Rock M Roundtable!

1 - It's Iowa State Week!  Say, uhh, something about Iowa State.  Anything at all.

2 - Here's ISU's schedule.  You know what to do.

9/3 - North Dakota State
9/12 - Iowa
9/19 - at Kent State
9/26 - Army
10/3 - vs Kansas State (at Arrowhead)
10/10 - at Kansas
10/17 - Baylor
10/24 - at Nebraska
10/31 - at Texas A&M
11/7 - Oklahoma State
11/14 - Colorado
11/21 - at Missouri

3 - We've had a week of practice reports to read now.  Are you more or less optimistic about your team than you were a week ago?

4 - Let's see...I've asked about '00s movies...asked about comedies...asked about music...gotten into an argument about how many times The Hold Steady has been mentioned in roundtables...what's left...

...I've got it!  Give me your Top 5 TV shows of all-time.  Drama, comedy, crime, whatever.  Top 5.  Go.

The Beef: 1 - It seems no matter what direction you stand in Ames at what time of year, a cold wind is blowing in your face…hard

2 - 9/3 - North Dakota State - win
9/12 – Iowa - loss
9/19 - at Kent State -loss
9/26 – Army - win
10/3 - vs Kansas State (at Arrowhead) - loss
10/10 - at Kansas - loss
10/17 – Baylor - loss
10/24 - at Nebraska -loss
10/31 - at Texas A&M - loss
11/7 - Oklahoma State -loss
11/14 – Colorado -win
11/21 - at Missouri - loss

3 - I believe I am more optimistic and encouraged.  Even with the slow playing of TJ Moe in his return from injury (the correct call in my book), I like how we have had some new names step up at WR.  Yes, the drop passes scare me a little, but when compared to Chase and Tommy from last season, it is going to probably look almost worse than it will be.  I still think we have some sure-handed options (Perry and Jones at least) to use on big downs, and that will be fine.  I think the Oline play has been stout and I expect that to continue.  All three RB’s (sorry G. Moye, but I consider Kendial already in your spot) have been impressive and hopefully we really will commit to using them more out of the backfield this season.  As for the defense, it is good to hear about Rutland really stepping up and trying to take the other CB spot.  Tough news on Kenji, but as long as he is healthy for Illinois, it does provide some extra time and reps to people we will eventually need anyway.  But…you know…I am concerned about our DT depth…especially in the future…

4 - West Wing (seasons 1-4) for the writing and cast

The Cosby Show for the comedy

Lost for the amazing way they were able to build the show

CSI Las Vegas for being able to stay fresh all this time

24 for making Brian Coulter jealous of Jack Bauer

Michael Atchison: 1 - I hate them less than any other rival school.

2 - That looks like four, maybe five wins.  Too bad they have to go to College Station.  Would be nice to catch the Aggies in Ames.

3 - I wish I had a better sense of how the defensive tackles have looked (and that may be in the reports; can’t claim that I scour them), because it sounds like the defensive ends look great, and that could take a lot of burden off of Mizzou’s suspect corners.  Also, I like what I read about the offensive line and about Blaine Gabbert.  I’ve always been kind of cautiously optimistic about this team.  I think they’ll be pretty good on both sides of the line, and that goes a long way toward winning.  Count me as being marginally more optimistic.

4 - Lemme see . . . Twin Peaks, definitely.  And Sports Night, loved that one.  I watched a lot of Cheers during the way back.  I don’t watch as much as I’d like now, but 30 Rock is gargantuanly good.  The Office, too.  I’m sure I’m missing something obvious.

The Beef: I am in the same boat on 30 Rock.  I laugh every time I catch a  scene or two, but I just never really watch it.  It is on my very short list of shows I may go out and purchase the season for.  I also hear great things about How I Met Your Mother, but have watched that even less

Bill C.: (For others, the DT depth line was an inside joke between us, I think, and...IT WASN'T FUNNY.  Nyeh.)

1 - THEIR UNIS MAKE THEM LOOK LIKE USC!!!  That, and Leonard Johnson is a really good cornerback.  So there you go.

2 - Wins: NDSU, Army
Losses: at KU, at NU, at ATM, OSU, at MU
Tossups (generously): Iowa, at Kent, vs KSU, Baylor, CU

I say they go 2-3 in the tossups (we'll say wins versus Kent and CU for now) and go 4-8.

3 - I think the words "practice report" make me encouraged by themselves.  I could read in one that Blaine Gabbert, Derrick Washington, both offensive tackles, the Smith Brothers at DE, Sean Weatherspoon, and The Carl Gettis Treatment were all lost for the year in the freakiest of freak injuries*, and I would still find something to be encouraged about, even if it's "Hey, that's a lot of redshirts!  More experience in 2010!"

* SOMEBODY KNOCK ON WOOD THIS SECOND.

4 - Cheers.  Simpsons.  West Wing.  Friday Night Freaking Lights (1st and 3rd seasons...2nd season blew).  Fifth place is either Mister Ed, Dawson's Creek, or Man v. Food...can't decide.

Also...there's a CSI Vegas?  Oh right...that's the original one.  Personally, I like CSI Odessa better.  CSI Walla Walla too.  But not CSI Mobile.  CSI Mobile sucks.

The Beef: Good lord man…ease up on the caps lock.

And Mister Ed?  Really?  I am not even going to get into how much of a 23-year old girl you must be for answering Dawson’s Creek, but Mister Ed?

Bill C.: PRETTY SURE...whoops...pretty sure including Mister Ed and Dawson's Creek signified that I was joking.  But Man v. Food is no joke.  That show is awesome.

And as far as what I would consider great, I was very tempted to just include the entire NBC Thursday night lineup from the '80s on there, as that pretty much defined my childhood, but I resisted.  That was the start of the whole "must see TV" concept, made even better by the fact that Cosby and Cheers have actually aged relatively well.  Night Court, not so much, but I still love it nonetheless.  And I'm pretty sure LA Law hasn't aged well at all, but...well, that was on at 9pm...past my bedtime.

The Beef: Once again…another joke only you knew you were making…

Bill C.: Show of hands: who thought I mentioned Mister Ed and Dawson's Creek as two of the greatest TV shows ever in a serious manner?  Mister Ed.  Dawson's Creek.  Greatest TV shows ever.  Me.

(I think I'm going to be offended by the number of hands raised.)

The Beef: Didn’t you used to watch all the Dawson’s Creeks in the morning through some of the summers?  Or is this another "at least 10 times" thing for you?

Bill C.: I can't help it that my TV that summer somehow only got ABC, Fox, three religious channels and TBS. 

I still don't know how that worked out...seriously...what the hell?  I think I watched Major League, Spaceballs, and the Swingers director commentary on DVD about 38 times each that summer.

ghtd36: Now horrible joke-free!

1) I can't say anything bad about Iowa State for the same reasons that I can't say anything bad about Baylor. But I've heard Ames is lovely!*

*- no, I haven't

2) Let's see... Sure wins against ND State and Army. Sure losses to Iowa, @KU, @Neb, OKSt and @Mizzou. Tossups are @Kent State, KState, Baylor, @TAMU and Colorado. So, 7-5 (!!!) at best, 2-10 at worst, and honestly, I think anything better than 3-9 would be a real coup.

3) Kendial Lawrence hasn't ended the careers of anyone on the defensive scout team yet, so I guess that's good. Color me more optimistic.

4) Rescue Me (just phenomenal), Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (most underrated show on TV), The Office (duh), 24 (also duh)

Michael Atchison: LA Law was on past your bedtime?  It was on at the law school while I was studying.  Ageist.

And if I made a DT reference that was an inside joke between us, it was so subtle that I didn’t even get it.

(Editor's note: Beefy made the DT reference, not Atch.)

rptgwb: 1. Their rival is the team that is covered by Black Heart Gold Pants, and that is, in a word, awesome.

2. 4-8. They get a conference win somewhere. Don't ask me where.

3. Definitely more optimistic. I'm loving hearing about the developing strength of the offensive line. Some of the reports on the freshmen have been extremely encouraging. Ghtd's overlord Kendial "Showtime/Jesus" Lawrence seems to be impressing, and Donovan Bonner seems to be coming up with the ball at a ridiculous rate. That brings me to two side notes: 1) How in the HELL did Bonner play safety in high school? Dude looks like a defensive end. And 2) I showed my brother a video of L'Damian Washington in camp and asked him to describe his skinniness, at which point my brother used the term "Ethiopian."

4. I'm not sure I can give you a top five all-time, so I'll give you my top 5 right now:

1) Rescue Me
2) Dexter
3) 30 Rock
4) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
5) Friday Night Lights

And, you know CSI Vegas. It's the one that begins with pehs texting his friends saying, "The Beef is dead. Vegas rules." (Any excuse to bring up that trip diary is a good one)

ZouDave: Where will they get a conference win?

rptgwb: In the Big 12. [/question dodged]

I was fully expecting to be lambasted for the Friday Night Lights pick -- I'm surprised to see the RMN support behind it.

Also, now that it's official can we get a f***in' siren for this?

ZouDave: Look at you guys already off the beaten path.  And all because Bill C. has a thing for John Moxon.

1 - Iowa State sucks dirty socks.

This is what I could be heard screaming from the stands at Faurot Field at my very first Mizzou game ever.  It was 1982, I was six years old, and my dad has probably never been more embarrassed by me in public since.

The game ended in a 17-17 tie.

2 - 9/3 - North Dakota State - W
9/12 - Iowa - L
9/19 - at Kent State - W
9/26 - Army - W
10/3 - vs Kansas State (at Arrowhead) - L
10/10 - at Kansas - L
10/17 - Baylor - L
10/24 - at Nebraska - L
10/31 - at Texas A&M - L
11/7 - Oklahoma State - L
11/14 - Colorado - L
11/21 - at Missouri - L

Iowa State sucks dirty socks.

3 - I'm extremely encourage by the practice reports, but I'm an eternal optimist from way back.  The thing is, I was already looking at Mizzou as a probable 8-4 to 9-3 team with an EXTREME outside shot at 10-2.  I really don't think we're bad enough to go 7-5 barring the injuries Bill C. has cursed us to have.

Hearing about Aldon Smith is making me giddy.  Hearing about Kendial Lawrence is telling me that we should probably go to more of a West Virginia style running spread.  Hearing about the offensive line, and the fact that there is just 1 senior among the bunch, gives me a lot of hope for this year and beyond.

4 - in no particular order:

Cheers
The Simpsons
Seinfeld
The Office
Law & Order

Friday Night Lights is moving up the list for me.  I freaking love that show.

Bill C.: By the way, I took the hint.  I'll link to this diary in every roundtable if asked.

And yeah...EDSBS is a BIG-TIME addition to the SBN lineup.

Doug: "Poly very much does not cover."

Perhaps my favorite line out of that entire diary. And, I'm not entirely sure why.

The Beef: Oh…they really did not cover…lost by 30-something I think…was an EHPIC fail

ZouDave: it was just pointed out that the lead male singer of SNAP! is a dead ringer for Weatherspoon.

I'm not sure I can argue that.

"Or I will attack.  And you don't want that."  Indeed.

Doug: 1 - I guess my grandfather nearly went to ISU since he lived in Iowa, but wound up going to the University of Iowa instead. Best I've got.

2 - 2 and 10, but they could get a conference win against Colorado.

3 - I think the line-backer corps for KU remains a big question mark, but we'll see what happens during the first few weeks of the season. The offense I'm totally fine with, and I see that Dezmon Briscoe will be returning kicks this season, so chalk up another plus in the special teams category.

4 - All-time top TV shows?

1 - M*A*S*H (I blew off many an afternoon of homework assignments watching re-runs on FX in college.

2 - Burn Notice (Best show on TV right now, hands down)

3 - NCIS (Probably the best done crime procedural on TV.)

4 - Chuck (Just about as good as Burn Notice in mixing the weekly plot lines with the overarching mystery.)

5 - 3rd Rock from the Sun (Absolutely brilliant it's first two seasons, then NBC killed it. Like they do with all the shows they secretly hate.)

The Beef: Oh…I do love me some Chuck…and whatever her name is…Yvonne somethingorother

rptgwb: Chuck was barely off my list. It's the rare show where I can sit there and watch the plot and think "this is so incredibly stupid," but still not change the channel.

ghtd36: EDSBS is a huge add for SB Nation. Congrats and cocktails all around.

Totally unrelated: I use GMail to do these, so it also enables GChat. Since rpt e-mails from the RockMNation e-mail address, it counts "Rock" as the first name.

So every Wednesday morning, I get to read "Rock is not available to chat."

And for some reason, I always thought that would be a great song if AC/DC ever put out another album.

/sniffs more ether

rptgwb: I encourage you to feel free to start referring to me as "Rock."

Bill C.: Ironically, Seth and I have a friend named Rock, and he beats our tails in fantasy football every year (until last year at least, when I think he jumped the shark...hopefully).  Which leads to another fun AC/DC B-side: Rock Is Awesome at Fantasy Football.

The Beef: I could probably be down in name only…my life is just a TAD busy right now

rptgwb: I think we're going to need to institute some form of GIF limits this year to prevent Rock M Nation from turning the SB Nation servers into Chernobyl.

ghtd36: Why are you infringing upon my freedom? Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was AMURRICA!

The Beef: If we want to switch gears here…I want to put forward to the panel who I now find to be the #1 catch of all women out there…

NFL football ties

Mara's family owns the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers; she is the great-granddaughter of Giants founder Tim Mara, the granddaughter of late Giants owner Wellington Mara on her father's side, as well as the great-granddaughter of Steelers founder Art Rooney on her mother's side.^[17] Mara's uncle is John Mara, the president and CEO of the Giants, and her father is the vice president of player evaluation. Mara attended almost every Giants home game while growing up. On Sundays, after attending church, her family would head directly to the games. When asked by Vanity Fair magazine whom she roots for when the Giants play the Steelers she replied, "that question is not allowed. I can't answer",^[17] and has since told the New York Post, "rooting for the offense is the safe way to go. You win either way."^[34] Mara missed the Steelers' winning Super Bowl in 2006 because she was working in Los Angeles. Mara was so disappointed, she added to her contract that if the Giants or Steelers go to the Super Bowl, she can attend. She attended almost every game of the 2007 Giants season, leading up to the team's win in Super Bowl XLII.^[35]

ghtd36: I submit to the panel: Becky Hammon.

Guard for the San Antonio Silver Stars. WAC's all-time leading scorer.