FB: American Rivers Conference

[seventiesraider]

Good luck Dutch, keep the dream alive. Can't promise any nicer weather in Ohio in December.

[DustySJU]

Having not seen Central in a few years it is tough to say.  I think for Bethel to win we need to hold you guys under 14.

I'd have to say for Bethel to win, they'd need to hold Central to 7 or less.  Central's D is just nasty.

Central has a nice D but I wouldn't put them in the category of nasty.  They were certainly good enough to keep SJU out of the endzond however the Johnnies were back to their crappy selves last Saturday.

The Johnnies anticipated running their base offense and defense and Central was extremely prepared for old school SJU football.  Good for the Dutch, they called the Johnnies on their bluff. 

Dutch will still beat Bethel tomorrow based alone on their offense.  That's the key for Central, their very efficient offense.

I hope the weather is good and crappy for everyone tomorrow.

Developing....

[Dsquared]

Having not seen Central in a few years it is tough to say.  I think for Bethel to win we need to hold you guys under 14.

I'd have to say for Bethel to win, they'd need to hold Central to 7 or less.  Central's D is just nasty.

Central has a nice D but I wouldn't put them in the category of nasty.  They were certainly good enough to keep SJU out of the endzond however the Johnnies were back to their crappy selves last Saturday.

The Johnnies anticipated running their base offense and defense and Central was extremely prepared for old school SJU football.  Good for the Dutch, they called the Johnnies on their bluff. 

Dutch will still beat Bethel tomorrow based alone on their offense.  That's the key for Central, their very efficient offense.

I hope the weather is good and crappy for everyone tomorrow.

Developing....
[/quote

Yet another SJU fan that can't admit that the Central D took SJU out of their offense.  Central does have a nasty defense... and they made Kofoed and the Johnnies look plain ugly.

Developed and done.

[Old Dutch]

What time does UNI play their game.  That maybe some trouble to get the field and there is the trouble of getting teams to the UNI Dome.  So I don't see that as a viable option.  If it is as bad as the predictions it might be a 0-0 game going to OT.

Come on now DF04, no 0-0 if nothing else the D will give us a short field a couple times with a turnover and the seniors on O  WILL get it in the endzone!

GO DUTCH

Bethel fans, if your not already in Central Iowa, have a safe and incident free drive down I35.  Seems like the weather is moving back a little time wise, more late-morning for the ice than the 6:00 a.m. previous forecasts.  Good Luck to All

[sportsknight]

Wasn't there a game a couple years ago that Central had to move to Southeast Polk or somewhere because the then-natural grass field was a mess.  Seems to me I remember it being a very early season game.

Both teams are already in town, so they'll play the game unless it is really bad.  If I remember right, Whitewater hosted a national semifinal game last year the weekend a huge blizzard went through (and would have dropped the first snow on the southern part of Iowa).  Something like 14 inches of snow in the Whitewater/Janesville area and they still played it.

That said, everyone that's travelling to the game be careful out there.  As much as I'm sure you'd love to see the Dutch win and move on, it isn't worth having it be the last game you'll see.  This week more than any other, there are plenty of options for knowing what's happening aside from actually being in Pella.  As we in the radio biz sometimes say, we'd rather be talking with you than about you.

And as far as Walston having a Central shirt, I've seen the photographic evidence to prove it.  Hell, I might even put the picture online sometime if I feel like it.

[Airborne Dutch]

SK, the game that was played at SE Polk was against BV because the week before we played Augie during a 4 day thunderstorm. The BV game also started the slide of '03 for the Dutch. Be careful travelling today. DutchHawk and D1, enjoy the Natty Light.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

If the weather is as bad as the gloom and doom media is making it out to be, I doubt I'll be making the trip down 163. Good luck to the Dutch. If I make it I'll be decked out in Wartburg gear. Maybe I'll put a Central shirt on underneath.
On a side note. New pictures of "The W" are up.
http://www.wartburg.edu/wellness/112807/index.htm

"Wartburg College and the City of Waverly are partnering in an innovative project to benefit both the college and community. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2007, the Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center will be one of the largest NCAA Division III facilities of its kind in the nation. Waverly Parks and Recreation programs, community and college wellness programs, and Wartburg's 19 men's and women's sports will operate out of this $30 million center, which will provide Waverly's first indoor swimming facilities. The natatorium will offer a zero-depth entry recreation pool, water slide, and six-lane competitive pool. The center will also include a state-of-the-art fitness center with climbing wall; a sports arena; an auxiliary gymnasium with jogging track; and a fieldhouse featuring a 200-meter competitive indoor track and space for four basketball or tennis courts. Public parking will be located near the community entrance to the building."

I didn't realize until this year that Wartburg did not have a 200-meter indoor track or a swimming pool before the "W" was built.  I knew the new facility would see a bigger weight room than before, a bigger gym than the old 1949 gym, and a bigger wrestling area for a great coach and program, but the addition of a normal size track and the indoor pool have to make the new facility much bigger than the old one.

When it is done, I wonder how it will compare to what UNI has connected to the Dome or what Luther has in the Regents Center?  Much of Wartburg is doing now sounds and looks like what UNI did in the late 1990s.

The indoor facilities at Luther are impressive to most people even though I still will always think that the natural geography of the campus and Decorah area combined with the large area of land devoted to athletics makes the outdoor facilities just as or more impressive.  

Part of the Regents Center at Luther was built in the 1960s (the 2,600 seating capacity gym, auxiliary courts, and swimming pool), but the Legends Fitness for Life Center that was added on to Regents this decade and the expanded wrestling complex that got a facelift this decade when it additionally took over where the weight room used to be.  The indoor track and all of the other things that are done with that part of the Regents Center (tennis, more basketball courts, etc.) was completed in the early 1990s.  Alumni just recently raised the money to help replace the current swimming pool area.

From the Luther website:
http://sports.luther.edu/facilities/facilities.html

Now the Norse need a men's basketball program to win in the Regents Center!

Good luck to the Dutch on Saturday!  Congrats for still playing in December!

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Congrats to Wartburg Wrestling for another whipping of a ranked Iowa Conference foe.  Loras was the victim tonight, 35-0.  The Knights will lose an IIAC dual meet again, but I have no idea whether it will happen before 2025.

From what I heard, Luther had about 90 applicants for the football job.  They are narrowing it down to 5 finalists and hope to have a new coach in place before Christmas.  I have no clue who applied or who is still in the running.

My pipe dream of Reece Morgan taking the Norse job probably died for good when Coach Ferentz decided to stay at Iowa rather than going to Michigan.  It sounds like some of the coaches and Iowa Athletic Department people are all out looking at examples around the country for their new practice football facility that is in the works in Iowa City.

Go Dutch Football!

[Klompen]

It started sleeting in Pella around 6:25 a.m. and it was coming down hard, but mostly melting when it hit the ground.  Some of it started sticking though, so it could already be slick on sidewalks, etc. that go down to the field.  The roads I'm sure already have brine on them to help melt it off.  Now, 20 minutes later it had let up and is just a light mist out there.  I'm hoping we have had our 100% chance and it is juist cold and windy from here on out.  Shoot, if I'm going to dream I might as well go for unseasonably warm.  The Pella area is under an ice storm warning until 3:00 p.m. just in time for a (hopefully) Dutch celebration or another one of our almost common OT's to begin.    

They still aren't sure what the temps will do, a little warmer it will all be rain, cooler we may get lucky with snow instead.  As a fan, the snow never bothers as much as a cold, wet rain.  It is supposed to warm up as the day goes on to a temp where the roads in our area should not be a problem after the game.

Sounds like we might as well get used to it as either team (The Dutch) will have to possibly deal with it again next week.  I guess that means this is just practice to get Central or Bethel ready for Alliance.  Here's pulling for SJF and a game in Pella next week!  We seem to like those "St. John" teams in Pella this year!

[sportsknight]

My pipe dream of Reece Morgan taking the Norse job probably died for good when Coach Ferentz decided to stay at Iowa rather than going to Michigan.  It sounds like some of the coaches and Iowa Athletic Department people are all out looking at examples around the country for their new practice football facility that is in the works in Iowa City.

How many Wartburg alums does Luther need to hire to start getting competitive?  If you can't beat 'em, hire 'em I guess.

[sportsknight]

I didn't realize until this year that Wartburg did not have a 200-meter indoor track or a swimming pool before the "W" was built.  I knew the new facility would see a bigger weight room than before, a bigger gym than the old 1949 gym, and a bigger wrestling area for a great coach and program, but the addition of a normal size track and the indoor pool have to make the new facility much bigger than the old one.

When it is done, I wonder how it will compare to what UNI has connected to the Dome or what Luther has in the Regents Center?  Much of Wartburg is doing now sounds and looks like what UNI did in the late 1990s.

From what I hear, it will pretty much rival what UNI has.  Climbing wall, larger cardio facilities, etc.  You can see in one of the pictures that there's going to be a water slide in the pool area (it might take a long time for me to call it a "natorium" or whatever).  I've never been to the fieldhouse area of the Regents Center, just the basketball gym, so I can't really say how it'll relate there.

Actually, Wartburg students had a chance to have a swimming pool long before now.  Back when they were building Knights Gym in 1949, they gave the student body a choice:  swimming pool or radio station.  The students picked the radio station, and given some of the personalities that have graced the KWAR airwaves over the past 58 years (myself, Walston, TheOne), they've been regretting it ever since.

[doolittledog]

No rain, sleet or snow yet just south of Waterloo but it is windy as heck right now.  Our house is out in the country and the wind is rattling through the windows and under the doors.  Good luck to the Dutch today and to all those brave souls that venture out to the game.  I've never been too bothered by rain or snow...but I hate high wind when it is cold out and that is what it seems we will get today.  Be safe everyone and my family will be rooting for the Dutch from our home today.  

[sportsknight]

Quick weather update 4.5 hours before kickoff.  There has been some precip. fall here in Pella (my house is all of 5 blocks from Skip Stadium), but nothing coming down right now.  The ground had not yet frozen here, so hopefully there's enough warmth underneath the surface that not much sticks.  Looking out my window, it doesn't look like much has.  Not sure what the current temp is, but the National Weather Service says the air temp should reach the freezing point by 1:00, climbing to a high of 40 around midnight.  Wind chills throughout the day will be in the mid- to upper-20s.  NWS radar basically shows a giant green blob slowly moving across Iowa. 
http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=dmx&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=no

We'll see how this develops the rest of the day.  I'm probably going to make my way to the stadium about 10:30, so I should have an update from there about an hour before kick.

[doolittledog]

Sportsknight should ask for extra pay for todays work, since he will be commenting on the game...and the weather.  And a lot of people I bet will be just as interested on the weather reporting as they are on his football insights!!!

[sjusection105]

The natatorium will offer a zero-depth entry recreation pool, water slide, and six-lane  competitive pool. The center will also include a state-of-the-art fitness center with climbing wall; a sports arena; an auxiliary gymnasium with jogging track; and a fieldhouse featuring a 200-meter competitive indoor track and space for four basketball or tennis courts. Public parking will be located near the community entrance to the building."

I

I thought the 6-lane pool was odd. I'm not a competitive swimming expert, I just watch the Olympics ever four years and they have 8-lanes just like track & field. The high school I graduated from put in a 6-lane pool in 1972 and as a youngster remember the muttering from adults that the pool was outdated the day it opened. Overall the facility sounds very nice and will serve Wart. and the city of Waverly nicely.