When I pulled my newest ESPN The Magazine from the mailbox on Monday afternoon, I saw that the issue was devoted to ESPN’s ranking of the 100 most important people and events in sports from the 2001-2002 seasons. As I read through them, I agreed with many of the ratings dealt out by the staff at the network, and disagreed with several as well.

For example, Cael Sanderson’s 159-0 career was ranked at No. 40. Come on now.

The greatest thing to happen to the sport is at number 40? I care about amateur wrestling about as little as the next guy, but come on.

The issue of The Magazine inspired me to give my top 10 of the most important events of the ’01-’02 athletic season at Iowa State, the good and the bad.

1) Cael Sanderson. Enough said. No matter how much or how little you follow ISU athletics, you knew who this man was and what he was doing.

2) Shreveport, Louisiana. Independence Bowl. Tony Yelk pulls a Gary Anderson and the Cyclones miss a chance for back-to-back bowl victories. Oh well, there’s always next year. Thanks to the stadium selling beer, I still went home happy.

3) Hilton Magic disappears. (Part one) In what we all called a rebuilding year, the Cyclones’ 39-game winning streak at Hilton Coliseum is stopped at the hands of San Jose State. Iowa State ended up losing six home games this year, more than I have seen my previous three years here.

4) Hilton Magic disappears. (Part two) Iowa State’s women’s basketball team struggled to its fifth consecutive 20-win season. But the postseason looked promising. The Cyclones earned home court advantage through the first two rounds, and Hilton was already chosen as a site for the Midwest Regional. Home court advantage through the first four rounds of the tournament, but the Cyclones were toppled by BYU in the second round, and had to watch as the rest of the teams continued the tournament at Hilton.

5) Iowa State is named as the opponent for Florida State in the Eddie Robinson Classic in Kansas City. Now coach Dan McCarney and his team gets the chance to prove themselves on a national stage against the perennial powerhouse Seminoles. All I can say is, Florida State has a habit of putting 70-plus points on its first victim, I mean opponent, of the season. But I will be there cheering on the team as much as everyone else, especially if they serve beer at Arrowhead.

6) Iowa hands the Cyclones a 23-point beating at Hilton, matching Iowa State’s worst loss in 30 years at Hilton. Even the return of injured guard Jake Sullivan wasn’t enough to match the inside power and three point shooting of the hated Hawkeyes.

7) Shane Power unexpectedly quits the basketball team and leaves Iowa State, eventually transferring to Mississippi State. Without giving a clear reason as to why he was leaving, many, including myself, wonder, and hope it was because the incoming class is going to be good enough to take over much of the playing time.

8) Go, Seneca! Go! Seneca Wallace is thrust into the Heisman campaign and given his own website, gosenecago.com. After showing the Big 12 and the country what he was capable of, all I can say is, why not? This guy has got loads of talent. If he can carry the football team to a bowl game this year, he should at least get a trip to the Heisman ceremony. The schedule the Cyclones face this year is one of the most grueling in all of football, minus the teams like Connecticut and Troy State.

9) Tim Floyd is finally put out of his misery in Chicago, when former Bull, Bill Cartwright, replaces him. How many people wanted to see Floyd succeed after skipping town? In the long run, I think we all know who got the better end of that deal. If Floyd were still here, we wouldn’t be chanting “Larry. Larry,” as our head coach is verbally tearing down one of the Big 12’s finest.

10) Finally, ISU director of football operations Charlie Partridge was discovered to have falsely reported two academic degrees in the ISU Football media guide. This in the wake of Georgia Tech’s George O’Leary was accused in a similar situation while trying to become head coach at Notre Dame. Partridge apologized, earned one of his degrees, and then resigned from Iowa State to become the defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois.

So, there you have it.

Hopefully I can do one of these lists next summer, and be able to include a few more positives. I’m sure I may have missed an event or two that may have been more important, but bear with me, it’s been a long summer.

Rick Kerr is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Des Moines.