If You Build It, They Will Come

 I'm in the process of digging through coaching staffs of the Iowa professional baseball teams (i.e. Iowa Cubs, Waterloo Bucks, etc.)  I also try to collect at least one card of every player who played for those teams.  I am force feeding my brain tons of new name to remember when digging through cards, and sometimes I'll cross some streams and get confused.  Which brings me to Chris Sabo. I have recently processed the major leaguers for Clarinda and Waterloo, while also finishing up coaches for teams and I ran into a Chris Sabo card.  Chris Sabo, for those of you who don't know him, was the third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds during their 1990 World Series year, and the guy who made googles on the field cool. I had his name in my head, and I thought maybe it had been on one of those Iowa Connections.  I remembered he played for Cedar Rapids, perhaps he coached there as well.  So I went to Google and typed "Chris Sabo ".  My heart skips a beat n...

 We have new champions in both the Men's and Women's tournaments (Congrats Kansas and South Carolina).  What began with such hope and excitement for the Iowa teams led to disappointment...but hope for next year.   Across the Iowa Connections we have 10 potential collections in the future (including 2 that already have cards on TCDB: Caitlin Clark and Keegan Murray)   Before moving on to next year, lets take a moment to celebrate this year.  We have an Iowa Connection on the National Champion Kansas team, and an Iowa Connection on the NIT Champion Xavier.  Let's start with the Women's teams. Iowa State Cyclones 28-7 (14-4) finishing 2nd in the Big 12 #3 Seed in the tournament making it to the Sweet Sixteen Potential Cards in the Future: Ashley Joens (1st Round Mock 2023 Draft) Emily Ryan (1st Round Mock 2024 Draft) Lexi Donarski (1st Round Mock 2024 Draft) Aubrey Joens (3rd Round Mock 2024 Draft) Iowa Hawkeyes 25-7 (14-4) finishing 1st in the B...

  Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on NBA teams.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections.  Looks like we are cheering for a Toronto / Denver Finals this year!  (Philly vs. either Lakers or Phoenix would be acceptable as well). Note: Coaches in  italics . Note 2: Terry Stotts parted ways with Portland and did not return this year Note 3: Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza were added Iowa State Cyclones : 7 Iowa Hawkeyes : 4 Ames : 2 Northern Iowa : 1 Buena Vista : 1 Iowa Energy : 1 3 - Toronto :               Nick Nurs e (UNI),  Trevor Gleeson  (Iowa Energy),  Nate Bjorkgren  (Buena Vista) 2 - Chicago :      Tyler Cook  (Iowa)   ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) 2 - San Antonio:        Joe Wieskamp (Iowa),    Doug McDermott (Ames) 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (IS...

 In one of the biggest games in the Iowa / Iowa State rivalry over the weekend, the Hawkeyes beat the Cyclones on Saturday to take the unofficial crown of Best in Iowa.  The game was a battle of two teams ranked in the top 10 and was featured on College Football Countdown as Reece and the gang came to Ames and welcomed Ashton Kutcher who rode in on a John Deere to declare his support of the Hawkeyes. The week prior Iowa State beat UNI in a close game.  UNI doesn't often get to claim Best in Iowa, but it has happened in the past.  Three times I have counted, which is pretty good considering every game is on the road for them and they are FCS.  The three times were: 1992: UNI beats ISU 27-10 (+17) at Ames, and Iowa only beats ISU 14-7 (+7) in Iowa City. 2007: UNI beats ISU 24-13 at Ames, and Iowa State beats Iowa 15-13, so the Transitive property is in effect. 2013: UNI beats ISU 28-20 (+8) at Ames, and Iowa only ISU 27-21 (+6) in Ames. In 2009 UNI lost to Iowa 17...

Here's the initial list of players with Iowa Connections in the NFL in 2021. Seven teams are starting the year at zero, which I assume they are having discussions about in the background.  Tomorrow I'll list Iowa Connections on the practice squad and we'll declare the Iowa Connection "Who to Root For".  Buffalo, Green Bay and Jacksonville are trying hard to be that team this year. Note: Coaches in  italics Iowa Hawkeyes : 37 Iowa State Cyclones : 14 Northern Iowa Panthers : 9 Drake Bulldogs : 3 Ellsworth Community College : 1 North Iowa Area Community College: 1 Des Moines : 2 Iowa City : 1 Ames : 1 Cedar Rapids: 1 6 - Buffalo : Ike Boettger /  AJ Epenesa  / Micah Hyde (Iowa), AJ Klein (ISU), Spencer Brown (UNI), Matt Haack (W. Des Moines) 5 - Green Bay : Jerry Montgomery, Jack Heflin (Iowa), Allen Lazard (ISU), Ryan Mahaffey (UNI), Dominique Dafney (W. Des Moines ) 5 - Jacksonville :  C.J. Beathard  (Iowa),  Darrell Bevell,  Brian Sc...

Profile Merton Hanks was an All-Pro safety with the San Francisco 49ers who played nine years* in the NFL.  Hanks was a All-Pro twice, and won the Super Bowl with the 49ers.  He played corner for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was drafted in 1991**, and now is a high level executive with the Pac-12. * 8 with SF, and one with Seattle.  I wonder if he has a Seattle card (scans...), nope.  But he does has a bunch of new cards from 2018-2020, all serial numbered below 100.   ** A fifth round pick as scouts thought he'd be too slow in the NFL Personal Notes Merton Hanks was a fun player.  Everyone who watched the NFL in the 90s probably remembers his chicken dance when he made a big play.  He falls into this category of random players (though pretty good) who play non-skill positions who normally get forgotten, but he'll be remembered because he played on those very important 49ers teams.  Fox showed the 49ers a lot, and we saw them in the playoffs a bunch...

  Canadian Football League HOF The Canadian Football League Hall of Fame is located in Hamilton, Ontario and is home to just over 300 members.  Here's the best list I can come up with of Iowa Connections in this HOF. Iowa Hawkeyes Ken Ploan (QB) Willie Fleming (RB) Frank Rigney (OT) Drake Bulldogs Johnny Bright (RB) Iowa Barnstormers Bobby Jurasin (DL) Born in Iowa Leo Lewis (RB born in Des Moines) Tom Wilkinson (QB born in Ottumwa)

The Grey Cup is played every year (well, not 2020...), and every year there is a winner.  The right team doesn't always win though.  No, sometimes the universe makes a mistake and the wrong team wins.  But how do we know who these "Misplaced Winners" are?   Well, this blog circles around one thing, and that's the Iowa Connection.  So, obviously every Grey Cup champion should have at least one Iowa Connection, but not every one does.  Either I've missed the connection (possible!), or the universe messed up.  Thanos snapped his fingers and the Toronto Argonauts won.  So lets look at those Iowa-less Grey Cup champions and see who it should have been. If this universe happened, here are number of titles these Iowa Connections would have gained (2+): 5 - Bill Briggs, Iowa 2 - Jeff Braswell, Iowa State 2 - D.J. Johnson, Iowa 2 - Jovon Johnson, Iowa 2 - Wayne Sheley, Lone Tree Note : Of the 82 Grey Cup Championships covered here, 23 have been I...

 Arena Football League HOF The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the highest honor an Arena Football League member can achieve and is home to just over 50 players, coaches and contributors.  Here's the best list I can come up with of Iowa Connections in this HOF. Iowa Hawkeyes Jim Foster (Founder of AFL) Jon Roehlk (OL/DL) Northern Iowa Kurt Warner (QB) Iowa Barnstormers Mike Hohensee (Coach) Kyle Moore-Brown (OL/DL Coach)

   Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on WNBA teams.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections. Iowa State Cyclones : 2 Iowa Hawkeyes : 1 Iowa Wesleyan: 1 1 - Indiana:        Kathleen Doyle (Iowa) 1 - Dallas :      Megan Gustafson (Iowa) 1 - Minnesota:      Bridget Carleton  (ISU) 1 - Phoenix:    Derrick Nillissen (Iowa Wesleyan)

  The Arena Bowl is played every year (well, not 2009...), and every year there is a winner.  The right team doesn't always win though.  No, sometimes the universe makes a mistake and the wrong team wins.  But how do we know who these "Misplaced Winners" are?   Well, this blog circles around one thing, and that's the Iowa Connection.  So, obviously every Arena Bowl champion should have at least one Iowa Connection, but not every one does.  Either I've missed the connection (possible!), or the universe messed up.  Thanos snapped his fingers and the Tampa Bay Storm won.  So lets look at those Iowa-less Arena Bowl champions and see who it should have been. If this universe happened, here are number of titles these Iowa Connections would have gained (2+): 4 - Matt Eller, Ames 3 - Chris Spencer, Iowa State 3 - Todd Harrington, UNI 3 - Kurt Warner, UNI 3 - Larry Blue, Iowa 3 - Carlos James, Iowa 3 - Garry Howe, Spencer 3 - ...

        Profile Bobby Morris* is a for second baseball out of the University of Iowa who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 9th round of the 1993 MLB draft**.  Bobby had a decent minor league career, but injuries and father time caught up with him before he retired.   * His brother was Hal Morris ** Iowa Connections in 1993 Draft : Matt Perisho (3rd Burlington), Doug Walls (4th Muscatine CC), Benj Sampson (6th Ankeny), Morris (9th UofI), Derek Sutton (10th Indian Hills), Rafael Carmona (13th Indian Hills), Troy Schulte (15th Iowa Western CC), Brad Kaufman (16th ISU), Thomas Giles (18th Council Bluffs), Gabriel Mercado (18th Indian Hills), Scott Standish (24th ISU), Klint Klaas (28th Iowa Western CC), Brock Steinke (31st Cedar Rapids), Steven Eddie (33rd UofI), Matt Wagner (36th ISU), Joseph Robinson (37th Burlington), Bo Porter (40th UofI), Damon Miller (42nd Cherokee), Robert Landstad (43rd Indian Hills) Personal Notes Bobby Morris ...

        Profile Tom Knight was a corner back for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the early 90s, logging 10 interceptions in his time there.  He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 1997 NFL Draft* with the 9th overall pick**.  He played 6 years in the pros. * Iowa Connections in 1997 NFL Draft: Knight (1st UofI), Ross Verba (1st UofI), Sedrick Shaw (3rd UofI), Troy Davis (3rd ISU), Tim Kohn (3rd ISU), Dedric Ward (3rd UNI),  Damien Robinson (4th UofI) ** Hawkeyes who were drafted higher than Knight: Randy Duncan (1st 1959), Robert Gallery (2nd 2004), Dick Crayne (4th 1936), Brandon Scherff (5th 2015), John Niland (5th 1966), T.J. Hockenson (8th 2019)  Personal Notes I have one little paragraph for these posts, because I have a lot of them to do, and I'm not trying to be a one stop shop for information about a person here.  There are plenty of other sites for that.  However, for the 9th pick in the draft, Tom Knight is pretty anonymous....

Pro Football HOF The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio and is home to just over 346 members.  Each member receives a gold jacket upon enshrinement.  Here's the best list I can come up with of Iowa Connections in this HOF. Iowa Hawkeyes Players Alex Karras Paul Krause Duke Slater Andre Tippett Emlen Tunnell Iowa State Cyclones Coaches Jimmy Johnson Don Shula Mike Michalske Northern Iowa Players Kurt Warner Coe Kohawks Coaches Marv Levy Lived in Iowa Players Terry Bradshaw (Lived in Camanche)

If your NBA team is out, it's nice to have a team to root for.  Below are the teams ranked by the thing that matters to this blog: the number of Iowa Connections.  TLDR Go Utah and Denver!  Boo most of the Eastern Conference! Iowa Playoff Connections 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU),  Ryan Bowen  (Iowa) 2 - Utah :                Georges Niang (ISU) ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) 1 - Portland :            Terry Stotts  (Cedar Falls) 1 - Brooklyn :              Tyler Cook  (Iowa) 1 - LA Lakers :      Talen Horton-Tucker (ISU) 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 0 - Boston 0 - Atlanta 0 - Milwaukee 0 - Miami 0 - New York 0 - Washington 0 - Philadelphia 0 - LA Clippers 0 - Dallas 0 - Memphis Playoff Results (11-3) Let's see how the blog's rooting interests did....

Profile Bill Jones was  center for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1984-88 before playing in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets*.  Bill played professionally from 1988 to 2001, including a couple of stops with the Quad City Thunder**.   * Undrafted and did get a Hoops card! ** Bill was an All-Star in 1995, some notables from that game: Tim Legler, George McCloud, Flip Saunders, and Kevin Pritchard Personal Notes Those Hawkeye teams Bill Jones was a part of were some of the best in Iowa history.  These players played professionally afterwards:  B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, Al Lorenzen, Kevin Gamble , Les Jepsen, Brad Lohaus, Gerry Wright, and Ed Horton. Collection Notes I have 1/3 (33%) cards in my collection.

Profile Lance Olberding is a offensive lineman who went to school at the University of Iowa* and Kirkwood.  He played semipro football for the Randolph Oilers of the Eastern Football League.  He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 7th round of the 1992 draft**. * Iowa had three NFL lineman from this line: Rob Baxley, Mike Devlin and Scott Davis ** Iowa Connections in 1992 Draft: Tyji Armstrong (3rd Iowa Central CC), Ron Geater (7th UofI), T.J. Rubley (9th Davenport), Mike Saunders (10th UofI), Rob Baxley (11th UofI), Matt Rodgers (12th UofI)  Personal Notes So, this is a tough one.  Not much info on Mr. Olberding in my quick search.  Went to Iowa, and was drafted in the 1992 Draft.  However, he never played a snap for the Hawkeyes.  (What?)  He played in the Eastern Football League (what is that?)  He was a bouncer at the time, and Cincinnati thought he was a project and threw a 7th round pick at him.  I can't tell why he l...

        Profile Conor Dwyer was an Olympic swimmer that spent his first couple of years at the University of Iowa before transferring to Florida to complete his college career.  Conor won 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal combined at the 2012* and 2016 Olympics.   * Other 2012 Iowa Olympic Competitors: Gabby Douglas (Des Moines) Gold Medals All-Around/Team Gymnastics ** Other 2016 Iowa Olympic Competitors: Matt Stutzman(Fairfield) Silver Medal Paralympics Archery Personal Notes So....he attended Iowa for two years and left for greener pastures and you still collect him?   Well, yes.  I can hold two thoughts in my head at the same time; that Iowa is a great state, and sometimes to succeed you need to leave Iowa.  I live in Ohio now due to my job, and I assume Conor left Iowa to attend a college that had a better program to help him achieve his dreams.  You can't fault that.   But...did you read his wikipedia page?  He g...

        Profile Wayne Fontes is a former NFL coach with the Detroit Lions from 1988-1996.  Wayne own the franchise records for wins (and losses), won Coach of the Year in 1991*, and has a National Championship with USC as an assistant in 1972.  He was the defensive backs coach with the University of Iowa from 1969-1971**.  I mean, its not a coincidence that USC brings in a coach from Iowa and they win the National Championship the next year, right? * Won the division, and lost to eventual champion Mark Rypien and the Washington Football Team.  That was a fun team to watch, wasn't it.  ** Wayne coached future NFLer Craig Clemons who played 6 years in the pros Personal Notes Wayne Fontes joins the Iowa Collection bringing with him a National Championship and Coach of the Year trophy.  However, I would wager that he wouldn't have the fondest of memories in his time in the Hawkeye state.  He came to Iowa after coaching at Dayton, a...