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Heartlanders Weekly Recap: A Rollercoaster Homestand Filled With Frustration, Magic, and Missed Chances
The Iowa Heartlanders returned home this past week for a four-game homestand, looking to climb their way up the Central Division standings. Instead, the week delivered a little bit of everything: early deficits, penalty trouble, a magical comeback, and a heartbreaking overtime loss. Iowa finished the stretch 1–3 , falling to 6-9-2 as they prepare for another three-game week ahead. Wednesday, Nov. 19 — Kalamazoo 5, Heartlanders 1 The homestand opened against last-place Kalam
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1 day ago4 min read


Bears Outlast Steelers 31–28 Behind Caleb Williams’ Three-TD Performance
The Chicago Bears continued their late-season surge with a hard-fought 31–28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, scoring a touchdown in every single quarter and overcoming a costly turnover to secure the victory. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a game that showed resilience, balance, and a rising comfort level from Caleb Williams under center. A Rough Start—Then a Momentum-Changing Pick Chicago’s offense opened the game with a quick three-and-out, immediately giving the Steelers
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4 days ago3 min read


Hawkeyes Storm Back to Beat Michigan State 20–17 on Senior Day Thriller
Senior Day at Kinnick Stadium is always emotional—but this year’s finale gave the 28 Hawkeye seniors a sendoff they’ll never forget. In a game filled with slow starts, momentum swings, and late heroics, Iowa clawed back from a 10-point deficit to defeat Michigan State 20–17 on a walk-off field goal by Drew Stevens. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t smooth. But it was Iowa football at its grittiest. A Brutally Slow Start on Offense The Hawkeye offense began the afternoon slower than
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5 days ago3 min read


College Football Week 12 Reactions
Playoff Picture I take a break from writing for two weeks and the race to the playoffs got even more intense. Oklahoma put their name back in with a huge win over Alabama. Texas A&M surges back to win against South Carolina and Notre Dame keeps their win streak rolling against Pitt. The Big Ten seems to have two super teams with Ohio State and Indiana while Oregon is close behind. USC keeps their hopes alive with a win over Iowa and Georgia may have taken Texas out of the rac
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Nov 212 min read


Iowa Heartlanders: Bouncing Back After a Tough Weekend Against the Bison
The Iowa Heartlanders wrapped up a challenging home-and-home series this weekend against the Bloomington Bison, dropping both matchups by identical 3–1 scores. Despite flashes of strong play and a high-energy atmosphere at Xtream Arena, the Landers couldn’t quite break through a stingy Bison defense and outstanding goaltending. With three home games on deck this week, Iowa now looks to regroup and claw back up the Central Division standings. Friday in Bloomington: Bison Contr
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Nov 193 min read


Bears Escape Minnesota With Another Heart-Attack Win on Last-Second Field Goal
If you’re a Chicago Bears fan, you already know this team is going to put you through all five stages of grief every single week . And after blowing a big lead to the Vikings in Week 1, this trip north felt like a chance at redemption. A chance to rewrite the script. A chance to prove they could finish. Instead, the Bears decided to give us all heart palpitations again… but this time, they survived. With a last-second 48-yard field goal by Cairo Santos, Chicago escaped Minnes
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Nov 184 min read


Caleb Williams Leads Another Comeback as Bears Take Down Giants 24–20
It was a cold, windy day in Chicago — the kind where you can see your breath and question your life choices for showing up to Soldier Field — but the Bears faithful were out in force as their team hosted the New York Giants. With snow flurries swirling across the field, it was clear early that this one was going to be a gritty, old-school football kind of day. Both teams opened cautiously, trading short six-play drives as they tested how much the weather would let them do. Ne
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Nov 104 min read


Heartlanders Battle Through Rough Stretch, Bounce Back with Explosive Win
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Iowa Heartlanders as they faced one of the hardest stretches of their early season schedule. Hosting the division-leading Fort Wayne Komets for three games over Halloween weekend, the Heartlanders were looking to prove they could hang with one of the ECHL’s top teams. Unfortunately, Fort Wayne came to Coralville and reminded everyone why they’re sitting atop the division. Across the three-game set at Xtream Arena, the Komets swept the
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Nov 92 min read


Rain-soaked showdown in Iowa City: Heartbreak vs Oregon
In a game filled with expectations and playoff implications, the matchup between No. 20 Iowa and No. 9 Oregon felt like one of those defining moments. Iowa needed a ranked win to finally prove they belong in the top tier, while Oregon needed to win out to lock themselves into a College Football Playoff spot instead of sitting on the fringe. At kickoff in Iowa City, the rain poured relentlessly, making offense nearly impossible. Both teams struggled out of the gate, trading pu
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Nov 83 min read


The Cost of Convenience: How Streaming Services Are Bleeding Sports Fans Dry
I remember when watching sports was simple. I’d sit down, grab the remote, and scroll through the family’s Dish or cable guide until something caught my eye — an afternoon baseball game, Thursday night football, the X Games, or even a random sumo match that somehow always pulled me in. Sports were everywhere, and access felt limitless. Fast forward to today, and being a sports fan feels like a full-time job… with a hefty bill attached. As someone who follows multiple sports a
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Nov 53 min read


Bears Survive Bengals in a 47-42 Thriller
I think I lost a few years off my life watching that game. The Bears somehow managed to make what should’ve been a comfortable win into a cardiac event, giving up 15 points in the final two minutes to let Cincinnati take the lead with just 54 seconds left . But then, Caleb Williams happened. With the game on the line, Williams delivered an absolute dagger — a 58-yard touchdown strike to Colston Loveland , who broke two tackles and sprinted into the end zone to steal back the
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Nov 42 min read


College Football Week 9 Reactions
Top 25 Madness As the games get more important win college football, it makes sense that the games get even crazier. The top 25 saw some big games, as well as some big upsets this past week. 18 USF fell to an unranked Memphis team. 23 Illinois also fell to an unranked team this week against Washington. While these two teams tumbled, we saw a few teams pick up some important wins this week. 8 Ole Miss took down 13 Oklahoma, 10 Vanderbilt beat 15 Missouri, and 3 Texas A&M beat
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Nov 12 min read


Floyd Stays Home
Iowa Dominates Minnesota 41-3 in Statement Win The Iowa Hawkeyes came out of the gates on fire Saturday, steamrolling the Minnesota Golden Gophers 41–3 in a game that showed exactly what this team can be when everything clicks. From the opening drive, it was clear the Hawkeyes were ready to play. Fast Start Sets the Tone Iowa’s opening drive was a masterpiece of balance and execution. The offense marched 75 yards down the field on nine plays, mixing the pass and the run perfe
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Oct 263 min read


College Football Week 8 Reactions
Conference Champs We are just over halfway through the college football season. So, what better time then now to crown who I think will be the conference champs for each conference at the end of the season. Big Ten - Indiana SEC - Alabama ACC - Georgia Tech Big 12 - Cincinnati MWC - Boise State AAC - USF Sun Belt - JMU MAC - Western Michigan CUSA - Kennesaw State To start off, I think Indiana has put together some impressive wins, and while initially I was going to put Ohio St
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Oct 243 min read


Heartlanders Start Season 5 Strong: A High-Scoring Opening Weekend
picture by the Iowa Heartlanders The Iowa Heartlanders kicked off their fifth ECHL season this past weekend, opening with a three-game set that had a little bit of everything—comebacks, clutch goals, and a shootout thriller. While the weekend ended with their first loss of the season, there’s plenty to be excited about for Heartlanders fans. Friday: Opening Night Comeback vs. Tulsa (W 2–1) Opening night at Xtream Arena didn’t start the way the Heartlanders hoped. The Tulsa Oi
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Oct 233 min read


Bears Beat Saints 26–14: Progress, Grit, and a Glimpse of What’s Coming
The Bears finally put together a complete game — or close to it — in their 26–14 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. It wasn’t perfect (because when is it ever?), but there was a lot to like from this one, especially on the defensive side of the ball and from a couple of young playmakers on offense. Let’s get into it. Early Mistakes Still Haunting This Team It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but the early false starts and offensive line issues continue to hol
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Oct 223 min read


Bootleg, Bootleg, Bootleg
If you’ve watched Iowa football long enough, you know nothing comes easy. Saturday night was no different, as the Hawkeyes somehow pulled out a 25–24 win over Penn State in a game that had just about everything — turnovers, blocked kicks, questionable decisions, and enough stress to last a month. Penn State came into this one looking like a team with nothing left to lose. Interim head coach Terry Smith even told the sideline reporters before kickoff that they were “emptying t
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Oct 213 min read


Hawkeyes Dominate in Madison: Iowa Shuts Out Wisconsin 37–0
Coming out of the bye week, the Iowa Hawkeyes looked rested, reloaded, and ready to roll—and it showed. They walked into Madison and completely dismantled a struggling Wisconsin team, cruising to a 37–0 victory that might be Iowa’s most complete performance of the season. After an up-and-down first half of the year filled with injuries and inconsistency, this one felt different. The Hawkeyes came in with energy, health, and focus—and left with a statement win over a Badgers
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Oct 153 min read


Monday Night Redemption: Bears Edge Commanders 25–24 in a Rainy Thriller
The Chicago Bears walked into Monday night with something to prove. A year removed from that gut-wrenching Hail Mary loss to Washington, the Bears went on the road, battled the rain, and left D.C. with a 25–24 win that feels like more than just another W—it feels like a culture shift in Chicago. Early Control and Strong Trenches The Bears set the tone early, jumping out to a 13–0 lead thanks to efficient offense and a defense that came out firing. Rookie left tackle Theo Ben
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Oct 143 min read


NFL Overreaction Power Rankings: Week 5
Week 4 gave us more questions than answers. The Chiefs, Falcons, and Broncos clawed their way back into the win column, while teams like...
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Oct 44 min read
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