Super Bowl Prediction Time

People read the Iowa Blog Cabin for its hard-hitting, pull-no-punches analysis. For the Super Bowl, it's no different.

Sunday is going to be a good game. As a lifelong Steeler's fan, you can probably guess who I'm pulling for and who I think is going to win. Here's how it's going to happen...

I hope the Cardinals get the ball first.  This will let the Steelers' defense set the tone right off the bat for the game.  Warner gets rid of the ball pretty fast, so the challenge is going to be to put pressure on him.  They'll shut down the running game, forcing the Cardinals to throw - which they're good at.  But, they're going to throw more than they want to on Sunday which will lead to sacks, interceptions and fumbles. 

This will lead to the Steelers enjoying good field position with a short field - and reducing the pressure on Big Ben.  The Steelers' offensive line will eventually wear down the Cardinal defense, opening up an effective running game - watch for Willie Parker to have a very good game.

The real wildcard for the the Cardinals is Ken Whisenhunt.  He won a Super Bowl as the offensive coach for the Steelers.  He likes trickery and he knows how Big Ben - and Willie Parker thinks .  If they can pull off a trick play and intercept Roethlisberger, they have a real shot. 

In sum, the Steelers should win this game.  If Arizona wins the trick play, turnover, special teams, jedi-mindtrick battle - they have a fighting chance. 

Nevertheless, the Iowa Blog Cabin predicts - 24 - 13 - Steelers win.  Take it to the bank.

Read more...

Faith County

Over this last weekend, the Iowa Blog Cabin's Lifestyle and Culture editors traveled down to Glenwood, Iowa to take in the Glenwood High School's performance of "Faith County." Let us just begin in by saying - we were impressed. We could almost smell the odor wafting from the upwind stockyards, taste the bitter lemonade, feel the passion of the wedding ceremony and believe the thick southern drawls.

Perhaps we're a bit biased, but the performance of Leora Darrah as Naomi Farkell, stole the show. She lived the role. She was the role. She played the part of this small town southern beautician so well we were ready to call in and make an appointment for a beehive first thing this morning.

The only disappointment was we didn't get to see the bust of Abraham Lincoln from her presidential bust series that would have surely won the Art and Crafts competition at the Faith County fair. Great job, Leora!

Read more...

On the Road with the Iowa Blog Cabin...Las Vegas

My work has sent me to Las Vegas this week. Yeah, I know. It's rough. I'm staying at Paris Las Vegas - a nice hotel, if you've never been here. I took the pic of the Eiffel Tower last night. I love traveling (especially when it's not for work). Maybe I'm getting old, but I am really getting tired of flying. Correct that. I'm really getting tired of the other people who fly. I suppose if I was on my own private corporate jet, it wouldn't be a big deal at all to fly.

Case in point - yesterday. A flight from Dallas to Las Vegas - two hours and twenty-five minutes. I sit down (aisle seat, as always), turn off my phone, turn on my iPod (Winston Churchill, by John Keegan - audiobook) and get settled in.

As I'm looking down the aisle I noticed a really, really tall, skinny guy coming down the aisle. He stops next to me and begins to sit down in the aisle seat directly next to me. He sits down, knees practically on his chest, and opens a small backpack up. He pulls out these GIGANTIC headphones - I'm talking the size of those nerdy 80's style ear-muffs my mom use to make my sister's wear in the wintertime. He puts them on. I kind of chuckle. He reaches in the bag again and pulls out three small pillows and begins to strategically stuff them in the sides of the seat and behind him to, apparently, give him more support. Whatever. Once more, he reaches into the backpack and pulls out one of those 'U' shape neck pillows people sometimes use. You know, the ones that look like the miniature "boppy pillows" mothers use to feed their babies. He settles in. I roll my eyes and chuckle again.

He kind of squirms his body a little as if he was settling into the seat - and leans his head back - listening to "the Best of NPR," no doubt. Just when I was sure he was finished and the plane had just taken off, he reaches into his bag one last time...and pulls out a banana. Seriously. He peels back the banana, leans back, closes his eyes and eats the banana right there...it was sick.

I looked over at the guy immediately next to me on the plane - who had also been watching the scene, "What kind of guy eats a banana on an airplane? I asked. He laughed. "I have no idea," he said with a smile and a thick Texas accent

It was one of the weirdest things I've witnessed in a long time. A 7' tall man, on a plane, with a boppy pillow around his neck, listening to headphones - all while eating a banana with his eyes closed. Craziness.

Reporting live from Las Vegas, this is YOUR Iowa Blog Cabin.

Read more...