The long offseason drudges on. What happens when playoff hockey and basketball are over? As always, send questions whenever you'd like either on Twitter by using the #WRNLMailbag hashtag, or by emailing widerightnattylite AT gmail DOT com.
Let's begin with a brutally depressing, yet fairly valid question.
@WideRtNattyLt #WRNLMailbag Better odds 6 Wins or Staying within 20 of Baylor
— Lee Plummer (@mrplums34) April 30, 2014
Easy. Staying within 20 of Baylor.
For Iowa State to win 6 games this year, it will take at least two lightning strikes. Between the lack of depth at defensive line to the new kids show "Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego Devron Moore", the 2014 season promises to be incredibly challenging unless the offense mass roid rages for 4 months. I'd say 4 wins is the glass-half-full projection at this point.
Meanwhile, to stay within 20 of Baylor on September 27th, all it would take is a flash flood in Ames, Bryce Petty getting hit with an STD while partying it up in Ankeny Friday night (just kidding. it's Ankeny), or Art Briles to have a bout of conscience arise and smack him in the face over last year's 71-7 piss pounding when forcing Baylor to punt on their first drive was about the only good thing that happened for the Cyclones on the night. Somehow I'd still take the likelihood of any of these three things happening over the Cyclones' defensive depth chart holding up over a 9 game Big 12 season.
A series of questions from AmericanCyclone:
Are we turning into Kansas?
This is where I have to point out that we'd actually only become the poor man's version of Kansas. They've won national titles in basketball and even been to a BCS game in this millennium.
Yep, probably a good time for a drink.
Who is your favorite WRNL poster and why?
I enjoy all the weirdos that comment here, but this is the easiest question I've ever had to answer. My favorite poster is SeanS7921, and it isn't even close. Let's take a look back to what Sean said about the UNI loss in football after I tried to remain somewhat optimistic in the recap.
Fuck this
No positives. Zero. Richardson should look okay against basically a high school team. UNI probably isnt a good FCS team. Our offensive and defensive line may be the worst lines in the history of football. Even as a State we fail. The Streaming of the game sucked ass. After leaving Keg Stand, Champps had the game but it was in fucking black and white! I know now God is a sick bastard. He tested me by providing a hilarious Hawk loss, but i knew that was just to get me excited for this sad sack of a team. We should be kicked out of the Big 12 for this loss. Players should hang their heads in shame after this game. Players walking on campus should stop to apologize to any person that walks by them. Damn them! Its fucking UNI! Feel free to lose to Tulsa like that. All i ask is to beat a high school team. In fact Tulsa will probably beat us by 40. The Hawks at least loss to a real team! Ive gone from being giddy for college football to over it in a span of hours! ISU did this to me! You have taken away my love of football. Congrats, i hope yer happy. Now after the Vikings get owned next weekend and my fantasy teams implode i can finish up the football season in record time...
I rest my case.
What is the strangest word in the English language?
I'm struggling not to say it's YOLO since the word inexplicably made it into the dictionary. but really, any word is strange when you say/use it a couple of times in quick succession. I actually did some research for this one, and it turns out Merriam-Webster has their own list.
My favorite of the bunch is taradiddle, which is probably what many of you will take to calling BHGP's work from now on, because you're all a bunch of meanies.
Can I get a raise? #WRNLMailbag
— Dan Becker (@WRNLKnowDan) May 6, 2014
Yes, as soon as you start writing about Iowa State summer sports as well. How's your softball knowledge, Daniel? And no, creeping on the softball players while you were at Iowa State doesn't count.
@WideRtNattyLt Chances we'll ever see a Sadler, Eustachy, or Floyd-coached team at Hilton for a non-conf game? #WRNLMailbag
— Adam Haar (@CornFedIABoy) May 6, 2014
Provided Doc Sadler stays at Southern Miss for more than two years, I would say the likelihood is high that we'll see him back at Hilton. Larry Eustachy's return seems like something that would have been in the works already if it was going to happen, so while I wouldn't say no, it seems unlikely. With Tim Floyd... well, unless he finally gets one of these bigger jobs that he keeps gunning for but has no business getting (ahem...Mizzou), as well as the fact that he's already 60(!), he is probably not going to return to Hilton.
@WideRtNattyLt I graduate in a year. What's the best restaurant/mom-and-pop joint in Ames/surrounding area I've never heard of? #WRNLMailbag
— Vic Albright (@fiftycal2004) May 6, 2014
Hickory Park. Nobody's heard of the home of the most mediocre BBQ in the Midwest, right? Seriously though, let's say we leave out the staples like Hickory Park, Jeff's Pizza, Es Tas, Pizza Pit (but really just the inferno wings) and Great Plains, here's some of my personal favorites, though I'm sure commenters will add to these.
1. The Cafe. Borderline too popular to be on this list, but The Cafe is probably the best place to eat in Ames. Fresh local ingredients make the food fantastic, with breakfast being a highlight.
2. May House/Chinese Homestyle Cooking/Thai Kitchen. Take it from an Asian: The combination of shitty looking building + lots of Asians eating in shitty looking establishment = amazing food. It's cheap, it's good, and the traditional Chinese menu at CHC and May House will broaden your food horizons.
3. Pammel Grocery. The gyros and falafels there are about as good as you can find outside of a major city.