Tough break

It seems like the past few months, all Iowa State fans have heard about the breaks the football team hasn’t been able to get. On Wednesday night, another went against the Cyclones, this time in basketball. Lucca Staiger, a freshman guard from Germany, was ruled ineligible for the 2007-08 basketball season. Talking with Staiger this morning, you could tell the news was shocking to him.
“I still don't really understand what the point is of this whole situation because I don't feel like I did anything wrong," Staiger said.
The situation is definitely an odd one. Staiger, who played three years with the Ehingen Club in Germany, was part of a team that had two of its players paid. Staiger and at least one other player has been ruled ineligible for now.
What is tough to take in about this situation is what happens to the six-foot, five-inch, 220 pound guard. I spent some time around the Cyclone basketball team this summer. Staiger was a guy I saw a lot of. Whether it was in the weight room or in the gym, he was defiantly a guy coach Greg McDermott was looking at for the guard position.
I remember running in Staiger along with freshman Clayton Vette and a number of other guys on the team. He was in the first row with some other basketball players after the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game cheering them on as Bret Culbertson was being carried off the field. Anyone could tell he just wanted to be a part of the team.
For now it looks like that’ll have to wait.

A little help?

In todays Daily, I wrote about the versatility of wide receiver Marquis Hamilton. The guy is catching passes, running the ball, hitting on special teams and almost threw a pass to Bret Meyer in the Cyclone’s game with Oklahoma. What a lot of fans don’t realize is that while Hamilton is out and about on special teams, he’s not the only starter. Senior wide receiver Todd Blythe is back in punt returns, Alvin Bowen is constantly roaming around, and Allen Bell is going after opponents full speed. Special teams was a problem coach Gene Chizik has been trying to fix all year. Alex Sandvig was having trouble handling punt returns, so he put in Blythe. They had trouble making tackles, he inserted Bowen. Now, what happens with kicker Bret Culbertson? Culbertson has made 8 of 14 field goal attempts on the season and Chizik said he has no one else. Earlier in the season he talked about how limited the Cyclones were in terms of depth. I think we’re really starting to see what he means by that now.

Close doesnt count

Fans were happy to see a close game and reporters were happy to write about a good game. The only people upset about Saturday's Oklahoma vs. Iowa State football game, the Cyclones.
During coach Gene Chizik's Monday press conference, the Cyclone's coach talked about missed field goals, dropped passes, and bad penalites. He said he's not into moral victories.
There were a lot of big positives that came out of Saturday's game. Iowa State's defense help the Sooners to zero points in first half, but an ever bigger thing could have happened that afternoon, a Cyclone's win.

Oklahoma vs. Iowa State, fourth quarter

Oklahoma interception in the end zone. Does Iowa Sate have another stop in them? The Cyclones had their shots. Meyer was not able to connect on a mass to Sumrall in the end zone. I’ve got to head down to Jacobson soon to do interviews. Check out a recap on the game at the Daily’s web site. www.iowastatedaily.com
Oklahoma 14, Iowa State 7.

Oklahoma vs. Iowa State, fourth quarter

Another play reviewed. An Iowa State catch that brought the ball down to the 30-yard line. The refs have spent more time watching t.v. during today's game then a five year old during Saturday morning cartoons.

Oklahoma vs. Iowa State, fourth quarter

Another fourth down attempt? The Cyclones have the ball on the Sooner’s 35 yard line and are short one yard. Down by seven with 12:02 remaining in the game, Chizik called a timeout. Should he for it or is there enough time still?
Oklahoma 14, Iowa State 7.

Oklahoma at Iowa State, fourth quarter

After three quarters, who would have thought Iowa State would be in tied with Oklahoma? At this point during the 56-3 loss to Texas, most fans were watching the remainder of the game from home or had already started thinking about Wesley Johnson’s jump shot.
Brown and DeMarco Murray continue to run the ball well. Oklahoma is starting to move the ball well but Bradford can’t get off a deep pass. A few drops mixed in with several over and under throw passes have stopped the Sooner’s from reaching the end zone.
Oklahoma 7, Iowa State 7.