The greatest gymnastics entrance I've ever seen

OK, that was absolutely awesome!

Nebraska's gymnasts were announced in a normal tone of voice. Suddenly, the lights went down and a video of a Nebraska bus played on the big screen. Out of nowhere, the bus gets thrown off the road by a cyclone, to a huge ovation. The video preceded to show, one-by-one, a photo of each Cyclone gymnast, accompanied by a map of North America with a star marking each competitor's hometown.

Following the video, fog started to rise from the stage, and when the smoke cleared, the Cyclone gymnasts were posed almost as if they were ready to take a media guide photo. The gymnasts were each introduced one by one and threw "Golden Rule" t-shirts to the crowd, capping of probably the finest entrance I've ever seen at a gymnastics meet.

Tonight definitely has the feel of a big time event, and I honestly think there's more fans here than in Boulder for men'sbsketball game on Wednesday.

By the way, the golden rule is "Beat Nebraska."

No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 5 Nebraska - Warmups

Hi folks,

The Cyclones look very strong in warmups tonight. Solid routines all around. The Cyclones, however, will surely need a few spectacular routines in order to defeat the Huskers. This should be a fantastic meet.

As per anything in the Jamie Pollard-era of Cyclone athletics,their appears to be a fancy new set up for the introduction of each team's lineups. When I walked through the media entrance into the arena, I ran almost head on into a curtained stage, which I assume the gymnasts will enter through upon introduction.

I'm sorry if that description hardly made sense. I agree that it was poor sentance writing.

Here's the preview I wrote this week in the Daily:

Under Pressure

Next update after the first rotation.

Thanks for reading,
Cody

Live ISU Women's Basketball Coverage

Click on this link:

Iowa State Daily Women's Basketball Coverage

for sports editor Chris Conetzkey's live coverage of tonight's ISU women's basketball game against Texas. Tip off is at 7 p.m.

Also, thanks to the ongoing Mediacom/Sinclair dispute, you can watch the game on Medicacom cable channel 6.

Hope you check it out,
Cody

Iowa State's currently in first place!

Remarkably, in the span of 24 hours, Iowa State has jumped from 10th to first place in ESPN.com's school spirit contest. Make sure you all keep voting, however, to ensure that Duke or Kansas don't overtake the lead.

I honestly don't know what happens if Iowa State wins, but I'm sure it will be something cooler than a debate between Sean Salisbury and John Clayton at Stephens Auditorium.

Fool-proof plan to ensure ISU wins ESPN's school spirit contest

ESPN.com is currently holding a contest to determine who has the best student section in college basketball. Iowa State is one of the 22 contestants. Go to this Web site:

Rank: School Spirit!

to vote for Hilton Magic. Voting is nearing completion and Iowa State is currently ranked 10th. You know you don't want to lose to Kansas and Duke, so help make Iowa State proud.

When casting your ballot, you'll discover you have to pick a total of five teams, ranked in order. So, here's a plan of attack to ensure that we don't lose to the "Cameron Lazies" or that "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" nonsense.

Vote as follows:

1. IOWA STATE - Obviously, the most important vote

2. Valparaiso — Valpo is former home of basketball player Bryce Drew. Remember when he made "The Shot" - sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the 1998 NCAA tournament? I know you do. Because of that shot, Drew played in the NBA for six years and is now back at Valpo as an assistant. As for the strategy of picking Valpo in this contest, the school only has approximately 4,000 students, meaning Iowa State should amass many more votes while keeping Duke and Kansas out of the equation.

3. Western Kentucky — Three words sum up why we can beat them: Sun Belt Conference

4. Butler — Butler is similar in size to Valpo and is also located in Indiana, but currently has a top 25 men's basketball team. In theory, they should be tougher for Iowa State to beat based on Butler's recent success and exposure, but I can't say I've ever heard anything about its student section. Plus, Iowa State trounces them in the numbers game.

5. North Carolina A&T— Home of the Blue & Gold Marching Machine, according to Wikipedia this school leads the country in number of minorities with degrees in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. They might be one of the biggest underdogs in this contest, so if we somehow don't win, it would be much cooler if they won rather than a big name university.

Follow the plan and Iowa State's bound to win. Or, at least Kansas and Duke won't.

Hope you're staying warm,
Cody

Link to wrestling reporter Luke Plansky's blog

For those of you who are looking for senior reporter Luke Plansky's in-depth wrestling coverage blog, here's a link to the correct web address:

Luke Plansky's wrestling blog

or simply copy or type this into your browser:

http://www.isdsports2.blogspot.com

Hope you're all making it to class through the cold weather,
Cody

Break out the Oreos, baby!

Here's a clip from a 1994 Texas high school football game. Most of the Daily staff agrees this is one of the, if not THE, most phenomenal comebacks we've ever seen in football.

Make sure you stay for the ending.

Amazing Comeback

Cody