College Football Week 12

This week we honor a loyal reader of the blog with a University of North Carolina Cheerleader. Perhaps he would like to contribute to the blog with his own "Night Out on the Town" post?

This was definitely not the weekend to play for a university that begins with "O." Of those who had much on the line on a national or conference level, they were defeated. It started Friday night with the upset of Oklahoma State. The state of Oklahoma then had to deal with another upset the following night as the Sooners lost to Baylor. Moving to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon had positioned themselves for a spot in the BCS title game, only to be defeated by USC. And in the Big Ten Ohio State lost any chance at the Big Ten title game by losing to Penn State. Definitely a gutsy performance for the Nittany Lions - a group of players being punished in the court of public opinion for something they had nothing to do with.

Had the Big Ten not gone to division play, the typical end of the year match-up between Michigan State and Penn State may have been for the Big Ten title. Instead Penn State has their own division championship game on the last weekend, but in Madison against the Badgers. Definitely the most important conference game of the weekend, but there is much on the line for a number of teams jockeying for bowl position. Iowa secured their spot and improved their ranking with the win over Purdue. Northwestern secured their position while Purdue can do so this weekend with a win at Indiana. And while Illinois has struggled over their last five games, they are still bowl bound. But Michigan's final home game with Ohio State may prove the most pivotal for every one's bowl standing. A Wolverine win and each team may be able to jump a spot. Many are projecting Michigan to make a BCS bowl with a ten win season - currently they are 9-2.

Another game of the weekend will be in Conference USA. Houston travels to Tulsa and defends their undefeated streak against the Golden Hurricane. The winner of the game will be the champions of the West Division and earn the right to play in the conference championship game. The Cougars have much to lose in Central Oklahoma.

And finally the premier football conference in 2011 is the SEC. And while the BCS top three teams have earned the most recognition one team that gets set aside is Georgia. Starting the season 0-2 the Bulldogs have quietly won 9 straight and will play for the conference title the first weekend of December. This past weekend created "BCS Chaos" with many teams in the top five losing. But what kind of chaos would we have if Georgia wins the SEC to earn the automatic BCS bid?

Weekend in West Lafayette

 There are few stadiums in the Big Ten that have their stadium is such close proximity to its Campus. Ross-Ade Stadium is literally across the street from many of its buildings of higher learning. This gateway to the Purdue campus is located at the corner of Stadium John Wooden Drive and Stadium Avenue.

 Purdue is known for their engineering programs. One graduate of the school is astronaut Neil Armstrong. This statue is erected in front of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering where a replica of Apollo One resides inside.

 Football isn't the most important sport south of South Bend in Indiana. Basketball is the sport of choice in the Hoosier State. Freshly renovated Mackey Arena is the home to Boilermaker Basketball. Purdue honors its past in many ways throughout the concourse. But the highest honor goes to long time coach Gene Keady as his name adores the actual playing court.

 Prior to leaving the locker room at home or on the road, each member of the Iowa Football team must touch the "Break the Rock" sign above the final exit to the field.

 It was Senior Day for not only the Purdue Football team, but also for members of its spirit squads and marching band. Purdue has long been known for a number of traditions in its marching band.  Among them is the pre-game ritual of "I Am an American" where those in attendance state their belief in unison declaring, "I Am an American" at the end of the patriotic program. Purdue also boasts of owning the World's Largest Drum. And on this final Saturday of the home football season, each senior member of the marching band unit had the opportunity to bang the drum for the final time.

It was a happy locker room following the Hawkeye victory. But many members of the local Iowa media as well as the Big Ten Network cram into the small room off from the visitor locker room at Ross - Ade Stadium. It was a disappointingly attended game for those supporting the Boilermakers, but the Iowa media continues to follow Iowa in every town they play in.

Hawkeyes Win Boilermaker Fight

With Divisional play beginning in the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes and Boilermakers were deemed rivals. Saturday's game had much fight with twists and turns that could one day prove to be worthy of the pairing. But in 2011 the Hawkeyes traveled to West Lafayette and brought home a much needed road victory, their first of the season and extend the overall record to 7-4. Game week for the Hawkeyes takes on a different spin as their last game of the season is this Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska against the Cornhuskers. "Farmageddon," as it was originally called was replaced by "The Heroes Game," will be played at 11am on ABC.

I don't say much about my workplace in this blog, but it recently had a bit of a renovation. The video offices of the football complex haven't had much done to it over the last twenty years. However we added a little extra space and moved some things around. In the process I added a little subtle touch. Keeping in line with newsrooms and how they had clocks showing the time in different areas around the world (e.g. New York, Tokyo, London, etc), I decided to do something similar. Now in our video offices I have two clocks on the way. One signifies the time in our town of Iowa City, while the other clocks has the time in Pasadena, California (home to the Rose Bowl). Although the road to this year's Rose Bowl may be non-existent, I wanted my video staff to do what the ultimate goal should be for us.

College Football Week 11

Congratulations go to Drake. They are the co-Champs of the Pioneer Football League. The Bulldogs will either tie Jacksonville or San Diego - the two play each other this weekend - and Drake's season came to a close this past Saturday. The season started out last June in Africa as they played an exhibition game while assisting the local communities with new buildings, and overall acts of kindness. The Drake program has been successful under Chris Creighton, but this overseas trip may have been beneficial in bringing together the Drake squad.

The news at Penn State was a mix of emotions. And while I have my thoughts about those involved we are outsiders to what is going on. It is easy for us to see things black and white. Those closer to the situation, the emotions of the situation can blur what is right and wrong. Definitely it was wrong for the Penn State students to riot in the streets, but I hope that was a loud minority making the scene look worse than what it should've been. Today the Big Ten announced it was taking the Paterno name off the Big Ten Football Championship Trophy. It was the right thing to do, but they shouldn't stop there. There are many trophies bearing the name of past Big Ten Legends and Leaders. The Conference may want to find another way to honor their past stars rather than placing names on trophies. They should look to the sport of wrestling and how they handle Championship night. Parade these past heroes on the field prior to the Championship game and allow two to be honorary captains to the teams with another past great flip the coin. Placing their name on the trophy is a nice gesture, but make them part of the game.

Night Out on the Town

Navy Pier

We have focused on this establishment earlier in the series, but it centered on the flagship establishment. The downtown Harry Caray's in Chicago is a favorite of mine. Walking in the different sports memorabilia greet you, either on the walls or in the display cases. And all of the signed pictures are definitely of people who have dined at this restaurant, either as guests of Harry Caray, or out of respect  for the iconic Chicago broadcaster.

But very similar pictures also hang in two other popular Harry Caray's locations. Whether or not these celebrities have dined there isn't the point, the name on the sign will draw people in, but the food is definitely what will keep them coming back.

There are two other locations to enjoy Harry Caray's specialties, but the crowds will make it as difficult to find a table as is the one downtown. One is located on Navy Pier.

O'Hare Location

At the Navy Pier location, the summer months is the best time to dine. A nice outdoor patio, overlooking Lake Michigan and the Chicago Skyline is a perfect place to enjoy the warm sunny days. On Fall Sunday afternoons, the restaurant is the docking point to take Bear fans to Soldier Field by boat. Considering the traffic and lack of parking around the stadium, this is a good idea to enjoy pre and post game tailgating. And since Navy Pier is an ideal for tourists, families are a big part of the business. They treat the kids well by providing a dish of ice cream with all of the kid's meals, and Goose Island Root Beer by the bottle is the popular drink of choice. The staff at Harry Caray's is proud of the local Chicago brew that they will wrap up the bottle for the kids to take home.

Harry Caray's is also located near O'Hare airport. This can be for the families in the suburbs, but this locations caters to the business travelers who have business in the area. As opposed to the downtown spots, there is nothing that would attract families to this HC located off the lobby of a Holiday Inn Express. The same photos line the wall, and it has a beautiful outdoor patio. And on the night we were there, it was a perfect night to sit outside and enjoy an outstanding meal.

The only downside? Well...as good as the food is, it doesn't come cheap. However it is worth every cent. A dinner here will not disappoint and you will be satisfied walking away.

Seniors Last Home Day in Pictures

Saturday was the last game for the Hawkeyes in Kinnick Stadium until the annual spring practice in April. There are still two games remaining on the Iowa schedule, one in West Lafayette, IN this week, and then a border battle at Lincoln, NE on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The closing of the home schedule carries mixed emotions. Kinnick Stadium is one of the finer venues for college football, and such a nice facility is only used for seven Saturdays in the Fall. It is always sad to see that portion of the schedule come to and end.

And it is the last time we get pampered by the staff at The Hotel at Kirkwood, the team hotel when playing home games. This is the first time The Hotel has hosted the Hawkeyes, and it could become the first of many years.

On the final home Friday night, former Major League and University of Iowa pitcher Cal Eldred stopped by The Hotel to talk to the team. He shared his baseball experiences and related them to the final home game of many Hawkeye Seniors.

What has also become a tradition are the families waiting for the team to pass by on the way to Kinnick Stadium Saturday mornings. Every week the same individuals hold their posters, cheer loudly and encourage their one night a week neighbors for a good performance in Iowa City.

 And on the last day the Hawkeye Seniors are well represented. Not only do the players get their time to be recognized by the crowd in attendance, but staff members also are introduced to the sell-out crowd. Above are the Senior Video members.

 Three eras of sports information are represented above. In the middle is Phil Haddy. Haddy has been Sports Information Director since the mid-90s and is nearing retirement, with this being his last home game in that capacity. On the right is George Wine, who preceded Haddy. And on the left is Phil's replacement, Steve Roe who has been the assistant SID since the early 90s.

And with the video crew of Michigan State. Tom Shepherd and Matt Harper are born-Spartan fans with Shepherd nearing the end of his illustrious career.