How to Solve UFC's Weight Cutting Problem

Guys missing weight seems to get more common with each year in the UFC. You would think that people would get better at making weight, but instead, they have gotten so good at cutting weight that they assume that they can make any weight, when really, they can only make certain weights in ideal circumstances.

The sad thing is that these guys barely get punished, and a lot of times, they are rewarded. Sure they lose 20% of their purse, but considering that not having to cut all of that weight makes them stronger in the fight and could help them win, that win bonus more than makes up for any money lost. Hell, Darren Till missed weight badly, barely got by Stephen Thompson, and was awarded with a title shot at a weight he did not even make. That's insane.

So, here is my simple solution. If a guy misses weight, he can't compete at that weight for a year. Personally, I would like it to be two years, but I will settle for one year. If they miss it twice, they are no longer allowed to compete at that weight. And by missing weight, I would also include the many athletes that are hospitalized during their weight cut. If a fighter is putting him or herself through something that jeopardizes his health to the point of hospitalization, they need to be saved from themselves. This would solve the issue of guys getting rewarded by not doing their job, which is making weight and fighting, not just fighting.

And that is my very simple, yet also brilliant, solution to the weight cutting issue in the UFC.

The WWE Is Ruining... Peyton Royce

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I would like to talk to someone near and dear to my heart, one half of the IIconics, Peyton Royce.

With Billie Kay, Peyton Royce is one half of possibly the most entertaining thing in the WWE, The IIconics. Also, no offense to Billie, but Peyton is the star of the group, even though I don't feel like this is a Shawn and Marty situation. Ultimately, I have really liked some of the things that the WWE has done with her as they have gotten microphone time nearly every week, and they are doing a phenomenal job at being entertaining for the "smart" fans while still getting booed by the "marks," but let's face it, we watch pro wrestling so we're all marks to some degree.

The one thing that I would like to see is some wins. The IIconics won their first match on the main roster, and then went four months without a win before Royce got her first singles win, beating Naomi. Even this was just to set up Naomi teaming with Asuka and getting revenge on Royce. Also, there is interference and cheating in every single one of her singles matches, and she STILL loses the majority of the time. If she's going to lose a match, maybe don't put interference in the match. I am not saying that Royce immediately needs to become champion, but I think she can easily be turned into a credible threat down the line.

First off, I think a one-on-one feud with Naomi would be good for Royce. These are two good wrestlers, so the biggest thing would be to let them actually wrestle. Give Royce a match where she's not just doing hilariously bad impressions with tons of interference, and give her a mean streak without Billie Kay interfering. Win or lose, it will make both women look better. 

The women's division is so small that it doesn't take much for someone to earn a title shot. Whether you give Royce the edge in a feud over Naomi or start off a little lower like having her take out Lana to at least get her some wins. Then, it's not that big of a leap to have her take out either Carmella or Charlotte Flair to get a shot at the women's championship, but have her do it legitimately so she is actually a real contender against Becky Lynch. Then, you have her use Billie Kay to help her in a title match against Stone Cold Becky Lynch, and despite my love for Royce, you 100% have her lose to Lynch, but it at least breaks up the three month feuds where nothing progresses that WWE has fallen in love with recently, and it can be a good way to just let Becky Lynch be the antihero that everyone wants to love.

Really, the WWE isn't doing an awful job with Royce as they are at least taking advantage of her charisma and giving her consistent mic time on Smackdown, but she needs the wins. Without those, it's going to be pretty easy to stop caring and have both members of the IIconics getting lost in the shuffle. Peyton Royce is someone who is easily hated by the common fan, and that is not an easy thing to find. All she needs is a few more wins, and you have a great foil for your badass champion. 

So make Peyton Royce your choice, for next Becky Lynch challenger.

Other Wrestlers WWE Is Ruining
Bobby Lashley
Nia Jax
Tyler Breeze

The WWE Is Ruining... Tyler Breeze

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, I continue the series with the Prince of Pretty, Tyler Breeze.

If you remember Tyler Breeze in NXT, you will recall how truly awesome he was when he was first beginning his gimmick. He not only took hundreds of selfies before every match, but he also had a live feed from his phone as his entrance video. His first feud in NXT was with CJ Parker, not the Baywatch star but the man now known as Juice Robinson in NJPW, because Parker kept photobombing his selfies. Breeze was so over-the-top ridiculous that the crowd couldn't help but fall in love, and he backed it up by consistently having matches that stood out on NXT, not an easy thing to do.

So it made sense when he got called up to the main roster, even though he was never able to attain gold at NXT. But although he came out hot by immediately attacking Dolph Ziggler, they didn't actually follow up with anything, and he was soon only there as an enhancement talent, losing to basically anyone and everyone that stepping in the ring with him. When a guy loses that much, it's pretty easy for even his biggest supporters to lose interest.

Somehow, with from the depths of creative hell, Breeze emerged, with the help of Fandango, to create one of the most interesting and beloved tag teams of the past few years in Breezango. They managed to get incredibly over by acting as The Fashion Police who originally just gave people tickets for being unfashionable, but somehow turned into detectives who solved mysteries. It was incredibly stupid, but it was also incredible.

Even though they were beloved, they were never able to turn that into championships, and the gimmick has been on hiatus after Fandango suffered an injury. That has left Tyler Breeze in limbo as his run as a singles wrestler has been...completely forgettable. He's 0-4 on Raw, including two losses to Mojo Rawley. He does have two wins on Main Event, but those are over Curt Hawkins and Mike Kanellis, so a world title push seems a bit far off, and it seems like WWE is just biding time until they can reunite him with Fandango.

But can't the WWE do any better than that?

Tyler Breeze is one of the few people in the company who can not only fully embrace his character but can be consistently entertaining while doing it. Just let the man be entertaining. I do think he can have the most win-loss success with a tag partner like Fandango, but wins and losses aren't everything. Ultimately, with the stacked roster that the WWE has, I don't know if Breeze should ever hold a singles title. He could be a transitional secondary champion, but with his character, a belt doesn't do a whole lot for him. In wrestling, one guy wins, which means one guy loses. It's probably best if Breeze loses more than he wins, but there are plenty of guys that Breeze can beat in order to make him a credible threat against more prestigious competition.

I think the biggest thing that needs to happen to maximize Breeze is to let him use his creativity. He was always great at giving backstage interviews, and the Fashion Police stuff with Fandango was fantastic. It's not like he needs a lot of time, so I'm pretty sure they could spare 1-2 minutes each week and just let something entertain the crowd. Also, wouldn't a fifteen minute match between Breeze and Chad Gable be absolutely awesome? Those are two guys that can easily move from heel to babyface, so you can go either way on it and just let them go out and put on a great match. And the beauty of Tyler Breeze is that he can lose yet still be elevated just by putting on a fun match and show personality.
WWE seems to only want to push "cool" wrestlers, but sometimes I just want to watch fun wrestlers. With Breeze, the push doesn't need to end in title reigns, all he needs is time to let people enjoy him as a character and wrestler. For anybody that says WWE doesn't have endless amounts of time, yes, they do. They currently recap recaps on Raw, and they let Roman Reigns talk for 15 minutes. Just let Roman Reigns kick ass instead of talking, and use that time to get two guys over instead. 

This isn't difficult, guys. In fact, some would say it's a Breeze.

Other Wrestlers WWE Has Ruined
Bobby Lashley
Nia Jax

4 Takeaways from the Iowa / Wisconsin Game

Obviously, last night's game was not the outcome we were hoping for, but Iowa lost to a tough team. The season is far from over, and the Hawkeyes gave fans plenty to be excited for during the rest of the season. Here are my four big takeaways from the game.

The Defensive Line Is Good, Not Big
Wisconsin showed a major flaw in the defense in this game, and that is that the Iowa defensive line, although fantastic, is also undersized. There is probably no better team in the country to expose that weakness, and Wisconsin did by overpowering Iowa up front into a very effective run game. Even when Iowa was able to get Wisconsin to third downs, many were short enough distance that the defensive line couldn't totally pin their ears back and go hunting for a quarterback. Penn State is probably the only other team remaining on the schedule that could expose this weakness, and even they tend to run with more speed/misdirection rather than power.

Also, there is nothing more exciting than seeing AJ Epenesa on the field during a third down passing situation. I usually stand up despite being at my house watching the game by myself.

In other news, I really need friends.

Nate Stanley Was Incredible
This may have been the best game I have seen Nate Stanley play. Although his final stat line of 14-23 for 256 yards, two touchdowns and an interception isn't going to jump off the page, I saw so much to love from Stanley in this game. His movement when he felt a rush was much better as he actually looked downt he field after escaping trouble and was able to make some big plays because of it. When he was able to set his feet, he was able to deliver some beautiful throws down the field, and he showed good decision making throughout the game. His footwork still needs to improve on some throws, but I saw some major progress, and if he can start playing near this level on a consistent basis, Iowa is not scary, they are SCARY.

Playcalling Was Not The Issue
Every football fan also doubles as the world's greatest offensive coordinator. It's truly amazing how great Iowa would be if they would just hire a fan to call the plays. They would have never run (insert play that did not work). I think the biggest examples were the quarterback sneak on fourth and one, and the jet sweep on third and five in Wisconsin territory. For the former, I have no issue with hit. That quarterback sneak has been money for Iowa, and it's statistically one of the smartest plays to run in that situation. If it worked 100% of the time, every team would run it all the time. It didn't work that time, but that doesn't make it a bad call.

I will say that I did not like the jet sweep, but the call itself was fine. My big issue was the formation they ran it out of. Without a running back in the backfield, the linebacker was free to follow Sargent going across the formation. If there is a running back in the backfield, he can't completely abandon the middle of the field, and that would have given Sargent the lead he needed to hit the edge and make it upfield.

Also, let's give props to the second touchdown to Noah Fant. Fant going in motion and just running to the flat is impossible to stop in man coverage, so if you see the guy in coverage running across, it is a guaranteed six points. I love that play.

Iowa Has Legit Talent
Iowa did not lose this game, because Wisconsin was too talented for them. They lost because they made some big mistakes on punt returns, and failed to capitalize on opportunities at the end of drives. But Iowa looked like the better team. Mistakes happen, and Iowa's proved costly. Still, this team is good, and if Wisconsin stumbles, Iowa has the talent to be nipping at their heels for B1G West supremacy.

Even after a loss, I'm excited for the rest of the season. That's a pretty good spot to be for Hawkeye fans.

How To Defend A Sword Attack

You ever find yourself approached by someone with a sword? It's something that I run into nearly every day. Sometimes, I do not have my katana nearby, so what should I do? Well, you can always use nature as your weapon. A nearby tree trunk should suffice, especially if you have rope nearby.

That moment when you accidentally took a trunk of a tree with you #dumbassmartialarts #bullshit #fake #lol #tree #shit #wtf pic.twitter.com/LXj3sJK1Pq

— Dumbass Martial Arts (@DumbassMA) December 8, 2017

Just make sure you are barely out of reach of the sword, and make him promise not to move if he misses his first sword swing. As long as he stands perfectly still, which he definitely will, you can knock him over the head with your tree trunk at an incredibly slow speed. Even if he still holds on to his sword, just gently place your tree trunk no top of your assailant, and he will be unable to move to cause any harm.

If you're anything like me, you are always carrying around tree trunks in your everyday life. I never thought to use it as a weapon, but it's absolutely amazing what can be turned into a weapon these days. No need to fear sword attacks as long as you have nature and knowledge on your side.

The WWE Is Ruining... Nia Jax

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, we focus on how the WWE is ruining...Nia Jax. After the Bobby Lashley surprise last week, this one should be a breeze.

When Nia Jax walks into a room, the room stops to acknowledge her presence. Maybe, just maybe, the WWE could use someone with that sort of physical presence in their women's division. In fact, the WWE did recognize this and had her win the women's title from Alexa Bliss. Since Bliss is the ultimate heel, they made Jax a babyface. That is not ideal for the character whose size means the odds are always stacked in her favor, but at least they were utilizing the fact that they had a rare talent.

But alas it was not meant to be. There was good news and bad news for Nia. The good news is that WWE realized that someone with her physical presence should probably be a heel. The bad news was that they didn't want to do any work to make her a heel, so she just did a 180 in her personality, and instead of fighting against bullying, she was now the one bullying. Oh, and to make matters worse, she was bullying Ronda Rousey, who is basically the intimidating presence in the ring that Jax never got the chance to fulfill.

It doesn't help that she never totally seemed comfortable in a character. She showed flashes as a destructive heel, especially in NXT, but she never quite put everything together as a destroyer of worlds on a consistent basis. Still, from where she started to the progress she made, it's a matter of when, not if, she will get everything figured out.

The first thing WWE should have done was let her have an impact on her comeback instead of just slotting her right back into Raw. What would help her the most would be a surprise switch to Smackdown. There, she no longer needs to compete with Ronda Rousey as the unbeatable physical force and can instead take advantage of matchups with with Charlotte, Asuka, and most importantly, Becky Lynch. If the WWE goes full bore into Becky Lynch as female Stone Cold Steve Austin, then Nia Jax would come in as the perfect adversary to be brought in and put her in her place.

Even if Nia Jax doesn't have a title, she can always be an important part of the women's division due to her physical stature. But although those physical features can be fun for short periods of time as a happy-go-lucky, sometimes goofy babyface, her destiny is as a heel. Make her the big bad wolf, so let her blow some houses down, and Jax some ladies up.

Other Wrestlers WWE Has Ruined
Bobby Lashley

The WWE Is Ruining... Bobby Lashley

As a pro wrestling fan, it is a part of our identity to always know how to utilize wrestlers better than the WWE. If WWE would just give me, random WWE fan, a job a the company, ratings would immediately rise to the levels of the Monday Night Wars, despite how television ratings have changed as a whole over the last 20 years. But until that happens, WWE will continue ruining our favorite wrestlers, and that is why it is time to point out the error in their ways. Because of WWE's incompetence, I am literally going to pick a wrestler at random and point out how they could be better utilized, because WWE is ruining everyone in one way or another.

Today, we focus on how the WWE is ruining...Bobby Lashley? Oh, shit, maybe random wasn't the best way to decide this, but here we are, so let's get going on Big Bob.

As anyone who is reading this probably knows, Bobby Lashley is not the darling of the internet wrestling community. He's not a guy who crushed it on the independents with amazing moves before finally being recognized after years of mastering his craft at smaller shows. Instead, he is a black Incredible Hulk, absolutely jacked and shredded from head to toe. If you're like Vince McMahon and love bodies, then you love Bobby Lashley. If you love work rate, he's probably not your cup of tea.

As somebody who grew up on the WWE in the 80s and 90s, and someone who has traveled across the country multiple times to watch independent wrestling, Obviously, independent wrestling is the world's greatest live entertainment art form, and I'm also somebody who still wonders why Adam Bomb was not the next Hulk Hogan. I love work rate and body guys. There is value in a guy like Bobby Lashley, because he LOOKS like a pro wrestler. You line up all the wrestlers, and Bobby Lashley is in the top five of guys who look like they should be champion.

But when I see Bobby Lashley pop up on the screen, I would very much like him to leave the premises immediately. That is because the WWE has portrayed him as someone who SUUUUUUUUUCKS. Dude sucks so hard. His only memorable gimmick to this point is that he really loves his sisters; that may be the shittiest identifier in wrestling history.

The biggest issue with Lashley is that throughout his entire WWE run, he's been a good guy instead of a bad guy. It's weird to think of now, but him wrestling on behalf of Donald Trump was actually the good guy thing to do, but I am proud to admit that I was rooting for Trump to lose his hair, but that was due to the spectacle of it all as opposed to knowing that Donald Trump is a massive piece of shit.

But Bobby Lashley succeeded as a face during a different time in the WWE. Fans were, quite frankly, simpler beings then. They did cheer for the good guys, even if they preferred their good guys with a bit of an edge. The guys that are universally loved these days are the indy darlings, and there is no way to go back and give Lashley that sort of credibility. Instead, do what's natural and make Lashley a quiet heel. There is no reason for Lashley to speak, because that dude takes his shirt off, and you already hate him a little bit, strictly out of envy. On top of that, the guy is a legit badass who was fairly successful in the MMA world.

The WWE really only has one course of action. Do what's natural and take the natural heat that this guy gets and make him an ultra heel. They have started to make a change with Lashley with his alliance with Lio Rush, a mouthpiece (and also an incredible wrestler), who can do dirty work for him. And really, they have him in a perfect feud as he can take out indy darling, Kevin Owens, who is one of those guys that is so cool that it's kind of impossible for him to be truly hated, so let Lashley embrace his natural ability to walk into a room and be hated and turn that shit up to ten. Bobby Lashley should have a smug look on his face every time he walks into a room, because that dude is as alpha as it gets, and even though I'm a very logical person, I can't help but hate him for it. And use that MMA background to use his shoot fighting skills to punish his opponents. The only thing worse than hating someone is hating someone who you know can kick your ass.

Right now, Bobby Lashley is a square peg that won't fit into a round hole, but he'd fit perfectly into the role of an asshole. And much like an asshole, this man's best work is silent but deadly.

4 Takeaways From The Iowa / Northern Iowa Game

Another week, another win for the Hawkeyes. Although Northern Iowa scored some touchdowns during garbage time, Iowa throttled the Panthers from the very start and finally had a dominating game where you can exhale and just enjoy the beatdown. Iowa should always beat a team like Northern Iowa in that manner, but as we know, it doesn't always work that way. Here are five big takeaways from Saturday night's game.

1. Nate Stanley Is the Best QB of the Kirk Ferentz Era...and the Worst Fit
Nate Stanley has the most talent of any quarterback Iowa has had on its roster during the Ferentz era. I would be very surprised if he wasn't the highest draft pick in a couple years, but although the talent is there, it's still very raw. That leads to total inconsistency, so although the ceiling is the highest, the floor is Jake Christiansen levels. The guys that have been successful under Ferentz haven't had the biggest arms, but they were accurate and quick decision makers. During Saturday's game, Stanley showed what he could he could be as outside of the interception, he looked great all game long. This is going to sound like a massive insult, but he kind of reminds me of Josh Allen with less arm strength and mobility. He still has a really good arm, but it's not a howitzer. His mobility, uh, yeah, that's not going to win any games. It's possible that he can gain consistency and accuracy in his throws, but in the meantime, he will guarantee that Iowa fans yell at their TV, sometimes in celebration, sometimes...not so much.

2. Iowa Doesn't Need a Lead Back
Ivory Kelly-Martin was supposed to be the starter this season, but due to an injury in game one, those plans have changed. In his place, Toren Young has taken over the lead role with Mekhi Sargent right behind him. It was always supposed to be a time share, but the percentages have changed. Luckily, the production hasn't. Iowa has two, and possibly three when IKM returns, backs that can be trusted to get in the game and make plays happen on the ground. In this game, Young led in rushing yards with 84 on the ground, including a touchdown, but Sargent had the more standout day as he had 72 yards, two touchdowns, and a 48-yard reception. The Iowa offensive line appears to be a lot closer to good than great, but these backs will get yards if given some holes, so even with an injury, there is enough depth to still keep the ground game churning.

3. Good God, This Defensive Line
Is it fair to ask whether this is the best defensive line during Kirk Ferentz's tenure? I know it's a bit absurd at first glance, but even if the starters can't quite be considered the best, Iowa has never had this amount of depth at all positions of the defensive line. Right now, the starters are Matt and Anthony Nelson, Sam Brincks, and Parker Hesse. If you swapped to the reserves of AJ Epenesa, Cedric Lattimore, Brady Reiff, and Chauncey Golston, that would still be a really good defensive line. There isn't a single one of those guys that I feel bad about when they are in the game, and that ability to swap guys out and keep them fresh may make this the most effective defensive line that Ferentz has ever had. As with all things Iowa, the big test comes this week, but even with the big hogs up in Wisconsin, they can't be feeling great about their chances on neutralizing this Iowa defensive line.

4. Tyrone Tracy Had 1 Catch, and I'm All In
Tyrone Tracy Jr. caught a pass from Peyton Mansell, and the fact that he caught the ball and looks fairly fast is enough to sell me on him being Iowa's best receiver. The wide receivers did have BY FAR their best game of the season, but I still don't have overwhelming confidence in any of them. Brandon Smith seems to be the most talented, and somehow Nick Easley emerged from the darkness to get ten receptions and a touchdown, but I haven't seen any of them reliably finding ways to get open. When Iowa can stretch the field with the vertical passing game, they are legitimately dangerous on offense. It gets them away from predictability where opposing defenses actually have to line up guys more than five yards off the line of scrimmage. I have no way of knowing whether Tracy can be that guy, but Iowa still needs one, so I'm just going to keep my wishful thinking.

I'm Still Excited About The 2018 Chicago Bears

Sunday night's game against the Green Bay Packers was not ideal for the Chicago Bears. It was ideal for the first 35 minutes of the game as they cruised to a 20-0 lead and everything was wonderful in this crazy world that we live in. Then, things went to shit, and um, well, shit, everybody knows what happened, and the Bears are now 0-1. That outcome wasn't ideal, but I'm still pretty excited about the Chicago Bears this year.

First off, there is Khalil Mack who more than lived up to the hype surrounding his arrival in a trade last week. Even in limited time, he was a menace on the field, getting sacks and interceptions and touchdowns too. His meaningful damage came in the first half, but even a tired Mack caused disruption with pressures in the second half. As he gets up to game speed, he's only going to be more terrifying, which is incredibly exciting.

Speaking of the defense, Akiem Hicks was pretty damn dominant as well early on in the game. He was causing havoc by crushing the pocket, and he is creating a pick your poison situation where you can focus on blocking Hicks or you can focus on blocking Mack, but it's going to be really tough to block both.

On the less positive side, Leonard Floyd showed nothing in this game. The athleticism is evident, but I still haven't seen enough in his pass rushing techniques to get excited. He'll get some sacks on speed rushes, but until he can translate that speed into a respectable bull rush move, I don't know how dangerous he is going to be.

But the Bears should definitely play Roquan Smith more. Nick Kwiatkoski is a capable backup, but he simply doesn't have the athleticism to play linebacker as teams will continually expose him. Roquan is a monster who has every physical trait you could possibly want in a modern day linebacker. Give me more Roquan.

Oh, and the most obvious thing to point out on the defense. If Kyle Fuller catches that ball that hit him in the chest, the Bears are not only 1-0, but I can guarantee that people would be talking about the Bears as the favorite in the division. I'm not necessarily saying that people should be saying that, but people love making broad proclamations after one week.

On the offensive side, you're not going to believe this, but I won't start with Mitch Trubisky. Let's instead take a step back and truly enjoy the greatness of Jordan Howard. For some reason, it seemed that everybody wanted to toss him aside to get more Tarik Cohen in the offense. But Howard serves a huge role for this team. He is the bellcow back, and there is no reason that he shouldn't seen the majority of snaps. He did everything he could to win the game for the Bears on their second-to-last drive, and had they trusted him more, he probably could have iced the game away.

Okay, now let's talk about Mitch Trubisky. He showed good athleticism, movement in the pocket, and threw some excellent balls, but in the second half, he tightened up and refused to take chances. I saw him fire balls down the field in college, so I'm hoping this is just an adjustment period to not having a ton of experience and being in a brand new offense. With Allen Robinson being a player who has shown that he can be a top receiver in the NFL, and with all the rave reviews about Anthony Miller, let's hope Trubisky uses those assets to open up the offense in week two.

Right now, the Bears are 0-1, but winning in Green Bay is never easy, and although it seems like one that got away, the important thing is to see how they bounce back, because 15-1 still ain't too bad of a season. Go Bears.

5 Takeaways from the Iowa/Iowa State Game

Iowa is now 2-0 and has vanquished their first rival of the year with a 13-3 victory over Iowa State. I love my Iowa Hawkeyes, but let's be honest: This game sucked. I only yelled at my television three times, which is a record low for a game against the Cyclones. I know a lot of Iowa fans like to discount the meaning of this rivalry, but as somebody from the state, I know so many people that are fans of both schools that this game is important, so getting a win, no matter how ugly, still feels pretty damn good. Here are the five takeaways from the win.

AJ Epenesa Is A Stud
AJ Epenesa is fulfilling all Hawkeye fans greatest fantasies. This guy is an elite talent at the college level, and if he keeps progressing like this, he's going to be an elite NFL talent. Although we probably shouldn't expect him to average two sacks per game, he is going to consistently be in opposing backfields causing havoc. Late in the fourth quarter, he basically decided that he was going to end the game, and then he went out there and did it by drawing a holding call, batting down a pass, and then coming up with a strip sack that Iowa recovered. If somebody did that during a game, he might be named the player of the game, this man did it in a matter of minutes. He's very good, and if teams don't give their left tackle help on him, he's going to continue to wreak havoc.

Dijmon Colbert Might Be One Too
Did anyone else fall in love during yesterday's game? Because I sure did, and Colbert is the target of my affection. I don't know how to pronounce his first name, but I am all in on him at linebacker. Going into the game, I thought David Montgomery might be the best player in the game, but due to Colbert being all over the field making tackles, I'm not even sure if Montgomery was the best #32 in the game. Colbert not only made a huge stop at the goal line early in the game, but he was consistently reading and reacting like a senior when he has barely played linebacker in his life. How he looked in his first start would have been impressive for somebody with any level of experience, but considering how little experience he has, the sky is the limit. It will be interesting to see what happens when Kristian Welch comes back, but I saw enough from Colbert to make a pretty strong argument that he keeps the job.

Nate Stanley Is...Fine
It was another uninspired performance from Nate Stanley, and I can't say it is all that surprising. This was what Stanley did last year as sometimes he looked great, and other times, it all came crashing down. I don't think he's been bad, but he has continued to struggle with his pocket presence as the slightest bit of pressure gets him to bail. It's also a question of how good he can be if receivers aren't getting separation. I felt like the offensive play calling was a little too conservative, as I would have really liked to see Iowa use their tight ends to attack the Cyclones safeties. The Hawkeyes are going to need more from him to beat the Badgers in two weeks. To end on a positive, he threw two beautiful deep balls in this game, which is something he may not have done twice all of last season.

Colton Rastetter Might Be Good
The discrepancies between the two punters in this game was pretty incredible. Rastetter has really shined this year as he is consistently getting big yards out of his punts and has shown the versatility to do both rugby and traditional punting. Iowa is always going to be in close games, so having a reliable punter may seem like a small thing in the SEC. But in the B1G, punting is winning, and Iowa is looking like a real contender with Rastetter.

Offensive Line Still Gelling
Overall, I thought the offensive line played pretty well. Things still seem to be shaking out at guard, but it was definitely helpful to have the two tackles back in there. I know the running stats were pretty poor, but Iowa State was selling out for the run and Iowa did not make them pay with the passing game. I think it will be good for everyone to play Northern Iowa next week to (hopefully) help build their cohesion and confidence.

Again, it wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and I will always take a win against the Cyclones.

2018 Chicago Bears Preview

As high as I am on Mitch Trubisky, even I kind of realized that the playoffs were likely out of reach for the Chicago Bears this season. Then, the Bears made the blockbuster of all blockbuster trades and got Khalil Mack. Now I am not saying playoffs, but I am definitely whispering it. Let's start with the new addition, because I don't think people realize how good Khalil Mack is.

KHALIL MACK IS REALLY FREAKING GOOD. I know that sounds fairly simplistic, but the Raiders defense was absolutely awful. They had zero impact talent around Mack, so all teams had to do was strategize to minimize Mack's damage, and he still messed up people's worlds. There is actual talent on the Bears defense. Akiem Hicks is one of the more underrated players on defense, and if they put him and Mack on the same side, offenses are going to have some serious issues blocking them. Also, you can't totally key on Mack, because if Leonard Floyd stays healthy, he has shown enough that he could be incredibly dangerous if offenses consistently put a blocker on an island and try to contain him. Mack was incredible on the Raiders, but he is going to be even better with the talent that the Bears have around him.

And next to him, they have Roquan Smith, who, by all indications, is going to fulfill the hype that was set forth before the draft and be a pro bowl middle linebacker who can do a little bit of everything on the defensive side of the ball.

In the secondary, there are no stars, but Kyle Fuller has developed into a very good and possibly great corner. Eddie Jackson showed a ton of potential as a rookie, and considering that it was the first year coming off of a major injury, he could take a leap in his second year. The Bears have solid talent and depth around them, so the secondary should be above average at least.

Offense is the big question mark with what the Bears can expect from Trubisky, but as I mentioned last week, I'm all aboard the Trubisky Train. I have seen enough of him to be impressed, and Khalil Mack has already said how impressed he is with him (well, he was talking about how tan he was, but it still counts). The Bears have both the bellcow in Jordan Howard and the change-of-pace in Tarik Cohen. The receiving options are massively upgraded, and the offensive line should show improvement with more experience, better coaching, and hopefully a healthy Kyle Long. Plus, there will actually be a gameplan on offense, so that's going to be incredible to watch.

My overall Bears preview is Mitch Trubisky, can he be great? Probably not this year, but I truly believe he will take a major step forward this season. Also, KHALIL MACK. I cannot stress enough how big of a difference he is going to make. I know he was never with the Bears before, but there's really only way to end this post.

PREDICTION: 19-0, Super Bowl Champions, every starter also named a Pro Bowler.

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #1 Sammy Sosa

1. Sammy Sosa
History has not been kind to Sammy Sosa, but if you even entertained the thought of somebody else taking the top spot, you are a moron of monumental proportions. Hell, if you have anything but unconditional love for Sosa's tenure with the Cubs, you are a mouth breather or part of the Ricketts family; I'm not sure which one is worse.

Sammy Sosa in 1998 was one of the most beloved baseball players of all time. Everybody was a fan of Sosa. I'm from Iowa, so my area is split between Cubs and Cardinals fans, and even the Cardinals fans liked Sosa that year. They wanted Sosa to fail horrifically he played the Cardinals, but it was still a lot of fun watching him that year. Sosa starting the game by sprinting out to right field was totally endearing, and we hadn't become as cynical about everything, so nobody would shit on him for those types of things until years later.

But let's rewind to figure out how we got to 1998.

Sosa was a promising prospect who made it to the big leagues at age 20. By his age 23 season, he had already been traded twice, first from the Texas Rangers to the White Sox, and then across town to the Cubs in exchange for George Bell. This would be a very good trade for the Cubs. Nobody really knew what they had in Sosa as he had always struggled at the top level and in 1992, his first year with the Cubs, those struggles continued. That would all change in 1993.

That was the year that he went from a player who had spent part of four seasons in the big leagues and never made a positive impact as he had a negative WAR every year from becoming only the 14th player in MLB history to have 30+ home runs and stolen bases in the same season. He likely would have had three straight 30/30 seasons, but 1994 was cut short due to a strike, so he missed that middle year between 1993 and 1995.

Sosa continued to be awesome for the Cubs, crushing bombs and attempting lots of steals, despite not having that great of a success rate. He had his first 40 home run season in 1996, although he did take a step back in 1997 as his OPS dropped over 100 points. It was possible that Sosa's career, much like baseball, could be dying a slow and painful death.

In people's memories, Sosa and McGwire were chasing Roger Maris throughout the entire season. For McGwire, this was true, as he started off on a red hot pace through the first couple months of the season. Sosa was a different story. On May 24, about two months into the season, he was sitting with a grand total of nine home runs. Nobody was screaming that he was only 52 from tying Roger Maris at this time.

Then Sosa got hot. And not just a regular hot, he went on an absolute tear.

He hit four more home runs at the end of May thanks to two multi-homer games and followed it up by hitting 20 home runs in the month of June. He only had 34 hits as his average actually dropped that month, but nobody was complaining since 20 of them left the yard, which is the most any player has hit in any month in the history of baseball.

That is when the chase was officially on. Sosa and McGwire went back and forth, and the world was abuzz about baseball. But even though McGwire won the battle in the end, Sosa seemed to win the bigger battle of public perception as where McGwire could be grumpy and a dick, Sosa was always smiling and exclaiming that baseball has been very good to him. Not just Cubs fans, but the entire world loved Sammy Sosa.

It helped that the Cubs were on their way to make their first postseason appearance in nearly a decade, so the Cubs had plenty to be happy about. But even with a phenom pitcher and Rod Beck closing out games, this year was all about Sosa, and deservedly so. Sosa and McGwire were tied at 66 home runs with two days left in the season. Sosa would go homerless, while McGwire would hit four home runs in those final games to win the home run title. Still, it was the year of Sosa as he would go on to win the MVP in 1998, finishing with a line of .308/..377/.647, hitting 66 home runs, with 134 runs scored and 158 RBI, the latter two both leading the league.

He would continue to be awesome. He hit 63 home runs the following year, followed by 50, followed by his performance in 2001 where he hit 64 home runs, and had a far superior year to 1998, providing 10.3 wins above replacement (He had 6.5 in 1998) with a line of .328/.437/.737. He still only came second in the MVP race, because some guy named Bonds hit 73 home runs. Oh, and it still wasn't enough for the Cubs to make the playoffs that year.

In my memory, he really started to struggle towards the end of his Cubs tenure, but that actually isn't the case. His last year was 2004, and he hit 35 home runs. He wasn't at his peak anymore, but he was good enough to be an All-Star that season, so the story of his demise was greatly exaggerated.

Instead, it was just silly bullshit that got people upset at Sosa. He got caught using a corked bat in 2003, and yeah, he probably shouldn't have done that, but nobody actually believed that the corked bat was the only thing getting him power in games. He went to the disabled list after sneezing too hard, and yeah, when I was young, I thought that was ridiculous, but then I got old, sneezed once, and definitely pulled a muscle in my back, so I get it. Then, he decided to sit the last game of the season and leave early, which also, isn't great, but I can understand if the guy was worn down. It's not good, but considering the joy that he brought people before that, I'm pretty sure we can let these minor issues slide since he is one of the greatest Cubs ever.

Now, he did pretty much suck ass for the Baltimore Orioles after being traded to them during the offseason. Then, he didn't play at all in 2006 since he was too proud to sign a minor league deal. But in 2007, he played again with the Rangers and hit 21 home runs with a line of .252/.311/.468, enough to help him reach 600 career home runs. I understand that doesn't light the world on fire, but it's not too shabby, especially for a 38-year-old. Unfortunately, that would be the end for Sosa. He still had one more power move as when he announced his retirement, he also said that he was looking forward to his induction in the Hall of Fame since his numbers made it obvious he deserved to be there.

He retired as a seven-time All-Star and one-time MVP, all of those accomplishments coming with the Cubs. He has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame despite being ninth all-time in home runs which is incredibly stupid.

Maybe the coolest thing about Sosa is that despite him being from the Dominican Republic, I can still claim him as a white guy, but that story is too weird for me to get into.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
#15 - Mark Clark
#14 - Lance Johnson
#13 - Brant Brown
#12 - Jose Hernandez
#11 - Steve Trachsel
#10 - Henry Rodriguez
#9 - Kevin Tapani
#8 - Mickey Morandini
#7 - Gary Gaetti
#6 - Rod Beck
#5 - Terry Mulholland
#4 - Glenallen Hill
#3 - Mark Grace
#2 - Kerry Wood

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #2 Kerry Wood

2. Kerry Wood
Holy shit, Kerry Wood was good. Like, it is not nearly appreciated enough how good Kerry Wood's stuff was as a pitcher. Here's how good he was. Kerry Wood was a SURE THING when he was called up to the major leagues. Nobody doubted that he would be awesome. This was despite the fact that between Double-A and Triple-A the previous year, he had a 4.57 ERA and walked nearly EIGHT batters per nine innings. He most definitely needed some more seasoning in the minor leagues, and the Cubs gave it to him, with a single start in Iowa where he struck out 11 batters in five innings.

Kerry Wood did not come out and set the world on fire immediately. After giving up seven runs in less than two innings, his ERA was sitting at 8.74 after three starts. Of course, he followed that up with his best start so far, going seven innings and giving up just one run against the Cardinals.

Then he faced the Astros on May 6. There's not a whole lot I can say about this game that hasn't been said multiple times before. Here are a couple fun facts. The first eight batters struck out that day as Shane Reynolds also struck out the side in the first inning. Starting in the seventh inning, when Kerry Wood should have been slowing down, he struck out seven straight batters. The Astros heart of their lineup, 3-4-5 hitters, Jeff Bagwell, Jack Howell, and Moises Alou had nine at bats and struck out nine times. It's the greatest game ever pitched as far as I'm concerned as there is a very solid argument that on top of the 20 strikeouts, he also should have had a no hitter. Also, just to prove it wasn't a fluke, Wood struck out 13 Diamondbacks in his next start.

Let's just take a break to watch some gifs, because even if you've seen these 1000 times, they are still mesmerizing.


Poor Derek Bell. With only seeing one batter go down before him, he had no idea what he was in store for, and it showed as he missed so bad that he had to jog forward to avoid face planting on home plate.


It's not just that Jeff Bagwell's knees buckle but the total disdain he has as he walks off on shame that truly makes it beautiful.


Look at poor Dave Clark. He's all confident, getting ready to make good contact with a pitch, and then he realizes that the pitch is diving a foot below his swing plane, but by that point, it's already too late. I mean, just look at that poor man's face.


Brad Ausmus probably made the wise decision to just keep the bat on his shoulders for this one. But most importantly, if you look up at the information box in the upper left corner, you can see that this pitch was so nasty that they gave Wood two strikes for it. That's pretty damn impressive.


When Bill Spiers heard Larry Dierker call his name to go in and pinch hit, do you think he tried to pretend he couldn't hear him? I would have definitely tried that if I was Bill Spiers. He should have stuck two fingers down his throat, started puking, and just not had to deal with this. As for the pitch, it looks like it almost hits Spiers right elbow and also his left hip. It never comes close to hitting Spiers's bat though.


This is the final strikeout of the game. Not only did Derek Bell get made to look silly again, but even Kerry Wood has earned a subdued fist pump to celebrate.

Okay, I guess I did still have a few things to say about that game.

After his two-start, 33 strikeout run, he would continue to dominate, striking out at least 10 batters seven more times. His most impressive outing was August 26, his second-to-last start of the regular season, when he struck out 16 Cincinnati Reds batters in eight innings.

He would go 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA and led the league in strikeouts per nine innings since he had an incredible 233 in 166 innings. His 12.5 beat second-place Curt Schilling by more than 2.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He also won the Rookie of the Year award, barely edging out Todd Helton.

Although Wood did not pitch the final month of the season, he did come back for the playoffs, giving up just one run in five innings, but the bullpen promptly let the Braves blow the game wide open.

Wood didn't make a single appearance the next season as he had to have Tommy John surgery before the 1999 season. It's not too surprising as the 20-year-old eclipsed 100 pitches in 21 of his 26 starts in 1998. In 2000, it looked like he may never reclaim the magic he showed his rookie year as he put up a 4.80 ERA in 137 innings.

But then, 2001-2003, he turned things around, pitching about 200 innings with an ERA in the mid-to-low 3s while striking out over ten batters per nine innings. Unfortunately, it was not made to last as he took a small step back in 2004, and by 2005, he was forced to try a transition to the bullpen.

If you were following the Cubs back then, you probably resigned yourself to the fact that Kerry Wood would never be productive again. No matter what he did, he could not stay healthy long enough to get in a groove to be a reliable member of the pitching staff. Between 2006-2007, he pitched just over 40 innings combined.

But in 2008, he reinvented himself as a successful closer for the team, racking up 34 saves. The Cubs didn't believe the magic was real and allowed him to go to the Indians in 2009, not even making an offer for Wood to stay. he was solid for the Indians in 2009, then struggled with them in 2010 before being traded to the Yankees where he dominated as a setup man for Mariano Rivera, putting up the nicest ERA of 0.69. He came back to the Cubs in 2011 and was effective again in relief. But in 2012, it fell apart, and he would retire later that year.

Kerry Wood is the most exciting pitcher in Cubs history. He's not the best, but Kerry Wood in 1998 was appointment viewing. Considering he struck out 20 guys in his sixth start, every start after, you came in with the thought that it might be possible again. Information about how pitch counts weren't really out there, at least not for me during my early teenage years, so you didn't really care if he was racking up 120 pitches while striking out 13 guys in seven innings. It was just awesome every time you saw somebody massively whiff on a breaking ball. Kerry Wood was the shit.

And somehow, his story is only the second most important from the 1998 Chicago Cubs.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
#15 - Mark Clark
#14 - Lance Johnson
#13 - Brant Brown
#12 - Jose Hernandez
#11 - Steve Trachsel
#10 - Henry Rodriguez
#9 - Kevin Tapani
#8 - Mickey Morandini
#7 - Gary Gaetti
#6 - Rod Beck
#5 - Terry Mulholland
#4 - Glenallen Hill
#3 - Mark Grace

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #3 Mark Grace

3. Mark Grace
If you think about the Chicago Cubs in the 1990s, the first name that has to come to mind is Mark Grace. He was the only player that was with the team throughout the entire decade, and even though he played with another team later in his career, he's about as Cub of a player as you can find outside of Ernie Banks.

By 1998, Mark Grace was already 34 years old, which would seem to mean that he should be declining, but Grace defied all reasonable expectations by being even more productive at age 34 than he was at 24. This was especially shocking as Grace was never known as a fitness fantatic. He smoked cigarettes before, during, and after games. He also wasn't afraid of the occasional beer or ten.

Since everyone was freaking out about Sammy Sosa's home run chase, people overlooked that Mark Grace also set a personal home run record. He went from a previous career high of just 16 home runs all the way up to 17 home runs in 1998 and put up a line of .309/.401/.471 on the year.

Although he had a very good year, Mark Grace just wasn't a highlight guy. I mean, maybe you remember him hitting for a cycle in 1993, but without YouTube, I sure wouldn't have. But a hitter that good was bound to have a few highlights and September 13, in the tenth inning of a tie game, Mark Grace came to the plate ready to make an impact.

It was a season where the Cubs needed every win they got, and it's good that Grace got to play the hero on this occasion as he was most often second fiddle to Sammy Sosa. But to illustrate his lack of highlights, I would just like to point out that his second biggest highlight from 1998 was a game in May against the San Francisco Giants where he walked four times. Pretty incredible, but unfortunately YouTube does not have that clip posted.

His best highlight from any season is this poster.

He was more of a highlight machine with his quotes, which would later lead to a career in broadcasting. He summed up the 1998 season better than anyone when he said, "This team makes your ulcers have a baby."

He would play one more season with the Cubs, and ended up leading the league in hits for the entirety of the 1990s which is pretty crazy considering he never had a 200 hit season. But he left on bad terms as the Cubs kept him hanging during free agency before finally telling him that they were not going to resign him for the 2000 season. He would continue to be productive for a couple years for the Diamondbacks, winning a World Series in 2001, so at least things worked out for him.

After his playing career, he has done some coaching but has mostly been in the broadcast booth. He has battled alcoholism but appears to be doing well now. But instead of ending on a somber note, instead, let's focus on this fan site that is so overwhelmingly positive that I couldn't help but smile when I went through it: http://www.markgrace.com/

Seriously, go to that website; it's fucking awesome.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
#39 - Pedro Valdes
#38 - Derrick White
#37 - Ben Van Ryn
#36 - Terrell Lowery
#35 - Don Wengert
#34 - Kurt Miller
#33 - Jason Maxwell
#32 - Kevin Foster
#31 - Mike Morgan
#30 - Felix Heredia 
#29 - Jeff Blauser
#28 - Jason Hardtke
#27 - Dave Stevens
#26 - Manny Alexander
#25 - Marc Pisciotta
#24 - Kevin Orie
#23 - Sandy Martinez
#22 - Terry Adams
#21 - Matt Mieske
#20 - Amaury Telemaco
#19 - Tyler Houston
#18 - Geremi Gonzalez
#17 - Orlando Merced
#16 - Scott Servais
#15 - Mark Clark
#14 - Lance Johnson
#13 - Brant Brown
#12 - Jose Hernandez
#11 - Steve Trachsel
#10 - Henry Rodriguez
#9 - Kevin Tapani
#8 - Mickey Morandini
#7 - Gary Gaetti
#6 - Rod Beck
#5 - Terry Mulholland
#4 - Glenallen Hill