Has Kirk Ferentz lost control of the Hawkeye football program? I don't think so. Ferentz is the kind of guy who expects the best from his players, and sometimes they let him down. He's not one to assign an assistant to check Facebook on a daily basis, though that may change now...

Dominique Douglas, Anthony Bowman, Arvell Nelson and James Cleveland used bad judgment when posing for, and posting, pictures lifted straight out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless. (underage teens holding expensive liquor bottles, showing off gaudy gold watches, fanning wads of cash --- you can see it all by clicking "As Seen on 13" at whotv.com.)...

None of this would be news if Police hadn't arrested Douglas, Bowman, and Nelson. The first two for allegedly stealing two credit cards and charging more than two thousand dollars; the latter for failing to show up for a traffic ticket court appearance. (Cleveland, he of the Dale Junior jacket, is not accused of any wrongdoing) The pictures without the charges amount to nothing more than foolish posturing, but add in guys accused of stealing to buy accessories that go with the images projected in the Facebook pictures, and you have context, even though there's no proof the credit cards were used to buy anything in the photos. Heck, there's not even proof anything illegal is being done in any of the pictures. But how could these guys be that stupid?...

It's way too early to give up on Ferentz, or this Iowa football season. Both will be fine. It's true, 13-12 the past two seasons proves Ferentz isn't perfect, but who would you rather have? I think Ferentz is a good man, and I know he can coach. He does need to tighten the reigns of discipline, and the guess here is he will...

Dumb jock quote of the week from Stephon Marbury on Michael Vick: "He is a good human being, and I think he just fell into a bad situation." Wrong, Stephon. Vick didn't "fall into a bad situation"; he made one. The man is about to plead guilty to funding and staging the cruelest kind of dogfighting, and he's accused of brutally killing under-performing dogs. This is not a good human being, but let's hope he can become one...

I have a bunch of lighthearted stuff I want to write about my recent trips to Arrowhead and Wrigley, but all the above has drained my joy. I'll be back soon to catch up...

Thank you for your time.
Keith