But something tells me the sleeping giant is trying to dodge Iowa.

The Hawkeyes of the Big Ten and the Tigers of the Big 12 have a series that’s supposed to start in the 2005 season.

However, don’t bet the games will be played.

Missouri is already trying to get out of the first game – scheduled for Sept. 3, 2005 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.

The reason being used is that Missouri wants to play Arkansas State—yes, rugged ol’ Arkansas State--on Sept. 3 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

"It’s done," Arkansas State athletic director Dean Lee said in confirming a story published in the Kansas City Star that Missouri and his school were making the game a reality.

But the Star said in today’s editions that Missouri has "some work still to be done to satisfy Iowa, which has a signed contract for the Tigers to play in Iowa City on that same date as the kickoff to the 2005 season."

"It think it looks pretty good," Missouri assistant athletic director Ed Stewart said.

The newspaper said "issue No. 1 is Missouri helping to find a replacement opponent for Iowa, or coming to an agreement on financial terms, or invoking a buyout clause in the contract."

Stewart said, "It could come down to that" of the buyout clause.

Nate Frese, 26, a shortstop who batted .239 for the Iowa Cubs last season and was hoping to perhaps be a bench player for the Chicago Cubs this season, won’t be playing any baseball in 2004.

He broke the fibula in his right leg and dislocated his right ankle in an ATV accident on his Iowa farm. Frese, a 6-3, 200-pounder who played for Benton Community High School of Van Horne and attended the University of Iowa, hit six home runs and had 32 runs batted in 99 games for the I-Cubs in 2003.

"Since I was gone for a month, maybe I missed it, but I haven’t seen anything on Jeff Horner’s remarkable turn-around as a shooter. I can’t recall anything like it.

"Comparing his non-conference statistics to Big Ten statistics, his field goal% is up 157 points, his three-point field goal% is up 244 points and his free throw% is up 143 points. Amazing!

"Maybe Jim Ecker or Randy Peterson have already done a story on this. If not, someone is missing a great angle."

"I notice that for football players, it is not necessary that a player be a native Iowan to be in the Register’s Sports Hall of Fame (Johnny Bright, Alex Karras, Chuck Long, Larry Station, Paul Krause were all from out-of-state).

"My questions are:

"1. Shouldn’t Andre Tippett be in the Hall of Fame? He was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was All-Pro for several years.

"2. Shouldn’t Jay Hilgenberg be in the Hall of Fame? He was an All-Pro center for the Chicago Bears for many years."

And there’s more from Schallau:

"There are two great basketball players who should definitely be in the Hall of Fame. Bill Logan of Keokuk and the University of Iowa and Carl Widseth of Davenport and the University of Tennessee.

"Some say Bill Logan was the best Iowa high school player ever. Some would vote for Gary Thompson. But I thought Carl Widseth was the best. He and his Davenport Blue Devil teammates got booed so lustily at the Iowa Fieldhouse when they won three straight state tournaments that Widseth did not want to enroll at Iowa. He went to Tennessee and when he graduated, he was Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer.

"I cannot fathom at all that Widseth is not in the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame."

[COMMENT: Well, Al, you made some very good points. But remember this: In the past three or four years, things have slipped badly at the paper when it comes to getting the right people into the Hall of Fame. Don’t forget, Dick Schultz—who had Big Ten records of 4-10, 5-9, 6-8 and 5-9 in his four seasons as Iowa’s basketball coach--made it into the hall this past year. That should tell you something]

"I guess Keeler was not fired, and from today’s column you would never know he was missing in action for a few weeks.

"On another matter, I think playing the state high school baseball tournament at Sec Taylor Stadium is a good idea, but the Register never mentioned how much it will cost to play there and if the money will go to the city or into Mike Gartner’s pockets."

[COMMENT: Keeler is Sean Keeler, one of the paper’s sports columnists. The first rumor was that he was fired, then some people thought he was suspended because he was out of the paper for three weeks for unannounced reasons. A number of observers think the reason—or reasons—for his absence should have been explained to readers. As for the question about why the paper did a poor reporting job on the state high school baseball story, what did you expect?]

"Sean Keeler is back. Why? Was he suspended? They missed a good chance to fire him. My other question is why did Sonderleiter leave the Iowa team? No answer yet, I guess."