…on its April Fools treasure map. (If you drag the spyglass/Street View icon in the area, you will see blue dots for NOAA pictures taken in the debris field. However, these are not accurately placed because they are too far apart from each other.)
Nothing interesting sighted in Iowa, though.
I don’t have time to go into the column, but here is a piece that is worth reading. Also, it has a picture of Anna Prins and Chelsea Poppens losing horribly fighting valiantly against Baylor.
We’re using V’s again! Also, it would appear we’re getting close to the end of the A’s. I hadn’t been out much so I hadn’t seen much in the way of new character sets.
This from an Ohio State walk-on/graduate/fan.
In their last five tournament appearances, the Cyclones have lost to three national champions, a 15-seed, and a team that needed a buzzer-beater from a 30 percent 3-point shooter. Plus, at this point it’s a proven fact that referees hate Iowa State, and its loss to Ohio State is the fifth time this season the Cyclones lost on the final possession.
And with that, Iowa State fans across the country just punched their computer screens.
I had a book called Facts-ination that led off with stories about toll-takers on the Golden Gate Bridge. If you couldn’t afford the toll, they would be willing to take other items — even a Christmas tree — and would give them back if the driver returned to pay.
Starting today, that won’t be possible, because vehicles will no longer stop. All tolling will be electronic. That’s going to be a pain for out-of-state and rental vehicle drivers, but there’s not much you can do.
Here’s a story about the toll-takers on the Mercury News website, including the last one paid by hand, from a bridge committee officer who was driving a 1937 Packard that crossed the bridge when it opened.
March 17, 2012: Aplington-Parkersburg’s Chelsea Poppens, center, has been a core member of the ISU women’s basketball team. She will be missed.
The basketball gods have come up with a new way to taunt Iowa State: Plunge into a deep deficit in the second half, mount a spectacular comeback that puts ISU in the lead late and gives fans a glimmer of hope, and then … BOOM. It happened twice within 36 hours.
It’s uncanny, really. With 6 minutes left to go in the men’s game against Ohio State, ISU was down by 13 and Melvin Ejim had twice missed the front end of one-and-ones. With 7 minutes left in the second half of the women’s game against Georgia, ISU was down by 10 and Chelsea Poppens had been called for a foul resulting in a turnover for a second time in a row.
The women climbed back from a total of 14 points down after a miserable start to the second half, getting outscored 19-5 in 11 minutes and 23 seconds, then outscoring Georgia 19-1 in the next 6:05, then giving up two quick Bulldog 3s. Similarly, the men’s run was 19-5 until Will Clyburn was called for the charge that wasn’t. In both cases, the end of the run had Iowa State ahead by 1 — ISU 75, OSU 74 (1:41 remaining); ISU 59, Georgia 58 (1:17 remaining).
The only difference in the last minute was that the women’s game ended in familiar fashion — lose lead, foul, free throws, miss shots, foul, free throws, game over — and the men’s game ended … that way. (Since it’s going to be played from now to eternity, I just wish it had been a true buzzer beater.) The only saving grace is that the men’s comeback over Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament didn’t end the same way, since that was crucial in earning an at-large bid.
Links: ISU-centric AP story; Georgia-centric AP story; Des Moines Register story; and an ESPN piece about a “Big day for Big 12” because both Kansas and Oklahoma pulled off upsets. Kansas is in the Sweet 16 as a double-digit seed for the second year in a row. Unfortunately, the Cyclones are left out of the party.
Georgia has now defeated Bill Fennelly in the NCAA Tournament three times. The Bulldogs set their season record for 3-point shots Monday, with 12, after averaging 4.4 a game.
Both teams showed tremendous fight during the regular season and into the postseason. Congratulations to the teams and especially the seniors.
What’s the highway significance of this closure? Grand Avenue was part of Iowa’s first numbered route system and remained that way until I-35 opened in 1958 (save for the winter of 1931-32). The bridge being replaced carried US 32 and then IA 90 before being turned over to the city.
Ohio State 78, Iowa State 75. ISU had a 13-point comeback and played the entire second half without Chris Babb.
I know games like this don’t happen just to Iowa State, but they always happen to Iowa State. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Michigan State game and the blarge. Tom Izzo has acknowledged that game as being the de facto championship in the 2000 tournament.
UPDATE: Nominee for the most ill-timed sports tweet of the year, and the follow-up three minutes later:
Mike Hlas @Hlas
Iowa State cannot say the officiating hurt it today.
OK, for 38.5 minutes Iowa State cannot say officiating hurt it today.
This writeup from Rush the Court is a good exploration of the “big picture implications” of the loss on the ISU program.
In the end, a team predicted to finish eighth in the Big 12 finished fifth and then took the second-place team in the Big Ten down to the wire. ISU was one of the 32 best teams in the country, and we can be proud of that much.
The Iowa State women won their road game at Gonzaga despite committing 21 turnovers. The next game will be against Georgia, which clubbed the Cyclones by 20 in the second round in Minneapolis in 2007.
Two years in a row, the Kansas women’s basketball team barely made it into the NCAA Tournament. Two years in a row, the first opponent was a former member of the Big 8/12. Last year it was Nebraska, and the Jayhawks won. This year, it was Colorado in Boulder, and the Jayhawks won.
After routing, stomping, dispatching, and drilling/pummeling Notre Dame 76-58 in the late game in Dayton, Iowa State will play Ohio State in the first game of Sunday’s NCAA Tournament action, at 11:15 CDT — about 36 hours after the first game ended.
A 28-hour turnaround in the Big 12 Tournament last week didn’t go well.
This will be the fourth time in five appearances that Iowa State has encountered an opponent in its home state. The outlier was the 2001 loss to Hampton in Boise.
In addition, the ISU women are playing a road game at Gonzaga this afternoon.
