Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

HAPPY 18 MONTHS TO NOLAN!!

It's hard to believe that he is already a year and a half old.  This evening we took him over to d&orfs photography for his 18-month photo shoot.  It's getting harder and harder to take his picture because he doesn't want to stand still at all.  All we could do is give him some props like ladders or stools which he was happy to crawl all over while she took his picture :)  Here are a few of the photos...

Tuesday, January 6th, 2015

Tonight I went with Jeremy Seago to watch the Iowa State Men's Basketball game against Oklahoma State.  Over the last couple of years you could say that the games between these two teams have been close (remember Naz Long anybody??), and tonight was more of the same.  If I'm being honest, I would rather see the Cyclones win the game easily so I don't have to worry as much, but the nail-biting finishes are fun too.  It was a rather low-scoring game, but the Cyclones found a way to defeat the Cowboys, 63-61.  Dustin Hogue played a key role down the stretch for Iowa State.  He scored the final seven points for the Cyclones before blocking a three point attempt from Tavarius Shine that would have given the Cowboys a one point lead with a second to play.  Hogue also led Iowa State in scoring with 17 points.  He was joined in double figure scoring by George Niang (10) and Matt Thomas (10).  Iowa State had dropped to #17 in the AP top-25 poll this week after their loss to South Carolina, so it was nice to see them get back on track tonight... even if it wasn't the prettiest victory.

I wore my "3sus Saves" t-shirt tonight in honor of Naz Long's performances against Oklahoma State last season.  His two clutch threes (one to send it to a third overtime @ Oklahoma State, and one to force an overtime at home vs the Cowboys) will always be one of the first things I think about when I remember how fun last season's team was to watch.

Cyclones win!!

Thursday, January 1st, 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Today has been a lazy day at home with Elizabeth and Nolan mostly taking naps and recovering from staying up too late yesterday... Elizabeth and I stayed up to watch the ball drop for the new year and shared a bottle of champagne.  Then we decided to watch "Back to the Future Part 2" which is set in the year 2015.  It's pretty funny how 2015 was depicted in this 80's movie... I'm still waiting for my hoverboard!!  Since we didn't start the movie until after midnight we were up pretty late!

Yesterday I also went to the Iowa State men's basketball game against Mississippi Valley State where the Cyclones won 83-33.   This game marked the 100th victory for Fred Hoiberg as the head coach of Iowa State.  This was also the second time that I had seen Iowa State play the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State (December 31st, 2011 was the other).

Naz Long led Iowa State with 24 points, and he shot 7-10 from 3-point range.  Joining Long in double figures scoring for Iowa State included Matt Thomas (11) and Jameel McKay (10).  The Cyclones came into the game ranked #9 in the country, which I believe is the highest they have been ranked when I have been in attendance.

Iowa State wins the tip, and they sported gold uniforms for the game.

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!