Cyclone Quick Hits
Here's wishing a speedy recovery to Fred Hoiberg, the NBA veteran and former Iowa State guard who recently underwent open heart surgery, which included the placement of a permanent pacemaker. He was sent home after the initial surgery, but had to be taken back to the hospital after he blacked out while climbing his stairs. Doctors say he could play again, but will miss most or all of next season.

Hoiberg is a favorite of mine, not only because he's an Iowa native, but because he was such an efficient scorer in the NBA. His numbers bring smiles to the faces of stats geeks everywhere, including one of the mainstream ones. I don't want to go too in depth today, but suffice it to say that when (1) half of your field goal attempts are threes, (2) you lead the league in 3pt%, and (3) you don't miss many free throws, your efficiency numbers will look very appealing.

When I was an undergrad, I had an older professor who had spent time as an engineer, an attorney, and as a prominent city government official. He was basically retired and obviously didn't need the teaching salary, so his lectures often drifted from the course material and morphed into discussions of his colorful history, including this memorable story. He had an accident with his lawn mower one spring and lopped of the end of his thumb. He yelled into the house to instruct his wife to call ahead to the hospital. She excitedly dialed the ER, which caused a mild hysteria to spread throughout the area as rumors started flying. Once he arrived to the hospital, though, there was a collective sigh of relief. Why all the anxiety? Apparently March is a bad time to alert Ames residents that the Mayor just lost his thumb in a mowing accident.

One other link to pass along. Since I just recently got my internet up and going again, I've been bumming around different blogs to see what I've missed during the offseason. An old post at The Chris West Basketball Journal reminded of a (an?) hilarious blog that former Cyclone Paul Shirley typed up while on a road trip with the Phoenix Suns back in March. What I didn't know was that, due to popular demand, Shirley wrote a second rendition, this one during Phoenix's playoff run. There's plenty of stuff to read through on both journals, but they're well worth the time. Apparently, his blog has been so popular that Shirley will be writing a book, which he calls "a collection of all the ups and downs that have been my journey through professional basketball—overseas, the minor leagues, the NBA, maybe the occasional rock concert reference." If recollections of those experiences are as entertaining as his time with the Suns, I can't wait to reserve a copy.
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