Scattershot thoughts...

Drake belongs in the top 25, but when you're coming from nowhere, it's hard to move up. Two more wins, and I guarantee they're in Monday. If Drake and Illinois State both win Wednesday, Saturday's game at the Knapp Center would feature a clash of 6-0 teams for the first time in conference history. What a great story...

I'm okay with the Barnstormers signing former Cyclone Jason Berryman. I was against Dan McCarney putting him back on scholarship, but this is a pro team, and unlike most star athletes, Berryman actually paid an appropirate price for his criminal behavior...

Cheers to my former colleague Mark Meisenheimer. Mark wrote another book, "No Pants Required", about sportscasting. Info at www.nopantsrequired.com (I'm shocked that URL isn't taken by some porn peddler, but it's actually Mark's book.). There are chapters showcasing several of my favorite people in this business: Andy Fales, Todd Bailey, Zubin Mehenti, and John Walters...

That was great coaching by Todd Lickliter against #6 Michigan State. Lickliter's Iowa team was completely outgunned by the far more talented Spartans, but he found a way to give Iowa a chance by slowing the game down and giving his team a chance to win ugly. It wasn't pretty, but it worked...

I'm convinced the Big Ten Network is bad for Iowa. The last thing you need to do is teach your fans they can live without you, and that's just what the BTN is doing for Iowa. It also hurts attendance by making the players less familiar to fans, and by starting many games at 8 p.m. That's way too late for weeknight games. How many parents are taking their kids from Des Moines to Iowa City on a school night when they won't be back until midnight? I had to wait for Shawn to show highlights of Saturday's shocker because I don't have the Big Ten Network either...

The I-Cubs do just about everything right. FanFest is another example...

I've never seen an NFL quarterback play better than Tom Brady is right now. It's unreal...

Craig Brackins should score at least 15 points every game for Iowa State. The guy has offensive skills like few players anywhere. He's a Freshman, so he'll look lost on occasion, but he should also take over now and again...

Any talk of Greg McDermott not doing a good job is premature. Give him time. It's too early...

No Country for Old Men is a great film. Tense, violent, and unpredictable. However, if you like neat, tidy endings, stay away. A-

Andy and I are overwhelmed at all the e-mails (and old fashioned letters). We've received more than a hundred, most of them positive and enthusiastic. (There are dozens of examples in the previous three blog entries)

I can't beging to fully articulate how nice it is to have Andy back. We were giddy doing SoundOFF together again, and if anything, might have been having too much fun, but we'll work hard to find the right tone.

I also feel blessed to have Shawn Terrell, Chris Hassel, and Heather Burnside contributing good ideas and content to both SoundOFF and our nightly sportscasts...

Finally, good to have Erin back. She gave us all a scare on caucus night...

Keith