Sweet Jesus,

I adore Shawn Johnson. The wee hippie wore her peace sign earrings to meet the chimp.

Awwww

Wee hippie Shawn and Al at the DNC

Wee hippie

Wee Olympic gold medal-winning hippie.

HOMEGIRL!

Shawn Johnson will drop in on Letterman, Leno and the Democrats this week. She was headed from Beijing on Monday straight for New York to tape an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" to air at 10:35 Monday night on CBS. Then she has a stop at home scheduled for Tuesday, and she will be welcomed home in free festivities at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Thursday, Shawn will lead the pledge of allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, then head to Los Angeles to tape a "Tonight Show" appearance with Jay Leno that will air Friday at 10:35 p.m. on NBC.

HOMEGIRL!

Ah, Shawn. Iowa is so proud of you!

(and I loved the peace sign earrings in your post-meet interview, honey!)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Shawn Johnson's megawatt smile lit up the National Indoor Stadium on Tuesday after the American gymnast finally got her hands on an Olympic gold medal.

The 16-year-old outshone rivals Nastia Liukin and Cheng Fei with her deft footwork on the balance beam to end a run of three silver-medal winning performances in Beijing.

Awesome,

see "made of"...

Nastia Liukin and Shawn "M-F" Johnson.

Adorable- check

Awesome- check

Champions- check

Sweet Jesus,

I love Mr. Walcott nearly as much as I loathe Tim Daggett...

"A disaster of epic proportion" is how NBC gymnastics analyst (and former gymnast himself) Tim Daggett described Alicia Sacramore's butt-landing last night in the team competition--a phrase that might be more judiciously deployed to label a monsoon or earthquake that wipes out multiple thousands, or the aftermath of aerial bombardment. A gymnast flubbing her tumbling pass doesn't quite qualify as an epic disaster, even if this is the Olympics and the entire world is riveted to the screen from the sanctity of their leisure modules.

But rhetorical overkill is Daggett's signature yelp, treating every bobble or half-step on the landing as a potential fatal rip ("this--is a nightmare") in the fabric of the heroic narrative he and colleague Al Trautwig have collaborated on behind the mike as they pump up every gymnastics showdown into psychodrama, soap opera, and Nietzschean feats of will.

Hyperbole is the chant they sing, but where Daggett relies on a few stock phrases of cheer or doom, Trautwig fancies himself quite the troubadour, translating the gymnasts' thoughts for us as if their interior monologues were as wordy and portentous as his exterior ones. Gad, they get on my nerves.

Awesome

Every year at the Iowa State Fair, there is a butter sculpture of something culturally significant, such as the butter Last Supper, Harry Potter (my fav-drove the fundies crazy) and Elvis. Oh, and the traditional butter cow.

This year's edition? Butter Shawn Johnson, the wee dynamo from West Des Moines, currently kicking some ass and taking some names at the Olympics.

Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, whose likeness is being cast in bronze for the Iowa Hall of Pride, will be sculpted in a more gooey medium in August at the Iowa State Fair.

Butter Shawn Johnson will share the spotlight with the butter cow in the Agriculture Building Aug. 7-17. Butter sculptor Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines plans to incorporate a balance beam into Johnson’s pose, and possibly an American flag.

Seriously, I really can't think of a higher honor in Iowa than to be (temporarily) immortalized in dairy at the state fair.

Thoughts

while watching the women's team qualifying gymnastics competition at the Olympics-

-AAAAAA! Stay in bounds, honey!

-AAAAAA! No, really! Stay in bounds!

-Awwww, little Nastia Liukin did well!

-Get down with your bad tiny little self, Shawn Johnson! (representing West Des Moines)!

-AAAAAA! AN INTERVIEW WITH PREZNIT BUSH? WTF?????

*clicks over to 'Extreme Home Makeover*

-AAAAAAAAA! HE'S STILL ON THE DAMN TV???

My question is, does NBC have ANY idea how unpopular this dipshit is? I'd love to see how much ratings plummeted during that segment...

Update-actual text messages my girl, Case, sent me regarding the interview with the Chimp-

"Is he drunk?"

"He was talking baseball, so I kept waiting for him to pick his nose."

Absorbine Jr. is my god now

Am tired. So very, very tired.



Though not THIS tired.

Anyway, I'll write more about this tomorrow, including the characters that passed me during my top 10,000 finish. Such as Tinky Winky and the San Diego Chicken.

Not. Making. This. Up.

And how as feared, the Brady Street hill did NOT kill me dead.

Ah, I hear the dulcet tones of the sofa calling... I'll be there in a moment, lover...

Cool

While waiting for my sister to compete at the Iowa State Girls Track meet in the late '90s, I remember watching Lolo Jones run the 100M hurdles.

As I recall, my brother and I turned to each other and said, "Holy shit. HOLY SHIT."

And now she's an Olympian. Too cool.

When former Des Moines Roosevelt star Lolo Jones lined up for the 100-meter hurdle semifinals on Sunday at the Olympic Trials, the 25-year old Jones struggled to outrun her own emotions before attempting to outkick the top hurdlers at that distance in the United States.

And this is just awesome-

Winning a world 60-meter hurdles indoor title earlier this year in Valencia, Spain, and a growing list of sponsors also allowed Jones to lend a hand to her home state.Jones donated her earnings from the Olympic trials - $4,000, to be matched by her sponsor Asics, according to WHO-TV - to flood victims in Iowa.

That's a whole lotta

skinny white English boy...

Noel Mighty Boosh and Serge Kasabian at the Soccer Six match.

Am highly amused

The last two songs played on the soundsystem at the NHL finals

'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'- The Darkness

'Living On A Prayer'- Bon Jovi

All hair, all the time...

Great shot

Oh God, I was actually rooting for United today. What's next? The Yankees? The Patriots?

I'm so ashamed.

And I swear, I've not spent the past hour ogling Cristiano Ronaldo's thighs admiring the team's athletic prowess.

Oh, not smart. NOT SMART.

Cheryl is by no means my fav Girls Aloud (i.e. not Sarah or Kim), but wow. WOW. She's gonna have her husband roasted over a pit. Slowly. As she should.

Chezza'll cut a bitch. And his little dog, too.

Pop star Cheryl, 24, vowed never to forgive the England footballer after hearing about his seedy sex session. A source said the furious Girls Aloud singer yelled at her husband: “How could you humiliate me like this in front of everyone?”In her rage, she ordered him to pack his bags, saying: “Get out. It’s over - you’ve ruined it all.” Feisty Cheryl - who warned a year ago that she would leave her hubby if he cheated - later told a friend: “I can’t believe he has done this to me. He has ruined everything.”

Cashley is toast. TOAST.

Holy cow!

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Chris Singleton made two key interceptions, Alexander Robinson ran for two touchdowns and Iowa State stunned Kansas State 31-20 Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak.

Austen Arnaud, a freshman seeing his first dose of significant playing time, was 5-of-7 passing for 130 yards to lead the Cyclones (2-8, 1-5 Big 12), who had lost their first five conference games by an average of 23 points.

and HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- A slew of team and individual records took a tumble Saturday as No. 8 Kansas trounced Nebraska 76-39.

HOLY COW!

The Cubs are back in the postseason for the first time since 2003, wrapping up the National League Central Division title with a 6-0 win over the Reds in Cincinnati Friday night while the Brewers were losing 6-3 to the San Diego Padres in Milwaukee.

Still more game day

ISU's quarterback, Bret Meyer, of Atlantic, Iowa, walks through a crowd of 24 hour party people after the game.

The game which Iowa State won, 15-13. In case you missed that. We beat the Hawkeyes. Again.

Ames is going to be freaking Sodom and Gomorrah tonight. So, a typical Saturday night.

For obvious reasons,

I was looking for a picture of the Cy-Hawk trophy, and found this piece of shite.

Seriously, Mr. Dude Who Wrote This Article- proofreading. Look into it. (my comments in red)

The Cy-Hawk trophy winner is based on a points system. The winner of contests between each school earns a point towards the trophy. The winner of the football contest gets two points. The trophy was first introduced in 1977 to coincide with the revival of the football rivalry. Iowa holds the edge in keeping the trophy in Iowa City by a 19-10 margin. Now let's get to the important, (Important????) like why this trophy sucks.

Name: Cy-Hawk? I am racking my brains trying to figure out what three year old came up with this name. Anything in relation to a team that is named Cyclone (Oh for Christ's Sake) and has a bird name (try "named," stud) Cy for it's mascot has no business being replicated in full or partial form on anything, much less a college football trophy. (Oh, go fuck off)

History: Or should I say lack of it. Most trophy's (Jesus, this asshole is trying to raise my blood pressure) in college football have some sort of significance or a cool story (seriously, man- "cool story?") behind it. Many have been around for most of this century. (Good God, is Jonah Goldberg writing this? That's just lazy) This trophy was made up simply for the sake of having a big piece of metal to put in a case. (Maybe I'm just a dumb girl Cyclone, but I kind of thought that was trophies *were* "big piece(s) of metal to put in a case." Silly me)

Identity: It has a wannabe Heisman guy figurine, a football figurine, (Hello, redundant) as well as an engraved Herky, and dumb bird on it (try Cy the Cyclone, dickweed. And if Cy is a "dumb bird," then what the fuck is fucking Herky?) . How about something that represents the state? One look and all you can say is, what the Hell is that? (No, really- dude was PAID for writing this?) Also, why does a trophy that represents the winner of multiple sports have a football player on it? I think the volleyball teams may be offended. (Seriously, fuck off )

Sponsorship: Does this make sense? The hyphenated Hy-Vee (don't knock Hy-Vee, fool) grocery store sponsoring an already hyphenated trophy adds to many hyphens to four words that should never be hyphenated. (If I never see the word "hyphen" again, it will be too soon) Perhaps Hy-Vee should sponsor a third tier bowl game in Boise instead. (No really, go Cheney yourself)

With that said, it is still a trophy the fans want back, no matter it's level of suckitude. (*eyes roll back in head*)

I'm starting to channel Samuel L. Jackson here, but YOU HAVE GOT TO BE MOTHERFUCKING KIDDING ME. What a wanker.

OH HELL YES!

*runs around screaming*

IOWA STATE WINS! SUCK ON IT, HAWKEYES! The Evil Empire- vanquished! God or Whomever Bless Bret Culbertson.

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa State kicker Bret Culbertson tied a school record with five field goals, the final a 28-yarder with 1 second left, and the Cyclones upset Iowa 15-13 Saturday for coach Gene Chizik's first win.

The victory was Iowa State's fourth in five tries at home against the Hawkeyes (2-1). The Cyclones (1-2) have taken seven of the last 10 from their in-state rival.

Will resume normal music fangirl posting as soon as I calm the fuck down..... The important question is-which Hawkeye fans can I call and taunt? Like any of them will answer their phones.....

*resumes screaming and running in circles*

Freaking spectacular

Great. My team lost to a I-AA school. A I-AA school that two of my siblings graduated from. Fucking wonderful. I'm not answering my damn phone tomorrow.

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Eric Sanders passed for two touchdowns and ran for another and Northern Iowa kept Iowa State winless under new coach Gene Chizik with a 24-13 victory Saturday night.

Northern Iowa (2-0), a member of the Football Championship Subdivision, looked much stronger and sharper than its Big 12 opponent, which coughed up four turnovers and rarely established any consistency on offense.

And while the outcome won't rock the nation in the manner of Appalachian State's upset of Michigan, it was still satisfying for the Panthers, who ended a five-game losing streak to Iowa State (0-2) in front of the largest crowd ever at ISU, 56,795.