Dan Persa Heisman 2011 Kickoff

Here's an article from ESPN.com detailing our favorite Northwestern quarterback's road to recovery this offseason:

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/24165/northwesterns-dan-persa-on-his-way-back

Also, I know I asked at least Snuffles about this a while ago, and maybe Pituch too, but how do you rank the Northwestern QBs of the past ten to fifteen years?

Consider the possibilities.

Persa
Mike Kafka
Zak Kustok
Brett Basanez
Steve Schnur
... and several more I'm sure I'm forgetting.

For me, I think Kustok has to be #1, Baz #2, Persa #3, but they were all memorable players.

IU New Coach, Living in A Van in Memorial Stadium

This article from Indiana Daily Student is Awesome. Fodor find some pictures!

IDSnews.com | Ekeler’s arrival from Nebraska has him ‘living in a van down by the river’

For the last two months, through snow and ice and arctic winds, IU’s new co-defensive coordinator lived and slept inside an RV parked just beyond the south end zone of Memorial Stadium.

Every morning before dawn, Mike Ekeler emerged from his Holiday Rambler Navigator and clicked the remote to lock his temporary motorhome.

Determined to arrive in the weight room before his players, Ekeler would wake early and walk 100 yards along the FieldTurf to work.

He arrived in Bloomington on Jan. 4. Since then, he has been hustling from 5 a.m. to midnight, launching into a mission many would call impossible: Turning a team that has spent the last three years in the basement of the Big Ten into a powerhouse.
***

The grind of Big Ten football comes with sacrifices. New IU coach Kevin Wilson and his staff left successful programs to come to Bloomington, a program known mainly for its losses. Most coaches are separated from their families while they scramble to recruit and coach a team, while living out of temporary residences. They are all trying to settle into their new lives.

Ekeler, 39, traded his Cornhuskers red for the traditional IU crimson when he left his job at Nebraska, the latest in a line of stops at powerhouse programs — Oklahoma (’03-’04), LSU (’05-’07) and Nebraska (’08-’10) — to join IU.

IU hasn’t been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in 22 years. Nor have they won, or even shared, a Big Ten crown in 43 years. In fact, the Hoosiers won one Big Ten game in each of the last three seasons.

Ekeler’s rise to coaching success took just seven years, but after the 2010 Big 12 Championship game, the 39-year-old said he knew he needed a change.

In fall 2010, he told the Lincoln Journal Star that Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David, a kid who came from junior college ball, was the best linebacker in America.
He felt comfortable.

“If I had stayed, I would have become as big as my linebackers,” Ekeler said. “Instead of coaching, I would have gained 300 pounds. I’d’ve ate eight hot dogs and smoked two packs of Marlboro’s on game day because I would have nothing to coach. There was no challenge.”

A guy who once had a pet piranha, he likes life outside the comfort zone. So he left Nebraska for a program full of challenges.

Wilson said the team should perform at a successful level in the 2011 season.
“Then again talk is cheap,” Wilson said. “So the way we practice and prepare over time will show how we can be in the Big Ten.”

IU Athletics Director Fred Glass said Ekeler hasn’t even watched game tapes on his guys. He’s waiting to judge their on-field talents when spring ball starts at the end of March. Ekeler said he will work from 5 a.m. until midnight. He wants to change the program that has seen only eight bowl games in its 126-year history.

Ekeler said there’s no doubt in his mind that IU will turn it around.

“No, it’s going to happen,” Ekeler said. “The change starts this coming fall.”
***

A yellow electric cord wound from the left side of Ekeler’s Navigator to Memorial Stadium, giving the motorhome its power. He said he was a little disappointed he couldn’t hook up the sewage too.

“Oh, that uh, that there’s an RV ... it’s a good-looking vehicle, ain’t it?” Ekeler quoted from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when discussing the Navigator.

But unlike a Chevy Chase character, he’s not embarrassed by his RV — a Mother’s Day gift for his wife. On the University of Nebraska’s website, Ekeler said the Navigator is his third RV and it drives like his F150. The Navigator, white with champagne trim, is 45 feet long. Its MSRP lists at $592,649.

Dirk Ochs, Ekeler’s former K-State teammate, laughed when he heard Ekeler is living in his RV at Memorial Stadium. But he said he takes seriously Ekeler’s guarantee that the new coaching staff will change IU football into an elite program.

“When you go to a program that hasn’t had success and then you have success, there’s something to be said for that,” Ochs said. “We’ve done that before. That’s why all of us went to K-State — to build up a program that was never very good.”

Tom Osborne, Nebraska’s athletic director, said Ekeler would always boast with confidence before games against good teams.

“He’d think we were gonna win 50-0,” Osborne said. “It always made me feel good to talk to him, but it didn’t always turn out that well. However, I’d rather be around someone who is optimistic then always negative. Mike sees the glass half full.”
The comedy and charisma Ekeler used at K-State has never left him.

His new IU linebackers are already playing jokes on him, so he said the fun will continue. It’s who he is, it makes him happy and so does living in that RV.

“And I live in a van down by the river ... I’m going to live down by the river eating governmental cheese.”

“I’m a comedic coach,” Ekeler said after quoting a classic Chris Farley skit from “Saturday Night Live.”

According to Ekeler, a linebacker won’t amount to anything unless he laughs at his jokes.

“I kept a linebacker from playing for three games because he wouldn’t laugh at my jokes during a meeting,” Ekeler said about a former Nebraska player. “He just needed to figure it out. Now, the guy’s a linebacker for the New York Giants.”
***

The cherry wood of his new desk gleams with the morning sun. The back glass wall of his office gives Ekeler a view of the North End Zone. He hasn’t called the off-white rectangle his work space for more than a month, but already his four children, J.J., 10, Cameryn, 9, Abigail, 7, and Bella, 3, added a family touch.

On their first trip to their dad’s new office, they started to turn the place into home.
“I <3 you. You rock,” written in red marker, accompanied by a red smiley face with green eyes remained untouched in 3-week-old dry erase ink.

Eventually, the drawing will be replaced with names of players, opponents or the other work of a 5 a.m.-to-midnight job. Eventually, IU will become home. And Ekeler said he hopes eventually IU will turn into a championship team.

A video of a recruit played on an LG flat screen as Ekeler slightly reclined in his chair. Although the weather outside said 28 degrees, he said it feels tropical and those winds are nothing like the ones in Nebraska, or to Ekeler, “N-Alaska.”

As nice as the RV might be, the south end zone wasn’t a permanent location. Ekeler and his wife, Barbie, have already found a home near College Mall. Ekeler’s last night sleeping beside the football field in his Navigator was Sunday. He, Barbie and the kids moved into the new house Monday.

Even though his walk will increase from 100 yards and his home will no longer be powered by IU Athletics, Ekeler is determined to give his all to IU.

“We’re going to do it,” Ekeler said. “We have the right players and leaders. The staff really doesn’t care what happened in the past.”

Then with another laugh he added, “I’m an optimist. A three-quarters full kind of guy.”





Luckily he's not like this guy

Naked Man Arrested for Questioning Jay Cutler's Dedication

I think this article is hysterical. A naked man was arrested for running around questioning Jay Cutler's dedication in a parking lot. Really? How did this guy think this would end? That people wouldn't think he's a lunatic. I guess that is what makes him crazy. I think the only fitting end would be for Jay Cutler to show up and answer this guys questions. I mean doesn't he know who this guy is?

Chicago Becoming a White Sox Town?

Is Chicago becoming a White Sox town? I don't think so, don't think it ever will, but that is the point Gene Wojo tries to make on ESPN Chicago. I can understand where one might think the White Sox are making up ground in the city. Going back to the 2003 NLCS, the Cubs have lost 9 straight post season games while the White Sox are 12-4. If the White Sox make the playoffs this year it will be three times in 6 years, which is 1 more then the Cubs over that stretch. So based on performance, I can see why one would make that argumnet.

I also can understand how Cubs fans have mixed emotions about Tom Ricketts. It doesn't appear he has a vision for the team, but he keeps making changes to Wrigley. Cubs fans want a winner, and the verdict is still out on if Ricketts is going to spend to get a winner, or treat the Cubs as a business he plans to make money off of?

For these reason, I get why some people might say the White Sox could over take them, but I don't see it happening. Cubs games are an expierence, and people who don't love baseball will almost always choose the Cubs over the Sox for that expierence.

Top Chef Power Rankings (02/23/11)

Well, my Power Rankings get rocked again. #1 from last week was sent packing. I was surprised he did so poorly in the challenge. When he choose Angelo I felt good for him since they basically cook the same food and Angelo would be a great chef to have since he is very quick at prep work. Alas, Dale got overwhelmed by the amount of people at the event and undercooked his potatoes while over seasoning his crouton. He was sent home and we have a new #1 this week.

Overall I didn’t think the challenge seemed too hard. The southern style might have thrown some people off, but I think it was the amount of food the chefs had to prepare in the short amount of time that really hurt them.


In the Finals


1. Richard Blais



Richard, who apparently reminds Fabio of his ex-wife, won the elimination challenge and conceptualized the quickfire’s winning dish. Based on his good performance, he has vaulted to the top spot. If I could gamble on this, I would put my money on him. If I could choose the field or him, I’m taking him. With Angelo and Dale knocked out in consecutive weeks, I see no real challenger to him. I am a little worried he is too intense and is going to over think one of his dishes these days. I also think he needs to lay off the liquid nitrogen a little bit to show he has a more rounded set of cooking techniques.


2. Antonia Lofaso



Anotnia had another top finish this week. She has been making good and simple dishes and is looking like a lock to make the finale. I think she’s the only person who has a shot to knock off Richard, but I don’t think it’s a very good one. I do think she’s a better chef then she gets credit for. She makes simple dishes that lack some of the pizzazz that the other chefs have. However, her simple dishes taste good and that’s the only thing that matters.


Pretty Sure they’ll make the Finals


3. Carla Hall



Carla had a 2nd bad week in a row including her performance in the quickfire challenge. I still think she has a good shot of making the finale, but she can’t keep making dumb mistakes. I think she was too worried this week that she was cooking southern food which is her comfort zone. She was worried that everyone was expecting her to knock it out of the park, and honestly, she should have. Maybe not a challenge win, but at least a good showing. If you can’t do well in your comfort zone, what are you going to do well in? I see her making the finale, but not a serious contender to win.


Might miss the Final


4. Mike Isabella



Congrats to Mike for winning his 3 competition ever in Top Chef history. All 3 have been quick fire challenges. the first quick fire he won was a cactus challenge, and he was the only chef to have worked with cactus before. This win, he was “inspired by” (blatantly stole) an idea that Richard had discussed with him that morning. I’m sorry, but Mike is no way clever enough of a chef to put the oyster part of a chicken in an oyster shell without being inspired by someone else. I’m glad all the other chefs know, I just wish Richard was man enough to call him out on it. On top of all that, Mike wouldn’t have won the quickfire if Antonia wasn’t an idiot and forgot to make a second plate. So this will go down as the lamest victory in Top Chef History (Is there a worse one?).Mike finished in the top for the 2nd time this season (lowest of the remaining 5 chefs and lower than 4 chefs who have been eliminated). He has cruised along only make mistakes twice to put him in the bottom. I see him having enough talent to outlast Tiffany, but not enough skill to beat any of the other 3 chefs in front of him.


5. Tiffany Derry



Tiffany was on the bottom again. She still hasn’t won and has been surprised the past two weeks when her name wasn’t called. She made it exactly this far last season, 1 episode short of the finale (and Singapore). I think this is where she stops again. I hope she makes it and Isabella doesn’t but not the way they have been performing.

Top Chef Power Rankings (09/16/11)

My How quickly things can change just that quickly. The Top 2 in my Power Rankings finished in the bottom last night and Angelo got sent home. Just like that, everyone moves to a different spot in the rankings.

The episode last night was pretty good. The Muppets doing the cookie challenge was a little too childish for me, but I’m sure some people got their kicks out of it. I thought the Target Challenge was a fantastic idea and a very demanding challenge. The strategy in it was compelling. Do you find food first and then go find the things you need to make the food, or buy as much cooking and chopping things as you can before figuring out what you can make. All the running seemed a tad unnecessary, but it looked like every minute counted.


1. Dale Talde



How can Dale jump three spots and become number 1? Yes I know the two previous weeks he finished on the bottom and very easily could have been sent packing on the Jimmy Fallon challenge. The reason I have him number 1 is for his wins. He swept the show last night winning both the quickfire and the elimination challenge, the first time it has happened this season. He has three elimination challenge wins which is tied for the most with Carla. He has won 3 of the past 4 quickfire challenges and has another team challenge win. That’s 6 individual wins and 1 team win. The next closest competitor is Richard with 5 wins (2 elimination, 1 individual qucikfire and 2 team quickfires).


2. Richard Blais



Richard moves up a spot based on a strong performance from him and a poor performance from Carla. I do think Richard tried to take a short cut on his Ice Cream “Cookies” and glad the Muppets called him out on that. Initially I thought Dale was going to win the elimination challenge, but after hearing judges table, I started thinking they were going to pick Richard because he was the only chef to get two proteins done, both of which tasted well.


3. Antonia Lofaso



This was the hardest choice of the power rankings. Should I have Antonia or Carla in the three spot? Carla was on a tear with 3 wins and 2 other top finishes the previous 6 weeks, but had an awful week this week. Antonia the past three weeks finished with a win and two top finishes. Based on the logic of what have you done for me lately, I put Antonia over Carla. Antonia has had a crazy season and has only had to not face the judges 1 time, week 1. Every week since then, she has either been in the top (5 times with a 1 win) or the bottom (4 times). If she can avoid the faults that put her in the bottom, she could move on to the finale.


4. Carla Hall



As discussed before, I was really tempted to leave Carla in the top 3. She is tied for the most elimination wins, but seemed so out of wack yesterday. I don’t understand why she spent so long shopping for stuff to make her table display pretty. The judges were served at a completely different table. She lost focus and wasted most of her night and was unable to get flavors to develop. Had she started cooking 45 min to and hour earlier like the other chefs, the food could have come out better. I never felt like she was in danger of going home, but if she loses her focus by that much again, she could be going home.


Chopping Block


5. Mike Isabella



Mike continues to cruise in the middle. Nothing to great, nothing too bad. If he wants to make the final, he’s going to have to start cooking better than just OK food. I don’t see the other 5 chefs making large enough mistakes to allow him to sneak in. He does need to stop acting shocked in the stew room at every announcement. Clearly you opinion is nothing like the judges so stop overreacting. Him still being alive shocks me, I expected him to be long gone.


6. Tiffany Derry



When Tiffany burst into tears at the judges table, I thought for sure she was going to be sent home. When she’s cooking she doesn’t seem to be emotionally worn down, but as soon as the confessional hits, you can see the back to back seasons are starting to take their toll on her. Angelo mentioned that as he was leaving, he’s done 40 some challenges all close together now, and it was taking it’s toll on him. I don’t see Tiffany lasting much longer for this very same reason. If she can somehow make it the next two challenges and make the finals. Some time off may help her regroup before the finale and my thoughts on her chances to win might change, until then, I have strong doubts.

TOP CHEF POWER RANKINGS (02/09/11)

I know I know, I suck at life and haven’t written any power rankings since the first week. Ryan has been giving me extra crap for it. Time to turn it on for the final run.

Last week’s episode featured Jimmy Fallon as the special guest host/judge. I personally am not a fan of his but he did bring some interesting food choices for the Chefs to make. Fabio made a meatball hamburger that apparently tasted like meatloaf. His last second cheese addition put him over the top as the chef to go home. There are only 7 chefs left.

Topic for discussion. Any ideas on where the finalist will be headed? I’m guessing since this is All-Stars, and they’ve already shown that the show will go to international locations, I’m guessing they are going to Paris or Rome.


Top Shelf


1. Carla Hall



Carla won her 3rd challenge of the season. Over the past 6 weeks, she has been on an impressive run. All three of her wins have come, she’s had 2 other top finishes. The only blemish on her record over this stretch was 1 low finish. I am not sure if she has enough to bring home the crown, but if she keeps cooking the way she is, it’ll be hard to beat her.


2. Angelo Sosa



Angelo had another strong week, I actually was expecting his name to be called as the winner. Angelo has had 4 high finishes since winning the first 2, but has always been missing something to get him that elusive third win. I do think Angelo has what it takes to win the title. Last season, you could see Angelo showing signs of physical and mental fatigue. If he didn’t get sick in the finale, he could have won. This season, he is showing no signs of slowing down at all.


3. Richard Blais



Richard has been very hard on himself all season. He wants and expects to win every week. He has won twice with two other top finishes. His loan bottom finish was a team challenge where he worked with Fabio and Marcel on a meal that Marcel conceptualized. If I had to gamble money on the winner, I would still put it on Richard followed closely by Angelo.


Middle of the Pack


4. Dale Talde



Dale gets the 4 spot of Antonio because he has two challenge wins, two solo quickfire wins and one team quickfire win compared to Antonia’s one challenge win and one team quickfire win. I know Dale has had two back to back bottom finishes, but he is trying to avoid repeating his mistakes. He went from no taste or seasoning to over seasoning his Philly Cheese steak. I also think he has a better chance to win over Anotnia, but another bottom finish this week could send him packing.


5. Antonia Lofaso



Antonia followed up her 3 straight bottom finishes (one of which wasn’t her fault, but her teams) with a win and a top finish. She has been cooking very strong as of late, but as discussed before, doesn’t have as many wins as Dale so she is sitting at 5. I could easily see her jumping Dale and even Richard with another strong performance this week.


Chopping Block


6. Tiffany Derry



I do find it interesting that the two contestants from season 7 have made it to the top 7. I was expecting both the chefs to be worn down from the quick turnaround of the two seasons. However, maybe they were more prepared for this season then the other chefs. Tiffany is starting to doubt herself, which obviously is never a good thing. She’s been very up and down this season with 3 top finishes and 3 bottom finishes over the past 6 weeks. If she can get her confidence back I can see her making the finale, but if she can’t, I can easily see her being sent packing this week.


7. Mike Isabella



Mike has been a pretty consistent performer all season. He has been safely in all but 3 weeks with 1 high finish that was followed up by back to back low finishes. He has won 1 quickfire this season. I can’t say he’s really done anything bad to be placed on the bottom, but everyone else is performing better.