. But when all else fails, you can bet on two things: Max Verstappen to prevail and Ferrari to leave everyone confused. Here’s how it went down. Vos Immediate reaction: WTF is Ferrari doing? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a systematic failure as egregious as what Ferrari has had this year. While they’ve had a few GPs where they have shown…
Read More

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
Read More

Mount Rushmore: Best NBA Players to Never Win MVP

Most NBA fans argue the tier 1 greats. Michael Jordan vs. Lebron James vs. Kobe Bryant. But what about those tier 2 greats, who just never made it tier 1? I give you the Mount Rushmore of NBA Players to Never Win MVP. Patrick Ewing Patrick Ewing dominated the 80s and 90s and made being a Knicks fan cool. He averaged over 20 points per game for 13 straight seasons including his best season in 1989 where he averaged 29 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, and shot 55% from the field. He finished 5th in MVP voting that season behind Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, and Karl Malone. Elgin Baylor Elgin Baylor is considered one of the greatest players…
Read More

F1: French GP Takeaways

After a week off, Formula One arrived in Le Castellet, France. Fans at the track were treated to French-speaking driver Charles Leclerc, from nearby Monaco, winning pole position on Saturday. But a potential showdown between Leclerc and Max Verstappen ended early in the tire barrier when Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari. Verstappen cruised to victory and likely soon a second championship. Here are our thoughts following the French Grand Prix. Vos Immediate reaction: Ferrari does Ferrari things… again Carlos Sainz was forced to start in the rear, Leclerc started on pole and did a great job to get out in front and hold off Max in the early portion of the race, yet Ferrari managed to have a massively…
Read More

Matinee Baseball: 4.05 Major League 3

Ted Flint, Jake Vos and Shawn Fensterman have too many drinks and talk about Major League 3: Back to Minors. https://open.spotify.com/episode/4l5HcDq6mDWyJZOmVuaJ73?si=182706b36fd84f40
Read More
  • Sports & Corks 2.22: Bubble News

    Sports & Corks 2.22: Bubble News

    Emily and Emily waste no time with diving into the sports happenings of the week, starting with WNBA action (0:51) and NBA scrimmage updates (7:52). The Houston Dash won the NWSL Challenge Cup, so obviously they discuss that win over the Chicago Red Stars (10:15)  before giving a quick rundown of upcoming MLS matches in […]

    Read More

  • The NCAA shouldn’t punt this football season

    The NCAA shouldn’t punt this football season

    Editor’s note last week we published this piece by Tami Dooley and it prompted this reply by Levi Denny. The only certainty in life is that nothing is certain. Knowing that gives us two choices as human beings — we can rely on numbers and probabilities and assess our willingness to take part in something, […]

    Read More

  • Taylor Swift: Cottagecore Mode Activated

    Taylor Swift: Cottagecore Mode Activated

    Taylor Swift heard we’re going to be in lockdown for the foreseeable future and dropped a surprise album, Folklore. Swift’s eight studio album is the perfect 2020 album for sitting alone in your room on the floor crying. The subdued instrumentals and lyrics of Folklore create an album of feelings that you’ll probably listen to […]

    Read More

  • Culture Check 1.16: ‘Creed’

    Culture Check 1.16: ‘Creed’

    Culture Check revisits pop culture, everything from books to movies and everything in between. Arnold Woods and Emily Cornell discuss Michael B. Jordan’s performance in Creed (2015).

    Read More

  • What “Plus One” College Football Schedules Could Look Like

    What “Plus One” College Football Schedules Could Look Like

    A report from CBS Sports describes the ACC, Big 12, and SEC are considering a “plus one” approach to 2020 football: each school would be permitted one non-conference game along with their conference schedule. As other conferences cancel non-conference competition entirely, like the Big Ten and Pac-12, and some FCS leagues are even cancelling fall […]

    Read More

  • College Football should take the loss to Covid

    College Football should take the loss to Covid

    There are, best I can tell, around 150-ish people who are regularly around the average college football program, including players, coaches, sports medicine, and the administrative staff. Below is the Georgia Tech Covid-19 Risk Level Map (taken July 22, 2020), set to 100 people, with the D1 CFB program locations (apparently made sometime before Idaho […]

    Read More

  • Sports & Corks 2.21: Basketball and Soccer and Hockey, Oh My

    Sports & Corks 2.21: Basketball and Soccer and Hockey, Oh My

    So many sports. Most of the squad makes an appearance this week, the WNBA, NBA, NWSL, MLS, NASCAR, NHL and MLB are all back or close to it. Emily and Emily give a quick rundown of all the happenings. They of course have hot takes, wine picks and a feel good bigger than sports moment.  […]

    Read More

  • Returning to Conference Alignment Sanity

    Returning to Conference Alignment Sanity

    Ten years ago, the University of Colorado and the University of Nebraska left the Big 12 Conference, creating a domino effect across the college athletics landscape, before the realignment fervor largely settled in 2014. Since that move, the Big Ten, ACC, and SEC have become 14-member institutions, while the Pac 12 is now at 12 […]

    Read More

  • TGS 2020 MLB Preview

    TGS 2020 MLB Preview

    Better late than never, right? Nearly four months later than expected, the 2020 MLB season is about to begin. The season’s first pitch will take place Thursday, July 23, at Nationals Park, when the New York Yankees visit the defending World Series champions in Washington D.C. Most teams will begin play the next day. A […]

    Read More

  • Culture Check 1.15: ‘Bad Boys’

    Culture Check 1.15: ‘Bad Boys’

    Arnold Woods and Emily Cornell continue their journey of watching performances of Black actors and actresses to chat about Bad Boys. Specifically, they talk about Will’s Smith’s breakout performance. 

    Read More