Black Heart Gold Podcast

With both the reigning defensive player of the year and a newly-minted starting quarterback coming from the Iowa football program, the CFL has become must-watch offseason television. Of course, that means we have to understand Canadian football, and that's not exactly the easiest thing to do. Here to make sense of it for us is Andrew Bucholtz, editor of Yahoo's Canadian football blog, 55 Yard Line, and a longtime Friend of the Pants.

You might remember how we kind of dismissed Chick-Fil-A as completely overrated and thoroughly mediocre a couple of weeks ago.  Many took umbrage, but none did so with the class and charm of Senator Blutarsky, proprietor of Get the Picture, keeper of the Mumme Poll, and fan of all things Georgia Bulldog.  It was an issue that needed resolution, so Blutarsky joined us for the Season Four premiere of Black Heart Gold Podcast.  There's some playoff stuff here, too, because he's probably written more on the issue than anyone. Also, there's a new theme song.  Just FYI.

It's the last week of March, so it's time for a BHGP tradition: The Wrestlemania Preview Podcast. This year, Ross and I are joined by Tom Holzerman (the proprietor of Walls of Jerichoholic and regular participant in #RawIsTwitter) and Jackson Young (who you probably know as Smokin' Herb Grigsby). We had fun.

For a year now, we've been religiously reading the Kingsbury Factor, the ridiculously entertaining blog dedicated to college basketball in general and undersized bomb-chucking shooting guards in particular. Their patron saint: Chris Kingsbury, former Iowa Hawkeye and the subject of many an urban legend both on and off the court.They're here this week for the podcast to discuss which bombers you should be watching in the Sweet Sixteen, who's making the Final Four, what we can expect from Iowa next year, and -- of course -- Chris Kingsbury. That's just how we roll.

WOAH DOUBLE PODCAST: A rare two-podcast week, you guys! I talked Iowa hoops, Big Ten tournament, coaching changes, and beer with Justin VanLaere of Hawkeye Nation dot com. Mostly, it was just a chance for us to catch up with one of our favorite Iowa writers and a Friend of the Pants.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, the Marchifornication Selecting Sunday Special, where Adam and I attempt to explain the Marchifornication bracket and predict what will happen (as we all know, the chances of this bracket staying intact throughout the tournament are near 100%). It's right at an hour long, and it contains absolutely nothing that will help you make sense of Marchifornication.

Iowa finally got around to hiring Greg Davis yesterday. Fortunately, the delay gave us plenty of time to set up a podcast with Peter Bean, purveyor of SBN Texas blog Burnt Orange Nation, EDSBS Live co-host, Friend of the Pants, and Greg Davis aficionado. We discuss Davis' stint with Texas, his recruiting prowess, what the hell happened in 2010, and whether he's got a wandering eye. Also, Adam's dog finds out about the hire about 20 minutes in and drowns everyone out with her laughter. (Sorry in advance for the AM radio-quality sound. Skype was having some connection issues.)

Phil Parker is the defensive coordinator, Darrell Wilson makes a lateral move from linebackers to secondary, Reese Morgan somehow ended up as defensive line coach, and Jacobi's probably not wearing pants. There are still three openings on the staff, only two of those openings weren't open this time yesterday, and nobody is quite sure why just yet. We shuffle deck chairs with Morehouse, and you get to hear what happens.

In Podcast 73, we talk about this week's Nebraska-Iowa game with Erin Sorensen (Twitter @helloerinmarie) of Husker Locker. it includes a discussion of what the HEROES TROPHY PRESENTED BY HY-VEE might be (yes, these are not recorded live), why Friday will see the Big Ten's two toughest halfbacks, the magical resurgance of Nebraska's secondary, and the history of Carter Lake, Iowa. It's also Team Pizza certified.

We'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a brother in West Lafayette, Indiana, but that doesn't mean we can't take a minute to talk about trains, creepy mascots, NBA TV hunting shows, and THE MOST INTENSE RIVALRY IN COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS OH YEAH THAT'S RIGHT SUCK IT MICHIGAN-OHIO STATE with Travis from Hammer and Rails.

Obviously, in the grand scheme of Big Ten football-related events, this weekend's Iowa-Michigan State game falls right around whether Velveeta shells and cheese is really better than Kraft. We're still an Iowa blog, though, and so we push ahead into Sparty Week with Pete Rossman, longtime writer at SB Nation MSU blog The Only Colors. Enjoy.

In the more formal, less slide-whistley version of this week's podcast, we discuss this week's Iowa-Michigan game with Brian Cook of mGoBlog. It's a discussion of where Denard fits in the grand scheme of Michigan football history, how Jordan Kovacs has become a poor man's Tyler Sash, and why Iowa might have a chance of winning this weekend.

Yes, it's the KCJJ thing. Details inside the podcast.

Northwestern is annoying. Their constant ability to come back from two score deficits to beat Iowa in the last six years is frustrating as hell. Their fans, who have turned from equally stunned to ALL WE DO IS WIN GROWL over that time, are teetering on obnoxious. Their coach, who clearly has a bone to break pick with Iowa, is irritating.With that said, their web presence (especially considering that Northwestern is a small private school that draws from a nationwide talent pool that, in large part, has no affiliation with Northwestern athletics when they hit campus) is pretty stellar. LTP's troll-baiting notwithstanding, both Bring Your Champions, They're Our Meat and SB Nation stalwarts Sippin' on Purple are must-reads for fans of Northwestern, Iowa, or comedy in blog form. Rodger Sherman from SOP is with us for this week's pod to discuss Gerry DiNardo's nephew, the beauty of Mi'kail McCall's name, how to work Childish Gambino references into your discussion of college football, and yes, Iowa-Northwestern.

It's a tradition unlike any other. Iowa is scheduled to play Penn State on Saturday, Chris and Kevin from Black Shoe Diaries and Slow States join us for the podcast to tell us how Iowa will beat Penn State, and then Iowa beats Penn State. It's gotten quite boring, actually. This year's pod in particular is awfully damn entertaining. For one, Penn State might be the most dysfunctional team in the conference this year. For another, yhe simple question of Bolden vs. McGloin has devolved into a metaphysical discussion of whether a quarterback even matters when your offensive line is always a mess and your passing offense is essentially "throw it toward the tall guy." It's a de facto Slow States pod, so there's some beer and music in there, too.