Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016

On Monday, February 1st, at 9:22 PM Elizabeth and I welcomed Maxwell Christian Salton to the world :)

He original due date was January 25th, and we were getting very anxious waiting on his arrival!  I had just dropped Nolan off at daycare and was getting ready to head into work when Elizabeth called me and told me to come to the hospital instead!  Maxwell was born weighing 8 pounds, 11.5 ounces, and he was 20.5 inches in length.

Yesterday Grandma Becky brought Nolan to the hospital so the two brothers could meet for the first time!  Here is a YouTube video I took on my phone.

 Today we brought Maxwell home from the hospital.  He's been very sleepy, but when he is awake he has been very hungry too.  We're so lucky to have two healthy boys at home now!

Here is the proud mama with her new baby.

Grandma Becky holding Maxwell for the first time!

Happy family of four :)

Monday, January 18th, 2016

#19 IOWA STATE 82, #1 OKLAHOMA 77.

The Cyclones take down the #1 ranked team in the country!!

What a huge win for the Cyclones!!  Tonight marks just the second time in school history that Iowa State has defeated the #1 ranked team in the country (the first time was way back in 1957 against Kansas).  This was also an important game for Iowa State, who had slipped a bit in the polls after starting 1-3 in conference play.  The game tonight was very entertaining from start to finish.  Neither team committed many turnovers.  There were 18 ties or lead changes.  Oklahoma shot extremely well from three-point range (17-32 for 53%).  Despite the hot shooting by the Sooners, Iowa State was able to come out on top by winning the rebounding margin (43-32) and by scoring 20 more points in the paint than Oklahoma.  It really all came down to the last minute when a Monte Morris jumper gave Iowa State the lead 77-75 with 19 seconds left.  Iowa State was then able to get a stop and hit a few free throws to seal the win.

Mainly because of his last minute jumper, I would say that Morris was the player of the game for Iowa State.  He finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring for Iowa State by Georges Niang (22), Abdel Nader (20), and Matt Thomas (12).  Nader was clutch from the free throw line tonight, making 10 of 12.  Buddy Hield led all scorers with 27 points, including seven three-pointers.

Lets see.  Tonight is the fifth time that I have seen Iowa State play Oklahoma (the Cyclones are 4-1 in those games).  The previous years being: 2015, 2014, 2013, and back in 2003.  Tonight was also the ninth time that I have seen Iowa State play in a showdown of two top-25 teams (Iowa State is 8-1 in those games).  This was obviously the first time that I had seen Iowa State play a #1 ranked team.  Before tonight, the highest ranked opponent that I had seen Iowa State defeat was the #7 Michigan Wolverines back in 2013.

Jeremy Seago enjoyed the game with me tonight.

Wednesday, January 6th, 2016

Happy New Year!

I just got back from watching another Iowa State basketball game, this time a 76-69 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

It was not exactly the dominant performance that I was expecting out of the Cyclones, who came into the game ranked #13 in the country.  Part of that was probably due to the foul trouble that Georges Niang got into.  He hardly played in the first half and was scoreless at halftime.  Still, Iowa State played well enough to be in control for the entire game.  Matt Thomas was the player of the game for the Cyclones.  He scored a career high 22 points and connected on 6 three-pointers.  He was joined in double figures by teammates Jameel McKay (19), Georges Niang (14 in the second half), and Monte Morris (11).

This was the fourth time that I have watched Iowa State play (and defeat) Texas Tech.  The other times were: 2015, 2013, and 2012.

In non-basketball news, Elizabeth is now only about two and a half weeks out from her due date for baby #2 on January 25th!!  We're getting so close!

Dad came with me to a game for the third time this season.  Go State!

Sunday, December 13th, 2015

Well today I'm writing about yet another Iowa State basketball victory, this time over the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions, 78-64.  The game itself was probably a little closer than it should have been, but the outcome was never really in doubt.  Iowa State led by at least 10 points for most of the game, but they didn't exactly look like the nations #4 ranked team.  Part of it may have been that Naz Long sat out the game to rest his hips, and part of it was probably just a "hangover" after the team's emotional win against the rival Hawkeyes on Thursday.  Still, the Cyclones managed to have five players score in double figures: Jameel McKay (18), Matt Thomas (17), Monte Morris (12), Georges Niang (11), and Hallice Cooke (11).  I would say that Thomas was the player of the day again as he connected on 5 three pointers.

In case you were wondering, the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions play in the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference).  Over the years I have actually seen the Cyclones defeat quite a few teams from the SWAC.  Let's see if I can name them:

• 2002 - Iowa State 90, Arkansas Pine Bluff 46.  This was one of the first basketball games that I can remember definitely going to at Iowa State.  I know I went to some earlier games as well, but I couldn't say for sure which ones.  Anyways, this game was memorable because Chris Alexander scored 25 points for the Cyclones.  He was on my floor when I was a freshman at ISU (just 3 doors down from mine I believe).  He had to sit out the first part of the season for some reason.  When the team played the Iowa Hawkeyes earlier in the year, he did not travel with the team to Iowa City.  The funny thing was that he actually came over to my room and watched the game with me on TV.  So I had a 7'1" Iowa State basketball player watching the ISU-Iowa game with me on my couch.  Haha.  The Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes that year, 73-69.
• 2011 - Iowa State 84, Prairie View A&M 59.  
• 2011 - Iowa State 67, Mississippi Valley State 65.  What I remember from that game was that Royce White had the flu and didn't play much at all.
• 2012 - Iowa State 82, Southern 59.  This was the season opener that year, and it was also the first regular season game that Georges Niang and Naz Long played as freshman.  
• 2012 - Iowa State 98, Alabama A&M 40.  Wow, a 58-point victory!
• 2014 - Iowa State 88, Southern 78.  
• 2014 - Iowa State 83, Mississippi Valley State 33.  
• Then of course today's game vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff

Go State!

Thursday, December 10th, 2015

IT'S A CYCLONE STATE!!

That's right.  Tonight my beloved Cyclones triumphed over evil, defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes, 83-82.  This seems like the most stressful basketball game that I have ever seen in Hilton Coliseum.  Not only was Iowa State trailing by 20 points in the second half, their hard-fought comeback was not enough to give them the lead at any point until roughly 9 seconds left to play when Monte Morris's floater put them on top.  After a missed last-second three pointer for the Hawkeyes, it was then time to celebrate.

In the first half, Iowa State could not find a way to stop Jarrod Uthoff from scoring (he had 30 points at halftime).  The only Cyclone to really play well in the first half was Matt Thomas, which is part of the reason why I would say he was the player of the game for Iowa State.  Thomas ended the game with 19 points (including 6 for 9 from three-point range).  He made a huge three pointer from the corner with less than a minute left which turned a 6 point lead for Iowa into a one-possession game.  As for Uthoff?  He disappeared in the second half and finished with 32 points for the game.

Thomas was joined in double-figures scoring for Iowa State by Monte Morris (20), Jameel McKay (20), and Georges Niang (16).  This was the second time that I have seen ISU play Iowa in basketball, the first or which was an 85-82 win for the Cyclones in 2013.

It's a Cyclone State!!

Monday, December 7th, 2015

#4 Iowa State Cyclones 84, Buffalo Bulls 63.

Iowa State remains a highly ranked team this week as they sit at #4 in the Associated Press and all the way up at #2 in the USA Today Coaches poll.  I still can't believe all the love the team is getting.

As for the game today, Jeremy Seago came with me for the first time this year.  Iowa State really didn't put the game out of reach until they went on an 11-0 run in the middle of the second half.  The Cyclones were led in scoring by Georges Niang, who tallied a career high 31 points to go along with 12 rebounds.  Niang shot 5-7 from three point range tonight.  He was joined in double figures by teammates Jameel McKay (13), Monte Morris (12), and Abdel Nader (10).

Next up for the Cyclones will be a clash with rival Iowa on Thursday night.

Iowa State controlled the tip-off against Buffalo.

Cyclones win!

Tuesday, December 1st, 2015

Today I ate bison for supper, and so did the basketball team.  You see, I ordered a bison and mushroom pizza from Jeff's Pizza (along with some smotharella sticks).  Nolan even ate about a half slice of pizza.  He didn't mind the bison, but he picked off the mushrooms.  Of course when I say the basketball team ate bison it was because they defeated the North Dakota State Bison by 20 points..,

#5 Iowa State 84, North Dakota State 64.

I would say that the player of the game for the Cyclones was Jameel McKay, who scored 15 points, pulled down a career best 19 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots.  He was joined in double figures by the other four Cyclone starters: Nader (21), Morris (18), Niang (15), and Naz Long (11).  There was one scary moment in the first half when Niang fell to the floor holding his leg and appeared to be injured.  This was before he had even scored a point in the game.  After going to the locker room to get checked out, he came back into the game after a few minutes and played well the rest of the night.

Go Cyclones!!

 
I also wanted to mention that Elizabeth, Nolan, and I traveled back to the farm this past weekend for Thanksgiving.  Amy and Brandon also came over from Omaha for the weekend.  It was fun to see everyone, and we even managed to see Terry, Deb, and great-grandpa Dick for lunch on Saturday.  We all went out for a pizza buffet at Godfather's in Spencer (I guess that we love pizza).  It was nice to have Dick get to see his great grandson for a little while because it's not very often that they are together.

My grandpa Dick, Nolan, and Elizabeth.