Iowa football players released from Hospital

Kirk Ferentz/thematadorsports.com

We've been following this strange story all week. The last of the 13 University of Iowa football players who were admitted to the hospital last week after over-exerting during a workout, have been released.

There was a ton of concern both in Iowa and nationally after the players were admitted with symptoms of rhabdomyolysis which affected their kidneys. The players, allegedly, had been subject to a weightlifting drill and apparently pushed to the point of exhaustion.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz caught a lot of heat for not coming back from a recruiting trip when it happened and for the schools seemingly slow response to the issue. Ferentz wouldn't talk about it publicly, until Sunday.

Read the newspaper story from thegazette.com RIGHT HERE

We are still shaking are heads and wondering what the heck is going on up in Iowa. Between this and the rumored...and reported drug problems on the football team, it almost sounds like someone doesn't have control of things. We won't cast aspersions....yet. But someone has some 'splainin' to do. Thus far Ferentz and AD Gary Barta haven't exactly been fountains of information, we'll see if that changes.

Your statement from the school on this past weeks events: (ctsy: hawkeyesports.com)

"Getting all 13 student-athletes healthy and out of the hospital has been priority number one all along, so I'm very happy that they all are now back home and resuming their lives," said Kirk Ferentz, the UI's head football coach. "These young men and their families have been through a difficult and trying time. They are under my supervision and watch, and I am truly sorry for what they've experienced. They trained extremely hard and ended up in the hospital, and there is no indication they did anything wrong. So I'm pleased they are progressing well and I look forward to seeing all of them being back to normal." The University's athletics department earlier had confirmed the release of five student-athletes Friday. Six more were discharged on Saturday, and the final two were sent home on Sunday. "Now that these students are out of the hospital and on the road to recovery, we can devote our full attention to determining what happened, and making sure it does not happen again," said Ferentz. "There has been a lot of speculation by those who don't have the facts and it is unfair and inappropriate for anyone to make wild guesses about what happened."

"We obviously are extremely pleased all of our student-athletes have been released from the hospital and can begin the return to their academic, athletic, and personal lives," said Gary Barta, the UI's director of athletics. "We now can focus exclusively on discovering the root cause of this situation, and I'm anxious to work with President Mason's group to this end. We will review every aspect of the workouts and talk with everyone involved. The staff and coaches who work with these young men are highly respected professionals who are dedicated and care deeply about our student-athletes. I hope those who follow our program will respect this process moving forward and refrain from any further unproductive rush to judgment."

Here is a video of the Iowa workout program--which is what started this mess:

Iowa Promises Probe Of Hospitalized Players

((HT: WHO-TV Des Moines))

The University of Iowa is ordering an investigation into what caused 13 football players to be hospitalized with a muscle disorder during offseason workouts.

Board of Regents President David Miles and school President Sally Mason call the case "a cause for grave concern."

The school will take the next three months to complete an investigation. The results will be presented to the Board of Regents.

The players have been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that involves the release of muscle fiber into the bloodstream and can cause liver damage. It can be
caused by physical exertion...

Which sounds really creepy...

WHO-TV raises an interesting question...
 

The Board of Regents released a statement on their own...
Here it is, thanks to our friends at KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids...

Gary Curtis, over at Sportingnews.com, says that the tests of the players for illegal drugs came back negative, but that doesn't rule out the idea of the above WHO-TV story.

Head Coach Kirk Ferentz met with pissed off parents Wednesday night and is looking to return to the hospital tomorrow.

From Curtis:
“Kirk took a lot of (stuff),” the source said. “But he stood there and took it all. He’s been incredibly remorseful about the whole thing.”

Iowa football players Hospitalized allegedly due to workouts

Iowa Mascot?//Courtesy: sports.legends.com

We aren't 100-percent sure, because the University isn't saying specifically what caused a dozen players to go to the hospital Monday night.

However, the Cedar Rapids Gazette is. According to the paper, the players are suffering from exertional rhabdomyolysis, essentially the result of the muscles being too overworked.

Thankfully, the players are recovering.

Read the Gazette's story RIGHT HERE

The one thing the school will admit to, is that the players were participating in allowable NCAA winter workouts. All good. They might want to consider lightening those workouts a bit.

This has not been the best run of luck for the Hawkeye's. Between the rash of marijuana arrests in December leading up to their bowl game, to Adam Robinson, one of those players trying to get back on the team and now this, they haven't gotten a lot of positive publicity.

Who knows what or why this has all been happening. Up until then, the program generally wasn't in the news very much. Now they are. Could there be a run of questionable recruits up there? Could coach Kirk Ferentz be losing control? Hard to say. Either way, they need to get there act together, fairly quickly, or they are going to be lumped in with other programs in competition for such titles as the dreaded "Fulmer Cup".

Your TV version of this story from our friends at KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids:

Iowa Hospitalizes 12 Football Players

((HT: WHO-TV Des Moines))

Twelve Iowa football players are recovering after being admitted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Monday with a rather lengthy-titled condition called "exertional rhabdomyolysis."

The condition is a breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. In serious cases, it could affect the kidney’s ability to clear the toxins and has potential for permanent kidney failure.

All Iowa players admitted are doing fine, according to a source close to the situation.

A University of Iowa staff physician and football team physician confirmed that the student-athletes were responding well to treatment.

“The student-athletes were admitted throughout the course of Monday evening,” said the UIHC staff physician. “All of the individuals are responding well to treatment as of Tuesday morning. All are in safe and stable condition. At this time we are not sure when any of the individuals will be discharged. Hospital discharge will be on a case by case basis.”

AD Gary Barta said that the university will do what it takes to make sure the situation never happens again to the athletes.

Here's the update... John Bachman takes the lead...
 

And here's help from Cedar Rapids and our friends at KCRG-TV


The HQ would like to know how it happened en masse in the first place, but we gather because of doctor-patient confidentiality that we may not get any true answers...

Hawkeyes Outduel Mizzou In The Desert. Iowa Wins Insight Bowl

Replay was not the Mizzou Tigers friend in Tempe, AZ

Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed a 4th down pass to T.J. Moe to keep the Mizzou drive alive however after further review it was overturned. Watch below and you be the judge.

(Thanks ESPN/Youtube.com)



That play secured Iowa's 27-24 Insight Bowl win over Mizzou, the Hawkeyes third straight bowl win, a school record.

More from our friends at KCRG-TV Cedar Rapids, Iowa



Iowa's Marcus Coker was awesome running for 219 yards on 33 carries and named Offenisvie Player of the Game and Coker is just a freshman. Like any good running back Coker thanked the big guys on the offensive line.

"I already knew before the game that the O line was going to do a great job." Coker said after the game. "I was pretty comfortable after the first couple plays. I felt like I was a little bit more comfortable than I was before that."

"We are really proud of what Marcus did tonight and it was a big part of the win." Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said."We felt like we needed him to run the ball for us to have a chance in this one."

The Iowa Hawkeye's have some off the field issues...

Kirk Ferentz/Courtesy: coacheshotseat.com

And the hits keep coming. Iowa, a team that did what it normally does this season, start strong and fade down the stretch is now doing it's best imitation of team about to implode.

The teams all-time leading receiver, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was arrested last month on drug charges. Now comes word that running back Jewel Hampton is leaving the team and running back Adam Robinson has been suspended for the teams bowl game, the Insight.com bowl.

More from the Des Moines Register RIGHT HERE

There are also rumors flying around that there are possibly more suspensions coming and Athletic Director Gary Barta even admitted today that they may have a "Problem" with the schools drug testing program.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, fallout comes from this. Iowa has periodically had some trouble with wayward athletes and it sounds like that might be coming back.

Here's the press conference featuring coach Kirk Ferentz and AD Gary Barta. Thanks KCRG-TV:




Here is the presser in full for those with interest. Thanks again KCRG:

The Big 10 Has A New Logo And Divided Into Leaders And Legends

The mathematically challenged Big Ten Conference, which will have 12 teams next year, unveiled the conferences new logo Monday.

It's a nice looking logo, simple and well done.

"Its contemporary collegiate lettering includes an embedded numeral "10" in the word "BIG," which allows fans to see "BIG" and "10" in a single word." Michael Gericke said who along with Michael Bierut of the international design firm Pentagram designed the Big Ten's new logo. "Memorable and distinctive, the new logo evolved from the previous logo's use of negative space and is built on the conference's iconic name, without reference to the number of member institutions."

Which is 12, two more than 10.

Big Ten commish Jim Delany gave it a thumps up.

"We think the new logo is fun and has something for everyone." Delany said in a release from the Big Ten Conference.

It's a logo, it has nothing for me.

Is it me or is their something subliminal about the "I" and "G" in "BIG"? Kind of looks like the number 16. Is that the number the 10/12 ultimately wants?

The new division names are far more confusing that what the ACC concocted five years ago.

The division names are the "Leaders" and "Legends".

"'Legends' is a nod to our history and to the people associated with our schools who are widely recognized as legends - student-athletes, coaches, alumni and faculty." The Big Ten commish Delany said. "'Leaders' looks to the future as we remain committed to fostering leaders, the student-athletes who are encouraged to lead in their own way for the rest of their lives, in their families, in their communities and in their chosen professions,"

Here's the breakdown:

LEGENDS: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern

LEADERS: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin

Next a new fancy name for the Big Ten Championship Game. How about the "Dozen Bowl" since you refuse to acknowledge their is 12 teams in your conference.

Branding is everything.

Here's a video of the annoncement of the new logo and division names. (Thanks Big Ten Conference/Youtube.com)

Iowa's leading receiver facing drug charges...

Derrell Johnson-Koulianos/Courtesy: liz martin-the gazette

We know one Iowa Hawkeye who won't be playing in a bowl game this year. Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, the team's leading receiver and in fact the school's all-time leader in receptions was arrested Tuesday after police found cocaine, marijuana and other prescription drugs in his house.

The charges, all seven of them, are misdemeanors and Johnson-Koulianos posted bail late Tuesday night. As for football, his coach, Kirk Ferentz suspended him from all team activities.

Read more from the Gazette.com RIGHT HERE

Read the article closely, because there was something towards the end that made us raise our collective eyebrows. Apparently Ferentz banned Johnson-Koulianos from speaking to the media this season. And in fact, he benched him last week for the season ending game against Minnesota.

Make one wonder exactly why these rules were in place, specifically for him. If he was their best player, he should be available and wouldn't be benched unless someone might have known there might be a problem before that problem came to a head. We aren't making any accusations here, it just sounds a bit fishy.

KCRG-TV in Des Moines has your video story:



Here's WHO-TV's take on the story...
 

Ashton Kutcher may cause Iowa an NCAA violation....(Updated 6:25pm)

Kutcher and Moore//Courtesy: andrea melendez-desmoines register.com

Aw geez. There are more jokes here than we have time to write about. How often can we use the name Ashton Kutcher and be talking about sports anyway?

It appears the University of Iowa allowed two high school basketball recruits to meet Kutcher and wife/cougar Demi Moore last month during a home football game. The meeting also included a couple of former basketball players who had graduated several years ago.

Yes, we know the violations are minor, but it really is kind of funny. However the NCAA doesn't have much of a sense of humor about it. And if you read further, though Iowa claims the meetings were inadvertent, the local newspaper has some proof that it wasn't necessarily the case. Oh, and check out the documentation in the paper's story too.

Read more from the DesMoinesRegister.com RIGHT HEREs

((Update 6:25pm on 11/1--According to the University, the NCAA accepted their apology. We still think the whole thing is stupid. Here's the Register's story RIGHT HERE

If this is true, its beyond stupid. We don't believe they were inadvertent, either. No, this isn't a "Major" violation, but the NCAA needs to step up and say something here.

However, we also realize that USC has been indirectly utilizing guys like...oh Will Ferrell for years. No, there may not be "Arranged" meetings, but there, we are guessing implications, that if a recruit comes here, you may get to meet these..."Famous Alums".

Enjoy the trailer from Kutcher's movie, Killers, one that...well...didn't exactly "Kill" at the box office. Thanks hollywoodstreams/YouTube:

Josh Koeppel of Iowa gets plowed at intersection and walks away...

Josh Koeppel/Courtesy: univ. of Iowa

((ht: thewizofodds.com))

This should be a bit of a wake-up call to a college's who let their players ride around campus on scooters.

Iowa offensive lineman Josh Koeppel got a scare on Monday morning while riding downtown on his scooter. A pickup truck turned into an intersection, apparently not seeing Koeppel, and plowed right into him.

More from Gazetteonline.com RIGHT HERE

Thankfully, Koeppel walked away with a few cuts and scrapes. He's lucky.

We've seen the scooters that a lot of college players use to get around. For the most part they are fairly responsible with them. In Koeppel's case he was, though he was in the downtown area as opposed to campus. He had the right of way.

Either way, scary stuff.

Our friends at the wizofodds.com have some dash cam video from an Iowa City police officer who saw the whole thing.

Check it out:

TWTW: Iowa's Downward Spiral Continues, Loses To Ohio State

((HT: WBNS-TV))

It took overtime to do it, but Ohio State punched their ticket to the Rose Bowl with a 27-24 victory over Iowa in Columbus.

No Ricki Stanzi for the Hawkeyes... and it showed...
James Vandenburg was picked off three times- the last one in overtime to give Ohio State the win.

It'll be the first time in 13 years that TOSU is going to the Grandaddy...

Here's The Sweater's postgame, thanks to our friends at WBNS-TV

TWTW: Iowa May Have Lost Ricki's Number, Lose To Northwestern

((HT: MyABC5/Des Moines))

Dan Persa threw a touchdown pass and Marshall Thomas recovered a fumble for another touchdown, and Northwestern snapped No. 8 Iowa's 13-game winning streak with a 17-10 victory on Saturday.

It was the first win over a top-10 opponent for the Wildcats (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten) since knocking off then-No. 6 Ohio State 33-27 in overtime in 2004.

Iowa lost quarterback Ricky Stanzi to an apparent ankle injury early in the second quarter.

Freshman James Vandenberg was just 9 of 27 for 82 yards filling, and couldn't lead the Hawkeyes (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) to any points after Stanzi left the game.

Here's your highlights and post, thanks to our friends at ABC5 in Des Moines again...
Eric Murphy got to stnad in front of a monitor...
Dave Zawalinski was at Kinnick...

TWTW: Iowa Takes 3 Quarters Off, Beats Indiana

((HT: KWWL-TV))

Ricky Stanzi overcame a career-high five interceptions to throw two long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, helping No. 7 Iowa rally for a 42-24 victory over Indiana on Saturday.

Brandon Wegher had a career-high 118 yards rushing and three TDs for the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten), who scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to pull off yet another improbable win.

Stanzi threw four interceptions in the third quarter alone, allowing Indiana (4-5, 1-4) to take a 24-14 lead into the fourth quarter. Stanzi responded by hitting Marvin McNutt for a 92-yard touchdown passes and, moments later, connected with Derrell Johnson-Koulianos from 66 yards to put Iowa ahead 28-24 with 11:38 left.

Wegher made it 35-24 on a 6-yard TD run and added a 27-yard score with 1:12 remaining. Ben Chappell had 227 yards passing and two touchdowns to lead Indiana, which blew a 25-point lead in a loss at Northwestern last week.

Here's Mark Woodley sitting at his desk with highlights...
He tosses to Rick Coleman at Kinnick...
((HT: KWWL-TV))

TWTW: Stanzi Rolls A Seven As Time Expires, Iowa Stays Unbeaten 15-13

((HT: MyABC5.com/Des Moines))

Ricky Stanzi connected with Marvin McNutt for a 7-yard touchdown pass as time expired and No. 7 Iowa remained undefeated with a 15-13 victory against Michigan State on Saturday night.

The Hawkeyes are 8-0 for the first time in school history and have sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

Iowa (4-0 Big Ten) has won 12 straight dating back to last season, the second-longest streak in the nation.

Michigan State (4-4, 3-2) had grabbed a 13-9 lead with 1:37 remaining when Kirk Cousins hit Blair White on a 30-yard touchdown. But the Hawkeyes stormed back with a sharp, game-winning drive led by Stanzi.

Those of us at OSG HQ would like to know who Kirk Ferentz made his deal with before the season started...

Here's your postgame wrap from Des Moines...
Dave Zawalinski is somewhat breathless trying to make slot...

TWTW: Iowa Scores 20 Unanswered, Beats Wisconsin 20-10

((HT: WKOW-TV/Madison, WI))

Trailing by a touchdown at halftime, the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) began the third quarter by turning an interception into a tying touchdown pass from quarterback Ricky Stanzi to tight end Tony Moeaki.

Iowa took the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Adam Robinson early in the fourth quarter, and the Hawkeyes' defense kept the Wisconsin Badgers scoreless in the second half.

After appearing vulnerable to the run early on, Iowa's defense clamped down on Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2) and running back John Clay, who might have been slowed by a second-quarter leg injury after a big first quarter.

Clay finished the game with 75 yards rushing.

Here's your game wrap from ABC27 in Madison
Jake Zimmerman got to stand outside and talk while freezing...

TWTW: Iowa Causes Wolverine Blackout 30-21

((HT: Des Moines Register/Logue))

The Iowa Hawkeyes’ have their first 6-0 start since 1985 — not to mention their first victory against the Wolverines since 2003.

“We still have a lot of things we can work on,” quarterback Ricky Stanzi said. “And that’s an exciting thing.”

Tony Moeaki, who missed the previous three weeks, started the party with a 34-yard catch and run in the first quarter, then added a 42-yard score with 12:56 left in the fourth period, putting Iowa ahead 30-21.

“It’s tough to sit out,” said Moeaki, who finished with six receptions for 105 yards. “I’ll definitely savor this game.”

Moeaki thwarted a Michigan defense intent on stifling the Hawkeyes’ rushing attack, and enabled Stanzi to shrug off another streaky performance.

“Good to see Tony back, for a lot of reasons,” coach Kirk Ferentz said. “He really is a guy everybody looks up to because of his toughness.”

Here's your post-game from indoors, thankas to our friends at ABC-5 in Des Moines

TWTW: Iowa Wins 7th Of Last 8 Against Penn State

((HT: WOI-TV/Des Moines))

Iowa slugged out an ugly win in soggy Happy Valley to upset Penn State for the second straight year.

Adrian Clayborn returned a block punt for a touchdown and the Hawkeyes beat mistake-prone No. 5 Penn State 21-10 on Saturday night.

A year after a stunning 24-23 win knocked the Nittany Lions out of the national title race, the Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) took down Penn State (3-1, 0-1) again, this time in a drenching rainstorm.

"It was a team loss. No one person, or one play lost it," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "We got licked."

Here's Dave Zawilinski standing in front of a video monitor for some highlights