Hot. Gonna be hot here today. Should that be a surprise? Not really. So, if you're here in the Heartland on this particular day, I hope you find a way to enjoy the unofficial start of summer and a moment to think about - and appreciate - what this holiday weekend is all about beyond another Indianapolis 500 and an extra day tacked onto the weekend. And here's my tip of the fedora to those who have served and are serving. Thank you.

Underdogs. That's where Ferentz's Hawkeyes find themselves in terms of the Legends Division and preseason magazines. I don't know...Kirk's squads thrive in situations like this...low expectations and, perhaps, under appreciated. So I'm OK with not a lot of preseason picks and predictions and scrutiny and expectations. Sure, there are question marks. What team short of a handful doesn't have question marks this time of the year. History tells me we'll be just fine with "just fine" defined as "pretty darn competitive every Saturday."

It looks like a two-horse race at the Colonial in Texas. Our man Zach cut his deficit in half yesterday - to one stroke - and will tee it up for the second straight day with Jason Dufner, who is easily the hottest player on the PGA Tour. You can follow the action HERE...along with plenty of fans of the Hawkeyes and eastern Iowans.

Speaking of teeing it up and underdogs... Mark Hankins squad left the Heartland yesterday bound for the Riviera Country Club in suburban Los Angeles and the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. The teams practice on Monday and begin competition on Tuesday. The Hawkeyes will begin play on the back nine at 9:20 a.m. Iowa time and will be paired players from Central Florida and Georgia. Should be interesting as postseason competition is always interesting.

Saturday was a good day for Larry Wieczorek's Hawkeyes for lots of reasons including because the head coach said it was. You can read about that HERE. Also, I marvel at those who excel at throwing the javelin...and the Hawkeyes have a real good one who is heading to the national championship. You can read about that HERE.

The Iowa-Iowa State game is a complete sellout - no surprise there - but fans of the Hawkeyes looking to entertain a group on game day - and that group can range in size from four to 24 or 44 or 88 to 148...you get the point - are reminded to check out the details of the UI's Hawkeye Village. You can do that HERE.

Here's the latest in the postseason college football chit chat: HERE. I believe the Big Ten Conference is also in favor of a four-team playoff. I think - admittedly, it's hard for me to keep track - the SEC and the Big Ten differ on how those for teams are selected. Again, this will be the topic of the summer: Before the change from the current system - the Bowl Championship Series - is announced and, more importantly, after. For the record, that "after" piece the puzzle will be sliced and diced for weeks and that conversation will pause only long enough for the teams to get four or five games into the regular season when another tsunami wave of discussion and opinion will wash over us.

Speaking of tsunami and washing over us, isn't it amazing that the debris from the Japan disaster is washing ashore thousand of miles from its "home"? Kind of reminds me of the movie "Castaway." Everyone presumed Tom Hanks to be gone when, in fact, he wasn't at all. I'm sure I'm like most and that we never gave much thought to debris and where it could eventually settle.

I liked this from the Gazette's Scott Dochterman mostly because I like the Big Ten's partnership with the Pac-12: HERE.

My family celebrated our daughter's graduation from high school yesterday. She was fantastic as she greeted each guests. Me? I kept busy keeping the water and soft drinks stocked. It was a great day except for the fact that the traffic through the front door is so steady and, at times, large in number that you inevitably miss saying hello to folks who have come to share in the excitement.

Graduation party day is also a long one...and I'm beat and heading to bed. Have a great day. Stay cool.

Go Hawks!