Dan Johnson's blog

Barnstormers move up

DanJohnson — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:00:00 GMT

The Iowa Barnstormers have moved up one spot to fourth place in the arenafootball2 weekly coaches' poll.

The Barnstormers are 3-0 going into Saturday's rematch at Tulsa. Tulsa was ranked second before losing 73-68 at Iowa on April 4.
Spokane continues to lead the voting, garnering 23 of the 25 first-place votes.

Iowa coach John Gregory said this is the type of success that he expects from his team.

"I think that's where the Iowa Barnstormers deserve to be," he said. "That's the kind of football team we should have."

The top five:

1. Spokane (23) 2-0    382
2. Arkansas (1)   3-0    337
3. Oklahoma City 3-0   330
4. Iowa             3-0    314
5. Boise (1)       2-0    254

Barnstormers' crowd best in af2 since 2005

DanJohnson — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:05:00 GMT

The Barnstormers' crowd of 11,627 at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday not only was the largest in their one-plus years of arenafootball2, but it was the largest turnout in the league in four seasons.

The last af2 regular season game to have a bigger turnout came on July 30, 2005, when Oklahoma City drew 12,181 fans for its game against Tulsa.

Villanueva to start

DanJohnson — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:20:00 GMT

No surprise, but Brian Villanueva will start again at quarterback for the Iowa Barnstormers in Friday's game at Peoria.

Villanueva made his first Barnstormers' start a memorable one, earning arenafootball2 player of the week honors after accounting for nine touchdowns in Saturday's 73-68 victory against Tulsa.

Villanueva and Joe Brannen had split time in the Barnstormers' first game, a 60-38 victory at Milwaukee. Brannen srarted for the Barnstormers last season while Villanueva played for coach John Gregory in Arkansas in 2007.

Gregory didn't settle on Villanueva until just before Saturday's game at Tulsa. The fourth-year quarterback responded by completing 24-of-39 passes for 244 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for two touchdowns.

"He played very well," Gregory said. "Joe's a good player, too. Joe's been a very positive person, and his time will come as well."

After scoring 73 points just twice in 16 games last season, the Barnstormers have started out with 60-plus points in both games this season.

Wieben to start

DanJohnson — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:51:00 GMT

Iowa State center Nicky Wieben went through shootaround today and is scheduled to start in tonight's NCAA women's basketball regional semifinal game against Michigan State.

Wieben, a 6-foot 4-inch senior, sprained her foot with 54.7 seconds left in Tuesday's 71-57 victory against Ball State. She had said Friday that she intended to play tonight, and after participating in a reserved shootaround Saturday, was given the green light to go.

Wieben is Iowa State's third-leading scorer at 10.6 points per game and its leader in blocked shots, with 41. She and backup Jocelyn Anderson will be counted upon to defend Michigan State 6-9 center Allyssa DeHaan.

Iowa State, 26-8, is the fourth seed in the Berkeley Region and trying for its first elite eight berth since 1999. Michigan State (22-10) is the ninth seed. The winner plays the Stanford-Ohio State winner on Monday for a trip to the Final Four in St. Louis.

First things first

DanJohnson — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:38:00 GMT

Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly says he's gotten plenty of questions regarding Iowa State's chances of beating Tennessee in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
The only problem is the Cyclones (24-8) don't open against Tennessee and coach Pat Summitt, they open against East Tennessee State (20-10). If Iowa State loses, there will be no chance to meet the most fabled program in women's basketball.
"I had a luncheon on Tuesday, and that's all everyone was talking about," Fennelly said. "And that's normal, but it's not something we can be concerned with.
"I understand it. When you're in a bracket with one of the most high profile programs in the sport and probably the greatest coach in the sport, that's O.K. But, I think our players understand."
Still, he said he doesn't expect his team to overlook East Tennessee State.
"If we lose to East Tennessee State, it's not going to be because we're looking past them," Fennelly said. "We're not that good. We've always been a that is really taken the stance that the next 40 minutes is what we have to worry about."
That sentiment was echoed by guard Alison Lacey.
"I know we aren't looking past them," Lacey said. "Definitely the team is focused to beat East Tennessee State. We're going to play hard. We're not overlooking anybody. We don't want to be that team that gets upset. The team is definitely focused."