The new Cy-Hawk trophy that was supposed to be given to the victor of the Iowa State-Iowa football game September 10th is going the way of the state’s touchplay machines. The trophy which features a farm family around a basket of corn, was unveiled by the Iowa Corn Growers Association and representatives of the two schools Saturday. But Corn Growers Association C-E-O Craig Floss says fans were not impressed.  “We have received an overwhelming amount of feedback on the new trophy that was unveiled last week at the Iowa State Fair,” Floss said, “We’ve had both positive and negative comments, but I would be remiss to not mention that the overwhelming amount of feedback has been negative.” Floss appeared with representatives of the two schools today (Tuesday) to pull the plug after five days.  “We are announcing that we are changing the trophy as was unveiled last week, and we are going to open up a process that is going to allow Iowans — the fans — to decide what that trophy should be like,” Floss said. Floss said they had sought to create a trophy that representative of the entire Cy-Hawk series between the schools and not just the football game. He says they “missed the mark.”  He says based on what they have heard, they are going to develop several concepts and then let the fans which concept to use to develop a trophy. Iowa State associate athletic director, Steve Malchow, says the creation of the trophy has been wrongly portrayed as Iowa Corn wanting to design the new trophy in exchange for its sponsorship of the series.  Malchow says each of the schools had received considerable input about changing the trophy, and the change to Iowa Corn as the sponsor of the series simply provided the right time to make the change. He says they are eager to move ahead and create a new trophy that is more representative of the “states marquee sporting event, the Iowa State-Iowa football game.” Iowa associate athletic director, Rick Klatt also said the criticism aimed at the corn growers was unwarranted.  Klatt says “unfortunately our partner in the project, Iowa Corn has shouldered most of the burden of the criticism.” He says both schools and Iowa corn collaborated in the development of the trophy and that story has been told incorrectly. Klatt was asked if there had been any fan input before the new trophy was developed.  Klatt says the answer is “no” as it would have been a greater challenge with more input, “The honest answer is that we didn’t consult with season ticket holders or donors are any particular constituency group.” The new trophy will not be given out at the September 10th game, but Floss says they will develop an interim trophy to hand out to the winning team until the revamped trophy is ready. Floss says you can find out more about giving input for the trophy at the Iowa Corn Growers Association website, or at the websites of the two schools.

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams will use Friday night’s preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium to benefit the tornado recovery efforts in Joplin, Mo.  The city was devastated by a tornado on May 22 that killed more than 150 people and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage.  Joplin is only now finishing debris removal and turning its attention to rebuilding its infrastructure.  The Chiefs and Rams both visited the town to assist in the recovery effort his summer.  They plan to recognize rescue teams and volunteers on Friday night, along with collecting donations from fans. About 500 volunteers and residents of Joplin will attend the game, and the coaching staffs will wear special shirts and hats to raise awareness of the recovery effort.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State’s 2011-2012 wrestling schedule is the Cyclones’ best in memory.  For the first time in years, the Cyclones will grapple with Big 12 opponents Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Missouri at home and on the road. Iowa State will play host to intrastate rival Iowa in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series at 2 p.m. Dec. 4 in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will also host a National Duals Regional Feb. 12 that will feature six of the nation’s top teams.

“Our fans know wrestling and this schedule provides them the opportunity to see the nation’s top teams,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson said. “In addition to seeing all of our conference rivals, the schedule includes Iowa and Northern Iowa, Virginia Tech and Cornell. We want to be the nation’s premier wrestling program and you can’t do that if your wrestlers don’t wrestle the best.”

The home season begins Nov. 13 with the Harold Nichols Open in Hilton Coliseum. Big 12 foes Oklahoma State and Oklahoma come to Ames, on Nov. 25 and Nov. 27, respectively. Missouri is in Ames Jan. 8, Virginia Tech comes to Hilton Jan. 13, and on Jan. 29 2011 national runner-up Cornell makes an appearance in Hilton Coliseum. The home schedule will include a NWCA National/Cliff Keen National Duals regional, which includes Iowa, Virginia Tech, Northern Iowa, Oregon State and Wisconsin.

The Cyclones will also be tested on the road, starting with a Nov. 6 triangular against Army and Boston in Boston, Mass. On Nov. 20 the team will travel to Norfolk, Va. to take on Old Dominion before going on a month-long road schedule that includes Minnesota on Dec. 9, Missouri on Dec. 18, the Midlands Championships on the Dec. 29-30, before wrapping up the road stretch Jan. 3 in Tempe, Ariz. against Arizona State.

Iowa State will travel to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners on Jan. 20 and the Cowboys on Jan. 22 before finishing the regular dual season with a short trip to Cedar Falls to take on Northern Iowa.

Post season action begins with the Big 12 Championship March 3 in Columbia, Mo. The 2012 NCAA Championships are March 15-17 in St. Louis.

(ISU press release)

     AMES, Iowa (AP) – In the Nigerian homeland of Kelechi Osemele’s family, his first name translates as “Thank God.”  Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads certainly can relate. He says he is glad to have 6-foot-6, 347-pound offensive tackle playing for the Cyclones.  Osemele became part of Gene Chizik’s first recruiting class at Iowa State, signing in February 2007. He didn’t start until eighth game in 2008, and hasn’t missed a start since. When the Cyclones open the season against Northern Iowa on Sept. 3, Osemele will
start his 31st consecutive game.

     DAVIE, Fla. (AP) – Veteran running back Larry Johnson has signed with the Miami Dolphins after sitting out most of last season.  Johnson gained 2 yards on five carries in two games before he was released by the Washington Redskins last September.  The 31-year-old has rushed for 6,221 yards and 55 scores in his career, but has played in just 16 games in the past three seasons.  In 2009 Johnson was released by the Kansas City Chiefs in November and finished the year with Cincinnati. His time in Kansas City was marred by off-field problems, including two suspensions in his final 12 months with the team.  Johnson’s best years were in 2005-06 with the Chiefs, when he had consecutive 1,750-yard seasons.  The Dolphins waived running back Kory Sheets.

w/ Jim Field

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Cy-Hawk Trophy (Associated Press)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Fans, a former coach and the governor are all panning the new Cy-Hawk trophy that will go to the winner of the annual game between Iowa and Iowa State.  The trophy features a farm family around a bushel of corn.  The trophy, sponsored by the Iowa Corn Growers Association, was unveiled Friday. Since then, newspaper and television websites have been filled with people unhappy with it.  Even former Hawkeye coach Hayden Fry and Gov. Terry Branstad have let their feelings known.  Fry tells The Des Moines Register it’s a nice-looking trophy but doesn’t relate to football. Branstad says he thinks the Corn Growers Association could have done a better job.  A corn growers spokeswoman says they are taking comments and trying to figure out “what’s best.”  Sponsoring officials have announced that they will hold a press conference to discuss the new trophy.

     KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Dexter McCluster is back where he feels most comfortable.  That should make opposing defenses decidedly uncomfortable.  The 5-foot-8, 170-pound self-described “jitterbug” played mostly running back growing up, but he moved into a slot receiver role while becoming a multi-purpose star at Mississippi. When he was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2010 draft, the idea was to use him a similar fashion to college, putting him in the backfield and at times splitting him out wide.  He played mostly receiver last season, along with returning kicks and punts, but is shifting into the backfield again during training camp, and coach Todd Haley says he’s encouraged by his progress.  The Chiefs return to preseason action Friday night against St. Louis.

     ST. LOUIS (AP) – A moth got stuck deep in Matt Holliday’s right ear, forcing the St. Louis Cardinals slugger out of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  With two outs in the top of the eighth inning Monday night, Holliday walked off the field holding his ear. Cardinals trainer Barry Weinberg tried to assist the All-Star left fielder as he
headed toward the dugout.  Team spokesman Brian Bartow says Holliday was taken into a dark room and trainers put a light by his ear to try to lure the moth out. That didn’t work, so they used a utensil to get the moth, which was still alive, out of Holliday’s ear.  Holliday was not available for comment after a 2-1 loss but appeared to be OK, Bartow said.  Holliday was replaced in left field by Corey Patterson.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Aaron Miles’ RBI triple keyed a two-run, ninth inning rally and the Los Angeles Dodgers came from behind to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1.  Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter, who has never lost to Los Angeles, dominated the Dodgers for eight innings, shutting them out on five hits. Carpenter took a 1-0 lead into the ninth, but then hit Juan Rivera to start the frame.  Manager Tony La Russa brought in Arthur Rhodes, who struck out Andre Ethier. La Russa then went back to his bullpen, but that move backfired when Miles tripled to right center off Fernando Salas (5-5) to tie the game at 1-1.  La Russa then went to Jason Motte, who got Rod Barajas to ground sharply to short. But shortstop Rafael Furcal bobbled the ball briefly allowing Miles to score the go-ahead run.