Saturday Iowa-Michigan State Reading Room - Iowa fans take their swings at Detroit columnist, who fires back

It's one of the oldest bits in my racket, column-writing. You get fans of a distant city or state riled up with an essay, they fire back with letters (now known as e-mails), and you print some of the nastiest ones with added wisecracks of your own.

I surely have never done such a thing. Well, maybe once. Or twice.

Anyway, Detroit News columnist Bob Wojnowski suggested here that Iowa is the worst 7-0 Big Ten team in history earlier this week. I would never passed along such a thing.

Well, maybe once. This week, in fact.

And, predictably, Iowans answered with a torrent of torment for Wojo. And, predictably, he shot back today by printing some of the more "colorful" notes from folks.

Like:

"I assume you sleep under one of the many bridges or burned-out dumps that blanket the city of Detroit. Stop doing drugs with all the crack heads and wake up. After the Hawkeyes beat Sparty, I hope you admit you were wrong. But being just another gutless writer with a sharp pen, I doubt it."

And:

"Congrats on living in Detroit and still having a job, even if it does pay 18K/year. It probably goes a long way in that hellhole."

And:

"Bobby, I can understand your jealousy of Iowa. After all, the entire state of Michigan is bankrupt. Your (sic) just a bitter, jealous failed man. By the way, my Lexus runs great!"

To which Wojo replied:

Wow. I had no idea Lexus made tractors.

That was said in fun. It came after he wrote:

And please, it's so cheap making tired generalizations about an area and its people. Think about that, while tending your pigs.

The full column at the News' site is here.

Look, folks, if you were playing a 7-0 Michigan State team that had beaten an FCS team by one point and Arkansas State by three, you'd be leery of the Spartans' greatness even if they had beaten Penn State and Wisconsin on the road. You just would.

If your Hawkeyes beat MSU tonight, you just point at the scoreboard. If they don't, you live with the realization that while Iowa may not have been the worst 7-0 team in Big Ten history, it certainly wasn't one of the best.

Now, for something a bit less inflammatory, the Lansing State Journal has a piece today on Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker, who once plied his craft for Michigan State.

George Perles, who was the MSU head coach when Parker coached linebackers for him,has held an charity golf outing for the last 22 years to raise money for the Special Olympics, in the name of the late Jeff Parker, Norm's son. Jeff had Down Syndrome. He died five years ago at 33.

Norm hasn't been able to make it to the event since leaving MSU, because it's held in August when Iowa has training camp.

"When I'm done with this stuff," Parker said of coaching, "you can bet your sweet butt I'll be at that thing."

Norm doesn't do many interviews, but he's always great copy when he does. An example:

"Kirk is just like Mark Dantonio. Those two guys are solid guys and they're what college football should be about," Norm said. "College football needs more Kirk Ferentzes and Mark Dantonios, it would be a better sport. They're the same guy.

"Kirk has no ego. And from what I hear about Mark, he's the same way. A lot of coaches get up in the morning and take idiot pills. There's enough egomaniacs in the world that think the game's about them."