Peter King

@IKaufman76 Ira! Miss you.

@peter_king sounds like a keeper, PK

Hi everyone. I wrote a book. It’s about my 40 years covering the game and the concurrent growth of the game. Loved re-reporting some of my favorite stories, one per year, over 4 decades. Out in October. Preorder here: wwnorton.com/books/the-game

@JeffAichinger Yes, Jeff. I will record the audiobook. A bit intimidating, reading aloud for five or six days. But I wanted to do it.

@peter_king Will you read for an audible version Peter?

Excellent post, Mike. Thanks for writing it.

Hi everyone. I don’t post a lot these days, but if you’d like to follow me I’m headed to Bluesky. Thanks, one and all, for 15 years of valuable interaction. My new handle is peterking1.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/peterk…

Hey! @dombonvissuto ... Good luck in the new venture!

Well, Let’s Go!

Real stuff with @CrosbyMaxx on Let’s Go this week.

A great cause so important to the Orr family. Best of luck, Conor.

Hey Kyle, I have no idea why you are doing this. I love why you are doing this. The most important thing in life is to follow your heart, which you are obviously doing. This is wonderful, and I wish you the best, wherever life leads.

Sorry for the typo. It is “Mary” Ferentz, who welcomed us to the game warmly.

Day 24, Kings Across America In Iowa City (Wisconsin-Iowa football) An invitation from ex-Hawkeye and -Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding brought us to the greatest tailgate in creation, just two long spirals from Kinnick Stadium, in the expansive dual garages of a home owned by John Bobst (Iowa, 1999). On this raw and chilly late afternoon, 500 or 600 Hawkeye fans filtered through. Bobst didn’t know everyone, and he knew some uninvited probably have stopped for a free beer or the sausage-in-blankets wrapped in rigatoni and bacon. Welcome to Iowa! Nate handed us cans of Busch Lights—“Iowa’s craft beer,” he said—and brought us a plate of black, gold and white Oreos, with IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER neatly written in the border of the state of Iowa. (Very tasty.) The best feature of the tailgate, on the wall of the first garage: 10 framed and autographed Iowa game jerseys. Kaeding’s is here, and Ed Podolak’s, and Marv Cook’s. They’re not necessarily stars. “Just guys who played at Iowa and came to the tailgate,” said Bobst. JOHNSON 38 … Who’s that? “Greg Johnson. I don’t think he ever played a snap, but he was on the practice team back in the nineties. Now he’s my banker. When he saw this, he got a little tear in his eye. He’s here every tailgate.” And there he was. Greg, CEO of Central State Bank, told me he was a cornerback in 1997 and ’98, and when he saw the framed jersey under Cook’s and Podolak’s, he told Bobst: “Get that thing off your wall! I don’t belong!” Yes he does. He wore the black and gold, and he's Bobst’s pal. That’s good enough for inclusion at the coolest tailgate in Iowa City. BTW: Iowa 42, Wisco 10. Thanks to Kirk and Mark Ferentz for the game tickets and the great night. Americana factoid: The two punters in the game were from Australia—Iowa’s Rhys Dakin (Melbourne) and Wisconsin’s Atticus Bertrams (Sydney). They came from an Aussie program called Prokick Australia, which trains strong-legged kids to excel in punting and get scholarships to American colleges.

With bro-in-law Bob Whiteley at a gem of an Iowa City restaurant, Saint Burch Tavern.

Day 23, Kings Across America Omaha to Rudd, Iowa to Iowa City, Iowa I love the Midwest. From the time I went to college (Ohio, in Athens, Ohio) to my first big job (Cincinnati Enquirer) to my road trips to Bloomington, Indianapolis, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Columbus, St. Louis, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Mankato, I’ve been so appreciative of the humanity and decency of all things mid-America. Old friend Rick Gosselin joined me, Ann, sister Pam and brother-in-law Bob for our educational trip to a farm in northern Iowa--more about that coming--in advance of Wisco-Iowa Saturday. Remember Nate Kaeding (Chargers K, 2004-12)? Kicked at Iowa and returned to run several restaurants including Saint Burch Tavern a block down from the middle of campus. What a gem. Get the tomato bisque soup, New York strip with a glass of Austin Hope cab, and you’ll be very happy. Stay tuned for details on this farm trip to Rudd, Iowa. Learned more in 3 hours than in any class I ever took. Miles driven: 418 Americana factoid: Campuses experienced and rated on this trip: 1 Nebraska, 2 Iowa, 3 Wisconsin, 4 Colorado, 5 Montana, 6 Central Washington, 7 Portland State.

Frank Hinchey, one of the most dedicated journalists and one of the most influential people in my career, has died. He gave me a chance as an intern to cover everything in 1979. He has my everlasting respect. dispatch.com/story/news/loc…

Day 22, Kings Across America Boulder, Colo., to Omaha, Neb. My sister Pam and bro-in-law Bob have joined Ann and I for the home stretch—Boulder to Brooklyn—and we had a swell time today, driving and listening to a 93-minutes writer’s podcast (“Dedicated,” with host Doug Brunt) featuring the writing process and brain of Erik Larson. Terrific. So much about this trip is seeing things we’ve never see before, and experiencing legendary Big Red stuff was great. Nebraska’s got a lot of good, including a great chain of gas stop/convenience stores called Fat Dog, telling visitors YOU ARE NOWHERE in oases along I-80. Stopped in Lincoln in late afternoon; never been on that campus and I’d always wanted to experience it. Matt Rhule would have met us, but it was Halloween night for his kids, so we walked around the exterior of monstrous Memorial Stadium ourselves and soaked in the history. Cool, cool campus, very much alive. Man, I really want to come back for the College World Series someday. Neat days in Iowa upcoming. Miles driven: 501 Americana factoid: I’ve driven through Omaha before, on the Madden Cruiser 34 years ago, but never stepped foot in it till today. We loved The Old Market neighborhood, the trendy new area in Omaha, and loved Gather in Omaha, the New American restaurant with the hydroponic veggies grown in the basement. This was the best restaurant on our trip, with a nice wine list (Nine Hats cab from Washington was my choice). City was alive tonight.

The view on a snowy Main Street in Evanston, Wyo., Tuesday.

Day 20, Kings Across America Park City, Utah to Boulder, Colo. The first real grind of a travel day started with a look out the window at our Marriott in Park City. Snow. How cool! Uh, not if you’re driving most of the day in the wet, slippery stuff through northern Utah and hours of southern Wyoming. Good on my incredible wife, Ann, for driving three hours through the snow and sleet. There’s something I forgot, stupidly, when we left Park City. I thought, we’ll get food and coffee somewhere on the road. Well, the first edible thing was 65 miles down I-80 in Evanston, Wyo., a cute café called “for Pete’s Sake” that had a nice egg and cheese on a bagel; the first coffee oasis was 103 miles later, a drive-thru Starbucks in Rock Springs on I-80. I noticed a poster on the wall of the Pete’s place with the Evanston Red Devils girls basketball schedule. There’s a nice 362-mile (one way) road trip to Cheyenne East High early in the season. When you get out here and drive and drive and drive and drive with nothing but nature in the rear-view, and I mean nothing, 362 miles to play a basketball games doesn’t seem all that surprising. Miles driven: 502 Americana factoid: Little America Hotel, in Little America, Wyo., sells a 75-cent soft-serve cone.

Carlin C Store & Liquor, Carlin, Nev. Sky of the year.

Day 18, Kings Across America Berkeley, Cal., to Park City, Utah Utah, baby. Items: -Hit the 5,000-mile mark on the journey driving past the Salt Lake City International Airport as dusk fell. -Nothing like being able to drive 85 (maybe a tad more) on a non-trafficked I-80. Made for a lonely drive-except for four hours listening to Wright Thompson’s “The Barn.” Man, his voiceover of the book is perfect, as is the book. -Why Park City? Felt like taking a leisure day Monday in a fun place. -Finally, gratitude to both families of my daughters-Mary Beth, Nick and son Peter in Seattle; Laura, Kim and kids Freddie+Hazel in Cal-for their hospitality. As parents, you hope your kids find great, loving partners, and great, loving parents. Nick+Kim are both; MB+Laura are doting moms. We’re very lucky. -No, we’re not tired of the road yet. It’s a ball seeing the country. Today, we spent eight hours on the same road, I-80, that I traversed 34 years ago on my cross-country bus trip with John Madden. Always a good memory: vault.si.com/vault/1990/11/… (vault.si.com/vault/1990/11/…) Weather: Hot, chilly, sun, clouds over the western middle quadrant Sunday Miles driven: 769 Americana factoid: After 11 days in Pacific time (Wash-Ore-Cal), the clock in our VW Atlas clicked over to Mountain time in the eastern Nevada town of West Wendover, bedroom town of Salt Lake.