Season already starts back up tomorrow night. Florida Panthers got their Championship Ring tonight:

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@CYdTracked said it was time.

Saw a blog today on YouTube saying Shota. Alcantara and Wiggins have been the biggest surprises thus far in Mesa. Imanaga and the Jaguar are fully healthy and Wiggins is touching 100.

It doesn't have to be your only vehicle, just your first.

For this segment, we’ll explore songs with lyrics/title that reference SPECIFIC names of establishments that provide food as a primary or significant offering, including these categories of convenience store, restaurant, bar&grill and grocery store.

We DO NOT ACCEPT generic references to those terms. So, something like “I went to the restaurant” wouldn’t count.

It must involve a real-life establishment, not fictional. (Defunct eateries are fair game).

OTN is presented each week on Cyclone Fanatic by @MeanDean, @CycloneRulzzz and cyclones500.

• Last week’s OTN: (Summer Means) Fun

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“The girl at Stuckey’s, her face was a mess.”

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ROUND TWO!

If you missed the first contest, read the original post in that thread to catch up.

A reminder: I wanted to celebrate our own @ChrisMWilliams and his Fanatic: Stories from 20 years inside Iowa State book with Rob Gray. I'll be giving away three books total and local ethical bagman @Cycsk is kindly helping me send them out.


HOW DO YOU SOLVE THIS PUZZLE?

To give people time to see this thread, there are two parts. PART ONE is below. I'll post PART TWO (by editing this post) on Thursday (June 4). The clue from PART ONE will help you solve PART TWO.


WANT A HINT?

To keep this thread visible, post something random (pets???) in this thread. If you do that, you can ask me a single question via private DM about PART ONE that I can answer with yes or no. One question per account.

That will give you a head start on PART TWO. Then once PART TWO is released, the first person that posts the solution in this thread wins.


THE PUZZLE:


PART ONE - What does this mean?



PART TWO:



TO WIN, WHAT DOES THAT SYMBOL MEAN?


Even if you already have the book, let me know in this thread if I can improve this process somehow. After the books, I might keep doing more contests for goodies from the CF Shop.

It's tough out there, so trying to spread the love. Any other thoughts or questions, let me know.

If you’re bored this offseason, a buddy of mine created a Cyclone basketball lineup builder game inspired by the 82-0 game that has been popular recently. Feel free to try it out and share some of the cool squads you made!

Link to game: cyclone-lineup-builder.netlify.app

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Jake Brend shares what his realistic expectations for Jaylen Raynor in his one season as a Cyclone and the type of legacy he could leave in Ames. Presented by Wyffles Hybrids in the Northwest Bank Studios. Login to view embedded media

Hello all,

I have been following the site for a few years and decided to make an account to pick your brains. I have seen a bunch of posters call others out for not putting threads in the correct forum, so I put this in off-topic.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what kind of smoker to get for a first time user? I love the taste of smoked meat and wanted to purchase one and give it a shot. From what I have seen online a good one for a beginner is a Weber Smokey Mountain 18'. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks

It’s a new year and @geewago posted that corn is in the ground in Texas. What are people up to?

New to me and the best pie I can recall, with ice cream OMG. My wife got it from a friend who was helping with some old-fashioned bake sale. As the sale ended her friend made an offer for some remaining goods. Fortunately, the pie was one of the lot and we had no idea who baked it except a small label stating:"Red-hot Strawberry Rhubarb-made with strawberry, rhubarb, and cinnamon candy red-hots." Crust was great, too.

Our neighbor is always gifting us rhubarb and if I had the recipe, I'd make it. Anyone heard of this, I see online recipes but afraid they may be different. Good recipe wanted or I'll go with my best guess.

Regionals: May 15-17
Super regionals: May 21-24
WCWS: May 28-June 5

Regional Hosts (top 16)
1 (1) Alabama
4 (16) LSU
3 (9) Florida State
2 (8) UCLA

1 (4) Nebraska
4 (13) Oklahoma State
3 (12) Duke
2 (5) Arkansas

1 (2) Texas
4 (15) Texas A&M
3 (10) Georgia
2 (7) Tennessee

1 (3) Oklahoma
4 (14) Oregon
3 (11) Texas Tech
2 (6) Florida

Big 12 qualifiers (7)
Texas Tech - regional host
Oklahoma State - regional host
Arizona State - #2 seed in College Station
Arizona - #2 seed in Durham
UCF - #2 seed in Tallahassee
Kansas - #2 seed in Norman
Baylor - #3 seed in Austin

We've had a YEAR, haven't we?
Let's try to look back on it and actively choose to remember the good parts.

Blessings to all of you in this new year. Let's see if things go better this time around!

Well since the Regular Season starts in like 7 hours I figured I'd start this thread up.

Dodgers vs. Padres from Korea up first.

Iowa State has a long list of great runners and T&F athletes, including several Olympians. The latest is middle distance runner (sprinter) Rachel Joseph who is dominating the competition right now.

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The only thing worse than running the 400 (full on sprint for full lap) is running the 800 (full on sprint for 2 laps).

Just curious what events people have gone to or plan on going to. Our big pride event is actually in July out here, but still lots of other stuff. My large employer is having a drag bingo contest next week, hah!

Guess that I might as well start the next edition, right?

Looks llke freshman TE Cooper Alexander’s brother. In town this weekend for unofficial.

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ESPN article on how teams "revamped" their squad this off-season. They rank us dead last in that regard in the Big 12.

16. Iowa State Cyclones​

Key additions: QB Jaylen Raynor, DE Isaac Terrell, DT Bryson Lamb

Key departures: QB Rocco Becht, DT Domonique Orange, RB Carson Hansen

Top incoming recruits: WR Jeffrey Roberts, WR Malcolm Watkins, OT Benji Makelela

Biggest coaching move: Matt Campbell's historic ISU tenure ended on Dec. 5, and hours later the Cyclones had a new coach in Washington State's Jimmy Rogers. The former South Dakota State player and coach brought over several of his assistants, including defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit. He hired Tyler Roehl, who coached ISU's running backs in 2024 and spent last season coaching tight ends for the Detroit Lions, as offensive coordinator. Roehl and Rogers opposed each other in the Dakotas rivalry as Roehl was OC for North Dakota State and Rogers the DC for South Dakota State.

What went wrong: Campbell took his coaches and 24 players with him to Happy Valley, including 14 starters. A total of 50 scholarship players moved on via the portal during the coaching transition, leaving Rogers and his coaches with a massive rebuilding project. Rogers and his staff had already experienced a similar roster flip last year in Pullman and did a nice job of adding to the roster in a short period, but ISU will still be undergoing a serious reset after a decade of consistency under Campbell.

What went right: Roehl was a key contributor to the Cyclones' offensive success during its run to the Big 12 title game in 2024, so bringing him back to Ames was a smart move. Raynor, a three-year starter at Arkansas State who put up more than 9,800 total yards, gives this offense a proven QB1 who will be able to replace Becht. He's coming in to lead a team that features more than 80 newcomers. The Cyclones' rebuilt receiving corps has good talent and could prove to be a strength. Bobbit was able to bring in several starters from his Washington State defense between Terrell, Lamb, Sullivan Schlimgen and Max Baloun and held onto five Cyclones with starting experience.

In honor of this great holiday, what is your favorite cheese?

With no sports and peeps recommended to stay at home, what are you watching or have watched that you can recommend?

I finished Altered Carbon 2 last week. Netflix. Would recommend if you have watched season 1. New story but would be way easier to understand if you've watched the previous. Good sci-fi.

Thinking of checking out the South Korean "Kingdom", also on Netflix.

Milan Momcilovic will play his senior season at Kentucky, he announces on social media.

As of now, Momcilovic will have one year of eligibility remaining, but he's likely to have two years remaining if the five-in-five rule passes. https://cyclonefanatic.com/2026/06/milan-momcilovic-commits-to-kentucky/

So long Thunderstruck. What will it be?

I feel like there are quite a few music aficionados on CF and I have even discovered new bands on here. I wanted to start a thread where we could share what we are currently listening to and just talk music.

I couldn't find another thread like this but admittedly I haven't used the search function a whole lot.

I will start. Currently listening through City and Colour's If I Should Go Before You album and am really enjoying it!

Here we go!

The start of the regular season kind of managed to sneak up on me this year! Seems like some more question marks for some key players, not the least of which is McCaffrey, although some seem to be returning to practice. To me, the season will hinge on staying healthy.