By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The Winter Olympics have come and gone, and, I have to say, as someone who hadn’t tuned in for the last few events, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2026 Milano Cortana Winter Olympics in Italy. It felt like a breath of fresh, cold air for a number of reasons. The three countries at the top of the medal table by the end were Norway with 41, the U.S. with 33, and the Netherlands with 20.

The most recent major headline to come from the event was that both the men’s and women’s hockey teams won gold medals. On the women’s side, Megan Keller scored the goal of a lifetime to secure the women’s place atop the hockey world. The overtime winning goal effortlessly shifted past the defender and slid underneath the goalkeeper. On the men’s side, they also won in overtime thanks to Jack Hughes. It was the men’s first gold medal since 1980, which many of you might remember as the Miracle on Ice.

Staying to the ice, Alysa Liu’s captivating free skate performance cemented a glorious comeback to competitive skating. Liu had retired from skating at 16 after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, hoping to find herself outside of skating. She was tired of the lack of autonomy she was given throughout her youth. Once she decided to return, she said to her coaches, “I get to pick my own program music. I get to help with the creative process of the program. If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one’s gonna starve me or tell me what I can and can’t eat.” Sounds like she knew what she was talking about, as she dominated the competition on the way to a gold medal in an incredible performance.

Another skater took gold at this Olympics, but he has been in the limelight for a while now. Ilia Malinin is doing things on the ice that were once thought to be impossible. A backflip was once deemed too dangerous for competition. Malinin now regularly performs the move, much to his delight. France’s Surya Bonaly was the first to complete the move (3:55).

You likely heard or saw what happened to Lindsey Vonn, one of the United States’ most famous Olympians of the 2000s. Vonn’s story was less about victory and more about perseverance. She came out of retirement to compete at these Olympics. In the final event before the Olympics, she ruptured her ACL. Despite this, she decided to compete anyway. Vonn ended up crashing early into her Olympic performance, which included a complex tibia fracture. She said she nearly had to have her leg amputated due to the damage. Vonn has been open about her recovery.

I tuned in several times to the Olympics. One of the best parts was how it felt like it truly was the peak of sporting entertainment, one that has not yet been tainted by gambling and advertisements. What you tune in for is what you get — the best athletes, from all over the world, showing their skills at some of the most difficult sports the globe has to offer. And it was great.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

ACGC and Panorama postseason updates

The most wonderful time of any sports season is upon ACGC and Panorama: the postseason. This week, the ACGC boys basketball team won a playoff game against CAM and face a massive test against Coon Rapids-Bayard. It will certainly be an uphill battle for the Chargers, but they have been facing that all season. After a rough start at 3-8, ACGC began to turn its season around, rattling off six wins in its next eight games. Kudos to the players and coaching staff.

It would be an upset if the ACGC boys manage to defeat CR-B. They should take a lesson from the Panorama girls team after knocking off fellow WCAC member ACGC in the regional playoffs. Panorama had lost the last four games against ACGC, including two this season. One of them was a 30-point blowout just a few short weeks ago when Panorama only scored 11 points. It just goes to show that anything can happen when the postseason begins. Panorama takes on Westwood, a team they defeated in the state semifinals two years ago during the Panthers’ historic run. Let’s see if they can call upon some of that magic from two seasons ago tonight.

ACGC and Panorama wrestlers are also in the midst of the postseason. Wrestling is arguably the state’s most popular sport, and the state wrestling tournament is the most attended high school sporting event. The Casey’s Center (it’s still Wells Fargo Arena in my heart) has been packed once again to see which wrestlers can come out on top.

Plenty of ACGC wrestlers won first round matches, some are still battling in the consolation bracket. Panorama’s Blake Scwartz and a few ACGC wrestlers are still alive in the consolation brackets with a chance to hit the podium. I will be rooting for all of them to keep the wins coming and make their respective schools proud.   

The Indiana Bears?

A few weeks ago, when I was ranting about the death of outdoor stadiums, I mentioned the possibility that the Chicago Bears could be moving to Indiana. What was a joke at the time is all of the sudden starting to feel very real.

News broke yesterday morning (Feb. 19) that an Indiana House Committee unanimously advanced legislation creating a stadium finance authority that would help the state build a dome in northwest Indiana. The Bears released a statement saying it was “the most meaningful step forward” in the saga so far. A Bears spokesperson added that Hammond, Indiana, population 76,000, is the site the Bears are focused on.

The most likely site for where the Bears would move is a golf course that is within a stone’s throw of an oil refinery.Indiana would be giving all of the revenue from the proposed stadium to the Bears. That certainly is leverage — that would likely anger every taxpayer in Indiana. If the Bears move out of Chicago, it will anger much of the fanbase as well.

The original plan for the Bears was to move to Arlington Heights, which is still in play for the team. The Bears already own the property they wish to build on. It comes down to these three things: 1) Illinois lawmakers have no interest in giving the Bears nearly a billion dollars in tax funds (the Bears are committing $2 billion themselves to the project); 2) the Bears want tax certainty; and 3) Indiana wants to set itself on fire. I, the Packers fan, am enjoying every aspect.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

I’m one of the people who enjoys most every aspect of the Super Bowl. I look forward to the game each year, regardless of the teams that are playing. I also enjoy the halftime show, regardless of the performer(s). Bad Bunny put on an incredible show this year. I even enjoy the commercials. This year’s game may have been a dud, but, somehow, the commercials were even worse.

Companies pay out the wazoo for an ad spot of just a few fleeting seconds during the Super Bowl. This year, according to USA Today, a 30-second spot cost $8 million on average. The average viewership for Super Bowl LX was 124.9 million viewers across all platforms, which is said to be the second-highest in the game’s history. If companies are going to spend that much money on their spot, then they might as well put together a good commercial.

This year, it seemed like every time the game took a commercial break, I was bombarded with gambling, AI and cryptocurrency advertisements. Some of them were downright awful. One commercial had plenty of living rooms singing the Backstreet Boys “Everybody (Backstreet’s’ Back)” until it revealed it was a Coinbase ad, which drew plenty of  boos and groans in the house I was in.

Svedka, a vodka brand, produced one of the most disturbing commercials I’ve seen with the AI generated robots dancing around. Who wants to see that? The Coinbase commercial has 126,000 views on its YouTube channel and just 804 likes. The Svedka commercial has 229,000 views and a mere 312 likes, Both of these companies better be thanking their lucky stars that YouTube started hiding dislike numbers a few years ago.

You thought those were bad? How about Ring, the doorbell camera company and its Be A Hero In Your Neighborhoodcommercial. Ring, under the guise of using AI to help find your dog, just announced to the world it has facial recognition capabilities it can access at any time. Call me crazy, but I don’t like the idea of a company having the ability to use facial recognition to track down anyone by using its cameras whenever it pleases. The backlash was so heavy that just yesterday Ring announced it would be cancelling its partnership with the police tech provider Flock Safety. Meanwhile, the commercial had 4.2 million views and 1,600 likes.

What happened to the commercials of old? Mean Joe Green, “Hey kid, catch.”  Simple, yet heartwarming. Or the incredibly goofy ones, like Budweiser’s “Whassup,” commercial. Not to mention all of the classic Clydesdale commercials Budweiser has made over the years. The E*TRADE talking baby commercial was a phenomenon that had staying power even after it aired, spurring plenty of spinoffs. My personal favorite came directly from the NFL in 2017 when the league paid homage to some of the game’s greats in this fun, action-filled commercial.

So, to the NFL and the companies that advertise during its greatest game, please try to do better next year.

Have a favorite Super Bowl commercial I missed? Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The NBA trade deadline was yesterday afternoon, and there was plenty of movement across the entire league. The professional basketball league has one of the crazier deadlines of the major North American sports. Trades are uncommon in soccer and not as widely used in hockey. The NFL will usually see some moderately important names move around, often times because a team is trying to shore up a weaker position group. The same goes for baseball. It’s common for MLB teams that are struggling to sell off their best assets to teams that are gunning for a World Series run. But, even the MLB has rules against trading draft picks. The NBA, however, goes wild every February. To put it into perspective, the Miami Heat was only one team in the Eastern Conference this season that did not make a trade.

The Stepien Rule, named after Ted Stepien, a former executive of the Cleveland Cavaliers, does prevent teams from trading away their first-round picks in consecutive future years. Let’s just say Stepien wasn’t the best team builder. Can you imagine being so bad at your job that a professional sports league creates a rule named after you to prevent yourself and other teams from blowing up your franchise too much?

But, seemingly like all rules, loopholes and workarounds exist. The main loopholes are pick swaps. A team can trade its first-round pick in consecutive years as a “swap,” meaning that the team with the pick being traded to has the right to choose which pick it wants. Through some shrewd business dealings, the mastermind that is the OKC Thunder’s General Manager Sam Presti, the NBA champion Thunder, have 13 first-round picks in the next seven seasons. That’s madness.

Following all of the wheeling and dealing that goes on in the few days leading up to the deadline is nearly impossible. National and local beat reporters do their best to detail the trades. Two things stick out to me with one team doing too much and one team doing too little.

My favorite team, the Chicago Bulls, did so much nonsensically dealing that it made my head spin. At one point, the team had zero healthy centers, no one taller than 6’9”, and had 10 guards on the roster. Last week, the Bulls had five second-round picks over the next seven drafts. Through all of their dealing, the team now has 14. As a team that has been historically bad at drafting talent for the last 20 years, I’m not sure what they are going to do with all that capital, but it probably isn’t good.

One of the league’s best talents, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, is staying put at least until the end of the season. The former MVP and NBA champion’s name has been swirling in trade rumors for months, but it looks like the Greek Freak will have to wait a bit longer before he finds a new home. One way or another, the franchise star is going to be leaving Wisconsin, and the Bucks need to find a suitable replacement for him or face a painful, lengthy rebuild. Waiting until the offseason may or may not be a smart move by the Bucks. Time will tell.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

This week, I am detailing the leaders across major statistical categories in boys and girls high school basketball. Instead of separating them across classes like I normally do, I’ll include the overall top five.

Boys basketball

Points per game:

• Malachi Rice, Centerville, 30.5
• Eli Dee, Baxter, 29.6
• Jaxon Clark, Keokuk, 29.4
• Cael LaFrentz, Decorah, 28.7
• Josiah Harrington, North Scott 26.9

Assists per game:

• Drake Larson, Knoxville, 8.0
• Trey Bryte, ADM, 7.8
• Henry Adam, Pekin, 7.4
• Shay Stephens, Burlington Notre Dame, 7.1
• AJ Harder, Tri-Center, 6.9

Rebounds per game:

• Jaxon Clark, Keokuk, 16.9
• Graham Matlock, Rivermont Collegiate, 16.7
• Oscar Cline, Louisa-Muscatine, 15.1
• Cael LaFrentz, Decorah, 14.6
• Reese Montgomery, Red Oak, 14.1

Steals per game:

• Peyton Scott, Lamoni, 5.9
• Benny Doe, Woodward Academy, 5.5
• Kamden Bork, MMCRU, 4.4
• Wyatt Alesch, MMCRU, 4.4
• Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 4.4

Blocks per game:

• Cael LaFrentz, Decorah, 5.3
• Luke Chrisman, Springville, 5.1
• Isaiah Sholes, Essex, 3.9
• Landon Davis, Waukee Northwest, 3.6
• Gavin Halbach, Northwood-Kensett, 3.5

 What stood out the most to me from these numbers? Jaxon Clark is a beast. The senior from Keokuk is averaging 29.4 points and 16.9 rebounds. Video game numbers. Also impressive is Decorah’s Cael LaFrentz, averaging 28.7 points, and the most blocks in the state at 5.3 per game.

Girls basketball

Points per game:

• Izzy Eisbach, Nodaway Valley, 33.6
• Braylyn Birmingham, Norwalk, 30.7
• Kendra Boatman, Keokuk, 27.1
• Nakia Ollivierre, Waterloo West, 26.1
• Lilee Boriskey, Edgewood-Colesburg, 25.8

Assists per game:

• Aniya Hardee, Bedford, 7.1
• Hayden Kuhlmann, Spirit Lake, 6.9
• Addie McLaughlin, Regina Catholic, 6.5
• Kinley Birt, Central DeWitt, 6.3
• Caydence Harmsen, Rock Valley, 6.1

Rebounds per game:

• Kennedy Brant, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, 14.5
• Rowan Jacobi, Springville, 14.4
• Eden Horn, St. Edmond, 14.2
• Corinne Anderson, Heartland Christian, 14.1
• Deidra Doeden, Cherokee Washington, 12.8

Steals per game:

• Brynn Clarahan, Sigourney, 7.8
• Bryndall Paterson, MVAOCOU, 7.0
• Lindsey Haken, George-Little Rock, 6.5
• Addy Oetker, Des Moines Christian, 6.4
• Isabella Schisel, Garner Hayfield Ventura, 6.3

Blocks per game:

• Taylor Evans, Prince of Peace, 7.1
• Breegan Lindsey, Central Decatur, 4.4
• Eden Horn, St. Edmond, 4.4
• Emma Zabel, East Buchanan, 4.2
• Izzy Gilbertson, Mount Ayr, 4.0

 Eden Horn of St. Edmond is the only girl who appears in the top five for two categories on the girls side for her exceptional blocking and rebounding ability. It must be a good time to be a basketball fan in Keokuk, as they have some of the best scorers in the state for boys and girls, with Kendra Boatman averaging 27.1.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

I find it easy to complain or bemoan most things. This is not one of those things. Sure, college football is played on Saturday’s 99% of the time, and then the most important game of all gets played on a Monday. A Monday I somehow managed to get food poisoning during. But, besides those factors, the national championship game played between Indiana and Miami was one I will remember for a lifetime.

Two years ago, Indiana University hired Curt Cignetti to run its historically terrible football program. If there was a college football program across the major conferences that had been as historically bad as Iowa State, it would have been Indiana. That did not discourage Cignetti. In his opening press conference in 2024, he dropped one of the best quotes from any college football coaches of all time: “It’s pretty simple, I win. Google me.”

And, he wasn’t lying. Cignetti has been a head coach since 2011, starting in NCAA DII. In that time, including his now two incredible years in Indiana, Cignetti is 146-37. That’s a 79.8% winning percentage. For reference, Nick Saban’s winning percentage is 80.6%.

So, they’ve got the head coach. But, what about the roster? Well, by all accounts, the roster didn’t seem very good. Even heading into this season, coming off of an 11-2 campaign the year prior, 247Sports had Indiana’s roster ranked 18th, dead last in the Big 10. They were also picked to finish sixth in the Big 10. Clearly, the experts thought they were a one-season wonder. But, the Hoosiers sure didn’t think so.

Indiana made plenty of moves in the transfer portal, most notably adding Fernando Mendoza to the roster. Mendoza, originally a two-star prospect from Miami, had spent the last three seasons at the University of California. Now, the Heisman Trophy winner, playing in his hometown, essentially sealed the national title game with one of the greatest plays the sport has ever seen. Fourth down, QB draw, breaking tackles, spinning, diving, scoring. Incredible. In the highlight, the camera cuts to his parents in the stands. His mother, bound to a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis, celebrates.

If that was not enough of a storybook moment, and to add even more context to the incredible run, Mendoza had played most of this Miami team the year before while at Cal. That game ended in part due to a Mendoza scramble when the Hurricane’s linebacker, Wesley Bissainthe, laid the boom, cracking Mendoza, effectively ending the game. Who did Mendoza steamroll and spin off of before heroically leaping into the endzone? Miami’s No. 31, Wesley Bissainthe. Hollywood couldn’t dream of a script this perfect.

I found some other fun facts about Indiana’s crazy two-season run. One month ago, Indiana’s most recent bowl win came in the 1991 Copper Bowl. Indiana had three bowl wins to its name in its entire history. They won three bowl games this January. Before 2025, Indiana’s record against AP top-10 teams was 6-116-1. In 2025, the Hoosiers went 6-0.

This was truly a remarkable turnaround of a program by Curt Cignetti, even if part of it was fueled by several, multi-million-dollar donations by alum Mark Cuban. All of the best teams are receiving some sort of major funding from one direction or the other. All the money in the world does not mean you make the right coaching hires or find the best diamonds in the rough. This team was clearly well-coached, found the talent no one else wanted or valued, and won one of the most improbable national titles in college football history.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.