Soil Compilation

Sports
Around the Big Ten – Week Four

Week three of college football was the final tune-up for the Big Ten before the conference schedule began. This week, we’ll talk about Iowa’s 55-0 victory over Northern Iowa, Northwestern’s final game before moving into Ryan Field, and the Southern California showdown between USC and Oregon.

Music
Gin Blossoms Live at Hy-Vee Ampitheater

On a cool night, somewhere in between the last days of summer and first days of fall, the finale to the Hy-Vee Ampitheater’s inaugural season took place. Starring Arizona’s Gin Blossoms, hundreds turned out on their feet for the band in North Liberty’s newest venue.

Sports
Around the Big Ten – Week Three

Week two of college football gave us a pair of early Game of the Year candidates. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, those games came at their expense. This week, we’ll take a look at Iowa’s cathartic win over Iowa State, Oregon’s early-season struggles, and Ohio State’s meltdown against Texas.

A Month in Review: October Basketball

The NBA Season kicked off on October 17th with a highly anticipated pair of games on the slate, starting off what hopefully will be a great season. This is a little month in review of NBA action that took place that I hope to do at the start of every month. Starting with the first half month of October, there have been many surprises and disappointments, making the small sample size of a month very exciting. Opening Night Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics The first game to be played on opening night, and a battle of two teams that many … Continued

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Since the turn of the millennium sports have taken on a whole new look. Rules have changed, superstars have become larger than ever, our favorite players are now owners and fantasy sports are nearly trumping the importance of reality. Although the landscape of professional athletics continues to evolve, one aspect has maintained familiarity; teams still win. Some much more than others. “Dynasty” is term loosely tossed around to describe successful teams after championship runs. In most modern sports, the talent pool has proven too deep to have a classic, 20th-century, dynasty such as the 50s Yankees, 60s Celtics or 90s … Continued

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The 2012-2013 NBA campaign has certainly provided basketball fans with an abundance of twists and turns to follow, not to mention the various storylines that have developed from the outset of the season. Thankfully, as another outstanding regular season came to a close, a plethora intriguing storylines will finally come to fruition as the playoffs continue. So, as the first round matchups unfold, here are some of the elements I’ll be watching closely, as well as my projected forecast for each these developments. Dwight Howard and the Kobe-less Lakers After a whirlwind of a regular season, the once-laughable Lakers somehow … Continued

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The season has finally gotten to the half way point and it has been nicer to some teams more than others. There have been a lot of ups and downs this season half way through, but there are some teams that have not gotten it done. These four teams make my list of teams that desperately need a change of pace in the second half. 1. Los Angeles Lakers Alright, I will say this topic has been beat over the head well after it died, but that does not change the fact that the struggling Lakers have a great deal to improve … Continued

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This NBA season has been a difficult one for the Boston Celtics. Coming into the 2012-2013 season the Celtics had high hopes of a deep playoff run despite losing three point specialist guard Ray Allen, who left in the offseason for the defending champions Miami Heat. To replace Allen they brought in Courtney Lee, Jason Terry, and they still had guard Avery Bradley who was sidelined due to a shoulder injury. The season looked so bright for the Boston Celtics. Now two weeks before the All-Star break the Celtics stand at a record of 24-23 which is 8th in the … Continued

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By Sam Odeyemi The NBA Playoffs just kicked off and this is where all the hard work in the offseason and regular season pay off.  This year’s playoffs are going to excite with teams like: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, Boston, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Denver and Dallas. These and other teams are more than  capable of winning it all.   Eastern Conference #1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Indiana Pacers Chicago is the #1 overall seed with a 62-20 record; they have the league’s best ranked defense and arguably, the MVP in Derrick Rose. The bench has played well and … Continued

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