Sunday, December 14th, 2014

Tonight I went to yet another Cyclone basketball game... an 88-78 victory over the Jaguars from Southern University.  This was actually the second game that I have seen Iowa State play vs Southern, the first being the 2012 season opener.  Southern University is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Their athletics program is part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

The Cyclones looked pretty rusty in the first half and actually trailed by 8 points midway through the first half.  This was not too surprising because I expected a bit of an emotional let-down after the big win for Iowa State just two days ago in Iowa City, 90-75.  However, by the second half Iowa State opened up a comfortable lead before coasting to only a 10-point victory.  All five Cyclone starters scored in double-figures.  They were led by Georges Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones who each scored 18 points.  Other Cyclones in double-figures included Monte Morris (15), Naz Long (13), and Dustin Hogue (10).

The most memorable part of this game was that Southern was given two free throws before the tip-off.  I had never seen that before, but I guess there was a technical foul called on Iowa State because they dunked during warm-ups.

Southern led 2-0 before the opening tip on a pair of free throws after a technical foul on Iowa State.

Iowa State won the tip-off.

Cyclones win!

Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

Tonight Elizabeth and I were able to take Nolan to his first ISU men's basketball game of the season, a 73-56 victory for Iowa State over the Kangaroos of UMKC.  The 17-point victory for Iowa State was actually a surprisingly close game; when these two teams played last year Iowa State blew them out by a score of 110-51.

This was the third time that Nolan has been to a men's basketball game.  His first time was actually against the same UMKC team last year.  His second game was the memorable 48-point performance by Melvin Ejim vs TCU last season.  The game today did not prove to be as exciting, but it was still a lot of fun to take Nolan to a game.  The seats that we had today (4th row of section 133) were definitely the best seats that I have ever had for a game at Hilton Coliseum.  We were right at mid-court and had a spectacular view. Thanks to Erick Ude for getting us the incredible seats today.  Before the game we met up for pizza at Great Plains Sauce & Dough.

Bryce Dejean-Jones was the leading scorer for Iowa State with 22 points.  The only other Cyclone to score in double figures was Monte Morris, who added 13 points.

Thursday, December 4th, 2014

Well, quite a bit has happened since my last post... Elizabeth got a new (used) car, a Chevy Traverse, and we are really enjoying it so far.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Iowa City last week with the GLEKS side of the family.  However, the reason I am blogging today is because of the fun basketball game I just saw with Tim Nevins.

Iowa State's men's basketball team just dominated a good Arkansas Razorback team, winning by a score of 95-77.  Iowa State never trailed in this game, and they really took it to Arkansas early.  The Cyclones lead 52-32 at halftime and never looked back.  Coming into the game, Iowa State was ranked #20 in the nation, and Arkansas was ranked #18.  This was the fourth time that I have witnessed Iowa State face off against a team when both were ranked in the top-25, and I am happy to say that Iowa State is 4-0 in those games!  The others were vs Iowa, vs Texas, and vs Oklahoma last season.

If I had to pick a player of the game today for Iowa State it would have to be Georges Niang.  He scored 26 points, dished out 8 assists, and collected 6 rebounds.  It was impressive how he was able to score in a number of ways (spinning drives to the basket, hook shots, bank shots, up & under moves, three pointers, etc).  Although a close second for player of the game was Bryce Dejean-Jones.  He tallied a game high 27 points on 8 for 8 shooting from the field and added 6 rebounds.  He had a monster dunk in transition, and he was 4 for 4 from three point range.  All five of Iowa State's starters finished scoring in double digits including Houge (14), Morris (11), and Long (10).

A view of the action from our seats in section 216.

My usual scoreboard picture... ISU 95, Arkansas 77.

Friday, November 14th, 2014

Finally, the 2014-2015 Iowa State men's basketball season is here!!  I just got back from Hilton Coliseum where I witnessed a 93-82 victory for Cyclones over the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University.  Oakland University is located in Michigan, not California, and the Golden Grizzlies are a part of the Horizon League.  The game itself was closer than I thought it would be for most of the game, but by the midway point in the second half the Cyclones had opened up a 20 point lead.  After putting in some substitutes, Iowa State ended up winning bu only 11.  

George Niang led all scorers with a career high 30 points.  He was one of 5 Cyclones in double figures including Dustin Hogue (15),  Monte Morris (14), Naz Long (10), and newcomer Bryce Dejean-Jones who scored 20 points.  

This was the third season opening game that I have witnessed at Hilton Coliseum including last year's win vs North Carolina Wilmington and the 2012 victory vs Southern.  

Iowa State wins the opening tip-off.

Cyclones WIN!

Friday, November 7th, 2014

Well tonight I was able to enjoy watching an exhibition game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Viterbo V-Hawks.  This was the second time that I have been to an ISU exhibition game in Hilton (the other was in 2012 agains Minnesota State).  Of course the game was a complete blowout, 115 to 48, but it was still very exciting.  The Cyclones really got out and ran in transition which led to a number of entertaining dunks.  Early on in the game Daniel Edozie caught an alley-op pass with one hand and then dunked it which was pretty fun.  Six Cyclones scored in double figures... Naz Long and Sherron Dorsey-Walker each had 17 points, Niang had 12, Bryce DeJean-Jones had 13, Daniel Edozie had 14, and Kourtlin Jackson had 10 points.

Here is a link to a video with a couple of DeJean-Jones's dunks.


It was hard to take much away from this game since it was so one-sided, but the 14th ranked Cyclones really do look exciting.  They even did their damage in this game without three key players (Abdel Nader, Matt Thomas, and Jameel McKay).  I can't wait for their season opening game next Friday against Oakland!

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Tonight we were able to take Nolan to our first volleyball game of the season where we saw Iowa State defeat the Kansas Jayhawks in 5 sets (18-25, 25-16, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12).  We had to leave before the end of the match (it was past Nolan's bed time), but it was still fun to take Nolan to a game. 

In a funny coincidence, an ISU player named Nolan (Caitlin Nolan) set an ISU record and tied a Big 12 record with 43 digs.

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

Tonight Elizabeth and I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum to watch the first annual "Hilton Madness" event.  It showcased the men's & women's basketball teams as they get ready to start their seasons.  There were team introductions, unveiling of the NCAA tournament banners for each team, a 3-point contest, and a dunk contest.  Kourtlin Jackson was the winner of the dunk contest, although it seemed to me that Jameel McKay had the more exciting dunks.  Naz Long had the highest single round score in the 3-point contest (22 points in the semifinals), but he ended up losing to Brynn Williamson of the women's team in the finals.

Here was a little bit of the action that I was able to take with my cell phone:
Naz Long's first round of the 3-point contest
The ISU Men's team warming up
Jameel McKay dunks after bouncing the ball off the side of the backboard
Kourtlin Jackson's final dunk

Sunday, October 5th, 2014

Well, it's Sunday night... and I just wanted to share what we did on our fun weekend with Nolan. 

On Friday after work we went out to eat at Hickory Park.  We ordered some chicken strips for Nolan and also tried to feed him some macaroni & cheese, some of Elizabeth's grilled cheese sandwich, and some french fries... but he was being a very picky eater!  He ate a little macaroni, but he mainly wanted to eat plain ketchup that we were dipping his fries into. 

Then on Saturday we took Nolan to a pumpkin patch to pick out a big pumpkin and have a little fun.  The name of the place was Center Grove Orchard.  There was a big "corn pool" where kids could swim around in corn, lots of farm animals to see, some exhibits (like the houses of the three little pigs), a hay ride, and of course the pumpkin patch. 

Nolan found an outhouse that was just his size!

Elizabeth and Nolan found the perfect pumpkin for us!

Carrying our 76 pound pumpkin back to the hay ride.

Saturday, September 27th, 2014

Today I've been watching Nolan all by myself (since Elizabeth is visiting her friend Liz in Clinton), and he has been quite the stinker.  Normally, he takes two naps a day (one in the morning, and one in the afternoon).  However, he had so much energy this morning that there was no way he was going to take a nap.  I did try to put him down for a nap a couple of times in the morning, but he protested loudly...

Nolan had fun dragging the power cord for the computer all over the main floor...

...and he enjoyed throwing the pea rock all over by the swings in the park.

I was wondering if he was ever going to slow down and need a nap.  Around 3:00 I made him some chicken nuggets. He ate about two small bites and promptly passed out. 

Nolan's nap only lasted an hour, and he spent most of the afternoon continuing to have way too much energy!  Here is a video of him "helping" me fold his laundry...

Friday, September 26th, 2014

Here I am with Nolan and the statue of Cy outside of the Memorial Union.

I've had yesterday and today off from work to take care of Nolan because his daycare is closed for a week.  We had a Salton family get together yesterday with Eben, Lynn, and Amy all stopping by to visit.  It was fun having everyone over to spend some quality time with him!

Eben & Lynn had to leave to go back home early this morning, but Amy was able hang out until after lunch.  I took her and Nolan around campus... we stopped by the MU so Amy could go shopping, and we stopped by to see Elizabeth at work in her office.  For lunch we had some delicious but very greasy (and not so healthy) tacos at Estas.  It is an all-you-can-eat taco bar, and the tortillas are deep fried and very crispy.  You can pick the type of meat you want for each taco, and then you can add whatever toppings you like yourself.  I tried some steak, chicken, shrimp, and pork tacos... I think that the pork ones were my favorite... it was very tender shredded pork.  Honestly, they were all very good.  Amy liked the shrimp tacos the most.  

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

Part of being a sports fan is suffering through the disappointment of defeat .  You are not always able to enjoy victory.  You try to enjoy the big wins when you can, but you have to realize that losing is part of the game.

Having said that, today's loss by the Cyclones to North Dakota State was especially difficult.  Iowa State was dominated by an FCS team.  At home.  For a second year in a row.  It seems like this entire football season has basically finished before it ever began.  My prediction that the Cyclones would win 5 games?  It looks like a joke.  I hope they can win two...

I was able to capture a couple good videos early on in the game when it looked like Iowa State would have a good day... one is Allen Lazard's first career pass reception (48 yards), and the other is the 3 yard touchdown run by Aaron Wimberly that was set up by Lazard's big play.

I believe that I have been to 31 Iowa State football games so far.  In those games, Iowa State has won 18 and lost 13.  I would say that my top 5 most disappointing ISU football losses that I have attended are:
1) Today's 34-14 loss vs. NDSU.  Losing by 20 to an FCS team is unacceptable for ISU. 
2) Last year's home opening loss to UNI, 28-20. 
3) 2009 loss to Iowa, 35-3.  It always stinks to lose to the Hawkeyes, but this was a blowout and an embarrassment. 
4) 2011 loss to Texas, 37-14.  This one was 34-0 at halftime and never even close.
5) 2002 loss to Connecticut, 37-20.  Iowa State was actually good that year (we had Seneca Wallace), but they found a way to lose to underdog UConn by 17 points. 
Honorable mention disappointing losses: Houston Bowl loss vs TCU in 2005 (27-24), Liberty Bowl loss to Tulsa in 2012 (31-17).  It's always disappointing when you make along car trip to a bowl game just to see the team lose.

What are my 5 favorite wins for ISU football that I have attended?
1) 2005 win vs. Iowa, 23-3.  The Hawkeyes were rated #8 in the country.
2) 2007 win vs. Iowa, 15-13.  I always enjoy a win against the rival Hawks. 
3) 2002 win vs. Nebraska,  36-14.  It was the first ISU/Nebraska game that I went to, and it was a fun victory.
4) 2004 win vs. Nebraska, 34-27.  I'm happy to say that Iowa State is 2-0 against Nebraska when I have been there.
5) 2002 win vs. Texas Tech, 31-17.  This was Seneca Wallace's "The Run" game.

Monday, August 25th, 2014

Today I wanted to make a few predictions for how the ISU football team will do this year (since the first game is less than a week away), but before I get to that I need to say how cute Nolan is!  I was gone over this past weekend since I had a CEU course in Wisconsin, but Elizabeth and Nolan still managed to have a fun time without me...

Elizabeth gave him fresh blueberries for the first time... which he loved!

On Saturday they went to "Fan Fest" where Nolan was able to explore the court in Hilton Coliseum.

The cheerleaders thought he was adorable!

Even coach Rhoads was happy to meet Nolan!

I definitely missed out on a good time...
So now I will attempt to predict how the football team will do this season.  This is never easy to predict ahead of time, but the last time I did this in my blog (2012 season) I picked 8 of the 12 regular season games correctly. Last year I did not make predictions for the whole season, but I was definitely surprised by how poorly the team did last year (3 wins, 9 losses).  Let's see how well I do this time around...

Game 1: vs. North Dakota State: WIN - Iowa State 31, NDSU 24

Game 2: vs. Kansas State: Loss... Ok, so I don't feel like picking scores for each game.  I'll say I'm concerned ISU will have trouble stopping the run game against K-State.

Game 3: @ Iowa: Loss.  I feel like this game could go either way, but I'll pick against Iowa State for once since it is a road game.  Again, stopping the run may be an issue for the Cyclones. 

Game 4 : vs. Baylor: Loss.  After the embarrassing 71-7 loss last year to Baylor, I almost have to go against ISU in this one.

 Game 5: @ Oklahoma State: Loss.  This is a possible upset for Iowa State, but again I will pick against them for now and hope to be pleasantly surprised.  If there was an "upset" game that I would like to pick it would be this one.  I'll say OSU wins by 3 points.

Game 6: vs. Toledo: WIN.  Finally Iowa State gets back in the win column against Toledo for homecoming. 

Game 7: @ Texas: Loss.  It's not often that ISU beats Texas... I'm not guessing that this year will be any different.

Game 8: vs. Oklahoma: Loss.  Speaking of teams Iowa State rarely beats... yeah.  Is it basketball season yet?

Game 9: @ Kansas: WIN. Iowa State has won the last few meetings between these teams, and I don't think that will change this time around.

Game 10: vs. Texas Tech: WIN.  I will say that this November 22nd game in Ames with the boys from Lubbock, TX will be a little too cold for their liking.  Cyclones win a close game.

Game 11: vs. West Virginia: WIN.  A three game winning streak?  Why not?  Iowa State wins by 7.

Game 12: @ TCU: Loss.  I'm calling for a close loss in this game... a victory would have sent the Cyclones to a 6-6 record and a bowl game.  Alas, we come up just short.

Overall, I have the Cyclones winning two more games than they did last year and finishing at 5-7.
 I will keep my expectations relatively low for the football team for now and hope to be pleasantly surprised with a potential bowl game :)

Monday, August 18th, 2014

Today after work Elizabeth and I participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  This is a challenge that has recently gone viral, and many famous people have already participated.  The purpose of it is to raise awareness for the terrible disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.  Once a person is nominated to participate, they have 24 hours to either be doused with a bucket of ice water, or to donate money to ALS.  Yesterday, I was nominated by my sister-in-law Sarah Gleason.  Elizabeth and I plan on donating money, but we also wanted to to the challenge and nominate others. Today, after taking the challenge, I nominated my sister Amy, my dad Eben, and my friend Dan Becker. 

Here is a link to my YouTube video.

And here is Elizabeth's video.

I must say that I was expecting Elizabeth to douse me with water quickly, so when it turned out to be slower than I expected I was a little upset. I think it turned out pretty funny though.  The memory card on our camera was full and cut Elizabeth's video short, but we just barely captured her getting drenched. 

Sunday, August 10th, 2014

Elizabeth and I just got back from our trip to Las Vegas, and we are pretty exhausted right now.  Becky was nice enough to watch Nolan for us during our "Mommy, Daddy, Vegas trip!". It sounded like he was a good boy for grandma over the weekend... we definitely missed him a lot on our trip though!

We flew out from Des Moines on Thursday for Las Vegas.  There was quite a large group of people that we met up with out there (about 20) including Erick Ude, Sara & Mike Kazlauskas, Jen Schumacher, Lucy & Vishal Patel, and others.  We all stayed at the Flamingo, and most of the time Elizabeth & I spent time with Sara and Mike who we were sharing a hotel room with.

To cover the highlights of each day... Thursday night we went out on the old strip on Fremont Street.  We saw a street performer that was a pretty good magician there, and we hung out at the Golden Nugget.

Friday morning we went out for breakfast with Mike, Sara, and Erick at Hash House a go go.  Oh my goodness, the portions of breakfast food there were huge.  Now, this is one of the famous places that Man vs Food host, Adam Richman, ate at on his TV show.  On TV he ordered the fried chicken eggs benedict, but none of us wanted to attempt that.  I had the corned beef hash with poached eggs, and it was possibly the best corned beef hash I've ever had.  Mike ordered the Fried Chicken and Waffles, and it would have been plenty for two people to eat...

Mike trying to decide how to attack his breakfast.

My breakfast... and Erick being silly in the background.

Friday afternoon we spent laying around the pool at the Flamingo... and playing some video poker.  I enjoyed quite a bit of video poker over the weekend :)

Yes, they do have live flamingos at "The Flamingo".

Friday night I took Elizabeth up to one of my old favorite casinos, Slots-a-Fun.  It's a small, hole-in-the-wall casino by Circus Circus. That is where I won about $750 back in 2008... most of it on a table game called Let-It-Ride.  Unfortunately, the casino had changed quite a bit since I was last there.  It no longer had any kind of table games... only slot machines or other automated games :(  So, we stopped by Circus Circus instead to gamble.  After that, we went up to the Stratosphere.  We went up to the top and had an amazing view of the city.  We also bought passes to go on unlimited rides, the best of which was the "Big Shot". 

On Saturday Elizabeth and I went with Mike and Sara to In-N-Out Burger for lunch.  I have heard a lot about this fast food chain before, but this was the first time that I had ever been to it.  I must say that the "Double Double" animal style was a delicious burger... maybe the best "fast food" burger that I have had. 

After lunch we headed over to the Luxor to see the "Bodies" exhibit.  It was pretty cool to see how well different systems of the body were preserved and on display, and it really gave us an appreciation for how amazing the human body is.

That night we went out for a fancy supper with the entire group of people, we went for a ride in a stretch limo, and then most people went to a dance club afterwards.  Mike and I went gambling instead after the limo ride.  We played some blackjack at a $10 table at Treasure Island, and then played craps at Caesar's Palace.  Mike had to basically teach me how to play craps again since it had been so long since I last played it... but that was probably the most fun I had gambling during our trip.

As far as gambling went for me during the trip, I believe I ended up somewhere between breaking even or winning around $20.  That's pretty good considering everything that I played.  I made 4 sports bets, played hours of video poker, craps, let-it-ride, and blackjack.

Mike and myself sitting down for a little video poker.

I had good luck hitting "Four of a Kind" hands...

...of course I was only betting 25 cents at a time, so each of these hands I only won $6.25.

Monday, July 14th, 2014

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY NOLAN!

Yesterday we had quite the birthday party for our little guy.  Around 25 to 30 people were able to stop by and wish him a happy birthday.  We had Hickory Park cater most of the food (Saucy Southerners, mashed potatoes and gravy, pasta salad, and cinnamon apple sauce.  I also made a pot of BBQ baked beans, and Amy made cupcakes and a smash cake for Nolan.  We also had a lot of soda and beer for refreshments.  There were lawn games set up (bags, ladder golf, croquet) for entertainment along with the bubble fogger machine. 

Let's see if I can remember who was at the party: all four cousins (Seth, Sullivan, Paige, Evan), aunt Rachael, aunt & uncle Amy & Brandon Shostak, grandma Becky, grandpa & grandma Eben & Lynn, my cousin David Langner, Erick Ude, Dan & Ann Becker along with their baby Sebastian, Patrick & Shantelle Owens and their kids Emmet and Peyton, Jamie & Mike O'Donnell and their daughter Maddie, Tara Fisher, Lydia Metzger & Tim Nevins, and Caleb & Kristina Carroll.  If you count Elizabeth, myself, and Nolan that makes 30 people! 

The party mainly lasted from 11:00 until 2:00 in the afternoon.  Most of the people were leaving around then when it started to rain really hard.  It was a good thing the rain didn't come down an hour earlier!

Amy & Brandon advertising his birthday with chalk in the driveway.

Nolan and daddy!

All of the food: bottom row pasta salad, pulled pork, mashed potatoes, gravy, and apple sauce.  On the top of the table BBQ beans.  Upper right you can see soda in the red wagon and coolers with beer.

Nolan with Elizabeth and Erick.  He is trying to get Erick's beer!

Nolan looked like he was going to destroy the smash cake... but really he just poked at it a little and then tried to crawl away and get a balloon.

Nolan & aunt Rachael

All 5 cousins together and looking at the camera!

Nolan & Amy

Another thing that is too cute to leave out of his birthday blog... on Saturday Nolan spent a long time blowing raspberries on my stomach!