They say the pen is mightier than the sword.

And when it comes to Northwestern and Missouri, the pen has typically been mightier than the forward pass.
NU’s Medill School of Journalism has long been known as one of the best journalism schools in the country.

Despite a dip in perception after hiring a new head coach … strike that, dean … it still brings in the best aspiring journalists from around the country to its hallowed, cell phone signal-dropping halls. Continue reading »

As ridiculous as it sounds, there are 34 bowl games this year, and you undoubtedly know little about many of them.

Take the following quiz to brush up on your bowl knowledge before they get started.

1. Who sponsors the Liberty Bowl?
a) Amnesty International, b) Auto Zone, c) the descendants of Thomas Jefferson, d) Hot Pockets

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If you read Fearless Forecasters every week, you will notice that I am not very good at this game.

It dates back to an eleventh-grade Spanish exam on reflexive verbs. It was a five-question multiple choice quiz, and I chose every answer that lacked the necessary reflexive pronoun. Se.

As foreign language enthusiasts know, there are three types of reflexive pronouns: se, te, and me.

Me. Ah, yes, the favorite reflexive pronoun of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel.

Yes, unlike Tressel, I am not running up the score in Fearless Forecasters. If anything I’m running it down.

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By Brian Regan

Injuries hurt. A lot. Enough to start asking Ryan Leaf for pain pills. First Tyrell Sutton, then C.J. Bachér, now Omar Conteh. At least Northwestern’s receiving corps are still healthy. For now.

But what happens when players start dropping like flies in Saturday’s ESPN2 collision against No. 12 Ohio State?

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Submitted for the approval of the Fearless Forecasters, I call this story the Tale of the Central Street Curse.

Willie the Wildcat was your normal school mascot. He enjoyed jingling his car keys and extending his hand in a claw shape.

It was not easy for Willie to watch his beloved Cats. His purple warriors had just lost their NCAA-record 34th straight game and he was beside himself with grief.

Willie wished and wished his team could smell the roses just once. Just a whiff of success would make him the happiest mascot in the Big Ten.

A man from the Dyche Stadium stands noticed Willie’s depression and offered him his help.

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It’s election season, and that means both political parties’ spin machines are out in full force. College football programs can spin with the best of them though. Here is the tale each Big Ten school’s spinsters would weave.

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By Brian Regan

With all the fun football players have, why can’t we all join in? And since the football coach is basically the father-figure of the football family, which coaches would make the best baby-daddy’s right now?
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By Brian Regan

Gosh, folks, that bye-week shure was long, dontcha know. With both an extensive amount of time on my hands and the fact that the WCHA hockey season doesn’t start for a week, I thought about the mascots in the Big Ten.

Yes, I know other conferences have weird things, but seriously, this arrangement in one, 11-team league is strange.

Two felines, three rodents and a nut are just some of the wacky mascots in the conference.

And of course, Northwestern has probably the least original, even if we were the first Wildcat.

So without further ado, I give you the way the Big Ten would stack up if the mascots had a brawl. Special points are awarded for originality and coherency (read, no body parts of animals).
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Northwestern will be on ESPN2 in two weeks. Great news everybody!

Except for you C.J. Bachér. You see, no one quite understands how to pronounce your name — what is that funny accent mark thing?
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At home, we conserve our energy. On the road, we conserve our food.

Every road trip you go on as a reporter, there’s free food. And as we prepare for our first conference jaunt of this young season, here’s our poll on food quality in press boxes visited around the Big Ten last season.

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