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Only hours after a late-night snowstorm dropped nearly four inches across the Quad Cities, the Quad City Steamwheelers were out on the turf hosting one of their most important offseason events: open tryouts. The weather may have slowed down morning commutes, but it didn’t slow down the energy inside the arena as hopeful athletes arrived ready to prove they belonged on a professional roster. Setting the Tone Head Coach Cory Ross gives players the run down of the day for his ex

The Iowa Heartlanders head into a much-needed week off sitting at 7-11-2 and holding 6th place in the ECHL’s Central Division . It’s been an up-and-down stretch filled with tight games, big swings, and more than a few gloves hitting the ice. This week featured two more battles with the Bloomington Bison and a trip to Kansas City to open December against the Mavericks — and each game came with its own storyline. Game 1: Black Friday Revenge in Bloomington Heartlanders win 3–2

The Chicago Bears traveled to Philadelphia for a chilly Black Friday showdown, and what looked like a tough road matchup turned into one of the team’s most complete and impressive wins of the season. Behind a dominant ground game, clutch defense, and timely playmaking, the Bears walked out with a 24–15 victory—and maybe silenced a few haters in the process. A Promising Start… Until It Wasn’t Chicago started the night looking sharp. The opening drive went 42 yards on 11 plays

It’s been a rough start to the season for the Quad City Storm. For most of the year, they’ve been stuck at the bottom of the SPHL standings, struggling to find rhythm, scoring, and consistency. But this week—the first real signs of a turnaround began to show. While it wasn’t perfect, the Storm finally started digging themselves out of last place and put together one of their strongest efforts of the season. Let’s break down the week. Wednesday vs. Peoria Rivermen – Missed Cha

The Iowa Hawkeyes hit the road for their annual Black Friday rivalry matchup against Nebraska, a series they’ve controlled since the Hero Trophy was introduced in 2011. Iowa entered the day leading the all-time trophy series 10–4, and they walked out adding another tally to the win column. The game began with both teams trading early punts and feeling each other out, but Nebraska struck first—and emphatically. Running back Emmett Johnson , who had a monster afternoon, gashed

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

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

Senior Day at Kinnick Stadium is always emotional. 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 sl

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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