Hawkeye baseball plays three against Nittany Lions. The Iowa Hawkeye basball team will take on Penn State this weekend at Duane Banks Field in three games on Friday (6:05), Saturday (2:05), and Sunday (12:00). Iowa is currently in last place in the Big Ten standings, but they have a chance to start climbing the ladder, as PSU holds a 7-8 Big Ten record.

Softball against PSU too.  Saturday and Sunday will see the slumping Hawkeye softball team try to snap a seven game losing streak.  In the last three games the Hawks have lost by a combined score of 19-4.  PSU come to Bob Perle Softball Field with a 6-7-1 mark in conference play.

Off Campus:

Track and Field travels north.  Members of the Iowa track and field team will travel to the Messersmith Invitational on Friday in Cedar Falls.  Iowa is coming off a Drake Relays in which they crowned two event champions. 

Homestand for the Kernels.  The Cedar Rapids Kernels will stay at home all weekend, and baseball fans can see them take on Burlington on Friday night (6:05). On Saturday the Beloit Snappers come to town for a two game set. Saturday’s game is set for 2:05; Sunday’s for 12:05.  

Watch and Listen:

Cubs in a divisional match-up.   The Chicago Cubs will return from their road trip, in which they went 4-3, to take on the Cincinatti Reds.  With just a 14-16 record the Cubs are 2.5 games out of the division lead, while the Red’s 15-15 mark puts them at 1.5 under.  The games are scheduled for Friday at 1:20, Saturday at noon, and Sunday at 1:10. 

NBA continues to sizzle.  The Lakers are on the rope, the  Bulls tied it up, and the Celtics returns to Boston to try to bounce back from a 2-0 defecit.  The Bulls and Hawks go again on Friday at 6:00, while the Lakers and Mavs go later that night.  Oklahoma City takes on Memphis at 4:00 on Saturday and the Celtics will welcome the Heat at 7:00.

The post Sports Fan Weekend Planner appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Carolina Panthers drafted Cameron Newton to turn the franchise around, but did they really need to draft a quarterback?

KRUI Sports Staffer Sam Odeyemi thinks that Carolina should have taken Patrick Peterson from LSU or Marcel Dareus Alabama.

The post Tuesday Tirade: Panthers’ Fumbled Pick appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The post Athlete Interview: Tyson Blaser appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Off Campus:

Iowa competes at the Drake Relays. Coming off a weekend in Iowa City that saw 18 individual championships for the Hawkeye, the Iowa track and field team is now set for one of the biggest track meets in the country.  The event has already started, as the Drake Relays cover Thursday, Friday and wrap up on Saturday.

Kerels travel to the Quad Cities. Just a short trip east on I-80, fans can see the Cedar Rapids Kernels visit the Quad Cities River Bandits.  The Bandits took game one last night, but the teams will meet again on Friday and Saturday night. Both games are at 7:00

Watch and Listen:

One more series to be decided. The San Antonio Spurs will try to keep the series alive as they face elimination tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies.  The Spurs came in with the top seed in the West, but Memphis has played them hard and is on verge of knocking Tim Duncan and company out in the first round.

Braves and Cards on FOX. Atlanta is hovering at .500 right now, but will look for a climb against 1st place the St. Louis Cardinals.  Both teams have won two in a row; the Saturday FOX broadcast will be game two in a three game weekend series.

The post Sports Fan Weekend Planner appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Remember the last time you were at a cook-out, enjoying a hot dog, a shish kabob or a delish turkey burger? Everyone was gathered listening to Lady Gaga tunes, catching-up, and chatting about foreign oil, field hockey and lolcats.com.

Then the two coolest guys at the cook-out looked at each other knowingly, with a nod and a grin. Then they ran over to the grill, reached into the red Igloo cooler, grabbed up the rest of the Kraft Singles and shouted “CHEESE RACE!!!”

Then everyone crowded ‘round to watch the high-tension, unpredictable pressure-cooker that is competing to see whose individually-wrapped cheese slice expands the quickest on the grill.

You don’t remember a great cook out like that?!

Well then it’s time you were introduced to the sport that has been sweeping Great Britain since 1997, and should soon be seen at a drunken backyard soirée in a college town near you.

What’s that you say? “Get outta here, Lars! You’re just making stuff up again.”

Though that may usually be the case, my hypothetical is based on solid fact. (Except that I think more people are looking at stuffonmycat.com than lolcats.com these days.)

But no lies, today. Cheese Racing is real, my friends. And you too can get in on the fun!

The following site is a great resource for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in cheese racing culture:  http://www.cheeseracing.com/

But for the rest of you who want to start playing immediately, here are the rules, as put forward by Britain’s leading authority on the sport, CRASS(Cheese Racing Association).  Now go have fun – and don’t burn yourselves!

• All players must place their cheese on the BBQ at the same time.
• Cheeses must not overlap.
• After the initial throwing of the cheese onto the barbecue (the “cast”), one poke of the slice (the “poke”) is permitted in cases of accidental overlap when the offending cheeses must be repositioned as quickly as possible. No further touching of the cheese is permitted.
• No blowing/fanning the flames under your cheese.
• The winning cheese is defined as the one whose reaches a fully inflated stage first. Fully inflated means that all four corners have raised off the BBQ and the plastic is taut (distinctive “stretch” marks which appear on the sides of the parcel). This state must maintainable (i.e. it does not count if the bag is pulsing up and down due to springing a leak).
• Note that springing a leak does not automatically mean you have lost – it is possible for the hole to become sealed with melted cheese and the bag to fully inflate anyway – such is the excitement of cheese racing – it’s not over till it’s over!
• In the event of a draw, the tied cheese owners will race again.
• Deliberate breaking of any of these rules will result in your cheese being disqualified and removed from the BBQ.

The post Sport Alternative: Cheese Racing appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Iowa has hosted the annual Musco Twilight for 12 years.  After the Drake Relays the Hawkeyes will prepare for the Big Ten Championships, which will be hosted in Iowa City.

The post Track and Field Update appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Last year Carolina threw for the fewest passing yards in the NFL, but that doesn’t mean they should abandon Jimmy Clausen.

They also scored only 7 rushing touchdowns and were in the bottom half of almost every defensive statistical category.

The quarterback play needs improvement, but Cam Newton is not the answer for the Panthers.

The post Tuesday Tirade: Stick with Clausen appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Alexander is now preparing for a career in the WNBA after being drafted by the Minnesota Lynx.  As a native of the Twin Cities area, she will have the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd.

The post Athlete Interview: Kachine Alexander appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On Campus:

Iowa hosts the Musco Twilight XII. Iowa City doesn’t get to host a lot of collegiate track and field events, and the Hawkeyes will look to make this weekend special as they compete against Drake, Illinois (men), Iowa State, Minnesota, North Central, Northern Iowa and Western Illinois.  The events will be held on Saturday at at Cretzmeyer Track.

Hawkeye baseball welcomes the Wolverines. The Iowa Hawkeyes (14-20) will try to right the ship as they take on the 11-24 Michigan Wolverines in a three game weekend date.  Both teams are trying to claw their way into the Big Ten Tournament, which only takes six out of 10  Big Ten baseball teams.  Iowa will send out Jarred Hippen(1-4) in game 1 and Matt Dermody in game 2. Iowa’s  Sunday pitcher has yet yo be determined.

Off Campus:

Kernals take on the River Bandits in Veterans Memorial Stadium. Cedar Rapids is off to an 8-5 start and will hope to extend their record against the Quad Cities, who sit at 6-7.  Both teams play in the Western Division of the Midwest League.

Watch and Listen:

NBA playoffs continue. Three series are currently tied 1-1: Lakers and Hornets, Spurs and Grizzlies, and Hawks and Magic.  Something’s got to give this weekend when these teams try to settle things in the first round.

The post Sports Fan Weekend Planner appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Looking for the hottest sport around?

I found it for you: fire-jumping.

This slightly crazy sport has its origins in an ancient Persian traditional festival called Nowruz. The festival lasts for thirteen days and has been practiced as part of the Zoroastrian religion for almost 3000 years. The religion the festival comes from follows the practice of worshiping fire.

The tradition included people going into alleys and setting bonfires alight and then jumping over them. The practice was meant as a way for the jumper to transfer their pain, sickness and weakness to the fire while taking strength, heat and light from it instead.

One place where the practice has spread out of the Iranian community to a wider audience is in America. In Southern California, revellers gather in beaches all along the state to take part in very interesting and strange competitions.

California has extremely strict fire codes and people are not allowed to even light fires on their own properties, so fire jumpers go to the beaches where lighting fires are permitted.  They jump over fires all night, and the competition has gotten bigger and bigger, just like the fires they are jumping over.

It is possible that this sport will become another extreme sport with it’s growing popularity, but considering how dangerous it is, government policy stands in its way. It may pass regulations with the proper type of safety equipment worn but it is unlikely to become a proper sport anytime soon.  It looks like it will continue to be a once a year festival.

The post Sport Alternative: Fire-Jumping appeared first on KRUI Radio.