Once again the quest for an Iowa basketball team to bring home the NCAA title has crashed and burned. Iowa State was truly a fun team to watch this year. They could score and then they could score. At least until Friday night, that is. I am not sure how Fred Hoiberg has done it so far. He seems to take a bunch of unknowns and somehow makes a really good team out of them. The Cyclones will really miss Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane next year. But somehow, Fred Hoiberg will once more work that Hoiberg / Hilton magic and they will once more be in the mix.

Nothing like sports to bring out the cliches in all of us. Speaking of cliches, were you paying attention last week?

1) She must have made most of the male electorate when she spoke proudly of castrating pigs in her ad for the Republican bid for the nomination as their Senate candidate. Who made this commercial?

2) In Oklahoma, Katie Francis sold 18,107 of what?

3) Two major search operations are going on in the world at present. One is to find the missing Malaysian airline and the other is what?

4) With a couple days to go it looks like what will come close to its goal of 7 million registrants by March 31?

5) Meanwhile in Chicago, a commuter train had a major wreck. The cause cited was operator error because the operator was what?

6) There seems to be a scandal heating up in Des Moines over “Hush money” paid to who?

7) The US Attorney General said the federal government said it would honor same sex marriages performed during the short window what state allowed such marriages before they were stopped by a federal judge?

8) Chris Christie was found to have nothing to do with the George Washington Bridge scandal. This investigation was launched by who?

9) College sports prepared to be turned on its head after an NLRB regional head declared that players at what school were school employees and thus could unionize?

10) Despite many other needs in this state, the Iowa legislature was able to come up with a big tax break for which major sport, but none for college students repaying loans?

11) Rush Limbaugh said Obama only went to this place because he read it as “vacation.” Among other stops what major religious figure did President Obama visit this week?

12) In a consumer survey this week it was found that over 1/3rd of Americans had less than how much saved for retirement?

13) In Muscatine, what major polluter announced an agreement with the attorney general and the Iowa DNR on cutbacks in their pollution?

14) One of the more controversial cases SCOTUS will hear this year took place Tuesday when what company’s case against the ACA was heard?

15) Which Car manufacturer has been beset with a series of recalls early in the leadership of its first female CEO?

“Wait til next year!” As a Cub fan I have learned that since I was a baby. I can only say I would like to see more frequent championships with previous winners not allowed to compete. The Cubs would then have a chance.

Answers:

1) Joni Ernst – I have many comments, none I can print

2) Girl Scout cookies

3) Searching for victims of a mudslide

4) The ACA

5) Sleeping

6) state workers fired by the Branstad admin.

7) Michigan

8) Chris Christie

9) Northwestern

10) NASCAR

11) The Vatican where Obama met with Pope Francis

12) $1,000

13) Grain Processors

14) Hobby Lobby

15) GM – of course the problems happened long before Mary Barra was appointed CEO.

The Hobby Lobby case makes me want to make a short comment on Clarence Thomas. I saw this article by Jeffrey Toobin about a month ago. He describes Thomas thus:
” These days, Thomas only reclines; his leather chair is pitched so that he can stare at the ceiling, which he does at length. He strokes his chin. His eyelids look heavy. Every schoolteacher knows this look. It’s called “not paying attention.”

Thomas is 65. He may well have another 25 years on the court. America deserves so much better.