Mike Hlas
@mikehlas.bsky.social
Former sports columnist, Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette. But that's done. Now I'm at https://mikehlas.substack.com/
My column on predictive markets: mikehlas.substack.com/p/you-can-le...
You can legally bet on Rob Sand or Ashley Hinson or the price of a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and it's not even called gambling
Online predictive markets allow you to bet on anything from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some states think they're a really bad thing. Meanwhile, Iowa high school kids have hopped aboard.
mikehlas.substack.com
Hlas column: Happy to let Big Ten football media days go on in my absence: open.substack.com/pub/mikehlas...
There's nothing like college football media days for me to long for a long, slow August
Every coach is excited for the season ahead in July. Check back in four months, after every Big Ten conference game had a Big Ten team that lost.
open.substack.com
Thank goodness the Gazette and the state of Iowa still has Vanessa Miller. www.thegazette.com/news/univers...
UI Athletics will pay back $50M loan in 30 years, not 15
Five years into a 15-year, $50 million loan University of Iowa Athletics took from the main campus in the throes of COVID, it’s shaved just $5 million off the total amount due and now plans to take lo...
thegazette.com
This was Caitlin Clark's first half tonight against the Connecticut Sky: 21 points, 5-of-7 from 3-point, 7 assists in 17 minutes of playing time. Fever lead at the half, 70-46.
Hlas column: When I grow up I want to be just like the Rolling Stones. mikehlas.substack.com/p/we-cant-al...
We can't all be the Rolling Stones, but we don't have to gather moss
The Stones are 82, 82 and 79, have made new music, and probably don't read AARP magazines
mikehlas.substack.com
Final: Indiana 110, Seattle 107. Caitlin Clark had a career-high 45 points, 10 assists, 4 steals, 6-of-10 from 3-point. Her high had been 35 points.
I'm not sure why I enjoy this post so much. www.thepoke.com/2026/07/15/a...
An anti-woke Trumparian somehow took against the children World Cup mascots and of all the A++ replies this one knocked the rest out the park
Like us you might not have come across Dave Portnoy before (although oddly we now appear to have written about him twice in as many weeks). Anyway, DP is the founder of Barstool Sports, famous for one...
thepoke.com
The bears in Brooks Falls, Alaska want protein today. And calories. And a nice piece of fish.
Sen. Kennedy: "Are you and President Trump friends?" Todd Blanche: "I'm his lawyer-- was his lawyer."
Hlas column: If you're thinking outside the box or living rent-free in someone's head, I don't want to know. And at the end of the day, no more other dopey expressions, please. mikehlas.substack.com/p/thinking-o...
Thinking outside the box while living rent-free in your head ... dopey expressions can give you a headache
I'm just sayin'. No, wait, I'm not just sayin', especially at the end of the day.
mikehlas.substack.com
Things are really popping at Brooks Falls, Alaska right now. Bears, bears, bears seeking fish, fish, fish. www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Zr...
LIVE Brooks Falls - Katmai National Park, Alaska 2026 | explore.org
YouTube video by Explore Live Nature Cams
youtube.com
Hlas column: Sure, the U.S. came up well short yet again in the World Cup. But where does it say we have to be the big boss of a big party, even if we were one of the hosts? mikehlas.substack.com/p/im-not-alo...
I'm not alone in saying this: The men's World Cup has been a big, crazy Cup o' Fun
Sure, the U.S. came up short yet again. But where does it say we have to be the big boss of a big party, even if we were one of the hosts?
mikehlas.substack.com
Unfortunate development: I just got assessed a red card at home.
Hlas Out of Bounds: I went to Kinnick Stadium Saturday night to see a national phenomenon that makes people smile. The Savannah Bananas have hit on something we already knew. Girls, and boys, and adults, just wanna have fun. mikehlas.substack.com/p/the-savann...
The Savannah Bananas peeled off a lot of fun for a whole lot of fans at Kinnick Stadium this weekend at a decidedly un-Kinnick event
Two sellout crowds at the University of Iowa's football coliseum came to see Banana Ball. They left smiling.
mikehlas.substack.com
On this Fourth of July, sing along with America's poet laureate, Lee Greenwood. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf3e...
God Bless You Canada - Lee Greenwood
YouTube video by Canadian Blue Jay
youtube.com
Former Iowa forward Kris Murray is going to Memphis in the trade sending Ja Morant to Portland. www.hoopsrumors.com/2026/06/griz...
Grizzlies Trading Ja Morant To Trail Blazers
Memphis will reportedly acquire Jerami Grant and Kris Murray from Portland. More at Hoops Rumors.
hoopsrumors.com
Things I never thought I would type: look at how they greeted the Algerian team arriving back at the DoubleTree in Lawrence, Kansas
The World Cup is proof that if not for our leaders, the vast majority of the world's people would get along just fine.
