If You Build It, They Will Come

  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 Kevin Ritz was a MLB pitcher for the Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers who spent 12 years in the majors.  He posted a 17-11 record with the Rockies in 1996 in the hey day of Coors Field baseballs flying everywhere.  Kevin was raised Bloomfield, and went to school both at William Penn* and Indian Hills**.   * Jerry Kutzler was the only other MLBer from William Penn. Damon "Snacks" Harrison and Wilber Young made the NFL from here. ** 14 MLB players from here, including Eric Rasmussen, Shane Rawley, Jeff Zimmerman, Ramon Vazquez and Duane Kuiper Personal Notes Kevin Ritz was one of the earliest additions to my Iowa Expanded Universe collection.  Most lists of famous Iowans back in the day went exclusively on who was born in Iowa, or attended Iowa or Iowa State.  Ritz went to two smaller schools and was born outside Iowa, even though he was raised in Iowa.  That's the great thing about the internet.  I can find players based off my wants sup...