On Iowa Sports

Mark Ironside joins the Pinning Combination podcast with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs ahead of Saturday night’s Cy-Hawk men’s wrestling dual between Iowa and Iowa State.

The two-time NCAA champion and 1998 Hodge Trophy winner discusses his role as the Hawkeyes’ radio analyst, hunting with Iowa wrestlers and coaches (including who among that group is the worst shot) and his expectations for Saturday’s dual.

Also this week, a look at the NWCA All-Star Classic results and more wrestling news from the week.

At 6-4, this has become a forgettable season for an Iowa football team that entered the fall with expectations to contend for a College Football Playoff spot. The Gazette's John Steppe and Mike Hlas talk through where it went wrong on this episode of the Hawk Off The Press podcast.

Plus, the Iowa men’s basketball team has more talent and potential than people think, but where are the fans?

The Pinning Combination podcast with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and hall of fame coach Dick Briggs is back for the 2024-25 wrestling season. Joining us on the season’s first episode is UW-La Crosse Coach Dave Malecek.

Malacek talks about his coaching influences in Iowa, how he’s been successful in La Crosse and the movies his wrestlers are required to watch.

Then, it’s on to some early-season analysis of Iowa, Iowa State and UNI.

John Steppe and Mike Hlas break down Iowa's 40-14 win over Northwestern, the quarterback change to Brendan Sullivan and what it means for the rest of the season on this episode of The Final Score.

Iowa soccer head coach Dave DiIanni joins The Gazette's John Steppe to discuss another successful season for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is ranked 11th in the country with a 13-1-3 record heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale at Minnesota.

Among the discussion topics:

• Iowa’s keys to success this season

• Freshman Berit Parten’s immediate goal-scoring impact

• Sitting in third place while not scheduled to face the Big Ten’s top two teams, USC and UCLA

• Iowa’s NCAA tournament outlook, including the possibility of hosting multiple rounds

• Support from AD Beth Goetz, a former soccer coach herself who once coached against DiIanni

Matt Wenzel of MLive joins The Gazette’s John Steppe on the Hawk Off The Press podcast this week to give Iowa football fans a Michigan State scouting report ahead of Saturday night’s game in East Lansing.

The Spartans are coming off a bye week but have lost three straight games under first-year coach Jonathan Smith.

The Gazette's John Steppe and Mike Hlas break down Iowa's 40-16 win over Washington on The Final Score, including another special Kaleb Johnson performance and why this was Hawkeyes' most complete performance of the season. Plus, the implications this win has for the rest of the season as the midway point arrives.

Andy Yamashita of The Seattle Times joins The Gazette’s John Steppe on the Hawk Off The Press podcast this week to preview Saturday’s Big Ten football game between Washington and Iowa.

The Huskies are coming off an appearance in last season’s national championship game, but this is a new team with a new coach and a new conference. Andy tells us what to expect from this version of Washington.

Doug Lesmerises of the Kings of the North podcast joins The Gazette's John Steppe on this week’s Hawk Off the Press podcast with a message for Heisman Trophy oddsmakers: Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson should be in the discussion at this point in the season.

Plus, how has Tim Lester changed the Hawkeyes’ offense? And does Iowa have a chance to beat Ohio State on Oct. 5?

It’s a late-night (well, more like early-morning) edition of The Final Score after Kaleb Johnson trampled Minnesota in a 31-14 Iowa victory. Tune in for postgame thoughts from The Gazette's John Steppe and Mike Hlas.