FB: American Rivers Conference

[Kohawk Krazy]

Loras reports today.

Central and Simpson, Thursday the 15th

I think the rest report on Saturday the 17th 

I get that Loras would report 2 days earlier than Central and Simpson, since they have a Thursday game this year.  How is it most other teams are 2 days later than Central and Simpson?

Kohawks report on Wednesday, first practice on Thursday.

[5 Words or Less]

NCAA rules governing preseason practice

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2012/August/Getting+ready+for+some+football

[NewKnightDad]

I don't have any inside information anymore so I can't or won't make any bold predictions for the Knights.  I don't know if they have their o-line improved over last year, if not it could be a long season.  On the defensive side of the ball I think they will be pretty solid and will keep games close and hope the offense can find a way to score.

As much as it pains me to say this, but I kinda miss the swagger that the Wartburg fans brought to the board a few years back.  Their opinions generated a lot of discussion and kept the pages rolling.  As we approach the new season, I'm hoping that the conversation picks up a bit ... and to that end, may I suggest that we all make a goal of recruiting at least one new person to join the board before the start of the season. 

Sincerely yours,
5 Words or More

[DutchFan2004]

I don't know much about Central but Millikin Reports today. 

Preseason picks

Loras L-If Loras wins watch out for the Duhawks

Coe in a close road win

Simpson wins-If they don't could be a long season in the IIAC for the Storm

Wartburg gets a good road win.  If the O struggles to get points not a good sign.

Luther wins this is a homer pick as I know nothing about Presentation

Platteville beats BV.  If BV wins this might be a sleeper in IIAC

Lacrosse beats UD.  UD lost a very good QB and will struggle for points early in season.  If I'm wrong about this UD will make a good run in IIAC

I will pick Osh Kosh over the Dutch as this is the preseason.  If I see the Dutch or hear of improvement in the Dutch I may change in the pickems.  Good test for the Dutch and if they do win this might be the year of the Dutch!!!!

[hazzben]

Platteville beats BV.  If BV wins this might be a sleeper in IIAC

If BV beats UWP I'd argue they are a whole lot more than just a sleeper in the IIAC. UWP is predicted to be in the thick of things in terms of winning the WIAC. That would be a major feather in BV's cap.

If the IIAC can have two out UD, Central and BV win their WIAC match ups, and I'm not necessarily predicting this, the IIAC would have some serious street cred early in the 2013 season. Those are the kinds of OOC wins that bode well for a conference champ getting a strong seed and the conference getting a potential Pool C if there isn't carnage in conference play.

[notlongago]

Platteville beats BV.  If BV wins this might be a sleeper in IIAC

If BV beats UWP I'd argue they are a whole lot more than just a sleeper in the IIAC. UWP is predicted to be in the thick of things in terms of winning the WIAC. That would be a major feather in BV's cap.

If the IIAC can have two out UD, Central and BV win their WIAC match ups, and I'm not necessarily predicting this, the IIAC would have some serious street cred early in the 2013 season. Those are the kinds of OOC wins that bode well for a conference champ getting a strong seed and the conference getting a potential Pool C if there isn't carnage in conference play.

Agreed. If BV keeps it within 30 I would say thatd be a successful outing haha.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

https://www.luther.edu/sports/men/football/headlines/?story_id=484636

Luther College Athletics Celebrates 100 Seasons of Football

Not quite the long history of the baseball program, but some good teams under Pete Peterson, Edsel Schweizer, and a few others.

"Luther has claimed 11 Iowa Conference titles, was crowned the Corn Bowl Champions in 1955, and dropped a hard-fought 34–21 decision to Capital University in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 1970. Three teams recorded undefeated seasons —1954, 1955 and 1963—all led by legendary Head Coach Edsel Schweizer, who coached the Norsemen for 26 seasons compiling a record of 150—78—6 and is Luther's all-time leader for career victories."

Not too much mentioned about how the last two years have gone for the Norse.

[badgerwarhawk]

Platteville beats BV.  If BV wins this might be a sleeper in IIAC

If BV beats UWP I'd argue they are a whole lot more than just a sleeper in the IIAC. UWP is predicted to be in the thick of things in terms of winning the WIAC. That would be a major feather in BV's cap.

If the IIAC can have two out UD, Central and BV win their WIAC match ups, and I'm not necessarily predicting this, the IIAC would have some serious street cred early in the 2013 season. Those are the kinds of OOC wins that bode well for a conference champ getting a strong seed and the conference getting a potential Pool C if there isn't carnage in conference play.

Agreed. If BV keeps it within 30 I would say thatd be a successful outing haha.

Most of us WIAC fans think the Platteville could very well be the team to beat in our league this year.  They should be very, very good offensively where they return 9 starters and having led the league in scoring.  None of us are quite sure how they'll be defensively (they return 6 starters and finished third in scoring defense) but my hunch is that opponents are going to have to be able to score a lot of points to beat them.  Our SIDs have picked them to take the league crown this season though three other teams received first place votes. 

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Will they show replays? Stats?

Don't get me wrong in that I have always loved to watch games in Kinnick Stadium, but I have seen some of these Big Ten stadiums change the scoreboards every five years and yet the stats rarely are shown in some places and replays that you really want to see are rarely shown.

It seems like the stadium scoreboard upgrades help more with pregame stuff and advertising.

The bigger deal to me for some of this arms race stuff to me is that Wartburg is still investing dollars in baseball, football, track, etc. and that Dubuque has gone from perhaps the worst facilities for sports in the IIAC in the late 1990s (Coe and Billy Penn were brutal as well) to something much better.  I never would have thought in 1995 that in 2013 the Spartans would be building an indoor practice facility.

I don't want field turf at Carlson Stadium for Luther Football, but an indoor practice facility to be hooked to the Regents Center sounds good to me!   That and new grandstands for baseball and softball, new press box for football, and permanant bleachers for the opposing fans in football seem appropriate for a school with the resources that Luther has.

The scoreboard can stay the same if they do some of the other upgrades.

[doolittledog]

One thing that for me is fun, is that at D1 stadiums they aren't allowed to show controversial replays that could show the refs made a bad call, but at D3 stadiums they don't seem to have that restriction.  UD has shown many replays that get the crowd worked up and lead them to yelling for the refs to watch the replay.  I am sure this will happen this year at Central and Wartburg. 

If Dubuque stays near the top of the IIAC, I don't think it will be too long before other schools in the conference jump on the indoor practice facility bandwagon. 

[notlongago]

Not football related, but another example of the IIAC upgrading facilities.
http://news.central.edu/2013/08/15/fred-maytag-family-foundation-to-transform-central-student-center/

[Fannosaurus Rex]

I guess if I want to talk about this year's new rules I should probably try to read them first.  But is that really what internet forums are for?  I like the one that allows the refs to kick out a guy for targeting a defenseless player and hitting him above the shoulders.  I predict the first player to get ejected this way will be from University of Miami.  Another new one says something about how 10 seconds have to come off of the clock if the only reason for stopping it is an injury.  I bet we hear some pretty loud booing the first time a team is down by 2 and gets into field goal range with less than 10 seconds to go and someone doesn't get up and game is over.  The only other rule that interested me is that, no matter how fast you spike a ball, at least 3 seconds have to come off of the clock.  I don't think I ever want to be a referee.  There is too much to keep track of.

[D3MAFAN]

I guess if I want to talk about this year's new rules I should probably try to read them first.  But is that really what internet forums are for?  I like the one that allows the refs to kick out a guy for targeting a defenseless player and hitting him above the shoulders.  I predict the first player to get ejected this way will be from University of Miami.  Another new one says something about how 10 seconds have to come off of the clock if the only reason for stopping it is an injury.  I bet we hear some pretty loud booing the first time a team is down by 2 and gets into field goal range with less than 10 seconds to go and someone doesn't get up and game is over.  The only other rule that interested me is that, no matter how fast you spike a ball, at least 3 seconds have to come off of the clock.  I don't think I ever want to be a referee.  There is too much to keep track of.

I think the first one would be too subjective.

[hazzben]

Yeah, I think the first one is going to be a nightmare. Too subjective and too harsh. When the game is going full speed it's not always easy to avoid this type of collision. And now a kid might get suspended a game. Are some hits dirty? No question. Are some hits just great plays that look bad? Yes. What I hate to see is when some kid makes what is a simply a great play and gets nailed with a suspension.

Not to mention, I'm not confident how D3 officials will handle this consistently. That's not a knock. Rather a recognition they have to do the same job as their FBS counterparts with less training and no replay. I dont even have confidence the major conference guys can wade through all this subjectivity. Tough duty. If I'm a ref, I'd be VERY slow to throw that flag.

[doolittledog]

I agree that enforcement is going to be a nightmare.  I know something has to be done about head injuries, and no one wants to see head hunters out there like the Raiders in the 60's, but sometimes you get a play where it's unintentional and that player will end up kicked out of a game.  It will likely lead to all kinds of conspiracy talk on here and this play or that play cost our team the season, but I think it's here to stay.