Iowa has had the best of luck with these kinds of stories. Just this year, the Kinnick Wave captured the hearts and minds of the nation, even winning the annual Disney Spirit Sports Award. But, if you had the chance to be at the Purdue-Iowa slaughter at Carver, the annual Chris Street reminded the Iowa faithful of why we love sports.

January 19^th, 2018 marks the 25^th anniversary of the passing of Hawkeye legend Chris Street. Street lived out his dream, even if it was marked short. The legend of Chris Street was never about his stats. Street’s passion was such a high intensity that the only thing you’d be able to do is be in awe. And smile. Chris did that a lot, another level of the legend. Not only did Street have an unparalleled passion for the game, but his lovable personality and magnetic smile was equally a force to be reckoned.

Iowa fell in love with Chris Street because Street was Iowa embodied. Street had the “Iowa Nice” personality commonly found in the Hawkeye State and held the tenacity of the court that is a by-product of his tough, blue collar work ethic. But, more than anything, Chris Street woke up everyday wanting to do nothing more than to play basketball for his Hawkeyes. The University of Iowa released a video and showed the same video during halftime of the Purdue-Iowa contest one day after the 25^th anniversary of his passing. The following link goes to the inspirational tribute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48dGMn_muYk.

The game prior to and following the Chris Street tribute did not have the match the intensity of the Iowa legend. Purdue put Iowa out of the game in the first ten minutes of the first half and merely poured on the point. Making the game seem like nothing more than a morning stroll, the Boilermakers sliced through the soft Iowa defense on its way to a Big10 record in most 3-pointers in a game. 20 shots fell out to 33 attempted from beyond the arc for the third nationally ranked Purdue squad. Iowa could and would not come close after taking an early 3-0 lead in an eventual 87-64 loss.

Purdue will be taking their talents back home to West Lafayette, Indiana in a matchup against Michigan on Thursday, January 25^th at 6 pm CST. The next game for the Iowa comes with another tribute to Chris Street. However, in this Tuesday contest against the hated Wisconsin Badgers, Iowa will be wearing the Gold jerseys. Iowa faces Wisconsin on January 23 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 6 pm CST.

The post Forever 40: Remembering Chris Street appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Notable Additions: Chase Headley 3B, Chris Capuano P, Chris Young OF, Justin Wilson RP, Andrew Miller RP, David Carpenter RP, Chasen Shreve RP, Stephen Drew IF, Nathan Eovaldi SP, Garrett Jones 1B, Didi Gregorius SS

Notable Losses: Derek Jeter SS, Ichiro Suzuki OF, Martin Prado IF, David Phelps SP, Brandon McCarthy SP, Shane Greene SS, David Robertson RP, Alfonso Soriano OF, Hiroki Kuroda SP, Brian Roberts IF

I used the word experienced rather than old in the intro but the words are interchangeable. Didi Gregorius is the only starting position player who is under 30 years old. The Yankees offense will struggle to hit and stay healthy in 2015. There’s no question that this team is just… different than the normal Yankee squad. There is still talent in the lineup, but it will be interesting to see if that talent will show. Alex Rodriguez is returning to the Yankees…. Okay I’m going to talk about A-rod for just a minute because I think it’s important. Why!? Why on Earth is this guy still allowed to step foot on a baseball diamond. In the last article I talked about Brock Holt who does everything right. Holt is a good teammate, he hustles, he puts his all into his work and most importantly he does it with integrity. A-rod, on the other hand, does not. He was blessed with a rocket arm, an athletic body and all the tools to be one of the greatest players of all time. What did he do with it? He spat on it. A-rod is decided that he is better than the system and has broken the rules on multiple occasions. He has no integrity and no respect for the game of baseball. The greatest moment of the 2013 season for me was when Ryan Dempster threw behind A-rod on the first pitch, and then drilled him on the second. Everyone on the planet knew that it was intentional, even the umpire. The umpire did not eject Dempster from the game, showing he thought A-rod deserved it. I’d do the exact same thing if I were a pitcher. It’s beyond me why Pete Rose is banned from the game yet A-rod gets to play. Something seems backwards here. I hope for nothing but the worst for A-rod and I’m not afraid to say it. He had his chance.. correction CHANCES, and he spat on them. The game will in a better place when he finally retires.

Lets get back to talking about the rest of the team. I think the pitching staff will be more effective than some think. It was announced today that Masahiro Tanaka will get the nod to open the season. This is the first time in 6 years that CC Sabathia will not be the opening day starter for the Yankees. Tanaka was outstanding in his rookie season finishing with a 2.77 ERA through 136.1 innings. An arm injury limited Tanaka in 2014 but the Yankees hope and believe it will not be a problem this season. Tanaka has an effortless delivery with a large repertoire of pitches. His split-finger is flat out filthy and will confuse hitters all year. It will be important that he stays healthy in order to lead this rotation in 2015. Michael Pineda will be the second best pitcher in the rotation and will try to capitalize on a full season. He missed a lot of time due to injury and suspension in 2014 but he was one of the most effective pitchers in the game when on the field. He finished with a 1.89 ERA through 76.1 innings of work. He has a mid 90’s fastball to go along with a nasty slider that he can put wherever he pleases. CC Sabathia finds himself as the third man in the rotation to start 2014. He hasn’t posted  a sub 4.00 ERA since 2012 when he finished with a 3.38 ERA through 200 innings. He has lost his velocity and movement on his fastball and slider. He came into spring training much heavier than the last and has also gained some of his velocity back. His fastball touched 96 MPH this spring, surprising everyone. It will be important for CC to stay healthy and keep his velocity to be effective in 2015.

The bullpen is led by Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances. Miller finished the 2014 season with a 2.02 through 62.1 innings. He is exceptionally tough on lefties. Betances was a breakout player in 2014. He posted a 1.40 ERA through 90 innings last season. Betances should be used as a closer in 2015 and will close games with ease. The addition of Miller gives the Yankees a deadly setup/closer combo.

Breakout Player:  Nathan Eovaldi SP

Nathan Eovaldi will now be pitching in a hitter friendly ballpark. He struggled last season with the Marlins, finishing with a 4.37 ERA through 199.2 innings of work. (I’d be pretty upset to fall 1 out short of 200 innings… just saying.) Eovaldi has a live fastball but struggles to control it. He falls behind in counts often, giving the hitter a strong advantage. He will have to work on his control and secondary pitches but if he can improve in those areas, he will be a solid Major League starter. If healthy I expect:

204.1 IP, 3.91 ERA, 172 SO

Game Changer: Carlos Beltran OF

Beltran has had one of the most solid careers in MLB history. He has a career batting average of .281 and a .491 slugging percentage. He struggled for the first time in 2014, finishing with a .233 batting average and driving in 49 runs. Yankee fans can only hope that last year was a fluke for Beltran. If Beltran is hitting .275+, he will bring the entire team up with him. He has a leadership quality that few players have. Put in simpler terms.. If Beltran rises, the team rises. If Beltran falls, the Yankees fall.

The Yankees will go as far their health will take them. They have a history of injuries and are a team filled with age. The pitching rotation should be strong and will be backed by a solid bullpen. The position players will have to stay healthy if they want a chance to contend in the AL East.

Make sure to check back in on March 31st for my complete standing predictions along with a few other fun pieces of news. Until then, you will be able to find a new preview of an individual team from March 1st through the 30th here at KRUI.FM.

The post New York Yankees 2015 Preview Edition #24 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

“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, 20^th-century, dynasty such as the 50s Yankees, 60s Celtics or 90s Cowboys. Those squads dominated and left little question as to which team was the best in their respective eras. While that same scenario may not exist in all major United States sports, we can garner at least a debate.

In this piece we will dive into the top dynasties since the first season post-2000 started of each major sport between the college and professional levels and decide which recent squad has had dominated its respective sport the most. There are rules that will be followed.

1. There will be a qualified team picked out of each individual sport before jumping to a final debate on who is the king of kings.
2. One team must be chosen out of each major sport – college football, men’s/women’s basketball, baseball, wrestling, volleyball, MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL.
3. Seasons that are currently in progress (2014-15 college hoops, NBA, NHL) are not included. For example, Kentucky’s current undefeated record in college hoops cannot be applied to their opportunity to be considered college basketball’s top dynasty on the men’s side.
4. Dynasty is a term used far too often. Are the Seahawks a dynasty because of how great their defense is in the past two years? No, because Seattle struggled through a lot of down seasons beforehand. In this piece, a dynasty will be defined as “Dominating a respective sport, while simultaneously competing for championships to the tune of being the greatest team in the discussed era.”
5. A team must consistently be in championship contention, but in order to be a dynasty in this span – a team must have won at least a single title.
6. I cannot compare teams between sports, as that will happen in the follow up article, where I will rank the selections from each league.

Let the games begin.

NBA

The NBA has always had a lack of parity.  We may no longer be limited to just the Lakers and Celtics, but the situation is still heavily lopsided.

Starting in the 2000-01 season, just three out of 14 Western Conference champions haven’t been named either the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs. The Dallas Mavericks made two Finals appearances, and the Oklahoma City Thunder briefly showed up before being ousted in five by the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.

The Eastern Conference has been more diverse, but less successful. Seven teams (Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Detroit, Miami, Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando) have won the conference, but just three (Detroit, Miami, Boston) have managed to end the postseason with a victory.

The Heat have an impressive five title appearances and three championships to make a case for a potential top-NBA dynasty in the last 14 seasons. However, they fall well short of the Western Conference rivals from California and Texas.

The Spurs have a cumulative regular season record of 804-328 (.710), a postseason tally of 129-80 (.617), and four championships in five appearances since 2000. Their worst record in that span is 50-32 in 2009, and yet they still made it to the Western Conference Semifinals. Gregg Popovich has led this team to being easily the most consistent of all NBA squads in this era.

Los Angeles, albeit currently in its lowest moment in franchise history, also has an argument to be the representative for professional hoops. While their 690-442 (.610) overall regular season mark is well below San Antonio’s, their post season record of 108-66 trumps the Spurs. In six Finals appearances, the Lakers have taken home four titles – equal to the Spurs. If the 1999-2000 season and the first third of the Shaq-Kobe three-peat were included, my final decision may not have been…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, led by a long-time coach and familiar players, have (somehow quietly) been one of the most consistent teams in all of American athletics. Their YMCA-style of play may not captivate casual audiences with oohs and awes, but their record says all that is needed. The Lakers have missed the playoffs as many times (two) as the Spurs have missed the second round. The ability to avoid down years is what makes the difference. San Antonio and Los Angeles have the same highs, but the Spurs have yet to hit a low this century.

Honorable mention: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat

NFL

Baltimore, New England, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants have all won multiple titles since Super Bowl XXXV, thus obviously deserving of recognition in this analysis. Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Green Bay and Seattle will also be included as to compare all Super Bowl victors.

Looking based simply off of this, the answer is penciled in. Let’s engrave it in stone with this next chart. I gave every team a point total for each category – the top team receiving nine points and the bottom receiving one – (regular season win percentage, total postseason wins, postseason win percentage, division titles and Super Bowls). The point total depended on where a team finished in each respective section.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: New England Patriots. New England swept the board in each measurable category. It’s hard to tell if they’re farther ahead of the pack than Tampa Bay is behind. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have created a dynasty and are two absurd catches from having six Super Bowls in this span, including the Brady-Randy Moss 2007 combination that was the best team in NFL history to not win it all.

NHL

The NHL has experienced more parity than its professional counterparts this century. Ten teams have won a Stanley Cup in the last 13 occurrences (plus the 2005 lockout season). The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche have all taken home one championship, while the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings all have a pair of titles. To avoid confusion in the following chart, the NHL did away with ties during this span and therefore the records will be Win-Loss-Overtime Losses-Ties.

  We have seven categories (Stanley Cups, playoff appearances, playoff series victories, postseason wins, postseason win percentage and regular season win percentage and points). The best team in each category will receive 10 points and the worst will pick up just one. In order to put a stronger emphasis on advancing in the postseason, playoff series victories will count as a point for each accumulated. This should counteract disciplining teams for advancing on to tougher rounds just to be swept.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Detroit Red Wings. Outside of postseason win percentage, Detroit swept the board since 2000. Its 17 postseason series victories is even more impressive when factoring in the lockout season and the fact that no other franchise has more than a dozen. Despite parity among Stanley Cup victors, Detroit has easily been the most consistently dominant in all of professional hockey. Not much of an argument can be made for any other squad from this chart, and therefore none are honorable mention worthy.

Men’s college basketball:

After a relatively easy start, we reach what might be the most complicated of all sports we list. College basketball is about as random as they come (see odds of making a perfect bracket). Of course, Kentucky seems like an obvious choice after winning a national title in 2013-14 and going undefeated so far in 2014-15 (void). Don’t let fresh tastes discount distant memories.

Recent impressions can’t influence this decision, but the Wildcats have enough beyond that to make a pretty decisive statement. A 369-124 overall record is tough to argue with. What’s even harder? Twelve NCAA Tournament appearances, eight Sweet Sixteens, three Final Fours and a 1-1 record in the championship. Take away the two seasons Billy Gillispie coached Kentucky to a 40-27 overall record with zero NCAA Tournament victories and an NIT berth, and the Wildcats may blow the competition out of the water.

One team has been so remarkably consistent in its conference that it’s impossible to leave off this list: The Kansas Jayhawks.

After transitioning from a Hall of Fame coach, Kansas found a fate much simpler than Kentucky. Bill Self took over Roy Williams’ squad and didn’t miss a beat.

Williams’ last three seasons resulted in a 42-6 conference record that was overshadowed by a Sweet Sixteen, Final Four and a championship appearance. Since? Self has given the Jayhawks a 325-69 mark with a 151-31 stretch in the Big 12.

Self’s initial tournament resume left much to be desired with two first round exits sandwiched between a pair of Elite Eight showings. That turned around quickly with Kansas’ lone national title during this span in 2008.

Kansas boasts similar marks to Kentucky, with one extra championship loss thrown in, and its down years were first round exits over being completely left out.

So how about ex-Jayhawk coach Williams’ new squad – North Carolina? The Tar Heels have two national titles and another Final Four on their record and they may not even be the best dynasty in their own state.

Recent 1,000 game winner Mike Kryzewski’s Duke Blue Devils are.

Duke has a pair of national titles, has appeared in the tournament in each covered year, and has lost in their opening matchup just three times. Their conference dominance may not be as high as a team such as Kansas, but the competition is relatively stellar each season.

The Blue Devils hold an absurd 412-87 (.826) record in this span. So it has to be them, right?111

Let’s head over to Big Ten country where Tom Izzo is standing by for a quick lecture on postseason play. Michigan State, although missing its 1999-2000 national championship by just one season, has made nine Sweet Sixteens, five Elite Eights, four Final Fours, and has won one title. They haven’t missed the tournament a single time, and have been eliminated before the Round of 32 just four times.

What about UConn’s three title runs? Florida’s star-studded squads? Kentucky’s heated-rival Louisville? We need a way to rank these teams accordingly as to put all bias aside and assign an overall score. Postseason play in college basketball has always taken precedence over any other measurement of success. Here is the scoring chart to decide the top NCAA Tournament team since 2001’s tournament when solely considering those whom have a title to their name in this span:

Round of 64 loss: 0 points
Round of 32 loss: 1 point
Sweet 16 loss: 2 points
Elite Eight loss: 4 points
Final Four Loss: 8 points
Championship loss: 12 points
Championship: 16 points

NCAA Tournament champions results since 2000-01 March Madness: Kansas 68, UConn 67, Duke 59, North Carolina 56, Florida 55, Kentucky 55, Michigan State 51, Louisville 44, Syracuse 37, Maryland 30.

Shockingly, outside of its three titles runs, UConn only scored 19 points on this scale. The Huskies fell just a point shy of claiming this all important statistic in pushing forward to choosing men’s college hoops’ most dominant dynasty of the 21^st century. Despite just one title, consistency overcame roller coaster levels of postseason success and your winner is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Kansas Jayhawks. Not only has Kansas (almost surprisingly) performed as the top overall team in March Madness, but it also has the most eye-popping accomplishment. I’m going to type this out to make it even more drastic: Kansas has won at least a share of (ahem) back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back regular season Big 12 championships. That’s 10. Read that out loud and you’re likely to need to catch your breath. This isn’t Kansas playing in the Summit League or intramural athletics – this is a major conference with a tough road to the top every season. Ten?! In a row? And just for the record, it’s also 12 of 13, but who’s counting? The Huskies have a legitimate argument when it comes to this discussion due to three incredible runs to the championship, but Kansas has been a more consistently feared team. Welcome to a new postseason tournament, Jayhawks. Let’s see who else is joining you.

Honorable mention: Duke, UConn

Women’s College Basketball

I went from one of the more difficult sports to choose to what might be the easiest. UConn women’s hoops is out of this world. Seven championships since the turn of the century. Average margin of victory in those title-winning contests? 15.4 points. That’s 15 points better than the second best team in the country. Talk about a talent gap. I can’t put into words how unbelievably incredible the Huskies’ overall record has been, so I’ll leave two simple numbers on its own.

486-38.

That’s a .927 winning percentage.

I could play myself in checkers and not win 93 percent of the time.

Connecticut has missed out on the Sweet Sixteen in this span only…well, they haven’t. And just once were they limited to that. On top of the Sweet Sixteen and seven titles, the Huskies have made two Elite Eight appearances along with four Final Fours. Therefore, your clear cut winner without any hesitation is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Connecticut Huskies.

College Wrestling

If the 70s, 80s and 90s were included, this wouldn’t even be a competition. The Iowa Hawkeyes took home 20 titles from 1975-2000. Despite those all being out of the picture, Iowa is still in contention for the 21^st century title post-Dan Gable. The Hawkeyes have three titles to their name, which comes shy of Penn State and Oklahoma State, who put together four each. With the overall team title competition so close, our answer comes from individual championships. The Nittany Lions have nine, Hawkeyes 13 and Cowboys 18.

Oklahoma State’s 2005 season was the best of the era, fielding five individual champions in 10 weight classes, and scoring 153 points – best since the 1997 Hawkeyes scored 170. Therefore the winner is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys are tied for the lead in titles, have the best overall team of the era and can claim having the most individual titles. They may be fortunate to wrestle outside the Big Ten, but national titles don’t lie.

Honorable Mention: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions

MLB

Four teams have won multiple titles since 2000 – the Red Sox (three), Giants (three), Yankees (two) and Cardinals (two) – to give a clear starting point when trying to declare the top 21^st century dynasty of professional baseball.

It’s clearly visible that this is a dead heat. You know the drill. In order to decide, I assigned a point total to each stat category. The top finisher in each category – World Series victories, division titles, regular season winning percentage, playoff appearances, total playoff wins and postseason playoff winning percentage – receives four points, followed by three for second place and so on. I also gave teams an extra point for each playoff series they won. The final tally came out as followed:

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: St. Louis Cardinals. Any fan of one the final four teams can state a statistic on how their team deserved to be the one represented. New York dominated the AL East. Boston and San Francisco won a third World Series and were more efficient in the postseason when they did make it. None of that jumped out the way this did:

The Cardinals took the cake with 16 postseason series victories.

That’s out of this world consistent. The Yankees came close, carried by consistently owning the division crown, whereas the two teams that take advantage of playoff appearances the most, Boston and San Francisco, found themselves looking up.

Honorable Mention: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants

College Volleyball

Some of these don’t take much time. Penn State has six championships, including two 38-0 seasons. USC, Stanford, Nebraska, Texas and UCLA have had strong programs, but none have approached the dominance by the Nittany Lions. Let’s just get to the point. Without a hint of doubt, your winner is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Penn State Nittany Lions.

College Baseball

Unlike most of the other sports in the discussion, the full 2000 season is included since it began post-millennium. Texas, South Carolina and Oregon State all have a pair of titles, with nobody else claiming more than one. Naturally, only those three are in consideration. However, the Beavers have only made four CWS appearances compared to six for South Carolina and eight for Texas. Typically that would lead one to believe that the answer is obviously the Longhorns.

Take a look at overall winning percentage: Texas is 661-294 (.664) in this millennium, lagging considerably behind the Gamecocks at 713-289 (.712). So what do we value? Winning more regular season games against what is typically stronger competition, or taking overall postseason play? The latter carries more weight. Here is how each team fared in NCAA Tournament play with its overall statistics tallied at the bottom.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Texas Longhorns. In what ended up being the closest contest of any sport so far, Texas prevailed because of one statistic: CWS appearances. South Carolina may hold a relatively significant advantage in regular season record and have a slim lead in postseason record, but they couldn’t get the job done in enough Super Regionals. One could argue that Texas’ lows were below South Carolina’s, but they consistently made the trip to Omaha and that familiarity with getting to the final eight put them over the edge.

College Football

Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, and Florida all have multiple FBS championships to their names, while Appalachian State and North Dakota State have dominated the FCS level well enough to be included in the discussion. USC vacated one of its two national championships and will not be considered. As we’ve come to find out, tables can be really useful when measuring statistics of multiple teams. Unfortunately, college football has more variables than most so let’s compare like it is 2000 (and we’re using WordPad).

Alabama: The Crimson Tide are the only team in this span with three FBS national title victories. Their overall record takes a hit because of 21 vacated wins, but stands at 116-57, including a 6-5 bowl mark – which is also hindered by one vacated victory and two seasons in which ‘Bama was ineligible for the postseason. They have garnered three SEC titles and five SEC West crowns – most of which have come under Nick Saban. The pre-Saban era was somewhat dark for Alabama, which had a (now shocking) 3-8 season in 2000. The loss of 21 victories could really come back to bite the team that is likely the first one on everybody’s college football power shortlist.

Florida: Florida boasts two national titles (thanks, Tebow) complemented by a 137-56 overall record. If Alabama had kept its wins, Florida would be one game ahead in the loss column and tied with the Tide for overall victories. In bowl play, Florida has a lackadaisical 7-6 mark. They have picked up three SEC Titles and have headed the SEC East four times.

LSU: Consistency in a more than tough conference is what could separate LSU from the group. Like every team on this list besides Alabama, the Tigers have a pair of national championships. Their overall record of 151-45 is only topped by Ohio State. They’ve won nine bowl games compared to six losses and have not missed out on the postseason. They’ve picked up four conference titles and five SEC West titles along the way to top both Florida and Alabama in those areas.

Ohio State: Surprised to see a Big Ten team here? You shouldn’t be. Despite a negative stigma built around the conference in recent years, Ohio State has been among the most dominant teams lately. The Buckeyes’ 157-36 overall record is hard to argue with. An 8-7 bowl record with a few postseason embarrassments could be improved on. What really couldn’t be is a sensational seven conference titles – which reasonably would be eight if not for a postseason ban on a 12-0 squad in 2012. The Buckeyes may not have the numbers to claim best of this century now, but with Urban Meyer pulling the strings, it might not be too long until they do.

North Dakota State: If we were only talking about the last four years, the Bison would breeze through the competition. Their 63-3 record with four national titles is, well, absurd. Before that? North Dakota State swiftly comes back to Earth with a more reasonable, but still strong, 74-40 mark. Did you already do the math? That’s an overall record of 137-43

…and I should probably mention they have a 20-2 postseason record.

20 wins. Two losses.

The Bison made the move from Division II to FCS in this time period and were ineligible for postseason play in multiple 10-1 seasons, otherwise they very well could have added to that title total. Which, quite frankly, is a little scary. One thing that isn’t as scary is this game. And this one in the same season. Sometimes you find things while researching that you wish you never did. Those qualify.

Appalachian State: While the Bison were fiddling around with moving up from Division II, another squad was busy winning national championships and knocking off the winningest-program in FBS history. That was the Mountaineers of Appalachian State. Their record of 131-52 is a modest amount below North Dakota State’s. It isn’t the regular season that separates these two FCS programs. The Mountaineers postseason mark, despite a three-peat from 2005-2007, is 19-8, considerably worse than the Bison’s…let me say it again…20-2.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: North Dakota State Bison. I get it. Strength of schedule for the Bison isn’t anywhere near what Ohio State, let alone Alabama, Florida and LSU, face on a week-to-week basis. Their national titles are much less publicized and viewed. They don’t have NFL prospects filling up the first round. They weren’t even in the FCS for part of this era. There are a lot of reasons not to pick them.

Go ahead, write an article on why LSU’s consistency in the SEC makes them the best dynasty of this century, or why Alabama’s three titles set it apart, or how Ohio State’s conference dominance make them the frontrunner. They all have strong cases to disprove my choice.

To me, these issues have to be made relative, not directly compared. Of course North Dakota State doesn’t have to play the LSU defense, the Tim Tebow offense or Nick Saban’s game plan on an annual basis, but they ought to be held to the standards of their competition, not of a league above them. North Dakota State has simply dominated about as much as a modern college football team can in this span. 137-43 in the regular season? Incredible – just as incredible as the others on this list, especially considering transition seasons. That doesn’t set them apart.

A .909 winning percentage in the postseason will. When the Bison play the best competition, they don’t just compete – they absolutely own everyone. Alabama doesn’t. Florida doesn’t. LSU and Ohio State don’t. They’re all tremendous teams, but have not set themselves apart at any part this century the way the Bison have.

Conclusion

The aforementioned follow-up article will now include the St. Louis Cardinals, San Antonio Spurs, New England Patriots, Detroit Red Wings, Kansas Jayhawks men’s hoops, UConn Huskies women’s basketball, Oklahoma State wrestling, Penn State volleyball, Texas baseball and North Dakota State football. Those ten dominant teams will be ranked to determine an ultimate “dynasty of the 21^st century.”

Be sure to check out Night Stuff on KRUI at the stroke of midnight Wednesday mornings as we discuss topics such as this, other sporting news and a few outrageous topics mixed in with a phone always ready to hear your takes. Did you like the article or happen to disagree with some of the choices? Tweet @TheMainStevent or @KRUISports to share your opinion.

The post The 21st Century’s Best Dynasty appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This is what baseball was supposed to be. Monstrous home runs, blinding strikeouts and game winning hits are what we as baseball fans hope to see during the long 162 game season.

However, like many times in sports, great things aren’t as great as they really seem. One by one, all the aforementioned players fell from their baseball throne. Eventually, Braun, McGwire and Pettitte all apologized for their steroid use.

Then came the Alex Rodriguez PED allegations.

Rodriguez is set to come back to the New York Yankees this season after serving the longest drug suspension and longest non-lifetime ban suspension in baseball history.

While the Drug Enforcement Agency and Bud Selig were no longer breathing down his neck, the baseball community continued to stare A-Rod in the eyes, waiting for that Andy Pettitte moment.

Don’t hold your breath.

On Tuesday, Rodriguez issued a hand written statement for his involvement with performance enhancing drugs.

“I take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season,” Rodriguez said in the statement. “I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. To Major League Baseball, the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, the Players Association and you, the fans, I can only say I’m sorry.”

Cheated and betrayed. Yankees fans, baseball fans and sports fans deserved more than a letter. Alex Rodriguez had the perfect opportunity to start repairing a severely shattered relationship. He could have faced the media fire head on, inside Yankee Stadium, one of (if not the mecca of the baseball world).

Unfortunately Yankee Stadium sat empty Tuesday, while news outlets read and analyzed a note that stated the obvious.

Believe the sincerity, don’t believe the sincerity. Alex Rodriguez is back in pinstripes for a 162 game season, with his return to Yankee Stadium set for April 4 against the Toronto Blue Jays. And once the season’s underway, Rodriguez won’t be able to stay in the friendly confines of New York for too long.

The Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park will see you on May 1.

The post The Apology: Alex Rodriguez appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Although the Yankees missed out on resigning the superstar, the Bronx Bombers picked up the biggest new name in free agency with the signing of Masahiro Tanaka, a Japanese right-handed pitcher who is poised to become an ace in the American League.

The much-discussed Tanaka sweepstakes came to an end on Wednesday, as Tanaka has agreed to a 7-year, $155 million deal with New York, who reportedly edged the Chicago Cubs for the pitcher’s services.

For New York, this big signing is the latest in a string of offseason expenses, including the signings of Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury to multi-year deals.

While New York appears ready to compete for an AL East title in 2014, the Cubs remain dedicated to their ongoing rebuilding plans for the entire franchise.

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1. Fowl expletives against Selig

• Recently, Major League Baseball took over ownership of The Los Angeles Dodgers due to financial troubles plaguing the owner Frank McCourt and The Dodgers organization.  Frank McCourt has expressed some displeasure for the take-over by MLB commissioner Bud Selig and how the league is handling the situation.  The Dodgers organization were potentially discussing a huge deal with the FOX network that McCourt argues would virtually eliminate the controversy surrounding McCourt’s financial troubles and his divorce. The deal would bring close to 3 billion dollars to the organization over the next 17 years.  McCourt went on MSNBC this week and was quoted as saying, “I want to talk to Bud, and I want to know why he is ducking me!”  referring to how Bud Selig and the MLB are not trying to work with McCourt to solve the financial problem.  This is not the first time that the MLB has had to take over a team, most recently The Texas Rangers last season and the 2001 Montreal Expos which ultimately moved the team to Washington D.C.  Mr. McCourt is allegedly going to sue Major League Baseball for taking over the team.  McCourt’s fowl (great pun right?) language against Selig brings the Los Angeles Dodgers situation into our Bottom 5 for the second straight week.

2. $2, 445,680.00, is cheap according to Granger

• After the Chicago Bulls squashed the Indiana Pacers hopes of moving on to the next round of the NBA playoffs Tuesday night, Pacers forward, Danny Granger, had some choice words about big man for the Bulls, Joakim Noah.  Granger was quoted as calling Noah “cheap” and “cowardly.”  Referring to Noah taking cheap shots during the game against Pacers players such as Josh McRoberts, which ultimately resulted in McRoberts getting ejected from the game due to a retaliation.  Noah has become known for his ability to instigate technical fouls from other players due to his tough play and his demeanor during the game.  Hopefully Granger makes enough money to go and buy some tissues because after the sob fest that was his statements towards Noah, he is going to need quite a few.  Good thing the Pacers will have the entire offseason to have team therapy to blame.

3. Tweet Tweet, Shut Up!

• Todd Tichenor, home plate umpire during the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees game on Wednesday ejected White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen for arguing balls and strikes.  No big deal right?  Ozzie gets ejected all the time because of that loud, fiery mouth of his, so it should come as no surprise, but thanks to the unlimited access to the internet and social media via Twitter, Ozzie was not done.  He tweeted during the game on Twitter, “This one going to cost me a lot money, this is patetic” and “Today a tough guy show up a Yankee Stadium.”  Yes, those quotes are verbatim from Twitter and are exactly what he wrote.  Ozzie, we know you do not like umpiring when it goes against you, but if you are going to bash umpires and are going to make a rouse out of getting ejected, please, for Pete’s sake, at least use the common courtesy to spell things correctly and not look like a total idiot.  Thanks.

4. All-time Lowe

• The lowest of the low this week is just that.  Derek Lowe, opening-day starting pitched for the Atlanta Braves was arrested late Thursday night after making an illegal lane change.  The police officer that pulled him over smelled what he believed to be alcohol on Lowe’s breath so he made him do a sobriety test after Lowe refused to blow in the BAC indicator.  Any time a professional athlete is arrested for a DUI it is low, but rumors have spread since the accident that Lowe was actually involved in street racing.  Derek Lowe is 37 years old and a seasoned veteran in Major League Baseball.  It is unclear what the repercussions will be for Lowe.  This is not the way that a veteran leader like Lowe is supposed to act and that is why he breaks into the Bottom 5.  Lowe man, real Lowe!

5. Homophobic Remarks Not Just In Basketball

• According to a fan that attended an Atlanta Braves game this week in San Francisco against the Giants, pitching coach Roger McDowell made homophobic gestures and comments to heckling fans.  The content of the comments has forced the Atlanta Braves to place McDowell on administrative leave starting Friday April 29, 2011.  According to a report on AOL.com McDowell asked a group of fans in the outfield bleachers, “Are you a homo couple, or a threesome?” and then made an obscene sexual gesture with a baseball bat.  Are you kidding me? This homophobic blast from McDowell comes just barely 2 weeks removed from the controversy surrounding Kobe Bryant and his homophobic slurs directed at officials in the NBA.  Come on people, this is the year 2011, get with the program and start being more accepting

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