I’d like to start off by saying that this is my favorite story of this year.

As an avid viewer of Ghost Hunters, I do not so much believe in ghosts as much as I believe in the hilarity of people who believe in ghosts and those who accept “Ghost Hunter” as an actual profession. That said, some Iowa Hawkeyes baseball players recently had a “Paranormal Activity Support Team” examine their house because some strange things had been happening, and they believe that they actually have two ghosts occupying their old home.

[Trevor] Kenyon, along with five other members of the Iowa baseball team and one club hockey player, recently learned they might not be the only ones living in their house on North Dubuque Street. A local paranormal-investigating task force claims to have confirmed the residents have two spirits in their house. One, an older, grandfatherly figure — whom the guys have named “Tim” — roams the halls and rooms of the three-story house. Another, a younger girl, stays put in one particular room of the house.

“We’ve lived here over the past two years,” junior pitcher Aaron Smit said. “But over the past few months, we noticed things getting a little bit weird. We had a kid in here who thought he saw a ghost — a shadow in a form of a human.” (Via the Daily Iowan)

And so goes the same old story that people usually tell, including things moving around in the night, strange noises and even a creepy old man showing up to tell these whipper snappers to run, “THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED, THERE BE SPIRITS IN THESE HALLS!” or something to that effect.

But forget all of that nonsense, because the lede has been buried in this fantastic tale of the dark side.

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This gallery may not appeal to the more Hot-Cheerleaders-In-Slow-Motion-inclined members of the With Leather readership, but don’t be afraid to enjoy it, because at some point during the 1970s the Walt Disney Corporation teamed up with Wonder Bread to give away pennant stickers with loaves of bread that are literally nothing but Disney characters destroying college names with puns. Yes, that’s a sentence I’ve written.

As I see it, there are two fine ways to enjoy this:

1. Flipping through and trying to figure out which school each pennant represents, because some of them are a stretch.
2. Losing control of your neck and bashing your head against the desk in a full-body groan when you realize “Mickey Can Skate” is Michigan State, or whatever.

A third way to enjoy it is through the absurdity of the illustrations, like Cinderella doing 2,000 pounds of laundry in her ball gown or Goofy with a broken leg because you can only make so many puns about Tulane. And yes, ACC fans, here is where you learn about how Disney preappropriated your “dook” joke for Duke and made it about fowl royalty a decade or so before you were born. I kept expecting to see a Virginia Tech pennant where Shan Yu from Mulan is holding up a castrated turkey.

Note: Full credit for these goes to Disney, I guess, but credit for putting them on the Internet goes to Jason Liebig.

[h/t Disney Food Blog]

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The University of Iowa’s athletic department could possibly make a decision today regarding a request made by former Hawkeye fullback Jon Lazar last week to allow a dog to lead the team onto the field this Saturday against Tennessee Tech. That dog, of course, is Hawkeye, the pooch that crippled the emotions of millions of grown men last week when video surfaced of him laying next to the casket of his owner and Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson, who was a lifelong Iowa fan. The 35-year old was killed in Afghanistan on August 6, in the same helicopter crash that killed 38 soldiers.

Lazar has the right idea – the perfect idea – and this absolutely has to happen.

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You know it’s going to be a great post when I start out with a dick joke in the headline! That’s the only way I’ll get you to read something about how poorly the Big Ten’s done in bowl games. What’s that? You love Big Ten ineptitude? Well, I guess we all found something we can agree on.

The Big Ten conference had an auspicious start in the postseason, with Iowa taking down No. 12 Missouri and Illinois killing Baylor. Big Ten fans got excited. “If this is an indicator of our bowl success for the future,” they said, “then I’m so pumped up!” (Disclaimer: they may or may not have said this.)

Then, it was January 1, 2011, and reality set in simultaneously while their metaphorical shit got ruined.
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A few weeks ago, when it was announced that star players Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Adam Robinson would not be playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Insight Bowl, it seemed a certainty that the team was doomed against the No. 12 Missouri Tigers. Well drug charges and academic violations be damned, because the Hawkeyes won and captured the hearts of millions of people. Or not. Just thought it might make the story better.

Led by backup running back Marcus Coker’s 33 carries for a school bowl record 219 yards, the Hawkeyes got ahead early and had Mizzou flustered most of the game, ultimately costing me my 35-point Bowl Mania pick. Missouri took a 24-20 lead in the 4th and seemed to have the Iowa defense on the ropes as the Tigers marched, but then QB Blaine Gabbert threw an interception that can only be described as Chad Henne-esque to Micah Hyde, who returned it 72 yards for the go-ahead TD, and the rest was history. Mainly because I switched to liquor.

Koulianos, of course, was arrested on four misdemeanor drug charges and he admitted to smoking marijuana and using cocaine after he tested positive for both, and it was a given that Iowa’s all-time leading receiver was never going to play for the Hawkeyes again. Robinson, on the other hand, was suspended for academic reasons and was expected to return to the team next season. But the team’s leading rusher this season apparently decided to go a different direction on Monday night. Robinson was arrested in Des Moines for possession of Marijuana. Mary Jane. Reefer. I blame Ashton Kutcher for everything.

Whoa! Look how high I am!

Already suspended for the team’s appearance against Missouri in tonight’s Insight Bowl (heh, bowl) for failing to follow team policies, Iowa Hawkeyes running back Adam Robinson has found himself in hot bong water after being picked up by Iowa State Patrol on Monday night on suspicion of possession of marijuana.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, Robinson was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for not having front license plates. Police say a trooper detected a marijuana odor from the vehicle, then found marijuana after a search.

Robinson was released with a promise to appear in court Jan. 5. The driver was charged with possession with intent to deliver marijuana.[Via]

That’s a new one: “released with a promise to appear in court.” While they were at it, did the fuzz give him back his weed as well? You know, for all the trouble they caused and stuff?

In any event, this is yet another messy resin stain on the Hawkeyes football program. You may recall Iowa wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Kouliano’s arrest earlier this month on a heaping bowl-load of drug-related charges. I guess boredom can cause some people to do some crazy things. I mean, what in the heck has been going on in Iowa City lately? Wait, better question: what in the heck hasn’t been going on in Iowa City lately? Or ever, for that matter.