Start Of The NBA Regular Season

Yesterday, October 27, the 2015-2016 NBA regular season began. To start the season, only six teams were scheduled to play. The games scheduled were the Chicago Bulls vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta Hawks vs. the Detroit Pistons, and the Golden State Warriors vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.
At 7:00 pm Central Time, the Chicago Bulls faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a match up that many believe could possibly be the two teams battling for the Eastern Conference Championship. The game was played at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois and was televised nationally on TNT. Many were in attendance to witness an exciting game to kickoff the season along with the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, who was hoping for the Bulls to put on a show, and come out on top against last year's Eastern Conference Champs. Both teams' starters looked a lot different from the last time they were seen, as Kevin Love made a return for the Cavs after being injured before the Finals last year and Chicago changed both its starting lineup and its head coach. After a disappointing exit from the playoffs last year against this Cleveland team, the Bulls fired head coach Tom Thibodeau, who had been the head coach in Chicago since 2010. They decided to replace him with the then head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones, Fred Hoiberg. Chicago also decided to make major changes to its starting lineup, with Tony Snell making an appearance as a starter, and Joakim Noah deciding to come off the bench instead of well-known scorer Nikola Mirotic. Throughout the majority of the game, Chicago led the Cavs, who played sub-par for most of the game. However, as each quarter progressed, Cleveland slowly clawed away at the Bulls' lead until they eventually tied the game at 71 all off of a three-pointer by Cavs point guard Mo Williams. As soon as the Bulls saw the fire in the eyes of the Cavaliers, they knew they would have to step up their game. After the game was tied, the Bulls went on a quick 6-0 run to gain some separation, but with each run the Bulls made, the Cavs kept fighting their way back. With just over a minute left to play in the final quarter, Kevin Love drilled a three-point bomb to bring the game to 95-97 in favor of the Bulls. Chicago knew if they could drain some clock and make a basket, the game would be over. Unfortunately for the home team, Derrick Rose could not hit a 20-foot jumper with 10 seconds to go after a frantic play in which Hoiberg neglected to call a timeout to settle his team. On the final possession of the game, the Cavs decided to give the ball to the player most believe to be the best in the NBA, LeBron James. With just three seconds left to play LeBron took the ball all the way to the paint for a layup, but was blocked by Bulls' power forward Pau Gasol, who had been struggling throughout the majority of the game, but came up big when his team needed him most. Fortunately for the Cavs, the ball went out of bounds, and they would have one more chance to score a basket with three seconds left, which does not seem like a lot of time, but can actually be like an eternity for a defense to hold off a basket. On the final play of the game, Mo Williams took the ball out of bounds and threw it to LeBron, but Jimmy Butler, known for his defense, tipped the pass and batted it away from LeBron and the Cavs to end the game in exciting fashion.
The Atlanta Hawks and the Detroit Pistons also played at 7:00 pm Central Time. The game was not televised nationally, but it was played in Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Pistons led the game most of the way, outscoring the Hawks in both the second and third quarter. The best performers for each team were Dennis Schroder for the Hawks who scored 20 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and was a thief stealing the ball twice from his opponent, for the Pistons, Andre Drummond came up big with 18 points, 19 huge rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and two big blocks for his team. In the end, the home fans went home disappointed as Detroit came out on top 106-94.
The third, and final, game of the night featured the Defending Champions, the Golden State Warriors, as they went to battle against the New Orleans Pelicans. The game was nationally televised on TNT, and tipped off around 9:30. To begin the night, the fans in Oracle Arena got to witness their team's ring ceremony as each player and coaching staff member as well as the general managers of the Warriors received their Championship Rings after a hard fought series against the Cavs in the 2015 NBA Finals. They also saw the team finally reveal another championship banner, the first since 1975. A tribute video to the team and the hometown Oakland fans was shown as well to celebrate the spectacular season Golden State was able to put together last year. While most players don't perform as well the night they receive their championship ring, that was not the case for last year's MVP Stephen Curry. Curry exploded for 25 points in the first quarter alone, finishing the night with a total of 40 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals in just 36 minutes. It was just an incredible performance for Steph that just summarized what he was able to accomplish in last year's dream season for the Warriors. His efforts ended up leading his team to a nice 111-95 victory for his team over his fellow NBA 2K16 cover athlete Anthony Davis' Pelicans.
Overall, these were three great games to kick off the start to a brand new NBA season. I am super excited to see what this upcoming season has in store for all of the fans. It will be nice to see how all of the free agents affect their new teams, and which teams will play well enough to make it to the playoffs for a chance at the NBA Finals.

NBA 2KTV

If you have read previous posts in my blog, you might be aware that I am pretty passionate about the video game NBA 2K16. I feel as though it is a nice escape from the real world in times in which I am feeling stressed. It has many great features that allow NBA fans and gamers such as myself to get an inside look at what it might be like to be an actual NBA player (I actually blogged about everything NBA 2K16 has to offer here: http://n8hn6bd.blogspot.com/2015/09/is-nba-2k16-worth-buying.html). One of the interesting features 2K has added in the last two editions of NBA 2K is NBA 2KTV. This feature is basically a small TV segment in which the host, Rachel A. Demita, discusses many topics about both the game, and any news in the actual NBA. In the show, Demita has many interviews with important people in the NBA 2K community, including the gameplay designers, who give helpful tips for gamers to increase their level of play, actors of the "Livin' Da Dream" storyline of the MyCareer mode, and even actual NBA players, such as last year's MVP, Stephen Curry, who give advice for actual basketball players to improve their skill level. Demita also talks with people in the NBA 2K community who actually play NBA 2K16 to ask their opinions of the aspects of the game, and she addresses what's going on in the MyPark feature of the game where players can compete with other players online for bragging rights. While many believe Demita may have only been chosen because she is an attractive person, she also has experience in basketball. Demita played Division One basketball when she was in college, but eventually decided to quit. Luckily for her, although she quit playing basketball, she can continue to be involved in the sport she loves as the hostess for NBA 2KTV. While honestly, I never watched NBA 2KTV when I played NBA 2K15 due to the fact that it had no in-game benefits, and it seemed like a waste of my time, 2K has improved NBA 2KTV by making it interactive. Now, while players watch an episode of NBA 2KTV, the game asks them trivia questions or survey questions, and based on their answer, they can earn a certain amount of VC to purchase in-game rewards. They call this 2K Interactive. I think that this was a great improvement because people have much more incentive to watch the show if they want a quick simple way to earn VC for their game. For example, if you answered all of the trivia questions right in Episode Five, last week's episode, you could earn 1250 VC, which is a very decent amount. I am very happy that 2K added this feature because I am one of the gamers who will do almost anything to earn as much VC as possible, except of course buy VC with actual money because I sort of consider it cheating to just buy upgrades for your MyCareer player rather than actually playing the game a lot to improve your player. Overall, I really enjoy 2KTV now that I have decided to watch it. It has very interesting segments, and it is a nice way to earn a good amount of VC while not actually playing the game.

I Firmly Agree With Jon Miller

On October 18, Jon Miller, a writer for HawkeyeNation, wrote an article titled, "Dear America: Iowa Doesn't Care What You Think". The article addresses the Iowa Hawkeye Football Team's success so far this season, and how many people throughout America dismiss the Hawks' accomplishments this season due to their "weak" schedule. Miller explains that the reason many Americans have misconceptions about the Hawkeyes' season is because some ESPN commentators talk a lot about how the only reason Iowa is undefeated is because they haven't really played any teams that were real competition, and if the Hawkeyes were placed against an "actual" tough opponent, like they might be if they can continue their streak and win the Big Ten West and compete in the Big Ten Championship, they would be in for a rude awakening and get blown out. As many other Iowans and Jon Miller, I was a little offended by this assertion because a lot of the people who assume the Hawkeyes are not an impressive team don't even take the time to look at who Iowa has beaten or actually watched how well the Hawkeyes are playing. In the article, Miller argues that many of these people are wrong, and Iowa does, in fact, have a pretty strong resume thus far in the season. Miller points out how Iowa is one of the only two teams in the country who have two road wins over ranked opponents, along with Alabama. He also talked about how Iowa has actually played a schedule so far that is tougher than many teams that are ranked higher than the Hawkeyes, including the Number One Ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, Number Two Baylor, Number Three Clemson, Number Five TCU, Number Six Michigan State, and many other Top 25 teams. He argues that while some people don't think Iowa has played anyone decent, they had defeated both Wisconsin and Northwestern on the road, and had also defeated Pittsburgh earlier in the season, who has now since moved up to 23 in the Associated Press Top 25. While many argue that Iowa's win over the Wisconsin Badgers was lucky, I disagree. Yes, I understand that the Badgers had unfortunate luck due to the many turnovers of their quarterback. However, it was not completely the quarterback's fault, the Hawkeyes' defense played very well that day, and had a big part in causing Wisconsin to turnover the ball either by making great plays, or just making the Badger's offense nervous and forcing them to make a crucial mistake. People also argue how Northwestern wasn't real competition because they were in a slump, but that is not Iowa's fault. Regardless of whether or not the Wildcats were feeling super confident in their homecoming game against the Hawkeyes, they were still a ranked team that had played well previously in the season. The Wildcats, before playing Iowa, had one of the best defenses in the nation holding current Number Eight Stanford to only six points. Stanford had over 40 points against USC and over 50 points against UCLA, so their offense is not to be questioned. However, while Stanford was only able to score six against the Northwestern Wildcats, the Hawkeyes were able to score 40 in their rout over Northwestern. As far as Pittsburgh goes, many thought they were just a "cupcake" team that Iowa had just scheduled for a real easy win. However, Pittsburgh has played very well this season to become ranked, and have only one loss this whole season... against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Miller also makes a great point that although some of Iowa's other wins against teams such as North Texas or Iowa State are not very impressive, other Top 25 teams have also played either the Mean Green or the Cyclones. Maybe the Hawkeyes' schedule for the rest of the regular season won't be incredibly difficult for the Hawkeyes, but that isn't really their fault. They didn't have much input in when they would play the weaker Big Ten Teams, and they didn't have the option to choose which team from the Big Ten East to play against. Regardless of the strength of Iowa's remaining schedule, it would be pretty ignorant to ignore the fact that the Iowa Hawkeyes have had an incredible season, and it seems a little bit conceited for fans of other teams to diminish what the Hawks have accomplished this season. Iowa has competed very hard this to get where they are in the rankings, and for many games, the Hawks have had to play with players whom they didn't even plan to start at the beginning of the season due to injuries. Week after week, the Hawkeyes have lost key players to both their offense and defense, such as Jordan Canzeri or Drew Ott, and week after week, the "Next Man Up" has come in and played excellent for the Hawkeyes to pull off yet another win. Miller writes a very compelling argument about how the Hawkeyes' season thus far is something for true Iowa fans to be proud of, and how they should not be discouraged by spiteful fans of other teams who feel like knocking another team down to either make themselves feel better about their team's unsuccessful season or to argue that the Hawkeyes will never be as "elite" as their team's program. He does a great job at providing evidence to support his argument, and I firmly agree with just about everything he had to say. So America, from Jon Miller, this writer, and many other Hawkeye fans throughout the world, we don't really care if you don't think the Hawkeyes are accomplishing anything because we know the truth: It's great to be a Hawkeye!
If you would like to read Jon Miller's article for an insightful look on Iowa's season thus far, click the following link: http://hawkeyenation.com/2015/dear-america-iowa-doesnt-care-what-you-think.

NBA Preseason

On October 2, the 2015-2016 got underway, and fans were able to get a first look at how their team would compete after the busy off season. After last season ended with the Golden State Warriors 4-2 NBA Finals victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, teams all throughout the league began speaking with the multitude of free agents that had become available. Throughout the majority of the summer, teams met with both their current players whose contracts had expired to resign them and free agents they believed could help lead their team closer to a championship. Some notable off season negotiations include both Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard resigning with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs respectively. Some key free agents that signed with new teams include LaMarcus Aldridge, who left his longtime team of the Portland Trail Blazers to sign with the Spurs, Roy Hibbert, who was traded by the Indiana Pacers to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Jeremy Lin, former star of the New York Knicks during the "Linsanity" era who left the Lakers to join the Charlotte Hornets. With all of these off season transactions, along with the many more that occurred this summer, the teams look very different than they did a season ago. The preseason allows the teams throughout the league to begin learning how to play together, and also allows coaches to test out different strategies and plays before the regular season begins.
After twenty days of preseason games, the Charlotte Hornets lead the Eastern conference with an undefeated record of 7-0. At the bottom of the Eastern Conference is a team that most NBA fans would not expect to be anywhere near the bottom, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made it all the way to the NBA Finals after defeating their competition in the East during the playoffs. They currently have a preseason record of 1-6. In the Western Conference, the team leading the way is the Memphis Grizzlies, who kept a majority of their players during the off season, with a record of 6-0. The Dallas Mavericks currently sit in dead last of not just the Western Conference, but of the entire league with an abysmal record of 0-6. The Mavericks lost a key player during the off season in Monta Ellis after he declined his option to resign for the 2015-2016 season, but they did sign some guards to replace Ellis in Deron Williams and Wes Matthews. They also signed JaVale McGee from the Philadelphia 76ers. While these standings aren't usually a very accurate representation of the final standings of the NBA regular season due to teams resting their stars and coaches trying out plays they may not in the regular season, it is interesting to see which teams are struggling and which teams are thriving with their new rosters. This looks to be like a nice preview of what will hopefully be an exciting NBA regular season.

The Wolverines Shocking Loss To The Spartans

On October 17, 2015, the Michigan Wolverines had arguably one of their most heart-breaking losses ever against their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. The game was held at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor Michigan, and the Wolverines were in a good position. They had a 23-21 lead over the Spartans with possession of the ball, all they needed to do to secure a victory was hold on to the ball for the remaining 1:47 seconds on the clock. If it came to it, they would need to punt the ball with little time left for the Spartans to have to bring the ball all the way down the field for either a field goal or a touchdown for the win. The Wolverines started with the ball at their own 45 yard-line, which is pretty decent field-positioning. On the first play of the drive, De'Veon Smith ran the ball 5 yards for Michigan to the 50-yard line. Michigan State quickly called a timeout to stop the clock at 1:42. On their next play, Smith ran two yards to the Michigan State 48 yard-line forcing the Spartans to burn another timeout to stop the clock with only 56 seconds left to go in the game. On a 3rd and 3, Smith knew that another first down would secure the victory for the Wolverines, but he was unable to make it, running only one yard to the Michigan state 47 yard-line forcing a 4th and 2 and a big decision. Head coach Jim Harbaugh knew that the smartest play would be to send the punting team out, and give the Spartans only 10 seconds to march the ball down the field and make a play. All punter Blake O'Neill had to do was kick the ball far, and hopefully out of bounds so the Spartans would have no chance to return the ball. Then, they would be forced to make a play down the field with less than ten seconds and hope for either a touchdown or good enough field-positioning for a field goal. In shocking fashion, on the final play of the game, O'Neill dropped the snap and tried to make a play for the Wolverines, but ended up fumbling the ball. Michigan State Spartan Jalen Watts-Jackson recovered the fumble and took the ball 38 yards to cross the goal-line, win the game for the Spartans, and crush the hearts of every Wolverine fan in attendance that day, as well as any fan watching at home on television. The fans were shocked and crushed. Many blame this game on Blake O'Neill, and have done something about it. Michigan has even been forced to write letters to upset fans who have sent threats to O'Neill. Hopefully for the Wolverines they will be able to bounce back after this disappointing loss, but it appears as if they have lost any hope in competing for the Big Ten East championship, barring big mistakes from the Spartans and the Buckeyes.

A Record For Beathard

On Saturday, October 17, 2015, C.J. Beathard set a school record for the Iowa Hawkeyes. After a convincing 40-10 win against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, "Sunshine" C.J. became the first quarterback in Hawkeye history to win his first eight career starts as the starting quarterback. The Hawkeyes traveled to their Big Ten West rivals, the Northwestern Wildcats, to play their arguably last tough opponent for the season. The Hawks had battled past six opponents, and looked to beat the Wildcats in Evanston to become the favorite in the Big Ten West to compete for the Big Ten Championship. After this win, the Hawkeyes look to have one of the easiest remaining schedules of all the unbeaten teams. The game against the Wildcats looked very impressive for the Hawkeyes who were forced to play without key player Drew Ott. The game started at 11:00 AM Central Time, and was televised on ABC. The Iowa Hawkeyes received the opening kickoff to start the game, and after six plays for a total of 38-yards, Hawkeye punter Dillon Kidd was forced to give the ball back to the Wildcats at their own 12 yard line. Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, quarterback Clayton Thorson and the Wildcats were unable to do anything, and Thorson continued to struggle after last week's blowout loss for the Wildcats against Michigan. On a third and eight, Thorson threw an interception to none other than defensive back Desmond King, who leads the Big Ten in interceptions with six on the year. With good field positioning the Hawks were unable to score a touchdown, but they settled for a 36-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. After Iowa's field goal, the two teams were unable to put any points on the board, and traded punts for the rest of the first quarter. However, on Iowa's fourth possession of the game, the Hawkeyes were able to finally move the chains. Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, leading running back Jordan Canzeri was squashed by two Northwestern players, and badly injured his left ankle. He was unable to return for the Hawkeyes who were already playing without many key players (more information on Hawkeye injuries here: http://n8hn6bd.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-much-more-can-hawkeyes-take.html). The Iowa Hawkeyes were forced to turn to third string running back Akrum Wadley and fourth string Derrick Mitchell Jr. for the rest of the game. The Hawks knew that Wadley was very talented, and very quick on his feet, but they were concerned with whether or not he would be able to hold on to the ball. That did not seem to be a problem for him, however, as he ran for 35-yards and a touchdown on his third carry of the game. It was an impressive run that put the Hawks up 10-0 against the Wildcats, to the home team's fans' disappointment, at least it should have been 10-0. For the third time this year, Iowa kicker, and hero of Iowa's win against Pittsburgh, Marshall Koehn missed a PAT for the Hawkeyes. This put the Hawkeyes up only 9-0, and Koehn became worried that his luck against the Illini had worn out. In last week's game against the Illinois Fighting Illini, Koehn also missed a PAT early in the game that could have potentially cost Iowa the game if they hadn't forced a fumble on the Illini's potential game-winning drive. Luckily for Koehn, the Hawkeyes did once again what they did last week and pulled off another victory. The teams once again began trading punts after Koehn's PAT miss until Wadley scored another touchdown on a 4-yard run. This time Koehn punched the ball right through the uprights to put the Hawks up 16-0. With the fans at Ryan Field booing their home team, the Wildcats knew they needed to score on their next drive. They quickly marched the ball 76 yards down the field and scored on a touchdown pass from Thorson to Christian Jones with Jack Mitchell making the PAT to bring the game closer to a 16-7 score. After seeing their home team finally scoring again after a shutout loss to the Wolverines, the fans became loud and rowdy. On Iowa's first play of their next possession C.J. Beathard threw a pass into heavy traffic and was intercepted by Traveon Henry who took the ball 20-yards to the Iowa 25 yard-line. The Cats took the ball all the way down into the red-zone, but were unable to score a touchdown against Iowa's tough defense, and were forced to settle for a field goal. However, this brought the game to 16-10 Iowa. If the Wildcats could manage another touchdown, they could take the lead. For the rest of the half, the two teams' defenses played well, and no points were added to the board, and halftime came with the score 16-10 in favor of the Hawkeyes. The second half was less exciting for the Wildcats as the Hawkeyes' defense held them scoreless possession after possession. Even worse for the Cats, they had to continue watching third-string running back Akrum Wadley run the ball into the in-zone again and again to tie a school record of four touchdowns in a game, held by both Jordan Canzeri and Shonn Greene. The game ended with a final score of Iowa 40 and Northwester 10. The home fans left Ryan Field very disappointed in their team, and the Hawkeye fans left very proud of theirs. With this win Iowa is a heavy favorite to compete for the Big Ten Title against the champions of the Big Ten East. The champion will likely be between the Michigan State Spartans or the number one ranked, and defending champion, Ohio State Buckeyes after the Michigan Wolverines shocking loss in the final seconds of their in-state rivalry game against the Spartans in Ann Arbor. The Hawks are looking to close out the season strong with a very manageable remaining schedule.

How Much More Can The Hawkeyes Take?

This incredible 7-0 season for the Hawkeyes has been amazing, but it has also been plagued with injuries. Week after week the Iowa Hawkeyes have battled past whatever team they've come across, but they continue to have to fight without being at full strength and without a healthy roster. At the beginning of the season, the Hawkeyes lost their first string running back, LeShun Daniels Jr. Because of this injury, they went to their next running back Jordan Canzeri, who has played very well for the Hawkeyes. Another key injury to the Hawks was Drew Ott's torn ACL that took him out for the season (more information on his injury here: http://n8hn6bd.blogspot.com/2015/10/heartbreaking-news-for-hawkeyes.html). Ott was arguably Iowa's best pass rusher and one of the Hawks' best leaders on the defensive squad. The Hawkeyes also have been forced to play without their deep threat wide receiver Tevaun Smith. Smith is the receiver of Iowa's longest passing play, scoring a touchdown on an 81-yard pass from C.J. Beathard. Despite these injuries to three key players in the Hawkeyes' roster, Iowa has continued to pull of miraculous, and sometimes lucky, wins against many opponents. However, the Hawks have still been hurt by the injury bug in recent weeks. On Saturday morning's game against the Northwestern Wildcats, leading rusher Jordan Canzeri, who had just come off a record-breaking game against the Fighting Illini, was injured, and it doesn't look good. During a play, Canzeri got sandwiched between two Wildcat players and one of them fell on his left leg. Canzeri, in serious pain, was unable to get up for several minutes and had to be helped off the field without putting any pressure on his left ankle. Canzeri exited the game, and did not play for the rest of the day. However, he later came back on the sidelines with a boot on his leg. The injury looks to be a serious ankle sprain, but there has been no word as of yet that explains what Canzeri is dealing with. Iowa had to turn to third string running back Akrum Wadley and fourth string Derrick Mitchell Jr. to win against their Big Ten West foes. Luckily for the Hawkeyes, Wadley played very well for the Hawkeyes scoring a school record-tying four touchdowns in what looks to be a very memorable game in this young sophomore's career. While the Hawkeyes are very pleased with the talented Wadley, they are concerned with his ball security, and hope he can hold on to the ball in crucial situations. If the injury to Canzeri wasn't enough, Hawkeye quarterback C.J. Beathard was not at full strength against the Wildcats. It was reported earlier in the week that Beathard had what looked to be a minor injury to his right groin, but he insisted on playing. While "Sunshine" C.J. still played well for the Hawkeyes, it was noticeable that he was not playing to his full capabilities. On multiple possessions, C.J. was unable to scramble for a first down like he usually does, and he was seen multiple times wincing in pain. Beathard was also sacked twice for a total loss of 20 yards. This is abnormal because Beathard is usually great at escaping the defense in the pocket and making big plays out of nothing, but due to his injury and lack of mobility, he was unable to make the plays he is capable of. Near the end of the game, head coach Kirk Ferrentz made the decision to sit C.J. and play backup quarterback Tyler Wiegers after Beathard was seen limping off the field. Hawkeye fans hope Beathard will be ok, and will need him to continue to play at a high level as the season nears its end. Fortunately for the Iowa Hawkeyes, next week is Iowa's bye week, which will give the Hawks some much needed rest, and time for recovery before their next game.

Heartbreaking News For The Hawkeyes

Iowa fans' worst dreams have come true. Senior Defensive Lineman for the Hawks, Drew Ott, has torn his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season. Ott was one of Iowa's most-feared defensive linemen and he was definitely a leader for the Hawkeye defense. He managed to get a little under three tackles per game so far this season and sacked the opposing quarterback at least once in each game he played. The injury is even more heartbreaking after Ott had recently recovered from a hyper-extended elbow that he had injured earlier in the season against Iowa State. Ott injured his knee during the Hawkeye's recent victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini (you can read about this game here:http://n8hn6bd.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-fighting-illini-could-not-fight.html). In a no-contact play Drew's knees buckled and he fell down after getting around a player during a punt. Ott was able to tough it out and walk off the field with some help, but he will not be walking on it during a game for the rest of his senior season. Definitely a very tough loss for the Hawkeyes and very upsetting for a tough kid that won't be able to play the game he loves due to a very unfortunate and unavoidable injury.

The Fighting Illini Could NOT Fight Their Way Past The Iowa Hawkeyes

6-0. The Iowa Hawkeyes are once again 6-0. After battling past the Fighting Illini, the Hawkeyes look even more impressive, which is a big statement because the Hawks have exceeded many of the fans' expectations. This past Saturday, the Hawkeyes were able to defeat Illinois on homecoming weekend at Kinnick 29-20.
The Hawkeyes were coming off a remarkable 10-6 win against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison when they went to battle against Illinois, who also won their Big Ten opener against Wisconsin. The game started at 11 AM Central Time in Iowa City and was being televised nationally on ESPN2. Iowa received the opening kickoff, but were not able to do much on their opening drive. They were able to gain one first down after C.J. Beathard scrambled 14 yards after being chased out of the pocket, but were unable to do much after that. Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, the Illini were also unable to do much after the Hawks tough defense got a quick three and out to force a punt. On Iowa's next drive, Beathard threw a nice 21-yard pass to George Kittle, who scored last week's only touchdown, for the first touchdown of the game. The game was 7-0 Hawkeyes... at least, it should have been 7-0. Unfortunately, Marshall Koehn, the hero of Iowa's win against Pittsburgh, missed the PAT which would later become an important miss, alas the Hawkeyes only led 6-0 after scoring a touchdown. On Illinois' next drive, quarterback West Lunt drove the ball all the way down the field to Iowa's four-yard line. Then Fighting Illini running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn did something no one has done this season. Vaughn ran the ball into the in-zone for a touchdown against an Iowa defense that had never allowed a rushing touchdown until that moment. The homecoming fans at Kinnick were shocked and very disappointed. They were even more upset when kicker Taylor Zalewski did what Marshall Koehn did not, make the PAT to put the Fighting Illini up 7-6. After Illinois had scored, both teams traded empty possessions with each teams' defenses stumping their opponents' offenses. On Iowa's next drive, the Hawkeyes marched the ball all the way down to the Illinois' 1-yard line. The fans became rowdy, eager for their Hawks to retake the lead, but Iowa failed to get the ball in the in-zone and turned the ball over on downs. Luckily for the Hawkeyes, their defense was able to get the crowd on their feet by stopping the Illini offense in just four plays, forcing them to punt. The Hawks then took the ball down the field, and running back Jordan Canzeri got his first receiving touchdown of the year off of a 17-yard pass from Beathard. This time Koehn banged the kick right through the middle of the uprights and put the Hawkeyes up 13-7. After the Hawks scored, the game remained stagnant with both teams punting back and forth until the Hawks finally made a field goal with 15 seconds remaining in the half. The Illini chose the conservative route of just kneeling to bring the first half to a close with a score of 16-7 in Iowa's favor. On Illinois' first drive of the second half, they drove the ball down the field, but couldn't score a touchdown. They settled for a 37-yard field goal from Zalewski. Once again the game went back and forth with punts until the Illini yet again scored another field goal to bring the game to 16-13 Iowa. The Hawkeyes were looking beaten with their offense being unable to do much and Wes Lunt being able to practically do whatever he wanted in the second half. Fortunately for the Hawkeyes, Jordan Canzeri broke through the Fighting Illini defense and ran 75-yards for a touchdown, the longest Hawkeye run since Shonn Greene's 75-yard run. On the next drive for Illinois they marched the ball down the field and attempted a third trick play that did not go as well as the first two. The Fighting Illini had pulled off two trick plays for positive yardage earlier in the game, but when they tried pitching the ball to leading receiver Geronimo Allison and having him throw a pass, he got intercepted by Greg Mabin of the Hawkeyes. Luckily for the Illini, the Hawks offense was halted once again and they were able to drive down the field and score another touchdown. The score was now 23-20 in favor of the Hawkeyes. Iowa knew they needed a score so they marched down the field and went for a touchdown, but they failed. Iowa was only able to score a 34-yard field goal. As Koehn saw his kick go through the uprights, his heart was filled with joy, but only for a second. He looked up at the scoreboard and realized that the score was 26-20 with 3:20 to go. This was more than enough time for the Illini to score a touchdown, and if they did it right, they would take a 27-26 lead with practically no time for the Iowa Hawkeyes to come back. Marshall Koehn knew that if the Illini scored on the next possession and the Hawkeyes lost for the first time this season, it would be all on him. Luckily for Koehn and all of the Hawkeye fans around the world, the Hawkeyes did something they had done in previous games this season that was incredibly lucky. On the first play of Illinois' potential game-winning drive, running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by the Hawkeyes. This was the second week in a row where Iowa forced a fumble on the opposing teams drive when they were threatening to take the lead with very little time left. Iowa was able to then get in field-goal range, and Marshall Koehn redeemed himself by making a 40-yard field goal to put the Hawks up 29-20, giving the Fighting Illini a very little chance to come back. The Illini were unable to take the ball down the field, however, and turned the ball over to the Hawkeyes on downs. Iowa was then able to get in victory formation and kneel the ball until the clock struck zero. The Hawkeyes had once again emerged victorious in a very close-fought battle against the Illinois Fighting Illini.

MyNBA2K16

On October 1, 2015, 2K released a companion app to NBA 2K16 that was compatible with Android and Apple devices. The app allows players to collect virtual trading cards of NBA stars, both past and present, and play in simulated games against other players. The app also allows a player to connect the app to their NBA 2K16 account to earn VC (Virtual Currency) through mini-games once per day. Each day they get a chance to pick three cards out of fifteen, each with a certain VC value, in the Daily VC Bonus game. Each card has a VC value between 50-250. The sum of the three cards' values is the amount the player earns that day. However, if the player picks three cards with identical VC values, the sum is doubled. This means that the player can earn a grand total of 1500 VC per day, if they are lucky enough to select three cards with a value of 250 VC each day, which is highly unlikely. The other daily thing a player can do to earn VC for his/her NBA 2K16 game is play a total of ten quick games, playing their five best cards against another's five best to see who has the better team. Each quick game they play earns them 50 VC, no matter the outcome of the game. If the player is dedicated enough to spend enough time playing ten quick game (which take less than a minute for each game), they can earn up to 500 VC. With both mini-games combined, the player can potentially earn 2000 VC per day, which is about the same amount they can earn playing two games in MyCareer mode if they play twelve minute quarters on All-Star difficulty and play around 30 minutes per game. The last thing the player can do to earn VC in the MyNBA2K16 companion app is complete a goal. Each day the app selects a random task the player must complete to earn a certain amount of VC. Each task has a different difficulty level, thus more challenging tasks can reward the player more VC. Based on experience, I have seen four different goals so far. The first goal I have seen is to just visit random sections of the app which rewards around 250 VC (I don't exactly remember this amount so I may be off a little). The second goal I've seen is to win a total of 100 games, which is very time consuming, and rewards 2000 VC. The third goal is to pick three identical cards three different times, which also rewards 2000 VC. The last goal I have seen in my time owning the app is to make the playoffs in the season mode of the app, which awards 3000 VC. Overall, I think the app is a great way for players to earn VC for their NBA 2K16 game without actually playing the game. While some may argue that the mini-games are too boring or the app doesn't reward as much VC as in previous years, I think they are overlooking some key points. The app is not meant to replace the game, it is supposed to be a companion app that they can play when they aren't at their homes where they can play the actual game. As far as the amount of VC the game rewards, players can earn VC in the app quicker than they can earn it in the game, assuming they're not abusing the Hall of Fame sim glitch, and VC is actually worth a lot more than in previous years so 2000 VC is actually a pretty decent amount. I definitely recommend this app to anyone who wants another way to earn VC for their game, but if you don't want to spend time playing a game then you don't have to download it. It is a completely free app meant for players, such as myself, who want any way to get ahead and earn some VC while playing some entertaining card game.

A Hawkeye Flash From The Past

For the first time since 2009, the Iowa Hawkeye Football Team is 5-0. This is a pretty big accomplishment for the Hawkeyes who have struggled heavily ever since the 2009 season where they went 11-2 and won the Orange Bowl against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. As a Hawkeye fan, this is one of the first years in a while that I was actually excited to turn on an Iowa game and wasn't having a heart attack during close games. In previous years, Iowa always found ways to screw up and disappoint their fans in a close loss, but this year has been different. Under the newly-named starting quarterback C.J. Beathard, the Hawks have found a way, in multiple games this season, to pull of a close, and very exciting win. So as someone who actually really started to pay attention since the 2009 Hawkeye football season, one question keeps rising in my head as Iowa continues to win week after week. Is this 2015 Hawkeye team as good as the 2009 team?
After looking at the 2009 Iowa football schedule again, I noticed that the teams Iowa played that year are very similar to the teams the Hawkeyes have played so far this year. In both teams' first games, they played against smaller schools at home in Kinnick Stadium. Both teams also traveled to Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa for their second games and won against their in-state rival, the Iowa State Cyclones. Both teams also pulled off victories when visiting Wisconsin.
Another similarity the two teams have are certain players in their rosters. Both teams have great junior quarterbacks in Ricky Stanzi and C.J. Beathard. Both of these two quarterbacks are great at staying calm and collected during late game situations and can throw the ball far and accurate. Both teams also had players who were great at intercepting the opposing quarterbacks passes in Tyler Sash and Desmond King. After intercepting multiple passes in last night's game against the Badgers, King became the first Hawkeye since Sash, who tragically passed away last month, to intercept multiple passes in a game for more than one game.
While I'm not exactly sure if the Hawkeyes this year are quite as good as the 2009 squad, they have more than exceeded my expectations this year picking up two great road wins that Iowa hasn't won in a while. This team has shown a lot of heart this year, and have continued to improve week after week on both the offensive and defensive sides. I really hope this team can do great things because if they are anything like the 2009 team, they can make it far. I remember how Iowa lost its first game in the 2009 season after Stanzi was unfortunately injured in a game against Northwestern. I always wondered if Stanzi hadn't gotten hurt, would we have possibly had an undefeated season and become national champions? I really hope C.J. doesn't get injured because this team really shows signs of that great 2009 team. Maybe, just maybe the Hawkeyes will be able to pull off a miracle this year. C.J. is still undefeated as a starter and head coach Kirk Ferrentz seems to be taking risks like he used to back in the 2009 season. Hopefully that means that Iowa is destined for greatness this season.

The Heartland Trophy's Return to Iowa City

On October 3, 2015, the Iowa Hawkeyes did something they haven't done in six years. For the first time since 2009, the Hawkeyes defeated the Wisconsin Badgers to win the Heartland trophy and bring it back home to Iowa. In a hard fought battle between arguably the two best teams in the Big Ten West Division, the Hawkeyes prevailed in a low-scoring game at Camp Randall Stadium in Wisconsin. These two teams have played ten times in the Heartland trophy era with both teams winning five games each. Overall, they have met a total of 89 times, with the Badgers winning 44 times, the Hawkeyes winning 43 times, and the two playing to a draw twice. For fans, this has been a very exciting rivalry with both teams matching up evenly.
The Hawkeyes came into the game 4-0 after a dominating 62-16 rout of the North Texas Mean Green. Their quarterback "Sunshine" C.J. Beathard had been playing incredible, and looked to continue his hot streak. Everything seemed to be clicking for the Hawkeyes. Unfortunately, the Hawks knew that they would be playing without their long-ball threat in Tevaun Smith. He was Iowa's leading wide receiver, but he was unfortunately injured. Knowing that, without Smith, C.J. wouldn't be able to throw to his capabilities, Iowa depended on a big game from their running back Jordan Canzeri. Canzeri was coming off of one of the best games of his career after rushing for a total of 115 yards and a total of four touchdowns. He was looking to continue his success and stretch the Hawkeyes win streak to five.
The Wisconsin Badgers came into the game ranked Number 19 in the AP (Associated Press) Top 25. They had a record of 3-1 with their only loss coming from Number 13 ranked Alabama. Their quarterback, Joel Stave, was looking to beat the Hawkeyes for the fourth straight time in his final year wearing a Badgers jersey. He was playing great, completing over 60% of his passes and throwing for more than 150 yards a game. Their freshman running back, Taiwan Deal, was playing well coming off a 147 yard effort in a 28-0 victory against Hawaii. The Badger fans didn't think they would have any trouble against the Hawkeyes. While everyone knew this might be the most crucial game in the battle for the Big Ten West Division, the Badgers fans thought that, especially in Wisconsin, their Badgers would cruise past Iowa and go on to the next game.
The game started slow with the only score in the first quarter being a 46-yard field goal from Wisconsin kicker Rafael Gaglianone. The teams went back and fourth either forcing each other to punt, or forcing turnover-on-downs until Iowa's kicker Marshall Koehn, who had already made a 57-yard game winning field goal against Pittsburgh, missed an easy 27-yard field goal. The second quarter was a little quicker with Iowa scoring on a 1-yard pass from C.J. Beathard to George Kittle after an interception of Stave from Iowa Defensive Back Desmond King. On the opening play of Wisconsin's next drive, Drew Ott of Iowa forced Joel Stave to fumble, and Iowa was able to score a field goal to lead the game 10-3. In the third quarter, Gaglianone scored another 46-yard field goal to bring the Badgers closer. However, in the final quarter, neither offenses could best their opponents defenses and the Iowa Hawkeyes closed out a tough, hard-fought win against the Badgers.

The Unfortunate Life of Derrick Rose

Did Derrick Rose accidentally break a mirror during his lifetime? Does he own like a hundred black cats? For whatever reason, Derrick Rose has had the most terrible luck when it comes to injuries. In 2012, Rose tore the ACL in his left knee during a playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers. This injury caused him to miss the rest of the playoffs and the entire 2012-2013 NBA season, where his team, the Chicago Bulls, made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals until finally losing against the champions of that year, the Miami Heat. The next year, Rose was able to finally return to the NBA, but after finally returning to his true form, he injured himself again. The Bulls were playing the Portland Trail Blazers on November 22. All seemed to be going well when Rose fell to the ground in pain, clutching his right knee. After an MRI, it was determined that Rose had torn his right knee meniscus and that he would be ruled out for the rest of the season, again. Finally, at the start of 2014-2015 NBA season, Derrick Rose returned for the Bulls. He was able to make it through about half a season before being injuring, once again, his right knee meniscus. Fortunately for the Bulls, Rose was only ruled out for four-to-six weeks and was eventually able to return after missing 20 games. The Bulls eventually went on the second round of the NBA playoffs before losing to the Miami Heat.
The year is now 2015. The 2015-2016 NBA season is set to begin on October 27, and Derrick Rose is once again injured. Luckily for the Bulls, he is only supposed to be out for two weeks, but it is still unfortunate for 26-year-old star, who longs to have a complete healthy season for once. On Tuesday, September 29, Rose was accidentally elbowed in the face by a fellow teammate during practice. He suffered a left orbital fracture that required surgery the next morning. The Bulls are optimistic that the injury shouldn't prevent Rose from playing at his potential this season, and are hopeful that he will finally be able to return to his MVP form this season. Rose has unfortunately suffered many injuries during his prime years in the NBA. He has just had awful luck when it has come to his health. At least he still makes millions of dollars right?